Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

So, having a birthday party has it's ups and downs. Here you see the ups - party hats, laughter, balloons and overall good cheer.

Here you see the downs - very loud singing by the entire family that scared me silly!

I can't believe my Little Miss has turned one! Where does time go? Despite the above picture, Little Miss had a wonderful day. She was not happy with the birthday song, and really didn't care for her cake either, but she loved the balloons, the wonderful gifts, and spending time with her family. Still, I'm pretty sure I enjoyed the whole event more than she did. I had so much fun making her butterfly cake, decorating, and just watching her experience her first birthday in our big family. What a pleasure!

What an emotional day! I am overflowing with love for my little princess and want to savor every memory from this day. I am so blessed to be the mother of this wonderfully, amazing girl! Tonight as I thank God for the gift of this girl in my life, I will also pray for a woman who one year ago, half way around the world, gave birth to my precious daughter making my dreams come true!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl - I love you!

A breath of warm air at last!

Today was the first trip to the park for Little Miss! She was just a little baby when we came home last summer and we've been waiting all winter to get out to the park. With 50 something degrees today, I knew this was our chance. So we took a walk with Auntie to the playground. It took Little Miss a few minutes to trust the swing and slide, but she got the hang of it. Then there was no turning back, and no going home - ha!

She looked so tiny in this "little" baby swing.

And this was the weather just a few short days ago . . .

Pizza is my new favorite food . . . ice cream isn't!

Little Miss crawled over to the oven, pulled herself up, peered into the window, identified that frozen blob as pizza, then turned to me and signed "eat"! This girl is crazy over her pizza.

Ice cream, not so much. Too cold!!

Feb"burrrr"ary

Little Miss frequently tells me now that she wants to go out. She does this by looking at the front door or at our coats and waving bye-bye. Where she wants to go exactly I don't know, but she clearly wants to go. Since it's been so cold and snowy, we've had to find some indoor fun.

"Please let me out there!"

Just wait until spring baby girl, a whole new world will open up to you! Until then, it's trips to the mall play area and the library.

Sweet ride



Finally big enough to go into the play area

"I can get on this plane I know I can!"

"Bookshelves are great for helping you walk."

"Books and puzzles at the library are wonderful, but nothing compares to the velcro on my sneakers."

From Timkat to Chinese New Year

We have had so much fun recently in celebrating the multicultural holidays of our family. We are fortunate to live in an area where we have access to Ethiopian and Chinese people, culture, and many adoptive families.

Here's a little background info on the holidays:

TIMKAT

Timkat is an Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany. It is celebrated on January 19 and commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. During Timkat ceremonies in Ethiopia the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, is taken from each church and is wrapped in rich cloth (to protect it from the gaze of the crowds) and carried on the head of the priests in a grand procession through the streets. The priests wear ceremonial robes of velvet and satin and are shaded by elaborately sequined velvet umbrellas. The procession arrives at a water source and culminates at 2:00am when the priests say mass. Crowds of people camp out, dressed in white praying, eating, and drinking by the fire light. Toward dawn, the water is blessed by the priests and is sprinkled on the participants to commemorate the Baptism of Jesus Christ. After the baptism, the Tabots are carried back to their respective churches while singing, dancing and feasting continue. Timkat is a very important festival in the Ethiopian calendar.

Here is a link to an interesting video about Timkat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m83UAO2ThGM&feature=user

CHINESE NEW YEAR

Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese traditional holidays. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th which is known as the Lantern Festival. The festivities typically involve visits to relatives and friends. New clothes are usually worn to represent the new year, and the color red (which is believed to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune) is used liberally in all decorations. Red envelopes containing monetary gifts are frequently given to children by the elders. Lion dances are often performed as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year and to ward off bad spirits. Fireworks are also a popular part of the festivities as a way of sending out the old year and welcoming in the new year. 2009 is the year of the ox.

A few more pics from the events

From Ethiopian princess

To Chinese Chic

Walking with my cousin

10 months today!

Happy 10 month birthday Baby Girl!

Month 9 to 10 was a big month in terms of development for my Little Miss. Here are some of the highlights of the recently acquired skills:

1. understanding 40+ words or phrases (evidenced by a physical response to the word/phrase - i.e. where is Mommy, say bye-bye, get your kitty blankie, etc.) - I know, kind of scary that I actually counted, but being a pediatric occupational therapist will do that do you.
2. pointing to a couple named pictures in books (cat and dog)
3. signing "more", "eat", "quack quack", and almost "all done"
4. repeating all kinds of letter sounds and weird noises demonstrated for her
5. waving "hi", "bye", and "night night" (I know most people don't wave night night, but my girl does) with the adorable opening and closing of her tiny hand
6. crawling on hands and knees after almost 3 months of belly crawling
7. pulling to stand on anything and everything she can get her hands on (including her crib)
   
8. cruising along the furniture, walls, people's legs, anything really, in order to get from here to there - this girl wants to move
9. standing independently without support for about 15 seconds
10. feeding herself all kinds of finger foods independently

I'm sure there are more, but those are some of the biggies. Little Miss was busy this month. It is crazy for me to think about the fact that I brought home this tiny baby in August and now I have this curious, independent explorer! Time flies when you're having fun . . . and that we are!!

The Break Out - yes, she busted out of her safe little play area and she was pleased as punch to have done so.

Free standing

It's a new year - look out Mommy!

New Year's day I woke up to the sweet cooing and babbling of my Little Miss, the sounds I am so often blessed with in the morning. It was not the sounds that surprised me that morning, it was the sight of Little Missy STANDING proudly in her crib and waving to me as I entered the room! Well, it's a new day and a new year and it's time to lower the crib mattress again!

Christmas was an absolute joy! Every tradition, every moment, every detail was even sweeter this year because of this little girl.

I figured the gift part for Little Miss this year would really be about eating wrapping paper and playing with the boxes, but she surprised me. She got the hang of ripping the paper off for the purpose of seeing what was inside. She was very intrigued by each of the gifts she received. Here are a few pics from the Christmas days.