Pic of day- Bucket Head!

AnnaClaire and I were playing around with her favorite bowl and I put it on my head. She thought that was hilareous, so I put it on her head! She walked around with it squealing in excitement. I just love this picture of "Bucket Head"!

LET IT SNOW!!!!!!

I love this picture. It was almost the pic of the day.

"Sissy, I'm ready for my snack of goldfish and water!!!"

"Can we go outside, yet?"

"I had a ball in my swing..."
"And then Sissy and I walked to deliver some notes (next door). I walked ALL by my self up the street!"
"And I even put the notes in the paperboxes. BY MYSELF!"
"Then we came home and I got into the cabinent and played with the cozees."
"I also thought it'd be fun to drag around Sissy's camera case." (Future photograper here, maybe?)

"And I read to myself."

I love this little girl. So much! This morning was a normal morning. Then we left for piano and Mom and AC tried to sign up for a little class at the library with reading, bubbles, and music. AC would've been a "jumping bean" but it was all filled. They played in the nursery next door while I finished my lesson. AnnaClaire had a ball! We then headed to Super Walmart for a few things and came home for lunch. (See picture of Miss AC holding her goldfish and water). She went down for her nap about 12:40 and slept until 2:45! WOOHOO, finally a good nap! After she awoke, she played nicely and danced to her music. She then had snack time and we headed outside after bundling her up. She had fun in her swing and then we went to deliver thank you notes to a few of our neighbors. She was sooooooo cute doing that. I let her walk by herself and she just RAN down the driveway! I of course held on to her. She walked (slowly) up and then I gave her the note and tapped the paperbox. She reached the note out, but couldn't reach all the way, so I helped her walk forward more. Then she (BY HERSELF) put the envelope in the paperbox. Too cute! She then walked (with me) across the street and did it again! Aww. It was really just the cutest thing! We walked back home (she only fell a total of 3 times! But I caught her.) and she wanted to walk around the house holding a hand!

Oh another thing, AC has learned how to weigh herself on the scale (hmmmm?) and she has learned another word-- TOUNGE! (pronouced ton-gah). How she learned this... we were reading her "word" book and she pointed to the little girl pointing to her tounge and pointed to her tounge. She then learned that if we said, "AnnaClaire, where is your tounge?" she would stick it out and point to it! We say, "yeah!!! That's your tounge!" In the car, all of a sudden I hear "TON-GAH!" and I turn around and it's sticking out! Aww! She also knows how to point to her teeth, nose, and mouth! Oh, and toes and shoes! Cute, cute!

Oh, BTW, it is supposed to snow tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Miss AnnaClaire could have her first snow!!!!! Ohhhh I hope it snows. Let it snow!

Pic of Day- pressing buttons

This was tough one. It was actually a tie with two pictures, but I do just love this one of her pressing buttons on her keys :).

Today.

"I love my stick. And I love my bracelet/ring too."

Precious.
Pop, pop, pop!
"I think I'm going to call Daddy. Is that okay, Sissy?"
"I went to Costco for the first time today!"
"Everyone thought I was pretty darn cute with my balloon. What do you think?"
"I got to meet another newly adopted baby, Brandon! He was sweet!"
"I saw this thing and made Sissy let me in. I'm a little big for it..."

"I saw that Brandon was being fed out of the same bottle I have. I thought it was mine and starting saying, "Baba! Baba! Baba!"

"After nappy time, Sissy and I shook water bottles. It was bunches of fun!"

Today was a fun day. The maids came this morning, and we kept AC occupied downstairs. She played with her popper (which she disliked at first, but now adores!), the dog, and her stacking toys. We then headed out to Costco. She was adorable in the car and we got there and she was even more adorable. She was quite entertained by all the food and stuff, and sat nicely in her floppy seat. We shopped around a bit before leaving to go get Will from school (he wasn't feeling well). I got dropped off at Grace and then picked up an hour later. We then headed to a kids consignment store my mom used to work at, because they were throwing us a little "meet AnnaClaire lunch" thing. They were all really excited to see her and lunch was delicious. There were quite a few other kids/babies there, which AnnaClaire loved. She adores kids! We even got to meet Brandon, one of the lady's 6 month old son (although he was about AnnaClaire's height!!!!!) from Guatamala! They got home from fostering him in December. He was soooooo adorable and AnnaClaire thought so, too! One of the ladies who works there is the one who makes every single bow AC has. As a gift, they all gave us tons of bows and a really pretty dress for summer! Soooo cute! After our fun lunch, we headed home for nap time. AnnaClaire hardly napped, again, but was quite cheerful when she awoke. She played around all afternoon and was her cute self. Then we headed the Harris Teeter. I sat in the car with her while Mom ran in for cheese. (Drew, in the car, we were looking at the "Who Loves Baby" book, and we turned to the page with you on it and I showed her how to kiss the book. She pulled the book to her mouth and gave a big kiss right where your face was in the picture. :)) After Harris Teeter, I got dropped of at swimming. That was good. When I got home, I heard AnnaClaire cough in her sleep and then start crying and then scream! Aww poor baby startled herself :(. She is now sound asleep again! She is such a sweet, sweet girl!

AnnaClaire and Maggie

"I think I'm going to go say hi (plop on to) Doggie." PLOP!

"Ahh! I'm falling off!"
"Well this is comfy too. Me and Doggie are great friends!"
"I was getting a little hot so close to Doggie. But I don't know where to lay now... I guess I'll check out her nose for now!"
"A-ha! I'll lay behind Doggie!!!!!!!!"

They really are best friends. And adorable together, too.

Pic of day- Diaper girl

(yesterday's pic of day)
I love this picture of her waving on her diaper package. I think it should be Parent's Choice's new logo. It sure is cute enough :)

Yesterday pics

"This is strange. My Daddy is at the grocery store with me! Hmm"

"Aren't I CUTE?"
Who woud've though diaper packages would be such fun!
"But oh, Mama and Sissy, they ARE!"
"Pronouncing Miss AnnaClaire- Queen of the diapers!"

I found Dad's camera :)

Enjoy the pictures.

I love this little girl. So much.

Well. I couldn't find my camera all day. So I took pictures with my Dad's camera. Now I found my camera and I can't find my Dad's camera! Ughhh. So... no Photo of the Day today, but here's some pictures from yesterday!

It was a nice day. This morning, Dad's tire blew (funny because Drew's blew in Wa DC this weekend...) he actually met us at Harris Teeter and did some shopping with us- AC loved that! We went to Wal Mart and Harris Teeter. AnnaClaire was almost climbing out of the cart when we found a toy for her... she loved it and it kept her soooo occupied! Even in the box!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When we got home, she discovered how much fun it is to climb on packs of diapers! She did that for who knows how long. She also enjoyed her popper thing and a yummy lunch. She was sweet all day. She takes such short naps though... She sleeps 12 hours at night (7:30-7:30) but only naps from about 1-2:20! Yikesss!

She gets cuter everyday and we love her dearly. I look at her and think... "how did we end up with such a sweet, cute, adorable, precious, beautiful, etc" little girl. I'm so blessed to be her JIE JIE!!!!!!!!! and I love her more than anything in the world.

More tomorrow!

Pic of day- playing piano with Sissy

I LOVE this picture. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I guess it's pretty self explanatory :)

pictures from Dad's camera

I was talking about the lollypop thing awhile back... here's a picture from that. I love this one:

Happy in her swing (yesterday)
Trying out her duckie tub (yesterday)
"Sissy climbed in with me and is washing my hair." (yesterday)
Cute on her thingy (yesterday)

Here are a few pictures I got of Dad's camera. Enjoy.

No wonder...

You Are Chinese Food

Exotic yet ordinary.People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour.

What Kind of Food Are You?

I take a lot of these quiz things but don't normally post them to my blog... but... I couldn't resist with this one. I thought I would for sure get "American food". But nope! I'm "Chinese food"! Well, it's a good thing I went to China so I got my fair share of Chinese food :)

Saturday pictures

"Whatcha doing, Mama?"

"1 of me + 1 of Mama = 2!!" (see her fingers?)
"Doggie and me are bestest friends."
"I see something down there! a-ha! A speck of dust!"
"Daddy, bills aren't so bad! The evelopes are mighty fun, actually..."

(Yesterday) I had a swim meet about 45 minutes away. Mom and I left at 6:45. I swam pretty good and was quite proud of my 1st in the 200 breaststroke. After the meet, Mom and I went out to lunch with a few of my friends and their moms. We went to a Chinese place, Pei Wei. It was soooooooooooooooo good! After lunch, we came home. AnnaClaire had been with Daddy all day. They had a nice day together. I think Dad was ready for us to be home though. AnnaClaire was sooooooo sweet all afternoon and just the cutest thing (as you can see from the pictures). She played nice with toys and paper and had a blast at Walmart. She really enjoyed holding the bandaids, but started chewing the box and had box crumbs on her face, so we took those away and replaced them with shampoo! She had a yummy dinner and then we stripped her down and got her bath ready. She bathed in her "duck tub" for the first time so it took awhile to get set up. She passed the time by being walking around naked. We actually got lots of *adorable* pictures of our naked girl, but I won't post those :)

Friday pictures

"Hmm... So many waterbottles. I think I'll check this one out first..."

"I know I'm beautiful. I know I'm cute. I know I'm adorable."
"Isn't my doggie FUNNY?"
"I love to climb up the stairs!"
"Sissy! Let me outta here!"

Here are some pictures taken on Friday. I was gone most of the day but AC and Mom had a very nice day. (on Friday) and I was home enough to get in a few pictures. Enjoy!

Pic of day- happy at Walmart!

I love this picture I took today of AnnaClaire at Walmart! Isn't she a cutie?!

She is 15 months old today!!!!!!!!!!!! :( She's getting so big! I took lots of great pictures today that I'll add along with yesterdays, tomorrow. Sorry I'm getting behind in my posting, this weekend is so busy.

My swim meet this morning was great! I got 1st in the 200 breaststroke :). I better go to bed now so I'm well rested for session 2 tomorrow.

Foto Challenge- Profiles

This weeks Family FotoFun Challenge from Double Happiness is "profiles". Since AC is so busy and always seems to turn right as I snap the picture, I have lots of these. I made this challenge just pictures of AC and I of and pictures I don't think I've posted before. Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to enlarge it to see it closer!

Pic of day- Sweet in her swing

I hardly took any pictures today, but this is my favorite. Nothing amazing, just sweet. There were 2 I liked but had to narrow it down to this one.

The day has been reallllllly busy (in a good way). I have to get up at 6:15 for a swim meet tomorrow so I need to go to bed now. I'll add more photos and text tomorrow!

our little angel

I'm starting a new "thing". Every day, I'm going to post a "picuture of the day" (my favorite picture taken that day).

I love all the pictures from today. But this one, I just LOVE. We were playing in the bonus room and the lighting looked *amazing* on AnnaClaire. So I grabbed my camera and snapped this. I am in love with how it came out. You can't even see her face. But, I just love this. I also did yesterday's picture of the day earlier today (which gave me the picture of the day idea).

The pictures say it all...

AnnaClaire went for a ride her in push wagon. She thought it was just so fun. Of course when I tried to snap a picture, would she smile? No.

Another wagon pic

This is the new swing place. Ken (handyman) made it for AC!

They are best friends.
Yes, she is holding a TOOTHBRUSH. In her MOUTH. (She's so SMART!)

They really do. She also enjoyed seeing a few neighbors! She loved riding in her wagon and thought it was the coolest thing that she was in the wagon that she pushes! She loves her swing now that it is at a normal level (it used to be really high). Although she loved it before, too. She also learned how to push her baby in the indoor swing which is just pretty precious! Hmm. Well, it was just a fun low key day and AC continues to be her cute little self.

New site updates!

I recently updated the nursery blog and the quilt blog if you want to check those out.

I also just added a new home update to our website!

~Emily

My favorite picture! (yesterday)

I know I say always say, "this picture is my favorite!" but... this one... I love. This was taken yesterday. She was sitting on her changing pad right after having a major wet diaper. So we had to put on a new onesie. She was all smiles so I grabbed my camera and snapped this picture of her. (don't worry, I was holding her the whole time!) Anyway, I just love that you can see her *chunker* legs, beautiful smile, squinted eyes, and shiney black hair (with the bow in)!

I think she's pretty beautiful :)

Today (and most Wednesdays.)

Cute. And cheerful.

She still loves balloons... especially this one from Harris Teeter!
Happy in her stroller! (jogging stroller!)
I absolutely love this picture... And she absolutely loves being outside!
"Love AnnaClaire!"

*This is a schedule of today. And most Wednesdays.*

7:30AM- wake up
7:30-7:45- drink a bottle and read with Mama
7:45-8:15- hang out with Mama
8:15-9- playtime with Sissy while Mama gets ready
9-9:15- gets all dolled up
9:15-9:30- eats breakfast (hot cereal)
9:30-9:50- takes Sissy to piano
9:50-10:05- runs errands with Mama
10:05-10:30- plays in the nursery while Sissy has piano lessons (they're at Church)
10:30-12- grocery store, post office
12-12:20- lunch (applesauce and soup)
12:20-12:45- playtime downstairs
12:45-2:15- naptime (dog woke her up)
2:15-2:25- Mama gives her somemore bottle to try to put her back asleep
2:25-2:45- no luck with more nap, so Mom gets her out of the crib
2:45-3- gets ready to go bu-bye and just walks around
3-3:20- picks Brother up from school
3:20-3:45- "helps" Mama make dinner
3:45-4:30- stroller ride with Sissy
4:30-5:30- climbs stairs, plays, shows off her cuteness, plays outside
5:30-5:50- eats dinner (mashed potatos, carrots)
5:50-6:10- walks around being cute andplays with toys
6:10-6:30- takes Sissy to swimming
6:30-7- plays somemore
7-7:15- bathtime
7:15-7:30- bottle and snuggle time
7:30- bed!

Oh, and don't worry. I do have school. But as Mom and I say... this year is a "life lessons" year and not so much a "schooling" year. But, I do do school

A fun Tuesday!

Loving her new straw sippy cup!

So happy with her Mama (this face is what we call the "pig face". She grins really big and squints her eyes, and makes these little piggy sounding thing. It's really quite cute!)

Today was a very good day. AnnaClaire was happy all morning. She really enjoyed sliding and then, of course, her little door thing. She had a mid morning stroller ride with Mom and Grandma. When they got home, I filled AnnaClaire's new straw sippy cup with water and we gave it to her. She loved it!!!!!! And can use it! It is so funny that she can't figure out how to tilt the "normal for her age sippy cup" back, but that she can drink out of the straw on the ages 2+ sippy cup. She came to us drinking from straws! Soon after, we left to take Grandma to the airport and me to Grace. Grace was good. I went out to lunch with Caroline because Mom wasn't back yet. We went to Panera. Ohhhh yum! Mom and AnnaClaire met us there and we had a nice time. After Panera, we ran across the street to the Christian bookstore to get another little Children's praise c.d. AnnaClaire loved walking around and destroying the cd racks--uh oh! On the way home, we put the cd in and AC was singing and dancing as always. Then came the cute part! "What a Mighty God we Serve" came on and I was showing her the motions, and she put her to arms up like me to make the "mighty" sign! It was sooooooooo cute. She did it over and over and over again. I have a video of it that I'll add tomorrow. Of course, on the video she only did it like twice, but still. Then "Praise Him, Praise Him" came on and oh my goodness... I know I've talked about how AnnaClaire "loves herself" by putting her hands on her cheeks and "ahhhh"ing. Well. The line, "Love Him, love Him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love" came on and AnnaClaire (without anyone doing it first) put her hands on her cheeks and "ahhhh"ed. It was so cute. Mom and I were almost in tears over that one. AnnaClaire had fallen asleep about 30 minutes in her car seat on the way from the airport, so naptime came later and she wasn't asleep for long. She woke up fussy, but was soon the happiest baby. She played on her slide, played with her door, climbed stairs, put her shoes from the shoe photoshoot away, and was just her cute little self. Oh and AC and I even got some reading in! She loves "touch and feel" books!

Other cute AC things (besides singing and dancing and loving)-

when you say "wanna go bu-bye?" she nods her head and squeals!

when you say "wanna give Doggie food?" she runs over and reaches for the dog food cup!

if you say "come to ______" she comes!

when climbing the stairs, she waits to climb until someone is over with her and you say "okay, you can go!"

she never takes out her bows anymore. (YAHHHHHHHOOOO)

and so much more... but I can't think of it all right now!

Yesterday pictures

Enjoying her straw at Olive Garden...

Happy girl (notice the straw is out of the nose..) at Olive Garden
Big girl drinking out of a STRAW!
So pretty :)

Sunday pics

Serious with her puzzle!

Holding her poopies!
She is obsessed with ballons.
here she is doing her new favorite activity- climbing stairs!
a view from the back...

Family Foto Challenge- shoes

One of my favorite blogs, Double Happiness, does a weekly photo challenge. I have wanted to play along for awhile but thought it would be funnest once AC was home. This week, the challenge is "shoes" and that one is a perfect one to start the challenge on. AnnaClaire has lots of shoes but only the ones in the center circle of the main picture fit her now. All of her shoes are either squeaky shoes or Robeez. She also has an awesome pair of ladybug rainboots from the Crenshaws. You might want to click on the picture to see it bigger. Enjoy!

AnnaClaire's new toy!!!!!!!

"Look at me at the top of my slide on my toy! Ready to catch me, brother?"

" WHEEE!!"
"Look, I can swing on my toy, too!"
"and there is a telescope for me to look out.."
"And a steering wheel!!!!!!!!!"

Today, Grandma, Mom, AnnaClaire, and I loaded up and headed to our big outlet mall about 35 minutes away. First we stopped at Babies R Us and got a few essentials like those *AMAZING* disposable placemats! We then went to Toys R Us across the street. We were determined to find some sort of slide toy. It has rained here for a week now, and AnnaClaire, who loves the outside, doesn't enjoy that. PLUS she loves sliding and we don't have a slide! So we got one of those swing/slide mini jungle gyms. (it's really for outside, but we're using it inside.) We had been looking at them for awhile and knew AnnaClaire would love it. We went to lunch at Olive Garden. It was delicious. AnnaClaire had veggies out of minestrone soup, half of a breadstick, and a few noodles. She loved it all! Everyone thought she was just the cutest, sweetest baby! After that, we headed to the "colorful" mall and made a loop around it. (it's a circle). It was after AC's naptime, so we hoped she would sleep in the stroller. She didn't. We got a few cute things at the Gymboree outlet, including an adorable skirtie swimsuit! I enjoyed a slice of cookie cake at "The Great American Cookie". Sooooooooooo good. After making a mall loop, we headed home. AnnaClaire got really fussy on the way home, and we knew she'd be asleep soon. She slept from then until we got to Harris Teeter, a total of 30 minutes? She then woke up crying really hard while Mom was in Harris Teeter and Grandma and I were in the car with her. We couldn't calm her and finally she calmed down, in no mood to go back to sleep. After we picked Will up from school, she was even happier! Luckily after a bottle, she fell asleep in her crib for over an hour! By the time she was up, I (by myself!) had set up her entire play gym thing. She LOVEDDDDDD it. She especially loves going down the slide! But she just loves the whole thing. It is also nice having an indoor swing when it's nasty out (like today!) She enjoyed playing piano with Sissy, climbing up the stairs, and playing with her jungle gym thingy tonight and who knows when she went to bed. (I was at swimming, so I'm not sure.)

It was a great day. I have quite a few more pictures and some from yesterday as well, but I'm tired so I'll add those tomorrow!

AnnaClaire videos!!!

^This video is of AnnaClaire playing in her room. (I FINALLY GOT MY VIDEOS TO SHOW UP!!!!! I am now using photobucket instead of YouTube.) I absolutely love this one, especially when she starts playing "Jiang!" Don't forget to turn off the backround music so you can hear! To do this, click the red x by the refresh button.



^This one is of AnnaClaire dancing in her car seat. I took it the wrong way, but I LOVE this video and HAD to post it anyway. It's really quite adorable... if only it were the right way! But, it is too cute NOT to post... Anyway, sorry its sideways, can't rotate videos!

Enjoy!

Mama Mama Mama Mama Mama!

AnnaClaire (w/ my purse) playing with her new puzzle!

AnnaClaire feeding Maggie! So cuteeeee
Pretty girl!!! Such a happy little thing, too!
Playing with her stacking pyramid from Grandma! (the balloon is that thing in the backgroud.)

The birthday party I was at was very fun. It was just me, Meredith, and Sadie. We beaded earrings and had a yummy dinner of shishkabobs (sp??) and rice. For cake, we had Coke Cake. I love that stuff!!! Sadie opened presents (pjs, a pillow, a coupon to go to a bead place one day, and a Vera Bradley lunchbox filled with candy.) She loved all her gifts. We just hung out and slept in this morning. We enjoyed cinimmon rolls for breakfast and then got ready and went and got our nails done. The place is run by a woman from Vietnam and her daughters. They are very nice and do a great job. We all got French Manicures and they look very nice. We then went to some art gallery across the street (this wasn't part of the party just something Mrs. P wanted to do.) and had Chickfila for lunch. It was delicious. We ran quite a few errands and got home right before 5. It was a fun day. I was very happy to see AnnaClaire when I got home, as I hadn't seen her in 24 hours! Mom, Grandma, and AC had a fun day too! They went to the mall. AnnaClaire really enjoyed the play place at Joseph Beth Booksellers! She met a little friend, a 10 month old boy. A very large 10 month old boy, as he was taller than AnnaClaire! AC got some pjs (for next year) and a puzzle. When I got home, we played puzzle together. She really enjoys her puzzle! She then had some Ge Ge time with Will. AC and I played a little more and then we went downstairs and she had dinner. She also fed Maggie dinner (as in Maggie's dinner not her own dinner!) AnnaClaire LOVES feeing Maggie. We'll fill up the cup with the dog food and give it to AnnaClaire and she carries it from the pantry to Maggie's bowl, and tips it into the bowl! It is THE CUTEST THING!!!!!!!!!! (I know I say that about everything...) The chili we were going to have got burnt, so we got Chinese take out and got a movie. Welllllll... While Mom, Grandma, and I got that, we left AnnaClaire with Dad, thinking she would love being with her Dad! About 15 minutes later, Dad called and said, "Do you think AnnaClaire is tired? She is crying no matter what I do, and saying Mama!" (she associates Mom with bottle.) Well, she had slept until 4 and it was only 7, so she couldn't be tired! AnnaClaire wanted her Mommy!!!!!!!!!!! She was saying, "Mama Mama Mama Mama Mama Mama" over and over and I even heard her in the phone! Dad bathed her while we finished up getting the movie and Chinese and we came home to a little one in the sink with a big ear to ear grin as she spotted her Mommy! So of course, Mom's entire month was made by this! AnnaClaire enjoyed riding her horsie, and eating some of the carrots that came with my sweet and sour chicken before having a bottle and going "night night". We are now watching World Trade Center. It is very interesting. I wanted a chick flick, but there weren't any good ones... so we ended up with this.

Meet "Doggie" (yesterday)

Here is Doggie. He was a baby shower gift for AC.

AnnaClaire loves to put Doggie in the measuring bowl!
"AnnaClaire, love Doggie!"

AnnaClaire loves her dog that she got on Thursday! If you say, "AnnaClaire, love _____", she will hug it up to her cheek. Well, it is no different with Doggie! She is so cute loving Doggie! (as well as herself, her toys, Maggie, etc.)

Another picture taken a little later- Mom giving AnnaClaire some Deer Park water!

fun morning

So cute in her new sweater/coat!

Eating fishies at lunch! (Christopher is in the highchair behind hers)

I'm posting now because I'm going straight to my friends house for her birthday party after swim practice.

This morning was really fun. AnnaClaire woke up extremelely happy (as usual) and had a nice yummy breakfast of egg and applesauce. She loved it! She took a morning bath because she had a big pee in her sleep and had it alllll over her. She enjoyed her bath (as always). She had a blast with her new stacking pyramid from Grandma and also enjoyed wearing her new sweater/coat we got at the shower yesterday! It is so warm! It's really fuzzy and thick on the inside, but on the outside, a pink cable knit! So cute! She loved going on her swing and just had a blast (thankfully the weather has cleared, so we can go outside again!) After I finished school, we headed to lunch at one of our favorite spots, Cafe Carolina! It is soooooooo good. It's like soups and salad and delicious deserts! (we had yummy inside out peanut butter cups- peanut butter cookie with chocolate fudge in the middle- YUMMMMM! BTW, AC did not have one of these!) AnnaClaire ate rice cereal and butternut squash before we left but had some goldfish and bread while there. She met another boyfriend, Christopher, whom she had a blast watching. They were quite adorable together, too. After that we came home and she had a nice 2 and a half hour nap! She's now awake and enjoying herself very much. Have a good afternoon!

Mall, baby shower, whew!

Enjoying the mall!

"Eating my chicken salad sandwich, and veggies out of Mommy's soup from Chickfila!" (at the food court.)

"Meeting Daddy's work people at my baby shower!"

Love the balloon!
"My blue balloon (that matched my dress) was very entertaining."
"Hamming it up for the baby shower guests!"
"Drinking juice out of my big girl straw!" (She came to us drinking from straws.. hmm?)
"My pretty cake! And look, I'm on it!!!!!!!!!!"
"I'm so funny, I know."
"Playing with Mrs. Lisa!"

Okay, so it didn't snow, but whatever it did (I guess freezing rain?) it was enough to cancel school for the day! WOOHOO! By the time I woke up (8) it was just raining, so I have no clue what that was all about, but hey! we didn't have school! I was going to have to do it, but then Mom needed me to watch AC and we ended up going to the mall with the Pughs. It was really fun. AnnaClaire had a blast! After lunch at the foodcourt, Mom and AC headed home for naptime but I stayed with the Pughs. We left a little before 3. AC was still napping when I got home but she soon awoke and we dressed her in her pretty dress for a surprise baby shower Dad's work threw! (It was a surprise for Dad, we all knew about it.) Dad was very surprised and AnnaClaire had a great time! We let her try a teensy bit of cake but she wasn't all over it like we feared! AnnaClaire loved playing with the balloons and wouldn't let them go! It was quite funny. She was very shy around everyone but by the end, she was happing it up! She wouldn't let anyone hold her except Mommy, Daddy, or Sissy, so that was GREAT! (Will didn't go). We got some awesome presents~ lots of clothes, a homemade photo album, hand knitted blanket, beautiful hand made quilt square (check quilt blog later and I'll have it up!) and a very large donation to Half the Sky, an organization in many orphanages, including Chenzhou. Go to www.halfthesky.org for more on HTS. We headed home and Dad headed to the airport to get Grandma who flew in tonight. AnnaClaire met grandma for the first time when she arrived at our house a few hours later. She doesn't want Grandma to hold her, but she will "talk" to her and play with her. It was a great day and AnnaClaire was a very sweet one all day long.

Thanks everyone for the awesome baby shower!!!!!!!!!!!

It's getting cold in NC!

AnnaClaire and I in front of her name on the mural at Church. (I have blooped out our last name for privacy)

Here's our bundled up little thing in her swing...so cute!
Loving her car seat!
"I love Sissy's warm and fuzzy boots!"
"YAY! I made my turtle go!"
Beautiful.
Happy little one with her cups!
So precious!

Sweetie with her Mama!

AnnaClaire was such a trooper today! I had individual testing right smack dab in the middle of naptime and AC napped in her carseat for an hour and a half! We ended up driving around a little to use up time because we knew she'd wake up the minute the car stopped and she wouldn't fall back asleep. What a trooper! Other than that, she was just her sweet self. She enjoyed swinging this morning even though it was freezing. It is getting so cold here! It might snow tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hard to believe last week it was in the 70s! I had a piano lesson earlier, so we took a picture in front of the mural. It came out great! AnnaClaire loved playing in her room today (we usually play in the bonus room, but she is so sick of that room!) and she brought a book over to me to read. In it, there was a little Asian girl pointing to her mouth. AnnaClaire pointed to the picture and then pointed to her mouth! That's our smart girl! She enjoyed walking around the house, playing with her door, singing and dancing in her carseat (and sleeping!) eating, and just being her little 14 month old self! She is just so sweet! I took lots of videos today that I'll add tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures!

Unbearably cute

"I'm SO proud of myself. I opened the shutter ALL MY MYSELF!"

Do you see what I see? I thought this was too funny, her ponytail stickin' straight up behind my bed!
"I love my purse form my auntie! I'm such a little lady with it on!"
"Crawling around with my purse!"
"YAY! I'm riding my horsie with my purse! CLAP FOR ME!!"

AnnaClaire was such fun today. We had a maid come out (Dad's Christmas present to Mom) and AnnaClaire was very well behaved while they were here. Oh and our house is SOOOOOOOOOOO clean! AHHH THE FEELING OF A FRESHLY CLEANED HOUSE! She kept her ponytail thing in ALL day! We think it's a little goofy but cute all the same. As you can see, near the end of the day we put in her clip because Mom was ponytailed out. I think it is adorable! AnnaClaire had a ball sliding down my pillow, riding her horse, and just walking around with her purse. She did that all afternoon. She loves her purse and was riding in her carseat with it!! Speaking of carseats.... when her music is on, she claps and sways in her carseat! It is THE cutest thing. She is a music lover! She also loves to open and shut shutters. It's really, really cute and she is sooooo proud of herself after she does it! She is so sweet and cute and silly and adorable. Sometimes I can't even look at her because she's just so unbearably cute. Enjoy the pictures. I'm going to go to bed! Have a good night.

AnnaClaire and her "slide"

"I love my slide! I'm going to go down it... But first I have to climb up it!"

"Phew. I made it up! Now it's time to go down!!!!"
"WHEEEEE!"

"OH YAY LOOK AT ME!!"

"That was such fun! I want to do it again. And again. And again. And again."

I think we need to get AnnaClaire a real slide. What do you think? She does love sliding down Sissy's pillow thing though! (She only did it about 20? times this morning...)

Smiley little thing!!!!!!!

Look at those LEGS!!! Can you say CHUBBY!?

(this is a horrible picture of me, but AC is too cute in it so I have to post it!) "Mommy and I just picked Sissy up from swimming! I'm so happy to see my sissy!!!"

"JIANG, SISSY!!!" (peek-a-boo)
"Look what I found! Sissy's brush!

My testing went fine. I think I did very well! The worst part was this story we had to write about a picture of men spearing elephants-- hmm. It was some sort of extra credit?! We took the E.R.B. it wasn't very hard. AnnaClaire came with to take me and I played with her in the car. She really loves her carseat and going bu-bye! Dad turned her carseat around now that she is 22 POUNDS! She loves facing forwards! It was a pretty low key day. After testing, Mom and I went out to lunch (AC was napping while Dad was home). We went to Mcalisters. Our baked potatos were to die for. I love that place! For desert, Mom and I got a "after testing treat"... A BROWNIE DELIGHGT- warm brownie covered in ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and a cherry! Can I say "YUM"?! Anyway, it was strange not having AC with us. By the time I got home, AC was napping and soon after she awoke, I had swim practice. But she was SOOOOOOOOO adorable tonight walking around the house going from room to room and exploring. She found my hairbrush and really liked it. It has a squishy handle and she thought it was a great teething toy. She is really teething but seems to be feeling fine. She has gotten a little whiney which probably has something to do with her teething. It was actually a lot better today though.

AC did the sweetest/cutest thing today. I was eating a lollipop and she REALLY wanted to get it out of my mouth. She pulled and yanked at it and when I didn't give it to her, she leaned over and put her mouth on the other end of the stick!!!!!!!!!!!! Literally giving me a huge open mouth kiss! SO SWEET. She was trying so hard to get that lollipop! And I didn't mind one bit as it resulted in "kisses" for Sissy! I pulled it out of my mouth and showed her and she was so entertained by my lime green lollipop! It was cute. But.. she did not get a lick. She was fine just looking at sissy eating it and she had goldfish soon after.

My heart just melts whe AnnaClaire smiles. It is the sweetest thing.. ever. The pictures don't do her justice. She is adorable, I'm not kidding. Her kisses are to die for and when she laughs... aw. Everything she does makes me want to kiss her and kiss her somemore. I can't believe she is ours.. at last. She is perfect and cute in every way. I love this little blessing so much!!!!!!!!! Oh and I really think her "One" on her head (the ponytail) is pretty cute too.

Pretty in her church dress!

"Come ON Daddy!"

" Walkin' around while I wait for the football game to end so Dada and I can go for a walk."

"I'm ready, Dada! Let's GOOOOOO!"

"Yay! We are gonna go now!"

AnnaClaire looked sooooooo pretty for church. I absolutely love seeing a little person in all these clothes we've bought, I've pictured and blogged about, etc. And now, our little person just makes them all the more cuter! Isn't she precious with her little kitty squeakies (we took the squeakers out so they wouldn't annoy the congregation at Church, but they will go back in!) her tights, sweet dress, and BOW!? After Church and lunch, she had a nap and then played before going on a stroller ride with Daddy. She's been sweet today. Enjoy the pictures! Oh and I updated the quilt blog (www.makingannaclairesquilt.blogspot.com) if you want to check that out. 2 new, sweet and cute squares and wishes from her big brothers!

G'night! Have a good Martin Luther King Day tomorrow! I sure will taking my high school entrance test... NOT! Argh, why do I have to have a 3 hour test on my day off?!

Twins!

AnnaClaire

Maura

AnnaClaire and her sissy (me)
Maura and her sissy (Keara)
AnnaClaire serious face
Maura (and her Mama) serious faceAnnaClaire
Maura

AnnaClaire looking down

Maura looking down

My friend, Keara and I are 2 days apart in age. We have been talking over email since May and so you can imagine our suprise when they received a referral in June for Maura, DOB 10/27/05 and a month later, we received a referral for AnnaClaire, DOB 10/27/05. Maura is from Guangdong, AnnaClaire is from Hunan (right next to eachother) They both have the pudgiest cheeks, biggest smiles, and dimples (although AnnaClaire's are like never showing!) The girls have the same sleeper & hot pink bow (there wasn't a great picture of AnnaClaire with the sleeper AND bow, but they do have the same bow!) and they have the same Hanna Andersson "playdress/daydress". (in pink). They even look like twins (especially with their matching outfits!) I just had to post these pictures. They are just sooooo cute. Maura, we can't wait to meet you!!!!!!

Outdoor girl

"Enjoying my backyard with Sissy"

"The wind is blowin' through my hair... ahhh"

Cheesy girl with the sun in her eyes!
"I LOVE to look at Sissy's window! She even opened it a little for me!"
"Look at me lifting Sissy's heavy beading bag!"
"I like to look at my pretty shoes."
How sweet is this?

Her hair AFTER her rice. She yanked and yanked (with her ricey hands!) to get that bow out, but... to no avial! Sissy had it in too good for even the bow master!
"Eating congee! Mommy made is just for ME!" (notice her hair is different now. this is only becayse this is after her nap and I didn't get her hair as good. She did NOT pull the bow out!)"I love my Sissy!"

Do you know how much I love this little girl? She is the sweetest, cutest, most adorable Mei Mei God could've ever given me. If we ever went for "Mei Mei 2", I don't know how we'd possible get one this cute. She's just too cute for words. And the cuteness just never seizes. (I'm aloud to brag about her right? She IS my SISTER!)

She loves it outside. LOVES it. To bad she came into a not-so-outdoorsy family. We'll need to work on that. She literally stands in front of my window for 5-10 minutes just staring. She loves it when I open the window and she can feel the breeze. She had her TB test read this morning and we were slightly worried because it was quite red. TB is really nothing to worry about, a lot of children coming out of orphanages test positive for it. It's no big deal and usually only means they've been exposed. The rough thing about it is that if you do indeed test positive, you have to take 9 months of medicine. Not something we wanted to deal with. Well, Praise the Lord, although red, there was no bump. So, AnnaClaire is TB free! That was a bonus as we really were thinking she had it. (TB is tuberculosis -sp?) She felt SOOOOOOOO much better today and was a jolly little baby the entire day! We played outside awhile and I got some cute pictures of her. She had rice for lunch along with pear. She loves both of those things! This morning, I tried putting her bow in with a ponytail thinking maybe it'd be harder to get out... Well, it stayed in ALL morning. At lunch time, she felt it and she yanked and yanked and couldn't get it out! She had a head full of rice from her ricey hands being in her hair, but, the bow stayed in! Sadly, it had to come out for naptime. I did get it back in where it stayed, but she had a little "1" on top of her head ;). She went to the mall quick to get a new remote (AC lost ours!) It was only $7! Anyway, AC, Mom, and I joined along mainly as a way to get AC out of the house. She gets pretty restless. After getting home, she enjoyed about 30 minutes in her swing. She was so happy in it. Our next door neighbor came over and met her and he thought she was just gorgeous, which she is, of course. By that time, the congee Mom had worked on was ready, so AnnaClaire ate that for dinner. She LOVED it and was just chowing! She pointed to the sink and grunted, so we got the "bath" (sink, she doesn't like the tub!) all ready and gave her a bath. She just adores splashing around at bathtime. She splashes all this water out of the sink though, so we really need to go to her blow up duck thing in the tub. The sink is just so much easier though... and she adores being in the sink. And.. she looks pretty darn cute in it! Drew got us dinner at Chickfila and AnnaClaire soon went to bed (early! 7:20) She has been sound asleep. We are all doing well and just enjoying every moment with this gift.

The infamous brown envelope came! a little late...

Most babies aren't holding their own brown envelopes...

Brushing hair....
She really loves her hairbrush!
Happy girl (w/ brush) ready to go bu-bye with Mom!

Okay so guess what came in the mail today? Yep. The brown envelope. Kinda sad the whole reason the brown envelope comes is already home! Just another funny story. My Dad didn't realize what it was and was looking through it and al of a sudden he was like "Wait! I already filled out all this. And why do we have to do it now? She's home!" Crazy... I did think it would be cute to snap a picture of AC with "her" envelope. I got a pretty cute one, I must say.

AnnaClaire wasn't feeling so swell today. I'm guessing it was because of the shots she had yesterday. Shots can make you feel iffy (coming straight from a shot hating girl!) She didn't sleep great last night and was pretty tired/grumpy all morning. I almost feel bad saying she was grumpy because that makes it sound like she wasn't good. Don't get me wrong... she is an angel! She just wasn't feeling her best today. She was better after some baby advil and she enjoyed keeping Sissy away from doing school, I meana dancing with Sissy until she went bu-bye with Mama. They got a little kids praise cd that AnnaClaire really enjoys. She came back and had some lunch (sweet potato and rice) which she just loved. Mrs. C called then to tell us they had gotten TA (YAYYYYY AGAIN!) so I finished feeding the little sweetie. Then we had a photo shoot to get some good "YAY LILY ROSE" pictures. It's hard to get a 14 month old to do exactly what you want them to do, so they didn't turn out exactly how I wanted them, but they are still pretty cute (see below). AnnaClaire went down for a nap pretty early and hardly slept. We tried to keep her in her crib more, but she was soon screaming, and so we got her out. Amazingly, she was quite happy! I think she's just not feeling great. She enjoyed the rest of the day and had a blast taking Sydnee and me to swimming tonight. She was trying to trade Sydnee her keys and cellphone for Syd's orange. AnnaClaire thought it was quite hilareous and we all did too. AC came with to pick me up from swimming and we enjoyed Qdoba for dinner. AnnaClaire didn't eat at all (maybe a few beans) and hadn't eaten before Qdoba either (we normally feed her first.) She probably doesn't need anymore food anyway, as she is 22 pounds! (just kidding about not needing food.) We have seen a bigggggg slowdown in her eating, which is good or else she would be 40 pounds by the time she is 2! lol. She had a rice cereal bottle before bed and just woke up for a few wails about 30 minutes ago. She is now back asleep and will hopefully stay that way until a normal hour of the morning (she is such a good sleeper and is usally not up before 8!) Please pray that she would feel better tomorrow :)

Enjoy the pictures. Isn't she lovely?

LILY ROSE IS COMING HOME!!!!!!!!

Beautiful Lily Rose!!!!!

If you followed our website while we were in China, you obviously know about sweet Lily Rose. She is the little one we checked on while at Chenzhou SWI. Well... Today, Lily Rose's Mama called us to tell us that they received TA today!!!!!!!!! (we were the 6th people they called... this touched my Mom so much!) They sent their LOI on 9/29/06, so they have waited over 100 days for this call!!!!!!! They are planning on leaving someime this month!!! Anyway, Casamassima family, a HUGE congrats! I cannot wait to follow your blog while y'all are in China! I also can't wait to see a big ol' smile on sweet Lily Rose's face!!! Oh and BTW, China is making people waiting for TA fill out an acceptence form, so Lily Rose's family was one of the last families to get TA without this form! Yay Casamassimas! Congrats again!!! (their blog is www.journey2lilyrose.blogspot.com)

"Mrs. Casamassima just called me (well my Mommy) to tell me they got TA to bring home my orphanage sissy, Lily Rose!!!"

"YAY!!!!! MY CHENZHOU SISSY, HENG YUN/LILY ROSE, IS COMING HOME!!!!!!!"
"YAY LILY ROSE!!!" clap clap clap!

a quick note

When I changed my template awhile back, my web counter had almost 2,000 people visiting. Sadly, I forgot to save it (from Aug. 06) and so I'm starting over on a brand new counter. I also added some snazzy over the world counter thing. I'm excited to see how many people actually read this blog (and just don't show themselves!) Anyway, there is a new section, "blog stats" with my stats. Of course they look so weak because they are brand new!

Dec 11, 2006~January 11, 2007

How much happier she is, one month later!!! Happy 1 month gotcha day, AnnaClaire!

Happy 1 month gotcha, little (22.6 pound) butterball!

This was right before they left for the doctor...

"Playing with my sock."
"Doggie and me!"
"Mommy and I are going to go for a walk!" "Bring me down there!!!!!!!!"

Today was a very big day for 2 reasons... 1: it was AnnaClaire's 1 month gotcha anniversary and 2: it was her first doctor appointment...

(this is the exact same as I wrote on the website, so if you already read that, it is the same... It just is so hard to say the same thing in different ways and I liked how I put it on the website. I did put a little more on the website though and some pictures if you want to check the new home update.) It was a month ago, today, that a screaming baby was placed in our arms! A month ago, in Changsha, Hunan, at the Civil Affairs Office, our sweetheart was given to us. She wasn’t so happy about it, but she was given to us. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed, and well… screamed some more. She said “buuuuuuuuuuuuuu” over and over which means “noooooooooooo”. On this one month anniversary of the day our lives changed forever, there was more screaming and “buuu”s. Now, we hadn’t heard any of this since that day a month ago. But what can you expect when you take your precious baby to their first doctor visit. That’s what we did! I honestly didn’t think she could possibly scream and “bu” anymore than she did on Gotcha Day, but Mom has informed me that she did. I was a wise girl and stayed home from “THE” doctor appointment. I was in no mood to see the sweet missy how she was on gotcha day! Mom, Dad, and AC were at the doctor for a total of 2 hours. After 8 vials of blood, 2 shots, a TB test, and some looking over, they were gone. I shuttered when Mom told me all she had done. 8 VIALS OF BLOOD! I had tears streaming down my face when I had to get 1 vial of blood drawn once! My poor mei mei! And this was just the beginning, because she has to have all her shots redone! AWW, poor thing! Anyway, by the time I got home from my classes, AnnaClaire had just woken up and I think her 3 hour nap had totally erased her memory of the morning’s events. She was the happiest little thing! She is really just such a delight to be around. Happy 1 month Gotcha Day, AnnaClaire! I’m sorry it was such a traumatic one! BTW, she is doing great now and besides a few band aids her and there, you would never even know she had gone to the doctor today! Oh, I forgot to mention the most important part! SHE IS A BUTTERBALL! She is in the 70% on AMERICAN charts for weight… a whooping 22.6 pounds! We knew she was a chunker, but she is a CHUNKER! In China, she was barely 20 pounds! I didn’t think we’d been feeding her that much… She is in the 45% (on American charts) for height but no one remembers her exact height. She is pretty short though. The doctor said she was right on track for a 14 month old in everything and won’t need any kind of speech therapy, etc! Praise God! She is eating wonderfully and 3 bottles a day is perfectly fine to give her! Oh, another funny thing is that Mom and I randomly wore the same thing today that we wore on Gotcha Day! How weird is that? We didn’t even realize it!

(Jan 10) First Chickfila, fun with LaLa and more!

"I put Mommy's purse on ALL by myself, and I must say, I'm pretty darn cute walkin' around with it!"

"Meet La La La Dog. He is my new favorite (and cutest) toy. I love to walk him..."
"and pet him..."
"and kiss him..."
"and walk LaLa some more!"
"I like to brush him too!""Look at me putting my brush in the box!"

"MUST GET THE VANILLA!" (or kiss it?)
"Sissy forgot her camera when we went to Chickfila, but I have proof that I went... my book from the Chickfila man!"
"They should've named me Mozart!"

"Aren't I cute in my hat from AWAA?"
"Water bottles are so entertaining..."
"Look at my pretty heart shaped lips!"
"I will get this lid on the box!"
"Box and me looking out the window... I could spend hours doing this!"

Today is actually the 11th, but I'm going to write like it's the 10th since this post is for the 10th.

Today we introduced AnnaClaire to her newest, favorite, and cutest toy! She happily named him La La La Dog or LaLa for short. She absolutely loves this dog! It's one of this ones with a red string that you pull. She pulls it all around with her but likes to watch it, so she walks backwards! How adorable is that??? She just loves her LaLa and she's pretty darn cute with him too! We also went for her first Chickfila visit which was a huge hit! The minute we walked in, everyone was cooing over her! We didn't even order a kids meal, and a nice man gave her the little Wiggles book!!! They all thoght she was adorable and one lady asked if she could watch her while we ate! We go to Chickfila so much, they practically know us, and they were all happy for us. One lady, Tamara, brought her a little placemat (those ROCK! The get "taped" on to the table so the kids can't pull them off!!!) We brought some greenbeans for AnnaClaire along with watermelon. Mom got chicken soup and pulled out noodles, carrots, and peas for AC. She absolutely LOVED it! She was very alret the entire time we were there and was so interested in what was going on around her. She was so adorable to watch! She was so occupied, she kept her bow in! A MIRACLE! Bows are becoming a less issue now, as she forgets about them and they stay in for awhile! We headed home for the missy's nap. She slept pretty well and was such a happy thing when she awoke. We played for the rest of the day, which she loved. She discovered Mom's purse and put in on~BY HERSELF! She was sooooo adorable walking around with it... our little lady! She also enjoyed some piano time. Other than that, she had a nice walk, met a few people, and looked out the windows. She also, of course, played with her toys including LaLa and snuggled with her 5 doting family members. Gosh, we love this baby! Isn't she just so stinkin' cute?

Oh, I forgot to mention, at our church, there is a wall with the 10 newest babies in the Church. Well, it is a beautiful mural on the main wall and there is a bird hanging name plate up! Guess who is FRONT AND CENTER? Miss AnnaClaire!!! It is soooooooo cute and we get to keep the name plate once she comes down from the wall! We forgot the camera but will take a picture next week. It's sooo cool!

Pictures from the 9th

Look at my silly bedhead!

"These are the first things Mama and Sissy bought for me- my kitty Robeez!" (they are a little big, but cute :))
"Playing in the hall with a box!"
"I love to open drawers... Especially Sissy's new dresser drawers!"
"I like to play with Sissy's rug, too!"

I think she is just too cute for words. We'll leave it at that.

Playdate pics- I'm a day behind!

"Elizabeth, watch! This is how you take a bow out!" Aren't they cute together?

Elizabeth sharing with AnnaClaire
"Ohh, what does Mrs. H have?"
Such good sharers!
Playing sweet together.
Aww.
Checking eachother out...
I think they are just too cute with eachother!
Sharing...
"Hey Elizabeth, let's play follow the leader!"

(this was right after we got there) "Who is this?"

"Why don't we both sit."
AnnaClaire meets "Tilly" (who has grown SOOOO much)
Staring at eachother.
I LOVE this picture

Here are a few cute pictures of AnnaClaire and her little friend, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is 6 days older than AnnaClaire, but much bigger! We thought AnnaClaire was pretty big.. no, she's a peanut! The girls had a blast together. We first met Elizabeth when she was 7 months old! It's almost like we got to experience what AnnaClaire was like at that age! Pretty cool. It was fun to get the girls together. These are all from their playdate yesterday. We're having many more to come! Elizabeth taught AC how to climb up stairs and AC taught E how to take out bows... You should've seen her. Staci, she went right over to Elizabeth and yanked her bow out... Yikes, what did Sarah teach her? (just kidding)! Anyway, I have a lot more pictures to add, but Blogger isn't cooperating, so I'll add the rest (the cutest ones!) tomorrow along with pictures from today (got some great ones!) Sorry, AnnaClaire keeps us so busy, it's hard to find time for pictures and text! I'm going to get all caught up tomorrow though, I promise.

BTW, little sweetie is still especially sweet and we find ourselves more and love every day.

Oh and her doctor appointment is tomorrow! YIKES! Pray for us, she's going to have to get lots of shots... Hopefully she'll be good! I am MOST DEF. staying home. Won't be able to stand seeing my sweet mei mei go through the "dreadful doctor". But then, could she scream any more than she did when she was given to us? (One month ago tomorrow!!!!!!) It shall be interesting. But, I'll just have to hear about it from my Mom!

I love playing the "tag" game!

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs- www.mycuprunnethover.typepad.com and just had to play along!

A - available or taken: available :)
B- best friend: lots... including my brothers and sister!
C- cake or pie: cake (without much icing!)
D- drink of choice: apple juice and water
E-essential item you use everyday: that's easy... the computer
F-favorite color: lime green
G-gummy bears or worms: worms
H-hometown: born in Texas, moved to NC when I was 1 and, still living in NC
I-indulgence: chocolate
J-January or February: Hmm. Probably Jan. I love starting a new year and I also love that this is our first whole month with AnnaClaire (January)
K-kid's names: N/A but my parents kids- Andrew Karl, William Howard, Emily Ann (me) and AnnaClaire Chenhui
L-life incomplete without: God!
M-marriage date: N/A hopefully not for another 15 or so years...
N-number of siblings: 3. THREE!!!!!!!!
O-oranges or apples: apples
P-phobias or fears: cockroaches
Q-favorite quote: "If God brought you to it, He will bring you through it."
R-reason to smile: this adorable little girl that just so happens to be my BABY sister!
S-season: summer- no school!
T-tag 3 people: Keara, Staci, and anyone else who wants to do this!
U-unknown fact about me: I wish we were in China right now! (actually that's pretty known)
V-veggie I don't like: I honestly love every veggie. Unless you count a tomato as a veggie.
W-worst habit: picking and peeling (gross) my nails
X-xrays: back (fractured a vertabrae), mouth, maybe more?
Y-your favorite food: Fettichine Alfredo (sp?)
Z-zodiac: aries, but it doesn't mean ANYTHING!

AnnaClaire loves going bu-bye!

Here's a picture to take you through until my next post. Busy day, not much time to post! AnnaClaire had a little playdate with a little girl 6 days older than her! We had a blast. More tomorrow. Enjoy the picture! Yes, she LOVES her carseat... only because it means she is going "bu-bye". She knows what "bu-bye" means and grins and waves everytime we say it! (notice in her hands, she has her own little keys!)

YAY FLORIDA!

Sorry Mrs. White. Sorry Mrs. Stephens. Sorry all my friends who said "GO OSU" when I said, "Haha, go Florida!" Sorry Troy Smith, what a disappointing last college game. Congrats Chris Leak, what an awesome last college game! And it's year two (in a row) that the 2nd ranked team has beat the 1st ranked w/the heisman in the bcs championship. 41-14 and Florida is the National champs. Rather it have been Texas, but congrats Florida! The best part was the end... The knee went down, the coach was gatoraded, the confetti dropped, and out came a gator sporting his "I can do all things through Christ!" shirt. That's what I like to see. Awesome!

New song!!!!!!!!

"Anna" by Michael W. Smith

Jack is in the corner
The dish is with the spoon
The sheep is in the meadow
The cow is on the moon
But I am here with you and I believe
There's no other place I'd rather be
And a promise not to leave you
Is a promise I can keep

You're my muse
You're my rhyme
You're the fire warming this heart of mine
When you hear me say I love you
Anna, do you know how much I do?

So I watch you from a distance
Getting lost within your world
You pretend to be a princess
As you flutter and you twirl
Fragile as the flower in your hair
Dancing in your castle, unaware
That a single day without you
Would be more than I could bear

Little Anna, little star
That is what you really are
Cross my heart and hope to die
You're the apple of my eye

I heard this song on a blog awhile back and I loved it to say the least. At the time, I really wanted the "I'll be Home for Christmas" song up, and I also wanted to wait until AnnaClaire was home before I switched to this song. Well, we were home for Christmas, AnnaClaire is home, so here's my new bloggy song (which is going to stay for awhile!) Michael W. Smith wrote it for his daughter, Anna, and I'm "adopting" it for my sister, AnnaClaire! I really love this song~turn up your speakers and... enjoy!

Such a happy, happy girl

AnnaClaire loves mirrors... especially the one that just got hung in my room!

Even she loves admiring her cuteness.
"HI GE GE!"
Serious little sweetie
"Cruisin' around with my Stella rattle!"

I babysat this morning for 6 hours and had to wake up quite early (6:50AM! hey- don't laugh, that is early for me!) Of course, little miss sleeper was still asleep. I missed her all morning, but I did earn quite the cash :). I got home right after she had gone down for her nap (around 1:50). I heard her right before 4 and went in to tell Mom. She let me get her out of her crib, which I happily did. She was the most happy thing! I changed her diaper and we played and played and played. We had so much fun! She is officially a sissy's girl, no doubt about it (not to brag). We brought her down for a snack and then I went to practice piano. While I was practicing, the little miss decided she wanted to show us some stair climbing skills! Mom and I looked over and she had climbed the first stair!!! We thought we'd be okay with just top of the stair baby gates... maybe we'll have to rethink that! (But we are always watching her, just at that moment she was just walkin' around). Anyway, then she wanted to practice piano with me. She did. She had a ball! And, I even caught her not just banging, but actually playing with her pointer finger!!! I think we have a little musician here! She had egg, spinach, and carrots for dinner. Oh did I tell you that she LOVES orange juice? And straws! So for snack, Mom gave her orange juice out of the straw-- she loved it! She loves her sippy cups, but can't use them. We are thinking we might have to find some of those straw sippy cups! I'm not kidding, she LOVES straws! (And can actually use them!) Now we are watching the BCS Championship game (and of course AC is sound asleep). At the moment, Florida is absoutely CREAMING Ohio State! YEAH! Go Gators! (I really can't stand OSU and besides Chris Leak is from near here!)

Why not try a ponytail?

If this weren't so blurry, I'd have a new fav. pic. Still gorgeous though!

Cruisin' around with my pontail!
"LET ME DOWN THERE! I NEED TO SHOW MAMA MY PONYTAIL!"
"Sissy and me love to giggle."
"Aren't I a funny thing?"
Going through the door
"Jiang!" (peek-a-boo) BTW, isn't she adorable?
Sweetie.
"I DO cry and I DO take out anything in my hair!" (she wasn't crying about the ponytail)"I was helping Mama take down the Christmas decorations and I have proof!"

Phew. Sorry for the delay in post! Little one keeps us (extremely) busy! She is such a sweet little one though :). My swim meet thingy was good. I added, but what can you expect being gone for over 2 weeks and being back for under 2 weeks! Afterwards, I went to my friends house with 4 other friends and we slept over. We had tons of fun and I even enjoyed a root beer for the first time in 1.3 years!! (my New Years resolution last year was to not drink any soda, but I started that before New Years.) Enjoy the pictures. I know they are adorable. :) Mrs. Liptack, the ponytail bow she has in is the one from you! She kept it in for a long time!

piggy tails!!!!!!!

In AnnaClaire's referral pictures, she has a bald little head which was hardly black hair at all! Much different from her now full head of jet black hair! Well, today we experimented with pigtails since she refuses to keep bows in... What do you think? They're a little... goofy looking, but pretty cute too :).

If this isn't enough cuteness for you, please see my newest home update (1/6/07- AnnaClaire gets piggy tails!) on our website.

I'm gone for the rest of the day (swim meet thingy and then going to my friends house for the night) so this is today's post... sorry it is short, there isn't much to report!

AnnaClaire is doing great. She got into a lot of stuff this morning, such a busy girl she is! But still just the sweetest thing EVER!

AnnaClaire and the phone!

What is a girl to do with 2 phones?

She can walk around with them...or her sissy can take one away and give her the broken one!
Look at that bed head!
"Sissy, come look out the window with me!"

"Why are they always sticking these silly things in my hair!"
So cute with the phone!

AnnaClaire had another great day. She woke up with quite the bedhead... It was pretty funny! It looked almost like a pigtail! This morning she had a blast with the phones. Of course she kept turning one of them on and pressing buttons, so we took it away (us meanies) and let her keep the one that was out of batteries... She liked it just as well as having both and didn't let go of it for an hour! (except for a few throws on the floor!) Sorry the pictures are out of order... The ones without the phone were taken later today. We had Qdoba for lunch and she met a little boyfriend! They kept staring at eachother and waving! Awwww! She loved my pinto beans and ate most of them! She is such fun and just a joy to be with. 2 men came to deliver my new dresser and she was VERY interested in what they were doing! She followed them with her eyes most of the time they were at our house! She is just adorable...

Oh BTW today was another fight with the bows... WHEN will she learn! I've tried EVERYTHING! I WILL prevail!

Oh and please check out both the nursery (www.emilysmeimei-nursery.blogspot.com) blog and the quilt (www.makingannaclairesquilt.blogspot.com) blog as I have new stuff on those. There is also a new home update on our website.

Downright untrue

We were on RQ and found a post about the Paula Zahn show. It was about the new rules in China, but got pretty off subject and was soon making simply untrue remarks about Chinese adoption (aka people adopting Chinese kids because they will be smart, etc.) I think there is going to be a new subject going around on blogs... anyway if you missed it, (we did) here is the transcript: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/05/pzn.01.html (it's sorta near the bottom). It is VERY sad and simply untrue. It also makes Chinese adoptive parents look very racist. (they think we adopt Chinese kids because they are "better" than hispanic or black kids.)

the worst part of all (in my opinion)
"and it's a shame because all over the world there's other kids that need to be adopted especially in Africa, but for once, the celebrities are doing the right thing there trying to foster that."
They say that like Chinese kids don't need to be adopted...

just pictures.

what a smiley thing, she is!

And such a sharer!
She still loves her door!
"SISSY! GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND PLAY WITH ME!" (I was playing.. just took a little computer break!)
She does just love her stacking rings!

~the baby gate story~

"Maybe if I bang my toy on the gate, they will let me go down..."

"... That didn't work... Maybe I can slip through the slats!!!!!!!!"

"No luck with that either... I've got it, I'll sit here with my cute little smile.. I'm SURE to win that way!" (she did win but we carried her down, of course.)

More of miss cuteness herself!

"Look at me go!!! Wheeee!"

"Oh, I love my cup... if only I could get the juice to come out!"
"Sissy and Mama got me these cool snapping beads. They are fun to suck on!"
"No one thought I could crawl at first, but I can!"
"I'm such a smiley baby!"
"Sissy thinks I am so beautiful! I mean how can you not! Look at my face..."
"I missed Ge Ge today! He went to school, but I greeted him happily when he came home!"

AnnaClaire keeps us BUSY! She is so sweet and gets cuter everyday. Isn't she just GORGEOUS? She LOVES to be in her Ergo!!! She goes and gets it and brings it to Mom!! It's so cute! It is also adorable when she is eating toast or crackers. She likes to eat it while walking around, which just kills Maggie who wants AnnaClaire's food. Well, AnnaClaire has learned to hold her arm way up so Maggie can't reach her food (or atleast AnnaClaire thinks Maggie can't reach it!) Then AC will run to someone to be picked up so she can finish "in peace". It is darling!!!!! We tried her in the swing again and she loved it... at first. We think she is a little scared of it because it is hung REALLY high. Dad is going to work on lowering it and maybe she'll feel more secure. She also LOVES her horsie and can "make it go". My thoughts of yesterday were so true.. it is so hard to do school with my ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE one year old sister around! Mom had to take her on a really long stroller ride so I could get school done! hehe... Lets see... We danced to her music awhile and she likes to hold both hands and move around so it really is dancing... too cute! She still loves her hairbrush and as you can see... WE MADE HUGE BOW PROGRESS! Mrs. Martin, you should be proud! She wore it almost the entire day and only took it out a few times (but I snuck it back in soon after!) It's really cute when she takes it out (although sad too!) because she doesn't think she can put it down, so she holds it out to you and puts it in your hand. Too cute! She loves to be out and about! Today we went to Harris Teeter and through the Chickfila drive thru. Even if we are just in the car, she just loves being out of the house! So, she loves her carseat since that means we are going somewhere! It's really cute because whenever she is in her carseat, she does all her tricks, starting with blowing raspberries. Then she goes to kissy noises, "ba", waving, smiling, laughing, clapping, "so big", her finger "aboaboabo"ing her mouth, and ending in her famous raspberries. (gee thanks, Elizabeth for teaching her that-- just kidding.) It was a good, happy day and congrats to all who recieved referrals today! And to Jaya's family... congrats on FINALLY getting TA! (132 days) My mom told me right when you posted it to the yahoo group, and I was (and still am) so excited for you guys! Can't wait to follow your trip!!!!

Our AnnaClaire

I went to the mall with my friends, Elizabeth and Sadie, today (I told you, I'm a shopper!) So I wasn't home much with AnnaClaire, but boy is it a nice feeling (alothough annoying!) to be woken up to the sound of squeaky shoes! That is how I was woken up this morning :). AnnaClaire is really a hoot! She is especially funny when she just plops her feet up and down to hear her shoes squeak! She's a funnnnnnny baby! When I got home she was very happy to see me :) yay. I am a little disappointed because we went back to our nightly swim schedule today which means I don't get home until 9... meaning AnnaClaire is already asleep! I really enjoy play and bathtime at night, but I guess I'll just have to enjoy it on the weekends now! It is nice to be on our normal schedule now though! School starts back tomorrow... Gosh, I love Christmas break! It's been a long one... getting back from China on the day it started meaning I missed a while month! But I guess school isn't so bad (just kidding, Mom.) Although I think I might have a little distraction now... I mean, she's just so cute and sweet, how could she NOT distract me?

On another note, DID YOU SEE BOISE STATE LAST NIGHT? Okay.. so I am a huge college football girl and I have to go on about that win. That was amazing!!! The Rose Bowl was a disappointment compared to this (well it was anyway). I didn't just want Boise State because every Texas fan hates Oklahoma, but how can you not want the big underdog, underrated, deserving more talk, fairy tale team to win! So... YAY Boise State! (Although the blue field bugs me so much... atleast they weren't playing on it :)) Anyway, what a win with a 7 second left 4th and 18 throw that was caught 4 yards shy of the 1st down and lateraled and ended up being a TD to tie it (BSU) and go into overtime after giving up all hope when throwing an interception (BSU) returned for a TD with 1:02 to go (OU). (Gosh, that was quite a run on sentence! Sorry if it didn't make sense!) And then to go for the 2 pt conversion and make it in OT to win the game! (BSU) Risky... but it paid off! What a game! Yeah, BSU! I might be a fan of that blue turf team next year (not like a all time fan like I am with Texas. Just a "cheer for them everytime they play any team but Texas" fan!)

That's it for now, I better go to sleep!

What a difference a family makes

(below, left) before... Oct, 2006. Chenzhou SWI (below, right) after... Jan, 2007. Home!

Pretty in frogs!

"Like my pretty "beaded necklace? Sissy, Caroline and I made it!"

"I know I'm just so cute with my toast." I'm not even kidding.. she stacked those by herself!
Ohhh happy girl with her door!
"I LOVE to dance with my sissy!"

New Years was a lot of fun. You saw the pictures, they explain it all. Well, happy 2007! Today was a really fun day. Caroline stayed over all day and we had fun keeping AnnaClaire occupied. We set up AC's rocking horse and she liked it. She also loves her little stacking rings and door. Really, she loves any toy you give her! She also liked the new plastic beads (see picture) that we got her. She has fun playing with those. She really is a sweet thing! We went on a stroller ride and dog walk and it was fun. AnnaClaire enjoyed herself! She LOVES the stroller! She's asleep now and we are watching the Rose Bowl... Oh she also LOVES the Baby Einstein "Playdate Fun" c.d. We played it in the cd player and danced along... boy you should've seen her SMILE! She really wants to open the baby gates and go down the stairs.. uh NO, sweet girl! She is also incredibly smart! Mom and her were cooking dinner and Mom said, "how many cups of chili powder?" And then said "One!" And AnnaClaire held up 1 finger!!!!!!!!!! She's just smart and sweet and cute and adorable and everything we could've asked for... and more!

Pictures on cameras- AnnaClaire

Aww...

PLOP!
So big!
Walking to her nanny
I'm so glad to see her holding the lambie we sent!

In her crib... so forlorn
this explains why she loves her xylophone!
Playing ball
And... no wonder she likes her wagon push toy...

eating congee

more of the push toy
a smile!!!!!!!!!!
sitting with a rattle
riding the horsie

here are the pictures of AnnaClaire from the orphanage. And you know? It doesn't even look like her! I mean, I know it is her... it's her face, her hair, her eyes and all, but it just doesn't look like HER! What a difference a family makes. She looks so sad in all the pictures (execept the one with the smile.) She now is always smiling, laughing, cooing... It makes me sad she had to be in this place. As nice as the orphanage was.. it's an orphanage. It is pretty dated and it is, well, an orphanage. (don't get me wrong, it was a very good orphanage!) I love that she rode the rocking horse, played the xylophone, and seemed to have a favorite push toy. Those are 3 things she has here and really likes. I love that she was given her lamb we sent her. I love that she obviously got all this 1 on 1 time (since there are no other babies in most of the pictures.) Did you notice the split pants??? I'm glad she now has clothes fit for a princess and thick diapers like all babies should have :)

Pictures on cameras- orphanage

I think AnnaClaire's room was the 2nd window in the middle.

something?
I'm pretty sure this is her name on her crib.
Playroom...
another room.

Here are some pictures of the orphanage that were not on our website. (these were on the cameras we got back.)

HAPPY 2007!!!!!!!!!!!

just over a minute to go.. the ball is about to drop!

And it's now 2007!!!!!!!

I hope your New Years Eve was safe and fun! Have a great 2007! As you can see, Caroline and I made our own awesome party hats to wear for the celebration! Good times. Happy 07! More later!