Mmm ...mmm... good!

How about a nice wet kiss, Mom?











Hmmm ... let me strike a pose for this one.

This is just too much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

Favorite Photo Friday

As our second anniversary of Gotcha Day approaches, I thought it was fitting to post Hannah’s referral photos for Favorite Photo Friday. These are probably my most favorite photos of all, as they are the first pictures of Hannah that I saw. I thought she was so beautiful from the first moment I saw her picture.

The “Finding Ad” in the local newspaper stated that when Hannah was found she had an "apple face, light skin, and little hair." According to the ad, she was wrapped in a black apron. There was no note or keepsake with her. The information we received about Hannah (named XiaoLi) when our referral came stated that she "showed her willing" (yes, she is very strong-willed!), got very excited when she saw the food (still does!), and liked to imitate others. That's our Hannah Li!

Making Hannah Proud

Lately, we’ve been telling Hannah that “we’re so proud” of her when she does something special (like sleep in her bed all night.) So, today, I was vacuuming and she kept shouting something to me. Well, I finally figured it out …she was saying “so proud of you Mom”! Not only did she say it once, but she followed me around the house repeating it over and over again! I guess I can’t complain about not being appreciated …

Hannah the Explorer

Well, I hate to disappoint Dora, but I’m not sure Hannah can qualify as an explorer just yet. Hannah had a great time helping her daddy build her new Dora Jeep (thanks Grandma & Grandpa), but when it came to driving it, she never made it out of the garage! These photos were taken the day we put the Jeep together. The next day, after the battery had been charged, we went outside --- all three of us very excited for Hannah to drive her new Jeep --- and when Hannah stepped on the gas and the Jeep jerked forward, she got scared and didn’t want to drive it anymore. If only I were three years old again ---- I would have loved to take it out for a spin! Oh well, I’m sure Hannah will be ready to go off-roading in no time ….

The Many Faces of Hannah

Lately, Hannah likes to practice her “happy,” “sad,” and “angry” looks. Out of the blue she’ll say “happy” and show me a big smile, then she’ll say “sad” and give me a pouty face, and finally, she’ll say “angry” (actually she pronounces it “angy”) and then clench her fists and teeth and shake her whole body! Boy, she’s really got that “angy” thing down!

It's Spring! Time to plant some flowers ...

Do you have any extra dough?

On Friday night, after we spent a lot of dough placing an order for some new granite countertops, we went to a local restaurant and the waiter brought out a ball of pizza dough for Hannah to play with. What a great idea! It wasn’t the kind of extra dough we were hoping for, but, hey, Hannah loved it. You can see that she had her fists clenched as tight as can be and was pounding like a pro! This girl must have a little Italian in her.

Favorite Photo Friday (another picture from our China trip)

Okay, are these Dads smiling because they’ve recently become proud new papas of these beautiful little girls or because they’ve just dined at their favorite restaurant in Changsha? I CHOOSE to believe it’s the former. Seriously, although we very rarely eat at McDonald’s here at home, it was a welcome site in Changsha. In all the years I’ve been married to Steve, the only time I saw him eat a Big Mac was when we were in China. After a “chopped chicken” dinner in Beijing (a whole chicken, with head and all), he was ready for a Big Mac. I must admit, the McDonald’s food tasted good that night.

Soul Patrol

I don’t know if there are any American Idol fans out there, but Steve and I watch it every week. This year, our neighbor even set up a pool where we had to pick the top ten in the order we thought they would finish (once it was narrowed down to the top 20). I don’t know if either of us will win, but we’re certainly ahead of the folks who picked Sabrina to win the whole thing and who picked Antonella to be in the top ten! It’s kind of fun when you have a stake in the outcome. Of course, I’ve never actually called and voted for anyone and I don’t intend to this year. As you can see, Hannah was a fan of Taylor Hicks!

Wordless Wednesday

Life lesson number 328 …

Always remember to have brownie or muffin mix in the pantry. I say this because it seems to be the quickest way to bring Hannah back to her normal self after an unexplained overreaction to something (otherwise known as a “meltdown”). I learned this lesson last summer when Hannah looked out the window and saw her Daddy get into a Metro car, which whisked him off to the airport to commute to his new job in Chicago. (The picture I’ve posted was taken that night.) Well, we had a “meltdown moment” last weekend, and upon the slightest hint of her being receptive to something, I suggested that we bake corn muffins. It worked! I really don’t blame her, though --- baking something sweet always makes me feel better. Now, of course, I have to get to the store as fast as I can because there’s only one box of Jiffy corn muffin mix left!

Just finish the sentence, sir

I saw this on my friend Nikki's blog and decided to play along ...

1. When I was five... I loved celery, but hated all other vegetables.
2. March sure is... looooong.
3. When I think of pepperoni... I think of pizza, which I LOVE!
4. I don't think I will... ever feel completely at home in this world, but I look forward to that day in Heaven when God says “welcome home” and it all makes sense.
5. Yesterday I heard... the “Wonder Pets” theme song again …and again…and again.
6. Cowboy boots... remind me of when I lived in Fort Worth, Texas, while attending undergraduate school.
7. If I were a tree... I would tell Al Gore to stop hugging me.
8. Computers will never... be a fixture in my mother-in-law’s house.
9. The problem with toast is... it smells better than it tastes.
10. If I could, I would definitely... have New Jersey pizza delivered to my home in Illinois at least once a week.

Favorite Photo Friday (Nikki, I apologize for stealing your idea!)

With Hannah around, I have quite a few “favorite” photos, so it was hard to pick just one for the first week. I decided to post a photo taken during our trip to China. This was taken during our tour of a home in the countryside while we were in the Hunan Province. Although the living conditions for a typical peasant family in the countryside are very, very primitive, the family who lived in this home seemed very proud to have a few visitors (as goofing looking as we were!).

“Say Cheese”

At the age of 42 I made my first trip to Chuck E. Cheese a few weeks ago. A playgroup that we joined after we moved to Chicago hosted a play date there one Saturday morning. Personally, at age 3 I would have been terrified of “Chuck,” but Hannah seemed to love him. Who knows, maybe we’ll make another trip there in the next 40 years or so!

Year of the Pig

This is a photo taken a couple of weeks ago at an event we attended celebrating the Chinese New Year holiday (I believe this is the biggest holiday celebrated in China). The event was sponsored by Families with Children from China (FCC) and was held in Chinatown in downtown Chicago. You’ll notice that Hannah is wearing a pretty velvet jumper. Quite lovely, right?? Well, what you don’t see is that she is the ONLY one NOT wearing a Chinese inspired outfit! There must have been 100 little girls running around wearing beautiful Chinese dresses. What was I thinking?! The only Chinese dresses I have for Hannah are those that I bought while we were in China, and they are too small for her now. Oh well, I think she looked darn cute in her velvet jumper! Maybe next year ….

Here we go!

Okay, I've been thinking about it, talking about it, wondering when I would finally stop procrastinating about it, and, today, I finally decided to do it --- start a blog. A simple blog about my life with our sweet little one, Hannah (who, right now, is sitting next to me and singing "la la la" with an ear piercing tone --- in between her hiccups, of course). Just a typical day ....