Little Kids Hear All and Repeat Everything!

Lotus has been growing leaps and bounds with her speech, she is talking more and more. Her vocabulary has increased and does so each day. She really surprises me with some of the things she says and understands. Lotus most of the time is the great imitator, she imitates our actions and our words. This is where my story begins.....

As I was making dinner, Lotus was sitting at the table patiently waiting for her food as we were running late. We usually eat around 6 pm and it was already 7:30pm. As I was getting everything together, I realized I was burning the garlic bread. Something I do all too often, as I realized what had happened, I exclaimed, "Darn It!" (change the R to a M). And of course little Miss Lotus was listening and said clear as day, "Darn It!" (again change the R to a M). I was floored! I am pretty good about censoring myself and do not make a habit of cursing, this just slipped out! Kevin heard her and walked away smiling. I tried to not laugh, and told Lotus that mommy said a bad word and she was sorry. She should not repeat that word again.

Funny thing, we work and work on words and phrases. Lotus does well, not always clear, sometimes mumbles. Wouldn't you know it, this time she had no problems at all. She was clear as day and articulated the word with the exact feeling I used. Morale of the story, you just never know when your kids are listening.........just when you think it is safe to talk about Aunt Harriett's funny hat..........think again!

Lotus Visits Santa

Santa Photo Part 1

On Monday night we took Lotus to see Santa, only to find out there was a 2 1/2 hour wait. No kidding! We decided we would attempt to wait and see what happened. At 10:15 we were not paged, but went back to Santa's Chair to see what was happening. Yippee it was almost our turn. Lotus talked about Santa all the time, she knew who he was and looked excited to see him..........so we thought.........

When we got closer to Santa, Lotus completely lost it. And there was NO WAY we were going to get a photo with Santa. The ladies taking the photo wrote on the envelope and said we could come back tomorrow and try right away. As we left, Lotus gave Santa a HUG! Yes a HUG! Go figure.

Santa Photo Part 2

On Tuesday night I packed up the backpack and head to see Santa again with Lotus. She is in a relatively good mood, our chances are good. We get to the mall at 6 pm and wouldn't you know, they are at dinner. I know Santa needs to eat dinner but wouldn't 5 pm make sense when everyone else is eating dinner too? Yet, the mall wants you to shop for an hour while waiting for Santa. Lotus and I grab some food and head back at 7pm. The ladies let us in first, of course there were several people grumbling about us going first, if they only knew about Monday night. As soon as I pushed the stroller up to the camera, Lotus completely loses it again. She screams and cries, you would think she was being tortured. I am sure they heard her at the other end of the mall. We tried talking to Santa, nope not working. We tried to shake his hand, nope not working. Tried to have mommy sit near Santa, nope not working. We took 2 photos and they were horrible! Mommy wanted to try one more time, despite the nasty looks from the others waiting. We did a real quick drop on his lap and this is what we got:


And once the photo was done..........she HUGGED Santa again and said BYYYYEEE! Mommy was very confused.

Last year, we used the Santa photo for our Christmas cards and this year........well you will see in the mail..

Happy Holidays.

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Some Other Gotcha Day Celebrations

We stopped by Papa John's pizza that night and picked up a pizza in honor of the dinner we had the first night we spent with Lotus in our hotel room. Instead of going out to dinner that night we ordered Papa John's pizza and ate in our room. This will be a tradition every year until Lotus tells us to stop it is corny. I think we will get her photo by the sign every year too!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the unconditional love of my family.

It Only Takes a Second......

Last Thursday night Lotus and I were enjoying the night together. We had ate dinner, had a bath, made some cookies for daddy, and were just doing some things around the house before bed. It was supposed to be an early night since Lotus had school the next day and I had a huge presentation to give at work. I had called Lotus into her room to have her pick out her clothes for the next day. She didn't come right away, just as I was going to get her, I heard one of our dogs growl and snap, then Lotus screamed and came running out to me. At first I thought maybe he frightened her. I picked her up, checked her face, all was OK. Then she showed me her hand. One of our dogs had bit her hand, at first I could not tell how bad it was because of the amount of blood. I quickly wrapped her hand. And tried to call my brother-in-law (he is a nurse). I could barely dial the phone. He was on his way and then I called Kevin at work who was going to meet us at the hospital. Once we got to the hospital, they took us back right away. They looked at her hand, she needed to get the wound cleaned out (because dogs mouth are not as clean as everyone thinks) and get stitches. They needed to papoose her so she would not fight and move. I only wished I could take the pain away from her, that I could trade places with Lotus. Once she had her stitches, she started to calm down and then we waited for the antibiotics. Finally, it was home to bed after midnight. I share this story with you, to remind you, that dogs are dogs. They can be unpredictable. Lotus has been taught early on to not pull tails or ears and to pet nicely. She has always listened. Our dog has been great with her, very protective actually. If Kevin plays too rough with her, the dog would bark at him to say "Hey Stop It". Unfortunately, this time, from what I can gather, she tripped over a sleeping dog and he thought the other dog was going after him. I am grateful that her hand is doing well and she will be OK. I am sad one of our dogs needs to find a new home. Please be careful with your children and your pets.

One Year Ago Today! Hapy Gotcha Day Lotus!

One year ago today I woke up in our hotel room in Guangzhou China anxiously waiting to meet our daughter for the very first time after looking at her photo for 4 months. From the moment I first laid eyes on her photo, I knew I loved her. She was my daughter. Below is our Gotcha Day video, enjoy a flash back to a year ago today as we met our daughter for the first time.

What Has Lotus Been Up to Lately????

It has been a crazy few several weeks, I am not sure if I can remember all we have done lately!

On Spetember 27th, we celebrate the Harvest Moon Festival with the adoption group. It was a really nice outing. It started with a mother and daughter talking about their recent trip to China and their work in an orphanage. Afterwards there was games and crafts, and the older children performed the story of Ming Lo who moved a mountain. The evening would not have been complete without a buffet of chinese noodles, egg rolls, fried rice and fortune cookies! Lotus had a great time with all her friends.

The following weekend Lotus was able to hang out with her cousins Brendan and Tara (and her aunt sandy too) while mommy went to a Matilda Jane clothing party with the mothers from our local group. Kate hosted the party at her house, she was such a great hostess. The food and Matilda-tini's were awesome. At the party I also got to meet Lisa the newest member of the group. It was great to finally put a face (actually voice, seen photos, lol) with the name. The time went too quickly, I could have hung out all night just chatting with the girls.

This past weekend was full too! On Saturday Lotus had two birthday parties to attend. First Lotus, Kevin and I went to Jackson's 2nd birthday party. Jackson is one of Lotus' many cousins. It was cute to see Lotus running around and checking out the other kids. We enjoyed every one's company and really good food. The time was too short, it was time for Lotus to change into her princess dress and off to the next party. Daddy had to leave for work. He would have loved to see his princess in action at the party.

The princess party was for Maddie's 3rd birthday. Maddie is Mia's sister and is part of our local group. The party was alot of fun. Karen and Kevin were great hostess' and hosts, wonderful food and awesome company. At first Lotus was a bit shy, but she soon started running around with everyone. She had her first skittles from the Castle pinata. She was on such a sugar high, twirling around in her princess belle dress. Mommy and Lotus had a great time hanging with everyone.

So much so we decided to join some of the group the next day for apple picking at a local orchard on Sunday. I will fill you in on the apple picking and our dinner with friends later that night tomorrow. Plus the events of Monday deserves it own post. Stay tuned.

Talk to you later,

Deb

Three Little Words

我爱你
JE T'AIME
私は愛する
사랑해요
TE AMO
ICH LIEBE DICH
I LOVE YOU

These three little words Lotus said to me last night before bed. It was the sweetest three little words I have ever heard. Her daddy has been teaching her to say I Love You for the longest time, she has been saying it for the past couple of weeks in Lotus speak. However, last night she said it clear as day after I told her good night , I love you Lotus. She smiled and said I Love You. What a great feeling! I am still smiling today.

No More Tears! and Other Stuff!

Today when I dropped Lotus off at school, there were no tears, none, nada, zip! I was surprised! She went right to Molly and wanted nothing to do with Mommy anymore. I was happy but a bit sad, she didn't even care to say good bye to me. :( I think it helps that Lotus really likes Molly. School is going well for Lotus, she is learning alot, good and bad. She has picked up some sassy-ness from some of the older girls, lol. However, she is learning to talk more and play more with the other kids. When I pick her up, they always tell me she is very well behaved and she had a very good day. We must be doing something right. If she has to misbehave, I would rather it be with Mommy or Daddy and not school or someone else.

I have found out that our little girl is a Halloween fanatic! I cannot go near the Halloween aisles in the stores without spending alot of time there, which usually isn't enough time and tears do happen. She loves it all, the pumpkins, skeletons, and the big animated creepy ghouls, the creepier the better. Yesterday she insisted on wearing her Halloween black skirt with pumpkins on the edge and her Halloween shirt with the black cat. It was too cute. Of course I have pics to post later. Right now it looks like Halloween is her favorite holiday so far. Cannot wait to go Trick or Treating. Daddy bought her the most adorable Panda Bear costume last year right before we traveled to China. It has been packed away for a year and yes it does fit! Whew! It is going to be an exciting night.

Another surprise earlier in the week when we were playing in her play room. Lotus was getting very tired and I told her it was time for bed, time to clean up. She started putting her toys away, even started to put the pretend forks & spoons in the drawer and turned off the light above the sink on her pretend kitchen. We went downstairs, she wanted to put her bottle in the real refrigerator, then proceeded to her bedroom. This is where she took all her books off her bed, put them away, and then jumped into bed. She totally surprised me for her to do all this at her age! It looks like she is picking up mommy's organizational skills ( a bit ocd, lol). One thing I have noticed with Lotus is if she is really tired and had enough she will pretty much put herself to bed. Now if she gets past the point of over tired, watch out!

On a final note, last week Lotus did start speech therapy. So far she has had two sessions and is doing well. We were concerned because Lotus was learning words everyday, however, she was not moving forward as far as two words together, sentences, etc. She has been very frustrated since she cannot express her needs and wants, it becomes whining and grunting instead of trying to speak. Now that she will have speech therapy every week for an hour, she can catch up to her age level and Mommy and Daddy can learn a few things on how to help Lotus. She does still participate with s special instructor once a week to help put it all together. Both her special instructor and speech therapist do an excellent job and we are very glad they were selected to work with and teach Lotus.

More to come this weekend as we are attending the FCC's Harvest Moon Festival.

When Did this Happen?

When did a size 5 shoe stop fitting Lotus????? I double checked her shoes before Fall Clothes shopping and a few weeks ago she only needed sneakers! Today when getting her dressed for school, I couldn't squeeze her dainty feet into her black mary janes! Not to mention I realized last night that all her size 20 squeaky shoes do not fit her anymore. Our little girl is growing like a weed and no longer a baby, she is full blown toddler. The last I measured her she was almost 34 inches tall and almost 28 lbs. She has sprouted almost 6 inches and almost 8 lbs since China! I cannot believe she has grown so much right before our eyes.

Guess we will be shoe shopping tonight

Then

Now

One of My Favorite Photos

This photo was taken at a party over the summer. I would love to know what Lotus was so deep in thought about while hanging out in the pool. I really like how the camera captured the water drops on her face. This photo was invited to be part of a group on Flickr called A Nobel Life, the mission of this group is to change the world. To show that our differences as human beings makes us fit together much as the pieces of a puzzle. It is an interesting group and glad I was asked to be a part of it.

Enjoy your day!
Deb

Happy Birthday Lotus!

Two years ago today it was a cloudy, very warm day in Wuchuan, Guangdong.
Two years ago today a woman gave birth to a little baby girl.
Two years ago today a husband and wife over 8,000 miles away from China, had no idea how the birth of this little girl would impact their lives.

One year ago today it was a hazy, cloudy, very warm day in Wuchuan, Guangdong
One year ago today a little baby girl was celebrating her first birthday with her friends and nannies.
One year ago today a husband and wife over 8,000 miles away from China, celebrated their daugter's first birthday by sending a cake, birthday shirt and crown.

Today it is a warm day in Pennsylvania, USA
Today a little girl is celebrating her second birthday with her mommy and daddy and family and friends.
Today a husband and wife not 8,000 miles away, love their daughter very much and wish her the very best birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOTUS, MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS AND WISHES COME TRUE!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Happy First Birthday!


Happy Second Birthday!

Lotus' First Day of School

Kevin and I decided when Lotus turned 2 yrs old we would enroll her in school (daycare) two days a week so she could learn how to interact with other kids, learn from her peers, learn to socialize, and prepare her for preschool. We found a really nice school. It is clean, the staff is very nice, on my way to work, and Katie Min-Min goes there too! (The school was a reccomendation from Jen, Katie's mom). On the first day, Daddy and Mommy both took her to her new school. The first day went relatively well when dropping her off, no tears. Ha! I thought it was such an easy transition. Lotus fooled me, she has burst into tears every day since. It seems to be getting better. However, it tears my heart every time I drop her off and she cries. I have to run out and I feel like such a bad mommy. I know this is normal, but the tears really pull at my heart. The good news is about 5 minutes after I am gone, she stops crying and has a great day! She is always well behaved and goes with the flow, jumps right into the activities. I am sure this may change the older she gets! Enjoy the pics!



PS The artwork is a grandparents card they colored and pasted together on her second day. She also had school photos too! Will try to scan the school photo in so I can post it.

Last Few Weeks of August

I have not had much time to blog lately so here is a little catch up on our activities;

On Aug 16th, Lotus and I went to Brandi's (my nephew's girlfriend) college graduation party. It was at the AOH by our house. The party theme was all Hello Kitty. Lotus was in her glory, she also loved playing with her cousins. She had lots of fun with Rian and Bella, running around with balloons and dancing. We both had a great time. Thanks Brandi for including us in this momentous occasion.

On Aug 30th, Lotus and I stopped by Bella's 2nd Birthday party. Lotus had fun with her cousins and tried out the tampoline. We couldn't stay long since we had another party to go to at Robin and Chris' house. Lotus, Kevin, and I headed to their house for some BBQ and swimming. Lotus had fun in the pool with her daddy. The girl loves to swim!

On Aug 31st, Lotus, Kevin, and I attended my nephew Justin's grad party and my brother's annual Labor Day picnic. We enjoyed swimming in the pool, this time mommy joined Lotus and Daddy. It was a good time hanging out with the family. Lotus loves to hang out with the little kids.

On Labor Day we lounged around and started getting ready for Lotus 2nd Birthday party. It was a tiring weekend for sure.

Move Over Paris .......

...here comes Lotus!

Lotus' First Beach Trip! (Aug 18th)

A few Monday's ago Kevin, Lotus, and I took a trip to Point Pleasant Beach. We were not sure what to expect from Lotus since this was her first time on the beach. She definitely surprised us, she was fine with the sand, she was having fun digging and playing in the sand. Kevin took her down to the water, she was a bit apprehensive at first, then she really started digging the waves and water. She was getting very brave on her own and then it happened! A little wave knocked her down, salt water up the nose, sand in the hair, etc. After that she was pretty much done with the water. So we went back up to the blanket and played in the sand for a bit. Afterwards we went up to the boardwalk for lunch, which Lotus zonked out for about 30 minutes. We then walked the boards and checked out the Aquarium. We have a few picks of Lotus checking out a huge shark and other large fish. Then she spotted the seals! She absolutely loved the seals, she got to view them below and above the water level. She was sooooo exicted. It is the best feeling, seeing things for the first time through your child's eyes. Enjoy the photos from our trip.



Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Lotus Kisses the Sidewalk

A few weeks ago Lotus decided to kiss the sidewalk. It was not so pretty. I am not sure what happened as I was not watching her (neither was her daddy). Today her nose and lip look alot better, just a red mark where it is not tan anymore. Hopefully that will go away before her birthday party in a week! Thank you Jace for sharing your boo-boo too, Lotus appreciates to know she is not alone.

More Pics of Lotus

Hamming it up for the camera.



Lotus realizes she can swim in the tub!

A Daughter and Her Daddy

Here are some photos of Lotus and her daddy dancing at a party back in July. Lotus adores her daddy. And he so loves his daughter. I fall in love with Kevin all over again just watching them play together. The sparkle in his eyes when she yells with excitement "Daaaaaddddd!!!". She then runs to him with such enthusiasm and jumps in his arms. It is such a beautiful thing.

All Summer Long

More Fun with Lotus

Happenings

Mommy Went Out !

Mommy finally went out for the night! I had the pleasure of going to see Neil Diamond in concert. This is about the third or fourth time seeing him perform. He is fabulous in concert and it was a great time. I went with my brother-in-law (Jay) and his wife (Sandy)watched Lotus with their children, Brendan & Tara. Lotus had a great time with her cousins and they all went to a party for Tara's traveling soccer team. It was fun night for all. Bonus for mommy is Lotus stayed up late so she slept till 10 am on Sunday. I cannot remember sleeping that late in forever. It was much appreciated.

Deb

Lotus and Corn on the Cob!

This is truly an accomplishment for Lotus. Just nine months ago Lotus would only drink bottles. She would not let a spoon, food or anything for that matter near her mouth. Jump forward, today, there isn't anything she isn't willing to try. Now I did say try, if she doesn't like it she will spit it out like a pez dispenser. For the most part she likes unsual foods for kids, shrimp, lobster, crab, green peppers, onions, squash, pickles, cucumbers, etc. Now of course she does like french fries, bananas, pizza and hotdogs. I love her interest in different foods and we let her try anything and everything. We believe it is important to instill good eating habits early in life. Good job Lotus!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

To Our Daughter

Dear Lotus,

Just a short 9 months ago this past Tuesday you were placed in my arms for the very first time. What an amazing moment, one that we will cherish forever. We have watched you grow into a spunky toddler who is constantly full of surprises, quirkiness, love, and laughter. We see your strong determination to learn new things and sheer excitement when you master it. It gives us such joy to watch your interests develop and enjoy your favorite things. We are so impressed with how well you took to swimming, how much your coloring/drawing has improved, and how well your speech is progressing. Before we know it you will be carrying on some very interesting conversations with us. Everyday is something new! Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you and your accomplishments. We love you very much and feel so very blessed to have a daughter like you. We look forward to watching you grow and reaching your dreams! We know in our hearts you will go places.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

November 2007










July 2008

Lotus Sings Happy Birthday to Mommy

Yes, the cat is out of the bag, it was my birthday last Thursday and I turned another year older. My best birthday present did not happen on Thursday, it happened on Friday. When I was picking Lotus up at her cousin Bella's she started singing and Jessica (Bella's mommy) asked if she was singing Happy Birthday. I was like nah, I don't think so, it is probably Itsy Bitsy spider. Then I listened again, she was trying to sing Happy Birthday! She was doing pretty good too. It was a day late but she did it! It was the sweetest song I ever heard. Later when we caught up with daddy I found out later that he was working very hard teaching Lotus to sing Happy Birthday. He thought it was So Lotus for her to do it when he was not around. Thank you sweetie. You are both full of surprises! I never know what you two will do next.

Deb

Saber Takes a Bath w/Lotus(7/29/2008)

Our large half husky half chocolate lab decided to jump in the tub with Lotus the other night while Kevin was giving Lotus a bath. I couldn't believe my eyes. And Lotus could not believe that Saber was in the bath tub with her. She yelled DOOOOOGGGG! DOOOOGGGG! It was definitely a moment to remember.

Deb

Community Day (July 26th)

This past Saturday was Community Day in our town sponsored by the Fire Company. We decided to go because I read on the signs Pony Rides, so I thought cool Lotus can have her first Pony ride. It was a nice event, there was a flea market, live country band, rides and fair games, funnel cake and other such yummies. Lotus had alot of fun on the rides and the huge inflatable slides and moon bounce. The downside of the day was it was extremely HOT! We were melting. But Lotus was a trooper, she handled the heat no sweat. Of course Lotus won a spikey ball to add to her collection of balls. She also was given a fire chief hat and a pink bunny (to add to her stuffed animal collection.) Daddy also bought her a princess crown which she happily wore the rest of the day. It was great spending the day together.

Love,
Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Sunday Dinner with Friends

A few sunday's ago we had the pleasure of visiting our friends the Wen's, Hong and Charles, at their house. It was a nice evening, enjoyed good food and company . We found out that Lotus likes green peppers and onions, go figure! Of course the whole time Lotus was performing for everyone. Photos to come. Thank you Hong and Charles for a nice visit, your hospitality was very much appreciated.


Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

The Story of Poo-Poo!

About a month ago we got Lotus a potty seat to start training. Nothing major, we would have her sit on it before her bath, when waking up, no pressure, mostly introducing her to it. She has had 2 tinkles in the beginning, then nothing. She would get on get off get on , etc. So I bought her Clean Team wipes just for her, which she loved. Lately, when it looked like she was poo-poo-ing I would ask do you want to go on the potty. She would run in to the potty but it was always after the fact. Tonight after her bath, I asked if she wanted to sit on the potty. She was interested so we started out with her holding her box of Clean Team wipes to keep her on the seat. To keep her on longer I grabbed her bath book which has alot pics that she likes to read and tell me what everything is over and over again. She sat there for several minutes, reading her book. And low and behold, I heard a few plunks! Lotus had her first poopy on the potty! She jumped down, we looked in the toilet, clapped, and jumped up and down. Yipppppeeeee Lotus! Mommy and Daddy are so very proud of you!

I Have Been Tagged!

I was recently tagged by Trish who was in China last Nov adopting her daughter Izzy, when we were adopting our daughter Lotus. The rules of tagging is to list six words that describe me and tag five new people. Here are my six words;

Organized, everything needs to be organized! I hate clutter, when my house becomes cluttered it clutters my mind and I must organize and fix the clutter. My therapy is organizing a closet or cabinet. Everything needs a place, bins, baskets, oh my! Now of course with an almost 2 year old, I have had to learn to deal with some clutter. Hopefully this will rub off on Lotus.

Planner, there needs to be a plan! I need to know what time are we leaving, where are we going, what are we doing, etc. Not that we cannot deviate from the plan, I can be spontaneous (as a almost two year old will let me) and throw caution to the wind. I just prefer to be prepared. In my job I deal with project management on a daily basis, so I guess this has filtered to my home life. As long as I do not chart out our next vacation in excel we should be good. Although for our trip to China there were lots of spread sheets and lists!

Demanding, yes I can be! I hate to admit it. I do want things when I want them, not when people feel like getting around to it. I think impatient might be a better word! Sometimes I expect more from people since I expect so much from myself. My husband does a pretty good job of putting up with my impatience.

Humble (Modest), do not need the spotlight, do not want praise for random acts of kindness. I like to do the things I do because I want to do them, not for any notoriety or praise.

Loyal, very faithful to family and friends, through hard times and good times I will stand by you and support you. I believe a person's wealth is not measured by money or materialistic things but by who you are as a person and how you treat others.

Blessed, I am loved very much by my husband, daughter, and family. We live in a house filled with love; we tell each other and show each other everyday. I am thankful Kevin came into my life six years ago. We have created wonderful life together and have a very bright future ahead of us.

Whew, that was tough! Now for the next group of victims! I am tagging the following people;

• The Story of Us-Adreanna
• Room to Bloom-Michelle
• 6 Pages In Our Book-Ella
• A Play on Life-Kellyann
• Livin' La Vida Lia
• Katie Min Min

Hopefully you will play along!

Take care,

Deb

More Artistic Creations

Fun with Photo Editing!

Coming home from party, all hyped on dancing!


Our Princess in Training! She loves to be in her bathing suit and in the pool!

The Whitnic (July 20th)

This past Sunday we all attended the 2nd Annual Whitnic at our friends the Whitty's house. It was a great time and fun to see every from the group. Lotus had a great time in the pool and playing with Jace. I enjoyed some adult conversation and great food when not chasing after Lotus, after Kevin left for work. From this party Lotus learned from Taylor to float and kick with her swimmies on. Now Lotus does not want us to hold her hands, she wants to float by herself and check back with us. She won't let us go far, not that we would want to. Everytime we get together with the group, she learns something from the older girls. Enjoy the photos

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Another B-day Party (July 12th).............

Kevin, Lotus, and I attened Nicholas 21st Birthday & Graduation party on July 12th. This is such an amazing accomplishment for Nicholas, especially since he has CP, is deaf, developmentally delayed, and various other medical issues. Many thought he would not make this far and he proved everyone wrong! We were honored to be a part of his special day. Lotus had a great time, dancing like a maniac! She loves to dance......enjoy the photos.

Love,
Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Lotus Sleeps in Big Girl Bed on Monday Night !!!!!!! (July 7th)

We kept saying every week we needed to convert Lotus' crib to a toddler bed with half rail, especially since she was starting to climb and did get her knee stuck on day in her crib slats. We finally took the plunge and switched out her crib on a Monday night. Of course Lotus was interested in what Mommy was doing to her crib and kept coming up to me and checking things out. I had piled her sleep buddies (hello kitty, glo worm, a monkey, 2 baby dolls, turtle, bunny rabbit, 2 Kung Fu Panda Po's, and her little blankie) off to the side till I was done. Once I was finished Lotus went over to the pile and started putting them in her bed. It was such a cute moment. Then it was bed time, which went quite well. We did our ritual, lotion on face, read a book (sometimes twice), turn on her music, lay her down, pull up the blanket, and place a Po under each arm. Lotus gives multiple kisses and then it is lights off! She did GREAT her first night. Here are pics of this big milestone.

And now for the photos of the morning after:


And nap time:


Lotus is doing very well with the transiton to her big girl bed. There were a few issues with nap time since the room is not as dark as it is at night. I think after a few weeks we are turning a corner. Today she actually got up in bed herself and laid down with no fuss. She is growing up so fast. It is great to see how much she has learned and grown in just 8 1/2 months. I can only imagine what she will learn next.

Enjoy the pics!

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Happy Fourth of July!!!

At the last minute we ended up having a Fourth of July Picnic at our house with almost everyone in the family. The girls from next door came over to play with Lotus and her cousins. We had a great time, good food, and ended with some fire works next door. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos of the good time. It was a crazy day, at one point I was watching 8 kids. So photos was the last thing on my mind. The next day we did hang out at mom-mom's with everyone, including Sandy and Jay. It was a good and busy weekend! It was nice to spend time with everyone. I do have one photo of Lotus from the weekend.

Enjoy!

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

One Year Ago Today

A year ago today started out like any typical Monday. Hit the snooze on the alarm clock about five times and then pull myself out of bed and into the shower.

A year ago today started out like any typical Monday. We had been back from vacation for about a week and how I wished we were back on the cruise ship. Oh well, vacation cannot last forever, although one can dream. Before we left for vacation CCAI had received the latest waiting child list, I was hopeful but didn't want to invest too many emotions that our daughter was on this list. I couldn't do it to myself again. I was so sure she was on the last list and was so heart broken when all the referrals were out and she was not to be found. I talked to one of the WC ladies and she said maybe the next one, but most likely the one after that, it just depends on the children on the list. So I tried to not emotionally invest in maybes. Even though it was just a mere 16 months since we sent our application into the CCAI, I have been waiting to be a mother for the longest time. I was over the wait and couldn't stand to see another pregnant woman or go to another baby shower. Kevin was sure it was our turn this time, that our daughter was on this list. I for a change was skeptical one. But Kevin insisted we would get the call.

A year ago today, I went to work like any typical Monday. Traffic was light, as it was Fourth of July week, so I travelled rather quickly. At my desk with some coffee, check some emails and off to an all morning meeting. For some strange reason I decided to take my pager to the meeting, not knowing what was in store before the meeting was over. Amongst process maps and discussions, my pager goes off! It is a 911 page to call home, I jumped up, I thought something serious had happened! I ran back to my desk and quickly called home. Kevin answered the phone and told me I wouldn't believe what happened, "I came upstairs and the cats started a fire in the kitchen!" As I was trying to wrap my brain around the cats and a fire. He tells me "We got the call, we have a match!" I was speechless, I couldn't believe his words. When I called home I was not expecting this news, I did not expect to hear we got the call. Kevin told me she is 10 months old and told Pam to email her file to me. I quickly forwarded the email to him so we could look together. I waited what seemed a life time for the email to reach him. We looked at the same time and fell in love. She was our daughter! I called Pam (CCAI) and talked about Wu Chun Qiu and asked for her complete file to be FedEx to us. The excitement was over whelming. I ran back to my meeting and couldn't speak! One of my colleagues exclaimed, "You got the call" . The meeting was wrapping up so I went back to my desk to make some calls and forward her file to CHOP. I was on Cloud 9, 10, 11, and 12! My manager sent me home to celebrate with Kevin. I was grateful, my mind was spinning and I could not concentrate on work for sure. My drive home seemed to take forever! Once home, we shared our news with our closest family members! It was an amazing day.

A year ago today ended not so typical, a little baby girl in China found her way to us! And we were blessed with Lotus ChunQiu! She has added so much joy, happiness, and love to our lives. This day I will remember forever.

For those waiting for your referral call or waiting for TA, be patient, the wait is really worth it! I use to hate hearing that phrase while waiting, but everyone was right! The wait time fads away the moment your child is placed in your arms. I would get so upset every time we hit a road block along the way, I felt it was making our wait time longer and longer. I now believe these road blocks happened so Lotus would make her way to us. And when the time was right, she found us, the timing was perfect! We are the proud parents of such an amazing little girl who has changed our lives so much. We look forward to watching her grown up into a beautiful young woman, blossoming like a Lotus flower in the early morning, reaching her fullest potential.

Love,

Deb and Kevin

The first few photos of our daughter

Last Week and More (Party and Water Slide)

Lotus is blossoming more and more each day. She never ceases to amaze us, she is figuring out all sorts of things. And her personality is contagious, along with her laughter. Kevin is such a proud daddy, he smiles from ear to ear when his little girl laughs and especially when she gives him kisses. She is not so stingy with them anymore. Lotus has been talking and learning alot more words. She knows the difference between a car and truck. And Lotus has decided my name is Maaaaaw, I love it every time she says it. She does not know how happy it makes me feel inside. Won't be long before she is talking up a storm. Soon I can sense it!

This weekend we attended (Kevin, Lotus and me) our family friend Joann's 50th birthday party. We all had a great time! Lotus was shy at first but opened up in no time. She was dancing up a storm on the dance floor. She does have rhythm! She was acting like she was queen out there. At one point Lotus and I were on the dance floor by ourselves and she decided she did not want mommy on the floor so she pushed me to the edge and danced all around with mommy on the side line! She is something else. She definitely had fun. It was so nice to spend the afternoon with Joann and her family, we were honored we were a part of her celebration.


On Sunday Lotus and I had a fun-filled day. We ate pancakes for breakfast, some play time & Wonder Pets. Then after nap time we had lunch and then went swimming with Saber. We were having a good old time till it started to thunder. After we got out of the pool the thunder stopped and out came the sun! Go figure. We went inside for some arts and crafts, some stickers, coloring, and fake tattoos! Lotus also decided she wanted to sit at the table without her booster seat. She is growing up so fast. We went back outside and ran under the hose for a bit. Then our neighbors plugged in their water slide and invited Lotus over. Their little cousin Isabelle was over (she is 6 mos older than Lotus). Lotus was unsure of this huge water slide (it is one of those plug in blow-up water slides). Soon her fears went away and she was having fun on the slide and in the wading pool. Lotus adores the girls next door and they adore her. Lotus had fun with Isabelle too, someone her own size! Soon it was time for dinner, so back over the fence (mommy caught her pants, lol!)

After dinner, playtime and some Wonder Pets with Daddy and Mommy it was off to bed! Tomorrow we may be turning the crib into a little day bed! Lotus is learning how to climb! Stay tuned and enjoy the pics!

Love,
Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Triple Play Sunday

Lotus is such the social butterfly! Yesterday we had 3 events to attend and Lotus didn't skip a beat. First in the morning we met with 5 other families in the BCK Group to watch Kung Fu Panda and then have lunch at Sunny Gardens. Kevin was working that morning so he got to see Lotus go to her first movie. Kevin made sure the Huge Po Panda stand up was still in the lobby for all the girls to have their photo taken with him. They loved it. Lotus had a great time, she sat through the previews and the first 15 minutes of the movie. I have a few cute photos of her sitting in the chair eating popcorn. We left just as Po was eating peaches from the Tree of Hope (or something). We walked the mall till the movie was over and then met the group again, took photos in front of the giant PO Panda in the lobby. We had a great lunch at Sunny Gardens, Lotus loved the lo mien noodles and pork dumplings. After she was done eating she ran around with the big girls, she loves to hang out with the older kids. We made the trip back home, Lotus napped in the car for 40 mins. When we got home, tried to have Lotus take more of a nap and that was met with lots of screams. So we got changed for Mom-mom's and Bounce U. Refilled her back pack, picked up the gifts for later (and socks for Bounce U). Let the dog out and then off to Mom-Mom's where we caught up with daddy. We ate a light dinner with everyone and Lotus ran around with her cousins. Lotus wanted everything to do with her cousin Livie. She didn't want Livie to stop playing with her. In fact, when we left for the Bounce U party, Lotus had a fit when Livie tried to give her to me to put her in the car seat. Whew! Finally, all of us were off to Bounce U for Hailey and Allissa's party. The place is very cool. At first Lotus was a bit shy, mommy went into the bouncers with her and down the huge slides, while daddy took lots of pics. She started to warm up and running around with everyone. She even wanted Bill to take her down the huge slide, over and over and over again. Bill is Hailey and Allissa's dad , who Lotus has been a bit shy with since day one, she hides behind Kevin or I when he says hi to her. So this was a big! Hailey and Allissa played with her alot and so did their friends. It was really a great time. After playing in the bouncers and slides, we had pizza and cake. Lotus insisted on drinking her sprite from a cup like the big girls! I love it when she hangs with the older kids because she learns so much from them, she tries to do everything they do. Which I think is so awesome. She is growing up and catching up. Mommy and Daddy are so very proud. Will add photos later tonight of the Triple Play Sunday.

Love,
Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

A Little Out of Order-Check Old Posts

I have finally had a chance to update some drafts on the blog, you may have to check Old Posts to check them out. Photos from Memorial Day and Lotus swimming.


Deb

Father's Day Celebration

On Sunday, we had a Father's Day celebration for Kevin. Lotus and mommy made him breakfast sandwiches and coffee to start his day out right! During breakfast he opened his cards, a photo book of the past 7 months with Lotus (she did it all by herself with shutter fly, lol), and a lucky bamboo stalk. Lotus picked out the bamboo because on the stalk holder it had a panda on it. After breakfast we went swimming for a bit, then it was off for a nap (for Lotus). After nap time, we went swimming some more (and yard work) and waited for Kevin's two older sons to come over for dinner. Around 6 we had dinner with Ian, Eric, Lotus, Mom-Mom (Kev's mom), and Toni (Ian's gf). I made steak and potatoes on the grill. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Ian, Kevin, and Eric decided to play kick ball with a large exercise ball, till it got a bit crazy and Lotus so desperately wanted the ball. It was nice to have everyone together. Definitely a very happy celebration.

My husband, Kevin, has done an incredible job taking care of our daughter during the week while I am at work. He makes sure her every need is taken care of and then some. She not only has fun when they play together, but that she is also learning in everything they do. He does all of this with minimal sleep and he keeps going and going. I may not tell him all the time or as much as I should that I do appreciate him very much and everything he does for us. Lotus and I are very lucky to have Kevin in our lives. He is a wonderful husband and father (to all his kids!)

Love,

Deb and Lotus

I Absolutely Love this Song

...it reminds me to slow down and take time to treasure the moments with Lotus, Kevin, and my family. Please enjoy the video, you may need some tissues.

More Pool Fantastic! (June 10th)

Quick drink before jumping in the pool

ONE, TWO, THREE.......JUMP!

I wanna jump all day!

Ahhhh! This feels great! Daddy, where is my juice box?

Yummy, need some yogurt, re-energize for more jumping!

Four dips in the pool and now Lotus is jumping in and going under, she is a fish and has no fear! She has really amazed me with the pool. Lotus is full of surprises.

Love,

Deb, Kevin, & Lotus

Dinner with Jace and Family!

Lotus with her friend Jace. Kevin, Lotus, and I joined Jace and his family at Ming's for his family day celebration. This picture is so adorable!

Introduction to the swimming pool! (June 8th)

I wanna go back in mom!

I am having so much fun!

Lotus and Saber share a kiss!

I am not sure I like this pool?

Lotus absolutely loves the pool! Her first dip in was a shock but she quickly rebounded and was having fun splashing around! Check out the photos of our pool princess.

The Straw Story Continues (June 1, 2008)

Lotus has been doing great with the juice box and us helping. Drinking some on her own, not really holding the box. Well, this past Sunday (June 1st) we were in Target (no kidding) and I got her a hotdog and I had a soda. She wanted to put the straw in her mouth, so I let her. She was blowing bubbles in my soda. I kept telling her the other way and was showing her how to drink from the straw. An amazing thing happened, she started drinking and she took the cup from my hand and continued to drink! I was so happy (even though it was Pepsi she was drinking). Of course as we were shopping, I went over and picked up a Playtex straw cup. She has been using it ever since, she actually has two of them. Trying to wean of her bo-bot (as she calls it). She also does great if she has a juice box (in the holder of course, so it doens't shoot every where when she squeezes it). I just recently got her the drinkable yogurt and throw a straw in and she is good to go! I love it! My baby is becoming such a little girl!

Yippppeee! Yoo-Hoo and the Straw!

Lotus can and did drink from a straw yesterday! We have Yoo-Hoo in the juice type box and Lotus actually drank from the straw! Over the weekend it was Mommy squirting it in her mouth and Lotus running back for more. She started to not mind the straw in her mouth a few days ago but wasn't sure what to do with it. So with a little practice and the love of Yoo-Hoo, Lotus can do it. This may seem like a minor accomplishment to some, however, this is one step closer to saying bye-bye to Lotus' Bo-Bot, which is Lotus speak for her bottle. We may skip sippy cups and go right to cups and juice boxes. Great Job Lotus!

Love,
Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

PS Potty training to start soon!

Enjoy some Photos from Memorial Day!

Lotus with her cousin Tara

Rock Star Lotus

Yoo-Hoo sippy break with Daddy!

Playing catch with Tara and Uncle Jay

Hanging in my car, learning to drive.

Lotus explains the moon and the earth!

OMG! I am having way too much FUN!

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus