Happy Birthday, China Sisters

Happy 7th Birthday to Hannah and her China sisters!!!

150 days!!!!!

It is so hard to believe that Emily has been with us for 150 days. On one hand it seems like it has been longer because she fits in with our family so well-on the other hand, it seems like just yesterday I was feeding her with that bottle of thick Chinese formula and congee. We had our follow along appointment for our homestudy last weekend, which got me to looking at the pictures we took while in China. I was amazed at how Emily has changed in this 150 days. She has so quickly changed from a "baby":

to a "toddler":

to a "little "big" girl".

What a gift God has given us with this child.

Summer Days

I know this is not my best picture but I had to show off this picture as it is the very FIRST time Emily snuggled up and fell asleep in my arms. Boy-did I soak up that moment!!!

So let me ask you-What do you do when it is 98 degrees outside? We decided to stay in the air conditioning and can 52 quarts of green beans!!! Thanks to Mom and Bob (my big brother) for picking and bringing us the nice beans-we will think of you whenever we "pop" a jar open this winter. And thanks to Marie (my wonderful neighbor friend) for helping me snap the beans and teaching me to use her pressure canner to get the beans done this weekend. All I have to say is-BRING ON THE TOMATOS!!!

Hannah was helping snap beans while watching the Hannah Montana marathon on Disney channel. She snapped a couple, ate a couple, snapped a couple, ate a couple.... You get the idea. No lunch for Hannah that day.

Emily also was "helping" by sorting out the jar rings.

Emily saw the stack of jars and said "ewwwwwwwwww" !!!! I think we may be a future canner.

Our tribute to Elvis!!! Actually this is how Emily woke up after her nap. I think this may be a picture to show her boyfrriend when she is 16!!!

More Updates

*It has been 2300 days since we held Hannah for the first time!!!

-HANNAH finished her first session of pre-team (gymnastics). She continues to really love it so we signed her up for another session. Her coaches say she is doing very well and should be ready to compete next summer if she continues to work hard.

-We started an email address for her to help with her reading and spelling. I am not sure that was such a great idea as now she wants a mini-laptop for her birthday!!! But she is really loving reading the emails coming to her-it just takes a long time to answer and return them, so be patient, she is getting to you!!!

-She is getting one of her permanent teeth in-and she has not lost one of her baby teeth yet. We were waiting to see if the permanent tooth loosens the baby tooth, but it does not look good.

-She starts school August 12 so she is enjoying what is left of summer. She did find out her best friend, Sydney, is in her class this year so she is very excited about that. 2nd grade, can you believe it?

Hannah wanted her pictures taken of her in her bedroom to show off her comforter she bought from saving up her allowance. At least it was not another Nintendo DS game or Barbie doll!!!

It has been 130 days since we held Emily the first time!!!

-EMILY has learned a couple words this week. "Why" and "Hey". What fun the week has been with these words!!!

-She is holding still with her weight at this time. We think she is cutting some new teeth as she has been having a low fever, diarhea, and not eating much. Oh yeah, and drooling. So this is not helping with gaining weight. We are not real sure how many pounds the doctor wants her to gain for her surgery but we are sure we are not close yet.

-We all went to the Firefighters' Blues Festival and I wish I had taken the camera because Emily was so dog-gone cute. She was dancing to every song there was. She was really enjoying herself. Snuffy held her up on his shoulders and she just danced away up there for everyone to see. Words can not describe how totally adorable she was. Next time I will have a camera, I promise!!!

-We took Emily to the beauty shop for her first official haircut but she had an absolute 2-year old fit. I do not know how else to put it, really. She was screaming and refused to sit down. She was crying so hard she hair was wet. So, we gave up on that. I did manage to get her bangs trimmed at home after her bath tonight. I do not guarantee that they are straight but the hair is out of her eyes. It seems like all of a sudden I am cutting her fingernails and toenails every week and her hair is growing very fast as well. It must be from the good food/nutrition she is eating instead of the bottle she was receiving in China.

This next picture is for those of you who are amazed by Hannah's triple jointed body. The picture looks like she is just holding herself up on the couch and keeping her behind off the floor, but after looking at it closer, Hannah's arms/elbows are backwards with her bottom in the air.

Take a look at this next picture

Saturday, July 18, we went to Forrest Park in Noblesville, Indiana. Our adoption agency, FTIA, held their annual picnic for adoptive families. At this picnic Emily's travel group met for the first time since traveling and returning from China. It was nice to see the families again and it was amazing to see the children again as they all have changed in so many ways. Even Hannah had fun playing with the kids in Emily's group-especially Hannah G, who Hannah is telling everyone is her new best friend!!! We are very fortunate to have 2 very special travel groups that I think, or at least hope, will be part of our lives forever. It is hard to describe the feelings you get from having a close travel group. In adoption there is always some type of heartache, whether it be from the incredible hoops we cross to get there, the long wait we have to make a child a part of our family, and/or the story each child brings home with them. It is a bond we develop as we support each other through a very emotional period of our lives as well as the celebrations we share as a family. It is a thread, of sorts, that is woven through us that keeps us connected.

Our Weekend

We went to the 4-H County Fair for a couple hours this past weekend. Hannah had sign up and completed a Pom-Pom Mouse project and we rode a few rides while we were there. Emily absolutely loved the car ride. I say that ride in particular because for for some reason this was the only ride she could ride on for her height. It is just a reminder of just how small she is at 2 1/2. I wish I had remembered my camera as it would have made a cute picture of Hannah teaching Emily to steer her car with the steering wheel, even though it automatically only went around and around in a circle. Hannah seemed to be in the middle as she was too big for the kiddie rides but still afraid to ride the bigger rides-which was really fine with me. After the fair we went to our favorite pizza place (Starlight Pizza). Other than this I am sad that Hannah will be starting school on Aug 12 as I have gotten used to the extra hour of sleep in the morning!!! And it seems like we will be spending a paycheck on school clothes and shoes as she has outgrown everything this summer. Here are a few pictures from our week.
We found a hat that we bought for Hannah when she was around 3 years old. I thought it would be nice for Emily to wear while playing in the sandbox in the sun, but it turns out she will only keep it on for a matter of seconds. Just like her sister. And they look so adorable in hats too.

Spaghetti Night!!! Remember the Disney movie of the dogs that would eat the piece of spaghetti and when they got to the middle they would end up kissing? That's our kids!!! And don't tell them-but it got them to eat a few more bites after they said they were done.
Sister Squeeze!!! They may have their moments of sibling rivalry and jealousy but at the end of the day-sisters seem to always prevail.

This weekend we are getting together with some of Emily's adoption group. Watch for pictures next week-these are amazing kids!!!

100 Days!!!

Can you believe we have had our daughter Emily for 100 days? 100 days since she was placed in our arms for the first time. WHAT A DREAM COME TRUE!!!

And since we are counting-it has been 2270 days since Hannah was placed in my arms. LIFE IS GOOD!!!

We recently got together with Hannah's travel group and went camping. Hannah calls them her China sisters. We have been very fortunate to have 2 great travel groups and hope to stay close with both groups. Hannah's group has been getting together 2 times a year. The girls seem to see each other and just take off playing as if they get together every day. So here is a picture of Hannah's China sisters; Abrianna, Kacie, Lilly, Mary Catherine, and Violet with siblings Annalise, Kassidy and Emily.

OTHER NEWS SINCE OUR LAST POST:

*Hannah tried out and made her gymnastics team (Yeah, Hannah-Great job!!!) So now she has practice on Monday and Wednesdays. And thanks to Violet (Hannah's China sister), Hannah has been working on the very quiet hand game called "Cat's Cradle". She has just figured out how to do the "Cat's Whiskers". We love ya, Violet-This one is for you!!!

*EMILY has taken off with her talking. Too bad we can not understand most of it!!! She really is speaking in complete sentences-either Chinese or jibberish-we are not sure. We continue to wait to see if she can have her tougue surgery in December. The only way we can get it earlier at this point is if she has trouble eating/swallowing, stops gaining weight, or loses weight. And she seems to have gained yet another pound (according to our scale). At 2 1/2 years old she has grown out of the size 3 month pants and is now wearing size 6 months for her pants!!!