The Chair

My dad emailed me this picture yesterday as a little birthday happy...what a neat surprise.  Thanks Dad!  I'm pretty sure I was close to 4 years old just like Ladybug.  That little chair has been around for quite awhile, as you can see.  :)




Enjoy your day,
Deana

Today's Birthday Girl

Wow! Two birthdays in a row in this household, look who it is today!!
 And now look at her now!

 


 Happy Birthday Deana!!

At 4 Years Old

Happy Birthday Ladybug !!

* Ladybug is very opinionated and knows exactly what she wants and when she wants it.

* I've also dubbed her as a "planner"...she does best when she knows the plan ahead of time.  The works especially well when you want her to wear something that has buttons.

* She stills hates any clothes with buttons.  Have you noticed all the cute clothes have buttons?

* Her favorite shows right now are Team Umizoomi and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

* She has many stuffed friends now that she takes turns sleeping with or taking to school and they are now getting names.  She also has an imaginary horse named Harvey who likes apples.  We have not figured out where he came from!

*  I have to mention our potty woes....she is wearing panties every day, which is great.  She wants to sleep in a pull up at night though and she doesn't want to poop in the potty.  She will seriously demand a pull up when she feels her need to go poop.  We suggest the potty, she declines, and she goes to get her own pull-up to put on by herself.  We've been telling her when she turns 4, we wouldn't have pull-ups anymore.  I'm considering hiding them...is this a bad idea?

* She loves to sing and it's crazy awesome how many songs she knows!

* Ladybug is getting into that stage where she likes to say no and not mind very well.  We are working on that as well as sharing.  She's had a couple of issues at school for not sharing with her friends.

* I've always considered her not to be a very snuggly child.  But in the last few months, she's been enjoying lots of snuggles and huggles.

* She's gotten out of bed on her own a total of 3 times now.  Progress!

* She's still a size 3T and a size 7 shoe.  Her height is 38 inches and she weighs 30 pounds.


p.s.  I've not done the monthly chair photo since October, gasp!  I've decided to just do it every 6 months.  Will you miss it?

The Photo Story

One of the chapters in the book Parenting your Internationally Adopted Child really spoke to me about having your child know their story and placing it somewhere that she can see it everyday.  They even recommend making laminated copies for her to carry around and to play with.  (I didn't go this far, but will if I see issues later on.)  

I've also had intentions to do this for quite some time...actually bought the frame over a year ago.  The time seemed right while we were redecorating Ladybug's room.  The first photo is of her in the orphanage and the second photo is of us at the Civil Affairs Office meeting her and her caregivers for the first time. 

She was playing in her room while I hung it up tonight, and didn't seem too interested in what I was working on.  After I finished, I did call her over and to show her the new picture and explained that they were pictures of her in China before she came to live with us.  Her comment was, "in China?"

She's not fully aware of her story, but as fast as time is flying by, we wanted to be proactive instead of reactive.  She will now see this little photo story every day, right above her new little nightstand.

Just Touch It

After having a $20 garage sale dresser in Ladybug's room for 3 whole years, we finally shopped for new bedroom furniture for her.  When I explained that she would also be getting a nightstand just like Mommy and Daddy's she immediately asked for a lamp that she could touch.  I had to laugh, we both have touch lamps and this girl is so observant!  Here we are at Home Depot picking up the new touch lamp.

Buggy says her little prayers every night and we always ask Jesus to "help us not be scared in the pretty purple room."  Her prayer has now been changed to "help us not be scared in the pretty purple room with the new furniture."

Love this girl,

Deana

Water Painting

Our favorite little Wednesday past-time is painting and making things with paper.  We've never been the ones to tell her to color in the lines, didn't want to hinder her creativity, but she's learned it from somewhere!

I'm also amazed that the things are all being colored the "correct" color.  This Ladybug is so smart.

What She Wore

A quick snap on our way to school this morning.  She is in a super good mood today!

Enjoy your day,
Deana

Chinese New Year 2013

We heard about the Chinese New Year celebration at the Crow Collection of Asian Art Museum just a couple of days ago and made some really quick plans to attend with our China Travel Friends last night.

It was soooo cold and most of the activities were outside.  I'm pretty sure we waited over an hour (in the cold) for the dragon dance parade to start.  The girls sat on the sidewalk eating snacks and then dancing and wiggling for that entire hour.  I was very surprised they didn't get bored and want to leave actually.  When the dragon parade finally started, they were still jumping, shaking, and now waving their red envelopes while screaming over and over for the dragon to come here.

I was so proud of Ladybug for not being scared of the dragon and popping her red envelope right into the dragon's mouth!  Ladybug is in the pink polka dots.

We hit the photo booth and then headed to Chili's for a little dinner snack.  Here's a picture of the girls playing on the chilies outside of the restaurant.  It was about 11 pm at this time and I'm surprised they were even still coherent.  I was exhausted by the time we finally got home at midnight.

Happy Valentine's Day

Mommy's Day

Ladybug knows that some days are mine and some are Daddy's.  Today was my day!  She wanted to dress up and put on a show for me.  We also spent some time outside blowing bubbles....and yes, we did get dressed for that. Hehe.  So fun!

I planned a project for her classmates' Valentines and had her help me with gluing on the little hearts.  She did really good but her attention span usually drops pretty quickly and about halfway through she was done.  That's okay, I finished them up and they are ready to take to school tomorrow.

Cocos Cakeballs

Do you need an idea for your sweetheart or special friend for Valentine's Day?  You have to check out cocoscakecalls!  Not only are they delicious, they are beautiful.  She will ship them anywhere for you or deliver around the metroplex...or just have a cakeball party and learn how to make your own!

It's not pasta, it's spaghetti

As stated by Ladybug during our lunch after church on Sunday.  She would also laugh hysterically after sucking those noodles down...every...single...time.

Party Time

Just a few pics of Buggy having fun at Abby's birthday party today.  When we were walking out to the truck to leave, she asked me, "Can we come back in a minute?"