Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas card to you this year...Joy to the World, the Lord has come!

Two days later, Santa gave Lia a toy violin, one of her favorite presents.   "Put it under your chin, Lia".

"Good try...but not really".

Yay, Lia!

The Polar Express to the City

On the 22nd, Keith, Lia and I went down on the train to see Keith's sister's family in the city.  We saw the tree, and had lots of fun just being together!  Of course, Lia loved getting a ton of attention from her cousins! 

Lia is ready to fall asleep...

Surrounded by Christmas angels...

The boys...

The girls...

OK Lia, how did you do that?  She got the keys to the train and even was invited to blow the whistle. 

My Sugar Plum Fairy

...is exhausted after dancing in the living room to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.

Now think about it, why would a 2 year old be scared of very friendly, big fat man in a red suit?

It makes sense that Lia would be.  She hasn't seen him for a year...and now we see him everywhere. And Lia now loves to say, "no".  It's the perfect recipe for a meltdown at the Christmas Party coming up.  A photo with Santa???  I'm really hoping that we don't hear, "NO, NO, NO"!!!!!

We have a tradition of going to my hometown's church's Christmas Fair where my mom sold her baskets.  So last weekend, we shopped for gifts and ate the delicious chili that we've looked forward to for a whole year.  The baked goods are also so amazing.  Lia lucked out-while I was busy, daddy bought her a brownie lollipop after I had just shared a gingerbread cookie with her.  (Do you recognize the church?  Yes, it's where Keith and I got married).  

More of Santa a day later?  Lia's mind was probably full of questions; "Who is this guy, mommy? And why is he wherever we go?"  We took a trainride on a 1940's train, with 3 cars, and a really cute caboose.  Lia loved the trainride!!!!  We sat in an outside car.  

No need for words

Chopsticks in my boots...while Lia turns two.

Happy Birthday Little Lia!

While preparing for her party yesterday, I went to put on my cowboy boots and found chopsticks in them.   Earlier on, Lia mysteriously placed an orange somewhere and decided she wouldn't 'fess up.  It took a while, but I did finally find it.  (Oranges are a sign of good luck, and I was going to cut orange slices for the party.  But it wasn't going to be good luck if I didn't find that orange).  After I found the orange, she gave me a sweet smile.  Boy, has my life changed.  And I even now share my ice cream (read on!).

We've been celebrating for two days now...and Lia has been like a little Duracell bunny.  We had quite a blowout of a party for Lia yesterday and then we were up and running this morning.

Today we took Lia on the train, and went down to Chinatown.  She was beyond thrilled to be riding on the train.  Hop Lee's was really great and then we just had to have dessert at the Ice Cream Factory.  Lia decided that she liked my green tea ice cream more than daddy's mango ice cream.  It sure was fun to share with her.  We even took her to a playground. She couldn't get enough of going down the slide.

In the pumpkin patch with our little pumpkin

Yesterday we went pumpkin picking.  It was a bit cool and there was a little wind, reminding us that winter’s coming.   There was no hayride, but the farm had a lot of things to do; we ate donuts and drank apple cider, played a beanbag game and saw some farm animals.  Lia even sat on a horse.  All of our carousel rides just didn’t prepare her for a real horse moving.  No go...maybe next time.  While looking for the perfect pumpkin, Lia saw a nursery full of baby pumpkins.  She went crazy with excitement!  Within seconds, she choose the pumpkin that she wanted.
Look for the sandwich board; Lia cannot walk by anything that resembles a tunnel, thanks to her gymnastics class.  This nearly 2 year old barely fit through.  The sandwich board didn't seem to mind.
Lia will be 2 this Saturday!

My Little Shopper

Yesterday, we went up to the Brimfield Antiques Fair on their last day of the week. What fun we had!!!

Lia hunting down a bargain.

Lia hones in on the only baby dolls in the whole fair

"I think I could take care of them all".

"I can't walk by these babies without hugging them!"

Convincing daddy with the help of Lia's favorite doll Mei-mei.

Daddy giving the sled the eye over...

Lulu teaching Lia how to pet a dog.  Maybe Lia thought the dog was for sale.

Good try, Lia.  Sorry, no dog.  Not even a little one, not even a statue of a dog.  

P.S.  Lia and I ended up with 3 beautiful dresses (brand new).  She did get the really cute sled for the winter (bring it on, we're ready!).  She also got a baby doll (one of the one's that she hugged).  The vendor gave it to Lia to keep!  We can't wait for the May antique fair...

Today we're celebrating our First Gotcha Day!

This is the only video we have of Lia and I first meeting. It's when our eyes first met.  We had a difficult time posting in China, so now on the 1 year anniversary, here it is.  Grab your tissues!

It was around 11:00 a.m. and Lia was waiting in the lobby of the hotel.She just had a 3 hour drive from the countryside to the city of Nanchang.  She was pretty tired.   As we walked into the hotel lobby, I watched Lia and the assistant come down a beautiful staircase.   Keith was suddenly very busy with the director, signing necessary paperwork.

Forget the formalities! Here's my Lia!!!! I went right to her.  So you'll see the assistant trying to avoid me...I can't even describe the feeling I had, but it was almost like my heart exploded... in pure joy.  It was a huge blessing beyond what I ever dreamed of.  I couldn't wait to hold her.

Look for Lia giving me the once over (or should I say the twice over)!

Lia's accessories

Today, Lia did her usual routine of hiding behind the drapes. But this time, she was caught with all her accessories 

 holding her back from having more fun.

 

Did that stop my little thinker?

 Nope.  She took off the little loop that kept her balloons on her wrist, and then let the balloons be free.  But then she had no idea where her balloons went...

Then she saw them.  She was hysterically proud of herself.  

...Up to the ceiling!

A minute later, she walked into the kitchen, business as usual.

And ready for a new adventure.

P.S.Don't even ask how we got two free CVS balloons...that's another story!!!!!

Being a cool dog in the hot dog days of summer

Our pool...

no fancy fountains or shimmering nighttime lights,

just some water heating up in the sun,

an occasional butterfly flittering by,

and Lia clapping in excitement.

The Brimfield Antique Show

Nothing like looking at other people's  "stuff", I mean treasures.

We did find the Terracotta Warriors at Brimfield!!!!

(BTW;You must google this if you have no idea what I'm talking about).

...And we also found a very cute giraffe pull toy for Lia.

It became a joke since we had big plans of what we would find,

 but ended up buying Lia  the little giraffe from a seller who was very anxious to haggle. (I love to haggle, but it was too cheap of a price to even start to negotiate and too hot!!!).

Hard to believe, but this is the first time Lia is in a pool.
Last summer we were way too busy in China, and then way too busy adjusting when we came back last August.

Happy First Father's Day Keith!

"Being your little princess is a sweet and special thing,

'cause when it comes to hugs and fun,

Daddy you're the king!"

Keith got a Shutterfly book for Father's Day.  
It was loaded with a years worth of photos of Lia and Daddy.  
Honestly, I don't know how I kept it a secret; 
I was so excited about giving it to him!

Check out Lia's shirt!   Why put strawberries in a bucket???

Daddy's girl