Miscellaneous Pics

Of course, I always have to add my few cute miscellaneous pictures. As I have mentioned, she is the busiest little thing we have ever seen. She never stops and is so much fun. She is still trying to walk on her own. She has done a few steps on her own very consistently, but hasn't totally taken off yet. She pushes her little cart really fast though, and gets such a kick out of herself. It's so funny. She is so in love with Tia, it just warms my heart. Every morning, she is awake before Tia, so when we hear Tia in her bedroom, we head in. Rosie gets a great big smile and says "Sissy!" and is so excited. Tia loves waking up to her, too. They love on each other while I sit and watch with a smile.

She is continuing to be very vocal and always making sounds, just not a lot of new words yet, but I'm sure it's coming. Soon she will walking and talking and then we're in real trouble! :-))  I went into our storage and found a bunch of Tia's hats that she used to wear. We are having fun putting them on Rosie. She doesn't like them quite like Tia did, but she does put up with most of them. So dang cute!

Tia's a 4H'er!

Tia has been wanting to join 4H for a while, so I looked into it and they suggested we start this fall. So, we have been to 2 meetings and she loves it. Everyone has been so welcoming and nice! She chose her two "projects" and they are cake decorating and fashion wear. Right up her alley! The big event for the year, besides the fruit sales,  is the 4H Family Fun Night. It was this weekend and we really did have fun. Tia and I helped decorate for it on Friday night. Our group's booth was "Gobbler Golf", which was really cute. Last night, was the big event. Tia and I volunteered to work the booth for a while in the beginning, so she had a great time doing that with her new 4H friends. I mostly visited with the other moms. :-))  The booth next to ours was giving away live fish, so they had a long line all night, whereas our booth was not quite as busy, but it stayed steady at least. After our shift was complete, we were able to go around and enjoy the rest of the event. There were lots of different booths with games, face painting, etc. They were selling food, homemade pies and even playing BINGO. Mike rallied with Rosie for about 2 hours and then decided to get her home and to bed. Mom and Dad were really enjoying the Bingo, so we all stayed and they brought us home. Mom and Dad won about 5 times and really had a good time. Tia hooked up with her sweet friend Maddie from school and they had a ball running around together. It was such a fun night!

Adoption Celebration

November is National Adoption Month, so there was a big celebration at one of the local churches. A lot of families were "finalizing" their adoptions at the celebration. Our paperwork wasn't quite ready, so we were there just to celebrate, not to officially finalize. What that means is that Rosie will have a US birth certificate, just like we did for Tia. It was a special day for so many families. And we were happy to be there with our Rosie -- finally! When I think back to how I was feeling one year ago, I am still in awe that we have her. Each day, Mike and I look at her and can't believe it. She is such a gift and she was revealed to us in God's perfect timing. He is so amazing!!

LPA Gathering

There was a LPA gathering at the Reef indoor water park and we had a wonderful time. We were able to meet a family from Bozeman with two kids. Jackson who is in the 2nd grade and was born with dwarfism, and his sister Miriam who is Rosie's age and average size. They were such a neat family and it was fun getting to know them all throughout the day. There was another gal there that we hadn't met before, who lives in Billings, and another family that we had met this summer. We are so happy about the people that we have met and the connections that we've made since bringing Rosie home. It's very special, just like all of our friendships that have been created from us adopting from China. On the way to the water park, we were talking about how fun the day would be and Tia said, "I am so happy that Rosie is "little" because we get to meet all these new friends!" I was so touched to hear her say that. We feel the exact same way. She has been a blessing in so many ways!

Rosie meets Denver!

As a birthday gift for Tia, Rhonda sent a ticket for the girls and I to go to Denver. They were dying to meet Rosie and the boys and Tia always have a great time. Scott was going to be out of town, so it was just Rhonda, me and the kiddos. Wow! That was way busier than we could've imagined! Not so much the older ones, but mostly just our sweet Rosie.

 Rhonda for sure had forgotten how busy a baby is, and even though I am fully aware of how busy she is, it was still a bit of a shock to me, too. Just the eating, napping, etc. for a little one, as opposed to the simpleness of the now 6 and 8-year olds. We still had a total blast, though. The kids had so much fun playing together and Rosie kept right up with them. We went to the Aquarium and of course, Tia was beside herself. The boys hadn't been there in a while, so they were super excited, too. It was great! Afterwards, we stayed downtown for a fun lunch. Or should I say fun for the kids, funny for me and Rhonda. It was kind-of a rodeo with Rosie. She did NOT want to stay in the high chair, so I wrestled with her for most of the lunch, but did manage to enjoy, or kind-of enjoy, one beer. :-))  After lunch we hit the candy shop and the kids got fancy caramel apples and Rhonda and I indulged as well. On Sunday, we took a nice long walk to a park and we all had a great time. The weather was beautiful! As always, Rhonda and I had a LOT of laughs and just an overall wonderful time together with our kids. It's so neat for us to share being Moms together. It was a very special time.

Miscellaneous Pics

Here are a few pictures that I think are just fun. They show a bit of a "day in the life" of Rosie. Going through the cupboards with her pants on her head, "making cookies" with the bandana on her head, etc., etc. She is SO busy!! She is non-stop and so much fun. In the last week, she has started to take a few steps on her own. She will stand up, get her balance, and then "go".............and then fall. But she is so tickled with herself and of course, we all clap and "whoop and holler" each time, too. It's coming very soon, I'm sure. Then I'll really be busy! It's just so much fun to see her learn things and change and grow. She is such a special little peanut. We couldn't love her more.

Special day for Tia!

Today, Tia made her First Reconciliation. It was such a special day. They had a very nice service for it and she was so excited for the experience of it all. I took her to the priest and introduced her and then I stepped away. She came back with a big smile and was so happy. Afterwards, Mom and Dad took her to lunch and to Hastings to read and shop a bit. She loves it there! Mike and I came home because we had gotten a sitter to stay with Rosie. There's no way she would've made it through the 2 hours, plus it was her nap time. I have to say it was nice to not be distracted and be able to really share in the special-ness of the day for Tia. Mom said she was so sweet when they were at lunch, she told the lady taking their order that she was so happy because she had just made her First Reconciliation. Then she told Mom later that she was just full of joy because she no longer had all of her sins. Sweet thing. It really meant a lot to her. All day and night she kept saying how good she felt and how happy she was. We are so proud of her. She definitely pushes me to my limit at times (which was my confession!) but when she's good, she's just a little dear. God bless her sweet soul. We couldn't have been given a greater gift!

Grama's Birthday

As most of you know, my mom was very sick for a long time just recently. She had a very serious virus and was in the hospital for a full week. When she got home, she was still very sick and weak. She is finally coming around and we are all so grateful. She was not herself at all and we missed her. She is now getting out more and feeling pretty good. Her "spunk" is back, so we know that is a good sign. :-))  But we did keep her birthday pretty low-key this year. She wanted to start the day with Mass, so we did that. Rosie was actually pretty good for the service. Mom let her go through her purse and she found a tube of lipstick that kept her occupied for most of the Mass. She and Dad went for a "goodie" afterwards, but I had to come home with Rosie for her nap. We did meet them for lunch a bit later, though. After school, the girls and I went over with a few little gifts and some fresh pumpkin bread that I had made. It was a sweet day and we were all just so happy to have her healthy and happy again. We didn't get any pictures that I am able to post. Rosie would not sit still and either Mom or Tia had their eyes closed in the others. Oh well, we have the memories in our hearts! We love you, Mom/Grama!

Halloween Fun!

It seemed like we celebrated Halloween for a loooong time this year. And you will probably feel that way by the end of this post, too. First of all, Tia was invited to a birthday party that was also a Halloween party, so she dressed as a Mermaid for that one. They played lots of games, did crafts and had a pumpkin scavenger hunt. It sounded like a lot of fun. Then, the following weekend, her school put on a "Trunk or Treating" night. This is where people decorate their cars and park all around a big parking lot, which was our church. Then, the kids go around to all the vehicles and get their treats. It was a new idea for us and we really thought it was fun. Once they were finished "trunk or treating", they went inside the school for hot chocolate,, cookies, popcorn and a Halloween movie. The night was a lot of fun. Rosie was in the stroller dressed as a puppy and seemed to enjoy it, too. Tia was a Vampire Princess that night.

The day before Halloween was just a half-day at the school, so the kids were able to dress up and they had a party in class all morning. Tia was a Mermaid again for that. She wanted me to dress up Rosie, so I did and she was able to pose for a picture with the school secretary. On the actual day of Halloween, Tia did not have school, so the girls and I went downtown to trick-or-treat. It was a pretty nice day and Tia got lots of candy. It was fun. Then on Halloween night, she was back to the Vampire outfit (again!) and Rosie was still a puppy for a fun night at the Lee's. Mike and I dressed in "Cowboy gear". They had lots of people, food and fun at their house and we all had a great time. We ventured out to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood, which was full of kiddos running around in their costumes. We had our "puppy" in a wagon and she enjoyed it for a bit, until she got chilly and tired. I went back with her and Mike and Tia continued on. It was a great night! We are all still nibbling on the gallon-size back of candy in the pantry, so I think it was a successful Halloween for all. :-))

Cheer Camp

First of all, I am so sorry for not posting in a while - I was having trouble getting into the blog. But I have it all figured out now (Thank you, Tamra!) and I'm back in the game.

Tia took a little Cheer Camp at Central High School and had such a fun time. They practiced for two days after school, and on the third night they performed at half-time of the Central Rams football game. The excitement level was out of control! The whole first half of the game, all the girls were running around and skipping and jumping.................they never stopped moving, they were so excited to perform. It was pretty darn sweet. They all did a great job and more importantly, just had a lot of real good "girlie fun". Enjoy!