Mattie Day!!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a long time - I've been sick for a couple of months; but seem to be getting better so, finally I can post during Mattie's nap instead of laying down! Yay!

For our 1 year anniversary/family day/ gotcha day, we went to a chinese buffet with some of our family.

Here's some photos from the celebration...

She LOVES noodles...

and balloons...



And right after this picture she fell and bumped her head:(...

But it looks like a present made her feel better...

When we ask Mattie to smile for the camera, this is the sweet face we get...

There is not one bit of stinker in her - LOL!

We had a great time celebrating - it's hard to believe it's been a whole year!

I love you my sweet Mattie girl...I love you more than I ever dreamed I could...and I dreamed I would love you more than the air I breathe. God has blessed us beyond words.

1st Day At The Zoo!

We look at and talk about animals, in books, every day....several times a day. But this was our first time with real animals (other than our dogs).

What did she think of the zoo?

The first animal we saw was a Lion... Would you believe he was so close, AND HE ROARED!!!! Her eyes were huge and so were mine!!!I was really worried that we may need to leave after that!

These were her expressions each time we saw a new animal...

So, she was pretty serious and who could blame her after that huge roar!

But she did not seem scared, and after we looked at a 'new animal' for a couple of minutes there was LOTS of pointing...

...at the ducks...at Flamingos...I think she asking to pet the Flamingos here:)... ...at monkey's ...and I couldn't figure out what she was looking at here, but she wanted me to see it...so I smiled and nodded:)... As the day progressed she started clapping and even clapping for animals if they started running or came close to us...

Here we are, after we returned home... I think someone is tuckered out! It was really a great day and she loved seeing all the animals.

She went to sleep at 6:30pm, and I didn't hear a peep from her until 6am!

We have been visiting the zoo often, and she LOVES it!

A Very Special Day

We had the court hearing for Mattie's US Birth Certificate/US adoption finalization! We didn't think we would be able to get pictures - but we ran in to our friend Seth; he works at the court house and he went in to the hearing with us to take photos! We are thrilled to have pictures of our big day!

Here we are right before we went in to see the Judge...

(and I think Mattie is making her 'sign' for kitty cat. I brought books with us, and there was a cat on one of them)

It could probably go without saying, but I will anyway. The "red threads" and ladybugs seemed appropriate and were intentional!

Here's the Honerable Judge...To be certain there were no snafoo's, Matttie gave the Judge a sweet smile and threw him a big kiss...

This seemed to work well for her... the Judge was very nice and good with Mattie. She enjoyed her morning at the court house. He even gave her a Bear to take home! She loves it and plays with it often!

We're Official! Yay!

Mattie Draws Her 1st Picture

I have worked with Mattie on drawing and coloring, for quite awhile...I figure, ya can't start too soon. Bath Crayons helped her get the concept of drawing...then I purchased these crayons called "TaDoodles" Click Here For Crayola Store She LOVES them!!

and she's really into it.

Sorry some are a bit blurry; they are action shots!

FYI - I do have to watch her every second or she would put them in her mouth...

She definitely has the concept of drawing now.
So, here is the final result -

Mattie's 1st Picture...YAY!
And just for fun, I'll end the post with...

My sweet, sweet Mattie girl - I love being your mumma!

Guixi "Sisters" Then And Now...

Today marks our 8 month anniversary as a family, so this post seems very appropriate! Thanks for you patience while I put it together; it took some time to picture swap; I started working on it 4/7! Finally it's all done.

Sue and I met online, and emailed frequently, for over a year before we got our first photos of Mattie and Sophia. When referrals came in Aug. 07, we got pictures of our girls at the same time! If that wasn't exciting enough, our girls were both from Guixi, Jiangxi! So, we spent our trip in China, together. The above pic is of me and Sue, minutes before we held our girls for the first time...and proof that mom's that adopt also get the 'pregnant glow'!

Here we are at the Civil Affairs office (where it was at least 100 degrees!), the day they stamped our "Red Book", and the girls were officially our daughters...(and we still have that 'glow') Here we are in Guangzhou China, on the famous red couch at the White Swan... After we got home, Sue and I were exchanging photos and realized we had photos of the girls in the same, and similar, outfits!

Sophia at home...

Mattie at home...Our ladybug girls... And here's the Guixi "sisters" intently examining their Easter Eggs...
The girls sure do look different today!

Sophia showing off ALL her teeth...Mattie showing off ALL of her teeth... Sophia looking cute in her hat...Mattie looking cute in her hat...

One of these days we'll get the girls together for a photo shoot...the miles that seperate us won't keep us away from each other!