----- Saturday's Surprise -----

After breakfast this morning I announced to Emma and Sophie that I had a *surprise* in store for them. I guess that was kind of mean because the *surprise* was a visit to the zoo...which is nothing special to them. I just wanted to present our morning plans to them in a more enticing manner hoping to make it all the more fun. When we arrived Emma asked "Where is the 'prize Mom"? Ha-Ha. :)

It was a bit cool (although it reached 60 by the time that we left!!) & we were incredibly lucky that it was not crowded. Emma had an easier time holding herself together. We had a very nice time and even caught the elephant show!

My Baby is Three!!!

Yesterday was Sophie's 3rd Birthday. We celebrated her first two birthday's with her on the other side of the ocean...it felt good to finally have her home and be able to celebrate with her! So, what did we do? Surely it was a huge event? Uh, no. We had a quiet "party" at home...just the 4 of us. Both Emma and Sophie had a grand time. Sophie LOVED being the center of attention as you can see by the pictures below. :)

Chuck E Cheese

Okay, the subject line pretty much sums it up. If you are envisioning dry pizza, happy children and some dude who strongly resembles Coolio playing a video game then you can pretty much imagine what Sophie's Birthday Party at Chuck E Cheese was like. :)

It was Greg's idea... and a good one. Sophie does not turn 3 until November 19th, but we decided to celebrate it the weekend before. She had NO IDEA what was going on, but in true Sophie fashion she went with the flow. She was just thrilled that she was able to eat the cupcakes that she chose at the store...the ones that she sat on minutes before her party guests arrived. :O

We all had fun & we are so thankful that all of our wonderful friends joined us!!

SISTERS

*Emma & Sophie have grown VERY close with one another.


*They play. They blame one another for things. They cheer each other on.


*They are SISTERS in the true sense of the word. :)




EMMA & SOPHIE POSING FOR THE LENS. SOPHIE WAS TRYING TO LIFT HER FOOT UP LIKE EMMA & SHE FELL OVER. SHE WAS NOT HURT....AT ALL...BUT WAS FIGHTING BACK TEARS IN THIS PICTURE. :-)
AREN'T THEY TOO PRECIOUS?!

EMMA PUTS HER OWN PJS ON EVERY NIGHT. SOPHIE GETS HERSELF UNDRESSED EVERY NIGHT, BUT I NORMALLY HELP HER PUT HER PJS ON. LAST NIGHT EMMA BEAT ME TO IT...SHE EVEN DID THE DIAPER. :p

CRAFT & PLAY

Yesterday Sophie & I visited Emma's classroom for "CRAFT & PLAY". We did a craft project together and then....we played! Hence the title. ;) We had a nice time and it is always a good experience to see Emma in her element and chat with her teachers. I did not really capture any good pictures since Emma and Sophie were too preoccupied to pose!!

Two Years Ago Today

I KNEW that we had a second daughter in China.

REALLY....I DID.

And, two years ago today I met her in a picture.

Just ask Greg, he can attest to my INSTANCE about this...I blubbered in his weary ears many a nights about this around late 2006-early 2007.

We had wanted to use Emma's adoption agency to find our second child. THEY thought that our second child was in Columbia or Vietnam. THEY were instant. And, rude about it.

Uh, yeah...sorry. *I* knew where our second child was. C-H-I-N-A. Period. God was telling me every TIME that I asked, it was loud and CLEAR.

The feeling was SO STRONG...I had only felt this way ONE time before. In 2004 when we began our adoption process to adopt Emma. :)

A Mother knows these things.

Before I found Sophie I had looked at a LOT of pictures. Very cute picture of Special Needs children available for adoption. I had been looking mostly at boys...boys with Cleft Lip and/or Palate. But, I did not have *the pull*. We had found one adorable little guy that we DID petition for...but, he was meant to be with another family.

Just months later I found Sophie. It was SO EASY. I found her on November 8, 2007-what would have been my Nana's 118Th Birthday. I loved my Nana so much that I KNEW it was a sign. When I locked eyes with Sophie on the screen there was something SO FAMILIAR about her, I was SO RELIEVED to have finally found her. I even said to her picture "It's about time...there you are"!

I thought that she looked a bit like my sister circa 1978...no, Molly is not Asian. ;)

The very next day we committed to adopt Yangxi Zi Ye...soon to be known as Sophia Grace. Sophie's big sister Emma had ear tubes put in that very morning. On the way home from the hospital I told Greg that we HAD to call Sophie's adoption agency. There must have been an unusual urgency to my voice because he called Sophie's adoption agency that morning as soon as we got home from the hospital. :)

It took a LONG time to finally bring Sophie home. Too long. I will not go into detail, suffice to say that the employees at USCIS do NOT give a damn about children waiting for their families. We missed her first two birthdays.

Now Sophie has been home with us for almost 8 months. :) She is a wonderful little girl who makes us all VERY HAPPY. She is just so sweet.

I LOVE YOU SOPHIE.