Wardrobe results

Mommy went on another shoe hunt to no avail. She did find some great tights to wear with my new dress and the shoes that I was on the fence over. Check out the final product (plus a family picture taken at the party by a coworker):

One of this week's new talents....when Mama or Dada says "may I have a kiss?"....this is what we get? Someone is a happy girl...

A sneak peek at our Boo Summer Collection......(beware: Mommy photographer)

Personally, I don't know that a bucket hat has ever looked so good.

Take My Poll!

**Poll now closed!

Help a girl out....I have a party to attend and I have this great new dress but no shoes to wear with it. Mommy doesn't love these shoes with this so she may need some encouragement (or discouragement). Take my poll to the right and let me know! (The party is tomorrow night...I know, I know....very last minute)












Do you think Nabisco needs a model for their delicious multi-grain Wheat Thins?

I even come with my own chapstick! (right hand)

Quick update - I had my one year checkup today with my doctor. Of course, I have a glowing report and if I could quote my doc, I got "an A+". Developmentally, I am doing everything I am suppose to be doing at this age and then some. My weight is still average and I went from being a pretty tall 10 & 11 month old to an average 12 month old in height. Here I thought I was going to take after my Daddy and be the first Asian center in the WNBA (forgive me if there already is/was one.....I'm guessing here).

The teachers at preschool say that I am doing great and I fit right in with my class. When I got there today, they had a cubby made for me with my name on it and a hook for my jacket. They play a lot of music and sing songs and I stand there and dance for everyone.

Some of My Many Talents

(in no particular order)

Walking
Crawling
Dance
Clap
Point

Wave

Blow kisses
Pinch things between thumb and forefinger

Feeding self
Drink from sippy cup by herself

Blow raspberries
Sing - la la la
Sign for 'more'
Climb stairs (of course, with M or D closely behind)
Splashing in water (any water we can find - the dog bowl, the bathtub, a puddle)
Shakes head no when she doesn't want something
Tear paper

Resting foot on the table during snack time (very ladylike)

Words I can say:

mama
dada
puppy (ah-pah)
duck (up)
all done
banana (a-nana)

All animals are ah-pahs except ducks are ups. All fruit that comes from our kitchen table fruit bowl are a-nanas. Somedays, we are both mama.

We have yet to find a food we don't like and we are officially off of formula. At preschool, they only take an afternoon nap so we are working on cutting out the morning nap. So far, so good.

We can spread our toys from room to room and open every cabinet door and drawer. We can lay on the dogs, pull their ears and sometimes pet them nicely. We put fingerprints all over every window and door we can touch. Cell phones, telephones, remotes and laptops are our favorites. Don't try and give us some play remote because we are on to your little game. If we can't make the TV louder or turn it to a non-existing channel, forget it. If we can't press 45 numbers on the phone while it is turned on, we are not satisfied. The pillows do not belong on the couch and the kitchen chair cushions certainly don't belong on the chairs.

The bathtub is still a personal fav. The playground is fun with the swings topping the list. We swing pretty high for our 20lb self and laugh and clap the whole way. We sleep through the night for the most part. Our wake ups are so short or infrequent that Mommy & Daddy can't remember whether they got up to put us back to sleep or not. Or maybe Mommy is just too passed out from our shenanigans during the day to even hear Daddy get up to check on us.

We are starting to show an interest in books. We used to close every book and now we can thumb through the pages of some shorter ones. We like to study things. We like to touch them, shake them and drop them.

If you need someone to clear your coffee table off in the time it takes you to grab a soda from the fridge, unfold all of your laundry while you get the next load or pull every last wipe from the wipe container in a matter of seconds, call us, we have the girl for you.

Don't you dare think you are going to eat something without giving us a sample. I don't care what it is - I want it. Do you know how good Valentine's caramel chocolates and Little Caesars breadsticks are? We still have a really well balanced diet and a bottomless pit of a stomach. We are still wearing 9-12 month clothes so it has yet to catch up to us.

Our absolute favorite....all of the smiles and laughter from our little girl. She is the joy and light of our lives.

Our Little Movie Star

Check out one of my favorite birthday presents - my first pair of shades! If you look close enough, you can see all four of my toofies with this smile.

Thanks, JJ&C!

Tomorrow, Mommy is going to preschool with me so that I can meet my teachers and my new friends. The mornings are quite busy and we are going to try and get there in time for playing outside and the art activity before lunch.

Mommy needs to find me a lunchbox this week. I get my very own cubbie for all of my things. Mommy may need to consider picking up Stella Bear's twin sister for naptime at preschool.

Cousin Colton Comes to Town

Auntie Jill, Uncle Josh & Cousin Colton came to visit me and we had a great time!

Colton helped Mommy decorate Valentine's Day cupcakes. They were good!

We went to a children's museum and played with all kinds of fun stuff. Colton and I played in the water with some rubber duckies and sailboats. I love the water.

Mommy put an apron on me and I went grocery shopping in the big kitchen.

There was a dress up station. Look at me in a tutu...

Kids and Mommies writing on the chalkboard. I was wearing an Indian dress.

Check out Colton driving a big bus...

Where's the fire?

Uncle Josh reads great stories. He even adds sound effects.

Auntie Jill, Mommy & Me...

We miss you guys already...xxxooo!

(Daddy was here too...as usual, he was the resident photographer)

Brag Time

China requires three post placement reports after you adopt one of their children. A social worker comes to your house to observe your child, ask questions and to ensure the child is safe and healthy in their new home.

We had our first post placement meeting this weekend. She was amazed at how well adjusted Bella is to her new home. She said that Bella was 15-16 months old developmentally and she just couldn't get over what a loving and happy child Bella is. I believe the words "perfect" and "brilliant" were used as well.

Okay, you can go gag now

First Birthday Party

We are so lucky to have so many great friends and family who came to celebrate our daughter's first birthday. We have tons of pictures, so picking just a couple to post is tough.

We want to thank everyone for coming and for all of the wonderful birthday presents. We also want to especially thank Grandma & Grandpa C for their help in bringing sodas, juice, fruit and veggies for our party. They were a great help, as always!

It was already dark out when it came time to blow out the candles. Our friend, Elizabeth, was nice enough to tape us singing Happy Birthday to Bella and blowing out her candle. It is a little dark just because our living room was not very bright at that point of the day.

We have enjoyed sharing pictures and videos with ya'll. Before long, we are going to have to start deleting some older pictures as we will eventually exceed our free blog space.

Happy Chinese New Year

Welcome Year of the Rat!

Check me out in my Chinese dress today:

Here I am in my dress in China just two short months ago:
http://littlemissbella.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html#4003434395984437309

Do I look any older or wiser?

Fun Fun, Look Who's One!

Do they make more beautiful one year olds? Not in this house!

Has someone learned how to pose? And yes, to our midwestern audience, it is February. Eat your hearts out! :)

After our cupcake, we practiced walking. We took 13 steps unassisted. (She had many 8-10 step walks, but 13 was the record without falling) Maybe it was the bolt of sugar in her system?

Although, she did take about 6 steps from the chair to the back door today while Mommy was on the phone. A big deal considering that she decided her mode of transportation from A to B instead of Mommy or Daddy encouraging her to walk to them.

Not too sure what to make of a candle...I think we are going to hold off on the Chinese birthday candle we got in Guangzhou until she is older and knows how to work a fire extinguisher.

YUM!

Tonight was a warm up to the real birthday fun this weekend. Stay tuned!

If you didn't notice, the birthday ticker switched from moving towards 1 to heading towards 2. Our baby is a little girl. We knew her birthday would come up on us quick considering we just got her two months ago...but wow...2? It's like being 29 all over again and seeing the big 3-0 staring you in the face. Okay, maybe not that bad. ;0

Me Lovin' The Great Weather

eyein' up the Goldfish bag...

outside with Daddy before Super Bowl

30 Years Old...

...Mommy & Daddy? Ha - they wish. Actually...it's Mommy's table and chairs from when she was a little girl. Her Grandma Rita & Grandpa Art gave it to her for her birthday. Mommy pulled it out of the attic today so that me and some of my friends can sit at it during my birthday party! I also thought maybe Colton and I could sit and have lunch together next week when he comes to visit.

I wasn't really sure what to make of it. My feet barely reached the end of the seat.

Who Needs Toys...

...when you can entertain yourself underneath the dining room table?

Not so fun once you get yourself trapped to the point of no return....and yes, she did all of this herself.....Mommy was lucky enough to get it on film. If you can't tell by this last picture....she is sitting on the rung of the chair like a swing.....I about died laughing.....as you can see, she didn't think it was too funny.

Operation Lil' Sis?

As we celebrate our two month anniversary of becoming parents, we feel we are old pros... and need more of a challenge.

Actually, #2 has been in our thoughts for a long time now. Neither of us are getting any younger, right?

China requires you to wait one year from your adoption date to jump in line again. It takes a few months for us to get our paperwork together so we are thinking we will get started late summer. We figure since China's wait times don't seem to be getting any shorter, we need to at least get our spot in line. The way the current trend for healthy referrals are going, Bella could easily be heading to kindergarten before she becomes a big sis. That being said, no one knows our fate so we hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Our agency and other agencies have recently said that China may be okay with interim adoptions or births during the long wait. That being sad, who knows what kind of trouble we may get in while we wait for our next China doll - Ruby Kate.