Go Pats!!

Well, today officially is Mia's first Patriots gameday! Daddy is so excited to be able to watch the games with his daughter! We hope Mia will love football as much as we do or the next several seasons will be torture for her : ) We also just got back from a trip to Grandma and Ji chan's house in Northern California which was a much needed getaway for all of us!! We just relaxed, ate, shopped, ate, played, ate.... you get the drift! Mia did great on the flights and could not have had more fun there! She still amazes us daily with how quickly she picks things up and how much she understands. She can say a few words like 'ball' 'night night' 'up' 'hi' and is still so friendly. Mia was greeting everyone waiting for our flight in Oakland like a hospitality hostess. She would walk up to them, cock her head to the side and say "HI!" then wait there until they responded. This is so out of Mommy's comfort zone, but I love her enthusiasm and independence. We were also able to meet her step-cousin Ella who is only 2 months old and adorable!! We are also quickly learning that with an outgoing child comes a very strong head : ) She is a determined, strong, alert and happy child who continues to bless us and everyone she touches!!

Mia turns One!!

Well, today, our little girl turned One! We still can hardly believe how quickly she is growing up! Mia is now walking most of the time and the most curious and observant child ever! She still only has two teeth and we are wondering 'where's the rest???'. She is talking a lot more (baby talk) and definitely getting good at pointing to show what she wants or where she wants to go. She not only points, but accompanies it with a loud yell or scream. Mia does not understand the concept of indoor voice but most people just smile or laugh (yes, most). Today I thought a lot about where she was one year ago on her "birth day" and how her birth mother must be thinking about her today. I truly hope her birth mother knows in her heart how much we love Mia and how we appreciate her unselfishness so that Mia could be with us forever. She is the greatest gift from God we could ever ask for and we are absolutely thankful everyday! People ask me all the time if I feel she has bonded. She is our daughter in every way. She knows we are Mommy and Daddy without question and we cannot imagine life without her, so I say "yes!".

Mia is a BUSY girl!!

Mia has been having a great time and keeping so busy! For Father's Day, Puppa and Uncle John came all the way from Massachusetts to meet Mia for the first time! We couldn't believe how quickly she became comfortable with both of them! Uncle John was teaching her wrestling moves, and Puppa was singing to her and making her laugh so hard! The physical distance of Kevin's family has never felt greater now that we have Mia. We wish everyone were closer so they can feel the joy she brings us every day! I guess we will have to make more trips : ) We are so thankful Puppa and Uncle John were here for Mia's baptism. It was such a special day for everyone and even Grandma and Ji chan came from up north! Mia did fantastic and looked like an angel in her dress. Mia's cousin Adam came all the way from Chicago too which just made the day perfect!
Mia is growing up sooo fast we can hardly keep up. She can crawl at lightning speed but now is standing up a lot and has taken a couple of steps. She will be walking SOON! Still only two teeth, but she is trying to talk a lot more and is able to bring us things we ask for (her kitty, her baby, etc). Mia is starting to give kisses, waves hi and bye and loves music (especially ABC's) Her first birthday is coming up and the time is flying by so fast I wish I could slow it down but we are trying to savor everything going on!

Our Little Girl Has 'Personality'!!

Well, everything is going well and Mia is showing her true personality! She is still the happiest baby ever, but now is more comfortable letting us know when she doesn't like something. Really Comfortable!! Our little girl is not shy at all and has great lungs!! She is having problems understanding "NO" and just smiles and laughs as if we're saying "good girl!!" She is crawling super fast and will be walking soon! She stands without holding on if she is playing with something that requires two hands and we don't bring attention to it : ) Mia is also starting to eat more table food. She still only has two teeth, but can chew small pieces of meat and has scrambled egg for breakfast. Oh, our girl is growing up so quickly! A lot of people comment on how big her feet are so maybe she will be tall! Around the appropriate groups of people, I say "maybe she is Yao Ming's child!" Let's see....what else? well, she hates her carseat, still fights sleep like crazy and is now the public greeter. Whenever she is in public, she waves at everyone and anyone! And she definitely knows Daddy! I say "where's Daddy?" and she will look around 'til she finds him and give her heart melting smile. Papa and Uncle John will be here soon and we can't wait to see her with them!! Mia and I also had our shower and were so blessed with great friends and gifts! Auntie Lynn and Auntie Jill did a GREAT job planning!!

First trip to Chuck E Cheese!

Well, it didn't take long for Mia to make her first trip to Chuck E Cheese! We took Luke, Grant and Cash and were so curious as to how she would react to all the stimulus, and she did great! Mia is more interested in the peope there than the rides and games. She enjoyed her first "rides", but mostly enjoyed people watching and trying to get people to look at her. She also loves spending time with her cousins! The bottom picture is Mia in her "1'st Red Sox hat" from Uncle Frank, Auntie Michelle, Stephen and Adam! She also received her first Patriots onesie, hat and booties! Mia is now officially 'ready' to accompany Daddy on the sofa! Funny enough, this hat stayed on a long time when she pulls all the other ones off immediately : )!

Mia continues to amaze, surprise, overjoy, and charm all of us every single day! She has been deemed very healthy by her doctor (after 5 shots and 4 vials of blood : ( ) and now has two bottom front teeth. We are so happy to be able to see so many "firsts" of hers! She is now pulling herself up, trying so hard to crawl and claps when we say "Yeah Mia!!" Our happy girl loves to go visiting and entertains everyone. Now, if we can only get her to understand that if she sleeps we promise she won't miss anything exciting!!! The great news, though is that bedtime is now 8-9pm.

Daddy has been awesome! He washes bottles, changes diapers, helps feed her and just cannot believe how we've been blessed with our gift from God! Ahhh this life is so good, I can't stand the thought of her growing up but yet cannot wait to see the wonderful woman we know she will grow up to be!

Life at home

Well, I know I have been lagging at posting since we've gotten home. We have been doing lots of visiting, adjusting to the time change and easing ourselves back into "real life". It was so nice to be in China and not have to worry about ANYTHING except Mia : )! We love introducing her to everyone, though. She has met some of her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, 2 grandpas and friends who have all been waiting so patiently (yeah right!) for her to come home. The resounding comment we get is "She looks exactly like you!!" I knew if the Chinese women thought we looked alike, we most likely do! We are still working on getting Mia adjusted to US time and she is almost there. She started by going to sleep at 5:30am and tonight fell asleep at 9:30pm. We always hold our breaths not knowing if she is out for the night, or just a short nap. Mia has already attended 2 of Grant's Little League games and loves being out and about. We are so proud of our little girl for being able to hold her own bottle now!! She has one brand new tooth coming in and oh my gosh is already growing up too fast!! It won't be long now before she starts to crawl and then walk. Mia already had a welcome party and is so lucky to have so many relatives who have shown her so much love!! She loves her younger cousins and Daddy has already enlisted their help to keep the boys away from her until she is 21 : ) Can't wait til she can meet the rest of the family. There could not be happier parents anywhere! Kevin says everyday that he knows she was a gift to us from God. It makes my heart happy to see him with his little girl! She already has him wrapped around her little finger!! That's all for now, but I promise I will keep posting!!

Farewell to China

This will be our final posting from China. Today we check out at 2:30pm and go to our swearing in ceremony promising to take good care of Mia and then we are off to the airport. Yesterday we spent more time walking around the island trying to soak the last bit of China in. We were both reflecting on our trip and before we left, we just wanted to get Mia and come right home. Now, though, we are so glad we were able to spend this time in her country and so much time with just the three of us in close quarters with nothing else to worry about but our new family. We believe this has been invaluable bonding time. A few things we have learned about Mia are; she has to look at everyone and everything around her and has big smiles for anyone who will look at her : ), she is a good eater and will eat pretty much anything (so far), she fights sleep furiously (I think it's because she's afraid she will miss something), her favorite greeting is "eh" (sometimes she uses it to check in and make sure she has your attention). Of course as new parents we find every one of these things the cutest we have ever seen, but truly we are the most blessed parents in the world to be Mia's mommy and daddy. We have also met so many wonderful people here, both adopting parents and locals. We have met quite a few families on their second adoption from China and they all have great insight. We will miss China but hope to be able to bring Mia back here some day to show her where she came from. So farewell from China we will see you soon!!