Another Little Glimpse

Thank you Carol (my blog buddy) who sent this to Ellen (Frannie's mommy). I "met" all of these little children when we got Ally. Frannie is second from Left and Ally is on the far right. No idea of who took it or when it was taken (obviously last summer). We laugh at Ally's little "NaturALLY JoJO" shirt, which she was wearing in several other pics. Maybe she loved that shirt like she loves her cupcakes now!

Who are you?

I am going to ask those of you who read my blog (whether you like it or not) to leave a comment and let me know who you are! Normally, I do not allow "anonymous" comments because of some "not-so-nice" occasional comments I got early on. I have temporarily disabled that, so that ANYONE (blogger or not) can comment.

SO, if you are visiting PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE leave a comment! Also, if I don't know you personally, let me know where you are and how you came across our blog - or how adoption has affected your lives! I can't wait to see -- even if you leave comments regularly, please say HI! These comments were so meaningful during our trip to get Ally - we looked forward to reading them everyday! Thanks again for sharing part of our little world...

Cupcakes!

I mentioned in a previous post that Ally loves cupcakes and coke. Well, she does love to occasionally have a drink of Coke (usually Diet Coke), but the cupcakes are not necessarily the kind you eat (although, she does like the cupcakes she has eaten - at least the icing). She has several outfits that have cupcakes on them. She calls them "clup-clup". She knows what drawer they are in in her dresser. She has even been known to pull her clup-clup pants and shirt out of the dirty clothes. Last night she even wore her clup-clup leggings OVER her zip up jammies! She has worn them to SS/Church the last 2 weeks. Luckily, the outfits (several coordinating pieces) are adorable and PINK, so I'm fine with it!

Today is our 2 year LID'verasry --- 2 years ago, our "wait" for Ally began (that was 5 months after our paperwork started). Just to put this into perspective, if we had not "found" our little Ally on our agency's WC list last May, we would STILL be waiting. So, to the families that shared our LID, or were close, our prayers and sympathies are with you. I would have never imagined that the wait would extend beyond one year, much less two years!

Even MORE Snow!

We had a beautiful afternoon of snow on Saturday! Big flakes, and lots of them. I took some pics/video early, so there wasn't much on the ground, but in the end, we had about 1.5 inches! Enough to cover the grass, tramp and pool cover! We had so much fun. Here is one pic of Ally bundled up in her snow suit - she kept her gloves on this time. Now it's Sunday night and most of it is gone, although it's still cold (20's). Of course, the big girls ran off to friends' houses for more fun in the snow!

Ally LOVES her bath (probably her very favorite thing in the world - next to Coke and cupcakes - another story), so Daddy the "hair stylist" struck again after she came in from the cold!

Snow FUN!!!

As we finished dinner tonight, we looked out into the back yard and what did we see? SNOW! Yes, really! Once a little accumulated on the ground, the girls grabbed their jackets and boots and ran outside! Here are a few pics. Ally had fun, but got frustrated with her mittens! Yes, Georgia got some snow -- no rain, but a little snow (that will most likely melt tomorrow)

Hard to Believe!

But it's true! What you ask? 6 months ago, we met our little Ally for the first time. We were nervous, excited and thrilled; she was scared, heartbroken and confused. We are no longer nervous, but are still excited and thrilled. She is now such a happy little girl that has brought so much joy to our lives.

We do occasionally see an issue or two, but not very often. Sleep is improving, slowly. She has, electively, spent some alone time in her room playing with her toys without panicing about being alone. She might just call for me or come looking for me - but not the panic and fear that I was not in the room with her. It's nice to see. It makes me know her comfort levels are getting there. It is hard to put it into words. Sometimes she pushes me away and kicks and hits; she is inconsolable for no reason that we see. Is this just a 2 year old thing or is this an attachment thing? I don't know. I really don't. Wish I could tap into her little brain and see what she thinks. Please feel free to share, if you know anything about such things! Or even if you just want to throw in your 2 cents worth.

We went swimming this past weekend (well, Doug and the girls - I was a chicken - cold water, you know). Ally had so much fun that she didn't want to leave. I do have pics that I will post.

We love you, Ally. It's hard to believe that 6 months have passed. I will never forget the details of that day!

Driving in China

Here is a link to a video a friend of mine found in U-Tube. It was made about 3 years ago. It's hilarious! About half way through is when it gets really good! The crazy thing is that the intersections that we saw were even more congested than the one here (we did not travel to Nanchang). It will make us appreciate the "order" of our roadways here in USA! Notice that there are NO traffic lights at this BIG intersection -- but also, no wrecks! It works, even though it's crazy!

Baby Gabe!

My friends, Jennifer and Greg, arrived in Guatemala today, along with daughter Tori. They are meeting their new son today! The process is quite different than China, but today is their "Gotcha Day"! He is about 7 months old and adorable! I can't wait to see pics once they post.

Jennifer was nervous about her 4 hour plane trip - of course, she got NO sympathy from me! Sara and Lauren laughed at a 4 hour plane trip - 2 movies and you are there! Not big deal compared to our flight. Also, they only have to deal with a 1 hour time difference - that will hopefully help their transition with getting him and with returning home!

More Christmas Celebrations!

Christmas at Home

These are a few pics that we took over the holidays at our house. One afternoon Ally decided it would be a great idea to wrap her little pink soccer ball. Afterall, we were all wrapping presents and putting them under the tree! Apparently, that is all you do with presents (she didn't know we would unwrap them later)! She (with a little help) wrapped the ball and put it under the tree. Every so often she would pick it up, put it in her doll stroller and take the ball for a ride! She never unwrapped it, but the paper eventually tore! It was so cute.

Big presents were: Sara - futon sofa; Lauren - Bike and VB purses; Ally - pink kitchen.

The last few pics are of our friends, the Millers, who stopped by on New Year's Day for a visit! It was so fun to see them and meet Sarah Beth! I just looked at those 2 little miracles - together after such a long time. The girls enjoyed seeing Josh, Abby and Noah. Hoping to plan a weekend get-away with them soon.