~ WHAT A WELCOME! ~

Owen & his parents arrived home tonight about 8:45pm ~ and, boy where we happy to greet them! Since they live relatively close by (in our development) we all headed down to house with the kids to wait. Waiting turned into a fun-for-all :) The kids had a blast running around with their friends ~ how exciting!The kids waiting to meet Owen

Eddie feels the excitement in the air :)

"Where's Owen?"

There he is!

Ella waits to meet her new little brother

with Meg & Mia!

They're Home!!!!

Melissa greeted by her kids!

Here he is. . .

Owen greeted everyone with a smile :)

What a darling little boy he is!

Ella meets her little brother ~

They held hands from the moment they met!!

It was so very special to see these two little ones

so connected already.

It is something I will never forget.

Mia & Owen reach out to each other ~

Meggie meets Owen!

~ Family ~

WELCOME HOME OWEN

WE LOVE YOU!

~ HAPPY HEART DAY ~

Oh, this mommy has a happy heart! We spent Valentine's Day as a family, ordered in some Chinese food and watched a movie together. Eddie & I made chocolate covered strawberries; which is sort of our tradition and he also wanted to make chocolate covered pretzels - mmm, mmmm!

~ taste test ~

~ "Mmmmmmm" ~

~ making a picture for daddy ~

~ Valentine Princess concentrating ~

When we put Mia down for her nap, daddy went to the store, Anthony was outside; and Eddie & I spent some fun time together. After we made our desserts, he got dressed and was in a "modeling" mood! He is just so handsome and such a character! How I love my "crazy eddie"!

~ what a boy ! ~

"I smile because you're my brother, I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it"!
I love this saying, and have it on a little plaque in the playroom :)

The day started out with a dentist appt. for Anthony. I had to bring my big boy to get his first cavity filled ~ I held his hand the entire time (and held Mia in my other arm!), and I think I was squeezing his hand harder than he was mine! He was very brave, but it was hard for me to see him so afraid, unsure and scared. Sometimes being a mom can be soooo hard. I have been so upset that he has a cavity at 10 yrs old - I don't remember getting them so young! Anyhow, it is over and he is fine - he just has to do a better job of brushing the sides of his teeth.

Three of the four loves of my life

(um, three of the five if we're counting Penny too :)

**Our friends & neighbors, Brian & Melissa are in China at this moment getting ready to meet their little guy! They spent Valentine's Day on the Great Wall of China ~ awesome! We are anxiously awaiting their first photos together as they meet their son. Oh, does it bring back memories, wonderful memories :)

Hope everyone had a lovely

Valentine's Day!

(even it it wasn't spent on the Great Wall :)

~ FUN ON THE FARM ~

We went to another awesome birthday party ~ this time is was for our favorite twins, Max & Madison's 4th birthday party at a farm! Happy twosome!

My girl had the BEST time & was all smiles!

Here she is by the pony rides, which she opted out of :)

Brandon (my godson) hops right on!

Mia loved the goats!

We were all given a bottle to feed the goats; however

"our" goat snactched it out of my hands:
and knew just what to do :)

Maddy & her big sis, Alexa

Mia rides the train with Bran
blurry, but oh so happy 4 year olds!

This was such a fun party ~ we did soooo much. Besides feeding the goats & pony rides, the kids were able to hold/pet a bunny, ride a train ,watch a chicken show, etc, etc! A funny party moment included: the birthday kids yelling "no animals!!" as soon as they pulled up to THEIR farm party :)

All in all, the adjusted to all the excitement and ended up having a wonderful time; as did everyone else!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX & MADDY!

WE LOVE YOU GUYS :)

~ ONE OF A KIND ~

The day of Mia's birthday, her China sister, Meaghan came by (if you haven't popped over there yet, you should ~ Meggie's mom posted a beautiful post about the girls and Mia's birthday).

This last shot of Mia "jumping for joy" is just too funny! You see, while we were trying desperately to get a smile out of both girls...at the same time...I would count and pretend I was going to jump real high in the air. Like mother, like daughter :)

After dropping Eddie off at the bus stop for afternoon kindergarten, Mia and I met grandma & poppy at build-*bear! We thought having a nice cuddly bear/animal from her grandparents may give their relationship a little boost! Since my parents are the only ones we allow to babysit the kids, Mia associates seeing them with mommy leaving! Not good! Even when my parents come over just to see the kids, Mia will shy away from them and stick to me like glue. I try to assure her I am NOT leaving, but it is very difficult. So, we thought this small gesture might help...

Mia was excited and thrilled to pick out an animal. Decisions, decisions - oh boy, decisions - it took quiet a while :) When "we" finally picked out this adorable bunny, she seemed very happy and placed the little heart inside the bunny. When the lady started the machine to "fluff" the bunny ~ Mia screamed and cried, frightened of the noise! I was honestly shocked (as was her daddy when I told him the story), loud noises have never scared her! I didn't realize until later that she was not feeling well! She ended up with a high fever this night that has lasted a few days. Poor girl!

I really felt awful for my parents. . . I could see how sad they were that Mia was upset. Wow, what a moment! When Mia and I got home, she was so happy with her bunny and it's croc*s! I did call my parents and tell them how much fun she was having with the bunny and she even slept with it during her nap!

wild hairdo=where her bow was!

crazy girl!

Yes, my Mia

you are

"One of a kind"!

("Can you make this into a bow mommy?")

*Mia had her 1st speech session on Thursday. It went very well and she seemed to be intrigued by the therapists bag of toys :) Mia sat on the floor with her for a while while mommy kept "busy" within her eyesight. She is very receptive to learning and repeated after her and did put two words together, "Me more" for Mia wants more, "wah apple" for want an apple - not bad for her first 3o minutes! I got a few helpful hints and plan to put them into action on a daily basis. I am so excited we have begun and I know this will help Mia tremendously.

~ HAPPY, HAPPY DAY ~

Happy 3rd Birthday, my China Princess!

We have been celebrating Mia's birthday on and off for the past few days; with play dates, family, and tonight as a family of 5 ! Our girl has grown in so many ways this past year ~ physically she looks like a healthy little woman, her soft spot (fontanel ) is just about closed (it was huge when she came home at 19 mos and scared this mommy a bit) and her heart has just about healed ~ we should have our next cardiologist appt this month for a follow-up! Emotionally, she has grown tremendously! Although she prefers mommy, like most "babies", she has a new level of comfort with others, she will receive kisses and hugs a little more willingly; and will dole them out when prompted :)

I look so forward to this coming year with our 3 year old! I know she will grow into a little girl with her "Mia-gusto"! I look forward to hearing her express her emotions (I think :) and her thoughts - it should be fun and interesting ! Mia starts her speech therapy tomorrow and will have two 30 minute sessions twice a week - I am thrilled!

Happy, Happy birthday to our sweet, precious, joyous, intense and loving little girl. The last 17 months with you has added a new dimension to our family - we enjoy all of your girly moments, your dressing up, your dancing and all of your sweet giggles! We adore you honey, thank you for completing us!