Together for Three Years!

My first glimpse of my sweet pea! I couldn't look at this picture too many times!!!

Here she is a bit older, wiser, funnier, and still ohhh so sweet!

The memory of the moment is as clear as if it had happened yesterday. It was 3 years ago, September 26th. It was the moment I first laid eyes on my sweet pea in the photo sent from China! Shortly after starting my day at work, I received an email message from the Great Wall China Adoption Agency that said “Photo Attached”. While my heart raced and adrenaline surged through my body, I double-clicked to open the photo. THAT was the moment my precious daughter was “born in my heart!”

That was the moment I caught my first glimpse of the tiny cherub that was about to change my life! That was the moment my eyes filled with tears, and I whispered a prayer of thanks, asking God to please send an angel to watch over my sweet baby until I could get to her.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, for approval to travel to China, I finally received my travel dates, which put me in China just in time for my birthday, and this precious baby girl is no doubt the best gift I have ever received!!!




Kayli met her Aunt Suzanne and thought she was pretty funny...

We had a variety of requirements to fulfill before leaving China, one of which was a visit to the medical clinic, which I tried my best to humor Kayli through...

We did some shopping and strolling...

Some eating...

Some snoozing...

Then, it was time to head home on the following, grueling schedule: Guangzhou to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to San Francisco, San Francisco to Denver,(delays in Denver due to snow and ice, and yes I had dropped Suzanne off in San Francisco and was on my own now in this madhouse of an airport with a busy toddler that was tired of all the sitting and just wanted to run!), then...




... finally arriving in Kansas City to an ice storm and lost luggage.

So we celebrate! We celebrate the moment Kayli was "born in my heart" and everything that followed. We celebrate being a family and all the sweetness it brings to our lives. We celebrate our luck to be such a perfect match, we are soooo much alike! We celebrate and thank God for bringing the two of us together!

And, celebrate we did! Oh, yes, our day was all about FUN, FUN, FUN. We played, we shopped, we opened presents, we dined out, and we ended our day reading some special books with the theme of adoption and a parent's never-ending love. One book was a fairy tale about the magical red thread that brings people together that are meant to be together. In honor of this famous adoption story, we call our special day our "Red Thread Celebration".

We both wore the appropriate lucky red color for our "Red Thread Celebration"


There were some very special presents...

New matching "red thread bracelets"...

There was a sweet little musical chinese doll, and a musical jewelry box with a dancing ballerina...


My little "partier" fell asleep as soon as we were seated for dinner...

So, what choice did I have but to order a margarita?

There were new "Ballerina Jammies"...


Kayli just loved her new "Dancing Ballerina Musical Jewelry Box"... She watched it with awe!


In fact, she was sooooo enamored with her new musical ballerina box that she just had to show me how she could dance right along with that tiny ballerina. Check out the video below:

First Friend Birthday Party

Kayli went to her very first “invited-by-mail” friend birthday party this weekend. The party theme was “Barbie Princess Birthday”, and the girls had sooooo much fun! They played “pin-the-tiara on Barbie”, and “musical crowns”. I’m not really a fan of the musical chairs theme game for preschoolers, having seen too many kids fall apart during this game. This time, that sensitive soul just happened to be Kayli. By the second round she was still in, and she flew across the table to snatch up the last crown when the music stopped. On the 3rd round, however, there was not a crown anywhere near the spot she was standing, and she just burst into tears. Well, before I could make a move, the grandmother of the birthday girl immediately scooped Kayli up, and began comforting her. She handed Kayli a crown, and all was well. Then, all the girls got to sit down and decorate their crowns with sticky letters and royal emblems. The birthday girl opened lots of beautiful Barbie gifts, then we all had cake and ice cream, and finally, there was a Princess Pinata for the grand finale!











It was fun for me to see how Kayli interacted with her friends, since the only time she’s with her friends is while she’s at daycare. She joined in easily, and spent some time playing comedian once she got some laughs from her friends. She was a good friend to the girl who wouldn’t join in, standing there, clinging to her mom. Kayli tried to coax her several times. When she managed to get this child to join in some “sideline play” (jumping off a stump while kids were finishing their crowns) I heard Kayli say to her “So, you must be feeling better now!” That’s my Kayli, always checking to make sure everyone is happy, and doing what she can to make sure they are. I like to see how much empathy she has, but I also hate to see her feel such responsibility for everyone’s well being. That can be a big job. I know, I took on that job myself somewhere along my life’s path. This similarity between us makes me think again about the “nature vs. nurture” question. How are the two of us sooo much alike?

4 is the Perfect Age for the Circus!

We had SUCH a great time at the circus this year! Kayli was awestruck by the flying trapeze artists. She laughed herself silly over the funny clowns. If it hadn't been so dark in the auditorium, I would have taken a video of her "yucking" it up. I was so entertained by watching her be entertained!

Kayli also spotted the tall twirly-light-up-magic pink wand with the star on top, that the vendors were "hard-selling" in the front lobby. She wanted this soooo badly, she immediately launched into her persuasive speech "Mom, It is soooo cool, and I don't have anything like this, and I could use it for a flashlight, and I am a princess that needs a magic wand, and I can use it like this...'stand back, evil mouse king...'as she hoisted the wand-transformed-into-a-sword..." I caved. I bought it. I told her we could buy it under the condition that we didn't buy anything else tonight. We didn't spend any money on food or drink,even though the vendors were coming directly to the children, asking if they wanted things! When I tried to speak to the vendor, they didn't listen, but only turned to Kayli, asking again. She made me proud as she waved them away with a "No thank-you".
Don't worry, Aunt Marion and I both brought plenty of "purse snacks" to cover an army!




Ohhh, those funny clowns!





For the grand finale, they shot buckets of confetti throughout the auditorium! Who doesn't love sparkling confetti snowing down upon them?!!! But wait, even more fun was all the popcorn spilled on the floor, that Kayli and the other kids used for silly slipping and skating on our way out. When we were talking about fun things we remembered about the circus, this was one of the mentioned highlights, of course!

A Dream Come True!

Just last night, Kayli and I were discussing one of her favorite subjects, her birthday, which doesn’t occur until February, but when you’re 4, you can never plan too early! Kayli was torn between a princess party and a dinosaur party, as she loves them both equally. I jokingly suggested she might consider a princess-dinosaur party. We both laughed at the image that conjoured up. Well, here we were, the next day, walking along at the Lenexa Spinach Festival, and there hanging from a vendor’s tent was, not only Kayli’s all-time favorite dinosaur, the triceratops, but one that was pastel pink AND wearing a pretty princess dress! Oh, my, gosh! I thought Kayli’s eyes were going to pop out of her head!


We had a fabulous time at the festival, making sure that Sara, the princess- triceratops got to experience everything!
While we relaxed and watched some entertainment on the stage, Kayli helped Sara clap, and also decided her poor dinosaur was getting too hot to wear clothes, so the princess dress went in my purse for safe-keeping.


We couldn't resist the inflatable climber...





AND, Eagle-eye Kayli spotted the ponies...

AND, who doesn't love a hand-made bracelet?


Then, there's painting a Masterpiece, with Q-Tips...


AND, then there's the always popular opportunity to paint your face...


What a GREAT Day!!!