I can't believe I haven't posted since March! Ava has changed so much since then. Every day with her is something new. I was just talking to Jack about how I didn't remember what life was like before her. She is such a blessing!

She continues to do well in preschool. She still has a love for elephants and Taylor Swift, and she's found a new love-Pandas. She has too many stuffed animals to count. What amazes me is that she names them all, and doesn't forget them. There is no tricking her, even when I'm stumbling around in the dark, trying to pass one off as another.

She decided that she didn't want to dance anymore, which I must admit, saddened me a little. Starting my new job made it more difficult for me to take her anyway. She now says she wants to cheer or do gymnastics. We'll see...........

This year for Halloween, Ava was the beautiful Mulan. She loved dressing up, but didn't enjoy the trick-or-treating experience....hated it actually. Ten minutes into it, we stopped by this one particular house. This man held out his big bowl of treats to Ava. She picked up no more than 3 pieces in her tiny hand. The man replied, "NO, only one". That remark both embarrassed Ava, and hurt hurt feelings. I told her that it was ok, that the man was just being stingy with his candy. I said it loud enough so that he could hear me. I can understand just handing out one piece of candy. That's fine. Don't hold the bowl out in front of small children and expect them to take only one piece. Jack wanted to know where he lived and the ladies I worked with wanted to egg his car, lol. Hopefully by next year Ava will have forgotten this incident, and will give it another try.

Enjoy the pics!

China Travel Group Reunion

Three years ago today we returned home from China. It's hard to believe that our little girl is growing up so fast! We celebrated "Happy Gotcha Day" on March 13. I told Ava that "it was a very special day-Happy Gotcha Day, or the day that we became a family". Her response-"what did you got me Mommy?"

Yesterday we reunited with some of our China travel group. We met in Lexington, and the girls spent the day playing and catching up. We are so lucky to have several of Ava's China sisters living so close in proximity to us. We were fortunate to have an out of state family who traveled to China with us to join our celebration. She practically drove from Chicago to be with us (thanks, Rach!) It's so important for the girls to interact and be together. They don't know it right now, but they have a special bond that I hope will keep them connected for years to come.

Enjoy the pics........

Sophie, Makana, Gianna, Emily, Ava, and Olivia

Ava enjoying a snack....

Olivia and Sophie catching up......

Sweet Olivia

Roommates-Gianna, Ava, and Makana

Happy New Year!

What a year it has been! Ava has grown into a little lady. She is such a girly-girl. She still has meltdowns every once in a while, but I think she is close to outgrowing them. It doesn't seem that long ago that I rocked her back and forth, looking into her eyes while I fed her.....or hearing her call me "bobbie" when she couldn't pronounce "mommy". Sometimes I look at her and wish time would slow down...she is growing up so fast! She will be turning four-years old in April. Four!

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. The day started at 7am....4 stops later we were back home at 5pm. Ava got to meet her cousin's fiance Lin, for the second time. Lin is a beautiful young woman from China. As soon as we walked in Jack's grandmother's house, Ava sat with Lin. It was quite amazing that she took to Lin so quickly. I wonder if she saw the similarities, and somehow felt connected to her.

I had a wonderful birthday....Ava made me a delicious birthday cake with her new disney princess easy bake oven. Yummy.

I hope that all my family and friends have a safe, happy, and healthy 2009!

School Days

Ava is in the four-year old classroom at Giggles and Grins. Here are her first school pics......my girl is growing up!

Meeting Santa

Ava burst into tears while Jack was driving her to school last week. When Jack questioned her about it, she said that she forgot to ask Santa for lipstick in the letter she mailed him. That's my girl!

We took her to Fayette Mall yesterday to see Santa. We had to wait in line about an hour. The wait wasn't that bad until this "grandpa" right behind us was teaching his grandson the following song...."Jingle bells, Rudolph smells, mommy laid an egg". I mean, come on...........What an idiot! Did he think this was funny???? Luckily, Ava wasn't paying attention to him. Jack, on the other hand, was irate to say the least. When we finally made it to Santa, Ava wasn't scared at all. She sat it his lap with the biggest smile on her face. She was so excited! Maybe she will get her lipstick after all.........

Here's photos with Santa from the past three years......

This was her first encounter with Santa. She was not impressed. I can't say that I liked him either. He looked like the drunk Santa. Look at his eyes! And the fake beard........We had just left McDonalds. Notice that Ava is clutching her french fries in her hand. She was terrified. Why do we do this to our children? LOL.

This was her second encounter with Santa. As you can see, no tears....but she still looked a little frightened.

This was one happy girl! And I think this is the real Santa..........

Black Friday is for the Birds!

I usually have to work on Black Friday, but decided stop by Wal-Mart that morning to get a new camera. I arrived at wal-Mart around 6:20. The flashing police lights in the parking lot should have been a warning to turn around, but I was determined to have a new camera for myself. I walked into the store to find lines so long that they reached the back of the store. My first thought was "You are kidding me!!!!!!". I made my way to the back and only had to stand in line for 10 minutes, got my camera and left. I am happy to report that I was not pushed, attacked, cursed, etc. There were earlier reports of a cat fight between two women-it took four people to pull them apart. What is wrong with people? How could people forget the true meaning of Christmas? A young man employed by Wal-Mart in New York lost his life. And for what? A $30 DVD player? This world is a crazy place.

Ava "wrote" a letter to Santa. She has asked for a $60 slide for Barbie (she doesn't play with Barbies that much), a computer like her daddy's, a flower pot, and tattoos....oh, and everything else she sees. Jack made her mad, and she told me that Santa was not going to bring him anything good. I saw her little mind working and she said that Santa was going to bring him socks. Then she said he wasn't even getting socks, hehe. We haven't seen Santa yet, but are planning to go to the mall soon.

I asked Ava what kind of cookies Santa would like. Jack said he bet Santa would loves cookies from Root-a-Bakers in Morehead. I guess that means I will be making a trip to the bakery the week of Christmas........

Update

Ava has grown so much! I look at her and just smile....she's bright, strong-willed, and quite the jokester! She still loves princesses.......As a matter of fact, when she is being mischievious, & I have to call her name, many times she informs me that she isn't Ava, but Cinderella. I can't help but to laugh at her imagination.

Ava loves preschool. She is now in the four year old classroom, and has learned so much. She is learning the months of the year, and quite often asks me to sing the months of the year song with her. Her version goes as follows.......January, Fairytale, March and April, etc. She has got it bad. She will run through the hallway, leaving her glass slipper behind. She asks her daddy to carry it to her on a pillow, and of course, he plays along.

Ava is in her second year of dance with Ms. Kelly. What a difference a year makes! She loves it! This year her class will be in the Christmas parade, and will be performing in a Christmas program.

For those of you who are reading this, please check back.. I promise to do monthly updates instead of my normal yearly updates!

Until next time........