A Year in Review

Yes, I know it's been a while. Life with a toddler is hectic, exhausting and wonderful all at the same time but leaves little time for anything else. John and I would not change a single moment. Anna brings us such joy. She is smart, sassy, bossy, lovable, sweet, funny, defiant, very independent and very determined. The best moments are when out of the blue she says, "I love you Mommy & Daddy", or at 3:30 in the morning she calls for Daddy and says "All done Daddy, out (of the crib) please". Priceless.

We've had a whole year of priceless moments. As we celebrate Anna's first year with us, here are some of those moments. Hard to believe she'll be turning 2 next month!

A Perfect Day

Despite the cold & rainy days we've had, the Santa Ana's rolled in and made it a perfect day for a party at the park. About 70 of our closest family and friends came to meet Anna last Saturday. We were amazed at how good she was with everyone. She got passed around to so many people and was such good girl throughout the whole day. I guess she wanted to make a good impression on everyone. But we know the "real" Anna, who still hates to have her diaper changed, who spits her food out when she doesn't like something, who crawls all over the house and into rooms she's not supposed to go to (bathroom, laundry room), who is constantly trying to get at the TV remotes...can't help but love her! We want to thank everyone for coming to Anna's party and for all her fabulous gifts! We are so blessed and so overjoyed and so glad you got a chance to meet the love of our life.

Winnie the Pooh Bday cake.

Penelope the clown.

She does incredible face painting. The kids loved her. 

Grandma did too.

I think more grown ups got painted than kids.

You can't tell in this picture, but it was a pink castle jumpy.

Anna meeting cousin Layla.

On February 5th Anna's adoption (in California) became official. She'll eventually get a California Birth Certificate.

Happy 1st Birthday Anna!!

All the news is a buzz today about the inauguration as Barrack Obama takes his seat as President of the United States. We couldn't be more proud that our daughter shares her very first birthday with this momentous day in history.  It's a special day indeed. Plans are underway for the big bash at the end of the month for Anna's Birthday/Welcome Home Party.  We can't wait to introduce her to the rest of our family and friends.  We already received her official Certificate of Citizenship. This will allow us to apply for her Social Security card and U.S. Passport. Our papers have been filed with Juvenile Court and we already have a court date to finalize her readoption in California. This gives her a California birth certificate and officially recognizes her as our daughter in the State of California. She's ours and we're keeping her!

We haven't posted lately but here 's what we've been up to...

Anna's ice cream birthday cake (got smooshed on the way home!)

See how she relaxes in her carseat now. No more screaming.

She loves when Ryan comes to visit her.

She cheered for the Chargers, but was sad when they lost.

She got her first haircut (really just a quick snip). My little China doll!

Brushing  her teeth.

Hanging out with Ozzy.

Swinging at the local park.

Reading her favorite book (does it matter that it's upside down?)

Life with Anna

We can't remember what life was like before Anna. The 3 years that we waited for her seems like ages ago. People say she's lucky we adopted her but it's really us who are the lucky ones. Our house is a mess; the dishes are dirty; the trash is full; the carpet needs vacuuming; the laundry is piling up; and the toys are everywhere. She's truly a blessing. 
She had her first appointment with her pediatrician the other day. It was good and traumatic at the same time.  She seemed to really like her doctor until it was time for shots - 3 of them! Daddy had a hard time more than she did. She got over it pretty quick. She still only weighs 15.5 lbs. and we can't believe she hasn't gained any weight since we came home from China. We need to fatten her up. We've been out & about with her quite a bit now. She gets better and better with each car ride. She's already been to the mall twice.  She's even been to Juvenile Court where we have to file our papers to re-adopt her in California. She sleeps through the night with just a little bit of fussing. She usually takes 1 nap a day, maybe 2 if we're busy. She's currently cutting 3 or 4 new teeth, so she's been very moody. We're making plans for her 1st Birthday/Welcome Home party at the end of the month. This has been challenging since we only get small increments of time to do stuff. But I wouldn't change it for the world!

I love my playpen.

I hate my playpen!

New Year's Eve

Hanging with the boys

New Years Day with Grandma & Aunt Laura

Aunt Lisa & Uncle Dave

Aunt Roxanne

Thanks for the horsey, Aunt Debbie!