Snow fun #2

We had something like 0.25 - 0.5 inch of snow this morning. Sonia was enamored looking out the window. So, we bundled up and went outside to play. I think it may have taken almost as long to get her into her snow pants, boots, coat, hat, and mittens as we lasted outside... but, it was still fun. She enjoyed being pulled around on the sled and also stomping around in her boots (which makes her laugh like crazy!). Good fun!

New Year's Eve ...

Happy New Year!!

Sonia and I celebrated New Year's together. We briefly went to a candlelight meditation at my church (and Sonia actually rocked in my arms and let me have a few minutes of quiet reflection). Then, we went home and rocked the New Year with OUR New Year's countdown at 6pm! This gave us some "crazy" celebration time before beginning to relax in time for bottle, books, and bedtime at 7pm.

After Sonia was fast asleep, I enjoyed a relaxing rest of the evening with a hot bath, reading a couple magazines, and a glass of wine. It was a pretty perfect end of 2011... here's to a wonderful continuation in 2012 !!

Happy New Year!!

Our First Christmas Together ...

Christmas with Sonia was wonderful (how could it not be the best thing ever?)! She is the best gift I could ever receive and I try very hard to treasure every moment with her (even the challenging ones) :o) We spent Christmas at my parent's house and enjoyed spending time with a bigger group of family on Christmas too!

Sonia was great at not messing with the Christmas tree and trim. I wasn't sure how that would go but she seems to understand toys vs. trim. She LOVED opening presents. Like the old story goes, I think she loved the wrapping paper and boxes the most. She had much fun climbing around, into, and standing on the boxes and putting stuff in and out of them. She is now starting to have great fun with the presents too... one by one exploring them fully!

Here's a few pictures of our holiday ...

Wisconsin "Re-adoption"

Sonia's adoption process was final in China and she became an American citizen when her feet touched the ground in Detroit on our way home. But, I wanted to complete a WI state re-adoption so that Sonia would also have a US birth certificate (in addition to her Chinese one). The Social Worker, who had done our homestudy paperwork through the years, did the legwork for us. So, pretty much all we had to do was show up for court.

Our court date was on December 21st at 2pm. I took the afternoon off work and picked up Sonia from daycare. It was a really nice experience. The Judge spent a little time talking about his positive feelings on adoption, our Social Worker "testified" that she supports the re-adoption, and I answered a few questions. All together, this probably took less than 10 minutes. Through all this, Sonia entertained the judge, court recorder, and bailiff with smiles, soft babbles and cooing, and overall just being her adorable self.

Afterwards, the judge invited us to his bench to let Sonia "make it official" by knocking his gavel against the wood block. She loved making the noise! He also gave Sonia a "family bear" and we snapped a few pictures. A fun 20 min... :o) Since I'd taken the afternoon off work, we had lots of free time at home to play... a bonus!

Snow fun ... #1

Sonia's first experience with snow was the Saturday before Christmas (12/17/11). A friend's daughter, Ashley, was babysitting for me so I could get my presents wrapped. We had less than an inch of snow, but Sonia wanted to go outside. Ashley got Sonia all bundled up into her snow gear and pulled her around in the sled! Sonia had a blast! (I had to take a quick break from wrapping to snap a couple cute pictures...)

St. Nicks Stocking

Sonia really enjoyed her filled stocking. She was really curious when I showed her that one of the Christmas stockings on the mantle was full. Then, when I took it down and gave it to her, she dug right in. She managed to pull all the pieces of the Little People Christmas train out and has had fun with them ever since... definitely a fun holiday moment (even though we were both sick that day with Strep throat, a sinus infection for me, and a possible ear infection for Sonia). Luckily, we both recovered quickly and are feeling well now!!

Anyway, here's some "action" pictures of the fun

...

Cute pictures are harder than they seem...

I tried to capture some cute pictures of Sonia in her holiday dress by the Christmas tree. She is so mobile these days that she "ran" out of most of the pictures or turned her head or frowned. After trying for a while, I was definitely ready to leave the picture taking to the professionals. We had an appointment Monday for holiday photos - they turned out well and MUCH better than my attempts!

Anyway, here's a glimpse of my holiday girl!

Thanksgiving!

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Sonia and my parents. I am definitely so THANKFUL for the blessing of being Sonia's Mom.

Mom outdid herself (as always) with the meal. The one change was that we ate together in the kitchen so that I could relax with Sonia eating on the tile floor instead of carpeted dining room!

It was fun and Sonia enjoyed some of her favorite foods... especially the butternut squash and potatoes!

Sonia's cute little Thanksgiving plate -

Rich and Peggy Visit...

Sonia got to meet her Uncle Rich, Auntie Peggy, and cousin Michael in person the other weekend. She couldn't have had a better time playing and showing off for them. It was a great weekend as well because she started walking longer distances and "talking" (babbling what seems like words and sentences) too.

Here's a few cute pictures from the visit :o)

Halloween

Sonia had fun dressing up for Halloween.

She was my "Little Monster" on Halloween. She wasn't terribly fond of the full fuzzy outfit at first. But, she loved it when we went out Trick-or-Treating to visit the neighbors. She walked part of the way and carried her little Pumpkin bag proudly! (She sends Thanks to Uncle Rich and Aunt Peggy for the bag!) She loved it when people put candy in the bag and my friend's kids Ashley and her boyfriend Jordon liked the candy! The bag then became a great "in and out" toy to play with blocks for the rest of the evening.

For daycare, I didn't want her to have to spend the day in her hot fuzzy monster costume, so she went as a ladybug. She was a cute ladybug too :o)