Good News!

While I am putting together pictures from this Christmas, which let me say the "cute" was not in short supply, I wanted to share some good news!

We have our official LID for our second adoption! The date is December 24th 2007. LID stands for Log In Date and it is this date that China uses as a reference point. For example, when the babies are matched China announces that they have matched from December 1st through to December 9th 2007.

Unfortunately this date really doesn't mean much - at least not right now. The wait has increased to about three years - we weren't planning on getting our paperwork started until 2008, but we fast-tracked it to get our place in line. So now we'll have plenty of time to enjoy Hannah and get her ready to be a big sister.
:)

Hannah is famous!

During our local Christmas parade Hannah was photographed by the local paper. The photographer came by and took down Chris and Hannah's names while I was in the house getting some coffee - oh darn. Anyway when he told me, I thought there was a small chance that she would get in the paper. Low and behold, Hannah's got the largest picture in the whole spread. What a ham bone. Don't tell her - it'll go straight to her head.
:)

We love Cole Man

Here are some recent pictures of Hannah with her cousin Cole. We call him "Cole Man" because it just fits. Hannah was kind enough to pose with her cousin while they were hanging out together.
:)

Birthday Party

Here are some pictures from Hannah's cousin, Greyson's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe he is two already! And here is Hannah being such a silly girl.
:)

Hey Tinkerbell, eat your heart out

These pictures are from the weekend before Halloween and Halloween night. Hannah had a blast! We went to two Halloween parties in one day. She bounced in a bouncy house, got a fake tattoo, decorated a cupcake, got her face painted, went bobbing for apples (actually she just reached in a grabbed one), got her fortune told, made a candy apple, danced with Abby and played bingo. A very full day made for a very exhausted Tinkerbell.

Our Pumpkin in the Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, (yeah that's right less than a week later I am posting pictures - I think that's a record) we went to the pumpkin patch with our church. One of the girls from our church, let's call her "A", is a rockstar as far as Hannah is concerned. She asks for "A" every Sunday and talks about her a lot. Since "A" was also going to the pumpkin patch, Hannah was in heaven. She got to feed goats and peacocks, she saw bunnies and pigs, picked her own pumpkin and got her face painted. AND most importantly "A' held her hand. It was a beautiful day.
:)

Swimming, swimming in a swimming pool.

Sorry everyone, I had this post all ready to go and then blogger gave me some trouble and I forgot. Your patience has been rewarded with pictures of our bathing beauty. Enjoy!

Hannah got to go swimming at PaPa and Grandma's house with her uncle Matthew and Grandma. Mom and Dad forgot their bathing suits and besides they were too busy having a heart attack every time Hannah tripped on the bottom of the pool (since this was the first time her tiny feet could touch the bottom). After she got used to her face being wet and the uhhh... near drowning, she had a blast! Thank you Grandma, Papa and Matthew!
:)

Our little Jersey Girl.

Last month we went to New Jersey for Chris's Dad 60th birthday party. Grandma Debbie and Grandpa were very excited to see Hannah and we were excited to share our "homeland" with our daughter. Since we have surpassed the two year mark, Hannah also got her own seat on the plane (and I have photographic proof for both flights). And I know, I know, because of Hannah's petiteeness I'm sure we could have passed her as a 1-and-change year old, but with my luck we would encounter "Checky McChecksalot" at the airport and we'd get in trouble. What kind of trouble, I have no idea, but airport trouble is not my kind of trouble, thank you very much.

Besides, we had enough trouble taking off. We sat on the plane for 3 hours before taking off on a 1.5 flight. All things considered Hannah did a wonderful job of coping while her Mother was ready to jump out of her skin.

The weather was wonderful. I miss a few things about New Jersey and autumn is one of them. The weather is cool, but not cold, the leaves change the most beautiful colors and I think I look best in a turtleneck, which works perfectly for NJ autumn. Another thing I miss is Ma-ee-a. Hannah got to spend a little time with Auntie Ma-ee-a in lovely Chester (one of my favorite spots for antique shopping). And the trip home was smooth sailing.
:)

To tide you over...

I am working on a few new posts from our NJ trip and swimming with Grandma, but in the meantime here she is in all of her delightfulness.
Enjoy!

Hannah & Dallas are foster sisters!

It is confirmed! Dallas's Mom has received a history report that confirms that Dallas and Hannah were in the same foster home at the same time. Hannah and Dallas's foster mother was Zhu Ge Shui Xiu and foster father Xie Ting Xin. There were no other foster babies in the home. We are hoping to get an address and picture soon.

Thank you to Dallas's Mom for doing some further investigation and sharing this wonderful information.

:)

I "heart" stickers

It has been a long time since I have posted anything random. For the most part, my posts have been focused on detailing a specific event, whether is a vacation, party, etc. Well, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to just give you the opportunity to observe Hannah in all of her "hannahness".

The girl loves stickers. And when I say love I mean L.O.V.E. She would rather play with stickers than alot of other toys. And they keep her occupied for a while. She likes to stick and re-stick them on paper, books, the dog, her parents, etc. But her favorite place for stickers is herself. She's been known to put them on her legs, cheeks, belly and arms. Particularly her left arm. Hmmm, I wonder what that means. Your Honor, I present to you exhibits A,B & C... please pay close attention to the left arm.

I rest my case.
:)

The Beach last part

All in all, Hannah had a great time at the beach. And most importantly, we all got a chance to relax together as a family. The end. :)

The Beach part 2

We also took a day trip to Wilmington, NC. It is a very cute town - it reminded us of a small Charleston. Hannah confirmed her ham-bone status and just mugged for the camera. Nice necklace, right Audrey?




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We also celebrated Matthew's birthday at the beach. Can you tell he likes the Yankees?