Amelie’s Gotcha Day 2011 – 1 year ago

Amelie Gotcha Day 2011
Click on the photo to see album

Click the photo above to see the Gotcha Day 2011 photo album, and see the blog post from that day.

It’s amazing to us that it’s been 1 year since we adopted Amelie in Yinchuan, China.

Gotcha Day 2011
Our first family photo.

China_2011-02-23_09
Amelie’s swearing in day shortly before we left China.

Amelie has come so far in the last year that she hardly seems like the sad little toddler we met one year ago. She has grown 10.5 pounds and grown 4.75″ in the last year. Yes, you read that right. In China she was wearing 18 month footie jammies – last night she wore 4T footie jammies to bed. Now she is lean and strong and does everything in her power to keep up with Nadia. She doesn’t let her hands slow her down one bit and really I don’t even think of it as a special need. Amelie is very smart. In so many ways she was like a 12 month old the day we got her, but she has grown by leaps and bounds in every way. Now some quick stats about Amelie that I don’t want to forget.

  • She sucks her thumb when she goes to sleep. This is a vast improvement over her sucking her thumb 90% of the time when we got her.
  • She loves food. She still cries over food a lot, but instead of every meal every day it’s more like once every couple of days.
  • After 11 months with us she finally told me at a meal that she was full. It was startling since I didn’t think she would ever say that.
  • She loves sweets, especially chocolate. But eggs are her favorite food. Someone asked her that over the weekend and she said, “eggs!” right away.
  • She is a snuggle bug.
  • She loves music – any kind of music.
  • She loves to color and play dough.
  • She loves “choo choo trains”
  • For 7 solid months, every time we drove past a car dealership she would yell “balloon” (or at least her variation of it)
  • Now she obsesses over when we pass bodies of water or playgrounds and asks, “go? go?”
  • We see her smile so much now and she is even starting to make jokes.
  • She asks me everyday to do “cool cool” (school) so I have a set of toddler activities I pull out for her and she feels very important and says, “big guurrrlll”
  • She asks Mike everyday to do “woo back” which is a phrase she made up that involves being thrown up in the air and flipped. She would let Mike do this until his arms fell off.
  • She LOVES to be outside. And in fact asks to go outside constantly – rain, shine, day or night.
  • Books are her favorite toy. She will say, “ree ree ree” to anyone who will listen while trying to get a book in their hands so they can read to her.
  • She is stubborn and tenacious and feisty. And some days that really wears Mommy out 🙂
1 yr with Amelie
Click on the photo to see album

This was a couple weeks after we got home – she is thinking of giving me a smile.

1 yr with Amelie
April 3, 2011 – Amelie’s baptism day.

1 yr with Amelie
April 6th – about to have surgery.

1 yr with Amelie
The cast is off! Look at those fingers set free.

1 yr with Amelie
First trip to the zoo.

2011_05_08_02
Mother’s Day 2011.

1 yr with Amelie
Banana themed 2nd birthday.

1 yr with Amelie
First trip to the beach.

1 yr with Amelie
4th of July.

1 yr with Amelie1 yr with Amelie

1 yr with Amelie
Water table fun for hours.

1 yr with Amelie
First Halloween.

1 yr with Amelie
First Christmas and all the fun that comes with that time of year.

1 yr with Amelie 1 yr with Amelie
Books and more books.

1 yr with Amelie
Our Amelie now! We love you sweet girl!

‘Merry Christmas’ – by Third Day

This song made me cry the first time I heard it just thinking about adoption. The original lead singer of Third Day was waiting to adopt when he wrote this. In fact they were ahead of us by 1 week in 2007 since their daughter was from the same province as Nadia. Last year I really cried a lot listening to it because we were actually waiting for Amelie through the Christmas season. This year I still cry thinking of all the families waiting for their children, but I am so grateful to be seeing Amelie’s delight about all things Christmas!

There’s a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for momma’s arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
There the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It’s Christmas time again but you’re not home
Your family is here and yet you’re somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I’m warmed by the fire’s glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven’s angels come to carry you here

It’s Christmas time again but you’re not home
Your family is here and yet you’re somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child
And we celebrate his perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give his life
And prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with him above

It’s Christmas time again and now you’re home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I’ll hold you in my arms
And I’ll tell you from my heart, and I’ll you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

Ningxia photos

We had a camera sent to the orphanage while we were waiting for Amelie. When they handed it to us it appeared that it had been opened. So these were the only 3 photos on the entire roll that came out. I think they were taken for Chinese New Year.

Ningxia photos

Ningxia photos

Ningxia photos

China Travel 4 year reunion

July 23, 2011
Click on the photo to see album

This year we hosted the 5 Texas families from our travel group over the weekend of July 22nd. (we invited everyone else, but it didn’t work out. We saw the Hatcher’s in GA on our road trip, so we actually spent time with 6 families this year) That was our 4 year Gotcha Day anniversary and it was a delight to spend it with some of our travel mates. Michael, Lisa and Angelina stayed with us and we all had a great time. They came a day early so we hit the Fort Worth Science and History Museum in the morning. The girls had a blast! Check out the giant light bright.

July 22, 2011July 22, 2011

That night we had everyone over for some pulled pork and other goodness. It was a relaxed time for the girls to play and get to know each other again. Click the photo below to see the album from that day.

July 22, 2011

The next day we met up at the zoo in the morning. It was BLAZING hot, but we had a great time. It delighted my heart to see the girls playing and having a great time together! Us parents are like the paparazzi with the kiddos. Now on to the photos!

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

We headed back in the afternoon for naps (or for some – shopping!) In the evening we met at the hotel for a pizza and pool party. The girls had a good time to play and the parents had more time to visit also.

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

July 23, 2011

It was a wonderful weekend and such fun to see how big the girls are getting! Thanks for joining us everyone. And to those who missed, we wished you could have been with us too.