Grace's 2nd Birthday Party!

Today was Grace's 2nd birthday party. She had a great time...photos don't lie!

I took a few photos before everyone arrived and got Grace to smile pretty well. Here are a few of them...and one where she actually held her balloons!







This next set is a typical Grace and Evan series. Notice how serious Grace is :)







A unique moment.



We had many active children at the party, so we brought out the long balloons for a balloon sword fight. It went pretty well and all had fun...well...







Notice our friend Ralph in the chair smiling. He is watching his daughter and the other kids having a great time. He thinks that he is in a very safe place...



Oh no...what's happening Ralph!



Ralph is over taken by children and balloons!



Here's our sweet little girl enjoying her birthday cake...



...yummy cake...



...real yummy cake!



Grace and her birthday friends...





Here are Grace's birthday presents. We waited until the party guests left to open them. It was just easier to focus at that time and we even got Grace ready for bed first because it was well past her bed time. She loved all he generous gifts!













So the party went off really well. I think that everyone had a lot of fun. I just need to share two more photos. We order 12 pretty balloons for the party with extra long strings because of out high ceilings. You can see why we did this in the photo below because all the balloons eventually headed to the very top.



Even though it was chilly out side, with so many people in doors, it got a little warm. So someone decided to turn on the ceiling fan...near the balloons...with the extra long strings :)

Early Brithday Present

We gave Grace her birthday present from us a few weeks early so that she could have some fun playing with it first.

It's a water table. For those of you like me who did not know what a "water table" is...it's a table that you put water in :)

Actually, it's a lot of fun. They make these just the perfect height for kids that are Grace's size to play in with water toys and such.

We were going to use this at her birthday party this year because it is usually very hot this time of year. It was around 103 last year and we had a bounce house but no one could use it because of the hot temperature. Well, this year it was a bomby 67 degrees...so no water table. So much for planning the weather :)

Updated May photos!

We decided to be spontaneous and go to to Oxnard one weekend. It took us 2 hours to be spontaneous. With a 23 month old....2 hours is spontaneous. It was colder that day then expected, but we had a good time anyway.

Here are some photos of Grace looking at the "tide pool" at the Channel Islands visitor center.









We had some friends come back to LA to visit after being gone for 5 years. They now have 2 kids. We went to Marina Del Rey and played on the beach for awhile, then had a nice early dinner near the pier.



OK...I always made Grace laugh by putting things on my head, including these colored baby rings. Grace is trying to imitate everything we do now, so of course I need to encourage this :)





Weekends are "daddy time" so I like to take Grace to the park near our house so that she can run around. It's also a good place to get some sweet photos!

Grace wiggles to the Wiggles!

Presidential Library

About a week ago, Phuong and I were looking for something to do...not like having a 22 month old doesn't keep us busy!
We decided to have a family outing and go to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to see the Rose garden and walk around. When we got there we were disappointed by the small size of the "garden." It was more of a walkway then a garden. I guess we were expecting a field of roses because this was the presidential library after all.
It took us about an hour to get there so we made the most of it by just walking around, eating some apples that we brought with us and let Grace run free.

I took several photos but only a few were good.
Here are a few:





"LIPS"

Grace has been home for 1 year!

I cannot believe that it has been one whole year since we arrived home with Grace! Time really does fly...and that is what we did one year ago today...FLY!

That was a long day. It started the night before when we were in Guangzhou at the White Swan Hotel. We made our way down to the deli that was located just outside the hotel to get some traveling food. We had purchased food from here earlier during the trip and liked it a lot. It was really inexpensive and tasted almost like home. We got German cold-cut sandwiches and baked cheese bread...yum!

After coming back into the hotel we said our goodbye's to a few families leaving a bit earlier then us. It was bitter sweet. Although we had only spent a few weeks with everyone, they all seemed like family now. We will be forever connected to them even though we may not see them often.

Then it was time for us to pack because we were leaving pretty early as well. Grace did not sleep very well that night. I can't say we did either. We were all pretty tired the next morning but focused on what we needed to do and where we needed to go.

Everyone was organized and the trip from the hotel to the airport was fine.

The trip to Hong Kong did not last too long...only an hour. Once at the Hong Kong airport we made our way to the check-in counter and secure our seats for the long flight to LA. It took quite some time at the check-in counter but after what seemed to be forever, we had our tickets. This was also a sad moment as we had to say farewell to some of our traveling companions.

We made our way to our gate and had to wait about an hour before boarding. I had to pay for hot water for Grace's bottle at a coffee shop. Then it was finally time to board.

We stood in line with everyone else, then when the airlines saw we had a baby, we went to the front of the line. It's great what a baby will get you :)

The flight was really long. We had bulk head seats and a bassinet for Grace. She did well, all things considered, but did not sleep very much. Phuong and I took turns walking the isles with her on many occasions. Towards the end of the flight, Grace was sleeping so well and we did not want to wake her up, but we hit some turbulence and had to wake her up.

We landed fine in LA and made our way to baggage claim. It was nice to be back in the US, but we would miss China and needed to say farewell to more of our traveling companions again.

The line through immigration was long but not really unpleasant. The attendants at the airport kept looking at us and the babies. I think that it was a real treat for them too.

Once we claimed our baggage we changed Grace's diaper right there on the floor. We were so accustomed to doing this in China and thought nothing of it, but some people at the airport looked funny at us.

Now it was time to meet our friends who would drive us back home. The photo below is one they took as we made our way out of the airport.

Forever Family Day!

"Forever family day," is now here!

I cannot believe that it has now been a year since our amazing Grace was placed into our arms. We had dreamed of that moment even before we started the process of adoption.
Then we were there, standing in that room with all the other families.

I had watched many videos of this moment where other families were given their babies for the first time. Parents would be crying, babies would be crying, sweet words were said, lovely music was played and more joyful crying. I watched these videos not only because I enjoyed these moments but also in an attempt to desensitized myself so that I would not bubble over into a sobbing mess when it was us standing there :)

Now it was our turn. We were in that room standing there. We were going to be handed our baby. This was our moment, our video in the making, our life being changed and blessed forever by receiving the gift of a child!

As we waited, I looked around the room at the other families and saw the same scene. Cameras were set and positions taken. Mother's hands were clenched. Quiet conversations were being had, but all watery eyes were on the door that the babies would come through. The anticipation, excitement and questions were all about to be answered in one moment when the parents names would be called out followed quickly by the baby's name. Some of us caught a glimpse of the nannies and some of the babies going into a room across the hall. I to remember seeing them although I do not remember which baby I saw, but it did not matter. I knew that our Grace was there.

Then it began. The first baby was called (I wish I remembered the order, although I have the paper stashed away.) We all knew the order in which we would be called but we still watched the door. The excitement was incredible! Then the next family was called and another baby handed over. Then the next, and the next. Families were being made so fast as babies were united with their parents and other siblings. There was no time for tears, no time to ponder the moment or even think.

Then, our names were called. In a flash, there she was, our little girl, our amazing Grace. The little girl that we had dreamed about for so many years. The little face we had only seen in photos less then 4 weeks earlier. There she was in the flesh now being handed over to Phuong...her mother in every sense of the word! Such an awesome moment. I still tear up thinking about it, even as I type this.

(Although I did not tear up right then...thanks Youtube!)

Honestly though, there was no time for tears. Even the babies were not crying.

I held Grace for only a moment but it was an awesome moment. I gave her back to Phuong because I could feel that she could cry any second, but she was comfortable in Phuong's arms. We were both over joyed.

For that moment, we were the only ones in the room...the only ones in the world. I am sure all the families felt the same way. It was one of the most amazing days in my life that I will treasure always!

Happy Forever Family Day!