Our New Jersey Recognition Hearing

On Friday, April, 21, we had our New Jersey Recognition of Adoption hearing in Woodbury, NJ. Even though Elizabeth has been part of our family since November 9, in order to get a New Jersey birth certificate, we needed to go through the recognition hearing. It was very informal and before a judge. She was very nice and made the whole process very nice. After the hearing, the judge gave Elizabeth a stuffed mommy lamb with a baby lamb attached. Here are some of the pictures from Friday. Enjoy!

Easter with Lizzie!

Easter was so much fun this year with our Lizzie girl! The Easter Bunny came at least five times with candy and toys. I think she was a little overwhelmed with all the stuff. We already knew, and Easter confirmed, that she loves chocolate! We only gave her one little chocolate egg and she wanted more! Aunt Lisa gave her a giant snuggle Elmo! It is just about the same size as her and she loves it! Aunt Ruthann gave her an Easter basket with candy and toys, Grandmom & Grandpop gave her an Easter bunny and some money to buy shoes, Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop gave her a card with a gift inside, Aunt Stephanie gave her some Easter books and the Maddox Family gave her a surprise Easter basket filled with books...which she loves! Oh, and the Easter Bunny left her a basket filled with toys and candy! It was like Christmas! Here are just a few pictures to enjoy!











Our Little Easter Bunny












Look at my pretty dress!













Me & Mommy










I keep pulling, but it is not opening fast enough!









What should I eat first!

Just A Quick Update!

Elizabeth has been with us now for five months. It is hard now to even remember what life was like without her. She is our joy and blessing. Everyday she does something new and we can never figure out where she learns it. She love to take a napkin in the kitchen, get down on her knees and "clean" the floor! God knows I didn't show her that! The other night when we put her down in her crib, she spent a good half-hour laughing and saying, "Ah, titty-tat, titty-tat" (translated: kitty cat) then she fell fast asleep. It is hard not to laugh at her! Here are some pictures we took one night. I bought her a crinoline for her Easter dress and just had to try it on her over her clothes! She looks like a little ballerina!

Video From First Haircut

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New Portraits of Elizabeth

On Saturday, Guy, my sister Lisa and I took Elizabeth to get her Spring portraits. We went to Deptford Mall in New Jersey to The Picture People. We had her Easter Portrait and finally a picture in her Chinese outfit. It was a lot of work getting her to stay still for the pictures, but the pictures turned out great! We hope you enjoy them!

Just A Quick Update!

Not too many pictures this week, but I wanted to post a little update. Guy and I finally got away for a weekend by ourselves. We went up to the Poconos and my mother and sister watched Elizabeth. This was our first weekend away from her and to be honest, we really spent the weekend talking and thinking about her. We really missed her! We went to the outlets mainly to buy Elizabeth her Spring and Summer clothes. We bought absolutely nothing for ourselves! We bought beautiful clothes from Baby Gap, The Children's Place, Carter's and OshKosh! Money well spent! Here are some really cute pictures of Elizabeth sleeping! Enjoy!

Today is Elizabeth's Half Birthday!

Today is Elizabeth's 18 month birthday! It is hard to believe she has only been with us for 4 months. She is so much a part of our lives now. She has a wonderful personality..but stubborn at times. She definitely has a mind of her own and lets you know it! On Saturday, March 18, we had her ears pierced. She cried for just a few seconds.. until the woman gave her a lollipop! We got her sapphire earrings which are her birthstone. Yesterday, our agency Great Wall, had a cultural dinner. It was the first time we had been around other chinese babies and children since we were in China. Elizabeth had quite a nice time and had one of her favorite foods...lomein noodles! We bought her a new dress for the occasion and she looked so cute! Today, she had her 18 month well baby doctor visit and got two vaccinations! Needless to say, she was not very happy! She survived and will not have to get another needle for a while. Here are some new pictures!

This Picture Says It All!

I don't have to say a word about this picture!!

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Saturday was my nephew Zachary's birthday party. He will be 13 years old on March 12! Well, this was the first birthday party that Elizabeth attended. Believe me when I tell you, she really enjoyed it! She had a brownie, birthday cake and her new favorite, cheese doodles! She even helped Zachary open his presents! Enjoy the new pictures!

Mommy & Me

Just a quick update: Elizabeth is becoming more fun everyday. Her vocabulary is getting bigger. The other day she actually said diaper -- she has the cutest little voice. She also says baby, kitty cat, Momma, Dadda and some other words too! Here are some pictures of Elizabeth and Mommy!

Princess Elizabeth

When we first came back from China, Fran, our sister-in-law, gave Elizabeth a beautiful dress. It was almost like a baby bridesmaid dress. Well, the dress was way too big for Elizabeth. Last night, I remembered the dress and just had to put it on her. She was very tired and cranky, but it was one of those times where I just had to dress her up! Of course we took some pictures! Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had our first Valentine's Day with Elizabeth. When we got her up, I dressed her in her Valentine's outfit! She looked so cute! Then off to daycare. She always has a great time in daycare, and Valentine's day was no different. We got our first arts and crafts project: a paper heart with Elizabeth's hand prints! We love it so much. I will post a picture of it as soon as I can! Then, Daddy gave me beautiful roses and gave his little girl a single long stem rose! After dinner, Elizabeth had her very own Valentine's Day cupcake! Anyway, here are some pictures to enjoy! Take care.

The First Big Snow of 2006!

Winter finally came this weekend to the East Coast! We have been waiting all winter to show Elizabeth what snow looks like. Guy and I were so excited to take her outside! She was, to say the least, unimpressed! The pictures are fun to look at anyway! Enjoy.

Weekend Of Firsts!

Well, this has been a weekend of firsts for Elizabeth and us. On Friday evening, we decided to take Elizabeth to have her first haircut. We were a little nervous because the appointment was way after her bedtime and she never had her hair cut, at least here, before! Her hair was so chopped up when she came to us. They really did a job on it at the orphanage. Well, she was great! Caroline, who cuts my hair too, did a great job! Here are a few pictures (taken from the video)

Poem By My Sister Lisa

The Arms That Hold You
by l.m. amorosi

When you were born in China not so long ago
The arms that held you close didn’t want to let you go
But your mother’s arms opened to sadly set you free
And prayed that God would guide you to a loving family
Now there were arms so empty and waiting to embrace
The baby they had dreamed about; that precious little face
And other arms are reaching out to love and hold you tight
The arms of your whole family wait to make everything right
There are grandparents to love you and tell you of the past
And aunts and uncles waiting to show you love will last
There are cousins waiting to hold you and share a gift of love
And friends and family everywhere both here and up above
There are arms that long to cradle you and sing a timeless song
There are arms that want to comfort you and tell you nothing’s wrong
There are arms that long to hold you, just wait until you see
The arms that stretch for miles and miles, the arms of your family.

We Have Been a Family for Three Months!

I can't believe it will be three months since Elizabeth came into our lives! November 8 will always be a special day for us! Elizabeth is thriving! She is now running and can take the stairs in under 2 minutes (going up) we are working on going down. She is almost off her bottle and can feed herself, sometimes with a spoon, mostly with her fingers. She can say Momma, Dadda, Kitty Cat, Juice, Doggie, Jesus, Up, Get Down. She is trying really hard to put words together. Her baby talk almost sounds like sentences. She loves daycare and no longer cries when we drop her off. She goes down for bed around 6:30 p.m. and pretty much sleeps through the night unitl 6:00 a.m. We are truly blessed and thank God everyday for this treasure. Enjoy the pictures!

The Hula Baby!

Last weekend, Elizabeth's Aunt Fran gave her a bathing suit with a hula skirt. It is an 18 month sized swimsuit and we don't expect it to fit her come summertime. Today, we squeezed her into the suit (we had to give her a cookie to cooperate) and took some really cute pictures! Enjoy!

Elizabeth Started Daycare

Well, our original daycare plans were for our sister-in-law, Ruthann, to watch Elizabeth. Things don't always go as planned. Last week when I started back to work, we were driving back and forth between New Jersey and Philadelphia -- it turned out to be about 90 miles roundtrip per day. After the first day, we knew it was going to be too much. So I started looking for alternate daycares. I found a really nice one right around the corner from us, Early Discoveries. Elizabeth started there yesterday and seemed to have a great time. When we picked her up, she was so excited to see us -- she came running over to us to get some kisses! After we got home and had dinner, she was ready for bed at 6:15 -- 45 minutes early! She was exhausted! Hopefully, she will continue to thrive at this daycare. Enjoy the pictures!

Promised Pictures!