HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Olivia and I went to my mother's yesterday to spend Mother's Day with her. We got there around 11:00 and then we were off to the mall. We went to eat at Jason's Deli where we ran into two people we knew from Emmaus and one of my sixth grade teachers, Mrs. Coburn from Central Jr High. Mrs. Coburn was my favorite teacher of all times. Mom, Olivia and I shopped for a little while and it is truly amazing because my mom bought me clothes and not Olivia. Trust me that doesn't happen very often. Once we were finished shopping we went to see my Grandma. She was in a great mood and everytime she sees Olivia it is for the first time. She always says, "I didn't know Brooke had a daughter." Olivia will sit with her and grandma likes to love on her.

We got home and Olivia started waiting for Poppy. Every so often she would look at the door and say, "Poppy." She loves Poppy because he takes her outside. He finally arrived and she was ready to get her shoes on and go outside. Once I lathered her with sunscreen (it was very hot and sunny) they went outside to look for the rabbits and deer. Mom and I decided to go to the grocery store and get some wine and cheese. We were probably gone for about 30 minutes and during the time we were gone Poppy and Olivia did a little yard work. By the time we got home Olivia had red cheeks and was sweating. We got into the house and the first thing she did was go for her water. She was pooped but had a great time.

This morning we went to church with Mo. Olivia sat in church with us and was pretty good during the songs but once the sermon started she got a little antsy so we had to go out for a little while. It was nice because after the service some of the men had cooked breakfast for the mothers.

We headed back to Houston after the service and waited for Daddy to get home. Once Daddy got home Olivia gave me a beautiful mother + daughter necklace. It has twin pendants and the top is mother of pearl with Chinese characters for mother and daughter and then underneath is the English translation. It is exactly what I wanted.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MEMAW !!!!!

Tired and Thirsty

Great-Grandma I love your beads!!

Four Generations

Happy Gotcha Day!!

Gotcha Day - May 8, 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 8, 2007

One year ago today Peter and I met our precious Olivia. I remember going into the room and Nelson told us it would be a few minutes but as soon as he said it the girls came in with their nannies. The nannies sat down with them and I knew which one was Olivia. It wasn't hard to figure out since there were only two of them. They sat there a few minutes while Nelson took our info so the director knew we were the right people and then the nannies stood up and handed Olivia to me. She didn't cry and it surprised me that I didn't either. We had waited so long for this baby girl. I gave her a little toy and she was fine. She just kept looking at me. Poor Brianna cried the entire time.

The whole process only took about five minutes. We had to leave because another set of babies were coming in from a different orphanage. We saw them as we were leaving the building. On the way back to the hotel Olivia fell asleep. Once we got her back to the hotel we just sat her on the bed and just looked at her in "ah". We couldn't believe after waiting for so long we finally had our baby.

World's Fastest Easter Egg Hunt

Yesterday, we went to the fastest Easter egg hunt I have ever attended. The egg hunt was suppose to held in a large field by our church but since it rained on Saturday and Sunday morning it had to be changed to the church's courtyard. Olivia was in the 0-2 year old group and they had a very small section of the courtyard. She picked up 6 eggs and was ready to go. Too many people.

Olivia calls me "Mama" and Peter "Daddy". I have been trying to get her to say "Mommy" but she won't say it. So last night while I was rocking her I asked her if she could say "Mommy" and she said it. It was the sweetest thing. Then I asked if she could say "I love you" and she said "I Wa U". That melted my heart. So now she is calling my "Mommy" some of the time and if you ask her to say "I love you" she will normally say it.

More later!

Brooke

Dying Easter Eggs

Olivia dyed Easter eggs today. We had a lot of messy fun! Olivia doesn't like her hands dirty so everytime she would get dye on her hands she would say "Uh Oh" and give me her hands so I could wipe them. I had forgotten that the dye doesn't come off your hands very easy. We all have dyed hands right now.

We went on Friday to get her picture taken at the Picture People. She did so good and the pictures turned out wonderful. Olivia really doesn't like her picture taken. Anytime I take the camera out she will turn or run away. But the girl that took her picture really did a good job with her. I am waiting for her pictures to be uploaded to their website so I can show them to everyone.

Next weekend is the Easter egg hunt at St. Luke's so I will update the blog next Sunday.

Brooke

New Blog

This is our new blog for Olivia. I will stop using Red Thread Kids after her one year anniversary. Larry at Red Thread Kids has been wonderful to extend our website at no extra cost but I know he is very busy with his two girls from China as well as his website business.

Olivia is doing wonderful. She is now 21 months and we have had her for 10 months. I can't believe her one year anniversary is coming up in two months. She is chattering away and Peter and I are getting nervous about her really starting to talk. We are afraid we are never going to get her to be quiet. She is learning new words everyday and learning the different sounds of animals. We were going pass Reliant Stadium the other day and she saw a picture of a horse and she started saying "neigh neigh" out of the blue. She just amazes Peter and me.

Alot has happened in the past month or so. We went to the Families with Children from China's New Year's Party. We had a great time. We got to see the Squire's (the family we traveled with to China) and Brianna has gotten so big. She is so cute and has changed so much. When someone other than her family would look at her she would cry. The night of the party she sat next to Peter and talked to him. It is amazing how many people from the Houston area has adopted from China.

One night we went out with our friends the Saxsons. They have a little girl from China named Zoe. Zoe is 14 months older than Olivia and is just precious. We went out to eat and then back to the Saxson's house and Olivia and Zoe played and had a great time together.

I finally got my braces off after 2 1/2 years. It is wonderful. No more having food in my braces or having to put wax on my braces because I have "pokey" wires. Peter told me it looks like I have dentures because my teeth are so straight. Nice!

This past weekend Olivia and I went back to my hometown to go to the Heritage Festival. My sil and nephews were there too and we had a great time. Olivia and I rode three rides and watched the parade. I grew up going to the Heritage Festival but for about the last 10 years I have worked for a CPA firm so I haven't been able to attend. Since I am only working part-time Olivia and I got to go. I saw several people I graduated with and just had a good time being home. I have to admit I do miss living in a smaller town at times.

Life in Houston is getting better. I have a part-time job I am enjoying and St. Luke's has started a contemporary service and I really love it.

That is all for now. I will be update again soon. We will be dying Easter eggs and going on an Easter egg hunt soon. So I will have pictures.

Peter, Brooke & Olivia