Christmas

Olivia and her new ipod

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning at 5:30 am

We had a great first Christmas with Makenna. She had fun and we all enjoyed seeing her face full of excitement at each new thing. Olivia and Jackson said it was the best Christmas ever! Last year on Christmas we were matched with Fu Yan Hao by the CCAA and we saw her face for the first time 4 days later. So happy she is home now:)

Christmas card picture attempts

Okay there were actually many more pictures. This was just a sample. I obviously was so caught up in trying to get them in the picture I didn't even adjust the camera so there would be no red eye and blurriness. The third one would be my choice but it is soooooo blurry! In my mind the three kids would put on their Christmas pjs and all smile and look cute for a Christmas card picture. Well........ they all managed to look cute but, we will have to try again tonight to get a photo we can use. Makenna is still a challenge to photograph. She is in constant motion and doesn't care if she looks or smiles. She does what SHE wants. I keep reminding myself that being strong-willed and independent are good qualities :)

Wish me luck.

Six Months

We have had Makenna in our lives for six months today. It really has flown by but it also seems like she has been around forever. Just like when her big sister and brother came into our lives now our family feels like we couldn't be complete without her! She amazes us every day with her spirit and ability to let us into her heart a little more. Her first almost 15 months without us are still very present for her but she is also settling into our family. She has made so much progress since we came home. She learned to walk and now she understands EVERYTHING we say. We even spell things already like S-t-r-o-l-l-e-r because if she hears it there better be a walk on the way! Her speech is improving also. She is trying to say things and she says Mama (and she means me!)Dada, Jack, bubble, dog,hot, duck, that, and she says Na when she points to herself. She will point to pictures in a book and can point to all of her body parts when asked...even her booty...lol! Her balance has improved and she falls less and is doing less walking on her toes. She has also grown alot physically. I don't know her current height but the girl has gained about 5 pounds since coming home from China, and she weighed 22 lbs in China! I feel like I am bragging but we are just so impressed with everything that can happen in 6 short months!

Of course we have a long road until she is completely comfortable. She does NOT like Mama to leave, even though Daddy is home now. She is actually more clingy now that he is here. Bedtime has to be with Mama and if she wakes up at night (which she does now-EVERY night) then only Mama can hold her and rock her back to sleep. She points all of us in our family out (Mama, Daddy, Liv, Jack, and Makenna) about 50 times a day. It seems like she is really trying to reinforce or reassure herself that we are all a family and she belongs in it. If two of us hug or kiss she has to be included, and at bedtime she won't go to sleep unless she gets a kiss and hug from everybody (sometimes several!).

She is our busy, silly, smiley, stubborn, brave girl who challenges us daily.

We wouldn't want her any other way.

We love you Makenna and are so glad you are home.

Halloween Fun!

We have had a fun weekend. We met up with Kerry Lu and her family at the Jack o' Lantern stroll on Friday. It was rainy and hectic but nice to be able to see them again! It was a challenge to try and get a picture of two very busy toddlers but you can see how totally adorable they are! I hope as they get older they can enjoy being friends. The monkey costume was cute but everyone thought Makenna was a boy, so next year we need to go for a more girly outfit I guess.
We practically had to hold them down and distract them for a picture!



This is Makenna's "cheese" face


Jackson and Makenna ready to head out for Trick or Treat

I know this picture is tiny, Drew took it with his phone, but I just love it! I really should put more pictures up but things have been busy around here. I promise I will put some pictures of Halloween on here, because I am sure they will be funny. Makenna is going to be a monkey BTW (Thanks Michelle!). Also we are hoping to meet up with Kerry Lu and her family this weekend so I will definitely put some pictures of that double adorable-ness on here!

Picking Pumpkins!

Olivia liked the small ones

Jack's awesome pumpkin!

Makenna giving Daddy a kiss

We took a trip to Hubers today. I love the annual pumpkin picking trip. This was Makenna's first time and she enjoyed it. She wanted to be carried in the patch because it was pretty uneven terrain but she liked looking at all the pumpkins. Olivia and Jackson found some great ones! Beautiful Fall day with the whole family!

Four months ago..

We met a scared, sad little girl in Nanchang. What a difference already. We can't wait to see what comes next. You are an amazing little girl and your family loves you so much!