"That's him, that's my brother, and his name is Benjamin"

So let me explain the title of this post...have patience...it's long, but it has powerful meaning...

On March 14, 2011, it was announced that China had opened back up to singles. This was the day I had been waiting for, for almost 6 years. I had always planned for Leila to have a sibling, and when China closed to singles (6 months after I brought Leila home), I figured I find another way. I researched other countries, but nothing was as black and white a process as China. I was just about at the point where I had come to terms with Leila being an only child, when China opened up again to me.

I immediately contacted the adoption agency I used to adopt Leila, and told them I wanted to adopt again, and told them I wanted a girl. They told me that there were many boys who needed families, and would I consider a boy. I told them I would think about it...meanwhile I had paperwork to start.

A few days later, I was driving home from work, and this name "Ben" came into my head from out of nowhere...and I thought to myself...why am I thinking of this name Ben, I don't even like the name Ben (for crying out loud, it's the name of a rat in a Michael Jackson song)! But then I thought...this must be the sign that I should consider a boy to adopt. So I contacted my adoption agency and told them "yes, I would consider a boy".

Then the files started coming in...beautiful baby, toddler, and young boys. All adorable...I wanted to bring them all home. I would look at their files at night, after Leila had gone to bed, and think about how this child would fit into our life. I was down to 3 files that I was ready to have reviewed by a doctor. Then one day I came home, and my agency had sent a file...the content of the email said something to the effect of..."there's something about this boy, that says I should send his file to you, please take a look". I opened the file, while Leila was in the room, and up popped this beautiful face...and Leila saw him and said to me "That's him, that's my brother, and his name is Benjamin." I was floored! Could this just be coincidence, or was this the boy I was meant to adopt?

So I then ended up with 4 files to take to the doctor for review. By the time I left the doctor's office, I had 2 files left...Benjamin was one of them, and he is who I chose...or was he chosen for me? Who knows...but I do know that he will be my son.

We're coming to get you Benjamin!

It's Time To Go To China again!

Stay tuned.

Obla Di, Obla Da, Life goes on...

First, let me say that TODAY (1/9) is our "Gotcha Day"...Leila and I have been together for 3 years now, and I can never thank China enough for giving me this gift. Here she is in her "Gotcha Day" clothes. Believe it or not, the shoes still fit her...but they were big on her to begin with.

So sorry I've been negligent in my posting, but between school, work, and being sick, and having this monstrous house to take care of (I so need a maid), I just don't have time to blog. But I DO have time for pictures. So here's what's been going on since Leila started school.

In October, we welcomed our dear friends, Liz and Jay's, new baby, Alex to the world. He truly is the cutest baby I have ever seen. How good a friend are Liz and JR? Well, they let Leila hold little 5 1/2 pound Alex.
Halloween: I waited until the last minute to get Leila her costume...she can never decide what she wants to be, so I always have to choose for her. I got her a Renaissance Dress, and a Doctor's outfit (they were 50% off by the day of Halloween, so it was like BOGO Free)...she wanted nothing to do with the "dress"...so guess what she was? And her annual traditional pose with Uncle Jay. Alex was only a month old, and far too little to go "Trick or Treating" with us, but I'm sure he'll be out there next year.

Thanksgiving was a feast, and Leila enjoyed helping out in the kitchen this year. She also had a wonderful show at school. See how little she is? She's the littlest one in her class. She needs to have a growth spurt...poor little thing. Oh well, I was never petite and always wanted to be, so she can be petite and tell me what it's like!

We made Brownie's for dessert, and Leila and I enjoyed making this video of Chef Leila. Also of note, you'll see a white dog laying on the floor in the family room, in the background...that is our beloved Aragon, who was 16 years old, and was in congestive heart failure and had chugged along for a year with this fatal disease. She was gently put to sleep right after Thanksgiving. Leila took it all in stride, and since she understands about God and Heaven, she was content that Aragon was up in Heaven with God. Oh, and you'll notice Leila is in an eye patch. Nothing's wrong, it's just that she spent 2 1/2 years in China without glasses, and she has good vision in one eye, and bad vision in the other. So her brain got used to only using the good eye, and now, even with glasses, since her brain has been trained to use only the good eye, it won't use the bad eye. So we've patched her good eye, to force her brain to start using the bad eye. The good news is, she went from 20/100 (with glasses), to 20/70 in just 6 weeks. So she's still in the patch, and will be until the Dr. feels that her vision can't get any better.

Christmas: This year Leila was a BIG help in decorating the tree. She was very proud of her accomplishment. Then of course, her big trip to see Santa and to pose in her Christmas dress (I hate this year's Santa picture, it didn't come out well, at all, but I really didn't notice how bad it was until I got home...so it is, what it is).




And finally, we had professional portraits done at Target...I wasn't too happy with them, so we'll have to go to a "real" professional soon. But, here's a decent shot of me and my little darling (I got this picture off the Target website, and it's low quality, because they want you to buy the pictures, not steal them...and I did buy some of them, just not this one). It was the first time I curled her hair...and I thought it came out really cute.

And yet another milestone...

WOW...I can't believe it. My baby started Kindergarten today. She was SO excited to be going to the "big" school. Leila often talks about wanting to be bigger, and be an adult...she so quickly wants to wish her childhood away...if only she knew, how much she should cherish this time in her life...so I do my best, to make these memories, as special for her as possible...so when her young life is over, and her adult life begins...she will have these special times to look back on. Don't grow up so fast baby...this innocent time of your life is the best!!!

Another Milestone

Sorry...we've been soooooooooo busy

Enjoy this video...a day in the life of our insane, but fun house. She keeps me laughing all the time!!! I love her so much!

Vacation Time

Well, after over 2 years home...Leila and I finally took a vacation. Since it was our first vacation together...I wasn't sure what to expect, but let me say that it was probably one of the best vacations I ever took, and Leila had a fabulous time too.

We left COLD Virginia, and headed down to WARM and Sunny Florida to stay with our friends, who live in Orlando. We went to Disney World, Epcot, and then spent the rest of the week at the Beach. What was great about it, is we got all the walking and exhausting stuff done first, then spent the rest of the week relaxing at the beach. It really was the perfect vacation.

My friends in Orlando have 2 kids, 11 and 13, and they were wonderful with Leila, and took her on all the dizzy round and round rides, that I would NEVER get on!!! I was totally prepared for Leila to wimp out on going on any rides...but she was amazing and is a Disney Ride Diva!!! Because we stayed at a Disney Resort, we got to stay 3 hours longer at the park, which meant, rides until 2am. My girlfriend asked if Leila would make it that long...and I didn't have a clue...so we rented a stroller, and just played it by ear. At 1am, when my girlfriends kids' had had enough...my little trouper was saying "more rides, more rides". Leila never used the stroller!

We hit Epcot the next day...but we were all still exhausted from the Magic Kingdom the night before...so we kinda dragged through it all...and Leila wasn't overly excited about the rides there...guess she's more of a thrill seeker...and prefers those crazy teacups and the speedway at the Magic Kingdom!!!

Next, we headed to Daytona Beach, and Leila's first sight of the ocean. She was enthralled with it all, and luckily, my girlfriends kids and their friends took Leila off into the water, and let her help them build sandcastles. While I reclined on a beach chair and read a book...perfection!!!

Anyhow...I would say our first vacation together was a huge success...and if I have anything to say about it...we'll be doing it again soon. There's nothing better than having a friend who lives in Orlando, and has a beach house...and 2 built in babysitters!!! HAHAAHAHAHA

And Nicki and Noah...if you read this...you two are the BEST...and did a great job taking care of Leila and entertaining her. You were so very kind, and gentle with her...although Noah is still the "monster"...but she loves you both so very much.

Debbie and Mike...THANK YOU for the hospitality and opening your home to us...we had a great time! Madeline...thanks for the YUMMY dinner on our final night there...Your, from scratch, Caesar salad is TO DIE FOR, and lived up to my memories...thanks for making it for me, upon request!

Now...here are some pictures of our adventures:

Leila's favorite guy!!! She wouldn't pose with Minnie...because she had a dress on, and she was wearing diapers (she was wearing bloomers...but you couldn't tell Leila that)!!!

Her next favorite guy, Goofy.

Pluto...another favorite of Leila's!

Leila and I at Epcot

Leila and Nicki...Nicki is sharing her frozen banana...it looks like Leila didn't like, but she did and ate it all...poor Nicki...Nicki...I owe you one frozen banana!

Leila in China (Epcot)!

My little surfer!

The BEST babysitters!!!

Beach shots of Leila and I together. Thanks to my friend Leiha for taking these pictures. I'm often the picture taker, so there usually aren't too many shots of Leila and I together.

Beautiful Child

First let me say my apologies for being so lax in my blogging. My little petri dish has been sharing her germs with me, and I've had 4 colds/flus/virus' in a row, since Christmas. I think I definitely need to start eating better. I did start taking vitamins, so this last bout wasn't as bad as the first three.

Anyhow...this post isn't about that...it's about what a beautiful child I have. I honestly wonder, everyday, how I was so blessed to be given this child. She has such a beautiful soul, such a beautiful sense of humor, and such a beautiful love that she shares with me. Everyday I get at least 10 I love you Mommy's from her, and hugs and kisses galore. So the other day, I worried that maybe there was some inner reason she was saying this so much. Maybe she was needing some kind of reassures from me. So I asked her "why do you love me?", and all she could say was "because". So I said to her, well, let me tell you why I love you...you make me smile every day...your sensitivity for me and others, makes me love you...you listen to me when I ask you do to something...you help me so much around the house...and because you are beautiful inside and out. So she says to me, "well, I love you because you take good care of me, you tuck me into bed, and you play with me when I take a bath...you make me laugh, and you are silly...and I love you because you are beautiful inside and out."

She amazes me daily, this joy of my life.

Broadway

So...it's in my profile...I LOVE broadway shows and can't wait until Leila is old enough to go with me to New York. Until then, I've been taking her to local productions of shows, seeing if I can get her to sit through a whole show. She saw some children's show call "The Boy Who Could Talk To Penquins", and did really well, until the Penquins came out into the audience to play hide and seek, at which point Leila jumped in my lap for protection. But other than that, she sat through the whole thing and enjoyed the show. The next show she went to was a local production of "Cats", she LOVED it, and didn't even mind the Cats running up and down the aisle. She was even dancing in the aisle at curtain call. I'm now trying to find a local Christmas show somewhere to take her to, since she seems to do so well at live shows and enjoys them. But very soon, she'll be seeing the neon lights of Broadway with Mommy, I feel certain.

My Broadway Wall...and this is just about half of my collection, because this was all I could hang without a ladder. Hopefully I can get my friends over soon and get the rest hung.

China Video

I've been meaning to put this Link up. I did it several months ago, as I was exploring ways to make video's of all the photo's I have and want to organize. I'm also trying to get into digital scrapbooking, and that will be my next project to conquer.

So here's a link to the video I made. I don't think it will be the final video of our China trip...but it works for now.

http://server3.inalbum.com/ia30/show/wantbaby61/

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So, thanks to Comcrap (and I'm being kind), I've been without internet for several days now. Unfortunately, they're the only game in town, and I'm stuck with them.

Anyhow...on to happier things, we've decorated the tree, and Leila got a letter from Santa Claus, and she's at the top of the "good girl" list!!! Quite honestly, I'm not surprised...I'm an upfront kinda mom, I'd tell ya if she was a "bad" girl...but she isn't...and she never is. She's almost too good, and I worry about what she's going to be like as a teenager...will I be paid back then?!?!? I'm trying to be a "cup is half full" kinda mom, but Leila is just too good to be true sometimes! Alright, alright...I'll stop the whole Kathy Gifford routine!!!

Santa Claus...

So today, a couple of 2nd's for my girl....second haircut, and second time to sit with Santa. We are very lucky here that we get the "real" Santa in our small burb. I mean really, after you stop looking at the beautiful Leila, look at Santa...it's really him, nothing fake about him at all. I love that he doesn't wear a Santa suit, he's the casual Friday Santa, and I'm a casual Friday kinda gal, so I dig him! He was here last year, so I was happy that he was back. I thought maybe the "real" Santa rotated cities or something...but no, he likes our little city.

We were 3rd in line, and Leila was anxious to spew forth the list of presents she wanted. When she got on his lap, she was going a mile a minute with her list of must have's. When she was done, she came to me and said "Santa didn't give me any presents"...AHHHH, I hadn't thought of that kind of logic in a 4 year old. So I quickly explained to her that he's just taking her order, and he will deliver the presents on Christmas...I hasten to add "if you're a good girl". I swear I'm milking this whole naughty and nice thing!

Anyhow...here she is...waiting for Santa...then finally, he arrives!

I'm a Christmas Freak...

And I LOVE these video's. With the advent of "You Tube" they are so easy to find now. For the past few years I always had to hunt them down. This is one of my favorites from last year. They won't put up 2007's until the 2nd week in December (and it's supposed to be bigger than last year's), I'm on pins and needles to see what they do this year. Meanwhile, enjoy last years, and as soon as their 2007 one starts going, I'll post it. It's 6 minutes long...but be patient...it's SO worth it. If you'd like to see more, go to their website www.lindsaylights.com.



Holly cow...I found another one...this one has FIREWORKS...all I can say is WOW!

What a difference a year makes...

It's amazing the changes that take place in a child in a year. You never forget your first's with your child, and they are precious memories, that you never forget. But I've come to find that the second's are just as joyous and amazing. Mainly because your child is just so different each year. How they look is different, and how they react is so different as well. So even the second's are as memorable as the firsts, because your child is just as joyous the second time around as they were the first time, if not more so. Also, Leila's age, and time in this country, makes a big difference, because this time, she understands things so much more. So here are a few firsts...and some seconds.

1st Easter 06

2nd Easter 07

1st Fourth of July 06

2nd Fourth of July 07

1st Birthday (she turned 3) 06

2nd Birthday 07

1st Halloween 06

2nd Halloween 07

1st Christmas 06

2nd Christmas 07

To Be Continued...