Emerson has a tooth!

But just one... one perfect tooth.

More things to celebrate?

Warning: today's post is more about me than Emerson.

My 44th birthday is Monday.  As my sister's Father in Law would say, I am entering my 45th year of life. I hate aging. Always have so there is little hope that one day I'll embrace the whole cycle of life. I worried about getting old when I turned 8.  Jeez. The good news: I do not feel over 40 and I don't think I look over 40 since it usually surprises people.  Oh, and I have a 1 year old daughter!

Today is our 11 year wedding anniversary - which really means 15 years since we lived together for 4 before we suddenly tied the knot on my birthday trip to Las Vegas.  We'll reflect on that day at some point today and laugh for sure. I think it's funny enough to share.

On top of the Vegas Eiffel Tower, Brian recited a romantic poem that ended with the proposal and I said "you are kidding, right?".  Brian recited the poem again and I said "you know we are going to pay more taxes, right?". Patiently, he recited the poem again and I said yes.  Two hours later we stepped into a limo and were driven to a helicopter.  I was so relieved that it wasn't an Elvis chapel.  Brian had the entire thing planned well in advance and based his ceremony decision on my answer to a question innocently asked several months before our trip: "what tv show did you like better: Hawaii 5-0 or Adam 12"?  Easy. And somehow, Adam 12 landed us in the helicopter. We exchanged vows flying over the strip with my sister and her husband in witness. And when we landed, we rushed to the Mirage to see Siegfried & Roy, the real reason I was in Vegas. A spectacular night!

Our friends and family were shocked when they got the news as we were confirmed partners with no wedding intents.  Seriously shocked - we had to show our wedding certificate to a few people.  The truth is that we had decided to start a family together .. and our journey to Emerson started right there.

So February is a big month for us. Emerson's birthday, our anniversary, and finally my birthday.

In celebration of one year

After delaying Emerson's birthday party by one week due to weather, we had a beautiful day yesterday! It was so nice to have our house full of family and the kids were able to play outside in the sunny 70 degree day. They collected sticks and took walks around the block.  Emerson did great - everyone was able to hold her and she showed off her crawling and crazy faces. 

We had a Chinese theme, complete with Chinese snacks and a cake with a Chinese and American flag:

We had a special treat for everyone - a Chinese calligrapher who wrote everyone's name (plus other words that the kids wanted such as "awesome") on beautiful red paper. We also gave each of the kids a red envelope with a dollar inside, a Chinese tradition.

Emerson had fun with her cake - although she was a little nervous with 20 people staring at her and singing. Hello sugar!

And, one last picture. Emerson is quite taken with her little cousin who is 4. Each time she's seen him she wants to touch his hair and face and this time she was giving him hugs.  So sweet!

Emerson's Birthday

After four days of ice and snow, we have sun!  This special day will include a small family dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant and lots of playtime. The party was moved to next week due to the weather so we'll celebrate with extended family and cake next week.  That gives Emerson 1 more week to practice feeding herself before the big cake experience. 

At one, here is what this little girl is up to.

Crawling! She is starting to explore the house on her own so we have to keep a close eye on her.  She'll take off from a room and be down the hall in the blink of an eye. Luckily she is very steady so I'm less worried about all our tile floors right now (unsteady walking will be another story).  She is working on pulling herself up and is very close.  With help, she loves to stand and her chunky legs are getting stronger every day.

Feeding herself and eating some table food.  This was a big accomplishment since for weeks, she's been grabbing food and throwing it on the floor. The hand to the mouth and then letting go of the food once there is a very complicated motion. Bran muffin just out of the oven:

Making hilarious faces.  Hard to describe and impossible to catch on film, but here is my best shot.

And finally, after a period of unrest, she is sleeping all night by herself in her crib again.

Happy Birthday to Emerson!

One Year Ago Today

February 5, Emerson's birthday.  I've spent all week thinking about her birth mom. What she went through that day and how we are forever tied together in a unique and special way.  Among the community of parents who have adopted from China, there is a lot of conversation about birth mom searches.  It's all way too much for me.  For now,  we know that a beautiful baby girl was born on February 5, 2010. Her mommy was unable to care for her and placed her carefully in a busy place in front of the Guangdong Rural Credit Union, where she knew that she would be picked up quickly and chauffeured to a better life. We are the lucky parents with that charter and will do everything we can to ensure that all of her birth mom's dreams for her are realized with opportunities and love love love...

November photo shoot

We had pictures taken the day after Thanksgiving (thanks Dina!) and I kept them under wraps until Christmas when they could be unwrapped.  Here are my favorites:

A New Year

This was the first First in five years that we didn't spend the day hoping that the coming year will include our daughter. It will. It will. It will!!  So much to look forward to.  It occurs to me that the years to come are going to go by fast; now that we have a little growing daughter who will mark the time right in front of our eyes. The past five years sure ticked by slowly.

And that just reminds me to share a "before" and "after" ... she's changing so fast.

Gotcha Day - October 11, 2010 - 8 months old

Christmas - December 25, 2010 - 10 months old