Gotcha Dinner

cooking away


my gotcha baby



Po-Po strapping baby in for dinner

soy sauce infused fried eggs and soy and sesame tilapia

spicy tofu and sweet and sour ribs

the gang

We had a belated Gotcha Day celebration dinner on Saturday. In honor of my Gi, I went online to research Hubei recipes and found several that were pretty tasty and easy to make. The menu consisted of steamed rice, sweet and sour spareribs, soy and sesame fish, spicy tofu with peas and soy sauce infused fried eggs. Yummy! Gi really enjoyed the tofu and rice. She also tried the fish and eggs. And the best part was...no left-overs! Big thanks again to Auntie Sara for all the pictures and beautiful t-shirts. And a hugs to Auntie Jessie for bringing over a delicious chocolate cream pie for dessert. We have our Gi. Life is good.

"Mak Mak Sair Sair!"

playing with Aunt Dot's afghan


assuming the ummm position with Uncle Mark



pretend night-night with Uncle Mark

That is how Munch pronounces her auntie and uncle's names. And she mentions their name all day long whether her auntie and uncle are in the room or not. Gi seems to have really taken to them especially her Uncle Mark. She goes to both easily and enjoys their attention to her immensely. It's been great witnessing Gi bond with her auntie and uncle in such a short period of time.

I'm Too Sexy for My Pants

amusing herself


Gon-Gon looks on as Munch twirls and sings her way to dizziness.


round and round we go


The backless look must be in style now.

Auntie Sara, once again, captured some candid shots of Munch at Po-Po's house. After having her poopy diaper changed, Gi refused to put her pants back on. Instead she chose a knitted scarf that Po-Po made and insisted that we wrap it around her waist. Then she proceeded to do her twirly dance in the living room accompanied by her own loud incoherent singing. What a sight! None of the adults in the room could stop laughing.

Hanging with My Pals

dried off and ready to go


blueberry-eating machine



splish splash with the three spice girls

finally a picture of Auntie Sara

turtle poses

Gi spent a hot humid morning with her gal pals at the local zoo. Boy, were we thankful for the fountain area. After seeing most of the lethargic animals and riding on a merry-go-round, we all converged at the fountain area to cool off. The three spice girls embraced the water and had a blast. Auntie Sara, again, served as official photographer.

Playing with the Big Girls

dress-up

tea party

night-night game

First off, thank you to Miss Carmen for emailing these pictures to me. They are of Gigi playing with the "big girl" mei meis. Yesterday, our Gotcha Day, was spent playing with play dough at the library in the morning, meeting up with some of the mei meis and spending copious amount of time with my side of the family. What a great way to celebrate our family day!

I Gotcha!

story time at the library

having fun at the LCS water park

warm-up to the three D pose

in and out of the curtains

Well, today marks our one year anniversary with Munch. It's been a year of joy, challenges and learning for us. Gi will turn two next month. Can that really be true??? My baby is turning two!!! Anyway, we want to wish our travel group a wonderful gotcha day filled with fond memories. We will celebrate this Saturday when hubs doesn't have to work. And next month will be our final post placement report...wow how time flies!

Shutterbug

enjoying a snack at Lion Country Safari

taking a break with Daddy and Gon-Gon at Butterfly World

enjoying a big meal of dim sum in Broward County

pretending to snore with Uncle Mark

putting on Po-Po's necklace

three Ds

goofing around with Daddy

peekaboo with Auntie Sara

modeling for Auntie Sara

playing with Uncle Mark

night-night

Boy, it's great to have Auntie Sara and Uncle Mark visit! Gi has been very excited to see her auntie and uncle from Tally. She repeats Mark's name frequently no matter where she is. Gi easily goes to them and truly enjoys their company. So far, we have visited Butterfly World and Lion Country Safari. Tomorrow we will visit Morikami Park. With each outing, Auntie Sara has been an avid shutterbug documenting Gi's every move. I must thank her for now we will have plenty of recent photos to give to the social worker when she comes to complete our final post placement report. Enjoy the pics!

Olivia Finally!

Hello, Miss O!

The three girls had a relay race. Brea is not pictured because she is waaaay ahead of the other two!

three bathing beauties

two buddies

Hubs is in heaven snuggling all three spice girls. Papa Todd looks on proudly.

It's finally happened! Our little adoption group finally got a chance to see Olivia and her mommy and daddy again last night. They are doing swell. Gi got a chance to hang out with her buddy, Brea, as well as rub elbows with her new friend, Olivia. Big thanks to the Stans for having all of us over for a little fun in the sun and yummy pizzas. The girls were definitely ready for night-night after 3+ hours of fun.

Happy Birthday, Kayla!

Happy birthday, Kayla!

juice and cake break

mouth full of melon pieces


doing stamp art

painting bird house with Mommy

working on bird house with Daddy

Gi, along with Mommy and Daddy, just attended another great birthday party. This time, it was Kayla's turn to embrace the big Three. Kayla had all her little buddies converge at Sparkles, a really neat, locally owned arts and crafts place. All the kids got ample opportunities to make cool take-home crafts. Gi is now the proud owner of a sand art necklace, a beaded bracelet and a "decorated" bird house. Thank you to the S family for having us. Happy birthday, Kayla!

Happy Birthday, Sunny!

Happy birthday, Sunny!

Gi posing in her Jasmine princess costume before heading out to Sunny's party

Three Ds at My Gym


Gi flying across the gym

enjoying the party

hanging with Daddy

airplane ride

hanging with her buds

two happy mamas with their princesses

We spent a joyous Sunday afternoon celebrating fellow mei mei, Sunny, 3rd birthday. Gi had such a blast although you wouldn't be able to tell by her chubby-cheek facial expression. She tumbled, jumped, slid, hung, swung and performed other daredevil acts. Most awesome of all, her two bestest buddies were there also, Princess Brea and Princess Sammy. Happy birthday, Sunny!