A Valentine from Ian

As part of her Valentine celebrations, Katie received a Valentine from her cousin, Ian, in the mail. She was so excited to get her card, and she was even more excited to see zoo animals on the card. The first thing she said when she opened it was, "Look! My giraffe! My giraffe! My giraffe!" She continued to get more excited when she found out that the card came with stickers.

Now that I have the envelope partway open, I know I can finish it. 

My giraffe is on the front! 

There was a whole zoo inside the card. 

Ian even scribbled his name on the back. He's pretty talented!

I'm so glad he sent me stickers. 

I got to choose where to put all of the stickers in the zoo. 

Thank you, Ian!

Playing in the Kitchen

Katie usually likes to have company around when she's playing in her kitchen. When she's busy though, she doesn't always like to have a camera around.

I made some yummy cookies. 

It was just about time to get them out of the oven. 

It's a top-secret recipe. No cameras allowed. 

Hi! (I love how Katie holds the phone. The earpiece almost always sits above her ear.) 

It's Garyldine. She's looking for carrots again!

"Scary Baby" Returns

When Katie was small, she made a funny expression quite often that we referred to as "scary baby." As she made her expression, she would clutch her fists and tighten her whole body. The expression disappeared for awhile, but now it's back. I know she's no longer a baby, but we'll most likely always call her expression, "Scary Baby!"

Scary Baby is back!

A Surprise

Garyldine and Aunt Jody came to visit one night. Garyldine had fixed Katie's Ariel doll that had lost her hair again and was returning it. She was also bringing Katie carrots since Katie's always on her play phone with Garyldine while she looks for carrots. Lastly, she surprised Katie was a new Ariel doll with real hair that wouldn't fall off. Katie was thrilled.

I was so happy that I did my tiptoe-running dance! 

Thank you, Garyldine!

Three Years Ago

Three years ago today I received my referral for Katie. Although the calendar proves that time has passed, the memories still seem very clear. I had been waiting for about five years for a referral, so in a way, notice of a referral seemed unreal. I read the email from my adoption agency repeatedly. I knew from the email that I had a referral and I should be expecting a call with details. I had a feeling of nervousness as I waited for my phone call with still so many unknowns waiting to be heard. Excitement overruled any other emotion though. She was definitely worth the wait and a perfect match!

Referral Picture - February 2011

February 2012

February 2013

February 2014

A Postcard

Katie was happy to get a postcard in the mail from Garyldine. She had gotten it for Katie when she went to San Diego. I wish mail always stayed so exciting!

A postcard for me? 

I can hold me card without hands!

Play-Doh

Katie loves Play-Doh. Since the Christmas decorations came down, she has been making up for lost time with it. Now that her table is back upstairs, it's much easier to use Play-Doh.

When I was really little, I didn't like how Play-Doh felt. Now I don't mind touching it at all. 

I tried to make the Play-Doh as flat as I could, so I could cut out a giraffe. 

Sometimes it helps to have a rolling pin.

A "Tap Dance"

After dance class, Katie went up to visit Aunt Jennifer in her room. Just as she was about to leave, she discovered that the Jennifer's tile floor in the bathroom was a perfect tap-dancing stage.

Aunt Jennifer has all the fun things - like a tile floor!

A New Tutu

Garyldine gave Katie a tutu this Christmas that she could wear with her pajamas or during the day. We tried to put the tutu on her on Christmas Eve night, and all she did was cry. I think I've said it before, but Katie often needs a warming-up period with something new.

I put the tutu in her closet and waited for her to be ready for it. A couple of weekends ago, she decided it was the best tutu in the world. She wanted to wear it with her pajamas. She also insisted on wearing it to her dance class. Her "new" tutu brought her lots of compliments.

My tutu was so fluffy! 

I loved to twirl in it. 

This is my favorite ballerina pose. 

I was excited that we got to use the bar at dancing class. We had never used it before. Right after my mom took this picture, I surprised everyone by putting my right foot straight up on the bar. My mom was just glad I didn't kick my friend, Kyla, while I was being flexible.

Chinese New Year Celebration

Jennifer and I took Katie to our local Chinese New Year celebration. Katie was excited to do something different, but by the end of the night, she was ready to come home.

When we arrived at the celebration, we got caught in an absolute downpour. All of us were soaked to the bone by the time we reached the door. As we looked back toward the parking lot, the wind picked up with the rain and it looked like we were in a tropical storm. Luckily most of Katie's wetness was on her coat, so that was easy to remove for her to be comfortable.

We began by having a traditional Chinese meal. The plates were already filled, so we just had to take a plate and find a place to sit. Katie was excited to look at her plate of food, but she only ate a small bit of it, and I wasn't at all surprised by what she ate - rice and broccoli.

After dinner, we headed to the auditorium for the entertainment. Katie was excited because she knew she would see some dancers. As we walked in, a man handed Katie her first red envelope. When we got to our seats, she happily opened it up to find a dollar inside. She put her dollar in my purse for safekeeping and waited for the entertainment.

We didn't realize we had gotten to the auditorium so early, and we had to wait a long time for the entertainment. Katie handled most of the waiting well, but she really was anxious to see something. When the show started, the host came out and began talking and introducing other guests who talked as well. Some spoke Chinese and some spoke English. I don't think it really mattered what they were speaking to Katie. It mattered how long they were speaking. She just wanted to see the dancing.

By the time the first act was ready to come on, Katie was hungry since she didn't eat very much at dinner and started asking for popcorn. We told her there wasn't any popcorn there, but we could make her some at home. We shouldn't have said that because the next thing we heard was, "Take me home, please."

We stayed for the first three acts, and Katie got to see some of the dancing she was waiting for, but we ended up leaving early since Katie really just wanted her popcorn. After getting home and having popcorn, Katie told us that she had fun!

We hurried in from the car, but we still got soaked! 

I got a big plate of food. 

You can't beat a good piece of broccoli!

 It was fun to get my first red envelope!

I found a dollar in my envelope! 

My mom and I took a self-portrait when we got in the auditorium.

Where's the dancing? 

Aunt Jennifer checked the program, and she saw that the dancing would be coming. 

After a lot of waiting, I just wanted popcorn. 

These ladies played drums and danced. 

When I didn't get popcorn, I just relaxed on Aunt Jennifer's lap. I told her she was my pillow. 

The picture turned out blurry, but I had fun watching a fellow ballerina.

(Whenever Katie sees or hears about a ballerina, she always says, "She can dance! Just like me!")

A Walk in the Ice

The day after we had freezing rain, we had decided to stay in our house while our fingers were crossed that the ice would melt quickly. However, we soon felt housebound and wanted to get out. Jennifer and I each had a pair of Yaktrax to help us from sliding in the snow. We decided we could wear those out and each hold one of Katie's hands to keep her upright.

As we put the Yaktrax on, Katie looked at them, and she thought they looked like Tigger's tail. Well after that, she wanted them on her feet. "I want Tigger tails! I want Tigger tails!"

We finally got Katie to understand that our "Tigger tails" were too big for her feet. We got outside and each took one of Katie's hands, and she experienced sliding. Our feet walked. Hers slid.

We took a break on our slippery walk. I stood in the snow-covered bark at the side of the road. I dug a hole with my feet, so I wouldn't slide!

I still want to wear the Tigger tails!

Ice

Our snow storm did eventually turn to freezing rain. Yuck. Snow is so much better than ice. The morning after we had started to get ice, I opened my blinds in the morning, and Katie was shocked. "Where did my window go?"

I couldn't see out of our window with all of the ice! 

Our snowy hill was now our icy hill.

My Tree!

One bad thing about kids sledding down the hill next to our house is that the fence around the water reserve in back of our house always ends up getting damaged or broken. A lot of the kids don't like to stop the sleds, and they let the fence stop them. After enough kids run into it, the gate typically breaks. Luckily the city replaces the gate fairly quickly, but it's too bad that they have to replace it at all.

A day after the gate was broken, some kids were sledding down the hill, and they wanted the broken gate to stay propped open, so their sled ride could last a little while longer. After trying to prop the gate open and failing a few times, one of the boys snapped a thin branch off one of the trees in the pond area, so he could push it in the snow in front of the gate and stop it from closing.

I had seen him do it, and I made a comment about it to my sister. Katie was listening though. She was so mad that the kid had broken her tree. She cried about it. Then she decided to talk to the boys through the back window. "Excuse me, kids. You broke my tree. It's not nice. Will you fix it? I need my tree back. My tree! My tree!" (It's not really our tree. It's just one of the many trees Katie likes to look at.)

When Katie couldn't get over her upset, I told her the kids fixed her tree. She felt much better. However, when we went out to shovel again, she did walk to the rail and asked, "Why did you break my tree?"

You broke my tree! 

My tree! 

Oh no! 

That's not nice, kids! 

I'm so sad about my tree! 

Please fix it!

Valentine's Day, 2014

For Valentine's Day, Katie made Valentines for my students once again. Aunt Jennifer surprised Katie with her boxes of cards, and Katie was more than thrilled to have a Little Mermaid theme on the cards. I helped Katie with the writing, but Katie put the stickers on them to keep them folded.

I didn't have school on Valentine's Day, so Katie delivered her Valentines on Thursday. She stayed at school long enough to visit some friends, build with pattern blocks, and have a few treats that were given to her.

Katie also received her own Valentine in the mail from my friends, Noreen and Joe. Katie was so happy to open the card and find some stickers as well.

On Valentine's Day, I took Katie shopping for awhile and let her choose some presents for my mom and sister to celebrate. First, she chose to get Jennifer a box of Peppermint Patties - a gift I knew she'd like. Then, she chose to get my mom a toilet brush - a gift I knew she'd like too. She was so proud to find my mom with the toilet brush in her arms and shout out, "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Later that night, there was a knock on the door. Katie helped me answer the door. She looked down to find a red watering can filled with chocolate. It was the perfect way to end the day! (Thank you, Garyldine!)

I had fun in my mom's classroom building objects with pattern blocks.

After my hard work, I decided to rest.

I think I know who sent me this envelope!

What a great card!

I love my stickers!

I got a Valentine on the doorstep! 

Thank you for my gift!