Memorial Day Weekend

We had a get-together with the Pitz side on Saturday at our house. Almost everyone was able to make it and we had a great time. After eating a big meal of brats and hamburgers we all took a nice walk and then came back to the house to light the chiminea. We all then sat around the fire hootin and hollerin until 11:00 pm (sorry neighbors!). Olivia made it to 10:00 pm and then went to bed mumbling "no Emma....no Emma". Brian and Barb brought their young dog along named Emma and when she tried to eat Olivia's potato chips out of her hand Olivia learned the two word sentence.... No Emma .... and said it about 300 times, even as she was falling asleep. She was even still repeating it the rest of the weekend.

On Sunday we headed down to Milwaukee to Pine Lawn Cemetery to visit Steve's father's grave and stopped in to see Grandma Pitz who could not make it to the party.

On Monday we visited with Grandma and Grandpa Manning while we cooked out hot dogs and had a little impromptu picnic. It was a busy weekend but the weather was so enjoyable.

23 Months and Growing.....

Olivia turned 23 months old on May 20th, soon we will be celebrating her 2 year old birthday! It's amazing how fast time goes by. She loves to be outside and enjoys getting all wet when helping me water plants.
She can spell her name out and now easily counts to ten. She is showing a little more interest in the potty chair but can't seem to get the timing down just right yet.
I checked the website for the Fuling, China orphanage where she came from. I was looking for some information on the earthquake that hit so close to where we were a year ago. They put a small article out there explaining that the orphanage has no damage and no children, care workers or directors were hurt. There was some damage to the new orphanage which is still under construction but we are happy to know everyone at current orphanage is safe.

GOTCHA DAY 2008

Then......May 14th, 2oo7





And Now..... May 14th, 2008





One year ago today we were flying from Beijing to Chongqing to finally meet Olivia. Thankfully, there were no earthquakes a year ago.
What a year it has been. Olivia has changed so much and has grown in so many ways. At 11 months she was so weak she couldn't sit up or even lift up her head when she was laying down. Today, at almost 23 months she runs around like crazy, is so smart, happy and healthy. She knows almost every letter in the alphabet and can count to five easily. As of last night she was counting to ten but has trouble with remembering and saying "seven". She has really no interest in potty training. The look in her eye says she knows what she is supposed to do but just doesn't want to yet.
She is so much fun and has taught me so much too.

Here is a poem I'm "borrowing" from a friend that also has a blog to update her in-process adoption. I couldn't resist using it.

BEFORE I WAS A MOM:
Author Unknown

Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom,
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was Mom
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words of lullabies.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on
Pooped on
Spit on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers

Before I was a Mom
I had complete control of:
My thoughts
My body
And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
When I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
Could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
Could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonder
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day to all the great mom's out there!
We had a great Mother's Day, my first "official" Mother's Day. Olivia and I posed on my new wicker love seat for our front porch. We all spent the afternoon and early evening at Grandma and Grandpa Manning's house. We had a great afternoon with fabulous food and everyone was there so we all got to visit. Even my Aunt Helen and her son Dave were able to make it. Olivia had a lot of fun with her Great Aunt Helen and laughed so hard while she teased her.

We also got a nice picture of all the women together for this special day.
The four of us were not able to be with everyone last year because we had just arrived in China to pick up Olivia. It's hard to believe that was a year ago.
We are so grateful that things turned out so wonderful for us. Olivia is such a great little girl and we are so lucky to have her.
The news this morning told about a 7.5 earthquake that happened this weekend in Chengdu which is very close to Chongquing and Fuling, even the same province of Sichuan, which is where we got Olivia just one year ago.

We can be so thankful to be home with her safe and sound and have such a wonderful addition to our family. She really had a great time with everyone yesterday and was so very tired by the time I got her in her crib for the night. Today we can recover and take it easy after a very fun weekend. Thank you Grandma Manning for a great day and for everything you do for us during the whole year!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

How We Love To Pose

The first anniversary of GOTCHA DAY is only one week away.

Happy Birthday Aunt Nancy!!

Aunt Nancy turned 29........again......today.

She and Pat took off of work to celebrate her birthday like they always do and Grandma Manning, Olivia and I met them for breakfast and celebrated with them. Olivia brought her a bouquet of flowers.

We had a really nice time with good food and two hours of visiting. Even though Olivia has come down with the sniffles and runny nose she was still in a good mood and socialized as usual.

She even got very cozy with her Uncle Pat. I had taken my latest batch of pictures along and she had to study them very closely with him (even though she had seen all of them a few times already). She is such a flirt!!

She can tell me almost all of the letters of the alphabet and can spell her name out. Now we are working on numbers and can almost count to five and always has to yell out YEAH! when she is done. We can't wait to get together with everyone for Mother's Day which is just around the corner.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANCY!!

We hope you had a great day!