Pictures as Promised

Here we are about to begin our Christmas Eve traditions, the ones I started with James on his first Christmas and now we get to share with Miah.... Time for Jammies!
After getting them in Matching PJs (how CUTE!!) They each get to open one gift and this is Miah's first Christmas present ever ... It is a Barbie magna doodle board. She would tear one little strip of paper and then hand it to me and then another little strip. By the time it was all said and done I was ripping into them for her.Ok I hate posting pictures of myself, but I will sacrifice for this one. Randy and James had gone shopping for a few last minute items and Randy comes home telling me that James had talked him into buy one more gift for me and that it was to be my Christmas eve gift. James was so excited about me opening my gift that he went on and on about it and was not even concerned with what he would get to open at all. Well I am not a big sponge bob fan at all so you can see by the look in this picture I was VERY surprised at the gift my son HAD to have for me. James laughed so hard and was as excited as I have ever seen him when I opened this up and Randy told me that these were to be my Christmas PJs and I was to go and put them on right now. Yep I wore Bright Yellow and Neon Blue Sponge Bob PJs for my son and he loved every second of it.
Miah gets to help leave milk and cookies for the first time ever, and James insisted the milk be chocolate this year so Santa could have something different. He is so thoughtful.
After the kids as safely tucked into bed and fast asleep we took all the gifts out from under the tree to put them in groups so we can have all the kids gifts near the front of the tree. Now during the month leading up to Christmas I try to keep anything for James well in back of the tree and out of reach, but this year while I was away shopping and Randy was working from home it seems that James found an opening to go digging under the tree and proudly told me the exact number of gifts that were under the tree for him..... Ok not good!! Do you see all the gifts in the pictures.... Well he had to dig through almost all of them to get to his. Little stinker!This is what my little darling woke up to this Christmas.

Miah appears to be first in the picture, but the real story is that James ( after me calling his name a few times) came down the hall first and ran to bury is head in the couch for a few more seconds of sleep. We can have none of that ... not of Christmas day. So I send him after his sister, who would usually by this time be up and yelling for anyone to take her gate down, but wouldn't you know it that when I want her to get up early she can not be bothered. IT took James a few tries to get her up and then she was running down the hall to me. Here is James with all his loot. Such a happy camper was he!Miah had her fair share too. Near the end of opening gifts she got real mad that every time she got a present open we seemed to take away and MAKE her start all over again. She just wanted to play with what she had and why should she open any thing Else if we were just going to take it.Other than my daughter, I would haft to say that this is the most wonderful gift this year. It is one of the most beautiful, heart wrenching pieces of art I have ever seen. I was so taken when I saw it that I cried. Miah also loves it and seems to be very possessive of the book.

One last little story of the day though I could tell you many, but this one takes the cookie! After opening the first round of gifts,and before our families arrived I put Miah in the highchair for a little breakfast and then went to check on James. Randy and I both were walking into the kitchen when we were stoped in our tracks by the sight before us. It seems Miah was not happy with Cheerios and decided that the foil cover close to the chair look far more interesting so apparently she helped her self at 6:30 in the morning to the cookie plate. When she saw us she beamed with pride at her accomplishment and was delight that we could join in on her fun. It is a moment I will never forget... To CUTE!

All and all our family had a wonderful Christmas and we are so blessed to have them both home, safe, and sound! Miah's first Christmas was a hit and all of our family was here to share it with her and you can not ask for more than that.

Christmas Time

This Holiday season has been a whirlwind for us and one that was both wonderful and a little hectic. We did a lot of fun things, but also missed a few things I would have loved to do. However this year we were all together and that was what matters most! Here are a few bullets to our December Extravaganza:

** Papa's Birthday....YEAH!!!

** James lost his first tooth!!

** Mommy lost a crown.BOO!

** Miah put two words together all on her own!

** Uncle Shane had a Birthday!

**James lost a second tooth... to funny!

** Mommy got a new car and said bye bye to the van.

** We celebrated Christmas by hosting the Little Ladybug party with a few of Miahs China sisters.

** Miah saw Santa for the first time, and was not really to thrilled,but survived.

** James asked me for the first time " Is Santa really, really real mama?" I wanted to cry but Randy and I always agreed if he asked we would not lie. Funny thing is even after telling him the whole St. Nick story and explaining what a tall tale is James still made his own choice to believe, and we told him that was OK!

** Randy and I celebrated 14 years of marriage, and I can still say that I love this man with every ounce of my heart. I also learned that you can FALL in love all over again even after being with someone for this long, and it feels really good!

** We hosted Christmas at our house this year and it was WONDERFUL! Miah's first Christmas will defiantly be one that I will always hold dear to my heart. Both of my Children were more than blessed with gifts, but more importantly with the love of family. When I asked James if he had a good Christmas last night before he went to bed he said yes. Then I asked one more time what Christmas was reall about and this is what he said...

" Its about family, and it is Jesus' Birthday. Mom it is about presents too and Jesus." Then he looked at me real serious and said" Really mama it IS about family TOO, you know being together?" I looked at he and told him that was right and then he hugged me real tight and went to bed. As a mom I will always hold that close to me, and as an adoptive mother it struck me even a little closer to home. Family.... I belong.... I am wanted, loved and needed. That is what I heard in my beautiful sons words and that is my wish for all the children of the world.

I will post pic. later. Merry Christmas all.

Start up

Read all about it at the bottom...

Well I have been talking about it for a while now with friends and I have many ideas in my head, but now I actually have the Pilot product. My Sister in law and I are starting a home based business making boutique overalls, pants , and outfits. We will also have a line of bows to match and other little item here and there. We are working on the website but I wanted to get a little feed back here so if you like what you see please drop me a line.... Oh and if you are interested in buying an outfit like this one just let me know. Here is my darling little Model .... Miss Miah.

Catching up again

Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it is the first of December. I was thinking about a year ago I wrote a post thanking those who were waiting for Miah with us, and now she has spent her first Thanksgiving with them so I thought I would share a few pictures, better late than never.

Nene and Miah are good to go with a sippy and snacks they can have a ball.

Well I guess if we haft to have a weird face in the picture at least they were all on the same page!

Ok this one is a little better!

Hey I do have happy kids.... Laughing at PaPa is so much fun!

Miah Is Singing to her Papa.... SOOOO CUTE!

Little Artist and Homework

There are new things happening over here and to me it is a wonderful thing! First of all Miah is really beginning to talk. Words are popping up all over the place and I could not be happier. I was really worried for a while about her speech as most things she says sounds like she has a mouth full of marbles. Now she still has a few words I can not understand, but there are so many new things she is saying that are really clear and real words not to mention very very cute! Mr. James is taking off reading, I mean it was like a light went off in his head and we have an emergent reader in our home. Love it!! Another new thing for James is homework, well ok sort of new, but not fun. We are really trying to get him started on good habits for homework as this will be a constant in his life for the next SEVERAL years and it is a must that will not go away. He is not thrilled about it and is fighting us really hard right now, but I know in time we will get it all worked out. I do try to make it fun where I can, but the truth is there is just only so much you can do with it all. James is doing great in school... almost all A's he has one B that I do not agree with but can do nothing to change as it is school policy to give them a B if they are on level with reading, they must me above level to get an A. He should get an A this six weeks, we will see.

Miah has learned what coloring is all about. My little angel is a budding artist with a flare for the dramatic. We had a great time the other day just playing around with colors enjoy the pictures.

Sweet Sleep

Miah is learning to sleep in her toddler bed. Well actually she has really loved taking her naps there and we have put her to bed at night in the bed and she falls asleep pretty easily, but we need to get a gate before we allow her to sleep the whole night through just in case she wants to get up and roam the house. I do usually let her make the choice of where she lays down and she loves the big girl bed... So I guess it is almost time to say bye bye crib. Here she is in all her glory in her big girl bed.

Eight Months

What was that mom?? Eight months with you and daddy???
Yeah!!! Below is a picture with Miah and her referral photo, in fact this is the first time she has really seen it.

Has time really gone by that fast? It seems like yesterday I was marking the days off the calendar with a longing sigh just to see my daughters face. Now I am cleaning that face and loving every smile I see on that face too! She is amazing and every thing I dreamed of, no she is much much more than I hoped for. These last eight months have flown by and we have watched her bloom and grow, discover herself and the world around her, and begin to love and be loved with out fear. Miah has gone from not being able to roll over to walking, running, dancing, jumping and wiggling all over the place. She has gone from cooing to singing and talking. Her personality comes out a little more every day and I will warn the world she is a spit fire, my girl will take the world and tilt it on the side. I love you Miah, you make my heart so very,very glad!

First Trick or Treat

We had the best time last night! James and Miah came home with a boat load of candy and smiles.I was so surprised at how well Miah handled it all, she was actually pulling me as hard as she could to walk faster and then would try the best she could to stay up with James. James was a great big brother holding her hand and making sure she got candy, even to the point of taking candy out of his pumpkin and giving it to her...SOOO SWEET!! He held her hand and protected her from the sometime swarm of kids to the best of his ability ( mommy had to step in due to rowdy children, but that is ok)always looking out for her. We got Miah to say trick or treat and it sounded like twww teeee just so darling. I think the best part was when daddy showed up, even if he scared the wits out of me. We did not think he was going to be able to make it and while we were walking, Miah who's hand I was tightly holding was suddenly jerked away from me and I was caught by surprise and ready to kill some one when I turned to see Randy grinning from ear to ear. NOT FUNNY! Oh I wanted to do some damage to him for scarring me so. All in all Miah's first trick or treating went great and James in now the owner of not one but two huge stashes of candy with a little on the side for sister.

Swing.... Wordless Wensday

Swing baby Swing.... As high as you can, never be afraid to enjoy the momentum. I love you, mommy.

I love that Miah has no fear, she loves to go higher and higher. In the picture up top every thing is in motion except for her face( click on the picture to get a better view) which shows the sheer joy of the wind in her face. You go baby!!

Wordless Wensday

Carving a pumpkin

Are you kidding me mom, I do NOT want to stick my hand in there!!!!
EWWWW, Sticky Stuff.... Ok I touch one little seed, but that is ALL!
YEAH gross stuff to play with.... OH MIAH.... Hehe!!
What a great job James! ( Daddy did all the carving but James was a wonderful supervisor and gave great instructions!)

What fun it is to get a squishy with our hands...or not! This was another first for our little Miss Miah and boy did I have fun, I mean did THEY have fun. We went with a simple pattern this year, but the best part was trying to get Miah to put her hands in the pumpkin. She was having no part of that and would hardly touch the seeds I pulled out. It took a while to convince her it was ok, but I have got to say she want not at all impressed with the sticky squishy stuff at all. James on the other hand could not get enough and offered to help with sisters pumpkin too. He was all about the experience and loved every second of the gooey mess.

The Beauty that you are .... Miah

Wordless Wensday with Five Minutes for Moms.... Check it out!

My kiddos

A loud screech tests the strength of our glass windows, as my son darts down the hall with a flimsy white cloth. The ever coveted lovie is waved like a banner from his hands and his smile says it all.... I am bigger than you are. No matter, Miah has learned that this ear piercing sound will have mama running with panic to ensure her chicks are ok and all limbs accounted for. It does not hurt to know that the moment mama sees big brother with said lovie he will inevitably get a tounge lashing and the prized item will be returned. Now this happening once a day would test any ones mommy, but this happens no less than two or three times a day. Oh happy happy, joy, joy! To be fair Miah gets James only she is not so sly about it, nope she just walks up and clocks him in the head with a wooden block. The blow this week was hard enough to send my six year old into a total melt down and he still has a very sore spot on his head. I have found my self telling them to cut it out or I will stop the car, and on countless times told them to be nice to each other.... They are without a doubt brother and sister with all the ups, downs, and sideways antics they can come up with, but I LOVE IT, even when I want to crawl up and hide from it. Because when it is good it is really really good and the love they show each other is a once in a life time kind of thing that only siblings could share. When it is bad it is very rarely really bad and only boils down to child's play. The age difference between them is a blessing and a challenge all at the same time, but I would not change a thing and I am so grateful that they have one another. Enough rambling... here are a couple of the really good times ( which is what we have most of the time) of James and Miah today just hanging out waiting for me to go somewhere else with me camera.