Happy 2nd Birthday Miah!

Today we celebrate Miah's 2nd Birthday! Miah has been home for a little over a month now and she is doing so well. We are so blessed that she was able to come home before her birthday so we could celebrate as a family. I love to watch her as she explores new things and I wonder...has she seen a balloon before? Has she had chocolate cake before? Has she ever unwrapped a gift? I also think about the mother who had to leave this precious child. Is she thinking of her today? Does her heart ache for her? I pray that God will give her a sense of peace and that today her heart would be touched by his love.

Good Friends And Summer Fun

Waiting for my friends to arrive
Madi trying out the bounce house!
Ni Ni thinks this is great!
All the kids minus 5 that went home earlier


Last night we enjoyed some time with friends, many of which prayed for and supported us during our journey to Miah. We had a BBQ and rented a bounce house for the kids (all 26 of them!!!) Miah thought it was great to have so many people to play with and loved taking a nibble from everyone's plates.

Ladybugs

Ladybugs have been a long time theme for adoptions from China and are often thought of as a good luck sign. Miah's room and bedding are decorated with ladybugs and we are planning a ladybug themed 2nd birthday party for Miah in a couple of weeks. Her she is sporting her ladybug bow (Thanks Colleen) and ladybug drees (Thanks Lisa).

Miah is a happy independent little girl. She is giving us lots of snuggles and has started looking for us to comfort her when she falls or pinches her fingers in the drawers (yes, she has done this many times, yet still is determined to open and close the drawers.) She loves to "sing a long" to the music in the car and this week has been nodding her head for 'Yes' and trying to say "more." She waves bye bye especially when she wants to do something she is not allowed to and wants US to go bye bye! Her favorite "not allowed" activities include draining the water cooler onto the floor, throwing things into the toilet and sneaking food from the pantry. Her favorite new food so far is blueberries and she has discovered that ice cream is not too bad either!

2 Weeks

Miah "Ni Ni" has been home almost two weeks. We have seen her personality come out a little more each day. It is fun to discover what she can do and what makes her smile (or scream...she has the 2 year old tantrum thing all figured out). Last Sunday we introduced her at church. She was less than thrilled as Drew took her up front, and displayed her emotion by turning her back to the congregation during the introduction.

We are working on bonding and building an attachment to both Mom and Dad. Last week she would not let me come near her when she had her bottle, but now will come looking for my lap when it is time for her bottle. I am still not allowed to touch the bottle while she is drinking, but we are making progress. She is starting to give us lots of hugs and kisses and most of the time she is the one initiating. Today she blew me a kiss which was very fun because I didn't even know she knew how to do this. We are falling more and more in love with this little girl each day!

Beach Day

Miah enjoyed her first outing to the beach...we thought she might be a little hesitant of the sand and water, but not so...she wanted to be right in there where all the action was!