Magnolia's First Halloween

She was a magnolia blossom, of course!


Magnolia's friends, Charlie & Marista
We had so much fun taking Magnolia up and down our street. It was the first time we weren't home to hand out candy! I also got to carve the two pumpkins we grew in our garden this year. Seems like a lifetime ago that I planted them. I never thought the day would come.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I looked out my window today and was surprised to see a "pumpkin" in our garden!

Magnolia and I have been gratefully housebound all week. It's been cozy and relaxing, a good time to recover from her cold. We've been busy in the sewing room working on her Halloween costume. We're taking her around the neighborhood tonight! Check back for photos.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Magnolia Turns One!

Too bad she was sick! She woke up on her birthday feeling fine and within a few hours she was miserable. Poor thing, she had a bad head cold, runny nose, eyes, and fever. To top it off she's cutting her two bottom teeth too. She loved her cousins and tried to play as much as she could. I never even got to put her in a pretty dress. She blew out her candle in her sleeper and didn't even eat her cupcake. :( She's feeling better now. She's very busy playing with all of her new toys!

Thanks everyone for coming to celebrate, we loved seeing all of you!

Not much of an appetite for her birthday dinner.

Magnolia with her aunts.

Pumpkin cupcake for our little pumpkin.

Napkin Face. Silly Aunt Emily. Opening presents.
Magnolia's first baby doll

Look at that shirt, she was drenched from drool.

Papa surprised me with a printed copy of our blog for my birthday.

Magnolia trying hard to play while sick.

Early Saturday morning and they all wanted pretzel rods, including Magnolia.
Papa bought pumpkin hats for all the girls. Lilah refused to wear hers. :)
Willa
Lilah and Ellie
Ellie

Lily

Lilah

My Birthday

Today was my birthday and what a special birthday to finally be a mom and share it with Magnolia. Last year on my birthday I was so depressed that it was yet another year without being a mom. I specifically remember being happier that day after my birthday. I felt like I could then start to look forward to this birthday when I knew I would have Magnolia. Little did I know that Magnolia was born on that very day! What a wonderful thing to share birthdays with her! We had so much fun today. We went to story time at the library, did some baking, went shopping, and went for a long walk. George brought home Chinese food and we had a great family night together. Tomorrow is Magnolia's birthday and we are having lots of family come this weekend. We are so excited to see everyone and Magnolia will get to play with her cousins! Check back for photos!

Color

George came home from work and quickly took us out to the front porch to see one of the most spectacular sunsets we've seen in a while. Magnolia actually pointed to it when we stepped outside.
This week Magnolia will be one and I can hardly believe it. She was only 7 months when we first saw her picture, she was only 9 months when we held her for the first time and all of a sudden she's a year! This is going way to fast for me but I'm enjoying every minute with her. She's certainly brought the color back into our lives. We even have a "pink pile" when we do laundry. In addition to the whites, darks, and brights, we a have glorious heap of tiny pink things. Pink sleepers, pink leggings, pink socks, pink onesies, and pink towels. Color is creeping back into our lives, literally and figuratively. It is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

The Little Farmer

We went to The Little Farmer on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and the drive through the countryside was gorgeous. We went on two hayrides, dipped our own caramel apples, and took LOTS of photos!

TGIF

I went to Bunco last night so George had Magnolia all to himself. Naturally she should have her own leather chair to match George's so he brought it up from the basement so they could watch t.v. together.
Magnolia and I went to the library story time this morning. We had lots of fun and met another adoptive family.
Magnolia LOVED the enchiladas I made. I didn't realize how spicy they were until we ate later but apparently she didn't mind.

Cooking & Gaining Weight

My friend, Christine, and her son, Charlie, came over for a visit yesterday. I was making granola and Charlie had the great idea of helping me. We spread oats, brown sugar, and coconut on the pan and Charlie and Magnolia had the best time spreading it around and eating it by the handfuls. I just wish I had a close-up of their faces, they were glistening with brown sugar!

I took Magnolia to the doctor today for her second round of immunizations. I asked if we could weigh her because I was sure she didn't gain anymore weight since she's still wearing some 3-6 month clothing. Oh boy was I wrong! She weighs 18.3 pounds! She gained almost a pound since our last visit! Since her little legs are so sore from the shots, I carried her in the sling while I made soup and cupcakes. I'm getting good at cooking with a baby in my arms. :)

Jing

We went out to dinner with my friend, Jing, and her husband last night. It was the first time Jing got to meet Magnolia. I was anxious to see how Magnolia would respond to Jing speaking Cantonese to her because I had heard that some babies cry, cry, cry because it brings them back to their time in China. Magnolia gave no reaction at all. She was just her usual funny, charming self. We had a great time!

Monday Monday

We met George for lunch today and just because it was a gloomy Monday and we missed him...why not wear patent leather shoes???

I think Magnolia liked them!
No photos from the weekend. We had every intention of going to a pumpkin patch but the weather turned gloomy and we got caught up in giving our house a little face lift. George painted some rooms and we did a little rearranging...looks so much better.

Busy Busy Busy

Busy playing

Busy giggling
Busy tearing up magazines
Busy getting into cabinets & dishwasher
Busy walking!
Magnolia has turned a corner with walking, she is much braver and is thrilled with her progress. She's walking up to 8 or 9 steps now. They're wild steps as you can see from the above picture! She's also smiling and laughing a lot more. If I laugh, she laughs. Her sense of humor is shining through more and more each day. She's such a delight. I never forget for one minute how long it took to find each other. I just can't imagine life without her.