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.

Imo's

George and I have a tradition of eating Imo's pizzas on our drive home from STL. I offered a bite to Magnolia to see what she would think and before I knew it she ate a whole piece. She loved it but she'll eat anything. So today when I went to eat my leftover Imo's at lunch she must have smelled it because she kept crying and reaching for it. I finally caved in and here's a video of her reaction. She did finish her pears after the pizza.

St. Louis

We had a wonderful time in St. Louis last weekend. My only regret is that we hardly have any photos to speak of! I was so disappointed that we didn't take more. I don't know where the time went, our visit just flew by. It was fun to introduce Magnolia to her STL family. I think she just loved all the attention and of course, her cousins!

Nani reading to Magnolia

Morning walk to get coffee. Check out that syringe she's holding!

It was cracking me up, she wouldn't put it down!
Only picture we got of Magnolia at the party Nani had for her.
Asleep in her Uncle Anderson's jumper.
Magnolia was an absolute gem in the car, much better than we had anticipated.

We made it in the usual 7 hours on the way home, only stopping once!

We had a great time in St. Louis and I got to do a bit of shopping which was nice. We're looking forward to going back at Christmas, our visits always seem so short!

Balancing, Sand, & Hairbows

I stood Magnolia in the grass today and she stood for what seemed like 2 minutes! Even she was amazed at her balance and her two free hands! I've counted 5 steps she can take before crashing.



We played in Charlie's yard today and Magnolia lasted all of two seconds in the sandbox before crying...she'll get used to it eventually.
This is how I get Magnolia in her stroller for our walks, Zwieback works every time!
This was the last time I'm putting a bow in her hair on a walk. She pulls them out and drops them in the road. I didn't realize this one was missing until tonight so we got in the car and retraced our walk until we found it! Good thing it was orange, easy to spot.
Magnolia and I ate Chinese food tonight and she of course, loved it!

We are leaving tomorrow for St. Louis so Magnolia can meet all of her STL cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents! Check back for photos next week! Have a great weekend everyone!

Catching Up

Just catching up on photos, video clips and updating this blog! We had a great weekend. We went to Oktoberfest on Saturday and ate entirely too much. Here are some photos from that day.

We went to the Autumn Moon Festival for Families with Children from China (FCC). It was held at a beautiful old farm. They had a lot of activities for the kids including hay rides! Magnolia was the youngest one there, most of the kids were around 8-12. We didn't stay long since we had dinner with friends that night. Thanks again Tom and Christine, the meal was fabulous!

Watching Curious George. I just love the way she has her ankles crossed.
Here are a few videos I've taken over the past week.

11 Months Old

I can hardly believe it! It's all happening way too fast. We had a wonderful day. It was cool and sunny and we were out of the house almost the whole day. I finally understand what it means as a mom to get out of the house. No dirty floors, bills, dishes, and laundry staring you in the face. Nothing but pure fun out and about today and for good reason, our pumpkin is 11 months old!

We spent most of the afternoon at the park with my friend Christine and her son, Charlie.
Magnolia and I went down that huge slide!

It was so fast it shot us out and I landed right on my rear end! We met daddy out for lunch at a dive he loves with New Orleans style food. Magnolia had red beans and rice and loved it.

We celebrated Harvest Moon tonight and ate our mooncakes.
Magnolia gobbled them up like she's been eating them her whole life. Makes me wonder if her birthmother ate them last Harvest Moon, right before Magnolia was born.

She was pretty wild in these pictures, charming us to no end with all of her silly antics. We took her out for an evening drive to view the moon and calm her down!

Harvest Moon

Today is the Harvest Moon, the 8th lunar month of the year. This is a big holiday in China. They celebrate by viewing the full moon and eating moon cakes. We brought mooncakes back from China for this year's Harvest Moon. George ended up having to go to an awards dinner and the sky was completely clouded over. So Magnolia and I ate breakfast for dinner, watched Sesame Street, and had lots of giggles. We still, however, are going to be able to celebrate by going to a Harvest Moon celebration this weekend with all the local families with children from China.

Hear Magnolia giggle. Sorry the picture is so dark. I took the video on my camara it was dark in the living room!