Happy Halloween!!!

I know I'm super behind in my posting, but I had to share this. Last year on Halloween, we were in Guangzhou. Look at the difference in my girl in a year!! She had a great time trick or treating. Update to come soon!

Halloween 2010

Guangzhou, China

Halloween 2011

USA

Hope you are all well!! Updates to come soon!

Love,

S.

Quinn's Shower

Saturday we headed up to Adrian to go to Quinn's bridal shower. She had a country western themed shower and it was seriously the CUTEST shower I have been to! Everyone dressed in the proper attire and it was held in a barn. It was great!

They had a saddle on top some bales of hay. Ava LOVED it!

Quinn and her mom, Liz. She is John's sister.

Can't wait for the wedding, Quinn!!

Love You!!

S.

Fun with Daddy!

The other day I turned on my camera and this is what I found...

Apparently they had fun with the stickers from the McDonald's Happy Meal!

Karyn's Babies

Last Wednesday Ava and I went to visit my friend, Karyn. Believe it or not, she used to be my personal trainer. We worked out together almost every morning for over a year. But she got a new job and moved on. :(

We have stayed in touch and back in August, she gave birth to TWINS! Yes, our schedules are just now permitting us to meet up! Aren't they so adorable?

Ava, Karyn, and Baby Zoey















Kissing Baby Jadyn before we left...

So sweet! Congratulations, Karyn and Ryan!!

One Year Later...

Dear Ava,

One year ago today, you completed our family.















One year ago today, I held you in my arms for the first time.
















You have changed our lives and I wouldn't change anything for the world.















You were so tiny. You weighed 24 lbs. And today, you weigh 33lbs.















You were the shy, timid little girl. And now you are so strong willed.















You can say the ABC's and count to 10 (with the exception of the number 3) :)















Your favorite book is "Buzzy the Bumblebee" and we read it EVERY NIGHT.
















After we read stories at night, we hold hands and sing "You Are My Sunshine"















Even though you don't care to sleep, I value our "snuggle time" in the mornings















I love hearing you say a new word or expression.















I love that you know when I'm sad and need a hug.















I love when you think I'm silly and giggle!















You love your pretzels and M&M's















And still con us for treats when you go potty















You recently have taken a liking to Olivia the Pig and Elmo is phasing out.















More than anything, Ava Kate, I love being your mommy!
















You are the most AMAZING thing that has ever happened to me.














I will do anything to protect you and keep you from hurt.



















Happy Gotcha Day, Baby!



















I can't wait to celebrate many more with you!














You are my girl!













My lovey!














My Ava Kates!!
















Thank you for being my daughter!



















Bless you, baby!!

I love you!!

SO.VERY.MUCH.

Love,

Mama

PS: This is one day early, but I want to spend every minute with you tomorrow!!

And if you are interested, here is the post from last year.

One Year Ago - Beijing

A year ago today, John and I were climbling The Great Wall of China. Well, kind of. I chickened out. It was raining and very slippery. And I'm a klutz so I was afraid I would fall 3 days before I was to meet Ava. So, I chilled out and John kept going.

After the climb, we were waiting for everyone to finish and there was a bunch of stand with souveniers. Every one had the same exact souveniers. Therefore, they were all trying to get us to come to their stands. John described it best "it sounded like a beehive". They were all yelling at us to come to their stand.

After the climb we went to a restaurant and I was afraid to eat anything. I had white rice. And a couple of french fries.

The day was jammed packed and we were exhausted. We skipped dinner and passed out at 7 pm.



Here is our post from last year.

We celebrated another Comet victory last night!! Woohoo! Off to Quinn's shower...Have a great day!

Love,
S.

Memories -- Trip to Beijing

One year ago today, John and I boarded this plane for Beijing.

Thinking back, we were so calm that day. Which is very odd for me. We left at noon for the airport and I remember John was on my case about going to the chiropractor that morning. I didn't see what the big deal was. House was cleaned. Every single piece of clothing in our house was clean and put away. Ava's room was done. Bags were packed by the door. We were READY!! So, I went to the chiropractor and came home and waited for my mom to pick us up for the airport. When she walked in, I was laying on the couch watching Dancing With The Stars. Haha!! Still amazingly calm.

I remember the flight over, I didn't have my phone or a watch. I had no clue how long we had been in the air, it just seemed like forever. When I finally was going crazy, I asked John. We had been in the air for 6 hours. That's it. Six hours of the fourteen. I was disappointed. So I pulled out Breaking Dawn. And read the entire book before we landed in Beijing. :)

Can't believe it's been a year!!! More memories to come!

S.

All Kinds of Stuff!!

Sorry for the delay in posting. Our computer, yet again, took a dive. Grrr...I just need it to last me about another year and then I want to get a Mac. So, I'm blogging on my little Netbook! :) I'm dropping off the laptop tomorrow to Mike Feather. Let's hope he is able to figure out the issue.

Our friends, Keith and Lisa, welcomed their first SON on Monday night. Yea!! Sawyer Paul was born around 6pm. I went today to see him but he was getting his newborn pictures done so we just got to peek. He was gorgeous!! Hopefully I'll have pictures soon to post.

And I'm also super happy to annouce that the IRS finally agreed that we bought a house AND adopted a child in 2010. Therefore, we got our third and final installment of our return. We received every penny listed as the refund on the original return and interest. Whew...so glad that's over. Well, at least for a few months. But 2011 taxes should be MUCH EASIER.

Here are some pictures from last weekend. On Saturday, we got to meet Emmett Skiver. He is our friend's Jeff and Sarah's son that they just adopted from Korea. He is so adorable! Ava took a little bit to warm up to him, but they became fast friends. I baked cookies earlier in the day and thought the kids would enjoy decorating them.

Emmett loved it! Yes, those are sprinkles are in his hair! LOL!

And the finished product

All snuggled up

Saturday night, Daddy played poker and Ava and I went on a shopping trip. We needed to get shower gifts and birthday presents. October is a big month for our family!

Sunday, we had a family reunion. Ava won all kinds of "Smith Bucks" playing the kids games. She loved it! Check out her boots.

Thank you for all of your well wishes for Emily. She is doing better. Still very sore, but moving better. It's still hard to believe that happened to her.

Ava got all kinds of candy from the pinata. Not too sure she enjoyed the sour candy too much! LOL!!

After the reunion, we took Ava and her cousins Jacey and Jordyn to Fleitz's Pumpkin Farm. It was very muddy and a little chilly, but we still had a wonderful time! Donuts, cider, and pumpkins?? Sounds like Fall to me!

Group shot on the Hayride

Hope everyone is having a great week and staying dry!

Talk soon,

S.