Christmas Brunch

Christmas morning Mia opened all of her presents first thing after she got Daddy out of bed. Ok, so she had to wait a few hours... It was amazing to see all of the generous gifts she received. After that, we went to Jim & Judy's for a fantastic brunch & a few of Sarah's special bloody mary's! Ok, maybe more than a few... They live on the Phoenician golf course, where Mia spent loads of time rolling around in the grass with Blaise, Madi, Nolan & Quincy. She was our little Christmas Princess! We've been dreaming of our first holiday season with our new baby for so many years. In reality, there was no way of knowing just how great it would be... We are the luckiest couple in the world!

Bartolotta Visit...

David & Heather brought their beautiful daughters to visit with Mia on Saturday night. Mia had so much fun playing with Gabrielle & Angelina. Isn't this the sweetest picture of them all in Mia's crib? This was taken right after they all rolled around together in her crib... Too cute!

Hiking South Mountain

On Sunday morning we met Jackie at South Mountain to do some hiking. Kurt & Sue lent us this awesome baby babpack & Mia had an absolute blast! Every time we passed a hiker with a dog she would bounce up and down and pant with excitement. She even learned that by pulling on Dad's right ear, Dad would turn right so she could see whatever interested her in that direction...

Playdate with Maya!

Last week we had Megan and Maya over for a playdate! Mia has so much fun playing with her friends. Mia pushed Maya all over the house in this walker! It was so cute...

First Santa Visit...

After all the other kids were done crying, Mia hopped up on Santa's lap and had an absolute blast! You can tell by Santa's face that even he was amused by her shear joy. I wish I could show you all the photos. About 15 seconds after this was taken, Mia gazed into Santa's eyes and promptly grabbed a handful of beard and tugged!! She's the absolute best and we are having so much fun... We want 10 more!

Teddy Bear Tea!

Today Mommy, Daddy & Aunt Cari took our little princess for 'Teddy Bear Tea' at the Ritz! It was so sweet to see all the little kids dressed up sharp and having so much fun. Mia is such a trooper. When the life size Teddy Bear came around she wasn't at all intimidated. I expected at least a whimper, but she was smiles... Fortunately she was still too young for the food, so Dad helped out and ate all Mia's tea snacks!

Disneyland...

Eben's Mom, Joanie, was sweet enough to get Mia a rolling walker when she saw how motivated our little angel is to walk! However, Mia has decided that getting into her walker and using her feet to prople herself isn't nearly as fun as standing on the end and having Mommy & Daddy push her around the house. Mia lights up every time we play this game... I get the feeling she thinks she's in Disneyland. Anything for that beautiful little smile and sweet little giggle!

Playmate!

Mia loves playing with Nancy & Eben's son Blaze! He is so patient and sweet with Mia and she lights up whenever he comes around... We're very lucky to have such great friends living so close!

Hanukkah Bush!

Tonight Mia helped Mommy & Daddy put up the Hanukkah bush! She was mesmerized by the lights and felt it only appropriate to put the cord in her mouth... Daddy raised his voice to little Mia for the first time to try and deter the consumption of electricity. Big surprise that Mia had no noticable response other than to look inquisitively at Daddy while biting down harder on the cord... It's hard to be stern with such a cutie~

Mia's Party!

We flew to Cleveland for a week to get a chance for everyone to meet the sunshine girl. We had a whirlwind trip of dinners, play dates & parties! Mia met dozens and dozens of people. She was such a sport as every one of them held her and cooed about her beauty... It was so nice to get a chance to share our long awaited little bundle of joy with all of our friends and family. Grandma Margaret, Aunty Cathy, Aunt Donna, Eileen & Michelle were all unbelievably gracious in hosting a Mia bash on Saturday. We had close to 100 people at Grandpa's house for a Chinese themed party. The house was decorated beautifully with chinese lanterns and streamers, the Chinese food was fantastic and the party was absolutely a success! We had Andy & Jen fly in from DC, as well as Steve, Sharon & Greg from St. Louis, and Aunt Chrisy from LA. Grammy & Papa also made the long trip from Tucson just to be with our little angel. We capped off the trip with a beautiful family dinner party on Sunday night, hosted by Aunt Donna & Uncle Chris. The whole trip was filled with so much love and excitement that Mia misses her new friends and family in Cleveland already...

Mia meets Sharon & Greg

Stacy's God Parents, Sharon & Greg, flew in from St. Louis to meet little Mia. They spent the whole weekend with us, and Mia had a blast with them. We are very lucky to have them in our lives...

The Lovell Clan!

While in Cleveland we all got to spend a lot of time with Mia's Aunt Donna and cousins Madison, Michael, Michelle & Maria. They were all incredibly sweet and loving with their new cousin. Mia is very lucky to have such incredible family. Donna & Chris went far beyond anything we could have wished for and hosted an extravagent dinner party for our extended family on Sunday evening. They were beyond generous... Most importantly, you can see in this picture the natural bond they've all formed already!

Uncle Chris...

Mia got a chance to spend loads of quality time with her Uncle Chris. They both fell in love, and really enjoyed playing. I'm pretty sure she's decided that he's her favorite of all... (Sorry Donna!)

Grandma Margaret!

Mia had a great time with Grandma Margaret in Cleveland. She worked so hard on Mia's party, and they had a great time playing together... It was really sweet that every time Grandma picked up little Mia, she would snuggle in for a Grandma hug. Mia misses Grandma already!

Grandpa!

While in Cleveland for our visit, Mia got to meet Grandpa. She loved all the fun stuffed animals in his house. Especially the gorilla that sings, "Wild thing, you make my heart sing...".

Mia meets Aunt Chrisy!

Mia has been lucky enough to get tons of love and affection from her new Aunt Chrisy. They finally got to meet during our recent visit to Ohio for Mia's 'Coming Out' party! Aunt Chrisy was sweet enough to fly all the way from L.A. for just a 24 hours trip, so she could meet little Mia! Mia is very appreciative and loves her new aunt...

New Friends...

While in Cleveland we got the chance to hang out with Doug & Heather, and introduce Mia to their beautiful little girls, Zoe & Lilly. As you can tell by the mess, Lilly loved playing Mommy to Mia, and was feeding her lots of crackers. They were so sweet with little Mia...

Grocery Shopping!

Little Mia sure does have it rough! Momma has thought of everything... Including making sure she is safe and comfortable in the grocery cart. Too cute!

The Budding Model...

One of the many expressions that Mia tries out for the camera on a daily basis! We call this one the 'feigning surprise'...

Big Girl Baths!

Wow, it seems like yesterday that we had our bald little baby who was deathly afraid of the water. Now, just a few months later, our newly independent little girl is frolicking in the tub like she's a mermaid. She loves the bath so much now that when we set her down to undress her, if we turn our back, she tries to climb into the tub! The progress... Note that even bath toys are apparently meant to be put in the mouth.

Ready to Walk...

It sure didn't take Mia long to recover from feeling sick... On Saturday morning Mia ran up and down the hallway several hundred times to show off her pseudo walking skills! Mom was having her hair done, so we got some quality Mia & Daddy time. All I can say is WOW, I have no idea how you Mom's do this full time... I've never been so exhausted! But she is so much fun to play with. Every time she cracks that smile, it melts your heart! I'm fairly certain she'll be walking any day now. We're so excited for that moment, but everyone keeps warning us that we'll long for the less mobile days shortly...

Poor Little Sick Baby...

Our poor little baby hasn't been feeling well the past few days... We thought she might be fighting a virus, but got confirmation Mia projectile vomited all over Momma! Mom had just finished feeding Mia her bedtime bottle when Mia began spitting up. Moments later she turned into a human fire hose!! We all know how painful that is. It was so pitiful to see her crying and upset. Nothing that a little quality Momma coddling couldn't resolve, as noted in the above picture. Surprisingly, she slept fairly well through the night and seems to be doing better today.

We've definitely noticed that she doesn't whine like most kids we're used to. I don't know if she's just a tough kid, or maybe this is the result of time spent unattended in an orphanage. If it weren't for her little nose constantly draining, we would barely know she's sick! Maybe a blessing and a curse... We love her so much it's crazy!

Three Generations of Beauty...

Grammy, Mommy & baby Mia! They are what make our family special...

Absolute Beauty!

No words necessary...

Girl Time...

Mia always enjoys spending time with her cousin Hadley! It's amazing how sweet Hadley is with Mia. Here she is sharing the treasured School Bus with her baby cousin... So sweet!

Touchdown!

During Thanksgiving dinner, Cousin Alex taught Mia the proper 'touchdown' signal. Now Mia can be one of the boys... Mia learned so much this past week with her cousins, and I think her physical development leap frogged several months forward with all the wrestling, assisted running, and general play time! She already misses her new family...

The California Cousins!

Mia had endless fun with cousins Alec, Gavin & Hadley over Thanksgiving. We were truly amazed at the love and attention Mia's cousins showered on her... Mia had already spent time with Hadley and they were fast friends. However, you never know what to expect from 6 & 9 year old boys with a baby. Amazingly, Alec & Gavin fought over who got to spend time with Mia and were just so sweet with her... She's really lucky to have such great family. You'll notice that Gavin thought Mia needed a playmate in the tub! Gavin made me promise I wouldn't post this picture to the Internet, so here it is!! Hee hee

Aunt Ruthellen & Cousin Jesse!

A few days before Thanksgiving Mia's Great Aunt Ruthellen and cousin Jesse came over to spend some time with our little peanut. We tried to have a nice quiet dinner, but the midget wasn't having any of that!! She made sure she was the center of attention the entire time they were over. Mia really took to Jesse, and loves her Aunt Ruthellen, who has been so helpful babysitting and giving lots of love...

Peas!

Mia wanted everyone to see how well she eats her peas!!! It's so cute, she has fallen in love with frozen peas. She eats them with dinner, and several hours later we find her still chewing on the shells...

Go Bucks!

Mia got to experience her first annual Ohio State v. Michigan game, Uncle Ryan style... For those of you that don't know what that means, it means every waking moment becomes a focus on the absolute destruction of Michigan! This would be Uncle Ryan's most focused time of the year! Thankfully she had Frank, in from San Diego, and our neighbor Jason, to help keep a little calm amongst the craziness. Mia was lucky that the Buckeyes crushed the Wolverines and she only saw the upside of a weekend as monumental as this!

Aunt Cathy & Uncle Ryan also made sure Mia was well prepared for such a serious event by bringing a little Buckeye cheerleading outfit. Unbelievably cute... Uncle Ryan loved that Mia was drawn to the string of Buckeyes around his neck. I believe he's already filling out her application to attend OSU!

Mia Meets Aunt Cathy!

Thursday night Aunt Cathy & Uncle Ryan arrived from Cleveland. Mia loves her Aunt & Uncle and couldn't wait so show them her splasing skills... First thing Friday morning Mia got Aunt Cathy into the hot tub. They stayed in so long that she fell asleep on Aunt Cathy when nap time arrived! She's had loads of fun this weekend as her cousins McKenzie and Nicholas slept over on Friday night as well.

Grandpa's Gift

Mia received a gift from her Grandparents in Cleveland today. A fluffy little puppy named Titus. She loves her new toy and can't wait to meet her Grandparents. Note the similar method of grasping stuffed animals and real animals!!

Sick Baby!!

Ok, so our first family vacation didn't quite go as planned... Before we left, Mia had her next appointment with the pediatrcian. Everything went well. Clean bill of health and Mia is gaining weight quite nicely. She's up to 16.5 lbs now! Unfortunately, somewhere between the doctor's office and touching down in Denver, Mia developed a massive upper respiratory infection. It took us a while to figure it out, but by 5:00 in the morning, with no sleep, we finally realized she was sick! By night two of no sleep we were really questioning our logic for taking a family vacation... Especially when we pulled Mia into bed with us hoping to soothe her, and she frantically swung her head into Mom's face and split Mom's lip wide open! Dad & Mia decided a nice stroller ride through the hotel might be in order, even if it was the middle of the night! Thankfully we had the resort doctor visit on Saturday morning and she prescribed some medicine that helped our little angel sleep a little better on Saturday night. For obvious reasons we cut our trip short and flew home Sunday morning. There was definitely a silver lining to the whole debacle, which was seeing our little Mia arrive back home for the first time after an extended time away. It's only been about a month and a half, but it was absolutely apparent that she recognized her home and was happy to be back in her crib, safe and sound! It's funny, even with no sleep and loads of stress, we still can't stop hugging and kissing our beautiful little baby! That little girl has all the power...

Colorado Kid!

It's been difficult to spend so much time at the office after getting 16 days of non-stop Mia time in China... So we decided to take a our first family trip! When Stacy worked at the Ritz we always heard how incredible the Bachelor Gulch property in Colorado is, but never made it there. So we figured this was a great weekend to get away together for a little quality family time! We arrived Thursday night and spent a little time out by the fire, as the photo attests. Mia was mesmerized by the flames for about 5 minutes, and then decided she prefered the heated indoors! Takes after her Mom...

Today was a day of total relaxation. We took a walk about the property, but mostly just played in the room and took naps together. We're planning on doing a little hiking tomorrow, as well as head into Beaver Creek for some shopping. I tried to get Mom to agree to get a Ritz babysitter so we could have a little parent time on Saturday night, but Mom was having none of it. I have to agree it could be a little strange if she woke up and a stranger was present in our place. Funny how much fun it is just to hang out in a hotel room together with no interuptions... Plus, Mom got her first nap since bringing our little girl home! To ensure Mom got quality sleep, Mia & I went for a stroller ride to tour the property. Somehow we stumbled upon the cutest pair of Baby Ugg's that miraculously found their way onto her feet!! Too cute.

Mommy & Mia...

When we checked into our hotel here in Colorado, Mommy & Mia spent a few minutes checking out the kitchen to ensure we had everything we needed to keep our little Mia plump & happy! It's been such a great getaway! Unfortunately Mia picked up a cold, so she's been a little cranky. However, just having a chance to spend a few uninterrupted days together has been really refreshing...

Sascha - Mia's Special Friend...

On Sunday we attended Mia's good friend Sascha's birthday party at the train park. Sascha is Russell & Christine's daughter, and I'm not sure I've ever seen anything as cute as her reaction to Mia! She is in love with our little girl, and it's so sweet to see a child display such affection. When we arrived at the party, Sascha screamed, "My sister is here" and ran to Mia to hug and kiss her... Throughout the party Sascha was constantly touching and kssing Mia. When Christine tried to get Sascha to go eat, she said she wanted to stay with Mia!! I've seen sweet children before, but I've never seen a child display such love and tenderness toward another child... Mia is very lucky to have Sascha as her friend. Who knows, maybe they feel some kindred Chinese connection?!

Good Morning!

We feel very lucky that our little Midget is now sleeping through the night. At least most of the time... I would say she gets a straight 10-11 hours about 2 out of every 3 nights! We'll take that... We've also figured out that it is completely our fault when she doesn't sleep through the night. We can pretty much always trace it to a missed nap, late bedtime, etc. Unfortunately, we had a pretty busy weekend, with Sascha's birthday party and all... Not to mention that it was close to 100 degrees outside!

After all the heat & excitement, Mia was awfully tired last night. So we did the only reasonable thing and threw her in her bike trailer and went on a 5 mile bike ride to Aunt Cari's! Not too smart, I know... She was whining by the time we got home. Long story short is that after much crying and waking up last night, we gave up and brought Mia into bed with us. This was the first time we've done that since our first week home. Mia went right to sleep and snuggled in with Mommy for several more hours. Thank god!! The picture above shows the love we showered upon our little girl when she woke up... We figured this might drive her back to her bed! :) In all seriousness, it was such an amazing feeling to wake up to her sweet little face and sunny disposition!

Our little Sunflower!

As always, Mia's endless patience shined through this Halloween! Several people commented that they couldn't believe she was tolerating her parents obsession with this silly little costume... Especially since it was so darn hot out! But as always, Mia was a shining little star. She was captivating her in sunflower costume as we took her to a few of the neighbors houses so we could trick or treat some candy for Dad! Our first Halloween together was absolutely perfect...

Halloween Party '07

For Halloween we had all the neighbors over for taco stew & pumpkin martinis! It was so much fun to see all the kids going nuts with sugar surging through their little veins... Can you figure out which one is our little sunflower?!

Happy 9 month Birthday!

Tonight we celebrated Mia's 9 month birthday! Today also marks the end of her very first month as an American citizen... Our little angel has developed so many fun and quirky traits. For instance, she loves to mimic different noises that we make. We can play that game all day... She also is very clearly saying "Ma ma". At first I was certain that Stacy was simply wishing this were true! But over the past week it's become clear that she's right. Especially when Mia first wakes up, before we get her from her room, she says Ma ma over and over... It's the sweeting thing!

1st Bike Ride...

Our good friend Kurt found us a great deal on a bicycle trailer at one of the auctions he attends. Sunday night we decided to try it out & go for our first family bike ride. Mia loved the fresh air, and her cousin Nicholas tagged along on his skate board. It was so cute to see Mia taking in the sights. She absolutely loved her first tour of the neighborhood! Although I think we need to be careful, Mommy almost crashed her bike in her quest to see every expression on Mia's little face...

Best Friends...

Oh how far we've come... Just a few weeks ago Sofia thought that this freaky little alien who had invaded her home was quite disturbing! Fast forward a few weeks, and now they're best buddies. I think Sofia is astonished that a human being can be so little and so uncoordinted... Shortly after this picture was taken Mia reached for Sofia and, in one smooth move, slid face first down the back of her little chair. Totally undaunted, she brushed herself off and went for it again. Same results... She's even entertaining to the cat! We love them both.

Grandma & Grandpa!

Grandma & Grandpa are visiting this week from Colorado. As you can see, Grandma can't get enough of little Mia... She's been having so much fun playing with Grandma and batting her little eyes at Grandpa. Mia even got to visit Grandpa in the hospital yesterday after he had his knee replaced. As expected, she brought nothing but sunshine & smiles to the hospital!!

Aren't I cute?!

It's been a little while since Mia had the chance to be showered with praise, so she wanted to be sure I posted an exceptionally cute picture of her! This was Mia getting to know one of her Teddy Bears. She continues to develop at an astonishing rate. I won't bore you with more updates on her physical development, but it's sufficient to say that we're considering enrolling her in the AZ Rock n Roll Marathon in January! Ok, maybe that's a stretch, but not by much... Mia is now sleeping fairly consistently for 10-11 hours per night, and just loves sweet potatoes and any fruit we feed her! We feel as though she's been with us for several years. In fact, it's difficult to remember what life was like without her. Must have been pretty boring...

Hay Ride!

On Saturday we took Mia to the Desert Botanical Garden for a Hayride and a little time in the pumpkin patch. Nothing like a 95 degree Halloween in Phoenix... Uggh. Here is little Mia with our nieghbors Madi, Chloe & Carter. She just loves being around other kids!

Cousin Nicholas

Mia's cousins McKenzie & Nicholas spent the day with Mommy & Mia today. They were very helpful and Nicholas even stayed around to help Dad while Mommy went to tennis this evening. We were left with strict instructions not to let Mia go to sleep prior to 7:30 pm, as Mommy is getting a little tired of the early mornings... So what were we to do?! We figured we'd try out her newest toy, the buggy in the picture above. At first we thought she might be a little small, but even tired Mia perked up when she realized what we had in store for her. A flashlight and a surprise visit to Nancy's house and we were in business! It was actually quite startling to see how well she did as Nicholas raced her over curbs and through the yards!! Shhhhhh, don't tell Mommy... Mia is hoping her cousins comes back to play soon.

Learning to Walk...

For a couple of parents who were well prepared for developmental delays, Mia's progress is nothing short of breath taking! Having mastered crawling, she's now looking to take her first steps... We bought her this toy that has no seat, so she's forced to walk along behind it. You can see the earnest look of effort on little Mia's face as she tries to keep her balance! We're taking bets on whether her first steps will occur before Thanksgiving or Chanukah.

Play Date!

We've met so many great people through this whole adoption experience. One of the couples we've really enjoyed is Russell & Christine Friend. They have a beautiful little girl named Sascha, who is almost 3 years old. Christine & Sascha came over on Tuesday evening for a play date. Mia really loves playing with other kids, and especially loved having her new friend over. Sascha was so sweet. During dinner she asked her Mom if she could kiss Mia on the cheek!! Aren't they cute?

Grammy & Papa!

Any of you who know Grammy (aka Sherry) are aware of how difficult it was for her to be away on a cruise for the past few weeks instead of bonding with her newest grand baby... Suffice it to say that today's visit to Tucson was Mia's grand coming out party! Grammy & Papa were overwhelmed by Mia's little personality. Papa was amazed at how alert & curious Mia was, while Grammy couldn't get enough love & hugs! After a short nap, Mia made her rounds to all the neighbors homes who had been getting to know her via her proud grandparents and the blog. Before long we had a house full of people who were all fawning and cooing at cute little Mia! On the car ride home tonight I'm pretty sure I heard Mia mumble something about how lucky she is to have such loving & wonderful Grandparents... Mia can hardly wait for her next visit!

Papa Time!

After spending a nice long day with Grammy & Papa, what else was left to do other than roll around on Papa's big leather chair and look cute as pie?! Papa entertained Mia in this chair after dinner, and the full belly laughs put huge smiles on everyone's faces...