My Little Sweetie

This picture was taken just seconds after she had been screaming her head off because she got stuck between two stools. 

Omaha Part 1

Here's sweet little Lucia. She and The Kid had fun at lunch.
Lucia wanted to give The Kid a kiss, but R didn't know how she felt about that.
Then all of a sudden, she had a change of heart.
After lunch it was time to go for a tractor ride. 

Omaha Part 2

Pic #1 - Little Miss Firecracker riding a tractor.
Pic #2 - Enjoying a book with Aunt Amanda.
Pic #3 - Wrastlin' with Aunt Amanda.
Pic #4 - Wrastlin' with Uncle Kevin

One Year Ago...

One year ago today, I was a nervous wreck. I had found out through my November DTC group that referrals were on their way. The night before, I had even called DHL and pretended to be someone from my agency. I asked if there were any packages on the way from Beijing. The nice lady I talked to gave me a package number that I tracked all night long. I saw the package was delivered at 8:30 in the morning and after that, I just sat and stared at the phone. I kept checking my email to see when referrals would start popping up. I was a nervous wreck and it was all I could do to keep from calling my agency and screaming at them 'GIVE ME MY BABY!'. But I just waited....and waited....and waited. Finally at noon, I was about to go insane. What could POSSIBLY be taking them so long??? Geez! Everyone else in my DTC group had already got their referral call. Where in the hell was mine??? Then, I started to panic. Maybe I didn't get a referral? Maybe something was wrong with my paperwork and they weren't going to give me a referral. I made myself sick with that thought for about a half an hour and then the phone rang! It was my agency calling to tell me that I had a daughter and that she was beautiful. Well. I cried myself silly and that was all I heard from the rest of the conversation. Everyone says to have a sheet with you when you get the call so that you can ask questions and get some info about your baby. HA! I had the sheet by the phone but I never wrote down a single thing or asked a question. She ended the phone call by telling me that she had just sent an email with my daughter's picture and that I could come in to sign the paperwork at any time. I hung up the phone and ran to the computer and saw this picture. I cried and laughed at the same time. What a sweet and funny little face!

As soon as I regained my composure from the phone call and seeing the little cookie face for the first time, I jumped in the car and took off for my agency. I think I got there in about 30 seconds. As I walked into the office, they had balloons and a pink baby t-shirt with the agency logo waiting for me. I cried again. We went back to the conference room and they showed me the other referral pictures.

And then, she asked if I wanted to accept this baby! Uhhhh....HELLO!!! Hell, YES! After that, I signed some things and then went to go track down Grandmumsy and Auntie J. Grandmumsy got to see The Kid for the first time in a hospital waiting room. I'm sure everyone else sitting there thought one of us got bad news because we were both crying like buffoons. Then we went to Auntie J's office and called and asked her to come downstairs. As she walked up to my car (with Ms. Rhonda serving as photographer), I held up The Kid's picture. If anyone from her building happened to be looking outside, I'm sure they thought Auntie J was having a fit or seizure of some kind.

At the time, I would have said that that was the best day of my life. If only I had known how much better things were going to be. I look into my daughter's face sometimes and can't remember a time when she wasn't right next to me. I can't remember what it was like to not want to rush home everyday to see her sweet little face or how much I can miss her throughout the course of a day. Some people seem to think that I must miss my life before The Kid, but I guess what they don't realize is that before The Kid, I was missing exactly what I have right now.

BUSY!

Busy weekend leading up to another busy week and weekend. Sorry for my lack of pictures. I should have some great ones after next weekend. We will be visiting the Omaha contingency....and maybe taking in the Art Festival here in town.

If anyone out there can tell me.....what is the best way to get a toddler to speak more than the first sound of ANY word? I know that if she would say the full word, she would probably have a vocabulary right up around 100 words or so. As it is, it is all BA, DA, Uhh, Doh, Ma, Buh , LI, and Fuh. And it's not like those are just random sounds she is making. Fuh is ALWAYS fish or foot or food. BA is always ball and baby. She understands EVERYTHING you say to her, and she always knows what something is when you ask her what it is, it's just never more than the first sound. I just want her to talk.....I can't wait for her to start saying embarrassing things in public. It's all about getting the ammo I need so that I can embarass her when she's in junior high.

Oh, and for the record? Her hearing is just fine.

Crummy weather weekend

Last weekend, it was really hot and humid in these here parts. So, like any sane person, we decided to go sit out in the heat and have a picnic with Uncle Toddo.
Very GQ, Uncle Toddo!!












This weekend, it was cold dreary sweater wearing weather. This was The Kid after she fell asleep in the car. She didn't wake up when I got her out of the car, brought her inside or put her down on her Pooh couch. What woke her up? I turned the tv on. She is more and more like her Grandpa every day.....

And finally....not to toot my own horn or anything, but see that cute sweater over to the left? I made it. Just had to share. 

The Zoo!

Auntie J, The Kid and I went to the zoo with Joe and Gracie K. Although you can't tell by The Kid's face in any of these pictures, we all had a great time.

The Zoo 2: Electric Boogaloo