Catherine is 25 months old today.  One month in her second year of life and she’s already accomplished so much.  She’s a smart girl with a love for life and a deep love for her family and friends.  I didn’t get a chance last month to make a list of all that she is doing now, so I figured I would do it today.  So here it is in bulleted form:

The biggest thing she has going on right now is that she is nearly potty trained!  We started getting her …

How blessed are we to live close to the uncles and aunties and cousins that my father grew up with? How wonderful is it for me to have this continued connection with the Chinese Culture, which will be so important to Catherine as she gets older. I feel extremely blessed that she can also have cousins that share her same culture. I feel truly, truly blessed and grateful to have these people in our lives.

Last Wednesday we met up with Catherine’s best buddy, Matthew for some gymnastics fun.  John took Catherine the first time around because I was sick.  This time I got to go and I loved it!  Of course Catherine did too.  She loves to try and swing on the rope swing, even though she doesn’t have the strength yet to hold on by herself.  She also is warming up to the trampolines and the foam pit.

This is what happens when it’s time to leave:

I have been mulling this post over in my mind for a while now.  I have been hesitant about posting it because in some ways I don’t want to dissapoint friends or family with some of the words I want to share.  I have a fear of failure and I don’t always like to share the parts of my life that are difficult on a deep and personal level.  I feel though that I must share my thoughts on this first year of parenting an adopted child because I know …

3/17/08 (Adoption Day)

3/16/09
What a difference a year makes!  I can’t get over how much Catherine has changed in just a short 12 months.  Looking at the two photos above takes my breath away.  I now understand why parents give their toddler’s age by months instead of by years.  She grows by leaps and bounds every single month.  Actually every day she changes bit by bit.  I do have to laugh a little because her expression hasn’t changed too much when we pose for the camera.  I am just happy she …

Seriously?!  Has it been a year? It’s so hard to believe that 12 months ago today we became a forever family with this beautiful, funny and vivacious little girl.  Who knew that a year could be filled with so much emotion and go by so slow some days but yet be gone in the blink of an eye?  Catherine has been a joy and I am so happy and forever grateful to China for letting us have the opportunity to parent this child.  I also think of her birth parents …