Gotcha Day 2nd Anniversary!

Today was such a great day!
First it started with River trying out a new toy. Flower and I went and picked it up from Mary Kate yesterday. She is being so kind to let us use it.
River like it at first. Then she got excited and straighten up kind of quick only to fall forward rather hard and face planted it, twice in a row, and the flood gates opened. She's not quite ready. :)



Today is my friend Marco's birthday! Happy birthday! I sent him a text wishing him so and he called me and we had such a nice conversation. I found out right after we left town this past weekend that they were in town. Huge bummer because we still haven't hung out with his cute wife. But the really great news is that she is pregnant! I am beyond thrilled for them. Flower talked to him for 15 minutes too and it was so sweet listening to her. :)

Although I'm always thankful for Flower and remember what an amazing time we had in China, it's nice to have a specific day to celebrate the day we became a family. Two years ago today we met for the first time. We held this scared little girl in our arms and loved her immediately.
As we were getting ready for our evening out Flower was picking out her outfit and begged to finally be able to wear her bows. She was so happy to finally where the bows she picked out at Kami's. She's been wanting to wear them since we got home but I told her they were for a special occasion, knowing she'd only have to wait a few days for that occasion. :) She was thrilled and just loves them! They are so cute on her!
We celebrated our 'family birthday' by going to Melting Pot. It was Flowers first time and so worth it. I wish we could have taken video of the whole thing. She was so excited about everything! The waitress was cracking up and just feeding her so much attention. We did all four courses and both the girls were great! Flower did have to be taken outside at one point because she was freaking out about the bugs(dark seeds) on her salmon. It was kind of funny.
When we first arrived he was jumping out of her seat to tell the waitress that she wanted a lemonade with a lemon on the glass. :)







We had a great time. I am so grateful for my little family. I am also thankful for so many family and friends who love me and dote on my kids. We are truly blessed with wonderful people in our lives!

Gotcha Day

I am in total disbelief that it's already been a year ago that we met our sweet Flower! Wow has she changed! She speaks in full sentences, loves to sing and dance and is so spunky!
The physical change is amazing! Here she is on the day we met:Here she is today:Here's our first family photo together:Here's our family today:In order to celebrate, we had plans to go to the Discovery Center and get something to eat. We were bummed when we 'discovered' that it closed at 5:00 pm. We tried to go at 6. Oh well. So after going grocery shopping with John from upstairs, we went to dinner at Applebee's for their yummy chicken salad. We had a lovely dinner. When we got home we melted some chocolate and dipped strawberries. It's so fun to look back at how nervous KG and I were while flying to China and then walking into the building that we met Flower for the first time. She was so scared and didn't want to leave the comfort of Amanda's arms. We had brought a lollipop from my niece and nephew and we attempted to bribe her.
She finally went to KG and he was smitten. She was terrified. Her entire world would be changing! She was calling us mommy and daddy within the week and other adoptive parents couldn't believe it. We were so blessed by the amazing care that she received from Amanda. She was so prepared to come to us! We were so nervous and didn't know what to expect and wanted so badly for everything to go well. Now look at us! It's all so natural! She is amazing. She constantly tells us she loves us without any prompting on our part. She has such a huge personality. We have received so much love and support from so many throughout this entire process! It just warms my heart at how many people she has formed bonds with and how many people just love her to pieces! She is one special little person! Thank you so much to all those that have had a part in our transition this year and loving her. You know who you are and you are very important to us!Flower is now tucked in bed and KG and I are about to watch The Waitress. KG has the next seven days off work and I am so thrilled! :)