Doesn't everyone wear swim goggles as a necklace and carry oyster crackers and a toy missile in your snack trap?

My Quirky Girl

Dear Mia
There are so many things I love about you. Far too many to list. But these are a few of the quirks and habits of your 20 month old self that I want to make sure I never forget.

I love the way you hurry to the bathroom and look up at the sink waiting for your toothbrush when I tell you it's time to brush teeth.

I love how your whole face crinkles up when you sign "brush teeth".

I love that you insist on holding the tube of toothpaste in your free hand while you brush.

I love how, after you fall down, you come to me to lay your head on my shoulder when I ask if you need a hug to feel better.

I love that you laugh hysterically if I tickle you using only my toes. Every single time.

I love how you have to have the purple binky that lives in your crib... and only THAT purple binky.... as part of your bedtime routine. And will switch out even if you already have a different binky in your mouth when we walk in your bedroom.

I love that after our bedtime routine is done and I lay you in bed to go to sleep not only do I have to give you one last kiss but you also hold up "Mr Giraffe" and make me kiss him. Then you hand me "Binky" from your mouth and make me kiss it, too, before I can make my exit.

I love that when given the choice to pick a book for mommy to read you at bedtime, 95% of the time you choose "Goodnight Gorilla". It's clearly your favorite.

I love that sometimes I'll catch you reading "Goodnight Gorilla" all by yourself. You flip through the book, stopping to point at every page and say "nigh-night".

I love that you've discovered the joy in spinning yourself dizzy. And how you giggle, stumbling around like a drunk person until you say "whoa" and fall on the floor.

I love the way you cross your feet at your ankles. In your sleep, in the bathtub, in your car seat, in your highchair, when you sit on my lap while I read to you. It makes me wonder if your feet were crossed like that when you were in the womb. 

I love our morning drives to the sitter. I turn off the radio so it's just you and me chattering away while you eat your dry Cheerios out of your snack trap and point out all the buses. You love the buses.

I love how sometimes we sing during our morning drives and all I hear from the backseat is your baby language gibberish ....but in a singing voice and completely off the melody. It makes me smile every time.

I love that you finally let me put bows in your hair again. In fact, you now ask for them. While dressing in the morning, you point to the bow holder hanging on the wall next to the changing table and then grab a handful of your hair. Sometimes just to make sure I get the point you say "hair" and/or "pretty" (which comes out hey-ya and pay-ee but don't worry... momma understands your language). Momma has a bad habit of calling your bows, barrettes and clips "Hair Pretties". That's where you picked it up.

I love watching you develop your personality. I'm having so much fun discovering the little person you're becoming. Even on the not so good days when we butt heads and you drive me a little crazy. And I can't wait to see what age 2 brings to the table as you continue to grow and blossom.

I love you with all my heart and soul, my little snickerdoodle.
Mommy

Project Tonggu

The Tonggu Social Welfare Institution is very near and dear to my heart. They were responsible for the care of my daughter for the first 7 1/2 months of her life. And because they did such an amazing job, my job was made easier. 

Because of these two wonderful, kind, loving foster parents, Mia was handed to me a happy and healthy baby, capable of allowing herself to trust and be loved. They didn't just take care of her because it was their job. They played with her, talked to her, held her, rocked her and without a doubt.... loved her.

This is a photo of Mr Guo, the director of the Tonggu SWI, and Mia. It was taken on the day we were lucky enough to visit the orphanage and meet Mia's foster mother. On our Gotcha Day, he was the person who held her for the 4 hour drive to Nanchang and then handed her to me in the conference room at the Galactic Peace Hotel.

For all of these people and for this place, I'm so very grateful. I could never truly repay them for all they did to help shape this amazing little person who is now my daughter. But I can help.

For several years before Mia arrived I sponsored a child through a charitable organization called Half the Sky. But this year I decided to use that money to help support Mia's orphanage instead.

Another Tonggu adoptive parent coordinates an annual fundraiser for Tonggu SWI that ends this Sunday June 17th. They are in need of formula, a washer/dryer, an air conditioning unit, and a TV for the children's playroom.

If you've been touched in some way by adoption, or by my daughter and our story, or you just have a generous heart and want to do some good in the world, I ask that you consider giving to this place that means so much to me.  

A tax deductible donation can be made online using This Form. Just be sure to write "Project Tonggu" in the project box to specify that is what you want the donation earmarked for.

On behalf of all the children in Tonggu SWI still waiting for a family..... Mia and I thank you.

Dinner Conversations with Mia

Mia was wound up tonight. She was pretty funny during dinner so I started taping her. I wish I'd grabbed my Flip camera instead of my I-Phone. I hate how the phone makes the videos so skinny.

We were having chicken. But she insists all white meat is turkey. No matter what.

She knows her name. But is sassy about repeating it when I ask. I especially love when she refuses to eat any more broccoli.

My funny girl. She's so smart. At the end she signs book which is her way of asking me to read to her.
And of course, I did.

One Year Later

My life was completely changed on May 25, 2011. A man in Nanchang, China handed me a baby and suddenly my dreams of becoming a mother had come true.

I can't believe it's been a year since I met my daughter. I remember that day like it was yesterday. And yet, it feels like Mia has been with me forever. Such a strange contradiction.

You always hear adoptive families say that somehow a perfect match was made and I am no different. She is my perfect daughter. Perfectly matched to me. We are so much alike. Which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. 

This last year has been full of new experiences for the both of us as we've grown into our roles as mother and daughter. It wasn't always easy. But I can honestly say that now , a year later, we're two peas in a pod. She knows me as well as I know her.

I'm a much more comfortable, relaxed and confident mom than I was a year ago. And Mia... wow. She's amazing. Every day she changes. She's so incredibly smart. She's happy, warm and affectionate. She's stubborn and strong willed. She's the sunshine in my life. 

I loved her the moment I made the decision to adopt. I loved her when I first saw her photo. I loved her on the day she was finally placed in my arms. After a year with this wonderful, beautiful girl... that love has grown and blossomed and wound it's way into every ounce of my being. I can't imagine a life without her.

Every day together is a blessing. Even the tough ones. I can't wait to see what this next year brings.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today marks the seventh Mother's Day since I started out on the long and winding road to motherhood. I finally reached the destination.... my beautiful daughter. She's the only gift I'll ever need.

And Speaking of ... Speaking

As I mentioned, Mia's speech has really taken off. She's in a huge repeating stage right now. But these are the words she knows and uses consistently all on her own. Feel free to scroll down. This is just for me to look back on and remember some day.
puppy
goggy = doggy
bir = bird
book
mommy
momma
bubble
ot = hot
peas = please
anchoo = thank you
dink = drink
mulk = milk
wa wa = water
jew = juice
cracka = cracker
nana = banana
chee = cheese
bed = bread
more
elp = help
teev = teeth
no and shakes her head "no"
bus
nigh-night
bah = ball
Melmo = Elmo
mingk = bink (pacifier)
sooz = shoes
at = hat
ewww = at appropriately icky things
ow = when she bumps her head or gets some other boo boo
pull
die = dry
hi
bye bye
no = nose
eye
cuck cuck = what a chicken says
kack kack = what a duck says
awf awf = what a dog says
mmmm = what a cow says
Nita = Anita (her babysitter)
Nattie = Maddie (Anita's daughter)
Mo-Mo = Morgan (Mia's daycare BFF)
mm mm mm = kinda like the Campbell's soup slogan. Used when she's enjoying something tasty. And it comes with it's own sassy little slow head shake back and forth for emphasis. LOL!

This one technically doesn't count yet cuz she just repeated me. But earlier this week as I was putting her in her car seat to go to the sitter's I said "I love you" and got "mulm oo" as a response. My heart melted into a puddle right there in the driveway. :)

The signing really helps me understand her better. Cuz just like you'll see in this video, I may not catch what she's saying. But when she combines it with a sign... I usually get it. I was desperately trying to get her to do the "mmmm" cow noise she does. Cuz it's so dang adorable. And I accidentally and unexpectedly got her speaking and signing "help" for the very first time. I didn't even know she knew either one.

Her toys are in that trunk and she wanted them. When she gets frustrated because she can't do something I'm always asking her "Do you need help? Do you want momma to help you?" and I sign help. I guess she listened... cuz on this day (which was back in mid-March) she actually gave it back to me. Although she didn't get the sign just right but I figured it out regardless. I love how when I finally understand what she's saying she signs "thank you". Like she's acknowledging "yes momma I need help."

Have I mentioned how much I love the Baby Signing Times DVD's? Only a thousand times, you say? LOL! 

One of the things she does now is to raise her arms in the "I don't know" fashion, furrow her brow quizzically and ask "go?" which is her shortened version of "where did he/she/it go?". And she does it All The Time. When the dog leaves the room, when whoever is near her walks away, when a bird flies by, when she drops her cup, when a school bus passes us in the car. 

Her receptive language is amazing. She really understands so much and it baffles me.

I tell her to go find her sippy cup and she starts looking for it.

I tell her to pick a book for me to read her at night and she goes right to the bookshelf, gets a book... or three, walks over to me sitting in the big upholstered chair and lifts her arms so I can scoop her up into my lap.

I keep her bib draped over the back of her high chair. Recently, a few bites into dinner I said to myself, but out loud, that "momma should have put a bib on her". Mia turned and started reaching for the bib on the back of her chair. But it wasn't there. She spotted it on the counter and started pointing at it.

I tell her it's time to get ready for bed and she starts heading for the stairs. Or time to brush her teeth and she makes a beeline for the bathroom.

I'm constantly amazed at how smart she is, how much she understands, and how well she communicates. And I'm one proud momma...