Christmas Day

We all went to church with Steve’s parents so everyone there could meet her. Again, everyone was so happy to see her and thought she was precious. It’s really great to have so much support and excitement about her finally being home with us. It was a wonderful Christmas!!! We left Missouri at 6:00 Christmas night...stopped in Jackson, TN to pick up a few things we left at my Mom's...then drove through the night to get home. The drive was a bit tough on us but it was so much better for Livie. She pretty much slept the entire way home....about 14 hours. We were so ready to be home when we finally pulled in the driveway...we were exhausted and she was wide awake! The new story of our life... :-)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Open House….a “meet & greet” for friends in Jackson TN to meet Olivia and welcome her to the family. It was freezing cold and rainy but we had a really big turnout….so wonderful that everyone wanted to share in our experience and were so excited to see her. She was wearing the cutest little Christmas outfit (gift from Uncle Steve) and really turned on the charm….love at first site for everyone who met her!

Home for Christmas

First flight with Livie since the long flights home from China….must say I was a bit nervous. I flew to TN by myself with her…Steve was scared for me (he still has nightmares of those flights home). My thought is that if we could survive those flights with a screaming baby, I can survive a 1 hour flight by myself….even if she screams the entire time! She did great! She started to get a bit fussy a few times but the Cheerios were a perfect distraction. We had dinner with my step-sisters and their families on Thursday night (12/22). Olivia went nuts over her new cousin, Matthew (3 yrs old). She gave him a bear-hug every time he came near. Attached is a pic of him trying to escape…

Birthday girl...

Olivia’s 1st birthday!!! We had a party and lots of friends joined us to celebrate (Rina & Annalisa came...China travel buddies). Livie was so proper with her cake….never would dive in and get her hands too messy. She started crawling today! We really thought she would go straight to walking (she’s soooo close) but surprised us today with crawling. It’s so cute to see her scooting across the floor. Attached are a few pics from the party.

A born shopper!

December 1-15 Lots of visits with friends…getting on a schedule….exploring the house, toys, malls, etc. Olivia has done great adjusting to her new home….eating & sleeping very well. We had lots of Christmas shopping to finish so she & Mommy hit the malls often. Livie was a trooper every time we went out (almost daily!!)…so content in her stroller, grabbing lunch, in & out of the car seat, bouncing from store to store…..I think she’s a born shopper!!