Day of Dragons and Dancing

Yesterday was one busy day for us!  Busy but a lot of fun!

We celebrated Chinese New Year with our FCC Chapter.  What a grand celebration it was too!  This is always the biggest event so we get to see so many families.  The kids are well entertained with crafts and yummy food and catching up with all their pals!  Some new families joined us this year and we hope to see them more often.   And all of our best pals were there as well, so the kids not only had a fun time but were excited to see everyone they know so well!

Here's the four of us.  Yes, we adults look worn out....chasing Sammy around that place was a job in itself, and one that took plenty of energy!  And for Ms. Simone, well, she just had a great time and was so independent, not only playing with her favorite pair of brothers but making new friends as well!  What a difference from last year, she has certainly come out of her shell!

 One of Sammy's favorite games was jumping off the stage.  Oh yes, the stage he wasn't supposed to be on in the first place.  But try telling Mr. Determined that!  Year of the Ox suits his temperament very well I must say!  But look how happy he is in the midst of his deviousness...

 And Simone's bestest pals, FuDa & SP! 

  Oh and there's that stinker climbing on the stage again...

 True love....

 Fuda was the head of one of the dragon's and did a fine job prancing through the room!

 See Sammy Wei at the tail end, trying so hard to keep up with the big kids!  He was not going into the dragon made for the little ones, no sir!  He had to be right near his big sis!

 And instead of firecrackers we had bubble pop on the floor!  The kids LOVE this and there was not a bubble left when they were all finished!

 He's finally looking a bit tired as well!  And oh so cute...

 And some of my FCC Mama pals!  It is so amazing to have made such great friends with such wonderful women.  I feel very lucky to have gotten to know all of them over the last year and look forward to many gatherings to come!

So if all that excitement wasn't enough we had a birthday party to attend later that night.  One of my friends turned the big four-o and had a great party at a local hotel!  And she wanted it "kid friendly" so we all got to go as a family, which truly was great.  There was very good food and a DJ playing great dancing tunes. 

Simone and Sammy had no problem shaking it up on the dance floor.  It was darling to see them dancing together!  And Simone knew all of the other kids there so she had a really fun time! 

 The B-Day gal and another friend.  Also my "girl's weekend" pals! 

Thank you Perla for a great time!!!

 Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing...ya ya!  Sammy really has the beat down and was even trying to line dance.  He had so much fun and was just adorable out there!

 My dancing queen....

So that was our day yesterday.  What do you think we'll do today?

Oh you know it - hang out and chill!  We're going to cuddle up and watch TV, maybe make some popcorn.  Well, Adam & I anyway.  The kids are already running around the house like wild things...

And below is a just for fun photo.  Sammy got new sheets from his Auntie Jody and he is now sleeping in his room in a "big boy bed" (well...mostly sleeping in there, he wakes between 5 & 6 to cuddle back in our bed.  It's a start though!)  But he really loves his "vrooom vrooom" sheets and enjoys laying in there.

Yep, naked as the day he was born here....he climbed in while we were dressing for the day!

So that's our day of dragons and dancing!

Hope all of your weekends are truly grand too!

J

Zoo day with friends!

I know I've said it before, and it's just so true...we really love our Knoxville zoo.

We have zoo passes that have come in handy, since they do story time with a critter visit during the week and then have the "Wee Play" zone, an indoor play area for the kiddos - which has been just great entertainment for Sammy & I during the week. 

But know what's even better fun?  You guessed it...a day at the zoo with great friends!

Some of our friends invited us to join them last weekend to celebrate a birthday, and it turned into quite a little gathering!  And boy oh boy- did we all have fun!  The day was beautiful and the kids were all in great moods and we got lot's of fresh air, saw lot's of animals and just laughed the afternoon away.

Here's Sammy with his new ball cap on!   Ready to see some bears....

The Birthday Boy, and one of Simone's favorite people, arrives!  Simone just adores her pal FuDa and his little bro.  The moment they see each other it's like they never parted ways and the old game of chase starts up again. 

The rest of the photos I think can tell their own stories...so I'll just let them!

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Now on to "Wee Play".....where we sure did play!

Here's the whole gang!  What a cute group of kiddos.....

It's great to see the friendships forming with these kids and the joy that they share when they play together!  I am so glad to have found such great pals for my kids and for Adam & myself as well!  Not only do the kids get to interact with other Asian adoptees, but we adults get to hang with other parents...it's just great!

J

To see more fun photo's check out Julie's blog over at:

http://thedeziels.blogspot.com/2011/02/great-friends-and-great-times-and-tons.html

She has a knack for taking really great pictures and capturing those happy moments so well!  Plus her kiddos are just so cute!

Celebration!

Turning two is a big deal. So of course we celebrated Sammy's big day with all day fun! 

We started with a nice breakfast and then some jumping at a local gymnasium with a friend.  Sammy loves going to Tatura's and there was probably not a better way to spend the morning - he and Charlie ran, jumped and tumbled all over the place!  Then we had a fabulous lunch with the same great pals!  Fun times... (and Mama forgot the camera...bummer!)

Birthday dinner is always birthday person choice, and since Sammy doesn't really have a favorite food we chose take-out chinese for our festive meal!  Yum yum yummy! 

Sammy enjoyed opening all his gifts!  Naturally big sis had to help a little....
Sammy got some great stuff including new sheets for his big boy bed, a T-ball set (that he loves to hit in the yard!) and lot's of new clothes.

Daddy got him his very own Red Sox outfit, complete with ball cap!  Doesn't he just look two years old in the photo below!

His favorite toy came from his Gammie & Poppa and is one very cool Thomas Big Wheel.  It plays music and makes all sorts of train sounds.  He is having so much fun pushing himself around the house on it and dancing to the music!

I made some delicious cupcakes to celebrate the big event.  Simone and I decorated them and both kids got to clean the frosting out of the bowls.  
Sammy wasn't too sure what we were doing here and why we were giving him fire when we usually are keeping it far away from him!  Jie Jie had to help blow out the candles!

But he didn't need any help figuring out how to eat them! 

My happy family!  Aren't they cute....

And that is how we celebrated my big boy turning 2!

 San leaz quiet lo, my sweet boy!

J

Two-rific!

Today my sweet baby boy turns two years old.  He's not so much a baby anymore though, and is able to do so many things he couldn't do last year, some things he couldn't achieve even last month. 
I'm not sure where the year went but it truly did fly right by!  I think of all the changes we've had since his 1st Birthday, how much he's grown and learned and, well, changed!


It's been a great year too, I couldn't have asked for a more amazing year spent home with my little dumpling, and his big sis when she wasn't in school!  We've had all sorts of fun and each day brings something new. 


So what is Samuel WeiChe like on the day he turns two?
Well, he is a sweet natured boy who loves to snuggle and cuddle and who gives hugs out easily!  He is ever so curious and it really is just his nature to explore anything by climbing it, smooshing it, opening or closing it, licking it and possibly even throwing it. He's strong-willed and determined, always quite sure of what he does and does not want.  He's happy, singing the day away and giggling over anything that tickles him.


He's a dumper of all baskets and bins.  It doesn't matter what is in it, he just likes to dump it all out.  And maybe look through it a bit.  Oh sure, he'll help clean it back up...just to dump it all over again!


He is an animal lover.  The promise to see the horses next door have helped smooth over numerous tantrums.  Story time at the zoo is AWESOME...only because they bring an animal in to pet at the end.  And not a puppy dog can pass by at the park without his attention given to it-whether it's wanted or not!


He loves anything to do with the kitchen and cooking.  He drags the kitchen chair over to the counter to watch me prepare meals, or even just wash the dishes.  He loves to get his own pot or pan and utensil and pretend to cook with me.  His play food is used often while I'm prepping dinner.


He also loves to copy everything anybody does.  He is such a master imitator and it makes me laugh to see what he takes away from different situations. 


And he wears me out on a regular basis.  And then does something that makes me love him even more than ever!  Even as he's exasperating me he's putting on that sweet boy charm and making my heart melt.   But wear me out he does, with his non-stop energy and crazy ideas of what is safe to climb or take apart or play with.  He just loves to get into everything and expects me to just keep up with him!


So on this day I really just want to remember how much I love this little guy, how much we all do!   This day two years ago we were given such an amazing bessing, though we didn't even know it at the time. 

Today we celebrate Sammy turning two.
J

And they danced....

Simone & Adam attended a "Daddy/Daughter" dance with the Girls Scouts in our area.   They had a great night together moving and grooving.

  

And prior to the event Simone and I had a great time getting ready!  We did our oatmeal & honey facials, painted our nails and I did Simone's hair with all sorts of lovely waves.  Sure I was stuck at home in my sweats for the night, but it was still fun being girlie with my girl! 

Don't they look wonderful!

A troop-mate and her Daddy joined us at the house for the magical evening of dance.  You may recognize the fellow below...he was our famous Santa! 

Ms. M and Simone have been great pals since we moved to TN and we've become good pals with her parents. The girls even ended up being in the same class this year, which has been a great treat for them!

And Sammy & I had our own treat last night because M's brother stayed with us to help out and play. Sam was in heaven and laughed and squealed and played like crazy until he literally passed out in my arms!

Look at these two dancing queens - they always have so much fun together!

 There was great music, games, crafts, goody bags and even some yummy food at the dance!  All things my dumpling is fond of!  Adam said she knew a lot of the girls there and had so much fun dancing and running around with them!  I love to see her so social and sure of herself!

 This photo I love...look at the little one next to them dancing!  I mean she is really grooving!  She's a cutie pie who is in the girls class as well!

 Just adorable, but so grown-up! 

 Doing the robot...?   She is so funny!

So if you ever feel like dancing the night away you know who will be more than happy to join you!
J