There is no place like home :)

Thanks to our friends Shannon and Alan who gave us this cozy cottage for Miss Starr. Of course being the goofballs that we are we had to get in there with Katie. Even our Chihuahua, Gabby tried to get into the act.

This is actually how our real home is beginning to feel and with Ethan coming we may be feeling a little too "cozy" for our own good. I hate the thought of moving and having to do a home study addendum...ugh! I guess we will wait until our son comes home before we decide if the Katie's cozy cottage is roomier than our present digs.

Doing the "Golden Ticket" Happy Dance Tonight!!

I called my friend Shannon to wish her a Happy Birthday and as we spoke she told me that today was a lucky number day for her as she and Mia were both born on the 18th. She felt strongly that our I-171h would be here today!! As I drove down my street I saw Marc at the mailbox pulling out the mail and he busted out with the thumbs up!! Whoooohooooo, on day 75 we received our GOLDEN TICKET to Ethan.
It may take us a little longer than most to go DTC as our agency in Hawaii is very small. They handle the certifying in Hawaii and authenticating out of LA. They will not expedite a thing and estimate approx a month to 6 weeks before DTC. Oh well, at least this battle was won today. I will relish this victory today and then go back to driving myself crazy about what is out of our control tomorrow..LOL.

Waiting while holding a picture of your son for approx 10 months will definitely be the hardest thing I have ever done.

On another note; here are Katie Starr's two year old portraits. They make me melt every time I look at them. It is a good thing too because she has been a whiny mess while she has been ill. We do not know where 2 year old whiny begins and sick whiny ends...sheesh! Please click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Katie Starr's 2nd Birthday Pictures

Katie Starr had a wonderful birthday celebration that lasted two days. That is the norm in our house. I am all about birthdays :)

What a difference a year makes; at this time last year we were celebrating her birthday while she was still in China. We were a month away from going to China and were so sad to be away from her on such a big day. We really tried to make her birthday special and may have gone a "bit overboard" this year but it was all good. One of our goals was to raise money for a child that needs surgery in China and donate the money through Love Without Boundaries. If you remember from a previous post our Ethan was given his life saving operation in exactly this same way. A wonderful woman by the name of Kelly Doctor and her family had a two year old birthday party for their daughter and then donated the money for his surgery as well as one of his orphanage mates. We decided to do the same thing, so our party goers were kind enough to honor our wishes and we raised over 600.00 towards the 2000.00 needed for a very special little girls surgery. If you would like to know more about Wu Hong Cai and would consider donating for her surgery please click here She was in the same orphanage as Katie was at about the same time. One of our travel mates is even considering adopting this sweet child. We were more than thrilled to be able to connect this red thread and help in any way possible.

Katie seemed a little out of sorts at the party. I chalked it up to waaaay to many people and being over stimulated but I think the problem was that she was getting sick. When we got home she started with a low grade fever and by today she was full blown ill with a temp that spiked up to 104 degrees in the late afternoon. I hope that she is feeling a bit better in the morning.

Here are some pics from the two days. On her birthday we had a quiet day and cut a cake for her and then Saturday was the big shindig...enjoy!!

I love my Elmo Medical Kit

Justin and I are checking out Daddy's throat...say aaaaaah daddy!!

No, this is not the peace sign or "V" for victory...Katie is 2 today!!!

My parents birthday gift to Katie - She liked it but can't peddle it yet. Don't ya love the Elmo helmet??!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

I made her birthday cake and the Cookie Monster cupcakes for her party on the following day.

Cookie Monster took one for the team

Getting ready to pull the strings on the toddler Pinata

The big dive for Candy (katie is in the Elmo Shirt) She was satisfied with one lollipop :)

Katie was less than thrilled about Elmo

My dad, Elmo, Katie Starr and me

Katie's friends Hansen and Amiee liked Elmo

Katie was less than thrilled

Yeah dad, I know you like him but I will just stay here in Mama's arms!!

and the cakes kept coming.....

Just after Katie Starr's birthday comes my fathers and then mine so the cakes kep coming. We surprised my dad with one and then Marc surprised me with one. Following that we sang several renditions of Happy Birthday as there were other April Birthdays in the house.

A very happy and tired birthday girl on the ride home

Our Sweet Girl Turned Two Years Old Today!!

Katie Starr is two years old today and we can hardly believe it. She is every bit the two year old now and officially ushered this lovely stage into our lives last evening with a huge tantrum. We enjoyed every minute of it! It just proves to us yet again that she is happily ensconced into our lives and is secure as our daughter. She lets us know that whenever it is appropriate. Anyway, our hearts are full of joy today that we are the parents to this wonderful child who has surpassed every expectation that we ever held about her. We have waited a long time to share a birthday with her. We spent the day as a family, had some cake and then welcomed home her China sister Rachel this evening at the airport. I could not think of a better way to spend the this day.

Tomorrow will be her birthday party in the park. I will post pictures and commentary from her birthday after the party.

Happy Birthday Katie Starr!! We love and adore you and always will.

Our daughter the Doctor?

After receiving word yesterday about Justin's acceptance into Law School (see previous post) I received this e-mail from hubby with picture attached. One of the many reasons I love Marc is that he totally cracks me up :)

Here is the e-mail:

I can tell the competition will be tough in our house. With Justin's announcement of going into Law School; Katie decided she wasn't going to be out done, so she cracked open the books to get a head start. See attached picture.....

My Son the Lawyer :)

Justin received his first acceptance letter for Law School earlier today. He is waiting for two others before he makes a final decision but as of the fall he will be in Law School and in 2010 he will be an attorney :) whooooohooooo!!

This is a goal that Justin has wanted to achieve as far back as I can remember. I am very proud that Justin is following his dreams.

We have been thrown a bone

Today we received a very short update from the CCAA about Ethan. This is a periodic update that was sent to the agency with no pictures attached but we are grateful to receive any scraps of information thrown our way; hence we have been thrown a bone :)

Here is the updated info:
Height: 31.5 inches
Weight: 23 lbs
Head circumference: 48cm
Chest circumference: 48cm
Foot size:12cm
Teeth: 15

Physical Condition
He can walk with the help of a go-cart. He can stand by holding something. He can walk when someone holds one of his hands. He can sit well by himself.

Mental Development Condition
He is clever. He is well developed and active. He is close to his care-taker.

Meal Schedule and Preference
Eating time: 7:30am, 10:00am, 1:00pm, 4:30pm and 7:30pm. His staple food is milk powder (jinxing brand) plus lotus seed rice flour. His non-staple food is rice, noodles, meat soup, cookies and cakes and so on.

Daily Life, Personality, Hobbies etc.
He gets up at 7:00am, take a nap at 1:30pm and hit the bed at 8:00pm. I will leave out his bowel and bladder routine - Definitely TMI!!

He is active and smiles when he sees familiar people.

Favorite Toys and Activities
He likes dolls best (hmmmmm?) and likes to play outside with other children.

Foster Institute: Social Welfare Institute Of Xiajiang city, Jiangxi province
March 23, 2007

Even though the top of the document had all of Ethan's identifying information we asked for the agency to re verify the info as the narrative was written from the perspective of "she" instead of "he" and of course there was that doll comment....LOL

There is only one thing left to be said.....

A day at the Palm Beach Zoo

A little nervous before the ride started but begged to go again and again!

Look...we are both sticking out our tounge!

Greenacres is the place to be...

Double fisted coloring before lunch


Grandma and Katie in comparison to the bears

We came across this water feature at the zoo and off came the clothes :)

Cool Photo of Katie in the tunnel in the playground

A Day at Parrot Jungle Island

Isn't she lovely?

Daddy and Katie

Mommy and Katie

I am not so sure about that Blue thing!!!

Leading the Way....

I Love the Slide

Mom and Dad...these Pink Flamingos are Cool!!