Still more photos

At our 6 mos post "Mary is officially in the house" visit, we have to
provide 15 photos of Mary to the social worker who did our home study.
This will not be a problem!

Christmas 2006

digital images = 100,000 words!

Not So Chance Encounter with Santa

Wow, such a reaction ! That's my little drama queen in action.

Glimpses of Personality and Individualism!!!

Here are a few expressions I captured that need to be seen !! Judging by the 'Look' in her eyes in this one, no pushover is she...

An assortment of Mary in motion, and Bear doing time in the Kenmoore !!

More photos

FIrst the walking, then the talking...

Sunday, November 26, 2006 (coincidentally the day of her baptism), Mary started really walking, going the whole distance of the room at a steady pace without stumbling!!

And she has maintained her 'sea legs' ever since. Oh boy. With that, though she will still stay in the stroller during shopping excursions, she has tasted freedom, so being content in the stroller may be short lived.

Well, it was a nice run while it lasted.

She is also imitating words and phrases sometimes. Example, Bruce said here's your panda bear and she repeated pana beah , or 3 syllables that sounded like it with same intonation.

Also, good morning sleepy girl produced " seepy guh, or some facsimile... I had noticed this a couple of times before, when it sounded like she said an exact word.

And "beauh" is her word for her pink bear.

Lots of babbling of phrases, and yesterday, she said Hi to a sales rep in the Ulta cosmetics store, in response to the girl saying Hi to her. Mary said it twice, and the whole incident is a first.

Looking for a pink, plush Carter's bear "My FIrst Bear"

We went a shopping today, looking for a back up bear for the 'My First Bear" that appears to have attained most favored status with Mary.

No luck in Carter's store or on ebay. Oh , well.

Everyday's a holiday with Mary !

Miss M. attends her first social event of the season!

Frustration, courtesy of our friends at the Social Security office & a photo of Monique & Mary

I went to soc sec. office today, to try to get a card for Mary. They said I needed more documentation, spec a US birth cert, and she kept saying I didnt have the final adoption decree, which I did.

I called my agency and Ad. coordinator told me which item it was, and that soc sec often gives people a hard time. so bottom line, have to register the adoption with the orphan's court in our county court house, and then they will issue a us birth cert with mary's english name and our names on it. current one has our names and her chinese name.and then i take that, once received , along with several other docs , back to the s.s. office! your tax dollars at work.

The S.S. girl just kept repeating the same statements, and when I asked her exactly what docs i did need, she said it's on the direction sheet that you can find online. I finally asked for the manager, and then the girl was a little more helpful, and elaborated about exactly what was needed.I was close to saying something sarcastic to her, but restrained myself, even when she said my attorney (the adopt agency owner ) obviously doesn't know what he is talking about.Very frustrating,

Mary was quite clingy and a bit out of sorts to day, prob because no reg. nap in late a.m. due to being at the soc sec office.and though she fell asleep for 15 mins in the car, once home, she would not fall asleep. She also didn't eat as much lunch, though she compensated for that at dinner. In between all that , she was cheerful, and walking and clapping and giggling, so who knows.

more photos from Sunday. Doesn't Aunt MoMo look great with Mary. I can't wait until she travels to and returns from Vietnam with her baby daughter, so we can take a similar photo of me holding the new little one!

November 26, 2006 Mary's Baptism

Thanksgiving 2006 photos

Thanksgiving 2006 and more car issues !

Mary puts a spell on Minnie M.

On the road again for Thanksgiving. We were treated to two turkey dinners!!

The very next day, my car decided to have another stroke. Fortunately, I was at the Gateway Shp Center, having just made a purchase at the liquor store. Also fortunately, Dad was in the car with Mary and me, so he sat with her while I went in to buy wine.

When we tried to start the car, nothing... So 45 minutes to an hour later, the AllState ins. road side assistance guy arrived. He couldn't jump start the car, and said it could be the alternator, not the battery. So, he towed the car to my parents house, and we rode in the tow truck. Mary was in her car seat in the skinny back seat of the tow truck. I thought she would be anxious or cry because of all the noise and the bumpy ride, but she fell asleep during the 10 minute drive to the house. Could not believe it.
When we went in the house, she was all giggles ! I had gone into trader joe's while we waited, and got some snacks and a drink for her, as we didn't expect a 15 minute wine run to last 1.5 hrs. The whole thing didn't faze her.

Today, however, she was bit off her game, crying a lot, especially at bedtime, which she usually doesn't do, and not eating quite as much (which is probably the normal amount a 14 month old eats)!
I noticed at dinner that there is a third tooth on top, just peeking through, so hopefully its just teething.

and now , the photos!

Lancome's newest spokesmodel

Tresor perfume et Treasure named Mary !


Ok, so she only speaks in staccato babble at this point, but she wanted to put on a headband like I do before applying makeup!
Mary was carrying the look off very well, so we went to the Lancome Counter in search of the perfect chair (and some new renergie foundation)...

Halloween 2006

Mary's premier Halloween costume

(she is trying to type, she coloured a wee bit today, more like rearranged the crayons into and out of the box repeatedly : ) !

anyway, without further ado, here are the photos!

gotta love daimler chrysler

two days ago, I had Mary in the car seat , ready to roll, do some power shopping etc. and the key would not turn in the ignition. The wheel was locked, and I tried jiggling it, tried spare key , etc.

No avail. so 3 phone calls later, D. Chrysler roadside assistance sent a dude with a tow truck. He managed to get the key in so the car could start and be backed outta the garage. then , towed it to nearby dealer. ignit. system mech. slipped or faulty or whatever, to the tune of $370. no charge for the tow. oh well. its fixed! so we were stuck at home all day that day.