Lots of changes!

Well, Emma Kate has been such a busy girl over the last few weeks. She is walking all the time now around the house. She spends much of her time playing by walking to one area and getting a toy and then walking to another area and putting the toy down. Her balance continues to get better the more and more she walks. In China, we bought her some squeaky shoes. When she takes a step, they squeak. She loves them and it really encourages her to walk. With all the walking, comes falling. She fell today and bumped the area between her nose and mouth on a toy. She screamed and cried and I tried to comfort her. While she was crying in my lap, Cooper was sitting next to us on the floor and making this crying sort of sound too. It was the strangest sound. It was like she was upset because Emma Kate was hurting. Cooper making all that noise also acted as a distraction for Emma Kate and she got over it pretty quick. She does have a mark on her skin and I felt so bad that that had happened. Guess I don't win the mommy award today.

We went to the pediatrician last week and Emma Kate got a glowing report. She is now 20 pounds 14 ounces, and 29 3/4 inches tall. In the past six months, she has gained 5 pounds and grown 2 1/4 inches. We have now taken her off formula and she is drinking milk. We will next tackle getting rid of the bottle and use cups only. She only gets bottles at naptime and bedtime now.

Anyway, I know you are on here to get a quick update and then see pictures so here you go! Enjoy!

Fun with Daddy's hats!

A diva in the making??

When Emma Kate is walking around, she really wants to be carrying something.

Not sure who she is calling!

She took these bags from me after I emptied them. She put one on her arm and held the other one. And no, she was not allowed to keep playing with them...she was only allowed to play with them for a few minutes.

Who knew an empty box could be so fun. You can carry it around and you can sit in it and let daddy push you around!

6 Months ago!

Well, six months ago yesterday (January 11th) Emma Kate was placed in our arms in a hotel room on Nanchang, China. Six months ago today (January 12th), we finalized our adoption of Emma Kate in the provincial office of Jiangxi Province in Nanchang, China. It is hard to believe how fast this time has gone by. On that day in July when we meet Emma Kate, we were amazed with her beauty and willingness to accept us. She has grown so much during these 6 months; it is amazing! When we first got her, she was in shock with the dramatic change in her life and today she is outgoing and interested in everything around her. When we first got her, she had difficulty sitting up by herself and today she is a toddler. When we first got her, she was used to formula and congee (a chinese dish like rice soup) and today she enjoys a variety of foods. When we first got her, she watched everything but did not always participate and today she loves attention and waves and interacts with people wherever we go. When we first got her, she was terrified of taking a bath and today she loves her bathtime. When we first got her, she had probably never been out of the orphanage setting since she arrived except to come to Nanchang, and today she has been on several road trips as well as out and about every week with us. She is just loving exploring her world and we are loving watching her!

Below you will see a picture of Emma Kate the day we got her and a picture of her more recently.

There are still times when Calvin and I sit and just stare at Emma Kate. She is such a joy to us and we are so proud to be her parents.

Snow Days and More!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! I know I am a little late on the new year wishes but life justs gets in the way! We had snow on Christmas Day which was so fun! But we had snow again this week which has not been as much fun. The snow was just beautiful falling but we also had freezing rain after the snow which has practically shut the Atlanta Metro area down. They have some equipment to clear the roads but not enough to get to everything in a timely manner. There were some people stuck on the interstate overnight due to thick ice on the roads. We knew the storm was coming but wow! We bought lots of food so we are fine staying home but there is something about not being able to get out, that makes you WANT to get out. Anyway, we are going to get out today and go slow. Here are some pictures of the snow and a video of Cooper trying to catch snowflakes. I had a hard time choosing the best pictures of Emma Kate in the snow so I just put a bunch up.

Front of our house

Playhouse in the backyard

Street in front of the house

My pitiful attempt at a snowman. I had to get under the layer of ice to get to the snow.

We now officially have a toddler in the house! Emma Kate started walking around the den by herself to the different pieces of furniture and now she is walking around everywhere! She is so proud of herself and is really working on her balance. Here is a video of her walking around! Be sure to note her bracelets!



Here is another video of Emma Kate. I took it a couple weeks ago but wanted to share it with you because it is so cute. I named it Drum Seat!

Again, Happy New Year to everyone and we hope we get to see many friends and family this year!

The Pink Pig!

We went to ride the Pink Pig in Atlanta on December 31st. It is an Atlanta Institution. It used to be at the Macy's downtown store (which no longer exists) but it is now at Lenox Mall in Buckhead. I have always wanted to ride it but thought it would look funny for me to ride by myself. No I have a great excuse to ride it now that we have Emma Kate. We tried to go before Christmas but the mall is just difficult to get to right before the holidays. Here are some pictures from our "Pink Pig Experience".

Priscilla the Pink Pig

I think I am more interested in the ride than Emma

The original Pink Pig

Note #7

There we are!