Finally, Olivia's Actual Birthday... (8/31, Part III)

We finally made it to Monday, the 31st, Olivia's actual birthday. She was happy to go to school, since she'd heard that she'd get to wear a crown and be Line Leader all day. (At first, she was furious that she'd have to go to school on her birthday. It took several weeks for her to finally accept that fact.) She was up bright and early. She wore a fancy dress and her favorite necklace. Sparkle the Cat went to school to help her celebrate.

When a child has a birthday at Olivia's school, it is posted on the front door so everyone can see.

As soon as she got into her classroom, her teacher placed The Crown on her head. She loved it!!

At the end of the day, Miss Kathleen and Miss Tia said that Olivia had a great day and even napped in her crown!

We got home and she loved seeing a sign and balloon to greet her.

We let her open one gift early to wear to Featherstones, her favorite restaurant. Unfortunately, we got there and it was... closed. She refused to go anywhere else, so we made a quick stop at the grovery store and daddy chose a couple steaks and some shrimp. Thank heavens that daddy is the best cook in the whole world!! We had more birthday cake for desset and Olivia opened her presents. Mostly they were art-related, since she loves the color and draw now. She was very pleased. What a good birthday!

A couple days later, we made it back to Featherstones. Olivia had her favorite - grilled cheese.

Ke Xin chose pizza, mom and dad had meatloaf - pure (and excellent) comfort food.

Ke Xin with "Baby". Baby goes EVERWHERE with her. Woe to him who forgets to bring Baby along, even when Ke Xin momentarily forgets her. She'll remember Baby half-way to your destination and let you know how unhappy she is that Baby is not along. Yes, Baby is naked. That is how Ke Xin wants her to be. That is how Ke Xin wants to be, herself! I'd post "happy naked pictures", but she's... naked!

Ke Xin LOVES to brush her teeth. She'd brush her teeth 10 times a day if I let her. That makes Uncle Dave and Aunt Carol (the Drs. Olson) very happy, since they are her dentists. Her teeth may not be very straight, but they are in excellent condition - not a cavity in sight. Uncle Dave says that's because she wasn't exposed to sugary foods in China. (oops... those days are over for good...)

Our neighbor, Terri, made a fleece blanket for Olivia last year. She recently made one for Ke Xin! I love the colors she uses. So pretty! Both girls love to snuggle in the blankets because they are SO soft. They'll come in very handy this winter. What a thoughtful gift!

Birthday Trip to Build-A-Bear! (Birthday Part II, Aug. 30)

Olivia and Ke Xin's birthdays are only 6 days apart. We still haven't figured out exactly what we're going to do in future years about parties, etc. My sister-in-law, Carol, came up with the pefect solution for her gifts to the girls - lunch at MacDonalds and then a trip to Build-A-Bear!

First, we assembled at Micky-D's and consumed good old American junk food. It was only 1pm on a Saturday, but we almost had the lace to ourselves. Nice! My nephew had let his girlfriend cut his hair. He's still hiding behind his bangs, but you can see a little more of his face...





Olivia loves the playgrounds at the fast food places. Ke Xin isn't so sure. She's small enough that she can't really do a whole lot, especially if she has to climb up big steps to get started. She had no trouble with this one, though, and promptly climbed inside the rat maze of tubes and became... lost. We got an idea of where she was by following her voice. Olivia was supposed to go get her, but I think she was having more fun with Ke Xin being lost. How funny! (Not.) Mom had to climb in to get her. I got quite a smile and a happy "LO!" when we made eye contact. I am just not young enough to climb around in those tubes. And forget it if you have to change direction. You almost have to be a yoga expert to contort your body around. Sheez! And it really is easy to become disoriented!

Then it was off to Build-A-Bear!! On the way into the mall, nephew Garrett tricked his sister, Ivey, into standing underneath a small tree in the parking lot (next to their car). He promptly shook the tree and all the raindrops from the light shower 5 minutes before fell on her and soaked her. Secretly, we all thought it was pretty funny, but Ivey was furious. ;)

If you are not familiar with Build-A-Bear, the kids go through a process. First, they choose an empty (unstuffed) body. There are bears, cats, dogs, etc., from which to pick. Then they choose a sound-box to be placed in the body with the stuffing, they place a heart in their new buddy and then they choose an outfit for their new creation.

Olivia chose a cute cat. After having a "meow" sound box slipped into it's foot and the body pumped full of stuffing, Olivia chose a little red heart, gave it a kiss, and placed it into the opening in the back of her new cat, Sparkle.

Then it was Ke Xin's turn. She had chosen (sorta, since she didn't really understand what in the world was going on...) a blue fuzzy bear. After the Build-A-Bear assistant slips the empty body over the end of the stuffing tube, the kids are supposed to work the footfeed which sprays the stuffing through the tube and into the body. Olivia helped Ke Xin with this part.

She understood about kissing the heart and placing it in the body.

After the assistant laces up the back and closes the hole, it's time to give your new baby an air bath and brush it. Ivey showed the girls what to do.

Parents sit down at computers along the wall and type up the birth certificates for the new babies. Then you head for the "fashion" wall. They have every outfit you can think of. Both Olivia and Ke Xin wound up with the same dress - fairy style - with little pink high heels. You dress the bears immediately and you're ready to hit the street with your new friend!

Two grown men at Build-A-Bear trying to act manly.

Ke Xin's new friend, Powder (for her powder blue color). She tried to put the bear's shoes on herself, but they were just too small.

Olivia's new cat, Sparkle. Sparkle went to school Monday and was her buddy for nap time.

Ke Xin gives daddy a "smack-down"!

(damp) Counsin Ivey, (crazy) Uncle David, cousin Garrett (watching out for continued retribution from Ivey), (happy) Aunt Carol, and the birthday girls with their new friends in their official Build-A-Bear boxes.

Ivey physically attacked Garrett in JCPenny's before we left. It was pretty funny. :) (Because I'm not her mother.)

After the mall, we headed home for ice cream and birthday cake! Olivia is IN LOVE with Scooby Doo, so she loved her cake. She wants to be part of the Scooby Doo gang when she grows up. Maybe she can be a private detective? Uncle David used to have a van like the "Mystery Machine" but it wasn't nearly as cute. Jinkies!

The fam eating b-day cake. Well, most of us ate cake. Olivia and Ke Xin ate the frosting and moved on to the ice cream.

After cake, everyone talked or played. Olivia went after Uncle Dave as usual and tried to beat the bejeezus out of him with her cardboard building blocks. As usual, he encouraged her every step of the way.

After our company left, Ke Xin went back to her usual form of play - tea party. Daddy and Smoochy were her guests this time.

What a great time!! Thank you Aunt Carol, Uncle Dave, Garrett and Ivey!!!

Olivia's Zip Cord Ride at Stone Mountain - Wheee!

Olivia loved the zip cord ride on the obstacle course. She was fearless!! Ke Xin wanted to try it, but she was just too small. Maybe next year!

Olivia's Birthday, Part I

Olivia's birthday was August 31st. We ended up doing a "birthday weekend". Saturday (29th) we went to Stone Mountain Park, on the other side of Atlanta. Stone Mountain is the world's (?) largest single hunk of granite and has a huge carving about the Civil War on one side. Here's what it says on the website for the Park:

The Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate heroes of the Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Lt. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
How big/tall is the mountain? How big is the Carving?

The mountain is 825 feet tall and covers 583 acres. The top of the mountain is 1,683 feet above sea level.The entire carved surface of the Memorial Carving measures three acres, larger than a football field. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee's elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain's surface.

They've built several attractions around the base of the mountain and it's a fun place to go. We hadn't been there in years and thought the girls might like it. (OK, I thought they'd like it. Mark thought it was going to be a big bust, but he didn't say anything.) They have a new obstacle course, a train which runs 5 miles around the base of the mounatin, put-put golf, paddle boats, a museum, a cable car to the top of the mountain if you don't want to hike, a 4 story "barn" full of foam balls, ball guns, slides and climbing nets, shopping, dining, and a huge picnic area which faces the carving on the side of the mountain where they have a great lasershow at night, and more. The girls loved it and it wore us out. The weather wasn't too hot, and there were no crowds because it's so late in the season. Yeah! Here are some pics:

There is a large rock outcropping in the parking lot near where we left the car. Olivia HAD to climb to the top. She was quite proud of herself.

Olivia flexing her muscles in the Park. Everything was very clean and beautiful.

Olivia finally decided that we would ride the train first. She had a hard time deciding between that or lunch. It was a nice, slow ride on 5 miles of track around the base of the mountain. The train wasn't crowded at all and there was a great breeze. Ke Xin wasn't too sure about the train at first, but then she warmed up to it and was happy just looking around and eating her Cheerios.

What a great shot of Mark looking relaxed!!!

Olivia LOVED the train!

This is the view of the mountain and carving from the tracks across the picnic area. At night, you can sit out and watch the lasershow, complete with music. I think it lasts about an hour and it's usually a really neat show with music. It gets kinds hookie when they play Elvis singing Dixie. (We didn't stay for that, it would have been way too late for the girls.) The trees are full-size old pines. You can't really appreciate how big the mountin is unless you see it in person.

This is a shot of the inside of The Barn from the second level. It is 4 stories tall, and full of foam balls flying everywhere. You collect them and can put them into all sorts of containers for points, or shoot them from guns (lots more fun) at anyone unlucky enough to stand still for a few seconds. The mood is pure pandemonium. There are rope ramps/ladders and tube slides that stretch the entire 4 floors. Olivia was happy to climb up and down the rope ladders, but there was no way she was getting into a 4 story tube slide. I wouldn't either! Ke Xin was overwhlemed by it all, but was happy to be carried around until she got more used to it. Then she had a great time collecting balls and bouncing on the woven trampoline on the 3rd level.

Olivia collecting balls and avoiding incoming missles.

Bouncing on the woven tramp up on the 3rd level.

Olivia climbing up the rope ramps.

After wearing ourselves out at the Barn, we headed up the road to the cable cars. They take you up to the top of the mountain. We took a break in the shade and Olivia posed for the camera. Her cheeks are bright red from all the activity at The Barn. Plus, it was warming up.

The view from the line for the cable cars.

Ke Xin looking casual as she waits for our turn on the car. She likes to wear the hat backwards. She came up with that all on her own.

The carving as seen from the cable car. It is massive!!! They say the carving began in the early 1920's. After several groups tried and failed to complete it for one reason or another, it was finally finished in 1972.

Up at the top of the mountain. We ran into a small group of Chinese exchange students from Beijing attending Georgia State University. (There were LOTS of Asians all over the park that day!) They were very interested in Ke Xin and we talked with them for some time. They were very nice and spoke English very well. You would have sworn they'd been here for years, but they'd only been in the country for 23 days. We discussed adoption and the current economic situation. They tried to talk with Ke Xin but she was not interested. They said there are so many different dialects in China, they were not surprised that she didn't respond to them. One girl thanked us for taking Ke Xin into our home and giving her a better life. We think we are the lucky ones!

Next, we walked down to the boat dock and rode the tug boat around the lake. The kids had to wear life preservers. Ke Xin was not too keen about hers. She was napping when we got there and didn't appreciate being stuffed into a giant styrofoam jacket. She reminded me of the little brother in " A Christmas Story". By the time he's wrapped up in all his winter-wear, he can't even put his arms down.

A view of the lake. They rent the paddle wheel boat in the distance for parties. They also have World War II "Ducks" on the lake. Those are old transports that doubled as cars and boats. They could drive them straight off the road and into the water and they kept going as a boat. We skipped them here, since Mark and I rode them up in The Dells at our family reunion a few years ago. Very bumpy. Maybe when the girls are older.


Ke Xin got happier after she cooled down and Mark started to rough-house with her and Olivia.


We took a break after walking back uphill to the park. Thank heavens the cashier at the boat dock told us about a shortcut. Mark was getting grumpy. The girls shared Dippin' Dots. They are cold and tasty, but outrageously expensive.


Next was Sky Hike. It is a series of ropes you balance on and walk around on about 3 stories up in the air. Olivia wasn't tall enough to do it and it's just as well, because we were worn out and there was no way we were going to do that. But they have an obstacle course for kids at ground level that turned out to be just the thing. Olivia loved it and ran through the courtse about 3 times. Her favorite thing was flying on the zip cord. I'll try to post a video I took of that. Ke Xin tried everything and had a ball, too.


Before we even got out of the park... z...z...z...z...z...z...z...z... They slept all the way home.

And were ready to party again by the time we arrived back. But they crashed hard once their heads hit their pillows. They needed to get their sleep since Sunday we were meeting Uncle Dave and his fam for a trip to Mickey-D's and Build-A-Bear!

She's Official!

It's been awhile since I posted last, and there's lots to catch up on. The first important thing to happen was: Ke Xin received her Certificate of Citizenship from the Dept of Homeland Security!!!!!!! She became a citizen as soon as we landed in Newark on the way home from China (July 11th), but now she has the paper to back it up. I was excited, so she got all excited and I got a really cute shot of her with her certificate. (Then I had to take it away before she mangled it.)

This happened on August 27th. The thing that made it extra special was that same day marked the one-year anniversary of receiving her referral from CCAI! It was one year ago that I opened up the email from our agency and saw her face for the very first time. I was jumping all around the house clapping my hands and "whoo-hooing" and Olivia thought I had lost my mind. Then I called Mark at work and he ran to his computer. It seemed like so long ago, but that is really a short time in the world of adoption, especially from China. We were so surprised to hear from the agency, because we'd only been waiting 4 months and hadn't even finished our home study yet. We were in no hurry since we didn't expect to get a referral until at least January of this year. At that point, we went into "rush" mode, but it still took until the end of June 2009 to get her. The wheels of government move slowly... But she was well worth the wait!!!

Here are the "then" and "now" shots of our girl. She is such a joy!!!