Baby Sofie

So it looks like all the photos and videos I received from the kind gentleman in China span Sofie's life from June of 2007, to September of 2008.  Apparently, this is when her foster care was coordinated by China Care and her family was under his supervision.  There are so many adorable photos but I picked out a handful  to share with you...









And here is an adorable video of her showing off her walking skills...you cannot imagine how excited and grateful we are to have this video.  We hear that same laugh here at home all day long!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4565350255/

Another Unexpected...And Amazing Gift!

A short while back I posted about coming in to contact with a gentleman in China who had photos and info about Sofie.  You can read about it here.

This morning I was surprised and elated to find new emails from this wonderful fella, including with over 100 photos and six videos of Sofie as a baby!

They are very large files so I am working to re size them so I can share what a beautiful baby our girl was.  But first, a test photo to see if I am on the right track...



Looks like I've got it figured out so stay tuned for more!

A Day Of Many Firsts

This weekend, Sofie & I went to the park on beautiful Lake Austin to attend her first birthday party for our friend Mackenzie.  It was a gorgeous day and a perfect way to spend our Saturday afternoon.  Sofie had her first naughty kid party treats (much to Mama's dismay!), including not one, but two pieces of cake!  Needless to say, it was a long rest of the day and night at our house with the little monkey all jacked up on goodies!  But, we had a great time and it's always fun to see her experience new things.

Sofie was very quiet and a bit introverted and stuck close to me pretty much the entire time, which was interesting to watch considering she is quite the opposite here at home.  But she was generous with her kisses as we were leaving the party.

I kept forgetting to keep the camera on me, but her are some photos...



Picnic lunch with her friend Sienna



Not too sure about all of it...so decided to look for flowers



Sofie loves the baby...she calls her Kenzie

Playing with Sienna, Kenzie and their Aunt Wendy

Steamy Spring Day

Sofie recently learned about the weather radar, so one of her new favorite things is to watch the weather report and alert us when there is rain or storms on the way.  I was cooking dinner tonight when she came barreling in the kitchen with something important to tell me...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4547104222/

It was quite warm and humid today, so we spent some time in the pool...

Sporting her new suit from Nana Mary

We discovered our tomato plant had set fruit and we have "baby tomatoes"

Some silly faces...

Splish splashing around

Enough with the camera, Mama

Something else we did today...helping Mama unload the groceries...

Mmmm...coffee.

Have a great weekend!

Chit Chat...With Your Host, Sofie

Having a chat with Nana Mary this afternoon...talking about Nana's visit in a few weeks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4541258119/

One Month Home

This past week marked one month since we returned from China with our little monkey.  We are so proud and amazed at all she (and we!) has learned since then.  Sofie is speaking many words in English and understands everything we say to her and figures out how to tell us what she needs.  She loves to talk on the phone!  Those of you who have experienced a "Sofie call" can attest to it's hilarity!

Sofie eats everything we do, except mushrooms and only if she sees them first.  Her favorite foods so far are bananas and all other fruits, tomatoes, spaghetti, nuts, raisins, prunes and salmon.  Of course this can change from day-to-day!

So far, her favorite toys are her baby, bunny, etch-a-sketch, "microphone" and books.

We watch cartoons in the morning and she really loves Curious George, Sid the Science Kid and sometimes Sesame Street, but only for Abby and Elmo.

Sofie loves, loves, loves to be outside.  She loves to help us in the yard and to splash around in the pool.  We try to make it out to the park or for a walk each day too.

Her favorite games to play are the ones she & Baba make up.  The "wine cork game" is a winner...I'll try to get that one of film one day.  She also loves to play the balloon game:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4526566544/

She sends it up to Baba and they come up with new ways to send it back down...





Sofie also loves to exercise in the garage with Baba.  Exercise is fun when you have silly Baba...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4525930015/

And last but not least, a photo of Sofie & I...for those of you who ask why I am never in any of the videos and photos!  I guess it's because I am always behind the lens...so we took one of ourselves!



It's hard to believe we've only been home for a month...a month full of love and laughter and joy and lots of firsts for us all...and hard to imagine what our life was like before Sofie became our daughter.

Picnic In The Park

We met our friends Randy & Maria, along with their precious daughters Sienna and Mackenzie and sweet doggie Colby Jack at the park for a picnic lunch and some playground fun over the weeked.  It was the first time Sofie had met them and we were excited for her and Sienna to finally get together.  Sienna is just a few months younger than Sofie and has been watching and waiting for us to finally bring her home.  It took a while for Sofie to come out of her shell (yes - hard to believe!), but they ended up playing and chasing each other and hugging and patting each other on the back.  They were adorable!

I forgot my camera, but Randy was kind enough to send a few precious pics our way and I caught a few pics and a short video on my Blackberry...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4515642299/



Not sure about this slide thing...

But all is well with a little help from Baba

Swings are the best!

Sofie and Sienna "planting flowers"

Moving up to the big slide

Colby Jack!

Sofie's Got A New Set Of Wheels

Most of you know that Sofie has a limb difference - including an inequality in the length of her legs.  The difference was a mystery until we met her and it ended up being significant.  It doesn't slow her down one bit and really, we don't even notice it anymore.  Who can get past that smile!   But we want to make sure she doesn't end up with hip and back issues as she grows.

Sofie came to us with a monkey-rigged pair of shoes that she immediately stopped wearing in favor of her pretty new "regular" shoes and hasn't worn them since.  We recently sent a few of her new shoes to this fella who "lifted" them to accommodate her inequality.  He did such a great job!  Sofie immediately test drove them and was so, so, so happy to have two pairs of proper new shoes!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4503321845/

The Goat Has Landed

Sofie's favorite cartoon in China was "Pleasant Goat".  She looked for it each day and I think it was comforting to have something familiar to watch and listen to.  She has been asking for it every day since we've been home, so I found a copy on eBay and it finally arrived a few days ago.  Needless to say, she was very excited!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4486918189/

Sadly, we had to make it disappear after only one viewing.  She suddenly forgot all the English she had learned and lapsed back in to speaking only Mandarin...but her English is back after just a few days.

First Swim!

We think Sofie was under the impression that the pool in our backyard was a pond or just a big hole full of water.  Boy was she excited when actually got in it to swim yesterday!  She was pretty brave too, getting all the way in with me.  She screamed and squealed pretty much the entire time...the neighbors who have yet to meet Sofie have now surely heard her!

Now she knows what all her swimsuits are for.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4490564716/

Milk - The Musical

This number is called "An Ode To Milk"...just one of many Baba and Sofie write on a daily basis

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4486912107/

One Month Ago

We officially became a family!  And in that month there has been lots of learning...and laughing...and joy...and pain...and sadness...and love...and of course...dancing.  Who doesn't love to get down to some Notorious B.I.G.?  Our girl has got the "Elaine" down pat!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofieyan/4477427910/