First Christmas

Well, it's over. All the excitement and waiting and fun and now it's all done. And, I really can't say I mind! It was a great Christmas, but we're all worn out. We started out with Christmas Eve at my mom's. We had a ton of fun with the whole family there, including my niece Samantha's boyfriend Matt. I am hoping we didn't scare him too much with our antics...we get a little, ah....nutty. :) It was sooo nice to see everyone together. There are, let's see....twelve of us counting Maelie. There were sooooo many presents. We all tend to go overboard, and I LOVE it. I love the giving. But, we didn't get home until 2:00 a.m., so, that started out our tiredness. And yes, I DO have photos...I haven't downloaded a single one yet!!

We all slept in on Christmas Day, and then we drove to Mike's parent's house. It was just his parents, sister, and her husband. It happens to be his sister's birthday, too, so we really were just celebrating that. I was so happy, though, to have my in-laws share Maelie's first Christmas. It was a nice, low-key kind of day there. We figured we would come home and open our gifts that evening. We got home around 4:00 p.m. and Maelie was tired, so we thought, sure, she'll have a nap, and THEN we'll open gifts. Well, Maelie had a different agenda. She woke up at 6:00 p.m. and we had dinner, and then off to open gifts! NOPE. She was down for the count. Didn't want to eat, didn't want ANYTHING but her bed again. So, that night Mike and I opened our gifts from each other.

Friday rolled around and FINALLY that afternoon/evening we got Maelie's gifts opened. We had fun, but by the end, Maelie was done with presents and tired. Poor girl. She was just worn out. Santa and Mommy and Daddy brought her a lot of nice things that she loved, though, including the new Elmo, which she loves.

Saturday it was back to Mike's parent's for our Christmas celebration. His brother, wife and three kids drove up and we all had a great time. They have three kids; Elizabeth is 12, and then Nick and Alec who are 6 and 4...I think....Cathy, don't kill me if I have the ages wrong!!! :) And, Mike's sister Therese was there, too. Again, lots of presents, lots of chaos. Mike's dad has been ill of late (I'll explain in another post soon), so I know all the chaos took its toll on him. But, it was wonderful to share the day with him, and everyone. The cosmopolitans didn't hurt, either! Wink! Thanks, guys. :)

Yesterday, we spent the day getting Maelie's toys out of the packages. I am sooooooooo sick of those little metal twist ties on toys!!!!! BAH. But, Maelie had a good time finally getting to play with her new toys. And, our house looks like Toys R Us threw up, but, it was fun. Maelie needed toys, oddly enough.

Today, it's back to our usual routine, and I have to say, I don't mind a bit. I was so anxious and excited for this Christmas, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. Maelie had a great first Christmas. Thank you to everyone who made it so special.

Photos will come soon, I promise!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Love,
Michelle, Mike & Maelie

Christmas is Coming!!!

Hopefully, tonite I'll post some photos, especially the one of Maelie visiting Santa, but I have to scan that one in first. She was GREAT with Santa!!! No tears, no fussing, nothing!! And, the photo turned out great. I was so proud. :)

Christmas is coming!!! And I have to admit to feeling like a little kid again. It's like this year, I have every gift I've ever wanted wrapped up in one, giant box. I'm just giddy!!!! Seriously, I slept for 2 hours last night. I know...I'm a loon!!!

Just remember out there in Bloggerland, to enjoy all these little things and not get hung up on the 'should'ves and could'ves.' I had First Time Mom syndrome thinking the house had to be perfectly decorated, there had to be loads of cookies and everything should rival that of Martha Stewart or June Cleaver. YEAH RIGHT. I got over that and am just enjoying the look of happiness on Maelie's face when she sees our tree..even without a ton of decorations..and all the wrapped presents. Oooh, I just can't wait to see her open her very first Christmas presents!!!!!

Can you hardly stand it?!?!? And, it's snowing!!!! I'm not one for a ton of snow, but there's just something magical about Christmas snow. It makes everything so very pretty and sparkly and 'White Christmas-y'. Damn, I must be over the bend this year...I'm gushing over SNOW.

I wonder if it's too early in the day for egg nog...here's a fun trivia tidbit...I've NEVER tasted egg nog before! Wild, eh?? Perhaps I should go try some...

Holiday Fun

Photos of Maelie

I was downloading and looking at some photos of Maelie today and found a few I just had to post. Sometimes, when I see her in photos, I am just struck at how very pretty she is. Of course I am completely biased, but..... :)

This is Maelie wearing her Uncle Alan's fur Viking hat.

I think she looks like a little Mongolian Princess. :)

This is Maelie and our littlest Yorkie Allegra in 'jail.' "Can't you spring us, Mommy???"

Isn't she just a sweetheart? I know you all probably don't know this, so I'll say it again to be sure...I just LOVE her!

White Christmas

Well, it will definately be a white Christmas around here! We had a snowstorm this weekend and had somewhere between 6-10 inches of the white stuff dumped on us, and blowing and cold. BRR!!!

I will be posting some new Miss Maelie photos soon, I promise! But, for now, does someone have a shovel I can borrow?!?!?! Or, better yet, a condo in some warmer climate??????? :)

Easy Christmas Cake Recipe

I wanted to share with you all this easy cake recipe I got. I, personally, haven't tried it yet, but maybe this weekend. Wink!

**Christmas Cake**

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 stick butter

1 cup of water

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup of brown sugar

Lemon juice

4 large eggs

Nuts

1 bottle tequila

2 cups of dried fruit

Sample the tequila to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the tequila again. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large, fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup... Just in case. Turn off the mixer thingy. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Check the tequila. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, finish the tequila and wipe counter with the cat.

Bingle Jells!

First Snow

On Sunday, we ventured out into the snow for the very first time. Note the crying photo when Maelie realized that snow was COLD!

First Babysitter

This past Friday night, Auntie Kim took Miss Maelie for her first 'sleepover.' It was the first time we have had a babysitter. She did really well, of course she knows her auntie from our first days in Vietnam, and Auntie Kimmy loves to dote on her, too!

Mike and I had big plans to whip the house into shape and get organized for Christmas. YEAH. RIGHT. We DID go out for dinner Friday night, which was very nice, and Saturday, we ended up catching up on sleep. I felt guilty, but damn, it felt good, too!!!!

Here are some photos of Maelie's first sleepover! She has got the goofiest face in the first photo, I just had to share that one.

Thanks again, Auntie Kim and Uncle Dave!!!

End of an Era

Well, it may be a bit shorter than an era, but today I officially withdrew our application for the China Adoption program.

We had talked and Mike and I figured we would withdraw once we were home from Vietnam with Maelie. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking that maybe we would want another child in a few years when our number finally came up in China. Mike always said that one child was enough, and trust me, Maelie is the love of our lives...everyone who meets her is just smitten with her. I couldn't ask for a more perfect child for our family.

But, since we had a place in this huge line waiting for China, it was hard to give that up, too. I told Mike it was like having a ticket to a huge, sold-out concert. Even if we decided not to go to the concert, it's hard to give up those tickets!!! And again, thoughts of a sister for Maelie would sometimes briefly dance in my head.

However, China has been slow-going since we started the program. They are also initiating other regulations, and it is never truly clear if these new rules would affect us or not. We would have to refile a lot of paperwork, pay a few more fees, and we were just told today that China may be increasing the orphanage donation by another $2 grand. Add the extra fees, extra paperwork, extra worrying ontop of having to pay for a trip to China, and for us, it just didn't add up anymore.

So, it's the end of an era. Bittersweet. I know that there are so many people waiting for a child from China that our withdrawl will actually help another family, and a child will not be neglected because of our decision. And, if it wasn't for us starting the adoption process with China, we would not have our Miss Maelie right now. So, no matter what, it's Fate. I believe that.

Maelie's Fashion Pics

Maelie is modelling her pink and brown Gymboree outfit...front, back, and LOOK! There's a hood!!! :) She's ready for the runway! HA!!

The collar of her outfit says, "Sweeter than Chocolate," and darn, if that isn't the truth.

Thanksgiving Photos

Okay, okay, I've let my poor sister sit on top of my blog long enough. What a good sport, though, eh???

Here are some photos of Maelie's first Thanksgiving.

This is how we started out our day. Happy as a little clam, with a cute pumpkin sweater and a little bow in her hair. I LOVE her eyes when she smiles like this!

Daddy bought her her very own 'turkey.' She didn't really eat it, but how cute!!

All I can think of with this photo is the Charlie Brown Halloween special when they were carving pumpkins..."I didn't know you were going to KILL it!!!!!!!!!!"

Maelie's First Pickle....She really didn't mind it!!!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. Maelie spent a few hours in the morning with her Daddy at his parent's house. I chose not to go along due to a sore throat. Mikey's dad is ill and I didn't want him to catch something. Then, we went to my mom's house and had a good time with my sister, brother, their spouses, my niece and nephew. My niece Samantha couldn't make it this year, but we'll see her at Christmas. My nieces and nephew on my side of the family are in their 20's, so Maelie is the first baby in a long while in our house for the holidays. Fun!!!

It was a loooooong day for Maelie, though, and she got extremely overtired and cranky. We couldn't get her to take a nap for nothing. There was just too much going on and a new play yard to sleep in that she wasn't used to. We all tried EVERYTHING to get her to sleep, to no avail. Finally, we decided we should just go home and put her to bed. It WAS 9:00 p.m., so it was time. The minute we drove a half mile, Miss Maelie was OUT. I was worried she'd wake up when we got home 20 minutes later, and not fall back asleep again. When I put her in her crib, she gave out one little squawk, I gave her a bottle that she just hugged to her chest, and fell asleep again. Poor little girl!!!!

It was special at my Mom's house...we all knew what we were thankful for this year...even if she was crying and fussy!