Grandpa's Last Gift

I need to update the blog with our Christmas news, but, for now, I wanted to share this.  Mike's dad Sully was a great craftsman.  He used to make beautiful adriondack chairs for kids.  The day of his funeral in July, I was talking with Mike's brother Bill and he was saying that all the grandkids have one of his chairs.  I told him, 'What about Maelie?'  Bill went into Sully's garage and came out with one of the little chairs.  For Maelie.  Grandpa Sully had made extras. 

This year, on Christmas Eve, we took down Maelie's Rainforest bouncer, and replaced it with Grandpa Sully's chair.  It's Grandpa's last gift to Maelie.  And will be treasured for generations, I am sure.

Mommy's Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I want to know where the heck my chubby-cheeked little baby went in such a short time???  Here she is last year:

And here she is THIS year:

So, Santa, can you slow time down a little bit so I don't turn around and have her be all grown up??  But, if you can't do that, can you at least help us all get through the 'terrible twos?'  I'm afraid, like Christmas, they are upon us. Just slip Mommy a little something extra in her stocking...she's going to need all the help she can get. 

My regards to Mrs. Claus. I'm sure it must be hard to watch all those elves grow up, too.  With that, and keeping your whites as white as they are, she must go through a good quantity of rum balls, too!  I'll have to call for her recipe....

Fly safely, and fire up Rudolf.  There's a snowstorm a-brewin'!

Sincerely,

Maelie's Mommy

Interesting Revelation

So, I had an interesting revelation last night.  After years of preparing for Christmas, I always think, damn, I wish I had another week...where did the time go???  Then I realized, every year, I go into December thinking Christmas is at the end of the month.  But, you know what???  There's a whole 'nother week AFTER Christmas before the end of December.  Interesting, that.....

A Message From Santa!!!!

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/3e7e9c5a80687965e384a8327b3ea318

Vietnamese Jingle Bells

My hubby found this and it's totally got me rockin' today.  I love it!!!!

Laundry Day!

So, a few weeks ago, we had a GORGEOUS Autumn day.  We decided to take a drive to a lake not far from home, and then took a pilgrimage to a laundromat.  Yes, we have laundry facilities at home, but this was like an adventure for my husband.  Why?  Not sure.  But, when he was young, he used to go to this laundromat with his Grandmother, and has talked about it ever since I've known him. So, we loaded up all of Maelie's clothes that needed washing and took them to the laundromat...about a 25 minute drive from home.  Yes, there are laundromats a few blocks from us, but it wasn't the GIANT WASH.  The lake we stopped at was on the way, though, and in the same town as the laundromat is a really nice, small cafe that we've been to once before.  Maelie is a celebrity there, so we had a nice dinner while the clothes were drying.  An odd adventure, to say the least, but it was a great day. 

Thanksgiving Photos 2009

Here are the photos from this year's Thanksgiving.  I think our little girl has changed a bit from last year!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I am so very thankful for my family, friends, and of course, Maelie.  I count my blessings every single day that this precious little girl is in our lives. 

We are spending the day at my mother's house with my family.  I am very much looking forward to getting together and having a lovely and relaxed day. 

I couldn't let the day pass, though, without sharing again a photo or two from last year.  Mike wanted Maelie to have her own little 'turkey.'  :)  He bought her another one for this year.  Hopefully, I'll have some cute photos to share of our second Thanksgiving together!

Now & Then

I purposely wore the same outfit today for court that I did at the Giving and Receiving Ceremony in Vietnam.  I'm thinking Maelie has changed a little bit.....

It's Official!!!

Ngo Minh Ly is now officially Maelie Jolianne.  It was a painless process, and Maelie has two very proud parents.  Before our turn, Maelie had a great time running around the waiting area/lobby.  She loved how her shoes tapped on the floor, and sat down right on the floor to read some books. My sister Kim came to watch in court, which I'm very glad about, as Maelie decided to run around the courtroom.  Kim helped to 'field' her!!   Apparently, she wanted to be either a witness, or in the jury, since those were the two areas she kept trying to get to.  :)  And...I had done her hair up in a very cute bow, which she had left alone, right up to when the judge said he would sign the petition for adoption....Maelie RIPS the bow out of her hair, throws it in the courtroom as if to say, "We're done here."  :)  You can see the before and afters in the photos. 

After our day in court, (which lasted a painless 15 minutes), we celebrated as a US citizen should...lunch at McDonald's!  Maelie's Grammie (Mike's mom) came for lunch, and Kim stayed, too.  It was a lovely celebration, and we even got free McDonald's cookies to celebrate. 

I am so relieved that this final step is done.  She's official, and she's ours.  (as if there were any doubt!!!!)

Court Date

Tomorrow, Mike, Maelie and I will be going to court to finalize her adoption.  Not only will she become officially named Maelie Jolianne, she will also become a US Citizen and receive her US birth certificate!  I'm excited to have this final step completed...and also a little nervous as I've never stepped foot in a court room before!!! 

Here's to the last night that Maelie will be Ngo Minh Ly, and onto tomorrow where she'll become our newest citizen!!!

Lake Superior

We had a rare and gorgeous day today and had to take advantage of it.  We took Maelie to Lake Superior and had an awesome time.  Afterwards, we ate at Famous Dave's, and Maelie was as good as gold.  She has been such a good child lately...we even went grocery shopping yesterday without a fuss...a first for Mommy and Maelie! 

I love this little girl, and I find myself asking if it's right for one person to feel so much happiness.  Maelie is definately our sunshine. 

Halloween '09

Here's our little princess from last year...not even a month after she was home....

And here she is from this Halloween...our little lamb.

And Momma, as Little Bo Peep.  :)

And this is what's found underneath sheep's clothing!!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!  Here's our little lamb.  Mommy's dressing up tonight, too...we'll post photos tomorrow!  Everyone have a safe and fun night!

Autumn

Here are a few photos that I took today of Maelie. It was a gorgeous day so we walked around the town in her little car. She loved it. So did I. I have more photos from two weekends ago that we took of her by a lake. They turned out so nice. I've wanted to put them up, but have been dealing with the flu. Feelin' better now! :)

Maelstrom Maelie Strikes

Remember on our anniversary when I told you Maelie had made a huge mess...there was a small dog throw-up mess on the ottoman...and then she dumped the vase of water all over herself and the floor at the exact moment Mike ironically said, "why clean up?" Yeah. Here's a photo....note the cat creeping around, too. I swear, all I could do was sit and laugh my a$$ off. What else could I do? :)

But, we did have a lovely evening at a local small Chinese restaurant where they don't care if Maelie wanders the restaurant while we eat. It really was a lovely, albeit simple, way to spend our special day together.

Maelie News Update

Just a little Maelie News Flash...

She now has a total of FIVE teeth...a new one popped out on top! And, the BIG news...she now TOUCHES food, and FEEDS herself!!!!!!!! We are so proud. :) She's also talking more and recognizes and will say the color white and red. :)

This past Sunday, she went with her daddy to a fire. Mike takes photos of the local fires and a bar in a neighboring town burned down. Mike says she was as good as gold and he was so proud of her. She loved the trucks and commotion. Mommy wasn't too thrilled to have her little baby come home smelling like a chimney sweep, though...

Here's a photo of the two of them. :)

A typical day...

Less than an hour ago, I'm sitting here, in the living room, with Maelie. I knew Mikey was coming home early today for our anniversary, so I didn't bring Maelie up for a nap right away. I was waiting for him to get home. Maelie decides to bring out every toy, every book, EVERYTHING out today. I have photos I'll post later..the living room was a disaster. Our one dog Nikki got sick on the ottoman, the answering machine was beeping, and I'm like...."SIGH." So, Mikey comes home. I told him we had to put Maelie down for a nap, and then I can clean the living room. He says, jokingly, 'why clean??' JUST at that moment, Maelie goes over to the TV where I had a rose in a vase of water...it's been there for a week and she never played with it before...she dumps the whole thing down on her. I look around...toys, books, dogs, water, cat trying to eat the ribbon on Maelie's balloon...everything all over the place, and I just burst out laughing. Maelie just put the topper on the chaos. She has comedic timing down to a fault!!!! :) So, she's now upstairs napping, I have the room picked up, dog mess cleaned up, flower back in the vase, and all is well. For now. HA!!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. I'm hoping to post some wedding photos later today. But, I wanted to wish my darling husband a happy anniversary. It's been made even more special with Maelie.

And speaking of...she's decided to give us an anniversary present, too! Yep! She's decided she CAN touch food and put it in her mouth!!!! YAY!!!!!! We have a breakthrough! I won't have to follow her to college and feed her lunch after all!!!! LOL!! :)

New Word? Hope Not!!!

I just gave Maelie a bath. When I brought her into her room to get her dressed, I realized I hadn't brought up any diapers. I said outloud something like, "Crap, I forgot to bring up the diapers, Maelie." I SWEAR, Maelie looked at me and said, "Bullshit." I know she really didn't...but whatever her little mouth was trying to say, that's what it came out as! I looked at her and said, "What did you say?" She just looked back at me. It really was too funny. This child has comedic timing down to a T. :)

More Summer Fun Photos

Some more random goodies from our busy summer. See! I told you I'd catch up!!! Just a few more to go......

Summer Water Fun

We had a few really hot days in the middle of August. We spent one day out at Mike's Mom's house, using her pool. We can't tell if she really liked the pool or not...she loved the water, but I think she wanted it to be warmer, like her bath!

The next day, we had a BBQ at my mom's, and again it was HOT, so we brought Maelie outside and sprayed her with the hose. She loved it. Check out that saggy wet diaper, though!!!

The Infamous County Fair

I have been slacking on the blog, yes, I know. I am trying to catch up, and I needed to post about our TWO DAYS at the County Fair in early August. The first day, Miss Maelie decided she wanted to be clingy, and didn't want to sit in her stroller or walk around. She wanted Mommy to hold her. So, we didn't stay too long that day. We didn't even get to eat anything yummy!!! We decided to go back the next day, and had a better time. Even though it rained and got wet and chilly. We even paid $9!!!!!! to ride the carosel. Can you believe that?!?!?!

The first day, though, we were hanging around the Children's Barn, and outside is a nice, fenced in area that kids can ride these metal John Deere tractors around. Maelie had fun there, and befriended a little fellow with a red balloon. Now, in the photos, it totally looks like she started a fight with the kid for his balloon, but, I assure you, she didn't. But, isn't it hilarious?!?!?!? :)

Picture Day!

We went to our local big box store for One Year Anniversary photos. I knew it was going to be a challenge, as Maelie has been clingy to all get-out with me, and, she didn't disappoint. Luckily, our appointment was for 10:00 a.m. and the next appointment wasn't until 12:00. So, we could take our time. We tried Daddy walking her around the store and Mommy disappearing...which worked a bit. We tried Mommy helping...she wanted me to hold her. We would have had perfect photos if she would have just SAT. SIGH! But, we were able to get a few nice photos, and I thought I'd post a preview here. There are some other nice ones that I'll share when the hard copies come in...otherwise, family will be upset with me if everyone else gets to see the photos before they do!!! :)

We think she looks like a little princess with the fairytale background.

A Few Photos from Today

Had to share a few cute photos from today...

~Heavy is the crown of the Empress~



~Our Little Evita~



~My Little Butterbean~



~Maelstrom Maelie hit the living room today, and said, "Ta Da!"~

Maelie Day

We spent the afternoon today at my mom's with my sister. They were my travel companions to Vietnam, and my sister took the day off from work. It was special to be able to spend the day with them. I had had the photos from Vietnam printed off...all 400+ of them, so we sorted them out...yes, we each got a set of over 400 photos! We also had a take-out lunch of Vietnamese food from our local Saigon Cafe. Yum.

Then in the evening, we had the rest of the family come over and had lasagne for dinner. It was wonderful to spend the day with family, to reminisce and just enjoy this little girl who has brought the whole family so much love and happiness. It was a gorgeous fall day, and we were able to take some photos outside. I love this one...sometimes Momma can take some nice photos!! :)

Have I mentioned lately how much I love love love love love this little girl?!?

First Year Together

One year ago today, this tiny baby was placed into my arms in Bac Ninh, Vietnam. It has been a year filled with many, many firsts, for Maelie, and her family. We have felt indescribable joy at the opportunity to share our lives with Maelie, to watch her grow, learn new things, and experience what life has to offer. We revel with her at the little things in life she discovers, and feel the same joy she must feel when she masters a new skill. We cannot imagine life without her.

This year has flown by. I can still remember stepping on the airplane to travel to Vietnam; my emotions running from excitement, nervousness, exhilaration, to being just plain scared. Again, these same emotions hit me when I looked down into that tiny face the day the Vietnamese officials declared her 'mine.' I wondered, "Can I take care of this child? Will I do right by her?" Well, we've muddled through, and I can't say we've been the best parents, but, we try hard, and I think we're doing well.

It's been a year filled with sadness, with the passing of a very dear family member - Grandpa Sully - but it has also been filled with so much happiness, hope, love, laughter, fun, and festivities. We learn so much from this tiny girl...she has taught us many lessons, especially in patience and flexibility!! We cannot imagine our life without her, and to even consider the possibility is an absolute heartbreaking nightmare. It is as if Maelie always was with us, she is a part of us now, and forever.

I made a slide show of photos from throughout the year. I wanted one from each month, but as you can see, I had problems limiting myself, especially in the last couple months. We love to share our joy with Maelie, even if Momma doesn't always update the blog on a regular basis!!!!

Here's to a great year, Miss Maelie. We love you so much, more than mere words can describe.