Been a while

The first picture is "what happens when you give an 18mo. old a box of powdered sugar donuts"

As you can imagine we have been very busy. Busy with work, holidays, Anna, football watching etc. So many things to do and never enough time. We all seem to be more susceptable to getting sick. So we have had two rounds of colds, flu's and sore throats. The recent World Series victory by the Phillies allowed Anna to enjoy her first parade. And based on the sports trend in Philadelphia...possibly the last for a very long time. Kim's office is on the 2nd floor of Market St. and we were all able to gather there to enjoy some food fun and the best view of the parade. Despite all of that, we did manage to get Anna out for a short time for Halloween. She was dressed as the most adorable Lady Bug. Although we did not visit many houses and get much candy she had a great time. She has also in the last couple of days started to say a few words. We never know what its going to be, but she has said Nina, Doug, Doggie, Down & Ball very clearly...and of course her favorite phrase is Ut-Oh. She wil get to "enjoy" her first OSU-Michigan game next weekend and after that its off to Ohio for Thanksgiving.

Flashback to June

Last night our friends Jim & Cathy from Wisconsin emailed some pictures that they had taken just moments after we were given Anna. We didn't really have any photos of the event so I was so surprised and happy that they were able to give us such a precious gift. It made me think of how that day unfolded, the heat, the rain, the flight and the bus ride to where we first met her. The anticipation and uncertainty were overwhelming, but now it seems like she has been with us for some time. Watching her learn, grow and develop her own personality is a wonderful experience. Its seems like it was so long ago that we were in China but it has only been a little more than 3 months. We are very lucky to have each other. Anna started in daycare a few weeks ago and she has adjusted well. Her teacher, Miss Pat is very good with kids and has a great passion for small children. Today when Kim picked her up she had a few grass stains on her pants, grass stains=having fun. All three of us have had a cold for the last few days so we are all anxious for this weekend to get here. Since the weather has turned cooler Nina is able to go for long walks so we all benefit. Hopefully this weekend we can take them both to the woods where Nina can run off her leash and Anna can throw rocks and experience all of the things that come with roaming in the great outdoors. Our Saturdays have been mostly filled with watching the Buckeyes and other football games. I keep waiting for the day that Anna starts talking but she seems to lack the desire right now. Halloween is right around the corner and Anna has a couple of costumes to choose from. I'll keep you in suspense. Kim and I still have to come up with some really good costumes for the big Halloween party in two weeks. We are really leaning towards Mike and Carol Brady but that isnt solid yet. It will be hard to top my Magnum PI costume from last year. Gotta roll.

1st day of school

Well, Kim goes back to work on Monday, so today was Anna's first 1/2 day in daycare. Of course the drop off created a few tears (all from Kim). But the teachers said that Anna cried a little bit andf otherwise was pretty good. When Kim showed up at noon, Anna noticed her from across the room and screamed out her usual greeting of " UHHHHHHHHHH" very loudly and knocked over kids, table and chairs to get to Kim. Anna & Nina are getting along very well now and Nina gets an "Air Kiss" every night before bed. Looks like tomorrow includes a trip to the zoo and taking Nina to the woods where hopefully she gets to see the pet billy goats again. Here a a few pictures that were taken last week by a professional photographer.

New Pictures

Rattlesnake in the House???

The Labor Day weekend started out with an exciting Friday night at home. We did the usual, pick up a pizza and watch a crappy football game. As we are eating in the kitchen, we could hear a pretty loud rattling noise coming from the sunroom. I had the TV kind of loud so I ignored it the first time, thinking it was something with the TV. When it happened the next time, I looked at Kim and said"that sounds like the rattle of a rattlesnake, seriously." So thinking that I would need all of my energy to fight the snake, I finished my pizza then went to get my snake fighting gear(a big long pole and my running shoes). Kim held Anna and held back Nina and I went into the sunroom with the worst case scenario in mind, realizing that if it was a snake we were going to have to put the house up for sale and go to a hotel that night and probably never reclaim any of our personal possessions. I also remebered being a young boy and one of our neighbors found a snake in their cupboard. If you don't know already, Kim & I are more afraid of snakes than any two combined people that I know. Screaming and running are commonplace when we are working in the yard. I even bought hip waders a few years ago so that when I am weed-wacking or hillside that one can't slither into my shoe or up my pants. Anyway, what better place to look first than under the couch, so as you can envision I gently lifted the skirt of the couch with my stick and saw nothing except a few balls that Nina put under there. Then to the baskets and the big trunk. Still nothing. I have heard that snakes will eat dog food so I lifted up Nina's food bowls which sit on a wooden box. I was certain that the only other place it could be would be in the couch cushions or under a pillow. I held my breath and checked. No snake anywhere. We have like eight windows in that room, could it possibly be in the curtains? No...what I did find was a small bug that looked similar to a grasshopper that was making this incredibly loud rattling noise..so I scooped it up and put it outside. I don't know what that thing was, but we have named it "Rattle Hopper".

Last night we went to the neighborhood block party, and I will say that Anna had a really good time. There was a DJ and Anna loves to dance, she danced until 10pm and we had to pull her away from the party. She slept until 10am this morning and only woke up because I made her get up. She was cranky. She is walking and even doing a little running. She has quite a few bumps and bruises but she is pretty tough. We have seem a number of face plants on the hardwood floor but the crying usually last less than a minute. She fell halfway down the steps once when I was teaching her how to do steps. My reflexes need a little work.

Well, summer is over and for Nina what better way to close it out than to have a nice refreshing Frosty-Paws on a hot summer day. I was holding the frosty paws for her and an ant was walking by her foot, rather than move, she shook her paw and ate the delicious treat on three legs.....she is very smart. Good thing I stepped on the ant..I didn't want to see what would happen if the ant went to her other foot.

Summer's coming to an end, and we are enjoying our last few days at the pool. Anna learned to walk, and she is begining to run. With that said, we find ourselves chasing her endlessly. Anna is daring and loves to put her face in the water, but chooses not to hold her breath... She walks like Frankenstein with her arms over her head, and legs staight. It's very funny to watch...We are sad that the Olympics are over because it was like we were still in China or at least it gave Anna a connection with her old home. We would really love to go back someday. At least we won't have all of the trauma of getting a new baby and all of the surprises that lay ahead.

At least football starts this weekend, and Sean is like a little boy waiting for Santa Claus. Anna will have no choice and will become a full fledged Buckeye starting this Saturday.

Day at the Pool

One small step

Well, it finally is happening. Anna started walking on her own yesterday. Granted she does crash and burn frequently, she has established an understanding of balance. I guess it took a little more than a month, because she was trying to walk the first week we were in China. Speaking of China, it has been fun watching the Olympics and all of the smalls bits that they do about the culture, food and interesting places to see. We saw a lot of the same stuff, but weren't as daring with the food, I cant tell you how many night's Kim awakens craving a Scorpion on a stick. Good times! How about that opening ceremony...very impressive!! Kim said the other day that she is ready to go back and adopt another girl. I am going to have to digest that for a while. I am leaning towards a Korean adoption. I think they fly the babies to JFK and hand them to you. Call me crazy but I need more time to help me forget how hard it was to fly around the world. Although Kim said that she may not take me anyway. We now know someone who does this for a hobby(Aunt Danae).

And speaking of going to a Foo Fighters concert this past weekend, it just so happens that AJ & I enjoyed the soothing sounds of Dave Grohl last Saturday. What an awesome show. If you haven't seen them, I recommend it highly. We didn't hit the mosh pit, but AJ did some body surfing, that was fun. By the way, if your ever trying to win something on the radio, talk to AJ. He has fine tuned the art of getting through and winning to a true science. We met a drunk girl who thought I was 30. I am sure the drinking had nothing to do with here ability to guess ages and weight. What a sweetheart. To top off the evening we sprinted about a mile to the car thru a very bad neighborhood and followed the Foo bus up the highway with a police escort.

As you can see from the pictures, Nina gets very sleepy when standing with a ball in her mouth and Anna loves to eat Great Grandma Bucci's spaghetti sauce, but then again, who doesn't.

Oh and before I forget, shout out to Joe, my biggest fan in the NewYork Metrolpitan area.

1st Haircut

As you can see, somebody got her first haircut last week at a professional salon. I wasn't present, but it went well. It doesn't look much different, but we decided to keep it short while she is so messy. Somehow when eating breakfast, it is nearly impossible to finish a bagel & cream cheese without getting it in your hair(front, top and behind the ears). Anna is still working on walking steadily. She gets up on her own and moves quickly around furniture but she has not mastered the art of deceleration. Every step she takes increases to the point of running, then crashing. It won't be long. We have now taken Anna to dinner twice to our favorite Mexican restaurant, as long as she has food she is quite happy and has yet to create a screen which might require a sudden exit. Kim and Anna go to the pool frequently and she loves the water. We have to drag her out of the tub. Amazing considering the first few weeks we had her, she would scream like a maniac whenever we tried to give her a bath. Kim seems to enjoying her time with Anna and Nina and I am enjoying having no household responsibilities since Kim is home all day. I have put a special thank you out there to Marylin for teaching Anna to throw rocks a few weeks ago. Not only is she getting really good a rocks, but she seems to have decided that throwing everything else is just as fun(her sippy cup, wooden puzzle pieces, dinner plate and Nina's ball's) I feel bad for Nina, she loves to chase the balls, but Anna's accuracy is a little off. Nina has taken a few shots in the forehead and on the nose with the hard plastic balls. Nina's reflex's have improved tremendously over the last two weeks. I am off to the Virgin Mobile Rock Festival at Pimlico Park this Saturday with AJ, we are special guests of the Foo Fighters so no blogging this weekend. I should have some exciting stories from the mosh pit.

New Pics

Everyone

Before I forget, I have to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of our wonderful experience. Also all of the thought and effort that our parents put together in arranging a very nice party for us last Sunday. It was great. Then I have to thank those of you who traveled so far to come and meet Anna, all the way from as far as Lousiana and Missouri. The gifts were all fantastic and Anna has a beautiful wardrobe for the next year. She loves to have her books read to her and her toys are a hit. She is really enjoying "the Door" and I am enjoying the jingle of the letter X on the Phonics radio. I will probably enjoy the other toys as well but I instantly go for the toys that make noises. I went back to work on Wednesday but Anna is in very good hands because Marilyn has been here all week. I attempted to change my first diaper this morning, but Marilyn quickly discovered, in her words "This is one of the worst diapers I have seen in a long time", so she stepped in and handled it. It must have been the Exlax or Immodium that Kim gave her last night, either way, she is definitly not constipated anymore. Anna seems to love her new home and she has certainly warmed up to Nina. Nina is also very happy that she now has someone to follow and protect all day, oh and the fringe benefits of falling food are nice too. Less floor and baby cleaning for us...Thanks Nina! Anna went to the pediatrician(Dr Chin) yesterday to get a basic checkup. Everything checked out well. She is tall for her age, but is in the bottom 3% for weight. She eats like a horse so that won't last long. She loves bagels, pizza, hamburgers, crackers, and chicken. We haven't found any fruits that she likes(she is definitely my daughter). I think she is really settling in to her new house. Seriously, she is a very easy baby, she sleeps all night and eats alot. Piece of cake, as long as we can keep her out of trouble. This morning I set her on the kitchen counter for a brief moment and she was sticking her hand in the toaster. You thought I was joking when I put the "toaster kills" link as one of my favorite links