More birthday photos....

Here are some photos that were taken on the morning of Francesca's birthday (on the 20th). After eating some ice cream with M&M's for breakfast, she got to open up her presents from Daddy and I! I think she really loved what she got (since she has been asking for two of the gifts for some time now...)




(I got a new Bear DVD!)




(and Peter Pan!)


I am 3-years-old today! Count that...one, two, three!

(the last gitft was one she was asking for...a Wiggles game)

(I have finally gotten around to opening up my new laptop from Dell that has been sitting here at our house since December when they agreed there was something totally wrong with my last one and replaced it. I am still working out all the "kinks" in this new one...for I am now working with Windows Vista and a lot of my programs were only for Windows XP. I am sure to have my new "baby" up and running by the end of this coming weekend. I do have more birthday photos to post so I am just warning you....and for all of you who posted about Francesca's toddler bed going to be way too small in some short time, I am going to have to agree, but I just couldn't see her in a twin bed, but we did buy one when we got the toddler one. As for her new bed, she is doing great in it. There has only been a few times I have been woken up to the most beautiful almond shaped eyes looking at me.)

Letting go....

On Francesca's 3rd Birthday, we finally said "goodbye" to her crib and said "hello" to her new big girl bed! I know some of you are going to think I was crazy for still having her sleep in the crib, but it was my last string of holding on to my baby...who is now becoming a little girl. Where did the time go? Anyway, Keith has been wanting to get her a big girl bed for some time and after pleading his case for almost a year now, I finally said, OK...with much resistance. Again, for me, it is that part of letting go....

Since we only have three bedrooms in our current house and we really want the two girls to share a room, we decided on getting Francesca a toddler bed for now. (this way the room will be able to hold Sofia's crib and Francesca's bed in it) When Keith put her new bed together this past Sunday, Francesca was just so excited, while I was crying like crazy! She has been doing really well in her new bed and after having it for a few days, I can see that it was the right move to make.

I know this is going to sound crazy, but I had no problem with her going off the bottle (which she did at 18 months) and I so want to get her potty trained, but we are having a very hard time at that because of her bowel disorder, but the crib...the crib situation was one of the hardest things I have had to deal with. Sigh...


Now that she has her big girl's bed, Keith and I have decided that the Winnie The Pooh theme bedroom of hers must also be updated. Not sure on what we are going to do there, but you all know I'll be keeping you posted (and asking for suggestions...we also have to purchase a matching dresser for the bed as well....).


Here is the last photo taken of her crib...








And here is the first photos of Francesca and her big girl bed!














(my baby is growing up....)





And here are some photos that we taken during her first time sleeping in her new bed. (these were taken during nap time) According to Keith, who was watching the football games upstairs, heard a lot of noise for some time before she actually settled down. When he went into the room to check on her....this is what he found!











(it looks like she just crashed after having a boat load of fun! and from what Keith told me, she was having a lot fun in her new bed!)

Still Counting....

9 MONTHS LID!

9 MONTHS LID & Francesca's 3RD BIRTHDAY!!!!

Two major events are happening today!

First, since we started this blog to document Sofia's adoption journey...we are celebrating our 9 MONTH LID Anniversary!


And second, it is FRANCESCA'S 3RD BIRTHDAY!!! We don't really have a lot planned for today. We had ice cream for breakfast this morning and we are planning to take her out to supper tonight at a local restaurant that Francesca truly enjoys. We did go to see Disney's Princesses On Ice last night and she had a blast! I must admit, when we were getting ready to leave, Francesca was insistent that she was not going! She wanted no part of the Princesses Ice Show and just wanted to stay at Grandma's (even though Grandma was going with us). Now, I have been preparing her for this show since October and every time we would see the advertisement on TV, she would get so excited and start screaming that she was going to see the Princesses! So when she started "carrying on" about not wanting to go, my heart was melting. But knowing how Francesca is, I just pulled her aside and told her that no matter what, Mommy and Daddy are going to be with her at all time. So with that said, she willingly left Grandma's house and got into the car. The whole ride down to the arena, she didn't say a word....not-one-word! I was so nervous that she really was going to not want to go see the show once we got there (you all remember what happen at the Wiggles concert). But again, my daughter totally surprises me...when we got there, she walked right into the arena, and climbed on to my lap and made herself comfortable. She did ask for her sunglasses (as she wore during the whole Wiggles concert), but I explained to her that it was night time and I didn't bring her sunglasses...and with that, she was totally fine. As the show started, I told her that the lights were going to go down and soon we would see all her favorite Princesses, but to our surprise, the first characters to appear on the ice were Mickey & Minnie, and just seeing them sealed the deal. She sat there watching the show on my lap the whole time and was truly enjoying every moment (she was calling out to all the characters by name as they skated around the ice floor and was just so "into the show" that she had my mom and I crying. I can't begin to tell you what she was saying and asking me during the show...she just blows my mind away...) She did an amazing job and I can't begin to tell you how blessed we are to have this incredible little girl as our daughter!

Waiting for the show to begin...



(finally sat on Dad's lap so I can take a picture, but right after the flash went off, she jumped back on to my lap and stayed there...)

The Genie from Aladdin...

(Francesca isn't too crazy about the Genie...I think it has something to do with his eyes...)

Sebastian from The Little Mermaid...


Francesca is showing me that Shang from Mulan is there!

(when watching all the advertisements for the show, Francesca kept asking me if Shang was going to be there and I told her that I really didn't know. That's why she was so excited and pointing him out to me and saying, "See, I told you Shang would be here!" If you don't know already, I think my little girl has a crush on Shang)


Mulan and Shang!


Cinderella and Prince Charming...


Mickey and Minnie!


From the photos above, you can truly see that our little birthday girl enjoyed herself at the show!

Eating Ice Cream with M&M's for breakfast on her birthday! Hey, it's her Birthday and she did eat an egg & cheese after finishing off her ice cream...



(I wish that my mom let us...my sister and I...eat ice cream for breakfast on our birthdays...)

Happy 3rd Birthday Francesca!

(I'll have more photos to post over this coming week of all the fun we'll be having today...)

It's that time of year again....

After all the Christmas decorations were put away, I get this crazy idea that our attic needs to be cleaned out and since we had nothing planned for this past weekend...that's exactly what we did! I can't believe the "sh*t" one can accumulate in just a year's time! (this has been a tradition in the Leonard household since January 2003 and every year once we are all done, we have a huge pile of "sh*t" to either throw away or donate) One of the big projects this year was organizing all Francesca's out-grown clothes that will soon be Sofia's. What I was doing was just placing all of the "don't fit anymore" clothes into labeled garbage bags and than moving them to our attic. I must have had five bags of clothes with 12-18 months sizes in them, seven bags with 18-24 months sizes, and six bags with toddler clothes ranging from 2T-4T. When I was going through the smaller size clothing, the 9-12 month sizes, I got very emotional. It reminded me of a time that not only did Francesca struggle to adapt to her new life, but I struggled as well...being a new Mommy and not having a clue on what I was doing...But it also brought back so many wonderful memories...the outfit we dressed her in when we landed at our home town airport after that long ride from China...her first pair of squeaky shoes...her first winter coat and the little matching snowman hat...and the outfit she wore her first Christmas home. Boy, the memories....



Just than, Francesca came upstairs to join me as I was traveling down memory lane. Once she spotted the clothes, she started going through them. At one point, she stopped and looked at me and asked, "Mommy, these for me?" I told her, "They used to be your clothes, but you no longer fit into them." Than I went onto explain that we are saving them for Sofia. She had nothing to say, but gave me this huge smile and giant hug...I guess no words were needed (and I have to agree).



Anyway, we got the attic cleaned out and it looks amazing. I am just wondering how long that amazing look is going to last. My next course of action is to go through each room of the house and start cleaning out all the "sh*t" that we don't need anymore or don't use. I am really on a mission here and I think Keith wants to kill me....



(P.S. after cleaning out and organizing over 20 bags of Francesca's out-grown clothes, I now have them all arange and boxed up in 6 storage totes!)

Disney again? & "Who is that pretty girl?"

Disney Again?

You heard it here first, we are talking about going back to Disney...OK let me correct that one...Francesca has been asking us several times a day since arriving home from our last trip (Sept 2007) if we can go back. Keith and I have talked about going back some time this year, but we decided against it (unless we can come up with some extra funds). The good news is that we will be going back in Jan 2009 to celebrate Francesca's 4th Birthday there! And as of now, that's only a year away!!!

(it's just so hard when you can see in her eyes how much she loved Disney World and how bad she wants to go back...)

Here are two photos from our trip back in September. As much as I would really rather vacation some where else...after looking at these two photos how can we not go back to Disney any time soon?

(doesn't that just melt your heart...)

"Who is that pretty girl?"
This is a question I asked Francesca this morning while getting her dressed for our day in my bedroom. She was standing on the bed, facing and looking into our dresser mirror. When I saw that she was checking herself out, I turned around and looked in the mirror as well and asked, "Who is that pretty girl?" and Francesca reply was, "Mommy!" Right at that moment, she turned to look at me and said again, "Mommy is the prettiest!" As the tears rolled down my cheeks, I gathered my daughter into my arms and told her..."No, you are the prettiest, most special girl in the world!" And still, my daughter always being the one who puts other people's needs ahead of her own said, "Thank You, Mommy, Sofia pretty and special too!" I said it before and I am saying it again, we are truly blessed with one very amazing, wonderful, beautiful daughter!

How cute are these for Sofia!

I just picked them up from L.L. Bean for Sofia! I received their sale catalog in the mail this morning and after putting Francesca down for her nap, I took a peek inside (I do throw away 98% of the catalogs we receive seeing how they only lead me to spending money). The minute I saw them, I knew they would be perfect for "our soon-to-be newest" addition and at a price of under $11...how can I pass this deal by!

(and be sure to check out just below this post...photos Francesca eating Chinese food for the first time)

Francesca's FIRST taste of Chinese food....

Can you imagine that my daughter has never wanted to try Chinese food? Even when we were in China, she refused to let it pass through her lips! (everyone was feeding their new bundles of joy congee in the morning while at the breakfast buffets, but not us...Francesca wanted no part of it) But that has all changed while eating supper on Wednesday evening...Since it was just she & I for supper, I asked her what she wanted. She replied that she wanted a "Nascar Waffle" so that's what I made for her. I on the other hand wanted our left over Chinese food from the past weekend. One of the food items that we had left over were fried wontons. So I heated them up and started her making her waffle. When we were sitting down eating our chosen suppers, she asked if she could try one of the wontons...and of course I said "sure"! You would think she was eating a piece of candy the way she ate it up! She even asked for a second one and a third! I was so happy that she is finally interested in trying new foods....especially foods from her birth country (OK, maybe that are more Americanized, but its a start). Check out the photos below of Francesca's first experience with Chinese food!

Do you remember "Wooly Willy"?

I sure do! And now Francesca is enjoying creating hairy, funny faces with her very own, Wooly Willy. Francesca's Wooly Willy was a little gift given to her by Auntie Mela. She was so "into it" that I couldn't get her to look at me while I was taking the photos...you can just see from the expression on her face that she is really having a great time with this classic toy (and I am proud to say that this toy is labeled for children "5 years and older" and Francesca isn't even 3 yet and she did an amazing job at playing & creating with it.)

Finally...photos from Christmas 2007!

Here are the photos from Christmas 2007! If it wasn't for Keith taken most of them, we probably wouldn't have any...I am serious! I have been so bad lately about taking photos (even though my camera is with me at all times), but I am making a promise to myself to change all that (I think I am still hurting from loosing all my photos when my hard drive crashed back in October). That's one of my New Year's resolutions...like I said one of them....


Christmas Eve at Grandma's!




(a family tradition...spagetti with tunafish sauce...also one of Francesca's favorites)


Our beautiful daughter...




My everything and my world!



Christmas morning at our house!


(opening up some Disney DVDs from Santa)


(and yes...she got her flashlight that she wanted from Santa as well.)

I bet you all thought I feel off the face of the Earth...

There are times, I wished I did! Life here at the Leonard household has been crazy! With Christmas 2007 and New Year's 2008 now in the past, I am finally feeling like I could move forward! We finally got all of our Christmas decorations taken down today, and now I am onto planning Francesca's 3rd Birthday party...Here's how that's going....



On the 19th...we are taking Francesca to see Disney's Princesses On Ice show at our local venue.

On the 20th (her actually Birthday)...we are planning a dinner with family & friends at a local restaurant (one of her favorites) to celebrate Francesca' birthday.

On the 21st...Francesca will have a little Birthday party at her school...

And on the 26th...we will wrap up all the celebration with a party at Chuck E. Cheese!



You swear she was celebrating a milestone birthday or something (but I waited too long to be doing all of this for my daughter...).



I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!



(Francesca finally decided on what type of party she wants to have...a Mulan party! Now that's one I could handle. When she was telling us that she wanted a "Faith Hill" party, I didn't know what we were going to do, but Mulan it is!)



I'll have some photos from Christmas to post later on this coming week. I hate to admit this, but they are still on my camera waiting to be downloaded...I have been so bad and so lazy with almost everything that has to do with my laptop and it so unlike me.