Bethany turns 2 - Part Two (& Friends)

Before I get to the festivities, let me tell you about a very special group of friends that have become like family to us. There are six families all together and five out of six live within an hour's distance of each other. One of the families moved out to the East Coast several years ago, but they visit often enough that we never have to miss them for too long. :) Most of us first met when we were in college, and now many years later, we have a total of sixteen children between us. We have shared in many of life's milestones together, with much laughter and even some tears. Through these times, God has forged a bond between us that I hold very dear and precious.

Our East Coast friends happened to be coming to L.A. for a visit this month, so the timing was perfect for a combined birthday for Bethany and our friends' son Hudson. We decided to have it at an indoor playground, and it turned out to be one big renunion/play date/birthday party. It was a team effort between Hudson's Mommy and myself (although i think she probably did more than i did), but the Daddy's had the most important job of all - paying the bills. :)

We all had a great time celebrating Bethany and Hudson's birthdays, as well as the special friendships God has blessed us with over the years.

The birthday boy and girl.

 

Funny Kid Photo Contest

At the encouragement of a friend, we entered Bethany's Hello Kitty photo in a contest.

You can vote every day until 9pm on May 15th.

Please go to this link to vote.
http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/110928/voteable_entries/20394641

Thank you!

Bethany turns 2 - Part One

To my ittle girl who I first came to know through pictures and updates,

to this cutey patootie who I now can't imagine life without....

Happy birthday to my sweet girl Bethany!

We love you so much.

This afternoon we had our monthly play date with Bethany's little pals at our house. Since it was only a day after her birthday, I thought we could have a mini celebration as well.  

 I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take a group picture of all the little ones except for this shot, which is not only out of focus, but missing one of the girls. Sorry Naomi! :(

Hello Kitty

Here's something you may not know about me. I am a thirty-something who is still a huge fan of all things Hello Kitty (Sanrio). I usually satisfy my HK fix at Target's dollar section, or every so often I'll buy something small from the Sanrio store. As much as I adore everything in there, I can never justify spending more than a few dollars on my childhood fantasy. I say childhood fantasy, because growing up, I was one of the few girls I knew that was cruelly deprived of things from Sanrio (why, oh why?!).

Hm....that most likely explains why I've grown up to become an even bigger fan. Thanks Mom and Dad! :)

With the hope of saving my own daughter from the same cruel fate I suffered (yes, i'm being dramatic), I started collecting HK items for myself my daughter years ago before I even know she existed.

Now years later, I have quite an assortment of things to pass onto Bethany. Most of them are neatly stored away, but she has already gotten quite familiar with dear old HK.

Clearly my goal is to pass on this love of HK to her.... but this afternoon we had a minor setback while hanging out in Little Tokyo.

Here's a close up.
(sorry for the bad quality. it was taken on my iphone.)

Is it mean that I'm totally laughing, and that I love this picture?
And that as she was freaking out, I urged Austin to go ahead and take the shot instead of quickly stepping away to spare her from those seconds of sheer terror?

You be the judge. :)

Our Adoption Story

Last year, Sam and I spent hours making an adoption video for Bethany's dol. We were able to share it with our family and friends on that special day, but realized a little too late that we had used a software program that wouldn't allow us to post it online. I was so disappointed and vowed to make another one to share on my blog.

Fast forward eleven months and I FINALLY got around to doing it. Unfortunately, I didn't have my husband's assistance, so it's not quite up to par as our first one, but I can guarantee it was made with love and succeeds in telling the amazing journey God took us through to bring our precious girl home. I hope you enjoy it!

For those who may have missed it the first time, this is a repost of a video Austin took of our first meeting with Bethany at the airport.

One Year Home- Part 2

Some pictures from Bethany's one year home anniversary last week.

(courtesy of tinyprints)

One Year Home! - Part 1

Today marks the day Bethany has been home with us for a year!!!

At 22 months, our Bethany is a spunky little girl who always keeps us on our toes. She has finally mastered walking within the past few months, and is slowly but surely expanding her vocabulary with the help of a speech therapist. She is happy most of the time and has a fun, fearless and adventurous spirit about her. For the most part, Bethany is as sweet as can be with lots of hugs and kisses for everyone. She is also super friendly, constantly saying "hi" and "bye" to anyone and anything - whether it be a friend, stranger, dog, tree or car, my little one doesn't discriminate. :)

When she's not all "sugar and spice and everything nice", her mischievous side quickly shows itself. Bethany can often be found climbing chairs and tables, emptying cupboards and bookshelves, and throwing items in the trash that don't belong there (like our phone). Every now and then when she doesn't get her way, she'll carefully thrust her little body to the ground in protest. When she is upset with her big brother, she will do one of three things - yell, swat or throw the closest object she can find at his direction. Fortunately for Austin, her yell sounds more like a squeal, her swat feels more like a pat and her throw usually doesn't go far enough to reach her target (i.e. Austin). But believe me, we get the point.... loud and clear.

Obviously, we're working on changing these not so sweet things about Bethany, but I'll admit, I'm glad she's got that spunk in her and I wouldn't have it any other way. She has truly been such a tremendous joy and blessing to our family, and we just couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Since it would be nearly impossible to express in words all that has happened to us this past year, I thought the best way to show it would be for you to see it for yourself. :)

*warning* - the video is kind of long, but how could anyone grow tired of looking at this adorable face? ; )

Happy One Year Home Bethany!
We love you so much.