Zoboomafoo and Rudolph Too

Ila and her hermit crab, Pearl

Ila, her friend Lauren and the Shark at the zoo

Ila petting the Snake at the zoo

I'm not sure why I expected Ila to like princesses. When I was her age I just wanted a kitten or a puppy. Eventually I got into frogs, snakes and turtles. Well, she is definitely following in my footsteps. She has a closet full of princess dresses but she would much rather play with her hermit crabs (yes, we have 2, to go along with our 2 dogs and 2 cats...) and she never has seen Cinderella or The Little Mermaid. She is just crazy over Zoboomafoo and can tell you all about a macaroni penguin or a ring-tailed lemur. Her favorite outing by far is going to the Humane Society with daddy for an afternoon (I refuse to go because our 2 dogs and 2 cats would become 3 dogs and 3 cats). She knows all the animals names there and talks about them often. When a certain cat or dog isn't there anymore, she reassures me that they have gone to a good home. And if it's not the Humane Society she wants to go to, it's definitely the zoo. We recently went and she got to pet a snake and see the sharks. Another love of Ila's is singing. She does it often and does it loud...and ALWAYS makes it her own. Enjoy!

Let it Snow!

Finally! WE HAVE SNOW!!! Ila has been anxiously awaiting our first substantial snowfall and we finally have it! She was able to bundle up, go sledding and of course, shovel the driveway with daddy. And to top it off, it wasn't below zero so we could actually enjoy it!

Lani

The Good, The Bad, and The Pig

Not to mention my little chef...




Good news! Our dossier has been completed and sent off to Journeys of the Heart! Hooray!! Also, we received our CIS approval -- a.k.a. I-171H. These are big steps for us and it feels so great to have these things completed. I am now waiting for the legal paperwork to be sent to us and after that we will wait for our first hearing of the court process.

So, how am I holding up? Glad you asked. After a visit to the doctor, I have found out that I have shingles! Of all things...!?!? Shingles...!?!? Who even knows what that is? Well, now that I am enduring the worst pain since child birth, I sure do. Ugh. Not so much fun. Supposedly it can come from stress. Hmmm...I knew January was going to be a hard month. But this is painful!

Finally, I talked to our Taiwan coordinator and found out that Ya-Hui means "elegant grace" in Chinese. We are still discussing name options with no winner quite yet. Ila has changed her mind too and now wants to name her baby sister "Wilbur". Not sure if that is a compliment or not. She does have a new stuffed pig named Wilbur that she just loves, so you never know.

Ya-Ya LIVE!

Here's a video we received of Ya-Ya! She couldn't be any cuter. At that age, Ila wasn't walking as well as she is. I will definitely have my hands full. Lately, Ila and I have been shopping for things to put in a care package to send to Ya-Ya. I am buying 2 of everything -- one to send and one to bring along so Ya-Ya will have those items when we travel to Taiwan to bring her home. Chances are we won't see the items again that we send there. So when Ila sees two of everything she is convinced of her original theory of getting a baby sister AND a baby brother. The brother, of course, she has named Punky. I think she also is starting to have some jealousy that the new baby sister is starting to have a pretty cool room with some great toys and books. I asked her if someday she would like to share a room with her sister. She replied, "No. But she can stay over sometime." If anyone has any recommendations for books on siblings and adoption, I'm definitely open to suggestions!

We are really stuck on the name game. For some reason, I can't commit to one. Ila has decided on one but we are still thinking about it. I thought girl names were supposed to be easy! In the mean time, I am completing our dossier documents, having everything notarized and hope to send them to Journeys next week or so. Next we will have some legal paperwork to complete and then we will wait for the court process to take place.

Happy New Year to you and your families!

Peace, Lani