Happy One Year Anniversary! (Gotcha Day!)

June 27, 2006

Sophie Lu, American Girl,

at home in California

June 27th, 2005 was the best day of my entire life- the day I became a Mommy- the day our beautiful Sophie Lu joined our family! She has changed so much since that day. The 13 month old, 20 pound baby with no teeth who couldn't sit herself up, roll over, or even hold a cheerio has grown into a beautiful 30 pound little girl with a smile full of teeth who walks, runs, dances, sings, counts, and puts on her own shoes. She is growing up so fast, but she is still by sweet baby girl. She is more snuggly than ever and holds on tight to me with all four limbs until she falls into a deep sleep- and sometimes even then, she'll tighten her grasp if I try to move. Mornings are still my favorite, though- waking up to her sweet smile, soft kisses, and "Good morning" whispers... And there is still nothing better than hearing her call me Mommy or receiving unsolicited Sophie Lu kisses and "I love you's". It's no wonder my heart is so full. I know how lucky I am to be able to stay home with her, and I wouldn't trade that for the world. I get to witness all of her firsts and every new discovery; she is such a child of wonder and is amazed by just about everything. I love spending all of my time with her, and I actually miss her when she is asleep. Yes, my daughter has changed in the past year- but I have changed too. (I think my heart has doubled in size. ) Michael and I are so grateful, and we thank God every day for blessing us with our loving daughter- everything about her is a miracle to us. Happy one year anniversary, Sophie Lu! We love you so dearly~

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Our reactions to the first glimpse of our daughter!

Chengdu, Sichuan Province, PRC

June 27th, 2005

h Our first look at her!

(See how she's holding her hands- so cute!)

Family at last.... family forever~

More Anniversary Photos

Black & whites...

Sophie Goes Ice Skating!!!

One year ago today, we were on a plane headed to China to meet our sweet Sophie Lu. I never would have guessed then that a year later we'd be ice skating with her! China travel mates & good friends Cami & Kylie invited Sophie to Cami's 7th birthday skate party- it was SO much fun! Here is one of Sophie's first moments on the ice~
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A little wobbly, but she hung in there!
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Three generations of skaters!

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Pair skating with Daddy! Weeeee!!!

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Happy Birthday, Cami!!!
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More, MORE!!!

Sophie Lu & Cousin Ethan Play Ball

Sophie's First Ice Cream Cone (aka shashoo cone)

Sophie's First Car- and it's a Pink Convertible!

Sophie's birthday present finally came! She went wild over it...

Hello, DARLING!!!
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Can I park right next to Mom?

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! You really are the world's greatest Daddy, and I love you!!! Thanks for taking such good care of me & Mommy~ Love, your Sophie Lu

Surprise Reunion!

It is such a small world! On the way back from Michael's parents' house, somewhere off the 5 out in the middle of nowhere between San Francisco and Los Angeles,at 6:00 in the morning... we ran into a family that we traveled to China with!

Here is a very sleepy Sophie with her Mei Mei, Lilia (just a month younger than Sophie)!

Piano Concerto at Grandma's

My Daughter, the Drama Queen

Lately, Sophie has been quite the little Drama Queen! One of the funny things she likes to do is pretend to be frightened of something and come running to Mama for safety. Of course, I play right along with her! Here she is with a noisy frog in Grandma's backyard...

Short Trip to Grandma & Grandpa's

We made our first long car-trip with Sophie last weekend! Grandma & Grandpa wanted to throw Sophie a birthday party for Michael's side of the family up north. Sure, we left at 4 in the morning, but Sophie Lu was a trooper and traveled very well. Sophie loves Choo Choo Trains, so we stopped at Casa de Fruta so Sophie could board Engine #9!
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Here she is with the Dora Birthday cake that Grandma Loretta surprised her with!
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While we were there, we visited a nearby park with big sister Rebecca. It's so cute how Sophie says, "C'mon Becca... slide!"
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We were also lucky enough to catch cousin Nicholas's baseball game. Sophie fast became part of his cheering squad. Here she is with cousin Alicia & Grandma Loretta!
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Sophie, Nicholas, & Alicia had fun on the old swingset at their grandparents' house. Sophie also had a blast with her big cousin Brittany (but none of my photos came out- next time, I'm sure to get some great shots)!
sDaddy, Sophie, & Grandpa (Poppa) getting ready to fire up the grill~ Thanks for a wonderful time, Grandma and Poppa!

Another hug from Holden

The Birthday Cake

Sophie waits for her birthday candles with friends Caelyn & Grace.
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Keira, Caelyn, Sophie, Grace & Holden!
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Finally, the candles! (& Sophie's little hands!)
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Sophie claps and dances along while we sing "Happy Birthday"!
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Make a wish, and blow!
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How long is this going to take Daddy? I want some cake! :)
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Mmmmm frosting!

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YUM!
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Now, where's the shashoo?

Happy Birthday to you, Sophie Lu!!!

Party BC (Before Cake)

Here we are with our beautiful Birthday Girl!

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And here's her beautiful birthday smile!

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Sophie's guests open their gift bags, but Sophie is only interested in her lollipop!

sSo, Grace (who shares the same birthday as Sophie) shows her all of the butterfly themed goodies.

sThe kids put on their bathing suits so they can have some water fun!
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Holden & Sophie take a hug-break!

sHolden and Grace live right across the street, and Sophie adores them! She rarely lets Holden out of her sight-

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Sophie Lu and Keira Joy had lots of 2 year old fun in the kiddy pool!

sBut then, Holden sneaks in for another hug!
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Ohhhh, Mommy! Did you say it's time for birthday cake???

Before the party...

Look what big sister Amy brought Sophie for her birthday! And she even assembled it for her!

Silly sisters!

Edilia (Sophie calls her "Tia") is one of Sophie's very favorite people. She arrived early and made sure that Sophie had something to eat and drink before all the fun began..