To the beach!

Yep, we're backing up again...to when Bammy was down here visiting.  I know I said I was going to do a Havi post, but that will have to wait.  I've actually had some time, no wait made time to pick up my camera to capture these first few weeks of Havi at home.  Well, maybe it's also because we need to send photos to China for our 1 month post placement visit.  But either way, I'm snapping away.  

Early one morning when Bammy was here, we all headed to the beach.  We arrived by 9am to avoid the heat and crowds.  Score.

 Havi hung out with me under an umbrella while Caleb and Madeline built sand castles with Bammy.

 Then Havi made her way down to the water's edge.

 She was not nearly as ecstatic about the ocean as she was in Hong Kong.  I can't blame her.  The beach in Hong Kong was small, and the waves were mild.  Not so here on the east coast of Florida.

She did enjoy the sand though and picked right back up where she left off with it in Hong Kong....eating it.  Oy!  But her favorite part of the beach?  Well, that was rinsing off in the shower.  She couldn't get enough of the water splashing over her head.  It was a short but sweet and enjoyable first trip to our local beach.  I'd say it was a winner.

Later that night, we went for a walk in the neighborhood.  I love taking walks in this quiet beachside community....just people and their four-legged friends out and about.  We always saw people walking in our old community.  But we lived on a busy street.  So we always had to contend with lots of car traffic while navigating the streets.  Not so here...which is why I can ask my kids to step off the sidewalk and into the street to pose for me without fear.

Then Patrick plucked Havi out of the wagon so she could also participate in this photo op.

Do you see that face?  And those arms across her chest?  Oh yes!  She did that back in China.  This girl can cop a 'tude like no one's business.  Yep, it's safe to say she's giving Madeline a run for her money for the next Academy Award.  She's just a little bit dramatic. Ha ha.  Or as we say in our house, a lotta bit dramatic.

Well, Madeline's 3 year Family Day/Gotcha Day anniversary is approaching.  It's actually on Friday, and to prepare for it, I plan on making some yummy treats.  This girl loves chocolate.  So I will be making some fresh chocolate ice cream for her.  You read that right...ice cream....because we just bought ourselves a handy dandy maker for the home.  It's safe to say I'll be churning up some cold creamy goodness this summer (which, lucky for us in Florida, lasts all year.)  I will also make a double chocolate chocolate cookie, nothing fancy, just lots of chocolate for my little chocolate lover.  Other items that I've been baking up are your basic quick breads and muffins that we like to snack on.  But I also made some delicious butterscotch supreme cupcakes from Rosie at Sweetapolita.  Big big winner here!  And it was great to have something that wasn't vanilla or chocolate. lol  I do love my cake and cupcakes, but I'm trying to change things up a bit because I know the rest of the peeps in the house aren't as crazy for them as I am. So we'll see what else I can bake up.

Anyway, I'm gonna try my best to catch up on my blogging here this week.  Promise.  I know you're all itching to see that third dumpling of ours in action.

Her early birthday party

As I said in a previous post, we celebrated Madeline's birthday a few weeks early.  Her party was actually last weekend, when Aunt Shell and cousin Lydia were down visiting from Connecticut.  She won't turn 5 until Tuesday.

Well, I didn't really get to practice my cake making since Caleb's birthday like I wanted to.  In fact, the only other cake I made was the dark chocolate peppermint one I just shared.  So what I decided to do was make the same dark chocolate cake  but frost it with a vanilla flavored Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMB) this time.  If you haven't eaten a whole lot of SMB, you need to acquire a taste for it, as it is not super sweet.  You could really taste the vanilla, though.  It was delicious.  (Side note, I really need to get a pretty cake stand! lol)

I didn't get any slice shots because I took these before the guests arrived.  After we sang Happy Birthday, I had to cut and serve it.  So I had no time for photos.  I will also say that I wish I had just a touch more frosting because I had wanted to cover the entire cake, including the top.  But I only had enough frosting to pipe a few rose swirls instead.  

Oh, and this was the second batch of SMB because I was too impatient when trying to thaw the first batch the night before and ended up ruining it.  I had to make this batch at 6:00am the day of the party and then quickly assemble and frost the cake before dashing to Caleb's baseball game that morning...which I didn't get to watch any of because I was on concession stand duty.  Yep, I missed the entire game.  Then we hurried back home to finish preparations and waited for everyone to arrive.

My sister Deb and BIL Andy came with their kids and Andy's parents, Phil and Marsha.

That's me on the left and my sister on the right.

My cousins Ed and Eil also made the trip from South Florida.

 Patrick's Aunt Betty and Uncle Roy also road tripped it.  

Gosh, this girl of ours is so loved.  Lydia actually came down with a suitcase full of clothes for Madeline.  Lyd and Aunt Shell, you are so generous!  Madeline just had to wear one of her new dresses from Lydia for her party.  And the cousins just had a blast playing with each other.

 She was showered with lots of love and goodies- a ballerina doll, My Little Ponies, a dream light, clothes and a new bike. The bike is a bit big (it's the same bike as Caleb's, and he's 3 years older than her).  Though she can manage it, she's a bit more agile on Caleb's old bike.  She's been riding both all week but prefers her big pink bike.  We've been unsuccessful at convincing her she really should wait until she grows a little more.  Oh well.

Then it was on to the cake. She actually blew her candles out a few times, once by herself and then with the help of her brother and cousins.

Madeline Bei, we love you and adore you.
It's hard to believe you're turning 5.
You amaze us every day with that bigger than life personality of yours.
We simply cannot imagine our lives without you, sweet girl.
We love you like crazycakes, Mei Mei Moo!

Happy Birthday!!!

To the Mouse!

Oy!  The days go fast.  I have been meaning to get this post up for the last few days, but time has slipped away.  My weekdays are busy teaching the dumplings, and our afternoons/evenings are filled with baseball and dance.  

On Tuesday our social worker came to update our home study.  You may recall I said earlier that she would be coming last week, but she came down with a cold and had to reschedule.  We are anxious to get our update signed off on so we can submit our I-800 application and the Supplement 3 as soon as possible.

Anyway, as I mentioned last time, we had some company last weekend.  Patrick's sister Michele came down from Connecticut with our niece Lydia.  The kids always have such a good time playing together. They pick right back up where they left off.  It warms our hearts.

We decided to celebrate Madeline's birthday a little early since they were in town.  So we headed over to the Mouse one day.  The day was cold, and it was crowded!  Welcome to Disney in March, even if it was the 1st of the month!  

Patrick had to work in the morning.  So he met up with us after lunch.  The dumplings were a wee bit excited to see their Baba.

We grabbed fast passes for Buzz and hit the People Mover.

We also joined a tea party.  You know it's crowded when the wait for the teacups is 20 minutes!

Then we ventured over to the new part of Fantasyland, rode Dumbo and checked out the new Under the Sea journey, complete with hot cocoa.

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to spin round and round again on the carousel.

We also enjoyed Winnie-the-Pooh by skipping to the front with our fast passes.  Gotta love fast passes, especially on crowded days like the one we had.  Then Baba revealed his surprise purchase he made while we were all on Dumbo...cotton candy and lollipops!

Madeline thoroughly enjoyed her cotton candy.  She also enjoyed cleaning her hands.

Caleb really wanted to ride Pirates of the Carribean.  So Madeline tolerated it...mostly.

Then despite the fact that the day was winding down and nearly over, all three kids managed to climb up and down the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.

Then we had to call it a day because Caleb had an early morning baseball game the following morning.

Madeline was tired and cranky, but was really playing it up for my camera.  She's a hoot.

It was such a fantastic day, despite the crowd and cold.  The kids get to visit the Mouse all the time but to do it with cousins...well, you can't beat it!

I will share photos from our little birthday celebration soon!