WARNING--it's girly!!!

Soooo Ana--very mischievous!!

She did lots of circles while she danced!!!

Today we went down to VivoCity. Ana played on the playground and ran around in the water for a while. We also picked up some fruit and our favorite chicken rice (of which Ana ate 1/2!!!!) While Ana was sleeping I decided to make her a tutu. I've seen lots of cute photo shoots with these. Besides, I had a bunch of tulle in the wardrobe from my wedding--10 years old!! It was a fun project and my girly girl loved dancing in it. She asked for it a couple more times during the day--even when we went outside to blow bubbles. But I figured that would really get us more stares than we usually get. It stayed inside.

2 MORE DAYS UNTIL MATT'S BACK!!!!!

The Finished Outfit

Here's the finished product with the shirt. I didn't have a pattern--so I copied a cute dress Ana had when she was 12 months and added a couple of inches. It turned out pretty well, but I would use a thinner material and do button holes instead of loops (on the back of the shirt). I'm really excited about starting something new, but need to get my photos printed and scrapbooked from my parents visit first!!

Here's the skirt I want to try next:

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-94042571855997_2056_3778087

Ethiopia Update

We are officially number 8 on the overall wait list with our agency and number 2 on the wait list for a young boy. Pray for a quick referral. Our caseworker said that she can give us a more definite time frame once we have our child!

I've been looking at some posts on youtube to see what to expect as we go. This one really had me in tears. (spoiler warning) The ending is really moving as the mom is dying and her prayer is to see her two sons adopted.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhaGS3S99I

"Adopting one child won't change the world; but for that child, the world will change."

What We've Been Up To

Well, it's not been too exciting around here! I got Ana's quilt done and she has moved into her new bed. She has done really well about staying in it. Now that I know she will listen to her leap frog over and over and over, I put it on a high shelf. I've also caught her with her Elmo phone and a pot full of beads. She's fast though--I've never seen her out of the bed! Today she got up at 5:30, but stayed on the bed until 6:45--so I'm not complaining--YET.

I've also made her two skirts that turned out pretty well. Since I'm not really a sewer, I've learned a lot and hope to get better. Both these were off the internet. I looked for patterns today at the local craft store--because I don't have a shirt to go with either of the skirts, but they only had two or three choices for children. I liked NONE of them. I'm thinking about ordering some material--so maybe I'll get some patterns too.

We also went to Jacob Balla's Children's Garden. They have lots of plants, playgrounds, and a water play area. Ana was a little nervous at first, but ended up sitting down in the spray--yes I had a change of clothes!

A New Camera

City buildings--seen from the Singapore River.

Ana at the Orchid gardens. The gardeners gave her a couple of loose flowers.

One of the orchid displays--beautiful!

My parents brought me my new camera. (They're cheaper in the States!) I had a lot of fun with it at the Botanical Gardens and my dad used it a lot when we were down town. It's amazing. I'm going to try to learn all I can about it, so I can maximize it's potential--who better to practice on then Ana?

Grandparent Happenings

Grandma tracing the baby's foot. Ana did this in church ONCE and now has to do it every day!!

Adventures at the Orchid Garden.

Ana helping put her bed together.

Well, my parents were here for two weeks. We went to lots of malls (what else is there to do here???), but actually we spent a lot of time around the house. I found it to be relaxing and it gave me time to get lots of things done--like cleaning out kitchen shelves and drawers, finishing Ana's quilt that had been sitting there for a year, and rearranging Ana's room. My dad and mom helped do some repair to the guest bathroom, build Ana's new bed, move some big pieces of furniture, and hang some things. Matt will be FOREVER grateful!!

Ana in the meantime had lots of fun commanding the grandparents during playtime!! She is not a follower and has ideas of what she wants to do. Unfortunately, it's not what anyone else wants to do, but the grandparents were very compliant!

Yipee!!

Our Ethiopian dossier has been sent off to the States. Although we probably won't get our referral until September/October, we're glad to have our part of the work finished! Here's the steps:

1. Send your dossier to Ethiopia.
2. Wait for a referral.
3. Have your case opened.
4. Have a court date. (We don't have to be there for that one.)
5. Be approved by the court.
6. Travel 20-30 days later.

We'll have to stay for about two weeks. Our first time to Africa--we're looking forward to it!

Tea with the Wongs

All I can say is ....YUMMMM!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Grandparents are Here

We are happy to say that the grandparents made it here safely. Not only safely, but they got upgraded to First Class THE WHOLE WAY!!!! They spent they first night at the Mariott. We went over in the morning to swim. The pool was lovely and had some really shallow sections which Analia could just walk around in. Ana is glad for some new playmates and I'm glad to be able to work in peace!! She's been stylin' hair and trying on lots of new shoes--including grandpa's size 13's!

On another note we think we have our dossier completed. We spent some time at the embassy on Friday and got everything notarized. Now I'll scan it in to let our caseworker look at it. Once she approves it we'll ship it off and wait--probably a while as the courts close from July to September.

I Should Have Known It Was Too Quiet!!!

Lately, Ana has been doing some things on her own. I'm encouraging this knowing that having two she won't get as much attention anyway. Not to mention that it's nice to be able to do a couple of projects without her. Anyway, Ana went into her room and got the Crayola paint buddies--we had used them earlier--and colored. I should say colored HERSELF. She painted her face, hands, legs, shirt, and the soles of her feet! Her tongue was also multi-colored. Oh well, at least it's non-toxic. She also bit the erasers off of two pencils later on! This is one busy girl!