Happy Halloween

Halloween Party

Today after Coleton's football game we went to our annual neighborhood Halloween party. There are a group of high energy moms who put in lots of time to make this happen for the kids. You can see Paige was a little ladybug... that is one of her costumes. It turned out to be a beautiful day! Oh yea, Coleton's team finished the regular season UNDEFEATED.... GO SHARKS... off to the playoffs.

Joanne the hippy
Meaghan the witch, Mia as SnowWhite

The Climb

Make a Smilebox invite

Always in motion

Make a Smilebox greeting

11 months

No- it can not be true that our baby is 11 months old already. Time is flying, and there is a part of me that wishes that we had those first 9 months together. When I think about when we came home with Paige - which was only August 12th, and really how short a time she has been with us- 9 weeks, I am amazed. I am amazed at how our girl has adjusted to life with us, and how we have adjusted to life with Paige. It feels like she has been here with us forever, and in a way she has, because we did recieve her referral only 2 weeks after she was born. I remember closing my eyes and actually feeling me hugging her and kissing her even though she was so far away in Taiwan. Our girl has done a lot of growing in the past 2 months. I love her so much that my heart wants to burst with that love. Our boys adore her- and it warms my heart to see her face light up every time one of them is around her.
Paige at 11 months this is what you do:
sleeps from 7pm - 7am. Hardly naps. Takes 4-5 steps alone, and when you realize what you do you get so excited you trip yourself. You give big open mouth kisses. Blow kisses with a big MMMMMMaaaa soumd. You eat just about anything I give you except babyfood. You love your puffs, and cheerios. You put your arm up to shout Touchdown...You are only wearing 6 month old clothes. I can not walk in a store without several people telling me how beautiful you are.You are into everything..cabinets, pulling out the digital card from the cable box, the dog's bowl, the toilet bowl, cabinets. When you know you are not supposed to be in something you stop yell "MAMA" and when you see you have my attention, proceed to do what your not supposed to. You have the sweetest smile. You have the stinkiest poops. You love your vitamins. You love music.

FRIENDS FOREVA

Adoption has enriched our lives in so many ways. Of course the obvious one is we have our perfect daughter. But what many people don't realize when they start out on this journey is that they will gain so much more than a child. For me, it was the friendships I have made that will last for the rest of my life. This story is about 3 of those friendships that were formed. While we were waiting, I had the privilege of getting to know many people through our internet group. This group is made of just those of us adopting from Journeys of the Heart. At times, my only salvation in the long wait to Paige, was this group. The women I have met there form a special bond. Hence, this is the story of two of those women. When our referral got near on our list Heather was #1,Jules was #2 and I was # 3. We would email, call, and basically got each other through the best of these times and the worst of these times. Thank heavens for Jules when I lost my referral and for the great advice priorto travel, and thank goodness for Heather when I had to wait with her for the same damn judge to rule. All three of us really formed a special bond during this wait. Ok so now we all have our girls home and all talked about getting together when we were all home. It finally happened this weekend. Jules flew from Texas to Heather in PA, and then drove to my house in NY. OMG. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. The babies- Hayden, Hsin and Paige all are the cutest Taiwan girls ever. Each with her own personality. Hayden is a very funny girl. Hsin is a deep thinker and has the sweetest smile and Paige, well if you read my blog you know about Paige. It was amazing that I had these fab women and babies sitting in my kitchen. How cool is that????? All I can say is THANK YOU LADIES.... I loved hanging with you guys this weekend. Our girls are truly bonded for life, and I think we big girls are too. Thank you Jules and Heather!!!!
Hayden and Paige hugging Coleton
Hayden hugging Coleton- she loved him
Coleton reading to Hayden
Paige, Hayden, Hsin teasing Magic through the door
Paige and Hayden
Hsin and Paige
Jules- Hayde
Me- Paige
Heather- Hsin
Hsin, Paige, Hayden
Jules, Hayden, Paige
Paige and Hayden
Paige and Hayden
Jules, Hayden and Paige

Hanging out

Here are some pictures that one of our friends took during Sunday's game. Paige is feeling somewhat better but still has a little cold. Today she had her followup doctor apt. All her bloodwork came back great, no poopy issues, and even the shots that she got in Taiwan were as good as if she had gotten them here. So that leaves 2 more shots, which we scheduled in 4 weeks, to have her totally caught up. Amazing that this little girl is just perfect.

Pumpkin Pickin

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Today we took Paige pumpkin pickin.. Actually she just sat there and Coleton and daddy picked as I supervised. It was freezing today too,but Paige was a trooper. After we went pickin, we went out to lunch. It was a really nice day together.Ok here are lots of pictures.

Firsts

My baby girl had her first cold, and ear infection. We took her to the Dr. Saturday morning because she was up allllll night and her nose was running non-stop. Turns out she had an ear infection. I am happy to say that today, she is feeling soooo much better after a full day on the anitbiotic.
Since Paige is so good, and was just a little cranky we decided to take our annual trip to Montauk yesterday anyway. I remember last year saying wow, next year we will have Paige.... So this was Paige's first trip to Montak. She slept in the car, which she so needed. Every year we go out and spend the day with my sisters who stay out there for the entire weekend. It was a little cold there this weekend.
Today we had a triple sports day too. Coleton's team won !!! Yea go Sharks.. they are 5-0...awesome grodup of 9 year olds. Then Yanks move on to face the A's and the Gian**ts won too.
Here are some pics of our Montauk day on Saturday.