One year ago today.....

First of all, let me thank all of you for following along for the last year. Hard to believe, but it was one year ago today that we got our referral for Jetta. Just typing that brings tears to my eyes.

It was a typical Monday morning, I got up and headed into work. Once I got there, I did my usual morning ritual, I logged onto my computer and headed straight to the Rumor Queen's website to see if there was any news and to my surprise there was news, news I was not expecting. She had posted that Europe was starting to receive calls for referrals that included our log in date. I could hardly believe it, it was finally gonna happen. One of my friends who live outside of Chicago saw the Rumor Queen's post and she called me to ask me if I was ready to get "the call"......It was so strange to hear that, the fact that we would soon be hearing something from our agency about our daughter.

While I could hardly concentrate, I attempted to work, which was not really working so well. I kept checking Rumor Queen and talking with my friend Abby, who lives in Peoria, to see if she had heard anything yet. As the day slowly passed by, she heard from her caseworker, along with some of my other travel mates. They were all talking and saying that they had information about their daughters. I was still waiting.

Finally, as I was leaving work, around 4:30, my cell phone rang and it was my social worker, I was shaking so much, I could hardly believe I was finally gonna hear the news that I had waited so long for. She told me, you have a daughter, her name is Jia Jia Xu and she is in Guangdong province and is 9 months old. I could hardly believe it. At that point she said she didn't have much other information, but would try to get back to me soon with more details.

So, I got on the bus and headed home, once I got on, I could hardly contain myself and told everyone who would listen, I got a referral for my daughter and we would soon get to see pictures. It was so hard to believe that this was finally going to happen. We were finally gonna see pictures of the baby who we had been calling Jetta and dreaming about for over 3 years. That night when I got home, I told Shannon what I knew, which wasn't much, but then our social worker called and said she had one small picture that she could share, but that we would see more tomorrow. She sent it and it was amazing to finally see her face. Her hair all wild and crazay, the biggest brown eyes ever and the cutest lips. She was perfect. Now, just to wait for the next morning and to finally get more details and pictures of our little girl.

We got the pictures that next morning, I called Shannon and sent them directly over to him. We were both speechless and were so in love. I could barely contain myself and had to go tell everyone I worked with that I had pictures. So, I shared them with all of them. She was perfect and could barely wait to go and get her.

Fast forward, March 4th, we headed to China to get Jetta, it was the longest flight ever. Once we got there, we spent a few days in Hong Kong to get adjusted. Finally on Sunday, March 8th we headed to Guangzhou with all the other parents so we could be there for Monday, March 9th, which was the day we got the girls. What an amazing day. I don't think I'll ever forget that day, it was even more amazing than finding out that we had our referral. They called our names and brought her out to us.....she was so tiny, so precious, with such big, curious eyes. To our surprise we got our first smile from her. She wasn't sure what to think of everything, but seemed to adjust fairly well. She was a hit with all the other parents, as she was so sweet and outgoing. Those first few days were amazing. I could hardly believe we had her and that she was ours.

After spending another week in China it was time to come home. Leaving China was difficult. Only becauase that was her home and we were taking her from it. While I knew we would be giving her a much better life than what she would have had, it was still very emotional to take her away and to not think about her birth mother and what a huge sacrifice she had made by giving her up. I am forever grateful to her, I wish I could tell her that, but I hope she finds some comfort in knowing that her daughter is somewhere with a very loving family, who wants to give her the best of everything. While I can't imagine the void her heart feels, mine is completely full and never knew that being a mom could be so amazing.

Now that we've been home, Jetta has done so many amazing things. She started walking on May 5th, just 6 short weeks after we came home and hasn't slowed down since. She is always on the go. She keeps us busy that's for sure. She now has a vocabularly of about 60 words, can say part of her abc's....a, b, c, d, e, f, g.....it a start. She also can count to 13.....despite missing 6, 7 & 12. However, she is finally starting to say 6. She also did something else very big today....she went poop on the potty. Yep, poop. It was a huge step. As the week continues I'm gonna try to work more with her, but am hopeful that we may be on the road to no more diapers, during the day that is. There are so many more amazing things she has accomplished, she is doing far better than I could have ever imagined. They prepare you for the worst and we definitely didn't encounter that. Jetta is so advanced and amazes me more and more every day. She is a wonderful kid and I couldn't imagine not having her in my life.

We hope to meet up with all our travel mates again in the near future and I am looking forward to that, as I can't wait to see how all the other girls have progressed. We got Christmas cards from many of the families and all the girls look very happy and are growing so quickly. I hope these 8, the Guangdong 8, will always have a special connection to each other, after all they spent almost their first full year of life together. It's hard to believe that we've had them for almost 10 months now and that soon they will have been with us as long as they were in the orphange. It seems that they are all adjusting well and can't wait to see what the next year brings.

I'm gonna post her referral pictures and then a picture from today, just to show how much she has changed. Her face is so sweet, her eyes so big and her heart so full of love. I'm so grateful that her mother gave her this opportunity, that China chose her for us and that she is a part of my life. I can't imagine it any other way.

Christmas Day....

Well, this is the second post of the two I promised for Christmas. It was as special, actually more special than I could have imagined. We woke up around 7:30 and hurried around to get everything set up so we could capture Jetta coming out to see her gifts from Santa Claus. When she first came, she wasn't very happy, as I sat her down and told her to go see her daddy (with his new Cubs hat on her head), she got upset and cried. So, we stopped the camera for a minute and then she was fine. So, back to the plan of recording it was.

She came around the edge of the couch and saw her new quad with Frosty the Snowman on it. She walked over, eyes wide open and proceeded to pull Frosty off the quad and took her spot. She crawled up on it and pushed the button and was very surprised when it took off. She seemed to enjoy it. Then it was time to open all the other many gifts she had under the tree. We helped her open the corners of each package and then let her rip off the paper, many of the gifts were met with a "wow" and wide eyes, others with a big smile. She loved everything and we loved watching her open her gifts. As we neared the end of the huge pile that she had to open, we kept a couple aside so we could call Grandma and Grandpa Peters on Skype and let them enjoy watching her open a few of her gifts from them.

She loved them, one was a patio set with "Mouse" aka Mickey Mouse on it and she just kept saying "Mouse". She is talking so much. Then after she opened her last gift, she just decided she would climb all over the box. She seems to enjoy climbing on boxes these days vs actually playing with the gifts. After we Skyped Grandma and Grandpa, it was time to start cooking for the day. We had our friends Dora, Jason and Zach over to have Christmas dinner with us. It was nice to spend the day with friends.

They also brought Jetta gift, a Ni-hao Kai-lan trike, which talks in both Chinese and English. She loves it, but she's just a tad bit to short to reach the peddles. However, she still loves to climb on it and listen to all its sounds. Last night we played with her and pushed her back and forth and she absolutely loved it. After filling our bellies full of great food, we played a few games and then called it a day. Jetta was so tired, she fell asleep in my arms at the table.

I think she really enjoyed her first Christmas and I know we surely did. We had a great time watching her enjoy Santa Claus, all her presents and believe or not, we actually got some snow on Christmas morning. So, the day was perfect. As of right now I'm not gonna include any video as it is all on the camcorder, but do plan to try to figure that out, but will put some pics of her opening her many gifts. Thanks to everyone who got her something, we really appreciate you thinking of her on her first holiday with us.

Too funny not to post....right now.

As I'm sitting her posting, Jetta is asking for "cheese, cheese" and Shannon said, baby no cheese and I told him, go ahead and give her some actual dinner. So, he pulled out the leftovers from yesterday and heated up some turkey. I figured, that's a good choice and next thing I know, in she comes and this is what she had! Priceless! I was rolling on the floor and told him, you have a to get a picture and this is what he got! I hope you enjoy! I'm thinking she won't be hungry again tonight!

Christmas Eve....

This is the first of two posts I'll do for Christmas. I'll do Christmas Eve and then Christmas. We started Christmas Eve by heading north to Peoria. Grandpa & Grandma Vaughn have Christmas Eve every year and each year they have Santa Claus visit their house for all the grandkids, nieces and nephews. We've attended in the past, but this year was by far more special since we have Jetta and could actually participate.

We arrived around 11:30 and Santa was due to come at noon. We took Jetta in and changed her into her Christmas dress, as we didn't have her wear it on the way up, as we figured she'd be one big wrinkle. So, once we arrived, it was time to get her changed. Once I got her dress on, it was time to put her first headband on. To my surprise she kept in on for the whole time while Santa was there and we were recording and taking pictures. Not sure how we got so lucky, but she left it alone and on. She looked absolutely adorable. I'll include pics so you can judge for yourself.

Once Santa arrived we weren't sure how she would do, but again to my surprise she did great. We asked her if she wanted to go and sit on Santa's lap and she walked up there and let him pick her up. She sat there while we all smiled and snapped pictures. When she got down she told him "bye-bye". Now it was time for Santa to read his annual Christmas tale and Jetta again headed up there and climed up on his lap and helped Santa turn the pages as he read the book. She just sat there, not scared at all. Then once the story was over, it was present time. Santa called her name and she went up, got her present and told him thank you. I think she was a real hit with Santa, as he was surprised how outgoing she was. We all watched and just enjoyed the moment. I had a few tears in my eyes, because I just couldn't believe that we were finally getting to spend our first Christmas with her.

Now it was time for Santa to leave and we asked her if she wanted to go and give Santa a hug and she did. It was so great. I'm so glad that we got to finally take part of this tradition.

With Santa gone it was time for us to exchange our gifts with Grandma and Grandpa Vaughn. Jetta helped give Grandma and Grandpa their gifts. Then it was her turn to open her gifts. She got some really great gifts and her face was full of surprise. She still doesn't fully understand the whole concept, but likes opening gifts. We made sure she said "thanks" for all of her great presents. We stayed for a bit longer and then headed over to visit Great Grandpa Jack. He too had a present for Jetta, which she loved as well. She enjoyed seeing him and watching his many fun Christmas toys.

After we visited Grandpa Jack, we headed over to see Bing....one of Jetta's friends from China. We drove over to see them and to spend some time enjoying the girls together. As always it is always alot of fun to see them together. Bing is still bigger than Jetta, but Jetta is finally getting a little taller. I'm not sure that they remember each other, but they seem to enjoy being around each other. When we came in Bing said "Jetta", which was very sweet. I'm so glad that we're able to get together with them and for the girls to stay connected.

It was finally time to head home. It was a long day, but a very special one. Jetta made out like a bandit(and we hadn't even had Christmas at home yet) and we enjoyed spending our first Christmas Eve with her and was anticipating what Christmas would be like. Once we got home, Jetta was asleep, so we put her to bed and then we got her gifts from Santa ready and set them up, anxiously waiting for Christmas morning to get here. Now it was time to go to bed and to wake up for our very first Christmas with Jetta.

So, for now, I'm gonna close, but will include some pictures from Christmas Eve. I'll try to post tomorrow about our first Christmas with Jetta and post some video so you can see just how much she enjoyed herself.

Jetta's visit with Santa Claus

Well, I've been waiting to post this, as the picture I'm gonna post is the picture that we used for our Christmas card. However, it seems that snail mail is in full force and most of the people we have sent cards to have yet to receive them. Shannon mailed them last week and only one or two people have gotten them. I'm not sure why and I promise all of you, I have sent cards. I just hope they eventually show up.

Anyway.....Jetta's first visit with Santa went well. We were out at the Mills mall right before Thanksgiving and they already had Santa there. Since there wasn't a line, we thought we'd give it a shot. The elves who were helping Santa were very good and allowed Shannon and I to sit next to Santa to give Jetta some comfort. Santa asked Jetta for a high five and she gave it to him and then he gave her a candy cane. She seemed to warm to him rather quickly, so as soon as I thought she would be alright, I slipped her onto his lap and they began taking pictures. Fortunately they were able to capture some good shots. Then as we took her from Santa she just looked at him and smiled and said "bye, bye".

As we started to look at the pictures they took, my eyes filled with tears, as this is just one of many moments I have dreamed about for years. It was even better than I had ever imagined it. The smile on her face just made my heart swell with joy. I hope you enjoy the picture as much as I do. Check out Santa...isn't he amazing...he almost made me believe again.

While Christmas is still 10 days away, I'm looking forward to it for the first time in years. Jetta has a ton of gifts under the tree and her curiousity is precious. From time to time she makes her way over to the tree and manages to pick up a gift or two and tries to open them. She has managed to tear several ends off and I keep re-taping them shut. I can barely wait to watch her open all of her gifts. She has so many great expressions and is full of surprise. I'll definitely post after we open gifts.

So for now, I'm gonna go, as it's fast approaching her bedtime and time for reading, but wanted to post this and hope all of you enjoy the picture.

Our trip to KC....

This past weekend we traveled to Kansas City to meet Grandma and Grandpa Peters. We spent Thankgiving with my friend Tiffany's family, which was a great time. Her family has been very kind to us and make us feel like family....thanks to all of you for your graciousness.

While we kicked off the Thanksgiving weekend with friends, we finished it out with family. As I said earlier, we traveled to Kansas City to meet Grandma and Grandpa Peters. We figured it was a good opportunity for us to be able to spend some time together for the holidays. It pretty much is half way for each of us when it comes to driving this allows us to travel with Jetta. Jetta is not quite ready for drives longer than about 5 hours, as her patience wears thin after that and that makes travel a bit more difficult.

We got in late afternoon on Friday, met at the hotel and then headed out for a little shopping and dinner. Grandma and Grandpa got to enjoy Jetta and spoil her a little bit more. On Saturday we got up early and headed to Topeka to go to Disney on Ice. My mom has always wanted to see them and I figured it was the perfect opportunity to go. I was hoping Jetta would enjoy it, as I wasn't sure since she is still young, but to my surprise, she sat on my lap for the whole show....which was about an hour and a half. She really seemed to enjoy whenever Mickey and Nemo came onto the ice and she loved all the bright colors. It was a bit loud, and she covered her ears most of the time, but managed to uncover them at just all the right times to clap. I think both Grandma and Jetta enjoyed the show, I know I did. It was really good and would expect nothing less from Disney.

After the show we just hung out for a couple more hours and then decided we would all start to make our way back home. One of the reasons for the trip was for us to exchange our Christmas gifts and exchange we did. Grandma and Grandpa came with a car full of gifts for Jetta. We weren't sure we were gonna have enough room to bring them all home! Once we got home we unloaded all of them and since we don't have a tree up yet, we put them on a chair and Jetta has been very curious and has managed to tear the corners off a few of the packages. I keep going over and retaping them, but it just makes me wonder just how much fun it will be to watch her unwrap them come Christmas morning.

So, we had a great weekend filled with friends and family and am really looking forward to Christmas and all the joy it will bring. I'm gonna post a few pics from Disney on Ice...hope you enjoy them. Now, I really must go, as it's past Jetta's bedtime, but I wanted to get caught up on posts.

Things I'm thankful for.....

While I'm a few days behind in my posts, I wanted to post a few things. The first....the things I am thankful for. I'm thankful for my family, my health, my wonderful friends and my daughter. While I have always been thankful for the first things I noted, I finally have been blessed this year with Jetta and being able to say that I'm thankful for her and her being chosen for us. She is an amazing little girl and am so grateful for being given the opportunity to be her mom. I always wanted to be a mom, but never knew just how rewarding and fulfilling it would be. While she has only been a part of my life for the past 9 months, she has been in my heart for years.

During the years that we waited, I often thought about what things would be like once we had her, and couldn't wait to share special moments with her. Her first birthday, her first tooth, Easter, Christmas, just to name a few and so far each of them have been as special as I had imagined, but so much more enjoyable having her here to share the moments with. I'm looking very forward to Christmas this year and can hardly wait to watch her open her gifts and to see the excitement on her face. She may not fully comprehend the concept, but she has already shown great excitement when she sees the lights and decorations when we've been out.

This past weekend we decorated a little bit outside and she was out there to help us. I decorated the front banister and Shannon put some lights along the sidewalk and Jetta had to give her daddy the stakes to put up the lights. It was very cute and she was such a big help. We hope to get a tree this week and look forward to her helping us decorate that and her reaction once it's all done.

As I sit here and type this, she is standing on her little pink stool, watching me type, holding onto my arm and jabbering away. She just got a bath and smells just like a baby, I just love that smell and listening to her jabber in my ear. While its hard to concentrate and type, she makes me smile, rather laugh and that is all I need at the end of a long day. Her sweetness is infectious and no matter what the day hands me, she makes it all better. Just seeing her and listening to her makes my day complete.

On that note, I probably should sign off for now, as it is her bedtime and we have books to read and cuddling left to do before we call it a night. So, as I started this off.....these are just some of the things I'm thankful for, as the list could go on and on, as I have been very fortunate to be given many blessings in my life. Thanks to all of you who are a part of my life and for all that you do for me....I can never thank each of you enough. My love to you all.

Future back up dancer....

Well, probably not, but Jetta absolutely loves the Dell Inspirion commercial that plays the song Lollipop. So, we have it recorded and whenever she is fussy or we just want to make ourselves laugh, we play the commercial. No matter what she's doing, it gets her attention and she sings and dances to it. So, thought we would capture it on video to share. It is very cute and notice at the end she is saying "bom, bom, bom"....which is what they say at the end of the commercial. She definitely has some unique moves....she's quite the dancer! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.....

The dogs love Jetta...

Yep, that's right, the dogs love Jetta....for a variety of reasons, one, she loves to launch her food off of the high chair and needless to say, they are right there to help her clean up. Saves me time, but not sure hot dogs, and chicken nuggets are the best for them. The second reason, and the reason for this post, she is a big helper. She loves to follow us to the garage when we go to get the dogs food. So, one day, not to long ago, I asked her if she wanted to help me and take the dogs food bowl over to their dish and as always she responded "yeah". So, reluctantly I handed her the bowl and watched her carry it across the kitchen and put it in their dish. To my surprise, not one piece hit the floor. So, now each time we go to get the dogs their food, she has to help. This is a short video of her helping and shows just how big she is getting. She has always been a great helper, but I just love watching her carry the bowl across the kitchen so carefully and the dogs just anxiously waiting for her to put it down. I hope you enjoy it.....

Jetta's 1st Halloween....

This was Jetta's first Halloween and she seemed to really enjoy it. She was a Panda Bear and she was a hit. If I do say so myself, she looked adorable. We mostly just stayed in our subdivision, as she really doesn't understand the whole concept just yet. We did go up to the local fire department, as they have a little get together for the kids. They served hot dogs, nachos, punch and hot chocolate. They also had candy, games and gave away glow sticks. Jetta had fun there as well. After that we went to Aunt Lori's, where she got her very own trick or treat bag. After that we stopped by our friends Dora and Jason's, where Jetta enjoyed what candy they had left. All in all the night was fun, the weather was fairly good. It definitely could have been colder. We really enjoyed spending our first Halloween with our little Panda Bear and it was everything we had hoped for. After such a fun time, I can barely wait for Christmas.

Hope you enjoy the pics and as always, thanks for following along.

Cousin Aimee's wedding....

Yesterday was Jetta's first wedding and she seemed to have a really good time. Shannon's cousin Aimee got married, so it was a family gathering, and it was very nice to see everyone. Jetta was very happy to see Aimee, as they have become fast friends or as Aimee says "buddies". My one worry was during the ceremony Jetta would call out "Aimee", as she was saying it as she passed by and I was just sure she was going to blurt it out, but fortunately she didn't.

Aimee, we are very happy for you and wish you the best of luck. Thanks for sharing your special day with us. Here are a few pics of Jetta in her dress, which I think she is absolutely adorable. Thanks to my friend Angela who passed this dress on to us. She is getting so big already, I'm surely not looking forward to the day I have to watch her walk down the isle. I realize that's a few years off, but I have a feeling I'm gonna blink one day and it will be here and I just want to enjoy each and every day with her from now until that day.

Jetta and daddy bake....

Since the weather has finally cooled off, Shannon decided to bake some cookies today. I was in the process of working on a scrapbook project, so he asked if she wanted to help. I told him it would be a minute, as I went into her room and got out her apron. Grandma Peters gave this to her awhile back, but felt that today was a perfect opportunity to use it. It's still a little big, but it looked very cute and Shannon got some cute pictures of her in it and helping make the cookies. I think she already figured out the best part....licking the spoon (but do notice, after she licked the spoon, she turned it over to stir). She is getting so big and is so much fun. I hope you enjoy these pics....her first attempt at baking.

A day at the pumpkin patch....

After we had Jetta's pictures done, we ran around a bit, but then headed to Eckert's, a local orchard. They are still picking apples, but started the pumpkin festival this weekend. So, we wanted to take Jetta to get her first pumpkin. She really seemed to enjoy herself and we enjoyed being there with her. We have spent the last several years thinking about all the fun things that we wanted to do with her and now we are finally getting to do them. It is great and makes my life so fulfilled. Here a few pics from the day.

18 Month Photo Shoot

Yesterday we took Jetta for her 18 month pics, as we wanted to capture just how much she's changed since we got her 12 month pics done. It amazes me...I had an infant and now I have a toddler. These pics are very similar to the one I posted about her growing up, but professional. I think she looks absolutely adorable and think she is very photogenic. She did very well at the shoot and doesn't seem to mind the camera at all. So, here they are and I hope you enjoy them. If you're curious at just how much she's changecd, go back and check out her 12 month pics.

I'm not really sure what I did right in the whole process, but China gave me such a beautiful little girl, who is so sweet and loving. I'm so glad she has was chosen for us and can't imagine having any other baby.

My little girl is growing up....

After our big weekend, we followed it up with an 18 month visit to the pediatrician. While I was looking forward to going and finding out how much she had grown and gained, I wasn't looking forward to the 4 vaccinations were we gonna have to get.

They measured and weighed her and she had grown nearly an inch, she's now 31 1/2 inches and gained 1.5 lbs and is now topping the scales at 19.4 lbs. So, she weighs just a little more than her age...she'll be 18 months on Friday....the past 6 months have gone by way to fast. I wish I could freeze time and keep her this little forever.

While she is growing and gaining, she is still small by the charts, but the dr is very happy with her progress. She also said that Jetta is doing very well in the way of learning and development, which again makes me very happy.

Once we got all that out of the way, it was time for the vaccinations. Of course the first one wasn't bad, but the final 3 caused a bit of trauma. However, as soon it was over, I scooped her up, cuddled her and within a minute or so she was fine. She was a real trooper. Of course, I'm sure it helped that I had promised her pumpkin bread from Starbucks. So, as promised we stopped on our way home and she barely ate two bites and she was out. Fortunately she has not been crabby or running a fever from the vaccinations, so short of the boo-boo of the stick, she is doing great. Short of going back for the second dose of the flu vaccine, we are now good until her 2 year visit.

This picture is from a few weeks back, but I absolutely love it and think she looks so adorable, that I wanted to share it. Its so hard to believe that just 6 short months ago we brought her home and she was a baby and today, she is a toddler. I am so grateful to have her in my life and couldn't imagine my life any other way. She has been such a blessing and has brought me more joy that I could have ever anticipated.

A few more pics of Wrigley...

A day at Wrigley....

On Sunday before we headed back home, we took a tour of Wrigley field. I had arranged for all of us, Shannon, Jetta and I to tour Wrigley. As you all know, Shannon is a die hard Cubs fan and I figured he would enjoy a day at the ballpark (behind the scenes).

I think he enjoyed it alot and might have even learned a few unknown facts about the ballpark and the Cubs. Wrigley is a no frills, no thrills stadium, but its history is what makes it Wrigley.

On the tour we were able to go to the bleachers and get a great view of the entire field, then over to the visiting teams clubhouse, which was very small. It is hard to believe that these multi-million dollar players enjoy going here. The clubhouse is so small that once all the players and the media gather in there, you would be lucky to be able to move around. After leaving the visiting players clubhouse, we went to the suites, which by no stretch of the means are suites. I think my kitchen might be bigger than the entire suite. However, it would still be fun to watch a game from one of them. Then we moved onto the press boxes and again, these were very small and no frills. We got to see where Harry Carey sat and called all those games. After that we moved down to the Cubs clubhouse and was sure it would be much bigger. As pictures will show, it's not much bigger than the visiting clubhouse. The thing that was most shocking was, if the players want to take some practice swings, they have to come back into the clubhouse, drop down a net, and a white board that protects a flat panel tv on the wall, pull out the batting t and swing away. Amazing....not what I would have expected. You can see the net in the clubhouse pic. I'm pretty certain, both the visiting team and the Cubs all look forward to going to other stadiums, but at the same time appreciate the "old" time feeling at Wrigley. Lastly, we got to go to the dugout and see the field from a players prospective.

The whole tour was great and we had a perfect day to do it. I will attach some pics from the day. So, Jetta had a big weekend, starting with the Cubs/Cards game on Friday at Busch, Saturday with her Guangdong sisters and then Sunday at Wrigley.

All in all it was a great weekend and am so glad we got to do all those things with her and are able to share the memories with all of you. Thanks for following along.