She's Got Moxie...

Blogger has decided to post these photos backwards, so I'll work backwards...

Here is the toddler tune car Santa brought MaryAlice. She's already attempted to stand inside the car and has slid underneath the front-end and given me just a mild heart attack. I think this is just the start of a life raising a daredevil
She was so happy my sister's cat (aka my sister's family's cat) obliged her desire to pet and hug a real life kitty since my cat is too old and grouchy. Santa gave her a couple of stuffed kittys which she loves; even the one that sounds like a hyena that's been hit by a car. the batteries on that one may have to give out real soon.

Here are a few of her first visit to the beach. It took her a couple of minutes to move her feet in the sand, but she loved it. She is a water baby and has no fear...great (said with much sarcasm).



Here's her first trip down a slide with my nephew. I suspect it's his last by the look of fear on his face. I took her down the slide once and ended up leaving the top layer of skin from my thigh on the slide. I was all too happy to make it to the bottom though without toppling over the side. We're looking into a liability issue with the Home Owners Association, so I can't comment too much, but these photos should help our case. LOL! The fact that my sister is on the HOA board may be problematic, however!!



Here are the cute baby, scary mommy photos. Those Sarah Palin glasses have got to go, but ya' gotta love the panda slippers. What one will do to amuse their child!!




I just love this photo! She's like a mini-linebacker just looking for trouble.



MaryAlice is so excited for Santa's arrival, she can hardly stand it!!

Edward Scissorhand meet Eddie Munster

I guess I got a little zealous with the scissors and trying to even out MaryAlice's bangs. She's going to insist I leave it to the professionals next time, I'm sure...can't blame her!
She apparently does not like the way I have organized her drawers, so set out to fix it. Surprisingly, when I told her she needed to put the clothes back in the drawers, she actually picked some up and threw them back in! Smart girl!!

This is her latest acrobatic trick. She also pretends she's waterskiing in the tub and holds onto the soap holder, leans back and hikes one leg up the bathtub wall... Don't worry Dad, I've got my hand ready to catch her.



MaryAlice loves her stuff kitty. It was a spur of the moment purchase at Disney, and man does she love it.
I've got her on a regular weight training program to prepare for the aforementioned athletic endeavors. I forgot to mention, I did catch her standing on the front of the Fisher Price ride-on toy pictured in the previous post. Of course,that's all she wants to do now since I've told her "No standing on the car"

She's a Little Stinker!!

Disney, Santa and Another Cupcake!!

We had our first visit to The Magic Kingdom on Sunday. It was a perfect day, if not a bit chilly in the morning. We did a couple of rides and The Country Bear Jamboree. The waits are a nice arm work-out for me! Four hours was just enough for both of us, and she slept all the way back to the car.

This is the first Christmas tree I looked at in Home Depot. The salesgirl held it up for me and I said, "Looks good enough". Who does that???



She ate a little bit more of her cupcake this month. The last photo demonstrates her lastest trick of sweeping all her food on the floor when she's done. I've been limiting the amount of food I put on the tray at one time, but I'm open to any suggestions. She always gives me a warning about 2 seconds after she's done it by saying, "Ut oh". Her latest word is "duh-tee"...dirty. Nice!!!


This is the best we could get. The first one she was looking at Santa, but I want to be able to see her eyes. The last one she was in the midst of a meltdown, which isn't necessarily at bad look for your first Santa photo. I think this one captures the moment she's thinking, "Holy crap! Why does this man have fur on his face and I don't recall saying that I wanted to sit in his lap?"

Okay, Okay...I'll post some pictures!!

I should be folding laundry and writing my Christmas cards, but instead, I'm enjoying a TsingTao beer and updating the blog. My goal next year is to get to the point that I can put MaryAlice to bed at night and say to myself, "Now what should I do???? The house is clean, the laundry is done, I don't have any paperwork to do...maybe I'll read a book or watch some mindless TV show, or heaven forbid, maybe even exercise!! The horror of that possibility!!

As you can see, MaryAlice has been baptized. My uncle did a fabulous job and spoke about the three adoptions MaryAlice has been through...in my heart before she was born, the legal adoption in China and then the US, and finally the adoption into the Catholic community. It was so nice to be surrounded by family and friends who have been so supportive.

There are also pictures of MA's first Thanksgiving. She loves her food. That's what her teachers at school say, as well. Except for the tuna noodle casserole I made this week. She's didn't like that. Oh well, live and learn!

You can also see she took the girls out for a spin in a Pontiac Soltice. She loved playing in the car. The toy filled pack-n-play doesn't hold a candle to inside of a car!!! She also had her first McDonald's Happy Meal this weekend, thanks to Grandpa's Pick-up Picnic.

Well, that's all I can muster this evening. Stay tuned for her visit to Santa photos.