Dancing Girl

I was on the phone tonight with a friend and Hannah was playing. She dissapeared into her room for a few minutes and came back wearing a "party dress" from her closet. It was a hand-me-down dress that's been in her closet since before she came home from China. But, it was too big so it just sat there. Well, I guess it fits now. Hannah LOVED the dress. She just stood in front of me while I was on the phone. She was very quiet but just stood smiling and making these faces like "Look how pretty! I know I'm beautiful". It was too cute.

So, when I got off the phone I had this thought of "hmm..let me make her day". So, I told her I would be right back and then disappeared in my room. I changed into MY "party dress" (okay - it was a skirt..but those who know me well know I don't wear them often so it was a "special occassion"). She giggled and giggled and said "dance with me?". How could I refuse? We turned the music on and spent a while just dancing. She's got some talented moves for a 3 year old! This must be something she's either a natural at or she learned from her foster family in China. She definately didn't learn her moves from me! ha! Enjoy the pictures.

Chattanooga

Last weekend, Hannah and I headed to my parents for a couple of days. On Saturday, my mom, Hannah, and I decided to spend some time in nearby Chattanooga. We went to the Aquarium. My favorite was the penguins. Hannah's favorite was the butterflies. (Although she did like the penguins and fish too!)

We took a little boat ride (called a water taxi) across the river and that was probably Hannah's favorite part of the day. We also rode the carrosel and Hannah played in the water fountains they had nearby.

All in all, a fun way to spend a Saturday!

Happy 4th / Happy Summer!

Happy 4th of July! And Happy Summer! That's what Hannah says almost daily now. It usually means "you should not make me go to bed yet - I should get to stay up longer because it's summer!". Anyway, I don't actually have photos of our 4th. We didn't do much during the day. We did got to a friend's house for dinner this evening followed by skating (me) and bike riding (Hannah). Then, we headed over to my church to watch the fireworks. The church parking lot is a great place to view the fireworks from the Met after their baseball game. A lot of other families were there too and it was fun. Hannah really enjoyed seeing the fireworks. It was her first time because on the last 4th, we'd been home less than a month and well, neither of us managed to stay up long enough to see the fireworks!

I do have photos from the past week or so though. We've had lots of fun. We painted outside, both with our feet and on the pavement (sidewalk paint! It's great!).

We hung out with our friends Elizabeth and Andrew. They're actually more like cousins since their grandmother is Beth, who travelled to China with me and who Hannah calls "Nana". They live in Huntsville, so it's always a special treat when they come to Birmingham.

We also had a really fun day visiting with another family in the process of adopting two precious children. Laine and Rob are adopting a boy and a girl (Kimmie and Quan) from Hannah's orphanage. They leave in less than two weeks! Laine and I have communicated by e-mail for a while, and Tuesday, we headed to Sprinville to meet her and her sweet kids. Rob was at work, and we're sorry we missed him, but we do plan to go back and meet Kimmie and Quan one day! We had such a good time at their house. Hannah was in her element as there were 4 children older than her who let her basically do whatever she wanted! She played and played, and then enjoyed hot dogs and chips with the Ferrill children. After lunch, we headed to the pool. Hannah had a blast. I don't really know how long they swam, but it was good long while. Hannah enjoyed playing and I enjoyed visiting with Laine. Here's the girls eating lunch.

Carley, Clay, Hannah, Katie Lyn, and Colby by the pool.

Playing with Katie Lyn in the pool.

It's a fish! Oh wait, I only thought it was a fish because it didn't want to get out of the water at all. It's really Hannah!

Thanks Laine for the great hospitality! And Katie Lyn, Carley, Colby, and Clay - thanks for making Hannah feel so welcome and at home! You are amazing brothers and sisters and I know you will enrich Kimmie and Quan's lives even as they enrich yours at the same time! Hannah is still talking about y'all!