Crazy for Cupcakes

Jemma is having her very first cupcake ever - can you tell how much she's enjoying it? And look at that gorgeous Rosie, she's navigating that cupcake like a pro. Yum!

Emergency!

We had our first emergency with Jemma on Sunday night and it was pretty scary. Ya see, Jemma is very physical and loves to climb on everything. We do our best to keep her from climbing on her table and chairs but sometimes, she's just too quick. So she went flying off the table and didn't have time to catch her fall with her hands and landed on her chin and bit her tongue sooooooo hard. Boy, oh boy, we never heard her cry like that - it was high pitched - there's nothing more heartbreaking than hearing your baby in pain. The cut was a quarter of an inch so our doctor told us to take her to the emergency room. Luckily, Jemma loves to suck on ice, so that helped to stop the bleeding. She was so good in the hospital and the doctor was very impressed with how well she took direction. Luckily, Jemma didn't need any stitches and she stopped bleeding within an hour. Wow, we hope to never have to go through that again!

Symphony in the Glen

Symphony in the Glen is a free program devoted to keeping classical music accessible to all. Being Mozart's birthday, the program was all Wolfgang. Also, since Sept. 10 was Grandparents' day in the park, we all sang a very special song dedicated to the Grandparents. Jemma loves to sing and did her best to sing along. The concert was beautiful and Jemma was captivated by the music.

Maestro, Please!

We participated in the conducting clinic for kids prior to the concert. Jemma was the littlest conductor there but that didn't deter her from swinging that stick around. At the end, she received a certificate of completion. Not bad for improvising with a chopstick!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Jemma loves her some PBJ! It's a new discovery for us - we were strictly an almond butter family until Jemma snagged a quarter of her friend Almitra's PBJ after class one day. The best thing about PBJ is that you can lick your face for hours after and enjoy the flavors all over again.

One Year Anniversary!

On September 5, 2005, Jemma Ancui Lawler was placed in our loving arms. This memorable day is known as "Gotcha Day" in the adoption world. So much has happened for us as a family over this year. It's hard to imagine what our life was like before Jemma, she's so thoroughly integrated into our thoughts, our daily activities, our hopes and dreams. And my, how she's changed! She's added ten pounds and 17 inches. She went from sitting to crawling to cruising to walking to running and now climbing and balancing and dancing and singing. Her language has developed very quickly and at 20 months, Jemma has over a hundred words, uses 2 and 3-word sentences and puts together complex concepts like relating objects to thoughts and language. She's funny and understands timing - the key to comedy! She's loving and affectionate and warm and compassionate (she's been very understanding of mommy's recent bunion surgery - even saying "foot hurt" and elevating her leg along side mom's.) Her socialization with adults is easy and relaxed and her interaction with the other children in her daycare and RIE class is healthy - meaning she takes everything away from the other kids and holds tightly on to her objects while other kids steal them from her (all the while saying, "Mine!") The best part about Jemma is that she's so much fun to spend time with and she fills us with this enormous sensation of joy in our hearts - we are so lucky. What a bug!

What a Difference...

...a Year Makes

Then and Now

Nature Girl

Daddy took Jemma on a special hike - she loves being in nature, especially when there's water involved. They came home all wet but exceedingly happy.

Chopsticks

Jemma can't play "Chopsticks" yet, let alone with eat with them, but she sure does love to bang away at the piano.

I am #1!

With our one-year anniversary approaching, we thought we'd ask the dogs how they've adjusted to the addition of Jemma, especially now that she's secured a spot as number one. Well, Ollie responded with a cool, "whatever" and Rua, in true Rua form said, "bring it on!"

What a Croc!

Jemma loves our crocs because the holes are so much fun to stick fingers through. Imagine our surprise when we found her scuffling around the house in Daddy's crocs - on the right feet no less! This was the one photo we were able to get of her as all the others were too blurry - she was just moving so fast!

Daddy's Little Girl

Jemma is ga ga over Da Da - that's her nickname for him, "Ga Ga!" There's no question she loves her Mama (or Mom or Mommy) but when Daddy enters or is even heard in the other room, she explodes with joy. Nothing gives Mama more pleasure than to see her two favorite people so happy.

The Big Bath

About a month ago, just after her 18 month birthday, Jemma told us she wanted to take baths in the big tub rather than in the kitchen sink. Here she can swim and splash around and even stick her face under the little hand shower. And of course, no bath is complete without a rubber ducky.

Raspberries!

Jemma LOVES fruit, especially berries, but raspberries are her absolute favorite!

Learning to Bubble

Thanks to the no-drip bubble container (the perfect party favor from Sha Sha's first birthday bash) Jemma has learned to blow her own bubbles. This is not an easy task, in fact, it often entails swallowing lots of soap but Jemma stays very focused and determined.

Empresses at the Pavilion

We shared an evening with Michayla and her parents, Mark & Nicki, and Sha Sha (or Anna) and her parents, Tina and Adam. We had a delicious dinner at the famed Empress Pavilion in Chinatown - this time we went without the throngs of people during the Chinese New Year. Of course the minute they saw us, they put us way in the back at the corner table. We didn't mind, though, as it gave us a chance to sing songs and make lots of noise with the girls. Oh, those typical loud Americans!

Bubbles!

The joy of bubbles bursting in the air!

Waiting at the Finish Line

It was a long wait for Daddy to make it to the finish line - Jemma conked out from all the anticipation. But after swimming a mile in the ocean, biking 26 miles and running 6 more miles after that, Daddy finally made it back to his girls, who were very relieved to see him in such good spirits.