What a weekend!

Saturday we went to Green Meadows Farm with the local FCC (Families with Chinese Children). It was great. Sarae got to hold a baby duck and a baby chicken. We got to run with the pigs, goats and sheep, milk a cow, ride a pony, ride a train and go for a hayride. Sarae really got into it, she even decided to sit in the pens with the animals and stomp in the pee puddles (I guess she got them confused with mud puddles). At the end Sarae went to the pumpkin patch and got to pick out her own pumpkin, the only stipulation was that she had to be able to carry it herself. Sunday, we joined our friends Auntie Manal and her beautiful daughter Olivia. Olivia has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen! We went to the Character Breakfast at the Grand Floridian (hotel on Disney Property). We met Mary Poppins, Tigger, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter. Sarae liked everyone except the Mad Hatter. She has a tendency to cry whenever she sees men and that ran true for the Mad Hatter. All in all it was a fun-filled weekend!

I'm in a big girl bed!

The night Sarae turned 19 months, she celebrated by climbing out of her crib and landing spread eagle, face down on the carpet. Luckily she was not hurt, just scared I think and perhaps the wind got knocked out of her. I was hoping she had learned her lesson, but this weekend she tried to climb out again after naptime, but Tia was there to catch her. So I changed her crib to a toddler bed. She is delighted and so far hasn't tried to crawl out of it.

In the past month our friends Helena and Angelo invited us to their beach house so Sarae had her first visit to the beach. She loved it. She ran giggling into the water and even getting knocked down by a wave didn't dampen her enthusiasm. When she had enough of the water, she ran around chasing the seagulls and other birds.

Sarae said her first sentence, "Bye, bye birdie". Whenever she hears laughter she will join right in. She's beginning to talk and gesture with her hands and then will throw back her head and start laughing.

She's going to be Elmo (one of her all time favorite characters) for Halloween and I'll try to post those pics soon.

Hope everyone is having a great fall!

Look at my new boots!

My sister Lynne and her husband came to visit Sarae, bearing many gifts of course. Since they are from Texas, one of her gifts was a pair of pink cowgirl boots. Sarae loves the way they sound when she walks down the hallway. Sarae started daycare at a friend's house. There is one other little girl there all week with her and a 4 year old a couple of days and a baby one day. Although she cries when I drop her off, she seems to be adjusting well. She is definitely worn out from playing as she has been taking 3 hour naps there and even did the same here during the weekend. Before, I was lucky to get 1 and 1/2 hours from her. The last picture is Sarae vegging in front of the television. Sarae and I had a busy Labor Day weekend with chores around the house, working in the yard, washing the car and visiting our friend Coleen and her husband Ryan in Gainesville. Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

It is HOT, HOT, HOT!!

I thought it was just me, getting older and not tolerating the heat as well, but according to the paper, we've actually broken some records. Some friends have been kind enough to invite Sarae and I over to swim in their pools and Sarae loves it.
Sarae also loves popcorn, thanks to Tia and Butch. She demands it for breakfast, lunch and dinner so I have to hide it in the cabinet so she can't see it. Cody, my black dog, continues to be her best pal. The picture of her and Cody watching T.V. is a daily occurance. The picture of all three of them on my bed is what happens whenever I go to change my sheets - suddenly everyone has to get on the bed and no one understands "Get down". I love the picture of Sarae in her bunny robe, reminds me of the pig hat her Aunt Heidi Ho gave her in China. Hope everyone is staying cool! Love, Sarae, Cody, Buddy and Colleen

Yes, I'm on the potty!

Exciting news- Sarae is starting to go potty on the potty! For those of us that change her diapers, this is very exciting. Sarae continues to do well, she has grown an inch and a half and gained about a pound and a half since we came home. She still loves fruit, veges and pasta. She loves animals and will squeal when she sees them. As you can see from the photos she is a great help around the house. Can't start them too young on their chores : ) Tia and Butch were nice enough to come over and put on a fireworks show for Sarae on the fourth of July. She loved them and clapped after each one. You can see Butch and Sarae in the last picture. She seems to have a little crush on him. When Tia, my mom or I ask her for a kiss, she will often shake her head no and laugh, but when Butch is around, she has no problem giving kisses. Smart girl!

AGHHH!! Back to work!

Well, I knew it had to end and I officially started back to work this past Monday. My niece Tia and my mother are watching Sarae for the summer and everything is going smoothly. By the end of the week, Sarae had adjusted fine to my being back to work. I'm amazed by how much she has learned in the past three months. She can now twirl around, say "Wow", point to her toes when you ask her where her toes are, will take keys to the front door in an attempt to open the door, give kisses, yells "hey" at the dogs when they start barking (I do this in an attempt to get them to quiet down) and sits on Cody (our black dog) when he lays down. It's already warm so we have spent some early afternoons playing in her water table. She has great upper body strength and can actually pull herself into it and pretends it is her pool. She also likes to crawl into the kitchen cupboards to pull out even more containers. I've always said that Sarae reminds me of a boy with her high energy level, climbing, running and bouncing. Don't know if you can tell, but in the last picture, she is sleeping with a remote in one hand and her drink in another - just like a man! : )

Baptism and Sea World

Sarae was baptised on April 22nd and didn't even cry when she was doused with water 3 times. Lots of friends and family were there to watch and then came over to shower her with more gifts at the house. Sarae also went to Sea World for the first time. I was worried she would be too young to enjoy it, but she loved it. She especially loved watching the dolphins in the underground viewing and made the other people laugh as she pointed and talked to them (the dolphins). She also kept calling them dada, still haven't gotten around to that talk : ) There's a new Sesame Street show and when she saw Elmo, Ernie, Cookie Monster, etc. she stood and screamed at the top of her lungs - very cute. Hope everyone is managing to stay cool - it's already in the high 80's here in Florida.

Take care!