First and American Baby

Bella visited MeMe's this weekend (Along with her mom and dad. I'm not ready for away visits yet.) and had her first "biter biscuit". The best part? After showing her how to feed herself, she did it! This was her first time to feed herself and we were so proud. As you can tell from the pics, she thoroughly enjoyed her biscuit.

She also received an important document in the mail today. Bella received her Certificate of Citizenship. By law, she became an American Citizen the moment we landed in Los Angeles; however, we now have proof that our baby girl is an American Citizen. It was strange to open the mailbox and see an envelope addressed to "Isabella Ziyu Smith c/o Mr and Mrs Smith) from USCIS. Here's a pic of our little precious with her certifcate:

Happy One Month Gotcha Day Anniversary

Today is our one month "Forever Family" anniversary. It's hard to belive Bella has only been with us for one month now; however, we've had her in our hearts for almost four years now. When we submittted our application to Harrah's, on Sept. 12, 2005, we knew our daughter was in China. We just had to go get her. We could never have imagined it would take as long as it did, but we knew she was there. We had many people offer many different solutions to our "childless" condition, but we never entertained any those; not for a moment. We knew she was out there and we just had to hold on until we could go get her. We've talked about her for almost four years now and it is surreal to actually have her here! These past several years have taught us to not take one moment with her for granted. She is truly a miracle and a gift and we are the lucky ones to actually be her parents.

We're Here

Yes, it's been a few days. Very hectic around here. Not only are we busy raising our Bella, but we might be moving. (Sorry Shreveport friends. We're staying here; just going to a different neighborhood.) We put our house on the market a few months ago and I guess all the real estate market was waiting on was for Miss Bella to arrive. We received an offer Sunday morning, so we have been busy looking at homes. Wish us luck!

Mom and Dad being busy has not slowed this little one down! We've noticed she's been wanting down when we're holding her. It's as if she thinks she can walk, her body just isn't cooperating. We got her a walker Sunday and here's a pic of her first walk in it:

We think she's been in a walker before because she was MUCH more comfortable in the walker than the bouncer seat we got her. Thank goodness! I've been needing a way to cook dinner or do laundry without leaving her crying.

Not only was Sunday "walker day", it was also the PGA Championship and Bella and her dad were dressed in their Nike cheering on Tiger Woods!

As you can tell from Bella's expression, it wasn't Tiger's best day.

I also got a pic of my two favorite people I wanted to share.
It's the "Brown Eyed Smiths" as I like to call them. :)

Times Are Changing...

Ten years ago, our Saturday night didn't start until around 10:00. How did we spend tonight's Saturday night? Rolling around with an 11-month old on her Rainbow Zebra quilt.....loving every minute of it. Yep, times have changed.

P.S. By 10:00 tonight, all the Smith's will be asleep.

What's a girl to do?

Hmmm. What's a girl to do? I've got two toys; like them both. Quite a dilemma. Which do I play with? Wait...I can play with both at once!

Teething Tip

For all of you out there that are having some pain with getting new teeth, here's a tip from Bella: When your mom gives you a bite of food, bite down on the spoon as hard as you can. Helps the food slide down, plus it feels good on your gums. Bite on the spoon as long as you like; your mom will wait.

Just Chillin'

Just relaxing, throwing my gang sign and thinking of my Chenzhou Sisters. Hope they're all kicked back too!

P.S. Merrin, thanks again for the rattle. I still love it!

Eating Time

Bella loves to eat! That's an understatement. Eating is her most favorite thing in the world ever....even second to thumb sucking and scratching. She enjoys it so much, as soon as we give her a bite, she immediately puts her thumb in her mouth. We think she puts it in there to save some of the taste on hand for later. This makes for an interesting dining experience. This was what she looked like after breakfast yesterday morning:

Why is her bib on sideways? She moves it to make room to suck on her thumb. The bib just slows her down.

We're all adjusting here. Poor baby has a few tummy issues we're working through and has an ear infection too. However, she's a champ. She didn't let a little sickness get in the way of her sleep last night...11 hours. Woo hoo! Sure wish Mommy and Daddy could get their time clocks adjusted too.

Geaux Tigers

Hi Tiger Fans! I'm ready for my first football season...Geaux Tigers!

I'm Homesick

I woke up this morning (actually, I've been awake all night long thanks to a nasty cold) and it hit me...I miss China so much. I don't know if it's because I wasn't sick in China. I don't know if it's because we all knew night vs. day in China. I don't know if it's because I have a dirty house and a stack of laundry to do. I don't know if it's because Brian has to start paying attention to work today. But I do know that I want nothing more than to put my daughter in her sling, walk around gorgeous Shaiman Island and meet friends at Starbucks and then dinner. As much as I'm happy to be home and I'm happy for our friends and family to meet Bella, I really miss China.

I can't believe we've been to China and back. Almost four years of our lives were spent talking about going to China; we've now been and it was over way too soon. It was an amazing trip than can never, ever be replicated. No one prepared me for the love and respect I'd gain for Bella's birth country.

Speaking of China, enjoy a picture of the most precious little girl to ever come out of China enjoying her dinner in her new home in Louisiana.

Red Couch and Waterfall Pictures

I now have the Red Couch and Group photos saved on my computer. The day we took these in China, our camera froze. I think I said this earlier, but the Red Couch photo is a tradition among adoption groups. The red couch is in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel. This used to be the only hotel adoption groups stayed at in Guangzhou. However, our group stayed at the Victory Hotel, which is now common. We all trekked over to the White Swan for these pictures.

We have these photos (or ones very similar) in 8 x 10, and I cannot tell you how many times I've looked at the Red Couch photo and started laughing. The looks on the girl's faces are priceless and it was quite a sight to see 14 parents jumping up and down and making faces to try to get their daughter to look at the camera. As you can tell it didn't work with Bella. Merrin was much more entertaining to look at.

I also love the photo of our travel group together at the waterfall. This was the perfect group of people to travel with. As some of you know, we became friends with Chris and Stephanie almost four years ago and were able to share the past almost four years with them. However, we were also sharing this journey with five other couples we had not met yet. It was amazing what a perfect fit we all were. Our guides, XiXi and Bob, (who we LOVED) told us we were all unique because we wanted to spend time together and have dinner together every night. I hope we'll all be able to keep in touch as our "Chenzhou Sisters" become young ladies.

We're Home

We received the most amazing welcome home Friday night. (Pics will be posted soon.) It was amazing to see so many people waiting to welcome our little miracle home. She handled the plane rides like a champ. I've decided my 17 lb. daughter, who is almost 11 months old, is the bravest person I know.

It's surreal to think just a few days ago we were in China. I keep thinking of Bella's "Chenzhou Sisters" and hope they're all adjusting to their new lives well. No one told me how attached I'd become to the families we traveled with.

Today is our first day where it's not so rosy. Bella realized her nights and days are backwards and she has developed a little cold. To top it off, Mommy isn't feeling too good herself today. I'm sustaining myself on saltines and Sprite and Daddy is in charge of the house. He has two grumpy ladies to deal with.

Enjoy the pics of bathtime last night. Bella loves her baths and we love to see her happy and playing.