Busy Little Lady

Our Bella has been one busy little lady since I last posted. Since my last post, she enjoyed her very first Century Tel picnic. The above picture shows how she enjoyed the picnic in style. (Yes, it was a game day.) In the below picture, she's relaxing after dazzling the crowd.

Enjoying ice cream....Bella's first carousel ride.....

Birthday celebration to celebrate Bella's (Sept. 9th), Poppa T's (Sept. 13th), Dad's (Sept. 13th too) birthdays. Here's our little party girl with her party hat and horn:

Posing in front of the "Three Generation" birthday cake with Daddy and Poppa T. Yes, they're all dressed out for the LSU game...another game day. Notice how Bella is being held back from the cake?

In her sassy party clothes....

Enjoying her first swim in her baby pool. She loved it!

Stay tuned....Who knows what this one year old will be up to next???

Happy

Who is the happiest in this picture? Hard to tell.

Happy Birthday

Why are all these people singing???
In a giant mouth with Daddy. Check out my dress. Being the diva I am, I matched the theme of my party...ladybugs and sunflowers.

Yum!

Mommy and Daddy trying to stay clean.

Forget fruits and veggies. This is what I'm talking about!

We had Bella's first birthday party this weekend at The Children's Museum in Monroe. We had several family and friends with us to celebrate and I think they all had a good time. I know Bella did. What one year old doesn't love cake, ice cream and presents! We appreciate everyone who helped us to celebrate. :)

Our little girl is now one year old. It's hard to believe and it's surreal. We have a one year old! This date last year, our friends Stephanie and Chris welcomed their son into the world. I remember being so excited for them and I remember what that day was like for me. Little did I know, in another part of the world, our daughter was being born on the same day. She has not even been with us two months and I can't remember what life was like before her. It's amazing to wake up everyday and watch her learn and watch her pesonality blossom. I can't even imagine what this next year will be like for the three of us.

One Year Portraits

It's been a very busy weekend for our Bella. On Friday she had her one year portraits made. Bella is known not to smile for photos and she lived up to her reputation. The photographer did work very hard and did get some good pictures for us.

Sweet Face..

Take it quick! There's a smile!

Game Face...Watch out Alabama!

Yep, I'm gonna be one.

Mom and Dad's favorite:

I'm Back!

You guys won't belive it! My mommy lost her camera cord that connects her camera to the computer. She just found it, so I can now let you all know what I've been up to. I've been a very busy girl.

One night I decided it was time to keep mommy and daddy on their toes. Enough of being an easy baby! I refused to go to sleep! Instead of sleeping, I decided I was going to play. I was having such a good time, Mommy and Daddy decided to go ahead and take pictures. I ask you, does this look like the face of someone who is tired?

Nope. Not at all.

Daddy had a business trip out of town, and when he came home mommy and I decided to surprise him at the aiport. Here I am dressed in my "I heart My Daddy" cap. Mommy put me in a dress and frilly socks because she did not want me mistaken for a boy...it happened at Toys 'r Us and she wasn't happy about it!

For all my travel friends, you'll see I'm holding my mommy's lip gloss again. She said it was lost...it wasn't! When I saw it, I started smiling and laughing like I saw an old friend.

My daddy has been busy teaching me how to play air hockey.

Don't tell him, but I think I'm better than him. :)

That's all for now. Gotta get ready to watch some football! Stay tuned...Mommy will be letting you all know about my birthday and one year old pictures soon!

Love,

Bella

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.