Zachary and I have had a standing "pool date" with friends of ours. And, Zach has taken to Miranda, his first girlfriend. The age difference will keep them apart. But, every Friday for the last three weeks he has had his own little love affair! His girlfriend taught him how to thumbs up!

And, his girlfriends brother, Devon, is loads of fun too!! Zachary looks forward to playing with him every week!

I don't know who enjoys the pool more- me or Zachary!?! I so enjoy having my friends Monica and Tricia over sunning and having adult conversation while their children entertain & love on Zachary! It's heartwarming for me to watch!








Zachary and I went to visit Bop-bop while Nonnie was in CO. I got another mini camera lesson from Bop-bop. I just wish I had a memory with better recall! We walked down to the lake to look for ducks but ended up finding turtles!! Zachary had a blast throwing bread out to the turtles (and minnows). I'd love to know what he was thinking when all these turtles were coming from no where to indulge in our Pep ridge Farm delicacies. There were two turtles who were not aging well and had certainly been around for some time. They scared me with their unsightly growths & pointy noses!

Last but not least, Matt experienced his first Father's Day this past weekend. And, he says it was a day he can't wait to celebrate next year :) We took some pictures to commemorate this very special day.

Guess who had his first taste of a chocolate, in the form of a brownie?

At last nights card class, Hostess Patti (HEY!!) served up my favorite chocolate covered brownies and she sent me home with some to share. Here's the proof that the brownies did infact make it home...

There's one left on the plate and I think Matt & Zach are going to have to thumb wrestle for it :)) Watch the "NO, I do not like" video below this post... Zachary has a new favorite word-- "NO". Poppi and I tested out his new word on a few of Zach's favorite things.

Here is a short excerpt from the conversation:
Poppi, "Zach, do you like to swing & slide??"
Zach, "NO!"

Mommy, "Zach, do you like bananas?"
Zach, "NO!"

Poppi, "Zach, do you like to ride in your cozy coup car?"
Zach, "NO!"

Mommy, "Zach, do you like watching Elmo & Fresh Beats?"
Zach, pauses to think then nods his head yes but clearly says "NO!"

Zach's favorite word these days is "No!" No is his answer to everything...LOL

Zach goes up and over at the Doctor's Office!



And then impersonates a frog!

Zach going bananas on his toy piano/xylophone hybrid thing

The Further Adventures of the Z-Man!

The Case of the Blue Balloon: Part 1:



And Part 2:

Hello again! We have had quite a few posts today (this is our 4th) so we hope you will scroll down and not miss a beat :) All the below pictures were taken with my cell phone so forgive the poor pic quality. I really need to get better and remembering to bring a quality camera but it's not easy getting out the door with all the accouterments Zachary already requires.

Today Zachary and I went to visit Poppi (Matt's Father Ed). We had a fun afternoon riding in his favorite toy car, then lunch at McDonald's.

Zach enjoyed one of his favorite snacks, a banana, while sitting in his Great GrandFather Ole' Buddies childhood high chair! What an honor!!

At McDonald's Playground, Poppi assisted Zach up and down, repeat and over and over- It's slide time! WEEEE!!!!


Yes, Zach's favorite car goes anywhere important with us! Zach has racked up quite the mileage on it's pedometer!
Again, Below this post are several video's of our adventures today.
Thanks for visiting our blog!!

Here is another shot of the Z-Man in his new car:


and Zach has a need for speed!:


And Zach Gets His Dance on! Part 1 and 2:

We bought Zach a new chair for sitting in the living room. Apparently he really likes it!

Zach was only able to get a power nap yesterday before we were rushing him all over town for his Dr visit. He cried for 30 minute over being woken up after just laying down. Then Zach gained the energy reminiscent of my childhood hamster running on his wheel- boundless energy until he crashed later in his red chair. Luckily my camera phone captured several of his exuberant outbursts.

This is the very moment Zach broke the sound barrier (with a shrill) in the Dr. office waiting room.
His Daddy responded by saying, "Zach, zip it". And, Zach responded by Zipping his lips! Despite the blurry photo, Mommy is very pleased to have this one on film!

Now in the patient room, waiting for the Dr. Zach finds the star glasses his Cousins Caroline & Maggie gave to him.
Finally home, crashing in front of the tv (watching "Fresh Beats") I noticed he was finally relaxed and looking sleepy. so, I asked him--- "Zach, do you like your new red chair?" he slowly looks at me and responds, "Yes, I do" OMG! He totally responded to me for the fist time with a "sentence"...wondering if I misunderstood, or was I the one in a dream state??? Matt came into the room and I explained what I swear just took place. We conjured up to trick him into doing it again, but only until I had my video camera ready. We will post the proof later!
It is amazing that after a very eventful, exhausting day for all of us, two little words from our beautiful son can light up our hearts & help us feel like we must be doing something right!

The Z-Man is mobile. He got a toy car from some friends of Nonie and BopBop. See the videos below for this first drives!

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:

Kiddie Pool Time With the Z-Man!

Part 1:


Part 2:


And Then, in his revelry, he falls and cannot get up!:

Two new videos of Zach trying out his new ride-on fire truck. With a special appearance by Nonie.

Yesterday evening, during pre-bedtime reading time, Matt led Zach through a recitation of the entire alphabet-all 26 letters! We only got the tail end of it on video, but it was quite a moment.

Zach and Julia met our friend Monica at the mall play area. See the results below:

New Video of the Z-Man at Starbucks!



New video of the Z-Man from Rabbit Hill Park!

The latest installment of the further adventures of Zachary:

I have been very busy addressing our adoption announcement envelopes and we are pleased to say most of them have made it to our local post office! Hopefully you have already received your envelope but for those that have not you may consider this post somewhat of a "spoiler".

With out further adieu, we are proud to post our Adoption Announcement!
Before posting the above picture we did some rather rudimentary editing & removed personal information. Our good friend Deanna, at The Baby Gardner (thebabygardner.com), created a one of a kind announcement per our request. She took our ideas and created a design we will always cherish!

Our Son...Zach's grandfather, Bop-Bop took this picture on the famed Red Couch at The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China. It is a tradition for adoptive families to take a picture of their child sitting on the red couch (at the White Swan) for good luck. We have seen other families take this picture as a group photo with all the children adopted from their child's orphanage. However, we were the only family adopting from Zach's orphanage. And, surprisingly we only saw about 5 other families in Guangzhou (all in various adoption phases) staying at the White Swan. We took many photos on the red couch, but this one is our favorite.

Matt & I wanted to find the perfect stamp to mail out our announcements with. We visited the usps.com website to search for something that would suit our occasion. We never imagined we would find the PERFECT stamp!! I admit I have only visited the website for vacation mail stop! However, I was very impressed with all the different stamps available for purchase! We were jumping for joy when we came across the Commemorative "Celebrating Lunar New Year" Year of the Rabbit stamp! We wasted no time in making the purchase! And, it was issued in our neck of the woods- Morrow, GA! As some of you know, our little family of three was created in The Year of The Rabbit!

Here's a little more information regarding the stamp...
"Issue Type: First-Class Forever Commemorative
Issue City: Morrow, GA 30260
Issue Date: January 22, 2011
Issue Series: Celebrating Lunar New Year
Year of the Rabbit (Forever)
Browse The Postal Store’s Complete Celebrating Lunar New Year Collection This is the Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit souvenir sheet commemorative stamps.

On January 22, 2011, in Morrow, Georgia, the Postal Service™ issued a Lunar New Year: Year of the Rabbit Forever® commemorative stamp (44-cent), in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) souvenir sheet. The stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland.

The U.S. Postal Service® introduced its Celebrating Lunar New Year series in 2008. This is the fourth stamp in that series, which will continue through 2019 with stamps for the Year of the Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar.

Art Director Ethel Kessler, and Artist Kam Mak, who grew up in New York City's Chinatown and now lives in Brooklyn, worked on the new series. The artwork focuses on some of the common ways the Lunar New Year Holiday is celebrated. For the Year of the Rabbit, which begins February 3, 2011, the art depicts kumquats, which are eaten for luck and given as special gifts. The illustration was originally created using oil paints on panel. Kessler's design also incorporates elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps, using Clarence Lee's intricate paper-cut design of a rabbit and the Chinese character — drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun — for "Rabbit." "

Now that we have been home for a little over two weeks we are starting to settle into life together. Zach has a few more favorite foods: Mango, Chicken Soup & Vienna Sausages. He has learned some new sign language: Mommy, Daddy, Dog, All Done, Stop, More, Play & Duckie. Zach has learned a lot more words in English: Shoes, Window, Woodpecker, Get-it, Boy, Sierra, Nacho, Penny, Bingo, Book, etc. He continues to surprise us every day! I swear every morning he looks like he grew over night.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our trip to China.
In the below picture we are waiting for our consulate appointment. We are standing in the lobby in front of the American Consulate sign.
Zach on the bus ride back to our hotel after the American Adoption.

One of our favorite shops in Guangshou was "Susan's Place". The owners were very friendly and they served us tea several times! In these two pictures Zach is playing with the toys set up to distract children while their parents spend all their money. Zach was very content!

We learned very quickly that our son loves music! Here he is making music out of air

And, it's just how the saying goes, "Like Father, Like Son"

The Fresh Beat Band

Zachary does not sit still long enough to watch television. So, when I noticed that he paused during play to turn and view the tv I quickly started recording! And, we now have the show on our TIVO schedule.

The "Fresh Beat Band" has become a nightly ritual for Zach and hid Daddy! While I cook dinner Zach sits in Matts lap and the two of them watch the show! It started as a distraction for Zach but has quickly become a bonding time for them. Last night the show was on TV & Matt was doing something in another room. Zach ran to his Daddy and attempted to get his attention to get him into the TV room to watch the show with him! It was adorable!!

We have had another fabulous week with our son! He is such a happy & sweet little boy! Up until Thursday Zachary would only hand blow kisses to Mommy & Daddy but before dinner he kissed Mommy & then Daddy on the lips! It was a joyful moment for all of us! A moment I will always cherish!! As Zach becomes more comfortable he is allowing us to hold him longer spans of time. And, the last few days he has stopped crying when being put down in his crib for sleep time! Hopefully that will last longer than a few days! :)

This past Thursday Zachary and I went on a road trip to visit Poppi (Matt's Father). Poppi took us to one of his local parks. Zachary continues to love the slide and swing on the playground.




This playground had an odd swing. I suspect it is either a group swing or possibily a handicap swing for wheel chairs. Either way, Zach enjoyed the extra space!




Last evening, as I planted some plants in our backyard, Matt and Zach played with a rubber ball. It warmed my heart to watch the two of them kicking, chasing, laughing and at times Zach screeched from happiness! He got so loud at one point that one of our neighbors heard all their commotion and came out to see what was going on-- I'm sure he had never heard such noises coming from our back yard before! :)

Early this morning we took Zach to his first Pediatrician visit. And, he got glowing reviews from his doctor.

Being a scrapbooker, I didn't want to miss the photo opportunity. Except I failed to bring a camera with me. Thank goodness for camera phones! The pictures may not be perfect, but the moments were captured!

While waiting, Zach sat in my lap waiting on his name to be called. He was very shy at first. It was right after this picture that I looked down and realized I had my shirt on inside out! It was a funny moment between the two of us because Matt is known to do have done the same thing several times and now he had the opportunity to say "you do it too!". After a quick change in the restroom all was back to "normal".

Zach quickly moved to his own chair between Mommy & Daddy. And, he requested help sliding off and back on his chair. Thank goodness, our names were called soon after :)

After his weigh in (no change in weight from China)and all his measurements were taken (he grew 1.5 inches taller!)Zach asked for his shoes. He does not like to walk around barefoot- especially on cold tile (or any other time for that matter).


Also, I wanted to post a picture of my very first Mother's Day with Zach! It was a beautiful day shared with family and our beautiful, happy son!
Mothers Day picture

Hello friends & family!

We have had a very busy first week at home. I am happy to report that all our laundry has been washed and put away. Slowly we are accomplishing our ever growing long "to do" list during Zach's very short 1.5-2 hours afternoon nap. Often I find myself around his nap time thinking to myself- hmm..."to do" list or a nap for myslef?! Unfortunately a nap wins the majority of the time. Possibly I am still feeling the effects of motherhood (and,I gladly accept).

Here are a few pictures of Zachary's first week home. Our professional photographer (Glen) is no longer around every day so forgive most of the "snap shot" photos):
Sierra wants Zach to share his bottle

Play time in Zach's room

Zach's visit to his cousins

Zach's adventures from yesterday (Sunday):

Here is a video of Zach's activities from yesterday (Saturday). We will have another one for today's activiies tomorrow. Enjoy

Hello from GA! :)) It was a very long, exhausting way by multiple modes of transportation--airplane, train, bus, taxis & automobile that got us home safely.This is Julia and I'm writing from the comfort of my air conditioned home office during Zachary's nap time. We had an amazing trip but we are so happy to be home!!

These last few days Zach has been a very busy little boy! The very first day home we loaded up our SUV (after 20 irritating minutes with the car seat---thank goodness for a calm sister sitting at her computer able to google "trouble shooting" help regarding our car seat)and headed to our local mall to buy Zach proper Stride-rite shoes. He LOVES his new shoes! He would probably wear them to bed if we let him! His foot measured in at 5.5 itty bitty teeny weeny bitty baby inches.


His grand father, Poppi has visited several times & has taken him to our neighborhood park. Zach loved the slide


This morning Zach woke up to have breakfast with his new friend our deck squirrel!

Zach LOVES noodles! So far it appears to be his favorite food! Now, not every noodle will do! He very much dislikes the macaroni noodle. But, adores a thick & long "Japanese Noodle". We found something similar to what he was eating in China. However, it is not quite right. But, he enjoyed his first taste of the American Japanese Noodle for lunch today. Apparently the minor differences didn't discourage him from devouring as much as his belly could hold.

Again, we would like to thank everyone for following our blog! Now that we are home, we are able to catch up on all your comments!

Thank you to my sister Camille for helping us communicate via this blog! As most of you know, we were unable to reach blogger in China. Creating a work around we emailed Camille our blog posts & picture links and she posted all our messages for us. With out her help we would have had a very silent blog. And, after years of "advertising" our blog to family & friends we would have been very sad not to be able to share our trip with everyone back home!

Thank you to Connie, my Bestie, for house & dog sitting for 21 days! We came back to a very clean home with happy Chihuahua's waiting for us! We knew she was taking great care of our fur babies which allowed us to relax & enjoy our first weeks with our son.

Thank you for my Father-in-law for taking us to the Atlanta airport and back! We were over joyed to see his smiling face (along with my sister and her beautiful family) waiting for us in the airport! We wanted to kiss the filthy ground but we restrained ourselves.

Thank you to my parents, Glen & Lynda, for all your help and support in China! We certainly could not have traveled as easily with out you! And, we appreciated your presence, more than you may ever know! And, to my Father for all the beautiful pictures you took during our trip! We surely are blessed to have our own personal photographer capturing every special moment! We will always cherish our memories of you on this very momentous trip!

We hope you will continue to follow our blog! We have every intention to maintain and post as often as possible! Some time soon we will post a few more of our favorite pictures from China!We have quite a few to chose from ;))

A few more random ((adorable)) pictures...