pictures from Gotcha Day anniversary

Gotcha Day

We started off the morning by having Xing tell me what day it was and I taped her.  Then we got ready to go meet BaBa for lunch.  She wore the adorable dress that my niece April made for her.  It is sooo cute on her.  We went to "Xing Xing's office" aka Bill's office to pick him up for lunch.  She takes over his office when she's there.  We ate lunch at the Embers restaurant which is at the hotel we stayed at for the job interview.  Everyone remembered us.  We gave her Kai-lan gifts which she loved of course.  Then we came home and she napped.  Later, we picked up Bill and went to the local chinese restaurant.  They love her there, especially the cook.  When we walk in, he always says "noodles" b/c that's what she always gets.  Well, tonight we just got appetizers b/c we had a big lunch.  She brought Kai-lan(s) with us and they napped on the table while we ate.  We gave her a book about adoption (Motherbridge of Love), a mother/daughter necklace, tea pot (she has tea parties with Bill), learn chinese dvds/cd and a tshirt that says Laibin girl which is what we call her...Laibin City Girl.  I also gave her a chinese dress which i plan to do every year until she's 12.  (I actually forgot a few years, so Christi picked me up some when she was in China...does this one look familiar Chris?)  We had a plate  made with things she likes handpainted on it.  I also got her lifebook finished!  We had friends/family send a note saying what she means to them now that she's here and I'm making a scrapbook.  Nai Nai sent her a watch and Lao Lao got her a Kai-lan pocketbook.  We came home and watched Gotcha Day video and then had cake.  We had a very nice day.  We're so glad she's home with us.

I'm having difficulty uploading pictures.  So they'll be posted soon.

Gotcha Day Anniversary is tomorrow

Tomorrow is our first Gotcha Day anniversary.  I'm doing some reflecting today.  This time last year, Bill, Dorothy and I were anxiously awaiting the coming day.  We were so excited.  There are some things I would have done differently. 1. Found a way to get the money to see the Great Wall in Beijing.  2. Buy her things from her birth city. 3.  Not listen to people when they told me not to use Xing as as 1st middle name because it began with X.  Actually, I wish we had just kept Xing (Aixing) as her first name and named her Aixing (Xing) Coral Schmidt even if it doesn't have a good flow.  But like my friend says, she doesn't go by her first name only her middle name.  4. Used Skype to call family/friends so they could talk to her right away...however I never heard of skype until recently.  5.  Not continue potty training her while were in China. 

6. Of course, I wish my mom could have gone with us.

Things I would not have done differently or things I'm thankful for:  1. Going to visit Tokyo because it was an Awesome pretrip.  2.  We are thankful that Bill's mom got to go with us to see her granddaughter. It was a great bonding time.  3.  We're glad we had such a good guide Ming Ming because we couldn't have made it without her.  4. Thankful XingXing is so healthy andthat she's where she is supposed to be developmentally.  5.  Thankful for all of our family and friends for all their love and support.  6.  Glad we call her XingXing Schmidt because it sounds like a star's name!

Pictures of Gotcha Day anniversary tomorrow.  We plan on visiting Bill at work and then going to eat tomorrow night and celebrating!

Zoo

Yesterday we went to the zoo with our red thread group.  It was nice to see people we knew and to meet new people.  XingXing really enjoyed playing with the girls.  Her main goal was to: see monkeys & giraffes and ride an elephant.  Well, she got to see monkeys. She also rode a baby giraffe!  Just kidding, it was a statue.   This zoo is a really neat place.  It also has rides and a conservatory plus butterflies exhibit.  She was right below the line for the 36" inch rides, so they let her on.  She is a daredevil.  You will notice there were two boys on the frog hopper. One of the boys decided he wanted off the ride.  She liked riding the choo choo train and driving the fire engine.

Ladybugs and Sharks and Father's day

We recently stopped traffic on Main street here in Luck.  We went to the library for playgroup and it had been raining.  Coral wanted to wear her ladybug slicker with umbrella.  Unfortunately, her ladybug boots are a little big and hard for her to walk in.  People were stopping and saying how cute she looked.  Later, we went to the library for a fish display.  She touched a shark.  Of course, she was appropriately dressed in her mermaid outfit. On Father's day, Bill got a set of clubs, and a coffee mug.  We took him to eat at the Chinese restaurant.  He had a very nice day.

Graduations!

We've been very busy for the last two weekends.  Two of our nieces, Rachel and Cherlynn have graduated from high school.  Rachel was salutatorian and Cherlynn graduated with honors. Cherlynn's school doesn't do valedictorian/salutatorian.  It's hard to believe they have graduated. They are both beautiful and smart girls. It seems like yesterday that Rach and Amy were singing "Uncle Bill & Miss Moneymaker sitting in a tree..."  Coral had fun playing with the "girls" which is what she calls them.  It was fun to get to see all of the Schmidt family.  Did I mention it was 40 degrees when we went to Rachel's party?  Amy will be a sophomore and Christina is attending college in Minnesota.  We got to reminince with Nai Nai about our trip to China.  Tuesday is our one year anniversary of Gotcha Day, so be sure to check the blog next week.    Coral really enjoys playing with her cousin Charlie and helping take care of the new baby.  Here are few pics and I will post more later.    After Rachel's party we went to Jane's hotel and swam in the pool with her and Steven. For Cherlynn's weekend we stayed with Rob & Stacy.  We got to see Charlie practice t-ball.  Mary had a wonderful brunch for us on Sunday and even a little cake for my birthday.

Coral LOVES the cheese that Bill's work passed out at his annual meeting.  She wanted the whole thing!