Photos!!

Princess Kavanna at a princess birthday party!!

She doesn't really know the story of Cinderella... she wanted to go as Cinderella for Halloween because she liked the dress!


At Kavanna's third birthday party...

Princess Cake for the birthday princess!

Birthday Girl Kavanna at her party! Wheeeeeee!

Daddy, Kavanna and Mommy (Ariel took the photo)

"Look, I can do the splits!"

For some reason, pumpkin patches brought out the exhibitionist in Kavanna.

Face painting at the Halloween Festival (she's a flower).

Kavanna is three years old!! She's a feisty, smart (really, really, smart... scary smart!), affectionate, loving little girl with a ready laugh, who loves to play with her friends, to read (especially the newly discovered Mo Willems books), and to dress up. Her favorite color is pink, pink and more pink! She has a huge crush on Ariel's boyfriend, Nick, whose only competition is Diego from the Nickelodeon TV show. She recently informed us, "I'm crushing on Diego."

Our family is complete and we are having so much fun together!!

Now... and then.

Kavanna always has a smile on her face... She's excited about Halloween this year, and this is her "Princess Dress" as she calls it (also known as a Cinderella costume).

Two years ago today, we saw Kavanna's smiling face for the first time. As David put it, she's been like a shot of pure love into our family.

Where did the last 3 1/2 months go???

I recently was reminded (thanks, Alyson!!) that I'm behind on my posting... so here are a few photos from the past few months. I'll try to be better at posting... and at actually logging onto Facebook... and looking at other people's blogs.

Some cute things Kavanna has said:

When I told her she was cute, she said, "No cute, mama. Beautiful!!"

Her song lyrics: "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the street..."

Every third sentence is, "My do it! My do it!"

She told Ariel, referring to me, "No Ariel's mother. My mother!"

When Ariel said, "If mommy is not my mother, then where is my mother?"

Kavanna thought for a moment and then said, "China!"

Ariel said, "Are we sisters?"

"No," replied Kavanna.

Ariel persisted. "We're not? We're not sisters?"

"No, said Kavanna. "Princesses."

And there you have it.

Ariel is doing really well. She switched into a new school that is much smaller than her previous one, with an art emphasis, and is thriving. She has a whole new group of friends and her grades are awesome (straight As, yeah!!).

Grandma Lori moves in with us on Friday. We're excited!

Playing with friends...

Seeing art at the Museum of Modern Art

Art is in the eye of the beholder...

Nina and Ariel on Mother's Day

Kavanna and Nina on Mother's Day

Kavanna and Grandma Lori (no, she's not going into the ring for a fight; this was taken right after K's bath...)

What does a nice Jewish Chinese girl do on Easter? Hunt for eggs, of course!

Resting after the Great Egg Hung

Our friend Gregg at Passover...

Year of the Tiger!

All ready for Chinese New Year.

Di & Dave and their daughter Sophie

A pensive moment. What is Kavanna thinking? (Mommy is thinking, "Kavanna is soooo cute!", and more on this in a moment...)

Okay, here's the cute Kavanna story: We're on our way to the FCC Event and I said, "Kavanna, you look so cute!"

She said, "No, cute. No cute, Mama. Beautiful."

Is that the cutest... er, most beautiful... story ever, or what?

Happy 2010!!

Kavanna's readoption ceremony was last week. Here we are with the judge, who completely freaked out Kavanna for some reason, even though he was really nice and even gave her a teddy bear!

As to the new year: Shouldn't we all be driving around in cars that fly? Or wearing jet packs? When I think "2010" I think futuristic. Is it just me?

Happy Holidays!!

I love my two beautiful girls!

Happy Hannukah!

Dinner with our friends Marty & Elisabeth and their new baby... This photo is deceptive because Ariel is on a lower level of the house... she's actually now taller than I am!!

Whether you celebrate Chanukah/Hannukah, Christmas or Kwanza, have a wonderful holiday!!

Delighted!

Kavanna just LOVES to go on the swings at the park. We love her peals of delight!

Happy Birthday, Kavanna!!

Kavanna flashing our friend Di (Sophie's mom!!)

Kavanna is perpetually in motion!

Except for when I can scoop her up into my arms :)

Elmo is big at our house.

A megaphone also works as a hat!

Wheeeeeee, Kavanna loves the trampoline!

Congratulations, Di & Dave!

My dear friends Di & Dave finally got their referral for their beautiful daughter Sophie!  She is sooooooooo cute!!  If the link doesn't work, check her out at www.sophieonmymind.blogspot.com.  I'm so thrilled for Di and Dave, and for Sophie, who is lucky enough to go to such amazing, loving and wonderful parents.  

A trip to the zoo

Our first trip to the zoo together... The Guangzhou Zoo, about a year ago.

Our second trip to the zoo... This was Kavanna's favorite part - the train ride around the zoo!

Ariel got to feed a giraffe.  Giraffes have black tongues and are skittish.  And they love snacks!



A fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon...