A week's worth of photos...

I know, I know...you're on photo deprivation. Here's a peek at our life over the last week.

Here is Sophie hangin' with Grandma H. You can see that between EJ's toys stacked up on the toybox and Sophie's saucer, the back half of my family room is a lost cause at the moment:


Sophie was happy to play with Grandma!


Many of you asked what we bought in China, so here's a look at some of the treasures we found. Sophie came home with several pairs of squeaky shoes. I can't figure out why no one is selling these in the States--they're everywhere in China. Basically, the shoes squeak when the kid steps, an auditory version of the light-up shoes, I guess. Anyway, all-leather shoes for 25 yuan (about $3.50). Just for the record, I selected the pink ones with the bows and K selected the funky green ones!

These matching outfits for the girls were 35 yuan each ($4.50). I bought several dresses for EJ in hot pink, red, this blue one, and the custom-made one in gold and pink. For Sophie, I also bought all the sizes between 2 and 8! How could I pass them up for that price?!?!?!

And speaking of matching outfits, check out this Hugh Hefner-style jacket. We decided that we needed SOMETHING to wear to our agency's Chinese New Years Party next year. There are about 2,000 people at this party each year and it is so much fun! Anyway, we bought dresses for the girls and a matching blouse for me. But what to get for K? He checked out the plain black silk jackets, but the Chinese sizes were way too small (yes, even the 4XL!). So, they took his measurements and custom-made him one in less than 24 hours, for 280 yuan ($35). I know you're all waiting for the photos of K modeling the jacket, right?

We also bought chops for the girls. Chops are carved rubbed stamps mounted on a stone base. This is Sophie's...hers has a dog on top since she was born in the year of the dog. The stamp has her name in English and Chinese.

Sophie is from the Jiangxi province, which is known for its porcelain. This vase was given to us by the Civil Affairs office when the adoption became official. What a nice gift!

We also visited a porcelain shop in Nanchang. Porcelain made in Jiangxi is stamped with a distinctive stamp. We bought this small tea set there:

The Mattel Corporation gives all adopting families staying at the White Swan the Coming Home Barbie - a collectible model that can't be bought anywhere (except eBay, of course!). When we first checked in at the WS, they didn't have a crib in our room, so we had to request one. The next day, we came back to the room after morning errands to find our Coming Home Barbie in the crib!

We bought these embroidered tapestries to have framed. They are about 3 feet long and 1 foot wide:

We bought a lot of other things, many of them gifts (and even some Christmas gifts), so we can't ruin the surprises here. And I won't bore you with photos of all the jewelry (jade, pearls, turquoise, and cloissone)!

On Tuesday night, EJ and I had our first-ever piano recital. EJ started taking lessons in November. I took lessons for about 14 years when I was a kid, but my teacher never did a recital, and that didn't bother me at all! Well, if a student's parent plays the piano, they ask if the parent wants to play in the recital with their child. So, EJ wanted me to play with her. She did a fantastic job!!! And Miss Sophie was quite well-behaved through the performance! We played the Uptown Waltz. The woman on the left is Miss A, EJ's teacher.

And finally, here's how EJ spent her day today. She "hired" Grandma to bake some cookies, and then set up her very first lemonade stand this afternoon. She made about $7 and was quite thrilled with it. It helped that the teenage boys next door had lots of friends over!

Wonder what Grandma will be talked into tomorrow?