Tough Week!!

It was a VERY tough week with Mommy going back to work! Sara loves going to the sitter's house. She has a partner in crime that she can run around with all day. Mommy doesn't like the fact that she's not with Sara all the time.

This weekend was nice. We had lots of time together. Sara was VERY clingy! She threw up for the first time ever on Saturday night, but she didn't seem to feel sick at all and did not have a temperature. We are still trying to get her adjusted to one nap a day. She seems to adjust so well to everything. We are so lucky to have this precious gift!

Our busy little girl!!!

Sara went to the Doctor on Friday and had 6, yes 6, shots !!! Of course, she hated being restrained and I had to hold her while the shots were administered, but they didn't slow her down for a minute. She was her normal self the rest of the weekend. The Doctor said she is doing great, but she hasn't gained any weight since we were in Vietnam. She looks much bigger to us, though. The Doctor wasn't at all concerned, she could tell how active she was and said that was probably why she's not gaining weight even though she eats a TON!!!

Sara will start her regular day care this week since Mommy is going back to work full time. It's hard to believe it has been 12 weeks already! It's going to be a very tough week. She has basically been with her Mommy 24/7 for the past 12 weeks. Sara loves the sitter's house, but Mommy is VERY sad!!!

Here she is trying to feed herself yogurt!
Here's our future Doctor, just collecting a few samples.
Here she is at Grandma and Granpa's with a friend's grandson. They both liked "GAGA".
We are taking Sara to My Gym weekly. It's a class where she can play, sing songs, and tumble.

Citizenship!!

What a week it was! On Friday we received Sara's official certificate of citizenship! YEAH!!! We took our first car trip this weekend to Sue's parents' house in Toledo. Sara didn't like being in her car seat for such a long time, but she did great. She slept there more than she does at our house! Of course, she was into EVERYTHING at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but they really enjoyed showing her off!

The letter from George Bush:

Readoption!

Yesterday we had Sara's Ohio adoption! Now she is officially Sara Elizabeth Thao Macklis. Before her official name was still her Vietnamese name. We should be receiving her Birth Certificate shortly. What a great day it was!!!

The judge gives all adopted children one of these bunnies. They are actually made by 2 prison inmates as their community service.
A typical American kid!Sara still LOVES balloons!
SO HAPPY!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!! What a roller coaster 2007 was. We hope 2008 isn't quite as exciting for us as 2007. We are just looking forward to all the amazing things Sara will do in 2008 like talking! She already says a few words. All animals are GAGA, because her dog is Gigi. She also says the usual Mama, Dada, and I think now she's saying thank you.

Oh! This is the LIFE!!!!!!!

New Year's Eve. She even let our friends Hanh and John hold her!!

2 Months Ago Today

It's hard to believe we met Sara 2 months ago. In some ways it seems like we have known her forever and in some ways it seems like time has gone by so fast. Every second with her has been amazing. We can't get over how resilient she is and how well she has adjusted to her new life.

We left Sara alone for the first time! Her cousin Robbie (who she LOVES) did a great job! She didn't even miss us!
Sara still likes to eat! The new nipple on the bottle was not a big hit!
This nipple is much better. Sara can climb up the steps and go down the slide all by herself (of course she expects applause each time).
Her 2 new obsessions, dogs (well any animal really) and balloons!We went to the Zoo to see the incredible light display. I think she liked it.
Some friends came over with their daughter Marisa who is exactly the same age as Sara. It was really neat to see the girls play together. They had a good time and loved the new toaster Mommy got at Pottery Barn!!Her cousins can't get enough of her. Here she is with Alexandra (left) and Samantha (right)

Learning new things every day!

Each day is such a joy with our little girl. She has changed so much in the past 7 weeks since we have had her. She babbles A LOT and imitates everything we do. Not only has she mastered climbing up the stairs, but she now climbs down too! Gary went back to work on 12/18 which was very hard for him. He feels very lucky to have had 7 weeks with Sara (and Mommy).

Here's Sara at a visit to Great Grandma's house. Boy, did they enjoy her and she enjoyed entertaining them!!
Proud to be an American!!!
We took Sara to COSI (Center of Science and Industry)She really enjoyed playing in the water! Good thing they had raincoats. She still got soaked!!
Daddy's teaching me how to play the drums!!!
Sara had her 1st (American) haircut. She HATED it!!! (but she liked the suckers)