New Friends and More on the Go

Hi Everyone,

I'll do my best to start off where we left off the last time-- which shouldn't be too hard. As I recall from last time Josie was running around-- very much on The GO! Nothing has changed there LOL.

The biggest news we have since the last post is that Josie got to meet her newest friend, Callie, recently home from China. We were lucky to spend a few hours playing with Callie at her house earlier this month. We also shared some yummy snacks, which Josie Dong Dong refers to as 'Snnaaah.'

"Mmmm, look at all those SNACKS!"

"Callie, the bestest English word to learn is 'Snnaaah' for yummy things to eat."

"Mommy! I Love You! Pick me up and let's have some -- what Josie said."

We had a lovely time visiting with Callie and her mommy. We can't wait to see them again and have more fun times together.

Josie has also been very busy at Day Care, which Wim has started calling, Baby School. Now we all call it baby school and Josie Dong Dong absolutely loves it! Here she is running around the living room with her space hat on. Just one of the many crafts she has made at Baby School.

"I'm an astronaut! To the Moon and Beyond!"

A bouncy house came to Josie's day care and she got to have some fun bouncing around. She wasn't too sure about this new adventure.

Josie did have a blast with the crazy hair day at Baby School. One of her teachers did her hair up in a whole bunch of pony tails.

Josie also really enjoys Water Table Fun-- pretty much anything involving water is a big hit!
It doesn't really seem to matter what is going on at Baby School, Josie Dong Dong has a great time laughing-it-up with the other toddlers and her teachers.
All of the pictures from Baby School are courtesy of Josie's teacher-- emailing pictures to the parents is a little extra thing this teacher likes to do.

For the most part, we pretty much do the same stuff-- but it is always a little different because Josie Dong Dong always wants to put a comedy spin on whatever we're doing. She still loves shoes and to play with my shoes, Wim's shoes, Gabrielle's Shoes, and Xavier's shoes. I'll have to get some more picts of her in everyone's shoes. Not only does she put them on, but now she is walking in them . . .

"Oh Boy! Mommy's brown shoes! I'm putting them on!"

"Nothing like strutting around in Mommy's brown shoes with a good thumb."Josie is just as happy to walk around the house in my Keen sandals-- pretty much any shoes bigger than her own.

"I should wear these shoes to Baby School!"

She is definitely a proud little girl-- and she should be. To think that it was only a few short months ago that she wasn't hardly walking at all-- now she is walking like a pro-- and wearing big shoes too!

Josie also enjoys getting into other's people stuff-- mostly mine! Here she is pulling out all kinds of stuff from our closet. Stuff I didn't even know was there!

"Wow! Look at all this STUFF I found!"

Josie is still ready with the silly faces . . .

"Can you guess what is in mouth? Wanna See?"

"What's so funny? I'm not doing anything unusual."

More pictures of Josie at her and Mommy's favorite park. Josie is starting to move on from the thrill of the stairs-- she still wants to do them, but she also plays on other things as well.

Today at the park she had a blast playing on the car. She was pretty insistent that I also sit in the car with her and both acted like we were driving. She especially likes it when I make a beeping sound for the horn.

"I'm driving just like Mommy."

Oh NO! Not another Back Seat Driver!

After playing on the car for a while, Josie decided to check out the Choo-Choo train. I think she was tired of driving-- she seemed to like the caboose the most.

"All Aboard!"

"Tickets Please."

Summer is quickly coming to an end here in Rhode Island. Summer always goes by quickly, but even more so here in New England. We can feel the change in the air-- especially at night and in the morning.

It is hard for us to believe, but it has been 5 months since we first held Josie Dong Dong in our arms. In one thought we can't believe that much time has gone by. In another thought it's like it happened yesterday. Wim and I have completed the first of two post placement adoption reports that will be sent on to China. They like to hear how everyone is doing. We visited with our Social worker a few weeks ago and I mailed the final report and a few pictures off to our adoption agency today.

With the end of summer comes fall-- and all the fun that fall and the holiday season has to offer. We are all looking forward to experiencing this time with Josie and she is looking forward to all the fun that awaits her-- this upcoming year and many more years to follow.