Happy Halloween!

Cute as a bug! A ladybug in fact. Katie celebrated her first Halloween tonight dressed up as a ladybug. She enjoyed visiting half the neighborhood trick or treating in the wagon. Alex and friends Eve and Sydney ran to the doors while Katie sat back and let the candy come to her.

The only thing cuter than a bug and is two bugs! Katie's costume was a ladybug (the symbol of little girls adopted from China...this was planned for awhile and isn't too unique in the Chinese adoption community). Big brother Alex was a scary green bug.

Katie meets goat. Katie has taken an interest in animals similar to Alex's love of things with four or more feet. This picture was taken last month during a visit to the St. Louis Zoo children's zoo. We are still zoo members and visit every few weeks.

Katie, nanny Denise and Alex playing dress up.

Team Alex at the 1st Annual St. Louis Walk for Food Allergy. Alex raised $1,000 for food allergy research. (He has life-threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.) Katie and family and friends all turned out to support Alex's efforts. (Alex is front and center with the red "arms" and Katie is in the last stroller on the right in the second row.)

We had our first family of four vacation to Wisconsin in September. We were so happy to be able to spend an evening with the Kinnamon family who traveled to China with us. In this picture is Carly Kinnamon and Katie. These two girls spent their first 9 months in Suichuan together. Their cribs were next to each other there. It is amazing how far these two little girls have come since I first met them both on February 19!

Alex, Dad and Katie at Wollersheim Winery in Wisconsin.

Brad & Alex, Katie & Lori, Christy & Carley, Scott & Caity Kinnamon. While you can't see Caity very well here, she is also adopted from China. For those that remember the trip, Scott & Christy were our experienced family in the group. They'd done the China adoption thing before. We had a wonderful visit with them in September and hope for many more to come. These girls have a unique bond.

We had some photos taken recently, and this is one of our favorites of Katie. Okay, it was the only one of Katie, but it is still a favorite. It reminds me of her referral picture. I used to look at her perfect little heart-shaped mouth and dream of having her in my arms. I think this is the first time I've seen that mouth perfectly still since the day she came into my arms! Let's just say that Katie is at that age where getting her picture taken isn't her most favorite thing.

Our family. I'm learning quickly what a challenge it is to get two young children to both look at the camera and smile at the same time. Any time it actually happens, it is a fluke! Note Katie's thumb sucking here...a sign of her comfort in front of the camera that day!

Katie is now 17 months old, running and climbing everywhere. Brad and I can't really remember Alex at this stage, but I'm guessing I might have blocked out the memory. :-) You literally can't turn your back on her in a second, because she will push a kitchen chair across the room and be on the counter, in the sink, etc. This is my child who will climb out of her crib any day now, even though she is not even 30 inches tall yet!

She continues to just do great. Amazingly enough, her doctor proclaimed her ahead of the pack in terms of motor skills. Just six months ago, she was so far behind. I believe Alex has a lot of influence on that. Katie's major life goal is to do exactly what Alex is doing at the moment. So she pushes her limits a bit. It's good for her.

She is learning how to feed herself with a spoon and continues to be a enthusiastic eater. She's now mastered the art of eating out of a plastic zip-lock bag, which is the key to our snack behavior in our family. Now we'll be driving along with both kids munching on a bag of apples, or pretzels...her favorite!

Katie is over 20 lbs. now, and has been for over a month. That was a major milestone because it let her turn to face forward in the car seat. She can now watch DVD's with Alex instead of just listen to them. Katie really still doesn't have much interest in TV and we certainly don't push it. I think Alex was pretty into Sesame Street by now, but Katie is more of a music kid. She loves to twirl and dance around.

Much to my enjoyment, her hair is almost long enough to completely fit into 2 pig tails! I put her hair up every morning during breakfast, and it is great fun for me. I always hoped to have a daughter as well as a son, and I do enjoy the 'girly' aspects of life with Katie. We're working on shopping, too. She has a definite opinion about shoes, so she shows promise.

Well, it is officially not Halloween any more if that gives you any idea what time of night I'm doing this. Blogger was giving me problems for awhile, so I hadn't gotten on to update this site. I had meant to do this earlier tonight, but of course life happened in between. So at 12:30 am I sit here typing, thinking about how many nights I did the same in China in a dark hotel room while mom and Katie snoozed near me. I would stare at Katie in her crib back then and not know exactly what the future would hold. I have now known Katie for 8 months and 11 days. I love her as much as any one could love a child, that aching love that knows no end that is tinged with fear of harm happening to your child. I look at Katie and see Katie, not Chinese Katie, not American Katie, just Katie. My daughter. Love is a tremendous thing. Occasionally, I wonder what would have been had we not gone to China. But this was God's plan for us. Katie and I. And Brad and Alex and everyone in our lives. I still don't quite understand exactly why everything happened as it did, but I now realize that not everyone can take in a child that does not share their biology. It puzzles me to know this, because it is unimaginable to me. How could anyone not love a child that is placed in their arms forever? I have had the unique experience of having one child that grew under my heart and one that grew in it.

There is no difference.