Sweet November

Happy Crazy Season! We made it through Thanksgiving with flying colors. But let's back up and pause for a moment to acknowledge Wendy's big 40th birthday! It came and went on November 16th with lots of laughter, food, fun, friends and tears. The best part was having college friend Susan from Spokane for the weekend. More on that in another entry.

Here's a small gathering of friends and family at Salty's seafood restaurant. Susan, Chris and Shawna, and Grammy and Grandpa joined us for a nice dinner. Sydney probably ate about 10 packets of oyster crackers. The most exciting part of the evening was witnessing a man going into seizures and collapsing at a table near us. Luckily a nurse was there and the ambulance came within minutes.



The birthday bash continued the next day with some friends over for a Wii bit of Fun!

Here's Karla and Denise slugging it out in Wii Boxing.



Sydney loves to play with the Wii remotes!



And here she is playing Guitar Hero.



Now on to Thanksgiving, part One. We spent a nice evening at our friends Chris and Shawna's on Thursday.



Sydney liked just about everything on her plate - especially the turkey and the mashed potatoes.



Sydney liked Chris's son Corey.



Shawna's grandma Edna has a walker that Sydney discovered. Can you see it now - future Olympic gymnast?



Part Two of Thanksgiving was a full turkey dinner prepared by Brian for a small gathering of family and friends.

Sydney enjoyed her first sparking grape juice, her own bowl of ice cream, and piggyback rides on Barbaros and BJ.





All in all, a lot of food, fun, friends and family. What more could one want during the holidays?
Sydney says "Gobble, gobble!"

Fu Sisters Reunite

Last week we got together with two of the families that went to China with us. We met at a Chinese restaurant where the girls and parents had a great time catching up and comparing little girl stories.

Sydney spotted her Fu Sisters instantly and ran to the table. It was quite touching.



Here Sydney is trying to help Zanna with her high chair safety clips while Maya hams it up for the camera.



We attempted a photo op of the three girls against the wall outside...



And even got Sydney and Zanna to hold hands briefly.



Fu Babas...



And Fu Mamas.



It was heartwarming to see how the girls have grown both physically and emotionally. They are three of the happiest girls you could ever hope to see. We are all blessed!

Sydney Livin' Large

I just couldn't resist posting these pictures. While random, they still convey the happiness, humor, wonder and love that Sydney has brought to our lives.

This was on our way home from the pumpkin patch.



I found her like this one morning! She loves giving her animals a squeeze.



The afghan was a gift from Arlene, a friend in Payson, AZ. Sydney likes wrapping herself up in it and looking through the holes.



Sydney loves playing with Grandpa Jim.



Here's an old hat and mittens she found and still loves.



Our big girl putting on her own shoes.



Sydney getting into the kitchen drawer.



Playing with Baba and the Wii.



Sydney and her Bullseye from Disneyland. Love is all that matters, after all.

Tricks and Treats

Here's how Halloween went at Sydney's house!

Sydney helped Brian carve up a pumpkin. She didn't hesitate to dig right in and get pumpkin guts in her hands.






Although we didn't dress her up, Sydney enjoyed running to the door to greet the trick-or-treaters and say hi to people.



Ellie has several years of experience answering the door on Halloween.




She also helped tally the number of kids that visited, which we do every year. This year we had over 260!



And here's Sydney passing the time with Grandpa while waiting for the next group of kids!