Countdown to Terrible Twos

Please don't lick the dog.

So Sydney is less than a month away from being 24 months.  Two years old, to the layman.  Brian thinks he will now refer to Sydney's age in months only from now on, just to confuse people.  So when she's like 156 months old, she won't be a teenager to him or something.

Just look at those mad chopstick skills!

Anyway, Sydney has exhibited signs of the so-called terrible twos a bit early.  We believe her to be advanced, gifted if you will.  She now says "no" (pretty cutely, so far) as well as shaking her head.  When she is done eating, she will drop what's left of her food onto the floor.  She likes to remove as much clothing as possible.  The other day she took off her poopy diaper too and left it on the couch while Brian was cooking dinner.  All of a sudden she appeared in the kitchen in her birthday suit (hey, we said she was gifted; it wasn't even her birthday yet) and he smelled that smell.  Aaagghh!

We hope this is just the sign that she is getting ready to be potty trained.  All right, not so terrible, I suppose.  YET!

Finally, Ellie must have been in a tolerant mood today.

Happy Fu Year

That was then....

This is now! (Okay, so we messed up the seating order.  So sue me!)

We reached a big milestone this past Thursday, Jan. 3rd - the anniversary of Gotcha Day! Sydney has now had us as parents for a full year, which is more than half her little life.  Lucky us!

We celebrated with our local Fu travel sisters by meeting at a Chinese restaurant (too obvious a choice, Brian says).  Nonetheless, the girls were all happy to see each other again and could hardly wait to finish dinner so they could get out of their high chairs and play.

Here's Sydney and Natalie, starting up the Ring-Around-the-Rosy with Inge.

Soon all four girls - Sydney, Zanna, Natalie and Maya - were dancing around the tables.

We even got Jojo, our ASIA adoption agency rep, to meet us there.  That's her on the right.  We were the first travel group she got to accompany.

 

Today (January 11th) we celebrate Sydney's arrival into the United States, as she became a US citizen!  She will most likely take her clothes off, as that is her favorite pastime now.  Freedom, baby, yeah!

Last Day in AZ - Dec. '07

We spent our last day visiting with friends.  Here we are in Glendale, AZ, near the AZ Cardinals football stadium.  Sydney loved the fountain.

Maddie and Sydney rode the statues.

No, the mother ship didn't land here.  It's the new AZ Cardinals stadium.

Some crazy people (not us) built the grass field outside the indoor stadium.  So they have to move it in every time they want to play.  Pretty cool!  

Sydney finally got to meet some dear family friends that go back 25+ years.  Here she is with Jackie...

And Keith Menasco.

And finally, we had a visit from Sue Kendrick and her daughter Rachael, who we hadn't seen since 1995!  Sydney had already gone to bed when we took this picture but she did get to meet them.  Her stocking is standing in for her.

Downtime in Payson - Dec.'07

With all the holiday rush and chaos, it is nice to sit back and enjoy some downtime.  Here are a few activities one can do if one is a small person.

Get your uncle to make a train out of cardboard boxes and then pull you around the house (until Grandpa makes you stop because you are scratching up the floor).

Grab some chair cushions and play jumping monkeys.  This works on couches, beds, or wherever you can stand and bounce around.

Jump on your uncle.  But try not to hurt your cousin!

Get your dad to play slinky with your new tunnel.

Don't forget to stop for chocolate pudding!

Christmas in Arizona, part 2 - Dec. '07

Yippee!  More Christmas to celebrate.  Sydney and Maddie dressed alike and played Santa's elves, passing out the presents to everyone.  They hardly stopped to open their own.

Here, the girls are pausing to sit with Uncle Mike. Sydney wore the jacket for a long time until she finally got too hot to keep it on.  

Sydney and Maddie both got a tunnel from Grandpa and Grandma, from IKEA!  They loved it!

Let's get moving!  Uncle Mike and Auntie Desiree take the girls for a walk around the neighborhood.

Cheers!  Sydney and Maddie did "cheers" with almost everything, from their sippy cups to the Wii remotes.

One happy Wii family...Grandpa Joe especially liked Tennis.  ("One more?")

Christmas in Arizona, part 1 - Dec. '07

What's a holiday without a delayed flight? Here Sydney poses with a hat borrowed from some friends she made at our gate.



The girls provide some nice entertainment.



We made it! The flight was uneventful and Sydney flew like a pro. It was her third trip, after all.

We like holding hands with Grandma Joe and cousin Maddie.



Maddie and Sydney in a calmer state...



And jumping on the bed, like monkeys, of course.



Sydney and Grandpa Joe.



Let's try to settle down with a bath!



The girls helping Grandpa with his ukulele.