Why won't my children wear hats?

I have found that Anna is just like all the other Goza children, in that she refuses to wear hats as a baby.  It really got to me the other day, because it was really cold here (a rare thing) and she had this really cute hat that matched her outfit!  I kept trying to distract her and get her to keep it on her head, but I finally had to give up and put a tiny bow in her hair so we could leave the house.  

Anna's hair is in much better shape than when I first met her 7 months ago, but it is still in a very awkward "mullet" phase.  When I first met her I think she let me put hats on her because she was so weak and didn't really have the strength to fight back, but that has all changed now!

Quick - take a picture

Angry baby!

Whew - so much better!  Don't even think about trying that again, Mom.

Anna's first Christmas home

Somehow I am now on about 20,000 adoption e-mail lists, etc.  Generally I don't succumb to buying stuff, but I fell prey to one this past month: an ornament for Anna!  Over this past month it has sometimes overwhelmed me...that one year ago Anna was in an orphanage and we had no idea who she was...but now she is such an important and fun part of our family!  

After our church's final Christmas program this year, our music minister had the super-fun idea to have snow "made" and brought in for the kids - because snow in south Louisiana is a rare occurrence.   The snow was placed on our church's front lawn and was very exciting for all!

It was about 70 degrees outside, hence the sleeveless dress!

Alex was most certainly about to whack his brother

Alex's new look for his class Christmas party - love a kid with missing teeth and a mustache!

We got to have fun with family at our home and then took a quick trip to Texas to visit family over Christmas.

So thankful Papaw was available to do the Gingerbread house with the boys...I am really troubled with anything remotely crafty.

Thanks to Papaw and Grandmother, Alex is now the proud owner of a Red Ryder BB gun - and no, thankfully he did not shoot his eye out.

Bean bags for Christmas - what were we thinking?  They take up the entire living room - ha!

Bowling with Grandpa Skip

Anna loved hanging out with Mia at Christmas!

Thanks for the hamburgers, Cici!

More fun with family and surgery update

WARNING: Excessive number of family pictures ahead, so proceed with caution.

We were so thankful to get to visit with so many different family members over this past week on our whirlwind driving adventure through Oklahoma and Texas.  We drove up to Oklahoma for a couple of days, then headed to Dallas for a brief visit and then over to Greenville before heading home.  Anna got to meet more relatives and got plenty of attention!

Anna loves her cousin Taylor

Giving Aunt Kathy a "hug"

It really is a shame no one pays attention to that poor baby...

Showing off her new standing skill (yes, her knees are locked, but we're working on that)

Grandmother and Papaw with the grandkids

Aunt Kelly and Uncle Tony are hilarious!

Watching football - you can tell who the true Cowboys fan is...

Papaw and his girls

Here's Anna giving David a kiss - Whenever you tell Anna "kiss!" she leans her head forward...as in, "you may kiss my forehead now."

And what visit to Oklahoma would be complete without a chicken fried steak?!?

Anna gets to meet her great-grandmother and LaVera for the first time

Fun with Grandpa Skip

The boys jumped at the opportunity to open Christmas presents early at Aunt Laura's suggestion

Anna models her new sunglasses from Aunt Laura and Uncle Bill

Hanging out in Greenville

Fun with the girls!

Cousins

Back at home, Anna really enjoys her new silver cup from Grammy

Finally, for the surgery update: Anna was supposed to have her palate repair done today, but unfortunately she came down with a fever last night.  My poor mom had taken off work for the week to be able to help out while we were at the hospital, and I found out that the surgery was cancelled when Mom was about an hour away from here.  But we are so thankful to have her here for a visit, and I think Anna is secretly pleased she is not having surgery now!

She looks kinda Asian...

Often when I am out with Anna now, I get questions or comments about her from sweet people.  I certainly understand that it is a little confusing to see me with 3 fair-haired little boys and then a Chinese  baby, and I don't mind the questions or comments at all - people are often just curious or eager to talk about my experiences!  I really thought it was funny, though, when a kind older gentleman (with a thick "country" accent) sitting next to me tried to start a conversation the other day.  I was waiting in the store to get my phone repaired, and I could tell he kept looking at me and then at Anna.  Finally he said, "She looks kinda Asian!"  I smiled and told him that she's from China - thanks!  He then proceeded to talk about how cute she was, etc.  I was sharing that story with David's parents, and David's father commented, "Well, you sure can't get anything past us Louisiana boys!"

Little Asian baby in her cool new hat

Here are the obligatory Halloween pictures  - can you tell which kid did not enjoy the church's Fall Fest as much as the others?  Anna got back at me for dressing her in that uncomfortable Cinderella dress and had a big accident about 10 minutes into the Fall Fest - so she got to change back into her comfy clothes!

Blue power ranger ninja

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers climbing the rock wall

Ninja Nate

And in honor of the big LSU game tomorrow, Anna is showing her support for the Tigers!  I am also proud to report that at her doctor's visit yesterday she weighed in at 20 1/2 pounds - which puts her ON the growth chart - woo hoo!  

Traveling fun as a family of 6

 We decided to take our 1st family outing as a family of 6 - so we headed to Vicksburg, MS for a quick trip.  It's not too far from home, and David has been wanting to visit the battlefield.  When I told the boys where we were going, Alex asked about the details - how far, where are we staying, etc.  He asked what was in the town, and when I told him a battlefield he said "I knew it!  Daddy loves those places..."

 During the 1st part of our drive through the 16 mile long tour of the battlefield, Alex decided that he wanted to run from one stop to the next through the field.  Nate joined him, and they started out very enthusiastically.  However, by the end of the run the tall grass and hills started to get to them (but thankfully they made it!)  Note the two small kids in the lower right of the picture...and they ran to the white building in the upper left part of the picture...

Visiting the USS Cairo

 

Anna and I mostly stayed in the car, since it was pretty hot and she started getting a little fussy

 And we read the brochure after this picture was taken that no climbing on any weapons is allowed....oh dear!

Anna sits in the shade while her brothers play at a park

And of course, the best part of any trip is the chance to swim in the pool at the hotel, right?  Even Anna enjoyed the pool!

And certainly I shouldn't encourage this, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of Will after he "labeled" his seat in the minivan.  Why did I ever let him hold a Sharpie marker?  Anyway, just in case you are wondering which seat is Will's seat in the minivan, now it is forever marked as his.  He was warned not to EVER do that again.  And yes, those are the ground-up crumbs of 2000 goldfish on the floor.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect on the trip, but I figured that Anna would do fine in a different setting since she is a sweet natured baby.  However, sleeping in a hotel is a whole different story.  And I used to think traveling with 3 kids was a lot, but now I know that traveling with 4 kids is even more exciting!  I have to say, however, that I am very grateful for the marked change that I noticed in my daughter from the last time we stayed in a hotel together (in China) till now.  In China, poor Anna couldn't tolerate being held for long at all and cried until I put her in the crib.  Now, it is a totally different story - she would cry the minute I put her down in the crib in the hotel room, and she only wanted me to hold her.  We were all grateful to come back home, but I literally heard Anna let out a big sigh when I put her to bed in her own crib that first night back home.  I love that she is such a wonderful part of our family, and she completely feels at home with us now.  So - we had a great trip - BUT we are all thankful to be home!  

Anna's progress and trouble with teeth

Anna continues to do well; I feel like we've finally settled into a great therapy routine.  She gets therapy (PT/OT/speech) 4 times/ week.  I kept trying to squeeze 2 visits into one day, but Anna made it clear that it was way to much to ask of her to do that!  We have some great therapists, and we continue to work on all kinds of skills.  She is actually able to stay up on all fours now - but still a long way to go before she crawls! 

Anna really enjoys music, and I try to take her into church on Sunday evenings during the singing (NOT during the preaching...that would be way too disruptive for David - ha!)  She is sitting in my lap in the picture below, picking her favorite hymn out of the hymnal...

 A couple of weeks ago Will and I were at the store, and he spotted the baby princess costumes for Halloween.  He ran over to one and said, "Anna needs that!"  I totally agreed, so here's my little Asian Cinderella...(thanks to my friend June for getting pictures despite a very tired baby who didn't really want to cooperate...)

And finally, the big news of the day on Monday was Alex's tooth.  He was so excited to lose his tooth at school, and he proudly brought it home in a labeled ziploc bag.  Of course that was too much to keep it in the bag, so he lost it once in the car and then recovered it with the help of his brother Nate.  However, the temptation overtook him again and he pulled it out of the bag while he played in the backyard...and yes, he lost it again.  Much searching, tears...but no tooth!  Thankfully the tooth fairy was still able to visit, but Alex has been telling everyone very sadly..."I lost my tooth, then I LOST my tooth!"  Such is life...so many ups and downs...