6 Month Gotcha Day Anniversary

6 months!!!!!  6 months and it's unbelievable for me to think of how far we have come yet at the same time I don't remember what my life was like before Sha......it must have been quite boring:)  We had a fantastic day.  The weather was amazing so we were outside most of the day.  It was the first day in a long time that we stayed at home and was not out running around. I was able to finally attack the weeds in my rock garden and Paul and Sha were able to build a fire pit in the backyard which he has been wanting to do for awhile now.  It came out amazing.  We surprised Sha with taking her to her favorite restaurant 9 East.  As always we had a fantastic dinner and when we got back home we had our first fire in the "pit".  Sha loved the concept of toasting marshmallows on a stick (well I should say setting pure fire to the marshmallows) however she was not loving the smores that we made with them.  God bless her, she does not have a love for sweets unless it's in the form of a cake..for real.   After making smores she got her blanket and mini mouse and wanted us to tuck her in on the lounge chair. We then started to talk about our "Favorite Sha" moments over the last 6 months.  We talked about everything from the first time she met us, we each told our own stories of our emotions that day and basically all three of us we petrified however all three of us all said it went away about 10 minutes after we all met.  Sha said she remembered the first day when we went back to the hotel and Paul was reading to her on the bed.  She fell asleep but remembered Paul giving her tons of kisses on her forehead.  She said it was amazing and then followed it up with she never got kisses like that before...ugh big fat tear.  We talked about the famous electronic translator which has not seen the light of day in months.  Her first day of school and how scared she was to how much she loves it now.  We just had a great night which just validated that this was by far the best thing to ever happen not only to Paul and I, but to Sha and our entire family.  The child is beyond loved.  Here are some pics that include a trip down memory lane, granted it is not a long trip but a good trip:) Enjoy.

My 1st Mother's Day & Sha meets the rest of the Rakocy side for the 1st time.

**** I originally posted this weeks ago, something went wrong where it deleted half my blog and pictures and never posted which is why it's taking so long to blog about this special day****************

It's 6:30 in the morning, I woke up to the sun warming my face from our bedroom window and I immediately had this feeling come over me as if I were 7 and it was Christmas morning.  I rolled over and saw Sha peacefully sleeping and then it hit me, it's not Christmas it's better it's my first Mother's Day.

As I sit here and reflect back on the last 5 1/2 months, I am watching a new show that Oprah is producing (shocking I know) called "Extraordinary Mothers".  I decided to "tivo" this show in hopes that it would bring me a sense of peace, ideas, and reassurance that how I am raising and loving this little girl will allow her to grow into this secure and happy woman.  Before you are a mother you would always hear from your friends or your own mother about all the challenges motherhood brings on top of all the joy however until you are in those shoes you just don't realize the responsibility you have to do good by this child.

The day ended up being wonderful, "wonderfully blessed" I would call it.  When Sha and Paul finally woke up, she came flying into the room where I was, gave me a huge hug and then began running around the house all excited setting "things" up.  When she was ready I went into the kitchen and saw beautiful sunflowers, a handwritten card and my new Nikon camera that I have been wanting.....little did I know the best gift was yet to come.  Sha had written a poem for me in school and made a pen with a white flower on it at school. It was truly the best, especially the part where she said "My mom is as fancy as Lady Gaga", anyone who knows Sha knows her love of Lady Gaga so this was quite the compliment-ha. 

Backtrack a few days before Mother's Day when Sha officially met Ayi Lisa, Shushu Billy and Ayi Alicia.  As expected they all were a huge hit.  In typical Sha fashion she clicked instantly with all three and welcomed them into her hearts.  Her love of family is such a blessing, it feeds her soul.  

Later in the on Mother's Day we went to my mom's where Alicia's, my brother's pregnant and gorgeous wife, also joined us for the celebration.  Yes folks the secret is out, I'm gonna be an Auntie and the Rakocy name will live on, very very excited.  Sha, of course, is thrilled to be cousin.  Aunt Joan also came up and shared some Chinese gifts she received while at work.  Sha had explained what each one was and literally had everyone glued to the story while she told it. 

Overall it was just a great day, a day I had dreamed of calling my own for so long.  Sha and I continue to strive in our relationship,each day she allows me closer to her heart and lets me mother her and guide her. 

Enjoy the pics some are from my new camera which I do love.  Hopefully this post will stay this time:)

 

First Trip To Canada

"O Canada!"...what a blast it was.  Sha has officially met her Canadian side of the family and loved every minute of it.  She did great during the very long car ride (thanks to the DVD player we bought, excellent purchase:).  We first arrived at Colin and Cheryl's and stayed there for a few nights.  Our first day together we went to Niagara Falls and Sha loved it. When we arrived we first took her to the Rain Forest Cafe which was a real treat for her, she loved the thunderstorms and all the different animals.  After that we went to this arcade where we all somehow became a kid again.  She went on her first scary ride with ShuShu Colin and then her, Colin and Paul all went into this "walking" haunted house in which terrified the heck out of her. We played skeeball, shot water guns and anything else we could shoot to get her tickets for a prize.  At the end, all 5 of us had enough tickets that we thought would get her the biggest prize of all......well we all know how that goes, 1 million dollars later she ended up with a frog that comes in a cup that you can add water to and watch it turn into a prince over 72 hours-woohoo:)  It was all worth it though. We also had a great jam session with Colin and Cheryl's awesome friends who we adore dearly.  Sha felt very comfortable singing and playing the guitar.  I think Nick enjoyed that the most:)  It was also great to see the Tully's who are expecting their first baby soon. Paula looks amazing, they are such a great couple and we are so happy for them both. 

After our visit we then went to Grandma Viv's where Sha was greeted to an egg hunt.  Grandma Viv had a great day planned for Sha.  On top of the egg hunt we also decorated Easter eggs and Sha and Viv made peanut butter chocolate eggs...yum in the tum tum.   As we all know Sha loves to cook so that was a real treat to be able to do that with Grandma.

Later in the week we had dinner at the Clark's where Sha tried to learn Uncle Kirk's magic trick.  It was a great night with games, magic and playing the piano with Abby, Sha's little cousin.  She also was able to hold Robbie jr which she loved. 

On Saturday Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Mike had a party at their house where Sha finally met the rest of the family. She finally met Crystal who was a big hit, Sha didn't leave her side once they officially met.  Crystal made her this amazing Barbie cake which Sha loved.  The weather was beautiful and we all got to hang outside, including Callie, the other big "hit" of the week:)  Oooh yes, how can I forget, Kyle brought the triplets over who are just the cutest girls ever, that was a real treat.   She also hit it off with Sidney and Cole her other cousins:)

It was a great time and just a delight to see Sha welcome her new family into her heart, she truly gets the concepts of how big her new family is.  Enjoy the pics.