Happy Easter, everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. We sure did. The weekend was spent with friends and family at multiple celebrations, including Emily's first Easter egg hunt. 
Here are Emily and friend Summer, warming up with bunnies before the hunt.
Emily didn't quite get the egg hunt concept, and was happy with one egg, which she opened repeatedly. Daddy jumped in and helped pick up a few more eggs so her basket didn't look so forlorn.
Next, it was down to our community center, where we missed the second egg hunt. So, we changed the girls out of their pretty Easter dresses and let them play in an outdoor beach shower.
Wow--pony rides at the beach! Emily was fearless, signing the word "horse" to Kevin before she took her ride.
Next, we headed back to our house for a dip in the baby pool.
Easter morning found us chatting over the Internet with our video cameras to Papa and Rea in Florida (thanks for Emily's new outfit!), then Grani Frani, Aunt Tracey n Uncle Mark, and cousin Elizabeth in Pennsylvania (thanks for Emily's gifts!).
Next, off to Grandma and Grandpa Lee's house, where Emily enjoyed staring at her new Easter bonnet, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa. Uncle Dave and Aunt Jackie bought Emily a Wiggles accordian, which was a big thrill! Grandma admitted that she now loves the Wiggles and watches them when Emily isn't even with her. Those Wiggles songs sure do stick in your head--ALMOST 24 HOURS A DAY!!
Emily sure loves her wooh wooh!
Emily's Milestones
- Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Lee, Emily can insert a key in a car's ignition! She loves to play drive adult cars, and will sit in a car forever, adjusting the mirror to see herself. Now when I start my car the wipers start, the radio blares, the turn signal clicks on and off, and the inside lights are on, because someone had been fiddling with the buttons!
- Emily lets Mommy put bows in her hair as long as Mommy tells her she's pretty. She then pats her head, smiles, and finds a mirror to admire herself! She's definitely all girl. :)
- She's speaking! She can say “hi”, “bye”, "Dorothy" (her favorite Wiggles character), “wooh wooh” (dog), “down”, “up”, “eyes”, “teeth”, ”beep”, "Mia", "mama", "dada", "daddy", "key", "star", and "ball". Speech was intermittent until this evening, when within two hours she said "done", "Wiggles", "more", "Mama out", "out", "hello", and "hop"! Oh, she loves to hop up and down.
- Emily's in a toddler music class and loves it! We sing, play instruments, and dance around together. Emily especially likes to stare at herself in the mirrors the most, but she loves to dance and play drums. She absolutely loves to tap dance; whenever she sees tap dancers, she taps along with them. Too cute!
Other News of Note
We've started the paperwork for daughter #2! Emily's little sister will be named Madeleine, and we hope to be matched with her by next Summer. The good news is, we're almost ready for our homestudy to begin. That's half the paperwork battle, so the rest should go quickly. The bad news is, the Chinese adoption program has become so popular that we're looking at double the wait time--12 months from DTC (dossier to China), or the time our paperwork is logged in with the Chinese government. We waited only 6 months for Emily, so the next year is going to be hard for us. At least Emily will be 3 years old by the time we travel back to China, so she might accept a little sister more easily.
Meanwhile, we're working on potty training and teaching Emily to nurture her dolls and stuffed animals. Storytime at the library continues to be a big part of Emily's life, as are birthday parties for her friends. Just when we thought we couldn't possibly love this little girl any more, our love grows. It's an incredible feeling.
That's all for now. Take care!
Caroline
