Asian Festival

After four or five years of not being able to go, we finally made it to the Asian Festival! It was well worth the wait - so many cool things to do and see. Plus the weather was perfect - 70 degrees, sunny and a breeze to keep us cooled off. So, off we went to Franklin Park. First thing we saw when we arrived - a traditional Indian wedding being performed:

The horse-drawn carriage that the bride arrived in.

Then off to the display booths. One of the first ones we came to was a woman who was doing henna tattoos. Maggie was kind of apprehensive, but she totally loved it afterwards.

At the pond, they were doing a boat launch, with floats representing different Asian countries. Note how the boats were anchored to fun noodles:

After watching some martial arts demonstrations and trying to track down a balloon for Maggie and Ethan, we stopped at the food booths. We got fried rice, Korean dumplings, Pad thai, chicken adobo and spring rolls. Can you say "YUMMY"? We found a nice shady spot on a hill and ate lunch there:

A girl dressed in traditional Indian clothes. She was performing with other girls, and Maggie loved their dresses.

A woman dressed at the Thailand booth.

My babies. They didn't have a China picture board - don't ask me why.

The drive home.

Re-Adoption

All of us went down to the state courthouse to finalize Ethan's adoption, so that we could get his US Birth certificate. Although he was officially a US citizen when we came back from China, the state of Ohio makes it pretty difficult to get a birth certificate without doing the re-adoption. So... another $130 was spent to file paperwork, sit with a magistrate for about 10 minutes in this fancy-schmancy courtroom - and Ethan is now our son, at least in the eyes of Ohio! And that is all that really matters, isn't it? :)

Our two rugrats, waiting for the hearing.

My big boy - all 23 pounds of him!

Happy Mother's Day

Mama goose and baby geese at the zoo

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." - Lin Yutang

(By the way, the pictures above show Mama Goose with 11 babies! How does she do it?)

Enjoying the Spring

Going for a walk around the block

Ethan with his new wheels. Too bad his feet don't quite reach the pedals yet.

The only way he can really get around is by walking with it!

Maggie walking around in my heels. She walks better in them than I do.

Flying our new kite on a windy day.

Maggie has everything under control...

... until Ethan wants to try his hand at it. They are still trying to learn the whole sharing thing. He usually asks her to share by hitting her.

Even my Sammy cat is enjoying the sunshine. Isn't life wonderful?

It's so sad...

... how this poor little boy has nothing to play with, isn't it? No toys, no books, no crayons - nothing but a roll of toilet paper to amuse himself. He must have learned this from his sister:

Maggie in June 2006

Love Without Boundaries

Once upon a time, there was a newborn baby boy who was found at the gate of an orphanage in Fuling China on July 31, 2006. He was left with no note, and had a tumor on his lower back. The doctor estimated his birthday to be July 21, 2006 and he was named Bao Jin. Bao Jin was loved by his nannies, but was very limited in his movement due to his tumor. His development and growth suffered because of this too. The orphanage cared for Bao Jin the best way they knew how to, but knew that he would need more help if he were to thrive - help that they could not afford to give him. So the orphanage director contacted a charity named Love Without Boundaries to see what help could be given for this sweet boy. LWB was able to arrange for Bao Jin to travel to Shanghai with his caregiver to have surgery to remove this tumor. They were also able to pay for all of the travel costs and medical costs, so that this little boy could have a chance. One year later after the surgery, this baby is now a little boy who loves to throw toys, tackle his daddy, torment his sister and give kisses to his mommy.

LWB is now holding its annual auction on EBay to help raise funds for future operations like the one Ethan received. Please go here and bid on an auction item right now!

Ethan

February 17, 2008

March 17, 2008

April 2008