Think You Can Hold Up?: July 2013

This week marked the ONE MONTH anniversary of our Gotcha Day with the Mary! Although it seems like our trip to China was forever ago, time is really flying. Our girl has made SO much progress these last five weeks.....

THEN, she preferred to lay down to play...... NOW, she walks EVERYWHERE.
THEN, she ate like there might not be food later..... NOW, she paces herself a bit more.
THEN, she played only with hard toys...... NOW, she cuddles and rocks her babies and stuffed friends.
THEN, she didn't really know HOW to play..... NOW, she can work a toyroom like a pro.
THEN, she wasn't really concerned with whether or not we were there..... NOW, she doesn't want us to leave the room.
THEN, she was shy and quiet..... NOW, she is full of personality and babbles CONSTANTLY.

She is growing and learning and doing so well. We are so very thankful and humbled to be a part of her world.

In celebration of our One Month Gotcha Day Anniversary, we've put together a little something for your viewing pleasure. Here's just a small glimpse of our journey to our girl..... it's long, but it serves as our memory...... and what a sweet memory it is!

Gotcha, Mary!

OH! And there's also a bonus video (much shorter!) .... the BLOOPERS version!

Gotcha, Mary! BLOOPERS!!

I've said this before, but it bears saying again..... THANK YOU for your love, prayers, and encouragement as we embarked on this remarkable season in our lives.

You are Mary's VILLAGE.... and what a precious one you are!

Happy One Month Gotcha Anniversary, Mary Powell. You fit right in, you DARLING THING you.

Hi, everyone. It's Mary here.

My mom says that she can't update the blog because she's too tired. Apparently, she's blaming it on me. She SAYS that I wake up dozens and dozens of times a night, but I don't believe it. I don't remember a thing. I just think she's old and is having a hard time keeping up. I love her, though. She's trying real hard..... gotta give her that.

So, since I know y'all are wondering what in the world we've been doing over here, I thought I'd update for her! Since I don't know many words yet, I'm just gonna put up a lot of pictures of what I've been doing. Cause I. Am. Busy.

So.... here we go....

I like to play in the laundry basket after I dump all the clean clothes out of it. This purple doll was my FAVORITE one in China and it's been missing since we got home..... we FINALLY found it in the bottom of a pile..... SO glad it wasn't left on an airplane (as my Mom suspected).....

I also LOVE to take pictures of myself on my Mom's phone. Apparently, these are called SELFIES.

Sometimes, when Dad's gone off to work, my Mom has to go upstairs and get dressed (I prefer that she take me with her, but, apparently, sometimes she, "needs a minute") So, Jack and Max are in charge of me then.... I love it when they push me around the house in my car..... only THIS particular time, I fell asleep. Sitting up. In the car. Mom would say, "Bless it."

I love putting on Mom's funny socks. I told her they didn't match. She said they weren't supposed to. I gotta get me some of these socks.....

Remember that last post when my Mom told you how rough things had been lately? Well, I'm pretty sure she was blaming me..... BUT IT WASN'T MY FAULT. I have an EAR INFECTION and something is not right with my SINUSES. Here I am on my first visit at Dr. Laubenthal's office. I just loved him (and the nurses).... they all made over me and gave me some medicine that, Mom says, has "changed our world"..... I even slept ALL night in my own bed last night and only stirred a couple of times. Duh, Mom. I haven't felt good!!! (Mom also says that she hopes it wasn't just a fluke. I don't know what that means.....)

I watched like 30 seconds of Disney Jr. Apparently this family of mine really likes the Disney. Guess I better get on board with that....

Sometimes I do this. I don't wanna talk about it.

I love my spoons. And I MUCH prefer to feed myself with my new green ones. I know that most of the food goes in the floor or in my lap, but I don't care. Dad just calls in the family dog, Buddy, to clean up under my highchair, so I figure everybody wins. In this picture, I decided that even my Puffs tasted better off the spoon.

I love my new baby that my cousins, Will and Josh and Aunt Paige got me.

I also enjoy looking at the pictures on Mom and Dad's phones. They say that I, "Scare them to death" when I start messing with their phones. I don't know why. And this is how I like to look at the pictures on their phones, by the way..... on my belly, face CLOSE to the phone, feet flapping in the air behind me. A girl's gotta be comfortable, you know....

I love trying on new clothes and I can do it BY MYSELF, thank you very much. If I could JUST get my FEET out of these darn leggings.......

Got it! See? I told you I could do it by myself.

I constantly have to keep an eye on my Dad. There's no telling WHAT funny thing he's going to do next. Sometimes I just watch him and wait for him to do something...... When he gets me cranked up, Mom says, "Oh, dear mercy, here we go." She's no fun.

Puzzles are really fun, too. When I work on one, Mom says, "Joe, look. She's doing it right. She is completely brilliant!" I don't know who Joe is and I don't know what "brilliant" means, but when I put this big round one in this exact spot right here, Mom gets VERY excited and starts clapping and laughing. I like to watch her clap and laugh, so I put this one here every time. Maybe Mom is KINDA fun.

Uh. I think someone just called me on this phone. But I'm not gonna answer it....cause I'm not exactly supposed to BE on Mom's phone. I wonder if they left me a voicemail.....

Mom says it's important that a girl know how to work a bag. I'm trying to figure it out, but this one's weird.

Mom says I don't do this enough. She says SHE would like to do this some. Whatever, Mom. You love me and you know it.

NOW. ARE YOU READY FOR WHAT WE DID TODAY?

My Mom will probably freak when she finds out that I shared these pictures with you before she had a chance to tell you about them..... guess she shouldn't have left her computer laying around....

Today, Mom and Dad took me to the campus of the University of Alabama (we live like 2 seconds away) and took my picture in my China silks. In China, Mom and Dad got me some silks in every color and size in case I wanna wear them for Chinese New Year while I'm growing up. But they just couldn't WAIT to see me in them..... so I was VERY sweet and let her and Dad have their fun.

It wasn't so bad.

Here are the pictures.

Mom said, and I quote, "Oh, Mary Powell, you are SO PRECIOUS in your China silks. Now just make sure that your attitude always reflects how pretty you are."

I'm not sure what she means by that, but I get the feeling that she'll explain it to me. A LOT.

Note: I went ahead and put up almost every picture Mom took....except the ones where my eyes are closed or my face looks really weird.....

Enjoy!