Here's Derek showing his culture. We thought ths would be appropriate to wear for the Tet holiday!!!! I had to throw in this picture of him snapping a picture of Tinka with his camera that Santa brought him.

I have been "face" inspired by Jenna over at Stoll My Heart. Thanks Jenna for taking such awesome pics of Ella since it has made me realize that taking a cute picture doesn't always mean it has to be posed. Here's one I took that I love!!!!

Since there is no local Tet Celbrations in our area we had to "ad-lib" our own. Today Derek colored some pictures depicting the Holiday!!!! We also spent time browsing through our pictures from our adoption trip.

HAPPY TET!!!!!!!

If you haven't read this article check it out......
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KA27Ae01.html

What is everyone doing to celebrate the Tet Holiday???? We are making ornaments and coloring pages about Derek's Vietnamese culture!!!!
Do something special with YOUR child!!!!!

OK so here's how it all went down.....
Yesterday Norm's sister brought Derek's birthday gift by and it included Elmo Potty Time video. He loves Elmo and watched the video over and over. Well a miracle happened.....
Derek woke up with a completely dry diaper this morning and after alot of coaxing and teeth brushing he "PEED IN THE POTTY"!!!!!!WOOHOO!!!! Probably just a freak moment but I am going to brag about it for a little while!!!!

Thursday Was A Day Of Fun For Derek, Mommy & Daddy.

We snuck away for the day to attend the annual PA Farm Show in Harrisburg. Derek loved seeing the HUGE tractors and he screamed with excitement everytime we got near one. The animals were something to look at for him but he didn't want to get too close. He again showed greater excitement when we checked out the chickens and the horses. The rest of the animals he just looked at but wouldn't pet. We toured, ate, and chatted with a few friends and then called it a day as we jumped back onto the shuttle bus and snuggled into the car for a restful ride home. Here's a few pictures we took on our adventure....

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY DEREK!!!!!!

Our beautiful boy is two today. Wow we can remember looking at his referral picture when he was just a tiny 3 months old. My how he has grown!!! He has become so comfortable and familiar here and it has made each day a new and EXCITING journey through his life. We are so thankful to God for bringing him home to us.

Dear Derek,
We waited such a long wait for you to be a part of our family. But each day with you all of that slowly fades into the background. It seems like you have been a part of our family from the day we looked upon your picture. We love you with all of our hearts and are so thankful to your birth country, your biological family, and your caregivers for all tht they have given to us in you. Most of all we thank God for bringing us all together. We will love you all of your life and we look so forward to watching you grow through the years.
Love,
DaDa & MaMa

This morning in my inquisitive state of mind I decided to research if Vietnamese men grow facial hair since I recall all of the men I seen having nice smooth skin that didn't have "5 o'clock shadows". In my search I found this website http://www.vietventures.com/Info/Listen.asp. I immediately began playing one of the Vietnamese songs and Derek came right to the computer with a mystical look upon his face. He looked into my eyes and smiled and is totally enjoying the music. I believe that some of the words must sound familiar to him. I wish I had thought of this when we needed to comfort him 4 months ago. Anyway he is really enjoying this and Norm thought it would be great to make a CD for in the car for him. I immediately welled up with tears watching his reaction to the music and it made my heart happy to see him remember his culture!!!!

Reflecting On Where We Were Last Year On This Day......

Oh what a wonderful day it was. Sunny, warm, full of fun. Oh, Where Were We????? Sunny California!!!!! Norm took me to Pasadena to spend a few days including New Year's Eve & New Year's Day with Michelle & Jeff. It was my first plane ride ever and I remember the excitement as if I were flying there as I write this. I couldn't wait to see Michelle again, I was anxious to fly and wouldn't you know it.....it snowed and iced that day. We ended up stuck in airports, flights delayed, canceled, and re routed but we managed to arrive safley in L.A. 8 hours late. Michelle tracked us the whole way there and they were waiting patiently at the aiport when we arrived. We got to go to the Rose Bowl Parade. So today as we watched the parade on tv we reflected back to remembering how much more beautiful those floats were in person. In reality I was a little heartbroken that we were stuck here this year. It'll be really fun going to Califonia this time around since we will have "Big D" to travel with us. We hope to invade the Harwell life with our whole family of 5 maybe this summer or fall!!!!!