New Year's Eve

Lily and I started the last day of 2007 like we've started many other days during the year....by having breakfast with my dad! Dad and I had some banking we had to get done before the end of the year and far be it from us to wait until the last possible second! As always, Lily had fun with her Dad Dad and wore the pretty outfit Miss Mary gave her for Christmas.

We spent a nice quiet New Year's Eve at home. The three of us wore silly hats and toasted the New Year with sparkling apple cider. Lily is not a big fan of any kind of juice but she seemed to really enjoy the sensation of the bubbly cider. Thanks to some neighborhood fireworks Lily was up to ring in 2008 with her Mommy and Daddy...who needs to watch a silly ball drop?!

I can't believe 2007 is now behind us. It was certainly a magical year for our family. We experienced so many firsts...the first time we saw Lily's beautiful face, our first trip to China, holding Lily for the first time, Lily's first sign, first word, first steps, and the list goes on and on. As excited as I am to see all that 2008 will bring...I have never been so sad to see a year end.

Wishing all of you a Happy, Healthy New Year in a world at peace.

Happy Birthday Dear Jesus

All of these people are my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins??? WOW!

When I was growing up we always ate Christmas dinner at my Mimi and Granddad's (my mom's parents) house. My mom was one of 7 children. Christmas day all of the Borowski kids would gather at Mimi and Granddaddy's with their families for Christmas dinner. Somehow we all managed to fit in my grandparent's basement for a sit down dinner.

At dinner we always sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. I thought every family did. After all, Christmas is Jesus' birthday. Right? Let me tell you how shocked I was to discover not every family did that...and I wont tell you how old I was before I figured it out! I'm not 100% sure about this but I think my Aunt Lala started the tradition of singing Happy Birthday to Jesus when she was a young girl. Aunt Lala, if you're reading this please correct me if I'm wrong.

Sunday we had the Borowski family Christmas party. The family has long ago outgrown anyone's basement so now we rent a hall. With busy schedules and other commitments we don't all get together as often as we once did and not everyone could make the Christmas party but one thing never changes....Aunt Lala stills leads us in singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

That's my Great Aunt Lala in the red sweater.

From The Humblest Of Places...

...Came The Greatest Of Joys.


This was the beautiful verse inside the Christmas card that Mary Beth sent to us this year. Of course, this verse speaks to the true meaning of Christmas but as Mary Beth wrote inside the card it speaks to our family, too.


Tony and I still cannot believe how blessed we have been and especially at Christmas are reminded of what a tremendous gift we have received. Lily truly is the greatest joy and being her mother fills a place inside of me that I never knew was there...much less empty.


As Tony wrote in my Christmas card, "Christmas is not about the gifts you give someone it is about the love you have for each other and the love of family." Who could ask for anything more?

Christmas

Christmas Day was absolutely wonderful! After breakfast Lily opened her gifts from Santa and a few things from Mommy and Daddy. Just like Christmas Eve, Lily did not know what to think at first...but it didn't take her long to get into the groove!

Lily loved the new Seahawks cheerleader outfit we gave her. Lily already has one cheerleader outfit but now she's ready for next season, too. Plus, with the Seahawks going to the playoffs it's a good thing to have a spare ;-). Lily especially loved the megaphone and pom poms that came with the outfit! It made Daddy's whole Christmas day when Lily held the megaphone up to her mouth and said, "E Awks! E Awks!


Santa brought Lily a play kitchen and she absolutely LOVED it! Lily had so much fun exploring every part of it and figuring out all the different sound effects. It didn't take anytime before Lily was cooking, serving food, and putting dishes in the sink!


A little later in the morning Nai Nai and Aunt Sheila came over for brunch. Lily is the first grandchild on Tony's side of the family and it would appear that his mom and sister have been waiting (and shopping) for years just for this day! I can't begin to tell you all the presents Lily received...just trust me that Nai Nai and Aunt Sheila put Santa's elves to shame!


Aunt Sheila bought Lily a beautiful wooden rocking horse. We all were a little nervous that Lily would be afraid of the rocking horse and she was...for all of about 2.2 seconds! Since then we've bearly been able to pry Lily off of the horse and if she could find a way to get it into her crib at night she would! Lily can climb on and off of Rocky by herself and can really get that thing rocking! You should hear her giggle when she gets Rocky going.


Normally Sheila has to work on Christmas Day. It was so nice that she was off this year and was able to spend Lily's first Christmas together with us and see Lily's reaction to the rocking horse first hand.

Lily had so much fun opening all of her gifts and everyone else's, too! Lily had a hard time settling down for a nap but finally did give in and fell asleep. We had a wonderful visit with Suzy and Sheila and a really special Christmas morning.

Christmas night we headed up to Patti's for dinner. Everything was delicious and it was fun to hear what Santa brought everyone. Everyone in Patti's family definitely must have been on the "Nice List" because Santa gave Patti's family a trip to Disney. I think he must of overlooked my name and forgot to leave a ticket for me...so, I'm planning to hide in Christina's suitcase!

As Tony and I got Lily ready for bed we just couldn't believe our first 'Finally A Family' Christmas was almost over. Last Christmas our hearts were so heavy with the wait to bring Lily home and this year we were able to share Christmas with our little miracle! What an amazing difference a year makes!

Technical Difficulties

We lost power over night on the night of the 26th...then when I tried to turn on our computer on the 27th it wouldn't come up. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. No blinking lights. No sound. No nothing! Yikes!

We have the computer connected to a surge protector but apparently something happened. The monitor, printer, speakers, etc. all appear to be fine but the CPU...not so much. We are hopeful it is simply the power supply that went up since when we push the on/off button nothing happens. Since I have so many pictures saved on the computer (and no backups...bad me) I am praying that the hard drive is fine. We have ordered the part we think we need and it should be in in a few days. Please keep your fingers crossed.

Silly me kind of forgot that I could use the laptop and was really sad that I wasn't going to be able to do my Christmas post until the part came in for our desktop computer! Luckily Tony is smarter than I am!!

Christmas Eve

It was Christmas Eve 2004 when we announced to our families our plans to adopt. Now, 3 years later, Lily was here with us to share in the Christmas Eve celebration!

We attended 4:00 Mass with Mary Beth's family and Dad. Mass starts at 4:00 but, of course, on Christmas Eve you have to get there very early to find a seat. Or, if you're like me and Tony...you arrive at 3:30 and kick your two sweet nephews out of their seats. Thanks Ryan and Jamie for giving up your seats for us.

Lily was as good as gold during Mass! I was a little surprised. Sitting still and quiet for almost 2 hours is not high on Lily's list of favorite things to do. So, I had brought a bag of snacks and quiet toys in case of "emergency" but didn't need them. However, I did break out the sippy cup of milk with about 15 minutes left to go in the service because I could tell Lily was reaching her limit.

It was such an amazing feeling to be sitting in Christmas Eve Mass holding Lily on my lap. It brought tears to my eyes. Honestly, so many things have brought tears of joy to my eyes during this holiday season. I was not the only one who was overcome by emotion. When we arrived at church Lily climbed onto Aunt BaBa's lap and I watched as Mary Beth's eyes filled with tears. I think all of us just couldn't believe that the little one we had waited and prayed for for so long was finally here with us.

Christmas Eve at Mary Beth and Ed's is always special and even more so this year. I always tease that Mary Beth is our family's Martha Stewart...minus the condescending attitude and the jail time! Seriously though, Mary Beth is amazing and any occasion she hosts is always memorable.

As our family has grown over the years we have started to pick names to determine who to buy a gift for. Normally, everyone (children and adults) are included in this. However, this year my siblings and father decided that they would all buy gifts for Lily. Wow! Lily received such beautiful and thoughtful gifts and we needed to rent a semi to bring them all home!

Lily is normally in bed by 7:30 and was definitely starting to melt down at Aunt BaBa's. So, we rushed everyone to finish up their dinners so we could get to the gift opening portion of the evening. It's interesting...we had lots of presents under our tree and Lily never touched them. I don't think she really got what they were. The same was true at Aunt BaBa's. When Christina handed Lily her first gift she didn't know quite what to make of it...but once Lily got the hang of tearing off the paper...she was a gift opening machine! I'm not sure what was Lily's favorite part...opening the packages or putting the paper in the trash bag. I think it was a pretty even tie!

In fact, Lily had so much fun "helping" everyone open their packages and doing clean up that we ended up staying much later than we anticipated. Luckily for Lily this meant she was able to sample Uncle Ed's famous sugar cookies. Ed manages to make his cookies so thin and delicate and delicious at the same time. Lily loved them and was walking around with one in each hand!

Lily didn't get to bed until after 9:00 on Christmas Eve but I don't think she minded!

We had an incredible first Christmas as a family of 3! Everything was wonderful and I just can't believe it is already just a very happy and special memory. I've been on the computer way too long already so I will post about our actual Christmas Day tomorrow.

Cookie Baking Party

Another party?? YIPEE!!!

For years we have been going to our friends Bonnie and Rick's for a cookie baking party and that's where we headed Saturday night. Way back when we actually used to bake cookies during the party. Now, everyone comes prepared with dozens of cookies and we spend the time at the party eating, drinking, and catching up.

On the surface you wouldn't think Bonnie and I would be friends. Bonnie is about as girlie as they come. She always looks terrific with hair, make-up, and clothing just so. I mean even her purse matches her shoes! As for me...well...basically I'm a mustache away from being a man!

Anyway, none of that stuff really matters and when we worked together years ago we hit it off immediately. Luckily for me and Bonnie our husbands hit it off, too. Over the years the four of us have taken many vacations together and spent countless hours eating, drinking, and laughing.

Daddy, look at all this fun stuff I can get into!

Bon and Rick always throw such fun parties. They are both great cooks and always have great food and some type of fancy theme drink. This year it was peppermint martinis. I didn't care for them but not to worry...there was plenty of red wine, too!

This party is great...but who are all these people??

Lily was a little overwhelmed by her first cookie baking party and it took her quite a while to warm up...but warm up she did! I think part of that was my fault. I told Lily we were going to a party at Miss Bonnie and Mr. Rick's and that she would see them and their girls...I just forgot to tell her about the 20 other people that would be there. Oops!

Daddy, all these people are seeing me in my pj's!

Before we left Miss Bonnie gave Lily some special reindeer food and we sprinkled it on our front yard on Christmas Eve and it worked! Sure enough Santa stopped here and he and the reindeer must have been pretty happy because they certainly left a lot of goodies!

Mommy, make sure you shake it all out...I want to keep those reindeer happy!

A Wonderful And Busy Week

Hi there!

We have had such a crazy week. Normally, I'm a little nutty about keeping Lily on a pretty strict schedule. I just know how much better Lily does when she has structure and predictability. This week....not so much!

We're going out again?? GREAT!

So far this week we've been to one of our favorite Christmas shops, to a holiday party for our Stay At Home Parent's group, to our annual cookie baking day/night with my sisters, to my monthly book club, to a Christmas ornament exchange and luncheon, and let's not forget all those last minute holiday errands. Honestly, it's been so much fun and quite an adjustment for my normal organized self when I factor in an almost 18 month old!

I'm helping Mommy bake cookies!

Lily loved the Christmas shop and enjoyed looking at all the trees and Christmas villages. Normally, Lily would like to have her hands on everything. However, if you give Lily a responsibility she takes it very seriously. I asked Lily to carry Mommy's purse (really more a wallet on a string) and that kept her hands so busy we made it out of the store without having to buy a broken ornament!

Right this way Daddy

Daddy I want Santa to bring me that, too.

I am on the "Nice List"....right??

We had a total blast at the holiday party for our Stay At Home Parent's group. The party was held at an indoor play area and our little lady was completely fearless. Lily wanted to try out every contraption in the place even if it was intended for bigger kids. I got in/on the different attractions with Lily and pushed, pulled, tugged, or whatever was required so that Lily could slide, bounce, climb, etc. Not to worry...the doctors say I will be out of traction in a couple of weeks ;-). Let me tell you I felt every one of my 42 years the next day!

I love getting together with my sisters each year to bake cookies. It really has very little to do with the baking and more to do with just spending time with Mary Beth and Patti. Lily was not into the baking as much as she was into spending time with her big cousin, Christina. As usual, Christina was a HUGE help and kept Lily occupied for hours.

Speaking of HUGE help...two of my nieces, Sadie and Katie, helped me out this week so I could have a little "TJ Holiday Time". It was great and very much appreciated!

The week is not over and we still have a lot planned. The holidays are such a fun and crazy time. Speaking of crazy...did I mention the transmission went out on my car? Do you think Santa can bring me a new car...or at least a new transmission???

This time of year can be really hair raising and as you will see Lily agrees. Honestly, we did not touch her hair. This is just how absolutely beautiful she looks when she wakes up every morning! We call her our "Wild Hair Girl". Is it just me or could you eat her with a spoon??

Do you want the name of my hairdresser?

Merry Christmas, Hon!

Last night we took Lily to see the Miracle on 34th Street. No, I'm not talking about the movie with Maureen O'Hara...I'm talking about the over the top Christmas light display in Hampden! If you've never been to Hampden...go! It's a fun little place with neat little artsy shops, fun restaurants...and it's home to Hon Fest. Really, what more do you need to know?

Tony and I have been going to Hampden for years to see the lights and thought Lily would get a kick out of it. We were right! She loved it and said, "Wow Weeee!" more times than we could count.

It was quite cold but that didn't phase Lily. She would stand completely still and look at each house and try to take it all in. If it weren't for the sea of people on the street moving us along I think Lily would still be there!

Yesterday we also attended a birthday party for one of Lily's friends. Andy, a little boy we met at My Gym, celebrated his first birthday and his family invited us to attend his birthday celebration.

The party was a traditional Korean first birthday celebration and was held at a Korean restaurant. Andy and his mom were dressed in traditional Korean clothing and they both looked positively beautiful!

During the Toljabee event Andy touched a stethoscope first so apparently he is destined to be a doctor! Just for the record, based on all the pretty little girls at the party I think Andy may also be a ladies' man!

The food was plentiful and delicious and we had many dishes we had never tried before. Lily did not eat much for lunch but decided she LOVED Andy's birthday cake. Lily spit out the initial bite of Andy's birthday cake but then signed 'more' so I put the plate back in front of her. In a matter of minutes the cake was gone and we had to stop Lily from licking the plate!

Me...who takes her camera with her to the grocery store...somehow forgot to bring my camera to the party. I tried to take a few pictures with my Sidekick but they turned out terrible. Trust me everything and everyone was beautiful!

The birthday boy!

Dr. Andy

This stuff is delicious! Have you guys been holding out on me??

I just can't believe that it has been 8 months today since we were united as a family. Sometimes it seems much longer than 8 months...and sometimes it seems more like 8 minutes! No matter which...they have definitely been the happiest times of our lives!!

Trimming The Tree

When we first brought our Christmas Tree into the house Lily was less than pleased. In fact, every time she walked through the Living Room she would make this panting/crying sound. Normally, this sound is reserved strictly for cats...so we knew we were in trouble! However, unlike cats...after a few days Lily warmed to the idea of having a Christmas Tree that takes up half of our Living Room!

I wish I was kidding about the size of the tree. Unfortunately, I'm not! Why is it that when you're at the Christmas Tree Farm and looking at all the trees standing out in the field they look like a reasonable shape and size...then somehow on the way back to your house they grow exponentially??? We literally had to move furniture out of the Living Room to fit the tree in! We know we live in a teeny tiny Cape Cod so how we miscalculated so badly is anyone's guess. I think that Tony and I were both just so excited to have Lily with us that our common sense took a vacation!

When we started the adoption process to bring Lily home it was October of 2004. We shared our plans with our families that Christmas. Naturally, we had no way of knowing how long the wait would become or we might have kept the wonderful news to ourselves a little longer.

In October 2005, we were finally logged in with the China Center of Adoption Affairs and our dream of becoming a family of three appeared closer to reality. To remember what we thought would be our last childless Christmas we had a Christmas ornament made that read, "Waiting For Lily - 2005". Little did we know at the time we would still be waiting at Christmas 2006...so, we had another ornament made that reads, "Still Waiting For Lily - 2006". We are planning to go together this week to have an ornament made for this year. I've been trying to think of what to have written on it. Right now I'm thinking it will read, "Home At Last - Lily 2007". I think we'll also get one for celebrating our first Christmas as a family of 3!

This morning the three of us decorated our tree. Lily was far more interested in the bubble wrap that some of the ornaments were wrapped in then with the decorating process itself but it was so wonderful to have her here with us! Watching Lily help Tony put the angel on top of the tree actually gave me goosebumps.

Turnabout Is Fair Play

Every night during tubby time I hear lots and lots of laughter coming from the bathroom. Last night there was even more laughter than usual so I decided to investigate. Turns out that after months of Daddy washing Lily's hair she thought it was about time to return the favor!

You Might Have A Drinking Problem If...

...you pull into the Chik-Fil-A drive thru and from the backseat your 17 month old says, "Tea peease". You might be totally busted if at the time your husband is in the passenger seat and says, "Did she just say what I think she said?". Hey, I was just happy she didn't say, "May I have a large unsweetend iced tea with lemon."

Of course, I don't give Lily iced tea...and we don't eat any kind of fast food...but sometimes I've just got to have my caffeine fix. Since I don't drink coffee or soda, Chik-Fil-A's fresh brewed iced tea is just what the doctor ordered!

From Ho! Ho! Ho!....To Boo! Hoo! Hoo!

Saturday night was our annual McDonnell Family Christmas party...and Lily's first!

Lily wore her red and gold silk outfit we had made for her in China and she looked positively beautiful. This is the outfit she was wearing for her "red couch" picture. It was too big for her then but it's just about perfect right now and I thought it made a beautiful Christmas outfit. Dad Dad just loved seeing Lily in her traditional Chinese clothing.

Saturday night was also Lily's very first visit with Santa...and her last visit for quite a while I imagine! To say Lily didn't like Santa would be an understatement!! I'm sure it's nothing that a few good years of therapy wont correct. I've added a video clip so you can judge for yourself.

Luckily, Tony did not get to see how Lily responded to Santa. It's really odd... but every year when Santa arrives at the party Tony is no where to be found. Hmm...come to think of it...it's sort of like how Clark Kent is never around when Superman arrives. I wonder why that is.

Santa and Christina

Oh Daddy, it was just so terrible. That man in the red suit said, "Ho! Ho! Ho! to me."

But...Santa did have beautiful blue eyes just like yours!

It really was too bad. Lily cried her little heart out for a long, long time. She also had a really bad night of sleep...or should I say lack of sleep?

Not to worry...the night was not a complete bust. Lily also had her very first slumber party. Christina spent the night with us on Saturday night and Lily LOVED having her over. Lily just adores her big cousin Christina...and so do Lily's mom and dad!

Christina, let's stay up all night and tell ghost stories

I just have to share this. After Lily went to bed Christina and I stayed up and worked on some Christmas crafts. Christina was quiet for a little while and I thought she was just busy working away. I was wrong. Apparently Christina had something on her mind. Out of nowhere Christina said to me, "You know Aunt T, when I first found out you were going to be a mom I was really, really sad because I thought you wouldn't love me anymore... but, I just have to tell you...you're doing a really good job of being an aunt and a mother." Is she just too cute??!!

Mommy and her girls

Christmas Tree Hunting

Come on Daddy...move it...move it...move it!

I just love my antlers!

Yesterday as I watched Lily "help" Tony push the hand cart through the fields at the Christmas tree farm it hit me...Lily is home for Christmas!! Home...with us...with her family...where she is meant to be...and I started to cry. Honestly, I was weepy the rest of the day. Of course, they were happy tears...it's just that in some ways I still can't believe that we are a family of three and that we were out together doing one of my favorite Christmas traditions!

Daddy, why'd you pick me up? I was having fun running around!

Christmas tree hunting has always been one of my favorite traditions. No artificial tree or tree from some lot for me. No way!

Since I was a little girl I've loved going out in search of the perfect tree. When I was growing up we went Christmas tree hunting with families in our neighborhood. Sometimes it would take all day for everyone to find the right tree. You know how it is...everyone's idea of the perfect tree is not the same. Some families would want short needle, others long, some would want tall and skinny, others wanted short and round...and the hunt would continue. A bunch of us kids would pile in the back of my Dad's truck and we would sing Christmas Carols and goof around and have so much fun as we went from tree farm to tree farm. At times we'd complain about the cold and how long the hunt was taking...but it was always a really great day.

Daddy's laying down on the job.

For my family, once the hunt got narrowed down to two or three trees Dad would have one of us kids stand next to each tree while he and Mom would walk back and forth trying to decide which one to cut down. I was always afraid they wouldn't be able to find me again! After all, sometimes Patti, Pam, and I would mark our favorite trees by leaving a mitten or glove on top of the tree as a way of flagging it as one of our favorites. Then in the maze that is a Christmas tree farm we could never find our way back to that particular tree and the mitten or glove would be lost for good! What if that had happened to me, too??

I think this one is just perfect!

After all the neighbors found their trees we would all pile into our cars (there wasn't any room in the back of Dad's truck for us kids anymore since it was now stuffed full of Christmas trees!) and go out for lunch or dinner. Christmas tree hunting was always a long, cold day and when we got home we were exhausted...but happy and ready for some hot chocolate and cookies!

I can't decide which tree I like best. Can we just bring them all home, Mommy?

Our hunt for the perfect tree was actually relatively short compared to my childhood memories. The weather was mild and the fields were muddy but we had so much fun. We found the perfect Douglas Fir, Tony played lumberjack, we stopped for lunch, and Lily took her nap on the car ride home. I can't believe that this was just the first of many, many Christmas tree hunts we will go on as a family!

Yum, I love this queso.

I can eat cheese...and say "Cheese" at the same time!

Sassy New 'Do

Before

Since we've been home from China the hair on the top and back of Lily's head has been growing like a weed...now, if only we could convince the sides to join in! Honestly, our girlfriend has been sporting a major mullet with a touch of a comb-over thrown in for good measure. With Christmas right around the corner we decided to get Lily's hair cut again to try and shape it up a bit.

During

You should have seen our girl sitting in the chair on a booster seat like she gets her hair cut every day. I had bought along some snacks and toys to distract Lily if necessary but Danielle gave Lily a mini Magna Doodle to play with and Lily was enthralled.

After

Just like Lily's first haircut Aunt Pappy (aka Kitty Kodak) joined us. After Lily's haircut was finished...and we managed to wrestle the Magna Doodle from her hands...the 3 of us headed out to lunch. I'm sure Patti still can't believe how much spaghetti Lily can eat!

Aunt Pappy must be pretty special if I'll share my spaghetti with her!

Speaking of sassy new 'dos.....

Recently, my niece, Sadie, got her hair cut and donated 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love.

In May 2006, Kelli, the little sister of Sadie's childhood best friend, Ashley, died unexpectedly. Kelli had battled major health problems for many years and, in fact, was in the hospital recovering from a serious medical procedure when she died. Given all of that, Kelli's death was a terrible shock and an indescribable loss for her family and everyone who knew and loved her.

After Kelli died, Sadie decided she would grow her hair out and when it was long enough she would have it cut and donate it to Locks of Love. Several weekends ago...and just about a year and a half after Kelli's death...Sadie followed through on her promise. Thankfully, Kelli's mom and sister were at the salon when Sadie had her hair cut and were able to be a part of the special way Sadie chose to honor Kelli's life.

Sadie, as I've told you so many times...and will continue to tell you for the rest of my life...I think you are beautiful...inside and out!

My beautiful cousin, Sassy!