Having Lunch with Nicole at School is SO SPECIAL!

Eskimo kisses are so fun!

I FINALLY Saw My Daughter!!!!!

I had lunch at school with Nicole!!!!! It was beyond a wonderful moment seeing my baby girl!!

I am very happy to say, Nicole responded to me extremely positively. I was afraid since it had been so long that she would be hesitant, angry or something to that affect. It was the opposite. She was hugs and kisses galore with a huge smile on her face that wouldn't quit!

Nicole needs her Mommy and her Mommy needs her. It is SO WRONG that her "father" would deny Nicole to me and me to her. Heartless.

After lunch, it was naptime. I was able to go into the nap room and snuggle with her for a little while. She could sense that I wasn't going to be able to stay with her... You could see the sad look on her face. It was totally heartbreaking. She held on to me tighter and tighter. She did not want me to go. I sure did NOT want to leave her.

Needless to say, I am going to go have lunch with Nicole again as soon as possible. I miss my baby girl.

October 4, 2005

October 4, 2005.... Just three years ago today at 11:29a.m. I found out I was a new Mommy of a beautiful little girl named Chen Tong Shu. Her name means easy child. She was a happy, healthy, 9 month old baby who is now named Nicole Tong Shu. The call of the wonderful news came from Kim at CCAI. "Congratulations! You are a new Mommy of a beautiful healthy baby girl!" Wow, I was actually a Mommy. Nicole was born on February 9, 2005 in ChenZhou China- Hunan Province. Yes... she's my "chili girl". Three years ago today is one of many days I will remember for a lifetime. Nicole... Mommy loves you.

Update on My Sweetie-Pie

Remember Pop-Rocks? Nicole had her first experience eating them. Just watching the expression on her face was priceless when she they first started popping in her mouth. Her expression was like she didn't really know what to make of it. Like she was trying to figure it out. That is my inquisitive girl!

Tired girl. Mommy has worn her out. Nicole does very well sleeping at night. A majority of the time, she will go to sleep in her own bed without a problem. On a few occasions, she will really push me to try and get me to let her sleep in my bed. As hard as that is saying no to her, I stick to it. Some parents may believe that it's okay but I am not one of them. To me, Nicole should sleep in her own bed. She knows that I am in the room right next to her. There are times that I wake up in the morning and find her in bed with me.... Yep, she would sneak in, crawl into bed with me and I would wake up with her bottom in my face or her legs sprawled over me. Too cute.

These are Nicole's adorable feet. She took this picture herself!

Gorgeous picture of the Gulf with a storm coming in.

We had soooo much fun bouncing and rolling around on this ball. Oh my goodness... It was hilarious. We were both all over the place on that thing!

When Nicole is with me, we spend alot of time playing. She really likes going to the beach and playing in the pool. She does a very good job with her writing. I will write out a word and have her trace over it. She does that and then she will write the word down on her own. She can already write her name (by memory) without looking at it or tracing it. She knows the months of the year too.

Nicole absolutely loves books. She loves being read to and then reading them to me. It is so impressive. She will make up her own story based on the pictures in the book. If it is a book that we have read once or twice, she has the basic story line memorized. Her memory is impeccable.

Nicole is still a very good eater. She'll eat pretty much anything. One thing she doesn't like is tea though. She will want to have coffee with me in the morning (mostly milk with a couple of drops of coffee) but when she wants a sip of my tea.. No way. She wants nothing to do with it.

Nicole is in pre-K now. Sadly, her 'father' will not put me on the emergency contact list, therefore, I am not allowed to get any information regarding Nicole and school unless she tells me herself. Her 'father' won't tell me a thing about how she is doing, what hours she goes, whether she struggles in any areas or not, etc. It is sickening. There is so much more to it than just that but it is not wise for me to post it. One day, Nicole will see her father for who he is though.

More beautiful pictures of my baby girl

Another fun weekend together...

Nicole, Carrie (from work) and I went to the beach and pool last weekend. We had so much fun. I absolutely love spending every moment I can with Nicole. She is such an angel.











What a beautiful daughter I have.



























It's getting a tad too warm out so we decided to relocate to the pool.

Talk about being relaxed!!! This is too precious.

Nicole does great in the water just as she did when she was a baby. Prior to getting into the kiddie pool, she and I took a dip in the regular pool. When she has the inner-tube around her, she can basically swim on her own. She was using her arms and her legs to swim with the comfort of the inner-tube keeping her afloat. Maybe she was a little too comfortable. I wouldn't even let my hands get an inch away from her!

I've known for quite some time now but if I haven't mentioned it... Nicole is definitely left handed. She is doing really, really well with her writing. She can write her own name!

Nicole still loves playing on her laptop (like Mommy). She has already told me that she wants me to buy her a real one when she gets older. :~) She had her little helper in this picture... her new baby-doll.

I wish I had pictures on my camera from last Friday night. I took Nicole on her first go-cart ride. She absolutely loved it until someone accidentally bumped into us. That startled her so that took away 'some' of the excitement for her. It was really neat... We had a go-cart that had two seats (side by side) and they pulled the stearing wheel up really close to Nicole so she "stear" the go-cart. The smile on her face and the contagious laughter that was coming from her was such a wonderful mommy-daughter experience. I am sad that I couldn't capture that on the camera... It's etched in my memory but I want that picture to be hanging on the wall at home. She is a very happy girl.

Nicole is not only happy but she is also well behaved. Yes, she'll test me from time to time but as a whole... no problems. I don't even have to put her in time-out anymore. She knows when she is doing something wrong so I start the count to 3 but by the time I get to either 1 or 2, she either stops doing what she is not supposed to do or she does what she was asked to do. Either way, she listens and comprehends that there are consequences to her actions.... Meaning, if she's misbehaving she knows it will result in time-out. She definitely gets that concept which is why she's never put into time-out anymore!

She also loves to wear dresses. As soon as we walk in the door, her clothes come off and she's asking me to get one of her dresses for her. She LOVES dresses! Sounds like Mommy when she was little.