Panda legs and other thoughts.

Of course you all know our second child, P-Man, Panda or as Ella refers to him Pa-Pa. She seems to get the most comfort from his legs and feet these days, placing a leg just under her nose...

And she's serious about this, people. She likes to share the other leg with me when I'm holding her. A wise sage, she is. When I was this age, I was never without my "Snuffy Doll" - a leg under my nose, a thumb in my mouth.

We have had a busy week filled with new adventures. Last Sunday, we Skyped with Ella's first BFF, Lexie. Lexie and Ella share the special connection of their adoption journeys. Although Lexie's Mama has sent updated photos, Sunday was the first time we have seen each other 'live' since departing from China last year. In an instant, I was transported back to our time together. For two weeks, I knew everything about Lexie's schedule, her likes and dislikes. We watched our girls' personalities unfold together. I wanted to reach through the computer and touch her, make her giggle. I wish we lived closer.


My mom bought Ella great boots for stomping around in the springtime mess. You'll see here that Roz adores these boots and from her expression, is not hip to giving them up anytime soon. Ella is petrified of them. She gets them on by herself and then melts down in a fit of tears and screaming. Your guess is as good as mine on why!

But there is a fascination with footwear over the last week. She riffled through her closet and found these bright yellow shoes to finish out her ensemble on Saturday.


In light of spring's arrival, Ella had her first gardening experience planting daisies and sunflowers for our kitchen window. "Yucky", her words as we prepared the soil...


...then she tested out the little planting pots. While she thought I wasn't looking, she had her hand in rearranging one of my cupboards - with a smirk.


She is intrigued by what is going on in this soil. Each morning, she impatiently points and clamors for me to pick her up to check out the progress.

And we are watching the news, reading as much as we can about the earthquake and tsunami damage in Japan. Continued gray skies. An occasional sleepless night. Not having enough time in a day to complete the tasks at hand. It all falls into perspective, rather quick-like. Our hearts ache.

More pictures coming at you soon. ~H, L & EML