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We went to Santa Barbara, California to visit Louanne’s family. Nonni got a chance to see the baby in non-jet lag mode and everyone else got to meet Nadia for the first time. My mom and Brian had a little birthday party on Thursday night and I asked my mom for chocolate cake for Nadia and I. The photos above show the cakes and what Nadia thought of her first bite of chocolate cake- she actually spit it out which just made us all laugh. My mom made lasagna which was totally yummy and a good time was had by all.

The photo above was of Nadia at the beach on the west coast for the first time. I love that big toothy smile! We went down to the beach with my sister Michelle and Nadia was not too sure what she thought of the sand. She preferred to be held by one of us rather than be on the ground. The weather was perfect and the sky was clear. I was so excited that Michelle was able to drive down from Santa Clara and she even brought Nadia a cute little cranberry Santa Clara hoodie. Click on the photo above to see all the photos from the beach. Below is a great one of Michelle and I at the entrance to the Santa Barbara Harbor.

The photo below shows a small sampling of the all the people that Nadia got to meet on the trip. Click the photo to see the slideshow from our Santa Barbara visit. Nadia got her first balloon from the waitress at Sambo’s. It’s the original Sambo’s restaurant and the location of my first job as a hostess at age 14. They have awesome pancakes and blueberry muffins, but I love the tuna melt. My mom took us all over Santa Barbara introducing Nadia to everyone from Lori in her office to the man who does her nails. She is a very excited Grandma 😉

After the beach and a nap for Nadia…..Mike, Michelle, Nadia and I all went to the Pumpkin Patch at Lane Farms. They had a corn maze (a maize maze?) that we never found the end of, hay rides for the kids, a petting zoo and a big old horse with a sign that said not to feed him. Michelle found a nice pumpkin to put on her patio in Santa Clara and we picked up a couple mini pumpkins too. Click the photo below for the whole slide show and I added a couple of my favorite shots.

We took Nadia to her 12 month check up and the doctor thinks that she is doing great. She is on target with all the developmental milestones and she is free to have all kinds of table food now. It’s going to be a whole new world for her as she has enjoyed what we have already been giving her including eggs, cheerios and macaroni and cheese. The doctor does want us to keep her on formula/rice cereal mix for another 3 months so that she can continue to get a lot of extra calories to keep gaining weight.

Nadia gained 1 pound 10 ounces since her last check up and grew half an inch. She is now up 3 pounds 14 ounces since China and about 2 inches. On the American growth charts she is in the 5th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height. She is a tiny little thing, but healthy as can be and we are so blessed. This of course explains why she is still wearing 6-9 month clothes 🙂

Nadia is one year old today. Monday the 22nd marked 3 months since she was placed in our arms. Mike and I watched the Gotcha Day video last night with my Aunt Paula and it was overwhelming in a way. I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest thinking about that day and how I felt after all the time and waiting and prayer for this child. She was so skinny and her hair was practically buzz cut short and she had the big bald spot on her head from what we assume was a boil that had to be removed. She was so hot and sweaty in her little jammies.

As I watched I saw that she looked at us like she looks at all strangers now. She is not afraid of people, she just takes her time looking you over and analyzing the situation. To see her looking at me so intently on that day made me smile. To think that now she has a baby “belly” and little chubby fat baby arms and legs now is adorable. Her hair has gotten really grown in, and if they hadn’t cut it she could practically wear pig tails now.

Here is a photo from China in the jammies we took that turned out to be GIANT on her. Then the second photo will take you to the recent photos of her in those same jammies. The following photos are from the first time Louanne gave Nadia macaroni and cheese. She LOVED it and kept asking for more. She loves mac and cheese and for her birthday dinner Louanne made homemade baked mac and cheese (good eats recipe) and she loved it too.

Later this week I will get the photos up from her birthday dinner and the trip to California and Colorado.