Just few pictures of our little princess....

It's quite a while last time I posted, I plan to write something everyday but get distracted with the Internet or planning Vivienne's birthday party, that's close and didn't even started making the invitations.
For my older daughters I remember start preparing for the birthday months before but I am just realizing that I am "out of practice" (is that the right way to say? anyway, you may know what I mean...).
For Gabriela and Letycia I made picture albums for every birthday, including their invitation, and also they had pictures taken at a professional studio every year till they reached 15 (Letycia missed hers due to dance competition...), and for Vivienne I want to do exactly the same. The difference will be for the number of guests that this time, for Vivienne being home exactly two months when she turns two, we will invite only close friends, people that followed our adoption very close and was always there supporting us during our frustrations and cheering with us when we received her referral , when we left for China, in China and today in our home.
But today Vivienne saw a little snow for the first time and had a funny first reaction... she got scared and cried, so Gabby started playing with her and let her feel the snow in her face then the cry changed to a big laugh.... that's my little one... a happy sweet little girl that we are all crazy in love... already saying few words in English and Portuguese...cute, smart and full of energy!!!! Thanks God for this bless in our life!

Just posting some pictures we took from the past  few weeks...







tio Hugo's birthday





Just loved the pumpkins....





.....but not on Halloween night!



it was hard to take her out of her ladybug costume

first snow reaction....



fun!!!



Yesterday, Gabby's birthday and our first month of Forever Family was great.
If you would walk inside our house before 4:00 PM you would believe we had had some kind of tornado in our ....... family room????? no, not anymore..... play room sounds better..... I just let Vivi do all the mess she wanted, it kept her quiet and I was able to cook. Time to tide up the mess was not very fun because I had not too much time left and wanted to be fast, and then started the crying, not because I was organizing her toys but because she wanted to help and I wanted to do it by myself. Everyday before naps and bedtime we have the tiding up song and Vivi is a great helper, so I am taking advantage now that she wants to help because I know that in few years, specially in her teen years, she will cry when asked to do something... too tired, too much work from school.... I know it very well with the experience with Vivienne older sisters...
Vivi enjoyed her big sister's birthday, thought that the gift she was giving her sister was hers but exchanged it for the empty box; didn't want to try the cappuccino cupcake or to blow a candle; played a lot with her sisters and Jan, Gabby's boyfriend; danced when Letycia played the piano and by 8:00 PM, like an automatic alarm clock, she pointed upstairs and wanted to go up..... time for her bath and bed! For me this is just incredible, never worked with our older daughters that would that hours for them to get to sleep, or if we had people home no way to put them to bed.... I remember been very tiring....
And today is a rainy day; Vivi and I went for our "work" routine earlier because Letycia had picture re-take at school, as she lost the picture day due to our trip to China, and now she will have only her single picture of grade 12 instead of with the class group, so I thought about enjoying a nap too as I have "nothing" to do but it didn't work the way as expected because after 1/2 hour in her bed Vivi decided she wanted to go down and play and that's it.... now she is peacefully playing with her dolls and I am writing.
Probably Vivi is going to have an early lunch and hopefully a long nap after that to keep her good mood up!

By the way......

A big thanks to my friend Fatima (tia Fatima for Vivi), Vivi is so much in love with her special pillow. Matched just perfect for her chair!

Tomorrow, October 19 - one month as a family of 5

I should be writing this post tomorrow, but tomorrow is going to be a busy day as is Gabriela 23rd birthday and she is coming home to celebrate with us.  I will be cooking a special dinner ( maybe) and had a request not for a birthday cake this year but for the cappuccino cupcakes that I just make in special occasions or order.... a good opportunity also for Vivienne to practice blowing a candle for her birthday that is going to be next month.
Vivienne is doing great, and I can tell you that everything that was written on her referral about her personality is true!  So far I started losing some weight, no need to go for the gym or diet.... just walking a lot inside the house and pulling the stroller.
Two weeks was enough for everybody to get back to the normal time, specially Vivienne, that sleeps through the night, in her own room, and now that she is in our routine time, waking up at 6:30 because I am the driver of the house and she is my partner, she is taking two naps during the day.
We learned another thing about her "moods" - our first week home she was a good girl but had lots of "her moments", which we didn't experience with our older daughters, and for us her attitude was a little unpleasant and probably some more of her "testings", so we decided for the time out and see if it would work... for our surprise it worked and we are pretty sure that she experienced the time out in China a lot. She sat patiently on the sofa and waited for us to tell her that it was ok to go back and play. The second week she had almost no time out, very good girl, until Saturday afternoon when her big sister came home to visit with her boy friend and friend that wanted to meet her..... she got excited, changed her mood many times, and had to go to bed earlier. From Saturday to Sunday she woke up several times and Claudio and I slept almost nothing. To help, Sunday wasn't a very nice day with rain in the morning and Vivienne still in a not very good mood. So we decided to go out for a long drive and after walk with her in our neighbourhood..... that's it, my girl needed to go out. When we came back home she was in a very happy mood and tired. She was in bed by 8 and slept through the night.
Yesterday morning, after we arrived home from our "work", she looked a bit tired and I put her to bed and she slept for an hour, woke up with the beautiful smile that she has on her face every time she wakes up doesn't matter what time it is, and had a wonderful morning. Another nap after lunch and another wonderful time till bed time. No time out needed and this morning same thing.
So, to keep our little Miss Vivi in good spirits just to be sure she has her naps and take her out everyday with sun or rain..... and that's just great because I love to be out of the house too.
Another thing about Vivienne is that the attachment continues to be great. Doesn't matter where she goes, how many people holds her,  she always wants to come to mommy or daddy - she knows we are her family.
This morning after her nap we went to the shopping center for the first time since we are home, and I was just wondering about her behavior but she was just fine, talking to people in her Chinese baby language and receiving lots of "ahhhh she is sooo cute"..... and off course she had to blow a kiss to the lady at the store where we were getting a gift for a wedding shower. She is a joy!
And to complete, she had two blood tests this week to check her thyroid  and no crying at all .... brave girl, like her sister Letycia.
I am posting some pictures that were taken this last two weeks home, some in our friend's home too where she had a blast.. and for sure I know tia Fatima will spoil Vivienne same way she did to Letycia!!!!!