JACK AND DAISY

Here's Jack walking Daisy.

A visit from Grandma Joyce

Grandma Joyce visited this past weekend -- and brought a bag FULL of goodies! Jack's favorites seem to be the teddy bear cookies and the "big truck" (words which Jack says many, many times a day undoubtedly tied to the fact that Daddy has a big truck). We all had lots of fun playing, eating, and watching jack swim.

It was a bittersweet visit without the physical presence of Chris's dad, but I could feel him smiling down on all of us, giddy with excitement at Jack's silliness.

Just hang in there, the rest of the NC family, you will meet Jack soon! Until then, enjoy Jack through the pictures and videos that Grandma Joyce took while she was here with us.

Meeting Cousins

This weekend, Jack got to meet his cousin, Jill, her husband, Chris, and their son (Jack's "second" cousin? Cousin "once removed"?), Nathan. Nathan will be three in December.

Nathan was so sweet to Jack! He shared his pine cones that he found in the botanical gardens and showed Jack how to open a present from Chris's parents.

Random pics for your pleasure

Daddy and Jack after and during their hair cuts a few weeks ago. Yes, that's right, we took him for a trim, courtesy of our friend Natalie, soon after we arrived home.

Who's idea was it to give this boy so much sugar?!?! He is eating a cake topping saved from a baby shower given by my friend Margaret.
Riding on his new horsey from another friend named Margaret. He's learning to swing his leg over to hop on like a real cowboy!
I believe 21 months of age is far, far too young to be given carte blanche with chalk. Note the chalk around his mouth, too. If you could see his teeth, they would be blue, too. Speaking of teeth, he is cutting his first "US tooth" - it's number nine for his mouth.

First Day at the Beach for Jack

Yesterday morning we took Jack to the beach at the bay. Surely it must have been his very first time at the beach, right?!?

At first he was hesitant about walking in the sand, but it only took him a few seconds to get into the swing of it. He enjoyed being in the water, of course - as he is half fish, and quickly became content shoveling sand into his bucket and watching seagulls.

Daddy-O chills with Jack:

"What up, Daddy-O?!? Keep your sand on your own side!!"

Presents and a pic for Ye Ye

Here's Jack with his first set of cars from Wei and family!
And here's Jack with his first desk from the Ludwigs! So studious!

This one is for Ye Ye (Chris's father who passed away earlier this year). Ye Ye was a huge UNC Tarheel fan, and Jack is practicing his layout with this UNC ball!

One month since Gotcha Day!

It is hard to believe it has only been one month!

Here are some pictures from the past two weeks:

Splashing in the fountains at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. We go there a couple of times a week.

Feeding Maxine some Cheerios.

Feeding Daisy some Cheerios:

Splashing in his pool:

Working on the puzzle from Aunt JoAnne, Uncle Joe, and Cousin Danny:

Nai Nai is in town!

Nai Nai came to visit on Thursday. Nai Nai is the Chinese word for paternal grandmother. It isn't enough to say that Jack loves his Nai Nai.. Nai Nai ADORES and LOVES her grandson, too! Here is a picture of the introduction:


Jack may be looking a little woozy in the above picture, but that's because he had doctors' appointments that morning. And would you look at the smile on Nai Nai's face?! If you could hear her laugh when she hears Jack's laugh - it is GREAT, infectious! Nai Nai thinks Jack is awesome and super smart, and that is not a biased opinion.

What is that saying? That grandparents are there to spoil the child? Well... Jack now has the coolest red wagon - with room for two (don't get any ideas Nai Nai)! It is really an awesome gift, and we know Jack is very familiar with riding in wagons in the orphanage in Chengdu. Plus, Jack got lots of hugs and kisses from Nai Nai, too!

We have really enjoyed Nai Nai's visit and will miss her when she leaves. But Skype provided a great way to introduce her to Jack and will continue to be a favorite way to keep in touch until we see each other in person again. And Granny, we missed seeing you and are happy you are doing well!