Is she not the sweetest little girl ever? Ok yes, I’m completely biased and in no way expect you to agree but yes, for this Mommy she is the most amazing daughter in the whole entire world!!!
(The pic in the post below that is on the cover of our 2010 album was her first Birthday pic. Wow! What a difference a year makes!)
Hannah’s main birthday gift from my parents and I was a little Princess electric riding toy. Auntie Deb gave her a cute little pink toddler bike helmet with ladybugs on it and she was set to roll!
My niece Rebecca helped to catch this fun video when Hannah discovered her new toy.
The weather turned cold and snowy after she received her gift so we needed to wait for a few weeks to take it out for a spin. While she waited she test drove it in the house. Sometimes successfully….
sometimes not so much! 
And lest you think the transition to a bike helmet was an easy one I give you one (of many) helmet meltdowns. Ah…..2!
Finally it cleared up a bit and was warm enough so that he little fingers wouldn’t get frostbitten as she drove and I tell you, Hannah was ready to roll!!
This video won’t win any prizes but I tell you the giggles alone are worth watching it! (Sure hope she hasn’t learned these skills from my driving!)
It didn’t take but a few minutes for her to get the hand of things and we were off! There is a quiet street where we live that she can drive on which makes mommy very happy since she hasn’t gotten the hand of driving in a straight line yet!
My curious little muffin needed to check under the hood to see how everything works. It’s not unusual for her to check things out which makes me wonder what she’ll decide to be when she grows up. 
Our first ride was a huge success as have been others since. I can already tell we’re going to have lots and lots of fun with this toy! It sure will be nice though when she can drive it without her little mitts hanging down. C’mon spring!!!
Life has been a fun kind of busy this week so blogging has been put on the back burner. (Part of that busyness has been ordering a book of last year’s blog from Blog2Print. I’m excited to have a copy of this journal in hard copy for Hannah and I to enjoy for years to come.)
The day before Hannah’s birthday we celebrated with a birthday party for she and 8 of her little friends. The theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we had such fun! 
An attempt to take a group pic. It was a lot like herding cats!! I took about a dozen pics and this was the best of the group. :o) Really, they were having a good time even though it’s hard to see in this pic. 
This is a little clip of what it was like trying to get all the kids in one group shot. Heh!!
One of the toys the rec centre had was a popcorn table and it was a huge hit with the kiddos! I think I’ll be taking a trip to Bulk Barn soon and buying popcorn kernels for Hannah to play with. A great option during the cold winter weather when pool time isn’t an option.
It was fun when I looked over one time and this little group was gathered around the popcorn table. This is Hannah plus her 3 daycare friends. They have such fun together each day and I love the friendships that Hannah is building with all 3 of these other kiddos. 
The adorable Miss Molly posing with the big yellow ball
Pea knows that real men push pink strollers!
Chick and Pea offered to loan Hannah their slide for the party and it was a big hit with the kids! Chick is showing her friends how to use the slide. 
Singing Happy Birthday! Hannah was so excited this year when we sang Happy Birthday to her. Check out that beautiful smile!
Thank you for coming everyone and helping to make Hannah’s 2nd Birthday extra special! As I looked at the group picture above it suddenly occurred to me that all of these friends are the children of new friends I’ve made over the past 6 years. God has not only blessed Hannah and I with family and friends who have been part of my life for years, but He has also blessed us with an entirely new group of friends and we are both thankful for them!!
2nd Birthday pics of my beautiful Hannah XiaoFen!
This was my sweet baby girl just one short year ago
Look at her grow!!!
Birthday celebrations spread over 8 days.
7 birthday cakes to enjoy.
14 candles to blow out.
More love and excitement than I can express!
These past 8 days have been filled with so many birthday celebrations for Hannah that I’m guessing tomorrow she’ll wonder what’s happened? Hannah is loved by so many and they all wanted to celebrate her birthday in a special way so we partied over and over and over again!
You know what’s so neat? Every-single-time we began to sing Happy Birthday to her her little face lit up and she was absolutely adorable. That little face is captured well in the first video below. By the end of the weekend Hannah was even joining in on the singing and today serenaded herself on more than one occasion. The words are creative but there’s no questioning what it is she’s singing. Enjoy the cuteness!
And we continued after a quick call from Hannah’s cousin who had been trying to call her for a couple of days to wish her a Happy Birthday. Thanks Noah!
I’m working my way through many pics and videos so there will be more birthday posts to come but for now, wanted to share these with you.
Two already? Truly, how did that happen???
What an absolutely amazing little girl my Hannah is!! Babyhood has all too quickly been left behind and she is now all toddler. She loves to smile and shares that smile freely with others. As we walk through the grocery store she is known to smile at others and sometimes even call out ‘hi!’ When we leave a store she’s quick to say ‘thank you’ and leave with a wave. She brightens so many lives with her sweet, sweet personality!
I cannot tell you how many times she makes me smile every single day! Hannah has a sweet personality and love oozes from her! She will spontaneously come up and give me hugs and kisses and loves to cuddle and snuggle. When we first met she didn’t like anyone to touch her hands. Now we fall asleep each night with our hands intertwined and throughout the night Hannah will gently call out, ‘hand’ which means she wants to hold mommy’s hand. Such sweet and precious moments.
As she has grown, so has her wonderful personality! She has a spunk that will take her far. She is also full of energy and loves to run, jump, climb and spin. People often tease that she skipped directly from crawling to running as she’d prefer to get places fast. We are attending a gymnastics class and already in just 3 short weeks her confidence has grown. When the teacher says it’s water time she runs across the gym and quickly finds her water from amongst those on the shelf. So smart!! If I could just convince her that the bed is not another trampoline I’d be doing well! She has no fear so I need to be on my toes and let her know when things are safe and when she needs not to do something to be safe.
Hannah has so many wonderful friends and it’s really neat to watch them change from playing beside one another to interacting and playing with one another. They are creative, imaginative and a true delight. Tea parties are a fun part of each of our days and I really look forward to these. Hannah is a great hostess and always makes sure Mommy’s cup is filled with tea and a cookie accompanies it.
This year when Hannah has gone from crawling to running and climbing. She handles the stairs very well and is still cautious which I truly appreciate.
Hannah has shown what I believe is to be wisdom beyond her young age. She is a logical thinker and often surprises me. Last week I opened the fridge and asked her to put something in. Without me saying a word she reached in and pulled out a small container of yogurt and put the larger container in the spot and then placed the smaller container on top. Wow! At the same time she’s still learning and growing every single day. I’d be happy to do nothing else but watch her explore and learn about the world around her.
Lately, my busy, busy girl has also started to enjoy her quiet time a bit more. For a while I teased that she had two speeds: fast forward and sleep. Now she will sit and enjoy a story that I am reading to her or even take a book and quietly and patiently turn the pages, chattering about what she sees on each page.
Speaking of chatter, Hannah has the sweetest little voice and she loves to chatter all day long. Often the words are understandable and other times it’s just sweet little baby talk. For months now she has understood virtually everything I have said to her and now she can respond. No longer does she just ‘parrot’ what is said to her, she takes the initiative to talk with me and tell me what on her mind. Precious, precious little girl with so much to share!
There is so much more I want to share with you about all that is Hannah but that will need to wait for another post. More to come....I promise.
As Hannah and I are settling down for the night it is already February 27th in China and I know your heart must wonder how your sweet baby girl is. Where is she? How is she? Please know that as we said our bedtime prayers tonight we prayed for you. We asked God to give you a peace only He can provide. You are a beautifully courageous woman who gave life to Hannah and a daughter to me.
You are on my heart as I am once again overwhelmed with love and thankfulness to you for the gift of Hannah. Even though I don’t know who you are I see you in Hannah. It is your beautiful black hair and almond shaped eyes that she shares. She has the most perfect little rosebud mouth, beautiful long fingers and cuddly warm skin. She is absolutely perfect from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
I talk to Hannah about you even though she is still so young. I want her to always know that she has a mother in China who loved her so very much that she chose to carry her for 9 months and then she made what I believe is the hardest decision in her life and allowed someone else to raise her. For as long as I can remember I knew that I wanted to be a mom and God chose you to carry my daughter. God brought Hannah and I together as mother and daughter, gathering us together from two sides of the earth to become one family and you are an important part of that too. I don’t for one moment want to take for granted the sacrifice you made for Hannah and I to become mother and daughter.
My heart cannot express my thankfulness to you for the gift of Hannah. May you know how thankful I am and may God bless you for the selfless sacrifice you made.
Catherine
