I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Our perfect day started with our family and friends joining us at our home to spend some time together talking, eating and laughing. Time FLEW! And, all of a sudden Dan said to me, "Wendy, we have 15 minutes to be ready for the baptism and out the door!" I'll tell you, Johnny Wei sure does look happy AND ready. Look at this smile!

But, we made it - barely! (Father Brown was very relaxed and even held up the mass a minute or two as we waited for Dan to park the car.) Johnny, Johnny's Godparents (Tom and Sandy Apidone), Dan and I joined Father and the others in the procession toward the front of the church which began the mass. It was a truly warm and loving baptism, complete with Madison, Abby and Adam being present at the baptismal font.

We are so pleased to announce that

our sweet Johnny Wei

is an OFFICIAL member

of the Catholic Church!

Jesus loves you, Johnny!!!

(And, so do we!)

Johnny Wei takes his first baby steps!!!

"Watch me go!"

Oh my gosh, we are SO excited to announce that our little boy has tried his first steps this week!!! To think - he was only rolling over when we brought him home - how far he has come.

Madison, Abby and Adam are joyous, too. Each 'try' from Johnny elicits a big, "MOM! DAD! HE JUST TOOK A FEW STEPS!!!" What a little sweetheart. You should see the grin on his face!

Now it's really time to baby proof!

Once every two weeks, we have a playdate here for Johnny Wei. His name is Malec. Look what they were up to yesterday:

Baby Malec had his 1st birthday last month. He's walking confidently by now and is trying to teach Johnny everything he knows. It really is comical to see the strides Johnny makes the day after their playdate.

Is this little face fun to kiss or what?

Ohmygosh!

How can we resist?

Look at me growing!!!

Johnny was at his 18-month well-child checkup a couple weeks ago and is doing beautifully! His doctor, Dr. Schulte, was just giddy with his progress. Johnny is not yet walking independently, but is upright everywhere he can get a little assistance. It's beautiful to watch him grow. Hmm. About the growth, however. We thought he had reached the 20 pound mark, but he still has not made it according to the scale at the Cleveland Clinic. Even so, Dr. Schulte switched him from his soy formula (which she wanted him on until he hit the big 2-0#) to regular milk. Whew! Now we can afford to feed him! HA! Just kidding! He loves milk and seems to have an even better appetite for food since the switch.

A few weeks back, Johnny received a very special and thoughtful gift. Our friends, who have also adopted, presented him with a gift - a little Chinese boy! "Thank you, Jerry, Marcy, Andy, Audrey, Lucy, Charlie and JJ!" Here is a picture of Marcy holding Johnny with his look-alike. I cannot help but to smile when I look at how happy they both are!

Johnny has adjusted so naturally to all the noise and activity in our home. One thing he didn't miss a beat on was telling the dogs who's boss. Harley doesn't mind. Here is a picture of Johnny and Harley - not a hard one to capture. When it's eating time, you can ALWAYS depend on the dogs to lend a helping 'paw' to clean up what falls from the highchair! One of Johnny's first words was "No da!" for "No, doggie!" Funny part is, he does use it appropriately, but also uses it when I tell him not to touch something.

Mom: "Don't touch the keyboard."

Johnny: "No da!" (with a flash of a sweet

smile and quick another attempt...)

Enjoy the cooler fall weather!

Johnny hits the pool!

There is a terrific pool at Vero Beach resort. They had a flotation for babies - appropriately named, "The Baby Float"!

Here's Johnny Wei!

Thank goodness for sunscreen and water. We're having a great time! Tomorrow we're off to the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando. It's about a 2-hour drive.

Hello, Everyone!

We've been away - so to speak - for some time now. It's been all good, though. The kids are out of school and we're workin' on vacation #3 since Johnny's arrival home. The first trip was a quick "trial" to COSI in Columbus, Ohio. The 2nd trip was to Jellystone Campground in Fremont, Indiana. We spent time there with Mom and Dad, Barb's family and Tim's family.

And, we are currently on vacation #3. We spent a day in Tennessee with Uncle Jim and Aunt Dorothy and all 4 of my cousins/families. What a joy! We swam at Cousin Sandra's and Chris' pool and got to know our family a little better. We've only been out to see them 3 times, and each time we have the opportunity to see - for the first time - more cousins' children. (Please excuse the incorrect apostrophes... :-) ) Time was too short there! Tennessee is my kind of state! (Go, RED!)

So, the second leg of our vacation is here in Vero Beach, Florida. It's GORGEOUS! We're in the Disney Resort located on the beach. Between the pool, play areas and beachfront, the kids are having a well-exercised ball! Last night we decided to wake up early this am to watch God give us the gift of the morning sun. Sunrise was at 6:40. There were a few others that were along the shore with us (one woman who managed to dive into the ocean in the middle of 'our scene' at sunrise - how dare she!)

The last part of our trip will be spent at the new Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, Florida. Pray for continued health. Life is so good when everyone feels great!

Johnny Wei has come so far. Here is a little footage of our little guy that Dan took back at the ranch. He's 'commando crawling', getting a toy (even though it's a dog's toy) and saying "Hi" and "Bye". God love him! Can you tell we're proud? How can you blame us? Tee heeee heeee!!! Enjoy!

Official citizen of the Unites States of America

Hi everyone! I did it! I'm an official citizen of the United States of America!!! I knew if I was a good boy that it would happen. And, boy-o-boy, have I been a GOOD BOY! I have my forever family and I love my life - even with Champ and Harley, those crazy Golden Retrievers. (I never saw anything quite like them in China!)

Celebrate with me and wave the stars and stripes. (Mom, can I still have a Chinese flag in my room? Absolutely, Johnny!)

Things are going so well. We took our first getaway as a family of 6 to Columbus. Johnny was totally at ease with all the people at the COSI museum.

He's been conditioned very well! Madison, Abby and Adam did a load of swimming and the trip was a nice time for all of us.

Just a few pictures!

We've been doing so well! Other than an intestinal bug, Johnny's labs are really good. He's adjusting incredibly well. It seems that he loves it here. I'm sorry I've been so negligent on photos! Hopefully, these will be worth the wait

The kids made a wall of homecoming pictures for our arrival, which hung between the kitchen and family room. Here we are!!!

The girls have been enjoying being the big sister to their littlest brother. Check it out!

By the way - Don't underestimate Abby's mothering instinct by the fact Johnny is sporting only one sock. Keeping his feeties covered is a full-time job these days. He is really enjoying pulling those socks off. We've tried the shoes on game and there are times he'll even get the shoe AND sock off - just to show US who's boss! HA! You cannot see the writing on his shirt in the photo with Abby, but it says, "Made In China".

What a cute little face!

I think "Grand-ma-ma" is super enjoying her new little grandson!Harley is dearling loving being an example of how much fun a dog can be. He's really come a long way. At first he'd paw and compete. Now, he's actually laying down beside Johnny and being a good, calm boy. "That's my Golden!" Notice Champ in the background. He's just a gem. He's taught Harley everything he knows on how to be worth his weight in GOLD. Here is a pic of Adam, too. He's getting used to no longer being the 'youngest boy'. He'll soon be sure once again that Momma and Daddy love him just as much as EVER!

Johnny has realized that when I hold the camera to my eyes that there is going to be a big flash. Accordingly, he's been closing his eyes before the flash even goes off! What a riot! Get a load of those Converse tennies. They are a hand-me-down from his big brother, Adam!

And, one more for the road. This ought to help with those camera flashes! We were told it's hard to fit Asians with glasses due to the bridge of their nose being so flat between their eyes. Well, there you have it. It works!