August 2007 - Chillin’ with Mommy and Friends
I took 3 months off work to bond with my new daughter, so we went to Vacation Bible School at the Alameda campus of our church and spent much of the summer visiting the park, which seemed to be her favorite activity, aside from eating.
We continued to receive visitors, even from lands afar. This is Auntie Janet, who traveled all the way from Antioch. She has 2 girls of her own, which is apparent in her maternal demeanor.
While at Lincoln Square Recreation Center in Chinatown, we were offered tickets to the Oakland Raiders Fanfest. After considering whether there would be weirdos there, i.e. the Black Hole freaks, I decided to go since it was during the afternoon and geared towards children. We had fun taking pictures with players I had never heard of and seeing the Super Bowl trophies, which I’m sure were reproductions. Here’s Isabella with a Raiderette.
Auntie Lena invited us to go swimming with Olivia and Derek. They are a lot of fun and Bella loves playing with them.
We went to the park nearly every day! Bella, an avid A’s fan-to-be, especially enjoyed the swing and slide. She never wants to leave!
We met Ellen, Rick & Sarah (+ extended family), a family from our adoption travel group, at Nut Tree in Vacaville. They were in Sacramento (visiting from Virginia) for Grandma Yvonne’s big baby bash for Sarah. Bella loved seeing Auntie Ellen again. Sarah’s a cutie with her doe eyes and killer eyelashes!
Bella and Sarah LOVED the carousel. They must have ridden it 20 times! Here’s Bella on Tatiana the Tiger.
She could have ridden the carousel all day! So many animals, so little time!
We celebrated Auntie Linda’s birthday by spending the weekend in Monterey. We visited the aquarium, but the fish didn’t interest Bella as much as the crowds and the penguin eggshell display.
Bella attended her first wedding in late August, a beautiful outdoor ceremony uniting my second cousin, Julianne, and her husband. Bella is engaged in a Mandarin conversation with Julianne’s brother-in-law, Jiang.
Bella’s having her hair done! Well, not really, considering she doesn’t really have any hair. We visited Auntie Irene at her shop and Bella played with Rachel and Alice. They are quite animated and she loves them!