Catching up....

Ivy and her boyfriend Nikko! She loves him! Eryn and Nikko came over for lunch and we had a great visit!

We visited the Patterson family in San Francisco for a Valentines day Brunch! This is my friend Dianne holding Camden Patterson- and boy crazy Ivy reaching out for him :)

Ivy enjoying the Valentines present from Daddy! A vermont teddy bear with pajamas that match the ones he bought for me! She loves the bear!

Ivy loves riding on the swing at the playground... the higher the better!

Ok, so here's the update... Ivy is busy all the time these days. Her disposition continues to be delightful, but she is now a little bit squirmy when we are out and about. She wants to be down on the floor crawling, standing and holding on to something or taking small steps while holding hands with a willing participant. We've been staying busy every day with lots of play and a long walk in the stroller. She's loves to turn the pages of her many books, loves all of her teddy bears, loves her baby doll and stroller. She laughs all the time, claps her hands at things she likes, waves to people when she sees them, eats a growing variety of foods, and jabbers to herself and us in a growing vocabulary of her own invention.

I know I've said this before, but I'm convinced that teeth are on the way== she's chewing on her fingers and seems a bit pensive. Time will tell!

She is crawling in her own unique style- as you you might expect. She bends one knee in front of her and the other leg trails behind her and she pulls herself on her hands. It sounds kind of wierd, and it really looks funny, but she can get all over the house like that! She pulls herself up on her knees all the time on the furniture-- just a matter of time before she's walking, I think!

The last piece of news we have is that our court date to finalize Ivy's adoption. So on March 16th, we'll join two other families at the courthouse in Roseville to make the paperwork official!

Can't wait for spring...

Hawaii... part 2 at last....

Ivy in Lahaina- this was the hottest weather of our whole trip. The picture on the beach was the first sand experience that she had without crying. She definitely didn't want to touch the sand... note the curled feet!

Left Maui for a couple of quick days in Waikiki! Wish we could have stayed longer, it was wonderful! We walked the length of the beach one day, and visited the International marketplace... got Ivy a pearl pendant for "later" and I got one too.



Like the beach, Ivy wasn't too sure about the pool. I think the problem is that the water wasn't too warm... its not like the bathtub at home!

Yes, dorky Handshoe family... we all have matching outfits!

Our last morning before we caught our plane, I wanted to get a few more beach pictures! The beach was almost fun for her on the last visit!

We had a wonderful dinner with the Jones family at the Ala Moana shopping center! Little girls and their daddies!

Hawaii part 1

So we are on Maui for a few days for a work conference... good timing for us, since it's been non-stop rain at home since we left!

Ivy travelled well on the plane, it's not as easy as it was a couple of months ago... she's a lot more active now, but she's still a great traveller. Her adjustment to the new time zone wasn't as easy as we would have hoped... she continues to wake at 5:30, thinking it's 7:30 at home. Naps are a little hit or miss here- it's pretty clear she doesn't want to miss anything!

We've really enjoyed showing the baby off to our friends and acquaintences here at the NAPA meeting in Maui- she's got quite a fan club! This meeting is one that Brian and I attend every winter, and I can tell you that it's very differnt with Ivy in tow! For example, tonight, we were tucked up in our room with some takeout dinner at about 6:45 pm... and very happy to be there. Other years, we'd be out to dinner, having a romantic cocktail by the ocean... etc. The joy I've had introducing her around, is worth tucking into our room early! Fortunately, we've been able to take her to all of the events - so that's nice!

On monday, Ivy and I splurged and rented a cabana for the day- to hang out near the beach. It was perfect-- shady, room for all of our stuff, close to the beach, a little bit of lawn to play on... We really enjoyed it- there are some pictures of her in the cabana- and one of her playing peek a boo around the shade!

We bought Ivy a grass skirt... and a silke flower lei right when we got off the plane... I bought her another one today, in a different color! More pictures to follow!

This hotel is beautiful, and I've been enjoying walking arond on the grounds and watching the birds and looking at the tropical foliage! I even spotted some deer heading off into the brush the other day!

Snow!

So exciting to visit the cabin near Tahoe for the first time with tiny Ivy!

My dad is standing in the picture window, showing Ivy the snow...

There was about 3 inches of snow on the ground, and it snowed about 1/2 an inch 2 times while we were there. This night picture is of the guest house my parents built for us to enjoy when we visit. So nice to have our own space! It is like a bed and breakfast- so beautiful!

We think that Ivy was having a pretty hard time with teething for part of the time we were there... but no teeth to show for it. In spite of obvious teething pain- her true sunny personality always shines through brightly!

I'd say her first snow experience was good! She was all bundled up and we went for a walk together to take some pictures. She didn't say a word, just looked around and seemed to enjoy the view.

The cats ere pretty intrigued with her, but Ivy loves John Galt the best!

This is one of her favorite presents from Christmas-- a bouncy ball!

The holidays...

We enjoyed a nice holiday lunch at Mikuni with some other familes we know... Ivy's friend Sakura shared her rice crackers with Ivy- and now she loves them!

We enjoyed a holiday dinner at our house with our friends the Lorinis-- Ivy was a charming hostess- eating the placemats is cool, right?

Ivy's not exactly crawling, but she is definitely scooting. She moves all over the place, but with great purpose.

We drove out to a big holiday light display one night before Christmas- it was sprinkling rain, but Ivy was, as usual a good sport! We bundled her up and she was cozy for light viewing!

Christmas eve we went out to dinner with my parents-- after dinner we came back to our house to watch Ivy play for a while. She loves this cell phone and boxes and ribbons!

Oh, and did I mention that she is standing now? She can stand for a LONG time while holding on to something-- not too interested in steps yet.

Surveying her domain from her new armchair! I just had to have this chair-it is so precious. This picture is on Christmas morning and she is playing with her new fancy squirrel.

She enjoyed the presents, but typical for a kid of her age, the wrappings were a bit more interesting!

After all the presents, Ivy and John Galt took a little snack break before naptime! Of course, for John Galt, naptime is just about anytime!

Daddy's reading the kid's book, and Ivy's reading the Wall St. Journal... she will be smarter than both of us put together... I'm sure of it!



We had the most interesting, heartwarming, action packed holiday season we could have ever imagined. I've always enjoyed the whole holiday season, in spite of working for many years in retail- where the holidays are a living hell. This year of course, things I'd always enjoyed were suddenly loaded with sentiment and special meaning. If we uttered the phrase babys first Christmas once, we uttered it a hundred times! We were very social with friends and family, but so enjoyed our quiet moments playing on the floor with Ivy near the Christmas tree in the evenings. Ivy's on the cusp of big change these days. She seems to be getting bigger, if not heavier. She is moving around a lot on the floor- almost crawling and doing a lot of standing. Thanks to her bouncy Einstein contraption, she loves bouncing just about anywhere she happens to be. It's so cute to watch!

She's eating tons of food- zuccini, brocoli, cauliflower, sweet potatos, squash, carrots, cereal, apples, and crackers! With patience, she'll eat anything we make for her- she is generally very tidy when eating, but lately has begun to gesticulate during the feeding... which necesitates extra clean up! We're making progress with the sippy cup!

Our last post placement visit with our social worker was a few days before Christmas. We've got a case number through the court system, and once our final report is prepared, we'll get a date to finalize Ivy's adoption-- probably in February or March.

We enjoyed hearing from so many friends and family at Christmas! Hope you all stay healthy in our new decade!