Runner in the making ....hopefully??

As all of you know, one of mine and Kirk's favorite past times is running. I love the adrenaline rush you get when you are standing in the starting line getting ready to torture yourself for 3.1 miles, 6.2 miles or the occasional but my favorite 13.1 miler. I rally hope Ema will enjoy running like we do. I love the thought of me and my girl getting up early one morning and going out for a jog together. Ema joined us at the zoom through the zoo 4 miler. My parents went with us and strolled her through the zoo while we ran. Kirk and I were very pleased with our finishing times. Kirk finished at 30:29 and I finished at 35.46. My goal is to one day speed past Kirk when he is least expecting. :)Anyways, Ema didn't run with us by she seems to love the atmosphere and she enjoys cheering for the runners that pass by. Here are some pictures...Enjoy!

The wonders of a toddler bed

I have always thought toddler beds were silly and goofy looking until Ema climbed into one at Baby Time and said "night night". I bought that bed on the spot and brought it home. Ema has slept all night in her toddler bed ever since. It is a miracle. Sher loves her big girl bed. Everyone that comes over has to see it. She is so proud that she has her own bed, and so are Kirk and I. To sleep all night without a kicking /crying little girl in the middle is so nice. If Ema slept with us but allowed me to cuddle with her it would be different, but she is like sleeping with an animal the way she kicks. I am thinking that Ema associated her crib with Vietnam and maybe it brought back memories of leaving the orphanage something. Here are pictures of the morning after sleeping in her bed. She was so proud of herself. It was also our first night of 8 hours of sleep in almost 6 months. I am not sure who was the happiest....Kirk and I or Ema?

Nguyen Kim Yen becomes Ema Li Yen Richardson

Yes we have had Ema for almost 6 months but believe it or not she has been Nguyen Kim Yen this whole time (legally). Today we went to court and adopted Ema AGAIN and she officially became Ema Li Yen Richardson. It was sort of a bitter sweet ordeal. I knew this day would come but it is kinda like her name was the last piece of Vietnam that Ema held on to and now it's gone. We tell her about Vietnam and her adoption story almost on a daily basis and we hope to keep that alive forever. I want her to know where she is from and I want her to know what it took to get her here. Here are pictures from our name changing ceremony!



Notice, she may no longer have a Vietnamese name but she still squats like a Vietnamese. I hope she never looses this, its kinda neat.