To give you some idea of Riley's size, here is Riley sitting in my hat...
I know a lot of kids have a favorite stuffed toy. I had a bear named "Merrill" (at the suggestion of my Grandfather) that I was very attached to for years. Camille has quite a collection of stuffed toys, but 3 seem to have special importants. These 3 have names (rather than just being called "bear" or "dog" like most of her other stuffed toys). They all seem to have equal importants, that is she is as happy with one as the other and she doesn't ever seem to want or need all 3. She named these animals herself. I really don't know where the names came from, except for "Rah", the lion cub. Camille was playing with Rah and I said, "What do you have, Camille?" Camille answered "Kitty" and held up the toy. I said, "Oh, Camille, that's the lion cub from Aunt Rhonda (who brought the toy back from a trip to Africa in 2005) and Camille then roared like a lion. I said "That's right!" and that's how Rah, got his name. The dog is something Daddy bought while we were still paperchasing. His name is Buddy. Camille has always called him that. And the bear is something Camille picked out for her second birthday at Build-a-Bear Workshop, as far as I know, he's always been "Mooney".
Here are two failed attempts at getting a family photo while we were in China... (we never did get a good picture of all three of us...
This phot was taken by a member of our travel group on the famous "Red Couch":
Here's the cream of the crop of bad photos from China... I managed to break a couple of toes while we were traveling... There was really nothing that could be done and I was well on my way to healing by time we returned to the states.
I also found the cutest Shabby Chic dog bed at Target, so I just had to buy it. I know Riley won't be ready for it for several months, so for now it will probably stay in our closet. But I just thought it was adorable!
We have a travel crate. We left it along with a leash and collar at Mimi's house since she will be visiting the breeder next Monday to pick up Riley. The breeder is sending some dog food home with Riley, but I will need to get a bag of the new puppy food and a shallow feeding dish. I also need to pick up a soft brush so Riley can get used to being "groomed". I have Barron's "The Complete Guide to the Shih Tzu", so I think I am getting pretty well educated on the subject matter. We are all very excited and can't wait to bring Riley home!!!
Our dalmatian, Rockie, was a great napping buddy. 
Unfortunately, she passed in July 2006. We miss her dearly.
These are all special photos... we are quite fond of them.
Cami Rose and I worked from home today. She's been battling a nasty cold and I had too much work to do to simply take the day off. So, it was our first official "Work from Home" day. It was important that Cami stayed occupied so Mommy could actually get some work done. We recently acquired a My First Leap Pad from a friend who said her daughter had no interest in it (Thanks, Deb!). Cami, who is almost 2 1/2 years old, absolutely LOVES the Leap Pad. Once I taught her how to turn it on and touch the green 'go' circle with the pen, she was hooked! It's a really neat learning toy. It has volume control and even a place where we can put headphones later on.
The first photo is a profile in China... Camille at 11 months. The second profile was taken today... beautiful girl.
You can find out all about the Friday Family FotoFun Challange by visiting http://2happy.typepad.com/
Those little puppies sure do tickle!
This is the puppy we selected. She is a female. We are considering the names "Riley" or "Rosie". It's hard to name a puppy that's only a week old!
So, a Chinese child and a Chinese dog... What more could we ask for?
Every year I volunteer at a camp for visually impaired and blind children. This past summer, I took Cami out for a visit. She had a wonderful time. These are some photos I found on the Little Rock Foundation's website. You can learn more about the foundation and see more pictures from camp by visiting http://www.littlerockfoundation.org
A new Cami recently invented is "Where'd it go?"... She'll take a object, a toy, a cup, an acorn, it doesn't really much matter, hide it and then look around and say "Where'd it go?" She uses just the funniest voice intonation and puts her hands up in the air in a questioning posture. Then she'll smile that cheshire smile that most two year olds are good at and say, "There it is!"... I think she knew all along!
