Florida!

So WAY back in May we had a short vacation/family gathering in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Y's grandmother turned 90 and we did our best to gather the entire family. We were mostly successful minus an Aunt, Uncle & Cousins in Massachusetts that couldn't make it down for health reasons.

 The Little Miss on Pompano Beach

Our day started off at 5:15am to catch a REALLY early flight. We traveled cross-country with The Little Miss' grandparents. Sophie was so, so good on the planes. Numerous fellow-passengers would comment: "She was so good!" or "I didn't know there was a little one on the plane. We never heard a thing!". And it was true (yes, I'm bragging...sorry). She really didn't make a  fuss and until, quite literally, the last THREE minutes of the first flight she didn't sleep.

The three-hour time difference was a struggle but we managed. We arrived on a Thursday night. The party was Saturday so we were able to let the Little Miss get settled and get to know some family members she'd never met before throwing her into a party with even MORE people she didn't know. Since this was Y's side of the family we had to remember the proper relation name in Chinese for each member of the family. By the time the long weekend was over I think we finally had it down!

First up was Zeng Nana (the person of honor and her Great Grandmother):

Zeng Nana was so great. She's getting around extremely well for 90. Sophie loved on her despite having only known her in photos. The Little Miss would play peek-a-boo with her and bring her all the various books she had lying on her coffee table.

Then there was was DaJojo and Nana Hong (her Grand Uncle and Aunt):

Nana Hong loving on Sophie.

 

Nana Hong ADORED Sophie. Every moment they were together she'd whisk Sophie away to go play or explore. The Little Miss was a little unsure of what to think at first but then she began to figure out Nana Hong would take her to do fun things. We spent Friday afternoon and evening at their home where Hong made an exceptionally good dinner starting with homemade spring rolls. My mouth waters every time I think of them. Sophie spent the entire time climbing their stairs.

Playing on DaJojo and Nana Hong's balcony.

Next up was Uncle Mike, GouMa Tchi (whom she met last summer), and her two cousins Griffin and Shao Ming. It was also our first time meeting Shao Ming (he's exactly 2 weeks younger than the Little Miss) since he was just adopted from China in March:

 L to R: Cousin Griffin, Uncle Mike, Cousin Shao-Ming and GouMa Tchi

Then her second cousins Thuy, Thien and her second cousin once-removed Sophia and Chantam (You know, the whole cousin lineage is really confusing!):

Thuy and Chantam 

Sophia

The party was chaotic but fun. The kids all gathered in the neighboring ballroom to run free while the adults chatted and ate. The youngest kids (Shao Ming, Sophie, and Chantam) were getting cranky so we left a little early to head to our hotels for a little R&R time before meeting up for dinner and some beach time.

The kids playing the the adjoining ballroom

After naptime, we met Sophie's Aunt & Uncle on the beach to let the kids run around before grabbing some dinner. Because of their huge adoption trip to China we were only able to spend Saturday with Y's sister and family. We hated they had such a short time to spend in FL because the kids (and we adults) were having a great time together!

(Click image to see it larger)

The rest of the trip was spending more time at the beach and visiting with the family we rarely get to see. The beach, of course, was a huge hit. Because of pending storms we were never able to allow Sophie too far in the water. We had to laugh at the young couple wanting to spend some romantic time together on the beach and Sophie just wanted to watch them. She'd go running over and stand in front of them until they'd smile at her. No matter how many times we distracted her she kept returning to that young couple. Thankfully they were good sports and started laughing every time we had to run interception.

Family time is always precious and we enjoyed our time together. We just wish we were able to get together more often!