This Weeks Happenings:

To celebrate Tet, Tori got "shishies"...she loves to watch them, especially when they are eating.



Tori went for her first official haircut...and wasn't real happy about it!

Mike climbed a 2700 foot mountain in Pheonix, Arizona.

Celebrating Tet and Tori's Final Adoption in the US

Today our family celebrated Tet (Vietnamese New Year) and Tori's finalized adoption in the US by going to Friendly's for ice cream. Tori was in her glory as she got her own ice cream to eat by herself. She truly enjoyed it. We also hung lanterns we brought home from Vietnam on our lights in the kitchen. Tomorrow the kids will get red envelopes with a little bit of money...a Vietnamese New Years Day tradition. (Nick and Ashley are liking that we celebrate Tet as a new holiday!)

Tori in her ao dai from Vietnam

Tori with the lanterns we brought home to celebrate Tet.

Mike and I dressed for his hospital fundraiser ball.

It's Official...Tori's Readoption Is Complete

Today I spoke with the special proceeding department of Cumberland County and found out that Victoria's re-adoption was completed on January 14, 2009. She is officially...Victoria Nguyen Nagowski! Sounds like an ice celebration this weekend also with celebrating TET...Vietnamese New Year.

Now I need to have her passport and social security card reissued in her new name. That ends the adoption paper trail. Thank goodness!

Snow In Fayetteville

Well, somebody thought we missed having the snow and dumped about 4 inches on us yesterday. The whole darn town shut down. No school for two days...even the stores and mall closed! Insanity!

Nick and his friends enjoyed playing in the snow even though it didn't pack very well. It is such a rarity here that folks actually think it's cool, but there were many cars in fender benders or on the side of the road near ditches. Hopefully it will melt by the weekend. Did I tell you "I hate the cold!" I prefer the warm sunny days!

A Really Cool Pizza Maker

One of the things we are missing from home is good pizza. The pizza in Fayetteville is not even close to the pizza in Buffalo. This Christmas we go this great gift and my family has given it a five star rating so I thought I would share. It's a Presto Pizza Maker. You can use it to cook frozen pizza or fresh. We have tried three different frozen: Red Baron, Digiourno regular and stuffed crust and all came out delicious. The pizzas come out better than being cooked in the regular oven and doesn't take long. In most cases 12-15 minutes and it cleans up easy too. My family likes it better than the take out places in town so we can save money too! I found the pizza in multipacks at Samsclub which make it even cheaper! Just thought I would share a really great pizza maker. Here's one place you can buy it if interested:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005IBXJ

Ashley and Bryan

Finally, we have a picture of Ashley and Bryan:

Tori, Kailee and the Dog Bed

A Day In The Life of a One Year Old

Watching Baby Einstein DVDs

Visiting the Aquarium in Niagara Falls and seeing the penguins and "shishies" as Tori calls them.

Sitting in a very small basket while playing blocks with dad.

Antagonizing the dog all day long by taking her bed, toys and as seen here, trying to catch her tail when wagging.