Saturday, April 19, 2008

"Normal"

After 3 weeks of being home, "normal" has entered our home....if there is a "normal". This week was a big week for us. We started off the week with a party for Mason-Kate given by Ryan's family. Mason-Kate marveled in all of the attention she received. She has gotten pretty comfortable in social situations but still prefers mom or dad to hold her while she performs for the crowds. Early in the week we were able to schedule MK's first palate surgery. It will be held on May 13. Of course, I am not a fan of the number 13 but we are thankful that she is scheduled. She will possibly have another surgery at the age of 3 (we are hopeful that this won't be the case), then she will definitely have another surgery at the age of 6/7, and then finally one at the age of 13ish. ANYWAY, on a happier note, we celebrated our one month GOTCHA DAY anniversary on Thursday....WOW! It is so hard to believe that we have only had her one month! Ryan says that the dog was harder to adjust to! Speaking of the dog, MK loves him! Finley has become quite the playmate while the brothers are away at school....Mason-Kate will meander her way over to him and just pat him and laugh....of course, then there are the times that she will hit him with her toys (not aggressively but in a typical one year old fashion) and he just sits there....the cutest thing though is when we come home - Finley stays in his crate in the garage while we are out - MK will immediately start waving to him and babbling, laughing at him....she just loves him! I can honestly say that so far our biggest obstacle has been the car - there just isn't enough room for one huge carseat, one booster seat, one 8 year old, a 5 year old and a one year old who throws things in the backseat of a Toyota 4Runner - it works ok until MK decides she is done with whatever she is holding and launches it in an aimless direction - unfortunately, it is normally Colin who gets the brunt of her throws and he ends up hurt in the eye or his head or his feelings.....other than that minor detail, things are continuing to go well. I spent sometime on Thursday just thinking about GOTCHA DAY and how far we have come....I looked through some of our pictures that were taken on that day and it is amazing to see the fear that was in her eyes. Poor baby girl! I am not sure that any of us really acknowledged that fear because we were just so over the moon to finally have her. Now when I look at her she just seems so happy and it is so confirmed when I hold her and she lays her little head on my shoulder or when she offers up some of her wet kisses. She is really truly a blessing to our family! The boys are even asking when we are going back to get another sister! I know they love her but I am just wondering if they really want a sister or if, instead, they are really wanting to get back on a 747 - that was, for them, probably the highlight of their trip....of course, next time, Colin says he is flying First Class - we have told him the money involved and he has stated that he will simply work in a grocery store to earn the money needed to fly on top of the 747! If he only knew :) Lastly, MK had her first professional photo shoot on Friday....she did so good! Our wonderful Mr. Mike and Ms. Tanner performed quite a bit for her and got some terrific shots of MK all dressed up....the part she was not too fond of was when we decided to take her clothes off and place her in the clawfoot bathtub for photos....we saw some tears but then the laughter began as well and she even threw in a few poses! Until next week....

Here's the whole Drafts clan, minus Jordan & Lauren....


MK and G-mom; MK and Finley doing a little bonding



MK enjoying a pretty afternoon in her backyard swing