January - 2009

December - 2009

Looks like someone has gotten a bit confident lately! MK, who really has never been one to be on the quiet side of things, is now taking it upon herself to say what is really on her mind.

Example A - during our weekly speech session, MK was praciticing her sentences. The speech therapist would prompt her with a sentence and the idea was for MK to repeat it. Instead, MK would make up her very own version. One example being the therapist wanted her to say, "I have ten toes"....MK said, "No, I don't. I have two hands!" And she just laughed and laughed. Thankfully MK chose to say, "My mommy is NOT a monkey!" when the therapist asked her to say, "My mommy IS a monkey!"

Example B - following speech, the children and I went to lunch, their choice was Applebees. We walked inside and MK shouts, "Hey, there is a Nannie!" at the hostess....poor lady could not have been as old as MK made it sound.

Example C - and lastly, this is where I really cringed, we went to the grocery store. We saw people there, as always, that we knew. We stopped to talk. While I am in mid conversation, MK loudly says, "pooh-wee, dat stinks" as she waved her little hand across her crinkled up little nose. Wonder who taught her how to say those words??? Not two little boys that I know, definitely not!

With tomorrow being the last day of 2009, I am reminded that this year has been our first entire year with MK. WOW, how far we have come!

Christmas 2009

Two years ago we celebrated Christmas with our boys and a picture of our daughter. Last year we celebrated Christmas with our boys AND our daughter though she was too little to really delve into the meaning or the presents. This year, all is changed. This year we celebrated Christmas with our boys and our daughter who all three thoroughly enjoyed themselves from the moment they sprinkled the reindeer food on our front lawn Christmas Eve until the moment they crashed after watching A Christmas Story late Christmas night. Colin deemed it the "best Christmas ever!" while Pryce squealed loudly with delight after opening each gift he received. MK summed it up when she awoke from her nap asking, "Please may I open more presents?" Thankfully, there were some gifts left to be opened and the celebrating continued. A new tradition was started this year too.....the children, all three of them, had a campout in our gameroom on Christmas Eve. This tradition is one that I had with my siblings growing up and would like to see my children continue. It was so cute. When Mason-Kate realized that she was going to have an opportunity to be included in the campout, she happily cheered, "oh, thank you mommy, thank you!".....needless to say she was the LAST one to fall asleep due to her excitement. And at 5:30 am, the giggles began. And at 6:00 am, the allowed wake-up time, the children were all three on the monitor shouting, "Mom, Dad, get up, It's CHRISTMAS! Merry Christmas!" So with that, mom, dad, and Gran and Pop were summoned to the top of the stairs for the annual Christmas morning picture.....and then it was time for Pop to do his Santa check - Pop (my father) is always the first one down just to make sure Santa has come and gone. The next hour was spent swimming through the gifts from Santa. At one point, Colin looked over and said, "Hmmm, this is strange, I received safety goggles for a bb gun, but there is no gun." A few moments later, Ryan requested a screw driver from his toolbox because, as most everyone knows, toys are not exactly that easy to get into these days. Colin jumps up, heads to the garage to fetch the requested screw driver, he opens the door and wouldn't you know there were shouts of delight as he said, "Hey, here is my bb gun, he brought it! And it is on a ping-pong table!" Meanwhile, MK was photographing our Christmas morning with her new princess camera and diapering her new babydoll over and over - babies have a lot of accidents, you know. Needless to say, MK got discouraged with the whole diapering extravaganza and the baby now lies asleep naked in our den, no diaper in site. It was a beautiful day through and through!

Some things haven't changed in a year....I just don't think MK likes early morning photos no matter what day it is.

With safety goggles properly placed over his eyes, Colin fired his first shot and hit the homemade target!

The boys' comment this morning was, "I hope that Santa really made our Star Wars action figures because if he didn't, it cost him a lot of money to buy this stuff for us!"

I had to post this....P was being so sweet playing with MK in her new Princess tent. When he saw me with the camera, he quickly jumped out and said, "Hey, I don't want anyone to see me playing in a Princess tent!" I told him it was so nice of him to play with her, so he jumped back in and then gave me this look when I snapped the shot....

One memory that I know my children will cherish is having Gran and Pop here with us on Christmas. Each year they wake up on Christmas Eve asking "When will they be here? Can we call them? Will they be here soon?" and each year they arrive with bells on and share the excitement that is plentiful in our home!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Check out MK's new hat! She loves hats! Ryan's Aunt Peg made MK this very special Christmas hat just in time for the holidays! MK liked it so much, she insisted it sleep in the crib with her.

Conversation with MK

I literally just came down from putting Mason-Kate to bed and had to post our conversation. First, I must say that the one thing MK is most particular about is bedtime. She wants me to put her to bed and it offends her to no end on the nights that Ryan takes over the job. She loves Ryan and he is the first person she asks about in the morning yet she will have nothing to do with him at bedtime. So, tonight I was rocking her and I asked her if she was ready to get into her bed yet. She answered yes. I said, "Who loves you?" and she stated, "My mommy does." I said, "You are right!" MK asked, "And my boys? You love my boys?" and I responded, "Oh yes, I love you and your boys. God gave me you and Colin and Pryce and I love all of you!" Mason-Kate sweetly asked, "And my Jesus gave me my Daddy?"

Our little elf, Matthew, has become quite the master at flying in during the night and cleverly hiding himself so that he can keep watch on the children and their mischief during the day. There have been several mornings that we literally cannot find him. Anywhere. Last year it was not so tough. Last year he hid in the Christmas tree or in a ficus tree here or there or, you know, somewhere easy to locate. This year, however, is different. Pryce's priceless comment came this morning when, after looking for Matthew for at least 10 minutes, he looked at me and said, "I am thinking this is like Level 2 for us. You know, like a game. Last year was Level 1, easy. This year, we have moved onto Level 2 and it is HARD." I am thinking he is right.

This year seems to be the year for questions. C asked the dreaded question of whether or not Santa was real. Ryan quickly responded, "Yes, of course he is!"....we have decided that in the future, when this question comes up, we will just say that you must believe to receive. That way, no one gets accused of not being honest. Safety. And then there is the whole elf thing. Matthew, our elf, continues to hide about our house. He hides in things, on top of things, around things.....everywhere. One day, Pryce asked, "Is he REALLY real? I mean, look at that tag on his pants." Me, not wanting to cave, carefully walked over and observed the elf's pants for this tag....thankfully, there was no tag - a long shirt but no tag, I was able to point this out to P, he was satisfied and he went about his day. He LOVES the elf and can't wait to find him each morning to see what kind of mischief he has gotten himself into during the night. And then there are the letters to Santa. Out of respect for this child, I will not print his name but I have to share one thing that he asked for.....a BB gun complete with targets and safety goggles. Love that he asked for safety goggles. His letter reads, Dear Santa, I would like this, this, this "and a bb gun (wish me luck on that one!)"......I laughed when I read that and asked him why he needed luck. He responded, "Because I know that you and Dad will talk, you both will decide no to the gun and that will be that. Santa won't give us anything you don't approve of." Yes, he is right.....on one part of that at least. And then, last but not least, P has been doing a lot of thinking. His question for us at dinner was, "So, do you think that Santa gets all of his money from the Tooth Fairy?" Pretty good theory for a seven year old! It looks as if everyone is still on board with Santa, the elf and the magic of Christmas, at least for now....love this time of year!

Stay tuned, we are improving.....meaning, one year ago, Mason-Kate sadly screamed in horror as the jolly red suited Santa made his appearance in her life for the first time at a church Christmas party. It was sad. This year, he came in and MK watched from her seat with her big, bright eyes....she never moved, she never smiled, she just watched. When he left the room, MK looked at me and said, "I not sit on Santa's lap with my boys. I sit on Santa's lap with you." Ok, so that is how it went, she sat on my lap, the boys with Santa, and Ryan ran to jump in too. How she sat on my lap was the funny part. She sat facing me, hands gripping my arms, her head tucked into my chest. This is improvement, yes. She didn't cry, not even one little tear. And she told Mrs. Claus thank you when it was all said and done.

Our elf, Matthew, is back and wreaking havoc on our holiday decorations. Seems he has gotten a bit more mischievous this year. He is into rearranging our decor and then he perches himself next to his mess to keep a watch on the behavior in our home. Silly elf. Pryce is so excited about Matthew; MK can't figure him out and asks at least once a day "who dat is?"; Colin has deemed Matthew a "decoy"....
Yesterday we made our annual trip to the Christmas tree farm. We typically spend a few hours there, first selecting the tree of all trees for our home and then drinking hot chocolate, eating baked goodies and visiting with friends that we run into. To fight the cold yesterday, I layered myself with first a t-shirt, a sweater, then Colin's heavy jacket and topped it off with my coat....layering is the style, right? Our day was wonderful, our tree is beautiful and now the boxes can be put away. Yay.

During the hayride, P spotted a ladybug. Ladybugs are a popular good luck sign among those in the Chinese adoption community. For us, it symbolizes our hope and dreams to go back. To find this "needle" in a haystack, during this holiday season, assured us to hold onto our hope.

After our wonderful day out, we ventured back home to begin the afternoon of decorating. Last year, we did this same thing....we visited the farm, got the perfect tree, came home only to realize that the tree was too big for our stand....back to the farm, got another perfect tree, back home, decorated. This year during our drive home, Ryan and I talked about our plans for the afternoon, football, and dinner. The entire drive, I kept thinking how pleasant the day had been and how easy the tree selection had gone....good thoughts. We arrived home, drove into the garage, the usual. After I turned the car off, I looked into my rear view mirror only to see this tiny little evergreen hanging down from the back of my car....it was the top of our tree! We had driven into the garage with the 9 ft tall Christmas tree on top!

**Click on the pic of MK with Ryan to make it larger. Notice her little eye peering back at me.....

A Seabrook Thanksgiving

Ryan's family tradition as a child on Thanksgiving was to visit Seabrook Island. We were fortunate this year to be able to unite with everyone, 21 family members, to celebrate the holiday. Ryan is the youngest sibling in his family. His brother and two sisters were teenagers when he was born. We have 7 nieces (and a niece-in-law?) and nephews on his side of the family. Our children are the babies of the bunch and make up the 8, 9 and 10 of the grandchildren.

We are thankful to the aunts, uncles and cousins who openly included the youngest three in their games.....favorites of the weekend were Apples To Apples, Scattergories and 21. P will tell you that his favorite part of Thanksgiving was playing 21.

And we are thankful for G-Mom and G-Dad. G-Mom and G-Dad are very dear to our family and have saved the day on many occasions over our almost 12 year union. One of the most notable saves came when P was born. We were living in Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. No family around. My parents arrived shortly after P's birth and had to leave the day I was released from the hospital. I had some complications following his birth. G-Mom arrived when P was just 6 days old. G-Mom walked into our house, placed her bags on the floor, the two of us loaded P into the car and off we went to the dr.'s office. This was about 3 in the afternoon. Ryan was at the airport waiting on a flight to interview for a job in Florida. Colin, then only 2, was being watched by a friend. The doctors appointment did not go so well and I was told that I would be having surgery that very night. Frantically, we called Ryan, who was boarding a plane, and he rushed home to be with me. And then there were my two precious boys, just 2 and 6 days old. G-Mom didn't know what she was walking into when she came to visit but fortunately she was up for a surprise overnight babysitting adventure. As we were leaving to go to the hospital that night for the surgery, I remember Ryan's mother asking me in a desperate voice, "Beth, what am I going to feed the baby? Will he even take a bottle?" G-Mom handled it well, they all three survived and P has had a special bond with G-Mom ever since.

And we are thankful for Seabrook Island. And the beach. We can't seem to get enough.

And we are thankful for modern technology. C's weekend included numerous football games with the cousins and computer hopping. If C could not be found on one computer in the house, he was on another.

And we are thankful for rest we were able to enjoy. I was able to take numerous photos of P sleeping. He plays hard and crashes harder - this pic was taken around 7:30 one evening, can you tell which one took a nap earlier?

My first mother gave me roots, my forever mother gave me wings. I like this statement - it is one that was posted on another blog, the blogger being an adoptee. Many days I honestly forget that I did not carry MK for nine months and actually give birth to her. Just like the boys, she is a part of me, no doubt. One day, Mason-Kate will ask about the lady that gave her life. She will be curious of how she came to be, whose tummy she grew inside of and the circumstances surrounding her first 14 months of life, her life before her family. Most everyone has a story they have been told about the day they were born. Mine goes something like this....on the day I was born, my father received his only speeding ticket ever while rushing to my mother's side. My mother, who was being driven to the hospital by a friend, got to one hospital and was told that they were out of room so she had to proceed to another hospital - me being me, I have always been the different one, the one who doesn't do anything like her brother and sister including being born in the same hospital as those two. My mother arrives finally at a hospital with room, they take her back and she gives birth to a strikingly beautiful (ha!) NINE pound baby girl with more hair than most teenagers. The nurses cleaned me up and very carefully tucked me into a hospital gown that was not made for strikingly beautiful NINE pound babies, I took my first real good deep breath and, POP, I busted out of the gown. That is my story. That is the one I have been told since I can remember talking about how I came to be. That is the one that I will tell my children. MK's story will be unique, she will ultimately have TWO stories. Her first story, the story of how a lady, one who lives a world away, gave her life. The second story, the one with endless details, the one with multiple parts including the adoption decision, the paperwork, the surprise call, the first time we were able to see her picture; the one where we tell her of how we heard her little voice as we walked off of the elevator, the one where she was "birthed" right into the arms of her family - the family that will teach her how to fly.....my first mother gave me roots, my forever mother (family) gave me wings.

Yesterday we thoroughly enjoyed a day at Riverbanks Zoo with our friends. The crowds were extremely small due to the weather being a little less than desirable. Check out the pics at www.popsiclesandpopcorn.blogspot.com . When we arrived home, Colin was tired and said he had a headache. He is well yet still trying to gain his strength back. I offered him Tylenol. He agreed. Mason-Kate asked if she could give the medicine to "her Colin". I said no. She asked in her sweet little voice, "Why?" and I responded, "Because mommies give medicine to their children and I am the mommy." She looked at me in a very stern way and said, "But I the Mason-Kate."

Celebrate and be Thankful! Colin is well! YAY!

Cough, cough, COUGH....yuck, yuck, yuck. The illness continues. Colin was diagnosed with pneumonia on Monday. He can control his cough with cough drops being continuously in his mouth but that leads to a hurting stomach, sigh. He WON'T eat ANYTHING. Well, that is, without bribery. Rarely do I resort to this as I really don't normally see the point. If I want my children to do something I believe they should know that they will do it because I expect them to, not because I am going to give them something. Alas, on that note, I have abandoned all good judgement, as sometimes happens, and we have recently gone into bribery mode. It works, he will eat for Star Wars action figures or a new toy gun and I am satisfied that he is not starving to death. Bribery at its best. In other news, we celebrated our last day of co-op for this semester on Tuesday. That evening, we, along with Ryan's parents, were invited to attend an art show featuring our little budding artists, Colin and Pryce. I love that the children have not only done art projects, they have also learned about the different artists, their styles and how their works of art came to be famous. MK's latest....she has been modeling for our babysitter who is participating in a photography class at ASU. Cute pics.

***Update....Colin has now been diagnosed with both pnuemonia AND bronchitis. So, onward with the meds and now we welcome the beloved nebulizer into our home as well! This little guy has had a time!

The Shot

Cough, cough, hack, hack, cough....tis the season to be sick in our house! And who is the lucky victim, COLIN. Colin, the one who rarely gets sick, the one who IF he does get sick it only lasts a day or two, Colin who has two projects to complete by Tuesday, Colin who is just plain old sick. It started with a simple cough. We pretty much ignored it due to the fact that someone always seems to have a simple cough in our home. Well, the simple cough turned into the constant simple cough and I finally realized the oxygen level in his lungs was lacking. So, off to the dr. we went. During the ride to the drs. office, Colin asked me if he was going to need a shot. I said I really didn't think so - he was sick with a cough, we weren't visiting the dr. for a check up. We get there, we are in the room waiting on the dr. to see us, in walks the dr. and Colin, in between breaths, asks the dr. if he is going to need a shot. Now, just know that Colin was asking this in a joking manner.....his dear mother had already assured him no shot was going to be needed :) HA! The dr. pulls out Colin's chart, runs his finger over it a few times, looks up and says, "Well, yes, you do need a shot - the second shot of the Hep A series...." Colin's eyes immediately darted over to meet mine as he mouths to me, "Is he really serious?" Unfortunately, yes, the dr. was serious, Colin needed a shot. I am not sure at what age children stop fearing shots but in our household, age 9 is not it. With tears streaming down his face, in went the shot. Ouch! With what we think will cure the simple, constant cough in tow, we leave and go fill the prescription. Three days later, no cure in sight, we switch antibiotics. I said to Colin, "I am sorry. Mommy should have taken you to the dr. sooner so it wouldn't have turned into this!" Colin replies, "It is quite ok mom. If you had taken me earlier, I would have had to have gotten my shot earlier. I am glad we waited."
And on an MK note. She is so unhappy with the fact that we will not allow her to have any cough drops. They are hard. She is not allowed. She thinks they are candy. She cries big tears when she sees Colin with one. I told her yesterday, "Mason-Kate, you do not have a cough, you do not even need a cough drop." Should have known better. She started coughing. On purpose, of course.

The latest on MK....she goes to bed singing "Jesus Loves Me" and she wakes up singing "Jesus Loves Me." She loves to sing the alphabet song. My favorite part of the song is when she gets to L, M, N, O, P, which goes something like this "blah, lah, lah, blah, lah, Q...." She tells us almost daily how she "cried, cried in China" until her mommy and her daddy and her boys came to get her, this is really quite pitiful to hear. She is still in a crib and no sign of wanting things any other way....with this, I am quite comfortable. No need to rush all babyhood away. And that is it on the newest with MK.

Outstanding Quote

This evening Ryan came in and sat down heavily on our couch. He said, "B, I am tired!" I had no comment really. Colin, on the other hand, felt the urge to respond. Colin said, "Dad, really mom should be the one who is tired.....you should see what she has to deal with day in and day out. I mean, really!" Classic!
(In Ryan's defense, he works very hard, he gets up early and he should be exhausted EVERY day....it was just kind of eye opening to see through Colin's eyes for one moment.)

It is official, MK is no longer a diaper wearing girl, morning, noon or night! YAY! (or, rather, :( ) She is so proud of herself, she must do it all by her own self, complete with washing her hands! Of course, she asks us to join in and sing when the proper potty going has been accomplished - and we have to dance too! The boys are such sports, they sing right along beside her as if they have accomplished potty training all over again!

What a terrific weekend! First, we visited with my grandmother on Friday. The children went bearing gifts from their heart. MK with an owl pic she made a school, P with a poem and picture he perfected at home, and C with a story about his time with Nannie....she loved them all! After enjoying a nice visit with Ryan's parents on Friday evening, we awoke and left our children (all three of them!) in SC with my parents for the night. Saturday was deemed "Ryan's Day"....he was served what he wanted to eat (steak and twice baked potatoes), he watched whatever football he could get his hands on, he rested - it was a well deserved day for him. We both enjoyed our time together and hinted to our parents that a coupon for another "weekend alone" would be a great, inexpensive gift for Christmas! Everyone needs some time alone. We missed the children, of course, and we were all reunited with smiles on Sunday afternoon! Big news of the week....MK is potty trained! There will be no turning back now. She went all weekend, away from home, traveling in the car, without mom/dad and had ZERO accidents. Why am I sad???? Another sign our girl is growing up too fast!

Long bullet post, anyone?

• Monday - normal, school for boys at home, school for MK away from home, piano, and home. Normal.
• Tuesday - Happy 1/2 Birthday to Pryce! 7 1/2, wow! He was up bright and early awaiting his special day festivities. No cake for breakfast. Instead, he was served a pile of pancake halves with a Kiss on top as a substitute.....the 1/2 cookie cake came later in the day with his friends at co-op. He topped his day off with a southwest night out for dinner - his choice - and a boyscout meeting with friends! Now, in between his festivities, something else occurred. There is a little girl in our home who is 2. She is usually a diaper wearing 2 year old but on Tuesday she had a change of heart. P, MK and I were at a bookstore while C was doing a writing class. MK had a rather large, full diaper on. I decided to take it off though I did not have another diaper with me in the store. I knew she would be ok until we could make it back to the car. She was. Thing is, I FORGOT to put a diaper back on her! She was wearing a cute little monogrammed diaper cover without the diaper! So, we went to co-op, I took her to her class - yes, diaperless! I left. Two and a half hours later I went to pick her back up and she is wearing a summer outfit. I inquired as to why. Their response, "Well, she was going potty and her dress was a little too long and it got wet. She has done great, though, with the potty. She went several times!" At this point, I realized she had gone to co-op minus the diaper and I figured we may as well try our hand at potty training!
• Wednesday - Up bright and early. Abandoned school for the day. The boys were off to a friends house to play while Ryan and I took Mason-Kate to the hospital for her one year check up with our local cleft team. All in all, a good report. Palate has healed great. No mention of a fistula. It is long enough. Her air flow is good. No nasal sounds. This means nothing to those who do not have a cleft child. But for those who do, she looks good. Her lower jaw is growing at a faster rate than her upper jaw - not a shocker as this is common with cleft children. The shocker was when they told us she would do orthodontic work prior to her next surgery. We had never heard this one mentioned before. We knew orthodontics would be involved obviously but we assumed that would be after her bone graft surgery. Oh well, they will guide us. Her speech is good. Her ears are good. All looked good. They even gave us an option to see them in two years versus one.....I declined their offer. I like to check in, so we will see them in a year. Following her appt., we picked up the boys and headed to the grand opening of Publix. This is not a biggy for some but it is HUGE for me! I am in love with this grocery store and what their ice cream selection has to offer to my own palate. The boys declared this the best day ever when they were allowed to buy a hot dog and a drink for the mere cost of $1.oo. Did I mention that the new Publix is only a mile and 1/2 from our house - YAY! It really is the small things that make the world go around!
• Thursday - Normal. Busy. Fun. Day.
• Friday - That is today. We are off to spend some time with my grandmother who turned 89 years old yesterday!

LID - November 2006

It is November 2009. Three years ago this month, we received confirmation from our adoption agency that our compilation of paperwork (dossier) had been registered with the CCAA (Chinese Adoption officials). At that time, we were told things were slowing down a bit with adoptions from China and it may be as long as 14-16 months until we were referred a healthy daughter from China. We set in for our wait. It boggles my mind that, three years later, after we have been home with our "special needs" daughter for 20 months, the wait continues in China. We would STILL be waiting had we not switched programs. STILL. And we would have waited at least another 18 months to two years, at best. Sometimes we all make decisions, that in the long run, may not have been the best. And then other times we make decisions, life changing-leap of faith taking decisions, that we couldn't imagine a better outcome to!

Halloween 2009

"What time are we going?" That is the question that was asked more than a few times in our home yesterday. We did our traditional Halloween party with our surrounding neighbors and then we ALL set out to trick or treat. There were A LOT of children and they were EVERYWHERE. Honestly, it was a little stressful. Thankfully, the children were quite oblivious to the chaos, their concerns being what house to go to next and keeping track of their accumulation of candy. Mason-Kate figured out quickly that the only thing she needed to do for a treat was to walk up and smile. Of course, I told her to say "Trick or Treat" and she retorted, "I can't say dat!" so she substituted with "Please" and "Thank You." By the end of our evening, the childrens question turned from "What time are we going?" to "Can we go home?" Luckily, we did decide to call it a night when we did....literally a minute following our arrival home, it not only rained, it POURED. The Trick or Treaters were gone and the trading of the candy began. Mason-Kate was up to her old tricks of being sly. As the boys were concentrating on the fair trade market, MK was busy stealing a piece here and taking a piece there from their loot.

The boys made pinatas in Spanish class this week. Our butterfly princess.

What happens when you go to the pumpkin patch late in the season? You wind up coming home with Charlie Brown's pumpkin, not perfect but in need of a little character. The children were proud so that is all that really matters. The second pic is of the children dancing to the Monster Mash!

And, last but not least, us. Not often do we dress up. However, we were invited to an adult only party in the neighborhood and being the social bugs that we are, we were happy to attend! Problem? No costume. An hour before the party was to begin, we were slated to go as Dorothy and the Scarecrow (with allergies not doubt as we did not have any hay to complete the costume!) from the Wizard of Oz. I was on the phone with a friend who mentioned the above idea....I shared it with Ryan and before I could even finish the description, he was busy making our shirts. We got several laughs.