Pryce's Last Swim Lesson

Pryce checking things out before his swim.


And he is off.....


making his return....

A job well done!

Pryce finished up his swim lessons this week. Five weeks has really flown by for him and he was a little sad to see them end. Next up, baseball!

Sunglasses

Check out my new sunglasses! A little big, but cute.


I am having a hard time keeping them on my face, so sometimes it is better just to wear them below the nose so I can see things a little more clearly.


Now, seeing is a good thing. However, wearing the glasses below the nose and trying to eat at the same time can be a challenge.


On top of my head seems to be the best fit!

March 11

On this morning last year, Ryan and I awoke very early, threw our carefully packed, lightweight suitcases in our car, strapped the boys in and off we went. It was a peaceful morning. We ate our chocolate donuts, listened to music, watched the sunrise and talked about what to expect at the airport. My aunt and uncle met us in Atlanta to bid us farewell and took our car to their house so we could avoid parking fees - very sweet and it was good to see family before our trip! Once there, I can remember sitting in the airport calling our parents. We knew we wouldn't likely talk to them for almost three weeks. That is a long, long time for people who normally talk to their family on the phone at least every other day. I also remember thinking that we needed to eat. We were set to be on our next flight for 12 hours and who knew what the food would be like.....plus, after the 12 hour flight, we would be in China where the food we were used to would be hard to find. Fast forward to now....Ryan is at work, the boys and MK are sleeping soundly in their beds and I am reminiscing. To think that it has already been one year.....wow!


This was our security check. Notice I am not in the picture. I was over the side being searched....out of all the suspicious people with big carry-ons, they chose ME to search.

The Dentist

Mason-Kate joined the boys today for a dental check-up, her first ever! Thankfully, Barney has a show that features a trip to the dentist so for about a week now, that is all we have watched. We have practiced saying "ahhhh", we have placed our fingers in her mouth and of course we have brushed often more than the required two times a day. The boys went first and then happily played video games as they waited for MK to take a turn. While the boys were getting their teeth checked out, MK watched carefully as the little boy next to us screamed his little head off. He was pitiful and she just kept staring at him and then would look at us and say "awww, man".....there was a lot of concern on her face. When the boys had each gotten a clean bill of teeth, it was MK's turn to climb into the big chair. She was hesitant so I ended up getting into the chair with her. She rested her head on my chest and let out one "NOOOO!" to let us know of her disapproval of the lack of control she had in the situation. After that one scream, she allowed the dentist to do a full exam of her teeth. Good news....she has every tooth that a two year old should have including her molars.

Swimming and a conversation

Pryce is a swimmer. He has loved swimming from day one. We spent most of the first three years of his life in Florida where swimming is, of course, huge. In fact, by the time he was old enough to take swimming lessons, he had already taught himself how to swim. When he was 3, I can vividly remember him yelling at us (as well as the lifeguard at our neighborhood pool who was watching him carefully) not to help him.....he had jumped in the deep end of our pool, his head was above water (very important), his arms were moving quickly, his legs moving even quicker and he somehow managed to make it safely to the side of the pool without any adult intervention. He was (and still is) fearless in the water. In fact, Pryce, who is 2 years younger than Colin, taught Colin how to jump into the deep end. He simply loves the water. Every year around January Pryce starts to wonder why no one is swimming in our neighborhood pool (nevermind that it is typically COLD at this time). And every January I ask Pryce if he wants to take swim lessons at the local Y and every year he says yes due to the fact that he just wants to be in a pool. So, this year being no different, I signed Pryce up for swimming lessons and he is happily enjoying himself in a pool. He loves it! Last week I had Mason-Kate with us during Pryce's lesson. Another mom and I were chatting and she asked me how bonding has been with Mason-Kate. Most people ask the questions that I am used to, the "normal" things like how is she doing or how is life with a little girl or how old was she when we got her. But the bonding question was a new one. Without hesitation, I began to tell her that I could honestly say, for us, bonding/attachment has been, for the most part, exactly as it was with our boys. It has been a process and has occurred in stages. Before any of our children were placed in our arms for the first time, we loved them, cared for them and desired to protect them. We did not know them, we did not know what made them happy or sad or what position they liked to be held in or the fastest way to soothe them. We had to learn each of them and what made them tick. While "learning" them, we fell in love with them, their habits, their quirks and thus, the bonding/attachment process fell into place. Looking back on our first year (can't believe it has been a year), I can see the stages with Mason-Kate. The first stage was before we met her in China. We received her referral call, I began researching where she was, I found out that people can sponsor children in her orphanage to receive more individualized care for several hours of the day and I immediately emailed the person in charge to arrange for MK to be sponsored. I wanted to make sure she received the best care possible until we could be with her. March 17th came. We met MK. She was hesitant. We had to be intentional, just as we did when our boys were infants. We had to show Mason-Kate that we would care for her, feed her, play with her, essentially, we had to build trust. Then came introducing her to church and school and just our busy life in general, our everyday activities that she would have to become accustomed to. She needed security. We had to teach her to feel secure to explore new situations. Mason-Kate was not so open to this part at first but with a lot of encouragement, patience, a lot of repetitiveness, a lot of words, and a lot of trying, I think we have accomplished this. I know because where she used to seek Ryan's arms out at any point she did not feel comfortable, she now seeks our eyes for approval. She allows us to comfort her, in fact, she now expects it. Her cries are different. In the beginning, she screamed out of pure fear when we would leave. Now she cries because we leave but it is saddness that I hear, not fear or anger. She wants us with her. I write about all of this because this is our experience. Fortunately, for us, all has fallen into place and we can't imagine it any other way.