She Talks....

It is no secret that my one consistent prayer for Mason-Kate has been for her speech to develop. Of course, there are many other prayers that go along with that one but for her ability to talk, I have prayed for (and worried about) from the day we filled out our medical checklist to adopt a child with cleft lip and palate. Yesterday as Ryan and I sat in a conference room during a closing, I realized that MK won't STOP talking! A year ago she was pointing, screaming or "ehhh"-ing to get her point across. This year she is constantly saying "mommy, mommy" this or "daddy, daddy" that....and she doesn't stop there. So we sat there in this conference room. I had taken a pad and crayons for her to color with, complete with a bag of cereal to keep her quiet. HA! Instead, she sat there with food in her mouth, saying "mommy, mommy, A, color" aka mommy color an A for me which I would do quickly to quiet her down. Why be quiet though? As soon as I would begin to color what she was asking for she would move on to commanding "daddy, daddy, wookie (lookie), mommy, color A!!"....Ryan would smile, put his finger over his lips hoping she would get the point to be quiet, and then MK would smile back at him and say "yay....wookie mommy, A, yay!"....The boys have begun baseball. Our family has begun baseball. We will be eating, sleeping and dreaming baseball for the next few months. And MK will be attending her share of practices and games. The other night I took MK with me to watch Pryce practice. She is quite the cheerleader. Pryce was practicing with another teammate on throwing and catching the ball. MK yells "Pryce, yay, ball"....Pryce turns to look at her and smile and WHAP, the ball hits him on the shoulder. The boys have both taught MK to say "ewww, I stink"....which has lead to her saying "ewww, I skink" while waving her hand across her face and squinching her nose up. But she doesn't stop there....as soon as one acknowledges what she is saying, MK will say "ewww, my baby skink" or "ewww, binwee (Finley the dog) skink" or whoever is in the room "skinks". MK is singing now too. She loves "meh, meh, meh, meh" WHATTT??? I always make her say the actual title of this song even though I know what she wants.....she will say "Wheelsh onn the Busssss" and then she proceeds to sing about every fourth word all the while humming and doing every hand motion that goes along with the song. Her next fav is the ABC song...again, every fourth letter but it is a beginning. So, her speech, continues....and my prayers continue.

It Has Officially Been A Year!

Today marks yet another special day for all of us! We have now been home exactly one year with Mason-Kate. It's funny, the boys still have the streamers hanging in their bedroom door from our welcome home decorations people left for us on this day last year. I can still feel the energy and excitement I felt inside one year ago today as we were on our final plane ride approaching Atlanta. I remember a lady who was just behind me on the longest escalator ride ever in the airport....she asked me if MK was my daughter. I beamed with joy and said "Yes"....she said, "I can see how proud you are to be her mother"....that stranger was so right. I was/am proud to be her mother. Last year we were united with our family on this day. This year we spent the evening with friends. Not just friends, though, very special friends. Last year, we did not know these people. This year, they prove to be part of an extended family of sorts. We are all tied together with the adoption thread. We told our story of how we were flying from China this time last year. One family shared that they will travel to be united with their son hopefully in May. Another family shared that they have been accepted into the Waiting Child program - they have two bio children and one precious little girl from China. Another family shared how they are "pregnant" after finalizing all of their documents for a domestic adoption. This, all in one year, and all in our little adoption group. How exciting it is for us to be a part of all of this. I love, love, love sharing our story, I love providing support to those who are struggling with adoption, I love being able to encourage those who wait, I love that MK was a "waiting child" who is waiting no more and I love the fact that when we adopted Mason-Kate, we not only adopted a child, we, in a sense, adopted a new way of looking at life.

MK

On most Sunday afternoons, Mason-Kate, Ryan and I have a date. The boys happily trot off to church to enjoy learning new skits and puppet routines to perform for special services. The three of us scout out a place to eat or picnic or shop or just hang out. This past weekend, we chose a park. Mason-Kate quickly took note of the two different playgrounds and said, "mommy, daddy, play, me?" aka "can I go play?" We took some pictures of our time together. While looking at the pictures upon our arrival home, one of the boys asked why MK looked so happy. HMMMM. I wonder, does he think she isn't always happy???!!! Truth be told, no MK is not ALWAYS happy. She is two. She is trying to find herself with two parents who try very hard to guide her way. Some days you just don't know who you are going to get....the happy MK or the part happy/part blah MK or the flat out, nothing is going to make me happy MK....everyday is a new thing with her. A few things that we know we are always going to get no matter the day....one, she loves to give a good hug in the morning, first thing. Two, she will try anything to get one of us to laugh at her. Three, if you can't find her, check out which rooms/hallways have lights on...she leaves a trail of turned on lights behind her. Four, drama, it should be her middle name. We continue to trek forward and during our adventure we continue to learn new things about all of our children. What a wonderful journey it is!

Look Who's Reading

Pryce used to always use the phrase "by my lone" instead of saying "by myself". I loved hearing him say it. For the most part, his cute little phrases have been replaced with funny statements. However, the other night I asked Colin to let Pryce read a book to him. Colin jumped at the opportunity to help out and Pryce stood there with his eyes big and round and said, "You mean, me, read all by my lone to Colin?"....I loved hearing those words! Pryce is reading and the best part is that he is motivated to do so. Instead of reading one book at night to me, he wants to read 3 or more!

You Might Be Adopting From China If.....

A friend passed this along to me. It is funny and oh so true.....

You Might Be Adopting From China If......

~You know that I-600 & I-171 aren't highways....
~You've been expecting a baby for over 3 years....
~You understand that it's 2006 in some parts of the world....
~You've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S....
~You know that waiting for China has nothing to do with Dillards or dishes..
~Your homestudy is followed by a number (i.e. #3 or #4)...
~You never know how many days next month will have...
~You know that babies come in batches...
~You've been fingerprinted four times, but never committed a crime...
~You automatically assume everyone who is expecting is having a girl...
~You own new clothing in 3 little sizes for all 4 seasons (because you don't know when or how big)...
~You look twice when you see a lady bug...
~You're more interested in what will happen in March 2006 than in March 2009...
~You know people who understand when you talk about 2 day months & 5 day months...
~Your due date hasn't changed by days, but by years...
~You know who the Rumor Queen is ... AND ... you don't know who she is...
~You know that forecast doesn't have anything to do with the weather...
~You've waited so long, they re-checked your fingerprints to see if they changed...
~Trying to understand why they're printing you again, you study your own fingerprints and wonder if fingerprints grow wrinkles...
~When you speak of "that time of month" you're talking about CCAA updates & referrals...
And finally...You might be adopting from China if you love someone you've never met with all your heart

Our Spicy Girl, One Year Later

Last year at this time I was in disbelief that we actually had Mason-Kate in our arms. This year I am disbelief that we have had her in our arms for one whole year. I have really enjoyed going back in time and reading about our trip to China, seeing the pictures and even telling Mason-Kate her story. She doesn't understand it yet but she will in time and I look forward to telling her what I can about how she came to be our little girl. Enjoy the pix.....

Our first glimpse of MK, December 7, 2007

Gotcha Day 2008

March 2009

Look how much she has grown! And notice the "split pants".....she didn't want anything to do with taking this outfit off last year or this year. Note that there is another layer on beneath the one you see. Also note that the pink split pants are extremely thick....she was sweating bullets on Gotcha Day as well as the day I took the current photos....but, still, she didn't want to take the clothes off!

Then and Now

This time last year we were in Beijing. We were touring the city, adjusting to the time change and eating some unknown foods (well, Ryan was....the boys and I pretty much stuck to McDonalds and Pizza Hut).

The Great Wall of China....the first pic gives a little idea of just how steep it really is...the second pic is of the boys keeping a lookout from one of the watchtowers.

We loved seeing how the Chinese population entertains themselves. Everywhere we visited, the people were in groups exercising, playing cards, singing, writing.....

so our boys decided to give the writing thing a try....check out their drawings compared to the ones above....they did some letters from our alphabet and a few smiley faces....love it.

And then fast forward to the present....

Our family picnic....and family prayer. As you can see, MK just wants to get through the prayer so she can eat. Colin is honestly thankful for the food and picnic. Pryce, well, he is inspecting the food selection before going any further.....the celebration follows.

The belly.....

SHHHH! Stop talkin about my belly! It is all good!