Random

This week has been our first week of school, ballet, art, basketball and piano.....it is the beginning of the beginning.  We still have to add in IEW (writing), swimming, and baseball.  So this week I started something new, something new that I should have started a long, long time ago....a daily list of "to-dos."  Thankfully, it has helped keep this otherwise scatterbrained mother in one piece!

Having one in kindergarten and one in preschool has its advantages and disadvantages.....on one hand it is quiet and gives me a chance to keep up with the boys and their daily assignments as well instruct them without constant interruption from little people about the house.  On the other hand, it is quiet and I miss my little people and their constant interruption from time to time....that said, they are both thrilled with school - no tears, all smiles, all.week.long.

The bewitching hour is when MK gets home.  Our home goes from quiet to chaotic in a matter of 10 seconds flat.  Everyone misses MK so when she walks in the door it is all squeals and everyone wants to talk with her at once and they want her to answer their questions about her day.  All the while, she is wanting to share with everyone so she is talking while others are asking and it is just, well, chaotic.  Truly, I just want to curl up in a corner with her and soak up a moment of time with her all to myself...that, my friends, has yet to happen.  My "curl up in a corner moment" takes place in the car.  After this week, I have discovered that the only one-on-one time I am going to get with her will take place in the car when I pick her up from school....I have about 10 minutes and then we are home.

A toe update....tonight MK dropped a bottle of hair conditioner on her toe in the shower.  OUCH!  Her already falling off toenail is now hanging on by ONE stitch.  There was quite a bit of blood and many, many tears but nothing a little chocolate pudding and a Barbie movie couldn't take care of.  Here's hoping to better things to come in the future for her little broken toe.

My Maddox quote for the week.....we were taking a walk one day together.  She was on her bike and I was pushing her.  She kept steering into the grass, not on purpose but that is where she was headed a good bit of the time.  She looked up at me and said, "That grass driving me nuts!"

13 families, 13 beautiful, well adjusted, thriving kiddos plus three on the way home soon!  Celebrating adoption; it simply doesn't get any better!  The minute the last family leaves our home, our boys and girls are already asking when we will have another gathering!  

 Monday morning came too fast for me:)  MK requested donuts for her special breakfast.....after all, it was her first day of Kindergarten!  

 She was all smiles from the time she woke up until the time she went to bed.  When I asked her what her favorite part of her day was, she said, "Probably nap time!"  Then I asked her who she played with and she said, "Well, mom, I don't even know these people!"  She wanted so badly to purchase lunch at school so I let her.  After all, it was pizza day.  So I asked her what she had for lunch and she got the most excited look on her face and she squealed, "Oh mom, it was the best....we could make choices so I chose a peanut butter sandwich and it was the best!"  Hmmmm.

 Thankfully, Maddox was all smiles on her first day of school as well.  Her teachers were thankful too:)  It seems there are quite a few little ones who were less than happy in Maddox's class.  Maddox walked around telling them, "Mommy always comes back!"  Yep, that is right!  Mommy always comes back....I tell her that every time I leave her.  Granted, Maddox has a little advantage over the other children....she had the same teachers over the summer so they are all best buddies!

 Another first....our littlest ballerina.  She was so precious!  And oh so excited!  She walked right in and only looked back to blow me a kiss.  Melt.my.heart.

 She came out and promptly began showing me what she had learned!  One must take note of her tights.  They are beyond ginormous.  However, she was, under no circumstances, going to allow me to take them off.  So in she went with ginormous tights and she danced her heart out!  Gotta love her spirit!

Our week at a glance....Monday and Tuesday were spent much like our weekend for MK, on the couch.  She colored, drank all of the sweet tea her little tummy could take, we painted nails, she watched TV every.single.moment.of.each.day, she made jewelry....and all the while, she never once complained of pain.  She has been such a little trooper so long as no one asks about her injury.  If someone asks about her toe, she immediately turns up her nose at them.  I am guessing she is embarrassed???  Monday afternoon we were able to go and visit MK's teacher, see her classroom and tour her school.  Though she is very familiar with all of the above, it was nice to share this time with her and see her little eyes light up when we peaked in the various rooms she will be using during her school days.  

 On Tuesday, the boys officially began school for the 2012-2013 school year.  They really are great students and children - no complaints from school so far:)  Co-op began on Tuesday as well.  Again, we are so thankful for our co-op.  Though it can be a lot at times, it is so nice to have like-minded people to share successes and trials with....I love knowing that I am "not the only one." 

 This week proved to be a TV week.....rather, it really proved to be an Annie week.  I LOVE Annie and I love that my girls love Annie.  I know we have watched this movie sometimes twice in one day during the last week!  Maddox loves to tell me, "Mommy, Miss Hannagan is mean, mean, mean, right?"  

 If you look closely, you will notice what happens when you leave a three year old and a five year old inside with make-up and mirrors while you clean out the garage.  Thankfully, I put a blanket down just in case:)

 On Thursday, my sister, niece and nephew came to visit us for the day.  What fun the cousins have when they are together!  We were all in a celebratory mood for many reasons.  One, MK had gotten a great report on Wednesday during her visit to the orthopedist.  He cleared her to walk and said her toe was healing nicely.  She will begin school on Monday and she could not be more thrilled!  Second, we celebrated Maddox turning 3.  She was given the cutest little ladybug costume ever!  Absolutely precious.  

Random

MK:  "I know one Chinese word."
Me:  "Wow, you do.  What is it?"
MK  "Hola!"

My favorite Maddox word is "fridger"....she will tell me to put her chocolate milk in the fridger....

And I love to hear Maddox sing Tomorrow....."Toooomorryo, tooomorryo, I lub ya, tomorryo...."

We received a call from our pediatrician's office checking on MK.  The nurse is fabulous and makes me feel as if we are all family when I speak with her. Anyway, the official diagnosis of MK's toe read "complicated laceration of the toe".....yep, it was nothing shy of complicated.

The boys have begun football training in our backyard. At the ages of 10 and 12, they are wanting definition and tone - love it! And they are banning the consumption of all carbonated drinks during the week which is challenging me to drink a smaller dose of Coke products each day aka no daily drinks from Target which equals saving money.  When I announced that I was planning to join their health binge, C exclaimed, "But Mom, I like that the Target employees know me by name and they already know my order before I say what I would like!"  Again, quitting will be a good thing:)

Yesterday the children, minus Maddox, and I watched ET and ate Reeses Pieces.  Pryce asked, "When was this movie even made?"  and C responded, "It had to have been in the 1800s, look at the cars."  I felt so young:/

911, Urgent MD, and Hospital, OH MY!

Who knew a simple kitchen barstool, albeit heavy barstool, could do such damage to one little girl's toe?!  In typical MK fashion, she was trying to help me with Maddox by getting her down from a stool in our kitchen.  Unfortunately, Maddox AND the stool came down at the same exact time and landed direct hit on MK's big toe.  

 After blood curdling screams, a call to 911 (have I mentioned before that handling traumatic/bloody incidences well is not my gift???) calls to a friend, and a trip to Urgent MD, we found ourselves seated comfortably by MK's side at our local children's hospital.  Doctors aplenty came to see our girl and make decisions on her care.  Finally, 12 hours after the injury occurred, MK was sedated and sewn up.

 We arrived home to two big brothers who had spent their day decorating the house in anticipation of their little sister's arrival back home!  MK was so happy to be home! (Maddox was sleeping when we arrived but awoke later with a fever of 102 - "it's raining, it's pouring....")

 With a broken toe and stitches galore, it is bed rest/couch rest for our little one at least until Wednesday.  Today has been lots of fun playing a new DS game, watching tv and resting.....late this afternoon she did mention the "I'm bored!" statement....ack, too early for that!

Maddox began her third birthday as most girls do, on the phone!  She was one popular girl and quickly learned that when the phone rang, it was for her.  She loved hearing everyone sing to her and she was so cute telling them how old she was!  She told her Aunt "Nellie" that she was now "5, 4, 2"....totally left out the number 3!

 In between her phone calls, she managed to squeeze in her special birthday breakfast - ice cream!  

 The one thing about having three older siblings is that you learn fast that everything cannot be all about you even on your birthday!  MK participated in a Tinkerbell ballet class last week and Friday, Maddox's birthday, was her chance to show us all of the fun things she had learned throughout the week.

 She was really a bit tired out and even asked if she had to go on the first day.....she went and she came home after the second day and squealed with joy, "Mommy, this is my favorite camp yet!"  It was really cute....each night, the fairies would leave surprises for the girls - MK could not wait to go each day and see what awaited her!

 Then, on her final dance, she did her best twirl and got a sprinkling of fairy dust....so cute.

 Maddox was quite taken with Tinkerbell.....really, I believe she was quite taken with the whole performance.  She cannot wait to take ballet beginning in August and she keeps asking, "Mommy watch me ballet?"  Of course, I will be her biggest fan!

 Following ballet, it was back home for a nap and then party time.  

 She asked all day if she could open her presents and she was thrilled when the time finally fell upon us.

 We tried our best to get a group picture of the girls.  Our first attempts went something like this.....

 and then Ryan jumped in and started dancing around the room making the giggles appear.

 The day was not over, there was so much to do and at the age of three, Maddox is all about keeping up!  Following the party, it was out to dinner for the family, singing in the restaurant, a family game of Putt-Putt and then we all went to the airport to greet our newest American citizen home with her family from China.....

and then to top off the evening, we all came home and enjoyed a campout in the living room to kickoff the beginning of the Olympic games....love the memories in the making!

Happy Birthday, Maddox Ren!

Three years ago today, our baby girl was born.

As we celebrate her special day, I am reminded that in her three short years of life, she has lived away from us longer than she has lived with us though I can't remember a day without her.

I am currently holding on to my baby, our youngest child, wishing she would always stay little.  She, however, runs around saying, "I baby in China.  I big girl now, not baby.  I sit in Mei-Mei's seat?!"  She wants so badly to be big, yet she is our petite little miss.  At 22 lbs, she is full of spunk, spice and spirit.  

She has the sweetest little face that I cannot resist kissing over and over when she is in my arms.  And those lips so round and pouty yet when she smiles, she lights up the world around her.

Adoption has changed us - her story has changed us, her life has changed us.  Though she is our baby through and through, we are reminded on this day that a special lady on the other side of the world gave her life; she gave us our daughter.  I often forget that I wasn't a part of her arrival in this world, a phenomenon that can sound odd but is so true.

At the age of three, Maddox is showing us a bit of her sassy side.  Some days she chooses more to obey than not to obey, sometimes not; she is silly and she knows it; she is our little monkey and even scales  our refrigerator when we have our backs turned - true story; she loves to play with her baby dolls; coloring is a favorite pastime and she believes one can color paper and/or skin:)....

she LOVES to sing, her favorite song to date is Tomorrow from the movie Annie;  she is obsessed with her pink flip flops; she will come to our bed in the middle of the night with her pillow pet in hand and ask to "sleep with mommy?" - I love that she comes prepared! - she will climb in and search for my hand to hold as she drifts off to sleep; food is not her love language but offer her some "chocate milk" and you are golden in her book.

Maddox Ren, we are blessed by you, your smile and your happy little spirit!  Happy birthday, little one!