O Baby Y Baby

She is 5

2010-08-04T16:07:00.004-04:00

Today, my sweet baby girl turns 5. Not only is today her birthday, it is also her first full day of wearing glasses. She is so proud. Glasses are totally big girl, you know. So, in honor of both the birthday and the glasses, I give you the lyrics to a beautiful song, In My Daughter's Eyes:

In my daughter's eyes

I am a hero. I am strong and wise.

And I know no fear.

But the truth is plain to see

She was sent to rescue me.

I see who I want to be

In my daughter's eyes.

The Truth About Our Family

2010-04-15T13:26:00.002-04:00

Lately there have been a lot of horror stories in the news involving adopted children. Some people only ever hear the bad stories about adoptions, so the Joint Council on International Children's Services has asked that all adoptive families share the truth about international adoption. Today, hundreds of adoptive parents will be blogging about the truth of their adoptions. So, here is our truth:

I am a single mom by choice. Both of my daughters were born to other women and became my children through adoption. Adoption is a complicated issue. It always, in every case, begins with a loss. My daughters lost their birth families. They lost their birth country. They lost their care-givers. They lost their first language. Somewhere in China, two women lost their beautiful, sweet, innocent babies. How and why aren't really the point. The point is, at the beginning of every adoption story is the story of loss. My children are not my children because it was "meant to be". They are not mine because "God wanted it this way". My daughters are my daughters because out of a really bad situation, we were able to create something wonderful. Out of the heartache and fear of losing everything, my girls were able to gain a new family.

My girls were fairly young when they were adopted. OBaby, at just shy of 11 months, only understood that suddenly, nothing in her world was the same any more. Because she was so young, she was able to easily make the transition to a new care-giver – me. I say easily, but it is never really easy. We had weeks and weeks of sleepless nights spent crying (her, mostly). But she did adjust. And she bonded to me and to our family. And now, she is very surely my daughter, and I am her mommy. The thing she loves best is being with her "whole family" – Mommy, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncle, cousins. At seven, she does understand that she has another family in China. We talk about them sometimes. But mostly, we just live our lives together – just like any other family.

YBaby's adjustment was harder. She was 19 months old, and very attached to her primary care-giver. I know she slept with her (very common in China) and I suspect she was taken from her while she was asleep. She just work up one morning and her "MaMa" was gone. Although she doesn't seem to have a memory of this that she can articulate, the fear is obviously still there – the fear that Mommy might disappear in the night. She has been with me now for over 3 years, and yet she still can't go to sleep at night unless she is touching me – not just sleeping in my bed, but actually touching me. She's improving, though. She no longer wakes up hysterical if I'm not still in bed beside her. She's learned to come look for Mommy. And yet, she still has those moments of fear. Like the other day when her class went on a field trip and she asked me, "Will I never see you again?" She's still not 100% sure that we are forever. And as much as I would love to be able to tell her that MaMas never go away, how can I when she has already lived the truth?

In addition to being my daughters, OBaby and YBaby are sisters. And they ARE sisters. Genetic bonds or not, these two little girls are sisters the same as my sisters and I are. They love each other. They annoy the heck out of each other. They laugh and fight and cry together – just like any other sisters.

The truth of our family is that my daughters joined this family through adoption. That unique start will always make us a little different. We will always have issues to deal with that birth families might not. But the rest of our truth is that we live our lives everyday just like any other family. We go to work and to school. I help O with her homework, and Y sings the weather song to us. The girls fight over Barbies and laugh over Phineas and Ferb – just like any other sisters. They leave their junk all over the house and I get mad. Sometimes I say, "Can anyone actually hear my voice?" – just like every other mom.

We live, we laugh, we love. We are a normal American family. And that, my friends, is THE TRUTH.

Happy Family Day, Ying-a-Bing!

2010-03-04T09:04:00.003-05:00

Three years ago, Ying became our baby. My, how she has changed! We love you, baby!

Adoption Ends in Nightmare - Baby Was Sold

2010-01-13T16:10:00.004-05:00

Alyssa is a one year old Pakistani girl. Her parents sold her to a man to be placed for adoption. An unsuspecting American woman went to Pakistan to adopt her. After more than 6 weeks together (in Pakistan), Alyssa's new mom learned the ugly truth. Alyssa was taken from her and sent to a Pakistani orphanage, along with 2 other little girls also taken from American parents who had no idea the girls had been sold to the "adoption facilitator". Alyssa's fate has yet to be determined. She may spend the rest of her childhood in an orphanage with no one to love her. Or, she may be returned to her birth parents who will then be able to sell her again - this time no one knows who they will sell her to.

And all the while, her American mother is fighting for the chance to give Alyssa the life she deserves. One with a warm bed, clean clothes, food to eat, and a mommy to hold her tight. She has lost over $35,000 to an unscrupulous agency (ADOPTION ARK! BEWARE!), but she hasn't lost hope. The adoption community is trying to help anyway we can - donating money for an attorney to fight for Alyssa or just getting the word out about what is happening to these beautiful babies.

It's just not right.

To learn more about Alyssa's story, click here. To follow her mother's fight to be reunited with Alyssa on FaceBook, click here.

My Daughter, The Artist

2010-01-12T13:25:00.004-05:00

Breakfast with an old friend

2009-12-14T13:16:00.002-05:00

We went to a Breakfast with Santa party on Saturday. The girls had a wonderful time talking to Santa and playing with friends. You can't get anything past Olivia, though. After she sat on Santa's lap, she whispered in my ear, "Mommy, is Santa really (our good friend) Dave?" I asked her why she would think that. "Because, he has Dave's face and his voice." Good thing she knows that Santa has helpers all over the world. And how cool is it that our buddy Dave just so happens to be one?

NFL's Most Fanatic Family

2009-12-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine and his family have been selected as finalists in the NFL's Most Fanatic Family contest. The prize is a trip to the Super Bowl. I really think they deserve to win because they are Browns fans, and anyone who can cheer for the Browns is truly fanatical! If you have a minute to go vote, they are the Vetalice family in Group A (the Browns fans). Thanks!
http://callingallfamilies.com/

BANGS!

2009-11-27T14:19:00.002-05:00

O’s First Trophy

2009-11-19T15:30:00.003-05:00

And just because she's cute:

The Phone Call That Change The World

2009-11-18T11:10:00.002-05:00

Ok, so it changed my world. Six years ago today I got a phone call that I had been dreaming about for over 4 years. "You have a daughter," she said. "Her name is Pan Chun An and she was born February 9^th in Gaozhou City in Guangdong province." My daughter. My baby. My Olivia.

Today, she is a healthy, happy, smart, crazy, fun 6.5 year old who loves pretending she is a pop star or that her little sister is a super model. She can spell turkey and pumpkin (can you tell they are doing holiday words?) and read One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish all by herself. She got her first trophy last night for being a Pop Warner cheerleader (pictures tomorrow!) and scored 2 baskets during her evaluation to play Upward basketball. She is everything good and wonderful and perfect about being a little girl. And the best part is, she's all mine. I love her to pieces, and then I love up the pieces. My Pan Chun An. My OBaby. My girl.

Y Baby is officially a School Girl

2009-11-11T11:01:00.003-05:00

Today is YBaby's second day of school. She went to preschool Monday for the first time. She was so excited to go that she didn't even hesitate when it was time for Mommy to leave. I got a quick "bye" as she raced off to see what great adventure was in store for her. Today, she is supposed to get to ride the bus home. All by herself. My baby. On a school bus. Alone. She is thrilled. Me, not so much. Sigh. Guess she's not really a baby any more.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T15:56:00.002-05:00

I got to spend Halloween afternoon with all of these beautiful princesses. Have you ever seen a cuter bunch of friends?

This is Princess Aurora - the princess with an attitude. Yes, she is way too cool.

And here we have the Butterfly Princess. She is as sweet as she is cute.

Any wonder why we now have enough chocolate to feed a small army? Girls this cute collect major loot!

Remembering

2009-09-10T15:50:00.000-04:00

William Thomas Carr. Born Billy Franklin Anderson in Johnson City, TN on October 23, 1971. Died September 10, 1998 in Virginia Beach, VA. Despite a rough start, the last few years of his life were filled with love and happiness. There should have been so much more to this story, and so many more people to remember it.

Loud and Proud

2009-09-08T12:13:00.003-04:00

OBaby loves, loves, loves being a cheerleader. And, she is good at it. She is always the loud one. Surprised? Not really. YBaby loves it, too. Who says you have to be 5 to cheer?

The Tooth Fairy's Been Busy

2009-08-25T16:16:00.002-04:00

Teeth

No teeth.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-20T10:10:00.002-04:00

We hope you have a great day. We're glad we got to see you dance at the state fair. We had a terrific day. See -

Tweaked

2009-08-11T15:39:00.004-04:00

Yeah, that is OBaby's new word. Last night we were talking about "movie magic" (how they make things that didn't really happen look like they happened). She said, "Oh, yeah, they took a picture of him jumping, then tweaked it a little to make it look like he jumped over the whole pool." Um, yeah, they did, but how did she know tweaked?

"I just thought it seemed like the right word."

All I can say is that I sincerely hope her first grade teacher is up for the challenge.

What 4 Years Old Looks Like

2009-08-05T16:27:00.002-04:00

New TB Testing Keeping Kids, not TB, out of the US

2009-08-03T11:23:00.000-04:00

The USCIS (Immigration) and the Center for Disease Control have enacted new regulation for the testing of TB in immigrant populations. While the desire to protect US citizens from being exposed to TB is certainly a need, there has been an unintended consequence to the new regulation. Children legally adopted by US citizens are being denied their visas. One of these children is the newly adopted daughter of my coworker who is in Ethiopia right now, trying to figure out how to bring his child home. She does NOT have TB, but she must be tested, and the test results take at least 6 weeks. She had been legally adopted before her parents were told she would need to be tested. So now, they are the legal parents of a child who cannot enter the US. They are with her now, and naturally do not want to have to leave her, but at the same time, they will eventually have to return to the US because they have to work and they have a 2 year old son (also from Ethiopia) waiting at home.

All medical evidence indicates that children AT LEAST up to age 7 are NOT contagious, EVEN if they have active TB AND after 2-4 weeks of treatment NO ONE is contagious. The new regulations do not apply to citizen children who live abroad, even if they live in TB epidemic areas. Also there are no rules to prevent someone with active TB from entering the US on a tourist visa. Please consider signing the petition below. It only takes a couple of minutes and while it may not affect you personally, it is affecting my friend and his family.- Please feel free to forward this on- the more people who voice their concerns the more likely to get a solution that protects both the child and the country.

Build Families, Not Barriers Petition

My Girls

2009-07-29T15:33:00.002-04:00

2-4-6-8

2009-07-16T11:25:00.002-04:00

Who do we think's really great? OBABY! The cheerleader. She is going to try cheering for Pop Warner football this year. Of course, she knows nothing about football and really doesn't care to learn, but she loves the idea of being a cheerleader. And why not? She gets to wear a really cute uniform and have treats at every practice. We'll see what happens when she has to actually practice and be there for the games. Oh, God. That means I have to be there for the games. Football games. Played outside. By little boys. In northern Indiana. Ug. Mommy is sooooo not going to love this. But hey, she does look cute in the uniform!

Where's My Sister?

2009-06-29T10:03:00.002-04:00

That's all I'm hearing right now. OBaby is visiting with Grandma and Grandpa for 4 more days, and YBaby is missing her like crazy. (Ok, so Mommy misses her like crazy, too. but YBaby keeps asking, "Where's my sister?") We are ready for her to come home, and I don't think we are going to want her to go away again for a long, long time!

We miss you, O!!!!!!!!!!

More Art By OBaby

2009-06-26T10:35:00.003-04:00

The Artist Known as OBaby

2009-06-23T09:16:00.002-04:00

Word to the Wise

2009-06-17T12:15:00.002-04:00

If you have a spare iron, don't ever store it on the top shelf of a closet. And if you do, make sure the cord is securely wrapped around it so that no one can accidently pull the iron off the shelf and onto one's head. And if that happens, don't ask a 6 year old to look at the injury and tell you what she sees.

"Your hair is all bloody and there is a hole in your head."

I'm just sayin'.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!!!

2009-05-26T14:58:00.002-04:00

Have a happy birthday, Grandpa, from your best girls!

See you Saturday!!!

Pomp and Sweetie Face

2009-05-20T15:25:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is OBaby's last day of kindergarten. These pictures were taken at her combination Mothers Day/Graduation ceremony. Yes, she is the shortest kid in the class, and yes, she is the cutest one (sorry Aunt Donna Cake)!

Spring School Pictures

2009-05-20T15:17:00.003-04:00

Cause apparently we didn't spend enough $$ on fall school pictures, so they offered us:

My American Girls

2009-04-09T10:16:00.002-04:00

Yesterday the girls and I took a trip to Chicago to visit the American Girl Place. It is something of a cross between a doll store and a doll museum. Olivia loved getting to look at all of the historical dolls in their different period clothes with their different accessories. She liked Depression-era Kit with her junior reporter accessories, and WWII-era Molly with the really cool (and expensive!) camping gear. But, her favorite doll turned out to be Julie from the 1970’s. I think she really liked the fact that Julie’s “historical” period happens to be the same time that Mommy was a school girl! Ack – I’m historical!

Ying was more interested in “driving” the stroller around the store than looking at all of the cool dolls – until we hit the “Bitty Baby” section. There she quickly fell in love with the little blue-eyed blond baby who she has named “Essa”(pronounced E-sa, yeah, I don’t know). While most little girls seem to love being able to pick out a doll who looks just like them from the AG line of semi-ethnic looking dolls, both my little Asian beauties went for the blonde dolls. As OBaby so wisely told me, “The baby doesn’t have to look like the Mommy.” Um, no, she doesn’t, does she, baby?

Overall we had a great day, although OBaby could have done without the mile long hike back to the train station. She really was a trooper, never mentioning how tire she was or how bad her feet hurt until we were back at the station. It really was too much for her at the end of a long day, but I’m really proud that she didn’t whine or complain while we were walking. She just kept plugging along – even helping Mommy push the stroller (since either of the HUGE red AG shopping bags weighed too much for her to carry). I promised her I’ll never make her do that again! We could have grabbed a cab! Jeesh, we were in the city. They do have cabs there. Ah, next time I’ll know better.

Tomorrow's American Idols

2009-04-07T09:47:00.003-04:00

Ying may well be one of the world’s greatest 3-year-old lip-syncers. It helps that she has a great teacher. Check them out.

Bye Bye Baby Mullet

2009-03-30T11:24:00.012-04:00

I finally worked up the nerve to get rid of Ying's baby mullet. It was hard to have her hair cut off, since she'd come to me with so little of it. However, her hair wasn't very pretty. It had grown into a full-blown mullet, and I just couldn't take it any longer. So, after bribing her by allowing her to wear her minnie mouse dress (a previously never-worn Halloween costume), I took YBaby in for the haircut of her life. It was one of my better parenting decisions this week. She looks amazing. Beautiful. Like a princess. See for yourselves:

The new Ying hair cut

Way Back Wednesday

2009-03-04T11:39:00.001-05:00

Any idea what year this was?

OBaby's First Christmas Program - Really Bad Video

2008-12-17T16:52:00.002-05:00

You can just sort of see the top of O's head (she has a bow in her hair) on the far right, second row. But if you listen to the end, you'll hear Ying-a-Bing demanding her Jie Jie!

OBaby's First Christmas Program

2008-12-17T16:27:00.001-05:00

Last Weekend at Wal-mart . . .

2008-12-15T15:58:00.003-05:00

they were taking free pictures with Santa. Obviously not the best photographers or the best background (notice the fold line!), but hey, the kids are cute.

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-15T10:34:00.002-05:00

The girls had breakfast with Santa on Saturday. Since only 8 kids were there this year, they got to spend a lot of quality time with Santa. (Poor Santa!) Here are a few highlights from the morning.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-01T12:16:00.002-05:00

All I Want for Christmas . . .

2008-11-20T11:51:00.003-05:00

. . . is my two front teeth! That's what OBaby will soon be singing. Tooth #1 came out yesterday while eating an apple, and #2 is just about ready drop any second now (I expect it to go before the weekend!). She is proudly exclaiming, "I'm toothless!" (That's the tooth in its little fairy bag, ready to go under the pillow and await the arrival of the toothfairy who kindly left TWO dollars - one for the tooth and one for being a big girl who lost her first tooth with no tears!.) Yeah! Exciting times, I'm tellin' ya!

5 Years

2008-11-18T11:20:00.004-05:00

Five years ago today I got the phone call that changed my life. "You have a daughter." Guangdong Province. 9 1/2 months old. Beautiful. "Peaceful Spring".

My daughter.

My baby.

My O.

Wo ai ni, Ah-An.

Feeling Very BLUE Today!

2008-11-06T09:46:00.004-05:00

And I mean that in a good way.

Before Tuesday, I had voted in 6 presidential elections. As a blue voter living in red states, my vote has NEVER counted - until now. For the first time, the electoral votes of my state actually went to the candidate I voted for. It's an amazing feeling. And, it's the reason why I think we need to do away with the electoral college and allow the president to be elected by popular vote. Every vote should carry the same weight, and what state you live in should not determine whether or not it does. Ok, that's my political rant for the year.

Oh, and because this is a blog about my girls, let me just add that OBaby was thrilled to hear (at 2 am on Wednesday when she woke up long enough to ask, "Did he win, Mama?") that Ba-Rock had won. "The boy", as she has called him since the days he was running against "the girl", was her favorite candidate. We went to Chicago yesterday and stopped to buy some copies of the Sun Times (yeah, the Trib was sold out by 9 am), and O wanted to buy her own copy (which she purchased herself then proudly carried to the train station all by herself - dang that girl is independent. Don't know where that comes from!).

O also got a haircut in Chicago. I'll have to try to get a picture of her tonight. I was too tired to think about it last night! (4 hours of sleep and a day in the city - I'm too old for this . . . stuff.) Ying-a-Bing did NOT get her haircut as she firmly insisted NO CUT MY HAIR several times while sister was getting hers done. Really, I didn't feel like fighting with her. It's just hair. We'll cut it when she's ready.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-03T08:51:00.001-05:00

Kindergarten Party

2008-10-31T14:28:00.004-04:00

Kindergarten Friends.

The popcorn hand (yeah, I have no idea)

Gabriella Montez and her popstar pal, Hannah Montana

Gabriella eating pizza - note the curls (or what's left of them)

And even though she wasn't at the party, here's little miss playing with a water cooler (I'm not gonna pull the lever, Mommy, really.) in her hand-me-down pumpkin shirt

Halloween is coming - be afraid, be very afraid

2008-10-30T08:43:00.002-04:00

The girls have decided on costumes. O has to be Gabriella of HSM fame. And Y, well, Y is maybe going to be Minnie Mouse. Or Sharpay. Or Troy - but not the boy Troy, the girl (aka Gabriella). I think we won't know for sure until we walk out the door.

Meanwhile, enjoy the pumpkin patch pictures. They had fun, really. Not that you can tell from the pictures, but they had fun!

Yeah, I go pee-pee in the potty, what's it to ya?

2008-10-09T13:28:00.002-04:00

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2008-09-18T09:54:00.003-04:00

YBaby (who is still too young to care if I quote her here) has recently come up with a new favorite expression - "You best mama whole world." And, she is really started to be interested in the whole pee-pee in the potty idea. Life is good.

Happy Birthday, Woman!

2008-09-10T14:08:00.003-04:00

She's not a little girl anymore, she's an adult now. Well, legally. Happy Birthday, E-Baby! We heart you!

10 Years

2008-09-10T14:07:00.000-04:00

and yet sometimes, it seems like yesterday.

Time does not heal all wounds.

It's Not That I Don't Love You . . .

2008-08-25T16:04:00.002-04:00

I know, you're wondering why I never tell you the cute stuff any more. No delightful little tidbits that fall from my children's mouths. I want to. Really, I do. It's just that, well, she won't let me. She?, you wonder. Yes, she. She Who Must Be Obeyed (i.e., OBaby) has asked that I NOT share some of the funnier comments she's made recently. Oh, and that I not tell anybody some things she's done. Yes, my friends, at 5 years 6 months my girl wants her privacy. She doesn't want all her secrets being shared with the world. Basically, she wants Mommy to shut up. Sigh. Too bad she's the funny one. Oh, don't get me wrong, the little one is cute and sweet and sometimes says funny things, but O is the one who makes me laugh out loud every day. So, you'll have to settle for the occasional picture now and then and maybe a chuckle or two from the little one. But OBaby's life is off limits.

Personally, I think she's just trying to reserve the copyrights to her life story.

Kindergarten Girl

2008-08-13T12:17:00.000-04:00

Party, Party, Party

2008-08-04T15:23:00.005-04:00

We had a very busy weekend celebrating YBaby’s third birthday. Last year, she was clueless about the whole birthday thing. This year, she totally got it. She was excited for DAYS ahead of time about “my birfday”. She has happily told people that she is “three a old”. Saturday, we had a party at the local kiddy pool for all of her best friends. Then Sunday, the fabulous little W Family came over for a family party. To say Ying had a great time is an understatement. She loved it. She loved the cake. She loved the presents. She loved the attention. It was a far cry from the confused little girl who sat through last year’s party without a clue what was going on. The pictures really say it all – Ying digs birthdays!

Wiggle, Wiggle

2008-07-30T11:27:00.000-04:00

Olivia went to the dentist yesterday. The big news is that she has 2 loose teeth! Both of her bottom front teeth are starting to wiggle! The tech told her that her teeth were loose and that the tooth fairy would be coming soon. Olivia’s response: “Yes! Does that mean I get money?” Yeah for my big girl!

16-Hour Nap

2008-07-21T15:11:00.000-04:00

Yeah, apparently that's what it takes for Ying to recover from her weekend of picnicking, swimming, and having more fun than a kid should have in a day and a half. I put her down (who am I kidding? we all 3 laid down) for a nap at 3:30 yesterday afternoon and had to wake her at 7:30 this morning. She didn’t wake up for dinner or even when I changed her diaper. The girl was worn out! She was all sunshine and Skittles when I woke her up, so I guess that 16-hour nap really did it for her. Ah, good times, good times.

My Babies

2008-07-09T11:13:00.001-04:00

Don't you just want to kiss those cute little faces?

Vacation Photos

2008-07-01T15:02:00.000-04:00

See, Olivia did have fun on vacation. So did Ying-a-Bing.

Three very cute girls.

The Eyes Have It

2008-06-27T15:29:00.000-04:00

I took both Babies to the eye doctor this morning for exams. The good news is that OBaby’s eyesight is perfect. No glasses for her. The even better news is that YBaby’s eyesight seems to have improved since her surgery and so she does NOT need glasses either! Yeah, Babies!

(BTW, O had much more fun on the boat trip than the picture seems to imply!)

Sisters

2008-06-23T15:13:00.000-04:00

Here are the girls on the first leg of our very long vacation drive. YBaby wanted O to hold her hand so that she could go to sleep. Aren't they precious?

Hair Do, Part Duex

2008-06-06T14:37:00.000-04:00

Hair Dos

2008-06-06T10:15:00.000-04:00

Here is Ying's latest look. See Papa, ponies!

And O with her bangs cut.

And later today, we hope Mama with her new cut and color. I know you're all waiting for that one!

Why I Always Carry My Camera

2008-05-27T12:39:00.000-04:00

Because you just never know what you'll see on your way in to work. Really. On an average Tuesday. Guy playing bag pipes. In a kilt. In front of my building. No idea why.

Happy Birthday, Jane!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-23T10:55:00.000-04:00

Cherishing My Cinderellas

2008-05-22T16:25:00.001-04:00

I heard the sad news this morning about the tragic accident that took the life of Stephen Curtis Chapman’s 5 year old daughter, Maria. The Chapmans adopted Maria in China the same year I adopted OBaby. I can’t even imagine their heartache right now.

Someone sent me a link to a SCC video for his song “Cinderella”. At the end of the video, he explains how he came to write the song. As he was telling the story, all I could think about was how many times I have missed the moments with my girls because I was too busy or too tired or too stressed to slow down and just enjoy them. Although the song is about a father and his daughter, the first verse and the chorus really applies to all parents.

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I'm sittin' here wearin' the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited and I need to practice my dancin'
"Oh please, daddy, please!"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with CinderellaI don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

Excuse me, I've got some dancing to do.

Hardwood Floor: 1 Forehead: 0

2008-05-20T13:45:00.000-04:00

Thanks, Aunt Manny for sending me the picture! (Yeah, I still don't know how that phone thing works.)

Preschool Picnic

2008-05-16T11:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was OBaby’s farewell picnic at preschool. Today is her last day of school. Yes, my baby girl is going to kindergarten in the fall. (We don’t know where, but that is a whole nuther story!)

So, yesterday we braved the cool temperatures and threat of rain to eat our lunch out on the playground. Afterwards we went inside where the kids sang to us, recited some poems, and then showed off all of the projects they’ve been working on this semester. OBaby especially enjoyed the unit on firefighting and wanted to show me how cute she looks in the gear. That coat weighs like 20 pounds! I don’t even know how she could stand up with it on. And note the boots – just a smidge too big!

When I picked up YBaby yesterday she had fallen while running on hardwood floors. She had a nice goose egg right in the middle of the forehead. I took a picture with my cell phone, but I don’t know how to get it off the phone! Yes, I teach technology but my cell phone baffles me. Oh well, take my word for it, the lump is big and purple and apparently doesn’t hurt at all. (I say this since I had to wash chocolate ice cream off of it last night and baby didn’t even flinch. Yes, she had ice cream on her forehead. No, I don’t know how things that this happen, but they do.)

Everybody off the sidewalks!

2008-05-16T10:56:00.000-04:00

Olivia has learned to ride a 2-wheeler! Ok, last week she learned to ride - I'm a little behind (story of my life). She's been wanting to ride a bike without training wheels for awhile, and last week she asked her preschool teacher to help her learn. 5 minutes later, OBaby was OBaby on Wheels as she just took off riding. We took the training wheels off of her little bike at home on Saturday and she's been riding like a pro. Ok, story about taking the wheels off - she asked me to do it Saturday evening after a long day of shopping at the outlet mall. Since the grandparents were coming the next day, I suggested that we could wait and let Grandpa take them off since Grandpas like to do stuff like that to feel useful. A little later, OBaby looked at me and said wistfully, "I wish you knew how to take training wheels off, Mama." Seriously, the kid took my laziness for being unable to do it! So, naturally we headed to the garage where I broke out my socket wrench and socket set and proceeded to remove the training wheels from the bike. Had to, you know. I can’t have my girls thinking that there are things girls can’t do. For her part, OBaby was sufficiently impressed. I am the best Mommy in the world and I know how to do everything. Keep on thinking that, baby!

Happy Mother’s Day

2008-05-09T12:13:00.002-04:00

Dear Mamas,

I don't know your names. I don't know anything about you, really except that you both live in China, and both, for whatever reasons, left a daughter to be found. How I wish I could meet you and ease the worries you must have over the fate of these daughters. I would want you to know that they are safe and warm and well-fed (very well-fed!). I would tell you how loved they are – by me, by each other, and by everyone who has the privilege of knowing them. Then I would tell you what amazing little girls they are. Your February baby, Mama, is so smart and funny and has such a loving heart. And your August baby, Mama, is strong and clever and loves to laugh. And, because I know you would want to know, I'd tell you how happy they are. Both girls find great joy in life. Every day is a new adventure – always something new to learn and to experience, and they each, in her own way, leap into those adventures.

I also want to thank you. You have given me two of the greatest gifts any woman could ever hope to receive. Thank you for having the courage and the strength to make the decision you had to make. I can't image how hard that must have been for you. You, Mama, to say goodbye your daughter on a chilly February morning when you had barely had the chance to say hello. Or you, Mama, who held on to your baby long past August and all the way into the fall – loving and nurturing her until she was strong enough to survive without you. I will never forget that everything I have, I owe to the two of you – all the joy and happiness in my life I have at your expense. Thank you seems so inadequate. I hope that I will be able to teach our daughters to love and respect the two of you as I do. You will always be an important part of our family. Happy Mother's Day, Mamas.

No Arm, Mama, Otay?

2008-04-28T11:22:00.000-04:00

Ever since the first night YBaby realized that I was all she had as far as sleep companions go, she has insisted on sleeping with her head on my shoulder. That’s right, snuggled right up next to Mama with her sweet little head on my shoulder. It was lovely – especially since she spent the first two weeks I knew her refusing any kind of affection from me. So, like I said, it was lovely. For the first few weeks. Then my shoulder started to hurt in the mornings. And then on into the afternoons. Yeah, then pretty much all the time, but I couldn’t get her to go to sleep unless I had my arm wrapped around her and her head on my shoulder. At first, I even had to keep my arm wrapped around her little body, too. Later, just sleeping on my arm was enough. Every night. For 13 months. As her speech improved, she started asking me at night, “”Arm, Mama”. And I would wrap my arm around her and let her fall asleep on my shoulder.

The people who know about stuff like this (or like to pretend that they do) say it’s all about security. She doesn’t trust that I’ll be there in the morning, so she wants to hold on to me so I can’t sneak away. I can see that, especially since waking without me beside her brings on an instant melt down. In all the time I’ve known this child she has only once actually gotten out of bed by herself. Generally if I don’t wake her, she just cries until I come get her. I know, she’s spoiled.

So, here’s the thing. In the past week, Y has told me three different times, “No arm, Mama, otay?” – meaning that she wants to go to sleep without pinning my left arm to the bed. And she has. Gone to sleep that is. Without me holding her. Could it be that after 13 months she finally believes that I will still be around in the morning? Is she actually starting to trust me? Does my baby finally feel safe? I truly hope so. But still, in a way, I miss that little head resting on my shoulder, you know?

The Babies Unplugged

2008-04-21T09:22:00.001-04:00

Today is the day we cut ourselves off from all forms of electronic entertainment – no television, no computer (at home, folks, I have to use one at work), no video games (like we actually have any to begin with), no DVDs. That’s it. We’ve pulled the plug. We’re going cold turkey. Well, sort of. Um, I’m still watching about 15 minutes of local news in the morning so I can catch the weather. In April it could be near 80 (like today) or cold and raining and the kids need a coat. So, I have to watch the weather. And a little bit of news, just so I know what’s going on in the world. But that’s it. Oh, and Survivor. Yeah, we’re making an exception during our week unplugged for Survivor because, um, it’s Survivor. Hello? We can’t miss it! James might get voted off!

But the internet? The internet is gone. I canceled it. Over and out. No more Mommy on the computer in the evenings. Not even after this week is over. See, Olivia told me that I spend all my time on the computer. Not true, of course, but it is her perception, and I don’t want her to remember her childhood with Mommy sitting at the computer all the time. So, bye-bye high-speed internet. Man, I’m going to miss you and that cute little way you have of taking me anywhere I want to go in the virtual world. Sigh.

So, instead of electronic entertainment, we are going to spend our week playing outside, doing crafts, reading, and playing games. Heaven help me. What am I supposed to do at 2 am when I wake up and can't go back to sleep? I have a feeling this may be a very, very long week.

YBaby Phrase of the Week

2008-04-15T08:32:00.000-04:00

Because YBaby has some speech issues, I’m always paying attention to how long her sentences are and how many words I can actually understand. Yesterday when her aunt and uncle came to visit, she very clearly told her aunt, “Uncle Jon touched my head.” How proud are we of that? Yeah, mostly we just like to hear her say “Uncle Jon”. Dear aunt and uncle were also clearly impressed with Y’s ability to say “knuckles” while holding her little fist out for you to bump. (Doesn’t everyone teach their 2 year old to do this?)

But, the YBaby phrase of the week has to be: “I love you much.” She told me this for the first time yesterday (actually, “I a do mush”) and when I replied, “I love you very much, too” she was so proud of herself because I got it! I was proud because she thought of it all by herself. My girl loves me much. Does it get any better?

I Love the Smell of a Clean Dog in the Morning

2008-04-10T09:57:00.001-04:00

Since the day Bella came to live with us, OBaby has wanted to give her a bath. Not because she smelled or anything, O just thought it would be fun to give a dog a bath. I, on the other hand, feel like it is enough that I manage to bathe regularly and get both girls into the tub on a semi-regular basis. I really wasn’t jazzed to add “give dog a bath” to my endless list of “To Do” items.

However, for the past few days, Bella has grown to smell, well, like a dog. So, we decided last night to bathe Bella. Let me tell you, even after more than a decade of dog ownership I had never tried to give a dog a bath. Marbles HATED water. Even the groomers said he was a tough dog to wash. So, I never tried to get his 50-pound body into the tub. I really expected that giving a dog a bath would be a horrible, messy, unpleasant experience. It wasn’t. Belle takes a bath like it’s something she does every day. She let me pick her up and put her in the water. She stood perfectly still while I washed her and the babies took turns rising her off by pouring cups of water over her. She didn’t even complain when YBaby’s cup of water inevitably ended up in her face – no matter how many times I said, “No, don’t pour the water in her eyes.” Apparently Y only heard “water in her eyes” and thought it was a good idea.

When she was all clean, Bella let me pick her up, wrap her in her towel, and dry her off. The only thing she nixed was the idea of a blow dry. I guess she prefers to air dry.

In the end we had a clean dog, a fairly clean bathroom, and two wonderfully happy girls who got to help Mama give the dog her bath. Of course now I expect that the next time the girls are in the tub, Bella will be jumping in with them. (Yes, she can jump into and out of the tub. That’s one of the reasons I was afraid to give her a bath – I could just see a wet, soapy dog jumping out of the tub and running through the house shaking soap and water onto everything. Hey, wait, maybe that’s not such a bad idea . . . )

Help Me!

2008-04-07T14:31:00.000-04:00

You know the old joke about how you spend the first 2 years of a child’s life trying to get them to talk, then the next 16 trying to get them to shut up? Yeah, well, I taught Ying to say something that I am really starting to regret (and no, Mom, it’s not ARM PIT – nor is it a profanity). She had a habit of going into a different room, then crying because she wanted something. Well, a couple of time she was in another room crying because she had gotten herself into a situation that she couldn’t get out of. Unfortunately for her, I was so used to the crying because she couldn’t reach the rubber duck in the bottom of the tub or get the hall closet doors open that I didn’t respond quickly when she really needed me (like the time her fingers were stuck in the doggy door – hey, I told her not to put her hand in there!). So, I taught her to ask for help – specifically to say “HELP ME” when she is hurt or stuck and needs Mama to come help her. Stupid, stupid Mommy. We now have an average of 7 “help me” situations a day. I’ll be busy making dinner or throwing some laundry into the washer when I’ll hear “Mama, help me, help me”. Yeah, help me get some strawberry milk. Help me strap Blue Bear into the stroller. Help me take my pajamas off. Not one time has “help me” been used in an actual emergency type situation. She’s like that little boy crying wolf. Pretty soon I’m going to stop responding to the “help mes” – and you know as soon as I do she’ll get her hair caught in the dryer door. Some lifes, you just can’t win.

Shhhhhhh

2008-04-02T16:34:00.001-04:00

Baby is sleeping. She fell asleep sitting on the bottom of the stairs a J's house. The girls covered her up before J saw her and snapped a picture (then moved her to a more comfortable napping spot).

When the Door Bell Rings at 4:30 in the Blessed AM!

2008-04-02T14:57:00.000-04:00

You just know it can't be anything good. I mean, those Publisher's Clearinghouse guys hardly ever show up pre-dawn, right. So when my lovely door bell chimes gently woke me from my slumber at 4:28 am today, I really wasn’t excited to go see who it was. It was my neighbor. On his way to work. At 4:28 am. (It sounds as if his life sucks more than mine.) My garage door was open. Yeah, I forgot to close it last night. Hey, I had a migraine. I’m lucky I remembered to unbuckle the kids. Thanks a lot, buddy. I’ll get that door closed right away. Then go back to sleep – like normal people do at 4:30 in the blessed AM!

I got back in bed and had to move Ying over off of the 2.5 inches of mattress that they allow me to sleep on. Apparently, she was very, very tired and thought I was trying to wake her up. Her response: “Mama, more sleeps.”

Exactly what I need in my life. More sleeps.

It's Hard to Take a Picture of a Moving Target

2008-03-14T20:13:00.000-04:00

One Year Ago

2008-03-04T11:31:00.003-05:00

Exactly one year ago, I met Little Bit for the first time. I had been looking at the same three little pictures of her for over 8 months by then, and I had her little face memorized. When I opened the door and saw her in the hall, being held by a nanny, my first thought was, "That's her, but she's just a tiny baby." She was 19 months old. Except for the mouth full of teeth, she could have passed for a 6 month old. I was in awe of her. She was so tiny, but she had this little look on her face like, "Hey, don't mess with me, lady." Tiny, but tough. The first time I held her, she was not as into the moment as I was. In fact, she really just wanted to be done with whatever business brought her to this room so that she could get the heck out of there. She was swimming in a huge orange sweat suit and little blue shoes that some other baby had practically worn the soles off of. I don't remember what I said to the orphanage staff. I was too busy drinking in this amazing little girl. She was just so pitiful – trying to be brave. When I look at the pictures of her from that day, I can't believe it's only been a year. She's come so far in a year. She's learned so much – most importantly, she's learned that Mama is pretty nice, and having a Mama is a very good thing. Last night, we were both still feeling pretty cruddy. Ying was being fussy and just wanted Mama to hold her. I asked her if she was tired. Yes. Do you want to go to bed? No. Do you want to go to bed with Mama? Yes. Do you want Mama to snuggle you? Yes. Then she laid her head over on my shoulder and sighed. 366 days ago, we were strangers. Now, we are a family. What a miracle.

Apparently, I Can

2008-03-03T12:03:00.000-05:00

be sick. So much for the power of positive thinking. Day 6 and I am still not feeling great.

I CANNOT BE SICK!!

2008-02-26T12:56:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm just gonna to put it out there to God and the universe and whatever - I cannot be sick this week. This cough HAS to go. The chest pain - be gone with you! The ever-so-slight fever - I banish you! To put it mildly, I don’t have time to be sick. I absolutely HAVE to teach a class tomorrow. They’ve already been postponed once, twice would NOT look good. I really, really need to get our other lab set up on Thursday. And, of course, on Friday we have to go to Riley for Little Bit’s appointment. That’s a three-hour drive that I can’t do sick. Oh, and we are supposed to go visit the grandparents after the appointment. Mom (aka “poppaw” – yeah, we don’t know why, either) is having knee-replacement surgery on Monday, so I can’t go see her if I’m a walking germ factory. So, power of positive thinking: I AM NOT SICK. I AM NOT SICK. I AM NOT (hack, hack, cough, cough) SICK!

“Failure to Thrive”

2008-02-21T15:59:00.006-05:00

Eleven months ago when Dr. E first diagnosed my little Ying-a-Bing with "failure to thrive" I wasn't really too surprised. She had spent her first 19 months in a place where the goal was merely to survive, not thrive. I smugly thought that after a few months of good old American food with its excessive caloric and fat contents, my girl will be thriving. So, I took her home and fed her. A lot. You want French fries, baby? You got 'em! Ice cream? No problem. Six fish sticks? Here you go. She ate, and ate, and ate. And, 11 months later, she has gained a whopping 4 pounds – most of it in her first 5 months home.

So, yesterday we saw Dr. E again. He plotted Little Bit's weight and found that she is no longer following her own curve. See, average size kids (like OBaby) grow on a curve – the older they get, the more they weigh (and the taller they get) so the curve goes up and out. As long as an unusually small baby is following this curve (not on it, below it, but still following the curve) they are ok – just little. The graphic above shows the height/weight charts for girls. The top curve is height, the bottom weight. The red dots are where Ying falls on the chart. As you can see, she's a lot closer to being in the bottom 3% for height than weight, but right now she's in the negatives for both.

Once again, Dr. E labeled her with that awful diagnosis – Failure to Thrive. Failure of Mama to be able to fatten baby up. Unbelievable. I mean seriously, for someone in MY family to need to fatten up and not be able to? Inconceivable! Suddenly I'm not feeling so smug about my parenting skills or that good old American food. She's been eating like a baby truck driver for 11 months, and yet still she fails to thrive. Damn.

The doctor then decided that it is time for Ying to see a specialist – a Pediatric Gastroenterologist. So, next Friday we will trek down to Riley to see the Peds GI specialist. Gee, aren't I getting to learn a whole lot of neat new medical terms. Hopefully, we will find out something that will help get Little Bit onto the charts!

Baby's Feeling Better

2008-02-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

I am very relieved to report that YBaby is on the mend. The fever is gone, and she is starting to act like her old self again.

However, today I am reminded of how much worse this virus can be. A woman I work with has a little boy in the ICU at the local hospital today. He had been being treated for pneumonia-like symptoms (much like YBaby’s) when he had a seizure. His big brother is in OBaby’s class. There but for the grace of God . . .

So, today I won’t whimper or whine about how hard the last week was. I’ll just be grateful that my sweet baby is getting better, and I’ll say a little prayer for Baby D and his family. There truly is almost nothing worse than a sick baby.

Quote of the Day

2008-02-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

YBaby and I are home sick again today (she’s been sick for 2 days, I’m just sick of being home). She is feeling much better, and the fever hasn’t gone much over 102 today. She is currently playing with a balloon, tossing it up and trying to catch it. Every time she misses, she says her new favorite expression, “Awwww, man!” I don’t know where she picked that up, but it is cute as heck. The best is the way she draws it out. Just too funny. I know, you’re all sorry you’re missing it, aren’t you?

Color My World

2008-02-07T14:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, as I was carrying YBaby out to the car from her sitter’s house, it was snowing big, huge flakes. We were all three getting covered in snow. YBaby looked at me with this serious little face and said, “Mama, white on me!” I just smiled and said, “Yes, baby, it’s just snow, it won’t hurt us.” She gave me her best fake laugh, and continued wiping the white off of her coat, just in case Mama was, like, not right about the whole not hurting us thing.

BTW, pink is YBaby’s favorite color (OBaby’s has always been blue). However, it is the only color she can’t pronounce correctly. She can say red, blue, yellow – even orange and purple. But her beloved pink is “peent”. Of course, when singing the Wonder Pets song, (“What’s gonna work? Teamwork!”) she does have the cutest little way of saying, “tee-wort” so I guess that means we need to work harder on those ending “k”s.

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

2008-02-06T14:02:00.001-05:00

Ok, my kid just cracks me up. Really, she's THAT funny all the time. Last night we were talking about her birthday party. We have discussed several time how to politely accept a gift – even if it's something we don't care for (like Bratz stuff). OBaby told me that if Michael or Seamus give her a gift she really likes, she is going to give them a hug. I laughed and said, "Oh, you just like to hug boys." Her response – "Oh, Mommy, that's not true. I like to kiss them."

Heaven help me.

Hail to the Chief

2008-02-05T10:48:00.001-05:00

The Today Show was on while we were getting dressed this morning. OBaby was listening to Hilary Clinton talk when she suddenly announced, "I want to be president of the U-nited States, Mommy." (OBaby, not Hilary) I just nodded and said "Sure, honey, when you grow up." No point going into the whole "you can't be president because you weren't born in the US" conversation since I totally expect Arnold's people to get that problem fixed long before O is old enough to vote, let alone run.

"No, Mommy, I want to be president now."

Hmm, well, how do we respond to this? Oh, yeah, "Well, babe, you have to be a grown up and at least as old as Mrs. Clinton before you can be the president."

"Oh." Still, I could see the wheels were still turning. "Ok, then can I be the president of the Baby U-nited States?"

So, it's official. OBaby is now running for president of the Baby U-nited States. She is accepting contributions to her college, er, I mean campaign fund.

Why I’ll Never Sleep Alone

2008-02-05T10:39:00.001-05:00

Last night, the girls were in rare form – neither one listening to me or obeying my too frequent demands that they get in bed and be quite. Finally, I totally lost all patience with them and sent them both to sleep in their own room. They have a queen size bed in there, so it's not like they can't still sleep together. Well, judging by the reaction, you'd think I'd sent them to sleep in a den of vipers. They both screamed and cried and sobbed. Ying got out of bed and came to me in the family room. I tried the Super Nanny thing and took her back to her bed and explained that she needed to sleep here with jie-jie and Mama would sleep in her bed. I went into my room and closed the door. Through the wall I could hear the wailing. Then I heard Ying outside my door sobbing so hard I was afraid she would throw up. I heard Bella scratch at the door, but still I didn't open the door. A couple of minutes later, I hear Bella coming through the half bath into my room, with Ying right behind her. I could just imagine her telling Ying, "Hey, follow me kid. I know a back way into your mom's room." Bella came in the room, stood and looked at me for a minute, then left – "Here's your kid, lady. She wants you." Now I have a sobbing Ying standing in the middle of my floor. I picked her up, thinking I would take her back to her bed, then realized that the poor little thing was scared to death. I asked her if she was ok – head nod "no". "Do you want to sleep with Mama?" – tiny little whisper "yes". DANG. I am never going to get to sleep alone, ever, in my entire life. They both ended up sleeping in my bed last night. And I ended up feeling like a total jerk because Ying really was just terrified by the idea of not sleeping with Mama. Score: Girls 1, Mama 0.

Chinese New Year, Part I

2008-02-04T11:31:00.001-05:00

We went to the first of three Chinese New Year Celebrations we will be attending this year. Last night we went to a party at a local restaurant for our local group of Families With Chinese Children. It was a nice party. There were tons of beautiful little girls there with their families. OBaby enjoyed doing crafts and helping Mommy fill her plate (something I don't normally let her do). YBaby enjoyed a nice nap. Yeah, she fell asleep on the way to the party and slept for an hour and a half. I had to wake her up at 6 so that she would be able to sleep last night. She woke up in a good mood and enjoyed seeing so many of her friends. Thursday (the day of the actual new year) we go to dinner at our favorite Chinese place, then next Sunday is the big new year's event at the Chinese Christian Church and co-sponsored this year by the university Chinese student group. By the end of the month we will have had our fill of dim sum and then some!

Olivia working on her dragon.

Ying all-partied out - before the party!

She finally joined the party and scarfed down some yummy food!

They Grow Up So Fast

2008-02-03T14:06:00.000-05:00

OBaby got her ears pierced yesterday. She asked if she could have it done for her birthday. She was very sure she wanted it done – even if it was going to hurt. Fortunately, it didn’t hurt. She held my hand while the ladies did it, and her only reaction was to say “ouch” – yeah, not even a capital letters OUCH, just a very calm little ouch. No tears, no whining, no complaints. She was great. What a big girl. Sigh.

More Pictures

2008-02-03T13:58:00.000-05:00

The proofs of the girls photos are online. I can't give you a direct link, but you can click here, then click on the link to Enter Site (the picture of the guy playing a guitar). This will take you to the site homepage. Click the link for the CLIENTS page. My password is DTCA (all in caps). Then you can see all of the amazing photos of the girls. Today my favorites are 05, 06, 08, 09, 17, 18, 21, 22, and 27.

If you need a good laugh

2008-01-31T13:44:00.001-05:00

Go check out this lady on UTube. I laughed until I couldn't breathe – family, you know what I mean. She is hysterical and clean! Enjoy.

Hey, Did You Happen to See the Most Beautiful Girls in the World?

2008-01-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

I took the girls to have pictures taken by a professional photographer today - you know the kind who doesn't work at Sears! After seeing her sample shots, all I can say is WOW! See for yourself. http://indigomoment.typepad.com/everything_indigo/

About Bella

2008-01-22T11:42:00.001-05:00

We have had a run of back luck with pets. First, our beloved Marbles had to be put down back in August. That broke my heart. Then we brought home the cats only to learn the hard way that OBaby is apparently extremely allergic to cats. Back to the rescue group they went. Then, we got Sammy – the perfect dog for us ON PAPER! In reality, not so much so. He was a purebred Havanese so he should have been great with kids. Yeah, no. He was like the Tasmanian Devil – he never stopped wreaking havoc on our house. Plus, he was really way too aggressive with YBaby. The final straw was when he peed ON MY BED not once but TWICE in two days. That's when I knew it was time for Sammy to find a new family to terrorize. We delivered him in all his craziness to a nice girl from the Havanese rescue. So, we were pet-less for about 3 months. See, I told O that we would talk about getting another dog after Christmas. December 26^th, she started in on me again – "Mommy, can we get a dog? Mommy, I miss Marbles. Mommy . . . " I see a great future ahead for her as a lawyer or maybe a police detective. A couple of hours alone with her and criminals would be confessing to crimes they only thought about committing!

So, as of Saturday, we again have a dog. She is a little Chihuahua/pug mix (known as a chug). She's about a year old and lost her home in the floods we had around her a couple of weeks ago. She is housebroken, likes kids, doesn't jump on people, and seems to know how to live in a house like a civilized little animal. She doesn't even beg when we eat in front of her! How nice is that – we can actually eat a meal without having to lock the dog outside.

We've settled on the name Bella. It's cute, and Ying can say it, so Bella she is. Hopefully, this one is a keeper (yes, Mandy, I added that just for you!).

Bella

2008-01-20T19:05:00.000-05:00

Being Impor-tant

2008-01-18T16:52:00.001-05:00

The other night I was trying to find something to wear to work the next day. OBaby was playing in the laundry room and asked what I was doing. I told her I was trying to find something nice to wear to work the next day because I had to give a lecture and I needed to look important. Without missing a beat (or looking up from her toys) OBaby replied in a very serious voice, "You are impor-tant, Mommy. You're a mommy."

God, I love that kid.

Pee

2008-01-15T16:59:00.001-05:00

We are working on potty training with Ying in my typical let's-not-get-in-a-hurry-and-actually-accomplish-anything kind of way. By that I mean I have shown her the potty, talked about it quite a lot, and even sat her on it several times – 2 or 3 times actually resulting in pee pee in the potty (which, of course, requires my patented "Pee Pee in the Pot-tay" song and dance). But, overall, we're not getting too anal about it (pardon the pun!). She likes to run around naked (really, who doesn't?), which in our house, thanks to my baby sister, is referred to as "naked bacon". Yeah, we don't know why either. But, it's totally cute to see naked Ying running around yelling "naka naka" while patting her tummy.

So, back to pee. Last night, I was letting Ying run around being "naked bacon". I explained to her that if she needed to pee, she should tell Momma and I would take her to the potty. Ok, so then I took the trash out. When I came in, Ying ran up to me and said, "Pee, pee, pee". I'm mentally praising myself for raising such a brilliant child, coming to tell me that she needs to go pee. So I say, "Ok, let's go to the potty". She takes my hand and leads me not to the bathroom, but to the hallway where she points to a wet spot on the carpet and proudly proclaims, "PEE!" Darned if she wasn't right.

Sigh.

Back By Popular Demand

2008-01-14T13:57:00.001-05:00

Ok, ok, I heard you. You miss seeing how cute and funny and simply adorable the girls are. So, here are some pictures to tide you over until I have time to write up some of their unbearable cuteness.

Christmas angels. This would have been our Christmas card picture, if I had sent out Christmas cards this year.

My pop star wannabe.

"Check me out – I got pony tails!" From bald to ponies in only 10 months.

Yes, she's asleep. She picked the hat out herself – and it's the only one she will keep on her head!

A hug or a head-lock? You decide.

Sleeping beauties.

Breakfast with Santa

2007-12-08T12:26:00.000-05:00

Operation Happy Holidays!

2007-11-30T11:09:00.001-05:00

This weekend, the babies and I are going to put together a care package to send to my cousin, Doug. Doug, who is just a few days older than I am, is currently serving with the US Army in a war zone (see how in tune I am with OPSEC – I'm not posting exactly where his unit is, just that it is in a war zone). Doug has spent his whole adult life serving our country, and now, at the ripe old age of 42 (I can say that, 'cause I'm 42 myself) he is still serving! So, we want him to know how much we love him and appreciate all the sacrifices he's had to make. OBaby is especially excited about making a care package. She's not 100% sure she remembers who Doug is (she's only seen him twice), but she knows that he is part of our "fambily" and that's all that really matters. I've been checking on line to see what kinds of things we should send. Personally, I haven't sent a care package overseas since the days of Desert Storm, the Original. Then, I was sending them to boys I'd been stationed with in England. So, we'll go out tomorrow and stock up on trail mix and gum, beef jerky and playing cards, and candy and magazines. Then, on Monday I'll be making a trip to the post office since Monday is the deadline for sending packages before Christmas. Did you know that you can get a flat-rate box and the post office that will allow you to ship anything that fits in the box, regardless of weight, for just $8.95 since military APO addresses are considered domestic mail? What a bargain! If any of you would like to send a care package to a service man or woman in a war zone but you don't know anyone who is currently serving, you can go to the web site called Soldier's Angels that will match you with a soldier who you can "adopt". Unfortunately, there are lots of men and women over there who don't have anyone at home to send them any mail. I know we plan to send plenty of stuff so that Doug can share with the others in his unit. It's a little thing we can do for those who do so much for us. Hey, if you don't want to adopt a soldier, email me and you can just send a package to Doug to share with his unit! Come on, I'm trying to make this easy for you!

Conversation at the Bus Stop

2007-11-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

Ying’s babysitter (aka ABIGAIL’S Mama) lets the neighborhood kids wait for the bus on her front porch on rainy mornings (like today). As Ying and I were on our way in this morning, I had the following conversation with the kids:

Little girl: How old is that baby?

Me: She’s 2.

Little girl: (sounding surprised) 2?

Me: Yeah, I know, she’s little for 2.

Little boy: She looks the right size for 2.

Little girl: Unt-uh – she looks like she’s still in her zeros!

Older boy: Yeah, but she’s pretty.

Little girl: (still sounding like she doesn’t believe me) Yeah, she is pretty.

Baby goes Bowling

2007-11-20T09:29:00.000-05:00

From the Mouth of OBaby

2007-11-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

OBaby really likes to talk. A. Lot. As in, all the time. As in, I now have a running commentary on my daily life. It can be exhausting, but at times, very amusing. Take last night. We were on our way home, and OBaby commented on how see can’t see really well when it’s all black and the moon is out. She said, “I need some glasses so I can see things the way blind people do.”

Huh?

I was going to ask about that, but by the time I stopped silent-laughing, she had moved on to the next topic.

Trick or Treat (Tee-Tee-Tee)!

2007-11-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

The girls had a ball trick or treating (tee-tee-tee, as YBaby said) last night. Olivia had been planning her costume –Hannah (“H-A-N-N-A-H”) Montana, since August. If you don’t know who Hannah Montana is 1) count yourself lucky and 2) O looked just like her. I decided that Ying-a-Bing, my little Autumn Flower, should be a flower, in Autumn. See how that worked out?

First we dazzled everyone one in our neighborhood. Ying wasn’t so sure about the whole process, but once the idea of candy in her bucket was introduced, she held on to that bucket with a two-handed death grip. Even Momma was not allowed to help carry it. Later, we moved on to Aunt M and Uncle J’s house so that they could “oohh” and “ahhh” over the babies. E and a friend took them out for even more trick or treating. I’m not sure who had more fun there, the babies or the big girls!

Remember the nice old couple who live on our street? The ones who stopped by to talk the night I was taking out the trash in my pajama pants and Ying had a blow out diaper? Yeah, sure you remember them. We stopped by their house. The best part of the night – when we were leaving there, OBaby gave them each one of her great arms-wrapped-around-your-knees hugs totally on her own initiative. They were both so happy to get a hug! What a sweetie she is, huh?

Just so you don’t think my kids are perfect, Ying did demand “MORE” from almost every person handing out candy and had to be forcibly removed from more than one candy bowl. What can I say? It was CANDY!

Pretty Pouty Princess

2007-10-29T16:09:00.000-04:00

Olivia’s school, being rather “culturally diverse” (there are kids in her class from several different countries), chooses not to celebrate certain holidays such as Halloween. So, instead, the 4/5s had a “Name Parade” where they celebrated their names. No costumes, but some cute paper crowns and sashes. As you can tell from the pictures. OBaby was NOT really having a good day.

She did manage to smile once, and her offical school pictures came in today, too. Note to self: Next year, get O's bangs cut before school pictures.