Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!!
I'll be posting some Christmas pictures soon. Just you wait. I will return to blogging soon enough. Hope everyone has a safe and joyful 2009!

Yikes! It's almost been two weeks since a post. Hmmm...What HAVE I been doing? Well, our camera pooped out on me when I went to get a nice Christmas picture of the kids last week. I had them all spiffed up and shiny. So option B of the compact camera would suffice if I could find it after the move. No such luck. I even bribed the kids a dollar if they found it. They looked everywhere they could with flashlights in tow for two days and it has not shown up. My suspicions are on Caleb who loves cameras. Augh. So Erik is on it to get a new camera before the holidays. Since he is ever the analytical one, this is taking some time.
On the Lydia update, she is growing fast. Newborn clothes are long gone, we are trying to wear all the small 3 mo clothes before she grows through them. I took inventory of all the diapers I had tonight. I am hoping that we will be able to use all the size 1 diapers before she grows out of them (one brand is getting snug). If we can't get through them all I will be passing them along to our newest cousin set to appear in mid Jan. Which allows me to announce that my brother is returning from Iraq tomorrow the same day that my parents are coming back in town and will get to meet Lydia. So, this will be a big weekend for little Miss. But, it will not be enough family. I will still be missing my sis and family and sis in law and her family with their new little one.
Partially because of the camera mishap and also due to the fact I have not gotten on the ball to write a family letter, we did not send out Christmas cards this year. I still hope everyone is having a good holiday season. Maybe we will have a picture to post in time for further holiday wishes from our family.

A Lydia fix

Here's some pictures of our growing little girl and big siblings who are also growing like weeds lately. A certain grandma needed a Lydia fix - so here you are.

The siblings
I call her "Cherry Blossom" in these PJ's
Good times!

Caleb ADORES Lydia.
Mommy and Lydia

Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving I am especially thankful for:
A new life in our family
My husband still has a job (as an indirect employee of GM)
We have a contract on our house
The wonderful life I live with many friends and family
Our country still upholds the freedoms that the pilgrims seeked out hundreds of years ago

These only represent the tip of the iceberg of my blessings, but I have to go exercise the right of motherhood and get my kids ready to go to our dinner at my aunt's house. I hope everyone has a blessed day.

2 Years

November 24th marks an anniversary of sorts. When we started our adoption jouney, it's one that we never imagined we would be thinking of. It has been a full two years to the day of our Log In Date for our little girl from China. Way back when we first started each month seemed closer and closer to our little girl that was a world away. With the way that the Chinese adoptions are moving, each month seems like we are getting further and further away from the date we will get to bring her home.
She is still in our thoughts and prayers as are the many other families desperately waiting to bring their children into their forever families. We know God's timing is perfect for each one. We trust in this and know we have to enjoy each passing day with the blessings that we have been given. However we still long for the little girl that needs a family to love on her. We will keep the candle burning for you little one.

Big Girl Bed

Well, so it's not exactly a BIG girl bed, but she slept in her own crib ALL night for the first time last night. The first two kids slept on their own from the first night we brought them home, but I knew that Lydia would have to sleep nearby because I need every extra minute of sleep I can get. The problem was, she was actually keeping me awake with all her little grunts and squeaks. I'd sit up, peek over, make sure she didn't need to be rewrapped, or a pacifier popped in her mouth. I remember the comment from some wise mama before Alexia was born. Put them in their crib, turn off the stinkin' monitor and you will hear them when they cry for something they really need. Well, the monitor stayed on (low) but I slept very well until she needed to eat which was 1:30 and not again until 6:30. Now, that's a great schedule for a 3 week old, and I'll take it any day, but, I am not holding out any hope on that continuing. She's going back to her room tonight!

2 1/2 weeks

After no mention of her since the birth, Lydia is doing great. She is eating a sleeping like a pro. She is finally having some longer periods of awake time during the day which is fun for us. Some of her first outings have included Chic-Fil-A, Barnes and Noble and of course the grocery store and Target. At her two week appointment, she had gained a pound and five ounces already and has started having some pretty good head control for a little squirt. Here are some pictures of our sweet little Lydia.

Pictures

The evening before we had Lydia we took a walk on some nearby trails and took the camera for a photo session with the big siblings. They came out so good I wanted to come back and post a few of how big the kids are getting (or do they seem that way because I just had a newborn?) There is also a shot of their Halloween getup as a bride and cowboy.

She's Here!

Some of you have already seen or heard the rumor...We have our little girl in our arms!
Lydia Kate is her name and she is well received by her loving siblings (and parents) already.

Stats:
born:Monday, October 27 at 7:30 pm
7 pounds 7 ounces
19 inches

Thankfully no complications with mama or baby! She did not have red hair as Alexia has prayed for, but a moderate amount brown fuzz.
The name Lydia, is taken from the Bible in Acts 16:13-15. She was a worshiper of God who had opened her heart to His message. She not only believed the message but was hopitable to the apostle Paul and those who had shared this truth with her and her household. Kate (as some of you guessed) is after my sister and best friend Kathryn. Speaking of her name, there were a few correct guesses as to her first name, but the first one was our friend Emily at "Not Home Yet". She was one of our summer workers when we were in Paris and it has been fun to continue to keep up with her life since then.

It is the sweetest thing to hold a newborn and feel their depenence. The main reason for the delay in posting her birth is that every free moment I just pick her up and try to savor the moment. Here are some snapshots of our sweet little girl.

Teaching Patience

Lately we've been having a problem about Caleb "demanding" things NOW. His requests quickly escalate into whines then cries if they are not met within a very quick time frame. This is especially not good timing as very soon he will be having to wait longer for his demands because the new baby. I have enforced to him for some time now that "mommy can only do one thing at a time".

I think he finally "got" that concept this morning at breakfast. I was fixing breakfast for the three of us meantime putting Alexia's lunch together. He requested his vitamin once, to which I replied it would come in a minute. When I delivered his plate with no vitamin on it, he became upset to which I reminded him - I can only do one thing at a time. He quickly replied "can you get my vitamin FIRST?" Oh well, he's getting there.

My dorky husband

Since my husband Erik doesn't get enough air time on this blog, I'll go ahead and give him a full post dedicated just to him! For those of you that have been reading the name game comments, if you read Erik's "guesses", you see a glimpse of the sense of humor I fell in love with many years ago that I still roll my eyes at. He is a dork. Who else rides around with a "Reagan/Bush '84" bumper sticker on their car? No joke, he put it on a few weeks ago.
My children have been subjected to learning nursery rhymes in gangsta' rap style - because he thinks it's funny to hear them rap it back to him. If you ever want to hear it in person, just ask the kids, I wouldn't even post a video of it on my blog for fear of misrepresentation.
He has also taught our children how to dance the Robot, the Grandfather clock and other ridiculous 80's dance moves. He even inspired this family picture at my grandmother's 90th birthday a few years ago (yes, there are some other dorks in the family as well)

Those who know him well, love him. I love him real well despite him being a goofball and turning our children into future goofballs. I shudder to think what he will be doing to or teaching our new little one soon. So here's your post honey maybe I gathered a little pity out of it!!

Name Game.. continued

My goodness there are a lot of guesses! This is fun to watch! Since the full moon had no effect on my delivery (darn) and baby girl is still within me, I will hand out one more letter. I have debated about which one and I will hand you the letter "I" Now whatda you got?
For rules and previous guesses, click HERE

Caleb Vacuuming

"Hey Caleb, I don't feel much like cleaning the floors today, can you take care of that bud? - Thanks!" (He really was zipping it along!)

The Name Game Has Begun

The three big questions you always get being pregnant is 1) When are you due? 2) Boy or girl? 3) What's the name? The first two I reveal, the second has been a guarded secret that I get mix reactions to.
But, I've really slacked on this name game that I've wanted to do, just because I wanted to see some of the responses. I already mentioned that our first name contains 5 letters. I will give out one letter at a time to see what you readers can come up with for a name. I will not confirm or deny anything. However, I will make note of the first person that might guess it correctly. You can repeat someone else's guess if you want and you will get an "honorable mention" if that is indeed the correct name. You can obviously make another guess as I hand out more letters.

I know some people send out cute little prizes. I will not promise anything more than a nice little mention on my blog - sorry, I've got more on my plate than go out and find a prize at this point! Ready to play? Okay...this is will start out broad. 5 letters, the name contains an "A" - ha ha that's REALLY broad huh? Well, start guessing and good luck!

Late note - You get as many guesses as you want. This is fun for me as well! With the first child, I have a non-traditional name with a tribute to where she was born (Alexia Madeleine) and the second is a Biblical name paired with a family name (Caleb Harrison). So really anything goes as far as what our preferences are.

Introducing...

My sister in law started a blog not too long ago writing of the adventures of her and my "little" brother as they venture into parenthood. Aunt Stephanie has been an awesome aunt to my kids. I forgot to mention in my last post that she had them the entire day we moved and took them to a little festival where they rode ponies, jumped on moon bounces, and I don't know what else. They also had their favorite lunch of Chick-fil-A and made a stop in the American Girl store (with Caleb which was a brave thing!) She is a very creative person and, like me, her family is about to be spread out all over the world. Check out our newest family blogger HERE. Oh, and for clarification, her brother's name is Andy and her husband's name is Andy as well.

Another sporatic post!

What have we been doing? Well, besides the move and unpacking boxes, we have been carving out a little bit of fun time. On Friday evening I got to actually meet a cyber -freind Angie, who is in the same time line of waiting that we are in for our China adoption. She was in town for her son's baseball tournament.

On Saturday we went to the state fair with the rest of the carni-folk. It has been solidified as an annual tradition now. There were turkey legs, funnel cakes, missing teeth, cheap rides and big bellies galore. But, the kids have fun and they now have their rides that they remember and "have" to ride each year. Alexia went on the big ferris wheel with daddy like always and Caleb chose the slippery tug boat ride. We were a little surprised that he wanted to venture to a bigger person ride, but with daddy by his side, he sported a big smile the whole time. Unfortunately we have pictures, but our connecting cord is missing at the moment so I can't download them - but they are cute!

Erik and I have both managed to NOT run out of gas here in GA thankfully. The lack of gas is amazing. I am conserving greatly and keeping my eye on the gas gauge and any stations that have gas on any given day. Erik had to wait in line for almost an hour a week ago to fill up at the only known station with gas that night. There are stories of people going out in the middle of the night trying to avoid the long lines only to find they still have to wait (sometimes for the gas truck itself). We are hoping it passes very quickly.

One More Week

Warning: This may be a wordy synopsis of the past weeks - it's nothing exciting, just a quiet night to post.
The day after Alexia's party, my otherwise clean garage that we normally park 2 cars in, turn into this...

Pretty ugly huh? It is everything that has been stored in our attic for the past 4 1/2 years. I would hate to see what another 5 years could add! So, we have been sorting, packing, soon to have a garage sale and getting rid of what is left. It has not been fun. In the mean time, we had 7 lookers at our house last week and an open house, so the inside of our house was in tip top shape. It just has taken a few days to get all of our "stuff" out of hiding - hehe. I had to remember that I shoved a clean load of laundry from the sofa to the washer at a moments notice, b/c the dryer was still full. How is a pregnant brain supposed to remember all that?
Speaking of pregnancy, with the gestational diabetes, I am figuring I just have a little over 6 weeks until the baby comes. We still have to move next week. There is no sweet little nursery set up with the bed all made and blankets neatly folded in a matching basket. I will have to work on the other kids rooms first since the baby won't know any different. I am just hoping I can physically hold out until it's all done. I was chatting with my aunt this morning and told her I was "over it". I just want that "Easy" to appear and everything is finished and done with. Except that means I will be adding the newborn to the mix of carpool and errands - am I really ready for that? Or should I savor six more weeks of continuous sleep from pure exhaustion? In the words of little Caleb - aye aye aye!!
I am not discouraged. This will all pass (in about 6 months!) AND as long as the house sells. But, at this rate, I will be doing sporadic updates. I will try to get together something for the name game, I did think that would be fun, so don't discount me entirely! I'm still here (or there, I don't know which.)

7 Years Old

My little girl turned SEVEN today. We celebrated by having a "not quite spend the night" party last night. The girls were treated to an evening in their PJ's at the spa (aka our dining room) getting a manicure and facial. The facials were only good for a photo op, then off they came!

I can't believe she is already seven. The older my children get it seems the faster that time is flying. Alexia is a very sincere little girl that has been a free spirit since the day she was born. She loves her friends and stuffed animals dearly. She always likes to be where the action is and never wants to miss a beat. It cracks me up when she asks to "be the last one to leave" or to pick her up from school a little later so she can have more time to talk in carpool line!! She was the first blessing to our family and we are so grateful to God for her in our lives. Happy Birthday "baby girl!"

Natural Backyard

Look at what a sweet creature was caught drinking from our little birdbath the other night. There were actually two fawns and a doe just meandering through our back yard but I couldn't get a shot of them quick enough.

Just the other night Erik and I were deciding on how to term our backyard for a new listing...natural? (too wild sounding) private? (not in the winter) wooded? (some people can't take all the leaves in the fall). But, we have our fair share of the wild since our subdivision backs up to a national park. Imagine my surprise three weeks after we moved in, I was hosting a shower and a whole flock of wild turkey walk through my front yard!!! And we live in an older neighborhood!

But these little deer at our dinner time were so sweet to watch and provided table talk the rest of the evening.

21 and More

The count is now up to 21 months of waiting for our China girl. I am thankful that God's timing is not our own. I don't know how anyone could handle a pregnancy, adoption, a move and all of the other stuff going on in our lives right now that I don't discuss here.
So, what do you think of the new look? I am too cheap to pay to have a blogover even with all the great adoption oriented charities they donate to. I knew I could figure it all out one day, but my sister in law had a great site on her new blog that I went to and it was SO EASY! The link is at the top of mine. I will try a couple different looks out over the next few weeks for the fun of it. I do want to change my blog around a little with the coming of a new little one. I was thinking something along the lines of "tending our garden". So, calling all you creative types -give me some ideas, I am brain dead right now!!!

In other family news...

...the key word is girls, girls, girls! Erik's sister welcomed her fourth little girl Krisanna Grace safely to the world last week. Isn't she a cutie in her fancy dress?

I am plugging along with about 10 weeks to go with my little girl. This has definitely been the hardest pregnancy out of the three. Some major back pains and gestational diabetes are my latest foes. But, it's all good - we will push through it and come out with a beautiful new life.

And last but not least, we had exciting news today that my other sister in law found out they are having a girl as well. So, including my sister's little one, that will make 4 little girls in a year's time - wow - that's a lot of pink!!

Back to School

Alexia went back to school this week. She is in full day now which has had her coming home wiped out. She (and I) love her teacher who happens to go to our church as well. Alexia had her eyes wide open this past Sunday trying to locate her for an extra hug (is that considered brown- nosing?)
The splint that she has sported got to come off today - Yippee! However, there are still two more weeks of no running or jumping. I think my job of "knee monitor" will be even harder now that she is rid of her reminder!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Our dear precious little boy turned 3 today. He is such a joy to our lives bringing many laughs and sharing his sweet hugs and "smacker" kisses to us all. Caleb has been such a blessing to our family and we are grateful for three wonderful years with him. Today he enjoyed a "Cars" birthday with great enthusiasm. He wanted to dig into his cake since I made it yesterday! We even had to place a candle in his waffles and sing "Happy Birthday" to start the day off right according to him. Happy 3rd Birthday buddy boy!

Birthday #2

One year birthday - what a blondie he was then!

His true "birth day"

Knee Update

Well, I didn't feel much like a nurse today. We get to the office and the PA explains that thankfully Alexia's fracture was vertical not horizontal therefore we don't need surgery and screws - WHAT??? We need a full leg cast. I wheled up in tears - how can my totally active little girl be in a cast her final days of summer? I guess I was so stunned b/c her knee never looked bad. No swelling or bruising and not a LOT of pain.
Well, option #2 was a no brainer. It was a removable splint that might take a little bit longer -about 4 weeks. Then the rules came - no jump rope, no bike, no scooter, no playground, no karate, no gymnastics, no swimming - well at least we can go IN the pool with another splint, just no jumping or actual swimming because she can't bend her leg. So what CAN we do I wonder. This is going to be a long 4 weeks.
When we got in the car, me and Alexia both let out our tears. I knew it would be a tough few weeks for her and she was already complaining how heavy and itchy the immobilizer was. With Caleb at my mom's we settled ourselves with some Chick-fil-A and a milkshake. But we were in "that mall" again - you know, the one with the American Girl store. Enter in - Moment of Weakness.
She didn't even want to go into the store because she said she would want a doll too bad (that's quite the self control). But I convinced her she had to chose ONE doll that she would want IF she was going to get one for her birthday. So we went and browsed. She finally settled on one - Nellie. Her face was brilliant when I informed her it was now her early b-day present from her grandparents. She forgot her leg irritation (for a while) and floated out the store carrying her beautiful new doll.
We let her sulk out her sorrows tonight, but, tomorrow is a new day. No more pity party!

Warning

Mamas listen up and warn your children. Do not attempt to "jump rope" with a beach towel, while you are still in a wet bathing suit, on a wood floor. You just might happen to slip on the towel, fall on your knee and break your knee cap like Alexia did. You just can't make this stuff up!
We go to the pediatric ortho doc tomorrow. I can't imagine there will be anything to do for it. Hopefully there will be no exciting pictures to post. But, we will see. Meanwhile, I almost strapped her to the sofa this afternoon because she is still bouncing around - so, no, not too much pain.

20

It's been 20 months of waiting in line for our little girl from China. So many things have changed in our lives since then. Since we have requested an older child, we originally thought she would be between the ages of Alexia and Caleb. Then as time went on, we had to realize, she may be the youngest of the three. Now, will she be between the baby and Caleb or the youngest of four? It will truly be a suprise adventure as we continue to wait this out.

Whispers

My dad took this shot when the kids spent the night at their house the other day. Don't you wonder what secrets these munchkins are sharing?

Baby Shopping

I finally got a little baby shopping in today (see below post). The poor child is definatly #3 in that the only thing I have bought her so far was one little outfit from Target. I got a few summer things to put away for next year. How's this for some Fourth of July cuteness?

Then I went to a baby store to look for a lamp I had seen for the baby's room. I figured I had better start somewhere on it and I was planning to do my own bed set for the crib. But when I found the lamp and saw the matching set, I really liked it and brought it home to test it out. The quilt is not heavy at all. It is a nice blanket weight that would actually be useful in a baby room so that was another thing that sold me on the "boxed set. " The pink is velvet soft with rich chocolatey browns - I think I am keeping it! Here's the blanket with a piece of the bumper.

Shopping Day

I met a friend at a mall this morning. It was kind of far for shopping, but she was giving me all her maternity clothes, so it was worth it. Anyway, the kids hung in there for the shopping part and we finally went into the long awaited store for Alexia. (drumroll please...) The American Girl Store. For the past five months, she has been working on earning a doll for her birthday so this was more than Disney World to her at this point. She oohed and ahhed over almost every one of them. I have to say I was very proud that she held her tongue asking for each overpriced item on the spot. But, I will say I have never heard so many promises come out of her mouth in 20 minutes time!!! I had not been into one of these stores before and it was quite the baby doll overkill for me. I picked up the newest catalogue for her to gaze at everyday. So between that and going to the new movie this weekend, I hope she will make good on some of her promises (clean room without asking is the main one).

We Have a Name!

Erik and I had a few hours in the car to finally get down to business and discuss baby names on our way home from the beach last week. It wasn't too painful. We found one that really stuck out to us with a good story behind it. After a week of walking around thinking of it and saying around the house I think it's a keeper!

_ _ _ _ _!

That's the closest you will know of it until the day she is born. heehee. Middle name is still yet to be determined though.

Swimmer Boy

Caleb has taken to the pool just like his big sister did at an early age. He will be three in August and has already ventured swimming (or underwater manuvering) a short distance. This is all with no swim lessons ever - just a watch and learn little boy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I can't figure out what the arms in the sky thing though. The best I can figure is that when he learned to put his head under the water, he would lift his arms back and up because the swimmies he would wear kept him from going under like he wanted.

Beach Pictures

Here are some shots of our beach trip to St Simons with my parents and my brother Andrew and sister in law Stephanie. The kids really enjoyed being around the beach and family all in on trip. Our favorite saying of the week came from Caleb who couldn't figure out whose (rental) beach house it was. He asked many times "grandma is this your house?" or "is this Andy's house?" One time, finally annoyed that he was not getting a satisfactory answer he asked in exasperation "Whose HOUSE is this?" By the end of the trip, he finally just called it "Aunt Stephy's house". We had a good time with lots of family laughs. We just missed my sister and her family.

Treasure Hunt

On the last morning of our trip, my brother and his wife Stephanie lead the kids on a treasure hunt following an old map they "had found." Alexia had to use some of her navigation skills to figure out where on the beach it was then set out to find the X that marked the spot. Caleb unknowingly stood right on top of it as we cheered them on. They found it and dug it up gently around the sea oats! There were crayons and chocolate coins and Hello Kitty bracelets in the treasure box - we figured the pirates took them for their kids at home!

Sand Castle

In trying to spilt some of our recent beach pictures up, I am posting a few of different activities we participated in. The first being the building of a great big sand sand castle with the lead of my brother Andrew. He brought his shovel and started digging before we even arrived at the beach - look what we all made!