Boo Boo, B-Day, and JBF

Does the boo boo look better? At least the swelling is almost completely gone. Poor baby is pretty self-conscious about it, so I've had to head people off when I see that they are about to react. I've been pretty impressed that she hasn't messed with her eye or seemed too bothered with pain. Just bashful about people staring at her.

Today was my 32nd birthday - erg! (I promise I'm not soliciting b-day wishes!) Michael asked me what I wanted and I replied that I wanted better skin care products-lol. Actually I really do. So.... if you have cleansers, eye creams, or other cosmetics that you really love, I'm in the market. My friend Jean Anne was sweet enough to give me a pedicure today, even though I was a total schmuck and forgot her b-day last week. Why am I so bad at remembering these important dates?? Natasha was also sweet to bring me breakfast when she dropped off Avi Joy for the morning. And my darling hubby took me to what I think will become a new favorite, Thai-Siam, for dinner tonight. Sarah worked really hard today to learn to sing happy birthday and by bedtime she was doing a pretty good job. (A thing I should have remembered to video.) A pretty good day, I'd say.

This weekend was the start of the fall/winter Just Between Friends sale. It is a huge children's consignment sale that happens twice a year. I volunteer to work a shift at each sale, so I get to shop at the pre-sale and always come home with really great finds. Everything is gently used and they are really strict about what can be consigned. I came home with shoes and clothes made by Stride Rite, Jumping Jacks, Gap, Gymboree, Old Navy, Oshkosh and more for a fraction of the price. I also find great deals on toys and other baby gear. My most exciting (to me) purchase was a newer model of Sit-N-Stand stroller that is in mint condition. I was also able to sell one of my double strollers at the sale, which was awesome. I know that JBF is a franchise, so if you have one in your area I highly, highly recommend shopping JBF for deals.

That's gonna leave a mark!

(Above) Minutes after climbing the back of the bar stool and pulling it over onto herself..... (Yes, I tell her not to climb the backs of chairs all the time!)

(Below) Four hours later....after lots of ice and a dose of ibuprofen. Anybody know how long it will take the swelling to go down? It looks even worse in person and the skin looks like it is stretched so tight.

At least will still have a smile. Could it be all the extra attention and pampering she is getting?

Update and More Favorites

Playing in a basket Michael brought home from Malawi, Africa.

Last week the kids had their well child doctor's visit (Sarah's 3 year and Andrew's 15 mo.). Sarah tipped the scale at 30 lbs (45th percentile) and measured 34.5inches (0 percentile/not on growth chart). Andrew now weighs 25 lbs. and is just under 31 inches (60th percentile for both) and his head size has dropped from the 90th to the 80th percentile. Think he'll catch up with sister soon?

Both kids had vaccinations. Andrew went first and was a complete mess. Sarah looked a little concerned, but was easily persuaded to lay down knowing that she would get a band aid in the end. I have no idea why a flesh colored, circular band aid was that appealing, but she didn't shed a tear.

Both kids are very healthy and are doing really well. Since Sarah's 3rd birthday she has made huge progress in her language. Granted, it is still delayed, but for her it is a vast improvement. She is pairing all kinds of words together and spending hours each day practicing. She doesn't talk much in public, so I think it is actually really helping her to be home with me so that she can practice in the safety and privacy of our home.

Two Product Reviews:

Sit-N-Stand Stroller: A friend recently gave me her old Sit-N-Stand. I think she got it off Craig's List, used it for her kids, and then passed it to me. So, it is probably one of the originals. At any rate, I love it. I've been using this tandem stroller for malls, zoo, etc and a double jogger for longer walks. While the tandem served its purpose early on, (and I liked the compactness and light weight feel) I quickly realized that I needed something different with Sarah being almost two years older than Andrew. At places like the zoo, I was constantly lifting her in and out of the stroller. With the Sit-N-Stand, Sarah can hop on and off whenever she feels like it. She can stand up to ride a short distance or sit down on the sliding bench for longer rides. It also has a roomy basket under the sliding bench. While my double jogger is a great stroller, it doesn't work well for my children to sit beside each other. Andrew can't resist the temptation to pull Sarah's hair and neither one seem to be able to stay on their own side. I think they make tandem joggers now, so I would much prefer that. The two brands that I know of that make the Sit-N-Stands are Baby Trend and Joovy. I've heard really good things about both, but I think the Joovy looks pretty sweet.

Suave's 2-in-1 Smoothers for Kids: I've been using this product for many months now for washing Sarah's hair and Andrew's. I have to say, this product is super compatible with Sarah's Asian hair. It makes it silky soft, but also gives it lots of body. I couldn't believe the difference when I switched from baby shampoo to this product. She gets lots of compliments on her hair. It also works great for Andrew and it is tear free. I did try Loreal's shampoo for kids on Sarah's hair before trying this and it was a disaster. It completely messed up her hair's texture.

Wow, anyone else completely sleep deprived from the Olympics??

Sticks and Stones

I'm not gonna lie, words do hurt.

I guess I've been living in a bubble or something, because I have not encountered too many overly nosey or rude comments/questions about my children and the fact that they are adopted (mainly Sarah). The majority of the people in our church congregation know our story and are also used to families adopting internationally because there are several of us. Our neighbors know our story and have celebrated the arrival of both our children. We have awesome friends who were so happy to see us become parents - no matter the avenue.

Sure, I've had the occasional, "Her daddy must be Asian/Korean/Chinese," to which I can reply one of two ways - depending on my mood. Answer a) "Actually he's Vietnamese!" or answer b) "Actually, my husband I are were blessed to adopt her from Vietnam." I've also had the questions about her country of origin because that person personally knows someone else who has adopted from an Asian country and they are excited to share that bit of information with me. Or, the last scenario that I've had is the person who is just so fascinated with international adoption and wants to tell me that if they could they would. I almost always give people grace and the benefit of the doubt that their intentions are pure in the questioning. I like to give people that benefit, because even if they had ulterior motives, they don't have anything left to say when given grace and a cheerful answer.

Today was my day......my day to join the club, I guess. The day when I thought of a million things I wish I would have said instead of being gracious. The day I should have stuck up for my daughter and I didn't.

I took the kids to the mall, to a department store to find a new pair of sunglasses. Sarah was right with me trying on sunglasses and having fun. I didn't realize that she threw some into the shopping basket on my stroller. As I'm at the register I notice two pairs and a wallet. I pull them out and set them on the counter explaining that my daughter put them in our basket, but I'm not purchasing them. After a minute the lady asks me, "Was she tiny when you got her?" Yes, she was petite, I explain. "No, was she a young baby?" Yes, she was pretty young - about a year old, I explain. "Was she in an orphanage?" Yes. "Well, you know, they learn at a very young age - even little babies - to steal when they live in an orphanage. It's what they are taught. That's why she put the glasses and wallet in your basket. That's all she knows is to take things." Okay - what the............................?! Did you just say that my daughter is a thief because she lived in an orphanage as an infant? Did she really think that a baby that couldn't crawl, walk, or talk - a baby who had never been out in public before we adopted her - a child who has lived in a stable home for almost two years- would know to steal just from a short period in the orphanage?? (Hello, could it be because she is a three year old!!!!!! Isn't this normal for toddlers to collect items and put them in a basket???) As my brain is trying to process what she said, she goes on to say, "Well, it was oftley sweet of you and your husband to take her in."

"No, ma'am, we are the lucky ones." And I left. Maybe it was best....you know, to not cast pearls before swine.

Just to add a little salt, another lady walks up beside me in the parking lot and asks, "Are they both yours?"

"Yes, they are both my babies."

"REALLY? BOTH?"

"Yup! Have a good one!"

Birds of a Feather

Deceived by promises of cooler temperatures today, Jean Anne and I decided to take her kids and mine to the zoo. ( To be fair to Chuck and other meteorologists, we were actually back in the double digits today, but the the air felt completely saturated and the breeze was mercilessly non-existent.) They have a special exhibit going on right now called Feather Fest and we've talked for months about seeing it. It's silly, really, that we picked the hottest month to go since we have zoo memberships and could have gone to it in the spring. Anyway, it was really awesome and it probably also helped my weight loss cause because I sweated a ridiculous and gross amount. (Thanks Dad for the super sweat gene!) The kids had a great time. They did get a little cranky from the heat, but they seem to tolerate or ignore the sweaty discomfort so much better than adults. They loved the bird exhibit and if it hadn't been for the lure of their own snacks waiting for them outside the door, they would have been content to feed the birds all day.

It's hard to believe, but Andrew is nearly 16 months. At times he seems so much older to me because he is doing things so much earlier than Sarah did. Sarah's in the "I can do it myself!!!!!" stage and because Andrew pretty much follows her around and copies everything Sarah does, he is doing things that really surprise me. I've always heard that younger siblings learn so much faster for that very reason. Andrew is a social child and always has lots of things to say. He will be one that we will have to watch ourselves with, because he is very good at repeating words back to us. The most common words we hear are: uh-oh, Mama, Dada, hi, bye-bye, night-night, more, all done, no, ya (for yes), juice (for all beverages), Drew, shoes, go, and Sarah (pronounced Era).

Sarah's language is also progressing, albeit at a slower pace. In June she had a full developmental assessment and the only area that fell outside of the bell curve norm for her age was verbal expression (speaking). We celebrate every new word and word combination and it is truly exciting to watch the progress. We used Sooner Start, a state funded birth-three program for Sarah's assessment and speech therapy and highly recommend this program (or whatever your state might have) for these kiddos.

More about Andrew:

He is a super picky eater and I find it a daily challenge to think of things to feed him. I am determined, however, to not be a short order cook. So, some nights when all the dinner has landed on the floor, I have to shrug my shoulders and tell myself there is enough thigh chunk to sustain him for a loooong time. (He has the best squishy thighs to squeeze!) He loves his milk, so I'm sure that helps him stay alive. :) He also loves french toast, blueberries, watermelon, bananas, grapes, yogurt, peanut butter, mandarin oranges, crackers.....and not much else.

He is all boy and all go, go, go all the time. Except when he gets hurt. Then he is a real softy.

He is learning to throw down some impressive tantrums and he has a scream that surely makes dogs in the neighborhood go crazy.

He is a natural in the water. He has no fear of going under and can stay under and move around really well.

He just learned how to give a for real, lips closed kisses.

His favorite book/song right now is The Wheels on the Bus.

His favorite person in the whole world is Sarah.

More about Sarah:

She is every bit a three year old. She is spending more and more time in time-out. I know that she is testing her independence and boundaries, which is developmentally appropriate and healthy, but it is exhausting.

She is still a good helper around the house.

She is in love with bubbles (bubbies) and the moon (moom). Actually, she has been in love with the moon for a long time. She can find it nearly any time of day. Even when it is just a little sliver.

Sarah likes all things Hello Kitty (affectionately known around here as Boo-Boo). We have the t-shirt, sun glasses, wallet, and band aids. I really want to get her the rain boots at Target. Can you tell I don't mind indulging this a bit?

Sarah is still an amazing eater. She ate jalapenos the other night at dinner.

Her two favorite shows on TV are Ni Hao Kai-Lan and John and Kate Plus Eight (which she calls Two Babies).

She has many beloved books, but the ones that stick out to me are I love You Like Crazy Cakes, Fancy Nancy, and A Potty for Me.

More about Me:

Just kidding....that would be a little dull. I am loving being home, though!!

Lil' Daddy