Sisters

When you bring a second child into your family there are always worries. What if I'm making the biggest mistake in my life and ruining my perfectly good family? What if the girls don't get along? What if the age range between them is too close or too far apart? What am I doing?

I cried and cried on our last night in Hong Kong before heading to Hunan to adopt Ellie. I was scared to death. I was grieving the family of two that Jordan and I had become and scared that what we were about to do was going to be the worst decision ever.

It wasn't. Obviously. How could Ellie not be part of our family??!! I love the picture above (although it came out a little too dark). It is my two girls, jie jie and mei mei, in their own little world. Truly sisters in every sense that is important. Yes, they have their spats. But this picture shows the love between the two that I always hoped would be there. This is the family I had hoped for and that I ended up having.

Feeling Fine

Well, round 1 of the illnesses went to me in January. Round 2 went to Ellie. Just when she was feeling better we hit Round 3 with Jordan. I think we are all feeling better now.

Here is Ellie showing off her purple and pink hair. Isn't it beautiful??!!!

Sick Baby

Ellie is sick. And she's cutting molars. That is a recipe for disaster. Daycare called yesterday and had me pick her up close to lunchtime because she was running a fever of 101 (or 102 depending on who I spoke to at daycare). I was hoping it was because her 2 year old molars were starting to come. Silly me. I took her home, gave her some Tylenol, and she returned to her happy, go-lucky self. I had called the Dr. and talked to the front office at 11:55am. Their response: we're off half a day today. Sorry. You can call the on call dr. at 5pm today. So I had to wait half a day. And with Ellie rallying - I was all set to not go to the dr. And then, at 4:55pm I could tell that she was starting to fade. Last minute decision - call the on-call Dr. They told me if I could get there in 20 minutes, I could come in. Sure - no problem. Grab Ellie....speed my way over to pick up Jordan at her after-school program....make it to the Dr. with 10 seconds to spare (okay - we were probably a minute late). Both nurse and dr. look at me as if I'm crazy to think it could be teething. Poor deluded mom (to be fair to me - I knew it was something more or I wouldn't have taken her last night). Both strep and flu tests come back negative but the doctor told me that she definitely had a virus of some sort. We go grab dinner and head home (Ellie's temp is now 103 and I quickly get Motrin in her).
This morning she was still feverish and I gave her some more Motrin. But it didn't work quick enough and she was begging me for "mo' medsin mama". Poor thing. It finally kicked in and she's been happy and playful ever since (except for the occasional whine and pointing in her mouth to tell me it hurts - followed with orajel the first time and sympathy the other times.
She's napping now - when she wakes I'll dose her up on Tylenol.
I also found out that both girls were exposed to the flu on Wednesday when the were babysat at a friend's home. Ugggh. I'm hoping Ellie's virus keeps her immune. I'm praying Jordan doesn't get it. I can handle random viruses that last 3-4 days but the flu would be a nightmare.

Images from CNY

I know CNY isn't quite over - the big Lantern Festival is tomorrow - but I wanted to share some of the images from our celbration of New Year this year.

To your left - you'll see our favorite pig - cooked and decorated festively (check out those ear bows). This is part of the offering that a local restaurant had displayed. The big cup of water by the pig is in case of fire as they burned incense and paper money.



They also had a dragon dance - hooray! We love coming here when they have their celebration because it is as close to a celebration in a chinatown that we're going to get. Ellie really liked the dragon!

They also had a several lion dancers. The cloud of smoke behind the lion dancer is due to the firecrackers that were constantly going off. Luckily - Ellie and Jordan were not bothered by the noise.

While we were eating lunch some of the lion dancers came inside the restaurant. Jordan would pretend to be scared and hide under the table when they got close. We had a great dim sum lunch!

This is a picture of Jordan at our local FCC's Chinese New Year celebration. My blogger buddy Donna lamented on her page the impact of the slowdown in referrals at their CNY event. We had the same impact - with only 3 new families formed since last year. I also was also voted in as VP of our FCC at this time. I'm still trying to figure out how I got talked into that considering all the free time I have (ha ha!!!)

Here is a picture of Jordan's kindergarten class. They performed for the school in celebration of CNY. They spent most of the day celebrating. I know I'm biased but I think their class had one of the best performances of the day. Her teacher is absolutely wonderful and really worked hard with the children to let them shine!

And last but not least - a picture of Jordan just before the kids got into costume for their performance. The parents brought in food and the teacher made dumplings for lunch. The kids had a grand time. They even had a relay race where they were running back and forth trying to carry pieces of popcorn across the room with chopsticks. I was really glad I got to take time from work to celebrate with them.

Dancing Queen

Did I mention before that Ellie loves to dance? Too early to say if she's going to have rhythm or not - but she loves, loves, loves to dance. Here's a clip from our FCC party where she's having a great time (even if it is in her own little world).

Someone Is Two!!!!

Look who has turned two! Ellie has been so excited and has told everyone she is now two and that she has an Elmo cake (which is almost completely eaten). We are so proud of her and can't wait to enter the terrific twos (yes, I'm being optimistic despite the random crying / tantrum episodes). Mommy is praying that she'll only have to pay 1 more month of expensive daycare before getting a reduction in cost as she moves to the next room (5 to 1 ratio rather than 4 to 1).
Here are some more pics of Ellie at her party!

HTS Little Mouse Emergency Fund

The weather in China has really been difficult for many - especially south of the Yangtze where they do not usually have ice and snow. Unfortunately, both of my daughter's orphanages have been impacted. Dao Xian lost power and water for 10 days. They are in desperate need of heating, clothing, food and medicine. Zhuzhou is in better shape but has a lot more children to care for and is also in need of help.

They are not the only ones. I don't like to make pleas but if you have the ability to help the children in these orphanages - please do. Half the Sky has an emergency fund and is working directly with the Ministry of Civil Affairs to get money to the orphanages that most need it. If you have a specific orphanage you want to assist you can also donate through OCDF.

Here is the link for The Little Mouse Emergency Fund. There will be updates for the orphanages that the Ministry has let HTS know are in the greatest need.

Remember, if you donate - many companies will match.

LOST is Back!!!

Last night it was nice that ABC showed the season finale for LOST. It has been a LONG time and it was fun to watch it knowing that I was looking at flash forwards and not flasbacks. But tonight is the main event. I've been saving my calories today so I can sit down with a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy.

I know it looks like I've fallen off the face of the earth....

The real issue is that I have somehow lost the cable that hooks my camera up to my computer to download pictures. Therefore, I have all these pictures but no way to post them. Now, my blackberry cable at work will also work but I keep forgetting to bring my camera to work or I do and don't have time to download pics. But the three of us are doing well. I WILL post pics before Ellie's birthday (coming soon).

Meanwhile here are some hilights of the last month:

Ellie has learned to say the word "Yes". No longer am I only subjected to the word "No" - she has turned the corner and will now grant me a "Yes" every so often.

Jordan figured out she can pour her own milk! Now she makes her own cereal in the morning and will get up and pour her own milk if she runs out at a meal time. She also made Ellie cereal this past weekend!!!

Ellie has learned the sign for "I love you" in sign language. Now she'll come up to me and hug me and hold up her hand while saying "I love yew". I love it!!!!

We celebrated Jordan's Family Day (the day we first met each other) and Adoption Day (the day we officially became a family). Can you believe it has been FIVE years???!!!!

Ellie's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. Admittedly, I don't understand everything she says - but she is patient and will repeat over and over or try another word or description until I figure it out.

I've lost 10 pounds! (I had to put something in about me)

Christmas 2007

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. We had a great one! Here are some pics from the last week.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Holidays Are Upon Us

This picture was taken at a restaurant after church a week ago. Jordan wanted matching dresses for her and Ellie and they turned out really cute. It seems that as the holidays approach - there is a desire for dresses that haven't been worn before (by Jordan). But once she wears it she then decides that is the dress for all festivities that week. Thus, this dress was worn to Church and to the Nutcracker (and almost to the Holiday Wonders show) this week. Ellie stayed home for the holiday shows because they kept us out until 10pm! Luckily, the Holiday Wonders show was promoted by Jordan's school - it is a group of performances by Chinese artists, so there was some understanding that the kids would be tired on the last day of school. Jordan liked the Nutcracker but stated that the performance of the Nutcracker at her school was even better (I really wish I'd seen it but tickets sold out - but it was seen by over 2,000 people - pretty cool I think).

Gymnastics

Look - I can fly! (or at least dismount into a well of foam blocks)

Jordan has just finished her first semester of gymnastics. We are not going to a big center and the goal is not to become a competitive gymnast (primarily because this mommy does not want to deal with the injuries and the time commitment that it would take "if" Jordan were to demonstrate talent). We're there for the fun and the fact that it keeps Jordan physically active - something her mommy needs to think about more! So every Saturday we've gone to the gymnastics center at our local Y along with about 39 other children and practiced the rudimentaries of gymnastics. Jordan likes the floor and the running prep for vault work the best. Here are some pictures of her in class (we got to go out on the floor and take pics the last day of class).

Jordan is very comfortable on the mid beam but for some reason the high balance beam shakes her confidence. I'm sure that will change as she becomes more and more at ease.

Ellie's Family Day!

It was one year ago today that the picture above was taken. It was the day that I adopted Ellie and she legally became part of our family. Usually we celebrate Family Day on the day that I first held each of my girls - the day before adoption day. And normally, I would have posted something yesterday. But yesterday I was down for the count with a stomach bug and barely able to get out of bed. So we postponed our celebration until today.

Ellie's class had their Christmas party today and we all clapped and celebrated Ellie's adoption as well. She is in a class of 8 children and by the end of this month, 5 will have moved on. Four of them are moving up to the younger 2's room and the other is leaving the center because his grandparents are visiting from China for a nice, long visit and wanted to care for him.

Ellie, Jordan and I had dinner tonight at the Outback (Ellie's choice from the 3 restaurants I suggested) and came home and read "Juniejones" - Ellie's word for any Junie B Jones book we might be reading - and I Love You Like Crazycakes.

We ended the evening by trying on the outfit in which I had received her. I got this idea from some of our travel mates including Malia's family. Here she is:

Hey mommy - I think this cute outfit still fits!!!

So here is to a happy adoption day for my dear, sweet Ellie! You have completed my family and I love you so very, very much!

No Santa For Ellie

Off we went to visit Santa Claus on Monday - because Mommy was off work so I could take the girls before dinner time. With Jordan, I was obsessed with getting that first picture of Jordan with Santa. Did I care if she cried? Nope - just get me that picture because I had been envisioning that perfect Christmas for so long. (That perfect Christmas included both Jordan and I having the flu on Christmas day).
Ellie did NOT want to see Santa. She held on for dear life to me the whole time we were in line and then she started shaking and crying when we walked over to Santa. So I held her and told Santa that she wanted a book (that's what she has been telling me she was going to ask Santa for) and then we stepped aside and let Jordan sit on Santa's lap and have her picture made. I never like the mall photos and prefer to take mine as well. But with Ellie in hysterics - that wasn't going to happen this year. I don't have a scanner so I can't post up the photo of Jordan with Santa yet.
Right after we went, Santa left his chair to check on his reindeer. Ellie was happy as a clam to hop down and stand in front of the Christmas tree at Santa's mall digs. As long as the man in red was nowhere in sight - she was thrilled.

Tonight we have our final post placement report!!!! My house is crazy - and feels more squished than usual now that we have a giant tree taking up 1/3 of my living room. The girls' room is a disaster area - so I'm hoping that we stay in the living area (hee hee).

Also - I'll post more later on this but I did a quick lifebook for Ellie for Christmas. Unlike Jordan's handmade scrapbook - I decided to create Ellie's book using Snapfish and did a custom book. I got it about a week ago but didn't really look at it until last night. I LOVE it!!! It is just the perfect size for her and it really turned out well. She loves looking at Jordan's book - now she'll have her very own story. It is probably my favorite Christmas present of the year. So for anyone looking to do a lifebook who doesn't want the hassel fo a real scrapbook type one and who doesn't have digital software yet - may I suggest one like this. I think you'll be pleased.

Sorry for the absence.....

Jordan (right) and her bestest friend Caroline - it's like they were never apart

Things have been a bit overwhelming this past month which is why I haven't posted in pretty much forever. Apologies to those of you who have been checking in only to see no new posts from me.

My grandmother passed away right around the time of my last post. I had taken Jordan down to a Jane Brown conference and was driving back home (my dad was in town for Halloween and stayed to watch Ellie while we were gone). It was less than half an hour probably from the time we got back to my house before my mother called with the news. I felt so terrible that she was alone when it happened. My dad was amazing though and had his car packed and was on the road within 10 minutes of the call.

The only thing that was good about the whole thing was that it was not unexpected. My grandmother had been living with my parents for the last 10 years and in the last few months she had shown a significant decline and entered into hospice assistance. I have been preparing Jordan for this for awhile - so that went much, much better than it may have.

So - long story short - I've had the funeral - held here - so that meant getting the house ready for relatives to come by. I had planned a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my best friend for her daughter's birthday. You can see the picture of Jordan with her buddy, Caroline, when we were up there. It was like we never left Pittsburgh (we moved away 3.5 years ago). I'm always amazed when Caroline and Jordan see each other after long separations - because it is as if they had just seen each other the day before. This time it had been over a year since they last saw each other. Caroline and Jordan went to Libby Lu for Caroline's 6th birthday. Thankfully - the girls chose to get made up as princesses. If they had wanted to be rock stars or Hannah Montana I think I would have just cried. Then we were back down here for Thanksgiving. And I am proud to say we have a tree up and decorated - and a house that is a disaster. It must be time for the holidays!!!

Uh oh - Princess Fashionistas - Move over Paris Hilton (okay the dog/cat in the purse was a little much for this mommy - but the girls LOVED it)

I'm big enough to decorate this year! Hooray!!!!

A Year After Referral

Yesterday marked one year from the first time I had laid eyes on my second daughter's face. She looked so solemn in all her referral pictures - who knew that there was such a spicy personality hiding under there!

Halloween 2007

Our house had a witch and a frog....

The two were joined by a dog....

All through the night, they trick-or-treated with delight....

Until the witch flew away into the night.

Ellie and her pumpkin

I love this picture of Ellie. I just had to put it on the blog.

The Haircut

We finally went to cut Ellie's hair. I've been meaning to do it but I also have hesitated - I didn't want to give up her curls and it had just gotten long enough to put into pigtails. But we were both off on Monday, so I thought I'd take her over to the children's salon and do it before I changed my mind. Her hair really did need trimming - she had the mullet going on and even in a toddler it isn't the best look. I told them that I did not want bangs and the stylist agreed. The hardest part was watching them take off 2 inches from the back of her head.

She even let her blow dry! I guess it helps when Toy Story is playing in front of the chair!

Here is Ellie before and after her first haircut.

Going to the Pumpkin Patch

We ignored the fact that the weather was in the 90's this weekend and headed off to a farm to find us some pumpkins! The picture above is of Ellie (on the right) and her friend Ally. The girls got to go see some animals (goats, sheep, pigs and ponies) and feed them, get their faces painted (Ellie was doing a pig theme as she chose to have a pig on her face too - maybe she knows this is the Year of the Pig). Jordan chose to have candy corn painted on her cheek.

Afterward, we hopped on board the trailer for the "hayride" to the pumpkin patch where the girls could pick out their pumpkins. Jordan immediately found the largest one she could carry and hopped back on board the trailer. Ellie was much more selective and tried out several pumpkins before finding one she liked. This included her throwing a few pumpkins back down on the ground (oops).

After the pupkin selection, we all went back to the main section of the farm to pay for the pumpkins (all 16.5 pounds of them) as well as buy some drinks. The first round was bottle water but then Jordan saw someone with lemonade (they had sold out when I went to find her some). She ended up with a citrus (sprite-like) soda. And then I found Diet Cheerwine in a real glass bottle. For those of you not from the south - Cheerwine tastes a little like Dr. Pepper. I don't drink it often but it hit the spot. And then we went off to the play area where the girls rode around on John Deere mini-tractors, climbed on a pirate ship and then played in the corn box. Corn box???? Yes - they had filled up a sandbox area (around 20' x 20') with corn. It was great - you didn't have to worry about corn getting in your hair or in your shoes (or diapers) - and with the canvas tent around it - it was cool and a way to get out of the blaring sun).
Jordan (as you can see) loved to get buried in the corn. I hadn't seen her grin so big in a very long time. She also liked diving into the corn and then "swimming" over to me. Ellie spent most of the time with a shovel and pail - loading up the bucket with corn.

Jordan had a great time playing with her friend, Grace, as well. Since school has started, they have not seen each other much. Grace also has recently become a big sister - so it is nice that the two of them can get together every once in awhile and compare notes.