fall family photos

I'm really bad about taking photos of our whole family.

It's just so much fun to snap away with this little blessing
in front of my lens and not worry about what I look like.

I finally decided to have a family session with my photographer friend Pam.

And I'm so glad we did.

Because this is how I want to remember our little family.

Having fun. All together.

A little nutty, too.

♥ Happy 10th wedding anniversary to my best friend, my husband, my love. ♥

Redirect: the most aewsome dragon cake evah!

I'm a long time fan of M3's blog Do They Have Salsa in China? and I'm giddy after looking at photos of the twin's birthday cake - a dragon cake made with four bundt cakes and covered with M&Ms for scales. This is so completely awesome. Would be so fun to do for a Chinese New Year party!

Redirect: 100 Years of History Behind "Double Ten" Day of the R.O.C.

100 Years of History Behind "Double Ten" Day of the R.O.C. at TaiwaneseAmerican.org is a good read. We'll be going to Chicago's Chinatown this weekend for a Double Ten Day parade with a few other Taiwan adoptive families and out for dim sum. Yum yum!

me minus 42.6 pounds

My Facebook friends know that I've been busy on a new project since March, and it doesn't involve lil' man's adoption. It's for me. I've been calorie counting, joined the YMCA, and have made several lifestyle changes. Hannah goes to the YMCA with me and is participating a tumbling class and in a Zumba class for preschoolers. She loves it, and asks all of the time, "Are we going to the Y tomorrow???" When she's not in a class at the Y, she's in child watch playing with the other kids. She loves it, and going to the Y has been great to help her break out of her shy little shell.

I've learned that it's easier to do this when I talk about it, but haven't talked about it on the blog... so there it is.

Because people ask me all of the time, I'll share what I'm doing.

I got the best success from calorie counting with the help of the Livestrong app for my iPhone. It has a huge database and made it really easy to count calories and make good decisions, especially when eating out. Now, I pretty much know that to stick to the calorie counting guidelines. I only want to eat out at Subway and get the 150 calorie Chicken Soft Tacos Fresco style at Taco Bell. Everything else, even grilled chicken sandwiches other places... still have so many calories. And I don't do salads well. It doesn't stick with me and I'm so hungry just a few hours later. My favorite low calorie foods and snacks are sugar free fudgesickles, anything ice cream by Skinny Cow, prepackaged sugar free gelatin cubes from Kroger (can eat the whole bag for something like 35 calories!), yogurt, Baby Bell cheese and grapes, Southwestern Egg Beaters with 35 calorie diet bread toast with Laughing Cow cheese.

I weigh myself every morning when I first get up, and record my weight on my Livestrong app. As weight fluctuates during the day, this allows me to see real changes and celebrate very 0.2 pound lost. When I screw up and fall off the wagon for a week, I see it right away with my daily weigh in... and having a scale gets me to jump back in the game plan before too much weight has been regained. It's such hard work to get it off, and so easy to put back on.

The Livestrong app also allows you to record exercise, but I'm not very good about that. I can also go the Livestrong web site and print off graphs of my weight loss. I bring this into my doctor appointments with me so they can see the changes as we're charting my success.

I must admit now that my wake up call with a fasting blood test and A1C that was borderline diabetic when I was at my heaviest weight. This came as quite a shock... and now I look at it as one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. After making these lifestyle changes and loosing 20 pounds in about 3 months, my A1C dropped into normal healthy levels with diet and exercise ALONE.

I needed to join a gym, but I was so scared too. I didn't want to be the lone fat girl surrounded by athletic women in sports bras and spandex. I made Kevin go in to sign up our family for a yearly membership, and felt physically sickened the first time I went because I had so much anxiety about it. No big deal now. I go about three days a week, no makeup, haven't showered yet, but I have my hair brushed and my power walking shoes on! It hurt a lot when I started going, and I even worsened my plantar fasciitis, and I hobbled around on my feet in lots of pain. I went back to my podiatrist who sent me to physical therapy. Six weeks of SASTM physical therapy (man did those sessions hurt!) and a bunch of medical bills later, my feet are nearly cured.

My workout routine lasts about an hour. I power walk for at least 30 minutes, getting my heart rate into the aerobic zone. I started out at 2.8 MPH and I'm at 3.3 MPH now, working into 3.4 MPH stretches. It's neat that I'm having to walk faster and faster to keep my heart rate up. I experienced my first runner's high in my life after about two months of power walking. I've found that I can't get to the runner's high until I've gone at least 35-40 minutes. For anyone who's never felt that... it's amazing, and I didn't want to stop power walking at the 60 minute mark... but felt that I'd better because I was really thirsty and starting to get dizzy. I still dislike power walking and would much rather eat Cheetos and sit on the couch, but... tough. I've got to do this. Anyway, after power walking at least 30 minutes I lift weights for about 20. Then I finish up on an Arc Trainer. When I first started, I could only go 3 minutes. I'm up to about 10 minutes now before my feet start hurting and I've got to stop. I learned that I go faster on the Arc Trainer when I close my eyes. When my eyes are open I want to look at the timer and keep thinking, "Can I get off this thing yet?!?!?!" the whole time. Now I'm bringing a post it note pad to cover up the timer on the machine.

Three months after I made these lifestyle changes, I asked my primary care provider if I could try Victoza for weight loss. She agreed we could try, but thought I was doing great on my own and really didn't need it. It is an injectable diabetes drug not approved for weight loss, but is helping me because it decreases gastric emptying, slowing down the rate that food moves through me. This makes it so I can't eat much more than a fist at one time, and I feel fuller longer. I have had problems with nausea, but just had to work through it. This is no magic shot and wouldn't help on it's own. I still have to do all of the exercising, sweat like a pig on the tread mill next to the blonde in her spandex running much more than twice as fast as I'm walking, make good choices, drive past McDonalds and their McGriddles and Lattes and choose flat bread egg and ham sandwiches at Subway, and yell at Kevin when he brings home Little Debbies (that makes me soooooo mad!) because I have very little will power when something chocolate and glorious is right in front of me. Victoza just makes it so I'm not so hungry all of the time, reminds me that I need to stop eating when I've reached the size of my fist, and makes it so I'm not witchy because I'm hungry all of the time.

For people that say that they can't afford a gym membership because it's too expensive... you need to prioritize. Cancel your cable or satellite TV and join the gym. You don't need 300 channels, but you need to be healthy. We canceled our satellite, joined the YMCA, got Netflix and Hulu subscriptions, and we're still saving money. We're getting fit, watching WAY less commercials, and loving it!

Please, no flames. It was hard for me to lay all of this out there, but somewhere... there's someone else out there reading this that needs to do this too. Needs to make a change. And something's stopping you. You can do it, too. If there is a road block that can't be lifted, you can find a way around it.

P.S. Old Navy makes great yoga pants for exercisin' plus size chicks for less than $20. :)

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale

Released just this month, a film depicting revolt of indigenous Taiwanese against the Japanese in the 1930s is the most expensive Taiwanese in history with a price tag of $25 million. Critics say that "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" (official website) is a violent although accurate portrayal of the Wushe incident, the biggest rebellion against colonial Japanese forces in Taiwan which resulted in the massacre of both Japanese and indigenous Taiwanese.

I'm googling and reading what I can about Seediq Bale. I don't have anything personally to say about the film... as it's released in Taiwan and I haven't seen it, but I'm very interested in everything I can read about it in English speaking media.

Be aware that the film is filled with violence, as it depicts a massacre with beheadings.

Links:
Wiki link on the Wushe incident
Wiki link on the film
film trailer on YouTube (violent scenes)
article in The American Interest
article in The Economist
the film's official website (violent scenes)
review in the Wall Street Journal

"Mama, you marry Daddy?"

Hannah was eyeing Halloween costumes and really liked a fancy white dress. I explained that was a wedding dress, and that women sometimes wear them when they get married.
Hannah: "Mama, you marry Daddy?"
Mama: "Yes, I married your Daddy. It was a long time ago, long before you."
Hannah: "You marry Daddy when I was at the baby House in Taiwan and I was so little."
She can't imagine a time before her. That's okay, sometimes that's hard for me, too! :)

Hannah really likes watching the video I made of the day we met her. Lately she asks to watch it every night. Now she tells me the story of the video. "You hold me and you laugh and cry. I put my hands in Daddy's mouth. You give me a bottle and then I get so sleepy. You hold my hand and look at it because I was so little. You give me Dolly and I play with keys. You say, "Hello, Baby!" We go in a train, and back to hotel. I crawl on the floor. You feed me baby food and I say I want more, I want more!" I remember being so tired when I made that video... and I would work on it when she was sleeping when we first came home from Taiwan. I'm so glad I put it together while those memories were fresh.

to Texas and back

This is TEXAS sized blog post that took me a month
to put together! A lot happens in two weeks.

Especially when you spend the night...

in three different family's homes and three different hotel rooms.

The day we got home Hannah asked me,
"Mama, where are we gonna sleep tonight? We go back to hotel?"

I wish we were still on vacation, too!

This all started many many many months ago when we learned that the Taiwan R.O.C.ks adoptive family reunion was going to be held in Grapevine, Texas, this year, it was a no brainer. We had to go! Kevin's sister lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and we hadn't been to their house to visit in nearly four years.

On the way down we stopped in the Ozarks of Missouri to visit Kevin's aunt and her family. Hannah was in heaven. The little girls showed Hannah their cow, ducks, over a hundred chickens, and three mama cats raising kittens inside the house. Hannah was in kitten heaven watching and playing with the 10-12 kittens running around the living room. She had so much fun she requested to sleep with the little girls and not with Mama and Daddy. We were gifted with a whole box of home canned goods. I especially love the home canned peaches on my oatmeal in the morning, and Kevin likes the tomatoes and pickled ocra. With multiple roosters crowing, it was time to get back on the road towards the Lone Star state.

During my two visits to Texas, a few things stick out to me about this state. These people are sure proud to be Texans, they love their flag and display it proudly, and I've never seen so many signs for Dr. Pepper!

at the Alamo at night

We spent a few days just hanging out with Kevin's sister, husband, and our niece. We decided to travel to San Antonio for two days to visit Sea World, the Alamo, and the River Walk. Walking along the River Walk was relaxing, and I enjoyed looking at the architecture along the river. We took a little tour, and it was a definite must to understand the history of San Antonio and why the River Walk is so special to this city. We watched the Alamo IMAX movie and then toured the grounds. At Sea World Hannah's favorite activities were hand feeding little fish to dolphins, watching live shows with dolphins, whales, and birds, and splashing around at the water park. Kevin's sister is eight months pregnant, and it blows me away that she was able to walk the whole day and do all of this with us. Friday morning we left San Antonio, drove nearly five hours back to Dallas-Fort Worth, packed up our things for the weekend, and left for the Great Wolf Lodge.

Sea World

Having an event like this at Great Wolf Lodge was nice because it was a huge place with lots to do, but small enough that we would see people from our group where ever we went. We could always find someone in the water park to play with and someone in the dining hall to eat with. I knew the faces of a lot of people in our group that I hadn't met yet, and it was kinda surreal to see people wandering around in the lobby, notice each other, and hug a friend for the first time!


We enjoyed pizza at a pizza parlor just down the road from the resort. The parents mamas were doing a whole bunch of talking and not so much eating! The after their dinners the kiddos around us just started jumping on the booth seats and were just so cute. Hard to tell them not to jump when we were too busy gabbing they were making friends and really being so good otherwise! Amazing to think that we had over 25 Taiwan adoptive families including TWO families all the way west from Hawaii and a family of TEN all the way east from Germany, all in one little room, enjoying one another's company.

That night back at the hotel, Lora and Allie hosted a party in their room. Lora thought ahead and brought little tiny containers of play doh for the kids. Great idea, as that's something that kids of all ages can play with. I brought along a package of "lady stickers," some Gatorade, and a bottle of wine "mommy juice" for the mommies. Unscheduled play time was definitely one of my favorite activities with the kids. So fun to let kids unwind, be kids, make friends, have a glass of wine mommy juice, and just BE. Oh yes, and take photos of all of the silliness!













It was getting pretty late, way past these kiddos' bedtimes. When I told Hannah that we need to go back to our room and get jammies on I heard a little voice say, "I want to sleep with Allie!" Aw.... This was so sleep. Allie and Miss Lora looked like they wanted a slumber party, too. I wanted Hannah to get a good night's sleep so she could be rested for a big day tomorrow, but Lora assured me that if she slept in their room and didn't settle down soon, Hannah would be returned to her parents next door. Hannah got to have her first slumber party, I went back to our room by myself to unwind, while Daddy hung out meeting up with most of the other daddies in the lounge.

Saturday morning we enjoyed an amazing buffet breakfast at the lodge. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, toast, sausage, cereal, fruits, yogurt, granola, crepes, and lots more. Everything yummy for breakfast was all there. With full bellies we got on our swimsuits and headed for the water park with our buddies. After a couple of wave and splash filled hours, we cleaned up back in our room and gathered with a few people for a clothing swap in a banquet hall. We brought old clothes to hand-me-down to friends, and hoped to find some hand-me-downs for us, too. Our great finds include a cowgirl outfit, Hello Kitty crocks, and a few little boy outfits for Hannah's little brother. {No referral yet! Hopefully soon!}

During the clothing swap the kids were so funny. They played chase around the tables and laughed and laughed while hiding under the table cloths. Hannah told me she was hungry, so I asked Kevin to take three of the girls for a look around the hotel and get them a snack. After making sure it was okay with their mommies, Kevin took Gracyn, Allie, and Hannah for a walk. When they returned, they were each carrying HUGE ice cream cones and Kevin had a really pleased look on his face. Apparently, Gracyn likes mint chip ice cream. No, she REALLY likes mint chip ice cream! :)

That night we enjoyed a Mexican dinner buffet in the banquet hall, released red balloons attached with wishes by or for our children, and watched a slide slow filled with photos of referral photos, precious moments families were created, and families together back at home. It was very exciting to learn that next year's Taiwan R.O.C.ks event will be in Chicago, just a few hours away from us. I'm very excited about this, knowing that lots of our Midwestern Taiwan adoptive family friends are likely to go!

On Sunday Kevin's sister's family joined us for an entire day at the lodge's water park. We were exhausted after a full day of play. Hannah LOVED splashing her silly uncle over and over and over again. They both couldn't get enough splashing.

We visited the Boba Tea House and Fort Worth Botanical Japanese Garden again this trip. The noodles and boba are delish, and the Japanese garden is a lovely spot for photos. I think Hannah could feed the huge koi and turtles in the pond all day. While we were there, we watched a man propose to his girlfriend on a bridge in the garden. Her relatives were there to take photos of the moment he proposed. It was very beautiful, and she said yes!





One the way home from Texas we stopped to visit our friends Andrea and Libby. The girls swam and splashed in their pool and played with the little kitchen and stickers. We took photos of the girls at a local park, and some of the ones I took of Libby are some of my most favorite ever.





Ahhh. Great to be away and visit with so many people, but nice to be back home in our own beds, too. There's no place like home!

little bits from this week that I don't want to forget

Monday night we stopped by Walmart to pick up a couple of things. We always go to the toy section to play a little bit. Hannah is always so good in the toy section. She loves to play and never asks/begs/pleads/cries to bring a toy home. Daddy decided to set her on a bicycle with training wheels, and she started peddling down the isle. Our little girl can ride a big girl bike! She was so happy and proud of herself. We'll wait until next spring to get her one. Sounds like a perfect big sister present.

After preschool Monday Daddy asked Hannah what she wanted for lunch. Hannah replied, "I want to go to the mall." On my... she's three going on thirteen!

Hannah and Daddy were looking at the moon together. Kevin asked Hannah, "Can you touch the moon?" She replied, "No, it's too far away!" Kevin explained that to go to the moon you have to jump in a spaceship and fly for three days. You'd have to wear a space suit because you can't breathe in outer space. Hannah didn't understand what breathing was, and he demonstrated breathing in and out. Hannah eyed him and stated, "Daddy, you talk too much."

milk face

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's a boy!

It's a boy! Referral call came last night night. Kevin's was at his computer desk and answered the phone. I'd been in Hannah's room picking up, taking summer clothes out of her closet, inserting more for fall, and trying on some hand-me-down shoes to see if they'll fit yet.

The little boy is an older baby, has huge gorgeous eyes, cheeks made for kissing, and some fuzzy/spiky hair. During the lengthy phone call we were provided with lots of information about him, and I kept thinking... "Yes, yes, yes... what's not to love? Hurry up and show me some pics of my son, lady!" :) As soon as we saw his photo, I turned to Kevin, sported a few tears, and we hugged. "I think that's our son!" We think he's perfect for our family, and hope that the judge assigned to our case in Taiwan will think so, too. We aren't allowed to share photos online publicly this time around. But believe me, he's soooooo cute!

What does Hannah think? She looks at the photos and says, "That's my baby brother," and then runs off to play. Oh well. When asked if she'll share her toys, Hannah looks at me for a long time with at look that says, "I'm supposed to say yes but I really don't want to." Nana suggested, "How about we go to a store and buy your baby brother some toys? Do you think he'd like cars?" Then Hannah got a huge grin on her face. She thinks Nana has a fabulous idea!

We've not settled on a name for sure yet. I'd like to see his characters and think about his name's meaning before deciding on an English first name and keeping his Chinese name as a middle name.

"I want to see Nana!"

Had to share this pic. This is the look Hannah gives me when she wants to see her Nana and isn't getting her way. Can't help but laugh at those lips!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

first day of Chinese school

Today was our first day of Chinese school. We'll go every Sunday for two hours. Students can start at age three and a half and are matched up into classes by their age and skill level. We're in a class ages three and a half to seven, with all of the students having limited prior exposure to Mandarin. Interestingly, the class are all girls, and I'm pretty sure that five out of six our class are adoptees. I already knew three of the students in the class as they're local to us, and I work with the non-adoptee's dad.

Hannah's in pink third from the right. Most of the other girls are five, six, and seven, so Hannah's by far the youngest. The paid attention really well for the first hour, but after snack time her eyes wandered all around the room and she started playing with her necklace and waving at me. At age three and a half her participation skills are no match for the older girls and she won't speak by herself, repeating back to the teacher, but we can tell she is moving her lips when the group is practicing together.

As she's so young, my goals for Chinese school are to expose Hannah to the classroom environment, spark her interest in learning new words, make friends, and have her participate in cultural activities. Hopefully hearing the sounds and tones at a young age will make it easier for her when she's an older student.

Today we learned:

Hello. Nǐ hǎo.
The teacher used a longer way to say "My name is _____." but I didn't quite get it. I was already familiar with Wǒ jiào _____.
counting to 19
Learning the months of the year was easy. Just say the number of the months (March = 3) and then add on yuè.
water shuǐ
Thank you. Xiè xiè.
Good bye. Zài jiàn.

The teacher talked a little about tones and tried to have the students recognize which tone a word used after she said it, but I don't think any of them got it.

Students were given a coloring page of the Great Wall of China and a dragon and she talked about the significance of these.

Our little family is sleepy after going out for noodles for lunch, Chinese school, and a Target run. I snoozed on the drive home, and Daddy and Hannah are napping in our bed. Big day for a little girl!

Redirect: ROCks Reflections by Sarah

We've been GONE. For two whole weeks. It's a long car ride from Indiana to Texas! We drove to the Dalls-Fort Worth area to visit Kevin's sister and family and to attend the first annual Taiwan R.O.C.ks reunion to Taiwan adoptive families. More pictures will be coming from our trip, but first I'd like to share with you a post I wrote last night about what Taiwan R.O.C.ks meant to me, and why we made the commitment to attend the event. Next summer's event will be in Chicago, date and location to be announced. Woohoo!

Redirect: 100 blogs in 30 days fundraiser

My friend Jen is a fabulous blog designer with The Art of Living Custom Designs, and her goal right now is to design 100 blogs in 30 days to raise funds to bring her son home from China. She has some really nice looking templates that you can choose from, she'll customize them just for you, and install them on your blog for only $20. This is truly a bargain price, with all of the installation to be completed by Jen. Take a peek at what she has to offer!

Redirect: A Shower of Reality ... Sort Of

Tonguu Momma hits the nail on the head, once again, with a post about a toddler shower thrown by her new church family now that she's home with her second daughter from China.

She writes, "I also spoke about adoption. I talked about how adoption isn't just an opportunity to see God at work, it's also an opportunity to see how humanity fails. Repeatedly. I talked about how society and yes, even the church, most often portrays adoption as a win-win-win situation, all hearts and rainbows and "we saved a child" mantras. I talked about the hypocrisy of many churches working solely to "save the orphan" through adoption without any thought to eliminating the need for adoption by working to solve the societal problems that lead to adoption. And how wrong all of that is."

Good Night, Giraffe

Hannah has a new favorite stuffed animal.
Daddy let her pick an animal out at the gift shop at the zoo this week.
She loves her giraffe! Previously, only "Dolly" was allowed in her bed.

One of Hannah's favorite books is "Good Night, Gorilla." The story is told with mostly illustrations and not with text, so Hannah *reads* the story to me. Very sweet. Here's an animated version if you're not familiar with it.


Another zoo related story that I don't want to forget: After going to the zoo it was time for dinner. Kevin asked Hannah what she wanted for dinner, and she asked for "noodles and chicken," Kevin took her to the food court at the mall where Hannah spilled food on her dress and cried because she was dirty. Daddy took Hannah to Children's Place and let her pick out a dress. She picked purple, her favorite color. After Hannah picked out a dress she tried to talk Kevin into a pair of SHOES, as the teal ones she was wearing didn't match. Is she 3, or 13??? Oh my!

sweet things

Have to brag a bit on my girl. She's doing so great with her manners lately, and wanting to do nice unexpected things for others. Hannah asks, "May I be excused please?" before leaving the table. But just don't serve her shredded cheese, or you might end up with it all over your floor and table, like Lora did. She told me "bless you" when I sneezed tonight. Yesterday she opened her craft drawer, took out a blank note card and envelope, decorated it with stickers, put the note card in the envelope, and handed it to Kevin. "Here you go, Daddy. I made this card for you." Tonight she called me one the phone at work and asked, "You want some lunch? I bring it to you." These sweet things help me overlook the mess she makes scattering all of her toys out all over her bedroom every day.

The Dragon Boat Races that Weren't, Yet Again.

We had thought that we'd miss going to Chicago for the dragon boat races this year as I had to work and there wasn't anyone to cover for me. Luckily for me, my coworker's plans were canceled due to extreme heat, and he volunteered to work for me. I called Kevin right away to see if he still wanted to go. YES! I rushed home from work, packed, made some phone calls to tell the other adoptive families that we're coming, and find out where to meet up. I think we broke a family record to be able to pack and get out the door in only an hour.

Hannah slept nearly all the way to Chicago. It was a blessing not to hear, "Where are we going? How we know where to go? Which way? How we get there?" on this multiple hour trip. I Pricelined and got a great rate at a downtown hotel, and we went out for some Greek salad and Giordano's pizza. Mmmm! Hannah tasted the anchovies on the salad and remarked, "I can't like that." Uhhh... I did not taste the anchovies on the salad, and I can't like that either!

Friday night there were some pretty bad thunderstorms that quickly put down several inches of rain. This caused flooding on the Chicago river, and the dragon boat races were canceled due to flooding for the second year in a row, but we still had plans to meet up for lunch with several Taiwan adoptive families. Our little family went to Chinatown for breakfast and ordered a box of buns from one of the many Chinese bakeries along Wentworth Avenue. Kevin likes egg and ham best. Hannah does well with a hot dog bun. I want to taste them all!

We did a little shopping, and can always find interesting things. My buys were two pairs of Chinese brocade shoes for Hannah for only $9 each, several pairs of hair sticks for $1-2 each, a book about the dragon boat races at the Pui Tak Center Chinese Christian bookstore, and a package of sour green beans made in Taiwan. The best find was found in a cardboard box inside one of the Chinese groceries. I spied the spikes of pink and green and knew that's dragon fruit! We've only had dragon fruit in Taiwan and wish we could find it near home. They are so beautiful, and taste a lot like kiwi... just don't make you pucker so much.



Lunch at Lao Beijing was wonderful, as always. We dined on pot stickers, Dan Dan noodles, orange chicken, vegetables, and some kind of delicious spicy lamb that the other family at our table ordered.

Before kids, I was really good at taking photos of our food BEFORE dinner. Now, I'm grabbing chop sticks out of little ones' hands when she starts using them like a sword, keeping her occupied when she's really hungry and wants to know where the food is, and preventing red punch from being spilled all over me, the table cloth, and others at our table. All I've got are photos of our leftovers and my empty plate!




The fun really started when the kids were winding down with their dinners. Several parents gave their kids their cell phones to play with. There were little hands holding iPhones everywhere playing Angry Birds and snapping photos of other kids. My favorite photos are of Hannah and Miss E taking turns photographing each other with my phone. They were so sweet!


After dinner we attempted to take a group photo. This is the best I could do. The kids had just been cooped up in the restaurant for two hours, it was really hot, and they were ready to jump up and down and run off some steam.


My favorite thing about the whole day happened during the group photos. S, the boy all the way to the right in the green and navy striped shirt, jumped up, pretended to have a microphone in hand, and started jamming to music that no one else could hear. He hopped all over his stage while we parents put our hands in the air shouting his name and egging him on. It was hilarious! Love that kid. Love that three of these kiddos all lived together in the same baby house at the same time, and now live only a few hours away from each other. Lots of blessings crammed all together for a photo on a hot summer day!

Had to have some boba tea and shaved ice drinks before our departure, of course.

And a dash and splash in Millennium Park's Crown Fountain.

I'm so thankful that we were able to make this trip work at the last minute. It's less than three weeks until our big gathering of Taiwan adoptive families in Texas. So excited to meet lots of mamas and kiddos that I've come to know through pictures and phone calls!

kids say the darndest things

While shopping in Chicago's Chinatown yesterday Hannah whispered to me, "There's a lot of stuff from Mulan in here."

married

Before bed tonight Hannah started talking about going to parties, because I told her that I had just bought a new party dress. She started chattering on about birthday parties, and how much she likes them, and all of the things one has at a birthday party. Cake, ice cream, presents, balloons, birthday cards, etc. I reminded her that she had also been to wedding parties where someone got married. "You got married, Mom?" I replied, "Yes, I married Daddy." Then Hannah asked, "I get married someday, too?"

MY HEART MELTED.

"Yes, baby. You can get married someday, too. Someday when you find a boy that is just as special as you are, and who loves you lots and lots and lots."

Redirect: In search of families for waiting children

Here's a post on my friend Cindy's blog about children waiting in Taiwan to be matched with families. Their adoptions can be facilitated by our agency For Every Child, and more information on the children is available at Rainbowkids.com.

my little artist

My little artist drew roads and lots of H's with chalk in the driveway tonight.
She's also making the letters O and T, so we can write HOT.
It's going to be in the 90s all week, so we can make good use of the word HOT.

at age 3 and 1/2

dear hannah,

someday you'll be an adult and won't remember what you were like at 3 and 1/2. this is for you to read 30 years from now. :)

you want the same thing for breakfast EVERY morning. "chocolate bread." what's chocolate bread? of course, it's nutella on a piece of white bread, folded in half, with the crust torn or cut off. we add in orange juice, milk, grapes, ham slices, cheese, and other stuff too of course, but there's always "chocolate bread." you like to pick out your own clothes from the closet, and usually want to wear "a dress and no pants." when i pick out your clothes i hear complaints "that doesn't match" and have to convince you that "khaki shorts are a neutral and go with everything." what do i know? you are completely daytime potty trained, but wear pull-ups at night. sometimes the pull-ups are dry in the morning, but usually not. you usually dress yourself with a little assistance. you rarely get your clothes messy while eating and we don't use bibs at home anymore, only when eating out. you don't like having messy hands, and use multiple napkins during dinner time.

you ride your tricycle like a speed demon in circles around the living room. it amazes me how much better you've gotten with steering around obstacles this summer. we bought you a power wheels car and your cautious personality shines through. you are worried about hitting people and obstacles with your car, and tend to drive it in a constant circle to avoid problem situations. you swim like a little fish with your floaty jacket on and have a lot water confidence in comparison with how confident you are with other activities.

socially, you're pretty shy. you will not talk to strangers and avoid looking at them in the eye. going to child watch at the ymca has been a good experience for you so you have to interact with different kids on a regular basis. there's another older little girl that the ymca that really loves on you. gigi is a little older and likes to "little mommy" you all of the time, and you like it. she wants help you take your shoes on and off for tumbling time. gigi likes to hold hands with you and share the same chair. it's pretty cute. i think gigi helps you feel safe to leave your comfort zone and try new things, and that's great. last week gigi was not at tumbling, and you refused to participate. your teacher had to come get me because you were sad. that made me frustrated, but i get it. i'm so looking forward to sending you to preschool this fall. so excited to see what you learn every day, and what friends you'll make. i feel like my baby bird is getting ready to fly!

we snuggle to read books and watch movies together. you still ask to be rocked, especially when you are tired. i'll be so sad when you're old enough that you don't want to be rocked anymore. i love you so much, baby girl. i'm excited to see you grow up, but i still savor the little bits of baby that are left in you at 3 and a half.

TAF camp

I'd like to raise awareness of the Taiwanese American Foundation's summer camp. Campers as young as 1st grade may attend. :)

Redirect: More fun with Allie and Hannah Claire!

Lora's posted her pics from last week's "Taiwanese sisters" playdate. I have a feeling that Lora may not be serving my daughter anything with shredded cheese next time we visit. Well, unless she puts down a tarp under Hannah's chair first. :) I haven't peeked at the pics on my camera yet. Hope to have a chance to soon!

mini driving lessons

We picked up Hannah's first set of wheels this weekend, a itty bitty Mini Cooper. Hannah and Daddy put it together last night. Kevin would ask for a wheel, and Hannah would bring it shouting, "Here, Daddy! I get it for you!!!" When Kevin would ask for the windsheld. "Windshield?!?! What's a windshield???" So funny! While I was at work today, Daddy said that she sat in her car most of the day waiting for the battery to charge up. After dinner Daddy gave Hannah her first driving lesson. We learned that she's a little too short to press the pedal down all of the way. Kevin has put a towel behind Hannah's back to scoot her forward a bit so she can reach the pedal. It's so cute to see that huge smile on her face when she's sitting in her car. Love that girl!


Of course, Kevin is already researching all of the mods that one can do to kid's ride on toys. Apparently three year olds need a place to hook up their iPods and extra accessory lighting for their Power Wheels cars.

ode to Matilda Jane

Opening up a box of Matilda Jane is sweeter than candy. "Oh, Mama! Let's open up my package!" and out comes flowers, butterflies, stripes, polka dots, ribbons, ruffles, and bows. Her eyes flicker with glee, a dimpled smile is revealed once again, and she dances in circles with delight as the fabric swirls around her. In a world where kids grow up too fast, Matilda Jane helps us savor the sweetness of our precious little girls for as long as we can.

then and now at the neighborhood 4th of July block party

July 2, 2009
I loved this dress. Hannah was barely walking, and I think I just
might have had my camera out about every day, savoring every step.


July 1, 2011
Today she picks out her own clothes out of her closet and dresses herself.
Hannah wanted to wear purple, her favorite color.
I couldn't talk her into wearing a patriotic red, white, and blue Hello Kitty t-shirt.

sneaking into summer

Beautiful day... and a beautiful smile.
Waiting for Nana and Papa to take her with them to a wedding reception.
Hannah likes to eat all of the icing and leave the cake on the plate.

Tomorrow marks ten months since we were told to expect a referral for our adoption #2 in three to six more months. The wondering when our lives are going to change is beginning to get to me all over again. It's been hard to keep telling myself "any day now" over and over again for months and months. I've started holding on to Hannah's clothes she's growing out of, just in case it's a girl... and thinking of all of these little girl names that I love. At the same time, I'm itching to start putting together a space themed nursery that I've been thinking about for months and months.

Hannah's getting much better about her fear of bugs. We were on a nature walk this past month and she loved taking pictures of bugs with Daddy's phone. "There's a pill bug! Oooooh! That's an ant!" Funny kid.

It has finally warmed up! We're spending our evenings outside in the back yard grilling out dinner, hanging out watching Hannah go town her slide, and building sand castles and roads in the sand box.

A few firsts happened this week. We registered Hannah for two day a week preschool for three year olds at an area church. Preschool begins the end of August. Hannah also started tumbling class at the YMCA and is excited about doing somersaults with several little girls ages three and four. As Hannah is slow to warm up to new people, I hope that the experience of tumbling class without Mom or Dad there is a good primer to preschool.