Sunday, November 29, 2009

It Doesn't Get Better Than This...

Last week, I had one of those magical mommy moments where you know something has just happened that you won't forget for a long time and that you will probably retell for years to come. This is one of those incidents that true motherhood is made of.
We had just finished making our candy corn turkey cookies for Thanksgiving when I walked out of the room for a moment. Suddenly, I was experiencing the ominous quietness that any mother of small children will immediately recognize. So, I quickly walked back into the room to discover B and T still standing at the counter where we had made our cookies. B immediately started giggling hysterically, which I realized was prompted by the fact that she knew her brother had just done something very wrong and very funny.
He had rubbed gobs of butter in his hair. I mean tons. In fact, I was able to watch his open fist grab out another handful and smooth it on top before I could stop him.
Wow. I was pretty floored, as this had to be one of the best stunts yet. I couldn't do anything but laugh, and wonder why in the WORLD that had seemed like a good idea. But, the two of them were so ridiculously cute and absolutely in stitches over it that I couldn't help but grab the camera before I began the clean-up which was rather extensive.
It was all rather hilarious and rather greasy for that matter...but after a good impromptu mid-day bath T was as good as new. And, he definitely didn't need any conditioner. :)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Thanksgiving Thoughts...


We are quite excited for Thanksgiving this week. The placecards are made, the cookie supplies have been bought (so we can make them look like cute turkeys with candy corn and frosting - watch for pics :), and best of all there is gas in the car so we can drive over to Nana and Papa's house on Thursday to have a delicious Thanksgiving meal (it would have been described with an adjective other than delicious if I were in charge of making it.) We are looking forward to hanging out with some of the people we love most in the world that day!

As I was laying in bed with T the other night listening to him chat away about playing at the park, exclaiming how great it is that Jesus scares monsters away, listing off the people he loves, and asking me to snuggle him, I was thinking just how thankful I am for him (and for his precious sister, of course!). I am beyond thankful that T was there in his big boy bed with me rather than struggling as street child or longing for a drink of clean water. I literally cannot imagine that sweet boy having to deal with the harsh realities which so many children all over the world have to deal with. It is just not right.

What is right is that people are doing things about this. You can check out LIA's trailer for their new documentary about street children that premiered at the fall banquets. If you purchase it all proceeds go to helping empower the children, youth, and caregivers of the Merkato community in Ethiopia. Also, our adoption agency is partnering with LIA to dig a well which will provide clean water for an entire community in Ethiopia. If you are interested in donating you can find more info here. So many of the diseases that plague the country are related simply to not having access to clean water. Can you imagine? What better way to say thank you for our blessings than by blessing someone else. Happy Thanksgiving!


Monday, November 16, 2009

Our First Phoenix Fall

This past weekend we visited Pasadena for the first time since our move. J had a bunch of work to do, which left the kids and I with lots of time to get together with friends (the best!) We were quickly reminded of what a blessing it was to live there and connect with so many great people for the last two years. You should have seen the toddlers play with their friends - they were so happy to see them again! It caused us to reflect a lot on what we miss from there, and also to appreciate the things we can now enjoy in Phoenix (family, old friends, the chance to go on a date, help when J travels, and having a backyard!) Though this doesn't make up for missing friends and being on an adventure in CA, it shows us that we did the right thing by moving here, and that feels good. Nevertheless, here are some pics of the things we did to celebrate our first fall here :)

Milking a fake cow at the pumpkin patch...

Our pet pumpkins

Here is the impromptu dance party which took place while I was taking the seeds out of the pumpkin. We had high hopes of playing with the goo, but it turned out my other three family members were too disgusted to touch it. Not pictured are the pumpkin seeds I attempted to roast. They are not pictured because we are trying to forget they were so awful.

Making pumpkin muffins and reading pumpkin stories

Petting the horses at a ranch in Wickenburg

Desert Botanical Gardens Free Day for the butterfly exhibit

B shopping with Mommy for the Thanksgiving Dinner for our church's donation boxes (she loved the mini-cart at Trader Joe's!)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A Big Week for B


Two firsts occurred this week. Throughout the post you will see pics of B's first hair cut, which she sat through somberly, but now remembers fondly. :) They gave her some layers and her curls are even bouncier. Super cute!
But more significantly, last Thursday, B decided that she was going to start dancing around when she needed to go to the bathroom making it significantly more obvious than it had been. So, I ran her in to the bathroom a few times and she seemed to be getting the hang of number 1. The natural progression was to princess undies, and I am happy to say that she has only trickled a couple of times and had 1 #1 accident since then. So many people had told me, "Just wait...they'll do it themselves when they are ready..." And I skeptically listened and took their advice just because it meant I could put it off longer. But, I think they were right on some level.
She definitely initiated the process, however, it hasn't been effortless for me. I still have to spend lots of time sitting in the bathroom and insisting that she try to go every 3-4 hours (she really holds it at least that long! It's crazy!) She isn't about to stop playing to potty, but she also isn't wanting to go in her undies, so overall a big win! She hasn't had an accident at night either. I literally feel like I had no idea how this all happened, but I am happy.
I am wondering if this is like a lot of other things in life will be. Not pushing her to do things and just kind of maybe making a suggestion here or there and doing a lot of waiting, but then being supportive and celebrating once she makes a choice. All that to say, we are still definitely working on being successful with #2. And, we have another little person who for the first few days would copy his sister and sit on the potty until he went and got M & M's, or he would force out a little bit for his treat, but he seems to have lost interest. But I am just happy that we are a lot closer to potty trained than we were 5 days ago. Maybe the end of diapers is in sight!