Expecting Good Things

Spiderman

2011-06-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Braxton was getting on the counters but I couldn't figure out how. He was wanting some fruit snacks so I waited around to see how he did it. Little Spiderman. This kid is crazy!

Elton in the making?

2011-06-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

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Update on my kiddos

2011-06-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

A quick update on each of my kiddos since I haven't blogged in forever.

Bailey turned 8 in March. She is doing great! She was hospitalized for an asthma attack in February which was very scary. She just finished 2nd grade. She is my reader. Loves to read and an awesome speller. I'm working on math with her this summer. I'm totally amazed at how great she does when she gets one on one teaching. She now knows her addition problems up to her 5's. We are also working on skip counting and coins. Her seizures are not under control. We have some control with her medication but she still has many a day. Unfortunately, this may be something we will deal with forever. She is taking basketball and art this summer. Very proud of her. She has taken on the big sister role with ease.

Breelyn turned 4 in December. She is doing great also. She is and has always been our GIRLY GIRL. She loves to cuddle. She is our baby girl. She's very caring and makes us laugh hysterically. She can be the sweetest thing on the planet one minute and then the next I want to put her right through a wall. Grrrr. We are dealing with some issues with her. Medically, she will need surgery (possibly two) this year. I don't want to share too much because it is a private thing. Nothing too serious. Behaviorly, we need to keep an eye on her every minute. It can be extremely exhausting to keep track of a 4.5 year old ALL THE TIME. Without being too specific, she knows (and takes advantage) when we turn our backs or when we're not watching. This has been known to cause issues when Justus and I are sleeping. We are looking into some things that will keep her safe at night. She is taking ballet and Movement to Music this summer.

Braxton will turn 2 in July. My baby. There is something special to a mom about having a boy. I haven't figured it out yet but that boy has a big chunk of my heart. He's a thumb sucker and a blankie boy. He will be in my arms with his head on my shoulder, thumb in his mouth and the corner of his blanket in his hand. (Insert heart melt here). He is getting his back molars and having a tough time with it. He'll still wake up in the middle of the night every few weeks. I secretly enjoy it. Since its dark in the house, he knows its still time to sleep so we'll just cuddle/sleep on the rocker recliner. Otherwise, he is all boy and very rough. He'll just go up to a door or wall and punch it for no reason. He has a toy hammer that he just carries around and hammers random things. He's 50% rough and tough and 50% mommy's boy. And he can go back and forth VERY QUICKLY. Here's a cute pic of my two main men.

Puzzle

2011-06-09T17:26:00.002-07:00

Brax is loving his animal puzzle lately. It makes the animal noise when he gets the piece in place. His fav is the fish. It's the hardest piece. Our little over-achiever. lol! :)

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New Blog Posts Coming!!! Stay tuned!

2011-06-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

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Apple Pie

2011-01-07T13:09:00.001-07:00

This is my first 100% homemade apple pie. The crust turned out kinda dry so I pressed it into the bottom & crumbled it on top.
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Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas to all!

Several weeks ago, my sister came with us to a park to attempt some pictures. She must have taken 100 pictures. Here are my favorites. I'll post some funny out-takes later. I wanted to use one for the header on our blog. I'm leaning toward the one with just the 3 kids. I love that they're all smiling. What do you think??

Breelyn's ABC's and 123's

2010-12-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Santa Christmas Picture

2010-12-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

We went to see Santa a couple weeks ago. Amazingly, all 3 kids looked at the camera at the same time. And no one was scared of Santa! BONUS!

Ms. Attitude

2010-12-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Breelyn is almost 4 years old. It's one of my favorite ages for my kids to be. She talks in sentences. She can tell me what she wants so the tantrums are few. She's fairly self sufficient. She still thinks I'm fun to be around. She still cuddles. However, she has developed 'The Attitude'. I was trying to video her doing her ABC's and 123's. If I had to pick 30 seconds of video to sum up Breelyn's personality, this video would be it. I wanted to share it. If I could freeze her at this age I would. She's such a good girl. Well, most of the time. :0)

I did eventually get her to do it so I'll post that next.

First Carousel Ride

2010-12-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Braxton took his first Carousel Ride a few nights ago! Right after visiting Santa for the first time. That pic is coming.
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The Flower Rule

2010-12-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

A few years ago when we had to start living off one income (while saving up adoption money), I told Justus that he didn't have to buy me flowers anymore. I don't totally enjoy them anyway and its money that could be spent elsewhere. So we made this rule that if he gives me flowers, they had to be hand picked by him and free. To me that is meaningful. It's been awhile since I've gotten flowers (We live in Arizona.) but this is what he brought me home from work today. How sweet is that?? I love these 20 times more than I'd love a crappy bouquet from a grocery store.

Halloween Pics...

2010-12-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well, you gotta start somewhere right? I think I left off at Halloween. Just 2 days after Braxton came home. Rolling with the punches. Three kids can knock you down (again and again ... and again) but you just gotta get back up. Did I mention that 3 kids is MUCH harder than 2? I felt like super mom with 2 kids. I was unstoppable. I could do it all! Now if I make dinner and 2 out of 3 of my kids don't have a dirty face or a snotty nose I feel accomplished. Keeping up with the wash. Yikes. I have to keep going EVERY DAY. Boys are DIRTY!! Dang! That boy will walk through mud and roll in the dirt and not even flinch. I took off his diaper yesterday and a cup of sand fell out. I have no idea how that much sand got in his diaper. Ever try to wipe poop off a sandy butt? Kinda abbrasive for little man. Sorry. Lack of adult conversation over here. Anyway, back to Halloween. Here are some pics...

Bailey - (Year 3 as) Tinkerbell

Breelyn - Snow White

Braxton - Superman

Braxton meets his cousin Caitlyn

Braxton rode in the stroller and we followed the girls from house to house.

Update On My 3 Kiddos - Very Wordy

2010-11-22T10:09:00.001-07:00

Can you tell I've been a little busy lately? I haven't done a good blog post in a while. Things are FINALLY settling down over here. We all ended up getting sick after we got home from Taiwan. Between that and trying to get our family adjusted, things have been pretty crazy around here.

Anyway, I can't believe we've been home for almost a month! Braxton is adjusting AMAZINGLY WELL! He has trouble sleeping through the night sometimes but that's the only thing we're really struggling with. We love him so much! He eats almost anything we put in front of him. Loves his milk bottles and loves noodles and mac & cheese. He's mostly on table food except his Gerber Banana Oatmeal which he loves. He loves playing with toys that have music. He is constantly busy and running all over. He's very much a typical boy. Rough and tough. Loves playing outside. Loves throwing things. Won't hesitate to jump off the couch or climb something. He is starting to say some English words. He says Dada, Mama, doggy, All Done, poopoo. He tries very hard to repeat what we say. He is constantly smiling and laughing. Loves bathtime and the water. Splashes around like crazy. He's adjusted into our family very well.

I want to dedicate a whole part of this post to my bonding experience with him. It's completely different than with Breelyn. Breelyn bonded to me immediately. BUT, when she first came home, she would also go to strangers with no problem. If we were at a store or in public, it was common for her to run to a stranger and just hug them or want to be picked up. I had to work with Breelyn so that she knew that Justus and I were her parents and she needed to prefer us over strangers, friends, neighbors, etc. It took several months for that. Now she is a very typical 3.5 year old. She prefers her mommy and daddy. Gets shy and hesitant around strangers. That said, Braxton is different. Braxton bonded with Justus almost immediately. Not so for Braxton and I. When we first came home, Braxton preferred Justus. He would allow me to hold, kiss, hug or comfort him but if given the choice between Justus and I, he would choose Justus. It for sure hurt my feelings. Today I can say I'm glad that he chose Justus to bond with first. Why? Justus had to go back to work. A few full days of being one on one with my little man did wonders for us. If he's tired, hungry or gets hurt, he prefers to be comforted by me. If Justus is holding him and he's tired, he'll cry for me and lunge for me. When he sees I'm leaving, he'll cry. This is more typical for our family. The kids usually come to me for comfort and to Justus for play. If someone he doesn't know wants to hold him, he won't go to them. I'm SO IN LOVE with him. From the day we picked him up (Oct 25) he has known how to say Mama. He would say it at different times but never directed at me. Yesterday was the first day he actually looked me in the eye and called me Mama. And he did it many times after he saw how happy it made me.

Breelyn is doing SO SO GOOD!! I'm thrilled to say she is handling having a little brother VERY WELL! I was completely wrong on how she'd handle it. At first she would avoid Braxton. She still does but its like she's grown up. Her tantrums are few and far between. She doesn't have a fit when I'm holding Braxton. I'm not sure why a little brother made her grow up but she is being such a good girl. She is doing an AWESOME JOB at using her words and talking. I'm still waiting to see what kind of relationship Breelyn and Braxton will have. They tend to avoid each other. I'm amazed by her every day though and SO proud of her. Bailey is doing really good too. She loves taking care of Braxton and treating him like the baby he is. He isn't always thrilled by that idea though. She gets frustrated when he doesn't do what she wants him to but overall they get along really well. She takes care of him and helps him a lot.

Justus and I are trying to get used to having 3 children. Going from 1 to 2 kids seemed pretty easy to us. Maybe because Breelyn was 2 when she came home. Having a 7, 3 and 1 year old takes a lot out of a person. Especially when the girls need a little extra help with a lot of things (and to be honest, they both have the attention span of a fly - I say that with love and a smile). I'm working hard at trying to get Bailey more self-sufficient. I'm teaching her how to take a shower by herself. I'm also trying to teach Breelyn how to put her own seatbelt on. There is nothing worse than trying to buckle in kids in the Arizona summer heat. We have a ton of help which is so nice. We are so blessed to have family that is so willing to help with our kids.

I want to update the blog with pics too because a lot has been happening around here! This weekend we actually got some family pics taken. We just went to a park and my sister helped take them. She did such a great job! We got several good ones. I want to post the Halloween pics and some videos I've taken. So stay tuned! I'm back!

Phew! I feel better that I got that all posted. Now I'll catch up with pics and videos.

Had to share!

2010-11-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

I had to share my coupon savings. Saved 82% tonight. My 2nd best percentage ever.
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Small Update w/ No Pics (Sorry)

2010-11-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

We are all doing well. Braxton got sick with a cold and a nasty cough. He is much better today. He wasn't sleeping well at night at all (which means I wasn't either). So basically I'm still trying to get in the groove of parenting 3 children. That is the reason for the lack of blogging. My body is still deciding if it wants to get sick. So far Justus, Bailey and Braxton has been sick. Breelyn almost NEVER gets sick. She has an iron immune system. I will update soon.

First Portrait Session

2010-11-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

We took Braxton to his first portrait session today. We don't want to forget him being this little. Justus goes back to work tomorrow. Our house is slowly getting back to normal. Well, a new normal at least. :0)

Welcome Home Braxton Yu-Cheng (Pics & Video)

2010-10-31T23:36:00.000-07:00

We are home! We've been home since Thursday night. The flights were good. Braxton did as well as can be expected for a 15 month old baby. There was a baby 2 rows ahead of us that cried for hours and hours. I felt so bad for his parents. They were just exhausted. Braxton didn't cry much on the long flight and slept about 5 hours. We were in coach class and had 2 seats. No bassinet. They were all taken. No bulk head seating. Taken. So under not so perfect conditions, we did well. The plane was very full but amazingly the guy next to us decided to find a different seat so we could have 3 seats. He was very nice. On the short flight we were doing ANYTHING to keep Braxton entertained. He was tired and just didn't want to be on a plane anymore. By the time the plane landed he was having a full blown tantrum in the aisle. Thankfully the people around us were SO NICE. I told the people around us that he was on his 16th hour of flying. They were very understanding and nice. Here are a couple pics from the Taiwan Airport:

We decided that it would be best for all involved to have my parents pick us up from the airport and have everyone waiting at our house. It's much more private and better for the kids. Braxton prefers men overall. He went right to my dad and was smiling and laughing. We got Braxton into the carseat and he didn't like it. He cried for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep. He was so tired. When we got home, we brought him into the house asleep and this is how people met him:

We had our immediate families waiting for us. They had the house decorated and we had pizza and cake waiting for us. It was so nice. Here is the cake they ordered:

And everyone oohed, aahed and awwed over Braxton. Every baby deserves that.

He's been doing very well. Adjusting nicely. He definetely prefers Justus over me. I'm trying not to have hurt feelings over that. Last night he fell and cried. I picked him up and he didn't want me. He wanted Justus. It hurt my feelings. He'll let me hold and kiss him but if he has a choice between Justus or me, he'll choose Justus. I rock him to sleep every night and then put him in his crib. At naptime I stand next to his crib until he falls asleep. I know he'll want his mommy eventually but it still hurts. Our house is a crazy mess but we don't care. I try to keep my kitchen clean so I can make food and have a clean counter somewhere to fold laundry or whatever. But every other room is pretty messy. I'm not brave enough to post a pic so you'll have to trust me on that one. All 3 of us are trying to get our sleep turned around. I think we're getting close. Last night Braxton slept from 10pm to 7am. Justus is sick with a cold or something so he's been sleeping a lot. I can't usually sleep until 1 or 2 am and then get up around 7am. Then doze all morning. The girls are adjusting nicely. Breelyn is doing better than I thought. She tends to avoid him when she can. He likes to throw and swing around toys. He accidently hit her in the face and she thought he did it purposely. She has more of me since Braxton prefers Justus right now. Bailey wants to be a mommy to him and he loves Bailey. She'll get him bottles and try to make him laugh. She'll share her food with him and play with him. She really is a very good big sister to Breelyn and Braxton. Here are a few of my favorite videos from the night we came home:

Last Post from Taiwan - Long w/ Video!

2010-10-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post from Taiwan. This is going to be very wordy. I don't have anyone (like my sister Amy) to talk to here halfway across the world. Well, my husband but you know guys. Once again I got up at 1am. I get really tired around 7pm, go to bed and then get up at 1am. Check emails, blog and then back to bed until like 6am. The boys are sleeping.

Braxton is doing so well! His personality comes out a little more each day. He's talking (baby talk) and getting louder and louder. I think he'll be a typical boy. When we were in the Handicraft Market* he was making loud happy noises. His goal was to get someone to look at him. It worked! He likes to bang stuff and throw stuff. Sometimes he'll purposely bang his head on something (not too hard) and look up and smile at us. What the!?!

*For future Taiwan travelers: The Handicraft Market closes at 5:30pm on weekdays. Kind of early so keep that in mind.

I'm pretty much his feeding/sleeping person and Justus is for play. When he gets tired his thumb goes in his mouth. He goes to sleep by me rocking him (standing rock). I love that. There is nothing like seeing your baby falling asleep in your arms. I will take advantage of it while I can. I've already missed out on his first 15 months. I felt a little sad earlier today because I told Justus that he only smiles for him. But then tonight I was doing patty cake with him and he laughed for the first time. For me! It made me so happy to hear him laugh.

Tired baby.

He's always happier when we're out and about. I'm sure he misses the other babies at St. Lucys and having lots of noise and people around. I think he'll be happy to see his sisters.

Today we went to pick up Braxton's Passport and Visa!!! What a sigh of relief. I didn't really think there would be a problem but you always worry. I know my fellow adoptive mamas know what I mean. I can't tell you how happy I was to pick that up. That is his ticket to the US. While on the subject, thank you so much to all my fellow Taiwan mamas out there for the support and comments you left. I don't want to name names because I know then I'll forget someone but it really means alot when you're sitting in a hotel room halfway around the world. You guys know who you are. And Hannah Claire's Mommy... I can't wait to follow your journey to Taiwan for Little Man. And Tami...It's funny you said that Brax looks like Jeremiah. That day, before I read that, Brax made a face and I thought to myself 'oh! That looked like Noah' haha!

And finally, most importantly, Thank you so much to our moms and my sister Amy for watching the girls. Bailey got sick right before we left for Taiwan and while we were in Taiwan they had to take her to Urgent Care. I was very worried because Bailey is susceptible to Pnemonia a lot. My sister made sure to email me all the time just to give me updates. And when I sent a probably-too-detailed email on how to care for my sick daughter, she emailed me right back saying 'ok. I'll do all of that.' Someday she will be an awesome mother. Honestly. She is AWESOME! I love her very much and she is my best friend. I know she loves my girls as much as I do.

We went to Taipei 101 today. Justus was looking forward to it a lot. When we went up the elevator to the 89th floor my ears were popping and I'm sure Braxton's were too. He didn't cry. I'm hoping for a good plane ride home. For future Taiwan travelers... It costs like $10 each person to go to the observation deck. Babies are free.

Our attempt at a group photo. DENIED!

So, here is my review of Caesar Park. For the money we spent per night, I thought it would be nicer. Our room doesn't look like the room on the hotel website. We paid around $200 per night. Our room is supposed to be an upgraded room. I don't think its nicer than the other rooms here. Just bigger. If we were to come back, I'd probably look to see if I could try somewhere else. From the outside, Caesar Park doesn't look like a 5 star hotel at all. Not even close really. I would say overall it is more like a 3 or 4 star hotel. I'm not complaining. It's clean and nice. We easily walked to the High Speed Rail. The underground mall is attached to Caesar Park. There is a 7-11 on the same side of the street about a block down. No streets to cross. The breakfast buffet is nice. Eggs, meat, toast, cereal, danish, coffee, juice, fruit and more. The breakfast was included in our rate. Internet was included also. We got 2 bottles of water per day. We ordered this sandwich from room service. It had turkey, lettuce, tomato, egg and bacon. It came with fries. I think it was about $12 for the plate. SO GOOD. And YES the beds are hard! (Someone asked that.) I would say if you decide to stay here and don't need the extra room, don't upgrade. The Hyatt was much nicer and the beds were more comfortable. Definetely a 5 star but their rate was $300+. We drove past The Howard and it looked very nice from the outside but I know someone who had a bad experience there. Feel free to ask any other questions about Caesar Park. I know some of you are traveling soon.

We went to Ding Ding Pharmacy today also. I scoped out the strollers. They were pretty expensive for what you get. Below are a couple examples of the lowest price ones I saw. I would say bring a stroller. We're glad we did. Also Ding Ding now carries Huggies and Pampers. I don't remember seeing those last time. We never did go to Carrefour. If you do go to Carrefour be careful. I went to the Carrefour website and I got the impression that some of them in Taipei stores carry baby items and some don't.

This one was like $65.

This one was about $40.

Pampers and Huggies

Here are a few pictures to end with. The video is at the end.

And this is Braxton's Video Debut! Justus would probably not like me posting this of him being so silly but I think its cute so here it is. Braxton really loves his Daddy!

AIT and More

2010-10-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today was our AIT appt and it went well. It took about 3 hours. After that we were EXHAUSTED! That appt is the most stressful part of the trip for me. They said Braxton's Visa will be ready tomorrow morning. yay! We came back to the hotel room and did nothing the rest of the day. We ate and slept. Braxton is a cuddler! So happy about that. He was cuddling with me for about 6 hours on the couch this afternoon. I think he needs the reassurance. We would snack on crackers or his puffs and then sleep for a bit or just lay there. YOU GUYS..HE SUCKS HIS THUMB!! It is THE cutest thing I've ever seen! I kiss his face and he loves that. He'll put his cheek up to my mouth when he wants kisses. Between the time we got back from AIT (11am) and now (2am or so) we've done nothing but cuddle or snack on different things. We went to bed very early. We took him into our bed and that's where he is now. I think Braxton needed to catch up on his sleep. He is probably overwhelmed. I was worried after we got him because he wouldn't drink his bottle. He is drinking his bottle now. He likes water or watered down apple juice too. At St. Lucys they told us he sucks his thumb but we didn't see it until today. We will take more pics tomorrow as we're going to do some sight seeing.

Sleepy Baby.

I thought this was right side up. Sorry.

I just want to say that St. Lucys is an amazing place. These women love the babies like their own. Can you imagine investing your love and time every day to babies knowing that they'll be leaving within a year? They have to constantly say goodbye to these babies with the hope that they go to families that will love them as much as they did. They asked about Breelyn and I swear I saw a couple tears in one woman's eyes when I was talking about her. They really were hoping to see her. I love St. Lucys and the women there. I will NEVER forget them. I will definetely bring Breelyn and Braxton back as soon as I know they're old enough to remember the trip.

The Head Nanny

Jessica, Spring Peach and Mei Chun

Mei Chun and us. We Love Her!!

We skyped with our girls a couple times already. They are doing very well. We can't wait to see them. Bailey kept wanting Braxton to talk. Breelyn just watched closely. I'm not sure what she thinks yet.

Lastly, I wanted to document where we found our camera card reader. The area has TONS of camera shops. It's within walking distance of Caesar Park Hotel. I just jotted down the intersection. BoAi Rd. & HanKou St. Maybe that will help someone someday.

Gotcha! Braxton has been placed in our arms FOREVER!

2010-10-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Our sweet baby boy was placed into our arms today forever. We are completely in love and smitten with our newest miracle. We got to St Lucys a little early and met Mei Chun, Spring Peach and Jessica. We went into the green couch room, gave them the clothes we brought and waited for our little guy to be brought in. He was scared of us at first. We didn't push anything and let him take his time to warm up to us. He cried for about 5 minutes when he realized the nannies wanted him to go to us. We didn't want to scare him and followed his lead. He was understandably scared. Then we brought out the magic Banana Baby Puffs and we became his best friend. He is THE SWEETEST Baby Boy! I am head over heels in love with him. He's different than Breelyn in that he gets nervous easier and needs more cuddling for comfort. If Justus or I get up and walk across the room he looks scared. He wants to be held a lot which we are totally happy to do. He doesn't prefer one of us more than the other when it comes to being held but he thinks Justus walks on water. He LOVES his Daddy because he's already learned that Daddy=Fun. Justus is the only one that can get him to laugh. He fell asleep on my lap for about 10 minutes in the taxi ride to HSR but that was it. He was sitting on the couch tonight with Justus and he couldn't even keep his eyes open. I tried to get him to take a bottle but he didn't want it. I tried laying him in his crib and he didn't want that. So I turned all the lights out except one and rocked my baby boy to sleep tonight. No rocking chair in the room so I did the 'Standing Mom Rock'. It totally worked and I fell in love with him all over again. Breelyn was never able to fall asleep in my arms so I haven't done that in 7 years! It was total bliss. He was looking in my eyes and touching my face or playing with the buttons on my shirt. I set him in his crib and Justus went 'food hunting'. I'm typing this while my new baby love is sleeping in his crib and Justus and I are enjoying BLT sandwiches with fries and sprite. Yum! I'm not a person to try new foods and I think if I had another McDonalds cheeseburger I was going to ralph. We are tired and we have our AIT appt in the morning. Off to bed. Some pics from today.

Leaving for St. Lucys in 2 hours

2010-10-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

We're leaving for St. Lucy's in 2 hours! So excited! I will try to post when we get back to the hotel. Please pray for Braxton's transition.

Hello from Taipei, Taiwan!

2010-10-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hello from Taipei. I ache for my baby boy more than I ever have right now. I am SO ready to have him in my arms. I pray that the transition is easy for him. If its not, we'll deal with it. I will make sure he will be ok. We got here at 6am this morning. It's Sunday here. The flight was good with moderate turbulance at the beginning. We were too early to check into the hotel. They stored our luggage and we walked and walked and walked for about 5 hours this morning. We are EXHAUSED! I slept about 4 or 5 hrs on the plane and I'm making myself stay up until at least 7pm tonight (Taiwan time that is). We are staying at the Caesar Park. It's very nice. I don't know the name of the room I booked but I know it was an upgraded room. It's 2 rooms and it was only like $25 more per night. Worth it I thought. When I saw the crib sitting here in our room my heart about burst. Our room directly faces the Taipei Railway Station and is attached to the MRT, High Speed Rail and an underground mall shopping area. We won't have to take a taxi to the High Speed Rail tomorrow morning. There are lots of restaurants and stores in walking distance. People are so very nice here. As we were walking we had 3 different people ask if we needed help. I have such a love for this country and its people. I feel very comfortable being here. I think Americans can learn from people here in Taiwan when it comes to how we treat our visitors and tourists. Anyway, we bought a new netbook for our trip and when we were on the plane realized that our camera card doesn't fit into the netbook. I was so depressed. So most of that 4 or 5 hours of walking this morning was finding a digital card reader. I'm happy to say we found one. We also experienced our first Squatty Potty. Picture below. I stood in front of it for probably a good minute contemplating a plan of attack. Think about it ladies. And just to fit in a complaint here... I'm not sure what it is about my body's link to Taiwan but let's just say my feminine cycle is directly linked to my trips to Taiwan. It's happened BOTH times! What the hell is THAT about? I got to talk to my girls before bedtime a little bit ago. They're doing very good. Bailey asked where Braxton was!! They got to go to the zoo today with their Nana. I'm ready to unpack so here are some pictures...

I made Justus do the peace sign. It might be a theme for this Taiwan trip. It's what they do here when you take a picture.

The said Squatty Potty. This picture IS right side up. I did a good job using it. :) Pretty proud of myself.

Braxton's Crib!! I can not wait to get him in my arms. My heart is BURSTING!!

LAX to Taipei!

2010-10-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

We are in Los Angeles. We will be boarding our plane to Taipei in 30 min or so! I'm SUPER tired but I won't let myself sleep til I'm on the plane. So glad we took our stroller. We debated thinking it might be a pain but its not. Although so far 4 people have asked where the baby is. Annoying. Its hard for me to sleep on a plane but it better happen. Praying for a SMOOTH flight. I don't like flying. :o) Next post will be from Taipei, Taiwan!
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We Leave Soon!

2010-10-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

Operation Baby Boy is underway. We leave for the airport in 1 hour! So excited and So Nervous! I'm sure I'm forgetting something but oh well. Our adoption agency is the best. Knowing we're leaving today, they call to just say 'Have a Nice Trip' and ask how we're doing. Seriously?! We feel so blessed to have ended up with an agency like that. If anyone needs a recommendation, feel free to email me. We've been extremely happy with them! The girls said goodbye to us as we dropped them off at Nana's house. No tears! I know they'll be well taken care of. I will try to keep the blog updated!

Anniversary & 4 Days Til We Leave

2010-10-18T15:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Justus's and my Wedding Anniversary. We've been married 12 years. We've been together 15 years all together. We got married exactly 3 years after our first date. We did some errands (Home Depot, Walgreens, Walmart, Joanns Fabric) and then went to eat at Outback Steakhouse. It was SO good. We haven't been there in forever! We usually get each other something but this year our gift to each other is our son. We're just focusing on him right now and want him in our arms.

We leave in 4 days! SO excited! And nervous. Justus and I BOTH don't like flying. Not a good thing. I'm sure we'll both be white-knuckled on the 14 hour flight. ugh! What a sigh of relief when we land! I'm getting things prepared for when we're gone. We're so blessed to have 3 people watching our girls. Justus's mom, my mom and my sister Amy. I have no worries about their ability to watch the girls but I'm still nervous leaving them. I don't like being away from them for that long. Honestly, I have a feeling they really won't notice though. Rumor is that there is a lot of fun things planned that week.

I still have lots to do including (but not limited to - ha!):

Catch up with wash

Wash all Braxton's clothes / bedding

Test our Skype Connection

Clean bathrooms

Pack (Us and Braxton)

Buy/Wrap gifts for the girls for each day we're gone

Purchase other gifts (nannies / birthmom)

Sew Valance / Crib Quilt for Braxton's Room

Paint Braxton's Wall Letters

A couple things I really want to do IF I have time:

Make cookies for the girls for when we're gone.
Write in Bailey, Breelyn and Braxton's journals (for memory reasons).
Make 'Big Sister' and 'Little Brother' Shirts.

Think I'll get all that done? Me neither. Maybe making this list will get my butt in gear.

Airplane Tickets and Hotel!

2010-10-14T17:06:00.001-07:00

We have our plane tickets and hotel reservations! Timeline as follows:

Friday October 22, 2010 - Fly AZ to Los Angeles and then to Taipei

Sunday, October 24, 2010 - Arrive in Taipei EARLY MORNING, Check into Hotel.

Monday, October 25, 2010 - GOTCHA DAY! Take High Speed Rail to/from Tainan.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - AIT Appt for Braxton's Visa

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - Pickup Braxton's Visa (Lord Willing!)

Thursday, October 28, 2010 - Fly HOME! Taipei to Los Angeles to AZ. Forever Family Day!

I have so much to do still my head is spinning.

October 25th!!!!!

2010-10-12T14:50:00.002-07:00

We will have Braxton in our arms on October 25th!!!!!!!!

AIT has our file.

We're coming Baby Boy!

I'm Sorry Officer...

2010-10-09T19:14:00.001-07:00

Do you know how fast you were going tonight?

Another Small Update

2010-10-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Another small update. We are now registered with the National Visa Center. They have to process our paperwork and send it off to The American Institute in Taiwan which is where it needs to be for us to get new travel dates. It makes me feel good to write just small bits of progress. It's just one step closer to my baby boy.

In other news, I've been trying to prepare myself for 3 kids lately. In the mornings, I have to get both girls ready and to school by 7:45am. I usually get up at 6am to get in the shower and then get the girls up, dressed, hair, breakfast, make B's lunch and do meds. Lately, I've been thinking about when I'd wake him up and change and feed him. This morning, for a split second, I thought "Oh! I still have to wake Braxton up!". It's funny how your brain works.

We're Getting There...

2010-10-04T12:41:00.001-07:00

So, I talked with USCIS this morning and our file is complete and APPROVED! Now our file has to go to the National Visa Center and finally AIT (American Institute in Taiwan). Once that happens (which should be relatively quick - knock on wood) we will get new dates to pick up our little guy. I want my baby SO BAD! I look at his picture all day long. I think Breelyn is starting to understand that Braxton is coming home. His picture is on the fridge and sometimes I'll point to his picture and say 'Who is that? Is that your little brother Braxton?' She'll say 'beebee' for 'baby' and take it off and carry it around. She likes looking at the picture. So Cute.

Knuckles!

2010-10-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Breelyn's talking has just exploded in the last few weeks. She seems to have these little spurts of advancement every so often. She'll chit chat away about stuff she did at school or she'll come 'tell on Bailey'. It's so cute! This is really my very favorite age when they start talking in detail. Her tantrums are becoming less and less (Thank You Lord!) and she's really just becoming a little girl in front of my eyes. She is 90% potty trained. I don't count night time when I say 90%. It takes kids a while to master that. She can count to ten (except she skips 6 sometimes). She knows her ABC's (gets stuck at the LMNOP part). I'm just amazed at how far she's come. And most importantly, she knows how to do "Knuckles!"

One Less

2010-09-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

My husband shared this with me. My favorite part is this: "Not everybody is called to adopt a child. That's not what this songs about. But, we are called to care for the orphans. And the church is called to care for the orphans. That doesn't mean that every family is gonna feel called to physically adopt a child and bring him home. But if you don't feel called to that you can still care for the orphans. Theres different ways to do that."

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~ James 1:27

One Less by Matthew West (The Story Behind The Song) from emicmg on Vimeo.

Mini Update

2010-09-28T11:20:00.001-07:00

A very mini update but I'll take it at this point. I got a call from USCIS (a miracle in itself) and was told they NOW have all the paperwork they need. USCIS is United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. We hope to hear something by late this week or early next week. If I sound calm and collected, I'm not. I'm pretty much going crazy. It's very stressful knowing we are parents to a son in Taiwan and can't go get him yet.

Super Easy Banana Bread

2010-09-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

Ever have bananas that look like this?

We rarely do because Breelyn LOVES bananas. I mean 'Hide-them-for-fear-of-constipation' Loves Bananas. Lately, her obsession has waned a little so I've been pulling out this recipe for SUPER Easy Banana Bread.

BANANA BREAD

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 teas salt
1 teas baking soda
2 bananas

Cream all of the above together and pour into a greased bread pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes.

Updated Pics & No News

2010-09-22T09:41:00.001-07:00

Here are some updated pictures of Braxton. Still no news. I think its safe to say we won't be picking him up on Oct 5. We're still waiting. I'm trying very hard to be patient and wait for God's Timing. Because there really isn't much else I can do.

Taiwan Typhoon

2010-09-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

Update on the Typhoon that hit Sunday in Taiwan. I have complete faith in the nannies at St. Lucy's. They care for the babies just as they would for their own. Truly Amazing Women. Here is an update from CNN.

Typhoon & 2 Minutes

2010-09-18T15:50:00.002-07:00

Praying for Braxton tonight and tomorrow as a Typhoon heads straight through Taiwan. Praying for his safety and praying that he isn't scared by the storm.

As we ran to Walgreens the other day (2 min away at most!) this is what she was able to accomplish in the backseat.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

And down comes the Bad News...

2010-09-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

So anybody who has adopted knows there is ALWAYS ups and downs. The bad news is we're having a problem with USCIS. Sound familiar anyone? This happened with Breelyn. In Breelyn's case we got things smoothed out in time. Not sure if we're going to make the Oct 5th pickup date for Braxton. No airplane tickets have been bought yet. We're in the "wait and see" mode. If we get delayed, I think it will only be a week or two. We will wait on God's timing. Stay tuned on that.

To make this post a little more cheerful, here are some crib toys I put in Braxton's crib. The ocean wonders toy was passed from Bailey to Breelyn and now to Braxton. Both my girls loved it. I know the song by heart because it comes through on our baby monitor. Sometimes in the middle of the night. :0) You wouldn't believe how fast that thing goes through D batteries though. We seriously buy them in bulk for that sucker.

And for the teddy bear, you pull on the bottom and it sings.

Picture Day!

2010-09-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Picture Day was last Wednesday. What a morning! I bet you can't guess which 7 year old didn't want the below picture taken. Go ahead, guess. Now take a guess which 3 year old in the below picture didn't want their hair to be done. Breelyn, Breelyn, Breelyn. That girl screams at the top of her lungs when I fix her hair. Does that come standard to little girls? I'm REALLY glad my next child is a boy.

Quick Update

2010-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. This weekend we painted Braxton's bedroom. That made me feel A LOT better. We also put up his crib. We haven't gotten airline tickets yet but we are working on it. When we picked up Breelyn we stayed at the Hyatt in Taipei. Question for other Been-There-Done-That mamas: What are some more reasonable hotels in Taipei? I know we want to stay at the Landis in Tainan. Anyway, my emotions are all over the place. I go between Super Excited to hold Braxton...to Nervous leaving my girls...to Excited to be alone with Justus for a couple days...to Nervous being on a long airplane flight...to Excited to dress Braxton up for Halloween...to Nervous of Braxton not wanting me. It's such an odd feeling knowing that you are parents to a son all the way across the world that you've never met. But, oh am I SO READY to have a baby again.

Finalized...Say What?

2010-09-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

We got a call from our agency and were told that not only do we have First Decree...

Our adoption of Braxton is FINALIZED

and they want us to pick him up on Oct 5th!

Say What? That's in 3 weeks. I was in shock yesterday and today its starting to settle in a little. I was planning on getting his room started and thinking about starting to sew his crib set. Now we're going to get his room painted this weekend and I'm going to buy a crib set. Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining. Just a little shocked. We were hoping to have him home by Christmas. I have no idea why our case moved so fast but like I said, I'm not complaining. Just a little unprepared. I'm calling in the backups (sisters) and we'll have his room and this house prepared in no time. After I get this 'deer-caught-in-the-headlights' expression off my face, I'll start celebrating.

Cousins!

2010-09-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

These two little ones have a few things in common.

1. They belong to the same family

2. They're only 9 months apart

3. They're both cute as heck.

4. I love them both VERY MUCH.

Sadly, they're on opposite sides of the Earth.

Something needs to be done about that.

I want to bring my little man HOME!!!

Here is my baby boy Braxton and my sister Heidi's baby girl Caitlyn.

I have this secret wish that they'll be best friends.

My Swingin' Girls

2010-09-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

We had a nice long Labor Day weekend. We didn't do much of anything. I caught up on wash and did a few other projects. I did a little work on Braxton's room this weekend. Cleaning it out mostly. I told myself I had to get it cleaned out enough so Justus can start painting it and THEN I can order the fabric I'm using to make his crib set. The girls have picture day on Wednesday and I found cute new shirts for them this weekend. We spent a little time outside and I was surprised to see Breelyn can keep herself swinging on the regular swings! I couldn't believe it! I'm wondering if she learned this at school. Bailey learned early too. I took video of course. :0) Here are my 'Swingin Girls'. Watch Breelyn pull back on the swing to keep herself going.

Out Cruisin

2010-09-04T07:00:00.001-07:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Our Abbie-Dog

2010-09-02T11:04:00.005-07:00

Our poor Abbie Dog went to Doggie Heaven yesterday. Poor thing was up all night crying. We gave her a triple dose of aspirin and it didn't do anything for her. We couldn't bare to let her be in pain so we gave her an adult hydrocodone. We knew it was time. She was our first baby after we got married. Her nickname was Doopie Doo. She was a VERY smart dog.

Abbie ~ 1998-2010

Disneyland Pics

2010-08-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

Care Package / First Day of School

2010-08-12T21:52:00.003-07:00

We sent a care package to Braxton a few weeks ago. Here are some photos.

The girls started school a couple days ago. They both did really great their first day. I'm so happy because they both have fantastic teachers.

Still working on those Disneyland pics...

Some Videos

2010-07-30T09:08:00.002-07:00

I would really love to blog more often. I just don't seem to have time lately with the girls home. They start school Aug 11 so I'm excited to get my house back into a normal again. We had a great time at Disneyland and the beach! Unfortunately, we got back-ended on our way there. Our bikes were mangled and have some damage to the back of our Tahoe. We were hit hard enough for us to be pushed into the car in front of us so we have damage on both ends. No one was hurt and thats what matters. To make matters worse, our car got broken into 2 days later at the hotel. Ipod, GPS and Bailey's nebulizer were stolen. Frustrating. We didn't let it ruin our vacation though. Here are some videos. The last video is Bailey swimming. She officially learned to swim on our vacation. We were SO proud of her.

Happy Birthday Braxton Yu-Cheng!!

2010-07-15T23:10:00.002-07:00

Today my baby boy turns ONE in Taiwan. We knew he wouldn't be home for his first birthday but its still kind of sad. The good thing is he's too young to realize anything. No exciting news on the adoption. Our dossier is not in Taiwan yet. No new pics. :0( But, the thing I love about our agency is if I check on our case they ALWAYS get back to us quickly. Whether it be with good news, bad news or no news. So appreciated.

I've been MIA because I've been spending my time lately getting the hang of facebook. It's a little more private which is nice but I actually like blogging better.

We leave for Disneyland in 2 days! We are SO EXCITED! Ages 7 and 3 are such great ages for Disney. I'll try to blog while there.

This summer is going by smoother than last summer. The girls are playing with each other really well. They still fight once in a while but that's to be expected. It's so hard with the heat because I can't send them outside to play when its 115 degrees. My house looks like a tornado blew through 90% of the time. I'm so bad at making good dinners lately. I realized that when my girls were eating Cheez-It's for dinner one night. I just can't bring myself to turn the stove on when its so dang HOT. They both start school August 11 at the same school. Breelyn has my FAVORITE preschool teacher and I am so happy about that. She was Bailey's preschool teacher and I just love her! I haven't even touched Braxton's room all summer. But, I did find a dresser for him! And I'm constantly buying him clothes. I'm getting the hang of buying boy clothes. I'll post some pics of the girls soon. Photobucket isn't working right now and I have to get a 3 year old to go to sleep. Her newest trick to get out of bedtime is to yell from her bed 'Mama, I lah you' (I love you.). She knows I always respond to that. Smart cookie.

Interesting...

2010-06-25T10:03:00.001-07:00

http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=714

My Sicky Girls

2010-06-12T10:22:00.002-07:00

The flu in June?? Leave it to my girls. Bailey started out and Breelyn was right behind her. Breelyn scared me the most because her temp went to 103+. Her little body was just trying to burn off the virus quickly. This was the worst she's been sick with us. She has a great immune system. She was only really sick for about 12 hours. I did take her to the doctor though because it was Friday and I didn't want to hit up Urgent Care this weekend. The great thing about her being sick was she was SO cuddly. Bailey was with Nana so Breelyn and I spent almost the whole day in Mommy and Daddy's bed. Today she's back to being a typical 3 year old. And I'm feeling a little quesy.

Home Study Approved

2010-06-07T09:35:00.003-07:00

Home Study Approved! Now docs to go our agency in California and then off to Taiwan to get entered into court.

Hmmmm...

2010-06-03T22:21:00.003-07:00

I guess I'm not as sly as I thought. Dang it. It was a TV! I guess it was obvious.

We Justus also put up a mister system so it will be a little cooler out on the patio.

Anyway, this week has been busy with the girls' classes starting, swimming lessons every day, 3 doctor appts (*) and Justus working OT (yay!). Tonight at Bailey's swimming lesson Breelyn firmly stated 'I water'. I think she wants to take swimming lessons! (Or was she thirsty? - jk) I'm thinking about it. Bailey started her karate class and so far she likes it! Breelyn started Pee Wee Play and of course she loved it because she's our little 'social butterfly'. Dance & Tumble start next week. I can't wait to post a pic of her in her dance outfit.

* Why is it that when I need blood taken I get the newest youngest blood-drawer. He poked me 3 times and dug in my arm each time! What the hell! Do these people even go through training at all?? Finally he called another lady over and she got it. I about clocked him.

Not to end on a sour note but our Home Study is STILL not approved. I'M SO BUMMED. It was supposed to take 4-6 weeks and its been like 8 weeks. Like I said, everything in this process is so unpredictable. Roll with the punches, Holli, Roll with the punches. His 1st birthday is next month. :0(

A Bird? A Plane?

2010-06-02T22:23:00.002-07:00

A Bird?? A Plane?? What could 2 little girls be staring SO intently at outside?

Any guesses?

ABC's...We're Getting There.

2010-05-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Here is Breelyn doing her ABC's. She's definetely well on her way! So proud of her. This summer Breelyn and I will be working on colors and ABC's. Bailey and I will be working on addition. I use flashcards. Visuals work so much better with both my girls. And of course bribing helps too since both girls have the attention span of a flea. (I say that with love.) :0)

The Last Days of School

2010-05-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

School is almost over for the year. Last summer I didn't make many plans thinking the girls would play together all summer. Wrong idea. They played for a little while but fought the rest of the time. So, this summer I have Breelyn signed up for Dance & Tumble and Pee Wee Play. Bailey is signed up for Karate/Self Defense (Lord Help Us) and Swimming. We'll do our weekly movie and go hit up the public pool once a week. Also, our school district offers free lunches to all the kids this summer. BONUS! So, we'll do that a few times a week. That should keep us busy. The girls had a several parties and water days the last few weeks of school which I got to attend. So, here are some various pictures of that:

School Carnival (above and below)

Mother's Day Tea (Above and Below)

Breelyn at Bailey's Desk (above)

Breelyn's Water Day (Above)

Breelyn at School (Growing up WAY TOO FAST)

I Love My...

2010-05-24T20:06:00.004-07:00

I Love My Mixer! I've wanted a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for a long time and last Christmas I finally got one. I used it for the first time tonight. I know. Its been 5 months. Anyway, I LOVE IT! I made Chocolate Chip Cookies. SO much easier.

Little Gymnast?

2010-05-12T21:27:00.005-07:00

I was watching Gymnastics last weekend and Breelyn really got into it. Good thing I signed her up for Dance & Tumble this summer. Looks like its right up her alley. It's so funny how kids can be so different. Not once in Bailey's entire life did I consider putting her into a dance class. It's just not her. I wouldn't have it any other way though. :0)

Braxton Yu-Cheng

2010-05-07T21:42:00.003-07:00

That is the name we decided on. It's hard naming boys. I named our girls quickly. This time I narrowed it down to a handful of names and made Justus choose. We'll probably call him Brax. Our sweet little man has stolen his mommy's heart big time. These pics were taken about 2 weeks ago when he was 9 months old. I think he looks like Justus in the first pic. It looks like he's standing and crawling. Wow! I love looking at these pictures but then I get sad. I'm working on getting his first care package together. Care packages are limited to a gallon size bag. I'm going to include a laminated family picture so hopefully the nanny's hang it in his crib.

Just an update...

2010-05-05T21:02:00.002-07:00

Just an update since I haven't blogged in forever. Our Home Study is complete. We're just waiting on it to be approved by a judge. Otherwise our dossier is complete and already at our agency waiting to be translated / authenticated. It should be any day now. I'm working on our little guy's bedroom. Still trying to clean it out. I want to clean the carpets and paint the walls. We bought a crib and now I'm looking for a dresser and changing table to match. I've been buying him tons of clothes and shoes. He already has his first pair of cowboy boots. We got new pics of him and I'll post them in the next few days. He is SO sweet and he deserves A POST OF HIS OWN!! Waiting is hard. The girls are doing good. I'm trying to sign them up for different things this summer to keep us busy. Here is Breelyn's first school picture! I LOVE IT!!

Cute, right??

I need to take more pictures because I couldn't find any new ones on my camera. Here are some off my cell phone...

So as you can tell not much is new. Of course I'm spending as much time as I can with this little peanut. I could just hold her forever. It makes up for the ache I have for our little guy. I'm so lucky that my sister and brother in law just let me love on her all I want. She is so sweet.

Welcome Baby Girl!

2010-04-13T21:21:00.002-07:00

Little Caitlyn Carolyn entered the world at 7:29am this morning weighing 6 lbs 13 oz. She is GORGEOUS and already so loved! Mommy Daddy and Baby are doing great! Our family is SO in love. Congratulations Heidi and Tyson!

In About a Week...

2010-04-05T14:09:00.003-07:00

In about a week I get to become an Aunt to my sister Heidi's baby girl. I can't even tell you how excited I am to hold a tiny baby again.

(Head cropped per Pregnant Woman Request.)

Quick funny note: When Heidi and I go out shopping or whatever with Breelyn, people are completely convinced that Breelyn is hers. She has the dark hair, dark eyes, non-pasty skin. As you can guess, we don't really look like sisters. Yes, we have the same parents. Weird huh?

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T23:03:00.002-07:00

Just some Easter pics. We couldn't help to think what its going to be like next year with 3 kiddos. We're so excited!

We felt the earthquake today that was centered in Mexico. We were at my parents eating Easter dinner and the chandelier started swaying about a foot in either direction. We don't get Earthquakes here in Arizona so it was kind of weird.

Video in my inbox

2010-04-01T08:30:00.001-07:00

So I went shopping last night and came home to this video from Justus in my inbox. I guess this is what they do when I'm gone. Justus likes Polka. You can take the boy out of Wisconsin but you can't take Wisconsin out of the boy. haha. :0)

New Table

2010-03-31T15:43:00.003-07:00

Our kids table was getting old. We had it 5 years. It was one of the best purchases we ever made though. The kids eat, color, playdoh, everything at the kids table. I looked up the bigger ones with 4 chairs and boy are they expensive! At least the one I wanted was. So I asked Justus to make one with 4 chairs. I'm so proud at what a good job he did! I think it will last for several years.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

2010-03-26T13:08:00.003-07:00

Bailey and I made Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes for her to take to school for her birthday. She was so excited. I wanted to share a pic. They're really cute and easy for younger kids to eat. You just fill cones up 2/3 (or a little more) with cake mix batter. Then cook them for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet. I've been making these the last couple years for her birthday. I'm still trying to find a better way to transport them. Almost all of them toppled over on the way to school this morning. oh well.

The photo below is of the girls this morning before school. See Breelyn's left cheek? It's healed much better now but she hurt herself on our swing set about 10 days ago. Our swing set was recalled and we didn't know it until 2 days ago. If you have a wooden swing set made by Adventure Playsets please check for the recall info. We're lucky it wasn't more serious.

Be Still My Heart

2010-03-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Oh My Goodness. One single photo can just turn your whole world around. I was so down in the dumps yesterday and then around 4pm I get the above photo in my inbox. I went from crying sad tears to crying happy tears all in one day. All my fellow adoptive mommas out there know what I mean when I say 'I Love this child SO MUCH it hurts.' How can my heart literally ache for a child I've never met? If I was someone reading this who hasn't experienced it, I would doubt that could be true. Honestly, at times in the last 2 months I've avoided looking at his photo because I knew what would happen. I would ache for him. You start out loving your child and then it turns to an ache. I have this irrisistable urge to snatch him right out of that photo. I remember wanting to do that to Breelyn. Our Home Study is almost done. I've been collecting dossier documents also so the dossier should come together pretty easily. This means we could be logged into Taiwan Courts a couple months from now. eeeek!! I guess we should seriously start thinking of a name. What do you guys think of Braxton, Maddox or Paxton?? And I'm starting to see the floor in my 'place where crap goes when I don't know what to do with it' room (aka 3rd bedroom / baby boy's room). In other news, Bailey's birthday party is Sunday. Wow is she EVER excited. This is the first year that she is SO truly excited for her birthday. She's pretty sure its going to be the BEST day of her life. She was doing the happy dance at Sam's Club when I ordered the cake.

Rough Few Weeks

2010-03-23T09:53:00.003-07:00

Just having a rough few weeks. Nothing in particular and NO nothing to do with our adoption of YC. Sometimes its tough being a mom. Especially a mom to 2 little girls who need a little bit more than most kiddos. It's hard when people don't really understand the things you go through and the struggles you have when your kids aren't 'typical'. I feel judged more often than not. But, it will be ok and I'll get through this 'low'. Because they're seldom and the 'highs' are SO worth it. I didn't choose 'Holland' at first. But I did decide to stay.

"Welcome to Holland"
By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Update

2010-03-08T21:10:00.003-07:00

So, I noticed I haven't blogged in a while. I just looked on my camera card and I don't even have any new pictures of the girls! We're busy with all the paperwork that comes with adoption. We had our first Homestudy meeting which went well. A quick funny thing that happened. Our social worker was asking Bailey questions and asked if her new brother looked like Breelyn (as in that they're both asian). Bailey looked at her and said "No! He's a boy!!"

Breelyn is doing SO SO good in preschool. So well that a few weeks ago she was moved into a regular preschool classroom! And next fall she'll be going to Bailey's school. I am so proud of her. I get a mini report every day and a more detailed one every week. She is listening to the teachers. Sitting during circle time. Using scissors!! (What!!?? I don't even let her do that!) Her talking is getting unbelievable! She is using 3-4 word sentences. If you say Hi to her she'll say "Howu doin?" or "Whatu doin?" When you pass by her she'll say "cuse me". I do worry about her when our little YC comes home. I know Bailey will be ok. Breelyn demands my attention and will scream and cry if I'm focusing on Bailey. I think Little YC will rock Breelyn's world in a way she's not totally prepared for. Although she may mature a little more in the next 6 months and preschool will be a big help too. Still hoping he'll be home before Christmas!

Introducing...

2010-02-19T09:13:00.004-07:00

With complete joy, we introduce our SON!!

This is a younger picture of him but it is my favorite. He is now 7 months old and in Taiwan. He is healthy! He is considered special needs due to some things he is at risk for. He is at the same children's home that Breelyn was in. I cannot tell you the peace of mind I have knowing without doubt that he is being well cared for while we wait. We are working very hard to hopefully have him home for Christmas. Unfortunately, this process is always unpredictable. We haven't chosen a name (Please Help!!) but for now we will call him YC. We are in COMPLETE LOVE and cannot wait to bring him home. Justus is beyond excited to finally add a boy to our family (even the dogs are girls). Thank You Lord for bringing us another child. Please help us to be patient while we wait.

With Love, Justus, Holli, Bailey & Breelyn

Valentine's Day Parties & Playing in the Snow

2010-02-16T21:42:00.002-07:00

Bailey and Breelyn had their Valentine's Parties at school. I went to Breelyn's and Justus had off on Friday and went to Bailey's. Bailey was SO proud to have her Daddy there. Some pics:

For Valentine's Day weekend we went up to Flagstaff to play in the snow! First time for both girls. Bailey really loved it! She only cried for a few seconds when she sledded down the big hill and faceplanted. Our little Island Girl wasn't having as much fun. We started like this:

She's looking a little skeptical in the above pic, wouldn't you say?? Within a minute she ended like this:

Not a fan. :( She actually started having a little fun at the end so next time I bet she'll like it more. Here's a video of Bailey and Justus going down the medium hill and Bailey taking out a fellow sledder...

And here is Justus going down the big hill. That is Breelyn crying in the background. I had to set her down to videotape Justus.

I'll post a photo of and more info about our little man later this week.

Promise.

Some News On Each of My Kiddos...

2010-02-09T09:28:00.005-07:00

An update on each of my kiddos...

We went to the park yesterday and Bailey went all the way across the monkey bars with no help!! She's been working on this for a long time. I'm so proud of her.

Breelyn is doing really well in school. I think they're working on 'Help Me' in school because she says it all the time now. She has a Valentine's Day party at school this Thursday. Parents get to go. I'm excited to see her in the 'school environment'. She's showing a lot of interest in a keyboard toy that Bailey got for Christmas. She'll sit and play with it for 20 minutes. That is a long time for her to sit. She's getting very independent. She went down the big slide yesterday.

And YES! There will be a #3. We are adopting and matched with a little boy. Right now we're in the beginning stages and have to get our Homestudy done again. I'll post a pic and some info soon. We're still in the 'giddy stage' and keeping his picture 'our little secret' for now. We're so excited!

Steven Curtis Chapman - When Love Takes You In
Uploaded by joaompg. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Exciting Things! Monster Truck Show! Other Stuff

2010-02-02T09:01:00.003-07:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging. We have some big things going on in our lives right now. Good things. Things we're not quite ready to announce to the world yet.

We delayed our trip to Northern AZ because the snowstorm was just a little more than we could handle. Lots of snow covered roads and driving through mountains scared us a little. We're actually going on Valentine's Day weekend instead. With the girls.

Last weekend we went to the Monster Truck Show. Bailey was in her element. She's our little tomboy. She loves trucks, trains, football, etc. Bailey's 2 favorite monster trucks were Batman and Monster Mutt. Our little girly-girl (aka, Breelyn) wasn't as impressed with the trucks. She did like all the food though. :)

Some Video

We've had a major cold go through our house the last few weeks. Breelyn has an iron immune system. A little runny nose but thats it. Even when we had the flu at Christmastime (yes I eventually got it too) hers was the most mild of all of us. Justus went to the dr last night and now he has Strep Throat. ugh! I don't want the rest of us to get it so I sent him off to work today. :) So far so good. I'm not complaining though. This year is FAR BETTER than last. Last year was B's first year of all day school. She caught everything.

Does anyone else wonder how so many socks can have a missing other half? I don't know where they go. I must have 20 socks that are ALL DIFFERENT! Annoying.

Snow Headed to Arizona!

2010-01-18T11:24:00.002-07:00

A couple snow storms are headed to Northern Arizona this week.

Time for our girls to FINALLY experience snow!

We'll be heading that way this weekend.

Gotcha Day & Letting Go (just a little)

2010-01-13T08:56:00.004-07:00

One year ago today Breelyn was placed into my arms forever. And today, I let her go just a little. Today is her first day of preschool. She was being a little shy hiding behind my leg (I won't lie. I love that.) So, I walked her to her classroom and told her 'goodbye' and 'I'll be back to pick you up.'. That's when the tears started. Mine, not hers. I thought it would be easier to send my second child off to preschool. It wasn't. Sometimes I feel like I didn't have enough time with her as a baby. Her teacher is so nice and I feel completely at ease leaving Breelyn with her. She has preschool 2.5 hrs a day Monday through Friday. She will get all her therapies at school now which is nice. I noticed there was another Asian boy in a different preschool class which made me happy. All the preschool classes go out for recess together.

Breelyn (1/13/09)

Breelyn (1/13/10)

Walking to the car.

Going into her classroom for the first time with her teacher.

This and That

2010-01-10T21:42:00.002-07:00

Packers Game

We went to the Packers Game last weekend. They played the Cards this weekend and last. We went to the game that the Packers won! Breelyn was just too little to go but we took Bailey. Lots of fun. We tailgated before the game too. We sat by this other Packer Fan. He was kind of crazy but fun.

Preschool Update

Tomorrow we meet with Breelyn's Preschool teacher. Then we register her and we can start her when we're ready. In the last couple weeks she's gone through a little streak of learning. With help, she counts to five and kind of knows her ABC's. Here's some video of the counting. I'll do a video of the ABC's soon too. Oh, and she learned how to say Eyebrow.

Goodbye Training Wheels!

And Bailey has learned how to ride her bike WITHOUT training wheels. And, more importantly, has learned how to STOP her bike without training wheels. She needs a push to start going still. Some video...

And while Bailey is practicing, Breelyn is working on getting her new scooter to go. For now, she really digs just standing on the sidewalk like this...

Justus and I you ask??

Pretty much TOTALLY addicted to this. We play it every night after the girls go to bed.

If you don't have it, GET IT. TOTALLY FUN!!

Oh, and finally...

A reason this week is gonna ROCK...

Breelyn's 3rd Birthday Party!

2010-01-02T22:12:00.002-07:00

Some photos of Breelyn's 3rd Birthday Party. It was a small party but perfect. I made subs and had a Yo Gabba Gabba cake. Video below of us singing Happy Birthday to her.

Tomorrow we're going to the Cardinals / Packers game!! So excited to see the Pack again! We're tailgating and taking Bailey. We decided against taking Breelyn because she's still a little too young. Breelyn will be spending the day with her Nana.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

2009-12-27T22:32:00.002-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday My Sweet Baby Girl!

You make us so happy and make us laugh every day.

We Love You More Than You'll Ever Know.

Love, Mommy Daddy & Bailey

We're having a Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party on Friday!

Merry Christmas :0(

2009-12-24T21:48:00.007-07:00

Merry Christmas!

Unfortunately, 3 out of 4 of us are tossing our cookies. :0(

I'm the healthy one for now. Justus and the girls have the flu.

Our First Christmas with Breelyn and she is sick.

We're SO bummed. :0(

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-23T19:07:00.003-07:00

Monday the girls and I made cut out cookies. Breelyn was OBSESSED with the flour. She was tasting, feeling, smelling and throwing it. It was in her ears, eyes, hair, mouth, shirt, pull up etc. Bailey and I were laughing so hard.

That's my new kitchen table in the background. :) We went to Sam's Club and it was in the way back on clearance for $150.00! Originally $687. It's the higher style table with 6 chairs. (We're thinking a lot lately about filling those 2 extra chairs.) Several knicks on the top but its very sturdy and solid wood. I love it!

Christmas / Pajama Day at Bailey's School

2009-12-22T10:00:00.002-07:00

Bailey had Christmas / Pajama Day at School on Thursday.

She wore her Thomas the Train PJs. :)

Farmer in the Dell

2009-12-15T13:38:00.004-07:00

My Little Farmer in the Dell. When she was dressed like that I was singing 'Farmer in the Dell' to her and she thought that was so funny. In a few short weeks she starts preschool. ahhh! My baby! I'm nervous but when I talk to her about it she's ok with it. I ask her if she wants to go to school like Bailey and she says yeah. I took her in to re-take the hearing test. We practiced this time and she didn't scream or cry! I was really proud of her. Yesterday was her formal evaluation through our school district. Delayed in many areas which I knew. Speech, fine and gross motor, low muscle tone and they said she is extremely active and has a low attention span for her age. Because of this, she actually won't be going to Bailey's school which I was sad about. She's going to a different elementary school that has a lower teacher/child ratio. She'll be in a class with 6 kids to 3 teachers. It sounds similar to the type of class Bailey is in. Bailey's class is 8:3 ratio. Have I ever mentioned how great I think our school district is? It's ranked as one of the best in the state and their special education dept is seriously excellent. There are a lot of parents that I talk to in other districts that have to fight for services. Not ours. I won't move out of our city until my kids are out of school. Maybe never. I love our house. Anyway, I'm thinking Santa is bringing Breelyn her first backpack. :)

My View

2009-12-10T13:20:00.002-07:00

Now that the weather is nicer, this is the view I usually have while I make dinner. It's THIS STUFF I don't want to forget.

(I wouldn't mind forgeting their fight that started right after I took this picture.)

I wrote this post several weeks ago and never posted it.

Just so you don't think I send my girls out in shorts when its kinda cold.

We're Still Here!!

2009-12-07T20:24:00.004-07:00

We're still here. Just busy. I'm not very good at this blogging thing am I? There's not too much going on. Breelyn is being evaluated for preschool services. She passed her vision test but Little Miss wasn't too fond of the hearing test last week (screamed and cried) so we're trying a re-do this Thursday. She is penciled in for the morning pre-school with my preferred teacher. She was Bailey's preschool teacher and is basically the best pre-school teacher in the world (my opinion of course). She has about 30 years of experience with SN preschoolers.

I got to volunteer in Bailey's class for their Pilgrim / Thanksgiving day. Bailey was so proud to have me there. It made me feel good. :)

We had some family pics done last week. They're not in yet but here is a pic of them before the pictures. I wasn't crazy about how the family pic came out but oh well. At least the girls looked good. I highly recommend going to a real photographer for family pics. Target Portrait Studio is best for the kids photos.

Little Miss Attitude (aka Bailey) thinks its funny to do weird faces when I take a picture. She's coming home from school with a bit too much attitude lately. :-/ I sure hope that's a phase.

Breelyn's potty training is coming along really well. Two steps forward, one step back. A couple times this week she pulled her own pants down to go potty. No reminder!

We celebrated St. Nick's Day on Sunday morning. We were all kind of sick though. First cold of the season. Here's a video of St. Nick morning. (A little St. Nick Gone Bad.)

Breelyn's Cardiology Appointment

2009-11-14T21:45:00.002-07:00

Friday we had Breelyn's 2nd Cardiology Appointment since she came home. It turned out to be a great appointment. Once again we were there for over 2 hours. Her Pediatric Cardiologist is VERY thorough. Phew! A 2.5 year old does not like waiting or holding still so it was a LLLLOOOONNNNNGGGGG 2.5 hours. They did her heart ultrasound. She was supposed to stay still for 45 minutes. I quickly decided I disliked Ms. Ultrasound Lady. About 10 minutes through the scan (and realizing that my 2.5 year old was a little squirmy) she said (yes I'm quoting) "I thought all girls like her had cocktail personalities". I had no idea what that meant so I didn't say anything. Even after googling it I still have no idea what that means. Then Mrs. Ultrasound Lady decided she deserved detailed info on our adoption. After ignoring several inappropriate questions and telling her Breelyn is from Taiwan she asked "Isn't China where they don't want their little girls?" It takes a lot for me to show my anger toward someone and her final comment ("I guess its a good thing to bring them (children) over if you have the money for it.") flipped my switch. Let's just say Ms. Ultrasound Lady will not be performing our next ultrasound. The GREAT NEWS is that one of the two heart conditions she came home with is GONE! Confirmed by this ultrasound. And the other condition has improved! The pressure gradient went from 37 to 25! So, her stenosis is now considered Very Mild (it was considered mild before). However, her Cardiologist made it clear that (as Breelyn gets older) there is a good chance that the pressure gradient will go up and require surgery. Surgery would require open heart surgery where they would place a patch to open up the constricted area. The great thing is that we have a Children's Heart Hospital right here in our state. She'd be in very good hands. Her cardiologist is very good with kids and seemed to be genuinely thrilled to have a patient with WS. He seems to be fascinated by the Syndrome. He is very knowledgeable about WS which is rare since WS is so rare. Anywho, thrilled to have another appointment under our belt. Next up...Preschool Transition Meeting.

Sign Language Works For Us!!

2009-11-10T13:44:00.002-07:00

We're big believers in using Sign Language with our kids. Actually, its mostly me who does it. Not that Justus doesn't believe in it. It's just he's a man. :) We have used it A LOT with Breelyn and its totally worked for us! First, we started out using the sign and the word together. She had to sign it to get the item she wanted. Now we're at the point where I sign it and she has to say it. This morning she wanted more milk. During this video, I am signing "I want more milk please". She is watching me sign and saying what I'm signing. Please ignore the peanut butter in her hair. Yep, left the open jar on the counter. Need I say more?

Trick-or-Treat!

2009-11-05T23:12:00.002-07:00

Trick or Treat 2009

Bailey: Tinkerbell (Again)

Breelyn: Minnie Mouse

The girls with their Nanas.

Breelyn caught on to trick-or-treating pretty quickly.

The only thing she didn't understand was why people would close the door after giving her candy. Why didn't they keep talking to her? After the person closed the door, she stood like this (see below) for about 15 seconds or so. Bailey was so patient. She so wanted to just run ahead but she waited for her sister.

We trick-or-treated up and down our street.

She started off by walking...

Then she moved to the stroller...

We ended the night like this...

Painting Pumpkins

2009-11-02T13:39:00.003-07:00

Last week for Halloween we painted pumpkins. It was the first time I handed over a paint brush to Breelyn. I shielded and covered everything possible and hoped for the best. :) Actually, they both did a great job. :)

Halloween Day / Trick or Treating Pics coming next!

San Diego Vacation

2009-10-30T23:14:00.005-07:00

I know. Finally! I don't seem to have time for anything anymore. Here are some of my fav pics from our vacation. It was Breelyn's first Family Vacation. We only stayed a few days. She did really well. She was very clingy when there were lots of people around. The stroller just wasn't secure enough for her. Hiking all those hills at the San Diego zoo with Breelyn in my arms was lots of work. Next time I'm bringing a baby wrap. Next year is Disneyland and WE CAN'T WAIT!!

PS: Sorry for the goofy music.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sports Day at School

2009-10-28T22:30:00.003-07:00

Ok, I suck at blogging lately. I seriously have SO MUCH to blog about. Totally gonna catch up but I wanted to post this pic because I really love it. Today was sports day at school. We couldn't bring ourselves to put her in a Packers Favre jersey so we opted for our 2nd fav team. The AZ CARDS! Tomorrow is Crazy Sock Day.

Happy Anniversary

2009-10-17T15:15:00.002-07:00

Happy 11th Wedding Anniversary to us!

Happy 14th Together Anniversary to us!

We got married exactly 3 years after our first date. Makes it easy for some of us to remember one date versus two. Not that I'm mentioning any names or anything. Because that would just be rude on our anniversary. So I won't. :) So far we spent the day yard saling and now we're thinking about taking the girls to the park. When Daddy wakes up. You know, so we can spend some time together.

We got back from San Diego on Thursday. That post in progress. :)

Priceless

2009-10-05T13:27:00.002-07:00

Fuel Pump: $256
Special Tool: $12
Case of Beer: $15
Saving $1000 by NOT taking Tahoe to Chevy Dealership to replace Fuel Pump:

PRICELESS

Just in time. Six more days until we leave for San Diego!

New Pics & Funny Story

2009-09-26T23:39:00.002-07:00

We had a family birthday party today and I asked my sister Amy if she would attempt another family picture of us. The pics turned out really good! At least I can put a family picture on the wall. I think I like the first one the best. What do you think? We plan on getting a professional family pic taken soon too.

I also got a cute picture of the girls! BONUS!

Breelyn ate corn on the cob for the first time also. She did a really good job! I'm so IN LOVE with her in pigtails.

Funny Story. (Now, this won't be as funny here as it was the day it happened. Just because thats the way it always works.)

So, we were at the grocery store and I was trying to get a pic of them in the car cart. I was trying to get the girls to smile and Justus was trying to help me by wiggling the cart side to side.
He must have done it too hard and next thing I know Breelyn fell out. Her butt went from the seat to the floor. It was hilarious. (This first pic of her getting back in.)

So that was funny. But then...Look at the face she gave us after she fell out.

Then I got a cute picture:

ok. See I told you it wouldn't be as funny. Guess you'll just have to trust me on that one. :)

To end, I just have 2 random things.

Random Thing #1: We had a bit of time to ourselves when Nana came over one night. We couldn't think of anything to do. Guess what we did? We went to Target to get toilet paper. Stick a big ole L on our foreheads. That is clear evidence that we are parents right?

Random Thing #2: I saw this in the Walmart toy section the other day (yes we shop a lot).

What genius thought of this toy? I shudder at the thought of Bailey getting her hands on a toy like this. I know that sprayer wouldn't be aimed at the ground. :-/ And Yes, it was on clearance.

I Love This Song

2009-09-24T17:13:00.002-07:00

This is my new favorite song. I LOVE IT!

I would never push my beliefs on anyone else and I truly believe everyone has their own PRIVATE relationship with THEIR God. But, at the same time for the non-believers out there I often think..."How can there NOT be a God?"

Packer Season Has Started!

2009-09-13T18:44:00.003-07:00

Oh Yeah! Our Packer Season has started. We are watching the Packers First Season Game as I type this. No doubt the streets of Green Bay are empty. The girls have their Packer Gear on & we're thinking about ordering pizza or something Wisconsin-like. We miss Green Bay. :( I grew up just outside of Milwaukee and moved to GB when I was 20 to finish college at University of WI - Green Bay. I met Justus (born and raised in GB) shortly after I moved there. We both call it our hometown. Passing Lambeau Field is something we took for granted. The food too. What we'd do to head down the street to Frank & Pat's Pizza. YUM!

Wow, Has it been 2 weeks??

2009-09-10T16:27:00.002-07:00

Wow, its been 2 weeks since I blogged! We've been busy around here with school, new bunkbeds, potty training, new cell phones, keeping up the house and I've started doing a little work from home ... I guess I can say business since it brings in a little money each week. I actually really love it too! And I don't need daycare for Breelyn because its completely flexible. I can do it when Justus gets home if I want.

Breelyn is DEFINETELY in the midst of her two's. WOW! I knew it was coming but forgot how crazy it can be. "NO!" "MINE!" Throwing Stuff. Hitting. Kicking. Tantrums. We've decided that Bailey threw tantrums that were a lot louder and more destructive. BUT, Breelyn gets into A LOT more stuff than Bailey ever did. Breelyn also puts EVERYTHING into her mouth. Bailey never did that. We'll get through it.

I'm really loving the one on one time Breelyn and I have during the day. We put a rocking chair in the girls' room and I've started rocking her. She really loves that.

Another thing we did was put the pack and play in the family room. When Breelyn is "getting crazy" I can put Breelyn in there and take a time out. :) Ten minutes of not chasing Breelyn around does wonders for me. :)

Just wanted to check in. I'll be posting more regularly with photos soon.

Little Heartbreaker

2009-08-25T21:18:00.005-07:00

Breelyn was laughing so hard at our neighbor T the other day.

Looks like T stole another heart...

(Rumor is he's the hot catch in Kindergarten.)

Little Heartbreaker. :)

MINE!!!

2009-08-18T10:57:00.002-07:00

Breelyn is in that "MINE" stage. Everything is "MINE!!" (hers!). If you have an item whether it be food, a toy, a drink, etc and you're enjoying it, it is HERS!! She started the terrible 2's a little late (within the last month) but she is "Doin' it Proud!". I forget. How long does it last? :0/

Ba....nana

2009-08-16T16:01:00.002-07:00

Breelyn is saying more and more words recently. Seems like every day she comes up with a new one. Banana used to be 'nana'. I taught her to say Ba...nana.