Happy Valentine's Day

We don't put too much stock into Valentine's Day, but we do use it as a reminder to spend a little extra intentional time together. In fact, we have a tradition around here and it is going on it's 7th year. The husband's FAVORITE restaurant (I'm pretty sure in any category) is Taco Bell. If you could see my face as I type Taco Bell you would know that my face says, "Taco Smell." I really, really, really, really am not a TB fan. It just skeezes (is that a word? How is it really spelled?) me out. So, my gift every year is to agree to eat at Taco Smell on Valentine's Day without hesitation and complaint. This is such an effective (cheap) gift that the husband has been talking about it since the calendar read February. My gift from the husband is watching ANY movie I pick out. This really doesn't mean much, because he is such an easy-going dude. If I actually wanted to make it painful for him, I'd force him to read a fiction book out loud to me. He is an engineer so he would much prefer something with logic and numbers. You may be asking yourself how we ever got married in the first place? My answer: we were too young to know any better, but it works, and it works well (almost always). 

The only change in this year's tradition? There will be a sweet little Cupcake tagging along. She will most likely protest anything from the Taco Smell menu, and not just because she is a girl after my own heart... more like, she protests most foods that aren't bananas, peas, cereal...

So, I thought we would let her wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day in the best way she knew how: 

 

Referralversary!

 ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, we say Cupcake's face for the first time. Our lives were forever changed, and all of it for the better. We send a hug across the ocean to Ethiopia for a very special woman. It was one year ago today, that Cupcake had 2 mommies willing to do anything for her. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of Cupcake's first mommy. I can't believe it has already been a year since we saw THIS FACE for the first time: 

 ***Re-posted from 1 year ago***

We received our referral TODAY for our DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just typing that seems so very surreal (and incredibly amazing). The entire time we have been in this process (11 months, 2 weeks and 2 days...not that I've been counting), I have been firm in saying that my "mother's intuition" tells me we will be adopting a boy. About 6 weeks ago, a friend (yes, Amy, that's you!) had a handsome little boy. For 9 months, I proclaimed he was a girl (until he arrived, of course). Well, that was the 5th gender prediction I had wrong in a row, so K decided that we weren't adopting a boy, but a girl. I was shocked to find out he was right! I'll never live it down.

I'll write more about her, but for now, she is 4.5 months old, she has beautiful eyes and the sweetest tufts of hair. I could just smooch her lips up... I can't wait to actually do that! She is so SMILEY! I hope she gets my sense of humor, and not her dad's (hi honey!)

We cannot share pictures of her online, but if you see me in person...I'll probably thrust them in your face, you won't have to ask to see them! We are off to celebrate being the parents of this amazing little miracle!

Have a great weekend all!

Don't Most 16 month old children NAP?

Cupcake has endless amounts of energy. My energy is finite, however. Regardless, she is still such a joy to have in our home. Her newest tricks include climbing onto the couch (we had one pretty nasty fall in which I called 911... in hindsight, 911 probably wasn't necessary, but that whole couldn't breathe, gasping for air thing sent me into a tizzy. Paramedics are nice people... I'm thankful for them. She also loves to bolt up the stairs as quickly as she can, but isn't too sure about getting back down them (and while I've tried to show her how to slide down, she still wants us to be right there with her, and I'm just fine with that.) She will now make the 'monkey noise' in addition to an awesome piggy noise. She still prefers to sign things instead of verbalizing, but there are still lots of 'da-da's' and a few 'momma's' when I ask (if she is in the mood), or when she is upset about something... 

Cupcake sleeps great at night (knock on wood), but naptime has been a bit of a mystery for the last 6 weeks. She was had kind of naturally weaned her way down from 2 naps/day to 1, but she was sleeping 3 hours pretty consistently. These days, naps last 45 minutes to an hour and half at most. I cannot seem to accomplish anything! I would say that it is fine if she only requires that long of a nap, but she gets pretty cranky in the evening which seems to signal her naps aren't long enough. If you have any ideas for me, I'm all ears!

The carseat used to be a pretty ugly battle, but she has made her peace for the most part in this department. I can now run errands safely because I'm not tending to a full-scale meltdown taking place in the backseat. Forward-facing made a huge difference, but it has just taken her a long time to understand she won't be stuck in there forever, and an adventure of some sort is awaiting at our next destination.

Light switches are like the coolest thing ever in this house. We cannot pass one while holding her without letting her try it out. I try really hard to distract her from them when we are in a hurry, but it rarely works...

We are just awaiting our 6 month post-placement report and we will be onto finalization in our courts! Think of this as the 6 month home update even though it is has been 6 months and 2 weeks. Just pretend, mmmmk?

Here are some photos of a few recent adventures where the camera was handy:

Checking out the snow fall...

I think I like snow!

Nevermind, the snow touched me... time to go in.

Trying our hand at "making pizza"

Checking out the Children's Museum Airplane

I hit this and it make s cool, loud noise. That baby over there is jealous of my skills...

I love banging on stuff. These drums are neat!

Mostly, I just like carrying this stool around in circles.

A little indoor gardening.

Not a fan of the carousel...

 

Happy SuperBowl Weekend!

Go Madonna! Sorry, I'm always more excited for the half-time entertainment... Last year, we were supposed to have a party, (because the Pack was playing), but I was really ill, so we didn't think we wanted to feed our friends AND give them a virus. Anywhooooo. I am a fan of Tony Dungy (football coach, team won the Super Bowl, Christian guy, adoptive dad), what's not to like? He has a video that he is hoping people will share during half-time at their viewing parties, but I'll show it to you now so you can still watch Madonna. 

Blog Slacker

We have a 16 month old!? That just seems cRaZy! In FIVE days we will have been a family of 3 for SIX MONTHS! That just seems like a huge milestone. In some ways, it seems like she has been a part of our lives forever, but then I stop to remember that she has a 10 month history without us. At six months with us, we still have not been her longest placement. She lived in 3 other 'places' with many, many caregivers in 10 months. That is STILL mind-blowing to me. We are her final stop, but that isn't something we can be communicated without showing her. She is definitely showing the signs that she understands that we can be trusted, and we are so thankful for that. She comes to us when she has a boo boo. She actually will cry/whine when she has done something that hurts. After the first few weeks, it was obvious she is a happy girl, but it was also obvious that she was either, afraid to complain, or she just didn't see the point. For example, she would smack her head on something. She would get a startled look and then she would just rub her head for a minute. In many ways, parents try to teach their kids not to cry over every little bump. We shrug it off, so they learn not to make a big deal about it (the "walk it off" mentality). Well, there were some pretty loud, hard smacks around here, and she was almost afraid to react. She still doesn't cry or whine about everything, but we are confident she understands we are there to kiss the 'owies,' because she does cry when something truly hurts. She reaches for us and wants to snuggle. I don't want her to be hurt, but it is the best feeling in the world that she trusts us to comfort her when she needs it most. We are also starting to throw some pretty interesting tantrums, but that is a whole other 'can of worms.'

There are things she lived and overcame without us. She has such an amazing spirit. She is so silly. She is incredibly beautiful. Amazing. Just amazing. We are thankful for her everyday. 

So, to conclude this update, I picked a "few" photos of December... 

Nana and Grampa with their 4 granddaughters

"Dad, quit taking my picture. I want to play with the camera."

My cousins love to dote on me.

I love this. They are having a little cousin huddle...

I'm impossibly cute...

We could not get a great family photo...

Another attempt...

Struggled with how to wear the reindeer antlers. Still, so cute.

Still trying to take a family photo. Even in our Christmas morning pj's.

Still not happening...

Just another attempt.

It's pretty safe to say that my Grandpa thinks Cupcake is the Bee's Knees. She likes to pull the stuff out of his shirt pockets. She is clapping for herself for putting his comb back.

I had to post this to prove that it is possible for her to smile in a picture with 2 adults. I think Kevin or I have to take the picture, which means we can't be in the picture. Sigh. Oh, Well.

Nana begged us to get a picture with Cupcake smiling with her...

I have a special bond with my Uncle. Love him...

My bro and sis on Christmas. My other brother was getting ready to take his 3 girls to Disneyland. Lucky!

This just cracks me up. What a nut.

Auntie K made me a tutu. To reward her, I gave her a snuggle. Love!

This is my Auntie Corinna. She lost her battle with cancer the day after Christmas. I miss her and still cannot believe she is gone from this world. I was thankful for a reminder from my cousin, Callie yesterday that she isn't in pain. She is free from the disease. She is in heaven. I'm so thankful for that promise.

Re-Run

**I wrote this last year, but all of it still applies. The only difference is, no snow day and our daughter is napping upstairs...definitely more than a concept now!**

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I haven't given as much thought as maybe I should have about this man, this topic. Having a snow day today gives me the opportunity to think about how MLK Jr. and the other civil rights leaders, in essence, made it possible for my family to conceivably adopt an African child. Mind-blowing, right? While I've always considered his works for equality through non-violence an amazing work and life, I've not been as grateful for it as I feel today. The goal of today should be to at least reflect and make a plan of action about what acts of service can be done to honor this life and his work.  If you need a little extra inspiration,  I'm posting the "I have a dream" video below, but I also picked out a few quotes from him that I really connect with, and show his brilliance.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

"Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."

"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but your refuse to hate him."

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

"That old law about "an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind."

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education."

"The Negro needs the white man to free him from his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt."

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"I have a dream that on day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

"And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"