Acclimated

I swear on me Grama's grave, they were watching "Clifford the Big Red Dog" together.

Why Not?

"Will you be my new family?"

SaMeet Cody!!! (Love our fancy walls in the basement???)

We are crazy. Or spontaneous. Why not? Marie woke up Sunday saying she wanted to go see puppies. We have been talking about dogs for a while but Sunday she was really into them. I decided to take her to PetSmart just to watch the dogs get groomed. I didn't know that PetRescue brings their animals on weekends. I contemplated a puppy for about 30 seconds and then inquired about the calm, quiet large dog. Found out he was housebroken, fixed and very very mild. Called Jim and well...he is on a 2 week trial. He has barked once in 3 days and that is when the mail carrier knocked on the door. Marie fluctuates between loving him and wanting nothing to do with him. Thumbs...not very pleased at all. Jim is, of course, in Heaven. They take walks multiple times a day and today I learned that Jim has bought a frisbee to play with. Glad we got another pet for Marie : )

The Girls eating dinner together as their parents renew "Supper Club"


"I LOVE KATE'S PIE!!!"



We had a blast Saturday with our friends coming over for dinner and hanging out for a while. It had been a long time since we had a supper club - way overdue. We had a blast. It was good to just sit and visit. Times like these show us how far Marie has come. She was so scared and reserved at first. Now she is walking around, talking to everyone and playing. She is definately coming into her own. Today she looked at me and said, "I like to talk." She sure does!

Tag - I am It!

I am not quite sure how it works but evidently I have been tagged. I was always tagged as a kid...not the fastest, you know??? Anyways, I am supposed to answer the following:

8 Favorite TV Shows
GlobeTrekker
Grey's Anatomy
Friends Reruns
Boston Legal
Extreme Home Makeover
American Idol
NCAA Football
NFL Football


8 Things I look forward to
umm...
holding my son
going to South Korea to get my son
bringing my son home
seeing my daughter with my son
watching my daughter and son play together
tomorrow
tonight
and seeing my husband with my daughter and son



8 Things on my wish List
a clean , really clean, like the floorboards and heating registers clean, house
one perfect day on Kailua beach
skiing out West someday...
a really good bike ride on the single track Vasa on a perfect autumn day
waterskiing this summer on the lake
Xmas with my brothers,nieces and nephews
whalewatching off the coast of Cape Cod
snorkeling


8 Things I did yesterday
sent a position paper to my boss on a contraversial topic - again
started a Sudoko
bought my niece's Xmas gift
graded final exams
planned the menu for our dinner party tonight (General Tso's, green beans, egg rolls and sushi)
took a nap
read a story to my darling daughter
woke up late!

8 Favorite Restaurants
ha ha ...that is cruel...here is what they USED to be
Hannahs (downtown Traverse City)
Pearl's (Elk Rapids)
BELTLINE BAR in Grand Rapids
crab shack in Savannah GA, "where the elite eat in their bare feet"
the Cuban restaurant and Thai restaurants in LA my brother takes me to...love you!
Omellette Shop (downtown TC)
Grecian Isle in Brighton - yummy gyros
PIZZA HOUSE IN ANN ARBOR - CHIPATIS!!!! YUM!!!


8 People I will Tag ai yi yi...ummm... Holly Marie? Beth? Bogens? Who else reads this? Any Bethany Board folks or family...I don't KNOW 8 PEOPLE WHO BLOG!

Rules 1. Post the Rules on your blog 2. Answer all of the six items listed 3. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a message on their blog

Dress Up

Trying on some slippers Nana Whall sent for Ty

"Aren't I pretty in my garb?"

What do you do when it's snowy? Get out the dress-up basket. (My apologies to those who recognize their jewelry on Marie. Many items have ended up in the dress-up basket that were not given to us for that intention. But we still enjoy them!)

Yes, we dug into the dress-up basket. It is a collection of necklaces, hats, purses, shawls, etc. that no longer had use but were still awfully fun. Marie enjoyed trying on the different things. She wasn't a fan of wearing hats but was very into the jewelry and purses. However, my favorite part was when she said to Jim, "Marie dressed up like a princess, Daddy. A princess like YOU!"

Terrible Almost 3's???

No new pictures this weekend. That is because there were few photo ops available. This was our toughest weekend in a long, long time.

Not sure what is going on in her wee mind. Thursday and Friday she didn't have preschool so Thursday she stayed home with Aunt Becky, cousins Annie and George. This was marvelous and she hasn't stopped talking about it. (Evidently, Annie stood on the couch and Annie is too little to talk yet.) Friday, she went to daycare at her preschool. That was rough. For Marie to be in her school building but not in her regular routine...she just doesn't work that way yet. The caretakers weren't her usual friends and did not know how strong-minded and structured Marie is. For example, she wants to take her pants completely off when she uses the bathroom. The lady helping her Friday tried to talk her out of this. HA! What was she thinking??? An outburst ensued that I was lucky to walk in at the tail end of. Additionally, Marie fell asleep ON THE FLOOR as she wasn't in the nap group. So when we came home Friday the first thing she and I did was just sit in our big chair together with our blankie and stuffed animal friends for a good half hour. That was the last moment of peace for a while.

Saturday she woke up after a very fitful night a different kid. Is she sick? Is she almost 3? Is she too tired? Testing limits? Should we soothe? Should we stick to our limits? Does she need comforting cause she's not well? All we could tell was that maybe her tongue could be a little irritated, she felt hot on and off and her back molars are STILL almost cut. She would alternate from fine to complete meltdown all day. One moment she is sitting with Jim, watching football, happy as can be. The next she is crying/tantruming because her sleeve got wet. Sunday was the same but just a little less so. We still aren't sure if she is going to school tomorrow or not. Jim will have to make a game day decision on that.

Oh... and Michigan lost to Northwestern. NORTHWESTERN!

Family Day

Some Daddy and Daughter Time

Hamming it up for the camera...

Ready to go out in the snow!

Modeling Some Seasonal Duds

We had a nice relaxing weekend, that is, after the leaves were off the front yard. Jim spent over 2 hours blowing the leaves and I spent a good chunk of time raking. Marie's specialty was jumping in the piles, of course. Thankfully, the leaves were taken care of on Saturday as it started to snow Sunday morning and hasn't stopped. There is now 2 inches of the white stuff on the ground.

Last night Jim called me up to Marie's room to see what they were doing. Marie had a spread a blanket next to her crib and placed one of her bears on it. Jim asked her, "Marie, what is the blanket for?" "That's where my baby brother will sleep," she replied. She went on to tell us that she would sit in the hall and read a book to be near him in case he was scared. Today we looked at his pictures on the computer and she wanted to know when he was coming home. Early indications are that she is adjusting to the thought of him okay!

It Has Arrived

Thumbs shamelessly sleeping on the sheep rug in front of the fire

Morning...Noon...4PM (top)

I wish I could take a picture now at night. There is over an inch on the ground.

Thank you Jim for spending over 2 hours on the leaves yesterday!

BOO!

Marie enjoying the "Teddy Bear Rug"

Marie had a stellar week starting with news of her baby brother on Wednesday. She also received some great surprises this week. The first was the Boo! Box. The Boo! Box has been making the rounds of her email buddies from Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia and back to Michigan when it arrived on our porch this week. It is box filled with sweet and treats sent by a friend. Marie's friend in Virginia, Shoshannah, sent it to her. Thank you!!!

The other surprise she received in the mail was a few boxes from Uncle Jeff. They contained some ottomans, footstools and a rug that he had in his storage unit! Marie particularly loved the rug and immediately named it the teddy bear rug. Thank you, Uncle Jeff!

Princess Halloween

What a day! What a night! Today, I picked Marie up at school at her regular time. Normally we go right home for nap. Today we had to drive around for 45 min till Marie's doctor appointment. She had her 3 yr old physical and the doctor was thrilled with her. But, it took an hour and we didn't leave for home till 2:30. She was exhausted and badly needed her nap. The visit ended with a nice, intramuscular immunization. She cried and cried from that moment until we were almost home. Plopped her right into the crib at 3 and woke her up at 5 to go T or Ting. She was still so tired. She had a massive meltdown because I dared to flush the toilet for her! So thoughtless!

This is her just as we left...you can see she is still on the sleepy side.

Getting the hang of it. Every piece of candy was thoroughly investigated after it was placed in the pumpkin basket. We managed to limit her to a piece of licorice and some smarties afterwards. She won't miss that Snickers bar that she contributed to her parents!

With some older buddies.

"I got this Halloween thing figured out!"

All in all, she had a blast. We treasured every second of it.

Update tomorrow on the Boo Box Marie received this week!

Baby Whall!..

Baby Boy Whall!!! We got a phone call today after waiting 13 months with a referral for a baby boy! Here he is on August 28th at a 2 month check-up. He weighed in at 7.0kg which translates to roughly 15 pounds. Some of you may recall that Marie weighed 15 pounds at 9 months. .. As my friend Rossette put it, " Marie might have to settle for the title of "older" sister (not bigger!)

Our "little" boy has a Korean name of Ji Tae Hwang. This name was not given to him by his birth parents. We are in deliberations about the name we will give him. He was born June 4th. He is currently living with a foster family near Seoul and we hope to travel in March to bring him home!

For Lisa

Here they are! We had an amazing gorgeous day Saturday and today was a little bit colder and cloudier. Today was the day we could get outside though. We went to Crystal Mountain and took a few turns down the alpine slide. Then we took a walk through the Michigan Legacy Art Park. What I remember most from the day was how loud our walk was as we crunched over a few inches of leaves. The Art Park is a short 1.5 mile walk in the forest, up and down easy hills and along the trail there are large sculptures and other pieces. There is a small labyrinth with a lookout in the middle of the trail and a few nice views. These pix are inspired by our Florida friend, Lisa, who asked to see some autumn color.

Fall Fun

We had the pleasure of some friends' company last weekend. Three different families came over with their young children last Sunday afternoon. All the families had adopted internationally and had children Marie's age. They loved checking out the different toys and we braved "pumpkin painting." You can see from Marie's face she thoroughly enjoyed herself. She keeps moving her pumpkin to prominent locations "so everybody can see it."



We also have sacrified "style" and feng shui for a little while and moved the play tent up to the main level just to have something different to play in for a while. Most nights, after dinner, Marie and I retire to the tent for some reading. Jim caught us the other day.

It is a beautiful fall! I was lucky this weekend and had the opportunity to ride a chairlift up a ski hill. The view of the trees was amazing; we are almost at peak color. Marie is noticing it and she will point out the colors to me as we drive home from school. "Look at that red tree Mama!" She collects the leaves and pine cones and wants to share them with others. Many of you have small leaf piles at or near our home carefully selected by Marie.

A Ridiculous Amount of Scissor Footage...

I got carried away...Uncle Rob, I have a 5 pound bag of paper here for you! Jim thinks we can hire her out as a paper-shredding service; what do you think???

Giggles

Paper for Uncle Rob

More Paper for Uncle Rob...perhaps her PJ's are a little too big?

okay, okay...I am done now. Nobody said you had to watch the entire thing...

Marie's New Fave

Marie is learning lots of new things at school. New songs, new manners (she tells us to put our napkins in our laps), and how to use scissors. We learned that if we want her to not watch TV, all we have to do is remind her that she can use her scissors and she immediately runs off to her desk to do "her work." Just this moment, she just finished breakfast, took her plate to the sink and then sat back down at her desk with her beloved scissors saying in her little sing-song voice, "Back to my work!" She also likes to call Jim over to show him how to use the scissors and then she gives him what she calls, "a baby turn" with the scissors.

Sept Update

Celebrating Two Years together...a day late. Don't tell Marie. Jim had judo class on the actual date so we pushed our dinner out one day. Here she is shortly before we went to the restaurant.
Her two current faves are with her: Neenee and Hoho. Ironically, both are Chinese. Neenee is one of the Olympic mascots that Aunt Ab brought back from the actual games; Hoho is a character on the Nick Jr. show, "Ni Hao, Kai Lan." She has been sporting them around the house with her since mid-August.

At the Chinese Restaurant. The waiter was fascinated with Marie. He chatted with us all night, telling us about the area she is from and wrote out "Jiangxi girl" in Mandarin for us to take home. He was very concerned that she wasn't learning Chinese but...we are in Northern Michigan. Frankly, I want to learn Chinese too!

We had an exhausting weekend. I got roped into running this year's Homecoming Dance at my school (the year that we added 400 new kids to the school). Friday night we went to the football game and Marie loved the marching band. "Where did the band go?" was heard repeatedly for the first half. She did clap enthusiastically at every good play though! Her babysitter was also home from college and Marie was so excited to see her. "MY FRIEND!" she kept saying over and over! This being Traverse City, we also saw her teacher, my former students, neighbors, etc. It was fun. Saturday was planned as Daddy-Daughter day. Jim had his most brilliant moment in our 10 years of marriage. Instead of paying to take Marie to gymnastics, he snuck her in to the kids judo class. She played on the mats and "threw" the teacher down. We think this will be her regular Sat morning routine. Sunday turned out to be Daddy-Daughter day as well as I didn't fall asleep till extremely late Sat night and was in bad shape Sunday. Here are the two of of them making muffins Sun afternoon.

Oh yeah...I hear there was a Michigan football game too! Something about the biggest comeback ever and the 500th game at the Big House. I was crepe papering-and-ballooning the cafeteria and Jim had Marie out and about; we both missed it!

Two Years

First moments together in the hotel room in Nanchang

First glimpse of our little peanut...one in green staring right at us!

Today, insisting on being naked for her post-nap snack

Looking at her Jiangxi Sisters book with Daddy, celebrating 9 families

Enjoying the moment with Hoho the Monkey

Two years ago today. Two years ago today, Yi Hong was awakened very early, put in a new green polyester outfit and red shoes that were way too large. She and 8 of her sisters went on a long ride from a small village of Yihuang to Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province. They arrived at the Gloria Hotel sleepy and hungry and hot. They were rushed into a conference room and placed on the floor. Most of them starting crying immediately. But they had faced a lot of change recently. All were in foster care until a few weeks prior; the last few weeks saw them returned to the orphanage. Until this busy Sunday morning. Now, one at a time, each girl was placed into the arms of a person who had waited for that moment their whole life. Both parent and child cried, for different reasons. The new families were sent up to their rooms to take care of their daughter, with instructions to return back downstairs in the late afternoon to finish paperwork. And the story began...

Today, two years later, was a very different day. When I picked Marie up at her preschool, I was greeted with an enormous smile and hug. She had a wonderful morning. After her nap, she insisted on being naked for her snack. I finally got her to put clothes back on and we went outside for a swing in the hammock. She had a nice dinner with Daddy and then the 3 of us enjoyed looking at this year's book of our Jiangxi Families. To them and our dear Chongqing families, Happy Family Day!

R U Ready for Some Football???

Sadly, while Marie and Aunt Abigail prepped with their pre-game breakfast and were ready, the U of M team was not...

School!

Here we are at the entrance to Marie's school. This was actually her individual class visit. The new ones first had a visit from their teacher in their home, then they got to check out the classroom for 1/2 hour with no other kids around. I appreciate the time they took to make her feel at ease. I snuck out of our first staff mtg for this - Jim left work too - you can see our work keys and tags!
Here Marie is with her teacher, Ms. Julie. Ms. Julie and I chuckle because HER son is a student at MY school across the street. So we can keep close tabs on each other's "baby!"

Another great feature of the school is "car line." At the busy morning drop-off time, they have it down to a science. Jim drives in and their is a lady in the parking lot who reads the sign on our dash with Marie's name on it. She points Jim to a open spot in front of the school and radios in for someone to come out and pick up Marie. An adult comes to the car, takes her out and walks her into school and Jim drives away. It's a great set-up. We also are welcome to come into the room at any time. You can come into the class or observe through the window.

Marie has also decided to bring some lessons home. She now announces to us that she has to go potty "By MYSELF" and goes into the bathroom and shuts the door on us. We cannot go in! She hikes her little body up on the seat (refuses to use her potty seat) and does it all. Comes out with her clothes back on, not knowing that one of us is on the other side of the door listening to it all.

For the first few days, she did stay right at Ms. Julie's side. She held her hand for most of one day, except when Ms. Julie explained she needed her hand for a lesson. So Marie observed many lessons as she stayed right with her teacher. She has gotten a little more adventurous every day, we hear. We hear nothing from Marie. When we ask, "Did you have a good day?" we hear, "Maybe." "Did you eat lunch?" "Maybe." So she might like school; we aren't sure!