The Power of Communication

This afternoon, when I was at work, I received a phone call from Ethan's school. Anytime I see that phone number my heart skips a beat but then I remembered that Ethan was already home with Marc and Katie. I answered the call to find it was the mischief man's teacher calling to make sure she followed through on a promise that she made to him earlier.

Today, the children were given granola bars that our son absolutely loved; so much in fact that he began to grill Miss Mary as to where she purchased them. She said he was absolutely adamant that she call me and tell me where I could find them in Publix (our local grocery store)! She told him which aisle that the bars could be found (the cereal aisle) and then she placed the call to me so she could tell me the brand and flavor. We laughed about our very funny little guy that has come so far; not only with his verbal skills but also with his desire for anything edible these days.

Our little boy, who basically interrogated his teacher about the granola bars, is the same child that suffered from such bad oral aversion just over two years ago that he would not eat any solids and was on a mixture of formula, Ensure and mushy cereal mixed in his bottle at the age of two and a half! He went through some intensive therapy for quite awhile after coming home and has turned into a pretty darn good eater. He does not willingly eat his veggies but there is not much else that he will not eat with great gusto and we use our powers of persuasion to get the veggies in too.

We finished up the conversation with Miss Mary, sharing a few more anecdotes about E. We then happily ended our conversation by sharing our joy over how far our little guy has come.

When I called home and told Marc the story he told me that Ethan had been telling him all about where to find the granola bars ever since he got home!

Of course, on the way home I stopped at Publix and scouted out the granola bars based on Miss Mary's description. When I arrived home and pulled them out of the bag, my sons happy response was proof positive that I listened to his teacher very well and Ethan's happy smile was my "A" for effort!

Black and White Wednesday - Bubbly Fun!

I have been so guilty of putting my pictures of the DD on facebook and not on my blog...shame on me! These photos were put there a couple of weeks back and I thought it would be fun to see the bubbly fun in Black and White on my blog.

As you can see, bubbles are something our Dynamic Duo take seriously! Their tub has jacuzzi jets, so you can imagine the shrieks of happiness when we pour the bubbles in and turn those suckers on!







Check out Lisa's Blog where you can find her amazing black and white photos as well as other Bloggy participants of Black and White Wednesday.

Hands on Fun

This week is "Hands on Fun" for the "I Heart Faces" photo challenge. I just took this photo over the weekend and it came to mind as soon as I saw what the challenge was. Ethan, our youngest little guy was riding his bike in the park and as I looked down at his hand and arm, (filled with stickers) as he held the handlebars, I could not help but to think that it kinda looked like the baby version of a biker with tattoos. Anyway, it really cracked me up and I hope it brings a smile to your face as well.

You can check out other wonderful photos at "I Heart Faces."

Enjoying a little family time

It was a beautiful day in South Florida; absolutely perfect in every way. After I finished showing property this morning, we decided to take the DD to the park so that they could play and ride their bikes.

We had such a lovely time for 99% of visit, with the one blip on the radar being that that Katie almost drove her bike into the lake and only avoided it by falling down a steep embankment face first before hitting the water. You should have seen Marc and I running after her and were very grateful that we all did not end up in that water and that she did not get really hurt. She was a trooper and after crying for about 30 seconds, got right back up on that bike and began riding again after I suggested that she should do that. Ethan was still mulling the whole scene over tonight and actually came out to discuss it with us after he was supposed to be in bed, which never occurs with our champion sleeper.

Here are a few pics from the day. Happy Weekend!

Black and White Wednesday

I am going to partake in this week's theme on Lisa's blog of Black and white Wednesday.



This particular picture was taken this past weekend on a very chilly South Florida Day (Isn't that an oxymoron?) at a U-Pickem Farm. Katie was looking up at one of the beautiful trees and I love the way that the light played on her hair. Katie has very light hair; it is actually dirty blonde. I know that seems odd for a person born in China and actually we got many questions from people all over China on both of our adoption trips asking where she was from?!? Too funny!

Our very beautiful girl is proud to be from China and her distinctive look proves that the people of China are as different looking as people from any country in the world. This global society has allowed our looks to blend and that is a beautiful thing.

Check out the other beautiful photos on the Lisa's Blog "The Long Road to China"

Happy Valentines Day!

Look what came home for Valentines Day!

Seems that our girl likes a little bit of power

Katie was voted President of her Preschool class today.

This bit of info was passed on by Katie's teacher when Marc picked her up from school. From what I can gather from my husband, who does not ask nearly enough questions for my liking, the teacher asked who wanted to run for President. Katie and her friend Marissa both raised their hands and placed their hats in the ring for the position. They had to tell the other children why they should be the one to be elected. Katie got up and told all of her classmates that if she was elected President, she would bring love and peace to the earth! (kinda sounds more like she wanted to be Miss America to me ;-) Then they had a secret vote carried out by each child whispering in the teachers ear who they wanted to vote for. Katie won!! Marissa was designated the assistant to the President...uh, I think that is the job of vice president, right?!?

Katie was quick to tell me that all of her friends that like playing with her on the playground voted for her and that now she was just like Barack Obama!

After the vote was over, it was time to parade through the school for Chinese New Year. How American is that...love it!

Katie was the line leader since she was President and her "D'sistant" walked behind her since she is the "D'sistant!" Katie harped on that point several times. It seems she liked that little bit of power.

Gosh, I hope the next command that I hear is not "Off with her head!" after I tell Madame President to got to bed.

Some Katie Cuteness to share

Here are Katie's Preschool Pics; including her cap and gown graduation picture. These pictures make me smile every time I look at them.

We "Heart" Kisses

This is my submission for the We "Heart" Kisses photo challenge on the I "Heart" Faces Blog. This photo was actually taken before I started taking photography lessons, so it is taken in Auto mode and was not necessarily composed that well but I love it anyway.

This is a pic of my sister Jane and my baby boy kissing. Since the moment that my sister set eyes on Ethan for the first time, she has had a major "thing" for him...she is a total softy when it comes to our boy. There is no real reason why....it could be his soulful look or those pouty lips or even his amazing zest for life. Whatever it is, I think you can see their connection in this shot.

Jane loves her some Ethan and our mischief man loves him some Aunty Jane. There is no way to miss that by looking at this picture.

For some other great kissing photos, please take a look at I "Heart" Faces.

Baby Talk

Tonight, Katie Starr came into our bedroom where I was laying down for a bit after work. She was holding the baby doll that we got her for Hanukkah that she named Hong Shan (Shan Shan for short). She laid down next to me and me and started talking about Shan Shan; how much she loves her, loves taking care of her, how sweet she is and cute she is....

Then she launchd into conversation about the fact that she (Katie) is going to have 3 babies. I asked her what their names will be and she quite assuredly told me..Hong Shan, Christy and Starr. OK, I get Hong Shan and Starr but Christy.....huh? She went on to tell me that she is going to have them in her tummy. This has been a big topic of conversation since my dear friend Shannon is pregnant as well as Katie seeing a couple of expectant mama's carrying what she calls "watermelons" in their tummies at her preschool. She then said that they would be in her tummy for 3 weeks and then they would come out. I told her that babies are in tummies longer than 3 weeks, rather more like 9 months and she looked a little astounded at that fact. I decided to throw in a little adoption talk in for more foundation building and told her that she could always adopt a baby just like she was adopted. The baby would not live in her tummy but would live in her heart. Of course, I quickly clarified that the baby would not be actually "In" her heart but that her heart and her mind would be full of love and yearning for her baby just like Mommy and Daddy's was full of love and yearning for her and Ethan. She gave me a huge smile and just like that...conversation over.

Another seed planted, fertilized and waiting for our girl to grow and begin the process of understanding.