Don't eat him!

It was so warm today! It was actually above 60 degrees and warm enough that the kids only needed to wear their lightweight jackets on their trip with daddy to the zoo. It seemed like a very long time since we visited the zoo but the animals remembered the kids. The deer missed Steven so much that they wanted to take a bite out of him!

Christmas Memories 2010

Santa visits Preschool

Santa at the Jingle Bell Run

Hum ... what do I want for Christmas?

Steven: "Yummy!"

Mommy: "really, more candy?"

Daniel "safety" Boone

Lyla the Red Nose Reindeer

What could be better than TWO supermans?

Hangin' with my Big Cousins

Our next Top Chef!

Merry Christmas!

Santa was good to us this year!


Our only hang up on Christmas Day was trying to find an urgent care and pharmacy that was open for the holiday. Sickness struck again! Lyla was coughing and miserable but she wouldn't let that stop her from having fun so she was also letting herself get overtired. We finally decided that she needed to get checked out but the urgent care that said they were open from noon to two, lied. We decided to page our doctor on call and he was very helpful. We got her a prescription and we could see the difference by the next morning. Merry Christmas, Dr. Talbert!

Christmas with the Leitner Clan

This year we celebrated Christmas with the Leitner's at Tracy's new house in Iowa. The Borts, Forsties, Clarks and Grandma Ham and Papa Gene were there. It has been a very long time since we have been together for Christmas and we missed having my brother Chris and his family. However, they may have the right idea staying in the warmth of Arizona for the holidays because we got about 6 inches of snow on the morning of Christmas Eve.

We arrived at their house on Thursday night and settled in to the guest bedroom and sitting room for the kids. The space at their house was never-ending, there was actually room to move and places to put everyone! Someday we'll have a house that better accomodates guests!

Christmas Eve was fun, lots of playing with the cousins and eating of good food! In the afternoon we went to church in Ames. Tommy decided to come along with Lyla even though we knew she would be a handful - and she was. She is just not ready to sit still. So, Tommy took her to the narthex after the first song and I guess she threw a fit. It wouldn't have been that bad but they had overflow seating out there and those people weren't interested in her show. So Tommy decided to put her in the car, drive around and look at Christmas lights. Meanwhile, I was in the church with Steven where he sat still for awhile but then started to get antsy. I have a dry erase board in my purse for him to play with and he was thrilled when I pulled it out, until he somehow dropped the eraser cap and couldn't find it. He got on the floor and looked for it and I searched in my purse and under Papa Gene's coat. Then Papa Gene let Steven have his handkercheif to wipe the marker. Finally, the lady sitting behind us found it in her purse! A Christmas miracle!

Back at the Borts, we ate dinner (stuffed shells, yummy!) and gathered for gift opening. It was a lot of fun. The kids tore into their presents! Lyla and Steven got so many fun gifts from their cousins and grandparents. We were afraid all the presents wouldn't fit in the car on the way home!

Emily then entertained us with a reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

After stories, the kids got ready for bed and Steven put out a cookie for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. I don't think he understood what I was talking about but maybe he'll get it next year!

We woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa knew that we were in Iowa this year. Our stockings were full and presents were under the tree!

Moments that make it all worth it!

Last week with Steven was pretty tough. There was something wrong with him but we couldn't figure it out. He would wake up at night screaming at the top of his lungs. He did it Wednesday night and I brought him to our bed and he slept the rest of the night. Thursday night was another matter. For nearly four hours we were dealing with his screaming and crying, eventually he must have just tired himself out and fallen asleep. We were Zombies on Friday.

But, there was a moment at the Clark Christmas that made all of that melt away and bring a sparkle to Tommy and my eyes.

After Steven told Santa that he wanted superheroes for Christmas, Tommy was on a mission. He searched high and low for the perfect superhero figure for Steven. Toys-r-us, Target, Amazon, and then finally he struck gold on Ebay. Superman in all his glory, every joint possible was moveable and he had a molded plastic cape. What could get better than that, you ask? Well, the PJs Tommy found at Target a few days before we left. He found a set of Superman AND Batman PJs (on sale, nonetheless)!

We were so hopeful that Steven would be excited about these gifts, we really needed a pick-me-up after a couple of trying nights as parents. We felt terrible because we could not figure out what was wrong with him and he would not be comforted no matter what we tried. So gift opening came on Saturday and ...

Steven ripped open the box of PJs, sucked in his breath and RAN over to Tommy practically throwing his sister and cousin out of his way so that he could strip down and get on his new Superman PJs right there and then. It was the best moment, just what we wanted!

To be rewarded as a parent is to see your children at their happiest. We got a big reward on Saturday and that moment will be sealed in my heart for a long time.

Clark Family Christmas

This weekend we celebrated Christmas with the Clark family at Heather and Charley's in Pea Ridge. It was touch and go for awhile because Ava had the croup earlier in the week and hours before we left Kansas City Steven's teacher called to tell us he had a fever. As I was driving him home from school, I was talking to Tommy on the phone about our options. Steven knew exactly what we were talking about and chimed in with "I am feeling better, mommy. I am not sick anymore." Little rascal. I wonder sometimes if they can manipulate their little bodies so that they can torment their parents!

We decided to take a risk and drive down Friday night and everything ended up fine. They both have colds now, and I hope we didn't infect everyone, but it was a great weekend and worth the risk!
On Saturday morning, the kids woke up and could hardly wait to dive into the pile of presents under the tree. We could have lost one of them under that mountain!
They waited so patiently for the signal to go and then they let loose - wrapping paper was flying everywhere!

Steven got a Coon Skin hat, Dinosaur Train, puzzles, matchbox cars, farm set (with longhorns), a drill tool set (with goggles), Skippyjon Jones books. Lyla got finger puppet books, a baby doll bed, a doll stroller, a sit-n-spin, Christmas books...oh, I am forgetting something I am sure! We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family to share with during the holidays.

And Aunt Heather sure does cook a mean Christmas dinner!

Expectations

This afternoon I was so excited to get the kids home, eat dinner and do some holiday crafts. I found some things in my office to rework for holiday gifts with the kids and I was so excited.

Then we got home.

Lyla was cranky and Steven was cantankerous. I decided to make quick burritos (some beans and cheese on a tortilla) for dinner so that we could east fast and get to crafting. Lyla loved the beans but Steven wouldn't touch anything. He ate about five bites of his tortilla and told me he was done. Lately we've been back to the picky eater so I told him he had to eat a small pile of beans before we could do our project. He threw a fit and got sent to his bed.

This cycle continued for about an hour. Eat your beans. No, I want to color. Go to your bed. Eat your beans. No. Go to your bed. You pick the order but just imagine a broken record repeating this sequence over and over.

About 10 minutes in I decided that I wasn't going to back down and slowly other privileges would be taken away. After all, I am the boss, right? I never know if it matters but I want Steven (and Lyla) to have boundaries and know that I am not going to bend to their every whim.

I was sad that I only got to do a little of my project with Lyla and maybe tomorrow I won't set my expectations so high.

Oh, and to top the night off, Lyla puked down my v-neck (dry clean only) sweater as I was rocking her to sleep. Definitely not what I expected tonight.

Our Christmas Tree

We fully intended to make this afternoon all about Christmas decorating and then the day got in the way. It wasn't until about 5:00 that we realized how late it had become and that we better get moving or we wouldn't be getting our Christmas tree this year!

So we piled in the car, on this oh so frigid night, and drove to the kid's school parking lot. Since this is our second year in a row buying our tree at this lot, I guess it is our new family tradition! We had a really fun time walking through the snow to find a tree just the right size for our little house and then waiting for the Boy Scout, his mom and Tommy to devise the best way to tie it to the roof of the Subaru.

We ended up stopping halfway home to tuck the blanket back up on the roof again this year. I tried to be artsy and take a photo of Tommy's reflection in the side view mirror - this is all I got.

Once we got home the kids had a great time putting the lights and ornaments on the tree. Lyla actually had more fun pulling the ornaments off the tree so the tree is quite top heavy this year. It is so fun watching our kids get so much joy out of the holiday traditions we are forming with them.

Preschool Christmas Program

Steven's first Christmas program was tonight at the "Big School." His preschool is associated with a Catholic grade school so the school is always referred to as big. Tonight, I think, the bigness overwhelmed Steven. He actually stayed with his class for this program, unlike last spring, but he was not so willing to participate like when we would practice in the car.

Steven (Dasher) with his friends Brendan (Shephard #2) and Siobhan (Angel)

His class sang Feliz Navidad, Away in the Manger and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I think Steven's favorite is Rudolph - it sure is Lyla's favorite because when we got home and ate some of his candy cane she kept repeating Rudolph, Rudolph, Rudolph.

He is not quite out of his shell but he is making some progress! I guess I shouldn't be too worried, he is only 3!

Tonight at Bedtime

Steven wanted to read If you Take a Mouse to the Movies before bed tonight. There is a line in the book where the mouse wants to listen to Christmas Carols and the boy turns on the radio.

Steven asked me "what is a radio"?

I said "it is like daddy's IPod."

Steven replied, "ohhhh."

Second Sunday of Advent

This morning Steven and I carried the Advent candles up at mass. I was a little nervous but he did great!

We arrived at mass and Margaret our Parish administrator was waiting to let Steven practice with the candle. He walked with it across the back of the church all by himself so we thought he'd do fine carrying it up the aisle. So we waited for the opening hymn and got in line in front of Fr. Glenn. He gingerly walked up the aisle and stood in front of the wreath. Fr. Glenn said the opening prayer and began the advent candle blessing ... then poof ... Steven blew out his candle!

We might be waiting for Jesus' birthday but, Steven, those weren't birthday candles!

Santa at none other than the ...

Zoo!

Do you want to join our gang?

Lyla's 18 month stats

Actually they are her 19 and 2/3 month stats because we didn't get to the pediatrician for her original well child visit in October due to the sickness that was October and early November.

Weight = 25 lbs, 13 oz
Height = 19.5 inches

Ethiopia Lesson

Tommy has enjoyed Ethiopian cuisine ever since he discovered the Blue Nile Cafe. He takes everyone there from co-workers to our parents to Steven when he was less than one and Tommy was taking care of him during the day.

Since that time, Tommy has been experimenting with Ethiopian cooking. Has bought all of the spices you would ever think to need. Berbere is the spice most identified with this type of cooking. It is actually a mixture of all kinds of spices and can be very flavorful but somewhat overpowering at times. You have to get it just right!

And then there is injera. Injera is a flat bread that reminds me of something that has been fermented. It has tiny holes in it and it is very acidic. I have started to like it but it still isn't my favorite. Traditionally, Ethiopians don't use silverware, they use the injera to scoop up their food. That doesn't bother me, it is just the taste that I need to get used to. Tommy tried to make it one time using club soda as a substitute for the yeast process. It was pretty much a debacle so now he buys a stack of it from the restuarant.

Here is a picture of his beef wat or stew. It is made with berbere, onions, lentils and beef. It turned out really good. He is becoming quite the experimental chef and I really like that he tries new things. Exploring the culture of Ethiopia has only just begun.



Side note, even though he cooks he still has somethings to learn in the kitchen...

Now if only someone could instruct my husband to the fact that there is more than a top shelf to our refrigerator. I know I am anal retentitive about loading the dishwasher, I know I am particular about how the food cupboard is arranged but the refrigerator is just a matter of space. If you put everything on the top there is no room. Things get hidden and then turn yucky and other things tip over and spill. It is my goal to enact a put it back where you found it rule in 2011. Wish me luck.

After Thanksgiving festivities

A trip to Arkansas wouldn't be complete without a ride on Papa's tractor.

Grandma got us in the Christmas spirit right after Thanksgiving. Broke Tommy's rule of waiting until after Pearl Harbor day but our kids sure liked their new t-shirts.

We had to take a break and get out some energy at the park.

The sense of wonder

In case you can't see it, there is a dady long legs crawling on the front of the car. He was fascinated by it.

Happy Thanksgiving

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving...

Grandma's ability to take a break from cooking to read us a book about dinosaurs!

A cousin who will take pretend naps with us on the stairs (daddy, what were you thinking?)

A big family, at a big table, eating big amounts of food!

Black olives that fit perfectly on little fingers

Longhorns

I was in Austin for business on November 10 and have a couple of hours to waste after my meeting and before my flight. So, I headed over to the campus co-op bookstore. I went over to the children's section not to buy my kids University of Texas gear but simply longhorn T-shirts. This only makes sense when you see the pictures of Papa's new Longhorns.

The new venture on Sugarloaf Mountain is cattle raising. Tommy tells me they had a cow or two when he was growing up but now they have a full-fledged herd. Well, they have three female longhorns and one male calf. And the mommas are going to have babies again in the springs.

Lyla has been so funny since we got home from visiting the mountain. When she sees the pictures of the longhorns she'll cover her ear and say "loud in my ear." So cute!

Our journey to our Third Gem begins

When Steven was born I asked Tommy if he would find a necklace for me that I could wear to keep my babies close to me when I was away from them. He didn't find one for me, he had one made. I call it our three gems but only two with us so far.


When we got engaged we discussed how we would form our family and adoption was always our intention. After Lyla was born, I had a dream. It was the sign for me that our desire to adopt was the right thing and that we needed to seriously start considering what we were going to do. Then Tommy had a dream; he hates admitting it but he did. Call it kismet, call it coincidence, call it what you will, those dreams were the confirmation that our plans were exactly what was meant for our family.


Today we started the journey to fill the spot reserved for our third gem. We made our application for international adoption. We are excited that it is finally time for us to say "we're expecting" again but only in a different way!



So, the details ... we have applied to adopt through Children's Hope International. I learned about this agency several months ago when a staff member was interviewed on NPR. It still seems silly to me that I pushed for this agency because of a radio program but I think that there are reasons certain things stick in your head or stay with you.


We have chosen to adopt from Ethiopia. It's okay to be shocked. Ethiopia is not somewhere that most Americans think of when learning of adoption but the need is so great. We also have one of those nagging "signs" associated with Ethiopia. This was one of a handful of countries that Tommy really pushed for as our honeymoon destination. No, it is not touristy but there is such great history to the country and sites there are just as amazing as what we saw in Egypt but not as well known. I guess Tommy will get his trip to Ethiopia afterall, actually two.


The process is long and detailed. We expect to be busy with our homestudy and dossier for the next 3-4 months. We will have to assemble more paperwork about ourselves than I knew even existed! Then we will send everything to the U.S. Department of State and then on to Ethiopia for approvals. Then we wait and the time for that is unknown, anywhere from 4 months to 12 months. After we are matched with our child then we are assigned a court date and travel to meet with the Ethiopian judge. Then we come home without our child, we think this will be the hardest part. Our second trip will be about a month later where we will meet with the U.S. Embassy and receive our child's passport. The whole process is expected to take 12-18 months.


I am sure there will be lots of questions and we are happy to answer them. We are so very excited to begin this journey!

Bow Party

Lyla finally is growing hair!!! We affectionately call it her cockadoodle-do (you know, like hair-do). It is so fine that it all sticks up on the top and feathers back like a cock's comb.

She is interested in wearing bows and clips but only for about ten seconds and then she wants to actually see it and pulls it out. We'll have to keep working on it. I started the "working on it" process the other morning and it turned into a bow party that involved Lyla, Steven and Kira. Kira was such a good sport!

Sickness Strikes, again!

The announcement of fall at our house does not come in the changing of the leaves, cold nights or time change ... it comes in the form of fever, chills and unfortunately this year, vomit.

Last October was a nightmare and this year it seems that our timeline has just shifted a little later to November. It started last week with a call from daycare to come and get Lyla as she had a fever. Mark off anything productive on Thursday afternoon and Friday. Then another call came on Monday that Lyla had vomitted. What?!!? she was fine all weekend. Monday night was yuck-o, poor little sweetheart. Kept her home on Tuesday and Wednesday, again not a very productive family. Then the call came today, Steven is now down for the count.

This is just ridiculous, what is coming next?

Boo at the Zoo

Yet another afternoon of fun at the Zoo, this time with CANDY!

Lyla climbing a cannon in the haunted valley.

Steven walking the plank.

DVD from Dad

I just got done watching the DVD my dad sent of their summer vacation - well, at least the first 1/3 of it. I was watching with the kids who were !loving! seeing themselves on TV. Then the section of mom and dad's summer trip moved from the family beach vacation to Washington, DC and Steven asked "where is me?" I don't mean to be raising a self-centered kid!

Anyway, I totally love that my dad made us this DVD and it is so great to have the memories captured forever!

Zoo with the Borts Family

We got to the Lorikeets just in time to feed them. Jack even got a little gift from one of the birds that gave him good luck for the weekend! Steven is getting so bold. He couldn't get his jacket off fast enough because he wanted the bird to land on his arm. I don't have any idea why he couldn't have his jacket on for bird feeding.

We even got everyone on the hay ride. Lyla can now say tractor - her vocabulary is exploding!

Weekend Visitors

It was fall break for the Borts kids so Tracy loaded them in the minivan and roadtripped to Kansas City. What a fun surprise for Steven and Lyla to have their big cousins for the weekend!

(She climbed up on his lap without any prompting by anyone!)

I told Steven they were coming on Thursday night and he burst in to tears. I don't know for sure why he cried but after thinking about it for awhile I think he was afraid that we were going away and they would be babysitting him. His fear went away when Emily and Jack arrived with me at preschool to pick him up at the end of the day. He was awestruck and the other kids swarmed the cousins. Lyla just froze when we picked her up. I think she likes her routine and just didn't know what to think of her cousins at her school!

After the initial shock wore off we had a great weekend playing with the cousins. We mainly just hung out, played in the front yard, rode trikes, went to the zoo (yes, we go every weekend), and ate take-out!

(Our future awaits ... handheld video games ... ugh)

We also now know that you must NOT put air mattresses directly on wood floors because Tracy won't be able to sleep and then her kids won't sleep for fear that they will make the annoying air mattress on wood floor noise. Thank goodness we have lots of blankets at our house for night number 2 of their visit.

Now that the Borts are only 3 or so hours away, I think we are going to be seeing them more often! Yay!