Fourth of July Fun

Family, food, fireworks...fun!
Despite a rainy day that cancelled the big fireworks display, the kids still enjoyed hanging out with their cousins and playing with sparklers. And of course, it gave me a great opportunity to show off several of HotDog's festive outfits. Have I mentioned how fun it is to dress a little girl?!?

Modeling outfit #1


Trying her first icecream cone


I think she likes it!


My little pyromaniac had to have two sparklers at all times.


Chipmunk is a little more cautious


And the obligatory swimsuit shot


Hope everyone had a great July 4th!

Long Overdue

I know, I know..it's been so long since I have posted. I have no good excuse for my absence; between end-of-school activities, soccer season, Derby, vacation bible school, doctors appointments and just general daily life, I don't have a lot of free time and my poor blog has suffered. I was going to try to do a catch-up post but I'm afraid that would be impossible after 2 1/2 months. I'll have to settle for some highlights and promise to be a better blogger in the future.
The kiddos are doing fabulous.
I find it so hard to believe that Chipmunk is 6 1/2 years old! It seems as though overnight he has turned into a full-fledged boy,
He just completed kindergarten and is so excited to begin first grade in August. He had a fantastic year. I was lucky enough to volunteer in his classroom once a week and was able to get to know his classmates. Chipmunk seemed to form some really strong friendships so I hope we can continue those even though they may be in different classes. It is amazing to observe him growing up right before our eyes. He is becoming quite independent and is starting to develop his opinions on a variety of issues. He is full of questions and I find myself limiting him to 5 questions at a time, otherwise I would spend the majority of my time trying to answer his many questions. Academically he is thriving. He is reading at a 3rd grade level, is able to do some addition and subtraction and just LOVES to learn. He was invited to a Red Carpet Night at the end of the school year, which honored students for good behavior and decision making. Such a proud moment for us.

My little star on the red carpet

The big kindergartener


The Monkey is having a fantastic summer. He plays outside morning, noon and night and is thrilled that Chipmunk is home all day so they can "play big boy stuff". He is the funniest kid I've ever met and cracks us up all day long. While he drives us crazy some of the time, it's impossible to stay upset with him once he flashes his mischevious little smile. I guess I still tend to baby him a bit since he was my little guy for so long, but he's recently started to tell me repeatedly that he is "not a little boy; he's a medium boy";) He recently finished up the 4-year-old program at school and should be going to kindergarten in the fall. However, we've made the decision to hold him back for another year; he is so smart but he's the smallest and youngest child in his class and still needs time to mature socially/emotionally before moving on. I think he will thrive with another year of preschool under his belt and I'm relieved I don't have to send him to all-day school yet.

My "medium boy" with his obsession - trains!

My little fish


What can I say about our HotDog? She is such a sweetheart! I can't believe how much she has grown in the 8 months she has been with us. She is so calm and content but we are starting to catch glimpses of the drama that is said to accompany little girls. She has learned the art of throwing a fit to get her way. She shrieks and both of the boys drop whatever they are doing in order to figure out what she wants. I think they may be creating a monster:) She also knows how to stick that bottom lip out and start the tears whenever she is denied something she wants. But for the most part, she is the easiest baby. She is walking/running everywhere and thinks she can do whatever her big brothers do. She is starting to talk. She has the sweetest little way of saying "hi" to everyone/everything around her. We must hear her say "hi tat (cat)" a hundred times a day. She loves to give big wet kisses and will pat your back when giving a sweet hug. She's still a big girl too; at her recent 15-month checkup, she weighed in at a whopping 29 pounds! She's only 3 pounds less than our Monkey. I am so relieved she started to walk because my back was starting to ache. She adores playing peek-a-boo and tries to sing The Itsy-Bitsy Spider. Her recent sound is to say "moooooo" anytime she sees a cow (or a horse, or a sheep....); it was cute the first few times but considering we live across from a farm, it has become a little irritating now.

Talk about a bad hair day! Looks like it's time for....


...a first hair cut.

We can see her pretty eyes again

I had to add this one for Maria. HD's Aunt Dana decided to try pigtails after seeing Ellie's cute pictures


I couldn't end this post without wishing my Monkey a happy birthday. He turned the big 5 on Friday! We had a fun day - lunch with cousins at the pizza place followed by a church picnic. A good time was had by all!

The birthday pirate. Argh!


Fun with cousins


Playing peek-a-boo


Mommy and her birthday boy


His favorite part of the day - his train cake!



Stay tuned for a new post detailing our little Kyrgyz reunion. Later this week we have plans to meet up with this family, this family and maybe this family. I can't wait to see everyone!

Happy Easter

My three bunnies hope everyone has a very happy Easter!

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago today we were thrilled to receive this picture:

Now we are lucky enough to call this beautiful little girl our daughter. She brightens our world each day and we are so blessed to have her in our family.

What an incredible year!

Our Birthday Girl!

I can't believe that our baby girl turned one-year-old this week! Where does the time go?!? It seems like just yesterday I was bringing our 6-month-old baby home and now she is turning into a toddler before our eyes.
Stu and I went back and forth on whether to have a big blow-out party for her. We had big parties for the boys first birthdays at home with us (both of the boys were over 1-year-old when we brought them home, so their first parties were for their second birthdays). However I think our whole family is feeling "partied-out," after her homecoming in October, followed by Christmas, and then her baptism a few weeks ago. We are blessed to have so many friends and family that celebrate our joyous occasions with us but I felt uncomfortable asking them to attend yet another party and bring another present. So we ended up having a small party for her with immediate family and a few close friends. It was perfect. It was nice and simple with cake and ice cream. My brother (the chef) made the food as his present to HotDog so I didn't even have to worry about that:)
Although she had no clue all of the hoopla was in her honor, I think HD had a fabulous time. Her favorite part was the cake, of course!


Ready to start her big day!


Anticipation

Not quite sure what to think



Starting to get the hang of it


Pigging out!

A little irritated when we decided she had enough


She received some fun new toys and, of course, lots of cute new clothes! Stu and I bought her some new equipment for outside. This little girl loves to be outside and will fit right in with her brothers this summer. I think she'll really enjoy her new outdoor toys!

Uh-oh! Got caught speeding!

Playing on her new outdoor climbing equipment


Enjoying a ride on her new fish, courtesy of Chipmunk


This was the first time she had tried cake and I think we let her eat too much because soon after everyone left she had a horrible tummy ache. She screamed like a banshee for about 20 minutes (very unlike her) and finally passed out in my arms at 6:20. I think she was completely worn out from her big day.
The day after her birthday I took her for her one-year checkup. The doctor pronounced her "fabulous" and said she looks "perfect" (which we already knew, of course:). He was pleased to see that she was developmentally on target in all areas. His only tiny concern was that she seems to be gaining weight a bit too quickly. Our big girl is now up to 25 1/2 pounds!! What can I say, the girl likes her food! We are hoping that the switch from formula to milk will help slow the weight gain. And I'm sure once she starts walking the weight gain will decrease. Speaking of which, she still has no desire to walk at all. There is not a doubt in my mind that she could if she wanted; she walks around our furniture barely holding on. However, I'm enjoying these last few days of pre-walking and are not encouraging it at all. It will come when it comes.
Next up on our agenda: Both boys will be having minor surgery next week. Chipmunk will be getting a tonsillectomy and Monkey will be getting (his 3rd) set of tubes. Ugghh. Most people think we're crazy for doing this at the same time but I figured that we'll already be at the hospital and Stu will already be off work...might as well go ahead and get them both over with. Looks like a fun spring break for us:)

Let’s do it RIGHT FOR THE WRIGHTS!

Dear Friends of the Wrights,

We all know and understand the effectiveness of the work John, Julie and family have done in Kyrgyzstan – the country they love so much and have been called to. Let’s get them there ON THE GROUND full time! We can do this.
This post is coming out with other blog posts all over the country – people who have blogs that know the Wrights. Let’s shock them with the provision of financial resources and letters/notes of encouragement to help them return to Kyrgyzstan. They want to go as full time missionaries – they just need our help to get them there.
We propose that we raise a minimum of the following:
$20,000 to cover a year’s needs on the home front
• Home expenses – the place to come back to
$30,000 to cover a year’s needs on the foreign front
• Travel in and out of the country with family 2 x a year
• Travel in the country to the different sites
• Family expenses – including the educational needs of one daughter
• Lodging and meals
This is just $50,000. We can do this and we can do it quickly. Here is how. Go to JOHN’S Blog and hit the button that is for the Wrights….support.
AND guess what – you can watch all that is done there on his blog..you will learn to live vicariously in a healthy way by reading and supporting the RIGHT cause. What an opportunity – Will you help?
Let’s do it RIGHT FOR THE WRIGHTS!
Blessings,
Lynn and Ruby from LAMb International

Whirlwind

I know I am way overdue with a new post (that seems to be a recurrent theme on this blog) but things around this house have been total chaos lately...even more so than usual.
In late January, we celebrated Chipmunk's 5th Family Day. I still can't believe we have been his parents for over five years! It seems like just yesterday we went to the baby house to pick him up. I remember the drive from the baby home to our hotel - Stu and I were in amazement that we actually had our baby. We kept looking at each other and saying "Can you believe they just handed us a baby!?!" We were so naive and had been so focused on getting through the adoption process that we hadn't really thought about what happens once we have the baby. But Chipmunk made it so easy on us. He jumped into our arms and never looked back. Now, a short five years later, he is still our shining star. Although we are starting to encounter bouts of attitude and backtalk (isn't kindergarten a little young for that?!?!), he is the most lovable, tender-hearted little boy. While he now reads to us at bedtime, he still loves to cuddle with mommy and daddy and smothers us with kisses and hugs daily.
We usually don't go overboard on Family Day but decided to let Chipmunk choose what he wanted to do special on that day. He mentioned going to a hotel (the boys think that staying at a hotel is the best thing ever!). So we decided to take the short journey to Nashville to hook up HotDog and Ellie for the first time since they both left the orphanage. While there, we were also going to meet up with this family who has a son from Russia and a daughter from Kyrgyzstan, as well as another family with an adorable little boy from Kyrg and a beautiful daughter from China.
What a fun-filled weekend! We thought that disaster was near when we checked into the hotel and found that the pool was closed due to renovation. The pool was the main reason the boys wanted to stay at a hotel. But tragedy was averted when the hero (Stu) was able to secure passes for the family to go to a pool at the hotel next-door. On Saturday morning, all of the families met up at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and to get to know each other. So fun! We had a big crew (17 people??) and separated into boys and girls tables. I don’t know about the boys (whom I am assuming talked sports the entire time), but the girls had great food and conversation. Besides being absolutely adorable, the Kyrgyz girls have something else in common: they all love to eat! Ellie was eating everything in sight and HD literally shrieked at the waitress when she tried to remove my plate of French toast. A. was forward-thinking enough to bring some play-do to keep the boys busy (including her handsome little boy, also adopted from Russia – Chipmunk and Monkey thought that fact was really cool). She also made the most darling shirts for all of our Kyrgyz cuties! She is so talented and if you are ever looking for an adorable customized shirt for your little one check out her online store: With Sugar on Top .We have two of her shirts and they are my favorite things in HD's closet (which is saying a lot). We get so many compliments every time she wears them.
We followed breakfast with a trip to a children’s museum. It was wonderful with so many hands-on exhibits that were geared towards kids of all ages. I didn’t think that I would be able to tear Monkey away from train tracks at the front of the place; he was mesmerized. The big kids immediately went to explore the bigger exhibits while Maria and I hunkered down on the first floor play area with the smaller kids. It was neat to see how well all of the bigger kids played together. My boys are still talking about C., their “friend from Russia”. And HD and Ellie had such a fun time crawling all over Kevin. He was the human jungle-gym for much of the afternoon! Most of the time I just sat back and watched all of our children interact with each other and constantly thought about how blessed we all are. It was a beautiful sight.
By mid-afternoon, the families started to say our good-byes with promises to meet up again sometime in spring/summer (hint, hint Rachel!). We had such a great time getting to know the other families and I think it is such an important connection for the children to know others with similar backgrounds/stories. We stayed at the museum for a bit longer so I could go and explore with the boys for awhile and then we headed back to the hotel for more swimming.
Later that night we went out for pizza and icecream with Maria and family. It was hilarious to watch our two little girls scarf down big scoops of ice cream!
As we headed back home on Sunday we decided to stop for lunch at the Rainforest Café. I thought the boys would love it! I was half right. Chipmunk was amazed and wanted to walk around the entire time, taking in all of the details. I didn’t even think about Monkey’s fear of thunderstorms however. About 15 minutes after we were seated, we experienced the first roll of thunder (there are “thunderstorms” in the restaurant every 30 minutes or something) and his head didn’t leave my lap for the rest of the time. He ended up eating his entire meal with one hand covering his ear. Three weeks later he is still talking about the restaurant with the thunder and how much he never wants to go back there.
After our return home, Stu traveled to California for the week (for work) and I was anxiously awaiting a trip up to Cincinnati the following weekend to meet up with John Wright and friends. We met John and his family while in Kyrgyzstan on our first trip and were so inspired by the work they are doing. Honestly he is one of the most amazing people we have ever met and the love and support he is offering to the needy in Kyrgyzstan is simply incredible. You can check out his work at: iam1ru.
However, by Tuesday it was evident that Mother Nature had different ideas. Our area was hit hard by an ice storm. I can handle snow and actually enjoy it most of the time. But ice is an entirely different story….especially when I’m stranded at the house by myself (which is in the middle of nowhere) with three young children. By Tuesday night the temperature was dropping and our electricity went out (like almost everyone else in our entire county). Luckily one of my cousins came and picked us up on Wednesday and I was able to ride out the rest of the storm with family. I had contemplated trying to stay at home and just bundle the kids in extra layers. It’s a good thing I didn’t because we didn’t get electricity back for 6 days! It was the worst disaster our area has ever seen and we are still trying to get back to normal after it. Needless to say, there was no way I could make it to Cincinnati and am still disappointed I wasn’t able to see John and friends again.
I was hoping that things would start to settle down once we got back into our house, but of course it didn’t work that way. HD had been fighting a cold and just not acting like her normal self. I chalked it up to being away from home for such a long time. By mid-week I heard the dreaded wheezing in her chest. A trip to the pediatrician confirmed that our poor baby had RSV. Ugghh. Poor girl seems like she is always battling a cold or bronchitis or a sinus infection. We tried to ride it out but she progressively got worse so we started the breathing treatments. Not only does she fight us every time we put the mask up to her face, the treatments make her super-hyper. Thankfully she started to respond and after about a week was starting to act like herself again.
Since then we have celebrated Valentine’s Day and HD’s baptism, both of which were a lot of fun. But add in Chipmunk’s weekly basketball practice/games, Monkey’s ear infections, along with just daily life, and I am exhausted. I’m hoping things will slow down for a little while and we can catch our breath before the fun begins again in late March with HD’s birthday/Chipmunk’s tonsillectomy/spring break/Easter.
Despite the chaos, things are fabulous. HD’s personality shines through more and more each day. She has always been very calm and content and slow to smile. Now she has turned into the smiliest little girl ever. She greets us each morning with a huge smile on her face and it doesn’t leave her face all day. She is actually initiating games with us too. She loves to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo (where she covers her ears instead of her eyes…too cute). She just started signing to us too. She definitely signs for "more" and just this morning did the sign for "bite". She is eating anything and everything we put in front of her and prefers table food to baby food now. She finally cut her first tooth and I think another one might be following soon! It seems like overnight she is losing much of her “babyness” and turning into a toddler. I can’t believe we’ll be celebrating her first birthday next month!

On to the pictures of cuteness. I didn't seem to take too many pictures of our fun Nashville weekend so you can check out A's blog and Maria's blog for more.

HD and Ellie (I have no idea what they are both looking at)

The Kyrgyz Cuties

Sweet A. was worried that Ellie was going to miss the fun!

Ellie and HD look a little confused why we keep putting them together!

Adorable Russian boys (who found it impossible to stand still for one picture)

HD flirting with herself in the mirror

My silly girl, playing peek-a-boo

Hanging out with the cousins during the ice storm


The view from my back door during the ice storm. That is not snow on the trees; it is all ice. Yikes!