Saturday, January 30, 2010

Nutella Etiquette


It is important when eating Nutella on a piece of bread for the first time to use two hands...


Ummm...unless...

you are the Pistol Princess...

 


In any case it is always good to enjoy every bite...

 


If you get any on your fingers...

 

Remove Nutella immediately...




If it covers your whole hand...



Stick tongue out while running hand across your face...



Check your plate for any leftover Nutella...



Remove immediately with finger...



Aaahh Nutella...there's no better afternoon delight!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Litmus Test at the Y

Wednesday we took our sweet peas to the new Y just minutes from our house to go swimming. We have couple of free passes to try out their new facility and we plan to take full advantage of them to make sure membership is worth it. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was to go. I felt like a kid in a candy store all giddy and starry eyed. I even called Hubby at work to remind him.

So what’s the big deal? Well…I LOVE to swim. Since the first time my mom put me in the pool and signed me up for swimming lessons I have been in love with water. And guess what? I married a man who adores the water just as much as me! One really hot summer we spent most evenings at Lake Coeur d’Alene sometimes swimming until it was almost too dark to hike out from the trail. I love these memories and I can’t wait to make new ones with our kids.

I know this may sound strange but while we were waiting to bring our kids home, one of my worries was what if they don’t like water? What if they don’t like to swim? I know, I know of all the things to worry about you chose this? Yes I did. Sometimes it is helpful to worry about trivial things when it is too much to think about the really big things. At least for me it is.

When we were in Ethiopia our sweet peas were not too sure about their first couple of baths. This was all new to them. I believe they were washed and rinsed while standing in a shower area. I don’t believe they ever had a bath before.


But when we got them home, boy did their love for water blossom. In fact both of them have no problem dunking their head face first in the water. Isaac will even hold it there for a couple of seconds. And yes I had many small heart attacks the first few times he did this. To say the least, Hubby and I were thrilled to see them take to water like a duck. We have talked about membership at the Y ever since.




Like I have said before new experiences with our sweet peas can bring about a lot of unexpected things. We were pretty sure that Jocelyn would be fearless since she is our Pistol Princess while we expected Isaac to be more subdued. Can I just tell you how wrong we were? We were very wrong. Isaac was fearless in the water. I took him out in the deeper area of the water and he loved it. He couldn’t get enough of the pool. He completely trusted me.


Jocelyn’s experience was polar opposite. She was very unsure of the water and when I took her into the deeper water she began to cry. It was then that I realized that this was much bigger than just being in a swimming pool. This was a litmus test as to how well Isaac and Jocelyn have attached to us. Isaac’s willingness to go anywhere in the water while trusting that we would be there for him showed us how well he has attached to us (which we already knew but it doesn’t hurt to have a little affirmation). Jocelyn’s crying and unwillingness to trust me in the water proved to me (and Hubby too) that Jocelyn hasn’t completely attached yet.


Being somewhere new and needing help kept her from feeling in control and forced her to rely on us which was the last thing she wanted to do. She even cried to go to her Daddy which is rare when she is upset. Usually I am the only who can calm her. But being with me meant she had to face that she was not in control and that she needed to depend on me. It was more than she could deal with. I gave her over to her Daddy but soon after he brought her back and said “she needs you.” He knew she needed me even if she didn’t want me. I am so grateful to be married to a man who can recognize what our children need even if they unable to accept it.

I took Jocelyn back and she began crying again saying “bye bye.” I knew I couldn’t grant her request. I knew we needed to walk through this together so I grabbed one of our towels, wrapped her up tightly, waded out in to the shallow water and began to sing to her. I held her close and continued to sing as her tears quickly subsided. After a while we sat in the water with her still tightly wrapped in the towel. She began watching the kids and I could see her finally processing her surroundings in a calm manner. At one point she nodded with her head and said “tuck.” I asked her if she wanted to touch the water coming down out of the bucket above. She nodded yes. I unwrapped Jocelyn and threw away the towel while she wasn’t looking. She quickly came back after touching the water and sat on my lap looking for the towel. I told her she was ok and held her close while continuing to talk to her. She soon left the comfort of my arms to go touch the water again…then again… then again. Soon she was laughing and playing in the water with her brother. By the end of the night, she was walking around like she owned the place. Ah, there’s my Pistol Princess!



But the best moment came when she laid back in the water and allowed for me to hold her head while she floated. She then allowed me to pick her up and float her whole body. The whole time she was relaxed and willing to trust me to take care of her. It was priceless. It was precious. It was an emotional moment… one I will never forget. As we continue to form a family, these moments mean more to me than life itself. I never expected a simple night at the pool to have such significance or to be a litmus test of how well we are bonding but it was and our family is better for experiencing it.


Monday, January 25, 2010

Thanks Dad

Thanks to my Dad, I had the privilege of joining my Mom and sister at the US Figure Skating Championships.
















Thank you Dad for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to watch our figure skaters battle it out for the Olympic team. But more importantly, thank you for giving me a great excuse to spend time with my Mom and sister.








Friday, January 22, 2010

Who's Hoo?

Like most toddlers, my daughter is very curious about everything...well...private...if you know what I mean. One day while Isaac and her were taking a bath she wanted to know what Isaac's was called. I don't remember what Hubby told her but when she asked about hers, Daddy told her it's a "hoo-hoo." The name has stuck.

Monday Jocelyn got her first baby doll for her birthday. Today she took off her baby's diaper to show me her baby's "hoo-hoo." I have added a picture just in case you are not sure what a "hoo-hoo" might be or who's hoo we are talking about.


Thursday, January 21, 2010

Vacuum Etiquette

It is important when you finish vacuuming to properly store your vacuum.



Vacuum Etiquette...very important in our house.

Monday, January 18, 2010

And Now You Are Two


In January of 2008 you were born in a very small village in Ethiopia to a beautiful Mommy and Daddy. How do I know they were beautiful? Because you are beautiful. You are beautiful from the curly hairs on top of your head down to your adorable little toes. I fell in love with you from the first picture I saw of you.




While waiting to bring you home, we got to watch you grow and grow...


May 17, 2008...








August 2008...




October 2008...





February 2009




In April 2009 God continued working miracles when a lady I met through her blog emailed me to let me know she was in Ethiopia and would we like her to visit you.

She prayed for you...took pictures of you...and brought you gifts...




As we waited through 6 court dates you continued to grow and grow...






In September 2009 as we prepared to travel we received one last set of pictures...

Boy had you grown...




You were 20 months old the first day we held you in our arms...





And when we brought you home...

 


Then you were 21 months...




Before we knew it you were 22 months old...





And what joy you have brought to our home...




It's December now...your 23 months old...Christmas cards have been sent with pictures tucked inside...

 

Could it be?





Is it true?





Are you really two?


 


Yep...it's true...

You really are two...







We hope you enjoyed your cupcakes...








And presents too...








But more importantly may you always know how much we love you...






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