12/28/10

Christmas 2010



Christmas Eve Say Cheese



Santa has arrived

What do I do now?

Cooking

Building towers with Daddy

Playing together NICELY:)

Now I know what to Do

I want my picture taken too!
Christmas is now over and done, New Years is just around the corner. The kids had a fun Christmas and are so enjoying their kitchen, blocks and musical instruments. I had a hard time at Christmas. I was missing my family in Texas, more than usual. I wanted our family to be with my family, so our children could enjoy a big Christmas with a big family. But that wasn't possible, so we had a small family, quiet Christmas.

The Birthday boy on his actual birthday

He was getting ready to go to work :) there is a lax dress code at his office.

12/17/10

I am now 2 years old!

Alec turned 2 on Wednesday, attitude and everything. My sweet little boy is growing up fast. "I do it" comes out of his mouth all day long. He gets great amounts of joy from tormenting his sister. His new thing is to sit in her lap when they are watching DVDs or reading books. When she tells him to get off, he just laughs and laughs. Stinker. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES  "The Wiggles". He is really getting into the books that are a little more mischievous, like "The Cat in the Hat" and "A Fish Out of Water". I love to listen to him read the book and tell the story. Nothing better than hearing him say "This much and No More" oh that and how cute he says "Curious George". Even his babysitter comes over and asks him to say "Curious George".
I can not believe how fast he is growing up. He says his ABCs pretty well, a few left out here and there. He counts to 10 with prompting. This favorite number is 3. Right now all colors are green, when he was doing really well on identifying colors. When I quiz him with flash cards, he just says green for everything. He is starting to learn shapes.
He is this super loving, warm, caring child that wants to hold and kiss on babies. Whenever he sees a baby in public or on TV he asks to hold it. He loves to carry around Haven's doll wrapped up in a hooded towel and rock the baby in the rocking chair. One day when I sneezed he said bless you and went and got a baby wipe for me to wipe my nose.
He is starting to really build things with leggos and duplos now, not just tear them apart. His forte though is knocking down his sister's towers. He loves to run, climb, jump, dance, sing and play music.
My heart is filled with love for this little boy. When he gives me a hug, squeeze and  a big kiss it is the BEST.
Look how far he has come from that sick little baby we brought home last year.

Just home Sept 09


1 year old Dec 09


2 years old Dec 10
 My greatest wish it that he knows he is loved and cherished and his birth Mom somehow knows that as well.
When I look at him, I can't help but think of her and all she gave up for me to have this sweet little guy in my life.

12/12/10

Validation

I wrote a few posts ago how I was starting to go see an adoption/bonding therapists to help me learn how to help Haven through some of our struggles. I have always felt like she has had some sensory issues and haven't really been taken seriously. I even talked to her Pediatrician (who has adopted himself) and was told it was "normal" for an adopted child of her age and she was a typical two year old. Many people told me how she was a "typical" two year old. But I still had this nagging voice in my head saying no, this is not normal.
In one of my therapy sessions, I was discussing some of  Haven's behavioral issues I have a hard time dealing with and our therapist said...."She sounds like a child that has sensory issues".
Yes, yes, yes, yes. I can't even begin to explain how that little sentence helped me overcome feeling like the biggest failure ever when it came to mothering Haven.

Next step, OT evaluation. We did just that on Friday. I found out not only does she have tactile, auditory issues (both of which I knew) but she also doesn't have spacial awareness (there is a big long word that they use to say that). Now I am so excited, that we have a plan. I know what I can do to help and she is going to go to OT for some therapy and she will be able to help herself. I have hope that we can go to someones house and she will eventually be able to keep her hands off of everything she sees. I don't know how long it will take us to get there, but I have hope. Hope that she can be in a large crowd without wanting to hide in a corner or under a table, hope that the lawn mower won't send her into complete terror next summer.

With this new found hope and our therapy sessions, things are better between Haven and I. We are not having a battle of wills all day long, every day. She actually understands why she goes to time out now and will apologize for the reason she was put in time out without prompting. That is a HUGE step, people. We are having more fun together and our bonding has moved forward.

I went to therapy, because I felt like I had not bonded with her as well as I had with Alec. This whole adoption process is so emotional and has such huge ups and downs, that when you come home and things are not going smoothly you don't want to admit it to anyone. You waited so long to be a family, you want everything to be perfect. Not fairy tale perfect, but family perfect. Our children bonded well to us, there were no underlying issues of orphanage life to deal with and we would  grow as a family together perfect. When that didn't happen I felt like a failure. I'm so glad I live in an area where there are people that only deal with adoption issues. If you are having problems, seek help from someone who understands how hard adoption is but also how wonderful adoption is.

11/28/10

Warning this story contains poop

My friend Jill, told me I needed to post this story of my children and the poopy diaper. But first I need to give some background information. Haven has had an issue with poop and wanting to touch and (this is not for the weak of stomach) eat it when she first came home. So I made a HUGE thing about how GROSS poop is and we don't touch it and we don't eat it. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.
Haven is very good about staying in her big girl bed in the morning or coming straight into our room to let us know she is up. One morning, after a long night of Alec being up multiple times, Haven came into my room and asked if it was time to get up. I told her no, it was still dark outside and Mommy needed to sleep a little longer. I asked her to go get a book for Alec and a book for herself to read, so I could sleep a little longer.
She did just that and I was able to drift off a little longer.

Then I heard on the baby monitor...... a diaper being ripped off, Alec saying "poop is gross!". Haven saying " Mommy is sleeping...shhhhh."  I got up and got into their bedroom to find Haven in Alec's crib trying to clean up his dirty bottom and re-diaper him. She had gotten the baby wipes off of the changing table, wiped him, taken the dirty wipe and put it back on the changing table and got back into the crib with a new diaper. All by the time I got out of bed and walked across the hall.  Needless to say there was poop in Alec's crib so we had a lot of wash to do that day.

Haven always surprises me. She has a very strong mothering instinct and always tries to take care of Alec. She loves babies and always wants to see and hold them. But I didn't expect her to try to take care of me by letting me sleep and changing Alec's diapers.  Sweet girl. I thanked her, but reminded her it was my job to take care of Alec. My job to change his poopy diapers.

I always wonder what her life was like in the orphanage and the more I get to know her, I think she must have helped take care of the babies (even though she was a baby herself). Maybe someday she can tell  me what it was like. There are so many pieces of her story I don't know and I wish there was some way to find out so I could know my daughter better and understand why she approaches some of life's challenges like she does.

PS. I hope I didn't gross anyone out with the poop talk, but hey most the readers of this blog are parents...so they know what is in a dirty diaper.

11/25/10

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow I can't believe today is Thanksgiving. The year has flown by. Five years ago today, Naing was meeting my family that live in Oregon for the first time. Last year was our first Thanksgiving with our children home. Today we celebrate our second Thanksgiving as a family.
I am so thankful for my family. As difficult as our journey was to become a family, I wouldn't have changed one thing. Now we have these two amazing, smart, funny children that fill our lives with their spirit.


So I wanted to do what any family does to celebrate their holiday, take a family photo. I had my brother-in-law take a shot of us so we can use it for our Christmas card. Now remember how hard it is to get one child to look and smile at the camera...yep two is much harder. They are either looking away or not smiling or both. Throw in that H sucks her thumb and A sucks his fingers and things getter tricky ...so this is our best shot of many. Even though Haven is not smiling it is a cute picture of all of us. Notice the strategic placement of our hands over their hands:)

Thanksgiving 2010


I am so thankful for all the wonderful families we have met along our adoption journey.  We are truly blessed and need to remind ourselves about that when we get stuck in the day to day.


My little blessings:

What???  Don't you read on your Pooh train too?


Alec reading "The Cat in the Hat" to Haven. He asked her to sit on his lap...so sweet.

11/16/10

Bits and Pieces

I just wanted to jot a few things down to remember them. My children's imagination have been taking off and it is so fun to watch. New things that they do;
Haven has set up an office in the entry way of our house. She put two of their little chairs there, insists on having her shoes on, packs up a "bag" and goes to her office. Sometimes she even brings her baby with her to the office.
They both are into baby dolls, feeding them, rocking them and they like to have them wrapped up in the hooded towels. The shopping cart has become the stroller and always has some form of a baby/stuffed animal in it now. They also are telling me at all hours that the "baby" is poopy and needs a new diaper. Alec will get diapers or pull ups out if you don't watch him and put them on everything. So I let them have 1 diaper each for their baby dolls.
Cooking has become a big play thing at our house. They take the baby spoons and some bowls and are always cooking or feeding the baby. Haven loves to make tea for me (I love tea) and coffee for Daddy.
I'm so excited for Christmas because we got them a little kitchen. It will be hours of fun for them both.

Alec's new thing is he wants to see and kiss my elbow...what is that all about?? He is my daredevil! Always trying to find new ways to stand, jump off or flip upside down on the big toys. His favorite thing right now is the Pooh train we pulled back out since he is a little more mature. He used to terrorize poor Stuart chasing him around with the train. Now he is riding it at all times, with minimal amounts of dog terrorizing or wall bashing.

Their taste in books are growing as well. We love "Where the Wild Things Are", "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" now. The more mischievous books are getting noticed and laughed at.
I love to listen to them read the stories to themselves.
The wiggles is a mainstay in the DVD player. Alec adores them. He is also getting into Curious George. The cutest thing EVER is his little voice saying "Curious George". They are not as interested in Sesame Street, but are loving "Sid the Science Kid". They love the teacher in this show and Sid's family.

We have a new Beta we named Selam and he gets greeted every morning by the kids. So sweet to hear them say his name. Haven continuously asks to hold the fish, doesn't get why I won't let her.

My how they are growing. My sweet baby boy is becoming a 2 year old in all ways. The tantrums and the word NO are occurring regularly. He turns 2 in December. How time is flying. I read on some one's FB " the days are long but time flies by with children", so true!

11/12/10

Play date fun

Last year while we were still in the wait process we met a couple at one of the Portland functions. We have become friends over the year while we brought our two home, they got their referrals and brought their two home. Now we get to watch our children become friends. So sweet to see. My children ask to go see them alot and Haven has an incredible sense of direction, when I'm headed down near their home if I don't turn to go towards their house she starts call their name and crying. (Yeah I was shocked when that happened and it has happened more than once.)

This week we had a playdate and I so hope this video will load, because it is too cute for words. They had so much fun together and I can't believe I would ever be the Mom that lets kids jump on their beds...but I am:) not the couch, just their beds (I feel the need to justify that).

Trick or Treat Video

Ok I think this will finally work:)

11/4/10

What a rollercoaster of emotions

The last 48 hours have been very surreal for me. I know I have written a few times about how challenging I find parenting Haven. I love our daughter dearly, but I have such huge guilt that I am not doing a good job with her, because she is such a challenge. So after much soul searching, researching and discussing with Naing, I made an appointment with an Adoption/Bonding therapist. Once I made the decision to go meet with her, I felt like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. We had our first get to know you meeting yesterday and I'm excited that she can help me learn some new approaches for handling Haven's defiance so we don't have a daily battle of wills. Now I have to do the work to make this happen. One of the things she said to me over and over is that I need to take care of myself and make sure I get what I need. I know I read all the pre-adoption books that tell you that, but it was like I was actually getting permission to do something for me. I don't know if 12 hours of me time a week is really feasible, but I do want to start taking more down time and let Naing or someone else tend to their needs for a few hours. I'm always on and I'm feeling drained. I have hardly been without them for 13 months. So I need to spend some time on me and my sweet husband and I need some us time as well. Now to try to implement and stick with the plan.
After the emotional meeting yesterday, I was on facebook and saw a post about one of the drivers we met while we were in Ethiopia being on facebook. Our little group of friends were all excited to see his smiling face and be able to connect with him again. Just seeing his picture made me feel so much better about my decision, even though the two are not connected.
Today I got this email from a friend of his that lives in France and wanted to be "facebook friends". She was so interesting to talk to since she had adopted from Ethiopia in the 80s and 90s, 3 children at 3 seperate times. She just seemed to be placed in my life when I need some help and guidance. As I was answering her email, this face popped up as someone you might know...and it was this wonderful, young man who was our driver when we went to Meki. I just thought the world of him and didn't get to say goodbye, so I was so excited to see his picture. Would love to keep in touch with him and have someone my children can talk to as they get older about Ethiopia.
I just know that on those days when I am really having a difficult time and wondering what I can do to be a better Mom, their smiling faces will help me.

11/2/10

Halloween weekend

Our Halloween weekend was suppose to be packed with fun and excitement for the kiddos. We started the weekend by meeting our friends at the zoo for the annual Zoo scavenger hunt for kids. When we woke up Saturday it was raining, but we live in Oregon so that wasn't going to stop us from having fun and getting candy. I added many layers to the kids and got Haven ready in her Cheshire cat costume. She looked adorable!!! Now it was Alec's turn. Return to the prior weekend, Slime Time event at church...he would not wear the cute dog costume we got for him. No Way No How. So we used the jester costume his cousin had given us.....Now back in present time...he was not going to wear either outfit. No jester, No dog.
Foreshadowing of a sick child....but I just thought he was cranky from not getting a good nap.
The rain stopped when were just getting started and a good time was had by all. Alec was a little less into it than Haven, MiMi and Mez, but he still had a good time. They went home with a goodie bag of healthy organic treats and they loved them.
By Saturday night all Haven could talk about was going as a cat and having her face "colored" (whiskers drawn on). Alec on the other hand started to sneeze and cough.
Sunday morning rolls around and my poor little guy was running a fever. So no trick or treat for him.
Haven was putting on her costume asking me to color her face and ready to go at 10 AM. All day long we talked about going trick or treating later in the evening, what to say, what she was going to be.
Time to get ready. Dad is going to take her and I'm going to stay home with Alec and hand out the candy.





Well low and behold she refuses to wear the cat costume and keeps telling me she wants to be the "gorgeous". OK now the detective work starts....hmmm what could be the "gorgeous"? I finally figured out the jester is the gorgeous. So she became the gorgeous jester and went out with her Dad around our cul-da-sac. Naing was so sweet and taped it for me since I couldn't go. Here are a few pictures of the kids in costumes from their different celebrations and video of Haven. She was so into getting the candy:). Video to follow; kids are up from their nap now.

10/22/10

So many new milestones

Our life as the parents of two children 9 months apart is never quiet or laid back and rarely easy. But when I look at how much our children have grown and how much they have accomplished in a little over a year...wow I'm amazed.
Haven is now potty trained. Can I get a Woot Woot! She rarely has accidents. If they happen it is because she doesn't understand there is a potty to got to. I had to explain to her that even the grocery store has a toilet. She has moved into a toddler bed  Alec isn't really OK with that. You see it is his crib that got converted into the toddler bed and he got her old crib. He keeps telling me he wants to sleep in his "old" bed. But this is the way it has to be for now. The beds we had bought them before they came home are Captain's beds. They are just a little too high for them right now.
Now when I say she is sleeping in a toddler bed I mean that loosely. She is having to go to sleep in the play and pack and be then carried to her bed or she won't let Alec sleep. The same thing gets done at nap time. If I don't she just keeps getting out of bed and waking him up to play. The play and pack had to be moved out of our room. Haven figured out how to use her body to move it around the room to get into my things. UGH. That girl is always a challenge. So now it is in the entry way by the front door. Not pretty but it works. She can't get into anything without being caught.
Alec's huge accomplishment is he is eating such a variety of foods now. Many he wouldn't touch for over a year. He will now eat EGGS (YEAH), mac & cheese and rice. Of course he wants to eat eggs, morning, noon and night now. He will try new things most of the time without much fuss. So here is hoping we won't have to continue to buy so much of the meatless/soyless mushroom chicken nuggets that cost an arm and a leg.
They both are doing really well with learning the alphabet and colors. Drilling Haven with flashcards really helped her get the colors down. They love to read books and will now sit and tell me the story. Books have become a lifesaver in the car as long as they don't get dropped.
The new life skill they have learned is climbing. Not one I am particularly that found of right now. They scaled their little bookcase to sit in front of the TV and be able to turn it on and off. Not a sight I was happy about.
This is the day after they got into my purse and Haven ruined my sunglasses, was into my expensive migraine oil and Alec was coloring with my Burt's Bees chap stick on the kitchen table. Yes like I said our days are rarely easy.
Haven is very interested in seeing herself in the mirror and if I won't take her right away she has found a way to get to the mirror. Standing on the toilet. Need to get that girl a floor length mirror.
Heath wise, we are still battling their giardia. I thought only Haven still had it, since Alec had no clinical signs. But we got the whole family retested since she came up positive again and he had it too. Our pediatrician is working with a parasitologist and they are on a combo drug regiment right now used for resistant giardia cases. Praying this works.

10/18/10

Finished product


Why do you keep calling my name?

Are you talking to me?
I went with the traditional jack-o-lantern look

Carving their first pumkins

Scooping out pumpkin guts every kids favorite thing. Last year we didn't celebrate Halloween with the kids since we were still trying to get adjusted to having them home. But this year we started the right of passage...taking the squishy guts out of their pumpkins. Don't know why Alec's eyes look so funny.
Hmmm what is in there??? Feels funny when I touch it.
Team work , yeah! They are working together instead of fighting over it.
What is in there??
I love Halloween. Always have. So I'm excited to share all the family traditions with our kids. We toasted pumpkin seeds last night. They were so yummy. Alec couldn't get enough of them. I carved the pumpkins for them and we lit them last night. The kids just loved the glow. First thing Haven did when she got up today was run to the pumpkins. Today we decorated the house a little bit. Put up our bat garland and hung the big straw witch on the front door. Can't wait to see how cute they are in their costumes!!! Not telling what they will be, it is a surprise.
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10/16/10

Apple picking


We have had such beautiful fall weather. The one thing you do in the NW when the weather is nice is get out in it. Since you never really know when the rain is coming back, you don't want to let the good weather slip away. We decided to go get pumpkins with the kiddos. But when we got to the little farm they were having an apple/pear festival...so we decided to pick apples with the kids. The first thing the kids did was fight over the wagon. You can see who won that round. We waited to take the hay ride out to the orchard. Alec wanted to take the wagon on the hay ride.


Picking apples with Daddy.
Haven listening to Daddy before she started picking..that is a first:)

Hmmm.. so many to choose from. They each got a few apples and pears and then we walked back to the main store to get the pumpkins and pay. They both insisted on carrying their buckets. Haven decided to lighten her load and gave Daddy the pears for his bucket :) smart girl. My little ones love being outside and being busy. It will be hard on them when the rain starts in a few weeks and their outdoor life is not the same.
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10/14/10

Pictures from the Caso Event

Being silly with Daddy

Haven getting in the act.

Hey what are all those orange balls?

Not what I thought they were.
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Canadian Thanksgiving weekend

This weekend was CASO's Canadian Thanksgiving celebration. Naing and Marie found a cool farm in Tualatin to have the festivities. Too bad it was a rainy weekend, we didn't have the turn out we hoped would come. Of course the time scheduled was in the middle of my kid's nap time. So we were late arriving after much noise and many meltdowns from Haven because I wanted her to wear her rain boots...aka because it was raining and muddy. My daughter wanted to wear her pretty brown dress shoes. I actually called Naing who was already at the party helping and told him to meet me at the car and take her cuz I was done with her attitude. Of course once she saw Daddy and got to have fun at a party and saw other children wearing their boots, she was so sweet and charming. Little Stink!



on top of the hay bales
The kids got to feed and pet goats, see baby pigs and chickens. Alec had a great time talking to the chickens in chicken speak and loved hearing the rooster crow back. We then went to the pony ride station to see if they would like to ride the ponies. They were so excited, but Haven got scared and didn't want to sit on the pony. Alec was on the pony, smiling having a grand time when the pony started walking...UNTIL his sister started screaming NOOOOOO at the top of her lungs and crying Alec's name. Then he started crying as well. Needless to say my children do not seem to be bitten by the horse crazy bug. I can live with that, horses are expensive pets:).

The rain actual stopped while we were checking out all the festivities, but we didn't stay much longer since Alec had biffed in the mud many times and was so wet and muddy. To top the day off Daddy bought them some of the Lees farm's syrup they love so much. All the different berry flavors to have on their waffles. They are in berry heaven.

9/29/10

My boy is a hoot!

Alec is playing on the floor with this electronic Dora toy. This toy has a microphone and you can sing along to a little diddly that is called Vamanos. The song goes Vamanos, Vamanos, lets go, lets go, lets go. Yep it is catchy tune that you will find yourself singing.  My musical son has made up his own words. He sings Vamanos, Vamanos, go dog go. A little bit of his new favorite book thrown in. I couldn't stop laughing when I heard him singing his new lyrics. I even called Daddy to leave him a message at work with the new lyrics.

9/28/10

Little changes are happening

Every day the kids change, grow, learn a little more. It really is amazing to me. One year ago they didn't know English and now they are motor mouths. Haven is starting to become a tattle tail. Even when I catch her in the act, she says "Alec did it". Yesterday I awoke to Haven yelling "Alec did it", "Alec did it". When I went into their bedroom, Haven and Alec had both taken off their overnight diapers and thrown them across the room. She is totally nude in her bed, he has his pajama top on still and she points at him and says "No No Alec, naughty, Alec did it". She is always trying to mother him and tell him what to do. His response to her is usually a scream of NOOOOOO back at her.
Haven is an interesting person. Sometimes she baffles me. We will be reading and I will ask her to find something simple on the page of the book...like the dog. She will point to the wrong thing on purpose and laugh and say no that's not it. She sometimes refuses to find the right object even when she knows what it is.
She has had some difficulty learning her colors. She will tell you the wrong answer with that as well and I don't always know if she is kidding or really thinks the orange is brown. So we have been using the color flash cards to see if that helps her.
Just when I think she might not learn the way I'm trying to teach her. She blows me out of the water with proof that she is listening and taking the information in. She likes to get on the digital scale. She stands, sits and lays on it to see the numbers light up. The other night she got on in full clothes after dinner and she was 27 pounds. I told her how much she weighed and showed her the 2 and the 7. The next day she got on the scale in her underpants and only weighed 24 pounds. She looked at me and said "where did the 7 go?. You could have picked my jaw up off the floor.
One of our friends gave Haven a magna doodle for her birthday. This has become the favorite toy of both Alec and Haven. They "color" on it and make pictures with shapes and we use it to write numbers and the ABCs. I then identify each letter and give the letter a word to help them memorize. Yesterday as I was buckling Alec into his carseat he pointed to the "d" on my Wicked shirt and said "Mommy  D for Daddy." I was so proud of him. They both point to letters on envelopes or the tv and say ABCs. So I must be doing something right.
Alec's new favorite thing is "The Wiggles". Yes it is Wigglemania at our house. The horrible thing is I get the stupid songs stuck in my head and can't get rid of them. But they enjoy it so much!!!
Alec also now gets the joke, "Just say yes Mommy". He finds it very funny and when I'm scolding will laugh and say "OK Mommy" with a big ole smirk on his face. He is a funny kid. I'm a little worried we will have a class clown on our hands. He is always trying to make the other kids laugh.
Each day they amaze me. Even on the days that need a do over...they are so brilliant.

9/23/10

She is a big girl now.

We have been working on potty training Haven with M&Ms as rewards. She is doing a very good job. Today she went the whole day without one accident in her panties (as she likes to call them). It has been a challenge to get her to stop playing to go to the bathroom. All I had to do was bring in the candy and things improved. Of course she does barter. She wants to make sure she is going to get some candy before she walks down the hall. And she has even been known to negotiate for her brother to get a M&M too.
Today Alec was sick and needed more attention and holding, so the best way for Haven to compete for attention, scream out "I have to go potty". Of course I have to stop whatever I'm doing and help. It didn't take long for her to figure out the power of potty training. Smart girl.
She told me today she didn't want to wear pullups only panties. That was a big accomplishment for her and she was so proud when she told me. Haven wants to be a big girl. She likes to play with older kids and do "girlie" things like play with my makeup. But there is a part of Haven that wants me to still feed her like a baby. I'm so proud of her. She has grown up so much in one year.
She is so funny because when she is in the bathroom, she announces "Here comes the pee". ???? Where did that come from? I don't say that, Naing doesn't say that. Funny girl.
We are hoping for continued dry pants and no more diapers at night for her. WooHoo one almost done potty training and one to go.

9/21/10

Every day is Wacky Wednesday...

There is a book my children have called "Wacky Wednesday". They love this book.  It is a silly story about a young boy who wakes up and there is a shoe on his ceiling and all the wacky things he sees that day. Certain events in the book have become an ongoing joke between Haven and Alec. It is so funny to listen to them tell each other the "wacky" thing and listen to them laugh.
They will be sitting in the car, or in their beds and you will hear one of them say "Socks in the shower?"  Nooooooo, insert laughter here. The second event they find so humorous is the tree growing out of the toilet. Alec finds it so funny all he says is toilet and he starts laughing. They do this all day long and crack themselves up.
Last night after Alec had gotten up in the middle of the night. I put him back in his bed and crawled into mine  to hear coming over the baby monitor "socks, shower, toilet"....Alec's laughter, before he went back to sleep.
I do so enjoy my kids' sense of humor. It always amazes how funny and silly they are. If they can go through all they have been through the first year of their lives and laugh. Everyone can laugh. That helps me be less serious and enjoy the lighter things in my day.
So if you are having a bad day just remember a tree growing out of a toilet is hilarious!!! and laugh like a toddler.

9/15/10

One Year ago on Sept 14th.

It was one year ago yesterday that we got to hold Haven and Alec in our arms for the first time. We finally became a family. Oh the joy, tears and nerves that were experienced in the minutes we waited for the nannies to bring in our babies. I was in a terrible state of mind, because I didn't know who I should hold first. But that was decided for us, they brought Haven in first.
So began our journey as a family trying to get used to each other and the things that they like and don't like.
The fear of being a bad Mom and the fear that my children that have been through so much, will somehow be more messed up because of me as their Mom.
This has been the most difficult year of my life as well as the most amazing year of my life. Alot of my difficulty was not only in becoming an instant Mom of young children 9 months apart, but also of kinda loosing myself along the way. Being a stay at home Mom is so much harder than I ever thought it would be.
Here I was a Manager that ran a successful Vet Practice for 10 years and managed 12 employees. I thought this would be a piece of cake....more like humble pie.
It has taken a lot for me to adjust to this new role of not working outside the house (totally my choice), not making my own money and other people defining me as "only" a Mom. The first time a went to a party after the kids came home and was asked "What do you do?" When I said "Oh I'm a stay at home Mom" I saw the veil of non-interest come over the lady's face who asked the question. I was shocked at the lack of interest in talking to me, when I have always been the smoozer at the party that talks everyone. I have had to struggle  to keep the idependant me alive and not disappear into Motherhood.
Now that a whole year has past (doesn't seem possible). Things are getting better because I have established a routine. The kids are doing very well and growing like weeds. Haven and Alec have large vocabularies. Both of them speak 3-5 word sentences. Both of them are very active and if you turn your back, they are into trouble. The have great sense of humors, love books, our dogs, music and now each other.
I still have my moments with Haven when I loose all patience with her because she is so defiant and strong willed. Our new joke is just say "yes Mommy". She is a strong willed Ethiopian princess and she reminds me of that every day. I want her to be a strong woman, but I have to admit Alec is a lot easier to deal with because he is so easy going. Granted he is moving into the terrible twos and does tell me multiple times a day "I don't want it", no matter what it is.
I know everyone tells me that it will just get easier from here on out. Here is hoping year number 2 is not as difficult as year number 1. But I wouldn't change a thing. I love them so deeply, I can't even remember life without them.
I love hearing them talk to each other in the morning and giggle, best way ever to wake up. So beats an alarm clock.
I still have the fear that I'm screwing them up, but that happens less and less. I know look at their accomplishments and how they have grown and think OK I'm doing somethings right.
Happy Family day! The best is yet to be.

9/2/10

3 suitcases, 3 carry-ons, 2 carseats, 1 play & pack 4 people and 8 days

Yes it is true traveling with small children is not for those with weak constitutions. We set off for an 8 day visit to Toronto for our niece's wedding. Naing's brother was so kind to come all the way for our wedding, we wanted to do the same. Also the little thing of showing off our children to Naing's family was an incentive as well.
We had an early morning flight. Waking children up for at 4:30 to get ready and go to the airport, not fun. Their mood never really improved the whole flight. Even though we had to buy Alec a ticket, things were not any easier. He didn't want to be buckled in and fought with me the whole trip about staying in his seat.
Air Canada has great little in flight entertainment, but he did not appreciate this one bit. Haven was having a little attitude issues as well. I pity the people that got stuck next to us.
We managed to survive the 5 hour flight and land safely in Toronto. Going through immigration and customs with all that baggage and 2 small, tired, cranky children didn't add to our moods either.
By the time we found Naing's brother we were all rather cranky and tired.
Our nephews were kind enough to give up their beds and room to us. So we got set up and settled in for a week of fun with the family.
Mind you I had never met Theresa, or my nieces and nephews, or our grand nephew. I didn't know what to expect. They were all so welcoming to our family. The best thing about staying with them was the music in the house. Both Tun Tun (Naing's brother) and his wife are musical. My kids were in 7th heaven to have someone play the piano and sing for them
And best of all Tun and Theresa's youngest is 3 years old. Oliver and Alec hit it off big time. The were running and tackling each other. Having a great time being boys. But Haven also enjoyed her time with Oliver and they both are still calling out his name "Oviler" is how they say his name.



After a few days in Toronto it was time for a road Trip. Naing and I took the kids to Niagara. It was about a
2 hour drive, but oops we forget to borrow the stroller from Isabel. Oh well how hard can it be...hahahaha.
We walked down and got our tickets for the Maid of the Mist boat ride and to go behind the falls. We stood in line and it was a lot warmer outside than we anticipated. I was so hot and then you add the plastic poncho
yikes I was baking. We got into the boat and tried to find a spot to see that the kids could see too. Once the first bit a mist from the falls hit us, Haven was not too happy about it. So Haven and I sat on the interior of the boat and Alec and Daddy got to take the pictures and get soaked. Alec LOVED it.                           




The falls were beautiful and Niagara is a cute little touristy place. We stopped to get a drink and sit for awhile before we needed to walk down to where you go behind the falls. Well there were a few unwelcomed guests at our little rest area, wasps. Tons of them. Haven got stung. Thank goodness she didn't react to the sting. We walked down the boardwalk trying to find a place were they were not flying around and chasing my kids cuz they had orange soda spilled on their clothes. We found a cute little grassy area and Alec found a friend.


We lost all track of time and realized we had 4 minutes to get down the boardwalk to do our behind the falls trip.                                                                                 

We didn't make it. Called it a day and headed back to Toronto to get ready to go to Kingston for the wedding. Another 2 hour drive. But this time we are staying in a hotel. I'm excited cuz the beds we had to sleep on were too hard for me. I ended up sleeping in Haven's bed cuz it was a little softer than the bed for Naing and I. Big, cozy, king bed here we come.                                                                                       

The wedding was very nice and I learned a new wedding tradition. At the reception, the guests got up and sang love songs to get the bride and groom to kiss. The guests were funny and creative in their song choices.
I wasn't able to take many pictures, Mr. Alec was very grumpy the morning of the wedding.                        
The next day we all packed up and headed back to Toronto via the scenic route. Tun showed us some cute little towns and we took a ferry ride (Haven's favorite part). Most of the family went swimming in Lake Ontario, the water was perfect. But our kids were crashed out sleeping in the car seats so I didn't go in. They finally woke up and got to dip their toes in the lake.                                                                                      
A good time was had by all. Before we knew it we were packing to come home to Portland. We had a wonderful time and the kids are still calling out Oliver's name.                                                                      

                                                                                

                                                                            


The Three Amigos

Auntie Yvonne holding the Princess.

Uncle Gerald playing with the "naughty boy"