Ice always makes it better, right??

Here is my DH feeding our DS at the end of the reception after my Uncle Denny's wedding. Little Man was such a trooper, and stuck it out till 10:30 that night!! He is so nosey, and won't go to sleep till there isn't anything going on.

The wedding was fun. We are so happy for Uncle Denny and Aunt Donna. The wedding was in a historical Victorian house (it is the original home of one of the founders of the city), and was decorated so beautifully for Christmas. Bug was the flower girl, and dropped burgundy rose petals. The ceremony itself took only about 20 minutes, and by the end of the ceremony, Bug was laying on her stomach on the floor playing with her cousin Killian (the ring bearer) and the rose petals. I had to keep reminding myself, that by the time the ceremony was over, it was about the same time she goes to bed. I couldn't blame her for laying down on the floor!

After the ceremony, we had lots of food, wine, punch, and cake. Mrs. Claus even showed up! How nice of her to make the trip! After the punch and cake, Bug and her cousins were running around like crazies! Either a second wind, or a sugar high...not sure which one--probably a little of both. By that time though, we (our whole family-numbering about 15) were about the only ones there, so I just let her run it off. We also had the photographer take some family pictures, that I won't have till after Christmas, so when I get those, I will post them. I took pictures, but didn't get too many. I just figured the photographer would get better ones, so I would let her do the work!

I have to say, though, this was the first time I have ever had so many looks, carrying around our son. Most of the people there were alot older, and from a different "time". There was actually a table of four that were just staring like crazy--finally, I just stared back at them. I think they realized how dumb they looked, when I did it back to them. I had another family friend ask my mom..."No offense, but is he black?" My mom replied, that yes, both his birthmother and birthfather are bi-racial. I know this family friend meant nothing by asking this questions, she was just curious (she is a very sweet lady, and has known me since birth). I am pretty sure she didn't want to say anything to me, though, for fear of offending me. It is certainly not offensive to us when people ask us if our son is black--he is, just as he is white, and Mexican too. That is part of who he is, and we love him with all that we have--just as he is.

This morning was fun. We had a playdate scheduled, and of course, Little Man always has to poop his pants as we are walking out the door. So I change him, and rush down the hall to head out the door (still carrying LM!), and BAM! Some sweet little girl, who will remain nameless, left her toy PT Cruiser car in the hallway. I stepped on it (doesn't this sound like Home Alone, when Mackulay Culkin puts matchbox cars on the stairs to trip up the burglars??) slid a bit, tried to catch myself, rolled my ankle, and down I went. I was crying--I thought for sure, I had ripped a tendon or something, it hurt so bad--LM was fussing because he bumped his head on the door on the way down, and I hear my dear daughter say..."Mommy, whas wong (what's wrong), Mommy??" She is so maternal. She always gets so concerned when she sees someone crying. After sitting in the hallway for about 5 minutes trying out my ankle, and having LM staring at me like I am crazy, I got up and went on my way. Currently, it is still swollen but ice should help, right??

Well, I am working on a project for LM's birthmom for Christmas. We are meeting them this weekend, and bringing her birthday and Christmas gifts. I will take a picture when I am done, and post it later next week. It turned out pretty cool--I hope she likes it! DH's aunt is flying in tomorrow to visit for a few days. I think we are going to take her to see the local Christmas lights display and the "Town of Bethlehem" tomorrow night. That oughta' be fun.

Ok--I think that is about all. Here are some pictures from the last week. ENJOY!

Here is Bug, LM, and Grandpa HoHo. I don't know if you can see in the picture or not, but LM is chewing on his sock. I almost have to put him down for naps without his socks, for fear he will choke on them. Literally, he will yank off his left sock seconds after you put it back on. Little Stinker! Here is DH holding my best friend's (and LM's godmother) son Samuel. Samuel's father (LM's Godfather) is holding LM. This is the first time they have been together since Samuel was born (in September). LM would get so excited--grunting, and waving his hands, and smiling at Samuel. It was the cutest thing. LM is 5 months old and weighs about 21lbs, and Samuel is 10wks old and weighs 8lbs. One baby is huge for his age, and the other baby is small for his age. Here is Bug holding Samuel. Aunt Erin and LM Aunt Erin keeping LM busy with one of Aunt Donna's crystal Christmas tree ornaments (ssshhhhhh, don't tell!!) Bug getting her hair done before the wedding. If you look in all the wedding pictures, she has this same look on her face....the girl never cracked a smile the whole night!!--oh wait...she did, but only after she was sugared up with cake and punch at 9:30pm! Her hair did turn our pretty nice. I was picking bobby pins out of her hair for 15 minutes after we got home that night, though. I counted them--20 bobby pins.Practicing throwing the rose petals. This was funny--the first time I taught her what to do (walk at the same time as throwing them on the ground), she looked at me like I had a third eye! I know she was thinking..."Why is Mommy telling me to MAKE a mess??" What did I say about that look? She looks scared here...!? My Uncle John holding LM. I couldn't get LM to look at me. He is probably thinking--"what is is with all the bald guys in my family??" Again, with the look. This is right before she layed down on the floor. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of that--but I am sure someone else in my family did! Aunt Donna is in the lavender dress, and Uncle Denny is the bald guy. LM and his cousin Killian. Killian is 21 months old...LM is catching up to him! This was the last time Killian wore the outfit his is in here--my sister gave it to me for LM. It is a size 18 months size--I am guessing LM will be able to wear that for Easter. Bug discussing with Mrs. Claus what to tell Santa to bring her for Christmas. She sat here and talked to Mrs. Claus for about 10 minutes. Pastor Bob with Mrs. Claus Cousin Killian claiming the rose petals Aunt Erin, Bug and Killian. Killian is very possessive when anyone else "has" his mommy. Boy, will he have a culture shock in about 8 months when his new brother or sister comes along! My sister and Grandpa HoHo (my dad) And here is our LM, being a big boy and sitting in the bathtub last night. No more baby bathtub!

Nastiest soda ever....

Have you ever tried Honduran soda?? A friend of mine (also the leader of my bible study)--I will call her...ummm, how about "Chris"--anyway, she went on a mission trip to Honduras with our church group (that goes every year). She, bless her heart, brought back coffee (soda for me, because I am not much of a coffee drinker--she is so thoughtful!), and some Honduran cookies for everyone in our bible study group. She is so sweet--always thinking of us.

So, what does a soda from Honduras taste like?? Ummmm, how do I put this--it tastes like banana flavored, bitter, cough syrup with some carbonation. I took the tiniest sip I could (fearing Montezuma's revenge!) without gagging from the smell. Do you know how hard that was??? The banana flavoring was so overpowering--how do the folks in Honduras drink this?? I suppose if it is all you know....

Luckily, the HFMD is gone from our house, and Little Man got lucky and didn't get it (this time, anyway). Bug is healthy and back to her normal, crazy, temper-tantrum throwing, two-year old self. Thank goodness for that! That was not a fun time--at all. I am so relieved that is OVER!

Not much more to blog about--we are heading to visit my family and for my uncle's wedding on Saturday. Bug is going to be the flower girl, which will be interesting. She also has a nice size bruise, and red mark on her neck from taking a fall---because for some reason, she thought it would be smart to stand on top of a plastic bin and jump off. The problem was that she slipped, and came down and hit her neck on the bin--so now she has a big red patch and bruise from collarbone to collarbone. That oughta' look nice in the pictures. :-)

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the last few days:

Awww, the kids playing so nicely together

Today, we got the princess ball pit out. Poor LM--he will have alot of pink, princess, girly things to play with.

Peek-a-boo!!!

LM enjoying the ball pit

Playing with Mr. Potato Head

What a week....

Here are out two cuties. We dressed

them in their Christmas outfits to get a early Christmas picture for calendars I make every year through shutterfly.com. I think it turned out ok, except Little Man looks like a not-so-little-man....oh, wait, he isn't little!! The dude is huge! He is more than half the size of his big sister!

There is alot to write, so I will just go chronologically, so as to not forget anything/anyone. When I last left off, both kids had colds, and I was constantly wiping noses. I would have rather had runny noses, compared to what we are dealing with now! We ended up heading to DH's family on Wednesday night. In the middle of the night on Wednesday, Bug started with a fever. She was up alot that night, and we (I) was too. She cried alot, most of the night. Now, in hindsight, I think what was happening, was that she would go to suck her thumb in her sleep and because of the blisters in her mouth, it would hurt and wake her up. I am pretty sure I didn't get more than about 4hrs of sleep. The fever continued through Thursday, with cold symptoms. During the day, though, when she was playing with her cousins, you wouldn't even know she was sick. She was happy, and running around. Thursday at lunch, Bug "bit her tongue" and started to cry. Of course, we didn't think much of it. Later in the evening, she complained of her tongue hurting, and I looked and saw a very small white spot on the tip of her tongue, again not thinking much of it (it looked like a canchor (sp?) sore). I went on to share a piece of apple pie (and a fork!) with her. Thursday night was another 3hrs-of-sleep-for-me-night (due to her screaming, and only wanting me to hold her), and by morning, DH and I were ready to go home (a day early), and get Bug to an urgent care to see what the heck is wrong with her. In the meantime, I noticed a few small red spots on her hands. I just figured it was her dry skin, from washing all the time (potty training).

Anyway, we decided to pack up and head home. We made a few stops in the neighboring town--the cemetery where my Grandma is (for a Thanksgiving visit), and the Sweet Shop for some yummy chocolate, and then we hit the road. We made it to the urgent care four hours later. We were waiting for the doctor to come in, and we were goofing around (again, not acting at all sick!). Bug stuck her tongue out at me, and it was COATED with white stuff. NASTY. Turns out she has/had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (for the sake of the rest of this blog, it is HFMD). YUCK! I of course freaked out, thinking she said "Hoof and Mouth Disease" (what cows get!). After she calmly told me that ALOT of toddler's get this, and not to worry, I stopped freaking out. It is a virus, so there is nothing to do but wait it out. So, for the time being, Bug gets to eat jello, pudding, popsicles, yogurt and soup. Basically, anything that doesn't hurt her mouth to eat.

That being said, I feel like putting Little Man in a bubble! I am trying to keep Bug away from LM as much as possible--which is very hard to do. She loves him so much, and is ALWAYS kissing, hugging, and smothering him (in a good way, of course!). HFMD is transmitted through saliva, (or the liquid in a broken blister) so the things not allowed now in our house: sharing utensils/cups, sharing hand towels, kissing on the lips (Sorry, Babe!), sharing toys that were slobbered on, sneezing, drooling, etc. I just don't want LM to get this. A main symptom of HFMD is loss of appetite, because of all the blisters in your mouth. Can you imagine a baby having that, when all they do is suck on a bottle??? From everything I have read, and what the doctor has said, Bug shouldn't be contagious anymore. Each day that LM goes without a fever is a blessing! I guess with HFMD, the fever comes before the blisters, and once you have the blisters and/or have been fever free for two days, you aren't contagious. I am not risking it though--we have a wedding out of town this weekend (that Bug is the flower girl in), and I don't want us all to be sick and eating popsicles for our meals (and not able to attend the wedding)!

So, other than that, Thanksgiving was nice with the in-laws. We had a wonderful meal, and good times with family. It was kind of weird for me, though, because I was worried about Bug most of the time (and had a major lack of sleep), and when I wasn't thinking of her sickness, I was missing my family and especially my Grandma. Grandma loved Thanksgiving....she was so genuine about being thankful for all that God had blessed her with in her long life....and not just on Thanksgiving, every day. It was commonplace to hear her talking about all the good she had in her life, in spite of having been widowed twice (once when she was young with three young children). She was such a blessing to us, and not a day goes by that I don't think of her. So, it was an interesting Thanksgiving for us...in lots of ways.

There is a bit of a baby boom going on--My brother's girlfriend is pregnant, due in mid-June, and my sister called last night to let me know that her and her husband are expecting and due in late July! Lots of new babies!! We are so happy for both of them--and pray that everything goes well.

As I finish typing this, we have received about 5 inches of snow so far. It isn't going to stop till the morning either....Good times! Here are some pictures from the last week. Enjoy!

Grandpa, Erin and Andrew playing the Wii

Aunt Tracy giving Bug a "airplane" ride

LM and his cousin, Erin. LM is about half the size of Erin--and she is 6yrs old!!!

LM and his Daddy

This is a funny picture--LM was crabbin' and got a handful of Bug's hair, and pulled. This picture is the result...

Doesn't she look miserable?? This was taken on Friday night. She was mad at me for putting band-aids on all of her blisters (if they break, they are VERY painful, and the liquid from the blisters will spread the virus).
This was taken tonight. We decided to be goofy, and roll her hair up in foam rollers. It was cute, and reminded me of when my Mom and Grandma would roll up my hair when I was little. Of course, the rollers only stayed in about an hour, because she wanted them "OUT MAMA!".

Here are a couple of pictures of LM after his first official hair product treatment. I was getting sick of the "frizzies" and dry broken off hair on the back of his head. I now use a dab of "Silken Child" moisturizing creme to his hair, dry or wet, and this is what it looks like afterwards. It just keeps his hair more moist, thus, reducing breakage. Nice, perfect curls. Ahhhh, no frizzies!

Here is Bug goofin' around with the sunglasses that Aunt Tracy gave her. They are very Elton John-esque!!

...And these are her favorite ones!! Thanks, Aunt Tracy!!

Be Thankful...

My original intention was to blog tonight. The forces have aligned against me, as I listen to both of my kids fussing through our baby monitor (yes, it is 10:20pm!). Their colds are getting better, as I only had to wipe each of their noses about 500 times today, down from about 1000 yesterday. Lots to do before Thanksgiving, so I must make this short but sweet.

What am I thankful for? I am thankful for a wonderful husband, and two wonderful, happy, healthy children. I am thankful for all my family, especially my Mom and Dad, who I love so much. I am thankful for all the wonderful memories of my Grandma, and I am thankful that she is rejoicing in Heaven this very minute! I am thankful for my son's birth mom, and the selfless choice she made because she knew what was best for him. That is the short list...

Here are some pictures from the past few days:
Here is a picture of Bug and her friend Anna. Anna and her brother, sister, Mom and Dad came over for pizza/beer/drinks on Friday night. Anna's parents went to high school with DH, and recently moved to the area. Our big "Gul" (girl) Ok, this was taken today. NO, I didn't take a picture of a pile of blankets. Bug told me, "yion, seeping, Mama!, tuck in yion" If you can see in the lower left corner of the picture the tiny Little People lion taking a nap. I just thought it was so cute...she is so maternal. Goofin' around with my Bug, while Little Man took a 3 hour nap this morning! Ok....first of all, I bought this bucket for Uncle Matt and Aunt Kim, and Bug has gotten so much playtime out of it--that is until she got herself stuck in it. I let her stay stuck for about 10 minutes, till she figured out how to get out. After that, she kept coming to me saying..."Mama, get stuck!" She wanted me to get her stuck in the bucket. See what a $5 bucket can get you?? About two hours of fun! One of my favorite parts of this picture if the huge string of drool coming off his chin.... This is what we woke up to this morning--about two inches of wet, yucky snow. I have to admit, though, I was more excited to see how Bug would react. She loved it, and immediately asked for her jacket to go outside. Not so fast, Ms. snots-a-lot! Ahhhh, two kids playing quietly, happily....I know that won't last for long! Wait till Little Man is crawling and taking Bug's toys (it won't be long!). We will see how happy it will be then...

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and for those travelling, travel safely!

Our Chrisum Tee

So here is our Bug wrapping herself in Christmas tree lights (or as Bug says.."Chrisum Tee lights"). It was so fun to see her actually getting excited and helping put the tree up and putting the ornaments on. Yes, we are the crazy ones that have our tree up already. The ONLY reason it is up already is for the next four weekends, we are either real busy, or out of town.

Bug has only fallen into the tree once so far--no broken ornaments--just a scratched chin. I am wondering how many broken ornaments we will have by January 1st....anyone want to wager a bet??

We are having a pretty calm week--my favorite kind! Bug and Little Man went shopping this morning and picked out some "Chrisum Peasants" for Daddy this morning. I literally let Bug pick out what she wanted to get Daddy for Christmas. Stay tuned for a post-Christmas blog to see that! :-)

I got a exciting call this morning from our social worker--we got our court date for finalization of Little Man's adoption!! We got a December court date, and we are so excited! It will feel so good to be able to just know that he has our name, and is legally OUR son. It makes me tear up just thinking of that day. God sure blessed us with him, and we are forever grateful. What an awesome Christmas gift!

Potty progress: Bug refuses to use a potty seat now--in fact, I cleaned them off, and packed them away. She has to sit on the big potty, "jus like mommy!". That is fine--makes my life easier! No dragging a potty seat to Target when you have to go shopping. I don't even bother taking a pair of extra pants with me anymore. Each week she is getting better. YAY, BUG!!

DH is picking up our professional pictures tonight on his way home from work. I will post them in a couple of days. In the meantime here is a cute one of our Little Man:

Where's my glass of wine??

Well, we made it through a crazy busy
week. I have been meaning to blog, but, frankly, haven't had too much time.

We had a nice visit with DH's parents over the weekend. They got here on Friday around dinner time. Poor Dad, though, he had a horrible allergic reaction to (we think) some apple cake, and DH ended up taking him to urgent care at 9pm on Saturday night. Other than that, we had a great weekend. Bug loved having her Grammy and Grandpa visit, and after they left talked about them constantly. Visits like that make us wish we lived closer, so we could see them more often.


Due to scheduling issues, we decided against going to LM's birth mom's basketball game on Monday night. It turned out to be a nice quiet night at home. Ahhhh. LM's birth mom and her mother are coming on Saturday to visit (and have dinner) instead.


Tuesday brought us to the adoption agency at 8:30am for signing of our finalization for adoption papers (final step so that LM will have our last name, and be legally ours!). It was exciting for us, as we will soon be legally a family of four. Our social workers (and of course us!) are hoping for a court date before the end of 2008. We are hoping to hear from our social worker on a date sometime this week. On Tuesday night, LM and I went to my bible study group. He slept most of the time....made it easy on Mommy (and Daddy too, since he was home with just Bug!).


Wednesday brought me to the dentist--I thought for sure I had cracked a tooth (or a filling had fallen out). After getting the kids bundled up, and carted into the dentist, I was in there a total of 6 minutes! One look from the dentist, and he said there wasn't a problem. An hour and a half of preparation to get two little ones out the door for a six minute appointment! I guess it's better than having to pay (he didn't charge me!), and/or having to have some work done! I used to despise going to the dentist, and didn't go for like six years. After not going for so long, I had alot of work that needed to be done, and felt like I lived at the dentist office. Since then, I am at my check-ups like "clockwork", and if I think anything is wrong, I go right in. Guess I was jumping the gun a tad with this one, huh?


Thursday, we had a play date, which are always fun--fun for the kids, and nice for the Mommies who get to have some adult chat. Friday we had family pictures at JcPenneys. They turned out ok....not spectacular, but ok. We got a few good shots of the two kids together. The photographer wanted to use a black background for LM's individual pictures. I told the lady that I wanted white background, as you won't be able to see LM's hair. We went back and forth, and she thought his hair "was light enough" to be seen in a black background. UMMMM, NO. LM smiled perfectly (he always does, he is such a happy baby!), but the pictures looked goofy, because, (surprise-surprise) all you could see was his face, no hair. O-well. I only ordered the family picture, and two poses of the two kids together.


Not much more to update on. This week is going to be so much more relaxing. We have absolutely nothing going on. :-) However, because this week was so busy, I only picked up the camera today for the first time. (Bad Mom, I know!) Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!
Here is Bug playing her "Five little monkeys jumping on the bed" board game with Grammy last weekend.
Grandpa, Grammy, Bug, and Little Man Here is LM sitting in a "Bumbo" seat that I borrowed from a friend. It is PERFECT for him right now. I love it! Thanks Katie!! Awwww, she loves her little brother so much! This picture was taken after getting home from church this morning. Note the two holes in her tights, and the frown on her face. This is what happens when a (very independent) two-year old doesn't want to hold her mommy or daddy's hand when crossing the street, and throws herself down on the ground in the middle of the street to throw a temper tantrum. After I told her that the tights have to go in the garbage because they are ruined, she, yes you guessed it, threw herself down and had yet another tantrum. Ahhhh...where is that glass of wine again?? Here is our (always) happy Little Man. He is getting so big--we are guessing about 20 pounds now. This outfit he is wearing is a 12 month size. Crazy. We actually switched him out of his infant seat, and into a convertible car seat this weekend. He also rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time this weekend too. What a big boy!

Not what it looks like....

I have been meaning to blog since Monday night....this week has been crazy busy. So much has happened...where do I begin?

First of all, the picture to the left is not what it looks like. Bug was on the potty, and I asked her if she went poo, and she said YES! I checked and looked a little closer, and found she had thrown a rock in the toilet. That little stinker!! She thought she would fake me out to get some chocolate pudding (her treat for going #2 on the potty)!!

On Saturday we went as a family to the local Babies R Us to help promote National Adoption Month (November), by sitting at a Bethany Christian Services table and handing out info to interested families. We met a couple other families with AA children (adopted from Ethopia), so that was nice. We also met a family who are currently waiting for "the call" through our local agency. It is always nice to meet other families who are going through the process, and lend some advice.

Bug was full of "funnies" this week. On Sunday, we had a funny moment at church. At the beginning of communion, our Pastor said..."on the night HE was betrayed, HE took bread, broke it...." . Bug heard him say "broke the bread" and she yelled "SAMICH" (sandwich)!! Just goes to show, when you think they aren't listening, they really are! Later in the week, I was making a PB&J "samwich" for her, for lunch, and then I used a mitten cookie cutter to make a fun shape. Later in the meal, I watched her try to put the "mitten" on her hand....

Another change came this week: Little Man moved into his new bed, and now shares a bedroom with is big sister. Out of the pack-n-play, and into the crib. He did just fine, and so did Mommy! It is amazing how more relaxed you are with your second child. Little Man also has started to suck his thumb. I thought when Bug was little and she started sucking her thumb, it was so cute (I still think it is...). The problem comes when he gets teeth, and is still sucking his thumb, then his teeth start to look like Bugs do....like buck teeth. O-Well....At least when they are older, we will keep the dentist/orthodontist in business!

Well, DH's parents are on their way to visit for the weekend. We are looking forward to it. DH and I are going to try to get out for a date sometime this weekend. Next week is very busy for us. Monday we are going to Little Man's birthmom's last basketball game of the season. Tuesday, we have to be at the adoption agency at 8am for signing documents for finalization (SO EXCITING!!), Wednesday Mommy has a dentist appt (both kids are coming with me--that oughta' be fun), Thursday we have a playdate, and Friday we are having a family picture taken. I should think about fitting flu shots in there somewhere too. Here are a few pictures from the week--Enjoy! Another dress that I got for Bug...I think this is the one she will wear to my Uncle Denny's wedding on Dec 6th After a bath... His new love--his thumb! Please ignore the fact that he is covered up with a shirt (of mine). I will just say that his diaper didn't hold up, and I didn't want to wake his big sister (naptime is VERY important to me!!) up to get another outfit. Add some black and white face paint, and this would be the Gene Simmons look!