Teething Agony

I so wish that Kamryn would get the rest of her teeth overnight tonight. It seems like it would be a better thing to get the teething agony overwith in one shot rather than sporadic episodes. The constant waking at night,the 5:30 am wake up times, the fussiness during the day and the drooling is just no fun for any of us. But this too shall pass. To be honest, tonight I loved the snuggling before bed and holding her sleeping in my arms. This beats the crying fits we've endured the last few nights at bedtime when nothing would soothe her. Maybe the tooth is finally coming through.

We may start calling her little playgroup "the glamour girls" since they all have these special handmade shirts that spell out their name in jewels. One of the families is moving to Texas, and the mom, Lisa, surprised us all at her going away party with these adorable shirts that she made. We will miss Lisa and Lena and wish them the best in their new home.


Kevin & I enjoyed a dinner out alone (without the kids) last Saturday night thanks to our friend Delilah. I thought maybe Kamryn would be angry at us for leaving her, but she did fine. Probably because Delilah and the boys gave her lots of TLC.

Brendan went to Boy Scout camp last week, and the whole family helped him celebrate the end of it by attending a family picnic at the campgrounds last Friday night. He loved showing us where he swam, did bb guns, archery and canoing.

We went to a local town "fest" this past weekend, and boy did it make us homesick for the fests back in the Western suburbs of Chicago. Everything is done on such a bigger scale there with hot air balloons, carnival rides, games, well-known bands & fireworks. The highlight for the boys here was either the water balloon launching station or getting the chance to dunk a local policeman in the water tank. We had fun just getting out of the house though and walking around.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, daddy! I love you! xoxo Kamryn
(this picture was taken by mommy, but Kamryn was smiling at her daddy! Just look at that twinkle in her eyes.)

This is the first year Kevin is a daddy to a daughter as well as to two sons. One of his gifts was a book about Life Lessons on Raising a Girl. It's a cute little book with 378 pages of insight. The lessons span from toddlerhood to college age advice, so I'm sure we'll be referencing this book often. One page reads, "Write this down. Girls cry. A lot."

Kamryn readily smiles and rarely cries, however, can I just say that hearing the whining gets so exhausting! I'm hoping that stops some when she actually starts talking. I know, the moms out there to daughters are probably laughing and shaking their heads no because something tells me that won't end. Kamryn sure knows how to get what she wants even without talking! She is one smart girl who has us completely wrapped around her finger . . .

Not only is her daddy a special guy, but Kamryn has a thing for her grandpas too. My parents came to visit for Matthew's birthday (which was Thursday) and Kamryn was totally happy to be in my dad's arms. When we saw Kevin's dad and Marc (her Godfather) in April it was the same way. She loves these special men in her life! Happy Father's Day to all of them!

Six Months Ago

We just had our six month post placement visit from the agency who completed our homestudy. Of course I was nervous before the gal got here, but it went smoothly and she could tell that Kamryn has adjusted and so have we! She asked us questions about Kamryn's eating & sleeping schedules, doctor visits, and generally just wanted to know if we think Kamryn is on track developmentally and we do! The boys were home for the visit too, so they talked about the trip and some of Kamryn's latest tricks. She then wanted to see the room where Kamryn sleeps. We had to have 6 pictures mounted on paper that will get sent back to China to the CCAA. It was hard to come up with the best photos, but in reality, I bet nobody in China really looks at the pictures anyway. I made sure that Kamryn was smiling big in all of the ones I used just in case.

I should have posted this sooner . . . last week Kamryn had her first official haircut! I took her to Clubhouse Cuts for Kids and they gave us a 1st Haircut Certificate and of course her first cut of hair to keep. She did pretty good during the cut. She moved around alot but she didn't cry like one boy I know did lots of times! (Brendan hated getting his hair cut!)

Some of Kamryn's newest tricks are actually doing somersaults! Now I just have to say the word somersault and she'll put her head and body down and actually somersault over. It's so cute. She surprised me the other day when I started singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and she actually did the motions with me! She got her 2nd molar and continues to love swinging on her swing.

Today we went to the pool for the first time, and all was well until she stumbled in the one foot deep baby pool and went face first into the water. She didn't want to go back in after that. She didn't like taking baths at first either but now loves them. So in time, probably by the end of summer, she will love the pool!