Getting in a Groove

The boys have been back at school for 2-1/2 weeks now and they are finally getting in a groove with the homework and morning and night time routines. Kamryn and I have been going to Lifetime Fitness more regularly; I've been paged after only 20 minutes most times. Today she started crying as soon as we walked into the club. As hard as it was, I left her in the childcare area lying on the floor kicking and crying hysterically. I thought I'd get paged after only 10 minutes for sure but to my surprise, I didn't get paged at all! So after 40 minutes, I raced down to the childcare area to see her playing happily with the toys. We'll see how it continues to go. I sure hope okay though because after Labor Day she starts a moms morning out program at a local church on Mondays and Wednesdays. And with that program, the ladies come to the car and get the children. Hmmm, already dreading that. But maybe she's finally understanding that yes mommy comes back for her.

Last Sunday, Grandpa Mike and Grandma Dianne visited on their way back down to Florida. We went to P.F. Changs for dinner (Chinese bistro) much to the boys dismay, but Kamryn LOVED it! She devoured a spring roll and ate alot of rice. She loved it so much that yesterday I took her to another local Chinese restaurant for lunch. The staff was very friendly and even talked Chinese to us. They had Chinese music playing and pictures of Chinatown on the wall. I was transported back to our trip to China and all I could do was hug and kiss on Kamryn more than the usual the rest of the day. "China" has given me the sweetest little girl who brings a smile to everyone's face because she is quick to smile and full of personality. I really hope that someday we can go back to China with Kamryn so that she can understand more about her birthcountry.

Kamryn says Hi!

Kamryn loves the computer and just wants to say "Hi!" to everyone out there checking in on her, especially to Uncle Marc who gets a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY HELLO today! She's getting great at sign language and knows how to sign "computer" among many other words. We'll ask her word after word, and she does the right sign. It cuts down on the whining and it's helpful when she's walking around the kitchen signing "eat" because then I know she's hungry! She's one smart cookie!

We had her lead level tested again and it is down to 10 now. When she came home from China it was 18. We are relieved that the lead is leaving her little body. She loves fruits and vegetables so that helps that she is eating healthy. Her new recent favorite is blueberries and clementine oranges.

I took her to the doctor yesterday because ever since our trip to IL she has been waking at night screaming. It's been off and on, and my gut instinct was saying "teething or separation anxiety" but since it's been a month now, I was starting to panic that maybe her ears were infected. They are okay of course. The tubes are still in and look good. So now instead of rocking her or sleeping on her bedroom floor while holding her hand through the crib, I have the doctors okay to let her cry it out. I guess the sooner I can do that, the sooner she'll get through this. But some nights it's so hard to hear her sound so frightened. She calms down immediately when I just give her a hug. She is such a sweet, happy, fun girl, and we're blessed that she has bonded with us remarkably well. We've been together 8 months now and soon enough she will have been in our home longer than she was in China.

Shopping anyone?

It's the funniest thing to watch . . . Kamryn will walk around with a shopping bag and put her toys in it. Then she'll hang the bag over her arm and look at me and wave "goodbye" like she's all done shopping and going home! It's the cutest thing . . . and honestly, I have not shopped with her too often since she will not sit long enough to endure a real shopping trip. It must be in the girl DNA.

P.S. Happy Birthday Linda!

A Day at the Fair

Kamryn went to her first Indiana State Fair on Thursday. I probably wouldn't have braved it on my own, but once we were there we met my friend Jeanette and Alice. I don't know why I even attempted to bring the stroller though because Kamryn wouldn't sit in it, and if Alice's daughter Jenny wasn't in it, I was carrying Kamryn and pushing the stroller! She can definitely be so stubborn at times. At lunchtime, Kamryn wanted the lid off her sippy cup. I gave in to avoid the tantrum, and she spilled water all over my lap. So then I walked around hoping to dry fast! The cutest part of the day was when Kamryn and I shared a yummy ear of corn on the cob. When she'd go to eat it, I would too on the opposite side and she thought that was funny. Hearing her giggle is music to my ears.

Kamryn loved seeing the baby ducklings and baby chicks but was very intimidated by the loud roosters! We happened to see a momma cow and her baby only one hour after giving birth. We saw the baby walk on wobbly legs. The day was great practice for Kamryn making her animal sounds. (She can moo, quack, and tries to oink)

As if a morning at the fair isn't enough for me, I went back that same evening with the boys. It was nice to walk through the fair without 21 pounds on my hip! The boys climbed a rock wall, played mini-golf and did some rides. Again, I got a little wet since I did the waterlog ride with them. It was a fun day!

Say Goodbye to Summer

Well, today is officially the last day of summer vacation for the boys. We managed to get in some fun times this past week however. We went to Great Times with my friend Carol and her kids. It's a fun family place with bumper boats, go-karts, mini-golf and an arcade. We also went to the zoo one more time, again with Carol and her family. Of course we wanted sunny weather all week, but we weren't so fortunate. So I pulled out the play-doh "for Kamryn" and the boys played with it all day long! Kamryn enjoyed squishing it since she really loves getting her hands messy and feeling new textures.





Kamryn is really babbling more, and it sounds to us like she is saying more words. Besides hi, dada, momma and gege (brother in Chinese), she now makes the animal sound for duck and cow and says "hi guys" we're sure of it! Oh, and she loves eating corn on the cob!



Matt played his first fall baseball game yesterday and his team won! Matt pitched 3 innings and had 2 hits. His team is the Chicago Cubs! How wonderful for him to have a Cubs jersey now too.

Our neighborhood got redistricted, and therefore Brendan will be attending a new school this year. The district gave the 5th graders the choice to finish elementary school at their "old" school so Matt opted to stay with his friends and not go to the new school. So this year will be interesting as both boys will be in different elementary schools and getting on two different buses and bringing home separate fundraisers, etc. We went to Brendan's school last night to meet his teacher and she seems wonderful. Luckily there is another boy from our neighborhood in his class so the transition should be easier. Tonight is the night we get to meet Matt's new teacher.

Tomorrow it's getting up early again to catch the 7:40 am bus . . . we're all dreading that. But it will be good to get back into some sort of routine I guess even though that means adding homework into the mix.

A Day at the Lake

On Sunday we went to our friends Jim & Jeanette's lakehouse for the day. We all had a great time enjoying the sun and water. It was Kamryn's first time on a speedboat, and the boys' first time to go tubing. Kevin even went tubing, but I was chicken and opted not to. My excuse was that I was holding Kamryn, and holding onto her tightly! We videotaped the boys tubing, but I just realized that I don't have any still shots of them in the water. They are looking forward to visiting the lakehouse again! Kamryn loved going into the lake, but was even happy playing with a bucket of water on the dock too!

What a Difference a Week Makes

Didn't I say that Kamryn does not like the water? Well, she's made a liar out of me now. All of a sudden, she LOVES it! Last week the kids and I drove up to Chicago to spend time with family and friends. We went to the Naperville beach pool down by the Riverwalk and she absolutely had no fear and loved playing in the sand and water.

It was great seeing everyone, but you know how that saying goes, there's no place like home? Kamryn didn't sleep very well away from home so neither did I. I just noticed yesterday that she did get her first "pointy" tooth though so she may have been teething last week too. Plus, we didn't stay at one house too long so the moving around was a bit crazy.
Kamryn and her friend Lilly (from Korea) played great together! We've been friends with Tina and her family for many years now. We're friends, our boys are friends and now our daughters are friends too. I'm posting a picture of our younger boys when they were tots (they're the same age) and now a picture of them as older brothers with their new younger sisters. I'm also posting a picture of me and Tina from last year when she had a baby shower for Kamryn. Tina's my "helper" in that she forewarns me about the stages our kids will go through since her older son is one year older than Matthew and Lilly is one year older than Kamryn. She's special for lots of other reasons too;)






My friend Heather has three children. Her son is three and she has twin girls who are only one month older than Kamryn. Kamryn was in awe of the two of them since they are identical and especially when they tried to lift her dress and pull her bow out of her hair! As my friend Sue said, Kamryn was probably saying to herself, "hey get these clones away from me!" Wouldn't it be great to really know what goes through a toddler's head?

My sister snapped a picture of me with my niece and nephews and my gang. Look at baby Gavin! He's such a joy to be around since he so quiet and content. We laugh because he is only 5 months old and feels heavier than Kamryn. We had the extra joy of seeing my Aunt Bernice who is visiting my parents from Arizona.




All in all it was a great week, and we were glad to also see my friend Jeanne, Joanne, my first time momma friend Sherri and her new baby Emma, Marc, Cathy, Andrew, Jack and Maddie. Remember our doors are always open and everyone is always welcome here too!