Silly Sunday

Welcome Home Maddy!!!

Tonight Robin, Marty and Maddy came home from China! There was quite a crowd to greet them too!!! It was wonderful! I know, you really don't want to read this so let's go to the photos!

(I-Con, I'm so sorry you were sick and couldn't come! We really missed you! Get well soon!!!)

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Blogger buddies! Stacy, Krista, Heather, me w/ Kieren and Andy.

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Stacy and Krista waiting patiently (NOT!) with Krista's great sign!

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Some of the welcoming committee (with Maddy's big sister Sarah in the middle)!

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THERE THEY ARE!!!!!

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Totally adorable Maddy, our newest Buckeyes fan!

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Marty, the happy and exhausted Daddy!

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Mother and daughters together at last!

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A very happy Grandma!

("Grandma, excuse me, but when can I have a pony?")

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Such a wonderful night!

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Welcome home, Maddy!

Moments That Matter

No words are needed.

Harry, The Cat

Hmmm...Cat or Alien?
(Notice the knowing smile?! Only he knows the truth!)

Ahhh...The majestic felinas conicus. A very rare breed. This one is priceless. Note the clear cone. Very rare indeed!

No cats were harmed while taking these photos. (Despite what some may think!) Harry had that smug little grin on his face most of the night. It's like he is the only one who knows which glass he washed his paws in after going litter! He cracks me up! Harry's foot is looking pretty darn good since he can't gnaw on it. The little snot is back to his old annoying self. He won't leave me alone whenever I sit down (has to be on my chest - he's a boob man) or go to bed (wants to play kissy-face and sleep on my head). He also wants to climb all the furniture again. I think he has decided we're serious about the cone and has decided to deal with it!

(You're right, Sen. I did need to post more pussy pictures!)

Just Swimming Along

(Photo by Rony, just "tweaked" a little by me.)

I thought I would give a quick update on Kieren today. I know there aren't many photos of Cullen on this blog, but we ARE talking about a 10.5 year-old boy who would rather run screaming from the camera than have Mom take more annoying photos! I will try to hold him down this weekend and post more updated photos of him. I will also give him his own post! So for now lets talk about the Empress.

Kieren had speech therapy this week. She has it every-other week because there aren't any weekly slots open. That's fine with us. The drive is a nightmare and Kieren likes to ignore Sandra (her therapist) every-other visit! Kieren is finally progressing. She is starting to mimic. She has a favorite song that she likes to "sing" along-to in the car ("Jesus Lamb of God"). She can say "Jesus" and "God", but the rest is still a work in progress. (She loves the CD from Cullen's Vacation Bible School.) Kieren is still about 12 months behind in speech only. She can tell you all her animal sounds and the names of her favorite stuffed animals and dolls, BUT she only says the beginning sounds of her words. So duck is "duh"; LiLi (her stuffed panda) is "lee"; apple is "ap"; lovey is "luh" and so on. It's a start. She knows quite a number of words, but doesn't always use them. We have a very long road ahead of us!

Kieren is very bossy! Especially with other kids and the animals. She uses her legs to make the dog go where SHE thinks he should go. She blocks his way and then backs him up until he gives in by pushing him with her legs! She picks up the cats and moves them. She points to where she thinks other kids should go and tells them to go. She will even push my legs so I will go where she wants me to! She drags Cullen around all the time, but he thinks its funny and plays along. Like I said, bossy!

Kieren is very independent! She will do it herself, thank you very much! She will climb anything that is in her way to get what she is after. But she is not a disobedient child! If I tell her no, it breaks her heart. Her little face crumples up and she falls to the floor, crying. It is so cute and funny to watch! Don't get this confused with a tantrum!! Those are on a totally different level! With a tantrum, Kieren throws whatever she is holding to the floor and throws herself down, kicking and screaming. She shocked everyone at the FCC meeting the other night by erupting into a monster tantrum when I took a toy from her (it wasn't hers and should never have been there!). We don't give in to tantrums!!! To the shock of the other parents, I walked away from her and put the toy in another room. I told them to ignore her, she was being a drama queen. The other parents were shocked that I did that. When I came right back, she was still going at it. I walked up to her, tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she was done yet. She looked at me, sniffed and said yes. She got up, hugged me and went back to play with the other kids. No problem! Like I said, we don't give in to tantrums.

Kieren's Independence is growing as her words start coming back. I went to help Kieren out of the car the other night, but she pushed me away. I don't think so! I told her that wasn't acceptable, if she wanted to do it herself she could say "I do it". To my delight, she looked at me and said "I do it" and got out of the car! That is now one of her highly used phrases!!! And she definitely understands when to say "help" and when to say "I do it"!!! The speech therapist was thrilled with that one!

Kieren understands EVERYTHING we say to her. She can follow complex directions too. I told her to go into the bathroom, find Cullen's blue shoes, and take them to him in his bedroom. No problem! She is also really good about bringing you a roll of TP when you are left stranded on the pot! It's amazing watching her grasp onto something!

Kieren still has night terrors. They happen every couple of nights. Sometimes more, sometimes less. You just get used to them. They are just part of our life now. They should go away by the time she goes to elementary school.

Kieren has such a sweet and kind heart. She loves her family and animals. She is very scared of large dogs, but still loves to watch them while being held. She is very gentle. She shares without being told. She "mothers" younger kids. She loves to play with other kids! She loves arts and crafts. And more than anything, she loves her big brother!!! We are so blessed to have her in our lives!

Well, that's all I have time to update right now. I'm sure there's so much more to tell you, but I need to get some things done around here! If you have any questions, just ask away!

It's Been A Week & We Miss You!

Well, it's been a week since our visit to the zoo with Rony and her twinkies. I wish they lived closer. Rony is one of those people who you feel like you've known them 20 years when you only met them 20 minutes ago. I wish I had more friends like her. Okay, now I'm depressed! Just going to post a few photos and then head off to read in bed. Sorry I haven't been able to post a slide show of the zoo yet. My new monitor was one of those "too good to be true" purchases and is having technical difficulties! Hope to get it fixed this weekend or I'll go blind!


Rony, Abbey, Katie, & Mai at the zoo last week.

Abbey

Katie

We miss you! Come back!!!
(Love, Kieren & Sam)

Why-Is-It Wednesday

Why is it Wednesday? I want it to be Friday! For those who don't know, Why-Is-It Wednesday is the place to vent, gripe, *itch, and moan. It's the place to ask all those unanswerable questions that have been hanging over you like a little black cloud. So I'll start:

*Why is it people think it's okay to poop on someone else's blog if they sign it "anonymous"? This is why so many people are going Password Protected!

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*Why is it eggs are now $.40 more per dozen than 2 weeks ago???? I'm sorry, but they don't look or taste any better than the ones I got last time!

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*Why is it Harry-The-Cat has to sleep on my head at night?! That stinkin' cat weighs over 20 pounds! He klunks my head all night long with his stylish new cone!

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*Why is it the prices of gas, utilities and groceries keep climbing while our income seems to be shrinking? Does anyone else see this other than me?!

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*Why is it I can't decide which Chinese dress Kieren should wear to church this Sunday (special service celebrating adoption)? The red one (size 4) is very short for her, but still loose and looks very "hoochie-mama" (the side slits go up to her diaper). The pink one (size 6) hangs to the floor and you could fit three more Kieren's in it! YIKES!!!

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Okay, now it's your turn! Let 'er rip!!! Vent away!!! What questions are burning at you?!

Love This Face!

Happy Autumn Moon Festival!

Have a wonderful Autumn Moon Festival!!!

Hot New Wheels!

While Kieren and I were out running errands on Friday afternoon, we stopped by Uncle Don's shoe repair shop. He had this HUGE stack of toys in the middle of the store. His daughter (grown up now) had decided to part with her old things. These didn't sell at the garage sale so he was going to donate them somewhere. Kieren, of course, fell in love with the cars!

Uncle Don insisted she take them home! (Great...Thanks.)

She absolutely loves them! Cullen cleaned them up for her and has staked claim to the red one! LOL!!! I am so anti-Barbie, but Kieren doesn't seem to mind. She fills the cars with whatever small toys will fit!

Thanks for the hot new rides, Uncle Don!!! I love them!!! I always wanted a Porsche and Cullen loves the Ferrari!

Silly Sunday

Ignorance Is Just Ignorance

Said today by She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: Do you still get together with those other parents with Japanese kids?

(W...T...F...???)

Said with my teeth clenched: Kieren is Chinese.

Response from SWMNBN: Yeah, whatever. You know what I mean.

(GRRRRRRRR!!!!!)
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Later in the Disney Store I couldn't see Kieren because She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was standing in my way.

Me: I can't see Kieren. Where is she?

SWMNBN: She's the one with black hair. (Pointing to the back half of the store and still refusing to move out of my way.)

(W...T...F...???)

Me: Really. I think I know that better than you. Now let me through!

(What is with people this weekend?!)

Makeover By Libby Lu!

Today turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Cullen had a morning soccer game, we got lost on the way (bad directions), and MIL was coming to the game. We finally found the soccer field (Thanks to a phone call to Heather!!) and MIL arrived for just the last quarter. After a lot of shoddy ref'ing and losing the game because of it, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed for the mall. Kieren and I were just at the mall yesterday, but there is a new store we wanted to go back to.
If you haven't been to or seen a Club Libby Lu, you either aren't luck enough to find one or you aren't/don't-have a girl! O.M.G.!!! The whole store is hot pink and purple! It is a little girl's dream!!!

What's so special about Libby Lu? They DO little girls!!! And big girls too! I think Andy's testicles climbed up to his throat from all the pink and froo-froo!!! There are kid-friendly make-up, soaps, lotions, GLITTER, and nail polish. There is jewelry everywhere! There are costumes. There are purses and stuffed animals. AND...THEY DO MAKEOVERS AND PARTIES!!!! This place is the ultimate girly-girl heaven! Kieren LOVED the disco lights and dance music in the makeover area. She was back there getting her groove on to everyone's amusement!!!

Today, they were giving free makeovers at Club Libby Lu. Kieren had a blast!!! She actually sat still and let the girl do her hair, make-up, and nails. She loved it when they sprinkled pink pixie dust glitter all over her hair, face and nails! She kept stopping and showing everyone her sparkly fingers!!! I know I am biased, but Kieren looked amazing. Everyone kept stopping and telling us how beautiful she was. Wow! We got a glimpse at the future today. It was full of sparkles, make-up, and a beautiful Asian princess.

Here are some of the photos I took when we got home (the photos just don't do it justice!). Kieren's hair was starting to come down in the back as it had been over 2 hours and lots of play time since it was done. We will be going back to Libby Lu again soon!!!

Epitome of Pathetic

Isn't this pathetic?! I just took this at 2:30am. Harry (aka Cone-Head) is pouting. I got mad at him for biting through his bandages and causing major damage to his healing foot, so I made a cone out of a cardboard box and duct tape. Now he can't wreck his foot any further! Am I evil or what?! Not to worry, he ate his dinner, drank his water, and went litter without any problems. (Although I did snicker as he bumped into every door, doorframe, and piece of furniture!!!) Now he is just after pity-points!!! Okay, I have to get back to work. Rush jobs due at 8:00am and playgroup at 10am. EEEK!!!