First Haircut

Alana got her first haircut this morning (in the US that is). I had them save some of her hair and treated it as her first haircut for us. She had a great time and was even giggling a little when the scissors tickled her neck. She loved the sucker she got when she was done (she saw the basket as soon as we walked in). The hairdresser cracked me up. I explained that I wanted him to cut the back to match the length of the sides. He didn't want to because he said it wouldn't look good. I had him do it anyway, but he wasn't all that happy. He also really wanted to mess with her bangs, but I wouldn't let him since I want to grow them out. I think her hair looks darling. It is short in the back, but no shorter than when I first met her in China. She is excited to grow her hair long and asked me if it will be long tomorrow. No, not exactly.

Where's Anala??

Alana really likes to play peek-a-boo lately. It is so cute because she can't pronounce her English name yet. She says "Where's Anala?" to which I repeat back "Where's Alana". Then she says "Peek-a-goo" and I say "Peek-a-boo". It doesn't matter how many times we do this (and we've done it many times) -- she always says "Anala" and "peek-a-goo". I've tried to emphasize the parts she is mispronouncing, but that doesn't help either. Sometimes she can say her name right if I have her repeat "Ala" and then "Alana", but that doesn't always work either. It is too darn cute to care much about it anyway!

By the way, I've always meant to post the pronunciation of Alana's Chinese name for anyone who doesn't know yet. It is Xinyi -- pronounced Shin-yee.

I'm planning to have Alana's hair trimmed tomorrow before our trip. I want it to grow out, but right now it is three different lengths and I'd like to get it all the same length. So, tomorrow we are going to even out the back and the sides. I'll be sure to take some pictures to post.

Weekend

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. I went shopping with Alana quite a bit. It is nice to be able to do that. Collin complains the entire time if I take him shopping and Dylan is just a handful at age 2. Alana and I checked out a couple of Asian grocery stores. I'm wanting to buy some things for her upcoming baptism party. She found some items that she really wanted as well. The first grocery store was more Korean and we didn't find much, but in the second grocery store I felt like we were back in China. Alana found the coconut juice drink she used to drink a lot at the restaurants in China. She also wanted these pickled preserved vegetables (yuck!). I bought some Jasmine Green tea, but it is VERY strong with Jasmine. It was fun all around though.

I have to tell a funny Dylan story now. I was reading a book on Sunday evening when Dylan came up to me wanting chocolate milk. I didn't respond right away so he grabbed both sides of my book, pushed them together and said "The End". That kid cracks me up!!

We are off to Florida in a couple of days. Today will be filled with laundry and packing. Tomorrow more of the same I assume. We leave bright and early on Wednesday. The kids are counting the days and soon the hours!

Yoga

Some cute pictures of the kids doing yoga with me today!

Zoo

Well, we went to the zoo yesterday. It probably wasn't my best idea yet. It has been a rough week with Victor out of town and me home by myself with the three kids. I ran out of patience after only 45 minutes at the zoo and we had to come home. I had hoped to let the kids ride the carousel and get them ice cream, but that didn't work out. They did enjoy the few animals that we did see. We saw the orangutans, tigers, kangaroos and sheep (with some others thrown in as well). Here are a few pictures.

There are Kangaroos behind the kids, but they are lounging in the shade and are hard to see.

Language

Language is the focus of our house right now. Alana is picking up English rapidly and now can speak phrases. She ran up to Dylan the other day and asked "Are you OK?" She is learning more and more words and making so many connections it is amazing! I am worried about her retaining her Mandarin. I can't wait for her to start her Mandarin class the end of August (I'm also taking a course). I am hoping that she meets some friends at class that we can socialize with as well. We had friends over the other day and Collin and Dylan had someone to play with, but Alana felt very alone. I really need to find her some little girls to play with. I'm not going to enroll her in preschool. She will start kindergarten soon enough (next fall) and I want all the time with her that I can get.

Dylan has regressed some with his language since Alana came home. He is such a parrot and he likes to imitate her limited English instead of speaking in sentences like he is fully capable of. For instance, he will say "more" instead of "I want more milk" like he used to. He even says "more" with Alana's Chinese accent. This is getting better, but it still happens some. He says a lot of Mandarin phrases too. Sometimes he knows what they mean and other times he is just repeating after her. I think it has been great for the boys to be exposed to another language early like this.

Collin has always struggled with language. He has picked up quite a bit of Mandarin, but English is still so hard for him. I'm working to find a speech therapist to work with him at home in addition to what he receives through the school district. He is doing a great job of asking questions lately though. I feel like his vocabulary will really explode in the next couple of years. I wish there were more that I could do for him. I was able to find a reading program last year that helped him tremendously -- I wish I could find a similar program for speech. Maybe there is no magic bullet and we just need to press on. He is such an amazing little boy and I am so proud of him that he has never let his speech hold him back from making friends.

We are off to the zoo in the morning, so I should have lots of cute pictures to post tomorrow!

Face Painting

We went to a festival tonight with my dad and Marilyn. The kids had a great time of course! They all got their faces painted. Collin picked a baseball, Alana chose a flower and I picked Elmo for Dylan. It was really hot though, so we didn't stay that long. There was music playing and Collin had to dance for a bit.

Alana is starting to get excited about Disney. I've been showing her pictures of us at Disney and I broke out the scrapbook of all of our Disney trips yesterday. I'm having a hard time explaining the time frame for leaving though. She understands that we are going in an airplane to see Mickey Mouse, but she doesn't understand when. She keeps hoping we are leaving tomorrow. I'm getting very excited myself. I booked a princess breakfast that I've been waiting YEARS to do. I finally have my little girl and she will be spoiled on this trip! We'll do plenty of Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars and Buzz Lightyear for the boys of course, but I will finally get to do girly things as well. We should have internet access at our condo and Victor is bringing his laptop, so I'll be able to post to the blog even while in Florida.

Friday Night Concert

We went to an outdoor concert on Friday night with my dad and Marilyn. There were fountains for the kids to play in while listening to the music. Dylan played for a little while, but the water was too cold for him. Alana liked it, but after 5 minutes she had to go to the bathroom. She then decided she would rather sit and eat kettle corn with Dylan. Collin had to be dragged away from the water. He is such a fish!

Then on Saturday evening we had friends over for a pool party. We had a really nice time and I thought this picture turned out very cute! (Notice everyone but Dylan looking at the camera!)

New China Pictures

I received some pictures from the Stinnette family in the mail yesterday of our trip to China. They were able to get photos of when I first meet Alana on the sidewalk as I got off our bus. I love these photos and all the wonderful memories they represent. Thank you Nancy!! I am so grateful for the pictures and for getting to spend time with you and your family in China!

She's Swimming!!

My little girl is swimming on her own! OK -- so she is wearing a life jacket and a floating ring, but she isn't holding onto anyone! She started this evening only wanting to hold onto our hands while she kicked her legs. Then I turned her to Victor and had her swim 1 or 2 feet to him. We did that back and forth 3 or 4 times while we kept getting further and further apart. Then she decided that she wanted a toy on the other side of the pool and took off after it! She was SO proud of herself that she could swim by herself. I was beaming with pride myself of course! What a brave and smart girl!



Not to be outdone by my sister -- am I cute or WHAT?

Deanna Rose

I took Alana to Deanna Rose Farmstead yesterday for the first time. She was excited when she saw all the animals and liked the goats, until we got up close to feed them. She was really unsure about the big goats, so we moved over to where the baby goats were. I didn't dare take her in to pet them. She's definitely not ready for that yet. However, she tried to feed them and after watching Collin and Dylan feed the goats, she got the hang of it. She also liked to see the rabbits, chickens, peacocks, fish, cows, and horses. She had a great time playing on the playground and stomping around in the water. We are so lucky to have such a fun place within 10 minutes drive from our home. We'll definitely be back there this summer and will probably go a lot this fall when Collin is back in school. We only saw about half the farm yesterday, but it was a good introduction for her.

We also went swimming with my friend Aimee' and her family yesterday evening. The kids had a great time and I couldn't believe how brave Alana is getting in the pool. Last night she started kicking her legs. I showed her how to hold onto the steps and practice kicking. Today, she wanted out in the water with me and only wanted to hold onto my hands. She even let go of my hands a couple of times, but wasn't secure and grabbed back on again. She has come so far from the little girl who would only go out in the water with mom and dad for a few minutes at a time. That was with her grabbing onto us and holding on for dear life. I think she may be swimming on her own this summer after all. Probably this week!

St. Louis

We travelled to St. Louis this weekend for the Children's Hope National Reunion Picnic. We left Friday afternoon around 3pm and purposely didn't give the little ones their naps so they would sleep in the car. Of course our children had other plans! Collin slept for 20 minutes and Alana and Dylan didn't sleep a wink! They watched movies and snacked the whole way there and did great. Even after not taking naps they had a horrible time settling down for bed. Especially Dylan, who kept popping up in his crib to tell us one more thing. "All done" " All done night night" "Mommy - Need to potty" "Mommy -- Rock a baby" "Mommy -- I love you" "Mommy -- kiss" "Mommy -- need a drinky" You get the picture! He finally went to sleep around 10:30 (after putting him to bed at 9:00) and was still up before 6:00 in the morning. Luckily he was able to go back to sleep and then slept until 9:00 am.

Saturday morning we went to the picnic. Xin Yi was so excited to see her friend Yu Jie again, but she was hanging out with another girl from her travel group. The two older girls (8 and 11) were speaking Mandarin and Alana seemed to shut down when she was with them. We went out for lunch and as soon as she was away from the other kids she was back to her happy-go-lucky self. I hope she is able to get over this for her Mandarin classes that start next month. It must be hard to be between languages right now. Many times she will say "mama" and point to things, but then doesn't say anything because she knows I won't understand.

Saturday evening we went to visit Victor's Uncle Mike and Aunt Julie and their kids Matt and Isaac. We all had such a great time. Julie fixed a wonderful dinner and then we went outside to play. The boys set up a baseball game in the backyard while Julie bounced with Alana and Dylan on their trampoline. It was such a nice evening!

Sunday morning we met my friend Staci and her daughter Rachel at the Missouri Botanical Garden. None of us had been there before, but it is safe to say we'll all be going back. It was so beautiful! The kids had such a great time in the Children's garden. Especially the water playground area where they all got soaked! We went out to lunch with them and then headed back to KC. It was an exhausting weekend, but so much fun!

Cute Pictures

Here are some cute pictures of my two little ones eating popsicles the other night.

Here is Dylan with his special treasure chest (i.e., vent). This is where he like to stash his tiny treasures. He used to pull it out, so I glued it to the floor. Now he keep putting toys, stickers, paper and snacks down there. It would be frustrating if he weren't so darn cute!

Katy and Austin

Today was a difficult day. We lost our dog Katy. She was rescued from an animal shelter in Texas almost 12 years ago. They estimated at the time that she was 2 or 3 years old, so she lived to be about 14 or 15 years old. Luckily the two youngest ones don't understand and Collin seemed to handle it pretty well. Katy didn't like being around little kids, so we've been keeping her in our bedroom for most of the last year (since Dylan got really mobile). Here is a picture of Collin and Katy taken in May. I sent this picture with Collin to his "take your pet to school day" since Katy would not have enjoyed actually being there with all the kids.



Losing Katy has made me miss our other dog, Austin, even more. We lost Austin almost two years ago, and while I'm glad the two of them are together again, I miss them both terribly. They were my children before I had kids. I babied those dogs like crazy and they were members of the family. We are trying to focus on the happy memories we had with our sweet dogs and to remember that they are no longer in pain.

Oceans of Fun

I finally got the Oceans of Fun pictures developed today. They are so cute!! The kids all had such a great time and the pictures turned out great. I absolutely love the underwater picture of Collin. I didn't think it would turn out when I took it. There are some really cute pictures of the kids with Dominic too. What fun!

Fun in the Sun!

We've been soaking up the sun the past couple of days. Yesterday we spent the day with Dominic at Oceans of Fun. Victor, Dominic and Collin took off to ride the water slides while I stayed back with Alana and Dylan. Alana had a great time playing in the kid pools and going down the slides. Dylan had a good time in the water, but he was too little to go up and down the slides by himself. They won't let adults go down the slides with the kids, so he was out of luck. We also all went together on the lazy river and to the family pool area. Even though we reapplied SPF 50 sunblock multiple times, we still got a little sun. Collin and Alana got a beautiful tan while Victor, Dominic, Dylan and I burned!

Today, we had some family over and spent the day in the backyard by our pool. It was such a fun day -- nothing better than spending a day hanging out with your family and having fun! The kids all had a blast playing with my cousin's children. Alana made friends with everyone and played with the water guns most of the afternoon. She water all the plants (and many weeds) around the pool repeatedly. It was so cute. Today was one of the those days when you feel completely happy and content. I am so blessed to have such amazing children and such a wonderful family!

I'll will add the Oceans of Fun pictures soon (hopefully tomorrow).

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a happy 4th of July today! We went to the Royals game last night where they had a pre-4th of July fireworks show. There were a lot of home runs during the game (they won 17 to 3), so there were a lot of fireworks during the game as well. Alana didn't like the loud booms or when the crowd would cheer loudly. She wanted to be held and would put my hand over her ear to muffle the sound. It was just a bit of sensory overload for her. She did come around toward the end of the fireworks and had a tiny smile on her face. Hopefully she will be OK tonight as well. We are also going to Disney next month and there will be lot of fireworks there too.

Pump It Up!!

We took the kids to Pump It Up yesterday and it was a huge success! Alana loved it! She ran all over, but would call for me if I got out of sight. Ma Mah -- Ma MAH -- MA MAAAHHHHH!! Victor was able to come with us or I couldn't have managed Dylan and Alana. You might also notice a blast from the past in these pictures. Yep -- That is DALTON!!! He spent the night on Sunday and was so excited to meet Alana and play with her. It was very sweet.

Uncle Dominic

My baby brother is in town from Georgia and met Alana for the first time on Sunday. They hit it off right away of course! Today is Dominic's birthday -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dominic!!

Family Pictures -- Take 2

I heard from a couple of people that they were having problems seeing the family pictures. I've added a couple here in the hopes that they can see them.

Sharing

Besides language, the thing we are working on the most is sharing. Our boys do pretty well in this department, but Alana is struggling. I noticed as a foster parent that the girls we cared for seemed to struggle with sharing more than the boys we cared for. Alana can be quite manipulative with Dylan. I will get out toys for them and after a short period of time, Dylan will have 2 or 3 of the toys and Alana will have a huge pile that she won't share with him. I intervene and even out the toys again only to have her sneak a big pile again within a few minutes. It is really quite humorous to watch her. There are times when she has something and Dylan REALLY wants it. I will sometimes try to find an equivalent toy for him to play with. Alana always decides she wants the new toy and tries to trade with Dylan. She has even gone so far as to knock the new toy out of his hand and then point to the ceiling to try to distract him while she grabbed it. I try to watch her closely to put a stop to most of this, but it isn't possible to catch her every time. I've already noticed that when Dylan gets a new toy he will usually start running in the opposite direction of Alana to make sure she doesn't get it. Oh, to be the little brother!




Have I mentioned what a tiny little thing my daughter is? She wore mostly dresses while we were in China and the size 3 and 4's I brought fit her fine. She is tall, so she really needs the length of a 4. She wears a size 3 or 4 shirt as well, but shorts and pants are a whole other story! This child has no waist! I had some size 4 shorts with elastic that would fall straight off her. I went back and bought size 3's, but the same thing happened. I went back to buy 2's, but they were out of them in pink. So, I bought size 18 month shorts and guess what -- they are still a little big!! Here is a picture of her in her 18 month shorts!





She is eating pretty well though, so it may not be long before she can wear some of her bigger pants. I'm holding off on buying much fall stuff right now to see how much she grows. I'm thinking she will probably need a 4 slim in pants. We'll probably also need to start buying a lot of belts!