Our Life with Miss P

2009-09-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

I knew this past week was going to be tough, I knew I was going to be exhausted, what I did not know was how tough and how exhausting it was going to be. I did not have the energy nor the desire to even think about taking any pictures let alone think of something to write in a blog post. I did get some cute pictures this morning to share.

You have been dong this standing on one leg pose for the past several days . Time to get you enrolled in ballet class!
I cant promise that I will post during the week this coming week. I start my 9.5 hr days tomorrow and can imagine being fairly tired, if I get anything on here it will probably just be a picture or two. I am going to try very hard to do so, but am not going to beat myself up about it if I just cant get it done.

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2009-09-01T19:58:00.001-07:00

We made it! we got up and around you put your little backpack on, we walked over to Miss Traci's and you settled right in to your new school. You were patient enough to let me get a couple of photos when I dropped you off, but I could tell you were excited to get your day started. Miss Traci said you had a great day.

You look sad in this photo, but you really just wanted me to get it over with so you could go play.

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2009-08-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

I love it when......you never miss a "bless you" when someone sneezes. I mean NEVER, you can be intently in the middle of something , but someone sneezes and you don't miss a beat "bless you"

One of my biggest struggles with this blog is the photos, taking a decent photo is a constant struggle for me and I try sooooo hard. I just don't have an eye for it and completely lack confidence when it comes to taking photos. Of course when your subject thinks its a funny game to run from the camera that makes it even harder. I may take 25 photos and get 2 decent ones, but I keep trying. These are my favorite photos from this summer and they bring back such wonderful memories,they are in no particular order, although the first one is probably one of my favorite photos of you. Gosh darn it, you are a cute little thing!

The idea, when I began 62 posts was to post everday for the two complete months we were home together for the summer. The months of July and August. After missing several posts I am only at 52 and have to return to work tomorrow. I am still going to try and get 62 done, I know it kind of misses the point, but I don't want to quit. I want you to know it is important to try and finish something, even if it doesn't turn out quite the way it was expected. I am so glad I tried to get a picture of you everyday with a little note of what we did. Hopefully one day you will look back on it, like a little scrapbook of your summer of 2009.

It has been such a wonderful summer getting to spend everyday with you. We did not really do much. We did not go on any exciting trips or have any big adventures, but this was by choice. I just wanted to stay home and enjoy my time with you and your brother and sister. Grandma Ba came for several visits and we got to spend a lot of time with her, that was wonderful for the both of you....for me too! We have walked for miles and miles, you love going for walks. You love going to the playground and swinging. You have gotten very brave on the swing and want to go higher and higher. We went to the BIG pool a couple of times and you really enjoyed that, we picked LOTS of strawberries and experienced a HUGE storm with lots of rain and thunder and lighting that you still talk about ( you loved it!)

The change in you this summer has been amazing. Your growth in the past two months, both emotionally and verbally has been wonderful. When I picked you up from daycare on June 9th you still seemed somewhat babyish, you were not talking a lot or at least not talking about anything that made a whole lot of sense, now you are expressing yourself like crazy and saying something new everday. We can communicate really well and I usually get what you are trying to tell me. You are a little sponge just soaking everything in, you are very bright and learn VERY quickly. The stuff you throw out there sometimes cracks me up , yesterday your phrases of the day were "that's not fair eeder" and " i not fink so"( it was a sassy day) Today you had a lego and you were acting like you were blowing on it and humming, I asked you what you were doing and you told me you were "playing the french horn" HUH?( this has got to be a Little Einsteins influence! ) There are so many funny, cute little things you say and do, I could go on and on........ here are a few of your accomplishments, you can count and recognize #'s 1-20(although the teens are still a little tricky), know almost all shapes (except for trapezoid and hexagon) you know all the colors and can recognize all the letters in the alphabet. It has been such a joy for me to help you learn these things. I love, love , love watching you learn and grow.

I haven't really mentioned much of your brother and sister the past couple of months but things are going very well for them. Kayla is getting ready to start her college classes, bought a car with the generous graduation donations she received from family and has her very first real job as a hostess at our local Applebees. I think Coop is getting bored (although he would never admit it) and he seems ready to start the 7th grade and play football.

This is by far the hardest time I have ever had preparing myself to go back to work, so as a result I am in a major funk.....huge funk..ugh! It is always hard to get my head around summer being over, but I enjoy my job so that makes the transition a little easier. I know I am fortunate that I get to spend several months at home with my kids, that is why I love the job that I have, but the school district that I work for is going to four days a week with an extended school day so, although I will only be working four days a week this year my days will be about 2.5 hours longer. I cant get my head around not seeing you for 9+ hrs a day!! The things you will accomplish and say and do in those 9+hrs that I will not get to witness :( sigh....I know you are going to be very well cared for at your new preschool and Miss Tracie will take pictures and videos for me. I am just going to miss you like crazy! So this is my little note to you, what a blessing you have been, I look forward to spending lots and lots of lazy summers with you. I am so lucky to be your mommy:)

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2009-08-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is all I have got.... it has been a looooong day.

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2009-08-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

I love it when...... you get out of the bathtub without any drama. Lately you have been giving me a hard time when it is time to get out of the tub. " I not want to get out eeder" "I play in the water" " I play, I play , I play" then you just get mad when I have to pull you out. Tonight you got right out with no fuss:) whew!
I don't have any pictures tonight, some one jacked two of the batteries out of my camera ( coop?) and there were not any charged and ready to go and I just didn't feel like looking for batteries today.

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2009-08-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

I love it when.....you are doing something that brings you complete joy. Last night we went to the playground and there is a BIG hill there. You thought it was so fun to climb up the hill and run down. You would have stayed until dark running up and down that hill. It really is a big hill and you look so tiny.

A funny story about this outfit. You are really wanting to put your clothes on yourself and you are really fast at putting this jumper on. You came out of your room today after being in there for only a couple for minutes and you had managed to take your jumper off and put it back on........inside-out and backwards, but you were so proud I just left it and you wore it like that the rest of the day
You saw daddy rolling down the hill and you wanted to roll down too.....the problem was you wanted to roll down on daddy's back with him

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2009-08-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

What a great day! I took lots of pictures this evening at the playground but they will have to wait until tomorrow. I just really dont want to spend the time editing them tonight. You had a super day today....slept good, ate good...all is good:) I am off the watch Top Chef and Chopped with Coop!

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2009-08-26T15:53:00.001-07:00

I love it when......you take a good nap. Today was not a nap day though:( your sleeping schedule has gotten all out of whack. You were awake for about an hour in the middle of the night last night and slept until 9:00 this morning and didn't want to take a nap this afternoon. I am going to put you down early tonight before things start getting ugly. We have not had any breakdowns or big sassy attitudes yet and I am hoping to avoid that today! Next week mommy has to go back to work so we will be having early mornings and early nights and you will lay down at school at 12:00 for rest time. I was hoping to try and swing you into a similar schedule this week.....we will give it another try tomorrow.

I will not take responsibility for this outfit. You wanted to wear the skirt Grandma Ba got for you along with your rainbow P.J. top. You make me smile:)
I can't believe Jade lets you play with his cell phone, bu tyou think it is the greatest thing ever

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2009-08-25T19:47:00.001-07:00

We had a great day today.....you woke up in a great mood, took a good nap and even let me take some pictures......kind of.... I got one good one!

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2009-08-24T18:32:00.001-07:00

It has been a tough day today. We generally don't have many bad days, but today was a tough one. I have been in a foul mood most of the day....not really sure why, but today was not the best of days for you to decide that you were not going to take a nap and you have been a stinker most of the day. You started telling me around 4:00pm that you were tired and wanted to lay down, there was no way I was going to lay you down for a nap that late...unless I wanted to stay up half the night. You were clingy this afternoon because you were tired and normally I don't mind you crawling all over me....but......I'm done! It has been a long one and I am looking forward to going out and picking some strawberries, piling them on a BIG bowl of vanilla bean ice cream or I could have a big gooey cinnamon roll with melted butter...mmm.. feeling better already! I will turn the TV on SoapNet, crawl into my cozy bed with fresh linens that have been hanging outside to dry and watch some mindless soaps and get a good nights sleep! I am so glad we get a fresh start tomorrow! Love you my angel:)

I took this picture before the "no nap" part of the day began......
This is right before bed time tonight...

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2009-08-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

We did a whole lot of nothing today! you spent most of the day in your jammies with your backpack that we got at the $1 store yesterday. It doesn't take much to make you happy....a $1 backpack with a new Mickey Mouse coloring book inside and you are a happy little girl.

I love it when......you sit in the bathtub and sing! We often finish up bath-time with mommy having a bit of a headache because you generally "sing" at the top of your voice ( some may call it hollering) but you are so happy playing in the tub and that makes me happy:)

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2009-08-22T20:20:00.001-07:00

"Miss P's Pizza Parlor may I take your order?"

"One pepperoni and sausage pizza with no crust....got it!"
Better go shop for more supplies!

Fun at the Children's Museum

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2009-08-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Busy day....and my camera is dead so no pictures tonight:(
We had a lot of fun at the Children Museum and at the HUGE pool today!
Everyone is leaving tomorrow, I know you are going to be sad, you really had fun with your cousins!

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2009-08-20T19:36:00.001-07:00

This is your " I do it myself" pose

Four kids 2, 5, 7 and 12........100 degrees outside! We went to the bowling alley for a bit then played in the sprinkler ....just do darn hot to be out.....we are going to the Children s Museum and the HUGE pool tomorrow

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2009-08-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

We have visitors! Grandma Ba and cousins Nick and Lindsey are here for a couple of days. We have lots of fun stuff planned.

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2009-08-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

I love it when..... You sing the clean up song . Clean up, clean up everybody everywhere...clean up, clean up everybody do your share. You almost always sing this to yourself when cleaning up. I am not sure when you heard this. I remember Barney singing it, but you don't watch Barney....it may have been on Yo Gabba Gabba

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2009-08-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

I love it when.....I can capture a few special moments of you and your big brother together.

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2009-08-14T19:11:00.001-07:00

I love it when...... you run up to me and tell me you love me.....melts my heart every time! ( I may have already mentioned this in one of my previous love it when's, but it is truly my favorite thing you do)

It was fairly chilly this evening, but after the BIG plate of Kung Pao chicken mommy had for dinner there was no way I was going to bed without a walk. So we bundled up and went on a walk to see the orange hand.........

I have been meaning to write a post about your craziness for the orange hand. It all began almost two months ago when we started going on evening walks when Grandma Ba came to visit. We walked to an intersection and had to push a button and wait for the orange hand to turn into a white man so that we could walk across the street. Now when you spot traffic lights you start saying "orange hand" you get more excited the closer we get....'"here it comes mommy, getting closer" The drive through town can seem quite long as there are many orange hands and it is all we hear about. I find myself saying " uh, huh orange hand, yep I see it" over and over. It is pretty cool to see you learning about things around you and getting excited about it though!

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2009-08-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is priceless........

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2009-08-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

I love it when.......you get so excited about a new pair of shoes. Girl loves her shoes and when it is buy one pair of Chucks get the second pair for 1/2 price, well we just have to get two pairs! You had to have the red ones, you fell in looooove with the red ones. You had to put them on before we even paid for them and wore them out of the store.

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2009-08-10T19:13:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all of you who left a comment in response to my question of who was following along on this blog. It was nice to know that most of you who responded have been following Miss P since our journey began.

Today you spent a little over an hour at your new pre-school. We are so lucky to have found this special place. Not only is your new little school RIGHT next door, but it is a wonderful environment and you really love Miss Tracie. I think you are going to be very happy there. You are going to go for about an hour in the morning this week. Before we know it mommy will be going back to work so it is important you get to know the children.

You were not into getting your pictures taken today, so I snapped a couple while we were going on our walk. TWO....that's is all I was able to get, you little stinker:)

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2009-08-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

I love it when.......you walk into or out of a room like you own it! " hi all-one, bye all-one" you give a little wave as you strut your stuff (instead of everyone you say "all-one") it really is pretty darn cute:)

Today we went to the playground, I promised you this morning that we would go after your nap and you reminded me as soon as you got up. I have mentioned before that you love to swing.....you seriously love to swing......" higher mommy, higher....woo hoo"

Whaaaaat?...... " let's go dude" you have said this to me several times this evening. Not sure where that's coming from...well I suppose it could be your 12 year old brother!

Who needs to go to the spa when your 2yr old can give you a pedi :)

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2009-08-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

mmmmm....bacon. bacon, bacon!!

Recipe for loads of fun

1 table
a couple of blankets
brother to make super cool fort for you

who's visiting?

2009-08-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Just a quick request.......if you are a frequent visitor or just stop by once in awhile or this is your first time and you think you might be back, I sure wouldn't mind a quick comment to let me know who is reading this blog. As much as I am enjoying keeping this daily diary of my 62 days of summer with Paige, it can be a bit disconcerting not knowing who is reading and it is nice to know who is following along. Thanks:)

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2009-08-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

I love it when.......We go to the Sonic drive through and as soon as we get our food you take a BIG whiff start rubbing your belly and say "yummy ,yummy, yummy rings" You looooove your sonic onion rings!

Your new favorite thing to do.......Legos.

You left your piggy's in for quite awhile today.........well.......one of them!

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2009-08-06T19:35:00.001-07:00

I love it when......you are content on days when we don't do much of anything.

Crazy times...the past week it has been really to hot to go out and play and by the time it cools down it is bed time. Today it was flat out chilly and windy. We did get out for a walk , but we had to bundle up and wear our hoodies. You are always content to just hang out...play with your puzzles, princess cash register and crayons & paper on those days we just don't do much of anything. You never really get fussy or bored and you don't demand that I entertain you every second. Today you had great time playing with your choo choo train alphabet and you got to play Lego's with your brother. It was a lazy day, but a good day.
I

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2009-08-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

I love it when.......you call me honey. You just started doing this, and it is soooooo sweet.

Grandma Ba and Grandpa came today and we went out to dinner. You discovered dipping your bacon in warm maple syrup was pretty tasty. I am not sure why you did it, but once you started there was no stopping you ( I like to dip my bacon, so I totally get it)

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2009-08-04T20:16:00.001-07:00

I love it when.....You let me take your picture, sometimes you even ham it up for me and say "noodles" with a big grin, today was not one of those days though.....
You would not let me take your picture today. You wanted to take the pictures, so you helped me take a pictue of Brown Bear....poor sad little scummy Brown Bear, you love him so much.

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2009-08-03T19:29:00.001-07:00

We had another huge storm last night with lots of thunder, rain and lighting. We sat outside on the porch as long as we could then went in and snuggled in front of the open door and enjoyed the show for close to and hour. You thought it was soooo cool.

This cracks me up. You do this all the time, I am not sure what you are looking for but it took you many crackers until you found just the right one and ate the whole thing. We will try the others again tomorrow, eventually you will eat them all, you just go about it a little differently.

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2009-08-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

I love it when.....You are able to tell me what you want. Today you came up to me and said "mommy i want a dink, i'm firsty" No pointing, no whining....just to the point what you needed.

Another hot and humid day here today. We had a huge storm last night so everything was very wet and it was pretty darn steamy today. We went outside this afternoon to play with your new sidewalk chalk when these huge raindrops started falling.....so of course you and Coop ran out and started jumping and running in the rain. You were beside yourself with joy!

I love the picture on the bottom right, you are totally getting some air...look at you jump girl!

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2009-08-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

I love it when......we go out in the evening and pick berries. Every evening we go out and pick some strawberries. You follow me around with the little green basket. You refuse to eat the berries however..... if you would only try one, nothing better than a berry picked out of your own yard!
A picture can not do this outfit justice! you picked this ensemble out yourself and made up your mind this was what you were going to wear. Thank goodness we spent the day inside in the cool house since you insisted on wearing leggings and your Chucks ( it was close to 100 degrees today) the outfit was quite awful really, but you were happy, so there ya go!

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2009-07-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

I love it when.......You use your manners. You are so good at saying.... peas, thanx, cuse me and bless you when someone sneezes.

We went to the fair today let and it was so HOT! we even went early to try and beat the heat but it was pretty yucky. You enjoyed seeing all the animals, although I think you were disappointed there was not an elephant there, for some you reason you were convinced you were going to see an elephant. You really enjoyed the chickens and ducks, you thought all the noises they were making was pretty funny.

You were just not into getting your pictures today. I did get one of you taking a sip off your slushy. I think this was your favorite part of the fair!

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2009-07-30T19:39:00.001-07:00

I love it when.......you wait patiently for me at the bottom of the stairs. There are times when I need to run quickly upstairs and I ask you to wait on the bottom stair for me and you will sit right down, usually rest your head on the stair behind you and wait patiently for me to return. Considering how many times mommy goes up and down the stairs daily either carrying you or taking one sloooow step at a time it nice to be able to run up and back quickly once in awhile and know you will be waitng on your stair for me.

Granny Noela took us to the BIG pool today and you had a blast!! This was your first time in a BIG pool with lots of people so I was not 100% sure how you would react, but you loved it.

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2009-07-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is a big day at our house......it is garbage day and you looooove waiting for the garbage man to come up in his big truck. You can usually hear is brakes squeaking from several blocks away so you know he is getting close. You say " He is getting closer Mommy, almost here" He is always so nice and gives you a wave.
It has been to hot here to do much of anything, so we have been doing a whole lot of nothing!

Waiting patiently.......
He made it!!!!!

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2009-07-28T19:40:00.001-07:00

I love it when........you are sweet and loving to Grandma Ba. We had another nice visit with Ba, although it was very short. Grandma Ba travels for several hours to see us , I am so delighted that the two of you are becoming such great friends. I would like to getsome pictures of the two of you, but getting Ba to let me take her picture is not an easy task, especially if she knows I am going to post it on here!

It was very hot today and you did not want to be outside, so we waited until the sun was almost down to go out and play in the water, but the lighting was nice for your pictures. You look like such a big girl to me in today's photos.

2009-07-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 27, 2009

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I love it when....you get excited to take your Vitamins. You take two vitamins, fluoride and Toddler DHA. We call the DHA drops brain power and you always get so excited "power, power, power" and jump up and down( these actually do not taste very good, I had to try them to see what all the excitement was about) then you ask for your teeth bite-a-mins. You have always taken theses like such a big girl, just one more thing you do to make mommy's job easier:)

We have been so lucky to have Grandma Ba come for several visits this summer. She spent all of last week with us and is back today.....this will probably be a short visit, but we love it when she comes and stays with us! You love to go on long walks in the evening in your stroller with Grandma Ba pushing..(and mommy trying to keep up) you sit straight up to take everything in and just sing.

You have earned enough stickers to go to the playground a few times, you could probably earn enough to go everyday, but I want it to be something special that you can look forward to. You love to swing and will sit on it as long as you can. You are getting brave and want to be pushed higher and higher.

You are saying some pretty cute stuff lately-

" hey guys, was going on?"
" I , myself" your way of saying you want to do it yourself, we are hearing this alot lately!
" cuse me"...i tooted or i burped
"eeeder" your way of saying either. We usually hear this in a sassy tone as in " I don't want dat eeeder"
Lindsey, Kayla, Jade, Paige, Coop and Nicolas
What a fun visit! Thanks for coming and spending the day with us Uncle ken, Aunt Dana, Nick and Lindsey!!

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2009-07-26T20:09:00.001-07:00

I love it when......you sleep through the night! You have been doing so good sleeping throughout the night. It has been great because mommy has been really pooped lately and a full nights sleep has been wonderful.

As to why I haven't posted in a week....well life happens, I am not even going to make excuses, although I have several. I am going to try really hard to get back on track. I intend to make up the week I missed

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2009-07-18T20:55:00.001-07:00

I love it when....you see a butterfly. You love butterflies and are so mesmerized whenever we are lucky enough to find one.

We have been so busy these last few days and I have not taken many photos. I was not able to get a post up yesterday because my internet connection was not working. It has just been busy, busy, busy around here..... going on car rides, playing at the playground, going on walks, visiting family and spending time with Grandma Ba, I hope to be able to take the time in the next couple of days to do a more detailed post instead of sqeezing one in at the last minute.

Swinging with Grandma Ba and CooperMommy had her glasses on tonight and so you had to have yours on also
You love this little pool....you are not hard to please...a little plastic pool and a measuring cup makes you happy

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2009-07-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

I love it when.....You go right to sleep! For the last week you have been struggling with going to sleep and your bed time has been getting later and later,but tonight you went right to bed and right to sleep.

Grandma Ba's back!! she will be here for a whole week!

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2009-07-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

I love it when.......you wake up in the morning and lay in your bed and talk. I like to sit and listen to you through the monitor...."mommy, wake up...Paige awake....mommy wake up"

Tonight I asked you if you wanted a hot dog...."no mommy, hot dog toooo hot!" where do you come up with this stuff?!

New word today....lishus (as in, delicious) I guess technically its not really a word, but it sure it cute when you say it and rub your belly!

We have started a playground reward chart and when you get four princess stickers we get to go to the playground. You are always to tickled when you earn a sticker and get to put it on your chart. It was very hot here today and mommy did not really feel up to going to playground, but you earned your stickers so off to the playground we went....

You could sit on this swing all afternoon

You were not really interested in getting your picture taken at the playground but we needed to rest in the shade.

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2009-07-15T20:41:00.001-07:00

I love it when you.....say something super sweet. Today I said to you " your cute Paige" your reply..."your so toot mommy" just the way you said it melted my heart.

Your new fave.... a strawberry smoothie from ducth bros.

You enjoyed playing in your little pool this evening.

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2009-07-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

I love it when......You have a wide open space to run and your little legs just go so fast and your arms start flapping, you look like you are getting ready to fly

New favorite thing....your nockers

It is only Monday and mommy is so tired. Some days you are busier than others and today you were definitely a bundle of energy. You have been so happy lately. I think it is because you are really beginning to talk and communicate so well. You don't stop...from the time you get up till the time you go to bed and you usually have a new word or two or three that you throw in. I often find myself saying out loud " what did you say and how did you know that?"

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2009-07-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

I love it when......You shout out the colors of the traffic lights. This is something new you just started and not only is it super helpful to mommy it is also pretty darn cute!

I was sick all day yesterday with the tummy flu and you were such a good girl. You brought brown bear and came and snuggled with me for awhile

Frosted flakes for dinner? yep when mommy is sick, if you want frosted flakes then frosted flakes it is!
You wanted this PopTart so badly for breakfast this morning. IF only you would have tried it, you would have found out how wonderfully delicious they are!

You were in such a great mood today. It is harder to get pictures of you though ( I wish you would just help me out...mommy has a hard enough time taking a decent picture, I am the first to admit my photography skills could use a little help)

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2009-07-12T18:36:00.001-07:00

Well... I am very disappointed but I am not going to be able to get a full post on here today. I have the tummy flu and I just have to go lie back down. I did get a couple cute pictures today that I will post tomorrow

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2009-07-11T20:05:00.001-07:00

I love it when......You start using a new word. Today your word was perfect. You would do something and then say "there...perfect!" and brush your hands together. Too cute!

Eli invited you over today to play in his pool.

You love hanging out on the swing.

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2009-07-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

I love it when.....You are sitting on the couch and you pat the spot next to you and say "sit down mommy, sit down"

You ate deli turkey today!!! you ate deli turkey and liked it...and asked for more. This is huge! You ate something that wasn't a noodle!! Really, you are getting better with your eating, but it is still a uphill climb....we'll get there!

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2009-07-09T20:01:00.001-07:00

I love it when.....You are willing to try something new. It was not without drama and some fussing that you decided to give these "sparkly" sandals a try. I honestly thought you were going to wear your pink Chucks and nothing but your pink Chucks, but you have taken quite a liking to these sandals. It doesn't hurt that you like showing off your pink piggy's!

Mommy was busy most of the afternoon helping your sister register for her college classes, but we had a great morning together. You have been waking up in such a great mood lately, I love seeing your smiling face every morning and having our time together, just you and me before everyone else gets up.

8/62

2009-07-08T20:37:00.001-07:00

I love it when....you get so excited that your belly button is still there. You are quite fascinated with your belly button, in fact you talk about it alot. You spent quite a bit of time today walking around with your dress pulled up showing your button off.

7/62

2009-07-07T19:37:00.001-07:00

I love it when....... I set you in the tub you say "tinkle, tinkle, tinkle" you say this every bath time. It is your way of asking for me to turn the water on just a tiny bit so you can fill all your little cups and bowls up.
We did NOTHING today.....absolutely NOTHING. We needed a day to just chill and it has been windy and smokey here from a forest fire so we didn't even get outside. Tomorrow we at least need to get out for a walk before the wind blows the smoke in.

6/62

2009-07-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

I love it when.....I am carrying you down the stairs and you wrap your arms around my neck really tight and say "hold on mama"

You were absolutely not going to wear the blue shorts I picked out for you this morning, you were going to wear pink even if it meant putting them on yourself!

You had a very busy day today. You had your first Dentist appointment. You were so good and sat super still for Captain Rex and his team of cavity fighting super heroes! I am happy to report you have NO cavities! Captain Rex said your teeth are in great shape, just a little staining because your enamel is rough, but he cleaned them up and your teeth are super shiny and clean. Things were a little out of wack today and you didn't get to lay down for your nap when you should have so we decided to try and go without, this meant trying to keep busy...

Hitting the courts....
Supervising Coop while he was washing the car....

Splashing in a puddle

In the end you just couldn't make it and ended up crashing into a VERY late nap. Bed time could be tricky tonight.

5/62

2009-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

I Love it when you.... eat! seeing you chow down on these noodles makes me one happy mama!

After our busy, late day yesterday you spent the today in your jammies, just being kind of lazy You did water the plants for me..thanks!

Daddy and Coop planted our new family tree

4/62

2009-07-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

I love it when.....you ask me for a kiss when I lay you in bed.

Our first 4th of July together 2007 in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. The day you became a part of our family.
Our second 4th of July, 2008

Our third 4th of July, 2009! What a day...with family, friends , fireworks ( or as you like to call them, sparkley's)! Starting last year we began calling 4th of July our Family Celebration day, we thought of famiversary...gotcha day....but Family Celebration seemed to be the best fit. Grandma Ba even brought us a curly willow tree to plant in honor of our special day, I cant wait to get in the ground and watch it grow and bring loveliness to our lives just like you do. Thanks Grandma Ba for your thoughtfulness.
You were not crazy about taking this picture, you didnt want to lay on the grass.

Your new crush, Jade
Hanging with Coop by Granny's pond
Kiss from Big Sis
Figuring out you could score some candy at the parade

I love you Paige!

3/62

2009-07-03T20:25:00.001-07:00

I love it when......you can spot the moon in the sky, even when it is a tiny sliver and the sky is bright blue, you always seem to find it and shout moon Mama moon.

OOOOOHHHH, busted! caught breaking into Coop's room!

It is hard to believe that on July 3rd, two years ago we took a long hot van ride to a Thai Nguyen orphanage and held you in our arms for the very first time. It was so hard to leave you, I wanted to take you with me so badly, but we had to wait one more day. Now I get to share everyday with you....how lucky am I? the luckiest Mama in the world!

2/62

2009-07-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Woke up in a great mood!

Wore "piggys" for maybe 5 minutes

Going for a ride tonight with Coop.

I have decided that I will begin each daily post with " I love it when"....there are many things that P says or does that make my day but somethings are super special.

I love it when..... You say " I wuv oooh momma" without any prompting

Some facts:

Age: 2 yrs & 3mo
Weight: 23.4 lbs
Height: 36 in.
Favorite food (today) McDonald's french fries
Favorite "thing": Still loves Brown Bear
Favorite Show: It's a tie between Kai Lan and Little Einsteins
Words: Too many to name
Counting to: 15

1/62

2009-07-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's us....we are back! well we never really WENT anywhere, so I don't have any fantastic excuses, but we are back in blogland with a post everyday for 62 days. I wish I could commit to 365, but I promise to post everyday for the months of July and August, it may just be a photo of our little darling, but I will get something on here daily. Tomorrow I promise a post on what Paige has been up to but I wanted to make sure I could squeeze this on here before the end of the day today.

2009-01-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

After two wonderful weeks of Christmas break we are all back to work and school. We had so much fun just hanging out and playing with Paige. There is never a dull moment in this house (well, except for when P is napping) Being home with Paige for two weeks amazed me to see how much she changes and develops almost daily. It was REALLY hard to go back to work this time. She is really beginning to use words, is counting to five, dancing and singing, just lots and lots of fun!! Paige loooooves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Donald is by far her favorite. Duck,Duck,Duck she gets so exctied when Donald comes on. She is also crazy about Elmo and the outside of Sonic's onion rings! What kind of mom would sit and pull the onion out of the rings so her daughter can have the outside? well....that would be me. This child is so picky that if she has somthing she likes.....proably wont win any mother of the year awards, but hey, if P is happy then I am happy!
I feel badly that there are many blogs that I have followed for so long that I am not able to access because they are password protected and I have everything saved to my laptop ( still waiting to get in and get repaired) So if I have not left a comment lately on some of my regulars you now know why... I have not lost interest, just not able. I also don't have very many pictures. My daughter has a great camera and has been taking lots of pictures of P, I just need to to get her to put them on the Hubbs computer so I can share them with you. On the blogs I have been able to check, it looks like all is well and everyone is happy. I wish everyone a wonderful and fun filled new year!

I bet you will never guess who has "control" at our house!
Who said you cant wear your tights on your head?

growing up....

2008-12-14T08:55:00.000-08:00

It seems as if our little one has grown up so much this week. We have definitely entered the toddler stage...this child is no longer a baby. She is really starting to show her true personality and I love it, although she can be a bit of a Diva and is very particular about the way she thinks things should be. Juice in a juice cup, milk in a bottle, Kraft mac and cheese(no passing those imitations off on her) frosting scraped off her Oreo's......
She is talking up a storm, she has many words that are becoming much more clear. One of my favorite thing she does is at bedtime we will be downstairs and all I have to say is "Paige its time for night night" and she says "night,night" gives a little wave and starts up the stairs and heads right to her room....too cute! I am surprised she has not shown much interest it the Christmas tree. It only has lights on it right now so I guess it is not too interesting, we will see what happens after we get it decorated today.
Paige is very into glasses, I don't know if it is because her sister and I wear them, but she has a couple of hand me down play pairs that she will wear for long periods of time , just strutting around the house in these big glasses. Let me tell you she thinks she is something in her glasses! Here are a few cute pics from the weeks and a couple of videos......
Bet you wish you had a pair of these!
Me and my Sis

2008-12-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

Miss P turned 20 months at the end of November. She has changed so much this past month. In the blink of an eye she went from my little baby to a little girl. Although, I love watching her change and learn everyday, it makes me sad that she is "growing" so fast. Speaking of growing she is still fairly small. She weighs 22 pounds , I didn't catch her length....but she is very petite(5th percentile on the growth chart for height) Miss P has such a wonderful personality she is so much fun, I have the best time just hanging out with her. Some of the things she does cracks me up! Watching her have a pretend conversation on her phone is the funniest thing ever. She loves RUNNING around the house. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Elmo are her favorites. Listening to her "sing" the Micky Mouse Clubhouse song in her own little language makes me smile every time. Food continues to be an issue at our house. Miss P is so stinkin picky, she is very leery to try anything new. I tried giving her a Christmas cookie yesterday and she wouldn't have anything to do with it. She does not appear to have a sweet tooth yet.....no ice cream, pudding, cookies...just wont have anything to do with it. She looooooves sunchips and pretzels for snacks. Fruits and veggies have a hard time making it past her puckered lips! We have gotten to the point where she is only having formula before bed and her middle of the night bottle(yes she still has one of those) She will drink her juice from a cup, but not milk ,so I got her a cup with a straw for her milk and we are slowly giving that a try, but like everything with P she is very leery to change... Paige is really starting to use her voice, she try's to copy the majority of what we say, I looove her little voice and the way her words come out. Light (yite) is her new word and she was so excited to see the moon out the other night, just pointing away and hollering yite,yite!! I cannot even begin to express how in love I am with this child, she brightens my days and brings us all such happiness. Our family is so blessed to have the opporutinty to have this wonderful little person in our lives.

Soon...

2008-11-28T07:42:00.001-08:00

Hopefully I will be able to get a new post up. My laptop took a turn for the worse and it is now waiting to go to the repairman. If I can figure out how to get some pictures downloaded on to the Hubb's computer I will post ASAP. A little hint...I have a cute video of Miss P WALKING!!!!! she is a bit of a late bloomer, my angel, but she is finally cruising all over....sassy as ever, like she owns the place! Anyway, I will try to post very soon with pics, she has gotten even cuter since the last post!:)

we're baaaack, is anyone still out there?

2008-11-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

The guilt has been really getting to me, because I haven't posted in so long. I really do not know if anyone still checks in or not. If there are a few of you still wondering what is up with Miss P I will not be able to catch you up on the last 3 months but here is a little bit of what has been going on with our little diva.
Paige is still not fully walking, she is taking about 10 steps at a time at this point. We were concerned so in October (she wasn't walking at all)we took her to a pediatric orthopedist. The Doc x-rayed her hips and thoroughly checked her out and seems to think she is jut not quite strong enough or ready. She seems to be progressing really well this past week though.

Paige is a VERY picky eater. It is nearly impossible to try anything new with this child.We are weaning her off her formula to morning and before bed and she doesn't have a problem with whole milk, but until she starts eating better I don't want to take her off the formula completely.

Miss P is not the most outgoing child. She really draws in around those she does not know. She does not cry around strangers, but she is not really interested in interacting with them either. She acts very "coy" around those she does not know well. She is very loving with all of us and loves to snuggle and give kisses. She loves climbing all over her brother and throwing a tennis ball back and forth with him, he is very patient with her and will play with her for the longest time. Paige is definitely going through a Mommy phase. I am it as far as she is concerned. She loves playing with her Daddy, Bro and Sis but if I walk by...forget it she wants Mommy.She still seems to be doing well at daycare, but is a little clingy when I drop her off in morning.

This girl can talk a blue streak! We have no idea what she is saying but she will go on and on.
A few words we know: Stinky (dinky) Bottle (babo) Mom, Daddy, Norman, Light, No, Shoes, Cute.....
She loves playing"what do you see?" we ask her "what do you see?" and she just starts pointing at everything and we have to tell her what it is. She is also very happy when she can play with all of her shoes....girl loves her shoes! She likes to try and put her clothes on also, although she gets very frustrated because she just cant get it right yet.

I am hoping to get back in the groove posting. I just don't remember being this tired with my other two kids,but I am so exhausted at the end of the day, of course I was ALOT younger!
I do not have many pictures to post as I am in desperate need of a new camera, but here are are few recent ones.

Before my first haircut 11/01...rocking the Jon BonJovi

Modeling my new do.....

Wait a second......!

2008-08-15T14:44:00.001-07:00

Are you kidding me...!? MY daughter is entering her senior year in High School? Ugh...how in the heck did that happen. I am pretty sure it was just yesterday that she was toddling around the house, getting her first teeth, having her first real temper tantrum. Registering her for her senior year yesterday was a bit surreal. Don't get me wrong, I know this is what its all about, having kids, watching them grow, being very proud of all the great stuff they do. BUT....This is gonna be tough. My baby is growing up! And then today I take her get her drivers permit (passed with a 100% !!) so now she is driving, and it is not her little bicycle with training wheels! Wow....

She may be growing up, but she is still pretty silly. Clowning around in the toy department. Hmm...now that she is driving the helmet doesnt seem like such a bad idea ;)

Prayers needed.....

2008-08-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have heard there has been some horrible flash flooding in Northern Vietnam. The provinces of Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu To, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang have been hit pretty hard. Per news reports at least 112 people have lost their lives and many are missing, there has also been a considerable amount of damage to homes and roadways. I know of one family who was hoping to have their G&R in Phu Tho on Tuesday.I do not know if Ann was able to get to Phu Tho to meet their daughter Brooke. Please keep this family and all of those affected in Northern Vietnam in your thoughts and prayers.

Busy days.......

2008-08-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

Where is the time going?? why is it going by so fast? someone please make it stop! August gets here and WHAM, time starts flyin' by. Every year about this time I start thinking...wish I would have slowed down a little, enjoyed my time off, relaxed, taken it a little easier....(hmm with a 16 mo old not sure where I was planning on fitting relaxing in) One of the advantages of working for a school is that we get the summer off to spend with our children, but summer's gotta end sometime and for us it is August 25th. We have kept fairly busy these last couple of weeks and had a lot of fun. My Mom came for a week to visit and we went to the fair and to Portland for a few days to spend some time with my brother, sister-in-law and their two adorable children. Paige has been VERY busy....6 teeth is as many days! crazy!! she is also getting ready to walk...and "talking" this girl does not stop. I only wish I knew what she was trying to tell me. It has been a great summer and I have enjoyed every second with all three of my children. Life is good.....

Although Paige really loved all the animals this year at the fair........

She loved the Curly Fries more......keep your eyes on the prize sweetie!!
drippy, greasy, yummy fair fries....nothing can compare

What have we been up to?

2008-07-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Road Trip!!!! we took a road trip to Idaho to visit my Father in Law and his wife Joy. My Sister and Brother in Law Destiny and Justin traveled from Seattle. It was so nice to get together and we had a nice couple of days just hanging out. Abe and Joy have a beautiful place on 56 acres in Grangeville Idaho. My FIL has an airplane and he took Kayla and Coop for a spin ( there was NO WAY I was going up there)they spent about an hour up in the air. I am not gonna lie.....8+ hours (one way)in the car with a family of 5 was challenging at times, but it was lots of fun. Our travels took us along the route of Lewis and Clarke, THAT WAS COOL! I love that kind of stuff. We took a detour on the way home and spent a night in Portland and went to the Washington Park Zoo. It is nice to be home, although Paige traveled very well. I wouldn't want to be strapped in a car seat for that long, but she didn't seem to mind. Oh, I cant forget to mention that Paige pulled herself up to stand for the first time while in Idaho. She is really good at it now and you can tell she is thinking about taking some steps. While Dad is excited, I feel like my baby is growing up so fast. She is turning into a little girl so very fast. We have one month before we have to go back to work and I don't want to miss a thing my little angel might do or say. Her personality is really starting to pop out and boy is she something!! I am crazy about my little Diva!

Getting ready to hit the road....

Are you kidding me?? did you say 8 hours???
Scenery along the way...Kayla was able to take lots of nice pictures , but I will just share a couple... I think this is a lovely shot ..

another old barn....
ever seen a shoe tree???.....8 hours later a arrive in Grangeville Idaho....yea..it is so nice to see our family!

Kayla and Coop flying over Abe and Joy's place
An aerial view of their lovely home and guest houseThis is me with my aunt Destiny...

Oh, I got to play the piano too!

Me and my MommyThis is my new favorite friend...we will discuss this in another post......
At the Zoo....

Ahhhh.....home at last, time to go treasure hunting in Mommy's cupboard ,now that I can stand there is lots I can get into:)Just chillin'...

These stairs are on my list of " things to do!"

A Year In Pictures

2008-07-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-07-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

July 4th, 2007 Thai Nguyen, Vietnam
July 4th 2008 Redmond Oregon, USA

The day we met.......

2008-07-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

One year ago today we met for the first time. I wanted to take you with me so badly but we were told we had to wait one more day. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I fell in love with you instantly.

It's hard to belive....

2008-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

This time last year we were running around like crazy people. We had been invited to travel to VN about three weeks earlier than we had expected. My mom had come for a visit so she was here to help us get packed and got all of our travel arrangements in order for us, but boy it was a CRAZY time!! My mom just came for visit and we were reminiscing about this time last year.....couldn't get our Visa's in time for our original departure.... changing flights (several times), tears, stress! boy was it worth it. I would go through that all over again just to see this face everyday!

Referral-versary

2008-06-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

On June 6th 2007 we found out we had a baby girl waiting for us in Vietnam (see my blog archives June 6th 2007) It was such a surreal time. I cant believe a year has already went by. The emotions I have are still so fresh, when I remember that day and the whirlwind of days that followed .

In Sept. Paige's Granny got her a tree (post dated Sept. 9 2007) It has begun to bloom (just like our little P) it is such a lovely little tree.
Pictures from the past week......

Who doesn't love Kraft Macaroni and Cheese?? girl loooooooves her pasta!

14 months update....and I CAN CRAWL!

2008-05-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

If you read the title you know my exciting news......I am now crawling. I love it, I can get into stuff and explore things I never imagined. I want to go, go, go all the time. I also think I should be pulling myself up, so I have been giving that a try too, haven't got there yet but I will keep trying. My Mommy and Daddy were worried that I was a little behind in my big motor skills but I just had to wait till I was ready, now I am on the move. My favorite new thing to do is cruise over to the book case and take all the books out, man is that fun! Mommy doesn't mind as long as I don't tear the books so I am always very careful. I don't know if I have mentioned before that Mommy and I are HUGE Jack Johnson fans. We got the Curious George soundtrack. We listen to it every night during playtime, it's really good if anyone is looking for some new music. Oh , and thanks for all the music ideas everyone we really appreciate it! Mom knows if I like the music, because I will start moving. I have my own little dance moves! I have to admit I am beginning to show the signs of a little temper. I have been known to have a fit a time or two lately. Mostly when someone puts me down when I am not ready or takes something away. Mommy says my middle name should have been DIVA! I can be pretty sassy sometimes, but I am so stinkn' cute.I have been eating really good. Pasta is my favorite and broccoli is good too...mix em' together and you have got yourself a pretty good dinner! I am still on my toddler formula ,though I hear Mom saying she is going to start adding whole milk and weaning me off the formula. Yea, that could get interesting, we will see how it goes. You may notice from my photos below that I am having some hair issues. It is really staring to grow but sticks out everywhere most of the time. Oh well, we are just gonna let it do whatever it wants to do for now, Mom doesn't have the heart to cut it. There are lots of pictures below of me just being cute and with my brother and sister. Mom included a few pictures of her living room "redo" she got out her can of white paint the other day and went a little crazy giving the tables and things a fresh coat and got new slipcovers for the couches too. Yea, new white slipcovers GREAT idea;)

2008-05-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

At my daddy's softball game (yes it is COLD!) with my sibs and my mommy

I am trying very hard to pull myself up.......

almost.........so close........
that was a lot of work, better take a break
my two favorite things to do, reading and music.....im a multi-tasker

Monthly upate...13 months

2008-05-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy month for me. I am really starting to enjoy moving around and exploring. I am not crawling yet, but I sure can get across the floor. I move around on my bottom mostly in the splits positions. My mommy and daddy haven't quite figured out how I do it, but they think it is pretty innovative. I love to eat big girl food now and really don't want any of that texture- less baby mush. I feed myself sometimes but it throws me off when I get yuck all over my hands, I don't really like that. I do eat lots of baby puff treats by myself though. I still only have 4 teeth and I know I have some others coming in because I seem to have all the teething "symptoms" and am fussier than normal. I love music and cant help but shake my body when music comes on. My favorite thing is to sit on my bedroom floor before bed and listen to music with my mommy and big brother. Mommy is having a hard time finding some good music though. She tried a baby disco cd.....totally lame and the Wiggles, forget about it! anyone have any suggestions for my mommy on some cool baby tunes? I really like looking at my books, though I am spending a lot of time chewing on them lately. My vocabulary is growing a little. I say "heado" (hello) and allnon (all done) cat and dog. I say lots of other stuff my family hasn't figured out yet. Everyone is always telling me how cute I am, although I have gotten a bit shy around people I don't know. We are counting the days down until summer break so my Family can be home with me all summer! 6 weeks to go. Its gonna be so great, sleep in, hang out and relax at home with my peeps! Mommy is excited because then she wont be missing out on all the great things I do throughout the day. Here are some pictures of me from the past week. My mom actually got a picture of me smiling, although I smile a lot, generally in photos I prefer to give my serious look.....hmmmm, I am pretty darn cute!

A sad day for Vietnam adoption families

2008-04-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

I do not put my personal thoughts out here in cyberspace very often. Rarely do I write anything more than "fluff" about Paige and post pictures ,but today has not been a happy day. For those of us in the Vietnam adoption community we all knew something was going to happen, we have all heard the rumors for quite some time. I did not expect this though http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/adoption_warning0408.html

I truly had hoped somehow, someway these issues between the US and Vietnamese governments would be solved. I had hoped that if the Government of Vietnam decided to halt adoptions with the US they would at least try to match all the PAP's with their dossiers currently in the country with children.That unfortunately is not the case. As the document states, if a PAP is not matched by Sept 1st their case will be closed and sent back to their adoption service provider.I know of too many families who are now uncertain if their dreams of adopting a child from Vietnam will come true. The information that has come out in the news about corruption these past couple of days is very unsettling, it makes me feel ill. I don't know what to think. I believe that attention must be paid to the corruption that has been reported, not one child should be put in the hands of the Vietnamese provinces illegally, it is devastating. Another concern I have is that people be aware that not ALL adoptions out of Vietnam are corrupt. There are not many news reports about the hundreds and hundreds of adoptions that have been completed that were completely ethical. I believe in my heart our daughter came to our family ethically, but I only have the information we were given ...our little stack of documents that tell us how our daughter came to be a part of our family. I have to hold this in my heart as being truthful, we do not have reason to believe that it wasn't, do we know this 110%? no, but it is all we have. I am so sad for all the families with their hearts in limbo right now, so uncertain. My heart is breaking for the children, what circumstances are they facing? what will they suffer if the US agencies withdraw their humanitarian support? my heart was very heavy tonight as I watched my daughter drift off to sleep, my computer screen is blurry as I write this with tears in my eyes. I hope with all my heart that this will soon be resolved for so many children who truly need a family and families can be created through ethical, honest Vietnam adoption.

Pictures of the week

2008-04-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

To blog or not to blog?

2008-04-09T18:51:00.000-07:00

I am the first to admit my blog has lost its shine. What gives? I really don't like to post just for the sake of posting....it is just that simple. When I began our blog it was at the beginning of our adoption journey. Our referral, travel and first months home ,meant there was always something to write about. This is not to say that things are uneventful now, Miss P is doing something new and fun and exciting more and more everyday. I just don't want to take precious time away from her to write about it. Being a working Mom I don't feel there is enough time in the day as it is. I don't want my blog to feel like a chore, it has always brought me pleasure to write about Paige. Starting the week of 4/13 I have decided to post a "picture of the week" of Miss P and will write a post at the end of every month to catch everyone up on what our little diva has been up to. I have met some wonderful people through this blog , I really don't want to give it up and I think my new plan will be the perfect fix for me ,in fact I am already thinking about the end of the month post ! Here are a few pictures from the past week.The "mohawk" wasn't intentional, she had a "piggy tail" in and pulled it out, this is the result.
Cooper received this rocking horse for his 1st birthday and wanted to pass it on to his sister for her 1st birthday.

Happy Birthday , My Beautiful Baby

2008-03-26T08:26:00.001-07:00

Our Little Miss P is 1!!! Happy Birthday Baby Girl. We are actually having a"combo" party on the 5th for Coop and Paige. Cooper thought it would be fun to share a party with P so that is what we will do, however we will make some cupcakes today and have a little celebration with just our little family unit.

Our Beautiful Angel on her b-day morning. Since we are choosing to celebrate P's birthday on the day she was found ,I am having some profound feelings today. I am currently at a loss as to how to put those feelings into words so I will keep them to myself....in my heart......private. I will say I am so in love with this child. She brings absolute joy to my life. I can not imagine a day without her in it.
The following photos are just some random shots over the past week

It seems like yesterday....

2008-03-12T19:53:00.001-07:00

Except it was 17 years ago today that my lovely daughter was born. Where does the time go? Am I seriously the mother of a 17 year old?

I am so very lucky to be the mother of this beautiful, funny, talented amazing young woman.

Brithday's, Birthdays, Birthadays!

2008-03-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

March is Birthday month at our house. Kayla's B-day is on the 12th, followed by P's on the 26th then the Hubb's is on the 29th. Coop's comes in close on April 3rd. I haven't decided yet what I want to do for Paige's big day. Her Granny (my MIL) is out of the country until April 6th so I was thinking of waiting until she got home to do something. I might have a combo Coop and Paige party. I guess I have a week or two to get it all figured out. I took P to the Dermatologist. We saw a different Doctor and I really liked her. We now have a new prescription ointment for the "flare ups" as well as a prescription for "maintenance" Her skin has improved amazingly in the last 4 days. I am so pleased. If anyone out there is looking for a really good skin cream I highly recommended CeraVe. I have been told only Walgreens carries it. It is the best that I have found and we have tried MANY ! We are having so much fun with P right now. She is such a hoot! She loves music (especially Jack Johnson) dancing(boppin' her head and shrugging her shoulders, but it is pretty darn cute), her animal books, rockin' out when her brother and daddy are playing Guitar Hero and splashing in the sink. I have included a few photos from her latest sitting. The" Bunn" actually made it into several photos...oh how Paige looooooves her bunny, but when she has the "Bunn" the fingers immediately go into the mouth, it's her comfort thing, I guess.

Miss P has something to say.....

2008-03-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

I took this video today of P. I don't know what she was trying to tell me, but it seems very important. It makes me giggle every time I watch it, she is so sassy, I love it!

2008-02-23T16:23:00.000-08:00

I am probably the last one out here in blog land to do this "7 random things about you "tag but Anna
tagged me a week ago and I am finally just getting around to posting. I was waiting to post until I got some new pictures, but haven't been taking many pictures because my camera memory was full and I didn't know how to make room....( I should be embarrassed to admit that, but oh well!) Miss P has 4...yes 4 teeth! they are poppin' in like crazy, I think she is working on two more bottom ones. She is also really jabbering...trying to say Dog and Cat. Ma comes out Na and she says " Uh Oh" all the time....too, too cute! She is spending a lot more time on her tummy without fussing and is managing to wiggle herself around from one place to another. She will be 11 mo on the 26th....cant believe how time flies when you are having fun.

THE RULES:

1. List 7 random things about yourself that people may not know.

2. Link the person who sent this to you, and leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.

3. Post the rules on your blog.

4. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are my 7 random things......
1. I could easily eat at least 6 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in one sitting

2. I am addicted to Americas Next Top Model.

3. I loooooove Shabby Chic decorating style

4. All my furniture is white...kinda crazy with 3 kids, a dog and 3 cats!

5. I do not like people parking in front my house...well unless they are MY people.

6. . Our new neighbors, their 4 dogs and their dirt -bike motorcycles at 9pm( are you freakin' kidding me ,we don't live in the country people!) are making me CRAZY!!!!

7. I read TMZ everyday

I am going to break rule #4, not because I want to be a partypooper, but because I honestly think everyone has done it, but if you haven't...consider yourself tagged!!

Well, there you have it and here are a few pictures from the week

our week in pictures

2008-02-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

If you look closely you can see the little tooth!
Since I last wrote P has grown another tooth. She now has one on the top and one on the bottom with two more close behind. My mom came for visit. We hadn't seen her since we brought Paige home. It is unfortunate that during the time she was here P was not her normal sweet little self, she was working on the teeth and was pretty cranky, but I think they had a nice time getting to know each other again. We had another visit to the photographer's studio(I joined a baby's first year club) It went much better this time. I haven't seen the photos yet so I am excited to see how they turned out. I am looking forward to connecting with a local Photographer who found us. She is part of the Celebrating Adoption campaign. I hope to have Jane (her pictures are AMAZING!) www.ethniphotography.com / take P's first year pictures.If you are not familiar with this program http://www.celebratingadoption.org
check it out and there just may be a photographer in your area who participates.

Well, another week has slipped by, it was busy with school conferences and P coming down with a cold . Here are several pictures taken over the last 10 days.

One year ago today......

2008-01-27T14:07:00.002-08:00

I posted my first blog entry.....it went like this........

Two years ago I never would have imagined that I would be creating an adoption journal . Even though we began this journey five months ago, I have been apprehensive to start our blog, call it superstition.....but this is really beginning to feel real....we are going to be blessed with a baby girl from Vietnam. We can't predict exactly when, but we are alot closer than we were five months ago! We are entering the final stretch. I am creating this blog for our family, friends and fellow adoptive parents to follow our journey.. all the ups, downs and that much anticipated time when we finally travel to Vietnam to bring our daughter home. I will not profess to be an eloquent writer, but I am a pro at the run-on sentence!!! There may be days when my posts are less than interesting, as there have been many days throughout this journey that it seems as if nothing is happening, but keep reading because there will be that one day when we get the word that we have a baby girl!

It is hard to believe that one year ago we had just completed our dossier and were waiting for our 171H approval. This journey has been such an amazing experience and it just gets better and more interesting everyday with our little sweetie.

I have to admit I have been struggling with my blog lately. I read several blogs daily that are so interesting and fun.....some post weekly goals, recipes, book reviews and are just funny and entertaining. I know that my blog is really not that creative or entertaining and I have given some serious thought to what direction I want to go. I could certainly post a weekly goal, I read a lot of books I could write about, recipes could be a struggle;) and I am really not that witty or that great of a writer.. so what to do?? I started this blog to document our journey to Paige and I really feel I want to keep this blog as a journal for her. So it looks as if it will be more of the same....Miss P stories as well as some family stuff and of course pictures. This will probably mean some sporadic entries as not every day is journal worthy, but I am going to make a point to post at least once a week (how about that, a goal!) even if nothing exciting is going on I will at least post a couple pictures(no shortage of those!) As of today we have had 21,949 people visit our blog! Thanks to those of you who follow along regularly and leave such nice comments.

Now for some current news.....
Miss P entered double digits yesterday! yes, she is 10 months old. She is still not crawling and is finally getting to the point where we can put her on her tummy without her throwing a major Diva fit. Her upper body is getting very strong and she seems to be getting the idea of what she should be doing. I don't think it will be long. We are of the belief from the "vibe" that we got from her Orphanage caregivers that she was held ALOT! I don't think she spent much time at all on her tummy, if at all. She couldn't even lift her head off the floor when we got her. So we are slowly making progress. Her pediatrician keeps telling us not to be concerned, she is on track with every else she should be doing at this age.I figure as soon as she starts crawling she will want to be on the move so I am enjoying all of the holding I can get in now!! Her first tooth is in and it looks like another one is on its way. We are still battling skin issues and I have switched her to Soy formula to see if that makes any difference.

It has been such a great weekend, my Hubb got me a housekeeper for Christmas. She will come on Friday and get the house all spiffy so I don't have to worry about cleaning on the weekends. This was her first Friday and let me just say "I can get used to this!!" It was really nice to come home on Friday afternoon to a nice clean house! We are having a snow storm here in Central Oregon(hoping for a snow day tomorrow) so I got a few cute pictures in the snow and few others just hanging out during the last week.

WOW!

2008-01-19T16:54:00.001-08:00

I am amazed by all the great advice I received regarding Miss P's eczema. Thank you all so much for your comments. P went to the Pediatrician for her 6 mo immunizations(she is finally caught up now at 9mo;) She is still only 16lbs. We talked alot out Paige's skin problems and it sounds as if we are doing everything we should be doing. There are not any magical cures out there...darn!! We have been doing the bath and lotion on within 3 minutes to lock in the moisture. I ordered the Arbonne Nutrimin C RE9 that was recommended on one of the comments and it just came today so I am excited to give it a try! The tooth is still working its way in, though we can see it much better now. She is so much fun right now. She is really starting to show her personality and is jabbering up a storm. She is so funny, whenever we say" eye,yie,yie" she puts her little hands on her head. She is shaking her head no, no and if you ask her if she has a bad cough she will "drama" cough for you. I am not sure how this started but it is pretty silly. Thanks again for all the advice!!
Here a short little video, I tried to catch her eye,yie,yie.

still waiting....and iching and scratching

2008-01-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

How long does it take for one little tooth to come in?? It has been so long since I have dealt with teething. The little bugger has broken through ,but doesn't seem to be making any progress. On top of this poor P is suffering from some bad skin issues. I have written a few times about our battle with eczema, it is so much worse now than it has ever been. I spent some time online trying to find a natural product we can use but there doesn't seem to be anything out there. It seems like grandma must have cooked something up on her stove to soothe before we had all these chemicals! I will be making a call to another dermatologist tomorrow who specializes in infants. Yeck, she could be suffering from somthing other than or as well as the eczema for all I know! The first week back on our workday routine went well. She likes going to her daycare so she handled it pretty well. She has been really clingy this weekend though. Anyone have any suggestions regarding teething or eczema??

cleaning out the camera and cranky baby!

2008-01-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

I decided to clean out our other camera and thought I would share some of the photos. In other news, Miss P has not been herself the past few days. She has her first tooth coming in (it is almost there...) and i think she is just not feeling her joyful self. She cries when we put her down, fusses when I leave her ( I'm just leaving the room or her sight) and is not sleeping well.....I miss my happy go lucky baby! not to mention the Hubbs and I have to go back to work Monday after a two week break which means Miss P will be going back to her Daycare, I am concerned about her adjusting back into our workday routine.....hopefully that tooth will push all the way up in the next day or two and she will be feeling better. We still have our joyful times though.....here are some pics!

A few new pics......

2008-01-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Miss P's first baby doll, we have named her little P
Our Gift.....

Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!

2007-12-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

Two Santa's in one day!

2007-12-17T19:28:00.001-08:00

We had a very busy weekend. My SIL and BIL were in from Seattle and my MIL planned a great weekend for us all. She started out by giving us all $$ to buy ourselves presents. We began our fun at Operation Santa Clause, a reindeer ranch here in Redmond. This is where we met our first Santa and had a family picture taken with the Big Guy. Then we all headed out to spend our Christmas $$....a fun,full day of shopping! we met up for pizza and a present wrapping party(yes ,we had to wrap the gifts we bought for ourselves..one of the stipulations:) Then off to a local resort to meet up with yet another guy dressed in red and a horse drawn wagon for a ride to look at the Christmas light show at the resort. It was late and cold , this is why Miss P is dressed like a giant pink fluffy marshmallow in the last set of pictures. Then it was up early Sunday and off to my MIL's to unwrap our gifts and have brunch. I want to thank the most wonderful Mother In Law ever for a great weekend. We love you Noela!

Two peas in a pod....they may be 16 years apart but they adore eachother, she is crazy about her big brother too of course, It's just that her sister ALWAYS has her so it's easier to get their picture.

Isn't she lovely......

2007-12-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

My two lovely girls
These are the latest photos of Miss P. We are having so much fun with her! she is such a joy. This child is happy ALL THE TIME. She is so laid back and chill and very wise! and she is so squishy, I just want to love on her all the time.

A few new pictures.....

2007-11-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

This is our sassy one, just hangin out. She looooves "lounging" in her high chair!

It's been awhile....

2007-11-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

Miss P's first day at day care (notice she has her cell phone, such a diva!)

I know it has been awhile since my last post...sorry about that! I started back to work last Monday and it was an interesting week, just trying to get a routine and schedule down. We had a girls weekend in Portland. Auntie Dawn, my two girls and I hit the big city for the weekend and had a great time. It is unfortunate that the AWESOME pair of red pumps that I spent the afternoon looking for are now in the garbage since my "wonderful" dog thought he would get up on my bed and dig the shoes out the shopping bag and chew them! now my beautiful red shoes are covered in teeth punctures!sigh........

Miss P and Auntie Dawn ready to hit the road.

Chillin' in the hotel
sigh...the fun we could have had! RIP..sweet red shoes.

2007-10-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our day at the pumpkin patch

Just look at this face........I love this face!

And my big girl...lovely!!!!

And then there is Norman.....he is a stinky beast, but a cute one!!!

Reflections...

2007-10-27T08:18:00.001-07:00

You are 7 months old today baby. You have changed and grown so much since the 3rd of July when you were placed in our arms. Our lives changed forever on July 4 when you became ours to cherish and love...I am such a lucky Mommy, we all love you so very much.You have brought such joy into our lives I cant imagine a day without you in it.

Many of you have been following along since we began our journey and have watched Paige blossom along with us. Thank you so much for your wonderful comments and support!
To those of you just beginning your journey,or have hit the various "rough spots" that go hand in hand with international adoption, you may feel like it is never going to happen...It will.. it may not go exactly as you planned, but have faith! This adoption taught me many things, the biggest being patience and that everything happens as it is meant to even though we may not think so at the time. I truly believe this child was meant for us .I hope you enjoy our video....Caution, it is fairly long, I have so may "favorite" pictures and video it was hard to edit anything out.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2007-10-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

We received our cd from our photo session. It definitely could have gone better.... just one with Miss P smiling would have been great! Thought I would share my favorties.

It is hard to see in this photo but she actually has two little tears rolling down her sweet little cheeks!!!

More of Miss P in Seattle

2007-10-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

This is me with my grandpa Abe
Me with my Granny, she in her zebra ensemble and I in my leopard get up
Wedding fancy....

2007-10-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

Mood swings.......

Little miss serious!

I have been so excited to take the kids to this really cool professional photography studio and yesterday was the big day. We actually had an appointment a couple of weeks ago that we had to cancel because P had some of her lovely red excema spots on her face. I wanted to get some photos of the kids together and then some of Miss P by herself for her 6 mo photos.Unfortunately all did not go as I had hoped. Miss P had her immunizations on Tues and was feeling pretty crappy and running a low grade fever most of the day yesterday PHOTO DAY! Oh boy it did not go well. P is usually a major photo ham, when she hears my camera ding when I turn it on she just lights up....not so much at the studio. She cried almost the entire time and when she wasn't crying she had her "comfort" fingers in her mouth...forget about even cracking a smile! oh yes, lovely shots! They did get some good photos of Kayla and Coop though. What is really cool is we will actually get a cd with all the photos on it so I will post some. As far as P goes, I think I will just stick her in her tutu and have her sister take some photos!

What have we been up to???

2007-10-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger. No real great excuses, just busy with life. I am still in the middle of the "man pit" remodel. We also just took a road trip to Seattle for my sister in law's wedding. CONGRATULATIONS JUSTINY!! We had a wonderful time and the 6+ hour drive went amazingly well. Miss P had her 6mo check up and immunizations today. She is 14lbs 5oz and seems to be very healthy. We are still battling the excema but the good news is our pediatrician told us that she should outgrow it sooner rather than later thank goodness. Oh and we also may have a tooth ....any day!I have several pictures to post of our Seattle weekend. The last pictures I am going to post are the SeattleScape through my daughters camera's lens she is developing what I think is a wonderful eye and captures some really lovely shots.

This is a regular face for Miss P now.....she has discovered her tongue and it is constantly out of her mouth wiggling around!

Some of Kayla's Seattle shots..........

busy, busy days

2007-10-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

My daughter caught these great sky shots so I thought I would share......she really takes some great photos

I know I have not posted in awhile and I generally never post without a new picture of the little missy but we have been really busy around here. I have been busy painting and remodeling our family room, formerly known as the "man pit"(just couldn't take it anymore guys....the girls are movin' in!) I thought of posting some before and after pictures, but the "man pit" was so bad I am embarrassed to share. There is lots more work to be done so I will check back in towards the end of the week, hopefully with some new Miss P pictures!!!
I wanted to give a quick shout out to my fellow OO'ers I know many of you are waiting for news on your little ones, I really hope you hear something soon. I know the waiting can be hard.

I am sure the suspense has been horrible........

2007-09-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

So what will Miss P be for Halloween? I know this is the question that has been causing many sleepless nights ;)
Well....it is only 3x too big and not our 1st or 2nd choice but I think she is the CUTEST WHITE TIGER EVER!!! Next year we will be sure to order our costume in July!! and she WILL be a butterfly!

I had to include the picture of P in her I love my aunt dawn t-shirt as proof to aunt Dawn that she has worn it!!

Miss P's favorite "toy"

2007-09-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Miss P is fascinated with our cell phones. If she is not trying to grab mine she is grabbing her sisters. I imagine her first words being...Mom can I have my own phone plan?...with unlimited texting of course! Oh, she is sassy!
Can I text with this??????
I should probably check my messages!!