School has started....

Okay, so the weekend got away from me and then the entire week got away from me. I really wanted to post these pics from kindergarten last week but then kindergarten actually started and I really got slowed down. It's amazing how getting up one hour earlier each day can make one soooo tired by the end of the week.

G successfully completed her first week of kindergarten. There were some tears along the way-both of us on the first day and then her off and on for the rest of the week. For all of my preschool friends this is just a deja vu of how school seems to go for G. I am hoping that most of the tears are gone and now that we are getting into a routine, this week will go much smoother. I will say I'm proud of myself for managing to get both girls and myself, dressed, fed, out of the house and to school on time for the past week. It was definitely a challenge some mornings since the variable is not knowing what time K is going to wake up each morning-the more I can get done before she gets up, the better.

Enjoy the pics of G, K, and cousin J. Until next week.......


and the definition of sister is......


Is this cute or what?


G and cousin J


G and her teacher Mrs. Copeland

Pictures of the Girls

Here are the pictures of the girls as promised-don't you love the hairbands on Baby K? Our friend Miss Carol made the hair accessories. You can check out her bows and hairbands at http://angelpiebows.blogspot.com/

Not too much to post tonight-tomorrow is G's first day of kindergarten. It's actually the orientation but she has to wear her uniform and take all of her school supplies in so we're considering it her first day. I'll try to get some pics up over the weekend.


Sisters


Baby K



Baby K

Too Busy Last Week

This past week has been busy, busy, busy. I took G to see her pediatric dermatologist, an hour's drive away, which means that we usually just try and make a day of it. There is a fairly good mall on the way and we usually stop on the way back and G has lunch at her favorite place-Dairy Queen. I think the only reason it is her favorite spot is because she gets an ice cream with the kid's meal:-)

The very next day we headed to Charlottesville to take Baby K to the International Adoption Clinic at UVA-that was definitely an all day trip. We tried to break it up with a stop for a haircut for G and then lunch, but it was still a really long day for everybody. Thanks for being part of that trip Grammy! Those of you with small children know what that thank you is for-Grammy spent most of the trip in the back seat sandwiched between both car seats :-)

The Docs said that Baby K is right on track. At a little over 4 months, she weighs 14.8 lbs and is reaching developmental milestones right on time. Baby K has the same darkened areas on her backside that G had-they are called Mongolian spots and are very common in children with darker skin tones. Now the politically correct folks call them dermal melanocytosis,but either way you say it, they are not life threatening in any way and will fade in time. G's have just about faded completely away.

This past weekend was the annual reunion of G's China travel group. Each year someone takes on the organizing and sometimes we head to Pennsylvania and other times we've gotten together in Virginia. This year we got together at Wintergreen-it was a great trip. The resort was beautiful, the food was good, the kids loved the pool and the kid-friendly activities and the grown-ups enjoyed just having time to catch-up and relax.

I'm having Baby K's first pics done tomorrow as well as our first "sister" pics. I had wanted to do one of those bare bottom shots for Baby K-you know the ones with the baby on the all white background, nothing too risque, just a cute little dimpled bottom. Well, Portrait Innovations does not do any bare bottom pics so I've gotten these cute little monogrammed diaper covers for Baby K. You'll have to check back in a couple of days to see the outcome but I have high hopes for some cute pics.

In the meantime, and since I haven't posted in a little over a week, here are some pics to hold you over........


"Oh really, you don't say....."


D-daddy and Baby K


Baby K with Aunt M and Uncle R


G and friends at her travel group reunion


G and Baby K with Aunt M and Grammy


...and did I mention that all the kids went swimming at the travel group reunion?

Missing the MI or just missing that slow lifestyle

I've read several blogs and emails from adoptive parents who say they miss the Marshall Islands once they've returned home. While there, I couldn't imagine having that thought, but now home a couple of weeks I can see where their line of thinking was headed.

There are definitely a lot of things that I don't miss about the MI-boiling water, a load of laundry taking 2 hours, the internet connection that almost wasn't most of the time, and the heat that just didn't subside.

What I do miss is the slow pace of their lifestyle. Here in the states, we are constantly on the go-scheduling appointments, making phone calls, running errands, and always in a hurry it seems. We are ever mindful of the time-gotta go, going to be late.......

The pace in the MI is the complete opposite. If it gets done today that is fine, otherwise, there is always tomorrow. You also find that it is difficult to do more than one or two things per day-going to the grocery store and doing a load of laundry could take up the whole day. At times very frustrating coming from our culture, but what you realize is that the time spent with family and friends tends to have a better quality. That's the pace that I hope I can continue to have with the girls. I want to remember that each day is a gift and to take time to enjoy it with both of them because all to soon they will be grown.

Point in case, we're shopping for school supplies for G to go to kindergarten. How did that happen? I know that she was just a baby yesterday. She looks so grown up in this picture trying on her school clothes.



I already see Baby K changing. She's growing and getting stronger. In this picture she is in her "jenny jump-up". Isn't that a riot? Many of you will recognize this contraption as a "johnny jump-up". We are so politically correct these days-



And last but not least, here is the elusive Papa with Baby K. They had the opportunity to meet the day we got home but with everyone being so tired, it was not the best picture taking day.