Grace's First Day of Preschool

Grace started preschool!!!  She loves it!  I love it!

I could write a long list of everything I got done yesterday in 2 1/2 hours! But I won't bore you!

It was a great feeling though!  

Grace and I have been pretty much attached at the hip for 2 years 4 months.  We were both due for a little separation:)  Grace was so excited to go, that it made it easy to leave her.  No tears!  

When I picked her up, she ran out smiling saying, "I missed you, Mommy!"  It made me feel good!  The best part was that she actually gave me details about her day!  The boys, especially Nate, gave me VERY LITTLE information.  

A new backpack always makes going to school fun!

All grown up!

Super excited!!!

In front of school where I think nerves may have been settling in since she was giggling really weird!

Miss Kelley her teacher

Miss Julie, teacher assistant

Ocean City 2012

We had a wonderful time on our annual beach vacation!!!  All three of the kids LOVE it!  We did the beach, played in the ocean, did the rides, played Mini Golf (which Grace is actually very good at), walked the boardwalk (my favorite), rode bikes for coffee, shopped, played video games and ate WAY TOO MUCH ICE CREAM (my real favorite)!!!  It is going to be a long year waiting for my Kohr Bros. ice cream :(  

Hard to believe this child is only 3!  Doesn't she look so tall???

Nate helping Grace rides waves.  He is such a good big brother!  You may notice the blue thing on his leg.  Nate got a really bad cut while camping with Scouts and got stitches that couldn't get wet.  He has this special cast cover on to keep his leg dry.  

Queen of the Mountain

The boys spent so much time in the ocean.  

Grace's first Log Flume ride.  Hang on everyone!

Love this!!!  Brad obviously knew where the camera was placed.  Nate's face cracks me up!

Enjoy it now, Grace!  Can't show your underwear in public forever!

My babies!

Took half the week, but we finally got Grace to go out in the ocean past her shins!  She ended up loving it!

Nate Turns 12!

My baby, my firstborn, turned 12 last month!  Time is flying!  Nate is such a great kid!  He has a heart of gold :)  If you hurt, he hurts.  He never says an unkind word about anyone.  He doesn't even complain about teachers that other kids complain about.  I also have to brag about him getting straight A's all year and making Distinguished Honor Roll all 4 marking periods too :)  

We love you, Nate!!!  It's an honor to be your mom!   Happy Birthday!!!

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake with Peanut Butter Oreos....Mmmmm

Grace

I've been meaning to document some adorable and funny things about my girl. She says some of the funniest things! She is very animated too!

*She calls Rita's Water Ice... Rito's. I laugh every time she says it!

 *She has trouble with the "L" sound at the end of a word, therefore she is a "gir", not a girl :) And it is the "whole wide word".

 *"You go away, Mommy." I heard that right before she took the heat lamp off of the lizard tank in Nate's room and almost started a fire. Burned right through the carpet and 90% of padding. Don't want to think about what could have happened if Brad didn't go upstairs when he did. Ok, that one wasn't so funny!

 *She made me call her "Daisy" all through Costco the other day. And I was corrected when I called her Grace.

 *She sings (very loud and out of tune) all through any store while skipping and hopping.

 *When someone sneezes she says, "Good sneeze!" *She has also complimented us on our stinkers :) "Good stinker!" TMI????

 *As I'm typing this, she pulled out a half eaten fruit bar out of the trash and took a bite.  Gross.

*She is taking swimming lessons and is doing wonderful!!!!  She absolutely loves the water!  She called Miss Stacey, Miss Spicey the first day :)

*Out of the blue one day, she came over to me, patted me on the head and said, "there is nothing to be afraid of, Mommy.  It's just who you are."  Thanks???

*The other night she handed out leaves to everyone outside saying they were "badges" and would tell us what we earned the badge for.  I earned a badge for being a "good walker".  Grace's babysitter, Jessica earned one for being a "good drinker" (soda of course).

*She acts like a cat ALL THE TIME.  Kind of drives me crazy with the constant meowing, but she really gets into character.  Licks her paws and my face!

*When Nate was opening his birthday presents, she went over and  hugged him and said, "I'm so proud of you, Nate, for playing in your band concert." His band concert was almost a month before.  She tends to say very random things, A LOT :)  It was sweet, though!

*She told Aidan, "You are the best Aidan in the whole wide word."

*She dances ALL THE TIME.  Dance class is in her future :)

*She tells us she loves us all the time.  Makes my heart smile every time, even when she is doing it trying to get her way :)

Adoption and Identity

I took an online webinar about adoption and identity recently. There was a panel of 4 adult adoptees that have very different adoption stories. There was one international adoptee, two adopted domestically as infants (one had bio siblings and the other had another adoptive sibling) and one that had a very rough childhood and was adopted domestically at age 14. The one common theme I got from the discussion was that we should talk openly and honestly about adoption and NOT LEAVE IT UP TO THE CHILD to bring up the discussion. It makes them feel alone on their adoption journey and some felt protective over their parents so didn't bring up the uncomfortable topic. Sad. Here are some bullet points I jotted down to remember...

 *Speak about adoption as a family identity. For example, "We are an adoptive family". Not "She is adopted". Another example, "We are a multicultural family."

 *Never say, "I don't see you as different."

 *One person on the panel wished they had more of an adoption community around her as she grew up.

*Never make child feel like you did charity for them by adopting them. "I held you and changed your diaper!"

 *About birth family search and homeland tours...
      *Keep option on table, but adoptee should be the one to decide.
      *Adoptee may assume they will fit in at homeland, but probably won't.
        Can lead to disappointment.            
      *Grieving and loss process that has to be acknowledged.
      *Can really help with identity, "I came from somewhere." 

*You can't make being adopted go away.

 *Never make up information about birth family.

We started telling Grace her story around 18 months and continued for almost a year.  She loved it!!!  Lately, she doesn't seem comfortable hearing it.  She gets this weird, uncomfortable look on her face.  Like she is forcing a smile.  One time she actually filled up with tears in the beginning of the story.  Broke my heart.  We are taking a break from it for a while.  I also made the story into a shutterfly book.  She has absolutely no interest in it.  She loves to look at the regular photo books with just pictures, but the one that tells the story.... No way!  We won't force it.  I wonder if she is starting to realize that she wasn't with us forever and that makes her uncomfortable or scared.  I was glad to hear during the webinar that we are doing the right things.  Grace not only has the adoption issue to deal with as she gets older, but the ethnicity issue too.  I pray we handle it well!

Our 2nd Family Day

Today is our 2nd Family Day! It's so hard to believe that two years ago, Brad and I were up for over 24 hours traveling home with the fifth member of our family! We COULD NOT wait to get home! To make it even better, it was Mother's Day! We came home to the boys running for our car, so eager to meet their sister. Our house was covered in posters and our lawn was covered in anxiously awaking family and friends. I remember every hug, every tear, EVERYTHING! It was truly one of the best moments of my life. We chose to celebrate Family Day for that reason and because we were finally home with the boys. We were complete!

We went to dinner at The Outback and came home to have special cookies and cream cupcakes!

Our beautiful girl :)

Our handsome boys :)

Tents and Baseball

Aidan has been playing baseball and pitches a couple innings each game. He is doing great!!! When the next league up was short players one night, he was "called up" to play. Unfortunately, Aidan wasn't comfortable playing with older kids, but it made him feel good to be asked.

Grace loves her new tent that she got for her birthday! She's practicing for real camping this summer!

3 Year Old Check Up

Grace had her 3 year check up today. She is growing like a weed!!! She weighs 41 lbs and is 41 3/4 inches!!! Off the charts for both, but more so for her height. The doctor said she is the size of an average 4 1/2 year old! Unfortunately, she doesn't act like a 4 1/2 year old. Which WE don't expect her to, but I think people in general expect more out of her than she can give. We were told to subtract a year in what we expect emotionally and with behavior. So now I have this 2 year old who looks like a 4 1/2 year old!!!! Poor Gracie! But she is strong and healthy, so we are happy!!!! Not the best picture, but the most recent of my "fast and fearless" 3 year old!!!

Grace Turns 3!!!

Happy Birthday to a sweet, spunky, funny, beautiful 3 year old! We love you, Gracie!!!

We had a family party for Grace this weekend. It was gorgeous weather and so nice to celebrate with everyone! We got a moon bounce for the weekend and the kids all had a blast (along with some adults)! They bounced their brains out! I'm so annoyed with myself AGAIN for not getting enough pictures. I always get so many of kids and forget about the adults. I'm going to have to start hiring someone to take pictures for me. Today is Grace's actual birthday, so maybe I will at least get some of Brad and I with her!



Grace couldn't make up her mind on a cake, so we decided to make girly fun cupcakes! Grace helped pick out the toppings and was on sprinkle duty (until she decided she would rather eat the cupcakes!)












On sunday, we had a couple friends over to bounce and have cupcakes with Grace. When I told her a couple days before her family party who was coming, she said, "No grown ups! Only girls!" Luckily we had the moon bounce all weekend and were able to have Meghan and Charlotte over to play for Grace.