Mom2my4

TNT Play Date Slide Show

We had a great time at TNT tonight. This was our first time. It was also the first time that our playgroup did something on a weekday. Rachel hated it when we first got there. But after 20 minutes or so she had a blast. Daniel and Morgan even decided to stay! They were a big help and they also had a great time! Their favorite was a bungee race. They strapped the bungee to themselves, raced forward, and then the bungee snapped them back. It was definitely an older kid came. My batteries died, so I didn't get many pictures and some are blurry. Only one other family was able to come. We were glad to see Libby and her mom, Heather! Libby will be 3 in February, Kelsey will be 3 in March, and Rachel will be 3 in April. We will go back to TNT as a family. ... and we look forward to seeing our playgroup friends again. :)

Kelsey and Contractions

Kelsey has added contractions to her vocabulary. She currently uses "can't".  "Don't" is not in her vocabulary yet. (Of course she can repeat anything you say. She just doesn't use the word don't on her own.)

Her favorite things to say are...

    "I can't like that." and "I can't know that." She makes us all smile.

Found in China

  I looked through my previous entries on this web site. I thought I posted about this super DVD that we ordered and watched. Hmm.... I must have imagined it or perhaps emailed some friends about it because I really do remember writing about it. Anyway...

   The DVD is a documentary about girls who were adopted from China. They returned for a homeland tour with their families as pre-teens. It was so interesting and emotional for me to see how they reacted to China, how the Chinese perceive them, and how they are perceived in the US. The story is told by the girls (ages 9-13) themselves. They speak from the heart about how it feels to be a daughter adopted from China. I highly recommend this DVD! (... and Kim, Almarie, and anyone else who lives close to me, you can borrow my copy.)

This other link is a classic that many adoptive parents buy or rent when they are waiting for their referral. Lisa Ling narrates China's Lost Girls as she travels to China with a group of families as they pick up their little girl. It was filmed awhile ago. I have watched it many times, but I kind of hope they do an update film too.

Mandy's Moon

   I love all of the cute, creative and personalized products that they have on line at Mandy's Moon. They have something for everyone! ....personalized address labels.... signs.... stationary... ornaments.... tote bags.... baby stuff.... adoption stuff.... lots of stuff! The best thing about it is that it can be customized. If your family is made up of people with different skin tones, hair colors, or cultures, you can have them create items that reflect your family. It is sooo neat. We even bought things before Kelsey came home. We got an ornament that said, "Waiting for Kelsey 2005." Click on one of these links below to see all of their products.

Wanzhou Friends

2 years.....

This is what those counters should look like in the sidebar of my webpage. They seem to be cut off. I can't figure out how to make the margins bigger. Hmm... Anyway, I thought you would all like to see what they are supposed to look like!

Snow in Virginia

We have snow in

Virginia

and are expecting a bit more! Growing up as a child in

New York

, I never thought I would be excited to have a little bit of snow. I am excited for my children. This is the first time that the two little ones have been able to play in snow! They weren't too sure, but quickly decided that it was lots of fun. It is supposed to snow through the night. Hopefully, there will be more pictures tomorrow!

Carli from Wanzhou

Kayla is picking up Carli in Chongqing right now! Carli is from Rachel's orphanage, Wanzhou. Rachel was happy to see Carli's picture back in June. She kept saying, "Tee-Ta, Tee-Ta" and getting all excited. She doesn't seem to recognize her anymore. We are still excited to follow their journey. Adoption trips are fun-- and when a child comes from the same orphanage and your children were there at the same time- it is even more fun! Click here. Kayla should have Carli soon!

Here are two pictures. Carli is in the playroom. The other picture is Rachel in the same dress!

Bringing Rachel Home

Remember last May??? OK, I do! That was when we traveled to China to bring Rachel home! It was quite an adventure. :) Whenever I look at people's web pages, they have their trips to China up for people to look at. Well, I have had people ask about our trip. Sometimes I like to reminisce too! We switched websites. We used to use babyjellybeans.com. Now we use typepad.com. With Typepad, I get unlimited blogs.... so,I am reposting Rachel's journey bit by bit. If you read this everyday, you will be able to follow Rachel's trip like it was happening now! LOL! (I am kidding. I am only posting it so that I can share with people who are traveling to Chongqing and so Rachel will have it. I have the old babyjellybeans site on a CD for her too.)

... and yes, I will get around to making one for Kelsey. I am just putting up Rachel's stuff up first because there are several people going to Chongqing soon!

Click here for Rachel's Journey Home!

Video Re-Post

I was asked to post this again. I am  happy to do so. :)