First Day of Pre-School

Today is Connor's first day at his new Montessori pre-school. He was a little nervous...and a lot grumpy this morning, but he went with out a worry. They start outside which is where he really wanted to go. He wanted me to play with him and I said no you go play. He did and we left. Hope the rest went as well..and go as well! Now Evan and I have to figure out what to do with ourselves! It's awfully quiet around here.

Little Monsters

Connor discovered edamame (again) and absolutely loved it. He thought it was so fun to push the beans out and watch them fly across the table. He would laugh hysterically before each bite.

Then there's this other little monster! Who knows what he was trying to charm out of me...but look at this face, he probably got whatever he wanted!

We met with the social worker for the first time this past Thursday. We were able to hand her most of the paper work that she needed and just have to get a couple of other things together. Dave will meet with her this Wednesday and I will the next week. Then we'll have one more meeting to finalize the home study and answer all of her questions so she can write up her report. Hopefully we can get everything put together and get all of our paperwork notarized and authenticated and translated and all that stuff to get our paperwork to China by Thanksgiving.

Connor starts preschool this week! We go to meet his teacher on Monday and then he'll go three mornings a week! Let's hope he's nicer to them than he is to his brother! They are like little octopi these days...all arms smacking each other! It really is funny, but Connor needs to stop instigating it because Evan hits much harder than he does!

Visit to Indiana

 The boys and I spent 10 days in Indiana (we drove there and back). It was a long trip (4 full days in the car), but we got to see lots of friends and family. Here the boys are with Great-Grandpa Paul and Grandma Betty.

We did get to go to a couple of zoos on our trip...both the Dallas and Indianapolis Zoos. I found some little monkeys here!

We had quite the drive! The first night in the hotel, the boys were jumping on the bed, bonked heads and Connor bled all over the bed and himself. The next day, when we stopped for lunch, they got into an actual fist fight at a restaurant while I was ordering lunch. (Everyone was laughing and I said, loudly, "This is what happens when they're locked in the car all day...hahaha.) They played pretty well while we were staying at Grandma Betty's and Grandpa Joe's. They thought the basement was really neat and wanted to go down there to play often (we don't have basements in TX).  They had a lot of fun playing in the backyard with Grandpa Joe blowing bubbles and collecting sticks.

The drive home was wicked hard. They were excited to go home and asked every mile if we were almost home. Then at dinner on the first day we stopped at the only place to stop...a truck stop. We all three had to fit into a regular sized restroom stall and then as we were trying to figure out how to get out...my wallet fell in the toilet..that I hadn't flushed yet! Yep! Evan thought the big splash was hysterical, but I was pretty upset! I tried to get the cash out and clean off the the things that would ruin. I discovered later that I some how lost a $100 bill in this whole debacle too! It was an expensive mistake. Then our dinner took 20 minutes to come out and Connor spilled his drink all over the place. I finally got them in the car and Connor had to pee at EVERY exit for the next 30 miles! So we just ended up stopping since we weren't getting any where fast. We found a hotel and I Purelled everything in my wallet. We were safe and that was what I had to keep reminding myself!

We got up the next morning and started out. They continued to ask the same question repeatedly, which made me want to lose my mind! Connor ended up getting a bloody nose while I was doing 75mph down the road. We finally made it home and Dave got home while I was unloading the car. He opened the garage door, while the door to the house was open, and ...yep, all three dogs ran away! We caught the little 2 just a couple houses down, but I had to chase the big dumb one onto the golf course for about 15 min before he got too tired to run any more.

It was a rough trip, but it could have been worse...this morning Evan puked all over the kitchen! At least that wasn't in my car! (Bright side???)

I think we'll stay home for a while.

We've decided to adopt!

After almost two years of hoping and then being devastated by loss, we have decided that adoption will be the best choice for us.

We mailed off the application to the adoption agency on Thursday and applied to the Home Study agency on Friday so we're just waiting to hear from them to see what the first official steps will be.

The boys are very excited and we're all looking forward to learning more about Chinese culture on the way to meeting our new little girl.

We will be going through the special needs program in China. This means that we are willing to nurture a child who is considered to have a special need in China. Some of those needs are very manageable in the US though. We get to choose the gender, age and needs we are willing to work with. We will spend the next six months working on our paperwork. Then it will be sent to China and then it is just a waiting game...waiting for that right little girl to come into the system. Once we find her, it will be another six months, probably, before we get to take the trip to China to pick her up. We will spend two weeks there and then bring her home and she will be all ours!

We are so excited to be able to heal our broken hearts in such a special way! We cannot wait to meet our new daughter and to watch her grow and blossom!

PS - Today is our 5th Anniversary! Happy Anniversary to us!

Water Worries

 You'd think that by looking at this picture that my children are loving summer time and all the water play that it brings...but you'd be wrong.

Connor is ok with shallow water, but as soon as you put him into a regular pool, the tears start flowing and the anxiety hits a new height. He's been in swim lessons for 4 weeks now. Four weeks of tears and bribing and screaming and clinging. Today I asked if he could move back down a level and that went a bit better, but still he freaks if his head gets near the water...which makes the whole swimming thing a little difficult. He's only got 2 lessons left...thank goodness!

We are still in full on dinosaur mode. We've been to the big Dinosaur Park ever Tuesday for the last 3 weeks. It amazes me because the dinos don't move. They're still in the exact same place each week. But each week we run from dinosaur to dinosaur and read the signs and make up names and race into the gift shop to get what they really came for...a new Dinosaur Train friend! Then we come back home and add the new friend to our growing collection and they plan the next one they're going to get. My little collectors!

Last week we decided that maybe it was time to send Connor to preschool. He's had some very anxious moments lately trying to figure out how to fit in with other kids when we go places and play. He gets worried about new places and I can just see that Kindergarten is going to be a rough transition and he may need a little longer to get used to the idea. So we're starting now! He will be going to a local Montessori that is very highly praised. He'll be there M, W, F and mornings starting in August! Now I just have to convince him it's a good idea!

Dinos A to Z

Connor is back into dinosaurs, and Dinosaur Train, these days. He saw an episode where they sing a song that lists a different dinosaur for each letter of the alphabet and decided that he needed to learn that song. The paper he has gives the picture clues to each dinosaur, but he learned all the names yesterday. He also had to go around and find all the dinosaurs in the house, well 26 of them, so he could act out the song. Kind of funny how his first obsession of dinosaurs and his second obsession of letters has now come together!

Potty Training

 This past weekend we decided to start potty training Evan. He started off really well...even pooped in the potty the first morning. He was so excited and stood up and said, "That's the biggest poopy I ever seen!" I still have to watch him constantly and take him to the potty regularly to get him to go since he won't tell me he has to go. Today, after he pooped in his pants, he told me "Next time, I just put my hand back here and tell the poopies to stop." Great! Can't wait to clean that up!

Connor is ready to put out any fires caused by the potty training. We got lunch at Firehouse Subs and their kids' meals came in fire hats. Connor actually put the hat on himself and the boots and started playing. This was monumental because this is the FIRST time we've ever gotten him to even remotely dress up. Maybe there's hope for Halloween this year!

My business is going really well. I got a promotion last night and I'm now one of two Team Leaders in the company! I wasn't sure it would happen, but now I have 28 people on my team and we are kicking butt! We've got a big sale coming up this Sunday and Monday online only...http://play2learn.simplyfun.com/twodaysale...where games, puzzles and puppets will be 45-85% off! Hopefully my team will do well with that and everyone will get some great deals!