Our Memorial Day Weekend

We had such a nice Memorial Day weekend. We went over to our friend's house for dinner. We had other friends over for a cookout. We went to our pool. I snuggled up in bed with Will and Harry and watched a movie one night after our pool cookout was rained out. It was a really nice weekend. I am grateful to those who have fought and do fight to protect our country and I did remember them in my prayers this weekend.

Our very good friend, Tessa finally got her hands on Miss Kate. To faciliate a healthy attachment, we did not let anyone hold Kate for the first several weeks. Now, we are beginning to let people she knows hold her. People have been very understanding and patient. However, Tessa was dying to hold Kate! Tessa was so wonderful with her. Kate adores their whole family!

At our friend's house for dinner.

This is Kate's country club look. The sunglasses lasted about 2 seconds.

Hmmm...should I go in the water? It might mess up my hair. Aww what the heck. I'm going in!

Kate LOVED the water. She loved us holding her in the water. She loved Harry pulling her around in this floatie thing. She even loved sitting on the edge and falling into the water into Dave's arms. I think we have another swimmer in the family.

Oh, I do not like the taste of this water!

Our club did switch over to a salt water pool. Yeah, less chemicals. I could not be happier about that. It really isn't that salty either.

Brothers

Harrison splish-splashing around.

I'm Just Wild about Harry

A few nights ago at the dinner table, Harry proclaimed, "I have no role in our family. Will is the helper and big brother. Kate is the cute new baby.

I am the one who gets in trouble." Now, lately, he has been a bit sassy (as to be expected--he has recently become a middle child) but he is still our sweet Harry.

So, we have been working hard to create a positive role for Harry in our family.

I decided to do a special post all about Harry. I love his little freckled nose. And his laugh. He has perfectly straight, white teeth. The dentist always gives him an A+ for brushing and he is very proud of that. I think he is the cutest little guy.



Although he looks a little devious here, Harry is a great kid. He is generous. He is a great friend because he can be both a leader and a follower. He has a great sense of humor. He is our prayer reminder. Sometimes we are all in a rush at dinner time and we begin eating. It is our Harry who slows us down and reminds us to pray. Also, sometimes his teacher will mention something to me and I say, "how did you know?" She will tell me that Harry has been praying about it at school.

Harry is a water bug and he loves swimming. Last year, he worked so hard to be on our local swim team. At the beginning of the season, he pushed himself to make it across the pool in order to compete. I will never forget the first time he competed. Our whole team was cheering for him. By the end of the season, he swam freestyle and backstroke at champs at the University Arena pool. He won the coaches award last year for swimming. He was 5! I was most proud of how hard he worked and how he always cheered on his teammates.

Harry "rocks" at baseball. He loves it and he is really good. His favorite position right now is pitcher. He actually plays the game instead of picking daisies in the field.

Harry is definitely a team player.

He is such a sweet big brother to baby Kate.

It's okay Kate, I'll protect you!

Harry and Will are best friends. He is an awesome little brother.

Harry has a great laugh!

Harry is an awesome soccer player (with coach Dad).

Harry takes swim team very seriously. In fact, last year he got a buzz cut so he would move through the water faster. On the last day of school, he plans to get another one this year.

Harry is great with his younger cousin, Ashton. He is such a good role model and helper.

Harry is an awesome student both academically and socially. In fact, he is one of only two boys in his class who has never had to move his star off of green for behavior this year. We are SO proud of him. He is a leader in his classroom and is loved by all his classmates (and his teachers).

Harry can be a ham (at his 6th birthday party).

Harrison loves Scout and is working on how he handles her. They will be going to dog obedience school this summer.

I love you Harry!
(purple is his favorite color)


**Harry saw his special post this morning and he was beaming. He looked so happy. Then, he said, "I want my own blog with older posts and all!" Oh boy!

Developmental Expolsion!

I have been a very negligent blogger this week. I apologize. But let me explain. Kate has had a developmental explosion this week. She has learned to crawl, to clap, to drink from a sippy cup, to say "uh-oh, up, and baby." Kate has mastered the art of frolicking in the pool and getting herself into a sitting position in the crib (to play instead of sleep at nap time). She is also very close to standing on her own and she has pulled to a stand once! Kate will turn one next weekend and it is amazing to me the skills she is developing each day. I remember when Will had these bursts of development, he would not sleep because he was so excited by his new tricks. And Will was the one who napped for four hours every afternoon! Unfortunately, Miss Kate Emerson is doing the same thing (not sleeping at naptime).

Here I go Mama!

This crawling is hard work. Is there a reward at the end?

All of that crawling made me thirsty!

Hmmm.... what is this? I've never used one of these before.

Down the hatch.

Mom, would you like some?

Kate also got a very fancy plastic pool and learned the art of lounging and water frolicking.

After all that developing..Kate is too tired to eat her dinner. Although, she did wake up to chew the bites we kept putting in her mouth. "Will wake for food."

Out like a light...until we put her in the crib.

I am working on a very special post about Harry, so check back soon. Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone!

Kate Falls in Love..with herself

This is the first video of Kate Emerson that we have put on the blog. It has taken over a week and many late nights of work. I know it shouldn't have taken so much work. We had camera issues, USB issues, computer problems, and software glitches. Then, I finally got it to youtube and there was no audio. It was back to the drawing board. So, please let me know in the comments if you enjoy it.

Miss Kate has discovered that she can pull to a sitting position in the crib. She now thinks that sitting up, looking around and talking very loudly is way more fun than sleeping. I just went up to check on her and she was half asleep, half crying and sitting slumped over in the corner of her crib. She can sit up but doesn't know how to get back down. It was so sad. This new trick will provide me with exactly NO time to get anything done now. HELP!

Hippie Dippie

I am having a lot of fun dressing Kate Emerson. I usually put Kate in dresses but lately we have had some chilly days. So, I saw these white cargo pants and this great tunic. I thought they might make a nice option for a cool day. I thought Dave would say, "MORE CLOTHES!" But no, much to my surprise, he said," I like this look. It's her hippie dippie look. She should dress like this everyday." Hmm... does that mean more shopping?

Happy hippie dippie

Reflective hippie dippie

Thankful Thursday and the Beach boys

I thought if I was going to post messy photos of Kate Emerson, I had better be fair and post two cute ones too.

Now for the messy ones....

It is Thursday again and I am listing what I am thankful for:

~We had a GREAT time at the Beach Boys concert with Will and Harry last week. We got front row tickets. It was their first concert and the first time someone ever watched darling Kate (more on that in a minute). We danced and sang and the lead singer kept waving to us. The original Beach Boy (lead singer--Mike Love) came over and gave Will and Harry his autograph. I hope the boys will always remember this concert. Harry has seen the Wiggles but hopefully, he'll forget that.

~ I am thankful that Kate did so well being watched by someone for the first time. A babysitter met us outside of the concert theatre and strolled Kate around on our outside walking Mall during the concert. Kate did not cry or fuss at all according to the sitter. They even strolled to an outdoor concert of their own:)

~I am really thankful that we are going to Houston in a few weeks. We moved from Houston about 3 years ago and we really miss our friends, our church and the restaurants! We look forward to visiting all of the above.

~I am thankful for the blog buddies I have made and the China adoption friends I have. Two of them arrive home today with their new babies and I could not be more thrilled for them.

~I am thankful for a very healthy marriage and home life. Yes, we have "normal" life stresses (allergies, kids bickering, lack of time) but in general we have a great life and I thank God everyday for it.

~I am thankful that my children have had the BEST TEACHERS this year! You know who you are if you're reading.

Since I cannot post without photos I thought I'd include some from a visit to a friend's house in the neighborhood. Our friend, Finley was feeding Kate some organic bananas. It was messy but fun.

We are trying to post some adorable video of Kate. She has learned some new skills and we want to share but we are having problems. Be on the lookout soon though!

Happy Mother's Day

The one thing I really wanted for Mother's Day was a nice picture with my three children. Kate has been home 5 weeks now and I did not have a picture with all the kids yet. Kate Emerson had just woken up from a nap and wasn't too smiley but here are some of the pictures Dave took.

On the front porch.

I asked the boys to let me sleep until 9:00 this morning. So, at 8:58...I heard singing in the hall, "Happy Mother's Day to you, Happy Mother's Day to you." The gang entered the bedroom bearing gifts, cards, and a breakfast tray with an omelet, bacon, toast and coffee.

Harry made this beautiful pot with his fingerprints decorated as butterflies, ladybugs, and chicks. It is so cute. He also gave me a beautiful card.

Will painted this watercolor portrait of me sitting on our couch with a book. One of our favorite things to do together is read. He painted me in a green sweater because green is my favorite color and he told me that I look pretty in the green sweater I wear. Isn't that sweet?

This is an oil pastel portrait that Will did of me for Mother's Day about four years ago. I treasure it so much because Will used to hate art (he had some sensory issues back then). His teacher at the time told me that he worked so hard on it. It is framed and hangs in our breakfast room. He is really quite the budding artist as you can see from comparing the two works.


Miss Kate Emerson gave me a stunning pair of black pearl earrings from China that match the necklace Dave bought back for me. But I didn't need a gift from her. She is the best gift of all this year!


After breakfast and our photo shoot we went to an Art festival where we ran into some good friends. It has been a beautiful Mother's Day. I have done a lot of reflecting today. I am so grateful for my own Mother who taught me such strong principles and values. I have thought of my husband's Mom who was one of the strongest women I have known but is unfortunately no longer with us. We miss her today. I have thought a lot about Kate's birth Mother this week. Dave and I feel so sad that she will never know the pure joy that is Kate. We will never know how she came to the brave decision to give Kate this life but we will be forever grateful to her. She took a huge risk to make sure that Kate would be taken care of. Today we pray for her and there is sadness in my heart for her.

I also remember Mother's day two years ago when we found out that the adoption we were applying for in Korea would not be completed. I was so sad and disappointed. What a difference two years makes. Today, I am the luckiest woman alive. Thank you Dave, Will, Harry and Kate for such a beautiful day and a wonderful life.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's out there. A special wish to those Moms who are waiting to hold their children for the first time. I know the wait is hard. I am praying for all of you.

I match my crib bedding & Thankful Thursday

I think I truly have gone off the deep end. Kate probably has enough dresses (can a girl ever have too many though?). However, when I saw this dress in a local boutique I could not resist. It is the same material that was used to make her bedding.

A fellow blogger hosts "Thankful Thursdays" where we write what we are thankful for. I am participating this week:

~I am thankful that my almost 10 year old son still gets so excited about a school field trip (to the zoo) that he cannot fall asleep.

~I am thankful that my wonderful husband is cleaning the kitchen tonight while I blog.

~I am thankful for my sweet, affectionate loving daughter. She amazes me every single day. I love her so much that it brings me to tears sometimes.

~I am thankful for really fresh, clean air that we breathe in our little town.

~I am thankful that Harry is finally is starting to be sweet again. He was definitely having "adjustment issues" since Kate came home.

~I am so thankful that the CCAA matched us with our Kate and so thankful that her foster Mom taught her how to hug and love and kiss. She has so much love to give. It was obvious she was loved before.

Triple Joy Tuesday!

This sleeping beauty is Lily. I have prayed for her to be in her Mom and Dad's arms for a long time (even though I have never "met" them).

On this journey of international adoption there are certain people that have touched my heart to varying degrees. Three of those people met their darling babies today. When I was a little girl in Catholic school there was a song we would sing..."this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made..let us rejoice and be glad in Him." This song has been in my mind all day as I have received pictures and e-mails from my adoption buddies. I spent a large part of the day reading about their "forever family" days and crying tears of joy for them.

Heather (Our Journey 3 --Lily) and her husband adopted the beautiful daughter above. She looks like pure joy. My other friend, Elaine and her husband are rather private and they do not have a blog but take my word for it-- their daughter is gorgeous! Diana and Jeff met their daughter Ruby Mei today. They have lovingly referred to today as "Ruby Tuesday." These are incredible women who prayed for our family as I prayed for their families. We helped and supported each other through many, many hard months . Now is the day to rejoice! If you want a good cry of joy check out their blogs that link here on the side. Diana's is Ainsley's Mei Mei and Heather's blog is Our journey 3 (Lily) .

Introducing the beautiful Ruby Mei! She will be meeting Kate later this year. I feel like her Mom is a long lost friend that I have known forever!

Also, my good friend Amie is expecting her baby today AND Snickerdoodle has finally received a photo of her stunningly beautiful daughter. Check her site to see "Brilliance." Can this day get any better?