The Dogs

We love our dogs, truly we do, but sometimes they drive me nuts. There is a spot in the house on our beige carpet where they like to pee. It drives me crazy. I don't know which one it is but I just had the carpets cleaned and I found another spot today.

I was calling Zeb over to come look and of course the girls came running too. "Look at that pee stain.", I pointed. Kailei looked up at me and said, "I didn't do it." Cracked me up.

While she is often in the doghouse, this time I had to believe her.

A Very Full Saturday

My goodness it has been a long day. We started by taking Kailei to Chinese class. Keara played at the park while waiting for Kailei.

After class, we picked up our friend Frances and went to the zoo. It was a beautiful fall day and I just love, love, love being outside amongst the changing leaves. Our friends the Merwin's and the Troutman's joined us as well so we were a small crowd parading around the zoo. I think we saw five animals before the girls got hungry and we had to stop for lunch. That seems pretty much the routine at the zoo. We never get far before the kids need to eat. Between the bathroom breaks and food stops, we are really lucky to see any animals at all before it is time to leave. The kids had a great time. We ended with a ride on the carousel and our memories.

After dropping off Frances we raced back home to pick up birthday presents for my nephew and headed out to Kiowa. The girls took a short nap in the car but nothing like the nap they really should have had.

Anyway, my nephew turned nine and we had a Harry Potter themed birthday. Nic is a great kid and you just can't not appreciate his passion for Harry Potter (guess what he is going to be for Halloween?). So, we ate cake, opened presents and had a great time. My marshmallow gun was a hit (even with the big kids).

Fortunately the girls fell asleep on the way home and we were able to transfer them quietly to bed without waking them. Whew!

Keara

Keara LOVES her Irish dancing class and we are go very glad. She has a great time and it is worth the effort it takes to drive her across town on a Friday night to get there.

Once a month they let the parents go in for a short time to view what they have been doing so I had Zeb video what she has been up to. Kailei even got to join in the fun towards the end and I just love the unsolicited sister hug that occurred while there. Enjoy!

Kailei on the Toilet

"Can I have a little privacy, please?!"

Kailei Update

So, I took Kailei to her pediatrician today. They said things were looking good. She is still wheezing a little so we still have to keep doing the nebulizer through Friday and we will make another visit to the doctor again that day.

They said this could be a one time thing or it could lead to asthma so we will have to watch her each time she is sick. Apparently eczema, asthma and allergies are all related and Kailei has two of these for sure. I plan on testing her officially for allergies in November. She will often break out and itch every blue moon. At this point we are guessing what is causing it so to have some testing done should clarify it for us. Anyway, she is OK to go to daycare tomorrow so life moves forward.

A Trip to the E.R.

So, after taking Kailei to the Urgent Care facility last night around 9pm they sent Zeb on to the emergency room. I was home with Keara since she was sleeping unsure if I should call Grammy to come sit with her or just stay put. I stayed put and near the phone while Zeb regularly called in.

All the doctors confirmed that her she was working way too hard to breathe which is actually why her stomach was hurting her so much. Her heartbeat was indeed racing faster than it should and she did have a temperature.

She was officially diagnosed with "viral pneumonitis with wheezing". They took a chest x-ray which came up clear thank goodness. She is now on a breathing treatment and we have to take her to her regular doctor tomorrow to see how she is progressing so I'll be taking off work tomorrow.

Zeb ended up getting home around 11:30pm after all was said and done. Kailei was tired and fell asleep on the ride home from the hospital (about 5 minutes). Thankfully she slept until about 4 this morning. We are supposed to give her the breathing treatment every 4-6 hours. She is much better spirits today and not complaining about her stomach until it is close to time for another treatment.

Gosh, this little girl challenges my lack of nursing skills. I was raised to tough things out and my bedside manner is not the best having learned from my Dad who basically just said "deal with it". I think God gave me Kailei on purpose to change some of that behavior.

Kailei sounds pretty bad but seems to be hanging in there. Keara is taking over my nursing duties and is quite honestly a natural. Will update more later.

Saturday and The Cheeks

So, we started the day by attending Chinese class at JCCC. It is kinda like having another mwcc playdate since Kailei's friends Emily, Lily and Catie are in her class. Today they learned about the Moon Festival which is a significant Chinese holiday. They colored pictures and ate mooncakes which seemed to suit the girls just fine. Keara came with Kailei and entertained herself at the park and playing with Emily's sister Ella. Keara loves little kids and does just great taking care of them.

So the morning was nice but quickly took a turn as we got home. One thing we have learned about Kailei is that when she gets sick, she generally gets really sick and the tell tale sign for her parents are her red cheeks. I noticed a runny nose yesterday when I picked her up and was fairly certain it was either allergies or she was getting a cold. Today, the cough started, the fever and she keeps complaining about her stomach hurting. There just isn't anything worse than having little ones in pain and not being able to help them. I really should take up nursing because I am really clueless about all of this. Zeb thought her stomach ache might be because she was coughing a lot but I don't think that is it and now Zeb agrees and we taking her to an urgent care facility to have her looked at. Her breathing has been really heavy, she has a fever, her cheeks are bright red and her little heart just seems to be racing in my opinion. I'm sure Zeb will get to the doctor and they will tell us it is nothing but guess it is better they tell us that than to have anything more serious occur. It has been a long day because Kailei has been crying a lot and she has barely slept. Keara is very sweet at times but then sees all the attention Kailei is getting and gets a little jealous so she needs some tlc as well. It is going to be a long night. Pray that Kailei sleeps some.

Friday Fun

After a long week, we joined our mwcc group for a night at the park and a picnic dinner. It was beautiful out so I really enjoyed being there personally. Kailei and Keara's friends Sam, Lily, Lydia, Frances and Lucy all came out to play and had a great time. This was the first time I think we've seen Lucy since meeting her at the airport so that made the night even more special. The Dads did a great job watching the girls so the Moms could chat (hmmm - do you think we invite them just so they can take care of the kids?)

Kailei and her Dessert

Kailei lets us know in her own special way to stay away from her cake.

Our Weekend

Well, Friday night is fast becoming dance and pizza night. Keara had her second Irish dance class and again loved it. I'm so glad she does. One of us picks up Kailei and we meet at Big Bill's NY Pizza after Keara's class. He has the BEST pizza around and we are enjoying eating there on Friday nights. We have a similar restaurant close to our home but somehow it isn't the same. Plus Big Bill is really from NY and his restaurant has lots of NY memorabilia. Personally, I love that he ships in Drake Cakes and more recently I saw some Wise Owl potato chips (it's all about the food for me). I left Zeb and girls to visit my friend Judith who recently had surgery. She has been housebound for the last few weeks so I think she enjoyed the company.

Saturday Kailei had Chinese class again. Zeb says she did OK. She was supposed to get her picture taken for the JCCC yearbook so I dressed her up. Unfortunately she clammed up (or turtled up as Zeb says - in a ball with her head down) so we chose not to buy any pictures. However, she looked so darn cute I had to snap a few photos myself.

Keara and I stayed home as we had to pack for her sleepover. She went over to her friend Caroline's house. They had a great time apparently. We enjoyed having a little alone time with Kailei. Zeb took her to the park as I had to attend a friends funeral but when I got home Kailei and I popped some popcorn and watched Mary Poppins. Kailei can be a real joy and I treasure the time we have just the two of us.

Today we took a bike ride before Keara came home since she has not mastered a two-wheeler yet. Since Kailei generally wakes up at the crack of dawn, she fell asleep at some point. I definitely enjoyed the fresh air. I haven't been home much on the weekend so I really enjoyed today. I think the girls activities are going to tire us out this year. It sure feels like we are hardly ever home. I was able to read a little, the girls and I baked a cake, and then we had Grammy and Poppy over for dinner since we really have not seen them in a while. It was a great day.

I've attached a variety of pictures from the weekend simply because I thought they were cute.

Conversation between the girls this morning

Kailei: "What are you doing Keara?"
Keara: "Cleaning up my room. Wanna help?"
Kailei: "Certainly not."
Keara: "Why not."
Kailei: "Because your room is a terrible mess."

Good food, good weather, good friends

Got to go out with some of the moms last night. The best part was being able to enjoy the beautiful weather and eat outside on the patio. I so love to do that. Naturally, I enjoyed my girlfriends company as well. There was only four of us last night so it made it cozy and easy to talk with everyone. There is never a shortage of things to talk about and four hours can pass by quickly when we are together.

Zeb had the girls and Keara did religious ed (ccd) last night. Grammy fixed them dinner which was great and then I heard they went to the park. I'm not convinced Keara got her homework done last night as I think Zeb woke her up early this morning to do it but I suppose the number of days with nice weather are dwindling.

Keara also had her school pictures yesterday. I so hope they come out. Last years was not so good which was surprising because generally she takes some pretty good pics. Guess we will know it a couple of weeks.

Kailei Danced

Well, today Kailei danced. It took about 10 minutes of Mom doing the warmup exercises with her but I was able to step back and she danced her little heart out. It was too cute. I think the teacher had a tough time as a few of the kiddos did not have their listening ears on but fortunately Kailei was not one of them and did just fine. She is now looking forward to next Tuesday. Maybe this time I won't have to even do the warm-up. Cross your fingers.

Anika's Dedication

After the baby shower on Sunday I rushed into Denver to go to my niece's one month dedication. The timing was perfect as I walked in the door only to have the dedication a few minutes later. Unfortunately, I rushed so much that I forgot my camera which I hate to do but there you have it.

Anyway, a nice service was presented in Vietnamese and English (I think they had the interpreter there just for us but we appreciated it) .

Anika didn't seem overly thrilled about anything at the ripe old age of 31 days but a good time was had by all.

Keara loves her new baby cousin and I'm working really hard at becoming her favorite Aunt since my nephew seems to be "anti-girl". I have to steal all the hugs and kisses I get from him but I'll take what I can get.

Grandma and Grandpa made another trip up from Walsh for the event so it was good to see them too. It has been a summer full of activities and I think they are looking forward to staying in Walsh for a little while.

MWCC Baby Shower

Together with my friend Sheryl, we hosted a baby shower for one of the Mom's from the MWCC group. She recently returned from China with her new daughter, Lucy. We had planned on having the shower before she left but her trip came sooner than expected so we had to postpone it.

It is always so much fun to get together with my mom's group. They are such a wonderful group of people. Funny how life and circumstances can join people together.

Anyway, many of the mom's are paper pregnant again so we will have lots more to celebrate in the future but for now it is all about Lucy and the Wymans. We all remember our journey like it was yesterday and love hearing each and every detail about Britt's recent experience.

It is also great to have more families with two children now in the group. For a while I was the only one with two kids and I think they thought I was crazy when I would talk about how different life can be with two - wonderful but different. My friend Lynn was the second in line has a family similar to ours having one adopted child and one biological. Britt is the third to cross over and there are many to follow. Pretty soon there won't be a room big enough for all of us but big families just mean there is more joy to be had and experienced and I couldn't imagine it any other way.

JCCC

The Joyous Chinese Cultural Center is a part of Chinese Children Adoption International. It is one of the many reasons we chose to use our adoption agency. The Culture Center offers classes to all of their families for anyone to participate in. It is important for Zeb and I to expose Kailei to her culture as much as we can. While it certainly is not the same as growing up in China or with a Chinese family it is something we can do.

So Kailei started Chinese language class on Saturday. We know that once a week will not make her a naive speaker by any means but at least she will hear it and some of those neurons in her brain will fire and perhaps it may come easier for her as she grows older. There is no hope for Zeb and I to learn the language. It is extremely complicated. Everything with a different meaning depending on the tone with which it is said. That is why I stuck with sign language in the first place - not an auditory person apparently.

Anyway, she is in class with four of her three of her friends from my MWCC group and did pretty well on day one. I was fearful it would be a repeat performance of the dance class thankfully she did OK.

She learned how to say the color red but every time we ask her "What color is Mommy's shirt? she simply replies, "Red." Could be a long year but we will give it a shot.

My Wild Irish Rose

So today Keara had her first Irish dance class. We've let go of tap and ballet to pursue this option. She has thought about it for a few years but when it has come right down to it she always backs out in the past. This year was different apparently. I'm excited to bring a little more Irish culture into the family since there is often an eb and flow of Chinese culture around the house.

Keara absolutely loved it. There are only three girls in the class so lots of attention for each of the girls. Keara seems to enjoy smaller groups - either that or she coming out of her shell and I just haven't seen it yet but regardless she enjoyed danciing with Miss Natalie and her new friend Sara.

No fancy leotards right now, just shorts and pair of jazz shoes. Not sure where we will go with this but we are off to a good start.

I titled the email "my wild Irish rose" as this was the name my Aunt Maimi use to call me when I was little. It made me feel so very special and I just know she would love for me to pass it on to my own daughter.

To Dance....Or Not

For months now Kailei has been wanting to take a dance class. She loves to dance. She watches dance tapes. She talks about her sister and how she dances. She wears leotards and ballet slippers all the time. She has been asking daily when her class would start.

Well, tonight was her first dance class. She was thrilled....until we got there. My little one got shy apparently. She sat in the corner of class with her head down. She watched the other girls. She was not a behavior problem, unless you count non-compliance as an issue. My heart just sank for her. I'm not sure what was going on in that little head of hers. She sat for about 30 minutes. I finally motioned for her to come to me and she came crying over telling me her shoe was untied. I tied it for her and we re-entered the classroom together. I rolled on the floor with her. I did my best to learn the little dance and slowly Kailei came out of her shell. She laughed a little and danced a little as class came to an end. I asked her what she thought about dance class and she said it was, "Great!". Could have fooled me but I guess the last five minutes made an impression. We will see how next week goes.

Too cute not to document

So every time Kailei finds her doctor's stethoscope she tells us that she "..needs to listen to our beep-beep." I just think that is too cute.

Keara asked me tonight if she was too big to sit on my lap. My heart sank. I told her that she would never be too old for my lap. I didn't care how big she got, there would always be room for her. So she sat on my lap and we read bedtime books together. Life is good.

Fun in the Sun

Gosh, what a great weekend! I wish we had three day weekends all the time.

Saturday my friend Pam came into town so we began the day by having her over for breakfast and doing a little socializing. After she left it was a girls day for Mom and Keara. We went shopping and a glorious time was had by one six year old. She cracks me up how excited she gets getting new clothes. She is always grateful and she always has such a good time trying on everything. She dances most of the time in the dressing room so much so I can hardly get her to stand still to see if things fit. She had one meltdown but it was because she was so happy to have everything and didn't know what to wear first. It is just too cute.

Later that night we decided to take the girls to the drive-in movie theatre. We took them last year when we celebrated Kailei's gotcha day but this year we couldn't because the movie wasn't exactly kid friendly. So, we have kept our eye on the paper and when we looked this weekend it was "Underdog". We packed up the car with chairs, blankets, sweatshirts and headed north to the theatre. The girls had a great time. The movie was tolerable for the parents. Kailei loved the popcorn. It put us out late but it is worth it.

Sunday we decided to go to Estes Park for the day. Grammy and Poppy joined us. We packed a lunch and ate by the lake when we arrived in town. We took a little stroll and saw some elk. We even saw elk in the lake at one point. Kailei and Keara played in the lake. At one point they were on a sand bar and they got a kick out of looking like they were walking on water. Everything was going well until Kailei was about 10 feet from shore and tripped. The first time she fell she laughed and we thought all would be OK. Then she fell again...and again....and again. Zeb lept out into the water shoes and all to get her. She was wet and upset for a little while but we stripped her and put her in my mom's sweatshirt while her clothes dried. After that, we took a walk and she took a nap. It rained a little but not so much that caused any problems.

We went into town and walked around the shops and local art show. Dinner was followed by ice cream and some play time in the park. We really had a great time and enjoyed having Grammy and Poppy with us.

Today, Zeb met his friend Bruce at the museum. Keara got to see her friend Elizabeth whom she just adores. They don't get to see each other as much as they would like so every moment is packed full of fun. Since Zeb took the girls that left me with a little time to get some things done around the house (after a short nap). :)

We probably did too much this weekend but the weather will start to change soon so we have to take advantage of it while we can. It was a great weekend in my opinion.