Katie Turns 2

Our little Suichuan princess is now 2. She can actually tell you that herself, but she's still just holding up 1 finger. We'll have to work on that. It's been awhile since I've updated this site, but that is primarily due to the day-to-day fun of raising two kids. When I look at the pile of photographs and other items to be put in scrapbooks some day, I generally decide that I'd rather have time with the kids and home cooked meals than great scrapbooks. To each their own. Now I put everyone's pictures in labeled boxes (or at least I aspire to) and maybe when they're off to college I'll start scrap booking. Doubtful, but possible!

Katie continues to do great. She is an avid dancer and possibly a future candidate for political office. (Whatever ones you don't have to be a citizen from birth for...unfortunately, President is out for now.) She very much enjoys directing our actions about the house! Brad and I are working on this, but some days, it is the youngest member of our family who is in charge.

We spent the last weekend picking strawberries at Eckert's Farm in Belleville. Katie had a ball. She ate as fast as we picked, so by the time Brad, Alex and I had 2 boxes full of strawberries, Katie was a strawberry-stained sight to behold with juice running everywhere. She was even in her strawberry pants, so she was quite the cutie. I forgot the digital camera, so I have pics on a disposable that I need to send in.

Katie turned 2 on the 14th, so we celebrated with a smaller (than last years giant blow-out) gathering the Saturday before which turned out really nice. Katie was in her element and had a fantastic day. She is certainly happiest when she is the center of attention. Who can blame her? She now has a few more pairs of shoes to add to her collection. In case I haven't mentioned it, Katie is a shoe gal. If you ever see her and wonder why I let her wear those shoes, just remember that it's all about what Katie wants! I subscribe to the "pick your battles" school of parenting, and the last time I checked, silver shoes with jean shorts isn't life threatening.

Here are a few pics of the party...

Alex, Mom, Katie & Dad

Kitty cat cupcakes were the dessert for the day.

Katie enjoying the cupcakes and ice cream. Thank goodness for a beautiful day weather-wise, so the kiddos could eat outside where the birds would clean up the crumbs!

Okay, not a great photo, but one of the few I've got of just Katie hanging out and not eating. (She continues to be a prolific eater and that is what she did throughout most of the party.) Here she is showing off her Dora pull-ups. While she loves to sit on the potty, we are not really trying for potty training yet. These pull-ups are in use because she likes to take off the traditional-style diapers. This at least slows her down!

Katie and friends dancing with our friend Lowell. It really is all about the kids these days, and that is more fun than I ever could have imagined.

On a slightly somber note, on the night before Katie's actual birthday, I have a tradition of lighting a candle to remember her birth mother. This year I used Katie's birthday candle, which I thought was a nice thing to do. When she is older, she can participate if she wants. I have to say that in the chaos of day-to-day living, adoption or birth mother thoughts don't really cross my mind that much. Katie is just my daughter and she just looks like herself. But at milestones like birthdays, I always wonder if somewhere out there her birth mother hopes that she has found a better life. While I am not sure how I feel personally about open adoptions where the birth parents are still active in their child's life, I do wish that Katie's birth mother could know that she is fine. I hope that she cares enough to wonder, but in such a different culture, it is difficult to know for certain. Alex and Katie were running and playing in light rain last week while Brad and I watched. I remarked how amazing it was that you could take a child from an orphanage in China, and in a very short time they are a full-blown American child, just like any other down the block. That goodness we live in a world where that is true!

Katie's party generally hits on Mother's Day weekend, so we get to celebrate with my parents. These days are all the more special in the last few years since mom's health problems started. We had a great visit and the kids love playing with "the grandma and grandpa that live far away in Bement." You may note that I'm not very modest about how my children should feel about me on Mother's Day. I bought them matching shirts that said, "I love mom." Nothing makes me happier than those two little faces and their big, wet kisses.





To catch up on the last few months, I've added a few extra photos here. This is Alex and Katie at the Easter egg hunt at Grandma & Grandpa's in Sparta. We did both families this weekend, and that was a lot. It is hard to not celebrate with everyone, but it is difficult with the kids.

Katie at the park around the corner from home. She loves slides! Katie continues to be "ahead" of her peers in terms of gross motor skills, thanks to teaching by big brother Alex. Others her age have their moms right with them at the park. Katie pushes them out of the way and goes exactly where she wants. She is small but mighty!

Katie loves to cook, just like Alex. And I enjoy sharing that part of my day with them, too. Here Katie is helping make quesadillas for lunch. She does tend to eat a good chunk of the ingredients!



This is our duck and her 10 babies as they marched out of our yard and toward the water. Mama duck set up shop behind some flowers under Brad's office window in the back yard back in early April. She had 12 eggs (big, like chicken eggs) in her nest and 10 of them made it. The babies were born on May 10. Luckily, we got to see them before they left! We've also had killdeer babies this year and now are waiting for a nest of robins to hatch. They are living near the air conditioner.

Katie on the hunt for eggs at Easter. This was only a month ago, but we had that cold snap and it was only in the 40's that day.

Playing with our friends. Nita is the oldest and is in kindergarten, then Alex and Everett will start school together. Katie and Art (both in front obviously) are just 3 months apart in age.

Well, that is all for now. Most of you know we are considering adopting again. We submitted our paperwork to China in March and it got logged in April 12. So we are officially in line. However, the wait that was 6 months for Katie and pretty predictable is now more like 3-4 years long and unpredictable. China used to process a month's worth of applications every month. In the last couple of months, they've only processed a couple of days. The number of families applying to China to adopt has grown tremendously since we asked for Katie, so the process is much slower. While there are other options for adoption, we've been really happy with the China program. Time will tell.