Once upon at time, long, long ago. . .

 

A Baby Princess was born. With skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. The story of Princess Baby Snow White, otherwise known as Miss Gracyn.

Our very own little Snow White complete with a red bow! You guessed it! It was the hair clippies! Since the day we met I truly think Gracyn has had a bow on in almost EVERY picture. Even in PJ's! I admit, I love bows. I have a collection of my own from childhood. Was even going to post about it, but never got around to it. I was thrilled that she liked wearing clippies and love that she actually checks for it on her head!

 

So, the winner is. .. Miss Olivia's Mommy and Daddy!! This is so perfect because Heather and Paul not only guessed SNOW WHITE, but they also just received Olivia's referral on October 13th. A surPRIZE is coming your way, and congratulations on your beautiful blessing! (Please PM your mailing address - Judy has my e-mail address!) Ramona's recent guess of Boo made me laugh! That's not the first time we've been told that she looks "just like Boo" from Monsters, Inc. I guess if she won't wear her costume, I could very well just tell pople she's Boo, huh? Get it? BOO!

 

Story of our 1st Halloween as a family of four. . .

 

So we started off with Ninja and Butterfly, and ended up with Thomas and Snow White. Hmmmmm. . .Peyton picked his own costume, but I think he ended up with Thomas because I was simply overwhelming him with too many options. Do you want to be a Pirate? Do you want to be a Cow Boy? The list goes on. . .Thomas was familiar to him, and it turned out much cuter than I expected. I think it's the little hat and his adorable grin!

 

Gracyn. . .well, let's just say that pretty dresses for weddings, hot fleece butterfly costumes with hoods, and even this simple Snow White costume are not her thing. I went with Snow White because I thought it would be simple enough for her to NOT object. I had Gong-Gong hunting down the smallest one we could find. I think she's a perfect Snow White, but I did consider Minnie Mouse for those who guessed that character. I had to wrangle her into this costume, and she managed to last about 90 minutes. Mind you, we rehearsed wearing this the 2 nights before just get her comfortable. . .well, so I thought.

 

 

Kids made it to the Halloween/Birthday Party for their cousin, costumes were gone by game time, but I got my pictures. . .As a "new" mom to 2, I really just wanted that picture, darn it! That picture of BOTH of my kids on the porch next to their punkins. And I got it! I'm good now. Completely satisfied. Sibling Halloween photo - check. And it's not even Halloween yet! Target and Walmart, thank you for the costumes that I did NOT have to sew. They have earned their money. And so we add 2 more costumes to the collection of Skunk, Frog, Lion, and Horse. . .Thomas and Snow White.

 

Can you guess what she'll be for Halloween?

It's been almost a year since we received Gracyn's referral. We've waited a long time to grow our family, and as I've said before, Halloween is the first of the Holidays and we are so blessed to be family of four! At one point during our wait, when we were told we had the slow judge, there was a possibility that Gracyn wouldn't be home by now. Now it seems like we've had her forever, but then sometimes it feels like just yesterday I was making plans to fly to Taiwan!

Gracyn didn't like her butterfly costume, so can you guess what she'll be for her first Halloween at home? If you you're the ONE friend I've told, or the ONE cousin who's already seen her, don't spoil the fun! Can you be the first to guess? I'll give you 2 hints.

1. Disney
2. There's one constant in all of Gracyn's photos since she's come home. This constant is part of her costume.

If you're the first to guess correctly, I'll send you a prize in the mail! Not sure what yet. . .so we'll just call it a surPRIZE.

 

 

 

Who does she take after?

We've been home for over a month now, and one thing Gracyn loves, is being outside! Just like her brother. How is she like Daddy? Well, she waves and says "hi" to everyone - (DH knows everyone in town.) And how is she like Mommy? Well, she loves York Peppermint patties (while Peyton thinks they're spicy) and honestly, we're both super feisty. She takes after all of us, and quite frankly she couldn't be a better fit. She's social, which works great for our large family and over-scheduled calendar. She loves to snack all day long. She's affectionate, and loves to play! And the one thing I've always said to DH, is that she's going to be my little dancer! And that she is. . .she loves to dance! I learned that in Taiwan. (Stay tuned for a video clip of some dance moves.)

It's been so nice to have the whole family home, and soon, it's back to work (outside of the home), so we've been trying to spend as much time outdoors before it starts to rain, and before we have no day light to play on the swings when we get home from the office. The kids could play outside FOREVER! Daddy got confused and thought we were at the gym, or maybe he thought we were in P.E. class?!

 

 

 

 

 

BYE-BYE Summer. . .Fall is here. . .and WINTER is upon us!

 

More dance moves? Here's part deux.

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but no, I'm not in this clip either. However, be sure the volume is up. There is a very important question asked, and a very HONEST answer.

There's a lot of mommies out there with some precious little girls. Anyone want to claim this little guy as their main squeeze? He's hot, huh? I love this little guy more than you'll ever know. And by the way, he promised he'd dance with me on his wedding day! I remind him constantly.

Could it be? 5 from Taiwan, all here in my home?!

Today we were blessed to have Lucy, Jaden, Kimi, and Samantha all over for lunch! It was amazing to see these 5 beautiful little girls, all born in Taiwan, here in my home. When Lucy walked in, the last to arrive (from Taiwan, and at our house) and I hugged Jackie for the first time, I cried. . .

The mommies of these precious little ladies are so special to me. They have been an integral part of our journey to Gracyn.


There's Megan, mom to Kimi: She introduced me to Jackie and Lori. Need I say more? Oh, and I followed her journey so closely. I fell in love with Kimi!

There's Jackie, mom to Lucy: She and I spent our super long WAIT together.

There's Lori, mom to Samantha: She has always taken the time to support all of us!

There's Ramona, mom to Jaden: She was part of our welcome home committee, and was the super sweet one who notified me and Jackie of her final decree before she posted!

There are many others of you out there who have been a big part of our journey too! These ladies just happen to be close enough for all of us to get together and meet in person.

As Jackie said, "see you all on the web!" I miss you already and hope we can make this a tradition!

p.s. The other super cute kids in the photos I'm sure you all know by now. . ."J", "B", Mikey, Sierra, and Peyton. Oh, and the big one, that's Jeff, the song writer/singer! (We forgot to have him sing for us! Darn it!)

Bust a Move - Part 1

So you think you can dance. . .dance. . .dance. . .


Yeah, we're fans! I won't lie. And if I weren't behind the camera, I would be dancin' too.

Brown soda revealed. . .

Yes, it's caffeine free Root Beer, that's it. - Thanks Lora! (wink, wink)

Can't we freeze them this way?

Last weekend we attended a wedding, and well, in a nutshell, it was a disaster. We tried to put naps off until later in the afternoon to ensure kids that would be happy to eat later, stay up later, maybe even dance the night away. . .Peyton only slept 45 minutes, when he's used to about 2 hours, and while Gracyn slept fine, she wasn't happy to put on tights, in fact we had to take them off, and quite frankly she was opposed to wearing the most beautiful little dress that I had her try on in the morning, mind you, to ensure she'd be okay with it.

Somehow Gracyn had a set back. Maybe it was the bag I used that night to tote their stuff around (I used it in Taiwan and it had a bad affect, but I forgot. . .) or perhaps it was the family that she saw in line at the bar that were speaking in Mandarin. Or, maybe it was the coke towards the end of the evening which served as a "pick-me-up" at 8:45PM. It resulted in a terrible, terrible night of restless sleep. I know, I know, why in the world did we let her have the "brown soda" - well, because she likes it better than the clear stuff, and she's clearly had it before, and it makes her happy. I don't give it her in her bottle or anything! I swear. (I won't post any pictures of either of them drinking soda - I don't want anyone to turn me in!) Let's remember, although this is out of order, during the ceremony, I had one kid with no shoes on, 2 kids munching LOUDLY on crackers, 2 kids fighting over the yellow lollipop (oops, yep, I use those too!), legs that hurt from crouching down in red heels and a short dress, and a kid in the bathroom who barely made it back for the big family photo! Sounds like I have like 6 kids, huh?

We survived the night, but only one kid and one parent made it out the door for church on Sunday. That would be me and Peyton. He enjoyed and needed some "Mommy and Peyton" time. During fellowship I had him pick out a table for us to sit at, and guess what? He picked a small table set for 2! He reminded me all day how much he loves me. My sweet, sweet baby boy. . .well, he's growing up. Apparently after the wedding, and just plain ole gettin' older, he had a lot of questions including:

Mom, why do boys and girls dance together?
Mom, why do we have to get marriage? (yes, marriage, not married)
Mom, was I in your tummy? (He thought he was from Taiwan!)

Great questions my big boy, great questions. . .Can't we just freeze them as little people so they don't ever have to grow up?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone have a Porch for sale?

When we were driving to Toys R Us the other night, Peyton spotted a car that had "no roof" on it. . .it was a convertible. He had DH and I both rolling when he told us what to do with our van! Daddy of course told him what type of car it was. . . The LIVE original version was much funnier, but for a replay of the conversation about the "Porch" watch HERE.



Daddy told him that if you drive your "Porch" too fast the police will give you a ticket, so on the way to day care Peyton told me that he no longer wants a "Porch" because he "doesn't want the police to get him," - WHEW! I'm off the hook. I don't have to throw the van away FOR the mouse. Yes, at the end of the clip, he does in fact say "mouse" because he and Daddy recently threw away a dead mouse in the garbage! If you missed it the first time, watch again! Maybe he was thinking Stuart Little would come back to life and might want to drive my rockin' minivan!

My little guy is so funny!

New Friends!

Last week we got to enjoy a play date with N and her Mom, Staci. N is a NEW big sister! Her brother Jake is coming home from Taiwan in the next 6 months or so. Peyton and Gracyn adore N, and Peyton who affectionately named her Jaden, (we know 2 J's) has already asked to invite her over again! N and Staci were so sweet to give Gracyn the most adorable Tea Collection outfit from a local boutique, and a book that I've wanted and have yet to add to our collection, Motherbridge of Love.


We are anxiously awaiting Jake's arrival, because Peyton and Jake are just about the same age. Jake will also be a big brother in the near future, because as you you can tell from the name of their blog, 2 in Taiwan, their family is also awaiting a baby referral! How crazy! Oops, I mean EXCITING! LOL Staci is a GREAT mommy so she'll be just fine adding 2 to her family!

The kids actually fell asleep without a fight, and right next to each other!

And the winner is. . .

The Fantastic Four Superheroes, a.k.a. Judy K. AND her family!

So, Sarah K. met her whole family via the Internet, and Courtney, bless her heart, can do tricks with her ears that I'd love to see via video clips (hint, hint)! All great stories, and thank you for sharing.

Since Judy isn't going to share her Peanut M&M's with her handsome boys and will be quietly folding the wrappers and hiding them in her pockets, and then trying to wash down the "smell" before Andrew appears with his supersonic nose, and Craig hears her munching from the other room with his supersonic ears, I'm not only sending her a bag of "snack pack" sized Peanut M&M's (for rationing purposes), but I'll be including a red envelope filled with some extra cash to buy the boys THEIR favorite candy. After all, the WHOLE family won! Oh, and William's extraordinary powers while still to be formally determined, are of course his keen sense of FOOD, so he'll manage to get his mouth on whatever doesn't make it into Judy's, Craig's, or Andrew's!

Thanks for playing along in my first blog contest ever!

Is this what you were talking about?

I've read many moms' posts about their SWEET little girls (and a couple of boys too), and how sometimes they have terrible tantrums. . .Is this what you were talking about?

Notice her on sitting on the floor? When she doesn't get her way, she drops to her bottom almost instantly and will sit there and fuss until I go get her. Only once has she gotten up on her own and it was because she saw us putting on our shoes to leave the house. If she's really mad, the sitting position escalates to laying on the ground bouncing her bottom up and down on the floor and moving in circles around herself!

 

Just seconds before I took the pictures above, here is sweet Gracyn using sign language:

EAT

 

PLEASE (her modified version)

 

I guess she was REALLY hungry!

Bonding with Daddy, but where is Amazing Gracyn?

After meeting Gracyn in Taiwan and her rejection of me, I was fully convinced and had prepared DH to be ready to take care of her. When we got home, while she was happy to see DH and let him carry her, the opposite of what I had anticipated happened.

Gracyn allowed me to feed, bathe, change, and put her down to sleep, even in Taiwan. At home, I became the only one that she would allow to do most of these things. Always happy to go outside with Daddy, but never in a car without me, and still screams if he tries to put her down for bed or comfort her during the middle of the night. Lucky me!

In all honesty, while I'm fortunate to be the one that can comfort her, it's been hard. We all need sleep, and we all need a break, right? In the past month Gracyn and Daddy are taking baby steps together. As you can see below, she loves to play with water and the hose, which is something Daddy started doing with her. Fun for a while, yes, but the rejection she dishes out to him is still very hard. Hard on him, hard on me to watch, hard on me because that means it's still up to Mommy, hard on brother because that means he has to always give up mommy to sister. . .

Pictures don't lie, so you can tell that Gracyn and Daddy are bonding, and for that, I thank our Heavenly Father. If you feel Gracyn on your heart this week, please pray for her to open hers just a little more to Daddy. The reward of being able to pick up your crying child and having them stop instantly is amazing, isn't it? You know you're their parent at that moment, right? Your arms are where they feel safe, and loved. Your smell, your touch, the sight of your face is instant comfort. I can attest to the amazing feeling it was to experience this with Gracyn. Even more amazing because the sight of me used to terrify her. I only had to wait 10 days or so, and well, Daddy is still waiting and really deserves and needs to experience an "AMAZING" Gracyn.

 

 

 

 

To Daddy,
Hang on just a little longer. . .I will show you what amazing is.
Love, Gracyn