Re-Adopt Complete - CHECK!

Today was our day. The day we get to appear in court and complete our re-adoption of Gracyn. She's officially ours! Wasn't she already??! The whole morning Peyton thought we were getting on a plane and that we were headed for Taiwan. He cracked me up! Then I of course told him he'd better behave in court because the Judge can send bad people to jail. . .it worked.

Before leaving the house, we had a rough start. . .Let's see, I sprayed Anti-Itching Oil for my growing belly onto Gracyn's hair, thinking it was detangler. I almost walked out of the house without applying my make-up. (Add these to the my list from the past couple of weeks of forgetting to get on the freeway and ending up on my way to daycare (kids weren't with me or at daycare), and trying to put milk in the cupboard.

We show up on time, enter the court room, and wait until the case ahead is being completed. We witnessed a couple going through a custody battle, and the attorney representing the Mother blurts out that the Father, came raging into the home recently saying, "Shut the FU*K up!"- NICE. . .My kids are sitting quietly, eating their cheesy duck crackers, sharing a bottle of water, and then there she goes, again, repeating what the Father said next, which was "Get the FU*K out of my house." Ummmm, isn't this family court, isn't it supposed to be a nice happy day for us??? Guess not. Little did we know this case was about 4 ahead of ours, so the guard offered to have us wait outside and he'd call us back when we were up. Thank you kind stranger.

We are told to re-enter to hear a different couple battling over a home, whether or not they can re-finance, and then I kid you not, the Judge tells them they have to stop so he can do an adoption case before Noon! WOO-HOO that would be us! Seriously? Thank you Judge. Then for 10 more minutes, literally, we sat there listening to the two attorneys battle over their schedules for the next hearing. . .oy vey.

Then, we're up! He even called up Peyton and I was so proud of him. He spoke into the mic and said "Hi" - We told him to say, "Hi, Your Honor" and then we were informed that he wasn't Judge but rather a "Referee" but was qualified to make the judgment. Fine by us. Explains the cases we witnessed.

We had to answer a few questions that the Referee apologized for having to ask. "Yes, she's under 12. Yes, we're more than 10 years older than she is. Yes, we'll love her as our child, care for her, provide a home, etc. . ." Given what this poor guy hears all day, I would have emphasized the importance of the last question!

Then, CONGRATULATIONS! That was it - easy as pie. Well, then of course after he made the judgment he found a form or two that were incomplete. He asked if we had been assisted with our paperwork, and then had us fill out a couple of things, but no big deal. Forty minutes late, but only 30 minutes away from home and some paperwork to fill out, I can handle that. Nothing like being at AIT with a missing signature, a husband miles away, and being stuck far, far away from home.

 

Peyton decided he'd take the pictures, see below. Nice nose shot of Gong-Gong.

 

The guard below is the one that shared his flashlight with Gracyn and she held his hand and walked him around the court room! Nice butt-shot of Dad, Peyt. And thanks for taking a picture of my back rather than my butt!

 

Then, we were off to a nice celebratory lunch. REAL NICE place we went to. The Golden Arches. . .Ever heard of it??? We were short on time, kids were hungry, and well, it was the Fries that won her over in Taiwan, and we did have our first meal together on the way home from the airport at the same venue, so what the heck. Gracyn got mad getting into her car seat on the way over. Either she wanted the guard to join us, or she thought we were eating there. . .On the way home the nice treats inside the Happy Meals worked great! Kidz Bop CD's!! We have #2 and #3 - Gracyn loved dancing on the way home, and falling fast asleep. . .

 

What a relief. . .Re-Adopt Complete - CHECK. Are we done now??

Meet Tuck

Meet our very own Tuck. No, we didn't buy another pet. This is our neighborhood friend. He visits us at least once a year. Sometimes if we get lucky we spot him a couple of times in the Spring. He comes over from the slough across the way. Gong-Gong found him on the lawn, and of course made him a little home out of a plastic storage bin so the kids could enjoy him for a couple of days. For your Wonder Pets Fans. . ."Linny, Tuck, and Ming-Ming too, we're Wonder Pets and we love you!"

 

I think Gracyn is finally starting to adore her brother. While they still battle it out, she's allowing him to help her with her clothes, or washing her hands. She's always copied everything he does, but it's great to see her love her big brother.

Ironically, as I write this post, they're fighting big time! I'm pretending not to hear what's going on. . .Peyton's crying, Gracyn's crying, wait, now just Peyton is screaming because Dad intervened and she got to keep the tricycle they were fighting over. . .I know, why in the world would I allow them to ride a tricycle in the house around the kitchen island. . .well, it's never been outside, so it's clean, and it is EXERCISE after all!

 

Gracyn has this new thing she does. When she's "Trying to be Cute" she does this cute little squinty smile. It's funny because normally she has gi-normus eyes. She's my silly girl. The adorable outfit Gracyn is wearing is all thanks to Miss Hannah Claire!! Thank you Hannah. . .we've been admiring it in the closet, just waiting for the perfect Spring weather to wear it!

 

Sorry for the boring post. . .I actually had time and this was all I could come up with. For those of you who are authorized to follow Two in Taiwan, don't forget to keep refreshing. I'm at the edge of my seat!

Week 19 and counting. . .

With Peyton I gained so much flippin' weight. I want to say around 65lbs. . .Yep, SIXTY-FIVE POUNDS. My knees hurt. Keep in mind, I'm 5'1" so even if only weighed 100lbs to start (NOT THE CASE), can you imagine me weighing almost as much as my hubby, who's at least 9 inches taller? I'm so short Peyton thinks all Mamas are supposed to be short.

So, at Week 19 my fears have started to ease up, I'm feeling more comfortable with my quickly changing body, and well, I seriously hope THIS works. . .You see, I'm not only counting the days until my due date, but I'm at Week 19 and COUNTING the POUNDS.
Before becoming a Mom I worked out faithfully. After I had Peyton I still tried to keep up with kickboxing, running, you name it. Luckily I lost the baby fat, but this is baby number 2 via the bio journey. And, I'm older. . .and I have even less time to myself for a strict exercise regimen.

Please, PA-LEASE, let this work. . .

 

The girl at the grocery store who rang us up the other day, boldly asked, "When are you due?" When I told her, "September," she proceeded with, "Have you had an ultra sound? Are you sure?, because you're big." NICE. . .GREAT SERVICE. . .Thanks Mylinh. Yes, I'm sure there's only one bun in the oven, and I'm sure it's due to arrive in September! GEEZ.

(Be sure to vote for pink or blue in the side bar. After we determine the gender, get ready to play the name game!)

Ramblings about sickness, "ketch-ups", and a DS

How do you make being sick fun?Our whole family has been fighting the sicky bugs for over a week. We quarantined ourselves to the house over the weekend, which meant we did things that we typically never do. We made rainbow crayons, and I baked banana bread. . .yes, let me repeat, I MADE banana bread, and it was delicious if I do say so myself. I'm caught up on laundry, a miracle in and of itself, and both kids have mastered taking meds via a little medicine cup, filled with the good stuff, plus some soda water or juice, and a straw.

Picture of flowers, Mama and Peyton on yellow paper - his favorite color.

 

Sick Day Fun

 

Rainbow Crayons

 

PROOF

 

Kids and their "Ketch-Ups"
The had their check-ups with the Pediatrician on Monday. Peyton calls it a "Ketch-Up". . .Then again, he calls vanilla, pamil-wa, banana is pa-mana, sausage, is saw-chige, brother is brudder, and well, the center of an egg cooked over-easy, is cheese. Peyton was once almost diagnosed with Failure to Thrive. He weighed just over 15 pounds at 1 year of age, and was walking by 11 months. Today, at 4, he's 40", 44lbs. I know, I've done the math and looked at the charts. He's finally in the 30th percentile for height, and a whopping 90th percentile for weight, which means he's definitely my teeeny tiny sweet pea turned chunky monkey. He even has a cute little shimmy dance he'll do when we say, "chunk-ay monk-ay" - Shame on me, I know, judge me if you want, I don't care. He likes his big belly. I think he's trying to keep up with me!

Gracyn is now 2 years, 8 months, 36" tall, and 26lbs!! Just over 7 months ago, she weighed a mere 18 pounds, which for her height made her super duper skinny. She's still very petite. Only 30th percentile for height, which is tall for an Asian toddler, but under 10th percentile for weight. Gracyn did well with her booster shot. Peyton fought it all the way - then again she got one, and he got 4, plus a TB test. Poor guy - his chubby arms hurt all day.

Then AND Now. . .

 

To Buy or Not to Buy. . .
So, while we've all been under the weather, we've been camping out in the family room so I can sleep next to Gracyn without teaching her to co-sleep in our bed. The TV has been on quite a bit. . .A Nintendo DS commercial comes on, and Peyton says, "Can I get on of those?" - He rarely asks to buy anything, (besides food, hence chunky), so I'm really contemplating this one. . .But I'm trying to bribe him to trade in his paci's for the DS. . .when I suggested the trade, he stopped asking. Instead, he went on a Target run with Mommy and tricked me into buying a Speed Racer hand-held game, that made him feel like he was one step closer to a DS.

Oh, and today, when I told him he had saved up $30, he said, "Maybe I can by my DS." He can play video games, does the race car driving one better than I ever could or can even today. I know, the DS certainly won't help with the BMI, but he'll start soccer soon, and we've started playing baseball in the yard. So, for those of you with kids with these gadgets, do I buy one?

Gracyn's first Easter at Home!

I've been a bad blogger. Reading other bloggers' posts, and failing to do my own. Gracyn is finally doing better - back to her "almost normal" sleep pattern. We've found that doing "joint compression" and "deep pressure" daily help her with her sensory issues and seem to really relax her as I lay her down in her crib. She falls asleep in her crib, but needs mommy next to her until she drifts off. Usually once I night she'll wake and if I hold her hand she'll go back to sleep. Around 5AM, if she wakes again, I let her climb into bed with me, where she gets super happy and sleeps until it's time to wake up!

I've been more concerned about this pregnancy than I was with Peyton, and have had to make several trips to the doctor. We've tried twice now to determine the gender, but no such luck. Baby is always active with legs crossed. Hopefully at my 20-week scan we'll be able to find out if it's a "brudder" or a moy-moy!

Highlights from Easter. . .

To make sure Gracyn knew what an Easter Egg Hunt was all about, we did a dry run on Friday.

 

Peyton got an ear infection on Friday morning, and I thought we'd almost have to cancel the festivities, but luckily he made a quick recovery, so I knew what I had to do. . .I had to get the picture. Well, I GOT THE PICTURES! I even got a shot of Peyton and the baby-to-be.

 

To ensure that we had 4 kiddos willing and ready to take a nap before the big hunt, we put up our jump house and had our bunnies Hoppin' like crazy!

 

After a nap in her car seat, (with pee-soaked pants), and a smooth transition from nap to awake state (a rare occurence) Gracyn experienced her first Egg Hunt at Home!

 

After the egg hunt, Auntie D found a butterfly and brought it into the house for the kids to play with. It was too injured to fly away. But butterflies have a huge significance for our family. The day we visited my mom's grave site as an entire family, there was the most beautiful monarch butterfly hovering. Looks like we got Butterfly Kisses from Heaven!

 

Auntie D lead the kids in a game of Duck, Duck, Goose, and THEN, Peyton and N had the best pillow fight I've ever seen. They were using my couch pillows, and after they agreed to trade for regular bed-time pillows, Peyton ran down the hall, yelling, "fight" - It was a like a live wrestling match in our family room. Shame on us, I know, but N and Peyton both have sisters, so a little BOY fun was needed! We have "bath-time photos" of Peyton with N&M over the past 4 years, but this is the first time we had 4 kiddos in a tub!

 

To top off the weekend, the kiddos enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt at Church. I think Gracyn found more eggs than Peyton - she's very quiet, and just carefully picks each and every single one up. Peyton likes to go crazy running around and bouncing from one location to the next. Notice Peyton's HM basket?? Thanks to Auntie D, Gracyn was gifted the Hannah Montana basket, but she was very generous and traded her brother for his Elmo one from last year. She loves Elmo! He loves HM. It was a perfect deal.

 

We hope everyone had a blessed Easter with family and friends.