Easter Sunday

Easter is so much more than new pretty dresses, plastic eggs filled with candy, and the ever elusive Easter Bunny (even though these are the fun parts as a child!). It is the celebration of Christ's victory over the grave, a yearly reminder that our salvation stands in one who has overcome even death to give us life. It comes at the time of year when trees put out new leaves, flowers bloom, and the greyness of winter disappears into green. I've always loved Easter, all it means, and the festivities that come with it! 2007 brought my first Easter as a mother. It was special, but this year was even more so as Kylie was a bit older and enjoyed the fun parts of the holiday. (I know though that my joy in watching her run after eggs in Mama's yard will pale in comparison to the first year she fully understands the importance of Jesus' resurrection!)


We began our day with a joyful worship service (no, not the sunrise ~ I make a rule to only attend sunrise services when I'm at the beach or in the mountains...) and then headed to Mama's for a feast, family photo opportunities, and a big egg hunt. It was an exciting year for us because for the first time I got to spend an actual holiday with my little brother. Traci and I actually convinced him to let us take a siblings picture before he changed out of his sport jacket and into his jersey shorts and t-shirt!

And of course we had to take a minute to capture our little family. Kylie was crazy about her dress and had been wanting to wear it for weeks. (Ahh the joys of consignment store bargains!) One thought about Easter dresses... This year was much warmer than last year, but it was still a chilly day and Kylie was shivering and wanted to put her sweater back on as soon as we took the picture. Here's a thought to all the Easter dress designers out there ~ how about dresses with sleeves? Or for the northern states, Easter snowsuits???

Anyway, we kept the kids (the Triple A's joined us after church) inside as long as we could. When it got to the point that the older boys were looking out the window to scout eggs we finally forced them together for a picture and then let them go! Between Tricia and I we took about 20 shots of the group of kids and sadly this is the best we got ~ but I include it because Kylie was clearly excited about hunting for eggs in a smaller crowd than the day before!

The Easter Bunny figured that Kylie would have a bit of a disadvantage against kids that ran so much faster than her and left a few eggs around the front porch area just for her. She was so adorable as she would spot and egg, run to it, shake it to see if it was full, show it to us (pictured), and then drop it in her basket to repeat the process again. What fun, what fun! I know my little jellybean addict can't wait for next year...

An "Egg-citing" Day!

Last Saturday our family (with Alexander in tow) had some Easter-time fun in the glorious sun! After a delicious breakfast by Ian, we headed to a local park for an Easter egg hunt (and games) sponsored by a community church. Quite honestly it was not much short of chaos, but despite the crowd we had a blast.
Abby and Kylie head to the hunting fields.

There were egg hunts for four different age groups (Kylie actually missed hers as we waited to pull into the park and had to join the next age group), tons of games, and even a few dogs from the shelter that were looking for homes. (Funny that Adam and Traci were especially drawn to one of the dogs, but taught Kylie to say, "two puppies daddy!") Kylie LOVED the games (her favorite was the egg spoon race!), but the crowds during the hunt overwhelmed her. Actually I'm not sure if it was the crowds, or the parents... There were so many people that lots of parents accompanied their kids into the field. Apparently mass amounts of candy brings out the worst in adults, because at one point Kylie was squatting down to pick up a Tootsie Roll that had fallen out of an egg and a GROWN WOMAN actually bent over and snatched it from her! It took all my reserve to keep from saying something (let alone smacking the woman) but I managed to pick my open jaw up off the ground and usher Kylie over to another piece of candy nearby. When we were all hot and hungry (and tired of the pandemonium) it was time to take care of coloring eggs!

From there we headed over to Tricia's to dye Easter Eggs for the Easter Bunny. After shading Kylie's outfit pink last year we decided that a diaper was the best option for coloring. Funny thing is that this year she pretty much only got her hands dirty. It is pretty amazing how quickly 40 eggs get colored when you have five sets of little hands to help!

Lost in concentration!

In addition to being what Christianity is all about, Easter sure brings some family fun!

Lions, (no) tigers, and bears ~ Oh my!

Ian took a rare day off work today to accompany Kylie (she was really happy that her daddy was along for the ride!), Alexander, and I on a road trip to the NC Zoo. We met up with Darby and her parents, Stephen and C.C. (pretty convenient that the zoo is within 10 minutes of being the same distance from each of our homes!) and checked out pretty much every animal housed there.

We walked (I'd be willing to bet we covered 85% of the five miles of trails), talked (much to catch up on since we last saw each other in January), dined (nothing like overpriced medium quality food), & "oohhed and aahhed" (so many animals to see in their natural habits) for about 5 hours. The girls were excited to see each other and before it was all said and done were each carried around by all four parents there, rode in each other's strollers, and were photographed about 100 times. Alexander was a great sport and helped with stroller duty, holding doors, and trying to make the girls smile in several pictures. We just couldn't get him on the carousel...

I could go on and on, but the best way to remember the day is through pictures!

"So does anyone have a quarter so we can view the bison a little better? We'd like to see these animals that song is written about ~ and why doesn't the song say 'Oh give me a home, where the bison roam'?"

"Girl, I don't know about you, but I sure hope our daddies hurry up with our lunch! Those Teddy Grahams will onlycarry me so far!"

"The baboons are really entertaining!"

"It was BIG ~ and it had a hone!"
I think Kylie would have stayed here the rest of the day if we had let her!

Attempting to capture "the perfect photo opp"

"Now that both of our families are members of the zoo, we should meet here at least once a month, don't you think? I'll miss you until next time!"

Still in the parking lot...

Perhaps my favorite shot of the day was this one of a young niece and her uncle. I think that there were some attention jealousy moments for both of them this week (after all, they are both used to being the only one competing for the full focus of parents), but overall they really enjoyed one another's company. Sadly our trip to the zoo also served as a half-way meeting point to get Alexander back to his mom. Kylie was so exhausted for the ride home that she didn't really notice that he wasn't there. But I'm sure in the morning we'll pass by the guest room and she'll ask, "Where Al-eh-dander?" Poor baby is going to miss her new found playmate ~ hopefully he'll be able to come back before long!

Digging out...

...from under two weeks worth of pictures stored on my camera is proving to be an almost overwhelming task! My new computer is up and running and I'm finally figuring out how to use it. (For a minute last night I was really missing my old one when I couldn't figure out how to upload pictures from my camera, but then I started figuring out some of the "bells and whistles" that Ian added to this one and I think this laptop and I will have a very good relationship!)

I didn't realize how far back the pictures on my camera went and it was exciting to finally see some of them "on the big screen" rather than just on the little camera screen! My old Dell bit the dust the day we celebrated Kylie's birthday (the 15th ~ the Saturday after her birthday) with her Grandmas, her aunt and uncle that live here in town, her honorary NC grandparents, and her special friends Beth, Anah and Sera. There were some cute shots of her opening her presents, but the best ones are from eating cupcakes. She enjoyed them on her actual birthday much more than last year, but she REALLY got into them at her Elmo party! I guess chocolate fudge frosting is the secret...

"I ate plenty of grilled veggies and steak kabobs, where is that promised dessert?"

"I'm still not totally sure about this fire thing..."

"Oh chocolate frosting, I adore thee!"

"And now that I've polished this one off, can someone hand a sister another cupcake? With chocolate frosting and pretty sprinkles on top? Please?"
By the way, thanks Anah and Sera for frosting the cupcakes!

I've still got more catching up to do, but tonight sleep is calling so I'll end with another thought on Kylie's taste buds. She is a great eater (we are so blessed!) but some of the things she says about food confuses me! She'll say that Indian food is "picy" and cry when she tries some of it, but she adores the green beans at P.F. Chang's and Fortune that are sauteed in garlic and chili peppers, she eats salsa with a spoon, and this morning while I was eating an Easter hard boiled egg dipped in Frank's hot sauce, she actually took a piece of egg white, dipped it into the Frank's, sucked the hot sauce off, and dipped it four more times before discarding the egg white. And Indian is hot?!?

"Ring Rings"

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that feels like taming a tiger would be easier than getting a decent photo of a toddler...

This picture is the best I could do (mind you in an almost 48 hour time period) to show Kylie's latest excitement.


I know, I know, she's only two ~ but she had been asking for them since January! Before we became parents we said that we'd wait until our daughter was 10 before we'd let her get her ears pierced (I was allowed at 10 myself). Then we'd see little girls and decided that we'd do it when our daughter was an infant. Then we came to our senses and decided (after Kylie got home) that we'd wait until she asked for them. And "ring rings" was one of her early words! I told her that she couldn't wear my earrings because she didn't have holes in her ears and she'd respond "I howe mama!" Then I'd tell her it would be "owie" and then she couldn't touch and she'd say, "Owie, no touch, okay!"

So we were at the mall birthday shopping for Alexander yesterday and as we walked by Claire's I walked in just to ask if they would do both ears at one time. They said usually only on weekends, but there just happened to be two employees that were trained to pierce ears in today, would I like to go ahead and have it done? I made a quick call to Ian (who made me check out the sanitation procedure) and he said go for it.

I'll be honest, she cried right before it happened when I was holding her tight ~ I think it reminded her of getting vaccinations ~ but as soon as she looked in a mirror and saw her earrings the tears dried up! And since then each time she sees a new person she says, "Ky-ee ring rings!"

An early interest in jewelry and shoes ~ we're gonna be in trouble in the teenage years!

Time with my brother

For eight of his 10 years, my little brother has lived in Maine. It's a wonderful place to visit, but because of the distance I've seen him only about once a year and those typically have just been long weekends. Currently though his mom is a nursing student at one of our fine Carolina universities and while they still live four hours away, four hours is a heck of a lot better than 22!

Nursing student spring break and grade school spring break don't exactly match up, so we have had the blessing of getting to have Alexander stay with us since last Friday. It is so nice to finally be able to spend some extended time with him. We had a busy weekend to celebrate Easter and then have had a few quiet days here at home. Yesterday while Kylie was napping Alex and I played VA Techopoly and then a few round of Yahtzee. I've missed out on so much of his life, but I must say that he is a pretty terrific kid. I hope that we get to see a lot more of him before his mom graduates from nursing school!

Kylie is totally getting into having him around and asks about him whenever he isn't in eyesight. I'm afraid that Friday will be a tough reality for her when he goes back home...

This week Kylie has also started singing along to several of the songs on one of our Caedmon's Call CDs. Every time we get into the car she'll ask for "Sher a wull" (Share the Well) and "Der ony wun" (There's Only One). Each day her words get a little clearer and the singing a bit more on key. I need to record her singing them before it stops being so darn cute!

Kylie also has some big news to share with her China sisters and other friends, but it's going to have to wait until I can post pictures on my new computer (it arrived yesterday ~ ahead of schedule ~ and Ian is almost done getting it ready for me...) Stay tuned for Kylie's big announcement!

A blur

So much has happened in the past week! Last Saturday we celebrated Kylie's birthday again ~ this time a bit more formally with close family. We went out to celebrate Kylie's NaiNai's (Ian's mom) birthday on Monday. Friday Kylie and I drove halfway to ECU to pick up my brother who is spending the week with us. Saturday we attended a crazy packed Easter Egg hunt at a local park and today we celebrated our second Easter Sunday with Kylie at home.

As I think back on these events happening last year I am amazed at the changes in my baby girl! By the time I finally get my new computer I'm sure that I'll be too far behind to post pictures from the past two weeks, but take my word that this year these events were even better than last year when they were "the first (fill in the blank event) with Kylie!" She so got into the egg hunt yesterday and man oh man you should have seen her when she found eggs that the Easter Bunny left at her grandma's house today! She took off running with delight from one egg to the next. Instead of being a quiet but adorable presence at family gatherings she now lights up the room with her infectious smile and giggle.

Make no mistake about it, Kylie in her full personality has arrived! And yet I'm sure that next year I'll be thinking how much more she has come out of her shell when the beginning of spring rolls round again...

Oh, and by the way, Happy Easter to you! May you delight in the knowledge that even death could not stop Jesus from giving you eternal life!

So... how was your day?

Yesterday Kylie was already sleeping when I got home from preschool. I worked on some scrapbooking pages that I've been meaning to get to for months now and got a load of laundry done while she napped. She was ready for a snack when she woke up, so I grabbed her a yogurt and a few cucumber slices and sat down at the table with her.

She happily chatted about the rhino that she and her daddy saw at the mall a few weeks ago (in a toy store I think ~" it was BIG! and it had a "horn on nose!") and the school buses that kept rolling through our neighborhood (much to her delight). After about five minutes of chatterbox mode, the conversation got quiet for a few seconds. Kylie looked at me quizzically and said, "Sooooo..."

Silence. I then decided the ball must be in my court and replied, "So, how was your day?"

Kylie smiled, gave a high five and said, "It wa piey gu." (It was pretty good)

How grown up is she becoming?

And on that note, tonight I think we moved into a new phase of life around here. (I'll preface this by saying two things. 1 ~ For the past 2 1/2 weeks I've only had to change two poopy diapers because she has been willing to go on the potty ~ but it pretty much has been me watching for signs that she needed to go and asking her. 2 ~ One day I'm sure she'll be pretty ticked about me sharing this info, but I'm pretty proud of her and I figure at least I'm not posting pictures...) Tonight we were sitting in Subway waiting for Kylie to finish her pickle (oh, there was a bit of ham on there too) sub when suddenly she looked at me and said, "pe u e on potty." (Pe u e comes from her interpretation of me saying, "Phew-U-Eee!" when I used to change yucky diapers).

I doubted she could possibly be serious because she had gone at home earlier, but when I said, "really?" she very emphatically said, "YES!" And so we went... And she was right... And therefore we have entered the realm of using public restrooms...

"Birday"

Today Ian granted me a few precious moments to check my email during the day while he went outside to throw tennis balls for Maya. (My new laptop was ordered from Dell last night ~ projected ship date is March 27!)

Kylie loves to hang out in his office so she sat here with me for a few minutes. Then she disappeared and when she came back in, she had something green in her mouth. I asked her what was in her mouth and the first time she shrugged her shoulders and said, "I duh no."
Upon a second questioning she simply replied a mumbled, "birday," smiled mischievously and ran out of the office. She's never been one to put non-food items (except chap stick) in her mouth, so I wasn't too concerned ~ but I was curious so I abandoned my email and took off after her to investigate. In the kitchen I found the Tupperware container that held the chocolate fudge frosted, sprinkled cupcakes left over from her birthday dinner with family Saturday night. Not one bit of the frosting was gone, but man were those cupcakes stripped of most of their sprinkles.

Really? She left the chocolate?

I tried not to smile at her as I asked how the cupcakes ~ still in the container ~ got off of the kitchen counter (bad mommy, you know she can reach that high now!) and onto the floor. All I got was a shoulder shrugging as she opened her mouth and said, "Uhhhh."

Then I asked again how the cupcakes got to the floor ~ just seeing if she'd fess up to the cupcake crime ~ and I got, "They jump, they roll!"

She cracks me up!

Computer blues...

...I've got them!

My trusty lap-top finally bit the dust over the weekend (I've been using it since May of 2004 when we returned from our stint in France) and even my own personal computer expert has been unable to revive it this time. I'm having blogging withdrawl so I took over Ian's computer for a few minutes. Of course I don't know how to upload pictures onto his computer so posting isn't nearly as fun with only text! Hopefully we'll be able to order a new one quickly and it will arrive before the promised two weeks so that I can get back to normal quickly. Then again maybe I'll decide that a cleaner house is better than an online journal...

...Nah!

One story to share today, my sweet "no longer a baby but I'll call her one anyway" baby undressed herself tonight and got her pajamas on without my assistance. It almost gave me chest pains!

Road trip!

Today Kylie and I loaded up in the car to spend the day with two of her China sisters. As it turned out Darby's mommy woke up sick this morning (get well soon C.C.!) so we didn't get to see her, but we still got to hang out with Lottie and her mommy. Because Lottie lives so close she is one of the girls from our travel group that Kylie is able to recognize and call by name in pictures (and Darby too for that matter). She was so excited when we got out of the car and she saw her little buddy! The beautiful weather allowed us to play outside on Lottie's playground for quite some time before lunch. The girls spent some time swinging side by side, looking out the treehouse window, and following each other down the slide. Shannon and I got to enjoy some catching up from the last several months in the process!

After a great lunch, we had cupcakes to celebrate Kylie's birthday. Both girls started out eating the cupcakes somewhat daintily, but before we knew it they were attacking the icing for all they were worth!

"I learned this 'Viking style' eating at CCC staff training last year ~ the college kids are doing it..."

I think Lottie won the icing contest!

We paused for some playtime in Lottie's room and a photo opportunity on the stairs. Amazingly enough they only had a few "mine" issues and played together quite well considering they are both new to being 2!

Then it was back outside for a few more pushes on the swings and zips down the slide. All too soon it was time to load back into the car and head home.

Saying "so long till next time!"

"You like to break sticks too? We should totally do this again soon!"

If only the distance between here and there were a bit shorter...

Happy Birthday Baby!

So a dear friend of mine informed me that she still calls her little one "the baby," and I figure that gave me permission to still think of Kylie as a baby too...

She and I started our day late (thanks to very little sleep while Ian was gone last week and the time change Saturday night we were both exhausted and needed a little catch up time) ~ okay, VERY late. We woke up around 10:30. After morning snuggle time we headed downstairs so that she could help Daddy make her oatmeal. By the time that was finished it was time for Ni Hao Kai-Lan. I asked her if she wanted to watch Kai-Lan and she responded with, "Yah! Ni Hao." I've seen a kids t-shirt that says, Ni Hao Y'all! I'm so going to get it for her...

Then it was time to make birthday cupcakes! We shopped for a cake mix yesterday and she honestly picked this one out by herself ~ I was thrilled because I love strawberry cake mix. I guess it helps that her favorite color is pink!











Last year her cupcakes were flowers and ladybugs. I told Ian that I hated to repeat the same thing and he suggested that I make butterflies because Kylie likes them. At first I didn't think I could figure it out, but I think they turned out rather cute!


My mom came over to visit for a while ~ birthdays were always a big deal in our family! Even when I was at Elon Mama would drive up to take me out to dinner on my actual birthday. Kylie was so glad to see her Lao Lao because she had been in Florida for the past week. Grandma showered her with a few gifts, including a pair of lime green crocs! They had fun playing together and I took a leisurely shower and "getting ready for the day" time.

I had planned to make Kylie some of her favorite macaroni and cheese for dinner, but when I asked her what she wanted (more out of being curious to see if she understood my question than anything else) for her birthday dinner she said, "Pisa!," so off to the grocery store we went! Oh, and it seemed so strange to buy 2% milk instead of whole milk for a change...

When we got home Daddy was finished working and Kylie had some play time with him. She is an adrenaline junkie and kept asking for more! I love this outfit that my mom had found a while back. Kylie had a fit when her Aunt "CiCi" and I put it on her, but as soon as she saw herself in the mirror she loved the teddy bear and kept lifting the birthday flap up and down to play peek-a-boo with it.

Traci and Adam arrived for our low key dinner and Kylie was THRILLED with her gift from Aunt "CiCi" and Uncle Adam ~ a princess makeup kit. At least so far it seems that it is "non-staining"...

We host a Bible study with some of our friends on Monday nights, and these folks are like family. We knew they'd want to celebrate our little bundle of joy with us tonight so we served cupcakes before we started. These days Kylie loves sweets, so she was a bit more enthusiastic about her cupcake than last year.

"So I (and by I we mean Mommy and Daddy) blew out the candle, now can I eat it?"

"What was I thinking last year? This stuff is AWESOME!"

Before bed we opened a handful of birthday cards, including ones from "Mimi and Nna Nna" (Uncle Adam's parents ~ Mickey and Ann) and China sisters Hallie and Kristin and then saw an e-card from Grace. We miss our Guangdong group and can't wait to see you this summer!

Luckily with her birthday falling during the week we get to celebrate again over the weekend...
Kylie you have no idea how much Mommy and Daddy love you! You are our sunshine!

**And on the subject of cuteness and sunshine, check out Kylie's Lianjiang sister Caroline singing Happy Birthday to Kylie! We love you Caroline!

Tomorrow marks a new era!

Starting tomorrow I will no longer give Kylie's age in months. The way I see it there is one major advantage to that, and one major disadvantage!

The advantage is that I no longer have to count on my fingers from March to get the correct number of months. The disadvantage is that this officially ends that time period when I felt like I could still "get away" with calling Kylie a baby. She's not a baby anymore, but a little girl... (Be still my beating heart!)

For some strange reason I was taking pictures like crazy today as if trying to photo document her last day of being 1. Why is this so hard? Why can't I let go?

"So maybe we could go in the sunshine for this photo shoot, it's kinda chilly here in the shade!"

Daffodils have been one of my favorite flowers for a long time! I'm glad to see my girl likes them too!

"Hiya (higher) Mama! Rea (ready) seh (set) guh (go)!"

**And so we passed about 40 minutes of time this afternoon. Her hands were like ice when I finally made her leave so I could get to praise team practice!

One cute thing (not yet recorded on video) that Kylie is currently doing... When she gets tickled by someone she will clap her hands together, throw her head back and say, "Siyhe Mama" or Dada or whoever is tickling her funny bone. It cracks me up EVERY time!

Today Adam showed us the last of the China DVDs he has put together for us. It was AMAZING to look back on Kylie just over a year ago! Some of the mannerisms I had forgotten, but some are still strong! Thanks Adam for all your hard work on this DVD series you've made for us! I love watching it and know that as Kylie grows up she will love it too!

Looking for eggs left by a bunny?

You know, when you think of it some of our traditions here in the states are pretty weird! I mean, a kind rabbit visits your yard and leaves eggs? And not just any eggs, but either colorful, dyed, hard-boiled eggs or plastic ones filled with candy. Yeah, weird ~ but lots of fun when you add about 40 other kids and your church grounds...

Kylie participated in her first Easter Egg hunt today. (Last year she was barely walking and still quite intimidated by large groups). I'd say her first highlight was seeing her friend Susannah when we walked into the fellowship hall. After a few minutes at the play-dough table and the craft centers, it was time for the hunt to begin. Kylie's age group was out on the playground area.

"Okay, so I pick these up and put them in my bag. I wonder why all the other kids have baskets?"

**So I didn't think about getting her a basket until we were walking out the door ~ not exactly enough time to swing by Target... She was quite happy with her Valentine's Day gift bag!

After she had picked up 5 eggs, Kylie decided that the swings looked like more fun!

"Wait for me guys!"

**After a snack time, Kylie seemed to get into the hunt a bit more ~ perhaps it was mostly because the playground wasn't there to distract her from the task at hand!

"It's beezy and I'm cold!"

**March was coming in like a lion! Wind gusts were recorded at about 40 mph around our area, I'm sure some of the eggs are in the next county!

Memories in the making...

Recipe for breakfast

Take one toddler, have her (or him if you wish) pour 1 cup of water into a pan.

Allow said toddler to dump in a handful of raisins.


Bring water to a boil and add 1/2 cup oatmeal. Reduce heat and stir for a minute. Pour into bowl and add plenty of milk and brown sugar.

Enjoy!


**For the record, when I asked Kylie what she was eating she responded, ".Ohmea. I hep Dada make ohmea!" Pretty funny considering Daddy was across the country when we made it ~ you think I've got a Daddy's girl on my hands?

All is right again!

To all the single moms and women whose husbands are on business trips more than they are home ~ I have a new-found respect for you!

I walked in your shoes this week as Ian was on a business trip. 4 1/2 days nearly did me in with a toddler who desperately missed her daddy and an oversized Golden Retriever who kept getting quite muddy in our rain soaked yard! I was exhausted!!! Ian got home from CA on the red-eye this morning and finally all is well in Kylie's world! Oh to have had a camera when she woke up, saw her daddy's face, and smiled the sweetest smile I've ever seen...

Just to prove that she was losing her mind while he was gone, Wednesday she pulled off her clothes, pulled the sweaters off her Easter duck and lamb, and declared that she was going to go, "Ni ni" on the couch. (Losing her mind because it was 4:30 in the afternoon and she had just gotten up from a 2 1/2 hour nap at 3:30 ~ this girl HATES to go to sleep...)


She snuggled down for about 5 minutes and then popped up, laughed mischievously, grabbed the old camera, and started pointing at everything in the house saying, "Say chee!"

We're so glad Daddy is home!

Rice picnic

Somehow the ridiculousness of the moment makes it that much sweeter! Kylie walked into the laundry room with me, saw her new bathing suit for the summer, and wanted to try it on. Then she noticed the "inside rice" and wanted to play with it but Survivor was getting ready to start so instead of playing in the kitchen, we spread a blanket and cooked up some rice in the living room. Both Kylie and duckie got to taste it. Duckie liked it, Kylie ~ not so much. Why did we sit around with Kylie in her bathing suit, playing with her mini-kitchen set and rice on the living room floor on a cool night in March? I guess the best reason is "Why not?"