On the home front

I've been busy trying to catch up on our vacation, but there are a few things from around here that I've got to record now before I forget.

Some things about our kids:

Ky: This girl is ready to be a big sister to a sister. (Not that she doesn't adore and fiercely protect her brother, but she is so ready to share her room and her "girl tuff" with Darcy!) I bet that not a workday has gone by this month that doesn't contain the following conversation...

Ky ~ "Momma, where's Daddy?"
Me ~ "Kylie, where is Daddy right now?" (in that tone of voice that says, "I know you know the answer to your own question")
Ky ~ "Daddy's at work."
Me ~ "You're right, he is."
Ky ~ "Daddy has to go to work to make money so that we can bring Darcy home."
**And I promise you that I never put that last sentence together for her, that was her own conclusion!

She is also very patient because most of the time if she sees me on the computer when she wakes up from her nap or if she sees Ian and I deep in piles of paperwork she'll come and climb in a lap and say, "You're doin' papers so that we can bring Darcy home?"

So much more that could be said about this picture, but I'll focus on the seat...
Ky is proudly trying out the new car seat we bought to test and see if indeed three seats will fit in the back of the Highlander as Ian predicts or if we're going to be buying a new vehicle between now and China. Kylie is pleased as punch that Darcy's seat is exactly like hers...

Today we had lunch at Chick-fil-A as a "I'm so sorry that Caleb had to get three shots at the doctor's office" and wouldn't you know that the cow was there? Many people would think, "So what, big deal," but anyone who really knows Kylie knows that it was a BIG deal! Her sheer reaction of terror is the biggest reason that we have not made the trip to Disney yet. It can be summed up by saying that I was carrying Caleb as we walked in the door and when Kylie spotted the cow she climbed me like a cat climbs a tree. It was awful! She was screaming and crying for Daddy to save her. Eventually when the cow left she was able to calm down and put together a coherent sentence. She explained to me that she is "scared of the tand up cow because he is so tall but I'm not scared of the cows that walk with all four feet like we saw at Grandpa Curly's." Then tonight at dinner she recounted the story to Ian and added that she didn't want to eat at Chick-fil-A anymore because she didn't want to ever see the cow again.

And lastly, last night we were talking about Kylie's favorite subject, going to "her China" to meet her sister. As we were talking about the trip she suddenly asked me if we were going to come back home after we met Darcy. I said, "Of course we are sweetie," thinking that was the answer she was looking for. She got a very serious look on her face and told me that when we went to meet Darcy that she didn't want to come back, that she wanted us all to stay in China and live there together because she was Chinese and Chinese people lived in China and if she moved away again she would miss it. I asked her if it was okay if Ian and I stayed there with her because we weren't Chinese and she said, "Of course, you are my mommy and daddy and so you can stay." WOW! At least she wants Ian and I to stay with her there...

Caleb: Our little tiny guy has finally put on some weight. It may only be 1/2 of a pound, but he is finally gaining! Today at the doctor's office he weighed in at exactly 30 pounds. Funny thing is the entire reason I found out is because of a mistake in our home study. I read the document over and one thing that jumped out at me was the fact that both of our kids were listed at 35 pounds. Now I knew that my arms told me a different story when I held them, so I paid closer attention. Then I noticed that his height was logged in as 29.5 inches. Folks, if you look that up on a BMI chart, it pretty much says that my skinny 2 1/2 year old who still wears size 18 month clothes was clinically obese. Turns out that the doctor's office had written his height and weight from his last visit in the wrong blanks on his medical form. So I was trying to get that straightened up when they informed me that we were a bit overdue on his next round of immunizations. I suspect that today's visit was rougher for me than it was for him as he recognized the office as we pulled in the parking lot and began asking (and then pleading) "No shots Momma!" Luckily it was only three and they are the last ones until his 4 year well visit.

He is coming along leaps and bounds with his vocabulary! Each day I can more clearly understand what he is saying, and for those things that are still a bit unclear, I have my translator handy. (Ky somehow understands almost everything he says!)

"I luz uuu!" are three little words that he is using more and more frequently, and most of the time he says it first. Nothing melts my heart more than to have him turn to me and tell me he loves me as we're going through the day!

Chocolate milk is back on the "bad food list" for Caleb and we have no idea why. Oh well, I'm just making sure to get lots of yogurt in the kid! His most favorite food in the world is oven roasted cauliflower. It's been a pretty steady constant in his diet for months now. Funny thing is that he won't touch the stuff raw or steamed, but will put away impressive amounts of it when I roast it. If there is some on his plate it is ALWAYS the first thing gone, tonight was no exception.

At least he's holding the fork, right? Notice that his salad (which was the second thing he devoured), rice, and pork chop are untouched, but the compartment that was overflowing with cauliflower at the start of dinner is now almost empty.
Oh, and ignore the box. There are four of them sitting in that corner. They are pictures that came off the wall from our old house that we didn't want in our non-climate controlled storage area. I'd put them on the walls here, but I don't have great decorating sense. (This is a shameless plug for my sister to come visit and help me...)

And more on the cauliflower. Each night Ian and I rotate who puts which child to bed. We read two books, say prayers, sing All in All, and turn out the light. Prayer time consists of us asking the child what they are thankful for and something they'd like God to help us with. For at least a week now Caleb's thankfulness is "fower." Sometimes he adds, "Mom-ma, Dad-de, Ty-io, Maya, and Dah-cee," but usually it is just "fower." At least he's found a veggie he likes!

Darcy: After a frustrating afternoon yesterday in which I spent about three hours on the phone between our adoption agency and our home study agency, I'm pretty sure that we got all of our home study issues resolved. At the end of it all I was instructed to go ahead and file our immigration request, so today our I-800A left for Chicago! And yesterday I mailed all of our dossier documents (except the immigration approval of course) to our contact at our agency! Now I just have to finish our photo pages and watch the mailbox for word from USCIS!
We are two steps closer to our little girl!
Oh I can't wait to tell more about her. Funny how my heart aches for a child that I've yet to see outside of four pictures. It's just that I know my daughter is growing up a little more each day. And yes, I know that on the other side of it this pain will melt away. I learned that as Kylie inched her way toward being one before I met her and how crushed I was that we missed Caleb's second birthday. Yet now I honestly can say that while I hate that I didn't have that time with them, that I don't love them any less and that it really is okay. But today I'm on the other side of Darcy's adoption and I long to have her here with us, and quite frankly, so do her daddy and older brother and sister...