Adventures with two...

So late...Eli's Family Day, June 24th!

Summer has gotten in the way of posting, it seems. So backing up a bit, we celebrated the fact that Eli has been part of our family now for TWO years! He has grown SO much over the past two years!

June 24th, 2008

June 24th, 2009

June 24th, 2010

 

(Ha! Guess the truck shirt still fits...that wasn't even planned!)

He's as spirited as ever and yet to know him is to LOVE him!
Everywhere we go he tends to draw people to him. Probably due to the cowboy boots he wears with his shorts, or maybe his favorite, crazy tie dye shirts, but I think it's really because he is charming and still as cute as can be!

Family Day 2010!

Can it really be true that four years have passed since we met our beautiful daughter?
We celebrated today with a low-key day of playing outside and relaxing together, followed by soccer practice (where Em scored 3 goals!) and our traditional Family Day meal of Cheeseburgers, just like we ate in China our first day together!

Of course we took our traditional Family Day couch photos, too!

2006 - Such a goofy picture of me, but I love Em hanging on to my leg! That hotel couch is divine. haha

2007-With Bella the cat and those ADORABLE pig tails!

2008-So close to leaving to meet Eli. No Ditka shirt?! Good thing we dug that one out again in the next photo!

2009-Ah! There's that boy and that rag of a shirt! And Frida!

2010- This year Eli is showing us his muscles, the shirt is nearly in pieces and Gus, the cat has escaped!

Gus makes an appearance...much to his dismay, I might add!

And of course the traditional goofy face photo! We almost didn't need an extra photo for this shot, as each photo we took is a bit goofy in one way or another.

I love these three so much my heart might burst.

So happy we get to celebrate this lovely little family!

ONE year with our SON!

Today is the one year anniversary of meeting Eli!! And wow, what a ride it has been. We watched the video this morning of our first days together. The funny thing is that he is still the same wild, crazy, belly laughing, fit throwing, obstinate boy we met that first day.

There are a few things about Eli that are obvious from the minute you meet him: 1) he is gorgeous, and has an infectious smile, 2) he has a twinkle in his eye that has trouble written all over it, 3) he is LOUD and 4) he loves to be the center of attention. Oh and obstinate, did I mention he can be quite obstinate? I think that word deserve to be in capitals too...OBSTINATE!! He is definitely acting his age these last few months. I wonder if three will be better or worse?!

After Em's first year home I wrote several stats about her, so I thought I'd do the same for Eli's first year...

Number of shoe sizes grown: 4, from 5 to 8
Clothing sizes grown: 3, from 18m to 2T
Pounds gained: 9
New Teeth: 12 (?)
Trips to the hospital: Two ER visits; one for pneumonia/asthma, one for falling down the stairs

Trips to the doctor: Too many, unfortunately!! We're finally seeing a specialist about his chronic pneumonia and lung issues. I feel like his chronic sickness/chronic diet of antibiotics has contributed to his obstinate nature.

Hours in his brace: 13-14/day, he is still wearing a brace for his club feet at night and nap time. We are amazed that his "special need" never stops him. He is athletic, agile and super strong!

Number of nights spent snuggling in bed with Mom and Dad: Countless, he burrows in and sleeps like a log.

Number of days spent copying whatever his big sister is doing: 365!!

Times he has referred to himself as "Eli": Zero! He calls himself "Yang Yang" to this day. We asked his teachers to use his Chinese name at school, and we call him that often too. I've learned just how important a name can be after spending a year with my son.

Current Favorite Books: A choose your own story book about a princess and The Mitten by Jan Brett
Current Favorite Music: Itsy Bitsy Spider, I had a little Monkey, Victor Vito
Number of hugs & kisses: Thousands, but you can never get too much.

We all have so many more laughs because of this sweet boy!

May he always know the richness he has added to our lives and that he is loved beyond measure.

One year ago...

 

And today...

 

 

 

Family Day family photos!

Along with a photo of Em on our Family Day, we have a tradition to sit on the couch wherever we are along with the whole family. There are a few tiny details you might notice this year, first, we said goodbye to our kitty two years ago and added a new one this year. Second, we have sat on a different couch every time (Mama likes design and changes her mind often. hehe!) Lastly, Papa has worn the same shirt 3 out of 4 times (I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't make it to Family Day 2010!) And of our course a huge detail, we added a wild, zany and loveable brother this year!

Lanzhou, China: 2006 (click on photos to enlarge)

Staying with friends between houses, with Bella: 2007

At our new house: 2008

Today, adding Eli and Frieda: 2009!

Oh, and we always do a goofy one!

Three Years Together!

Today we celebrated our Family Day Anniversary. We have been the proud parents of Miss Em for exactly THREE years! Where has the time gone?

Soon after meeting, still in China...

1st year anniversary...

2 year anniversary...

3 year anniversary...

Since the day we met we have been head over heels in love with this amazing girl.
We are so lucky.

Five months...

Five months ago today we signed the paperwork to adopt our beautiful son.
He is a spark of happiness that fills our days with belly laughs.
We couldn't adore him any more than we do!

(Photo by Lisa Buth)

Family Day 2008!

Two years ago today we signed the paperwork promising to love and cherish our girl forever. Love and cherish are a complete understatement. Rarely does a day pass without one of us noting how lucky we are to be her parents.

We have made it a tradition to take a photo on our couch, wherever we happen to be, with the whole family. (We talked about how we missed our kitty as we prepared for tonight's photo.)

I can't help but laugh at how skinny we looked in China, we all look like babies!

The other part of the tradition is to go out for cheeseburgers for dinner, just like we did in China. Hmm...how is it that we've gained so much weight since then??

Travel Approval!!

We got word that our travel approval (TA) is in the mail! Soon, very soon, we can buy our tickets. And soon, very soon we will get to wrap our arms around that darling boy!

On Tuesday we hope to be able to fax our request for our consulate appointment and once approved we'll be able to buy our tickets. Hopefully that will be by Friday of next week, but it might be 6/2 or 6/3.

SO! What does this mean?

I am very hopeful that we will be leaving for China on June 11th or 12th! It seems as though we'll be able to meet Elijah on June 16th. JUNE SIXTEENTH! That is ONLY 24 DAYS FROM TODAY!!

Fingers crossed that it all works out as planned.

Back to chewing my fingernails.

Earthquake

We are assuming that all is well with Elijah after the devastating earthquake that shook China. The hardest hit areas were in Sichuan province and he is in Guangxi. We haven't heard specifically that he is okay, but we have reports that the kids in the Nanning SWI were safe and that there was no damage. We assume that since he is living in Nanning with a foster family he should be okay. Each day we are more anxious to get going and this pushed me over the top. Can we leave now??

On this map, the red marker is at Chegdu, the blue on Beijing. Look south to find Eli's city, Nanning. (click to enlarge)

I will be sending an e-mail to Emmie's foster family. Although I assume they are okay also, they were much closer to the quake site and probably felt the shocks.

My heart  breaks for all of the people who have been involved in this catastrophe. I just keep thinking of all of those children who died in the quake and think about how each one is the only child their parents could have and now they are gone. I can't even imagine the grief they are feeling today. Incomprehensible.

Click here if you would like to make a donation to provide immediate assistance through Love Without Boundaries.

LOA* GREAT NEWS!!! *LOA

After waiting just 71 days...we received our Letter of Acceptance (aka "Seeking Confirmation" letter) from China!

So, what does this mean? We will be in China in 6-8 weeks! Wooooohoooooooo!

What's that...about 50 days until we can hold our precious son! 50 days until we can see that clever smile in person! 50 days until we can hear his laugh, his voice! 50 days until we're a family of FOUR!

LOAs have historically taken 90+ days, however, everything to meet our little man seems to have fallen in place perfectly so far. There are so many little details that have gone far better than expected. When we originally found his file, we thought we'd be traveling in August or September. But, somehow everything fell into place: the homestudy was quick, our dossier came together without a glitch, the I-171H was quick thanks to some GOOD connections (thanks, Jen!) and now the LOA is here so early.

The universe is definitely conspiring in our favor!
50 days, baby boy and WE'LL BE THERE!