Fun with Dad

Not much time to post these days between Jia being sick, me being sick, work being crazy and life being generally over the top busy but I wanted to take a moment to post a few great shots of Jia and Jia with her dad. Talking about being sick though, I've never been sick so often in my life and it's tough. Juggling a 2 year old who is sick and consequently sneezes and coughs into my mouth knowing that the evil illness is now only days away from taking me down is just part of being a mom - I know this. I worry so much about Jia when she's sick - she's really only been scary sick 3 times in the past 13 months. But she was scary sick this time (all is well now so no worries) and then I got scary sick. I'm on the mend but oh my. Oh the fun cycles. But hopefully I'm building a fortress of an immune system toward childhood crud and soon I'll be able to better battle the germs.

These pictures are of us just hanging around the house. Some girlfriends gave me some silly martini/margarita sunglasses a few years back and Jia found them crammed away in a drawer. She loves to put them on her daddy and wear them herself. She also gets a kick out of eating with her dad. You can see the spaghetti fest from a week or two ago. Those shorts of T's will never be the same. Our dog Nora always has to have her nose in close by just in case a stray noodle comes flying her way.

Anyway, enjoy the pics. She gets more beautiful everyday. Our little beauty turns 2 on Tuesday! I just can't believe it!!

Natural Sailor

We had our first boating adventure of the season last weekend. We didn't actually sail - just stayed in the slip and let Jia get accustomed to the boat. (Thus no PFDs in the pics.) Exhausting for the parents - but pure fun for Jia! We're in for a heck of a season. Her daddy has found a natural sailing partner (whereas with the mom - not so much). Sorry for the delay in posts - life is, well, overwhelmingly busy at times. But very, very good!

One Year

Today marks the one year anniversary of the day we became a family. The day all of the stars aligned and all of the dreams and hopes became a reality. I've told Jia twice today the significance of the day and how very happy she makes us. She doesn't quite understand just yet but I so hope that when she does she can absorb the magnitude of the day and how very happy and lucky her parents are to have her as a daughter. We love you Jia - more than I thought possible to love another human. She's got us, and she's got us good. Thank you from the deepest part of my being to her birth mom and dad for making the most difficult decision imaginable in order to best love their daughter. And thank you China for allowing us to be her mom and dad.

Some Pictures From Guangzhou

More Random Pictures From Hong Kong

1st Anniversery of Trip to China

I was going to title this post "First Anniversery of the Nightmare Plane Adventure to China" but there is no way the trip to China, no matter how miserable that 16 hour flight may have been, could be considered a nightmare. It resulted in the most incredible event of our lives. One year ago today Terrell, I and my mother boarded a plane here in our little East Coast town and connected to Newark for the 16 hour flight to Hong Kong. Those of you who have been around for a while will remember my post from Hong Kong wherein I indicated I had "freaked out" 8 hours into the flight and Terrell thought that might be an excellent time to pull out the video camera. Luckily for him, I've never seen that footage. My mom and I have been reminescing about the flight the past couple of days. We were beyond shocked with the reality of a 16 hour flight. You say the words but the reality is far different. That plane got so small even though it was a gigantic 777. As my mom said, how the heck does something that big stay in the air THAT long??? My dad watched our entire flight path on-line and he knew the minute we had landed in Hong Kong. Oh, what a relief we felt to finally get off of that plane. Yes, we had been awake and traveling for 24 hours and we were in a country half way across the world. But we were on solid ground and all we needed to do was navigate the airport, find money, figure out how to get a cab and arrive at our hotel 30 minutes away. Not to mention we were only 3 magical days away from our daughter. I can't believe it's been an entire year. These are pictures of us on the plane, landing, just off of the plane and from our hotel. Terrell said "Wow, that is a rough picture of you, it doesn't even look like you" - well, it did at the time. ( And who was he at the time? Hugh Jackman?) A year later I feel all warm and fuzzy about this trip!

I need to add a little extra something to this post. Most moms, if they can be, are there for the birth of their grandchildren. When I asked my mom if she wanted to go to China because she would provide me much comfort and I didn't know how the hell to be a new mom, she said yes. She added that she had been present for the birth or soon thereafter the birth of each of her kid's first children and this would be no different. But this was a bit different. She traveled across the world with me to get my daughter. That is freaking amazing if you ask me. Thank you mom.

A Little Late - But These Pictures Are Incredible

I've been busy, busy and Jia has been busy, busy but I wanted to take a moment to post some incredible pictures her Aunt Lisa took at the Children's Museum. Best wishes to all.

Easter Bunny Says Must Eat Chocolate

How is it that the Easter Bunny came but I'm the one eating all the chocolate? Like I didn't KNOW that was going to happen - Jia doesn't even GET much chocolate! It makes her kind of kooky. We've had a wonderful holiday. I took a couple of days off to enjoy spring break with the cousins. We traveled to Washington DC and visited some sites. I have so much to say about our time together that I will post that in a different post. I'm tired, trying to eat dinner and get a few pictures on the blog. Thanks to Laura and Natalie for the tips on sleep. I looked desperately at T one night and asked for room darkening shades. Remarkably they seem to have made all the difference for Jia's sleep issues. Ah, the simple solutions. Light outside? Playtime. Dark? Sleepy time. We'll see how long this solution lasts. As with all things children, every day is a different experience. As these pictures will depict, Jia loves her chocolate almost as much as her mommy loves a martini! I love this little bugger more than I can express.

p.s. Thank you Cindy - Jia LOVED her duck and the bubbles and froggy. :) This was a very thoughtful thing you did - as usual.

Life as Mom

Occasionally I get really impatient with Jia. It is usually only at bedtime. We've changed our sleeping arrangements and I now lay down with Jia in the big girl bed until she falls asleep and then I get up and have the only time of the day that truly belongs to me. I sleep with her in the big girl bed so we wake together. I get between an hour and a half and two hours to myself each day and this in the evening. This time is precious to me. I've given up my formerly "precious" morning time and now only have that 1-2 hours every night. Lately Jia has needed less sleep and wants to go to sleep closer to 8 or 9 pm. We have to get up at 5:30 ish on work days and I'm an early to bed kind of person so that means in my pre-mommy days I'd go to bed at 9:30 or so. I really struggle to stay up much past that. I came downstairs at 10:20 pm last night after finally getting Jia to go to sleep. Tonight I asked T to come up and help me at 8:30 because she still was not asleep. Thank goodness for him. It bothers me how impatient I get with her. It's not her fault she isn't sleepy. It's not her fault that once she's asleep and I try to creep out of the bed she sits up and cries. But I really struggle with not being frustrated with the whole situation. Once she's old enough not to pull at my legs and cry and whine when she's tired (this usually starts around 6:30 or 7pm) then I'll not stress so much. But I can't get dinner going or do anything I need to do when all she wants is to be held and suck her thumb (signs she's tired - right? I mean she's fed, watered, etc. - yes, I know she's not a plant mom, heh heh) . So I take her upstairs for bath, reading and snuggle bedtime but she lately has begun to think this is now super play time with mommy. Any suggestions? In the meantime, here are beautiful pics from last weekend. I feel soooo guilty when I feel frustrated with Jia. She is such a beautiful, delightful, easy-going child. I think I just need a mommy's night out, which I haven't had since we became a family. I believe it's time for Daddy to take over nights for a while.

Laundry

I have a wonderful husband. Yes, I know I've said that on countless posts. He is wonderful in so many ways. One of the things I really appreciate these days is that he is so very helpful around the house. He does FAR more of the daily chores and tasks around here than I. I have primary baby duty so it works out.

But let's talk for a minute about laundry. When we built our house we bought new appliances, washer and dryer included. I purchased a pretty fancy set much to dear hubby's dismay. Not THAT fancy (not the kind you see on TV) but better than what he had in mind. He was all set on the small set with wash options of big, medium and small and hot and cold. I'm now rethinking my choice. Terrell does laundry regularly. All the moms reading this will be jealous. Right? But let's talk about his strategy. He places more laundry than I thought possible in one washer. It must take his elbow to get it all stuffed in there. He then, I'm convinced, proceeds to shove this load into the dryer with his foot. He must use his shoulder to coax the door closed, he then pushes the"Normal" load setting and walks away. A day or two later I innocently approach the laundry room with a truly "normal" load and once it's time to dry I open the dryer and have a burst of clothes come forth reminiscent of those old speaker commercials that then hit the floor and scare me flat against the back wall. It's pretty doggoned amazing. This is today's inventory of what I HAD TO FOLD from just one load:

4 Large Bath Towels (you know, the big fluffy kind)
2 Large Hand Towels
2 Pair of Khakis
1 Golf Shirt
5 Pairs Boxers
4 Pairs My Undies
4 Pairs of Socks
1 Big Sweatshirt
1 Pair of Sweatpants

Holy Batman! I love this guy. I just wish he added "folding" to the definition of doing laundry. :)

Over the Top

Sometimes that's how I feel about my day to day life. It seems these days I rarely have time to pause and do anything other than what life demands. I know we can't let life pass too fast. It's important to find the minutes to reflect on those moments that make our lives matter most. It's not work (although that is certainly of critical importance in supporting a loving, warm and comfortable life) and it's not "accomplishments" that drive happiness. It's the little moments that make you laugh or smile or reflect on whatever it is that makes you happy. In my case, it's the opportunity to be with my family and friends and how they so often make me laugh out loud. Jia makes that happen for me pretty often. Tonight on the way home from LaLa's, her favorite song came on - I'm not sure of the title but it's a Beyonce song with the words "all the single ladies". It makes Jia go absolutely wild. I was at a stop light and started to clap to the (not very discernable) beat and Jia started to do the same. So there I was, driving home after a rather miserable work day, clapping hands to the beat of a Beyonce song with my smiling, giggling 21 month old daughter. That is the good stuff of life.