We're Headed to China!

We are giving this blog a rest for a few weeks as we bring home Nyah. Please visit us on our travel blogs...

Nyah's Adoption/Family China trip: http://www.soon2bseven.blogspot.com/

Caleb's Adventures in China: caleb2china.blogspot.com

The Week in Review

Evan and Brynn started preschool on Tuesday. They are in the same class. Evan entered all quiet and reserved and Brynn jumped ahead of everyone waiting and immediately started asking why she had to sit at the table without the PlayDoh (all the seats at that table were taken). At the end of the week they both got to pick out of the treasure box so they both must have been good!

This picture cracks me up - here is Brynn and her friend/enemy Eli on the first day of school. They made a pact not to kill each other. They even sat together at McDonald's after school was out but when Eli disappeared for a while, Brynn got irritated and the "date" was over. Thanks Kelly for the pictures!

And dance on Monday... well, Brynn and mommy both prefer tap to ballet. I think Brynn found it more interesting and I preferred the tapping noise as they hide Brynn's continuous talking. There are three other girls in the class, all as quiet as you would expect in a ballet class. Then there was Brynn, who loudly asked repeatedly why they kept doing the same thing over and over, was giggly and goofy, and even screamed a few times during the tumbling part. Thankfully she has a very laid back teacher though even she made the comment that Brynn was so different than my three quiet boys! Brynn has been practicing the moves at home though so I know she liked it. And I keep reinforcing that ballet is quiet and calm...

Last fall Brynn had an eye appointment and we were told she needed glasses but it was up to us whether we wanted to fill the prescription or not as her eyesight would likely improve and then get worse again around age 7 and we could get them then. We didn't get her glasses but at her annual physical on Monday, when the doctor read me the letter that said she was "legally blind" in her right eye, I couldn't get to a phone quickly enough to make an appointment with the eye doctor. We went Wednesday and actually, her vision has improved slightly (her left eye vision is perfect) so he wants us to patch her good eye 2 hours a day 5 days a week for the next three months. Playing pirate was fun for Brynn for, um, 4 minutes. She is miserable but I did find out she is better if she is playing outside or if we are out running errands and that TV and Wii are not good activities. I am also bribing her with GUM!

Caleb and Price had a great week and on Friday the boys, Doug, and Grandpa went to the Orioles/Yankees game. Caleb and Price wore their Orioles gear and cheered with Doug while Evan proudly wore his Yankee's jersey and sided with Grandpa. When Evan got home he told me every detail of the game; I feel like I was there. But Brynn and I used the time to do a little shopping!

And the miracle of all miracles occurred this week... okay, that is an exaggeration and I hate to think that I have used a miracle for this but, somehow, we have managed to have all four kids (on three different teams) have soccer practice at the same time, at the same place, and on the same day! Yippee!!!

We leave in four days! My mom, Doug's parents, and Doug's sister and her family will be staying with Price, Evan, and Brynn. We cannot thank them enough!

Kisses and Ballet

Gotta love getting emails with kisses from the kids while at work... a benefit to putting in hours on the weekend while daddy is home with the kids. And that is Evan's real pucker... love it! I wonder how much Doug paid Caleb to participate.

And guess what class Brynn starts tomorrow? I picture her so much more in a football or baseball uniform than I do in a leotard and tights but she insisted she wanted to do ballet. The class is a combination of tap (oh, our hardwood floors...), ballet, and tumbling. It should be a sight to see! I just hope she doesn't yell, "This is soooo boring!" during the ballet part...that is a huge possibility!

Catching up...

I thought things might slow down once two of the kids went back to school. I underestimated the amount of energy two four-year olds have and how it can expand to fill each and every available space!

Caleb and Price headed off to 4th and 1st grade respectively this week. They were very excited; they had met their teachers the week before and they obviously saw a lot they like. Price sported a lovely black eye with a scabbed wound above it from a skateboard incident over the weekend (on daddy's watch I might add and without the helmet we have asked the kids to wear over and over...). Caleb has been in a great mood all week so I know he is feeling very comfortable. Price had been acting a bit full of himself but was before school started so not much change there. They both had a great week.

I have spent the past few days balancing entertaining Brynn and Evan and making travel arrangements to China with the need to do a "Clean Sweep" of my house... four years of neglected cabinets and closets have made opening doors in the house hazardous and I know that the next few months will be quite chaotic in our house.

Brynn and Evan start preschool next week and Brynn asks me several times a day if the next day is a preschool day. Evan doesn't ask. He had a hard time this week adjusting to the boys being gone. School and soccer will be good for him.

EXHAUSTED!

It is 8:00am in my house and the first child just woke up (Brynn if you can believe it!). This week is the last week before school and we have crammed it full with as much stuff as we can.

On Monday, the kids and my parents and I went to Busch Gardens and closed the park down. I have found a roller coaster buddy in Price and poor adventurous, up for anything, Brynn cried everytime she was too short to ride a ride and that was a lot of times. That was all made worse by the fact that Evan got the cool, purple paper bracelet so he would not need to be remeasured at every ride, not that it mattered. He only likes the kiddy-kiddy rides. The kids especially loved the area with the nets where they could climb and then take a break in the water play area. Here are some pictures my mom was able to snap...

I know the kids are cute but check out the beautiful horse.

Brynn was the only one to play the "pay-extra" games since she was devestated when she was too short to ride the raft ride. Grandma quickly made her happy.

I'm thinking this was not Evan's favorite ride...

The boys rode on this one a few times. It was quite funny how Price loved the big, "adult" roller coasters but then was just as happy to be on a ride designed for a 2 year old.

Brynn exploring the gift shop while I shop for a new shirt for Evan, who unfortunately, has a stomach that does not like car rides... though his tummy seems just fine with fast moving rides... hmm...

Wednesday I took the kids, and their cousin Josh, to Water Country. It was hot and very crowded but it was still fun. There is so much to do there for all ages and at least to swim in the pools there is no line to hold up the fun! Josh took Caleb and Price on some of the slides. And the peace of the 2 hour car ride home was well worth the exhaustion of the day. We hit up the McDonald's just outside the park... Brynn fell asleep inbetween ordering her Happy Meal and picking it up at the next window. Evan fell asleep holding 1/2 his cheeseburger. The picture below is a picture of a picture so it is a bit fuzzy.

On Tuesday and Thursday we went to the pool, where the boys played a zillion versions of ball with the zillion other boys there while the girls played more in the pool. Denise took this picture of Nate and Evan, best buds... I love this picture, though all her pictures are great! What will Evan do when Nate goes to school next week? Speaking of that, we also had open house last night for Caleb and Price and I think carrying 6 bags of school supplies in might have been the most exhausting part of the week!

Tonight we will head back to the pool after running errands... including to the bank to get a check to pay for our China airline tickets and hotels!! Have a mentioned that I have been trying to get all that reserved during this week? In fact, I confirmed our international flights on my now defunct cell phone (not because it got wet but because the charge port is broken) while getting the kids lifevests on at the Hubba Hubba Highway.

I'm exhausted too!

*** They are all awake now and the big talk of the house is how Brynn was the first one awake. The amazement in their voices is hysterical!

Girls Day Out...

It all started a few weeks ago, when Karen told me to reserve today for Brynn to join Carter at Libby Lu. I had no idea what that was but Carley quickly let me know that it caters to young girls and involves makeovers... princesses and rock stars. So I asked Brynn if she wanted to be made into a princess and if you know Brynn, you know she immediately scrunched up her nose and started to say something tomboyish so I said, "How about a rock star?" and she became very excited for the day to come.

Knowing Carter would be dressed up I told Brynn yesterday she would need to dress up a bit from the standard shorts and t-shirt. This morning when I reminded her, she excitedly said, "I know. I can wear my Mickey Mouse Star Wars shirt." Hmmm, not sure a girl in a black, boy-cut t-shirt has ever been in Libby Lu. Not a great start.

But it was a GREAT day. When we got there, the girls chose matching sparkly dresses and then went to pick out their hairstyles. Carter went with a modified up-do and Brynn decided on Hannah Montana. Here is the "real" Hannah Montana, in case, grandparents, you haven't been keeping up on recent preteen idols:

Nails were done (pink glitter), eye-shadow applied (Brynn picked blue, Carter pink), accessories were chosen (Carter chose a microphone and Brynn chose a microphone headset), and sparkling stars were added to the hair.

Then came Brynn's final touch, the Hannah Montana wig. It was the shiniest, most golden hair piece I have ever seen and nothing like anything I have ever seen on an Asian girl with a deep tan (in spite of wearing 50 sunscreen). And here the girls are in their full glory...

What a hoot! She loved it, though she said frequently that it was itchy. The girls then paraded around the store in a mock fashion show, posed for pictures, and picked out prizes for the day.

Then they changed back into their clothes (the dress was the only thing that they could not keep; yes the wig is now ours for good) and we walked around the mall, went to lunch and then to Krispy Kreme where the girls performed a concert for the patrons, singing the same one-sentence lyrics over and over ("I wanna be a rock star" though sometimes it was "I don't wanna be a rock star."). Carter had a mellow, relaxed tone and style and Brynn demonstrated the hip-hop version of the song. Hysterical. Here are a few "back to real life pictures":

The girls chatted until they could chat no more and applied lip gloss and eyeshadow until they were just exhausted!

It was a great day! Thank you Karen and Carter! Happy 4th birthday Carter!