A Visit from Mick

Hi everyone! I just had a really fun week with my cousin Mike Whalen, who flew all the way from California just to see me! His mom and dad--Great Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jack--came to visit me in May.) Here's Mike and I at Viera Wetlands, a great outdoors area.

This is a neat shot of a Black Bellied Whistling Duck. Mike was very patient while Mommy and Daddy tried to point out all the birds, and I yelled my head off in the car. I'm a toddler--hey, I was bored! So we all took a walk.

Mike takes great photos (he took most of the photos in this post). Here Daddy and Mommy swing me along a path. I really did have pants on, honest! Um, let's not go there...

A really great shot by Mike of the wetlands.


Since I got bored easily, Mike loaned me his sunglasses (he had no choice, hee hee), and Daddy put a Wiggles tape in. Then I was happy. Of course, noone could hear the birds, only "Hot Potato, Hot Potato", but who's the star of this show anyway??

Back at the Ranch

Mike plays ukelele! How many kids can say that about their cousin? So Mike bought me this ukelele and I had a grrreeaaat time with it!


It kept me busy!


I also showed Mike my moves on my toy drum set, with microphone...thanks to my friend Michael and his mommy and daddy, Barb and Steve.


Isn't Michael cute? Michael and his parents visited us one night--bringing YUMMY homemade Chicken Parmesan--so Daddy could show them the giant sea turtles that lay nests on our beaches. Well, that and to feed us. Cousin Mike got to see the the turtles while he was here, and afterwards he counted 100 bites from mosquitoes and no-see-ums on his legs and feet. Ouch!! He was covered in more medicines while he was here, but what a trooper! He says he won't ever move here, though. :(


Here I impress Mike with my acrobatics. My legs go straight out to the side, too!


Sniffing Mike's coffee just makes my day. Sneaking sips or outright gulps of his soda made my day, too!


We showed Mike a Florida spider, this black and yellow Argiope in our front yard. Argiopes can grow as big as 10 INCHES!!! (Mommy and Daddy have seen them that big...eew.) Luckily, this one was small--only about the length of your middle finger (and that's not on small hands). Argiope spiders hang upside down in the middle of their webs, which have thickened, zigzag bands of silk in the center.

Mike then told us about a cow patty he saw out West in the middle of the road that he went to look at...and it started to move. It turned out to be A TARANTULA!! That's enough spider lessons for the day!!! ACK!! (Note: That's actually Mommy screching--what's so bad about a spider??)

Mike left early this morning, and I'm still confused. I MISS YOU, MIKE!!! He was great fun.

Emily's Milestones

- Here's why poor Nigel wants to run away from our house. I had my first Time Out for pulling Nigel's (already broken) tail too many times. Mommy stopped me just before I got to him this time, though. I don't care much for Time Out, so I guess I'd better leave Nigel's tail alone...so I pulled his whiskers this morning, instead.

- I tried to say the word "blue", 'cause I'm learning my colors and shapes. I can point to blue, red, purple and yellow, and guess why? 'Cause they're Wiggles colors!!

- I feed Mia, our dog (Wooh Wooh), her meals, opening her food container and adding food to her dish, then adding her vitamins and carrying the dish to her, spilling food along the way. Mommy's teaching me to make Mia sit and give her paw to me for treats, but hey, that paw is BIG!! I can't hold it yet!

- No sign of my baby sister Madeleine yet. Mommy and Daddy say it's going to be a while, but Madeleine's paperwork will head to China in a few more weeks, and then the official countdown starts! I'll probably be 3 years old by the time Mei Mei (little sister) arrives.

One Year Ago Today...

Hi everyone,

Today is the 1-year anniversary of Gotcha Day, the day we met Emily for the first time! We can't believe it's already been a year. Although it's been such a busy year, with Emily growing and changing constantly (she had her 2nd year checkup with the doctor today!), we still remember the incredible excitement of the moment we met her...and we know family and friends remember it, too.

In honor of this very special day, Kevin and I decided to repost some of our favorite photos, and tell Emily how much she means to us. --Caroline

Letter from Mommy

My darling daughter,

Today it's been one year since you were placed in my arms. In that moment, all my dreams were realized, when I became your mother.

You couldn't be more mine if you had grown inside me. Yet you did grow inside me--you began as a tiny seed of hope in my heart, and slowly grew and grew, until your child's tendrils encircled my heart so tightly, I could barely breathe from happiness, hope, fear, frustration, and excitement.

How ironic that your entire life is chronicled on the Internet for your birth parents to see, yet they'll never know it's there. They made the ultimate sacrifice when they gave you up, and I'll always be grateful to them for their incredible gift. And as you grow and begin to question your beginnings, I promise to be truthful, to tell you what little I know. And if the truth hurts you, or makes you doubt yourself, I'll hold you in my arms and we'll deal with it together. I'll do whatever I can to ease your pain. We can honor your birth parents, visit your birthplace, do whatever it takes to bring you peace.

I want you to grow up to be a strong, independent woman, proud of your adopted culture, and the culture you came from. Please don't ever doubt yourself. As the Desiderata says, "You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here...Strive to be happy." That's all I ever wish for, for you.

I love you...forever.

Mama

Letter from Daddy

To my little pumpkin,

Words can never adequately express the love and joy you have brought to my life. Every day is a new adventure with you.

I think often of your birth parents, and hope that they know that you are safe and loved.

I cannot be with you today, as I am writing this from my hotel room in Texas, but know that my heart is with you, even if I can't be there to tuck you in and say "night night".

The excitement I felt leading up to holding you in my arms is nothing compared to the excitement I feel each day when I see you. And when I travel, Mommy keeps me posted on all of your antics each day.

I will be home soon, and our adventures will continue.

I love you...and I always will.

Love,

Dada

Our beautiful girl today, at 25 months old.

Happy Belated Fourth!

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great 4th of July. We sure did. With Emily dressed in red and white, and hiding beneath a huge oak tree from the blazing sun overhead, we watched our neighborhood parade. A fire engine led dozens of parents and kids with patriotically decorated bicycles and strollers down 2 brief blocks and over to the beach. A barbeque followed, and Emily and Daddy beat the heat by plunging into the ocean completely clothed.

Later that evening, we took Emily back to the beach for a huge fireworks display and a live band. She clapped her hands and shouted "WOW! WOW!", then entertained everyone by dancing. This is definitely a different child from the one we brought home!

Life with a Toddler

Life is its usual hectic pace, as seen here by the spilled bag of pretzels on the floor. Story time keeps us busy--we made edible necklaces out of licorice strings and Cheerios, and the Cheerios barely made it to the necklaces, the kids were eating them so fast. Music class is still lots of fun, and next we might try out a toddler gymnastics class (see Milestone #7, below).

Girl time in Emily's pool of balls. We had a brief but great visit with Aunt Tracey (Kevin's sister), Uncle Mark, and cousins Kasey, Kellie and Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Emily are the same size, although 3 months apart. The Schraners headed to a much needed vacation at Disney after spending the weekend.

More girl time in the pool of balls!

Playing dress-up with Mommy's jewelry.

Play Doh rose from Daddy...ummmmm...Play Doh is my life right now.

Thanks Aunt Fran, for the cute sailor suit!

Emily's Milestones

Photo Note: Mommy missed the shot of me bent over backward, almost in half, hanging from the fridge doors, shouting "eyesh!!, eyesh!!" at the top of my lungs (for more ice cubes).

- More words: "towel", "hide" (as in hide and seek), "tea", "bear" (as in teddy), "bapes" (grapes) and "Mao". No, it's not Chairman Mao's name she's uttering--whenever she sees a photo of a cat, wherever she is, she shouts "MMMMAAAOOOO!!!" at the top of her lungs. That includes in the middle of the public library, and we're not talking the kids' section! And the sound is hard to describe--it almost sounds like Nigel the cat's shriek whenever Emily pulls his broken tail! Another fun word is "Nnnaoooo" (also sounds like Mao, with an N). This is uttered approximately a half dozen times a day.

- Speaking of Nigel, the poor kitty...Emily's in love with him, and follows him around the house, yelling "MMMMAAAOOOO!!!" Unfortunately, we're back to Day 1 instructions on how to NOT hurt the kitty. Rule #1, don't pull the kitty's tail--he came to us with it already permanently broken in 2 places. Rule #2, When you say "pet, pet", we don't smack the kitty as hard as we can. Rule #3, we don't try and ride the kitty like a horsey. Rule #4, why are you constantly pushing him down to the floor and holding him there? Because you can? It is cute when Emily and Nigel try and kiss each other, though.

- Ahhh, the word "Nnnaoooo" (No). Now I understand why my girlfriend Estelle warned me about using the word "No" in front of Emily. The little munchkin lets us know whenever she doesn't want something. I got a resounding "Nnnaoooo" the other day while trying to feed her a piece of toast when she wanted her 20th "bape!" (grape--she says "bape" forcefully, with her chest rising suddenly, like a hiccough). Grapes...manna from heaven, and a mommy's best friend, especially while grocery shopping.

- We can draw circles with crayons! This is a big change from dragging the crayon across the page lightly and barely making a mark.

- We now hate shopping carts and cling to Mommy instead. Gone are the days of a leisurely trips to the grocery store or Walmart with snacks to keep us busy. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

- We can put our shoes on by ourself, and certain articles of clothing (mostly Mommy's, and badly).

- She's into everything! She loves to climb onto chairs and lean across the table to grab things. At the grocery store, she stood up in the shopping cart with the safety belt attached to her, flipped over backwards, and hung upside down in the cart, suspended by the safety belt, laughing...there goes 10 years off Mommy's life. She slid on her belly over Daddy as he lay on his stomach in the kitchen to fix the dishwasher. She landed on both hands, then did a perfect flip through the air and onto her back, landing on the tile floor without a scratch...there goes another 10 years...

But isn't she just beautiful? (Dressed in Mommy's clothes and being tickled...what more is there to life??)

Take care, everyone,

Caroline