2 word combinations!

Yesterday, I thought Lissi put 2 words together, but she wouldn't repeat it.

This morning, however, she without a doubt said "more please" several times to get more muffin.

Woo hoo! Way to go little girl!

Grandma + Sun =

Fun fun fun!!!

We've had one day of sun this Spring Break... perfectly timed for Grandma's visit. We went to the Tulip Festival and got a bunch of great pictures. Cal loved a huge bumpy slide there and hay play area. Lissi was content just to hang around us. We loved the gorgeous flowers!

I'm going to be....

Today Cal said, "I think when I grow up...I'm going to be daddy." Not "be like daddy" or "be a daddy". He's going to BE daddy! :)

Healthy again!

Lissi was very sick this week with a yucky virus. Beginning last Monday she was getting listless and not looking great. She started sleeping 19 hours/day. One day a rash suddently appeared and within a few hours was covering most of her body. The doctor said it was probably just another symptom of the virus. Sure enough, yesterday afternoon, she started smiling suddenly and talking again. This morning, the rash was completely gone and she was in her usual happy spirits! Hurray!

Cal, I've discovered, has picked up one of my bad habits... He's biting his nails! As a life long nail biter, I know that fighting this can be nearly impossible. I want to nip in the bud right away. Any suggestions besides the spicy nail polish (which I will buy soon if this continues!)?

A great train ride

Destination: college! I don't know how or why this was the chosen destination, but I'm not going to complain :)

Cal's career aspirations

An amazing reader!

Cal has completed the entire 40 lessons of his reading program. He's reading at about the 1st grade level now! We are just amazed at his hard work and progress. Here is the book he practiced after completing lesson 40.



We are now saving up to buy him the next 40 lessons of the program. Imagine his reading when he finishes that!

She's learned the famous toddler word

MINE!

Scary story with miraculous resolution

The horrible news:

The miracle:

This hits a little too close to home. I started weeping with joy after reading the good news today.

Now get that little girl home!

Passport application success!

Today was our first opportunity to apply for Lissi's passport since receiving her "new" birth certificate from the state. The tricky part is that BOTH parents need to be there, and our local post office will only take applications from 10am-3pm. Because of conferences, I didn't need to be at work until noon, so we packed up for the post office and got there at 9:45am to try to beat the crowds.

We were first in line. It all went very smoothly. When we left there was still no line.... So I guess we totally lucked out. We were out of there by 10:15!

Happy Family Day Lissi!

I can't believe our beautiful, amazing blessing has already been home for one year! One year ago we said good-bye to her birth country and were greeted in the United States by many family and friends. It was a joyous day for us, but also a hard one. I think we all shed some tears in that transition away from all she had known, to a brand new life. We are blessed beyond measure to parent this child.

One year ago:





























And today:




















We celebrated quiety with just a few friends, cake, and ice cream. Our gift to her is the Lifebook that I (hope) will be completed soon. It will tell her "special story" and include pictures from her beginnings and our journey to be together.

Mug shot done

We lucked out and Kinko's was willing to take Lissi's passport photo. I say we lucked out, because friends of ours have been turned away from Kinko's because they don't do kids pictures... So after a painless excursion for pictures (and then 38 cent copies of the pictures because we needed 5 passport sized photos in total) we headed to the post office. There we sent out a thick file containing more paperwork (and another large check) to get Lissi's Certificate of Citizenship. Because she was not born in the country, it is best to have the official government record saying that she is a citizen and make sure all the government computers classify her as a citizen.

On Thursday we will have our first opportunity to wait in line at the post office during "passport hours" and wait in line to submit an application for her passport. No, we have no big trips planned. But again, we are trying to line up all our paperwork and get it out of the way so that she does not have any trouble later trying to prove her citizenship.

Cal's crazy moves and Lissi's happy dance

You know you live in the a soggy climate when...

...it starts to downpour during lunch time and yet the kids all continue their recess soccer game, the teachers huddle under the slide but do not tell the kids to go inside, and the kids leave recess eventually in drenched clothes with big smiles.

Spring has sprung

What gorgeous weather! In the 60s, sunny, and the crocuses and daffodils are all starting to bloom! I love spring. I just wish the sun would stick around for more than a few days.

Notice the hair cut before the weekend, and compare to the zoo pictures. Do you THINK he needed a haircut? ;)



We went to the zoo yesterday and enjoyed some fresh air. The rest of the metro area also ended up at the zoo and we had to search and search for parking. Poor Wink stood in line for almost an hour to get a slice of pizza for lunch because the zoo was not expecting the crowds.

1st time away from the whole family

I had to spend my first night away from the whole family yesterday in order to attend a conference. It was not the most thrilling conference and involved me participating in a team in which extra work is expected. :( There was snow, sleet, and rain on the drive to the destination and I had a hotel roommate. To make the situation more stressful, Wink was called for jury duty and we had to scramble to find someone to watch both kids all day. It was the first time we've needed an all day babysitter. Fortunetly, my friend said she was available to watch the kids. They did great (both took 3 hour naps!) and played well with her kids. Wink was not called to serve so I didn't need to rush home so that we didn't need to find a babysitter for today...although that would have been a good excuse to leave the conference early!