Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to Amy!

:) Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday! Woo Hoo! Check it out! It even posted at the correct time!! 1:03 am on February 1st!!! :)

Dancing Lessons

My sister Sara invited Rew and I to come and teach dancing to her daughters' 2nd grade class. (Mrs. Sugu's Class) Rew said, "Eeyo" (Japanese for "sure"). We decided to teach them Cha-Cha and Waltz. Sara provided the music we needed. Both Rew and I were a little nervous at the beginning, but soon jumped right in.

The girls were all dressed in their princess gowns a few boys were dressed up, but mostly as knights in shiny, construction paper, armor. A few of the boys insisted that they were jesters or princes.

First we taught them Cha-Cha. We used the hand hold position and taught the basic plus a standard twirl. The 2nd grade boys and girls were rather nervous to dance with a partner! (After all they have COOTIES! ew!) But soon they got right into the dance floor and did it! It was so cute to see the kids dancing.

Then we taught the box step and underarm spin with Waltz. They did wonderfully with the dances!

Lastly we taught them how to enter the dance floor with their partner. The entire 2nd grade class came onto the dance floor holding their partner's hand and got into dance position.

At the end the class had a Ball, and danced Cha-Cha and Waltz.

I wish I had pictures... perhaps I'll be able to get some from my sister...

My Daughter

In the few short months that I have suddenly been (as my sister Marcae put it) "Baptized by Fire" into Motherhood, I have learned a lot. How to sing Teddy Bears picnic, Make up songs while waiting at traffic lights, finding more ways to shorten or lengthen stories depending on how fast my daughter wishes to turn the page, discovering patience with a cranky baby, 102 ways to make her giggle.

During Christmas we worked really hard on recognizing pictures of Jesus, (point to the picture) "That's baby Jesus! Do you see baby Jesus?" This led to my daughter (pointing to a baby...any baby) "JESUS!" (I think it's really cute.) I was shocked the day I asked "It's time to pray, can you fold your arms?" and she did it without any help!

Yesterday Rew and I decided to go on a date. We were going to go to a free Museum in South Provo, however, they were closed...so instead we ended up going to a pet shop. We decided to buy a little froggy for our small fish bowl. Our daughter was fascinated, she kept staring a the froggy and babbling.

We brought it home and I placed it in the fish bowl. My daughter stood on a chair the whole time and watched. Finally when the froggy was placed she crept onto the table, leaned over and "Mmmmmm-Mwah" KISSED THE FROGGY! This she did without prompting. (I was actually able to get pictures and video of her doing this.)

Rew and I have been trying to remember to sing songs to our daughter at night when she goes to sleep. We've been getting more consistent and she loves it. Today is Sunday, so we listened to Music and the Spoken Word, she was loving the songs. When it finished we sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." For the first time she did all the actions!!! It is SO CUTE!!! I LOVE IT!!! (I got video of that too! woo hoo!)

sorry... still have to wait to see it…

Sick

I caught a nasty cold last week. It's really not too bad... but it does have this lingering itchy throat, a raspy cough and mildly drippy nose. Our daughter caught it as well and no surprise... Rew doesn't catch ANYTHING. He didn't catch Influenza A (worst strain...highly contagious) when I caught it the first year we were married. (Okay...The only thing I've successfully passed to him was the stomach flu last 4th of July.) Anything else... nope. Not even a slight sniffle!

Anyway, My Daughter caught this cold as well. She is also teething... 4 I-teeth and molars. Sunday she refused to eat.... Monday she was peckish... Today she really wouldn't eat much... Finally I got her to eat frozen peas and a popsicle! Woo Hoo! Then in the middle of the afternoon she ran to the freezer pointed and signed "please." We gave her another popsicle.

Having depleted our popsicle supply... we went and bought some more. While at the store she saw a shelve with marshmellows. (normally she doesn't eat them... in fact most sugar she won't eat.) She dove at the marshmellows, "Nummy, numm!!! please!!!"

So for dinner... we finally got her to eat... Popsicles and Marshmellows.

Any other suggestions for things a teething Tiny will eat?

http://www.spartantailgate.com/forums/msu-red-cedar-message-board/159230-calvin-hobbes-winter-cartoons-2.html

Adoption...coming

Notice the ticker to the right! Finally close enough to count the days...we have been busier than ever. Filling out papers, getting ready for flights, documentation, doctor's visits... We've had a hold placed on pictures until our daughter is finally adopted, but tune in because I'm going to have a flood of pictures!

The most common question I've had is: "Is it real to you yet?"

I can answer "absolutely not." I'm not certain when it will hit that I am a mother. Forever a mommy. Rew forever a daddy.

The pains of not being able to have a child naturally are still there, I don't believe they will ever go away. But most of the anxiety is subsiding.

Lastly, we have finally picked a name!!! Yes, we are changing it. But guess what? You're just gonna have to wait! :)

Teething, oh, that's what it is....

I've been trying to figure out what's wrong with our daughter. She has been whimpering lately and had a mild fever for a few days. Thinking that she may be coming down with something Rew and I canceled some family get-together's... rescheduled them for later weeks, kept an eye on her fever...which never got too high. She refused to eat. Finally... worried that she would get dehydrated I gave her an otter pop. Most sugar she spats back out, or gets a nasty exema rash after eating it. But this time she gobbed up the otter pop and asked for another, which I gave her. Then she asked for "cheese, please" and "drink" and "nummy, nums." So we tried breakfast again and she ate just fine.

Later while walking around the grocery store I noticed her chewing on her fingers... realization dawning... I looked in her mouth to see two little white bumps of I-teeth! HOoRAH! She's teething!

Now, she walks around the house with a cup of frozen peas-happy as can be and munching them down. (She prefers the peas over a frozen teething ring.)

Ah... the joys of being a new mommy and taking a while to figure out these things!

Year 2008

Year 2008...what an exciting and strange year. Where's a bullet list of everything that happened in the year 2008. Definitely a year which changed our lives forever and definitely a year the Lord shaped for us.

January:

• Student teaching/Internship at Diamond Fork Junior High School
• Trip to Fertility Specialist to learn that it is not impossible for us to have children... but very difficult.
• Offered an Adoption (Prior to my cousin calling us, she didn't know we had fertility struggles-in her words she prayed about the little girl and was answered, "Call Amy and Andrew.)

February/March/April/May:

• Busy with student teaching/Interning
• Traveling to California during all breaks/holidays-to see our daughter
• Trip to Disneyland!
• Graduation from Brigham Young University
• Trip through Zion National Park
• Attending the funeral of my sweet niece Kate
• Rew receiving a promotion at work
• Becoming certified/licensed foster parents
• Finally completing the Teacher's Work Sample! yes!

June/July/August:

• Driving to Salt Lake City Area everyday (almost) to visit with our daughter.
• Reading books, books, books
• Kicked out of Wymount/Moved to South Provo
• Completed Home Study for Adoption
• Saying farewell to our wonderful friends Patience and Dallan
• Suddenly having excuses to go to the ZOO, park, Aviary, playgrounds

September/October/November:

• My best friend delivering her first child
• Our daughter's half brother being born
• Thanksgiving activities
• Rew being laid-off from work the day our daughter was permanently placed in our home
• Learning to be a mommy
• Rew learning to be a daddy
• Being told that adoption will be completed in March!
• Learning to truly use my food storage

December:

• Christmas Activities/Family activities almost every night
• Discovering the joys of teething
• Having our car break down
• Rew's brother helping us get a new car... while unemployed (thankyou Bryan)