The Adventures of Mari-Grace

2012-01-29T21:55:00.001-06:00

From the way Mari-Grace was all bundled up in her coat, you'd think it was 10 degrees outside. It was actually about 45. We wore her new dress coat to church this morning. I came with the matching hat. Now MG usually doesn't wear a hat...but she loves this little furry one. She looks so darn cute in it too. The coat is a little big, but it's okay. She will maybe get 2 seasons out if it.

Sent from my iPhone

2012-01-29T15:46:00.000-06:00

This is a video of our kids during the Parade of Nations at our Lunar New Year

2012-01-25T09:44:00.001-06:00

http://vimeo.com/35449240

This is the dragon Aunt Kelley made!

2012-01-24T20:02:00.001-06:00

Me and My Girls !

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Mari-Grace thought it was hilarious to see Hannah dressed in the

Chinese lion costume. We would close up the mouth, so you couldn't see

Hannah's face, then let it drop. MG laughed and laughed. We had such

a wonderful night !!!

We made the newspaper!!!!

2012-01-23T21:53:00.001-06:00

Mg and I made the newspaper. I agreed to do a short interview for the Arkansas democrat-gazette. The writer took our picture with the dragon I made.

Here is the article:

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2012/jan/22/moon-rouses-dragon-20120122/?features

Sent from my iPhone

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Gilda the Dragon Lives !!!

2012-01-07T21:11:00.005-06:00

OK ... here I go. 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. I decided we needed a dragon for Lunar New Year. I decided to use styrofoam and floral oasis as the base of the dragon. My friend, Laura, came over one day, and we decided to assemble the base of the dragon.

First, I gathered up various forms of styrofoam. For the base of the head, I used an Omaha Steaks color. We flipped it upside down so that the open part of the cooler forms the hat.

I cut two circle layers of foam, one about 2 inches bigger than the other. We glued the largest piece directly to the foam cooler. We glued the smaller piece centered on the larger one.

We blew up about 6 small balloons to use to give a little shape to the head of the dragon. We took the top of the styrofoam cooler, cut it in half, and then put it on the back of the base.

Coming soon ... to a blog near you

2012-01-02T23:37:00.003-06:00

Welcome 2012 ... Year of the Dragon. Actually, the Chinese New Year begins January 23, 2012.

Our local Dillon International office is sponsoring a Lunar New Year celebration this year. We will have kids representing Russia, China, Vietnam, India, Guatemala, Korea and Ethiopia.

I am one of the "planners" for the event.

I decided that since we have Lion Dance costumes, we need a Dragon costume too.
The cheapest costume I found online to order was like $1700 .... UH NO !!!!!

So I decided to put my crafty hat on.
I ran the idea past fellow adoptive Mom Laura ... and between the 2 of us ... we came up with a plan for a paper mache and fabric dragon.

Well ... I have been working on the Dragon ever since. With Laura's help, we got the basic head shape glued and masking taped together. My job was to paper mache the thing.

I have had a great time working on this project !!! Laura and I have been pretty creative in the things we used to make this thing.

Right now, I have her painted gold ... as a result I have named the dragon Gilda ... since she is "gilded".

I sewed the body together tonite.

SO EXCITED !!!!
Can't wait to post step by step photos !!!

HAPPY 2012 !!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-01T00:07:00.003-06:00

It is now 12:07 am. HAPPY 2012.

2011 was a good year for me. My baby girl was happy and healthy. She completed surgery number 2 with flying colors. She started preschool, where she is THRIVING !!! She became potty trained, gave up her sippy cups, learned to suck thru a straw, learned to blow her nose.

She started speech therapy, and has gone from barely talking to jabbering all the time. Her speech progress is slow, but I do see progress. We have been blessed with 2 wonderful speech therapist, and 4 wonderful preschool teachers.

We had two amazing beach vacations ... one with friends, and the other with Omaw and Poppy.

Our 27 year old cousin battled, and beat breast cancer. Having just undergone a double mastectomy, and reconstruction beginning, her fight is far from over, but God blessed her with a diagnosis of being cancer free in time for Christmas !!!

My Aunt Maurice, passed away Dec 26. She lived a full, wonderful life, and left behind 4 grown children, 9 grand children, numerous great grand kids. I spent a lot of time with Uncle George and Aunt Maurice when I was a teenager. I used to go to their house in Pocahontas and spend the weekend. I'll always remember Aunt Maurice taking me antique and flea-market shopping, mixing their High Balls promptly at 5 pm, and sitting on the patio listening to Frank Sinatra and other big band artists. My Uncle George passed away several years ago. They are together again.

The other bad news I got in December is that our Cleft Surgeon, Dr. Buckmiller will be leaving children's hospital in July 2012. She has been an incredible gift to us the last year. She has transformed Mari-Grace's life with her God given talents. I am saddened to see her leave, but it is time for her to move on and bless the lives of other children in a new state. She has trained Dr Hartzell for 7 years. Dr. Hartzell has seen Mari-Grace since day one, and I am confident in his abilities. So while it is sad that Dr. B is leaving ... I feel that she is leaving us in capable, talented hands.

So ... in 2012 ... what do we have to accomplish ??? Who knows. Am I going to make resolutions, no. I'm just excited to be able to spend 2012 with my precious little angel. She makes me laugh, she makes me smile, she makes me happier than I ever thought I could be.

Me and mini-me will have new adventures, new obstacles, and new accomplishments, and I can't wait to share them with you all !!!

HAPPY 2012 !!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T23:56:00.003-06:00

We had a FABULOUS Christmas. Mari-Grace had a blast. She wouldn't open her own gifts, she made me do it for her ... LOL. She kept yelling "OKEN MORE MAMA"!!!! She got a haul ! Santa delivered a new doll house with furniture. She got a Fisher Price Zoo, a dump truck, a shopping cart, blocks, a Leapfrog LeapPad, clothes, a Jingle the Dog + Jingle book from Hallmark, new books, new clothes, stickers, and I'm sure more that I am forgetting.

She played so hard all afternoon. Her doll house is by far the favorite toy of the season. Matter of fact, I found a Mom and toddler doll with brown hair to go with it. They are actually hispanic, but close counts. The asian dolls I found on e-bay range anywhere from $17 on up, and I couldnt find a caucasian doll with dark hair. So I found the Hispanic Loving family dolls on the Fisher Price website. Mari-Grace was thrilled to get them. She opened the little girl and hollered ... WOOK ... ME !!!!

MaMa did pretty well too. I got some much needed dress clothes, a snow baby, and my favorite .. a KUERIG COFFEE POT !!!!! I also finally got to order my print copies of this blog, and also my baby jelly beans blog. SO EXCITED to get these print copies !!!! They will be treasured for a VERY long time.

We actually had Christmas at my house this year. It was nice. Everyone was in a good mood ... Hannah came down with a cold, but we were all healthy. We had our biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, eggs, and ham. We were all very stuffed and very happy !!!!!

We are so incredibly blessed !

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T23:36:00.005-06:00

Santa has arrived ... doll house fully assembled ... Leap Pad charged and ready !

Omaw and Poppy's packages delivered.

Uncle Greg and Aunt Kelley's packages delivered.

WOW !!!

Wook MaMa ... WOOK !!!!

Best cousin ever ... what 22 year old guy plays doll house with a 3 yr old ??

Poppy and Omaw opening presents.

"oken MaMa ...more ..." Translation ... OPEN MORE MAMA !

Oh Yeah !!! This is fun !!!!!

Car ... Car ... Car MaMa ... CAR !!! (Mari-Grace found this car at Walmart

and cried to bring it home. I told her to tell Santa. Well, Santa got the message to Aunt Kelley, and MG got that car ... it just happens to go with her new doll house !

Look MaMa ... M&M's out my nose !!!!

All this playing and opening presents wore those boys out !!!!!

Time to feed the reindeer!! Come on Santa. We are ready!

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Happy Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T22:56:00.001-06:00

We have had a fantastic day today! We had 23 people at our house for Christmas Eve breakfast. MG has already received LOTS of gifts today. I just know that our friends have found MG such unique things. We had a great time this morning. MG was completely overwhelmed by all of the friends and family, but as they started leaving, MG started warming up to everyone.

Oh what fun she had! We got a toy called a stomp and launch. You step ok this rubber thing, and it shoots styrofoam balls across the room. We laughed till we hurt. MG got lots of stickers, and paper, and a strawberry shortcakes remote control car.

Tonite, we had my sister and her family over. My nephew's girlfriend and her grandma joined us. We ate sausage balls, pigs in a blanket, popcorn, and watched Mr. Popper's Penguins. I am not a Jim Carrey fan, but this was a cute movie. MG played until she literally couldn't play anymore. She crashed about 9:15 pm.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. I appreciate each and every one!!!
NORAD says that Santa is working in north America. Somewhere in Canada right now. I am heading to bed myself.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Sent from my iPhone

My 2 favorite divas!

2011-12-21T23:40:00.000-06:00

Winter has arrived !!

2011-12-10T23:02:00.004-06:00

Goodness ... has winter ever made an entrance in Arkansas!! Tuesday night, we went to bed, cold here ... woke up Wednesday morning with SNOW !!! Yes, it is early in the winter for snow in Arkansas. Luckily, it was warm enough that the snow melted VERY quickly.

I wondered if Mari-Grace would recognize what snow is. We only got a little last year. So, I took her to the door and let her look out. She got so excited, and started hollering SNOW MAMA ... SNOW !!!

I have had a sinus infection, and so has Mari-Grace, so when she asked if she could go outside and play, I had to say no. The little stinker never misses a beat. I got into the shower, and I heard her take off in a dead run down the hallway. I figured she had gotten into the nail polish in the bathroom. I hollered for her to come back in the bathroom and let me see what she was into. She had gone into her bedroom, pulled out her winter hat with the pom pom on the top, and her gloves. She had her hat, gloves, and boots on. She smiled really big and said, "Snow ... outside ... play !!" I laughed to myself.

We had lunch at the adoption agency that same day. Somehow, in an hour's time, we managed to loose that hat with the pom pom. I pulled if off, laid it on the table, and it grew legs and hid !!!We searched that office over, and couldn't find that darn hat. We had to make a trip to Kohls to find a new hat because Miss MG was upset !!!

Miss MG found one of the Chinese umbrella's we have pulled out of storage for Lunar New Year planning. I don't usually let MG play with the umbrella, but I made an exception. She was being very, very careful not to tear it up, and she just looked so darn cute. She made me think of China. In China, everywhere you look, there were women carrying umbrellas. They were more of a fashion statement than a rain blocker.

MG's speech is coming along. She is talking all of the time now. Still can't understand a lot of what she says, but she jabbers constantly. She loves to sing. She sings, sings, sings and plays. We are still having a lot of trouble with /P/ and /B/ sounds. Her speech therapist is concerned that her palate may not be functioning properly enough. She is concerned that MG might need another palate surgery to lengthen the palate a little bit so that she gets airflow directed properly. We go for follow-up with our surgeon in February. They will do a new speech evaluation with the cleft team then. In the meantime, we are working really hard on blowing bubbles, blowing balloons, and focusing her airflow the right way.

MG had to make another trip to the dentist this week. She has poor teeth, most likely due to poor nutrition early in life. Her teeth have some de-calcification issues, so her enamel is weak. My mom noticed a dark place on her tooth about two weeks ago. Turned out, it was a cavity. We are having to really limit her sugar intake. That means no soft drinks, no fruit juice, no chocolate milk. Honestly, she doesn't drink a whole lot of really sugary stuff. She does like her sprite ... but it takes her 2 or 3 days to drink a 12 ounce can. She prefers milk ... most often white milk. We are working on drinking more water. We will see how that goes.

Christmas is coming quickly. MG is loving the Christmas lights and decorations. We have an Elf, named Ellie, that moves around every day. She is having a blast looking for Ellie everyday. We have an a candy advent calendar and a calendar on the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree. She is having fun eating her candy and putting a new ornament on the tree everyday. The other day, she even got an e-mail from Sant himself. It is a video, where Santa is talking to her. Mari-Grace is having a blast watching and re-watching that video.

For the time being, that is about all there is to report. There will be more fun things to report as we get closer to Christmas, I'm sure.

Happy happy girl!!!

2011-12-10T23:00:00.001-06:00

2011-12-10T22:59:00.001-06:00

So ...what can I do with this water bottle??

2011-12-10T22:57:00.001-06:00

Snow MaMa...outside...play!!

2011-12-10T22:56:00.001-06:00

Referrals

2011-11-28T22:52:00.003-06:00

Guess what. China has now placed children with families who have a log in date of 8-7-2006.
It is amazing to think that if I had elected to stay in the Non-Special Needs line ... I still would be waiting for my little angel. As things are going now ... I could have expected a referral in Feb 2012.

God knows how to work miracles. I'm living proof. In Feb 2009, I was moved by a beautiful bilateral cleft baby on the Starfish foster home site. Her name was "Tina". I watched her grow, and I was ready to move heaven and eart to get to her. It wasn't meant for Tina to be my daughter. This child, on a blog, 1000 miles away, was put there to open my eyes and my heart to the Special Needs adoption program in China. As a result, I switched to the Special Needs program and 9 months later ... Wha-La ... God brought another miracle into my life. A beautiful little bilateral cleft girl who was created to be my daughter.

I don't have a clue why her biological parents elected not to raise her. It could have been because of her deformity. It could be because she was a second ... or third daughter. Maybe they didn't have enough money to feed her and clothe her. I don't know and will never know why Dang Yun Mian wasn't allowed to be a part of her biological family's life. BUT ... They chose to give her life which is a miracle. The made the choice to leave her where she could be found and taken to a safe place ... the orphanage. She was blessed with a foster mother who took really good care of her. And the biggest miracle of all .... God directed the Chinese powers that be to place her with me.

So do I regret NOT staying int he NSN program .... NOT A MINUTE !!!!
I have the child that was meant to be my daughter. I could never have a biological child more like me. She is amazing. She is perfect. She is MY DAUGHTER !!!!!

I can't imagine my life without her in it. She makes my days brighter, my smiles wider, and my heart grow 10 sizes every day.

Thank you God for unanswered prayers and prayers that are answered with wait. I waited, for this Child I prayed, and my prayers were not denied.

My 3 Babies !!!

2011-11-27T22:43:00.008-06:00

The Living Room and the Play Room Christmas Decorations

2011-11-27T22:36:00.002-06:00

It just isn't Christmas without a Nativity Scene. This one is Fisher-Price Little People. Mari-Grace is loving the playset. She can rearrange and move things around, and not get in trouble for playing with it. She loves to push the angel on the Manger and listen to "Away in the Manager."
This is our fireplace.
Note to self: I've gotta remember to go and dig out the candles
to put on the candle holders.

In the picture, all you can see is the lights.
We have red beads, and about 400 ornaments.

This is Mari-Grace's tree in the Playroom.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas !!!

2011-11-27T22:20:00.002-06:00

Well .. Thanksgiving is over. The turkey is gone. The leftovers have been finished.
It was a nice holiday. For the first time, we actually had Thanksgiving Dinner at my house. I had a total of 9 people. It was small, but nice. Mari-Grace pitched a fit to sit in a big girl chair at the table. She usually sits in her high chair, no tray, pulled up to the table ... but NO ... she had to sit in a regular chair. Of course , she is the only child, so finding a spot at the grownup table was no big deal.

Little miss independent is a HOOT !! She can freely suck from a straw now. What's the big deal you ask??? Well remember ... she is a late repair cleft kiddo. Up until a year ago ... she couldn't suck at all. She'd never learned how. She didn't have the lips or palate needed to suck. Guess what ??? SHE'S GOT IT DOWN PAT !!!

We are working on blowing now. I have her close her mouth and force air out her nose ... to blow snot out mainly. We are working on blowing kleenex around the room. Blowing out candles. Blowing bubbles. Blowing cereal down the table. Learning how to force air out her mouth, and directing the air flow, will help her be able to articulate sounds like /B/ and /p/.
She's getting better. However, she gets to laughing so hard sometimes when we are blowing the kleenex that she literally falls over laughing.

So Christmas is the next holiday to conquer. The "Elf on the Shelf" has made her appearance. Mari-Grace named the Elf ... Ellie. She looks every day to see where Ellie is sitting ... and promptly yells ... "MOVED".

Mari-Grace gets excited when she sees Christmas lights. She is quick to show you both of our trees. I have the monster tree in the living room. It is 7.5 ft tall and 5ft around at the bottom. It looks pretty ... even though it is leaning a bit. In her playroom, we put up a 4 ft tree with ornaments that she can move around at will. She's 3. years old ... and she doesn't bother the ornaments. She has a few musical/animated ornaments. MG will come and get me and point to them for me to turn them on and make them go.

We have had an exciting potty week. NO ACCIDENTS ... NONE ... ZIP .... ZERO ... NADDA !!!!
She has started running to the potty by herself when she needs to go. WHOO HOO !!!
She stays dry all night, but we still wear a pull up at bedtime ... just in case.

We took dinner tonite, to some friends who have been home a week with their new daughter. They have Newies ... big huge black dogs. The dogs are beautiful, very gentle ... but MG was not impressed. They were a little intimidating to her. She didn't cry, but she made me hold her. The little girl, Natalie, wanted to hold MG's hand ... and MG wasn't gonna have it. Natalie is 22 months old. When MG wouldn't let her hold hands, Natalie would just pat MG on the back. When we left, MG did tell her bye bye and throw kisses.

I'd post more pictures of her, but the little stinker won't stay still long enough for me to take pictures. She can hear the camera being picked up and she stops doing whatever it was that I wanted a picture of. GRRR.

Well, that's all for tonite.

Candy makes me happy...

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And so does my hat, mittens, boots and magic cape!!

Cousin IT exists ....and I caught her!!!

2011-11-21T22:34:00.001-06:00

Beijing101: Count with your hands in Chinese

2011-11-15T19:15:00.000-06:00

Thankful!!

2011-11-14T22:56:00.004-06:00

You know, it is November. Most of us take this time, as the holidays begin, to reflect on the things in life that make us thankful.

I've tried to create a facebook post every day .. and I find myself being very thankful for the little things in life.

My post tonite on the blog is kind of a sad one.
I have a good friend, who is facing a bone marrow transplant. She is married, and has a 6 year old daughter. I have a family member who is 27 and has breast cancer. Today, she had a radical mastectomy with reconstruction. She is married and has a 4 year old daughter.

I am very thankful tonite for my good health. I am also thankful that I have taken the time to create this blog. With 2 people, who are close to me, facing potentially terminal health conditions, I am contemplating mortality more and more. If something were to happen to me, I wonder what Mari-Grace would have to hold on to remember me by ????

In my opinion, it is important to leave more than just things behind. I have pictures, which I need to get labeled and into photo albums. I also have this blog ... which I will be getting in print form soon. I hope that Mari-Grace will be able to read my posts, and know how much I adore her.

I hope that she will see the pictures of the beach, and our trips to the Pumpkin Patch, and the zoo ... and she'll remember what good times we have together. I hope that she can read the words, and see that I loved her, even before I met her. I hope that it is creating something she will treasure in the future.

As I said in the last post, it doesn't matter how clean the house is or how many things we have ... what matters is the time we spend together reading ... snuggling ... playing ... laughing ... making hand print art ... singing ... being silly ... sharing hugs and kisses We aren't busy keeping up the Jones' ... we are perfectly content being together making memories !!!
And as long as I can ... I want to record those memories !!!!

Making Memories

2011-11-08T22:41:00.003-06:00

As I was laying in bed with Mari-Grace tonite, a bit of a tear came to my eye. Suddenly, I found myself wondering what will she remember from the times we spend together?

Will she remember the time at the beach with her playing in the sand and me nearby? Will she remember blowing raspberries on my leg as we run down the hall laughing? Will she remember snuggling next to me at bedtime, with her little hand on my face and her smiling at me? Will she remember sitting in the recliner reading book after book? Will she remember hollering "tickles" and then squealing with laughter?

The house may be a wreck ... and trust me ... it is. I have clothes to fold, clothes to wash, clothes to hang up. I have enough dust on the furniture to start sprouting small vegetation. But you know what ... in 20 years ... I won't care that the house was a wreck. I won't remember the toys strewn across the floor and the laundry that needs to be put away.

We are making memories ! I'll remember playing doll house. I'll remember the stories and the tickles and the silly faces. I'll remember the laughter and her chasing me down the hallway to blow raspberries on my leg. I'll remember how her eyes dance when she laughs, and how that little sponge of a brain soaks up everything.

We are making memories ... and that is ALL that matters !!!

Take time to make good memories with your loved ones. Whether it be a walk in the park or snuggling reading a book. Time is the most important investment you can give another person.

Mari-Grace's Very First School Picture !!

2011-11-04T22:07:00.001-05:00

Not too bad for a kid that hates to have her picture taken. Of course, who could blame her, after all, she's had a camera stuck in her face since day one. The photographer that went to the preschool is one of my customers at the pharmacy. He told me that he picked at her until he got a little grin. At least she wasn't screaming.

Playing at the Pumpkin Patch

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Pumpkin Carving with MaMa

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Pumpkin Patch ... Having a GREAT time searching for the Great Pumpkin !

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This is supposed to be Frankenstein ... hmmm not quite there !

More Pumpkin Patch !!

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Raggedy Ann and Farmer Poppy

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Happy Fall Y'all !!

2011-10-30T21:44:00.003-05:00

This has been a very busy weekend at our house. Friday, I had Mari-Grace to the doctor for a cough that she's been battling for about 6 weeks. Doc is treating for a sinus infection. She thinks the drainage was causing the cough.

After 2 doses of antibiotic, Mari-Grace has transformed into a different child ! The last 2 days, she has been hysterical. I haven't laughed this hard in ages. She woke me up Saturday morning roaring like a lion and laughing. She has discovered that I am extremely ticklish on my neck. Just getting near my neck causes me to flinch. Mari-Grace will tickle my neck, just to watch me flinch. She has this devilish giggle that is so funny.

We have had a busy Halloween weekend. Friday night we went to Boo at the Zoo. They have bounce houses, a hay maze, blow-up cats and spiders, a "haunted" train. They set up tombstones for extinct animals and animal skeletons. They have stations set up so the kids can get candy. Each paid admission got a certain amount of tickets to use for candy. We had 2 adults, and 1 kid ... so Mari-Grace got 3 people's worth of candy. There was live music, food vendors, and a pavillion with a strobe light and dancing. Mari-Grace and I danced, and she laughed and yelled more. We did the hay maze and she giggled. We rode the carousel and she had a great time trick-or-treating.

Saturday night, we went to Trunk or Treat at the church I attended as a teenager. They had games and hot dogs. After that, there was a costume contest and then we went outside and did a little more trick-or-treating. By the way, Mari-Grace won the costume contest for ages 3-5 !!!! She said trick or treat at every car, and she also said Thank-you !! I was so proud of her !

Today was the trip to the pumpkin patch. We played on the swings and slides. We saw farm animals. We got to go on a hayride down to the pumpkin fields, and then we got to pick out our own pumpkins. After that, we ate at McDonalds with our friends. On the way home, we stopped by Target and got some pumpkin decorating supplies. We went by Omaw and Poppy's house and carved our very first pumpkins. Mari-Grace would squeal "YUCK" with delight as we scooped out the pumpkin guts.

We have had a great weekend of making memories.

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Hello Mr Scarecrow

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2 shirts. Pants. A tutu. Gloves...yep she's ready to play outside...and it is 70 degrees!

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Somebody pitched a fit to wear a pull-up...OVER her pants

Raggedy Ann

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MG was eating crackers. She looks like she has 1 tooth!!

all-American girl! Eating McDonalds at Walmart

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Mari-Grace loves wonton soup!!

2011-10-22T23:42:00.001-05:00

What's new?

2011-10-19T22:37:00.005-05:00

Well, here we are in mid-October. Hard to believe that we are well into fall now. The temperatures here are starting to get a bit chilly. Our high today was 58. Right now, it is 48. I had to break down and turn on the heat in the house tonite. I am freezing !

We've got a big week ahead of us. This weekend, we are going to try to meet with Mari-Grace's orphanage sister, Chloe, for a playdate. That is during the day Saturday. Saturday night, we have a family dinner. Sunday is a trip to the pumpkin patch. Next Wednesday, at pre-school, is a Halloween Party where the kids wear their costumes and "trick or treat". Next Friday night, we have "Boo at the Zoo". That is an event hosted at the Little Rock Zoo. They have a haunted train ride, bounce house, carnival rides, and trick or treating.

Mari-Grace is not too sure about the "Halloween hair" she gets to wear. She is going to be a Rag Doll, so the red yarn hair is a must to complete the costume. Just not sure she will wear it. She looks so darn cute.

Mari-Grace has entered a new phase of life. The "I'll do it myself" phase. She thinks she has to buckle her own seat belt (of course Mom always checks to make sure it is done right). She has to pour her own "gink" (aka drink). Tonite she decided to help herself to a cup and a bottle of water. That was funny. Needless to say, I have the cleanest kitchen floor in the south.

Mari-Grace has developed quite a little personality. This morning she let it be known really quick that she didn't want to wear the shirt I had picked out. She wanted her "witch" shirt. That is her Halloween witch shirt. She didn't want to put on her "nannies" she wanted to put on her diaper. We had to have a little discussion about wearing her big girl panties to school. Needless to say, MG decided she'd lay down in the floor, kick and cry. HOWEVER, Momma won that battle. The whole time she was fussing, I was putting on her panties, pants, and shoes. Next was the hairbow ... she didn't want to wear the one I picked out .. NOOOO ... she had to have a "gink" one ... (gink = pink). Then it came time to put on a jacket. She wanted a "yeyow" one. Funny thing is ... she doesn't have a "yeyow" one. What she really wanted was the "gurgle" jacket. (gurgle = purple). Then she decided she wanted some "yoyur" (yogurt) in a baby infant feeder. She had yogurt and graham crackers for breakfast. At least she ate.

She is too funny. I pretend to be an alligator and use my arms to make a big mouth. The alligater walks thru the living room saying "chomp ... chomp ... chomp" and then proceeds to eat things ... like baby dolls and other toys. MG howls with laughter. She will climb up anybody close enough when we are playing. She will hide and giggle and when the alligator "eats her up" ... she giggles as I give her a really big hug. TOO MUCH FUN !!! When the alligator walks away ... she mouths at me. I can't understand most of what the mouthing is, but it usually ends with "mo gickles" (more tickles).

We also play "catching kisses". I'll kiss her cheek, then the kiss "jumps" off. We catch the kiss and put it somewhere else. Sometimes it ends up in my pocket, sometimes her pocket. She'll jump and catch the kiss ... hold it in her hands like a tiny butterfly, and look at it and say "shh".

What else? Oh , gymnastics. We gave up on gymnastics. She just wasn't participating at all in the class. When she'd get home, she can do every single move they did in class. She was paying attention, but just refused to participate. I didn't mind dropping the gymnastics because she is taking dance at her pre-school. One of the very well known dance schools around here has 2 teachers that teach a 45 minute class at the preschool once a week. MG seems to be doing well there. It also doesn't eat into our Mamma and me time.

MG has also started a new little look. She'll do something ...look at me, cock her head to one side, and grin a devilish little grin. It is too cute. Tonite at dinner, I was telling her Aunt Kelley how MG's witch shirt matched her mood today. MG rolled her eyes and grinned, and did the I don't know pose with her hands. It was so adorable.

One thing is for certain, this kid has us completely wrapped around her finger !

2011-10-18T21:46:00.003-05:00

Our friend, Lisa, came over to visit tonite. MG was cranky, and tired. I stuck MG in the tub for her nightly bath. Lisa was standing in the hallway talking to me as I scrubbed MG. Out of the blue, Lisa said "You know, it breaks my heart to think that somewhere in China, a woman is missing out on all of this. She has no idea how much this little girl is loved."

WOW .... that brought tears to my eyes. Somewhere in China, MG's birthmom may be wondering what happened to her.

I pray often that she is comforted. I pray that she knows, in her heart, that Mari-Grace is loved beyond measure. I pray that she knows that MG is happy and healthy. I pray that if she looks at the moon, she knows that we are looking at the moon and thinking of her too.

Dolphin Cruise on the Cold Mil Fleet

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MG and Poppy playing in the ocean

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MG and Poppy in the ocean ... part 2

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Dick and Jane (yes that really is their names) with Omaw and Poppy.
Dick and Omaw are cousins !!

FAMILY !!!

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Dick (our cousin), Omaw, MG, Me, and Poppy

Sweet Girl !

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See, I do cook sometimes ... LOL

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Poppy in the ocean

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Omaw on the phone

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Gulf Coast Zoo, Gulf Shores, AL

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MG was thrilled to get to feed the animals.

"Goat ... eat .... hand"

Dolphin Cruise

2011-10-10T23:22:00.001-05:00

10-4-11 ... we went on a Dolphin Cruise with the Cold Mil Fleet. Let me just say ... these fellas know how to show off some dolphins !!
They let the dolphins "cruise" in the wake created by the boat. The dolphins will jump out of the water ... just wait till you see the video !!

Beach Baby, Beach Baby, there in the sand ...

2011-10-10T23:16:00.000-05:00

Memphis Zoo on Labor Day

2011-10-10T23:00:00.001-05:00

Uncle Greg, Aunt Kelley, Mari-Grace, and I went to the Memphis Zoo Labor Day weekend. It was rainy and wet, but we had a a GREAT time !!! The zoo there is Fabulous. Mari-Grace LOVES the animals. She'd look for a minute, then yell "MORE".

When she saw the elephants, she got really excited. If you ask what her favorite animal is, she'll say the Hos (aka ... Horse).

Since it was raining, we didn't get a whole lot of pictures. If you double click on the image above, it will enlarge so you can see the pictures better.

Look .. I dressed myself. So what if my jammies are on backwards.

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Looking innocent ... I'm sure she was up to something !

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Working hard at doing nothing!

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Why is doing nothing so tiring? I'm exhausted, and I've done absolutely nothing but play with MG for the last 3 days. We are at Orange Beach, AL. MG loves the sand! She can't wait to get by the "wawa".

From our condo, we can see dolphins out in the gulf at least twice a day. They come out to play about 9 am, an again about 6 pm.

Today, we went on a dolphin cruise with the Cold Mil Fleet. This was my third dolphin cruise with this group and once again it was fabulous!!! The captain knows how to get the dolphins to put on a fantastic show!

MG saw the first dolphin jump out of the water and gasped in surprise. Then she started yelling for more. This is the only dolphin cruise I've ever been on where you see dolphins for most of the 2 hours you are out.

Poppy is having a great time watching MG play. Omaw is having fun too. Her cousin, Dick and his wife, Jane joined us. (and yes, that is really their names!!). We ate seafood tonite at bubba's seafood. It was really good.

MG was so tires, she begged me to put her to bed.

I'm about to turn in myself.

Sent from my iPhone

Ready for the beach...just my poppy and me!

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WaWa!!! Seashells!!!

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Sand pie anyone??

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Loving me some sand and sun!

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My little beachcomber!

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Happy Birthday to Me !!!

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Well .. today is my birthday. I ditched my continuing education meeting to spend the day with my little shadow. I've had to work an awful lot lately, and I've been missing my one on one time with MG. So, I didn't go to my CE meeting today. MG and I slept until about 8:20 am ... which is late for us. We laid in bed another hour playing angry birds on the cell phone. MG is learning how to play some games on my phone ... and it is fun watching her. Most of the games are educational in nature ... ABC's, colors, numbers, etc. Today, I introduced her to angry birds. She laughed every time one of the pigs exploded ... LOL.

Uncle Greg and Aunt Kelley came over and played for an hour or so. Then Kelley, Hannah, MG and I went to Panera Bread for lunch. Their broccoli and cheese soup is AWESOME !!!!!

Anyway, I didn't do a darn thing today.

From the pictures that follow, you will see that MG played Mr. Potato Head. She also decided that she wanted to lay on the fireplace and read a book. She is just too funny.

I ended my evening at Mom and Dad's eating the most fabulous birthday treat ever !!! LEMON JELLO CHEESECAKE !!! I've had one every year on my birthday for as long as I can remember. The family gets one piece ... and after that ... IT'S MINE !!! and no ... I don't share. Before my lap-band, Mom and I would stand at the bar, each with a spoon, eating strait from the pan. We still do that, it is the best way to eat this divine treat!

Some memories are just priceless. The cheesecake is one of them. It was one of my Granny's favorite desserts too, so I can't eat it without thinking of her. Smelled her perfume in an Avon catolog the other day and it brought tears to my eyes.

Ok ... well, nothing exciting going on here. Just counting down the days until VACATION.
I'm taking Mom and Dad and Mari-Grace to Gulf Shores/Orange Beach. So ready to smell some salty air and feel the waves on my feet !

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Mari-grace visited the dentist for the second time today. She had two cavities, and we thought we would have to go to 2 appointments to get them filled. Mari-Grace hopped right up on the table...put on the headphones, sunglasses, and gas mask without a fight. She laid perfectly still and was so good that the doctor did BOTH fillings in one appointment!!! Yippee!!!

Sent from my iPhone

Woo hoo....that strawberry smell makes me happy!

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3 minutes of laughing gas...she is chillin'

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Getting ready for my dental fillings!

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Update !! I'm B A C K !

2011-09-12T23:17:00.002-05:00

First of all ... Happy Mid-Autumn Moon Festival !!!!
Eat a mooncake, go outside, and look at the moon. Be thankful for your friends and family.

Mari-Grace is sleeping peacefully. I look at the moon and send a wish filled with gratitude to Mari-Grace's birth mother in China. I hope that she is happy, and healthy. I hope that she has peace in her heart and knows that Mari-Grace is safe, happy, and thriving.

Ok ... on to other things.

Mari-Grace is potty trained now. She hasn't had a poop accident in 6 weeks. She stays dry at night, and has for a couple of months. As far as pee ... she is actually telling me now that she needs to go. She knows the sign for potty and says "gotty".

She can dress herself ... and she knows her left from her right.

We started gymnastics 2 weeks ago. I chose gymnastics because MG has very muscular little legs. She jumps across the house, non-stop. She loves to jump off of the foot stool, and can stick her landings. She does a great job of turning a somersault. She has very good balance and coordination. I figured that If we choose a sport, we have to choose something MaMa likes ... so it was swimming or gymnastics. In Arkansas, college scholarship money is better for gymnastics.

So far, her Aunt Kelley has come to the rescue ... Aunt Kelley has to take her to class when I have to work. The first night, MG stuck to me like glue. Last week, she at least sat on the floor. This week ... she did her donkey kicks, her barbie walk, jumped on the trampoline, and did her stretches. LOL. Aunt Kelley got a work out too...Aunt Kelley had to get out on the practice floor with her and do all the things too. God Bless Aunt Kelley's Heart !!!

MG is going to start a dance class at preschool. We shall see how that goes.

We just got approved to start speech therapy thru the program that is free in the public schools here. The speech therapist will come to her preschool 2 days a week.
We will be comibining this therapy with the private therapy she already gets twice a week ... giving her 4 days a week of ST.

Mari-Grace LOVES preschool !! She comes in happy, and singing the songs and doing the hand motions. Last Thursday night, she came home saying "Wooo" "wooo" "wooo". She was raising both hands from waist level up above her head. Me and my Mom tried to figure out what in the heck she was doing. Come to find out, she had learned how to call the hogs at pre-school ... instead of Wooo Pig Sooie ... we were just getting the Woo part.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the hog call ... here in Arkansas ... we have a religion called college football. Our focus is the Arkansas Razorbacks. At the ball games ...we call the hogs .... "Wooo Pig Sooie ... Go Hogs Go !!!" Thus ... the Razorback Hog call !

Let's see ... oh back to potty training. Mari-Grace is hilarious. She has to wear her panties (aka ... nannies) 24/7. At night .. I still put MG in a pull-up. She never has night time accidents, but I don't want her to pee on me. She wears her pull up ... under her nannies ... and then her PJ's on top.

Her favorite are her Ninnie Nannies ... translated .. Minnie panties.

MG is too funny. She pretends all the time. She likes to feed her baby. I bought her one of those silly Baby Alive dolls ... that eats and poops. What was I thinking? Anyway ... we were at Aunt Kelley's the other night. Here is how our conversation went:
MG ... "eat".
MaMa..."you ate already ... a lot ... you can't possibley be hungry."
MG ..... "eat ... NayNey" (translated ... eat ... baby)
MaMa ... " What ... Eat Baby? You want to eat a baby?"
MG ... " Home ... eat ... nayney"
Ma Ma " you want to go home and eat?"
MG, stomping her foot with her hand on her hip " NO ... HOME .... NayNey ... EAT !!! "
MaMa ... " ah ... you want to go home and feed the baby ?"
MG ... "ES !! "
At that point ... she got me by the hand ... took me to the kitchen, and wanted me to fix a plate of mashed potatoes to feed her baby doll.

TOO FUNNY !!!!!

She likes to play pretend with her toy food. She is starting to make her "dolls" in her doll house talk to each other.

She is sleeping great at night. Still in my bed, but who cares ... we both sleep this way !!!

What else ?
It has been a year since her palate repair. The healing has been beautiful !!!! She has had absolutely no problems. Her biggest issue right now is the 2 cavities in her baby teeth that we have to get filled. Her enamel is very thin ... so I am brushing her teeth for her. MG doesn't like it ... but sometimes, MaMa has to win !!

We went to the Memphis Zoo last week. She LOVED it !!!
MG Loves animals. She would walk up to the animal ... wide eyes just a sparkling ... look at the animal a minute, and yell MORE !!! She has talked about the "hipkos", "ayigayors", "hosses", and "monnies". ( translation .. hippo, alligator, horse, monkey)
We will see a picture of an animal in a book ... she'll say "zoo .. with MaMa".

She is growing so quick. It is amazing to think of how tiny MG was this time last year. This time last year .. she was in 18mths to 24 mths size clothes. She was wearing a size 5&1/2 shoe.
Now she is in a 3-4T and wearing an 8.5 shoe. WOW !!!
Her palate has healed so well. Her speech is improving quickly. She is just a phenomenal little girl!!!

It is almost midnight ... and I am rambling.
So I'm going to quit while I am ahead.

Good night !!!

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One tired little chicky ... spent the day playing in the rain puddles at the Memphis Zoo.

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First night at gymnastics ... gotta love those "ninnie nannies" hanging out of the leotard !

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Sleepy beauty ... or is she just re-charging?

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Ok Charmin ... you are down for the count .. 1..2..3 .. Mari-Grace WINS !!!!

Last post ... well sort of anyway

2011-08-14T09:41:00.002-05:00

I have found that on Blogger .... there is a new option to be able to order a print version of the blog.

So, for that purpose, this will be my last blog entry.

I decided to do a print version for Mari-Grace because I think it will be important for her to have as she gets older, and I needed a stopping place.

I will keep posting, but that will be my volume 2 !!!

Myrtle Beach 2011

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Mari-Grace and I had an adventure on this trip to the beach.

It started on 7-23-11 ... 4:30 am ... we are on the way to the airport. Got there about 4:45 ... and our travel buddies weren't there yet. We were supposed to board the plane at 5:45 ... so of course you have to be checked in with bags checked 30 minutes prior.

Our buddies were late ... got there at 5:20 ... too late to check bags and get to the plane. FIRST FLIGHT MISSED ... which meant we had to re-route entire flight schedule. So much for getting to Columbia, SC at noon ... we got there a little after 5 PM ... yes ... that means we were in airports, with 4 kids, for 12 hours.

Then our 2 hour car trip ended up being more like 3 hours. Originally we should've been in our condo by 4 pm ... we got there at 8:30 ... took showers ... and headed to bed.

Day 2 was much more uneventful. We spent the majority of the day on the beach and at the pool.

Day 3 and 4 ... RAIN. Thank goodness the condo had covered pool !!!!

We ate dinner Monday night at the Cheasepeake House ... very good !!! We had a total of 22 people there. The Myrtle Beach trip was actually planned as a Orphanage Sister Reunion for 3 of the girls, adopted 6 years ago. One family travelled from New Jersey, the other from West Virginia ... and then our crew.

After dinner we went to Barefoot Landing. It was a really neat shopping area with a carousel, bungee trampoline, mechanical bull, etc. The kids had a great time.

The rest of the week we pretty much stayed at the beach and pool.

Mari-Grace LOVED !!!!! the pool and the beach. She was content to sit by my feet and dump sand on my legs for HOURS. She had a blast running from the waves and chasing seagulls.

The tide was really fun to watch. When it was low tide ... it was about 2 football field lengths from the back of the condo. When the tide was high ... it was probably 30-50 feet from the back of the condo. At low tide ... there was a great natural tidal pool the kids could play in.
Mari-Grace wanted to be IN the ocean. She would squeal and laugh when the waves would knock her down.

She is now jumping off the side of the pool like it was nothing. She has learned to kick her feet to get up to the surface. I let her jump off ... kick up ... then would back away so she would have to kick and reach to get to me. A few more weeks of summer, and I think I'll have a little swimmer!!!

Friday, we went on the Sea Thunder ... a boat for a dolphin cruise. They took us out into the Atlantic. The waves were a bit choppy since the tide was changing ... so the boat rocked quite a bit. MG was yelling MORE ... MORE !!! She loved every minute of it. When we actually saw the dolphins feeding off the back of some shrimp boats ... she got so excited and yelled Dolpins Dolphins .. More dolphins !!!

Friday night, we ate at the Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery on Broadway at Myrtle Beach. The food was great. We took some pictures of the kids ... there were 12 in all .. and then headed back to the condo.

Saturday ... time to leave !!! OH MY GOODNESS ... what a travel adventure !

It took 2&1/2 hours to make a 45 minute drive because of traffic ... and that was only 1/2 way back to Columbia. After about 4 hours in the car ... we got back to the airport. We turned in the rental car ... checked in ... only to find out that our flight out hadn't even made it in to Columbia yet. It was delayed by thunderstorms in Atlanta.

Our flight that was supposed to leave at 5:22 arrived in Columbia at 5:45.
In the meantime ... a LARGE bit of panic set in as we realized we most likely would NOT make our connecting flight from Atlanta to Little Rock. We scrambled to find another flight out ... and the poor Delta service attendant tried everything she could to get us home on Saturday. The last flight from ATL to L.R. was at 9:30 pm and booked solid. Sunday flights were full too.
We were tired .. hungry ... cranky ... and had 2 adults with 4 kids ... no luggage ... and it looked like we were going to be stuck overnight in ATL.

The attendant put us on Standby for the 9:30 flight ... and told us not to get our hopes up. She did find a flight from ATL to Houston and then to Little Rock on Sunday morning and confirmed our seats.

We boarded our plane from Columbia to ATL at 6:30 pm ... praying that we would make our connecting flight at 7:30 ... but not hopeful.

I prayed for a flight out on Saturday ... I was stuck with no clean clothes for MG ... and 3-4 pullups and just a few wet wipes. We landed in ATL at 7:20 PM ... connecting flight left at 7:30 ... no way we could make it .... WRONG !!!!!

We get off the plane to discover our connecting flight was delayed to 8 pm. If you have ever flown thru ATL ... you know it is a MASSIVE terminal. Delta alone has 4-5 concourses ... that you have to catch a tram to get to ... and each has like 35 gates. We landed at A27 ... and our plane was at B27 ... one concourse over. We ran ... I pulled off my flip flops ... shoved MG in the stroller and took off. I had MG and the other 2 girls ... moving as fast as we could ... navigating the crowd, 2 esclators, a stroller, and the tram ... Jane followed with her son ... who had to stop and pee.

We actually made the connecting flight to Little Rock. All I could say was THANK YOU GOD FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS !!!! I called my sister ... who at this point thought we wouldn't be home until Sunday ... and all I could say was pick me up in an hour and 15 minutes ... we are about to leave.

So we rolled in to Little Rock about 8:30 on Saturday night. Exhausted ... hungry ... and did I say exhausted ????

MG crashed in the car on the way home. I carried her in ... took of her shorts, socks, and shoes, and put her to bed ... she slept ALL NIGHT !!!
I did too.

Right now .. she is at her Uncle Greg and Aunt Kelley's playing while I rest a bit.
I posted some pictures ... I used Picasa to post them ... so instead of being all in 1 post ... they are individual posts ... but they are there.

We had a great time ... but we are VERY glad to be HOME !!!!!!

Mari-Grace loved running from the waves

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5 am and I'm ready to roll !!!

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Are we there yet ??

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Tickle me MaMa

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Out of our Condo building ... straight to the beach !!!

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Happy Girl ... got her sand and sea!

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