...when Melody comes home, you should put her in your tummy”.
That was what Cady said because one of her teachers is pregnant.

I told Cady “Some mommies have babies in their tummies till they’re born, and have babies that way. And some mommies adopt babies after they’re born, and have babies that way”

“Oh” She said.

Then, she walked away to beat on her toy drum.
Guess that was all she needed to know, for now.

I can’t help but think that sometimes it must be so confusing being adopted.

There are too many updates to count.
Cady and I enjoyed some fun at a local kids amusement park last month. It was a special day with just the two of us.




But of course, the funest ride was the train that choo-chooed around the park. What is it about trains and kids? It’s almost better than getting a box to play in after dumping out all those unnecessary toys.

Cady performed in the local Gymnastics Olympics this year, with the rest of the 2-3 yr olds. Wasn’t much to it for children her age. But she loved every minute of it.



For the most part, waited for her group to do their thing, then she ran around in a large circle with other children her age, then did a few tumbles, and their individual obstacle courses, with a balance beam, and stood on a platform to SALUTE! For her age group it was more about waiting on the sidelines till the older kids had performed, than anything else. Her gymnastic center holds the National Champions for competitive gymnastics this year, and we’re very lucky to have the arena only a few blocks away from our home. Cady is very enthusiastic to be in with the older girls that compete. We’re transitioning her to the 4-6 yr olds this week, and she seems to thrive from the challenge.



Cady with her gold medal.




We also recently celebrated Autumn Moon Festival.


Traditionally, Chinese eat moon cakes in beautiful containers like the one above, and gather to be with family, then make good wishes for family members while looking at the moon. This celebration is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar. This happens to be the fullest moon of the year as it parallels the autumn and spring Equinoxes of the solar calendar.
So, we gathered with friends and went to a small Chinese community gathering. We then went out to lunch with our friends, and of course rode on a carousal because what would be a celebration of anything at all without a carousal ride of some sort?



We then went home and ate.....some of......the mooncake. It was really rich.






Making wonderful wishes for Melody, on this Autumn Moon Festival


Most recently (last weekend) we got together with several blogging friends whom have also adopted from China, or are in the wait list. Our friends David and Susan started the idea to get together, and it was more fun than we could have imagined.




My friend Donna (left) and me (right)




Donna’s daughter Gwen


Donna’s other daughter Maddy. She INSISTED on spiderman!



The three of us





One of my favorites of Cady as a butterfly. She really had a hard time that night, when she realized I washed it off in the bathtub. Poor thing.


You can view many more of park fun by viewing the link above titled “untitled page” we have a new update to our blog and I haven’t yet found the magic marker that changes the names of groups of pictures. heh

So today is another special day. Can you guess what it is?

Here are some hints:

Redesigned website for this one day week only (I hope I can get it back together later)

A video memory from 2 years ago



Photo memories from 1 year ago




Aaaaaand today!

Recently we painted Cady's bedroom. It turned out quite nice. The top 2/3 is lavender, and the botttom 1/3 is purple. We left the trim and the closet white. We did this border toward the top of the wall Disney fairy border and put these wall stickers randomly around the walls Disney fairy wall decals.

It really looks quite nice and inviting. In fact, it's so nice in there, Scott and I kept finding ourselves wandering into her bedroom after it was all done, and sitting in there with Cady on her bed or on the floor. Here are some before and after shots:









We topped off the look with some purple curtains to cover the miniblinds, and butterfly hooks to hold the curtains open. It all came together very nicely.

One of the evenings that I was in her bedroom, just sitting on her bed, she put on a flower headdress and started her music player, and then just started dancing. I love watching her dance. She's so eloquent. She added in a bit of free style, some interpretive dance, and some deliberate moves that she's learned in dance class. I was able to catch it on film, and although some of it is a bit shaky, it's one of those magical moments that we usually say, "why didn't I have the camcorder?" Well, this time I did.

"Sing like Nobody's listening,
Live like it's Heaven on Earth,
Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching"

Enjoy

The grocery store used to be a fun place for Cady to go. As of yesterday, that all might have changed.
I let her walk, instead of riding in the grocery cart this time. While we were in the meat section, she started poking the meat. I told her to stop but alas she continued till she poked her finger on one of the meat wrappers and poked a hole in the packaging and looked up at me, while smiling an impish grin.

I picked up the meat with a hole in the seal, and advised her that we would have to tell the butcher so that he can fix it. When we were standing at the butcher counter, she hid behind me, moving ever so slightly with my own moves so that she would not be seen. And when I handed it to him, I said, "Cady poked a hole in this, and she's sorry" To which he replied, "Cady, now I have to do extra work".
As soon as he opened his mouth to say anything, it could have been, "Cady, you look cute today", she curled her lips downword and took a breath. Dead silence, and then she started crying loudly with tears rolling down her cheeks.
I picked her up and consoled her, but she was crying and she couldn't stop. She felt guilty. She was G-U-I-L-T-Y. And she had been told so, but I had no idea she would be that emotional about it. The butcher came from around the counter and quickly said, "It's ok. Tell you what, go get a cookie at the bakery. Tell them it's from me". Of course, cookies are free at the bakery but she didn't know that. She nodded her head, and we went toward the bakery to get her cookie......Still crying loudly.

We left the store soon after, but she was not her usual bubbly self for the rest of the time there. I now wonder if she will want to go to the store again with me so quickly next time. At least I know she's going to keep her fingers away from the meats.

Back to the mind of a three year old.




Mom: (looking over her shoulder at the sofa against the wall, with Cady standing behind it)
Cady: Hi Mom.
Mom: What are you doing? (making a mama scowl)
Cady: Getting out of here.


Cady: (shining a flashlight to the darkened skies) Look at that flashing star!
Mom: That's an airplane, Cady.
Cady: Ohh yeah! They're probably going to China to get a baby. Then when I'm five, we will go to my China to get my baby sister Melody.
Mom: (concerned that Cady now thinks babies are all "made in China") Cady, where do babies come from?
Cady: God makes them.
Mom: You're a smart little girl.

These intermission picture are from our trip to Monterey




Cady (sleeping with no pull ups on-yeah, we tried) woke up from sleeping in her own bed and walked into our bedroom. "Daddy, I peed my pants"
Dad: Ohhh, did you pee the bed, sweetie?
Cady: (whining with protest) NOOOOOOO! I PEED MY PANTS. You need to listen better!

Mom: Eat 4 more bites of your dinner.
Cady: running to the computer room. (I Love Lucy type of cry)
Mom: What's wrong?
Cady: You're not my friend any more because you make me eat 4 more bites. (then she proceeds to stomp off to her bedroom so she can lay her head on her bed and whine the "Lucy cry" loud enough to hear her from the living room.



Pictures are from Monterey Aquarium. More pics to some soon.

And the last one...
Cady: Mommy I want to play DVD Bingo tonight before bed.
Mom: No, Cady we played that last night. Lets read a book tonight. Which book do you want to read tonight? I'll let you choose.
Cady: But I love Bingo. ok....listen. You have one choice. You can play Bingo with me before bed. So, what's your choice?

We have cute li'l creatures in our backyard.
Last year we had a HUGE toad in our backyard that came around the patio nightly. We really had no idea why it hung around there until this year. We now have two (big but smaller than the original) toads that do the same thing. All I can figure out is that these two are somehow the babies of the first one. I say somehow because we only saw one last year. And we have no idea how these toads ended up in our backyard. We don't have a pond or a pool. We really have no bodies of water sitting around our yard for the duration of time it would take a tadpole to become a baby toad. But, somehow these toads have ventured into our yard and made it their home.
It dawned on us that they're looking for tidbits of cat food that fall from the patio table nightly. So, now, I've created a smallish pond out of a cat litter box, and some sand and rocks, and placed that under a tree. We also now have an abundance of mealworms kept in a plastic container in the refrigerator and we feed the toads 5-6 mealworms per night. They now come close enough to let us see them, and wait for us to feed them, then scurry off again.



But here's the kicker.....I also made sure to get a pod of Praying Mantis eggs this year, for the garden. If you've never had one in your yard, they're awesome. They eat all the bad bugs, and are extremely intelligent creatures. They will quickly befriend you if you feed them a bit of raw hamburger meat daily. And if they feel comfortable about it, they will walk up your arm, as if they know the individual. They're carniverous, but friendly. Anyway....I released a pod of them and they hatched, and became these cute little critters you see below....which grew bigger and now hide out in my tomato, cucumber and herb gardens. We started with 70 in the pod. And now I'm fairly certain that there are around 3-4 that have found the best camiflauge.


Problem is, now, I think the toads are keeping the mantis population down (hence the scant mantis findings). Still though, with all the experience this has given Cady about the food chain, the eco system, nature and nurturing others in our environment, I would have both species in my yard again next year. I think I might skip tossing the ladybugs though next year....Between the mantis' and the toads, I don't think the ladybugs really had a fighting chance.

Update for Keri and anyone else interested. You can get praying mantis pods at a garden center supply store during the spring. There's usually a refrigerated section that has plastic containers of earth worms, praying mantis pods and lady bugs (each in their own containers). The mantis pod looks like a brazil nut shell, and the container we got had 3 pods, and cost around 4 dollars. Each pod has around 20-30 eggs. You place each pod between the V of tree branches or in a safe place where it won't be blown away. The heat makes the eggs hatch, and within weeks you have several mantis' like the one above. That one was very young when we took the picture. It's in between sage leaves (for measurement sake). They usually get to be a little smaller than your index finger in length.

American Heritage Dictionary -
con·tent·ed
adj.   Satisfied with things as they are; content: a contented expression on the child's face.

Tonight as I was rocking Cady in my arms, her blanket on one side and her froggy pillow on the other side, as she started to doze off, she said, "Mama?"
"Yes, Cady?"
"I like this place"
"You do?"
(I could feel a vigorous nod against my shoulder)
"Me too, Sweetie"
At that moment I could feel her falling asleep in my arms.
At that moment, it really didn't matter that we need the tree stump in the front yard ground down, and would love a larger back yard. Nor that we haven't gotten that piano yet, nor the whirlpool for my achy shoulders.
At that moment all that really mattered is that she (we) liked "this place".....the house? The position we were in? The way we felt in our souls? The moment as it was. Exactly as it was.
It's a good place to be in.

Miss Independence




We spent the 4th at my brother and sis-in-law's house, up north. We had purchased fireworks the day before, and found out that no fireworks could be set off in their county. The county display was not even going to be happening this year, all due to the fires.
When we got home, we invited our friends over the next night, and had our own fireworks display.




So, we actually had two 4th's!
And getting together with family AND good friends was as good as Christmas and Christmas Eve!



Cady and her cousin at the pool, on the 4th.

One of Cady's dance classes is all about beginning ballet and tap dance. The Kinder dance teacher comes to the school, and teaches the positions with song and poetry. There was a very small performance at her preschool, for the parents to see what the children are learning. She's learned almost all of the ballet positions. Her feet are always positioned correctly. She was very proud of herself when we watched her perform. I was too.