The Not So Lazy Days of Summer

I can't believe that our summer break is already almost half over. We have been spending our days at the pool, going to the park, and playing with friends.

Yesterday we made a trip to Chuckie Cheese. It was Anna Grace's first time there- does that make me a good mommy or a bad mommy?? Chuckie Cheese is not my favorite place in the world because of all of the noise and the germs. Yes, I am a "germ-a-phobe" But, the boys love it and somehow I have managed to avoid the place for over year. This is my conversation with Anna Grace before we left the house:

Me: Anna Grace, do you want to go to Chuckie Cheese?
AG: Yes!! I love turkey and cheese!
Me: No, not turkey and cheese - a place called Chuckie Cheese. Do you know what they have there?
AG: Ummm, yes! They have cheese!




Anna Grace loved playing all of the games, eating pizza, and getting on stage to dance with Chuckie (although she was confused by why the giant rat would need to take so many naps behind the curtain). She acted like she had been going there her whole life and somehow knew exactly how to put the coins in the machines.



Cole and Alex love summer break because most days we go to the pool. Alex is learning to dive off the diving board and Anna Grace has learned to love going under the water. If I had known earlier in the summer how much she was going to love going under water, I would have signed her up for swim lessons. Swim lessons are definitely on the list of "things to do" for next summer!

The Nuk Fairy

Tonight, just before supper, the Nuk Fairy visited our house. "What is a Nuk Fairy?" you ask. Well, a nuk, according to Anna Grace, is a pacifier. A Nuk Fairy is a beautiful fairy (really 2 big brothers who are hiding in the bushes) who carries away the nuks that are left on the front door step so that the little babies can use them. The Nuk Fairy leaves behind a special present.

We have been debating the right time for the Nuk Fairy to visit. Anna Grace came to us using a pacifier and we did not have the heart to take away another thing from her after she lost everything that she knew in China. However, she has attached very well to Mike and I and we no longer feel like she must have the nuk for comfort. Really, she was only allowed to have her nuk when she was sleeping. The nuk stayed in her bed. But, her dentist said that she is starting to have some damage to the alignment of her teeth and her pediatrician agreed that it was time for the nuks to go.

So just before supper tonight, Anna Grace placed her nuks on the front doorstep.



She closed the door and then the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, a present was left behind.



The Nuk Fairy left her a new pillow for her bed and a bag of suckers. She gets a sucker when she wakes up in the morning and after her naps.



Tonight, Anna Grace went to sleep without any tears.


We tried a trial run of sleeping without a nuk this afternoon at naptime, but she cried for a long time and never did fall asleep. I spent most of my afternoon going upstairs to comfort her. So far tonight, she seems to realize that the nuks have now gone to the babies and she no longer has them. I feel kind of sad knowing that my little girl is growing up. We missed so much of her baby years, and now the nuk is gone too.

Our Beach Vacation

After a week's vacation, it is hard to just pick a few pictures to post. We had a great time camping at the beach. This was Anna Grace's first time at the beach and her first real vacation. We have taken her on several weekend trips, but in the year that she has been home, we had never taken her on a long trip or to the beach. Last summer, she would have not been able to handle walking on the sand due to her motor issues and issues with different textures under her feet. She did not even want to walk across the front yard! But, she has come so far in the last year and she loved playing in the sand and splashing in the ocean. The beach that we went to had an area protected by jetty rocks that prevented large waves from coming ashore. Anna Grace loved wading out into the water and the boys had a great time floating on their tummies looking at the fish.







We took a short day trip to visit some fresh water springs. The icy cold water came up out of a hole in the ground and it formed a small pool before it joined a small river. The boys (including Mike) took turns swimming across the hole.


Anna Grace really wanted to see a real alligator, and she got her wish. Actually she calls alligators "crocodiloos". She rolls her tongue and pokes out her lips when she says it. She got to see her "crocodiloos" right in our campground. Luckily, the alligators did not like to come into the area with the campers. :-)




Mike & Alex went on a party boat for a fishing trip. They did not catch many fish, but they had a really fun time. Alex loved how the waves splashed up the sides of the boat drenching everyone with the spray of sea water. Mike said that Alex was laughing so hard that everyone on their side of the boat was in stitches laughing at him each time another splash of a wave crashed the side of the boat.




One of my favorite things to do at the beach is to eat out at restaurants that look out over the water. I love a restaurant with a good "beachy" atmosphere- music, an outdoor deck for eating, good food...






Cole got a skim board as a reward for making all "A's" this year in school. He had quite a few crashes as he learned to ride it, but he can finally skim across the water for short distances.



I really wanted to take some good pictures that I could use for a collage above my mantle (really I would love to have professional pictures taken, but that is not in our budget.) So, I had to settle for our own photo session on the beach. Somehow a piece of sand or smudge of sunscreen got onto my camera lense and ruined most of my pictures. I guess we will just have to plan another trip to the beach- hee, hee.

The Start of Summer

School is out and summer has started. So far, it has been really busy. We have had 2 birthday parties to attend, our last post-placement visit with our social worker for Anna Grace's adoption, several trips to the pool, and a playdate with Anna Grace's friends- and I have been off of work for less than a week!!


Anna Grace is really enjoying to pool. Last year at this time she was terrified of water, but she has come a long way. I have a feeling that by the end of summer she will be jumping off the side of the pool into my arms.






I truly love summer break and having the chance to stay home with my kids. Mike loves summer because I can do more of the cooking and housework. He gets to take a bit of a break. However, I struggle with guilt every summer. Whenever I am playing with the kids I think that I should be doing some housework or project, and when I am working on housework, I feel like I should be playing with the kids or working on the summer school work that I give them. I know it sounds silly, but I feel like I need to make the most of every minute of my time.

Happy Birthday, Mike & Anna Grace

For a long time I have been planning a big father/ daughter party to celebrate Mike's 40th birthday and Anna Grace's 3rd birthday & first Adoption Day. I love planning parties, and I wanted to celebrate this special time in a big way. So, with my mom's help, I started planning this party months ago.

Saturday was the big day that we had been waiting on. I had special pillows for the patio furniture and coordinating table cloths, Chinese lanterns, party favors... you name it and I had it all planned out. My mom and I both took Friday off of work so that she could decorate the cake and help me make the food. We planned hot dogs and a homemade edible fruit arrangement for the kids and Cajun food for the adults. However, the day would not go without a glitch.
The weatherman called for rain, and we invited way too many people to move the party inside our house. Even though there was not much rain, it did cause an extra layer of stress added to the weekend. Another problem was that our hot water heater went out late Friday night while we were preparing for the party. Mike worked on it until after midnight with no luck, and he wound up spending all of Saturday morning working on it. Thank goodness that his dad was able to come help, but it put us behind in getting ready. The third thing that went wrong was that the moonwalk that we had borrowed from a neighbor did not work. Mike wasted a lot of time setting it up only to find that it was broken and had to be quickly put back into the garage. An hour before the party, the wind kept blowing away my table cloths, I was exhausted from all of the stress, and I was in tears. I felt like after all of the planning, our party was not going to be the perfect evening I had envisioned for so long. Somehow though, it all came together in time. My mom put the final touches on the food and got the kitchen cleaned while I got Anna Grace and the boys ready.


The guests started arriving just as the wind died down. We got a few sprinkles of rain, but it was just enough to make my tablecloths stick to the tables so that they wouldn't blow way.

Mike started cooking the jambalaya in big pots outside while the kids blew bubbles and jumped on the trampoline and the adults ate appetizers.


Anna Grace had a great time playing with all of her friends. Her mentor, Grace came and brought her family. I enjoyed chatting with her parents about China.


All of the food turned out great. The fruit was a hit with the kids and the adults enjoyed the jambalaya and craw fish pie.




After supper, it was time for presents. Anna Grace enjoyed opening all of her gifts, but I think her favorite part of the evening was just playing with her friends.




I don't think it mattered to her that we did not have a moonwalk. She enjoyed blowing bubbles, getting her face painted, and decorating party hats with stickers.






To celebrate Anna Grace's Adoption Day, we had the same kind of candle that we were given last year when we celebrated her birthday in China. It was a lotus flower that flames and spins around in circles while playing the "Happy Birthday" tune.

Mike and Anna Grace had to work together to blow out the candles in the flower.

I was really happy that everything finally came together and everyone seemed to have a good time.