odds and ends

Before I forget...

...last night, while in the car, Elizabeth asked me if we were near the Eiffel Tower. I said, No, it's in France. Why? She said that we need to be near the Eiffel Tower in order to use the cell phone. (She'd remembered a conversation that we'd had in the car a while ago in which I explained that the reason we'd lost the call was because we weren't near a tower)...

...Today, she "read" a story to me about a toucan, which was so very sweet, but what made it even sweeter was that she kept calling it a pecan...

...Elizabeth still struggles with sharing me with her little brother. For instance, she wants me to pick her up because I pick Jack up "all the time." I told her that she weighs as much as a big bag of dog food (about 40 lbs.), and it's hard for Mommy to pick her up because she's heavy. Jack weighs as much as a big bag of cat food (about 20 lbs.), so he's easier to carry. She said, I want to be cat food! Poor sweetie! I love her so much it hurts.

another visit with Santa

Nanny and Papa stayed at our house last night. Elizabeth and Nanny played the Dora Memory game, and Elizabeth and Papa sung Christmas carols and read stories together. It's hard to say who enjoyed the evening more...Miss Kelly had a little Christmas party at her house tonight, and--SURPRISE!--Santa was there! Jack was not pleased to visit with Santa! but nonetheless, all three of us had a great time. It's now snowing like crazy, and we're supposed to have an even bigger snowstorm (a Nor'easter) on Sunday night. I can't wait to see if Jack likes playing in the snow.

our first gingerbread house...

ready to begin!

arranging the gumdrops

mixing (and tasting) the icing

"reading" the instructions

ta-da!

...and it shows! We had fun, anyway! It was a nice way for Elizabeth and I to have some "Mommy and me" time while Jack took his morning nap. I somehow don't think it'll last until her grandparents arrive tomorrow for an overnight visit...

the ER visit

I was in the kitchen this evening, doing the dishes, when Elizabeth came in and told me that she'd put something in her nose. It turned out to be a little nut that had fallen off her doll's high chair. I tried to get her to snort it out and to blow it out--no such luck. I tried to pull it out with tweezers but was scared that I would push it farther into her nose, so...Elizabeth, Jack, and I went to Brighton First Care at 7 p.m. Elizabeth's biggest fear was that she would get a shot (remember, she got two shots last week at the pediatrician's). She was very subdued--not her normal self. The doctor was wonderful--he told her, No shots!, and that it would probably tickle when he was pulling it out of her nose. He asked her to stay very still and to "use her words" if it hurt at all. She was very quiet and as still as a statue as he used his tweezers to pull it out. As soon as he'd done so, she gave an enormous sigh of relief and then giggled. She was allowed to choose a small present on the way out. When I asked her why she put it in her nose, she said, I wanted to look like D------. (D------ has a pierced nose). I spent the next few minutes telling her to never ever put things in her nose or her ears. I think she learned her lesson. And, we STILL haven't made the gingerbread house...maybe tomorrow...

Jack's Halloween pictures

I accepted Jack's referral in August and bought this outfit for him in hopes that he would be home for Halloween. That wasn't to be. So, we had a little photo shoot this morning. Isn't he a cute little doggie? I just love this outfit! Three years ago, I ended up doing the same thing with Elizabeth (taking pictures of her in her pumpkin outfit in the middle of November). I cannot wait for next Halloween!

Sesame Street Live

Big Bird

Grover, the Police Officer

Cookie Monster, the Fire Fighter

Elizabeth, enjoying (pink) cotton candy

a smile from Jack

Big Bird and Baby Bear

the Count

feeding her little brother

We went to the Civic Center today with friends to see Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster (my personal favorite), Grover, Oscar, Bert and Ernie, and the rest of the Sesame Street characters. Elizabeth said that she was scared right before the show started, but when the music began and Big Bird came out on stage, she was all smiles. She enjoyed herself immensely. She called out to Big Bird and Elmo, but the music was so loud, and they couldn't hear her... As for Jack, he only wiggled a bit towards the end of the show, but he settled down as soon as I let him stand in front of my seat. We had perfect seats, too. We even saw another family from Elizabeth's preschool there--what a nice surprise! Unfortunately, I took more photos of the SS characters than of my own children--I think I relived my own childhood today...!

we saw Santa!

We waited in line for quite a while, but it was worth it. Elizabeth asked Santa for a violin (???). And best of all, no tears!

Elizabeth's new tattoo

My beautiful four-year old loves tattoos, so she was thrilled that one of the gifts she received when I was in China was tattoos. She wanted to put this heart tattoo on her hip because that's (approximately) where I have a tattoo (foolish youthful indiscretion!) of a dog's pawprint. Sorry--no photographs. We also put one on her hand and one on her foot. Thankfully, hers will wash off...

goofing around

orphanage videos

I mailed a package to Jack at the orphanage before traveling to China to meet him. One of the things that I put in the box was a one-time use video camera. These are the short videos that I received, which I believe were taped on November 5, 2008 (a little more than one week before we met). I think I put a few of them on twice--sorry!

two is different than one

I feel like I've done so much this week! We went to the pediatrician on Thursday. Both children received shots: two for Elizabeth and four for Jack. They both cried all the way out to the minivan. Jack then fell asleep, and Elizabeth only stopped crying when I said we would go to lunch at one of her favorite Chinese restaurants. Elizabeth is very healthy: she weighs 39.8 lbs and is 41 3/4 inches tall. Jack weighs 21 lbs 4 oz and is 31 3/4 inches tall. As for percentiles, the nurse neglected to write those down. I'll look them up later. Jack will see a bunch of specialists in the next few weeks: the pediatric cardiologist for his heart; the surgeon for his circumcision; and others for his mouth and nose issues...I'm still putting up the decorations for Christmas. I actually bought an artificial tree this week, something that I said I'd never do, but it makes sense for now. I just can't lug a beautiful fresh tree into the house by myself anymore. Plus, cleaning up the dropped needles is a constant task that I don't have the time or patience to do right now. Two dogs and two children is my limit, I'm finding. Next week, I will get his social security card. I still have to write thank you notes for Elizabeth's birthday and for the baby shower that my great friend, LeaAnne, held for me at her house last Sunday. (It was a 'surprise.' She invited Jack and Elizabeth over to play with John and Allie and then told me that this was not a playdate that I could cancel!) Jack (and Elizabeth) received some wonderful gifts. I am very blessed! And, today I tried to take some pictures of Elizabeth and Jack for our Christmas card. Some came out rather well, others not so much. Here are a few...We will go to the Maine Mall today to buy their Christmas outfits, and I will schedule an appointment for their "photo shoot" at Picture People (hopefully this week).