One Year Home

Wow........has it really been a year??  It doesn't seem that long ago that we were all in China, but yet it seems that Lily has always been with us.  Our little girl has changed so much in the year that she's been home.  From a shy, timid little girl who seemed even younger than her years, to a talkative, bright girl with a little bit of attitude! :)  And by "talkative", I mean she talks all the time!  She's our question girl.....always asking questions, most of which don't require an answer.  "why am I sitting in this chair and Tyler is sitting in that chair?", "why did I say please and thank you and Michael didn't?"  

Although she still wakes up a lot at night, we rarely see a night terror and she's much easier to calm.  She is also having less tantrums.  She's a perfectionist and can get upset if she doesn't do something right or if she's corrected, because of her behavior.  Sometimes the 'upset', can escalate into a full blown tantrum, but she's really beginning to learn to control her emotions at a more age appropriate level.  We're so proud of how much she's learning and how far she's come.

As for her health, for those who don't know, she was listed as a special needs child because of kidney stones.  They were discovered when she was 5 months old and we suspect melamine poisoning.  The Chinese milk scandal erupted in 2008 when infant formula in China was found laced with melamine (a substance used in plastics), to cause the milk to appear to have a higher protein content.  The melamine can cause kidney stones as well as kidney damage.  A number of infants in China lost their lives due to acute kidney failure.  We had Lily tested when we brought her home, and although there was a stone in each kidney, the kidneys themselves were not damaged.  She was retested again in June.  After a healthy diet and pleanty of liquids, one stone has completely dissolved, and the other is greatly reduced in size!!  We are so happy, and our hope is that the remaining stone will be gone by this time next year.

Lily is such a joy to our family!  She loves her brothers, and has become quite good at telling them what to do! 

The first 3 pictures were taken a year ago in China

Look below at what a difference a year makes!

We just love our little girl and can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Pre-K Begins

It's back to school for the Pre-K duo.  Well........at least for half the duo.  Michael was sick and wasn't able to go on his first day, but he still grabbed his school bag so he could be in the pictures. :)  Lily was very excited and didn't seem to mind at all going by herself.  They are both in the same class and will be attending Monday-Thursday, half days.

When Lily got home, she couldn't stop talking about her day.  She told me step by step everything they did including bathroom breaks!  She had a great day!

Back to School

The first day of elementary school is here!  Alex is starting 1st grade and Tyler is now in kindergarten!  They were both very excited on the first day and practically threw themselves out of bed.  (I know that early morning excitement will fade quickly :)  Tyler was so excited to be going to the big kid school with Alex.  They both met their new teachers the week before and Tyler took a trial ride on the bus, so they were ready!

Here they are fresh out of bed

Brothers..........Alex sat with his younger brother on the bus and watched out for him to make sure he got to his class ok.

The bus stop gang.

The bus!  The bus!  (Alex always has to be first on)

It was a great first day.  As soon as they got off the bus, Alex tossed me his back pack and ran inside to play.  Tyler, on the other hand, had me sit on the floor and close my eyes as he pulled out each piece of paper he bought home and told me all about his day.

Football

Just like last year, Ruben's awesome boss let us use her tickets for a preseason football game.  What fun!  All the kids seemed more interested in the game this year, and not just the snacks.  (Michael, our sports nut, was the only one who really watched the game last year.)  At one point Lily even nudged me on the arm and said "Mommy, you gotta see this", pointing to the field and a new play! 

Every one's favorite part of the game was during half time.  Four pee wee football teams came out to play on the big field.  They were so much fun to watch.  Lily kept saying, "they're so cute"!

We all had such a good time.  We are very thankful to have such a giving friend so that our kids could experience this special treat.