Check out my Slide Show!

My New Year's Resolution

My New Year's Resolution was to blog every week. As you can see that didn't happen. It seemed like such an easy thing to follow through on. I'm so far behind I'm not sure how to catch up. Things won't even be in order. I guess I need to look at my pictures and see if anything makes for a worthy blog post. I'll check back soon. No really I will.

Re-Adoption Day

It was a fantastic day. I left school early and picked up Aminah. We came home and got ready. Our appointment was at 1:30. Why did they have to schedule it during nap time? Anyway, I had invited a few friends to join us, but because it was during the school day I didn't really think anyone would be able to make it. I called my dad's house and talked to my stepmom and she said she would see if they could make it. So when I got to the courthouse I was surprised that they were there. Also Libby called and said that she was going to make it. When she arrived she Diane with her. Another nice surprise. When we were walking up to the building Aminah asked, "Is this the orphanage?" I guess she was a little confused. No telling what was going on in that little mind of hers. I tried to explain a little better. So we had to wait a little while, but then the bailiff called us in, and we were the only family there. Aminah and I had to sit at the "Plaintiff" chairs. There was a microphone that Aminah found right away and started playing with it. She thought she was something else. The judge finally asked the bailiff to move the microphone for the technical guy's sake. The judge asked a few questions and then said that he approved. We signed the papers and it was official. In reality it was official in China, but this Adoption Day is so that Aminah can have a birth certificate stating that I AM HER MOTHER. We took pictures with the judge and that was it. I invited everyone to go have ice cream with us. Yummy. We had some errands to run afterwards so Aminah never did get her nap. On the way home, she fell asleep. Poor little thing was exhausted. All in all it was a great day.

Zacchaeus and College

So Aminah knows about Zacchaeus in the bible. We have some Bible Heroes flash cards. Last night we were going through the flashcards and came upon Zacchaeus. I unfortunately didn't remember anything about this particular person. Aminah took one look and saw the tree behind him and said, "He climbed in a tree to see Jesus." Well I thought she was just making things up, but I read about him on the back and that is in fact what happened. Wow, I asked her if she learned that at church or at school and she told me, "Ms. Rachel told me." I love the fact that she learns so much about the bible at school.
Today I asked her if she was going to go to college when she grew up. She said, "I dunno." I asked her if she was going to be a teacher or a doctor, and she said, "We will just have to see."

Shy but talkative

Aminah is so shy around other people, but she will talk up a storm around me. Today she was telling me about her school. It has been raining some lately and she was talking about how she loves the rain. She said, "You know they are called rain drops." I told her that yes, I did know that. I asked her if she is able to go outside when it was raining at school. She said if it is just "a little bit rainy" then they do, but if it is "a lot rainy" then they don't. I asked what they did if it was "a lot rainy" and she said they stay inside. Then she continued to tell me that if they go outside and it has rained a lot then they can't go on the grass because it is too slippy. So they have to wait until the grass isn't slippy anymore. I told her that that was the way it was at my school also, and she said, "Yes, I know that." I know that wasn't a very interesting conversation for most people, but for me . . . it makes me realize that she knows what's going on around her and she is taking it all in. She is able to tell people all about something that is important to her. I better be careful with my conversations around her. If she is able to tell me this much, she probably tells an earful to the preschool teachers also. I love when she will tell a story and then tell me at the end, "and that is the end of the story, THE END."

Chinese New Year

We have been pretty busy with Chinese New Year celebrations, but I think we are finally done. I sent things to Aminah's class, taught about Chinese New Year in my class, ate Chinese food, rode a train to Chinatown and saw the dragon parade, and attended a Chinese New Year dinner. It has been a lot of fun, but we have been extremely busy.

Airplanes

Aminah and I were in the car tonight and she saw an airplane. She told me that the plane was going to get its baby. I waited for more of the story, and she continued to tell me that it was going to the "air fort" and it was going to get its baby. I asked where it was going to get its baby from and she said, "China." She then started to tell me that babies come from China and you have to go to the air fort and get on the plane and get the baby. Ooops I guess we have watched her "Gotcha Day" video way too many times. That is basically how her story begins on the video. We are at the airport and I say to the other adopting parents, "Let's get on that plane and go get those babies." She loves watching her story!

Amazing

This morning Aminah and I were watching cartoons in bed and a commercial came on for a purse. The people in the commercial showed how much "stuff" could fit in the purse. They dumped out the contents of their previous purse and organized it into the new purse and even added a water bottle and an umbrella. So I asked Aminah if she liked that purse because she was watching every second of the commercial and she replied, "No it is too AMAZING." I laughed, then later I saw the commercial again and thought maybe they used the word "amazing" in the commercial, but they didn't. I guess she really thought it was too good to be true and was just "too amazing."

Aminah's Rooms

I wanted to show off some of my painting (because maybe Aminah comes by it naturally). Aminah's bedroom is painted with a garden theme and the playroom has a scene on one of the walls. Aminah has a dream playroom (well as much of a dream as you can have in a 10 x 10 space. I love doing painting and if I ever move I will be sad to see the rooms repainted. Then again that would give me new "canvas" to work with at a new location. Actually a very good friend helped me with the playroom and gave me the confidence to do it on my own when it came to Aminah's room. What Aminah doesn't realize is that eventually she will have to share her rooms as well as her stuff, and most of all HER MOMMY!

Budding Artist

So this doesn't look like the artwork of a 3 1/2 year old. Aminah was working one day on her art easel and I hear her talking about whiskers, eyes, mouth, nose. When I went in to see what she was making I was amazed to see a cat that she painted. I know I'm just a proud parent, but you have to admit it is pretty good.

Second Grade Standards

The teacher in me is very impressed with my daughter. There have been quite a few things lately that have come up in conversations with Aminah that make me realize she is understanding some of the second grade standards better than my students. I'm not sure if this makes me a great mom, or a terrible teacher but here goes.
Plurals - We are in the car talking about Dora and Boots (Dora's monkey) and Aminah informs me that we can't call him Boots because, "he is only one, so we have to call him Boot." Pretty impressive!
Synonmyms - Lulu (the dog) is outside and for some reason she is licking the ground. Aminah sees this and says, "Lulu stop licking the ground, that is yucky, it's 'gusting and gross. So stop licking the ground Lulu."
Nutrition - "Mommy when you eat and drink the food goes in your tummy and comes out in the potty as poop."
Synonyms - We are driving in the car and I'm talking to my friend on the cell phone. Aminah is in the backseat and I'm talking about her coat for some reason and Aminah says, "It isn't a coat, it's a jacket!" My friend tells me to tell her they are synonyms. So I tell her "They are synonyms. They mean the same thing, jacket and coat mean the same thing." She says, "uuuuhhh, you are giving me a headache."
So maybe I'm pushing too much.

Aminah and Luke's First Date

Well Aminah had her first date with Luke. The day before Linsey and Aminah had a day together so yesterday was the day that Luke got his day with Aminah. His mother and I are always joking about Luke and Aminah getting married. Luke's older sister Amy was teasing Luke that he was going to kiss his "girlfriend" on New Year's Eve. Well in one of these pictures you can see what Luke thought of Aminah stealing a kiss. They really do like each other and aren't worried about how they look while eating fettucini.

Enchanted Slide Show!

Enchanted New Year

I hope everyone has an Enchanted New Year! Aminah and I went with Aunt Libby and Linsey to see the movie Enchanted at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. It was an adorable movie. Aminah wasn't as impressed as I was. I guess I should have previewed it before taking my 3 year old to it. Live and learn. At least it gave us some real bonding time, seeing as she wouldn't leave my lap and spent much of the movie with her head covered. Poor thing. Yes, she slept fine last night just in case you are wondering. So I don't recommend the movie for preschoolers but for those of us that are a little more mature it was so worth it. After the movie we went "backstage" to see the Disney Princesses. Aminah and Linsey were able to have their pictures taken with all the princesses. It was so much fun for them. I will post the slide show. Have a great New Year!

Christmas 2007 Slideshow

God Loves You

My Aminah . . .what can a mother say about her sweet little angel. Well at least at this particular moment she was a sweet little angel. I've been sick on and off for a few weeks now. Tonight was one of those nights that I'm just not feeling well. I was putting Aminah to bed and she said her feet were hurting her (no doubt the cowboy boots she has worn every day this week). So I took her feet in my hands and she put her hands on top of mine and I was praying for her feet. Then we prayed for our friends and family. Then she said she wanted to pray. Her prayer was heartfelt. She prayed, "Dear Jesus help my mommy to get better so that she can feel better in your name we pray, Amen." It was just so cute. Then I asked her as I was kissing her goodnight, "Who loves you?" and she said confidently - "GOD" and I asked who else loved her and she said, "mommy." Then I asked her who loved me? Again she replied, "GOD" and I said anyone else? And she said, "I love you mommy." Who could ask for anything more? God is Good! When she becomes a teenager I hope that she will answer those questions in the same way. I hope that she always knows that God and Mommy love her. Check out her in the cowboy boots.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween. Aminah of course is Cinderella. There are many times I have to address her as Cinderella or else she won't answer me. One time we were in a store and I turned around I couldn't see her. So I called her name and she didn't answer. I called it again and nothing. I started to panic and then remembered a few minutes earlier she told me she was Cinderella. I called out, "Cinderella where are you?" and of course she yelled, "Here I am." So it was only natural that she would wear a Cinderella outfit. We went to try on the costumes at the store and they were all too itchy. She has very sensitive skin anyway so I decided to go ahead and get out the sewing machine and make her a Cinderella costume. I forgot to look at the price of the lace and I accidently ended up having to buy the 3 yards I had them cut. I ended up paying about $24. for the lace alone. UGGGG . .. lesson learned. . . check out the price before you have them cut it. Then as I'm making the Cinderella dress I find out that Aminah can't wear her costume to preschool because they only allow Rodeo attire that day. Well, I'm already working on the costume and she IS Cinderella so I have to continue, but we end up also having to purchase items for her Rodeo outfit. We found a t-shirt that said, "Rodeo Princess" and then I also found a pair of pink cowboy boots. She has fallen in love with her boots. I'm pretty sure it is because EVERYONE comments on how cute they are. She loves the attention. So by day she was a rodeo princess and by night she was Cinderella. She had a grand time. I didn't actually get a picture of her with her rodeo outfit but I will post a picture of her with her boots later.

Happy Gotcha Day

On August 22nd we celebrated our 2nd Gotcha Day. For those of you unfamiliar with the adoption term, it means the day we "got each other" or the day I got her. Some people call it "Forever Family Day" - the day they became a family forever. The only problem is that our Gotcha Day is always the first week of school. So that is why it is taking me almost 2 months to post the pictures. I do make a point of making our Gotcha Day special. We go out for Chinese food, invite friends to go with us, get a special cake, and a gift. She dresses in her Chinese outfit and off we go. I also like to watch the video of when I first held her in my arms.

Cousins

Aminah had a lot of fun with her Colorado cousins. Belle and Suzie were here the week before school started so we got to spend time with them and also with Justin and Ashli and Baby Dane. I'm sure at some point I will have to stop calling him Baby Dane. Along with Belle and Suzie came TT Im and Uncle Eric.

Dress Up

Aminah loves to dress up. Mostly she likes to be a "princess" but she also likes to wear a sheet over her head and run around in the front yard, or just putting a lamp shade on her head will work also. Hmmm.