MAYLIN2007

I feel like the weatherman, but literally within minutes of posting the last post the temperature dropped and the flakes began to stick! UGH! I am not ready. Enjoy the new pictures. Be sure to check out the post below this one.

Yesterday, Friday, felt like fall. The kids were out of school and were so excited to pick the pumpkins from our garden. We got 5 great ones. The kids put them on the porch. Maylin wasn't to sure about them. She would even touch them. Alex chose the biggest one as his. They planned on decorating for Halloween today, Saturday. But what did we get? Winter. That's right winter. Huge snow flakes are falling. Its 36 degrees so they aren't sticking, but still! I am not ready. Fall is gone and it really didn't even get a chance. We hope it comes back soon. I hope you can see the flakes in the op picture. That was taken today. The other two were taken yesterday.u

I have a niece-in-law (love you Claudia), who tagged several members of the family to write 10 unusual or interesting facts about themselves on the blog so people can get to know them better. I loved reading her's and the others (Hooli) she "tagged", so here goes. Also, I tag anyone with a child or waiting for one under age 3 who would like to do this (you know who you are Tiff, Nate, Susan, etc). I would tag my family, but they have all been tagged. 10.In restaurants I get nervous if I see someone not being waited on well enough. Drives me crazy so I try to take the seat where I can't see anyone else. 9.I love to clean baseboards. I clean mine weekly. If I am stressed or upset they get cleaned more often. It is very soothing. Try it. 8.I love to cook and try new dishes out almost 3 times a week. I am not afraid of trying new things out on guests. Husband hates this. It makes him nervous when we have people over. 7.I love to garden. I won't wear gloves because I l...

We were invited to crash a "Blogger Bash" for those who are waiting for a baby or have their baby from China. There are 5 or 6 ladies that live all over (Canada, Florida, Georgia, California and Utah) that get together every year. We were lucky enough to be invited to "crash" their BBQ. It was so fun! It was great to meet so many awesome people and families. The twin girls are also from Hubei. Below are pictures and the recipe for Sun-dried Tomato Bruschetta. I took it and had several requests to post it. 1 French baguette 6 Roma tomatoes, diced 1/2 Cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil, rinsed and chopped fine 3 cloves garlic, minced 4 Tbls olive oil, 2 for mixture, 2 for brushing sliced baguette 2 Tbls balsamic vinegar 1/3 fresh basil leaves, chopped fine 1/2 tsp Kosher salt 1/2 tsp pepper On the diagonal, cut baguette into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange slices on a backing sheet, brush lightly with the above olive oil and bake in 350 degree oven for 6-10 minutes....

The pictures I am including are shots from Labor Day that I never posted. Hope you enjoy them. We had a great time. Maylin had her first icee. Loved it! Life comes at you fast. Yesterday was our 6 month anniversary with Maylin. What a wonderful time. We've had a lot happen in those 6 months. Austin's heart surgery by far was the hardest. Second was a fall I had in June. I was cleaning my floor and hit a slick spot and down I went. (They need to make it a law that tile floors shouldn't need cleaning.) I hit my tile floor so hard it knocked me out cold and my whole back was bruised. I have had on and off tingling etc, but just a few weeks ago the back of my head really went numb and felt hot. I would loose my grip and drop things and sometimes my face would tingle. I finally went to the doctor, I know, I know, should have gone in right away not 2 1/2 months later when things were worse. They did an MRI last week and I have nerve damage. They put me on a steroid to help it hea...

We went to Liberty Park with Emily and her mom, Nate. We went to China together and got the girls together. We will always have a special bond. It was so amazing to see how these girls have changed from when we were in China. They play, run and interact! Its wonderful to see! We went for a walk and enjoyed the geese. Half way on our walk the girls decided they wanted to walk on their own. That was so fun. Emily looked so cute in her jeans. They picked up pine cones (2nd picture), shared snacks, compared bottles and picked grass. On the toys they spent most of the time running back and forth on the toys just looking down the slides rather than doing them. It was funny. Maylin now says "Em" and when you ask if she is her friend, she nods yes! The moms had fun too. It was great to see each other again.

    Don't ya just love the glasses! And of course the outfit...or lack of it. We bought her new glasses since she is a glass freak. Lately we have been getting new glasses for all the kids. She walks into the eye doctor's and screams "Glass!" at the top of her lungs and her arms raised in the air. With all the new glasses at our house, how could she be left out? Now to the outfit. It is pretty much her usual fair. Even at the eye doctor's she stripped. Yesterday in Alex's class she entertained them by undressing. What to do, what to do?! On another note, McKenzie got contacts!! Yippee!

    The other day as I was hanging a map of Hubei in Maylin's room (a gift at the adoption finalization in China),I realized I didn't know anything really about her city. I had been there, but didn't know much except they grow canola oil plants. There are beautiful fields of yellow. So the last couple of days I have been investigating her city. Its been hard to find anything. Somethings like serious problems with persecutions of certain people made me even more glad I had Maylin in my home. One fact, made me laugh. Let me remind all of you of a few things. Maylin loves to swing on the ironing board. Now she lifts her feet up over her head and does a flip. She has been doing somersaults since 14 months. She climbs our fireman's pole, she swings in "big" swings and lays back and jumps out like the big kids do. My sister wondered after watching her if her biological parents were acrobats. Well she might not be wrong. To quote an article in a Chinese paper, "...

The last few days I have been sick. Have a head cold that has also lodged in my throat. I can't talk (to my family's glee). So I am not sure if I am overly sensitive or if Maylin is just taking advantage of my sluggishness, but she has been TROUBLE! A few examples: Loves to drink from her sippy cup, not swallow, just slowly watch the water as it dribbles from her full cheeks to the floor. She loves getting on the kitchen table. See attached picture. This was my mother's table. She doesn't discriminate. Any table will be fine. She has broken a plate, flinging it from the table upon her arrival to the top of the table. We have been using timeouts. So far the table must be worth the timeouts...no change. Yesterday she dumped the whole bag of animal crackers (a Costco bag) on the floor....three times. It has been put away, but she finds it or siblings leave it out. Last time she did it, she stepped on some crackers and laughed at the sound they made as they were crushed on...

A trip to Idaho to see family. Maylin and Kenzie had so much fun playing waitress. They wore aprons and took orders, cleaned up and served most of the time we were there. Cute girls! We also went to the Snake River Greenbelt and fed the ducks. Maylin had never seen a duck close up. They would quack and she would roar and growl. We need to work on that. We fed the ducks hot dog buns...except for Maylin she ate hers. She also took off her clothes. It truly is anywhere we go. Austin, Alex and Kenzie loved watching the ducks and how they moved through the water. They notice everything. The best part of the trip was seeing family.

Maylin loves yogurt. Only problem...after she finishes, she takes whats left and rubs it in her hair. It never fails. She does this with other foods too. We know she is done when the food starts getting smeared in the hair. Meal time equals bath time.

      It may not be Oprah or Ellen, but its pretty dang entertaining. What is, you ask? Talking to Maylin. Thought I would share two of our conversations. The first we have every day and about 30 times a day. Don't know if it is because she likes to call me or have me answer, whatever its cute. The second conversation we had yesterday. Went over and over for about 20 minutes. Above pictures are Maylin enjoying a chocolate chip cookie and trying to wink. The other is of her copying mom. Guess I spend too much time cleaning my floor. 1. Maylin: Mom? Mom: What? Maylin: Mom? Mom: What? Maylin: Mom? Mom: Yeah? Maylin: Giggle, giggle. Mom! Clap hands. REPEAT OVER AND OVER EVERYDAY! 2. Maylin: Mom? Mom: What? Maylin: Mom? Mom: What? Maylin: Dada? (said with palms up and shoulders shrugged) Mom: Daddy is at work. Maylin: More (said in word along with sign language). Mom: More what? Maylin: More (said in word and sign.) More dada! Mom: Daddy is at work. You can't see him right now...

It is so good to be a mother. I will not lie to you. It is hard. Very hard. Sometimes locking yourself in your room sounds terrific, but truly if you look at it all...it is great! Today Alex said, "I am sure glad we got Maylin." So am I. So glad my son feels the same way too. She has changed so much in the short 5 months we have had her. Today at Church she went to nursery during Sunday School. That is for 18 months to 3 years. They play, have a snack and a short lesson. She will be 18 months this week so I thought I would see how it would go. I stayed for an hour, then left for the last hour. She did great! That's with a capital G! Broke my heart. She is growing and it didn't help the crib came down yesterday. Where has my baby gone? Attached is a picture of her hair today. Spongy curlers are cool! She is so cute. Here are a few things to share that make us smile: 1)She is into taking off her clothes. Don't you remember a month ago she was putting extra clothes o...