Happy Chinese New Year!

 We got this dress while we were in China. I couldn't resist the beautiful green color.

Now it's more like a tunic. She is growing :)

We will officially celebrate tomorrow night b/c tonight Owen had a basketball game. I've had very little time to research and prepare (thanks to 2 days of school in the past 2 weeks), but thankfully she is still so young. Plenty of room to add more traditions as we go ;)

Reflecting Back

On Jan 25, 2013, we saw our daughter for the first time.

 

Much to our surprise, the next day we received an updated picture per our request.

 

14 hours later we said "YES"

We had 48 hrs to make our decision. I will likely never forget those 48 hrs.

Jan. 29, 2013 we received our per-approval, we had been officially matched.

One year later, so glad she is home.

3rd Snow

No school today or tomorrow! Seriously!?!? I was in too high of demand to take better pictures, but all 4 (plus neighbor) are represented and my camera was not ruined.

 He went down once in the sled with Avery and me. The rest of the time he ate snow.

She loved being pulled up the hill more than going down.

Owen couldn't wait to see his sister in the snow. 

She allowed him to take her down in the sled a few times. He pulled her up too.

It was really cold. 18 degrees when we went out around 11 AM. Thankfully the sunny was shinning to brighten my mood :)

Gearing up for another day with my 4, plus basement crew :-/

Full Court

Owen is growing up SO much. It's hard to believe he will be 10 in March. TWO digits!

EJ is the assistant coach for Owen's basketball team. This past weekend, (2 games) he was the only coach. They had so much fun preparing. I love watching the 2 of them. This was at breakfast before the game. EJ is reminding him of a few "plays." Owen had already eaten and probably had his shoes on too :)

It's big time now. Full court. Stat books kept. Foul shots. Plays practiced...

I hardly recognize him out there. He has always been a serious athlete, but now his body is more coordinated. He is a lot more aggressive and stronger. Oh and his face gets as beet red as mine does when I exercise (poor thing).

I haven't gone to nearly enough games. Between nap times and Mason's games schedule. And if I do go I am constantly trying to keep Avery from joining in the game.

Snow Week

Last week was hard, I am not going to lie. I should have stopped assuming the kids would go to school (we only got 2 inches of snow) and plan for them to be home. Instead, I was shocked each evening and had no plan for the next day. By Thursday, no one was getting along and they were constantly asking me what to do. For some crazy reason, they didn't like my chore suggestions ;) Keep in mind it was in the 20s all week.

Thursday evening, I somehow broke our upstairs thermostat while changing the batteries. To make a long story short, our house has heating and cooling issues without 2 thermostats. It was roasting upstairs and freezing downstairs. The kids are sitting on the heat vent in the kitchen after breakfast. It was Owen's idea, funny b/c he is the one wearing shorts and a tee shirt.

 

So while I was really wishing for some more personal space after 7 days of being together, they were all huddled up as close as can be. It looks sweet, but it didn't last long and they were bickering most of the time. Owen was convinced we could manage a game of Apples to Apples with our age range. Didn't happen ;)

Keeping it real!

Basement Reno (Week 9)

A lot of progress made this week and it was also the most stressful (yet) as far as last minute decision making. Doors went up, the lights came back on, the stairs were rebuilt, the molding installed and the mantle built.
If TONS of painting wasn't looming over us, we would have been dancing in the streets.

The day after we painted the guest room, it looked like this. I wanted to cry. Fortunately, the walls still look ok. The big guns arrived for all the carpentry work.

A shot revealing our infamous coat closet wallpaper.

 I LOVE the wainscoting!!

I am keep the mantel a surprise ;)

In real time, we are now starting week 11. Week 10, I should have been painting, but the kids were home ALL WEEK and are off again tomorrow for a teacher work day. If only I could trust them with paint brushes ;)

6 Months (28 months old)

I still vividly remember how it felt taking her in my arms 6 months ago. She was so frightened and I felt so bad for how scared she was. It was very awkward holding her stiff and rigid body. Oh, how times have changed. If only I had known then, how much she'd want to be held now ;)

She still has a long way to go, but she is making huge strides. 

I am pretty much the only one she allows to "hold" her. She will let other people "carry" her (for a few seconds). She accepts affection from me (and EJ), but does not give it. She would prefer not to be kissed by her brothers ;) Her eye contact is much better, but she uses silly faces to distract her onlookers when they get too close. She does not like to be approached, she will turn and run in the opposite direction.

She is finally able to sit and look through a book. We are not reading pages yet, but at least we get farther than the first page before she discards it for another one.

The biggest change this month is her vocabulary. It has exploded. She uses at least 20 words correctly and regularly. She still signs for milk, eat, want and more. She has been known to string more than 2 words together in phrases that makes us all turn and look at each other to see if we were just hearing things. If I don't hear her or understand her she gets LOUDER until I figure it out. Oh my!
Her newest words, frighten me for our future. "ME," NO," "STOP," She is one bossy lady. Usually addressing her brothers, but still. It's loud in our house and she has determined if she wants to be heard she has to speak up. Ryan's volume has also gotten louder. I am trying to work on that :(

Those top 2 pictures aren't very accurate representations of my 28 month old. 

This collage does a much better job. Enjoy!

It's never a dull moment around here ;)

Another Snow Day

Ryan didn't last long outside. I didn't bother taking Avery out. It was much too cold. Teens, I think. Our hill is a popular spot. I am thankful they can have FUN right outside my window.

Our hill/my boys attracted 2 neighbors. Hot chocolate for 6! And homemade choc. chip cookies, I baked yesterday. (This cold weather is dangerous for the waistline).

I'd love our home to be the house, my kid's friends want to hang out in. Mostly so I know what they are up too. I am quickly realizing that doesn't come without the sacrifice of my time, grocery $ and patience in cleaning up afterwards. It will be worth it, just got to get used to it ;)

Mason Time

Yesterday, I got to spend a little extra time one on one with Mason. EJ and Owen went away together. While the younger 2 were napping, I relinquished MY (precious) quiet time and played his choices, Creationary and then a pretend lego jewel robbery.

He had some fun with the camera remote.

 

He has always been great at playing. He has an incredible imagination. There are days he comes home from school and goes straight for his toys. Most of the time it's legos. He gladly plays on his own, but LOVES if someone plays with him.

I don't do it has often as I should, but I was glad I could say "yes," yesterday.

No School Today

For this!?!?! So much snow! They called it last night. 

This was after the boys would have been home from a full day.

It's just now starting to come down. Their 3 day weekend has likely turned into a 5 day.

Basement Reno (Week 8)

After the drywall was completed, it was "our turn" to get to work. We opted to save some bucks and prime the walls. We will also do all the painting and staining (stairs). Thankfully our friend, Cary has a heavy duty paint sprayer. Not only did he let us borrow it, he also volunteered to help EJ! They primed all the walls and ceiling and painted the ceilings with ceiling paint in 4 hours! It was incredible and such a blessing b/c we figured it would take us forever without Cary's sprayer and help. Not to mention his wife, Leah (who designed our basement layout) giving up her man for a large portion of a Saturday.

Afterwards, they even posed for a picture. 

I didn't dare go down there while they were actually spraying.

 

Apparently when EJ puts on a white suit and mask he stands like this for photos ;)

Photo on the right was taken right before my c-sections with Ryan in 4/10.

We also managed to paint the guest room that weekend. Keep in mind, we had no over head lights.

Basement (Week 4-7)

The dry wall stage took a LONG time. And it was EXTREMELY dusty. The initial electrical work went in before the drywall.

 

Then the tape and mud went on.

We lost the stairs on New Years Eve for 15 days! I didn't take a picture of them missing completely. This is after reconstruction began.

That door leads into our 1 car garage which is presently storing a big portion of basement items.

A look into the bathroom through the empty stairwell. 

The bathroom is nearly impossible to photograph b/c of its narrow (5'x13') shape.

It was definitely exciting to finally have a "feel" for the size of each room.

Rare Moment

We rarely play games anymore. It's just too difficult with their age differences and little miss who likes to destroy things. I miss it. Someday!

Mason's First Bball Season

Mason is playing Upward Basketball for the first time. He is having a great time. He is the one with the orange striped shorts, #14.

 He is not intimidated by the other players. His competition at home is worse ;)

His head is definitely in the game when he is on the court, but he is a social butterfly on the bench :)

Basement (Week 2)

Don't worry I won't give an update about each week. Especially since we are already on week NINE (!). I have only taken pictures at large milestones.
The demolition and framing began the week before Thanksgiving. Then began the framing. These pictures were taken around the 2 week mark. We were thrilled how the layout looked/felt. A dear and talented friend created the plans for FREE in her spare time (ya right, she has 3 SMALL children). We are SO thankful and love the design.

Below is our future den/man cave/toy room. Depends who you ask ;)

 

This is a portion of the new guest room 

Across the hall will be the bathroom. Same spot as old one, just bigger to make room for a shower.

Shower base installed

 Plumbing for bathroom vanity

It was stressful to be making so many decisions when I should have been preparing for Christmas. I am glad that part is behind us!