Im' back.

Just in case anybody still stops by here in hopes of an update we can now be found:

here

That's All She Wrote

I started to blog eight months into the wait for Rosie or as she was called back then, Molly. I didn't know how much I was going to love it or how many amazing people I would come into contact with and in some cases meet and I certainly didn't know how uplifting it would be as the wait grew longer and longer. I have loved doing it, loved it that is, until recently. You have probably noticed that my posts are more sporadic and my comments, few and far between. I thought about taking a break but then I realised: I started this blog to journal our trip to China to adopt Rosie and now Rosie is home and so the last chapter is complete.

I have many conversations with myself about how I need to keep going so that I can document this or that and how much my family loves to read it but enough is enough. I make scrapbooks and every single detail of their lives is written down. I have been postponing this post and have written it at least 10 times but now I am just going to do it and hit publish.

Lily is getting bigger and I really believe that it should be her choice as to whether her photos are sprawled across the web and not mine.

For those of you who are still waiting, I wish you a peace as you continue this gruelling journey.

Lily turns 6 at the beginning of June and we are heading up to Orlando to celebrate her birthday. If any of you would like to meet up with us on Sunday June 7th just send me an email and we can have a blogger bash....even though technically I will no longer be a blogger.

I could continue to ramble on and on because inside I actually feel guilty about this decision as I know that so many of you who are waiting love to see families that are already home but in my heart I know it is the right thing for us, and that is what matters more than anything to me.

I will leave you with one last photo of the girls. They were snuggled up together just before bed and each one is holding her Bunny.

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I have failed to get a photo of the 4 of us together, at least one that I like so I shall leave you with a picture of the 4 of us that Lily drew just after we came home. I love it so much I have it on the wall. Jacob and Rosie have the same hairdo's, Lily and Rose are in matching outfits and I even have a fringe. The details and colours are wonderful, it just screams, Happy Family.




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And one last thing: to my family, we love you and thank you for all of your support through the good times and the bad of what was the longest wait of our lives.

Much love
Jacob, Dawn, Lily and Rose.


I will end with a flourish and say........

And they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

China Needs Our Help.

All of our sons and daughters from China are Goodwill Ambassadors. They change lives for the better on a daily basis. They don't know that they are doing it but they bring people together, not just the families they are creating but the friendships that are forged from their love, the people that we meet because of them. All of us have something in common and that common thread is The Peoples Republic of China.

If you are reading this you are probably somehow tied to a Chinese adoptee. You possibly have a greater interest in Peoples Republic of China than in any country other than your own. When we were waiting for both of our girls my heart would skip a beat when the President would say or do something derogatory towards the Chinese officials. When people make hateful comments about China I cringe, and often not very quietly. Somewhere in that vast land are 2 women ( and two men for that matter) that carried and delivered my girls for me because I could not. Somewhere in that vast country is a little part of me. I left it behind each time I stepped on a plane to bring one of the girls home. It isn't a large part of me, it is just a flutter but it is there, there in the birthplace of Lily and Rose.

Now that little flutter of mine is hurting, hurting very deeply. The earthquake that crippled Sichuan Province has left ten's of thousands dead and many more missing. I personally know people from this Province and it breaks my heart. Families have been shattered, children and babies are missing, mothers and fathers will never come home again and so many lives will remain forever broken. Many organisations have jumped into action to help but they need more help and that is where we come in. I am asking you, yet again, to give up your Star*bucks coffee for a week or empty out your change jars and send that cash to Half The Sky. Click on the link to find out how you can help. Every single penny helps.

The Chinese people are simple people, they do not ask for much. They would rather give than receive. They work hard, very hard and receive very little compensation, their top priority is their family. Perhaps you do not agree with some of their policies but the people don't make those laws the government does. If you can help please do. Somewhere, somehow you will be helping our children. Somewhere, somehow a little part of me will be comforted, knowing that I have done all that I can.

How can you turn your back on this?

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Thank you.

Sick, Sick and Sick

Three of the four members of this household are sick. First Jacob got it and he passed it to Rosie and then she passed it on too Lily. Jacob and Rosie are feeling much better but Lily is sick, sick, sick. I think having poorly children is the worst thing ever.(actually when Jacob is sick it isn't exactly a walk in the park but that is because he is a man!)

I took Rose to the Dr on Thursday because she has been running a fever on and off and she has an ear infection. The pediatrician said she cannot believe all the changes in Rose and she loves the fact that she is so attached to Jacob and I and so very affectionate. We love it too. Rose now weighs 17.8 lbs which means she has gained 1.8 lbs since we bought her home. Of course it is obvious that she is not going to weigh 25lbs by her surgery date in August so it will be postponed. We need to go back to the cardiologist because Rosie's lips have been turning blue. Not often and not for long but she has been doing it and her condition should not make this happen so Barbara wants us to go back to see him because it is possible that due to the fact that she has had a rapid growth spurt and weight gain in a very short amount of time it could be taxing her little ticker. In China it took Rosie 4 months to gain 1.5 lbs. When she has these episodes her breathing remains the same, her activity level doesn't change and she doesn't appear any different at all. I watch her like a hawk for the few minutes that it lasts and then we carry on as normal. I really don't think it is anything. The first time it happened she had just got out of the bath so I guessed she was chilly but now it just happens and this is Florida and it is in the high 80's so she isn't cold. Because her ped' is a friend she called me on Thursday evening to see how Rose was feeling and we got to chatting about Lily and how Lily just doesn't get sick. (yes, those words came out of my mouth) Not even 24 hours later Lily was down for the count and missed school for the first time this year cos she was poorly.I know she was sick in China but that was different that was just some bad ju-ju.

Before this family started dropping like flies we had all sorts of fun.
There is a reason why we have so many picnics! Rose tends to wear her food.

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Emergency clean up following Lunch

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These swimming cossies arrived in the mail last week from Nannis. They are gorgeous.

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2 fluffy little bottoms

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This is what happens when you put Miss Rosie down.....every single time.

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Tomorrow is Mothers day but I think it should be called Children's day because without them we wouldn't be able to celebrate. I love to pack everyone off to the beach on Mothers day and spend the day together there. This year though we will be staying put because of Lily. Maybe if I cross my fingers and click my heels together she will be better tomorrow or at the very least her fever will be down ......at least under 100.5, that's all I ask for.

Lily made me a cake at school. It is a heart shape and has at least 2 inches of sprinkles and jimmies, and icing on....I love it. She is so proud of it. She came out of school carrying it and made me turn around so I wouldn't see it until Sunday, this was Thursday. I ran to the front door and unlocked it when we got home and she hustled her way in and put it in the fridge. About an hour later she said she couldn't "resist" giving it to me now so she did! Thank you Schnoog, I love it.

Jacobs gift to me this year is turning this blog into a book. I came across this site on another blog and instantly new I wanted to do it so Jacob took charge and it is going to be done. That is why if you have bloglines my blog has been going bonkers cos I have been editing. I just need to get a decent photo of the 4 of us and then I am ready to have it published. If all the family could please get well we could perhaps take a photo.

Jacob said he felt bad that it wouldn't be a surprise and that I was doing all of the legwork but I told him I don't care. When the doorbell rang today I was really surprised to be handed a box of long stemmed pink roses and Calla Lillies. Lillies and Roses.....damned he is good. I think this is the trademark gift for me and if he repeats every year from now on I shall have a very happy heart. They are breathtakingly beautiful, just like my girls. Thank you so much Jakey, I love you.

For many of us Mothers day is a horrid day. It cuts to the core. If you are still waiting you are already a mummy. You became a Mummy the second you sent in your dossier. I know that doesn't ease any pain and you are entitled to feel hurt but your babies are coming and your day will come too.

Bunny Wars

Just before we travelled to China Lily and I went shopping so that she could buy a gift for her sister. She wanted to get her something that she could snuggle with, something that would mean as much to Rosie as Bunny does to her. She found the perfect thing and we packed it very carefully in her case so that she could give it to her baby sister on Gotcha day.

As I am sure you remember Gotcha day wasn't quite what Lily had hoped for due to her high fever and Rosies screaming. Her toy was not well accepted but she was OK with it. Actually she was way to sick to even care. Rosie never really cared for her toy to much and once we got home she became attached to a blanket. Over the past 3 weeks or so Rosie has become 100% attached to Bunny. This is not good. Who in a million years would have expected them to both attach to the pink thing, not me! Luckily we have a back up bunny, his name is "Broken Eye" and he now belongs to Jacob because after his eye got broken in the dryer, years back, Lily would have nothing to do with him and gave him to Jacob. Jacob loves the fact that she gave it to him and now he is upset cos Rosie has his bunny.

As for me, I am just glad that Rosie has found the perfect something to ward off all the evil spirits and generally make her as happy as a clam but every now and again things get nasty around here when one of them has the wrong one or, as was the case the other night, Lily can't find Bunny and won't go to sleep so in a last ditch effort to leave no stone unturned Jacob checks Rosie's crib and finds that she has them both! It is quite comical. We tried to get Rosie something similar to Bunny the other day, it is an elephant made by the same company and is is the same colour, just as soft, etc etc but she wants no part of it.......sigh! Now I am twice as paranoid about losing "The Bun, Bunnola, Bunny.....and whatever name Rosie will give hers.

Here she is with Bunny .

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He is never far from her grasp...even when food is involved.

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Even when she stands on her head Bunny is right there to help her out.

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She has lots of special Lovies that are allowed to grace her crib but only one is special enough to be called "the Bun". I guess Lily was right all along and she is just sharing her knowledge with her Mei Mei. Lily thinks it is fine that she has Broken Eye but it is NEVER fine for her to touch her Bunny.

Catching Up

Horrors, has it really been nearly a week? I swore last time I would stay on top of things.

First off does anyone suffer from, irritable bowel syndrome? If yes, PLEASE send me an email
jcope39382@aol.com or leave it in the comments section, whichever you prefer and tell me what medications have worked for you, what is your best advice and what is simply the worst thing you have tried that had no effect what so ever. If you have some miracle, prescribed or otherwise please share cos I have a family member who needs some help. Thank you so much.

Talking of poop: I had heard other parents talking about diaper blowouts but had never had the misfortune of experiencing one first hand. Holy smoke Batwoman, now I see what all the fuss is about! Miss Rose has had an upset tummy and let me tell you, it ain't pretty. Lily and Jacob have both thrown up this week due to Rosie's' misfortune. (wimps)

I took Lily with me grocery shopping this week and as always when we got home I reversed into the driveway. The following conversation ensued:

Lily: Mummy, what are you doing?
Me: Uh, reversing into the driveway.
Lily: Oh this is going to be bad I can just tell.
Me: What do you mean?
Lily: You are really bad at driving backwards. Can you just let me get out so I can go in the house with Daddy.
I let her out and then burst into fits of laughter. She knows me so well. The joke between Jacob and I is that the "R" on my gear stick means Ruh Roh and not reverse!

Tonight when I put Lily to bed she came down stairs a few minutes later and asked if I could please turn up the A/C. She told me that she likes to have Bunny's head out of the covers but it was so blowy that his ears were getting cold.

An yet another classic from Lily this week:
Rosie is Red
Her skin is pink
And the good Lord knows
Her diapers STINK

Yes I know it isn't very politically correct but for a 5 yr old it is very good and I have to say I think it is hilarious. I wonder how she comes up with this stuff? Life is never dull.

Now on to Rosie Posey. She understands way to much! She will do A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G for a grape! She speaks quite a bit of Chinese and now I am so glad that I have been struggling through Mandarin lessons with Lily for the past year. Occasionally I can understand what she is saying if it is really obvious. Yesterday she saw a dog and got very excited and kept saying G G G. Gou is dog. So I was able to figure it out. She also says "I want" in Chinese and then points or takes you to whatever it is. She knows, Itsy Bitsy Spider and loves to wash him out. She does the finger parts, kind of. She says YeYe for Lily, Rosie or Ro Ro for Rose and says Mama and Dada but she calls the fridge or any other objects mama and dada but she says them when she sees us to. She says Hi very clearly to everyone she knows. When we walk in the house she always squeals Hi. She says Thank you in Chinese but not very often. She has now figured out how to pucker up but still gives us the big wet French kisses. I love 'em.
My foodie is no longer a foodie and has done a complete turnaround. Now the child won't eat anything at all. I am not used to picky eaters so any advice would be welcome. This isn't just the last few days this has been a couple of weeks. It's a pain.

Jacob put in his transfer papers for Georgia this week. WOO HOO. The woohoo part was very short lived cos when they came back to us we found out he is number 43 on the list waiting to transfer to GA. This sucks like a Dyson! Now we are heading back to the drawing board and starting from scratch on our relocation list. Hum drum. If his company does one little thing we we will still be heading there but if not we will be looking for a different state. It has to be on the East coast cos I need to be able to get home (England) ASAP otherwise we would be moving clear across the country to Washington.

And finally our good friends lost one of their dogs this week very suddenly and unexpectedly. I had mentioned her many months ago as she was an amazing dog. Shadow was a therapy dog and one of the most gentle creatures on this earth. Shadow allowed me to be afraid of her and waited for me to build up some courage and trust and then her and I became friends, good friends. She was in a terrible accident a couple of years ago and I actually massaged her jaw. I trusted her enough to not only touch her but to touch the part of her that I feared the most.....her jaws. I was scared to death the first time and scared she would notice my fear and my shaking hands but she didn't care. Everytime I went to the house I would spend time with her. One time she barked when I was in the room and I ran straight out the door, I didn't realise what I had done until R and S started to laugh, I was shaking from head to toe! She was a Doberman, the biggest Dobey I have ever seen. Shadow, you touched so many people especially all the little children at Miami Children's Hospital and you will be sorely missed. Shara, my heart goes out to you.

Oops, cant end on a sad note so let me think of something else silly that has happened here.
Rosie is always saying something that sounds just like, Bitchy, bitchy, bitchy now give me a beer. We have no idea what she is trying to say but we encourage her all the time cos it is just so funny (actually I am the only one that encourages her cos I think it is hilarious....bad mummy)

My Princess.....who claims to be over Princesses but still dresses up like one at least once a week.

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All This In One Day.

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This is how dark it was yesterday morning when Lily and I left the house to go to a hot air balloon race. Each year this race is launched just a short jaunt from our house and each year they launch the balloons at some ungodly time. We were meant to go on Saturday but we didn't wake up in time however yesterday I got up at 5 .33 and woke up Lily and we snuck out. Lily thought it was a great adventure to leave the house before the sun was up but at the same time she was a little bit scared. Lily HATES the dark. You should see how many lights this child needs on to go to sleep at night.

Here is one of the balloon racers testing his "engines". Lily jumped about 10 feet when he cranked it up.

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Finally the sun came up and things got moving.

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This was the first balloon that was inflated

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And before to long the sky looked like this.

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We were back home by 8.30 and getting ready for the second part of the day which was meeting Ed, Jenny and Ebby at a park.

Rosie got her first taste of a water park and yes, those are socks she is wearing cos the concrete gets super slippy and I don't have any pool shoes for her uber tiny feet yet.

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This girl Lurves her the wet stuff.

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Then we had a picnic

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After lunch Rosie decided that Auntie Jen really is the bestest thing since sliced bread and actually went to her. We are so happy. She still isn't so sure about Uncle Ed which is a reverse of Lily's situation when she was that age.

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And she kept going back for more and more

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After the park we came for a while cos Lily and I needed a nap! After dinner we headed to the airport because one of the couples that we travelled to China with in 2003 and have remained in contact with had a layover in Miami on their way home so we got to see them. It was as if no time had past at all since we were with them last. We also took our friend CF with us cos she travelled to China with us and knows Jeff and Jill also. We only had a short time with them but it was so great to see them.
Gosh I wish we lived closer.

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Not Making The Grade

I am really being a lousy blogger of late and would receive an "F" if this was grade appropriate material.
Here are a few videos and pictures of the kiddiewinkles from this week. I also need to post something from Ladyfrog as she is having an adoption fundraiser and I promised to post about it here. Soon, very soon.


A close up of the Weasel

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Schnoogie sporting a much shorter do

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Nannis, look I am wearing your cardy. It was in the 50's here this week so we needed to bundle up when we took Lily to school

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Rose helping with the gardening

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I think she is so pretty

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Hoop de do

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Must dash as we are off to the social security office to get Rosie a number. Wish me luck as these things never go smoothly in Miami. The next step is her passport so that we can go and visit Nannis and Grandpa......maybe.

Mistake Number 2.......

Okay so this poor little girl has only been with us for 7 weeks and we are already on parenting mistake number 2 with her. You really would have thought that Lily would have been the test child and by now we would have got it all figured out but not the case!

The heat rash that Rosie has; not a heat rash at all but actually a virus. Who would have thunk? Since we have a "Heart Baby" we try very hard to treat her just the same as Lily. The cardiologists have told us that she has no restrictions whatsoever so we try, and I believe we succeed, in treating her as one would any other child. So, when she ran a temp a very low grade temp, for a few days a week ago we chalked it up to "whatever" and let it run it's course. She had no other symptoms at all. Then when this rash appeared we just figured it was prickly heat cos a) it looked just like it b) it has been really hot here and c) she sweats like a little oinker. I am determined not to over react with every little symptom and run to the doctor once a week but today we finally went in to see her and she said that it is a virus. We can't do anything for it and it needs to run it's course. Phew, lucky break for me here, at least she hasn't been missing some necessary treatment for the last week. She has gained just over a pound since the medical exam in China and when she walked out of the Doctors office unaided the doc' just laughed and said that she really cannot believe this is the same child. We can't believe it either. Watching this little girl for the first 48 hours I honestly thought she would be at least 18 months old before she started to walk. She was frail and feeble. Not anymore. I am still not sure how we are ever going to get her up to her surgery weight by August but maybe if we can just keep getting her fitter and stronger that will be enough and we won't have to postpone it again. She can crawl up a flight of stairs now like an athlete but when we came home she couldn't get up one. The other thing she does now is if I am laying on the floor she can climb over me whereas a few weeks ago she would just fall back down.

Rosie now prefers walking to crawling and still laughs the whole time she is upright. She went to bed with 4 teeth on Saturday night and woke up with 6 on Sunday morning. Well the new ones can't really be considered teeth yet but they have broken through the surface. Since I knew she was teething that was another reason why I let the rash go......all kids have a different reaction to their teeth and I thought this was hers.

She is a dreadful gardener and just rips the heads off of all the flowers she sees. I was dead heading the flowers with her this morning and she just yanked handfuls of flowers at a time. Oh well they will grow back as will my new hair cut!

Yesterday we had some friends over for the day and Rosie shocked us all by sitting on their laps and at one point reaching for Grandma G so that she would pick her up. We were so happy to see her start going to other people. This was in her home and I am not so sure that she will be so brazen if we are out but it is a start.

A little side note from yesterday: When I tucked Lily into bed and was giving her a hug she told me this, "Mummy, tonight when I hugged Grandma G goodbye I hugged her for a few extra minutes." I told her that was nice and must have made "GG" very happy. She then said, " I did it because it felt good to hug someone with a little, you know, extra stuff cos you are so bony Mummy." I wasn't sure what to say. She is always telling me my bones stick out and I always tell her the same thing and that is that I cannot help it it is just the way I am made.....I guess she wants me fluffier.

I love this video of our 2 girls. I also love saying that. When Jacob is working he calls home and always says, how are our girls. He loves saying it too.

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Girls, Girls and more Girls

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Hmmm, and why is the umbrella only this tall?

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This is our friends youngest daughter. She is VERY shy. She fell for Jacob the first time she met him but I was not in her inner circle until recently. Now we are friends.She has decided that Rose is "her" baby sister and that is fine with everyone including Lily and her own sisters. Yesterday she was eating a lolipop that Lily made magically appear from who knows where and she just decided that her baby sister should share it with her. It was such a sweet gesture and so touching.


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This is one of my favourite times of day. Each night when I go up to bed I check in on the girls. Actually I go upstairs about 5 times to check on them not because I am neurotic but because I can. I love to watch them sleep. For so long I would check in on Lily and then walk past an empty room and sigh but now that empty room is filled with a little girlie and I get to kiss her and snuggle with her and then linger at the side of her crib marvelling at the wonder of adoption before I walk out of the room. It really doesn't get any better than this. 2 rooms with 2 girlies = BLISS.

I Think I Can

After many attempts at catching the Weasel standing upright I have finally got it. She is still pretty unsteady but she is so very proud of herself and as you can see she is oh so happy. As soon as she sees the camera all of her antics cease and she wants to see herself on camera so I have to make stealth attacks.
Oh yes, why is she only wearing a diaper? Cos she does have a heat rash so we are keeping her naked....well as naked as one dare. tee hee.


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The pink blankie in this video is Rosie's version of Lily's bunny. However it never usually leaves her crib but it had just come out of the wash and she spied it.

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Life Is Wonderful

I truly didn't know what to expect with 2 children. Every one felt it necessary to keep on telling me that I would be so busy and two children wasn't twice as hard but it was 10 times as hard. It isn't. I don't have a newborn who is totally helpless and I don't have a 2-3 yr old sibling. I have a 14 month old who is her own little person already and a nearly 6 year old ( yikes how can she be nearly 6?) who loves to help and is utterly besotted by her sister. Life is wonderful.

Rosie is beautiful and she loves to have fun. When we bought her home she was very small, very skinny and very, very weak but that is all changing. The Weasel can now crawl to the top of the stairs which was something I didn't think we would see for months. She actually now goes to the stair gate and shakes it to let anyone who might care know that she wants to climb. Her eating has calmed down now and she actually turns away from food, before she wouldn't stop eating and would whine for more food if we were still eating.

She has a cold and I noticed tonight when I got her undressed for her bath that she has a rash all over her tummy and back. I think it might be something as innocuous as a heat rash but I am not sure so if tomorrow she is still all spotty I will ring her DR. She is not quite herself but I am putting that down to the fact that she is teething. She napped today for 3 hours which isn't like her. But she is still really happy.

Whether it is bed time or nap time we always follow the same routine and she always goes into her bed giggling like a fool and goes off to sleep happily. When she wakes up in the morning she chatters away for a few minutes and then yells, Ye-Ye or A-ye, which is her name for Lily. Lily has a stool next to her crib so that she can go into her and stand on her stool to chat with her. When Lily picks her up and carries her Rose gets a grin on her face the size of a Cheshire Cat. She mimics everything that Lily does and Lily knows it too.

Lily finally appears to have put back on the weight that she lost in China. This is a good thing as her school uniforms were falling off of her and they are age 3! She announced the other day her plans for the summer. She wants to go to horse riding camp, have her birthday at Disney and go and visit Grandpa and Nannis and go back to the safari park. Lily thinks nothing of flying to England and thinks we should do it every other weekend. She loves her grandparents so much and thinks we need to spend more time with them and has no concept of the distance between us. She has flown to the UK 7 times in 4 years.

Lily is currently going through the "death" faze. She asked me the other day if Nannis and Grandpa would die soon. I told her no. She then asked how old grandpa was. I told her he isn't very old he is 69. To that she replied, that is very old! (sorry daddy) Then she wanted to know if I would die before Jacob and on and on the questions went. It is so funny and hard to keep a straight face. Walking to school this morning we saw a dead bird and all the questions started again; how did the bird die? Was he old? I finally told her he forgot to flap his wings and fell out of the sky really fast and crashed into the ground. She cracked up laughing and flapped her arms and then yelled SPLAT.

Lily, you truly are the light of my life.

We finally went through all of the photos of the trip and narrowed down a mere 375 for Rosie's scrapbook. So, if you don't see any changes on the blog for a few days you know what I am doing. Hopefully Winkflash will send them over the course of a few days and not in one big clump. I have already gone to the scrapbook store and bought all the albums and paraphernalia so once they arrive I can set to to work. I love scrapbooking but this amount of photos is rather daunting. Jacob has already finished the DVD's and edited them and everything. Life is so much faster on a Mac.

These photos are from Sunday. I have no idea why the fridge door is open and it's contents strewn across the floor as I was in the shower and Jacob had taken over the helm.

Child Labor. Lily puts Rose to work.


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Lily's hat came from the Disney Princesses on Ice Show. She went to that on Saturday and came home deliriously happy. About 3 hours later she told me she thinks she is "over" Princesses. (alrighty then)


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The other night we went out for dinner and Rosies chin barely cleared the table from her high chair. I just thought it was hilarious. Poor little Weasel is so little.


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A Day At The Beach

I have never really been a beach goer. I don't care for hot weather so going to the beach to fry isn't really what I would define as fun. Let me say, I wasn't a beach goer until Lily entered my life but there is something about seeing her enjoying every second of the beach that makes it fun for me too. I actually quite like it now.

This morning we had to get up early as Jacob had to be at the airport at some ungodly hour so I decided to take both girlies to the beach. It didn't enter my head that Rose might not like the sand. If anything I thought she would eat the stuff.


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Planted firmly on the towel with her protective big sis'

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How sad is this face?

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Things only got worse. She tumbled over backwards and landed on SAND!

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Lily loves the sand

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I WILL NOT leave this towel.

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Since things were not going ever so well I decided to take her down to the waters edge to see if that would change her opinion of the beach. At this point I had nothing to lose.

Oh Yes, success. Now she loves the beach.

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After this I took a bucket full of water up on the sand and she gladly traipsed through sand to play with it.

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Lily is getting so big and so beautiful. I know as her mother I am not supposed to brag publicly but this is my blog so I'll brag if I want too!

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We stayed a couple of hours and came home and out of nowhere Rosie started making this face. It just makes me laugh out loud.

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When we were in China we were all making fish lips which for some odd reason Andie kept calling "duckface". I think this face makes her look like a duck so Andie this one is for you!

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1 Month Home

What a difference a month can make!
One month ago today at 3.55am we walked through our front door. We were ending one journey and starting another one. We were so happy to be here. When we walked through the front door with Lily a few years back it was as if she knew she was home. She instantly came to life and literally ran from room to room shrieking. Not so with Rose.

Rose was very insecure and didn't "feel" that this was the place we were meant to be. She remained that way for a another 10 days or so and then in her own sweet time she came to accept all of the changes. Now we have no idea where that timid, grieving little girl has gone because she has been replaced with the "Wildchild". She had a nickname in the orphanage and if we called her that she would always respond, she doesn't anymore. It is sad really to think that she is forgetting who she was. We won't let her forget it all, we want her to be proud of being Chinese and to be very proud of where she came from. I still speak the little bit of Chinese that I know to her and so does Lily. She understands it, which in itself is amazing cos I don't sound at all Chinese when I speak. LOL

It is just amazing how much our children can accept and process in such a short amount of time. I swear if I had to go through half of what my girls have gone through I would be in therapy for years. Rose is now the sister to Lily that Lily dreamt of for 3 years. They are an act together, they play, they laugh and they chat. Rose now talks constantly. My father call this type of babble, talking scribble and I think that is the perfect summation of it. She has decided that walking might be a good idea and in the last few days she has really been trying hard to get from point A to point B in an upright position. I have still yet to catch it on film because I stand next to her cheering her on and then when I think of the camera she is once again in a seated position.

She knows what she wants and how to go about getting it. She has given us so much and I hope that we can give to her all that she deserves by being outstanding parents to her. This is my goal for both girls. Since Rose entered our lives even the laundry has got cuter. Have you seen how tiny weiny her socks are? It is hard to find laundry boring when you are folding such adorable things.

To both girlies, I love you more than you will ever know. Thank you for being mine/ours. You make my heart and soul want to burst with love.

Stupid War

Today my cousin Andie left England and headed to Iraq...............sigh. This war is horrendous, thank you very much President Bush for risking the lives of so many of our people and taking the lives of 1,000's more.
Andie will be caring for the wounded British soldiers over there and they will be so lucky to have her. We will miss her terribley. Lily is sad because Andie is going there not that she truly understands the gravity of it all but she does understand that Andie won't be here for the next few months and she won't be popping up on Skype on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.

Take Care AndieMin, and we can't wait to see you again really soon.
Tonnes of love
us
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Weekend In Pictures

This weekend has just been so much fun.
Since it is still much to cold for us to get into the big pool Lily has been begging to put her little paddling pool in the backyard so yesterday the temperature was finally warm enough for us to do so.

Bathing Beauty. This is the smallest swimming costume I could find. It is all baggy on her. That is one of my pet peeves, little kids who have to wear swimming cossy's that will last them 5 yrs, they just look daft!


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Little Imp

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This morning they pushed their dollies around and around and around.

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Today the weather was perfect for being outside.

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She is just so flipping cute and she is all ours........we love her.

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There is a reason why Rose is sitting on the liner from her pushchair!!! Ah ha, so there is something that Wild Child does not like!


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After such a busy day we needed to eat so we headed to our favourite restaurant.We have been eating at Nunzios for twenty years. It is a small family owned and operated Italian eatery. Every year they close down for the summer and head back to the Old Country. We know all the family members and they know all our family members. Everyone that has visited eats at Nunzios. Lily had her first Italian there fed to her by one of the owners so it was only fitting to do the same with Rose.

Lily digging in.

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Rosie getting her first taste.

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Rosie getting serious

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Taking things very seriously indeed

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I think she liked it.

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