1 Already?

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl Makenna.  We have made a decision to celebrate Makenna's 1 year birthday today as well as August 15th.  Why you may ask?  We have been blessed with some information regarding her birth mother and according to her, she gave birth to Makenna today.  Therefore, we must celebrate!   And really...what is wrong with celebrating twice???

It is a wonderful day as my baby girl is 1 years old.  It is also a sad day.  I find it hard to celebrate Makenna's birthday without thinking about her birth mother.  One year ago today, Makenna's birth mother was giving birth to a child which she would later make an adoption plan for.  It is a day that was incredibly significant in her life and yet, she isn't with Makenna to celebrate this joyous day.  I wonder if she will think of Makenna today and pray that she will.

It is also a sad day for us.  Although we have been blessed with Makenna for 7 months and will continue to be blessed every day going forward, we were also not there one year ago to witness her birth.  It is part of Makenna's story which we can not share with her.  I wish I could have been there and I wish I could tell Makenna this chapter of her story.

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl.  I am so thankful you are my daughter.  On this day, we will celebrate your birth as well as celebrate your birth mother.  Without her, you wouldn't be home in your forever home.  We love you very much!

Wordless Wednesday - My 93 yr old Grandmother

Fair Time

Yesterday Maya and I along with my extended family enjoyed 9 hours at the State Fair.  What did we do for 9 hours you may ask?  Well here you go:

• We ate corn dogs, cheese curds, mini donuts and drank multiple glasses of lemonade and smoothies. 
• We walked and walked and walked while visiting all the exhibition halls, animals, model homes, and RVs.  We even saw elephants!
• We rode multiple rides and got a lot of use out of midway super pass (me not so much as I got sick on ride #2)
• Admired the brand new grand stand which houses the many concerts during the 9 days of fair time.
• We sat, we laughed, we sweated in the hot humid air while hoping we didn't smell, and we enjoyed each other's company. 

At the end of the day, I would give the fair a sold "A".

Picture time - lots of pictures so watch out!

The kids are ready to hit the fair!
  
First ride of the day - fun house!  Of course it had a slide!
 
The kids enjoyed some mini rides as well

Caricature time for my brother and his family - the girls had to watch but then got distracted by the fair's mascot (can you blame them?)

Looks like my mother is having a great time herself!

Face painting - good thing it was free (it is a butterfly BTW)

Time to rest and people watch with Aunt Tori :)

Ferris Wheel time!
 
Picture of the kids from today before we headed for home

Family and the State Fair

By not having a camper to visit each weekend this summer, we have been able to do many other fun activities.  We have gone on two out of town trips this month alone.  Once to visit Dave's family in the great state of Iowa and another trip to Minneapolis to visit our adoption travel group.  This summer has also allowed us to enjoy some more time at home even though it doesn't seem like we are home much.  

This weekend I am taking Maya to visit my mother and to attend the state fair.  My sister and her kids as well as my brother and his family will also be in attendance.  It will be the first time we all will be there together since the early 1990's.  Dave and Makenna are staying home which is a bummer but for the best as Makenna is too little to enjoy it.

The state fair brings back many memories from my childhood.  My mother raised myself and my two siblings alone which is no easy feat.  As much as I'd like to say we were perfect angels, the reality was we gave my mother a run for her money.  We may have not traveled the world or the US for that matter but we always went to the state fair each July.   Thankfully my grandparents live 15 minutes from it so we always had a place to stay.  I remember being excited to go as a kid and couldn't wait to go on all the rides.  I also loved walking in all the campers, model home, and of course the exhibit halls.  The fair was always an enjoyable time for our family.

I am excited to take Maya and allow her to experience the joys of the state fair.  I am also excited to be back after 15+ years.  And I am excited to be with my family.

Yep, I'm Going There

***Update***
Maya finally went #2 in the tiolet about 12:30ish. Poor thing. She was in a lot of pain all of last night and this morning. She did call me at work to tell me. I love getting those calls :)

Ah the joys of potty training. I really would be happy to completely skip this entire process. Potty training is by far the hardest thing for a parent or at least for me. The only thing I enjoy is the celebration of Maya going potty in the toilet.

Maya actually is 99% potty trained. YEAH! It was a long road to get to this point and I am very pleased with the progress. Now I just want Maya to consistently go #2 in the toilet. There are times, like tonight, where we have to stay home as Maya refuses to go even though she really has to. Time like tonight means Maya gets down on all 4's or leans over something and moves her butt up and down. Even though I tell, take, ask, persuade, and/or encourage her to use the bathroom, she will not go. Instead she keeps shaking her butt up and down. This will go on for hours! Rather than go outside and enjoy the fresh air, we are stuck inside trying to get Maya to go #2. Any idea how incredibly frustrating this may be? Not only is it frustrating for us the parents but it must be somewhat traumatic for Maya. I know she has to go, she knows she has to go, but according to her it is just too painful.

Does anyone else have this issue with their child? My friend suggested raspberries and prune juice. I can add both to her diet but it would have to be given to Maya at dinner time as she eats breakfast, lunch, and snack at daycare. I'd love to hear if anyone has any other suggestions? My goal is to get Maya 100% potty trained and relieve the pain she is in.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Wordless Wednesday - One Happy Family

Adoption Support Groups

For those with adoptive children, are you apart of an adoption support group?  We are.  I am so thankful to have a group of families in my community with adoptive children, specifically Ethiopian adoptive children. 

Once a month Nicole organizes a fun event for all the families.  One month it might be a potluck and play time at a local church or a play date at the children's museum or maybe a swimming event at a nearby park.  It is an informal time for families to come together.  The children love to play with one another and many of them have become fairly good friends.  Us adults try to get some adult conversation in whenever we are not speaking or chasing after our kiddos :) 

I find it is a nice resource to have locally.  As much as I love to read other adoption blogs and connect with families via social media outlets, I really enjoy my relationships with the local families who share adoption in common. 
Sometimes it is hard as a mother of two Ethiopian beauties, to talk to my family and friends about adoption topics.  I know they would be there for me and try to understand but it isn't the same.  I feel like I can talk freely to my "adoption" friends without being  judged or misunderstood. 

My community of families with adoption children has grown considerably over the past few years.  I remember meeting two other families before Maya came home and they were the only two families known in town (Nicole being one of them).  Now we have many families a part of our group and more are joining every day (or so it seems).

A big thanks to Nicole for all her hard work organizing the monthly events.  For the few times I have considered skipping  in order to continue tackling my to-do list or some other random thing, I am happy that I prioritized the event over everything else.  Maya absolutely loves them and I think that is the most important thing of all.  She gets to see her friends and continue to strengthen her relationships with the kids that "look like" her.  And I get to visit with the other parents and we all know how much I like to visit!

I encourage anyone reading my blog with adoptive children to join an adoption support/play group.  It will be well worth it and you will be glad you did.

Childhood

Earlier today I read an article in the newest Family Fun magazine about two moms who started a co-op day camp.  These moms got other moms involved and each mom takes a week in the summer to host a theme week of adventures and activities that focus on learning and social development.  Sounds cool doesn't it?

The reason these moms started this camp is because they remember the time when summers for kids used to be simple and splendid.  It made think back to my own childhood.  I remember summer days filled with no plans.  I'd wake and have the entire day in front of me to do whatever I choose to.  My summer days were filled with outdoor activities such as biking with friends, playing basketball, swimming, and games. 

I also remember many days of pure boredom and my mother telling me to go do something.  My mom got very tired of us kids hanging out inside and fighting with each other so we were encouraged to get outside and find something to do.  You know what?  We usually managed to do just that. 

These days it seems summer comes and goes so quickly due to so many scheduled activities.  When we are not running here or there, we are home trying to catch up on all the necessities such as laundry, mowing the lawn, cleaning, etc.  It is exhausting! 

Long are the days where you just go with the flow.  Long are the days where you tell your child to get outside and do something.  Unfortunately times have changed and now parents are forced to make all these plans for the safety of the children.  I don't know about you, but I don't feel comfortable sending my 3 year old outside without adult supervision even in the back yard. 

So...what is your favorite childhood memory?  Did you grow up with simple days of summer?

Soccer

Since we had Monday off from work, I was able to attend Maya's soccer practice and scrimmage.  I have only been able to watch Maya play one other time which was her first practice but haven't seen her play since.  I have to say, I didn't miss much.  I know that sounds awful like I am a bad mother but it just isn't enjoyable at this age.

Maya is not 100% engaged yet.  She will do the drills and participate some in the scrimmage but then gets side tracked.  Maya seems to be more interested in taking the water breaks her coaches give them or just hanging out on the field.  I think some of this is completely normal and some of it is just Maya.  I am still proud of her and happy she is playing as I think she could actually be good at this sport.  Of course she need a lot more practice but she is only 3!

Only 2 more practices to go until she plays again next spring!  One thing is for sure, Maya looks absolutely adorable in her soccer uniform!

Maya enjoyed her water breaks with her good friend Wren

Makenna also got to watch big sister and looked cute as well!

Friends

Wished we lived closer to the fabulous families were visited this past weekend.  The girls had a blast hanging out and playing with each other.  Maya is still talking about her weekend and wants to see her friends again. 

Four of the girls are only weeks apart in age and all lived in the same care center back in Ethiopia.  It is amazing to see these kids grow up into beautiful "big" girls. 

***Here are the girls having a blast at the zoo, on the bed at the hotel, and on the last day of our trip in the hotel lobby***

Weekend Vacation

What a fun long weekend away from home and time spent with some awesome adoption friends! I feel incredibly lucky to have found such an amazing group of families who share Ethiopia and adoption with us. Maya had so much fun playing with her friends. When I asked Maya what her favorite part was about her weekend, she replied "seeing all my friends". That was my favorite part too.

Here are 1o of my favorite things about this past weekend (in no particular order).

1. Attending the EKC Mehabar on Saturday
2. Spending quality time with 4 other families from our travel group
3. Seeing and talking with other adoptive families
4. Seeing Maya interact so beautifully with the other children
5. Hanging out at the Como Zoo
6. All the fun restaurants - Keys, 3 Squares, Punch Pizza, etc.
7. Eating my favorite ice cream in the entire world - Sebastian Joe's
8. Purchasing some amazing things from the vendors at the Mehaber including a necklace for Maya from A Hope and an Ethiopian soccer ball.
9. Shopping at Ikea and getting what I think I need to finally organize all the toys in our family room
10. Being with my family for 4 wonderful days!

We ended our weekend by making a quick trip to Trader Joe's before driving back home. And...Makenna slept the entire way home (3.5 hours)! Just maybe she is getting used to these car trips???

Pictures to come!

Diapers?

During my weekly Target run, I picked up two boxes of diapers.  The girls decided to use them as toys and had a blast with them in the kitchen.  Makenna is loving the fact she can pull herself up and stand!

It is really fun to watch the two girls interact with one another.  They just love each other and Makenna adores big sister.  Maya can do nothing and get Makenna to laugh hysterically.  She has the best laugh too.  What a pair!

4th of July weekend

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  We had a long fun weekend visiting with family and spending some family time of our own.  The weekend did leave us completely exhausted and a little under the weather.  Hopefully we rejuvenate quickly as we have another busy weekend in front of us.   

The girls are sleeping and the house is peaceful.  Almost too peaceful.  The long car ride overall was very good and Makenna actually did better than we thought.  She only screamed for part of the trip versus all of it so we chalk that up to a big success!  Makenna hopefully will grow out of this stage as it gets old real fast to have her scream in the car.  She is going to miss out on a lot of fun trips if she keeps this up as we will be forced to stay home (or we may invest in some really good ear plugs - ha!). 

Off to get some rest - thank you to Dave's family for hosting us.  Happy 4th everyone!

P.S.  a special Happy Birthday goes out to my brother Jon.  I was a very bad sister and forgot to call him this weekend :(  Shame on me.  Hope you had a great birthday Jon!

Holiday

Why is it when a holiday rolls around on the calendar such as the 4th of July, people feel it is necessary to make plans or end up feeling like a loser? Why is it not socially acceptable for a person to just be home doing everyday stuff? Why is that not "good" enough?

I live near lake country. Most everyone I know head to the lake on summer weekends especially summer holidays. We used to be one of those families. Most of my co-workers and some friends have family that own a lake property so it is easy for them to go without any worries of owning lake toys, upkeep of the property, etc. I have to admit, I'm jealous. As I mentioned in a previous post, we sold our camper this spring in hopes to find a new campground in the next couple of summers and to be free of the cost associate with it. Yes, we still own our boat so we can make day trips if we choose to.

When I was asked by several co-workers what my plans are for the 4th of July weekend, I told them. We actually do have plans which we are looking forward to. No, it does not involve going to the lake. Once I gave my answer, I got the dreaded "oh" response. Excuse me? What is that all about? It's sad really that plans spent outside of going to the lake are perceived as pathetic and boring.

I couldn't disagree more.

Plans or no plans should not be perceived any differently. Some people prefer to not make any official plans and instead go with the flow. I admire people like that and am working on doing more of it. I find myself more relaxed and stress free when I don't have "official" plans.

So the next time you have plans and ask someone else what they are doing, please refrain from the dreaded "oh". No one wants to hear it, trust me.

For those with plans, have fun! For those without plans, have fun!

Happy 4th of July everyone!