Muffins

Maya helped me make muffins on Friday night to share at the marathon gathering on Saturday morning.  She did a great job helping me and looked incredibly adorable in her Dora apron.  I think her favorite part was licking the spoon (no raw eggs so we were okay) and eating the final results.  They turned out pretty good so no surprise she wanted to goble them up!

Wordless Wednesday - Forever Family Gifts - Ethiopia Color Hat & Doll

Beauty Salon

I can't even imagine what kind of hair do's I will have as my girls continue to get older.  It is so much fun being the hair model and having my hair pulled, yanked, twisted, etc. to just be told "I know it hurts but I have to do this".  This is what I get apparently from styling their hair. 

Makenna's Adoption Finalized - YIPPEE!!!

The final piece of Makenna's adoption is officially complete.  Yippee!  For those who do not understand what this means or do not understand adoption in general, it means the state we live in recognizes our adoption. 

Why do we have to do re-finalize and go to court?  Well here are 3 reasons:

1. It erases any procedural flaws or irregularities in the foreign adoption
2. It enables us to get a birth certificate for Makenna from our state
3. It places our Ethiopian born girls on equal footing with any biologically children we have (which we don't) or any children we have adopted in the USA (which we don't have).

To celebrate our family being a foursome, Dave and I took the day off and kept the girls home from daycare.  We had hoped to do something fun in the morning but it quickly vanished.  Amazing how quick a morning can go when you are busy with breakfast, getting dressed, etc.  Dave did make pancakes and eggs for breakfast and we had one of Makenna's favorites meals, Erberts and Gerberts. 

Court was at 1:30 CST and took all of 10 minutes.  The judge was our down the street neighbor and was very sweet to us and to our girls.  Maya and Makenna did the best they could under the circumstance - no nap which they are doing as I type.  Once nap is over, we plan to spend some quality time as a family outside!

On that note - congratulations to us!  YIPPEE!

Texture Play

Makenna plays rough and sometimes doesn't know how to express herself the correct way.  Makenna often uses aggressiveness such as hitting, biting, screaming, and pulling hair to get herself heard.  We are doing what we can at home to correct this behavior but it isn't easy and very frustrating.  I feel bad for her too as I know she wants to communicate with us via words but she isn't talking quite yet minus a few words here and there. 

Dave found some information out online (he can not remember the source so sorry!) about texture play and how it can help with children who are more aggressive.  Here is what he found:

As for texture play, some children are just more physical than others. When I use the word “aggressive,” I don’t mean a child who is hurtful or mean, but rather a child who is more physical in their communication. These children require more physical stimulation, and if they don’t get it through appropriate means like texture play, they will get it through pushing, hitting, etc.

Texture play is anything that touches and stimulates some part of their bodies. Baths are great because it’s water on the skin. Some kids really enjoy shaving cream–you can put a pile on the table and let your daughter do art, or you can put a pile in an empty tub and let her play with it on the tub and her skin (before you hose them off). Sand boxes, bean tables where she can run their hands through the beans, books that provide different textures, these are all helpful.

When she gets her physical needs out appropriately there will be less to get out inappropriately.

I have to say, this makes total sense to me.  Tonight by accident the girls, I mean Maya, pulled all the cushions from the sectional on to the floor so they could jump on them, etc.  Normally I would have stopped this and had them put all the cushions back but I didn't think there was any harm so I let them.  Wow did they have fun!  Both girls laughed, giggled, and showed off their new skills.  And you know what?  No hitting, fighting, screaming, crying, biting, hair pulling, etc.  GLORIOUS!  I really like this texture play thing and will have to do some brainstorming on some other activities the girls can participate in rather than jumping on my couch cushions!
 
How do you weigh in on this?  Have you heard of it and have you tried texture play with your children? 

10 Unique Things

My friend Suzi does a great job on her blog and is an inspiration to me as a mother, wife, and blogger. She has two adorable children and one coming any day now. Suzi gave me a great blog idea thanks to her monthly list of things she loves about her kids.  Each month the list gets a tad longer as the child gets older as the number of things she list corresponds to how old her children are in months.  Cool idea, right?

I am inspired but coming up with 50+ items for Maya and 22 items for Makenna may be tiring and possibly boring for those reading my blog so I decided to come up with my top 10 things that differentiates each girl from the other. 

Maya versus Makenna:

1. Maya loves to relax by snuggling with her blanket on the couch watching TV while Makenna loves to relax by picking on her big sister or making a giant mess in the house
2. Maya loves to eat bread and will eat bread before anything else.  Makenna loves to eat the meat, cheese, and anything else before taking a bite of bread.  They can easily share a sandwich without any complaints or fights.
3. Maya loves to snuggle with mommy and daddy.  Makenna loves to be held but only for a short amount of time.  No snuggling allowed with Makenna unless it is right before going to bed.
4. Maya loves to sing and dance.  Makenna loves to hear her own music with her crazy loud voice.
5. Maya loves to drink water and juice.  Makenna loves milk.
6. Maya's favorite show is Miss Spider.  Dora all the way for Makenna.
7. Maya is super picky when it comes to how her hair is styled and what clothes she wears.  Makenna could really care less as long as you don't comb her hair.  She will run and scream the other direction.
8. Maya is scared of everything which includes a flying leaf.  Makenna is incredibly daring and isn't afraid of anything. 
9. Maya loves to play Barbies and read books.  Makenna loves to play with her baby dolls and doll house.
10. Maya is the slowest and pokiest girl I have ever met.  Makenna doesn't waste a minute to avoid being left behind for any reason.

One thing each girl does have in common is a mommy and daddy who love them to pieces!

My Grandma

I have been blessed with a wonderful and warm hearted Grandmother.  She is someone who has loved me for me all my life and has never stopped loving me.  I have so many great memories from all chapters of my life. 

I remember her and my grandfather coming to visit us in South Dakota and riding around town on my bike watching for them to come over the big hill. 

I remember getting to pick out two donuts from the dozen donuts they brought with them from the one and only Donut Hole.

I remember playing in their large yard, sleeping on the pull-out couch, eating eggs and bacon for breakfast, and running to the one store in my grandparents town to pick out some candy. 

Easter weekend we visited my Grandmother.  She has just moved into an assisted living complex and we helped her settled in.  My sister, mom, and friends actually moved her which I am very grateful for as I know it wasn't easy.  My Grandmother seems to be really happy in her new environment.  It is a nice place with some very nice tenants and staff. 

On the way back home, we stopped at my Grandmother's house along with my sister and her family.  Walking up the steps into the house created a lot of emotions and brought back loads of memories.  Walking into the house created even more as I looked at a half emptied place.  My grandmother's house is small and she took many of her belongings with her.  It almost felt weird being there knowing my Grandmother wasn't there to greet me and to give me one of her hugs.  I am glad I stopped and I am not embarrassed to say some tears fell.  I adore my Grandmother and am thankful everyday for her.  I just hope everyone has a Grandmother like mine.