Kid Update

We've been sadly remiss about taking pictures lately. We'll post more soon, but I wanted to give a snapshot of where they are developmentally. This is more for my memory than anything, but feel free to read on if you're interested. :)

Big Sissy
3 years 5 months
Has an innate need to climb, climb, climb
Very imaginative
Great at memorizing. "Reads" memorized books to Little Sissy.
Strong will!
Getting less inhibited all the time. Will dance at the front of the room at library story hour.
Loves to pick dandelions and give them to perfect strangers.
Mommy's advocate. Gets onto Little Sissy when she disobeys or acts ugly to me.
Mommy's enemy. Disobeys and acts ugly to me.

Little Sissy
20 months (in 2 days)
Still loves lamby and sucking her fingers.
Talking up a storm. Putting together 3-word sentences. (Daddy in there, Hold me please, Rara hit me--this is a new favorite)
Enjoys practicing buckling seatbelts--on the swing, in the booster chair, in baby's car seat
Loves swinging and going down slides
Has parts of the book Olivia and the Missing Toy memorized
Still only 6 teeth in front, but 3 others now toward the back of her mouth.

Little Buddy
12 weeks
Still sleeps all morning and big portions of the rest of the day. Not so much a schedule yet.
Sleeping between 5 and 10 hours a night--still rather random. Usually in bed by 9:30.
Head getting less wobbly--almost ready for the Bumbo seat.
Head still round. Sounds weird, but this is significant to me.
Has found hands. Doesn't really look at them, but sucks on them.
Loves to grab my hair.
Wearing 3-6 months clothing, but the sleepers with feet are too short. Some 6-9 months.
Starting to coo and jabber. Let out a squeal of delight this week. So cute!

Makes Perfect Sense

Big Sissy always has to take one of her litle stuffed animal "friends" to the bathroom with her when she goes potty. They usually sit on the trash can and "wait for her" while she's in there. It's such a habit I don't even think about it, but yesterday I asked her why she always wanted someone in there with her.

"I'm really supposed to," she says.
"Why?" I ask.
"Because it's made for taking toys in there. It's a toy-let."

First Zoo Day of the Spring

Since I'm not brave enough to take all 3 kids to a big outing yet, Hubby took off today and we went to the zoo. We planned to do it Friday, but it rained all morning so he went to work. I am such a kid--I was so disappointed. Today was perfect weather; unfortunately, Big Sissy was sick. I'm not kidding. Someone in our family has been sick for the past 6 weeks. She still got excited to see the lions and tigers and ride the train, so I think she'd say it was worth it. Little Sissy was way more into it this year. Little Buddy, well...he's just a good sport.

The best view of lions I've ever had at the zoo--male and female

Happy Little Buddy--11 weeks old tomorrow

This is what happens when you put 2 toddlers together in a double stroller.

Our sweet baby again

Daddy and the girls on the zoo train--poor Big Sissy was so sick.

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that the chiropractor thinks he can help me; the bad news is this is not a new problem. It's been festering for some time (since my first pregnancy, I'm thinking), and it's going to take 3 months of therapy to fix me. The good news is that wonderful machine they put me on that was like a back massage; the bad news is the $750 of therapy (that's the part insurance doesn't cover). The good news is the free ice pack; the bad news is the constant dull ache.

Makes me long for heaven. I'm still young and still feel like my body is slowly falling apart. In the past few years I have seen an OB/GYN, a reproductive endocrinologist, a "regular" endocrinologist, a dentist, a dental surgeon, and a chiropractor. For those who know me, they're probably hoping a podiatrist is next on the list. :)

It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

In counseling they always use this phrase, "It gets worse before it gets better." That basically means that when there is an area that needs work, you have to expose all the hurt before you can start healing. Apparently this is true with chiropractic care too. I went for my first visit today, and wow. I feel like I've been worked over. I have said for months that when I lay flat on my back I still feel like I'm crooked. People always give me the "you're weird, but I'm going to smile anyway" look. Turns out there is actually some kind of twist in my spine. I go back tomorrow to find out what the x-rays reveal. I'm sure 3 babies in 3 years hasn't been great on my back! On a funny note, I had a moment of feeling like Joey from "Friends." Remember the episode where the tailor is feeling him up and only later does he find out that's not normal and most tailors don't do that? I sort of felt like that when this man who is not my husband was practically laying on me trying to pop my back into place. Every chiropractor does that, right? Right???

Adoption on my Mind

I know it seems crazy to even be thinking about another child since ours are still 3, 1, and 2 months old. But somehow this desire in my heart never fades. I have been reading a Christian fiction author named Karen Kingsbury. She has 3 biological children and 3 adopted from Haiti. Her story is amazing. In summary, she felt like she was done having children--content with their 3. She came across a website of an orphanage in Haiti and fell in love with a picture of a boy named EJ. She talked to her husband, who was in favor of adoption. Slowly they started introducing the idea to their children and praying for EJ until finally they just knew he was supposed to be theirs. After some time they felt like maybe EJ would want a brother who was more like him--another Haitian. They chose a boy named Joshua, but a worker at the orphanage told them he was not a good choice, wouldn't blend well with other children, etc. They settled on another boy named Sean. When they went to pick up their 2 boys, another little boy came up to Karen and said in perfect English, "Hello, Mommy. I love you." Of course her heart melted. This turned out to be Joshua. The worker had lied about him for some reason. Of course she couldn't leave him behind, so after some months and more paperwork, they brought Joshua home to join the others. I love how God works to make sure all his children are taken care of. We might never have considered adoption if it weren't for a period of infertility. We started doing research, attending meetings, and praying about it. God has been gracious to allow us to have 3 biological children, but I still feel like there is a little girl in China just waiting for us.

Another friend recently told me they are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. It's funny. I don't often get jealous of people when they get something new--new house, new car, new shoes. But I can't stop thinking that our family isn't quite complete without our little girl from China. I have no idea how we will ever afford it, but it never leaves my mind. The government thinks they match people up with a child there, but I think God is in the process now of matching up those precious children with their forever families. Someone said if you have an extra seat in your minivan and room in your heart, then you can adopt.

It's All About the Context

Big Sissy, who is 3, sometimes says things that I could swear were sarcastic except I think she's just being very literal. Tonight she and I went to church alone because the 2 little ones have colds and Daddy offered to stay home with them this time. It was some good mommy/daughter bonding time on the way there and home. When we got home I accidentally pushed a button on my new phone, which I can't yet figure out. I didn't know where the noise was coming from but when I turned around, Big Sissy had a big smile on her face. I asked her, "Did you do something to make a beeping noise?" She looked in her bag of peanut butter crackers and said seriously, "Well, my peanut butter crackers don't beep, so I guess not." Now if I had said that I would have been called Sassy Frass (my husband's pet name for me), but I think she was totally serious. It makes me laugh every time.