Friday, July 3, 2009
BEAT the DRUM ~
BEAT THE DRUM check it out on amazon this is the dvd description ~
"A young, orphaned boy sets out for the big city to find his uncle after a mysterious illness strikes his village. Driven by his determination to survive and his growing social awareness, he finds a way to make an honest living and returns to his village with a truth and understanding his elders have failed to grasp. An emotional and timely drama reminding us how one small voice can be the brave start of colossal change –uniting a village, a township, and even a nation. "
This movie has won 30 international awards and the scenery is just beautiful! It takes place is south Africa. If you have read the book 28 -STORIES OF AIDS IN AFRICA ,which is about the HIV/AIDS crisis in all of Africa you will see so many of the points in this movie. So much of the AIDS crisis is preventable....The little boy was so sweet and strong, with a will to survive which I think reflects our children from Ethiopia. He travels down from his village into the big city after his father dies and the village elder leads his grandmother to do something she didnt want to , and he is crushed (i dont want to give it away so I'm being vague). He finds answers that all the adults around him refuse to see. In the end his desire to survive and be happy and loved is beautiful. It reminds me of all the older children who have been orphaned & ache to find love and security after tragedy. A must see I think :) The only icky part is a short animal sacrifice scene, which I dont think is graphic, but honestly I walked away because I cant handle that stuff. if you want to borrow my copy & I know you a bit, send me an email, and I will send it off to you if you promise to send it back ;)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
First Post Placement Cuteness !!
Hiding under her blankie with the binky
Oh how I love this sweet child :) ~we are in the process of weaning the "binky" :( we have gotten it down to only bedtimes but lately she is sneaking off and hiding under tables or behind the couch w/ them ...
Oh my !! How beautiful is this little face ?
What a sweet spirit this child has. I am so blessed to be her Mama.
judging from these pictures I found when I down loaded
CLEARYLY I'm the big "Wow wow wubbzy" fan :) :)
~We had a long night tonite...baby girl and Bug are both feeling yucky. Baby girl threw up 4 times in an hour then (so far) not again. Hate hate it when a baby is sick :( Bug was on my bed most of the day with a tummy ache and Boo was cranky, so she isnt feeling good. Prayers that this cootie ends tonight and everyone is happy in the morning would be sooooo wonderful :)
~We had our first post-placement visit with our social worker last night. It went so wonderful. We love our sw. She handled our adoption homestudy for Boo from Guatemala and now Baby girls adoption. For those who dont know, Ethiopia requires a post placement report to be done by a sw at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months home. After that parents are required to send a report yearly, until the child reaches 18. Our agency also required a deposit that will be refunded after the first year of reports are done. I dont mind and actually think the reports are a wonderful idea. Countries deserve to know their children they have trusted to adopting families are doing well. It shows that adoption works :)
~Our sw was so thrilled to meet baby girl and agreed she is just beautiful :) Baby girl showed off by being extra cute an smiley and standing up whenever she had the chance :) She said all the kids she has met from Ethiopia have adjusted so well and are just so happy. I have to agree :)
~I watched an awesome movie tonite about Africa and the HIV/aids crisis. It was really a beautiful movie, I'll share about it tomorrow.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Keeping it REAL
Believe it or not, life with this cutie is not perfect. I'm sure some of the issues are mine....some just baby stuff, and a bit her strong personality. I dont really think it is adoption related per say...her bond to me is strong. She knows her family vs. strangers or friends. Actually that is part of the issue I am having. She is very fickle when anyone comes too close or tries to engage her. She crinkles up her nose and when she opens her little mouth a blood curdling cry comes out. Could be walking in the park, or at a store. Even if Daddy or my sister tries to take her from me....all he** breaks out. AND once she starts shrieking and crying, it takes me awhile to calm her back down. I went shopping with my mom yesterday, just to the fabric store (have a surprise coming) grocery store for a few things. I usually have baby girl in the sling, but she was super wiggly so I put her in the cart. My mom started to push it, and she started crying....so I pulled out her bottle and my mom (trying to bond with her) tried to give it to her. Well no thank you ma'am!! She got quite mad and started shrieking. So much that we left the store :( I popped into the grocery store to grab some teething gel hoping to help her a bit (top teeth are slooowly coming in) and she did ok in the sling until, I ran into a friend and stopped to chat a second. She started again, and didnt stop until I got her in the car, THEN she took her bottle. I cant imagine how odd all this must be for her. She has done AMAZING, but this only mama , all the time, or the shrieking starts is ...well, hard!
~bedtime was getting draining too. She goes to sleep pretty easy after her bottle and I lay her in her moses basket or bouncy seat (autumn ignore the last part ;) near my bed. I dont come to bed for awhile but she started waking every 20 mins or so screaming for me. My hubby cant console her, she justs gets mad, so I have to keep getting up rocking her back to sleep, then go back and try to relax or get back to whatever I was doing. Its so weird because she naps in the afternoon, for a solid 2 hrs. By the time I come to bed she had woken up about 5 times !Then she wakes up about 3 times for a bottle thru the night on the bed w/us. OH she also has this fun idea that every couple days its time to get up around 3-5 am and it takes about an hour to get her back to sleep. I was starting to look a bit like a zombie....and felt like one.
So, I decided to put her to sleep at nap time awake after her bottle and song, to get her used to hanging without me. The first morning she cried for about an hour straight, but I went in and patted her every 5 -10 minutes. After an hour she fell asleep the next morning I did the same thing and it took her about 20 minutes to fall asleep and I patted her a few times so she knew I was there. The third morning she fell asleep within minutes and didn't cry once ! Partly her cry was just pure mad ....you can tell when she is being strong willed and not sad. This was hard for me, because I am an attachment parent all the way, but sometimes you have to change things a bit to make things easier in the long run. Anyway the 2nd night she only woke 1 time between 9pm and 12 when I came to bed :) :) so it is helping a bit. I DO NOT RECOMMEND CRYING IT OUT for any baby in any situation. They must be home a few months and be secure. I truly felt she was ready to start sleeping alone a bit and it would help her. which it did. You have to know your baby is bonded and will not be scared or you could do more damage then good. Just wanted to be honest so folks know, there are good and bad times, even when things are great :) Especially for first time parents . Its ok to say you're tired and pooped out :) Heck I am , and we are on #4 :) But I love it !!!
~We missed our drs appt Friday due to NO sleep the night before...I am on the fence , should I go to our regular ped or make an appt for an international ped which is a 2 hr drive away? The rattling and potty issues are making me feel awful for her and bad as a mommy :(
Boo and Renee
We went to the park w/ my friend Jess and her kiddos. It was a nice breezy day :)
Baby girl in her first park swing ride !
Jess's little guy and Tatiana. They are about a month apart.
He is such a cute lil chunk !! :)
Happy Bug
Jessica's little guy (at 24 #s ;) do you remember he had a cleft lip when he was born? It looks amazing.
Baby girl catching some zzzz's at the park
When we first got to the park, it started raining. I figured we would wait it out after all the effort it takes to actually GET to the park with 4 kiddos :) The rain passed pretty quick and it was a breezy day.
Remember the brown crib I bought on craigslist for $50?? well we are finally painting it !!! It is going to look just beautiful when its done.
I love the wood white, it looks a bit aged which is pretty.
~I started this post this morning around 8am...LOL it is now 3:30 ! Yes things do change when you have a baby in the house :)
Have a wonderful day !! :)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Something to clap about
Doesn't this smile just melt your heart ?? Yay...mine too.
Baby Girl has learned to clap !! AND she claps alot :)
Gotta have the decorated booty in the south .. (thanks to megan at "burp bitty burp)
My sweetie is teething on the top, and has been chewing and drooling a bunch. I found that a toddler toothbrush does the trick! She loves it & it is easy for her to hold.
Seriously love the bows. Kristi shared with me that a few folks in Ethiopia mentioned to her "A girl in florida puts big bows on her ethiopian little one too!" HA!! Gotta love it. We think alike :)
Eyelashes and bows ;)
Clapping again !!
Ok. This bib crack me up! It is bigger then she is :) I bought it because Boo (for some reason we cant figure out) has called Baby girl "DAISY" since she came home. At first whenever we called her "Tatiana" Or Heweena (her special mothers called her that short for Hiwot) she would very sternly tell us "No mama..call her DAISY!"
Cracks us up..and not a clue where she got it from.
Look who has big bouncey curls !! She has the softest little curls on top but the back is shorter and dry, so I am tryin a few things to add moisture. I'll let you know what works out.
Bug loves pushes baby girl around in the doll stroller. Baby sisters make great little baby dolls.
ok~surprise !! Tatiana is standing ALL BY HERSELF ! AHHHH!!
(excuse the drool please :)
Yes, that is a piece of mulch in her mouth, which I removed AFTER I snapped the picture :)
SHE IS QUITE TICKLED EACH TIME SHE STANDS UP :) Boo cheers for her and tells her "good job baby good job!" sooooo sweet.
GOD IS GOOD.
Have a wonderful friday :) we are off to the dr again, hoping to be referred to a specialist for baby girls rattling . I hoped it was gone , but no such luck. My thoughts are running to GERD or acid reflux now :(
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Families are Forever...right?
When I think that Boo and Baby girl could have grown up
so very far away from me, and we might have never met..it chokes me up. I cant imagine my life without my 2 lil babies. I love my babies so much , and am just humbled by GOD's plan for our lives.
HAPPY FATHERS DAY PAPI :) :)
WE LOVE YOU !!!
Bug crashed after VBS with her cat....
It has been sooooo hot lately, I let the babies play with
the water table and they had a blast ! It was so funny to see
them splash each other and just laugh !
My lil' beauties ;)
How stinkin cute is my girl ??
Baby girl has a little birthmark on her back shaped like
a butterfly :)
Getting ready to splash me !
She is such a happy baby. ( the screaming stopped ;P oye.)
~JON & KATE PLUS 8.... MINUS 1 ?
OK SERIOUSLY AM I ALONE IN BEING SO BUMMED OVER THIS AND IRKED BY JON??
Its weird how I care so much about this I know, but I was really in a funk last night after the show. I HATE TO SEE THEM BREAKUP. And btw what is up w/ JON'S EARRINGS?? He didnt have earrings before, now 2 diamond studs, and a funky t-shirt and smoking? Why do people give up on their families SO easily? Yes marriage is hard. Yes raising kids is hard. Sure it is harder in the spot light...especially when you are out with a 23 year old teacher in a bar who is NOT your wife ( just saying)
No one ever said it would be easy, but it is worth it. I wonder if they were not financially secure if he would walk away to explore the next chapter in his life (since he is only 32.....his words) Who cares how old he is ? He has 8 children to provide a stable family for and to love their mother! That is what counseling is for , right? I know she was tough on him and they have problems like everyone can, she clearly was the stronger of the 2, but it seemed to work for them. I just felt so bad for Kate, when she said he wont even talk to her. I'm sure it is complicated, I just hate to see a family break up, and the hubby go off and re-live his 20's.. without trying super hard to work it out. Guess the tabloids win again :( sorry. had to get this off my mind :)
Any thoughts?
On a happier note !!!!!
~welcome home to Kristi and her beautiful Lucy Lane !!! Check her pictures out here. **
Sunday, June 21, 2009
All fun things come to an end...
The sun was setting on another wonderful VBS week. My kiddos were quite sad and didnt understand why the VBS volunteers couldnt do it ALL summer long :)
Aunt Meme and Bug
It was ridiculously hot and humid outside, but that didnt stop Boo
from dancing and spinning :)
my beautiful Bug
Proud Mama & Papi :)
The Fan club
My VBS stars :) The theme was "Boomerang express" it was so much fun !!
Peanut & his class
The kids raised $366 for a mission trip, which was $100 more then the goal :)
Our Bug (with the yellow tag)
It was a wonderful fun week, but honestly it is HARD getting everyone up and out early. We are a home school family and we (I..) dont move that quick in the morning LOL! My hat is off to you Moms who get everyone moving and out the door every morning for school...it makes me tired just thinking of it ;)
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