May Happenings

The past 2 weeks have been busy. And I don't see it slowing down any time soon. 

The girls are finishing up Kindergarten. I can't believe it.  This year has gone by fast, as usual. They have learned so much this year.  And they have blossomed so much. They are not my babies anymore.  Last week was the end of the year picnic. All 9 Kindergarten classes went to the park. It was such a fun day. The girls had a blast.

That evening we had some friends come over with their son.  He is 1 month older than Ethan.  We got to know them this past year waiting for E to come home.  Bill was able to watch their son, to get an idea of what it will be like to have a son.  It's fun to watch the boys.  They are slowly becoming good friends.  I'm excited to see the friendship blossom.

Daisy's is also over for the year. And as the end of year treat, the girls were treated to pedicures.  They chose the nail polish and they got a Daisy painted on their big toes. They loved it.  It was fun for them.

Ethan is in desperate need of a real hair cut. I wish we could take him somewhere. But we can't, yet.  He screams whenever you get close to his head.  So, we tried. It took a while. We finished while he was in the bath. 

So Tiff tried on my wedding dress when she was a lot younger. She asked to try it on again.  So I told her to go ahead.  And it fit this time.  It was bittersweet to see it on her.  She said she really likes it and wants to wear it for her wedding.  (No, there are no wedding plans in the works, or even a prospective groom). 

This weekend Bills family came over. We have not seen his brother & family since Jan.  It was really nice to see them.  All of the girls had fun swimming. I'm so glad the weather cooperated.  This photo all 6 jumped in together.  I love their expressions.

Finally, little man.  He's such a cutie pie.  He is doing better.  He had another ear infection, so some more sleepless nights.  Last night he slept 12 hours. I think he was worn out from all of the family fun.  Today after he got out of the pool, he sat in the princess chair (Yes, Bill wants to find a manly chair for him) and just watched Bill play with the RC car.  He was fascinated.  It was so neat to see the "boy" come out in E.  I love this expression.  It will change soon. 1 week from today (June 7) his lip will be repaired.  I'm ready, but a little sad at the same time. 

So that is the last 2 weeks.  OH, one more important thing happened.  We're moving!  We are building a house. It's bigger.  6 bedrooms.  We are preparing just in case we adopt again. :-) 

Thanks for checking on us.  I will update after surgery (if not before).  Until them.......

Bring Me Hope Night Walk 2010

Last night was the annual Bring Me Hope Night Walk.  This is our 3rd year participating.  We invited friends & family to walk for the orphans.  We raised money to send 5 kids to camp for a week.  We are so excited.  The night was fun.  Everyone came over a little early for snacks.  We showed videos from camp and we also had the kids make pictures for the kids in China.  At 7 PM we walked.  The weather was not too bad.  Usually it's so hot & humid. Last night there was a nice breeze. 
If you are interested in sending an orphan to camp this summer, or by volunteering, check out Bring Me Hope's website.  www.bringmehope.org. 

Our Night Walk Group

Spaghetti Tacos

If you've ever watched iCarly, then you've heard of spaghetti tacos. 

Well Tiff & her friends are fans of iCarly. And last night they wanted to try spaghetti tacos.  So they made them.  I'm not sure if they ended up liking it too much, but they had fun.  Personally it looked gross to me.  :-)

Sister Love

Tonight, Abby & Jadyn performed in their Kindergarten performance at school.  Before the performance, we took some photos. Abby was "The Little Old Woman" and Jadyn was a horse (costume was at school). These were my favorite.  Enjoy! 

Misc. Photos

Here are some photos from the other day!  Enjoy!

Nanny & Ethan

Silly Faces

Grace, Jadyn & Abby

Tiffani taking part of her online driving test

Ethan thought it was funny sitting in the basket

Happy Mother's Day!

I just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all my friends & family.  I hope your day is very special. 

Love, Debbie

A Night Out With Tiff

Yesterday morning was spent with Abby & Jadyn.  And last night was spent with Tiff.  It was the annual band awards.  We had dinner before the concert/awards.  Pasta & salad.  Yum!  It's so different having a child who is old enough to do her own thing, and not need me to get her food, or tell her it's time to go to the band room etc.  I was sitting with my friend at dinner and we were just chatting away.  We thought we should go to the auditorium and when we got there, our kids were on stage, practicing.  It was that moment that we realized how grown up they are getting.

I was looking forward to the night out.  But, I did not realize we would be out that long.  I was exhausted.  We arrived at school around 5:45.  We did not get home until almost 10 pm.  The awards took forever. And there really weren't that many awards handed out.  Just a lot of talking & clapping.

Tiff received her band letter & pin that she can put on her jacket, if she buys a jacket.  She does not think she will. I told her she can just wear her boyfriends, when she gets a boyfriend. LOL  (no we are not rushing that).

Here are a couple of photos from last night.  Enjoy!

  The mom's: Debbie (Josh), me, Barb (Ashley) & Kris (Brooks)

  The kids: Josh, Tiff, Ashley & Brooks

Learning New Things, Teeth Falling Out, Mother's Day Treat & Surgery Date

This week has been good.  Ethan is happier this week.  Praying the happiness will continue. :-)  We had an evaluation this week with a speech therapist and also a psychologist.  Ethan did great. They were impressed with how well adjusted he is, and how on target he is for his age.  The only thing we need to work on is communication.  Which we already knew.  So there were no surprises when we left.  Ethan will be getting speech therapy soon.  We're just waiting for it all to be scheduled.

They told us that we need to work with Ethan on saying some things.  They want him to be saying mama and dada (or sounds that represent us) within 3 months.  Well do you know what this stinker did?  He said MAMA that afternoon.  I was changing him and he said "mama" and laughed so hard.  He knew what he was doing.  And he knew that it would make me happy.  He's done it a few times.  And only when I'm changing him.  Since that moment, he has started saying "ow" and "u" (short u) for up.  He will also say "hi" when he wants to.  He grunts a lot and points at things.  So he's starting to understand language.

Ethan also figured out how to get up on the couch.  We watched him throw his leg up.  He's been trying for a little while, but he's so short, so it's harder for him.  Well, this day we were watching and he did it.  He was laughing so hard because he was so proud of himself.  Little man figured out how to get his little body up on the sofa.  So now we can't get him down. Of course, I'm nervous that he's going to fall off.

Jadyn has had a wiggle tooth for weeks.  she is terrified about pulling it.  She's been working at it and yesterday we noticed how loose it really was.  It needed to come out.  Well Jadyn was scared, and she cried so hard.  We've never seen her cry like this.  It was heartbreaking for me.  Well we had to get it out so we tried comforting her while Bill tried to get his fingers around the the tooth.  When he looked at it, he noticed the tooth next to it was about to fall out too.  She had 2 that were ready to come out.  She finally calmed down enough for Bill to get the 1st tooth out.  She was so happy.  After rinsing, she let Bill look at the 2nd tooth.  He barely touched it and it fell out.  We made a HUGE deal.  Jadyn was so happy.  Last night the tooth fairy came and gave her $2.00.  She was thrilled.

Today was Muffins for Moms at school.  I went to their classes. I spent about 10 minutes with Jadyn.  She gave me a muffin & juice.  We ate together and I read the note she left for me.  Then I went over and ate with Abby. I saw her note too. Precious!  The title of the letter is "My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world!"  Here is what Jadyn said:
-My mom's name is Debbie
-My mom has brown hair and blue eyes
-She is 16 feet tall and weighs 19 pounds
-My mom likes to eat chicken
-My mom is happy when she hugs me
-But I know she is really angry when we do bad things.
-My mom's favorite tv show is Biggest Loser
-My mom is smart. She knows all about books
-If my mom would have one wish come true, it would be to have a candle
-I love my mom because she helps me with homework

Here is what Abby said:
-My mom's name is Debbie Byrne
-My mom has brown hair and blue eyes
-She is 12 feet tall and weighs 12 pounds
-My mom likes to eat pizza
-My mom is happy when I hug her
-But I know she is really angry when I lie
-My mom's favorite tv show is Big Loser
-My mom is smart. She knows all aobut if Jadyn & I are lying
-If my mom would have one wish come true, it would be for a clean earth
-I love my mom because she is cute.

I just love their answers.  And I love how they answered a few the same. Made me smile!  They also planted a plant for me in a decorated flower pot, and made me a ladybug card.  I had a great morning with the girls. Very special moments

I called the surgeon again yesterday.  Apparently the surgeon & orthodontist had a meeting Tuesday night.  They have decided to do the lip repair surgery at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. I did not understand why we are going to a new hospital.  The receptionist said that the orthodontist is going to be putting in a new appliance in Ethan's mouth. They will be taking the Latham out.  They need to have something in his mouth so it won't collapse.  So, the orthodontist tech will take a mold of Ethan's mouth at the beginning of surgery, and then go to the office (which is close to this hospital) and make the appliance. The surgeon will then do the lip repair.  Hopefully by time he is finished, the appliance will be ready to put in his mouth.  The surgery is scheduled for Friday May 28 at 7:30 am.  3 more weeks.

So, this has turned into a long update. :-) I guess a lot has gone on this week.  Tonight I'm going to the high school band banquet with Tiff.  I'm excited to spend this time with her.  Of course I will take my camera and hopefully get some good pictures of the "big" kids.

Until next time....

Sorry for the delay in posting

Life has been so busy.  Too busy to sit and blog.  I have to admit, it's easier to put photos & little updates on Facebook. 

Ethan had the Latham surgery and he is doing well.  He did not seem too bothered by it at all.  We had to tighten it and that was no fun. But we got through it.  We saw the orthodontist almost 10 days ago and he was very impressed with how fast the Latham worked.  He said Ethan is ready for surgery.  We saw the surgeon a week ago and he also said we should schedule surgery.  So now we wait.  Wait to be told when surgery will be. 

Tiff is officially 15 now. She's been busy studying for her learners permit.  I can't believe she's old enough to start driving now.  She's excited. 

Abby & Jadyn are growing up way too fast.  I look at them now and they are not my little babies anymore.  They are almost 1st graders.  When did that happen? 

And Ethan.  Ethan is so comfortable here.  He is attached to me.  I can't leave the room without him following me or screaming.  It makes it difficult to do anything.  Some days are good, some are not so good.  But we're getting through them.  We just need him to talk. To tell us what he needs & wants. 

Life is very busy with 4 kids.  And all in different stages. 

I don't have any photos to post.  Even though we've been so busy, we have not taken too many photos.  Ethan did get a hair cut (we tried doing it).  So I'll post those photos.  He hated every second of it. :-)
Until next time.....