You all need to check out this beautiful artwork! I just love it and she donates a portion of her profits to Kolfe Youth Orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
http://jqueenan.blogspot.com/2010/01/last-chance-to-enter-big-art-give-away.html
She also has a great etsy shop located here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jqueenan
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Waiting this time
Someone asked me today what was going on with Little Man's adoption and I had to pause and think. When someone asked me about our first adoption, I could tell them where we were on the unofficial list, my guess at what number we were on the official list, when I thought we might get a referral, how many months and days we have been waiting, etc. It is just different this time. I am different.
Trust me when I say it is not because I am not as excited to have a son. I can't wait but wait I will and with grace or at least I am telling myself that now. The wait for Kiya was VERY tough and I was not at all graceful with it at times. I got down right whiny at times and needed a swift kick in the butt from some wise women.
Having been to Ethiopia and seeing the pure emotion on Kiya's mother's face forever changed my perspective. We have no idea what Little Man's story will be or if we will be able to meet his parents but it doesn't matter. His parents are out there and their heartache is our heartache. We can only hope to meet one or both of them and let them know that we will love on their little guy and take good care of him and teach him to be proud of his heritage and his family.
So this time around it isn't about counting numbers and months, it is about counting our blessings. We plan to enjoy our time with Kiya and know that at some point in the future she will have a little brother. We know that he will be a perfect fit for our family when the time is right. We have that faith having been through it all before and seeing just how perfect Kiya is for our family.
We have been officially waiting for Little Man for a few months now. Next up is some paperwork and once that is done we will continue to enjoy watching Kiya learn and explore and we will prepare her for big sisterhood when the time comes.
Trust me when I say it is not because I am not as excited to have a son. I can't wait but wait I will and with grace or at least I am telling myself that now. The wait for Kiya was VERY tough and I was not at all graceful with it at times. I got down right whiny at times and needed a swift kick in the butt from some wise women.
Having been to Ethiopia and seeing the pure emotion on Kiya's mother's face forever changed my perspective. We have no idea what Little Man's story will be or if we will be able to meet his parents but it doesn't matter. His parents are out there and their heartache is our heartache. We can only hope to meet one or both of them and let them know that we will love on their little guy and take good care of him and teach him to be proud of his heritage and his family.
So this time around it isn't about counting numbers and months, it is about counting our blessings. We plan to enjoy our time with Kiya and know that at some point in the future she will have a little brother. We know that he will be a perfect fit for our family when the time is right. We have that faith having been through it all before and seeing just how perfect Kiya is for our family.
We have been officially waiting for Little Man for a few months now. Next up is some paperwork and once that is done we will continue to enjoy watching Kiya learn and explore and we will prepare her for big sisterhood when the time comes.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Where to begin....
I know bad blogger again but trying to keep up with an almost 14 month old who only naps once a day now and that is usually at daycare is very tough.
Kiya is still fabulous even with the double ear infection she is fighting off. For a sick baby, she does pretty well. A couple of rough nights but not too terrible. Here are some things Miss Kiya has been up to lately:
--She pretty much insists that she feeds herself the majority of her meal. If she is really hungry she will tolerate letting you feed her cereal or yogurt but the rest she wants to do by herself. She does pretty well too, most of the food makes it in her mouth, a few occasional pieces make it to the begging dogs on the floor and every once in awhile she will put food in her hair. Okay that is the nice version, she does well but absolutely LOVES to put things on her head including food. We were at a restaurant and she was eating green beans and she put one on her head and just left in there. It is pretty funny.
--Walking....well that is still a work in progress. We can see just how badly she wants to it is just those darn long legs and tiny feet making it tough to balance. She is getting better and more confident. I have a feeling she will just do it one day when no one is watching but not until she is sure she can do it perfectly.
--Pulling up. This is also a work in progress but we have seen LOTS of growth in this area. She is trying to pull up on her toy box and she got one foot going the right way and then mommy saw what she was doing so Kiya stopped. She is also trying to pull up in the bath tub, yeah not the best place but she is trying. She still prefers our fingers and will climb into our laps to get to them and use them to pull up. We got some great tips from her teacher and some other parents on things to do to help her gain confidence and we are starting to see the pay off of implementing those tips.
--She LOVES to talk. She can now say mama, dada, doggy, wow, hi, bye bye, uh oh, night night, puppy, ta da, vroom, and then she is trying to say mouth. We ask her where her mouth is and she points to it and says "mou" so cute. She is also trying to say belly button or bee bo. She can point to her belly button and say "bo". She is attempting to say 'no' and usually it comes out 'na' along with a head shake. She also does baby signs for more, eat and all done. She is big on imitating what we are saying so we are really starting to watch what we say in front of her.
So as you can see she is busy busy learning new things and we are just trying to keep up. Her social calendar is getting fuller as we had playgroup yesterday with a fairly large group of adopted children from Ethiopia and she has a play date this coming Friday with 2 other great kids from Ethiopia.
Kiya is still fabulous even with the double ear infection she is fighting off. For a sick baby, she does pretty well. A couple of rough nights but not too terrible. Here are some things Miss Kiya has been up to lately:
--She pretty much insists that she feeds herself the majority of her meal. If she is really hungry she will tolerate letting you feed her cereal or yogurt but the rest she wants to do by herself. She does pretty well too, most of the food makes it in her mouth, a few occasional pieces make it to the begging dogs on the floor and every once in awhile she will put food in her hair. Okay that is the nice version, she does well but absolutely LOVES to put things on her head including food. We were at a restaurant and she was eating green beans and she put one on her head and just left in there. It is pretty funny.
--Walking....well that is still a work in progress. We can see just how badly she wants to it is just those darn long legs and tiny feet making it tough to balance. She is getting better and more confident. I have a feeling she will just do it one day when no one is watching but not until she is sure she can do it perfectly.
--Pulling up. This is also a work in progress but we have seen LOTS of growth in this area. She is trying to pull up on her toy box and she got one foot going the right way and then mommy saw what she was doing so Kiya stopped. She is also trying to pull up in the bath tub, yeah not the best place but she is trying. She still prefers our fingers and will climb into our laps to get to them and use them to pull up. We got some great tips from her teacher and some other parents on things to do to help her gain confidence and we are starting to see the pay off of implementing those tips.
--She LOVES to talk. She can now say mama, dada, doggy, wow, hi, bye bye, uh oh, night night, puppy, ta da, vroom, and then she is trying to say mouth. We ask her where her mouth is and she points to it and says "mou" so cute. She is also trying to say belly button or bee bo. She can point to her belly button and say "bo". She is attempting to say 'no' and usually it comes out 'na' along with a head shake. She also does baby signs for more, eat and all done. She is big on imitating what we are saying so we are really starting to watch what we say in front of her.
So as you can see she is busy busy learning new things and we are just trying to keep up. Her social calendar is getting fuller as we had playgroup yesterday with a fairly large group of adopted children from Ethiopia and she has a play date this coming Friday with 2 other great kids from Ethiopia.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Unanswered Prayers
I heard one of my favorite songs on the radio yesterday on the way to pick Kiya up from daycare, Garth Brooks' "Unanswered Prayers".
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because He doesn't answer doesn't mean He don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
I have always loved this song and while we waited for Kiya I would hear it and cry because it is so very true. I prayed for days, months, years even that we would be blessed and get pregnant and it never happened. At times I was very bitter about this but remained convinced that we were meant to have children some way some how and I just needed to pray more.
I look at Kiya and I am so grateful that my prayers didn't come true. I am over the idea that I will ever get pregnant, it isn't even on my radar anymore. Not saying if in the unlikely case it did happen I wouldn't be thrilled it just isn't a priority for me. My unanswered prayers really did give me the greatest gift. I couldn't imagine a more wonderful child, tantrums and all.
She is everything I dreamed of and yet so much more. She is my perfect little gift. God knew what He was doing when He lead us to adoption and more so to Kiya. For awhile I was so angry and frustrated and sad that my prayers weren't being answered. Trying to get pregnant was the BIGGEST test to my faith. I admittedly was very mad at God and kind of tuned out for awhile.
I am glad I found my way back. God didn't let me down. He had bigger and better things on the agenda for me and I just wasn't patient enough. Now I see. I see the bigger picture and I thank God every day for my unanswered prayers. Because of those unanswered prayers I get to be a mom to the most amazing kid I know and there is nothing better than that.
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because He doesn't answer doesn't mean He don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
I have always loved this song and while we waited for Kiya I would hear it and cry because it is so very true. I prayed for days, months, years even that we would be blessed and get pregnant and it never happened. At times I was very bitter about this but remained convinced that we were meant to have children some way some how and I just needed to pray more.
I look at Kiya and I am so grateful that my prayers didn't come true. I am over the idea that I will ever get pregnant, it isn't even on my radar anymore. Not saying if in the unlikely case it did happen I wouldn't be thrilled it just isn't a priority for me. My unanswered prayers really did give me the greatest gift. I couldn't imagine a more wonderful child, tantrums and all.
She is everything I dreamed of and yet so much more. She is my perfect little gift. God knew what He was doing when He lead us to adoption and more so to Kiya. For awhile I was so angry and frustrated and sad that my prayers weren't being answered. Trying to get pregnant was the BIGGEST test to my faith. I admittedly was very mad at God and kind of tuned out for awhile.
I am glad I found my way back. God didn't let me down. He had bigger and better things on the agenda for me and I just wasn't patient enough. Now I see. I see the bigger picture and I thank God every day for my unanswered prayers. Because of those unanswered prayers I get to be a mom to the most amazing kid I know and there is nothing better than that.
Friday, January 15, 2010
8 months ago
8 months ago today we had landed at the airport after 20 plus hours of travel with the sweetest baby ever and were more than ready for a shower, a nap and the rest of our lives.
I can't believe we have been home 8 months with the fabulous Miss Kiya. I am still in awe of her every day. She is truly a blessing and I am so grateful for every minute that we have together.
Ethiopia is forever on my mind. I am anxious to get back and to share it with Kiya. I made a picture book full of pictures from our trip to Ethiopia so we can share it with Kiya. I have plans to make actual story books for her to explain how she came to join our family.
We have showed her the picture book and started talking to her about Ethiopia. We know she can't understand what we are really saying but we feel it is important for us as parents to practice telling her story.
In the book are pictures of Addis Ababa, Hossana, the orphanage she was first taken to, her first nanny, her Ethiopian mom, and our first days as a family. She loves books and loves to turn the pages and is really good about sitting through a book. She touches the pictures and it is just so sweet.
The first time we read the book (okay there aren't a lot of words more of a reference for us to speak from the heart), Kiya reached out and touched her Ethiopian mom's picture. I don't know if she truly recognized her or if it was just random but either way I cried.
Her tiny little fingers reached out and touched that picture. She didn't touch any other picture in the book. Is it possible she knows that face? Every time I look at that picture, I look at Kiya and try to find the similarities.
I look forward to sharing this book over the years with Kiya and maybe some day we will be blessed enough to return to Ethiopia with Kiya and she can meet the woman in the picture in person.
I can't believe we have been home 8 months with the fabulous Miss Kiya. I am still in awe of her every day. She is truly a blessing and I am so grateful for every minute that we have together.
Ethiopia is forever on my mind. I am anxious to get back and to share it with Kiya. I made a picture book full of pictures from our trip to Ethiopia so we can share it with Kiya. I have plans to make actual story books for her to explain how she came to join our family.
We have showed her the picture book and started talking to her about Ethiopia. We know she can't understand what we are really saying but we feel it is important for us as parents to practice telling her story.
In the book are pictures of Addis Ababa, Hossana, the orphanage she was first taken to, her first nanny, her Ethiopian mom, and our first days as a family. She loves books and loves to turn the pages and is really good about sitting through a book. She touches the pictures and it is just so sweet.
The first time we read the book (okay there aren't a lot of words more of a reference for us to speak from the heart), Kiya reached out and touched her Ethiopian mom's picture. I don't know if she truly recognized her or if it was just random but either way I cried.
Her tiny little fingers reached out and touched that picture. She didn't touch any other picture in the book. Is it possible she knows that face? Every time I look at that picture, I look at Kiya and try to find the similarities.
I look forward to sharing this book over the years with Kiya and maybe some day we will be blessed enough to return to Ethiopia with Kiya and she can meet the woman in the picture in person.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Pictures :)
Okay--I have been a bad blogger lately so here are some cute pictures of Kiya to make up for it. I have the best job ever--Mom:)
She isn't too happy with me because I am taking her picture and preventing her from getting to the outlet. Don't worry it is plugged but she still likes it.
This is what happens when you turn your back on an active 13 month old....if only she could fold the laundry.
Not sure why she thinks this is funny but she has a shoe on her head. She loves to put things on her head.
This cruising on furniture stuff is tough....
Life has just been busy, busy. Work has been a little okay a lot nuts lately but is hopefully going to settle down in the next few weeks.
She isn't too happy with me because I am taking her picture and preventing her from getting to the outlet. Don't worry it is plugged but she still likes it.
This is what happens when you turn your back on an active 13 month old....if only she could fold the laundry.
Not sure why she thinks this is funny but she has a shoe on her head. She loves to put things on her head.
This cruising on furniture stuff is tough....
Life has just been busy, busy. Work has been a little okay a lot nuts lately but is hopefully going to settle down in the next few weeks.
Kiya is doing well. She has started to cruise on furniture, slowly but she is going. We have gotten lots of comments both encouraging and critical about Kiya not walking independently yet. She is still on the low side of average so we aren't worried. Our pediatrician told us that average age for walking is 14-15 months and some kids won't walk until closer to 18 months.
We have gotten some GREAT suggestions from her daycare teacher and other adoptive mom's on things to do to encourage Kiya pulling herself up on something besides our fingers. She will get there when she is ready.
We think she is going through a growth spurt as she has been eating and sleeping a lot. I mean sleeping like 13-14 hours a night plus at least an hour-2 hours a day for a nap. As for food--just wow. Some days I think she eats more than I do. She is definitely working on feeding herself a lot more and is pretty much off baby food. We feed it to her on days when she is crabby and won't eat or out and about and it is just easier but that will come to an end shortly.
My little peanut is growing up so fast.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Survived the first week
Well the first week of Kiya in her new room at daycare is now over, well okay yesterday but still.
Eating: The table and chair seems to work okay for her. She looks so cute sitting there. As for the food, that has been hit or miss. It always is with Kiya. Some days she will eat everything and other days not so much. Then there are the days where she throws her food on the floor. We have agreed with daycare that if she throws it on the floor she doesn't get more. She thinks its funny and is doing it for attention. One day a little boy threw Kiya's pizza on the floor so they did give her more and then she threw it on the floor so that was it. She is learning how to eat out of a bowl and use a fork and spoon. She holds the utensils very well and can get them in her mouth. They don't generally have food on them yet but she is starting to get the idea.
Napping: Oh boy this one has been a little tough. The first day she slept for an hour after putting on a show of course. The next day she slept for almost an hour and a half with out much of a production. Then came Friday....no nap at all and much laughter and antics. The teachers think she is funny and she wasn't disturbing the other kids but she didn't nap at all. It may be due to the fact that she has been going to bed quite early and sleeping in until 8am. Some days she sleeps for 14 hours hence the no nap. I am not sure how the sleeping on a mat is affecting this or if she is just getting all the sleep she needs at night....maybe next week will be better. They turn the lights off at 11:45 and they come back on at 2 so it is quiet/rest/nap time unless you are Kiya and then it is showtime. My silly little girl....
Social: Kiya seems to be interacting with the kids well. She is the only non-walker in the room so that makes it a little tough but she is hanging in there. The other kids are fascinated by her since she is new to the room so that helps. Her teachers are great and they LOVE her so they look out for her and encourage her to do new things.
Kiya is always happy when I pick her up and the teachers always give her a good daily report so that is comforting. Hopefully next week she can give the comedy routine a break and the teachers and take a nap :)
Eating: The table and chair seems to work okay for her. She looks so cute sitting there. As for the food, that has been hit or miss. It always is with Kiya. Some days she will eat everything and other days not so much. Then there are the days where she throws her food on the floor. We have agreed with daycare that if she throws it on the floor she doesn't get more. She thinks its funny and is doing it for attention. One day a little boy threw Kiya's pizza on the floor so they did give her more and then she threw it on the floor so that was it. She is learning how to eat out of a bowl and use a fork and spoon. She holds the utensils very well and can get them in her mouth. They don't generally have food on them yet but she is starting to get the idea.
Napping: Oh boy this one has been a little tough. The first day she slept for an hour after putting on a show of course. The next day she slept for almost an hour and a half with out much of a production. Then came Friday....no nap at all and much laughter and antics. The teachers think she is funny and she wasn't disturbing the other kids but she didn't nap at all. It may be due to the fact that she has been going to bed quite early and sleeping in until 8am. Some days she sleeps for 14 hours hence the no nap. I am not sure how the sleeping on a mat is affecting this or if she is just getting all the sleep she needs at night....maybe next week will be better. They turn the lights off at 11:45 and they come back on at 2 so it is quiet/rest/nap time unless you are Kiya and then it is showtime. My silly little girl....
Social: Kiya seems to be interacting with the kids well. She is the only non-walker in the room so that makes it a little tough but she is hanging in there. The other kids are fascinated by her since she is new to the room so that helps. Her teachers are great and they LOVE her so they look out for her and encourage her to do new things.
Kiya is always happy when I pick her up and the teachers always give her a good daily report so that is comforting. Hopefully next week she can give the comedy routine a break and the teachers and take a nap :)
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