Be Home

baseball - part 1

First things first. One must be prepared for a season of sport.

Thanks to a special Grammy, Peter was outfitted in style.

Now let's get out and play ball!

TA!!!!!

Yes! Our Travel Approval arrived today!

Our agency is requesting a consulate appointment in Guangzhou for September 8th! Wow, that's my 33rd birthday. How cool is that?! I feel like I can officially start packing. It's kinda a surreal feeling. And let me tell ya, I'm lovin' it!

Let's begin with the accordion folder of must-not-forget documents. Organization is key my friend!

pictures!

Look, look, look, we got new pictures! Are they not the funniest pictures of the sweetest little girl you've ever seen? A golf course? Really? I just had to laugh.

Oh, but I could just melt at the need in that face to be drawn into each others eyes. An An looks a little older to me but her updated measurements say that she is still a tiny little girl.

Height: 86cm (33.8in)

Weight: 10.5kg (23lbs) - size 12-18 or 18-24 months!

Feet: 13cm (about a size 6)

Still no word on TA but our agency have tentative dates set at August 19th! That's four weeks from yesterday! Woohoo! (and oh my!) I still have a stroller and a car seat to go buy. And maybe a few more pretty headbands...don't you think?

money museum

Quite the picture. What is it you ask?

Shredded money. No, really.

We went on a field trip to the Money Museum! It's actually the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The tour is very interesting. The kids and I learned a bit of unknown stuff about the inner workings of the money that slips (and I do mean slips!) through our fingers daily.

Did you know most bills are on average only 18 months old? How about the weight of a bar of gold...around 30 lbs. and we got to lift it. This shredded money was sent through at around 60mph. We saw it! Then of course there was the vault. A very large vault. But only the robots - Huey, Dewey and Louie - go in there. But we saw part of it through the glass.

At the completion of the tour each visitor got a bag of their own shredded money. And of course every child wanted to know...can I tape it back together?!

We found a good home for our money. It was deposited safely into jars set on boy's shelf, and in doing so tells the story of educational moments through a wonderfully visual display.

bagel day!

We found gluten-free bagels!!!

I don't know what status certain food item rank in your home but for this one bagels are pretty high up there. Once a week we like to have breakfast for dinner. And while Peter finds eggs, yogurt, and apples very satisfying we all knew we would celebrate the day our local grocery store carried gf bagels.

Oh, you should have heard him cheer when Dad brought them home! Could we honestly make him wait for dinner?

Of course, then George wanted a picture of his breakfast as well. Mmmm...tasty.

No word yet on our Travel Approval. We'll let ya know. Still looking at leaving mid to late August!

independence day

He looks like he's enjoying himself doesn't he? Actually, this is a sure sign that indeed he is!

Yesterday we headed up to our traditional Fourth of July celebration stomping grounds. Do traditions ever get old? Same place, same stuff, same general photos taken? Maybe. As you get older and the years get seemingly shorter this could be the case. But to kids, once a year is a long time!!

:: George feeding the animals

:: A bit of creative crafting time

:: Refreshing the palate

:: Riding a horse barefoot

:: Going to new heights!

:: And enjoying the good stuff...oh yeah.

Hope you enjoyed your family & friend time as well!

knit teddy bear #2

It all started with the idea that you can send a small care package if adopting a child over 2 years of age. These items are to include a disposable camera, photo book of the family, and a small stuffed animal. So I decide that I'll make her a teddy bear. Remember this one?

Well in the end the "small" teddy bear was really too big to send. Plus I had been reading that many children are not given their packages, especially the stuffed animal. So in the end I simply included pictures of the teddy bear in her photo book, which we will still be sending, and let her personally meet such a bit of knitted loveliness upon her arrival home. It will be waiting on her bed.

However, in spite of the teddy bear not making the journey, it was very fun to make. It's the first thing I have knitted for my daughter while knowing her beautiful face. George helped me stuff it one evening. He affectionately called it Teddy Roosevelt. And if anyone is wondering, George's teddy is knit as well! I just haven't patched and stuffed him yet. But there are no hard feelings between George and Annika's bear, thank goodness.

My mom lovingly got her embroidery machine out of hiding in order to put her Chinese name on a piece of felt. I chose not to embroider her given name so she would be able to recognize it as belonging to her in the orphanage. And even so, I am now glad that it reflects the beginnings who she is.

The boys were all too pleased to pose with the new teddy bear. Hopefully as much as Annika will.