I'm On The Fence....

First of all, thanks for all of your answers about C walking....I will contact early intervention, but I'm not as worried given the wide range of first walking ages....She has only been out of the braces for one month, so I'm not going to press it too much....

OK, so this is not a pressing matter or anything, but I have been on the fence about it for a while now: To Pierce or Not To Pierce....Caleigh's ears that is! My neighbor & I have had good conversation about this & many friends & relatives have made their input too, but I just cannot make up my mind. Or, maybe I am just chicken. I have carried around the most beautiful diamond earrings she was given by my sister-in-law for almost 6 months now in my purse....they're just waiting in their cute little box. I know some little girls' ears are pierced before they ever leave the orphanage; heck, one of my boys' ears was pierced to tell the twins apart! I think they look cute on other little girls, but on mine? Will they make her look older? Will they get infected? Will it hurt? (This is my major hang-up I admit it!) Maybe I'll just wait until she's 2 & then decide...but then there's the argument that the younger they are, they won't remember it...or do I want her to remember it; do I want it to be her choice? Oh, the choices just drive me crazy!!! So, faithful blog readers, what do you think???? Not that it will make my decision any easier, I just need to know!!!

Home 6 Months Today....

Ready for bed...the finger in the ear & a big yawn are a sure sign!

She will still wear the braces for 12 hrs. each night until she is 3 or 4 years old. I personally do not see how she sleeps in these, but she is a great sleeper! She's been sleeping until 8 over the holidays...I will hate to have to wake her in the morning to take the boys to school!

Home 6 Months...Age 14 1/2 months. Cutting some more teeth :)

We have been home with Caleigh 6 months today. We arrived home on July 4th & she became an instant US Citizen upon crossing the US Border. Independence Day has taken on a new meaning in our family!!! It is hard to believe that in just a few weeks it will have been 1 year since we heard about our little girl. Time has flown & we are enjoying every minute as a family of 5. School starts back tomorrow & James goes back to work; she will surely miss all of activity during the day!

Question:

What age did your child start walking? If adopted from an orphanage, at what age did they come home? I'm trying to get an average & see when/if I should be concerned....Caleigh has had some setbacks that would cause her to be delayed & she's only 14 months, but I'm just curious what the average is for children in an orphanage setting....if it makes a difference...Our boys walked in the orphanage at 15 months...Thanks! :)

Daddy's Girl

She always seems to be crawling away these days!

She goes to the back door & bangs on it to go outside! She loves it out back...

Laughing at the dogs playing....

She has become a Daddy's girl for sure....

....she has figured out he will give her whatever she wants...oh, it's love....DaDa Rules!
We worked out in the back all day yesterday burning & cleaning....she slept for two hours, but wanted to go back out right when she woke up...the boys were off playing so I didn't get to practice my outdoor camera skills on them...bummer! Got some cute ones of Caleigh & Daddy.....

Happy New Year!

May Your New Year be BEAUTIFUL...

....Full of EXCITEMENT....

....may you make new DISCOVERIES about yourself....

....and not have too many UPSET moments!
From our house to yours...HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2009 bring you many BLESSINGS!!!!! I'm not sure how 2009 can top 2008, but I know that God has many things in store for our family....and yours!

How I Spent Caleigh's Naptime today:

Done with picture taking...

You can see why we're getting braces next month!

Trying to look sweet!

In deep concentration.

The boys did pretty well...they were done with the photo session after about 10 minutes! Here are my favorites. I think I may very well have a new addiction!!! My poor house & laundry will have to wait!!!

New Camera...

Sitting Among the Gifts.

Playing with the new toys!

Blake & his new skateboard!

Checking out the cat...we don't have one at home.

Carefully opening her gift...

Me & My Mom...

Blake & Bryce playing

The Cutie!

So, it wasn't on my wish list officially, but I must have griped about the quality of my old digital & Santa brought me a Canon Rebel. It's awesome, but kinda difficult to figure it all out! I have a lot of manuals downloaded & some serious studying to do, but I think I will like it. We tried it out at my Mom & Dad's on Saturday & I just now figured out how to download & edit a bit...here's the first round; hopefully the quality will improve as we go..... Christmas at my parents :

Christmas Cookies

We had fun making cookies & frosting from scratch on Christmas Eve. The frosting color turned out a little orange because we added too much yellow to our red food coloring...they didn't care & they sure were yummy! The boys really got into the rolling of the dough & cutting out the shapes. Caleigh enjoyed the warm frosting fresh on a cookie!

Christmas Morning....

Christmas morning was so nice....all of the kids were excited & got into the unwrapping adventure! The boys helped Caleigh & showed her how to play with all of her new things. They were very excited that Santa brought their pump up scooters & the Wii! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

I spent the afternoon in the ER with a Brown Recluse Spider Bite on my thumb. I had never been in the ER in my 38 years of life! It was bad...too much pain to wait until Friday, but they 'fixed' it there; I'll spare you the details & I'm on some good drugs & feeling better today.

Above are my favorite pictures from Christmas morning at home. We are heading to my parents home today.

Enjoy Your Christmas Eve!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve & Christmas Morning! We're getting busy making Christmas Cookies today & I hope they look as good as these!

One Less 4 teeth & one with Strep...

Blake had 4 teeth pulled yesterday. His daddy went with him & he did great. So, that's a total of 8 out & he gets his braces on mid January. He & Bryce were taking pictures of each other with my camera last night....he was feeling ok I think!

I took Bryce to the doctor yesterday after an all over body rash break-out & extreme itching. He has Strep A & is on antibiotics. He was already feeling a bit better after his first dose of antibiotics yesterday....he felt well enough to participate in the camera fun!He also pulled a tooth out yesterday, so the tooth fairy got to see both boys last night..that was a first & they were excited!

It's Official...We have a toddler...well, kind of....

She always wants in the pantry so she can give the dogs treats....

She has discovered to joy of unrolling the toilet paper!

She's not walking yet, but her behavior is beginning to resemble a toddler! We had her pictures made last week in her Vietnamese Dress that I bought her in HCMC with her VN Hat. They are darling...I will try to post my favorite this weekend. Blake & Bryce are excited today was the last day of school before Christmas Break!

I Count My Lucky Stars....

Every day I count my lucky stars & am so thankful for the family we have. Please pray for my friends who are still waiting to travel for their daughters in Vietnam. I wish for them a true Christmas Miracle. One has already happened for my dear friend J; thus I know anything is possible!

Baby You Can Drive My Car.....

Trying To Figure Out how to get on by herself....

She is so proud of herself...she can 'drive' all by herself! She is all over the place...she is just now tall enough & the little shoes give her some traction. I may need to move the ornaments on the tree up another foot....she has figured out that she can reach them while sitting on her car!

C & I went out shopping for a little while this morning....only 33 degrees out, but we bundled up & had fun. It finally feels like Christmas~time. I'm just about done shopping...just filling in with some little things & stocking stuffers. I hope you are all having fun getting ready for Santa! Blake & Bryce are very ready!!! I don't know how the teachers are going to make it through this week with all of the excited children!

Our Baby Girl is 14 Months Old Today.....

In & Out of Bella's Crate (Yes, I put a clean blanket in for C!)

What I get to do when my brothers are at school! I love their Transformers!

Playing in the Laundry spot!

Opening & Closing the door to the crate...she loves this part!

In & Out from under the tables....

It is hard to believe that Caleigh is 14 months old! It seems like yesterday I got the picture of a tiny 3 month old in CanTho, Vietnam, when in fact...it has been almost a year come January! This week is officially know in our home as the "Open & Close/In & Out" week. She is opening & closing everything & crawling in and out of every spot possible. Now that her braces are off, she is beginning to really explore. It is so fun to watch how proud she is of herself! I have learned this week that Shout Stain Remover is made for babies' pants knees after crawling around tile & hardwood all day! I now know that I do not keep as clean of a house as I thought!!!

Christmas Card Poses.....

After Our Card Photo Session....

The Best of All 3 Together

Caleigh's Card Picture

Bryce's Card Picture

Blake's Card Picture

I finally got it together & took pictures at home yesterday for our Christmas Cards....here are the best shots of all 3 kiddos & I made my card on SnapFish last night....I am happy with it this year....some years are better than others! Last year I did black & white..a family shot & one of the boys; it was a little grainy & I probably won't do black & white again; it just didn't look too festive. Hope you are all having fun getting ready for Christmas. The boys wish school was out already!