Enjoying the beautiful weather

The three musketeers!

Huckleberry having fun with Bei as he goes down the slide.

Max taking the kids for their first tractor ride of the season.

This afternoon we spent the day with the Huckleberry crew along with some other neighborhood kids.

Bei is a pretty fearless kid and started going down head first while on his back. I was able to capture him laughing which he did every time. He is such a happy little guy!

Bei sliding down after his Easter Eggs which he called "Cupcakes". Don't ask me why...

Friday afternoon Bei and I spent the afternoon at the park behind our house. I couldn't wipe the smile off of his face. I always bring some type of prop to play with because going down a slide or swinging on a swing can get boring quickly. This time I brought some plastic easter eggs, a golf ball and a superball. Bei loved rolling those down the slide over and over.

Break-through!

Bei started a new routine of wanting to paint when he gets up in the morning. It is a pretty relaxing way to wake up.

Good news! We have had a big break-through with Bei's naps. As some of you know, Bei's naps have been taken in the car since he had his open heart surgery. I had restrictions on how to lift him and I couldn't get him out of the car once he fell asleep without waking him up. So it became the norm for him to take his nap in the car, while I drove around til he fell asleep. I'm a big believer in kids need their naps, so do whatever it takes. Well anyway, he is now taking his naps in bed!!! Yeah me! He was sick in the beginning of February and every day he would take a nap around 2:00 on the couch. Ah...could it really be that easy to get him to take his naps again in the house? So I tried it, but I don't call it nap time, I call it "snuggle time". We lay in bed and read books and sure enough the kid is out in no time. I miss my own reading time that I had in the car sitting with him, but I sure am getting alot more done around the house now.

The other really fun thing about Bei is that his penchant for learning has gone up about five notches in the past month. He is even starting to read! Okay, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but let me explain. We received these books that are very simple books called Baby Happy, Baby Sad, another one is called No No, Yes Yes and there are several others. There is a bobble head baby that is the protagonist of the books. So we have been reading those to Bei and developing a story about each page of the book. For example, Baby sad because the little girl is taking away his toy and not sharing. Baby happy because the little girl is sharing her toys. Now Bei wants to read those books to me along with the story that we created for each page. He has a good memory and a really great imagination.

One of the things that I learned from Ava's mom (little girl adopted from China that we recently visited) was how to introduce Bei to the fact that he was from China. I had struggled with this issue and the solution that she used seemed perfect. She said that they talk about where everyone was born. Today, Bei said out of the blue, "Bei born China, daddy born Shell Lake, Momma born Chicago." It is like he thinks about these things during the day and just blurts them out. I had to get working on this because I was worried that Huckleberry was going to beat me to the punch....well he kind of did but Bei was oblivious to it. Huckleberry LOVES Bei, he is just crazy about the kid. Two weeks ago we took Huckleberry and Max swimming with us, and on the way home, Huckleberry asked me when I was going to tell Bei that he was Chinese? Hmmm...Bei is sitting right next to you, so I think he knows now. To be honest, I forget that he is Chinese and that I need to tell him because it is not a primary focus and not even on my radar screen. I am SOOOOOO crazy about that little boy and can't believe how much I love him. Dan keeps saying to me every night, "we are living a dream". It feels that way to me too!!

Find out why Green is no longer my favorite color...

Bei got a hold of my lipstick and went to town. He thought he was pretty funny, specially since we read a book that tells little kids that playing with their mom's lipstick is a "no no". I kept repeating the words of the book and he would just giggle.

(This same lipstick made my lips look like I had ate a big bag of cheetos and didn't bother to wipe my mouth. Orange is not my color! He can keep it!)

Bei is toilet training and he said "Bei do it hisself. Mama stay out". And he closed the door on me. He got the stool himself, the potty chair and undressed himself. I think he was pretty proud of himself!

Huckleberry and Company have a nanny from Mexico whose name is Alejandra. We spend alot of time together with the kids and she is just wonderful! She is really excellent with the kids and has a huge responsibility in taking care of them. She does it with poise and grace. In the picture we are celebrating her 19th birthday.

Hulk Hands

The boys coloring easter eggs. Curly Locks was also coloring eggs, but I didn't get her in any of the pictures.

We are a little early but we colored Easter Eggs this week. Oh my...what utter chaos! My first bad idea was to use clear "plastic" glasses so that the kids could watch the eggs turn color. Okay, anyone with a brain knows that isn't going to work with 4 kids under the age of 6. So within seconds colored water was all over the table. As you see in the picture, I moved to what our moms used...tried and tested coffee cups. Second mistake was to not tell the kids that the colored vinegar in front of them was not Kool-aid. Yep, Bei drank the green dye...he lived. Then Bei thought that the colored water was Palmolive dishwash soap to soothe the hands, so he pretty much soaked his hands in the water. You probably wonder why I didn't tell Bei to take his hands out of the water, but believe me, he was the least of my concerns at that point. With 4 kids grabbing colored water and fighting over the one dipping stick that they give you in the box for the eggs, I don't think I even noticed what Bei was doing...hence him drinking and bathing in the green dye. Lastly, when I was cleaning up the egg color, the coffee cup slipped from my hands right into the kitchen sink and splashed directly up into my face and onto my HEAD! Yes! And guess what color it was again...GREEN! I looked like I was ready for St. Patty's day! I was worried since (this may shock some of you) I am not a natural blonde and I was worried about the coloring in my hair. With several good washings it came out! When Easter really rolls around, we will be going to the dollar store for some of those cheap pre-colored plastic Easter eggs.

Growing

4 year old Ava helping Bei watch his hands before dinner.

Bei's friends Ella and Anna, they are the older sisters to Ava who is also adopted from China.

Bei and I shoveling the driveway after the latest snow storm.

Bei has taken quite a growth spurt recently, both physically and developmentally. His verbal communication has improved remarkably over the past few weeks. He definitely is showing me more of his personality and I'm having to establish some firm boundaries about what he can and can't do. However, on Thursday, we had a perfect day; Bei woke up laughing and it carried through out a very fun-filled day. Honestly, I thought he was the perfect little boy and was going to blog about it that night. Well good thing I didn't, because Bei woke up Friday morning and pretty much gave me the finger...okay, not literally, but figuratively. He was a pistol all day and definitely did not resemble the perfect child I had seen the day before that I wanted so badly to brag about. I'm learning lots about parenting and realizing that every stage a child goes through is fleeting, so enjoy each and every piece of it, because it will change soon enough.

Princess Sara (Doe Doe)

We always teased in China that Sara had a "Wisconsin Cheese" smile and I'm glad to see she still does...even though she doesn't live in Wisconsin.
Her rough and tumble brothers keep her on her toes and vice versa!

Bei's future wife. Isn't she just beautiful?

Sara's mom started a sensation with all of us adopted parents. She joined facebook and now we are talking to each other and sharing pictures via facebook. Jen shared a bunch of pictures of Sara and her family with me and I just had to show them to everyone. I was able to speak with Sara on the phone recently and was amazed at how wells she speaks. She said "Hi Bei Bei's mom, how are you?". And then I proceeded to ask her questions and she went into some intense conversation for a two year old. Now Bei can talk on the phone, but if I don't tell him specifically what to say he goes into some form of Chinese gutteral mumbling that nobody knows what he is saying. May be a difference between boys and girls and the fact that she has siblings talking to her. Don't get me wrong, Bei can talk but there was a difference between the two.

Another fun thing that I didn't get a chance to blog about when it occurred is that Doug, Sara's father was in the Cities last October and we were able to visit with him. It was very fun for us to see him because we like both him and Jen alot, but it also was fun to see his reaction to Bei. You can tell he is a kid person and he paid alot of attention to Bei. I asked Doug what the biggest difference was in seeing Bei and he said "Bei is willing to look at me". I had forgotten what a scared and shy little guy he was in China. Bei had not physically changed much by October when Doug saw him because he had just had his open heart surgery. It is just really fun to stay in touch with the other adoptee parents to see how their children are thriving also. As one of the adoptee parents, Beth, has told me several times "we have been at the birth of each others children and families". It is so true!

Home-vacation

The kids right before going to Church on Sunday!

Bei discovered this game, which we named "Floating Pinata", he would let the helium balloon go and we would all chase after it. He thought it was quite fun!

Kelly made a vow on Sunday to win Bei away from Gina and made a concerted effort to be with him. I think she made some headway...he quit calling her "Gina" and realized her name was "Kelly". I think he thought all sweet and kind little girls names were Gina.

Every morning Bei would wake up and say "Gina". He would climb over me and out of bed and go stare at her sleeping in the living room. He would be within a foot of her face, poor little Gina probably felt like she was being stalked!

This past weekend I was able to go on a vacation in my own home! It was wonderful! My brother Nick, wife Kathy and their children came for a long weekend. Bei is infatuated with the girls and they are very wonderful to him, so all I had to do is put him down at night. This entire weekend was a win-win for me, Bei was able to spend alot of quality time with cousins and I was able to do spend time with family, and do one of my favorite things, which is cooking!

My Three Year Old

Wee! This is fun!

Bei loves going to the park even in the winter time. He had to bring his balloon, which we clipped to his coat.

Even though Bei didn't feel well this week, it didn't mean he couldn't be put to work! He is helping paint one of the spare bedrooms. (Note the Motorcycle pants that he still insists on wearing, they are now capri's at best and moving to the knicker realm.)

This is Dan's version of "Ring around the Rosey", when they fall down they break into the worm from Animal House! Uncle John joined in the fun with Dan and Bei!

Bei is definitely a three year old already. I get alot of "Bei do it his self". "Mom, no help", "Mom, no hands". His vocabulary is also growing and he is comprehending more. Some of the cute things, that I have heard him say recently are "Ohhhh....Rats!", "Uh oh...oh welllll...", "Darn it!"

Bei is still really cuddly and wants to be held alot. (Which I LOVE!) All of sudden he is over the "yucky" remarks about the kiss, and he is back to kissing me all day long again. He loves to be held and would love me to hold him 24 hours a day if I could. He has gained another pound and is 26 pounds, so he gets heavy for me after a while.

He loves exercise tapes. When I first came back from China I put in a DVD called Booty Yoga, he loves to watch it! I wonder why??? This week, I finally have committed myself to getting back into shape. Believe me, after 9 months of a kid pushing candy and sweets on you, a person gains weight! I swear that he could have easily been born into my family. In the way that he pushes food on me, reminds me of my Grandma Phyllis. Plus, he loves to eat butter by the spoonfuls! Hello family...does that sound like anybody we know???...I'm not mentioning any names! Anyway, I've always watched my food intake and excercise because I always say, "there is a fat body dying to get out here. " So I have used Bei as an excuse long enough and I need to get back to working out. Have you ever exercised with a toddler? "Oh mom is down on all fours, I'll climb on her back and ride horsey". "Now she is doing scissor kicks with her legs, I'll see if I can run through them". "She is on her back, I'll ride her legs up and down". I won't need the 25 lb weights for some time, because I have one built in already. But once again I LOVE it!