Lady bug Lady bug and other stuff

We raised butterflies the past two years so we decided to mix it up a little this year and learn about the metamorphisis of a lady bug.  The lady bug container came and then I ordered the lady bug larvae. It took five days for the larvae to get here but to Sean it was at least a month. Then again Sean is still asking when his American Express card is going to arrive. He filled out an application on the airplane and I mailed it in for him but still no word. When Sean asked why he hadn't gotten the card in the mail I told him his application may have been denied because he is only five and doesn't have a job. He doesn't think that is fair. Alas, I digress back to the lady bug larvae. Sean is keeping a science journal. The larvae came in a a tube, most of them hanging on a piece of paper. I put the paper in the container and Sean pulled paper out flinging lady bug larvae on the carpet. Hence, his description that lady bugs like to escape. Fortunately we had a magnifying glass so we searched the carpet and hopefully got all the critters into their critter keeper.

We have to give the bugs two drops of water every two days.

Sean got accepted into the Chinese program at Jennie P. I really have mixed feelings about taking him out of Sunrise. He is doing so well there. Last week Sean had an appointment with the immunologist at Primary Children's. He had to get blood drawn. The child life specialist was making conversation with Sean (which kind of annoyed him because he likes to watch his blood be drawn). She asked Sean if he was in pre-school or kindergarten. He said kindergarten. She asked if his favorite thing at school was playing. He said "I like math, I like practical life and reading but mostly I like geography." The phlebotomist stopped, needle perched over his vein looked up at Sean and asked "what kind of school do you go to? He said, "I didn't learn anything like that in kindergarten." Last night when I was laying down with Sean he asked why we had bumps on our backs like dinosaurs. I told him they were vertebrae. He then asked what happened to the dinosaur. I told him we couldn't be sure because there were no people but it could have been climate changes or a star crashed into the earth. He then wanted to know who the first people on the earth were. I told him the Bible says it's Adam and Eve. He asked why we weren't born first. He then said that the white people came over from the red country (Europe is red on the puzzle at school) to the America's but the brown people didn't come because they didn't like boats. Funny little boy. I thought about telling him how we gave the Indian's small pox and stole their land but thought I'd save that until he's six.

I'm always interviewing really smart kids for the newspaper, Valedictorian's and winners of assorted scholorships and awards. I find they have several things in common; they play a musical instrument, usually the piano or violin, they speak a foreign language and they play with Lego's. On that note Sean started piano lessons the first of the month. He is really enjoying learning to play. His piano teacher is Matt, a college student who lives down the street.

Khloe came over to snuggle up to her great grandma.

Working the night shift

Poor little Khloe, her first night home and she had to pull an all nighter. Lucky for her she got to sleep during the day. She will be rested if she is expected to work another night shift.

Meeting Aunt Alika

Uncle Alex

Uncle Sean

Oh baby baby

Khloe made her grand entrance on April 26th at 3:23. She weighs 7 pounds 11 ounces and is 20 inches long. She is probably the cutest baby in the world. Steph and AJ did great. Steph's labor went really fast and then ground to a crawl. The doctor did a good job. She ended up putting the vacuum extractor on Khloe's head and giving her a pull. It was funny, AJ asked why babies didn't cry before they were born and I said I'm sure they do you just can't hear them. Khloe pretty much started protesting being pulled out the minute she got out. Nothing I love more than a baby that comes out screaming! Always a good sign of healthy lungs. She had 8/9 Apgars. It was kind of strange she had tons of vernix like an early baby but her placenta had a lot of calcification's like and over due baby. It's good that she was born when she did.

Resting while they can. They went to the hospital around 10 at night and she started active labor around 3 a.m. so they had a really  long night and day.

Picture of the clock when Steph started pushing.

Delivery time:)

AJ getting ready to cut the cord.

AJ was so worried he was going to get sick because he felt like he was going to pass out during the epidural. He did great.

Khloe objecting to the entire process.

Getting weighed.

Hanging out with dad who was protecting her from my flashing camera.

Yep, he's in love.

Fanny (Steph's mom) said that in Costa Rica no one is allowed in the delivery except the medical staff so it was really a novelty to be able to be in the room. I thought that was an old rule but when Steph's little cousin Marco was born five years ago no one was allowed in the room with Lily. I think that would be so hard to be delivering without your husband or any family for support. It was a great delivery and I was excited that Steph asked me to be there. I love that little girl and was so excited to finally meet her. They got discharged from the hospital this evening and are spending their first night at home with their daughter. It's exciting to get home and get into the groove with the new addition.

All we need is a baby

The bags are packed, the nursery is complete, all we need now is Khloe. We are all excited for her arrival and can't wait to meet her. Any time now!!!!! Tonight would be good, it's AJ and Steph's second anniversary.

 We had a family baby shower on Saturday.

That's baby Caleb. He will be the closest relative in age to Khloe.

Linda and Jaclyn playing a game.

John and Julie

Mom listing her wishes for Khloe.

Steph's mom and Grandma. They've been here since last month and are staying until August to help. They've been cooking up a storm.

Don and Caleb.

Sean and his posse of cousins were running amok during the shower. I don't know how it happened but I didn't get a picture of any of them.

Visit at the farm

Lanette agreed to let Jenny and Ryan see the girls and asked if I would join them. I agreed. Ryan's been calling so I figured it would be less stressful if we did a visit with the girls. That way Sean could play with his sisters and visiting with Jenny and Ryan would be less stressful. Lanette had said the ground rules, they weren't allowed to bring anyone else to the visit and they weren't allowed to make promises or discuss the past.

It wasn't stressful for Sean but it bugged me. We met at Wheeler Farm. Jenny was there on time but Ryan in typical Ryan fashion showed up 30 minutes late. He hadn't seen the girls in a year and he showed up 30 minutes late. The tension between us was pretty thick. He was upset that I hadn't returned his calls or text. He complained to Lanette that I hadn't responded to his text.  He told Sean "I have a new jeep and it's cooler than Carol's." Seriously.

When we were driving home Sean said "I want to see Ryan, he said he could come play Mario with me." I was seriously bugged that Ryan was making promises to Sean. Sean was asking lots of questions. "Why don't Kylie and Brie live with them?" I stuck with my routine response "they made poor choices." He then wanted to know what the choices were. I kept trying to change the subject and but Sean wasn't having it. I don't want to create animosity between me and Sean. I know that when Sean is older he can make his own choices about the kind of relationship he has with them. I don't want Sean exposed to their lifestyle. Honestly though they haven't changed and are still making the same decisions that cost them the right to keep their kids in the first place.

When Sean asked why I didn't want to call Ryan and invite him over I told him because Ryan doesn't always show up when he says he is going to and that makes you sad. He said he didn't care if he didn't show up. He didn't talk for a little while and then he said "I don't care if I play with Ryan I just want to play with Kylie and Brie." I told him he would always work hard to make sure he can spend time with his sisters.

I don't know if the entire incident was positive or negative for Sean.  It was on the negative for me. All the literature says open adoption is best for the child but how open is open. By definition open just means there is shared information it doesn't mean you have to talk to each other and see each other. I have posted pictures on the face book page that Lanette and I set up but I know that the minute I post pictures they will call or text and if I answer a call or text then they will ask for a visit. If I give a visit then they want to schedule another visit. Visits they may or may not show up for.

I still look at Sean and am in awe of the child he is as opposed to the child he would be if he was raised in the neglectful, abusive family he was born into. He is so happy and so smart. Don was playing a game with him the other night and one of the cards said "say your favorite word five times." Sean's favorite words were "I love you." That coming from the little boy whose sister's first words were swear words.

Bring on the tractor.

Kylie and her big sister, Demi.



30 Again!

I had a hard time the entire year I was 29 thinking about the fact I would soon be 30. For some reason 40 and 50 didn't bother me as much. Alas, I had to face 30 again only this time it's my son who is 30!!!! Good grief, how is that even possible?

Yes, Carter is 30. He wanted Spaghetti Factory for dinner.



Carter's happier about turning 30 than I was.



Check out Steph's belly. My how she's grown. Any time now!

Noise and mess!

The girls spent three nights with us. Sean loved it and they had a great time. I am left wondering how Lanette does it. Sometimes I feel guilty that we didn't adopt the girls, I think we could have done that. After three days the fact that I couldn't do it is reaffirmed. The three of them are so busy. They are non-stop mess. I spent a lot of time following them around with a vacuum cleaner.
I follow a couple of blogs of people who have adopted lots of children and I don't knw how they cope. I guess other people are just wired for more noise and mess than I am.

We met up with Catherine and her brood at the rec center.

Sean and Tyson

Sean is now big enough to hop around the lazy river. So big!

This is about 1 a.m. the first night they were here. They came over on Easter. Lanette didn't bring them until after all her Easter guest were gone so it was 10 p.m. The kids were so excited they were literally bouncing off the walls. The connection between those three is intense. There is no down time or reconnect period when they meet no matter how long they've been apart. I gave them sippy  cups with chocolate milk in them. Big mistake they were shake the cups to spray each other. There was milk on the walls, the floor, the ceiling. It was 12:30 before they went to sleep.

On Monday we went to Heather's so they could play with Ryder and Holland. Brie has changed so much. I said that people used to think Kylie and Brie were twins. Brie said that when she and Sean had the same haircut people thought they were twins. The shaved hair incident was such a traumatic event in Bries life and now she can make jokes about it.

Sean and Brie were really tight and they would leave Kylie out. At one point I couldn't find Kylie she was hiding in the play room. She had written this letter to Sean and taped it on his door. A great way to express her anger.

Note the milk drips on the wall behind them. I keep finding more drips to clean.

I enjoyed having the girls but admit that I am happy to have the peace and quiet of an only child at home. I just put Sean to bed and he was asleep in five minutes.

Happy Easter

Let the hunt begin.

The kids were playing in the backyard when we hid eggs so we did our hunt in the front yard this year.

Ethan came for the festivities.

Sean and Ethan found a rolly polly bug. I didn't even know I hid them.



Sonja and Maren (I think that's Sonja)



Jaclyn and Julie discussing how they went to the same elementary school and then came to be related through marriage. The mysteries of the universe. A girl from Utah marries a boy from N.C. then marries into the boy from N.C.'s family who has relatives in Utah. How strange.

Catherine

John and Julies beautiful new son Caleb.

John waited a lot of years for a son.

A.J. practicing holding a baby.

The girls checking their stash.