My Alexander Day

I don't know if you have read the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day or not, but it is about a little boy having one of "those" days. You know the kind--the ones where Murphy's Law seems to be in full effect. Everyone has them, I know, and I've been having one today. (My college library science professor referred to them as "Alexander Days" because of the book, and I think it is a very appropriate term.) Anyway, please excuse me while I vent a little...

Last night, Katherine was fussy and up off-and-on all night. Thankfully, Chet split the time with me, or I wouldn't be functional at all right now. It culminated with her waking for the day at 5:30 a.m. Again, thankfully, Chet was up, morning person that he is. I did try putting her in bed with me to see if she would go back to sleep, but no luck there. So, my normally mellow child was a walking tantrum all morning. Not fun.

Somewhere in the midst of this, Mary Joyce, who had been playing quietly in her room came bouncing into the den and announced, "I wite on wall in my woom!" Lovely...she is always so good about only writing in her coloring books or on paper, so I had moved the crayons down where she could get to them herself. They have been down for a month or so, and never a problem. Needless to say, the only writing utensils currently within her reach are the Color Wonder ones. Here is the masterpiece:



I will be investing in a Magic Eraser this afternoon at Wally World since mine has been used up, and I haven't bothered to replace it yet. Besides, I want for her daddy to see this in person before it goes away.

Shortly after the crayon incident, I heard her once again in her room, and then heard the unmistakable sounds of a radio. I knew that she had somehow managed to reach the little CD player on top of the book shelf. How? She took her bathroom step stool, put it on top of the wicker toy trunk, and stood on the stool to reach the stereo. Now, how is that for safe?!?! Stressed out mama, yet again...

I fixed lunch early because I knew as soon as I picked up Katherine, she would fall asleep, and we would be facing the same night time experience all over again. (She gave up her morning nap months ago.) So, she sat in her high chair fussing while I fixed lunch, and then when it was finally time to eat, she started eating, got about 1/3 of the way into the meal, and...



There was also at least one 3 year old meltdown in there somewhere, and I found out the economy is having even more of an effect than we originally thought it was going to on the China travel group reunion we were planning for June. And, Chet had a meeting today that included lunch, so I didn't get my usual lunch time "break." (Which I realize that I'm blessed to have most days.)

Anyway, I just needed to vent and get it out of my system. Now, I'm going to take a nap and hope when I wake up, the afternoon/evening goes better than the morning did!

Doctor's Appointment

I had my regular appointment today. I didn't see the doctor I was scheduled to see, but that was not a big deal. Everything is measuring as it should. Baby is growing well, although she said he will probably be a small baby. That isn't a problem, though. Katherine wasn't huge, either. His heart rate was in the 140's. We actually took the girls with us for the appointment and they did okay. Mary Joyce is still talking about hearing baby Malcom's "beep."

We made a day of it, well, until time to come home for naps--lunch at Chik-Fil-A and a trip to the outlet mall to the Carter's and Gymboree outlets. We came out of there with 3 outfits for Malcom, a casual summer dress for Katherine, and Easter dresses with matching bows for both girls ($14.99 each at Gymboree outlet--can't beat that!). Anyway, it was a fun day, the girls are now napping, and I think I'm off to join in on that activity!

Tummy Picture, 30 Weeks

Here are a couple of belly pictures from today. I'm officially 30 weeks and 1 day along. My next doctor's appointment is Monday.

She Wanted a Ponytail...

Mary Joyce has been asking for a couple of weeks now to have her hair in a ponytail. I wear mine that way a lot, so I'm sure that is where the idea is coming from. Problem is, Mary Joyce doesn't have that much hair. I've been telling her that she is going to have to wait until her hair grows more, etc. Finally, this morning, I gave in and decided to try it. It isn't a very big ponytail, but it is a ponytail, and it stayed up all the way until lunch time. She spent all morning telling me, "Mama, I've got ponytail!" I think she was pleased. :-)

Baby Jeans

Are these not the tiniest little blue jeans you have ever seen? I actually found some in newborn size. :-) Malcom's pair is on the left. The pair on the right are some of Mary Joyce's 24 month jeans, just for comparison. (Sorry for another baby clothes post--they are just fun.)

Ultrasound Results

I just wanted to post quickly to share that we got the results from Mary Joyce's ultrasound and all is normal. It looks like she has no adverse effects from melamine exposure. God is good! :-)

Mary Joyce's Big Girl Bed

This weekend, the major project around here was getting Mary Joyce's "big girl" bed set up. Chet and I purchased the bed last week, and then this Thursday we had to pick it up from the furniture store in Daytona Beach during Race Week--we must be crazy! (Did I mention the furniture store is in a shopping center right across from the Speedway? Did I mention crazy?) Anyway, we got home with it, and yesterday's project was getting it set up.

The bed is actually part of a bunk bed set, but it can be split into two twin beds. Right now, since Katherine is still in a crib, we have set up one of the twins for Mary Joyce and have the other half in storage for Katherine when she gets a little older. Then, we changed Mary Joyce's former toddler bed back into a crib and moved Katherine into it, so that she can have the toddler bed when the time is right. Katherine's former crib is now in storage for Malcom whenever the house addition is completed. Clear as mud?

Of course, setting up the new bed and making room for it involved rearranging pretty much every piece of furniture in the girls' room, with the exception of the changing table. And, on top of that, when the addition is done, they will be moving into a bigger bedroom anyway. So, this arrangement has to get us through until that point. (That also explains why there are tab-top valances on curtain rods that really aren't very pretty--the valances were bought for the new room, but I went on and switched them out because the ones that were there were part of Mary Joyce's crib set that we are no longer using.)

Anyway, Mary Joyce slept in her bed just fine last night, except that at first she was WAY too excited to fall asleep. And, with it being Sunday morning, we had to wake her up this morning, which meant she was a bit grouchy from lack of sleep. Other than that, all was well.

I had a couple of people on Facebook asking me how we got her to sleep in her new bed. I don't really have a lot of helpful hints in that area. Mary Joyce, unlike many children adopted from China, has always slept in her own crib. From the information we got about her foster home, she was sleeping in a crib there instead of with her foster family, as is common in China. She took right away to sleeping in her own room. One thing I think that helped when we transitioned her from the crib is that it is a convertible crib, so even when we took the side off, her first "big girl" bed had the same mattress and bedding she was used to. She slept in that toddler bed for well over a year and would probably still be in it now if we didn't have another baby on the way. On this new bed, we've been talking it up to her for quite awhile, getting her used to the idea. By the time the bed was actually set up, she had grown accustomed to the whole concept. The girl likes her sleep, so these kinds of transitions just aren't too terribly difficult for her.

I've included a slideshow of pictures in the next post. :-)

The New "Big Girl" Bed!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our Little Sweethearts!!!

Melamine, Ultrasounds, and Baby Malcom

I'm sure most of you heard the news reports a few months back about melamine being found in baby formula in China. Because of this, adoptive parents are being advised to talk to their pediatricians about having their children tested in case they were exposed to this. After doing our research and talking with our pediatrician, we decided to move forward and have the testing done. So far, all has been clear, except for one small glitch in the urinalysis, which our doctor thinks is due to her just getting over a virus at the time the test was done. Mary Joyce had a renal ultrasound done yesterday where they looked at her kidneys and bladder, and she was SUCH a big girl about the whole thing! Now, we are just waiting on the results, which we should have by the end of the week.

The funny moment...

The tech started the ultrasound, and when Mary Joyce saw the picture of her kidney on the screen, she said, "It's Baby Malcom!" Uh--not exactly, but we got a good laugh out of it!

If you want to find out more about the melamine issue, check out this website:

Melamine Info

I Passed!!!

The 3 hour glucose test ordeal is over, and I passed! That is another good thing about the way they did the test this time--instant results. I woke up with a horrible headache this morning, which made the whole thing an even more miserable experience, but it is over and done with now, and I am so glad!

A Package for Malcom

Malcom got his first package in the mail the other day, and he hasn't even made his appearance yet. His Lao Lao (grandmother) and Nanny (great-grandmother) went on a shopping trip the other day and came back with all kinds of goodies for our baby boy. There were even a couple of summer outfits for the big sisters included, which somehow I forgot to make pictures of...oops...



Of course, the girls' favorite part of the whole thing was the box...

Elefun!

Mary Joyce got this Elefun game for her birthday, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to get batteries in it. That said, the girls, especially Mary Joyce, have had a ball with it lately. Their playing style is unique, though. The object of the game is to catch butterflies in your net as they come out of the elephant's trunk. Mary Joyce stands in one spot, and if one happens to fall into her net, she is thrilled. :-) Then, there is her "pick all the butterflies up off the floor" technique of filling her net. Not exactly the way the game was meant to be played, but she has a lot of fun, all the same.

House Addition Update!

Chet and the deacon chairman (also chairman of the ad-hoc committee) will be meeting with 3 builders to get estimates for the addition--2 of them tomorrow and another "one day very soon." We have PROGRESS!!!

Doctor's Appointment and Glucose Test Update

I had my routine doctor's appointment this morning, and Dr. P's words were, "That's a happy baby!" Everything is looking great. :-)

A bit of info on the glucose test, too--I had opted to go to the lab for the test because it is about 5 minutes from the house, as opposed to the main doctor's office, which is 40 miles, give-or-take. However, this morning I found out that the nurse I talked to on the phone on Friday left out one major piece of information. If I go to the doctor's office for the test, they will do the testing with 3 finger sticks instead of 3 blood draws. So, since that sounds like a much more comfortable option, I will be driving up to St. Augustine for the test on Monday morning. (Added bonus is that I don't have to be there until 8:30 in the morning, as opposed to 7:00 for the lab. Even with the extra drive, I still don't have to leave as early. Good thing when you aren't a morning person!)