sweetness

This is what takes my breath away, each and every time.

hard couple of days

We had a great weekend, after a rough week. This pic is in the play area of Space Odyssey at the Science Museum. When it's 98degrees out, being in an ice-cold museum is the way to go. Saturday was my morning to sleep in (ahhh) and I took the boys to the park while Mae napped. It was hot hot hot but they had a terrific time and Sam actually climbed a ton of ladders and did the slides. Ted is working on the monkey bars and an older boy was helping him out-so cute. He likes to ride his bike there and I think he needs a bigger one....how did he grow so fast? Or maybe I got him a bike that was too small? Anyway, a very restful weekend. The week was hard. Everyone was waking up early and being grumpy. Everyone including Paul and me. So we decided to try having Ted sleep in our bedroom in a sleeping bag on the floor, just to see who it was that was waking early. It was Sam, who still takes a 3hour nap-no wonder. Ted slept in til 7:15 this morning, almost 2 hours more than he was sleeping last week. The combination of separating them and taking turns sleeping in has really helped. When I get at least 8 hours of sleep I have great days. When I get less than 7, watch out...everyone suffers. This is a temporary solution but it's working now. And that's pretty much how we function these days- one day at a time.

Mae's announcement pic

Here you go, Mom.

Heritage Tours

Thanks for the great article, Aunt Jayne! I am so glad the Chinese government is helping with the costs of these trips. I hope to take Mae when she is 10-12 years old. It depends on whether we want to do the trip as a family, or just Mae & me. It is great that this type of 'welcome home' is available for our children. Clikc Here for the article.

Caitlan & crew

Colleen and I were chatting this morning around 9ish while our children fought with each other in our respective homes. In an unusual spirit of spontaneity for me, we decided to get our brawling broods together. She came here, braving I25, and all 5 boys and the babies had a really good time. No real fighting, no real crying, all in all, a blast. Mae walked with her walker for the first time and showed off her musical talents with all the instruments. Colleen picked up the wooden spoon with a questioning look. Mae took it from her and put it into the 'cup' xylophone, as if to say "Watch and learn, lady." The timing was really funny. Paul noticed tonight that she is now crawling at lightning speed, although still with one foot as a push-off. Ted has been hollering "Look Mama! Mae's a-walking!" Sure enough, she is on her way. I still love the crawl though. What a cutie.

If you click on the pic to make it larger, you will see Teeth #s 3 & 4. Hooray!

fun stuff

Last night we had a little reunion with half of our travel group at Colleen's. It was so great to see Chuck, Julie & little Kate again. They have the best energy and you can't help but be happy around them. The kids honestly seemed to recognize each other and did some happy parallel play. While driving the hour to her house, I couldn't stop glancing at Mae snoozing (don't worry, I was careful and didn't get into an accident!) I've been fretting since we came home over my inability to be head-over-heels in love with her like I was with Ted. Even though it took longer with Sam, it was mostly because he was such a hard baby. Mae is so easy...what was wrong with me?! I've decided it's the 3rd child thing. Not the adoption thing, just the reality of the 3rd child. It was wonderful to be unable to stop gazing at her and today was a much happier day for me.
In other news, I found my favorite outfit today. I thought that anything Hanna would always be my favorite, but this linen ladybug outfit from Heather is sooooo adorable. I love it. We had a long photo shoot but I couldn't get a good shot of it. I think we'll use it for her 1 year photo.

to cry or not to cry

In a parenting class at CCAI, we were told that most of the babies are holding some sadness/abandonment/anger/fear in their bodies. They might never realize it, but it's in there. Massage was suggested as a way to help release the tension they are carrying. Well, Mae loves her baby massage so we're just using it as a nice bonding thing. But I've noticed that she will often wake from her nap or in the morning very sad. The cry is just different and sometimes she'll see me, then close her eyes, as if to will herself back to what she was expecting to see. This doesn't happen all the time and truthfully the boys were always pretty grumpy after a long sleep too. I am torn between 1.) distracting her with a toy or food (easy to do) or 2.) sitting in the rocker and holding her while she cries (hard for me, of course). But maybe it's better to let her cry now. If I constantly stop her from grieving, will it be harder for her later on? Is this truly an adoption issue, or is she just having low blood sugar moments? Hard to say. Til I decide, I'm letting her cry for a little while (in my arms, not alone) but not too long. Then we change the scene, offer some food or entertainment, and move on. The boys are very upset when she cries like that and always want to cheer her up. I welcome any thoughts on the matter.

on the move

Is it strange that my daughter can get from her tummy to a sitting position, crawl, pull to a standing position, cruise and even walk with support...but still cannot roll over? Hmm. When she is on her back she is stuck! Very interesting. We have a mere 2 weeks til her 1st birthday and we can ask the ped about it then. Today she got the crawling up to speed and also worked on her pulling up. Nothing like seeing the previously immobile baby hoisting herself up the steps-yikes! She also crawled from her bedroom to the bathroom, stood up at the tub and actually lifted her leg onto the top of the tub in her hurry to get her bath. All in the less than 10 seconds it took me to plop her in her room and go close the baby gate at the top of the stairs after Sam. Geesh!
This afternoon was really pleasant. We spent the morning at the Boulder Creek after a failed attempt to get everyone ready for a trip to our friend Lisa's lake. After naps, everyone played quietly and happily while I played with my new phone and prepared dinner...ahhhh. This phone was a 'gift' from my service provider...well, it'll be a gift after I send the rebate in, but close enough. It is so weird. It has the bluetooth thing but I saw a mom in Target pushing her cart with her 2 kids chatting away with this thing in her ear and truthfully, she looked self-important and silly to me. I mean, you're in a store with your 2 kids! Call 'em back later! Still, it would be really convienent in the car. We'll see.

got it

Got an action shot of our little mobile monkey. She is so happy. Whew! Yesterday and today the boys had camp at preschool so I too Mae on a walk with Ole, in the stroller, on the same walk we used to take every single day when Ted was a baby. When Sam came along we started each taking the dog alone, as sacred alone-time, but this was a nice reminder of 4 years ago. Ole enjoyed it too. The best part? She doesn't fall asleep in the stroller like Ted did, so I still get a good nap out of her when we get back! Snooze on...it'll be another high-energy day again today I bet.

crawling

I'll try to get a good pic of it tomorrow, but Miss Mae is officially crawling. It's still quite the hyper-spastic crawl...lots of downward dog going on whilst hoisting up the caboose. She is sooo proud of herself as are her cheerleaders, i.e. Ted & Sam. I stepped out of the room for about 2 minutes and she got herself all the way across the living room and was poised for a crash down the 3 steps to the family room when I returned. Back to the baby gates!
In the meantime, here is a great pic of Sam cracking up at something Ted was doing. I love that smile and the giggle that goes with it is even better!

miss screamy

Today was a nice day. We spent the morning at Louise's house-she has Charlie (Ted's age) and twins, Toby & Theo, age 2. After a nice playdate we had lunch at home and naps for the younger two. Mae had quite a screamy day today. Her 4th tooth is about halfway through the gum and it's really bugging her. She is also clearly trying out a new scream to express her frustration. It's much shriller and louder than the normal one. I'm glad she didn't use this one on me in China, because we'd be parenting her a whole lot differently if we thought she was really in such distress. Sam figured it out early: get the tears flowing right away for optimal parental concern. Mae hasn't learned that trick yet. Here is a pic of our well-seasoned traveler enjoying front-facing travel and a Baby Einstein video.

Home Sweet Home

Among the many car games we played, spotting 'plebibians' was the favorite. Paul made this up and cousins Henry and Max elaborated on it for the boys. Plebibians eat rubber tires and anything that looks like rubber (thus the Crox). If they are behind fences they are dangerous; if they are wrapped up they are domesticated and have jackets on. It was a great game. I think Ted was catching on at the end though.

We arrived home safely but Ted is really protesting going to bed. The sleeping issue was the toughest part of the trip. It was simplest to just put Mae to bed and let the boys go to sleep when we did. One of the boys often ended up in bed with us. It was just a hard thing. Mae went down easily but is waking up every hour or so freaking out (I'm sure she wonders where she is now since it keeps changing on her). Sam is doing well so far and Ted...let's hope he sleeps eventually. I really wish we had an extra bedroom. It is good to be home.

choochoo

This was our 2nd time at the choochoo restaurant and it was a big hit again. This place is so cute. The food comes in old fashioned baskets atop a train car. The boys loved it when it whizzed past our table and ate up yummy diner food (grilled cheese & fries...forgot the chocolate shake this time and they didn't even ask for it.) Their veggie burgers ROCKED so Paul and I were psyched. Their behavior was great most of the day, deteriorating at the park tonight. Ugh. Ask me in a week if I think I am doing a good job raising them because today I'm shaking my head. Can't wait for naps and normal bedtimes again. It will be sad to leave tomorrow because I haven't had near my share of 'my mom & dad' time, yet I am desperate to be on the road home and back to a routine. Next year we are not going to make the trek but will make sure my parents get out to visit us. There is already another Moeller reunion being planned for 2008 , in a cabin on a lake somewhere, so we will hold down the fort in Colorado til then. Farewell, Illinois. I will be back in November for Rosa's wedding...SOLO for that one!

what a party!

We had a fabulous time at Mae's party! Thank you, Mom! It was wonderful to see Yasmin, Rosa & Jenny again, as well as our wonderful HS French teacher, Ms Ciccione! Rosa's parents and Connie were a special treat...I think the last time I saw them was when Ted was 3 months old. My grad school voice teacher was there too and it was so nice to catch up with her...I really miss having her in my life! It was also really fun to meet Phoebe and her family, mom Leslie, dad Wayne and big brothers Henry and Charlie. I followed their blog to China and back last March and feel like I know them personally. The boys got along great, as I thought they might. Phoebe is much more shy than Mae, although it may be an age thing, as she is now 16months old and more sensible! It was a long day, especially for the boys who didn't nap, but a fun one. What a nice way to touch bases with old friends. It is just too hard to see everyone I want to see in the few short days we have here. This was perfect. Thanks again for all your hard work, Mom, and all your patience, Dad!!

walk me or else!

we're back

We seem to be back on Blogger. Try Reload if you only see this post. Mae took to both G'ma & G'pa right away, which was wonderful. G'pa is great at getting giggles out of her, and both of them are taking over some of the 'walk-me' duties. Everyone slept in til 8:30am this morning which was lovely. The boys are swimming while Mae takes her morning nap and then we will probably head back to the park for more running-around. This afternoon is her big party so we should have more pics then.

ER visit

Ahhhh...nothing like a trip to the local ER while on vacation. While picnicking at Eagle Point Park Ted found some pretty pink mushrooms and decided to taste them. Aunt Jayne and Uncle Steve had me call Poison Control while said to take him in right away, since he was under 50 pounds and mushrooms can damage the liver even if they aren't terribly lethal. So off we went. G'pa Moeller & Madonna met us there and we spent a LOOOOOONG time there. Because the doc couldn't identify the pink mushroom, we went with the activated charcoal drink. It was terrible...sludgy and bitter, even with chocolate milk to thin it out. After hours of story-telling and cajoling, he finally got 95% of it in him...and then threw up all over me. That was actually a good thing, as a significant amount of mushroom came out as well. We got home after 11pm. How exhausting. Today he seems fine, has pooped, and has a good appetite. Phew!!

Happy Birthday, Nancy & Brian

Canoeing on the Wisconsin river. Aunt Nancy and Paul had the boys in the canoe and yes, they did tip over, as Sam will tell you. They had perfect weather so everyone had a great time. This is certainly a fun-packed week of activity! The boys are exhausted but quite happy. Ted has been having a 'sleepover' every night in Max & Henry's room which is pretty exciting for him. Today we swam and Ted went for the diving board first thing (and even did a perfect dive...by accident of course!)

walking girl

Well, Mae is a girl on a mission. If she is not walking she is screaming. Seriously. She was really getting into the standing thing before we left and at one of the rest stops she just took off with my fingers and hasn't stopped since. I sincerely hope she takes the time to crawl but I'm not sure she will. Neither of the boys were even crawling at this age (she is 11 months old today) so I am really surprised at this. This pic was taken on the 4th of July!
We are all having a great time. The boys are being kept very busy with crawfish fishing, spelunking in caves, and canoeing. I am working on the website and will soon have pics up at moeltini. She is very overwhelmed by everyone wanting to touch her and has become more clingy to Paul and me, but luckily is still in great spirits and sleeping well.

how cool is this?

A cellphone modem card for your laptop. Yup, blogging on the road somewhere in Nebraska. Ah....love I80. Oops...just went under a "Welcome to Iowa" sign! I also smell a poop...think we're heading into a rest stop. Hooray...2 states down and just this one to go. We should arrive in DBQ late this afternoon.