Keree's 7th Birthday Extravaganza

We surprised Keree this morning with breakfast in bed. We made Keree close her eyes as my Mom sat her plate down in front of her and then we told her to open her eyes. It was so cute when she raised her hand up to her chest and goes "this is for me".

 Banana slices, apple slices, carrot cake muffin and chocolate milk

 After alot of giggling, over getting to have such a special breakfast in bed, she finally blew out her candle.

 

After we got dressed, we decided to use all the freebie birthday coupons she got. First stop was Build-a-bear. She had gotten a $5 coupon from the company but we ended up spending a little more (it was only $3.34 more). She ended up with a Cardinals t-shirt, Cardinal button-down shirt and some girl scout underwear all for KittyKitty. Once the Store Girl heard it was Keree's birthday, she also threw in some hairbows and gave Keree a special sticker. Keree was beyond thrilled and couldn't wait to get home and dress KittyKitty.

 Our next stop was Toys R' Us, where she had a $3 gift card. Our first stop was by the front desk. Keree got to pick out which birthday crown she wanted, of course she choose the pink princess one. We were disappointed because usually they give them a birthday balloon but they were out of helium and balloons. Boo!! Then they made the announcement on the store intercom that a special birthday girl was there. She just giggled anytime someone wished her Happy Birthday.We walked and explored the store. This was the first time for Keree to see one of the dancing dolls, so she had to try it out. It was so funny watching her dance with the doll. She finally decided after alot of thinking to get Tiana's Royal Turtle ride, plus it was on clearance for $3.22. (So we only paid 52 cents with tax).

Our final stop before heading home was to Pizza Hut. Keree had her monthly Book-it certificate, so she got a free personal pan pizza. While Grandma and Mommy got chicken alfredo pasta since neither one of us are feeling that great.

After lunch, Grandma and Mommy took at nap, while Keree played with some of her birthday gifts. Once we got back up, it was time to open presents. From us, Keree got some new tennis shoes, a winter cat headband, some stickers, a Brave hair set and a Spiderman bath chemisty set. Plus she got this really cool Brave card with a poster inside.

 Keree's Godmother and family got her the Secret of the Wings, Silvermist. Can you not see the excitement! She went crazy over her new doll. 

 Her Uncle N's presents are being delayed by Amazon and will hopefully arrive soon. But he did call, sing Happy Birthday and talk to her. Then he arranged for a very special birthday call to come at 6pm. So we got ready and then we sat there and waited.......and waited......and waited for the phone to ring. Finally at 6:01pm, Keree got a very special call from Mickey Mouse. He wished her a Happy Birthday. I taped the call on video because she was amazed by the whole thing.

 Then finally it was time for cake or cookie. Keree picked out a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with lots of frosting and M&M's on top. Of course, with Keree's current Fairy obsession, Tinkerbell also graced the cookie. We ended up all being so tired and not feeling well that we ended our night without eating a single bite of cookie. But before she went to bed, she did tell me that she had a great birthday and was so happy I was home.

Happy 7th Birthday

7 years ago at 1:15am you were born into this world.

 As I have done every year since your very
1st Birthday, this picture was taken at 1:15am.

And I'm so thankful that I was able to get
away from work and be here to take the picture.

Happy Birthday to my very sweet, very grown-up,
changed my life forever, Baby Girl.

Movies & a Christmas Party gone wrong

Our morning started out with the Cans film festival. We donated enough cans so we could see two movies at the Theatre. Which as you know for us is a real treat, since Keree has only seen 2 movies so far on the big screen, Tangled and Brave (at the drive-in). We were so excited that we got to see Wreck-It Ralph and we got to see Brave again. I just love getting to see and hear her reactions to movies on the big screen.  I also gotta say that I loved Wreck-It Ralph and can't wait for it to come out on dvd so I can see it again!

 

 After our 4+ hours at the movie theatres, we went home and got ready for our annual Homestudy Adoption group Christmas party. Well, we purposelessly got there late. I was to the point of us not attending these group gatherings anymore but felt that since this maybe our last year and after some intense pressuring by my Mom...we compromised by showing up late and leaving early. Now the Christmas party was in full force, the little kids were watching dvds, while the few older kiddos (Keree and a few others) were coloring and talking about Santa. Now, Santa has always made an appearance and it is always a big deal because he brings the children one special present. Well this year, he didn't make it. What was worse was they gave a very awful excuse why he wasn't there. I'm so thankful that Keree was move involved in what she was doing than listening! I cringed at the thought because if she had heard what they said, it would have been our last year of secrets.

 Now as I said, the kids each get a special gift from Santa. Usually we get this amazing reaction from Keree over her gift but I think because it wasn't Santa that handed it to her....it just wasn't the same. Plus since she knows how to read, she was trying to figure out why Santa had went to Toys R Us for her gift, instead of just making them at the North Pole. We ended the evening with a group shot, this was the lowest attendance I have ever seen for a Christmas party, there was only 8 families there.

4 years ago....

today, I held my baby girl for the first time. She was so little, just a little over 5 mos old and 0-3 mos clothes was big on her. She was so sick the day my Mom and I meet her. Who would of known, that she had Polio and was fighting for her life. For how long had she been fighting it? We will never know exactly, other than I do know she contracted it between 3 1/2 - 4 mos old. I will never forgot how she just stared at us, we had to stop talking so she would take her bottle. She was so aware of her world and everything in it. 

We don't really celebrate today, since today isn't our Family day. My Mom and I sat down with Keree and we told her about us meeting her for the first time. About how Grandma forgot to take any pictures until after Keree was already in Mommy's arms. We told her about how little she was, how at first I didn't think the Nannies had the right baby until I saw her face. Then we went about our normal day. Today with school, I have started setting a timer. Keree knows that she has to do a certain subject for X number of minutes and then we can move onto the next activity. Plus, I have to say, it helps me stay on track also. Since the timer went so well, we did a art project to end our day. Keree made a paper Perry the platypus.

Emotional Saturday

This morning, we all woke up on the wrong side of the bed. My plan for today was to work upstairs, of course, my Mom wanted to work outside all day. So instead, Keree decided to head outside with my Mom, while I worked upstairs. I didn't get as far as I wanted but I'm happy with my progress. While outside, Keree spent her time cleaning off her water toys and then she played a little bit in her water table. After about 2 hours outside, Mom and Keree headed inside. 

So Keree joined me upstairs, so I let her do a few home school assignments. Well after about an hour, Keree needed a little help and as I was helping her, she collapsed into  sobbing. I asked her what was wrong and she said that I was going to yell at her. I have no idea where that came from, so we stopped and tried to play, nope didn't help. Finally, she begged me to hold her and sing Farmer in the Dell. So, I held her tight and sang. After about 2 hours of sobbing uncontrollably, she finally calmed down.

She still couldn't tell me why she started crying in the first place but I'm thinking maybe it has to do with her week at VBS, they talked extensively about orphans and orphanages and I think deep down it  upset her. The previously years, they barely touched on the subject and by the time I found out they were talking about orphanages and orphans it was basically the last day. In the evening, she started talking and asking about her orphanage and how if I hadn't adopted her, she wouldn't have been able to adopt her stuffed Kitty. We took tonight easy, Keree is super excited that she gets to sing tomorrow in the VBS musical, so we practiced the songs and hand movements and also washed several cartoon movies.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Of course, this morning we had to wake up a little late. Which of course, I planned on leaving the house by a certain time and we were almost 15 minutes late leaving. But I guess I should learn that I pad our arrival time by alot, so we aren't late. We ended up having enough time to grab some breakfast and still arrived almost 45 minutes early. Today our Daisy Scouts had a Ballet and You session, so they could earn their dance patch. There was only suppose to be maybe 20 girls and limited to 2 Adults per troop. Of course, as we have found out with our new, improved council that was not the case. There was almost 45 girls and I can't even tell you how many adults. Being of course a stickler for the rules, our 3 girls had 2 Adults and me and another Mom waited outside. We did get to go inside for a short time to watch the girls perform. They were so cute and listened so well. I

have to brag that the 3 girls who are very active in the troop are so well behaved. After they finished up their dance, we gathered the girls together and the Leader (aka my Mom) awarded them with their Girl Scout week patch. We then all gave our good-bye hugs and see ya soons before we headed home. By the time we got home, all the St. Patrick's day parades were over. I was a little

bummed out that we really couldn't celebrate and honestly with as sick as we have all been, we didn't even make green colored food. In the evening, we were suppose to go bowling with out adoption group but lately I have wanted to distance myself from the group. I feel bad about it but I got roped into helping out with the group and things just don't feel like they are meshing. It's like the group is split in two by those who are hard-core religious and then those of us who just want our kids to be around other adopted kids. So, luckily we got hit with a really nasty storm, plus we all still awful from this virus we all have. I used the excuse that the storm was just to bad to go out in and we still felt sick. So we spent the rest of our evening together. We finished reading Keree's six books for her book it list and then she helped me sew on her new patch. We all headed to bed early because none of us was feeling that well.

Happy 6th Birthday!

6 years ago at 1:15am you were born into this world.

As I have done every year since your 1st Birthday, this picture was taken at 1:15am.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl.

Are you a Chinese girl?

Keree is still in her wheelchair for the majority of her school day. She has transitioned to being able to sit at her own table during class but any other time, she's in the wheelchair. So, while Keree was at recess today, a little boy came over to her. He was kinda hiding his face and being the caring person she is, she asked him what was the matter. He said nothing, he was just cold (it was 22 out there today). She said suddenly he asked her "Are you some kind of Chinese girl?" Keere said she didn't know how to answer and suddenly he goes "Well those Chinese girls have eyes like yours." Keere said she rolled her eyes around, pretending to be looking around at her face. The Little Boy goes, "You don't even know what you look like." He got mad because she didn't respond to his question and then stormed off.

While Keree was telling me this, when she got finished I go, that was really silly for him to say because your not Chinese are you. She knew what he said wasn't right but didn't know what her response was suppose to be. She goes, so next time I can go, "nope I'm Vietnamese and have my own eyes."

Otherwise this weekend is one of her Birthday parties. Yep, she's one lucky kid and is getting two parties this year. The party tomorrow is for her classmates and a few kiddos from our adoption group. The other party she is having is for family and super close friends. I went all out for her Family & Super Close Friends party, personalized bubbles, candy wrappers, etc. The party tomorrow will have a few special touches but far from what I would usually do. Honestly, I've been so frustrated with Keree's school and also with our adoption group, that I didn't want to do those special things for them. I mean there are a few good kids (thank goodness) but alot of them are just mean to her because of her wheelchair. Just hoping that tomorrow goes off as planned and that she has a wonderful time.

Snowy Monday

We all had a rough night, so when I startled myself out of a dead sleep at 730a. I laid there and debated if I was going to get Keree up and take her to school. When my eyes finally focused, I noticed that the ground outside was white. I had to do a double take since they weren't predicting snow, we were suppose to get a little bit of rain and thats it. I sat up and pulled back the curtain and it was coming down so heavy that I couldn't see the tree line. I flipped on the news and they were advising people not to drive unless they had to, so that meant a self-appointed snow day for Keree. Keree actually ended up sleeping in till almost 8a, so it was nice to have a little quiet time just watching the snow fall. So after some breakfast and getting dressed, the snowflakes that were falling were huge and some puffy looking. So we decided to put on our winter coats and head outside. It was such a slushy mess that we didn't move off of the sidewalk but it was so pretty. Keree spent part of her time trying to catch the huge snowflakes on her tongue. It was pretty funny watching her, with her eyes closed and her tongue out. Once we headed inside, I checked my email before heading upstairs. I was excited to open an email entitled "singles allowed to adopt from Chin@." How exciting that the country is open again to Singles who choose to adopt from the special focus program. I have to admit that I did take a peek at a few of the kiddos on the list and some totally melted my heart. I'm just so happy that it's an option again for so many singles out there. After the mail was checked, we headed upstairs to work. Well in Keree's case play, she spent her morning playing in her play kitchen. I don't know how many times she served me poison soup, sandwich or drink. We headed downstairs for lunch and since it's Monday that meant Muffin Tin. I decided that since this week is St. Patrick's day that would be a perfect theme. So in my first cup is half of an whole wheat english muffin, I used edible markers to draw a rainbow on it. Our next cup is Key Lime flavored fluffy yogurt, I then used some green apple licorice to make a clover on top. Then I added a raspberry milano cookie and again used the edible markers to write Happy St. Pat's day on it. The last cup of the top row has two marshmallows, again I used edible markers and drew clovers on them. The next row, the first cup has some cucumbers coins, I really wanted to make them gold for the money at the end of the rainbow but couldn't come up with a way. Next is some cornbeef hash, I used canned because I haven't had time to make homemade. Finally, the last cup is some green olives which Keree loves any type of olives. As for the rest of our day, I did get Keree to lay down for a short nap. It was less than an hour, so I'm hoping that she's exhausted tonight and will go to sleep early. Otherwise, we checked on my Grandparents because my Grandpa had doc appts today. Luckily, they made it safely to and from even in the snow. My Aunt V sent us a package, inside was both Keree and I's birthday presents. I got a gorgeous 2.75 ct garnet ring (which is my birthstone) and Keree got a Rapunzel pillowcase and some Rapunzel hair ties. So we called my Aunt and thanked her for our gifts. We also got to talk to my Brother for a short time while he was driving home from Pennsylvania. He had been there for a wedding and then took a few more days off to see a few sites with his girlfriend. Keree was suppose to have our final cheer practice this evening but when she woke up from her nap, she had a low grade fever again. Since there has been all kinds of stuff going around, I choose to keep her home and not chance anything. Keree spent the rest of the evening working in some workbooks and drawing.

Happy 5th Birthday

5 years ago at 1:15am you were born into this world.
As I have done every year since your 1st Birthday,

this picture was taken at 1:15am.
Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Fall Party

We got a slow start to the morning since we got home so late last night. We decided to check out a local show (which we have been apart of the last 2 yr but was told they didn't have room for us this year) because we were curious. Keree was a little confused because we have never been to a show just to walk around that she can remember. Keree rode in the MeiTai because they don't allow strollers inside the building and I didn't want her to get stepped on because it's crowded. It turned out that it was basically the same people as usual that was there. We were excited to run into our Friend who does Photography letters since we had lost track of her after last season. Keree was thrilled to see "her Friend", then decided to act shy and wouldn't talk to them. We also ran into our Friends who make beautiful wood furniture. They were so excited to see Keree. They became our close friends last year and have recently lost custody of their granddaughter after she lived with them for 8 years. It just breaks my heart that after the parents abandoned her at 1 month at the Grandparents house, the Mother came back to claim her 8 yrs later. We said our good-byes and headed home. We grabbed a quick lunch and then everyone except for me took a nap. We ended up then having to wake up my Brother and Keree from their naps so we could attend our local Adoption group Fall get-together. It was nice to see a few Families we knew but it was also nice to meet some new Families. It had been over a year since we had been able to attend one of the get-togethers because of other obligations. After enjoying a nice fellowship dinner, we gathered all the kiddos outside for a group shot and then it was onto the craft. Each child got to paint their own pumpkins. Keree's pumpkin has two faces, one is sweet and nice and then the other side of the pumpkin has mean eyebrows and glasses. Keree and my Brother spent some time outside playing with the other kids, while my Mom and I visited and listened to the other families. Finally it was getting late and both Keree and my Brother were tired. On the way home, we happened to pass a house and sitting on the curb with a big Free sign was a Little Tikes Jungle Climber. At think at the exact same time, my Brother and I thought the same thing. So after dropping my Mom and Keree off at home, we drove back to where we had saw the climber. We both talked that if it was still there, it was meant to be ours. And we were shocked that it was still there. What we quickly found out, it was a pain to take apart. So instead, my Brother and I hoisted it to the top of the van and after securing it with some straps, we were on our way. We are both so excited for Keree to see it in the morning and play on it. When we got home, we unloaded it and spent a little while marveling at our find before heading to bed.

Tan-ish Skin

I couldn't believe how chilly it was this morning when we woke up. I mean I knew it was going to be cold since it was freezing all weekend, but it still catches you off guard. I searched for some warmer clothes for Keree before I woke her up. After she got dressed, I used my amazing Mommy skills and fixed Keree a rice krispie treat for breakfast. Hey, at least it's made with cereal! After dropping Keree off at school, I headed home to work on cleaning the house for company and getting ready for the show next weekend. When I came to pick Keree up from school. It said that they read a book about Different kinds of families. Keree's comment was that it focused on all the different types of skin color and how you should have the same as your Mommy and Daddy. UGH!!! Seriously, don't they think to read these books before hand? It was like, hey look this kid doesn't look like there Mom or Dad, so that must not be their Mom & Dad. Keree did follow up with this comment to my Mom, "my skin and Mommy's skin is the same." Which made me laugh but it's true, with both have a tan-ish tint to our skin. Hers is because she's Asian and mine because I'm American Indian. It also said that they drew pictures of themselves and they will do so 2 other times so they can compare the children's development. When we got home, Keree ate a quick lunch and then laid down because she's wasn't feeling too hot. Her sinuses are draining and she's coughing. She slept till it was almost time for Cheer practice. Tonight at practice, the Coach had them hoping. They learned 6 new cheers and it was the first time that it ran smoothly. She didn't let the girls run amok, she actually taught them. We also voted and agreed that the girls will be competing at a Cheerfest, which is held after the Football season is over. When we got home, Keree was exhausted so we headed to bed early.

Tet Trung Thu & Lesson 47

Keree was so excited when she woke up this morning and then she got even more excited when she realized that today was Tet Trung Thu or better known as the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. She picked out her pho bowl and chopstick applique shirt I made her for school today. She wanted to wear her Asian dirndle skirt my Mom had made her but since it rained last night but wasn't rainy today, so I knew they would be going outside to play. I cringed at the thought of it getting destroyed. So she opted for a pair of jean capri's. Her only other statement she kept making was "I'm getting to eat Moon cakes today." I felt awful because I didn't order any this year because it cost so much. So I was hoping that just by helping me cook our special dinner would be enough. After I dropped her off at school, I ran by Wallymart in hopes of them having a few of the Asian ingredients I was missing in hopes of saving myself a trip to the Asian grocery store. Luckily, they did have everything I needed (which was amazing). When I picked Keree up from school, the summary said that they taste tested Red, Green & Yellow apples and then picked which one they liked the best, learned a new song about apples and read another book on apples. As we were walking out of school, Keree was excitedly talking about the Moon Festival and then in the middle of the parking lot she stops and goes "and then we will drive to Cincinnati and eat Mooncakes." My heart just broke into a million pieces for her, she thought since my Brother has always been home during Tet Trung Thu, that we would see him today and eat Mooncakes together. I explained to her that Uncle had to work and that we could not drive to Cincinnati but I did promise her we would have a Mooncake. So we went to the local Asian Market, I knew they wouldn't have Mooncakes, it's a Korean market and she just doesn't carry those types of things. Heck, I'm pretty sure I'm close to the only Non-Asian who goes in there, so she and her Family remember me by name. As soon as we went in, Keree made a bee-line to the Steamed Bun's in the freezer. So I let her pick out her favorite BBQ Pork Buns. Then we headed down the snack aisle, Keree picked some Rice candy, my Mom found some Coconut flavored Rice crackers (oh my they are so good!!) and I found a little pack of Chocolate crayons with stickers as a treat for Keree. Of course still no mooncakes or anything even close. So while Keree and my Mom discussed snacks, I went back looking through fridge/freezer section. And there I found a Dessert, it looked like two pancakes but it was filled with Sweet Bean pasted. I was so excited, it wasn't exactly as elegant as a Mooncake is (even though it had a flower stamped on top) but it was close enough. When I showed Keree, she exclaimed "it's a Mooncake." When we got home, we started right into cooking. We fixed a loose version of Fried spring rolls and some crab ragoon (for my Mom). I had a few other more traditional dishes on my Menu but I realized after fixing the spring rolls and crab ragoon, it was going to be more than enough. Keree had so much fun cutting up the crab, assembling the spring rolls, wetting the edges and then rolling the rolls. After they were all done, I then set about to pan fry them all. We enjoyed the first batch at lunch time. After Keree was finished eating, we went to lay down and cover our Lesson. This lesson also didn't introduce a new sound but did introduce another tricky word. For some reason she seemed to struggle on some even easy words, I'm really going to chalk it up to her being extremely exhausted. When she got up, we cooked the rest of our spring rolls and crab ragoon. About half way through cooking, I got a call from Keree's cheerleading coach saying that they had moved practice to the next town over. Ugh! Since I knew we had over a 1/2 hr drive, I quickly finished cooking, changed my shirt, grabbed everything and we headed to practice. We were probably about 5 min. away when the Coach called, said the practice was canceled because her car wouldn't start. I wasn't happy about it but at least she had called unlike other times. So I turned the car around and we started heading home. About 10 minutes from home, another Cheer Mom called me and she was making sure I knew practice was moved. Of course, I was like did you get the call or message that practice was canceled? She was furious but what happened next was interesting because she was there at the park and the rest of the girls were showing up. WTH! Seems that the Coach had only called 3 of the 8 girls to tell them practice was canceled. So I turned the car around and headed back out there. We got there of course 20 minutes after 6p but at least we were there. Keree got to practice and even learned a few new cheers, the squad was being led by one of the Girls (she's only 10 but amazing). Keree had wanted to share a snack with the squad to celebrate the Moon Festival. So I let her take some of the Coconut Rice crackers to share with them. What can I say, we live in the midwest and they are kids. I had one Father, who told his little girl she couldn't have any (he's already done a few racist things in front of us), three girls who refused, one who tried and didn't like it (at least she tried!), two who liked them and of course my daughter who loves them. But what mattered was Keree was happy, she felt so good sharing her snack with them even if the majority of them didn't try it. By the time we left Cheer practice, the moon was out and shining. What was also cool is we got to see the planet Jupiter rising also. Wish I would have gotten a picture of it. When we got home, we took a few pictures, hurriedly ate, started to talk about the stories of the Moon festival but we were side tracked when Keree remembered her Mooncake. So after a few pictures, Keree dove in, she ate about half of her mooncake before she decided she was full. We had planned on going outside with our lighted lanterns, saying a few prayers and thinking about our family but by this time it was after 930p. I gave Keree the choice on if she wanted to stay up or go to bed. She was so exhausted that she actually choose bed. Since tomorrow night isn't packed, I'm hoping we can go outside then with out lanterns and tell more traditional stories about the moon.