A Three Day Visit from the Uncles

Uncle Andrew and Uncle Travis came to visit which means two extra playmates and lots of fun!

The Cupcake Makers!

A hot afternoon spent in our friends' pool

brought lots of water fun.

Like a face full of water!

Jello Snack with help from Uncle Travis.

The Golden Arches!

An awesome day trip to Maine with a huge surprise! 

 Our good friends from 4 hours away who have never met Liam yet were headed for Maine, too!  We met up for a walk on the coast and a yummy lobster lunch.

Yep, they're the world's greatest uncles!

We can't wait until they visit again!

Kyra's First Day of Kindergarten - A River of Tears???

Yes, today was the day.  I knew it would come.  And it did.   Kyra was dressed in her new back to school outfit all ready to go.  
Liam just kept saying "Liam school."   "Liam school bus."   
As we drove through the parking lot of the school, Kyra took her own self- portrait.  Does this look like the face of a child who the teacher would have to pry out of her car seat????   

Thankfully, it was the face of a little girl who was looking forward to her first day of kindergarten.  The teacher opened the door and Kyra got right out with no tears.  So who made the river of tears????  That would be mommy.  It was a bittersweet moment. 
At the end of the day, Liam and I went down to wait for the school bus.  There was Kyra's little face in the front window of the bus.  She was sitting with another little girl she knows.  She came down the bus steps and ran over with a giant hug.   Kyra told us she had a good day at school and learned a really funny song.  
Mommy had flowers for her grown up little girl.   Kyra then told me that she had actually cried at school.   When?  "It was the at the end.  I didn't want to leave school."   I can sleep peacefully tonight.

T'was the Night before Kindergarten

T'was the night before kindergarten when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for the mother.  She was filling out paperwork, eating chocolate, and hyperventilating. 

I can't believe my baby girl is starting kindergarten tomorrow.  It was just yesterday that her Chinese nanny put my little muffin in my arms as I cried tears of happiness.  Just yesterday I was giving her a bottle, changing her diapers, and watching her toddle down the hallway.  

Today, I took her to meet her kindergarten teacher.  Her first comment when she saw the teacher?  "This will be my first teacher that wears glasses!"    So we're off to a good start!

 We waited in line in an unbelievably hot classroom to meet her teacher.  Kyra could barely mumble out hello and then headed to the door while I gave a letter to the teacher warning her that drop off might not go very well.  Traditionally, the teachers have had to pry Kyra off  my leg.  This year they'll have to pry her out of her car seat if she has separation problems.  I'm worried.  This will be harder for me than for her! 

This evening she told her daddy that her teacher was really nice.  That's a good sign! 

And then she showed me that she's really starting to grow up.  Kyra very seriously said,  "Mommy, I'm a little bit excited about tomorrow and a little bit not excited.  I want to learn to read, but I don't want to be away from you." 

 And then, the cherry on top of the sundae - Kyra is going to ride the school bus home.  I don't know if I can bear to see her little face in the window of a big schoolbus.   I think she's a little scared of the school bus and I think Liam is going to be A LOT jealous!

And I heard him exclaim as the bus drove out of sight,  "Mommy, when can I ride a school

bus?"

 

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I was in a wrestling match with Liam and his toothbrush the other day.  It wasn't so much that he didn't want his teeth brushed, but he was more interested in everything else on the bathroom counter.  It was the end of a long stay-at-home mommy day with no husband in sight.  My frustration was increasing and I finally mumbled, "Oh, somebody, please deliver me from this nightmare."  Kyra came in from the hallway and said, "Mommy, I'll go get you a box."  I asked, "A box? What for?"   Kyra's answer --- "To deliver you in!" 

Another funny story told by a friend of mine about her daughter, who is also adopted from China and a close friend of Kyra's.    You must know that we live in a very non- racially diverse area where many of the Asian children are little girls adopted from China.   I knew that Liam would no doubt turn out to be the only Chinese boy at all of our Chinese adoptive family gatherings and, it seems that his fan club has already started....

My friend's 5 year old daughter was sitting in the back of the car while my friend was driving.   The daughter suddenly said, "Mom, I'm going to marry a Chinese boy."    A few moments of silence, and then the daughter asked, "Mom, where am I going to find a Chinese boy? "  Her mother explained that as her daughter got older she would meet more people in high school and college.   The daughter thought about this for a few minutes and then said, "Yeah, and there's always Liam."    

: )

My Baby Girl???

Kyra has her first loose tooth and starts kindergarten next week.  What happened to my baby girl????

Daddy's Car - Vroom Vroom

What is it with boys and cars?  Little Boys or Big Boys - they love things with wheels!  Liam is absolutely no exception.  A true love of all things with wheels is  hard wired in his little brain and it just amazes me.   There is positively nothing better for Liam than to go "Bye Byes Car".   A large part of any ride involves the following statements made repeatedly by Liam as he spies vehicle after vehicle out the window :  

"Mommy, Car!"   "Mommy, Tow Mater!"  "Mommy,  Truck!"   "Mommy, Tractor"   "Mommy, race car!"  "Mommy, motorcycle!"  "Mommy, bicycle!"  "Mommy, Doc Hudson!"  "Mommy, Fire Truck!"  "Mommy, Airplane!"  "Mommy, Lightening McQueen!"

Liam especially loves his daddy's mid-life crisis car - a little silver Mazda RX-8 with some kind of jacked up really, really loud muffler.  "Daddy's Car!  Vroom! Vroom!"   And what is the best thing about Liam's love for daddy's mid-life crisis car?  When Mommy needs to go out or needs some time at home alone, all we have to say is, "Liam!  Bye Bye in Daddy's Car?"  Liam grabs his shoes and heads out the door smiling and waving, "Bye Mommy!"   No tears - just a huge happy smile.   Liam cozies up in the mini backseat of Daddy's  car - looks around with a big smile and says, "Liam's Car!  Vroom! Vroom!" 

And when Liam isn't busy checking out all the other vehicles from his back seat view - he's singing along with John Denver.