IT'S FUN TO BE ONE !!

You spend 9 months in agony, body aches, nausea, swollen feet and several other discomforts that I will not share in mixed company, and at least in my case pleading with the doctor to "just get this kid out as soon as possible!"

Then after usually a long and painful day you are swept into what some call the "honeymoon phase" and you are holding your gift from GOD and thinking that life itself could get no better.
So... 24 hours later, the honeymoon is so over with, and you no longer want a "baby manual" that we all know they don't come with. No, you now want a uniersal baby remote control with a fast forward button, pause button, and a record button.

You find your self saying things like "I just wish she would sleep through the night", hence, fast forward to when they will. And when the baby wakes from her nap and you haven't yet made it through all of your "to dos" to get your self to the bathroom "If I only had 5 more minutes". So... pause button.

Obviously you can't pause and fast forward your self through child rearing, at least not until I can figure out how to make a remote that works. But all kidding aside, not really, you do eventually wake up one morning and your sweet baby girl is a one year old. And not just kind of one, oh no, one does not come gradually at all. You put them into their crib and tuck them in for the night as your delightful and charming 11 month old baby girl, but wake up to a whole different ball game.

I was so excited to get up that morning ready to dart up the stairs, scoop up my, remember... delightful and charming, baby girl. I had planned it all in my head to snuggle and squeeze her while I sang her her very first "Happy Birthday" song and covered her with 1st Birthday kisses.

Little did I know that Miss Addison Michele had some very different thoughts of her own and she decided that 5:45 am the morning of her very first birthday was the appropriate time to share them with me. As you can imagine, my darting up the stairs became more of a reluctant stagger and the scooping up, snuggling, and squeezing never had a chance. I walked in to the room and plucked the howling dramatic child out of her crib. You would think that after saving her life, which must have been what I had just done by the way the tears were falling and snot was flowing as I got to the room, that I would have been accommodated with at least a kiss and a hug from the victim. But, with no kisses and nothing close to a hug from the little monster and the show of her dramatic skills not coming to an end, it was so very clear to me.

She woke up ONE. VERY ONE. And she was going to let me know it.

So need I say that she wasn't having the "Happy Birthday" song at all at that point and it wasn't until 3 tries, a bottle of milk and a bowl of cereal and fruit later that I could get the whole song out with out interruption from the peanut gallery.

The rest of the day followed suit and left me longing for that fast forward button again. Addisons dramatic beginning and her desire to be instantly independent boiling down to a overwhelming need for Momma. And well, I got my wish....about 30 minutes before bed time, exhausted and drained from her all day dilemma, the little monster snuggled and squeezed me as I covered her in kisses and sang her her "Happy Birthday" song, over and over again. Soon she had melted in my arms and though I could have stayed in that moment forever (record button)... I scooped her up and carried my once again delightful and charming little baby up stairs and tucked her in for the night.

MY PARTY !!

Every one was there!

Momma, Dadda, Hailey, JonJon,

Grandma & Jeff

Grandpa Larry & Linda

Papa Roger & Linda

Auntie Em

Auntie April, Unca Eric & Bella

Aunt Maegan, Unca Spencer & Teagan

Aunt Amy & Unca Pete (baby Jenna still in belly).

Nana and Auntie Jen & Unca Jeremy & Tatiana came later to bring me gifts. I LIKE gifts!

We ate pizza for supper and then I got to open all of my gifts. I really do LIKE gifts!! The big kids helped me with the tricky ones and it was a lot of fun to rip up the paper and crumple it in my hands. I got some really cute cloths, a dolly named Rosie, a big barn with animals in it, and a big pink pony! I let all of the kids have a turn on the pony. Even Dadda liked it but I told him he was silly!

After I opened all the gifts and I got to play for a while it was time for cake. I didn't know at first what was going on, everyone was staring at me and then they all sang to me and lit my cake on fire! I don't know about all that but it sure tasted good. I took my time at first just to see if everybody would be patient.

They all were except Momma, she pushed my hand rightinto the center of my cake making a big mess! So I figured, oh well, I'm already dirty! It was fun and it tasted good. When I was done I got a bath in the sink and went back to playing with all my new gifts.

I LIKE gifts.... But I LOVE PARTIES!!!!!

Video of the Week

It is a treat at the compound in Africa for the children to get the occasional Popsicle made from fruit juice and you can hear them all squeal when they see Linda coming out with them all lined up on her tray. I was so hot even in the shade that we are sitting in that no matter how fast he slurped and licked the icy treat it just kept a drippin' in his lap.

He had probably never had a Popsicle before let alone anything cold in his life and it was a slow start , but after a few "bitter beer" faces he got the hang of it and finished as a pro. Ok, maybe not a pro.... but a sticky, cooled, Popsicle king!

We are slowly going crazy....123456 switch.....

Hey All !! Well it is about that time again, the questions have started to roll in about when the next update will hit the airways. I guess it is comforting to know that so many people are interested in our non stop lives, enough to want to read about it. So with out further ado...

Not that it will surprise many of you, but life is still very hectic here on the ranch and the thought of the eventual slowing down of this fast train seems a long way off. We have however finally settled into our new home, believe it or not, and are enjoying the ever revolving front door as our friends and family make up for lost time.

So, you say, what has been happening? The last few MONTHS has been a whirl wind of events for our growing family starting with me opening my in home child care business in February. I now have 3 children in my care in addition to my own 2 and have perfected the task of picking up toys and wiping noses, at the same time no less. The weird thing is that all the children including my own all have the same middle name of "time out....NOW!" and respond to it very well. In all seriousness the kids get along phenomenally and its quite nice for our kids to grow up with a group to play and laugh with.

In addition to day care, I have been writing a book about my travels to Africa which I post to this blog, gearing up to start home schooling Jonathan in the fall, and now I am proud to say starting a non profit business for the children in Africa where my mission is to "Doll Up Africa". I am going to be creating a blog just for the business with all of the information on it and a way to collect donations. I have had such a place in my heart for fund raising and donating since we started our adoption process that I want to continue to give back in any way I can.

Dustin has fit in to the new job quickly and is getting to know the crew he works with. It is amazing how the stores differ from state to state and town to town as they do. This is the 4th Les Schwab Dustin has worked in during his almost 10 year career and it is again very different then the last three. With the many hours he spends at work during the week he has little time for hobbies or a social life outside of me and the kids. He does enjoy the weekends that give him the chance to catch up with friends and of course the Sunday afternoon multitasking event of watching the NASCAR race while napping on the couch.

Hailey doesn't have much time for anything because she is very busy being 8 years old. She has really taken to Jonathan and Addison, and interacts with them as if the three have been joined at the hip for life. She is excited about the up and coming base ball season in May and is still very into soccer and likes to kick the ball around with Jonathan.

Jonathan or "JonJon" as he has come to be called, is busy as well doing all that you would expect a 2 year old to do. He has turned 180 degrees from the shy, subdued baby that walked off the plane with me just about 3 months ago to the comfortable and confident little boy he is today. He thoroughly enjoys all of his play mates from the day care and seems to be the one they all look up to. His speech has come a very long way as well thanks to flash cards that I made and run through with him everyday. JonJon knows it as "playing cards" and he can't get over to the couch fast enough to "assume the position" witch is Indian style on the automan, and get started. He can now identify and say about 10 animals, 10 colors, and 3 letters, not to mention what he now understands from regular daily conversation. JonJon is also very polite always using "Yes Mama" or "Yes Please" and following with "Thank you Mama".

Addison is and will be the cause of Dustin and my gray hair for many years to come. She just had her first birthday on April 4th and woke up that morning very much a one year old. She is in fact her mothers daughter and is just as much a impatient, blabber mouthed, busybody as I am. She has grown like a little weed but is still a feather weight at only 19.6 pounds and still wears most of her 6 - 9 month wardrobe. She cruises around on her hands and knees, I think more for the speed advantage and long distances, but is so close to waking that it is just the guts that she is lacking not the skill.

Well you can consider yourself caught up. I hope to be writing on this blog every week from now on. We love you all and we love to get you comments and thoughts in the guest list area so please keep em' coming.