OH how they scare you

Final update- WE'RE ALL BETTER! 7 days of a stomach virus has left everyone in the house much thinner. Except me. I am the only person on this earth who could get a 7 day stomach virus AND GAIN FIVE POUNDS. Welcome to my world, people! I'm a big ol freak.

Update: After a nasty scare yesterday where Avie's lips and hands turned blue, I'm pleased to report all is well and she's much, much, better. Sometime during yesterday's trauma, a crow landed on my left eye. I now have my first ever crow's foot. I told you these little ones age you! My only hope is that Avie grows up to be a best selling author and can buy me all the plastic surgery required to fix the damage!


I can't believe I haven't gotten a comment from some idiot saying, "You sure complain about being a mom a lot. You must not like motherhood at all." I've been bracing myself for that since I started writing about the darker side of motherhood. I know my regular readers get it. You know motherhood is complicated. But there's always going to be that one person who stumbles on a blog due to a google search, reads a few lines, and feel compelled to go off without thinking. Yeah, I dislike motherhood. That's why I adopted a baby when I had a four month old and a three year old.

I write about the bad because I wish someone had told me about the bad when I was pregnant with Boo. I had no idea. I was the baby of the family. I didn't grow up around little kids. I was the little kid. And as an adult, I didn't hang out with people who had kids. I knew nothing about being a parent when I became one. And since it took so long to become one, I had turned motherhood into a fantasy world. Me in a white dress, running through a field of daisies with my gorgeous little girls in their white dresses, our hair blowing in the delicate breeze. Sunshine. Happiness. 24/7.

I'm not a stupid woman. I just live in a different world than most. Reality is not something I''m fond of embracing. I spend a lot of time inside my head. It's fun in there.

I always wondered why the parents of young children look so... old. Now I know. Those little ankle biters can take years off your life in a matter of seconds. Like my little Avie did today. Oh that Avie. Here's how Avie and I are alike. She's dreamy just like me. She's the flower child kind of dreamy, living in her happy world of sunshine and clouds and dollies and cookies. Such a sweetie, that Av.

It was 8am and Avie had been in bed since 7pm the night before. I went to wake her up and she just wouldn't wake up. I picked her up and she looked at me, then flopped against me. I forced her to take a few drinks of water, then put her back to bed, thinking she just needed to catch up on sleep from being sick.

Mom came to watch her while I took the other two to the Science Center. On Field Trip Friday? How desperate was I to get out of the house? And let me just say having two kids- how easy was that! Two kids is nuthin. I could do it with my hands tied behind my back and on heroin.

Shhhh calm down. That's just an expression. I wouldn't think of having my hands tied if I was on heroin.

We get home about Noon and Avie is still asleep. I was livid with my mom for not calling me as I raced to her room to make sure she was still alive. Same scenario as the morning. A floppy little baby who just wanted to sleep.

I raced to the phone to call her DR and was told to come right in, as the DR is right down the street. When the DR walked in, Avie didn't scream in fear as she normally does. Instead, she remained floppy while being examined, then pointed at a book and said, "Buh." The doctor suspects Avie has Rotavirus. That would explain why our entire family was so sick for 7 days. Rotavirus releases a toxin that makes little ones floppy like rag dolls. Hence, why Miss Boo slept for a solid day straight when she was at her worst. Hence, why I could barely walk from the bedroom to the bathroom. Rotavirus is nasty nasty nasty.

We are to wake Avie up every few hours for liquids, which she gladly takes. Avie is well hydrated, which is the most important. If she continues to be this way over the weekend, off to the hospital we go.

Time to wake her for more liquids. I'll update over the weekend.

Yes, but did he ring twice?

Today my daughter Juna learned the words naked and mailman.

I sure hope my husband doesn't get the wrong idea.

The wheels on the bus are flat

Still looking for the Nixon Birthday Party video from my show on You Tube? Go here!

And now, for some home videos.

Juna is 16 months old and still not saying too much. I thought it was due to her only hearing Mandarin for the first 8 months of her life. But when I caught up with the families in our adoption travel group, all with babies around the same age, I learned some are talking, but slow with walking. Some are walking, but slow with talking. Proving once again, there are no absolutes in this parenting game.

Ok there is one absolute. The cuteness. As you will observe in the video below. Juna loooves music. I've been singing Wheels On The Bus to her. She tries to "sing" along and the best part is at the end of each verse. She brings it home with this long, flat, loud note. It's hilarious. She isn't really doing it here, because she kept getting distracted by giving me kisses. Awww. But you'll get the idea.

This also debunks the myth that just because you have a nice speaking voice, you also have a nice singing voice. I'll never be hired to sing a commercial jingle, that's for sure. :40 video.

And because we cannot leave out Avie, here's a 1 minute video showing what the babies typically do with their latest obsession. Crayons.

Yum Yum Dim Sum

I'm outa here for a few days while my eyeballs get a good lasering. To tide us over until we speak again, how about a hefty dose of cuteness?


Why yes, that is a picture of my child wearing a Richard Nixon birthday hat. Why do you ask?

(Actual Richard Nixon episode of my show coming in just a few weeks.)

She'll wear anything on her head as long as it isn't an actual hat.

China has been slammed with pretty heavy duty snow storms, especially in the area where Juna Bug was from. I can't help but think of the babies in her orphanage and hope someone is keeping them warm.
No airbrushing here, folks. A closeup on what a baby's face REALLY looks like. Cheez It residue, boogies, and all.

I forgot to post this a few weeks ago. I got this for my birthday from my mom. It's a child's board book that explains the basics of Dim Sum. A must have for any family adopting from China who will continue eating Dim Sum once home, or any family who wants to introduce their children to the concept and traditions of Dim Sum.

A look inside the book.

June Bug is now 15 months and Avie is 13 months. Here is some video of our nightly dinner routine. Avie's the last to finish, so Juna Bug comes over and helps out. On this night, Avie decide to feed Bug. I caught the tail end when Avie was getting a bit fed up with the feeding.

Junie 15 month milestone

Have you ever seen the paws of a German Shepard puppy? Tiny fluffy body but HUGE paws? So you know that dog is going to get huuuuge.

I think of that every time I put shoes on my Junie Bug. She has the biggest feet. And her hands are huge, too. That, combined with her taller than average height makes us think we have the Yao Ming of Chinese babies. Which is hilarious, if you consider both Matt and I are 5'5". Our biological daughters are these tiny little things. And here's our China born baby who is so tall and so solid with those big ol feet and hands. I just imagine our family picture when she is a teenager and Juna just towering over all of us.

Her 14th month was a funny one. She is starting to say new words. The latest one is butt. I'm learning that's normal when one has an older sibling. The word butt is used often in this house. Mostly "buh-hind." Miss Boo is fond of saying buh-hind, but when she says butt, Junie echos her. "Butt butt butt!"

Avie walks around saying, Alllllll gone, just like Bug did as a younger baby. Occasionally Av will not finish and just says allllllllll... and trails off. Bug will interject, "Gone! GONE! ALLL GONE" Almost as if she is telling Avie to get it right already!

Junie loves her squeaky shoes. For those not in the know, they are shoes that squeak when the child walks, making a sound like a pet's squeaky toy. Squeaky shoes are popular for little children in China. I had purchased them for Miss Boo when we made the decision to adopt when Boo was just 18 months old. The shoes were huge on Boo, but fit snug on Juna. I will put Robeez on Junie, but Junie will go to her shoe shelf, find the squeakies, carry them to me, point at her feet and go, "Uh. Uh!" She will not rest until I switch her to the squeakies. There are days when I just don't want to hear all that squeaking but it's either squeaking or screaming. Squeaking wins.

Tempter tantrums have started. She will throw herself to the floor, screaming, and goes limp and no amount of consoling will calm her down. She wants her way all of the time. She is one strong willed little woman.

She also gets all of her teeth at once. She cannot just get one tooth, oh no. Last week, all four molars came in at one time. I guess that's easier. It's a lot of pain, but it's all over quickly, instead of being drug out over weeks. Whereas Av still only has two teeth. One is coming, but it has taken the past five weeks of misery for her. She is a slow teether. I think Juna has it right.

I recently referred to Junie Bug as being Chinese. The person I was speaking with got offended. "She is not Chinese! She is an American!" I stopped and thought about that for a long moment. I still think about it and it's weeks since that happened. I'm so proud of her heritage. I've mentioned before that when we got to China, it felt like home. I really connected with the people and the culture. We are raising her to embrace her Chinese heritage and plan to return to China as often as we can afford. She will always know her birth country and the traditions. So when I say she is Chinese, I am saying so with pride.

She's my daughter, period. Never ever do I feel a difference between how I love her and how I love my other daughters. When I look at her, I just see my baby. I don't see our differences in looks. To be honest, everyone says she looks like me. I take that as the highest of compliments. I am so proud when people say that.

She is growing up too quickly, but I'm enjoying every moment. She's so fascinating, so smart, and so much fun to be around.

I am so grateful she was matched with us. They got is so so right. I am also grateful I get to spend this milestone with her. Here's too many many more.

Poop.

The babies tend to poop at the same time, which is awfully convenient.

Here are Miss Boo's observations on the poop:

Boo: Chinese baby poop is so much better than American baby poop.
Me: Why is that, Boo?
Boo: Chinese baby poop isn't sticky and it's easy to clean up. American baby poop is sticky. It sticks to your skin and burns and causes rashes. Everyone should poop like Chinese babies. But we're English, so our poop isn't as good.

Baby Moons

Christmas isn't the reason I haven't been posting. I haven't been posting because I'm on my honeymoon. Or rather, my babymoon. Er, babiesmoon.

You see, the babies have reached the sweetest of the pre-toddler stages. They walk, they're starting to talk, but they don't talk back! They don't throw tantrums. They don't scream NO and run away. Instead they break into huge grins and run into my arms for hugs a million times a day. It's a wonderful stage that's only going to last a few months longer. Then they will turn into stubborn little toddlers. I'm drinking it up. I'm drunk on baby love.

When Avie was seven months and Juna was nine months, I called my friend who is a mom of twins and asked. "Will it ever get easier?" She told me when the babies hit about a year to 14 months, I will wonder why anyone would ever want just one baby at once.

She was absolutely right. The those first few months were... challenging to say the least. Now? Oh, it's amazing. Those two together are a sight, beyond their obvious difference in looks.

The girls are completely lost without each other. When one is napping and the other is awake, the awake baby will wander over to the nursery and stand there, waiting for her sister to wake up. I can't distract her. She just wants her sister. And both of them do this. Then when the sleeping sister awakes and makes noise on the monitor, the awake baby will throw her hands in the air, squeal, and run to the nursery. Juna will bang on Avie's crib until I get her down. Then she will hug Avie and pat her head. Avie will grin at Juna and giggle and the two will toddle off to find trouble to get into.

Juna will randomly find the sippie cup and take it to Av and attempt to give her drinks. She will also try to feed her snacks, but usually ends up missing her mouth completely. Avie will often wander by Juna, put her head on Juna's shoulder, then wander off again.

They are starting to fight as well. They scuffle over toys. Juna usually wins, but Avie is learning to fight back. She will bang Juna over the head with her little fist until Juna gives in. Juna understands when I tell her to give the toy back to Av, if Av had it first. She does, but Av does not understand that concept one bit. If Av takes the toy from Juna, Av will FREAK if I tell her to give it back. If I don't see who had the toy first, I take it away from both of them. Oh the complaining! More slapping each other, as if to say, "You're to blame for this!" I say, "No. Love! Love for your sister!" They will stop slapping and touch foreheads. That's how they show love. Like the SNL Coneheads.

Juna is 6 pounds heavier and one head taller than Avalon. So much for Boo's hand me downs. My 18 month clothes are all for summer. Juna will have to get her own brand new wardrobe. Not that I mind shopping for more baby clothes or anything! Juna is just so tall. She is going to be the tallest member of our family. Imagine that.

The babies are complete opposites in personality. Avie is goofy. She will walk into the room, yell, "AHH HAH!" Then wobble away. Avie is a party girl. She wants to play and have fun and eat and drink and be merry. Juna can be silly, but there has to be a reason and she doesn't get too silly. While Avie want to play play play, Juna wants to figure out how each toy works.

JUna understands everything I say to her. I think that's impressive for a child who has only heard English for six months. I recall Boo was speaking in short sentences when she was 14 months, but she didn't understand what I was saying the way Juna does at the same age. I can hand Juna her shoes and say, "Go into your bedroom and put these on the shoe shelf please," and she will. Every time. I can point to her bare feet and say, "Your feet are going to get cold," and she will say, "Brrrr" and go into the other room to find her slippers. We will be in the kitchen with me putting Goldfish crackers into two bowls. I will hand both to her and point to one bowl and say, "Give this one to Avie," and she will go into the other room and give that exact bowl to Avie. She understands everything. She loves being mommy's helper and follows me from room to room, helping me do whatever it is I do all day. All the while Avie is behind us going, "Yeah! Yeeeeeeee-ah!" And throwing her hands in the air and laughing.

Juna has discovered tutus. The second I put one on her for the first time, she looked down, went, "Ooooh," then began twirling around the room. When I told one up, she will clap her hands and twirl around, then point to the tutu, then to herself. She can only say Mama, Dada, All gone, Bad bad bad bad bad and good good good good good, but she really gets her point across with non verbal communication. She's especially funny when she knows she's done something good. Like when she gives a toy back to Avie, she will say, "Good good good good." Or when she figures something out and we praise her, she will say, "Good good good good." Bad bad bad bad is for the cats. Even if they are being good, they're still bad bad bad bad.

We have three remotes in the living room. One for the DVD player, one for the TV, and the other for the satellite tuner box. Juna will hand me the TV remote and the tuner remote, then start dancing. She is telling me she wants to hear music from the satellite music channels. SHe never hands me the DVD remote because she knows that is useless in getting her music. She does this numerous times per day. If the TV is on a program, she will hand me the tuner remote and dance around, then point at the TV, then the remote. She is telling me to please change the channel so she can hear music.

Avie is starting to show her true goofy personality. She is less baby, more toddler every moment. There may only be two months between them, but Avie is way behind Juna in development, mostly due to Avie's prematurity. I have to remember that Av is actually more like four months behind Juna. That should even out soon. Avie does watch Juna constantly and mimics her sounds and movements.

I spend most of my day watching them, completely in awe. Not much gets accomplished in this house, because I spend so much time with them on the floor, enjoying every moment. Taking care of them isn't as difficult as it once was. It's now an easy routine and much less frustrating and much more enjoyable. Maybe because I'm more experienced. Maybe because I'm more relaxed. Or maybe because it's just easier with two so close in age. While I've always enjoyed motherhood, I never knew it could be this great. I'm going to bask in this blissful babymoon stage while it lasts.

Our weekend

"Yeah you should have seen Avie spit out her green beans, it was hilarious! I wish I had the video camera rolling. Wait wait.. hold on a minute..."

"Hello. Hi. I didn't realize you were standing there. I'll be with you in just a sec, I'm on the phone."
"Yeah, so anyway, then Avie threw the biggest fit because I guess she doesn't like green beans but mom was like... um... hi. Do you mind coming back later? It's going to be awhile. I'm on long distance. Thanks."
"Hi hi! You can come talk to me! I'm always smiling! Unless I don't know you. Then I do this AH AH AH AH AH cry. Strangers really freak me out!"
"A few weeks ago my mommy found this amazing faux fur throw but it was dry clean only and my mommy said no way was she going to have a dry clean only throw so she went to Target and found almost the exact same thing for 30 dollars cheaper and it's machine washable. It's sooooo soft. Ok you have five seconds before I start crying AH AH AH AH AH because I really don't know you at all!"
"Hi. I'm holding my Cinderella dolly because we're in the hospital. I had to go to the after hours emergency clinic at the hospital Saturday night. I had a really really REALLY bad ear pain and high fever. The nice doctor gave me pink medicine and then asked if I wanted a popsicle. I said, "Popsicles aren't in season at my house. I can't believe they're in season at the hospital!" Then mommy stood up and I grabbed her arm and said, "WAIT! We can't go home! I need my popsicle!!"

"I guess what I have is con-jay-juss because now the babies and mommy are sick. Mommy said sick germs are in season all the time at our house! I feel much better now. Bye!"

All gone!

I've told you before how my 12 month old only is quite fond of, "All gone."

All gone means she's leaving the room.
All gone means she's back in the room again.
All gone means she dropped a toy.
All gone means her food is all gone.
All gone means let go of me now!
All gone means get away from me, Big Sister, you're pissing me off!

This particular all gone moment happened after a lunch of cottage cheese and applesauce. She was happily telling me her lunch was all gone, so I grabbed the video camera to finally get an all gone on tape. The oh boy at the end is me recognizing I had a bit of a mess to clean off her tray.




Aaaand then I made a mom of two babies rookie mistake. I turned away to clean up the less messy baby first. Av is a pretty clean eater, while Juna just goes for it, full force. I turned back and discovered this. The vid camera was handy, so I couldn't resist.



It took a long time to all gone that mess, let me tell ya.

Refreshingly Clean!

I have recently discovered Orbit gum. As with everything in my life, I'm a bit late to the party. That stuff is awesome. You can chew and chew and chew and never run out of flavor.

The reason this is so important to me is that when I get into the car, I instantly pop a mint or gum. I honestly cannot drive unless I do this. It's always the first leg of my journey, from garage to destination. I cannot concentrate on the road unless I have minty fresh breath. Hence, the excitement over a stick of gum. I can reach my destination and still have a mouth full of minty refreshment.

We bought the variety pack at Costco. I had popped the bubble gum flavor after lunch today. It was either gum or dive into Boo's Halloween candy. I popped two pieces so I could blow bubbles for the babies.

I put Junie on my lap and blew the first bubble. She stared in amazement, then reached her finger forward ever to tentatively to pop the bubble. We repeated those actions four or five times, bringing squeals of delight each time.

Then on bubble #6, I got a bit carried away with the amount of breath I pushed into the bubble. Instead of producing a bubble, I sent the wad straight into Juna's face.

The squeals of delight turned into shrieks of anguish. Juna freaked out. Both of us reaching for her face to remove the wad of gum. Both of us clonking into each other and missing the gum. Her thrashing about and wailing, "GONE GONE GONE GONE GONE!"

I popped the gum back into my mouth. A trip onto my baby's face did not diminish the flavor. Juna wriggled out of my lap and onto the floor. I decided to try another bubble, hoping to change her mood. Nope. The sight of the bubble made her scream and run into the other room while repeating, "GONE GONE GONE GONE GONE!"

20 years from now, Juna will be in therapy trying to get to the bottom of why the smell of bubble gum gives her the heebie jeebies.

Video- The Babies

Huge hits today from the China adoption crowd, courtesy of Rumor Queen. I'd like to say HELLO and welcome to my blog! The Halloween costume pic is in the next post. Just for you, I'm posting this quick video of the babies taken yesterday, before the costumes. If you were anything like me during the wait, this kind of thing made you hang in there just a little bit harder.

I know, I know. Juna's mommy dresses her funny. I've got to get outfits better suited to her. Those were Miss Boo's and work fine on Avie. Juna needs more tailored baby clothes.

Just a few seconds of cuteness. Enjoy.




WOW, it's so freaky to have more than 8 readers today!!

Happy Birthday, eat cake

The Empress of China demands birthday cake.

What the Empress wants, the Empress gets. A cake for Empress, a cake for the rest of us.

The Empress is not impressed. She asks for pyrotechnics. These "thank goodness Customs didn't open our bags" flower candles from China will do. Step one. Light the "candle."

Step Two. Candle bursts into flames! The Empress watches in wide eyed delight. Miss Boo yells, "FIRE! I DON'T LIKE FIRE! FIRE BAD! Grrrr!"

Step three. Flower candle opens its petals to reveal that all candles within are now lit. Happy Birthday begins to play from within the candle.

Step Four. The Empress bloodies her knuckles in desperate attempt to devour cake. Or was the cake red velvet inside? You decide.

The flower candle continued to sing Happy Birthday. Miss Boo continued to be freaked out. "Make it stop, Daddy! Make it stop!" Daddy put the candle outside. Five hours later, the candle was still playing. We should have hidden it in the noisy neighbor's yard.

Not pictured- the birthday lunch at Wei Hong. You locals really need to go there for Dim Sum. Atmosphere, great service, delish food. What's not to love? How about your baby almost choking to death? Thank goodness for the quick moves of the lovely Chinese server. "I had five babies. Babies choke sometimes." The Empress rewarded her with a lap full of goo that was once lodged in her throat. We rewarded the server with a large tip.

Happy 1st Birthday Juna

Hello, my little one year old.

Look! Mommy bought you a silly happy birthday hat. May I put in on your head?

Ok, another time, then...

October 17th. Happy June Bug Day.

Oh Junie Bug. What a bittersweet day for your Mommy. While I'm sad that you are becoming a toddler and no longer a baby, I'm also grateful I get to spend this day with you at all!

Today as I watch you toddle about the house, play with your favorite toys, and shout, "GONE GONE GONE," (the only word you use right now) I can't help but think about her. The woman we will both wonder about for the rest of our lives. Your birth mother. As I celebrate your birthday today, I have to wonder, is this day special to her, too? As she goes about her day today, is she taking time to wonder about you? Is she staring into space, trying to picture your face? Does today have meaning to her like it does to me? Or does thinking about you bring too much pain?

I don't know anything about your birth family. I don't know if your birth mom was my age or a teenager. I don't know if she cried when you were born because she knew she could not keep you or if she cried with relief, knowing you'd soon be gone. I'll never know the truth. And I promise you will always know that. I will never lead you to believe anything but what we already know. I'm sorry it's not much. You deserve to know more.

I have to think that your birth mother wanted a better life for you. Your family placed you in place where guaranteed you would be found. I have to hope they knew what would happen next. That you would be found and taken to the orphanage. I have to hold onto the hope they knew you would receive good care until a family adopted you. I have to hope they did this, knowing you would actually be adopted. That you could have a chance at a better life.

You are from a small community in China. I wonder if word got out as to what happened to you. Perhaps your birth mother knows you went to America. Perhaps today she knows you are with a family who cares for you and loves you so very much. Or maybe she has mother's intuition and just knows deep down that you're just fine.

We'll never know. And she may never know. I'm so sorry about that, my baby.

Whatever is the case, I am thinking of her today. I am thinking of the family that gave you life. I will always be so grateful to them for creating such an amazing little human being.

You've only been with us a few months, and I can't even believe that fact. It feels like you've been a part of me since before you were born. Because you have. From the moment I approached Matt with the idea to adopt from China, I loved you. I loved you when you were just paperwork needing to be notarized and pink bubblegum luggage that needed to be packed. Then when I saw those eyes staring up at me from the referral photo, that was it. You were no longer a dream. You were my daughter.

I wish I knew which person in China placed your photo with our paperwork. Who decided you were the daughter for us? How did they get it so right? How did they know you'd be the one to walk past me while playing, then double back because you want to give me a hug? That when I feed you, you stare deeply into my eyes and stroke my face with your little hand? That I can't stop staring at you, so impressed with your beauty, your curiosity, your determination, and your courage. How did they create a match made in heaven?

I love that today is your day. This is the first of many more to come. Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet little Juna. I am so honored that you are my daughter.

Ice cream

Matt enjoys the ooey goodness that is a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Avie knows something good is in that yellow cup.

DENIED! No ice cream for you!

Avie calls in reinforcements

DENIED! No ice cream for you!

Avie tries one last attempt at the ice cream

Denied once again! No ice cream for the girls in blue!

Since we're made of marshmallow, we gave in and the babies each got a little taste. Then we wisely put the ice cream away until they went to bed.

Grocery Shopping With All My Children

We took All My Children grocery shopping for the very first time.

And look! I'm alive to tell the tale!

I pushed the babies in the double stroller while Matt pushed Boo in the shopping cart.

Yeah, that doesn't attract aaaaaaany attention.

We went to Costco and the Asian market. We attracted the most stares in the Asian market. At one time we had a crowd of people around us, speaking various languages. June Bug held her cool until a woman leaned in and began speaking Mandarin. She flipped out. I haven't seen her that upset in a long time.

I quickly navigated away from the curious crowd to the check out line, just hoping we could make an escape without further attention being drawn to us.

That's when the three year old, while sitting nicely in the front of the shopping cart, began doing the YMCA. Singing it at the top of her lungs and doing the arm movements.

Apparently the YMCA is a universal dance, as people all around us took notice and pointed and laughed.

I was gasping for air, I was laughing so hard while sputtering, "Boo! Who taught you that? Where did you learn the YMCA?"

"In P.E. class. That's gym you know."

I tried to get more details. Does the gym teacher play the song? Does everyone dance? Does the gym teacher dance? She just shrugged and continued singing.

Tonight we were attempting to brush teeth when she started doing something I also thought would come much later. Observe:

Me: Boo, stop wiggling and start brushing your teeth.
Her: Boo, stop wiggling and start brushing your teeth.
Me: Oh, you're copying me now?
Her: Oh, you're copying me now?
Me: Greaaaaat.
Her: Greaaaaat.
Me: (Hands on hips) Boo, knock it off and brush your teeth!
Her: (Hands on hips) Boo, knock it off and brush your teeth!
Me: (Big sigh)
Her: (Big sigh)
Me: (Giving her the Angry Mommy Stare)
Her: (Giving it back and then realizing I wasn't playing) Sorry, Mommy. I thought it was funny!

She then hopped off her step stool and did the YMCA all the way back to her bedroom.

I'll say it again. I'm terrified of the teenage years.

Out on the town with the babies

I'm so proud of myself. I took the babies out today ALL BY MYSELF!

I woke up this morning with tons of energy and no desire to stay home. So I packed up the kidlets and off we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I chose the Garden because it's the easiest outing of all the St. Louis outings for the stroller crowd.

I also chose that location because of the safety of the parking when I was arriving at opening time. I know many moms feel vulnerable in parking lots when taking kids out of the car. Your whole body is pretty much buried in your vehicle as you get the kids out of their seats and you cannot watch what is going on around you. Moms are the perfect targets, so I always try to choose my parking wisely since I have double duty with the car seats. I knew going to the Garden when they opened afforded me the prime near-the -entrance parking spots.

After that, it was just loading up the babies, throwing down the Cheerios, and going for a gorgeous stroll. The Monarch butterflies, my favorite, were everywhere! I'm telling you, I was just in awe of the beauty around me. The dew covered spider webs, the smell of the flowers, the sunshine making the fountains sparkle. Oh it was heaven! It was about a billion degrees and oh so humid. I ran through a few sprinklers just to cool down a few times. But that was ok. It was the Botanical Garden! I know there are some of you reading this who agree with me. It's pretty magical for some of us in St. Louis. Honestly, it's my Happiest Place On Earth.

The babies were awesome. They snacked, they slept, they watched the butterflies. They did not squawk or freak out or demand to be taken out of the stroller. Such a huge change from Narnia. I don't know why I expect them to be like her because they are not her. Narnia hated her stroller and refused to go in the damn thing. I think we had her in there once. $150 bucks for one ride in the stroller. And maybe I was just too inexperienced to work with her to get her to tolerate the stroller. I just gave up and we walked everywhere. So nice to load up TWO babies and just go. So nice to just GO instead of being stuck at home. Honestly, this whole getting out alone with them was just a big accomplishment for me.

I hope this kicks off a whole new lifestyle for the babies and me. I know many moms fear the first outing with a new baby. But two? I just figured it would be double the pain in the ass. It wasn't. What you do for one baby, you just do twice. It is harder and it is more work, but it can be done. I did it! Oh I know this sounds so simple to many of you reading this but truly, this changes everything. I am a stay at home mom who hates being home. The day is just much happier when it can be broken up with an outing.

Anyway, that's my big news of the day. A big hurdle for me. Hopefully the start of all kinds of adventures for us.

More walking

One more.

Mobile

Juna took her first steps last night. Of course the camera was nowhere in sight. Today I was prepared. Here's about five seconds of Juna attempting to walk. I posted this particular segment because of Avie. She did not want her sister hogging the spotlight.

Shortly after putting away the camera, Avie began crawling for the first time. Lesson learned- always have the camera standing by at all times!

Posting this video was frustrating and took several hours due to high traffic on Blogger. So another lesson was learned. Post video late at night. Good to know for when I post the first episode of my show. Er, silly little internet hobby.

Hey! We actually shot my on camera stuff a few days ago. And by we I mean my husband and I. I don't want to make it sound like someone would actually hire me to do this. I'm just another kook getting some "airtime" thanks to the internet.

I'm perky on camera. I need to take it down a few notches. And I need to keep my head still. The frame is this ---------- big and I am ALL over the place.

It's turning out pretty entertainment news packagey. Not sure if that was the intended direction, but I guess that's my forte. Or I guess that's about all I can do with a crew of two adults and three children three and under. The first show is about why the Botanical Garden is a great place to take young children. However, there are no shots of moms with their young children. The place was deserted. So it's me, all blah blah blah bring your kids here you'll love it, and then cut to shots of.... empty pathways and not one single kid playing in the children's area. We're going back to get more shots, otherwise, what's the point?

No really, what IS the point? Just what am I trying to prove here? Look, I don't know. It seemed like a fun idea and I had a blast getting in front of the camera again. I'm having the best time over here, people. So I guess if I measure this in happiness, this is SO worth my time.

Until I get the shots I need and then get the darn thing edited, which will take a few weeks, dammit, check out five seconds of cuteness below.

Junie Bug 11 months

Junie Bug is 11 months old today.

Note that QVC is on the television. Because I'm 36 going on 70.

Toofers! Four to be exact! Top and bottom.

You can't tell by the pics, but Junie is finally getting some hair buds. The Chairman Mao 'do is finally filling out a bit.
The Bug's words are similar to what they were last month:
Mama
All done
All gone
But now she is putting them together. All done, Mama! All gone, Mama!

She is now standing from a sitting position and starting to take small steps. When she stands, she raises her arms in the air and yells, "AHHH!" She is so proud and she wants us to clap for her. Juna loves praise for her accomplishments!

She also stands up and dances. She does the twist. Then she bobs her head, head banger style. That's a lot of movement for a little baby, so she usually tumbles right over.

She's Mama's girl, all the way. Two peas in a pod, we are. Where Avie's eyes light up when Matt walks into a room. Junie adores her mother. I'm still amazed that's me! I'm her mama! I'm the luckiest woman in the world.

Gimme Five

My mother, Make My Day Marge, watched the kids while I ran to the grocery store. I am not so far gone that I would take three little kids to the grocery store. That was a good natured jab at a friend of mine who recently did just that- at 8 months pregnant. And called me from the store to ask me why she thought it was a good idea.

I came home and said hi to the kidlets and my little June Bug raised up her little hand and said, "Five!"

I turned to my mother and her boyfriend Bernie and they both looked so pleased.

"Did she just say five?"

"FIVE!"

My mother bragged, "Why yes! While you were gone, Bernie and I taught Junie how to count. Watch!" And she held out her hand and counted down from five to one.

June Bug waved her little fingers in the air and shouted, "All done!"

My mother laughed. "That's right, Junie. You counted to five, now you're all done! See, isn't she so smart?"

"Mom, how come you thought a ten month old baby could count? Is it because she's Chinese?"

My mother bristled. "Well! Of course! She's Chinese. Of course she's smart!"

I watched my baby study her fingers and I wondered if people thinking she's smart just because she's Chinese is such a bad thing after all. The stereotype of Asians being good at science, math, or music. Is it such a bad thing for people to think right off the bat that you're smart? Or gifted? Or talented? Certainly there has to be worse stereotypes than that?

Like the American stereotype, for example. That we're all fat, obsessed with sex, and way too violent.

What would you rather have people think when hearing about you for the first time?

"Judy? I hear she's Chinese. I'm sure she's really good at math. Or the violin."

or

"Judy? I hear she's American. She must be fat. And kinky. And enjoys shooting things."

I thought about that today as I was introduced to someone. The lady looked me up and down and decided I wasn't worth her time based on how I looked. It certainly wasn't based on my friendly hello and nice to meet you. I barely got out the hello before her eyes started scanning the room for someone who looked more interesting to her.

Junie is 11 months on Monday. My thoughts have turned to her first birthday party. With Miss Boo, we went all out on her first birthday party. For Junie, it will just be family at our favorite Chinese restaurant with a cake from the Chinese bakery. I wonder if other parents did the same thing? Big party for the first kid's first birthday and then more lower key parties for the other children's birthdays? Or are we just that tired?? Or did we learn our lesson that a one year old doesn't really comprehend a first birthday and it's more for the parents?

I'm still not feeling well and I know this feeling well. It's the worst of PCOS. Since I'm now 9 months postpartum, it makes sense that my body is finally getting back to "normal." And for me, normal means pretty screwed up. I've never been to an endocrinologist before. I was diagnosed with PCOS when we were trying to get pregnant. It's been years of trying to bypass the PCOS in order to ovulate. Now I just want to bypass the PCOS completely.

I don't want to get too hyped up about seeing the Endo next month. There isn't much that can be done about PCOS. The chance that he will find the magical answer is very slim. I just hope that someday there are medications that can help women. I hate thinking I might have passed this down to Avie and Boo. It's just awful and only those with PCOS can truly appreciate this helpless feeling. Isn't there something that can stop all these symptoms???

I haven't felt this excited about seeing a doctor since my Dr Pearlstone infertility treatment years. Funny where the phases of life take you. Only a few years ago I wanted my ovaries to WORK! Now I want them to shut up and behave. Or rather, I want the part or parts of me that aren't functioning properly to work, dammit, WORK!

Autumn is how St. Louis apologizes for summer. This area of the country is spectacular this time of year. Warm but not too warm. Breezy but not too breezy. Sunny but not too sunny. If it was like this year round it would be San Francisco and none of us could afford to live here. Take this weather and all the family friendly attractions, and St. Louis is the ultimate city in September and October. We'll be getting out this weekend. How about you?