WHY do we buy toys?

Lillie Mei spent at least 15 minutes yesterday playing with juice boxes. She was very proud of herself!

Please remember to pray for us, we will be at UNC-Chapel Hill all day on Thursday. We will see a plastic surgeon, oral surgeon, orthodontist, speech path., social worker, psychologist, dentist, ear, nose, and throat dr., audiologist, and an opthamologist. It will be a very long day. Please pray that everything will go smoothly and Lillie Mei will not be too traumatized. I'll post as soon as I can after we get home.

Valentine's Day

I'm a little late posting but here are some Valentine pictures.


Prior to the sugar-filled breakfast--


During the sugar-filled breakfast--


At Zeke's class party. I didn't send enough cupcakes to include Lillie Mei. It just so happened that one child didn't want one--lucky for her!


We played a game to see who could pick up the most converstion hearts with chopsticks. Zeke won hands down!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today marks the first day of the new moon and therefore Chinese New Year. This is one of China's most celebrated holidays. There is a lot of time spent cleaning and cooking for families. They also honor family members who have died in the past year. It makes me think of Lillie Mei's parents and whether this day reminds them of their daughter. Firecrackers are also used to ring in the new year.

We celebrated by having Chinese take-out! Lillie Mei at her favorite, dumplings! Lillie Mei and I also watched Nickelodeon's new show, Ni Hao-Kai Lan, which is very much like a Chinese version of Dora. It was cute and teaches a few Chinese words. I watched while Lillie Mei played--she's not very interested in the TV except in the car. We also have a little book for Lillie Mei about the holiday. In China, the children get money in red envelopes. I have little red bags for the kids that I'm going to put a small amount of money in--I don't want to set any great expectations. I hope we can continue to have some traditions from China so Lillie Mei can have a little understanding of her culture. So Happy New Year--BTW it's the year of the rat :)


YUMMY!

We're finally ready to try Chinese food again.

How do these things work?

Our very own tradition--wearing the valentine bucket on your head!

Three Months Ago....

Exactly 3 months ago today we welcomed Lillie Mei into our family! What a difference such a short time can make. Since November 5th we came home from China, celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the new year. Lillie Mei has learned to pat-a-cake, sing, say several words (including "Go Tarheels" much to my dismay), walk, and pretty much get her way in most situations! She has also won our hearts and been an incredible blessing. I don't think any of us remember what life was like without her!


Three Months Ago


Today

Beach Pictures

I never got around to posting the few pictures from our trip to Hilton Head (this was when Lillie Mei got sick). I didn't have my camera the day we actually went to the beach--I'll have to get those pictures from Donna.

BTW- we are going back to the doctor Wed. morning. She's still coughing and I just want to make sure they don't need to change her medicine.



I'm ready, where's the sun????


Lillie Mei bonded with our friends Kent and Donna. At one point when Kent had her she wouldn't come to me!!




Who would have put that horrible hat on such a pretty little girl?

Feeling Much Better!!

Yesterday Lillie Mei was feeling much better so we decided to take her to church. She looked very cute! She is beginning to walk more than crawl now. She is very proud of herself!

Today however, she began to cough again. We did breathing treatments more frequently today and may have to take her back to the doctor. It almost seems like she has a cold on top of everything else. We'll see how she does tonight.

Our Sick Little Girl

Please pray for Lillie Mei. We were at the beach this weekend but she didn't have much fun b/c she started running a fever and coughing really bad on Saturday. She was better on Sunday but got much worse again yesterday. We went to the doctor this morning and she has RSV and pneumonia. She was terrified by the chest x-ray. She's on 3 different medications now. She is going to be fine but please pray that she will feel better quickly and that we will all get some sleep tonight! Thanks!

SNOW!!

It has been a long time since the boys have seen a decent snow. Today we got 4-5 inches and they are having a ball. It has been raining off and on so I'm not sure how long it will last. Zeke has been outside almost non-stop since 8am and it's almost 12:00 now. Lillie Mei was interested in it but I didn't let her stay out long because it was raining.

The Boys' Big Weekend

We had two big events this weekend. On Saturday, Zeke had his first Upwards basketball game of the season. He did an awesome job and had a great time!

On Sunday, Harrison had his first ever gymnastics tournament in Raleigh. He also did a great job. He qualified for the state meet in March and learned a lot!




Zeke ready for action.


We need to get out there!


Lillie Mei cheering on her brother.


On the pommel.


Hanging out with the coach.

Christmas Morning Breakfast

Our good friends, the Baldwins, taught us several years ago about "Chocolate 'n Biscuits" for breakfast. You basically mix together sugar, cocoa, and milk, cook it, and then dip your biscuits in it. My children had it at the Baldwins' house during sleepovers and were hooked. We've now made it the breakfast of choice on special days like birthdays, the first day of school, and Christmas. This was Lillie Mei's first taste of the tradition. It's amazing how far 2 tablespoons of chocolate "gravy" will go!

Three Firsts- and more Christmas Morning Pix

Lillie Mei had a great day today and was very ready to play and learn. She accomplished 3 new things!

1- She blew her nose! Only someone who has a had a child can appreciate the first time they blow their nose. She has been very stopped up and any help to get her "unstopped" is great. Now when I put the tissue up to her nose she automatically blows!

2- She can sing (well sort of) the Eensy Weensy Spider (not sure if that's how you spell that). When we sing it she takes her fingers and puts them together and moves them up and down while babbling--very cute--I'll try to get a picture tomorrow.

3- She went to gymnastics for the first time. She basically crawled around while I chased her but she really seemed to enjoy it. Her teacher wanted to her kind of explore and move at her own pace. I was exhausted by the end but she would've easily kept going!

Christmas- Part 4- Christmas Morning!!

It was a fun morning! The bib that Zeke is holding in the last picture was in Lilllie Mei's stocking and it has NC State on the front. I told the boys that Santa was a State fan!

Christmas Part 3- Christmas Eve

Our family exchanges presents on Christmas eve b/c the morning is so hectic. Of course, Lillie Mei's favorite part was the box!