Celebration, Vacation, and Depression.

Today we are celebrating another Forever Family Day.  Four years we have had now with our wonderful little girl.  I won't lie to you and tell you it has all been sunshine and rainbows.  I will tell you the truth and say that I wouldn't get rid of a single moment though.  On this day, four years ago in a hot room in a foreign country with screaming kids all around us, we couldn't have dreamed things would turn out this well.  We couldn't fathom that Natalie would be so smart, so beautiful, so loving, so loved, so...perfect. So, today we celebrate in our own modest way.  Natalie gets to choose Chinese (for obvious reasons) or pizza (because we are pretty certain that is what we had for dinner that first night).  She chose the Chinese buffet.  Doesn't seem like a special enough place to host such a wonderful occasion, but Natalie doesn't care and tonight she gets what she wants.  Why not, we got what we wanted four years ago.  

I mentioned vacation in the title as well.  We had a great time with my family.  I think if you gave Natalie the option of doing anything in the world, it might just be hanging out with her cousins in the pool/ocean.  That is a beautiful thing in and of itself.  Couple that with the beauty of the island and its culture, and you are sure to have a wonderful vacation. This was our second time in Jamaica and we loved it again. I will post some pictures of the trip at the end of this post.  

About the depression, I called Natalie our "little" girl in the opener.  Yeah, not so much.  She is starting school in four days.  Apparently, there is no stopping this growing up thing.  I know.  Yeah, I know.  We are supposed to enjoy her turning into a young lady and watching her mature in the world.  Cut the crap, people.  Truth be told, I don't think I would be too upset if she stayed a little girl forever.  Age means more attitude.  Age means she probably gets smarter than me.  I don't think I can handle the challenge to my authority.  Age also means she might love someone more than me one day.  That sucks.  Age also means she leaves us little by little.  Damnit. Depression.

No more self-pity.  Of course, I am excited to see what's on the horizon.  I can't wait to watch her learn new things.  I want to see her take what she learns and become great.  I even want her to fall in love some day so I can subsequently punch him in the face.  You know, be the cool dad.  Just because I want to see those things eventually doesn't mean I am ready for them now.  Alas, I cannot stop time, so a little sadness creeps in.  I will just tell everyone they are tears of joy.

Thanks for reading.  Hope you enjoy the photos.

 

  

 

 

 

Proud

Before we head out on a family trip to Jamaica, I feel the need to express how proud I am of my little girl.  Natalie has needed a hair cut, or at least a trim, for a little while now.  It was getting long and there is the aforementioned trip to the beach.  I for one had no desire to brush that hair every day with the beast mode of tangles that would inevitably appear after 5 minutes on the beach.

Well, Natalie took it upon herself to grow her hair long enough so that she could donate it to a charity.  How cool is that?  I kind of tear up thinking about it--not as much as her mother likely teared up seeing her little girl get a big girl hair cut though.

Did I mention she starts school next month?  *More tears from Mama*

Before

Handling it like a champ.

After. Obviously.

Celebrating Life

May brings lots of celebrating around here—Mother’s Day, Natalie’s birthday, Match Day (the day we were matched with Natalie), our wedding anniversary. It’s been an extremely busy month, so all three of us are ready for summer’s slower pace.

I've been wanting to put together a slideshow documenting Natalie’s first five years (can’t believe how quickly this point has arrived!). Not having much to go on to capture her infancy is just part of the deal. We do have some precious photos of her taken during her first 14 months in China, but those belong to her and are not ours to share. While it doesn't encompass everything or everyone and doesn't quite do her justice, I’m sure Natalie will enjoy watching this compilation. I hope you will too. ~ Amy

So...

In the not so distant past, my mother asked me if we had just abandoned the blog altogether.  At that time, I said that wasn't the case.  However, appearances tell a different story.

Sorry, folks and faithful followers (you're out there, right?); it was never our intention to drop off the face of the blogosphere.  We always had good intentions of making holiday posts and whatnot.  It just never happened.  Call it laziness if you must.

Anyway, I am here again, posting something.  No big news to report.  A year's worth of events would be too long.  I can throw a few pictures up though.  I can tell you that soccer season is about to start back up and Natalie is very excited.  I can confess that I am too.  I enjoy watching her play and coaching the team.  I can tell you that her mother and I are dumbfounded and stricken with grief when we think about her starting kindergarten at the end of this summer.  Is that really possible?

I guess the the most encapsulating thing to say is that she is growing up fast.  She was 14 months old when we met her on August 2, 2010.  She will be 5 in May.  She is a smart kid.  Behaves most of the time.  Is trying to perfect her lying techniques but we are currently still able to thwart them.  She still has a stranglehold over our hearts and the hearts of most people she meets.

So...that is it.  The blog has not been abandoned.  We are still alive.  I am still lazy, but will endeavor to post more often if I know someone is reading.

A Daughter, a Mama, and a Birthday

Last week we celebrated not only Mother’s Day, but also Natalie’s fourth birthday. We celebrated her birthday so much that we did it twice. On her birthday we had dinner with family, and over the weekend, at Natalie’s request, a playground party with some of her friends. We’re so grateful for everyone’s love, generosity, and time and are thankful for everyone who plays a part in her life. As Natalie’s mama, sometimes I can’t believe my good fortune to have the honor and privilege of calling her my daughter. We love you too much, Natalie.

PS (Baba here) Amy wrote the above before she was awoken about 6 times last night by our little doll.  We are all suffering from colds (thanks to said angel constantly touching things in public and not sanitizing) and we should have given her something last night before bed. I think Mama still loves her, but the comments might not have been quite so glowing if she wrote them this morning. ;)

A big girl and a little girl all in the same package.

Should we look into a modeling career?

We are currently surrounded by Hello Kitty.

She appreciates the cash.

BFFs hugging it out.

Soccer

Natalie is really enjoying soccer this season.  She is playing pretty well too.  Four goals in two games isn't too shabby.  I think it has more to do with her amazing coach than anything though.

Hope you like the shots.

We’re Still Around

As another major holiday has just passed and we've yet to document any in the past few months, we thought we might share a few thoughts and photos. First, some random shots from Easter…

The first egg of the year.

On the hunt.

That Baba is always saying something funny.  

Meet Cabinet, the solo cup with a head of grass. This little guy needed a haircut, and Natalie was more than happy to oblige.

The salon owner needed her own appointment.

Chinese New Year weekend ushered in a big change for Natalie—her big girl bed. Now, I knew this was coming and was needed since she kept bumping into her toddler bed at night and waking up, but this mama wasn’t ready. There’s no turning back now. And she loves it.

In a previous post, we listed some of Natalie's favorite things. We thought, as she races down the stretch toward four years old, we should update you all.  

Natalie’s current career choice is to become a pediatrician, but she’s keeping her options open: salon owner, plumbing inspector, auto mechanic, veterinarian, teacher… Trust me, we've pretended she’s been all of these things.

Book: Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Song: "Tongue Tied"  by Grouplove

          A few others include "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers, "On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons,        

          and "Over the Rainbow" by Mama

Bands: Mumford and Sons (LOVE hearing her sing “I Will Wait” as she plays her air banjo) and 

fun. (I had to chuckle when I walked into the bedroom to find Natalie picking out a bedtime story and singing, “What do I stand for? What do I stand for? Most nights I don’t know anymore.”)

 Food:  Mashed sweet potatoes.

Restaurant: Moe's. Basically she likes that they yell at her when she comes in.  

Game:  She loves hide-and-seek. She especially loves the part where she is about to find Baba and

             he jumps out and scares her. Good times.

TV Show: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

Sports: This girl loves soccer. She put on her cleats with pajamas the night before the first practice, wanting  to wear them to bed. She couldn't wait! More to come on this front, as the first game of the season is this weekend. Stay tuned!

Thanks for taking the time to check in on our family. We are sorry to have made you wait so long. We promise to try harder. I think we have said that before to no avail. We always mean it though.

                

Chillaxin'. Whatevs.