What a difference a year makes..The Finale

Sweet B-Man. What a little prince you are. So kind and loving. So responsible.
And yet, SUCH A BOY!!!
I sure do love you!

In the past 365 days, B-Man has done the following...
*He has become a stud on the soccer field AND on the dance floor. He even had the opportunity to show off some of his breakdancing moves for his elementary school. I think that the administrators suffered from a little bit of racial profiling in that all of the student body raised their hands to dance for an assembly and B-Man was one of the 6 picked, but he was glowing from excitement when he came home that day and told me all about it!
*Speaking of school, B-Man was just awarded a Principal's Pride Award for the month of January. He gets a special luncheon with the Principal and his momma and dad. We are so proud of him!
*B-Man has become an incredibly money motivated young man. He knows which chores receive what amount of money. He has learned this past year that cleaning the basement will get him a heck of a lot more money than clearing the table. Thus, he has become our resident basement cleaner!
*He has become very interested in the human body. We have spent A LOT of time this year talking about all of the wonderful parts of a body and functions of the body. Who knew that mommas had to talk about penises and vaginas and heart defects and why people are in wheelchairs and how a doctor can fix so many things?!?! But there may be a silver lining to all of these discussions, because right now, B-Man says that he would like to be a surgeon when he grows up.

During the past 365 days, I have learned...
*B-Man would prefer jello to cake for his birthday.
*He still has a soft spot in his little seven year old heart for McKinlee.
*He is "Ultra Competitive!" and likes to be the best at EVERYTHING!
*He loves to be well groomed and would prefer to wear nice jeans over anything else. Alas, he has worn through three pairs of jeans since September making it somewhat difficult to stay on top of his grooming standards.
*He LOVES to be loved on... kisses and hugs and cuddle sessions are plenty.

I am so lucky!

What a difference a year makes..Part 3

Bubba. Oh, my sweet sweet Bubba. You have the gentleness of your daddy. And that is one of the many reasons that I love you!

In the past 365 days, you have...
honed in on your computer skills,
started kindergarten,
and exceeded all sorts of notions that we had of your academic abilities,
You found really fun new buddies like Trey and Braden and kept some really fun old buddies like Tyson.
You have also "attempted" to ride a bike without training wheels and ice skate. You played soccer and learned to swim.

Here are some things that I have learned about you this year...
*You are just as content in a corner playing by yourself as you are pretending to be Count Duku with a green light saber against several other "light sabered" friends.
*You are a mommas boy... just how I like it. You told me just today that you never want to get married and you would like to live with me forever. You know how to melt my shriveled old heart!
*You are quite the dancer. You have moves all your own. Your signature move is a body role with corresponding and simultaneous arm rolls. It is quite spectacular.
*You are not easily bribed. Money and treats mean nothing to you. If you can have somebody do your work for you, you will.
*You love to make people smile.

Bubba, I think you make my heart two sizes bigger!
Sure do love being your mommy.

What a difference a year makes..Part 2

Miss Magoo's pictures are significantly harder to distinguish.
I can only tell which year is which based on her pajamas.
And the date in the bottom corner.
:-)

Miss Magoo has accomplished great things in the last 365 days.
She can now read and write.
She can sing just about any primary song in the book, but her favorite is "I am like a star". Figures.
She has started pre-school with Ms. Joey and loves it!
She has learned to accessorize. She loves to wear special earrings for church and really enjoys getting her nails done.
She just got her yearly hair trim and thinks that her hair looks fabulous!

Here are some things that I have learned about Magoo in the past year...
I have learned that she LOVES to have slumber parties with her brothers.
And that she does NOT like to be woken up.
Nor does she like somebody leaving the house without chanting "Bye!... See you when you get home!... I'll talk to you later!... I love you!... Wait, I forgot to give you a hug and a kiss!"

Miss Magoo is such a yummy girl.
I just love her and savor every sweet moment with her!

What a difference a year makes..

I look at my little Belly-ome often.
She just takes my breath away some times.
I just LOVE this girl!

In the last 365 days, she has become potty trained.
She has learned to count.
She can recognize almost all of her letters.
She knows how to spell her name and can tell you her address and phone number.
I think having three older siblings has helped her just a little bit!

She has also learned what she likes...
*She likes her hair in a head band over just about any other hair style, but will tolerate corn rows because she knows that means I won't have to fix her hair for at least five days.
*She does not like to have her feet feel dirty. Beach sand was a big issue this year. I would like to complain about this, but I don't have a lot of room to talk since I MUST wash my feet EVERY SINGLE NIGHT even though I bathe every single morning.
*She LOVES to make people laugh! She has the best sense of humor.
*She would prefer to sleep by herself and in her own room.
*Her favorite cereal is Fruit Berry Crunch
*Her best friends (according to her) are big Madi and little Madee. Keep in mind that big Madi is 13 years old!

In the past year, Miss Belly-ome has grown so much.
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be her mother.

Legends of the Fall: Part II Coming Soon

My sons have turned competitive.
And it ain't pretty.
I blame their teeth!
Let me tell you all about it...
So, B-Man let me know about three weeks ago that he had a couple of loose teeth.
I obliged with the appropriate amount of enthusiasm... happily telling him that if he worked on it, maybe he could lose both of his teeth before Christmas. I thought that it would be quite fun for him to sing "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth". How cute would that be?!
Little did I know that Bubba had a loose tooth as well.
He is not nearly the talker that B-Man is.

Well, two weeks ago, Bubba did the unthinkable.
He lost his first tooth.
Before B-Man.
Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth begin!
B-Man was so distraught that he did not lose a tooth before Bubba that I ultimately had to send him upstairs to his room for the evening to sulk. (Before you get all judgy on me, let me assure you that this was B-Man's choice following nearly thirty minutes of snuggles, support and attempts to stop the crying by me)

Our celebration with Bubba was somewhat subdued because of this.
We DID throw his tooth up on the roof- in honor of the Ethiopian tradition with teeth.
We DID have Bubba write a letter to the tooth fairy- letting her know where the tooth was.
The tooth fairy DID leave Bubba a couple of nice crisp dollar bills.
But, we did keep it subdued.

Well, two days later, B-Man lost HIS first tooth.
And being that he had no desire to be second best to his little brother, he went and lost his SECOND tooth two days later!
Obviously, B-Man decided that if he could not be first, he would be best!

We celebrated with more throwing of teeth on the roof... and more letters to the tooth fairy... and more dollar bills under pillows.
All of the while, this mommy is thinking.
What the hell am I going to do when my boys are teenagers?
And they like the same girl?
It's gonna be a blood bath in our home!

We ARE family!

I have just heard about a new show on ABC following in the vibe of Extreme Home Makeover. It is called "Find My Family" and apparently, it follows adoptive children on their quest to find their "Real" family.
UGH!
The premise of this show makes me so sad!
I am the mother to four of the most incredible human beings and the wife to an incredible man. We ARE a REAL family. I AM my children's REAL mother.
How will this show impact the impression of families who are contemplating adoption? Will they think that no matter how much of a bond their adoptive children create with them, they will never be a family? Will they wonder if adoption is a viable option now?
And how about adopted children? Are my children going to think that they are part of a PLAN B for a family? Is the world and their community going to assume that they are not whole because they are not part of their REAL family?
Let me tell you... I can NOT even begin to imagine the struggle and pain and frustration that B-Man and Belly-ome's parents must have faced in order to make the decision to relinquish their children to a state run orphanage in Ethiopia. I will NEVER belittle the importance of my children's first family. I am definitely not one of those people who goes around saying that God intended us to be a family and that their first family was just a way for my children to enter this world. I feel that statement takes my children's first family and their anguish out of the equation. My faith, rather, tells me that we will have the potential to ALL be a part of the same family in Heaven. Biological family... Adoptive Family... all part of the plan.
But, I will never belittle the blessing of all of us being a family, either. Nate and I are the proud parents to four beautiful children. Two by birth and two through adoption. All four are MINE. And my love is REAL.
Don't belittle that ABC!

Things I Have Learned About Myself This Weekend...

Nate took me to San Fransisco yesterday. It was an incredible trip packed with Fisherman's Wharf, The African Diaspora Museum, the musical Wicked, and great food. All in one day.
Why only one day, you might ask?
The answer is simple...
I don't know how to be away from my kids.
I think that I am addicted to them.

Is that so bad?