Friday, August 29, 2008

Almost back to school time...


Alexa went to see her classroom today and talk to her teacher. She starts on Wednesday and will go 3 days a week from 9-1.
Her new thing when I want to take a picture is to not look at me. You can imagine this goes over big with me. I love to capture a lot of things in photos and now I have to fight for them. Bribes don't really work either.
We are winding down from a crazy busy summer and I am looking forward to having more of a schedule. I am also looking forward to some time to myself to tackle some projects, but I know I'll miss my baby.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I Love Arizona


I took this photo tonight from our backyard. Every night is something spectacular.


This one I took right before a monsoon storm.


The sky is so big here. It is one of the many things I love about this place.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Bartlett Lake













Today we went to the lake. It is only 15 minutes from our house but since we don't have a boat, we never go there. So this morning we decided to show Alexa the lake and she immediately wanted to fish. We also don't have any fishing poles, so she brought her toy one. She LOVED the lake! She is a good fishergirl, very patient. Maybe one day we will get a boat and enjoy the lake more. It really is pretty with the mountains.


Thursday, August 21, 2008

Please Daddy...



On our way home from the museum Robert wanted to stop at this place called Bass World. Not my cup of tea. It has all sorts of fishing and hunting stuff, boats, etc. Well, check out the look Alexa is giving Daddy. She looks pretty cute on it for sure. She absolutely loves riding on our big quad and we have always told her that when she is bigger she can have one of her own...not quite yet though.

Museum of Natural History





Dinosaur Mountain



Watching a video of dinosaurs killing then eating each other..they both loved it.



"Come on Daddy"


This one was her favorite and we kept going back to see her. She moved her eyes and would let out a roar...very exciting.



Not too sure about something.


Some sort of turtle/alligator combo...very creepy.




Hunters after the Woolly Mammoth.


See you next time.
Today was family day and we went to the Museum of Natural History. Who knew this little gem was in town? Alexa is really into dinosaurs so she was sooooo excited. When we walked in she started jumping up and down yelling "Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs!" We visited each exhibit at least twice and we all really enjoyed it.










Monday, August 18, 2008

Back to hovering


See what happens? I stop hovering for one day and she falls out of a tree. This scrape is on her thigh and she has 3 more, one on the back of her leg, and two on her chest. Lovely. I'm going back to my old ways. Now, the good news here is that she has learned the lesson herself to say out of the tree ( small tree/bush really) instead of me always nagging her. She was quite shocked by the event and I guess kids need that to learn.But...as for me. I'm going to keep following my instincts and keep her safe and sound, thank you very much!

Art Gallery



Alexa and I spent the afternoon painting yesterday. She hates to color but likes to paint. From the top, it starts with one of mine, then one of hers, then alternates all the way down. We hung them up so Daddy could visit our gallery in her playroom. As you can see in the photo, she likes to hang her masterpieces all over the place. One time I found one hung up in Georgie's crate. I guess she figured she needed a little art too. We can't wait for PohPoh( the artist in the family) to come for the winter so they can paint together.

Alexa starts school in 2 weeks and seems excited to go back. We are a little unsure of her teacher and class this year because she will have 20 students in her class, but we will start with a positive attitude. Alexa is pretty high energy and has a short attention span sometimes. She is super smart and tends to get bored easily. Her language skills are quite advanced. Today she asked me what a doldrum was. Thank goodness we were on our way to the library because I didn't know. We went straight to the dictionary and looked it up ( it means a calm and light wind in the ocean). The other day she wanted to know how many was a single, a couple and a few. When we read books if she hears a word she is unfamiliar with she will ask me for the meaning. In her everyday conversations she uses words like, scrumptious, ridiculous, humongous, hilarious, incredible, it goes on and on. We laugh because she never baby talked, it was like once the talking started at age two it was all big words and full sentences.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Mother of One


I am a "hoverer". There, I said it. I need a 12 step program. As the mother of one and a bit of OCD control freak I need to stop the insanity. As Alexa gets older she continues to show me how capable she is and how independent she is. My struggle lately has been learning to back off a little and just let her do it on her own. I don't fix her problems all the time and am trying to ease up ( I have a lot of rules). Yesterday we went to one of her friends birthday party at Chuckie Cheese and I was "that" mom...wiping her hands ( no, scrubbing the germs) off before she ate pizza, wiping her mouth, cleaning the stain off her new shirt...all while the child was trying to eat pizza with her friends!! Insane, I know. This morning after the third time telling her to get to the table for breakfast, I finally raised my voice ( which she hates) and she responded with this in her own raised voice: "It's my business to take care of myself!!!" Okay, point taken but get you fanny to the table. So, I will continue to give her more freedom, hover less and realize my baby girl is getting to be a big girl.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Qichun Scrapbook



A few months ago our Qichun Hubei Yahoo group organized a scrapbook to be hand delivered to the Qichun Social Welfare Institute. The book was a compilation of families that wanted to send updates of our girls to the orphanage and more importantly to our foster families. My desire in participating was for Alexa's foster family to see that she is loved immensely and happy. Here is a photo of the director looking at Alexa's page. The family who hand delivered the book said that they were very interested in it and looked at it several times during that visit. We know in our hearts that Alexa was very loved for the 11 months that she was in their care and we hope in some way that this will be a thank you of sorts for that love.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Calling all dog lovers!

My sister-in-law Kim runs an organization called Poverty's Pets here in Phoenix. Kim is a "dog angel" in my eyes and this particular project helps dogs that are homeless or neglected and finds them loving forever homes. Kim recently asked me to design a blog for Poverty's Pets. So if you live in AZ and are looking for an amazing dog to rescue and give a loving home, check out the blog or send it to your friends. Just click on the link on the sidebar or go to www.povertyspets.blogspot.com .

Friday, August 8, 2008

Let the Games Begin!


We are super excited for the Olympics and will be watching for sure. Alexa knows what they are and says " people come and play games and the winners get candy." The Chinese sure know how to put on a show! The photos, like this one from the opening ceremony look amazing!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Loot


I've been going a little crazy lately with the shopping. Here are a few of the latest. Somebody stop me!!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Family Photo






Today we went to a friend's birthday party. We haven't taken a family photo in ages so I thought this would be a good opportunity since we were all looking snazzy.

Friday, August 1, 2008