Adoption Bloggers Anonymous Survey

My dear friend Pam started this survey on her blog, so I must participate. Welcome to the Adoption Bloggers Anonymous Survey!!!!



1. How many blogs are listed under your favorites list that you check EVERY day? Way too many to count...probably between India Blogs and Vietnam Blogs....close to 50.

2. How many times a day do you "go to the bathroom" and end up checking blogs? Not many during the week....usually only after Ian goes to bed. But the weekend...that's a different story.

3. Do your kids recognize the other kids from the blogs that follow?? Ian recognizes Mia, Jadyn, Ryan and Ahlyana.

4. Do you keep track of how often people update their blogs and get upset when they don't keep to the schedule?? Duh....how am I going to get my fix if people don't update their blogs.

5. Favorite time of day to check blogs? Are you on a blog checking schedule?? Usually I check them after Ian is in bed. But...if I'm expecting something big to happen (like a Gotcha Day), I've been known to check them before I leave for work.

6. Who's blog is your favorite? Outside of the two blogs I have, Angie's (Mia's Blog) is probably my favorite.

7. How many of the blogs that you follow are people that you have never met in person? More than people I've actually met.

Ok...now some "getting to know your online friends whom you've never actually met questions"


8 How long have you been married? Keep in mind....we must have been pre-teens when we married....we've been married for 20 years.

9 Fav. food? Mexican.

10Fav. TV show? Outside of All My Children (thank Heavens for Soap Net), it's probably any reality show. I'm a reality show junkie.


11 Anything that you forbid your kids to watch on TV? Charlie probably has more shows in this category than I do. My big criteria at this point is language. Ian is repeating so much of what we say.

12. How long was your adoption journey from beginning to end? 21 months from application to Gotcha Day (then another 11 months until finalization). The journey to our second child, from Vietnam, has been 5 months so far.

13. How did you decide on the country you adopted from? We didn't decide on India....God did it for us. Vietnam is the same way. Doors were closed to India for us for a reason that only God knows. So we're just trusting Him.

14. What did you imagine your family to be like as a little girl? Oh my...."my" plan was to be married by 21 and have 2 kids by 25. Hmmmm....again God had a different plan since I didn't even get married until I was 25.

15. Favorite Momma down time activity? Getting a pedicure.

16. Do you have more online friends than "in person" friends? I think it depends on the day of the week you ask me. :)

17. Tell us the cartoon character that you are most like: I've always answered "Miss Piggy" to this question. I'm really sweet and lovable until I'm not happy then "BLAMMO".

18. What toothpaste do you use? Cinnamon Burst Crest

19. Stupidest adoption comment/question that you've received? My two favs so far are "Did he speak English when you got him"....duh...he was only 10 months old. And..."how much did he cost."

20. Fav. non-adoption website? My old hometown newspaper. I love reading the on line articles to see what's happening in Huntington, WV.



OK adoption blog buddies....it's time to complete the Adoption Bloggers Anonymous Survey. Copy the questions and paste into your blog and then answer the questions.

Pals

Ian, Cortez and Solomon at Day Schools. They made their own Tye Dyed shirts the day before this picture was taken.

Our Silly, Funny Helper

Another week down in the Conner house. Ian's daycare was closed today (Friday), so Charlie stayed home with Ian. They ran a couple of errands and stopped by my office to see me for a few minutes this morning.

Ian continues to amaze and amuse us daily. This morning we were sitting on the side of the bed and Ian decided he wanted to "zerbert" daddy's belly. So he did. Then he pulled up his own pajama shirt and tried to "zerbert" his OWN belly. We thought it was funny and laughed of course...which made him try to do it many, many times.

He's really into "helping". Everything is "Ian helping Momma". Or if he sees us doing something that looks interesting to him, he run across the room saying "helping, helping". He's really good at putting water in the fridge. He's much more independent these days.

He's fascinated by yellow cars. He point out every yellow car he sees...and even a few that he doesn't. Motorcycles are another thing that gets his attention.

We are so in love with this child!!!!

As soon as Charlie scans in a new picture for me, I'm going to post it. It's a picture of Ian with his friends from daycare, Cortez and Solomon. They look so cute together. We hear about "Tezzie" and "Sol-mon" daily. Tezzie and Sol-mon are getting ready to move to the next class and I know Ian will miss them.

It's outrageously hot in Tulsa. It's been near or over 100 degrees for a week now and we have at least another week of it. I'm so ready for Fall!!!!!

Friends Forever

India Camp 2007

Dillon International hosted yet another successful India Heritage Camp this weekend. The camp started on Thursday, but work commitments kept us from attending until Friday night. On Friday evening we attended the Family Fun Night at Camp Loughride in Tulsa. That is a beautiful facility. Ian wasn't interested in getting in the water...or so he said. After the struggle to change into his swimming trunks, we headed into the pool. I think he's part fish. HE LOVES THE POOL. I think he'll be swimming in no time.

A little later in the evening, Mia arrived with her Mommy and Daddy (Angie & Dustin). Ian was surrounded by lots of little girls at that time, but he still smiled that big Ian smile when he saw Mia. They had a moment of hugs and played a little in the kiddie pool. Dustin jumped in from the high dive and then the daddy's played in the pool for a little while with the kiddos. Ian's swim trunks kept falling off. The evening ended about 8pm and we headed home anxious for the next days' activities.

Today, we got up, ate breakfast and got ready for camp. We arrived just in time for the adult adoptee panel. Ian stayed in the nursery with Mia, Jadyn and Avi Joy (from Vietnam). We finally connected with Natasha (Avi Joy's Mommy). They too are in the process to adopt baby number 2 from Vietnam and they live in Tulsa. The adult adoptee panel was great this year. Two young adults adopted from India openly shared their story. You can tell that they are loved greatly and have adjusted beautifully. I kept looking at the young man, Fritz, who spoke and kept imagining what Ian will look like when he's older. These kids made their parents proud today!!!!

Then it was lunch time. Ian was more interested in running around than he was eating. Then the "campers" did their presentations. I can't wait until Ian is old enough to actually be a "camper".

We got lots of pictures of Ian, Mia and Jadyn this weekend. These three kiddos are so, so cute. We love spending time with their parents. Grace, Shane, Angie & Dustin seem like part of our family!!! I can't get over how adoption bonds families together.

Beautiful kids all around this weekend. We are so thankful that we live in Tulsa near our agency and that we're able to take part in these important heritage events. Hopefully we'll see more families coming to India Camp as the years go by. It really is a great time to get these kids together and it's a great time for the parents too.

Anticipation

I'm getting so excited. It's time for India Camp. It begins tomorrow, but due to my work schedule, won't be attending until Friday night and then all day on Saturday. We're so looking forward to seeing everyone. Especially Mia, Jadyn and Chandrima. We haven't seen Chandrima since Christmas and I can't wait to see how much she's grown and changed. Ian is still to young to be a true "camper", but he'll still have fun playing with his friends...his "girlfriends".

Another family is getting ready to travel to India to pick up their little girl. Congratulations to Cliff and Tami!!! Can't wait to follow their journey to bring Raina home. It's always so exciting to see another family come together. Our God is GREAT!!

A couple of Ian's buddies at daycare are getting ready to move to the next class. Tezzy (a.k.a. Cortez), Solomon and Ian are quite the threesome. Ian will be moving soon, but it makes me a little sad that his buddies won't be there. Oh well...momma will get over it. Ian will be moving up soon and they'll all be together again. Plus...it's not like their moving very far...they'll be in the next room.

Hopefully I'll have some good pictures to post from camp this weekend. With the beautiful kiddos....I have no doubt that I'll have GREAT pics to post.

Having Fun At The Dillon Run

Friday evening we had lots of fun at Dillon International's Run For the Children. We didn't actually "run" the course...but Charlie ran around a lot with Mr. Ian. He loves his wagon and LOVES to ride. Brad joined us and Ian loved spending time and running around with him. We also got to see our new friends Chris & Al and their daughter Lainey and Elsa. This was our third year to participate in this event and we love it. It was a warm but beautiful evening. What could be a better birthday celebration for Momma than watching her handsome little man having so much fun?

Go Herd!!

Ian in his Marshall University (Momma and Daddy's Alma mater) T-Shirt. Cutest Thundering Herd fan ever.....GO HERD!!!

Another "Ianism"

I'm going to bed...it's late and I have an insanely busy week at work. BUT...not before I post another "Ianism".

This morning we had breakfast in the living room. Why? Our carpets were cleaned yesterday and our kitchen was still full of stuff from the other rooms. Ian and Daddy sat in the floor at the coffee table and I sat in my rocking chair.

Ian was finished with breakfast...or so we thought. He had eaten pretty well. He hadn't touched his food for over 5 minutes and it was time to clean up. So, Charlie...being the good daddy he is...cleaned up the table. A minute or so later...here comes Ian...."where my beckfas?" The words alone were not the amusing part...but the intonation of the phrase and his little hand gestures. He had his little hands up as if to say "I don't know". He repeated "where my beckfas" several times and then proceeded to say "Ian hungee".....so we gave him a Nutri Grain Bar and he was happy. Charlie and I have laughed about this several times today.

Except for the temper....I'm loving this age. His little vocabulary is exploding and he's so expressive. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Things I Don't Want To Forget

It seems like there's something new every day now with Ian. It's hard for a momma to keep up. So, I'm hoping to jot these little things down so I can remember them.

He's counting to 3 all by himself. He's can also count 8, 9, 10 alone. After each set (1, 2, 3 and 8, 9, 10), he's so proud of himself.... he claps his little hands and just smiles.

He's a climber. Tonight he almost tipped the recliner over because he was climbing over the top of it. Then...he walked in the kitchen and climbed up in the chair that his booster seat is in...promptly turned around, sat down and said "buckle peese".

"Me-mote control" = remote control. "my me-mote control, daddy's me-mote control".

Tickle, tickle, tickle....one of his favorite things to do.

"Airpanes...up in ky"...."burbs up in ky"..."bees up in ky"....."aboon up in ky" (balloon). Every time he hears and airplane he stops whatever he's doing and says "airpane up in ky" Not exactly sure where he learned that airplanes are up in the sky....but that's OK.

"boose"....juice

Loves to listen to "Wheels On The Bus" and "If You're Happy And You Know It" (he's got the clapping, stomping and hooray thing down pat).

He can show us where India is on the globe. Amazing.

In daycare this week, they've worked on shapes and colors. For Ian...most everything is green. He starts off with green and then moves to the right color. But, he's always been good with shapes. His "teachers" are thrilled that he'll say the shapes when they point the them....and even get their attention and say something like "triangle". Tonight, he was all about rectangles and triangles....with a few stars and hearts thrown in.

The way he dances...or what I think is his version of dancing. He tries...it's really cute...but really funny to me.

He knows when I get the camera out that he's supposed to turn around and say "cheese". When he's tired of momma taking pictures he'll say "no cheese momma".

I think he could probably eat chicken for every meal. He LOVES chicken. Loves french fries too.

He says his name so sweetly. He's progressing nicely with his entire name. If we ask him to say our names..."say Charlie".....he smiles and says "daddy"...."say Nadra"....."momma". Eventually he'll say them, but I'm surprised that he really knows what our names are. Charlie and I usually call one another daddy and momma.

He's still not sleeping an entire night in his big boy bed. But...that will come. Hopefully.

Yesterday evening was rough. I'm not sure what was going on with him, but something was. He was incredibly fussy and clingy. Nothing made him happy...I mean nothing. He was just miserable all evening. Tonight...completely different. Who knows.


OK....I'm probably boring all of you...but it's important that I write this stuff down. Time is flying by and I so want to remember as many of the sweet, rotten and amazing things Ian does.


Tonight I saw a glimpse of a little boy...not a baby...but a little boy. Where has my baby Ian gone? He's so sweet, but he's growing up way to fast for his momma. As I watch him grow and learn, I'm just so thankful that God paved the way so that we would have the joy and honor of being parents to such a great little guy.

More Ian Conversation

Another adoptive Mom reminded me how special it was to hear the word "momma" spoken by your child for the first time. Micah finally said "momma" to Pam this week. What a special day.

Ian has been saying Momma for about a year now. He says it quite well and often.

Here is just a sampling of a recent conversation....

Ian: Momma
Me: Yes Ian
Ian: Momma
Me: Yes Ian
Ian: Momma
Me: Yes Ian
Ian: Momma
Me: Yes honey
Ian: Momma
Me: Yes baby
Ian: Momma
Me: Yes Ian
Ian: Momma
Me: Ian
Ian: Momma
Me: Ian
Ian: Momma
Me: What is it Ian?

Get the drift? It continue a few more times and then he was done. Giggling by the end and finished by saying "no way momma".

Music To A Momma's Ears

We just got home from a feeding Brad's dogs and a short drive around the neighborhood. In the car, Charlie asked Ian if he wanted to count....Ian replied "Yep". So they counted....one, two, tree, four, five, sicks, cheban, ate, nine, ten. Great job. Then we heard him in the back seat saying "one, two , tree".

Ian proceeded to say "king a-b-a momma". I didn't quite get that, so I asked him to repeat it..."king a-b-a momma". So I got it that time..."Sing ABC's Momma". So...we sang the ABC's. Each time I'd stop...."no momma, sing a-b-a's". He would sing with us...."a, b, a, b, a, c, r"...in tune...but not in the exact order. It was so cute though, even after 30 times of singing "a-b-a's".

Love this kid...just love him.

Polite and Cute

Every day is a new day with Ian. He's still cute as can be. The past few days we've noticed his vocabulary picking up significantly. He'll pretty much try to say whatever we ask him to, but now he's starting to say more things on his own without our prompting. The past 2 days he's been doing the cutest thing. If we say "Thank you Ian"....he says "I welcome Momma". Polite and cute....wow what a combination.

When I rock him to sleep at night, I always sing "Jesus Loves Me". The past couple of nights he'll sit on my lap and look at me and say "Jesusth momma". I say "do you want to sing the Jesus Song and he says "yes peese". So I start singing. When I get to "yes Jesus loves me" part...he'll sing "yes Jesusth me". He's so sweet.

We have an amazing little guy and I'm so thankful that God chose me to be his Momma. "Yes...Jesus Loves Me".

Swimming On the Fourth Of July

Yesterday we decided to go swimming in Uncle Brad's pool. Uncle Brad is in Florida, but we're checking in on his dogs while he's gone...so we are taking advantage of the pool. Ian was ready to get in as soon as we walked outside. He LOVES the water. He didn't like his float much. He preferred being in Daddy's arms. He even went under water several times. Each time he'd come up smiling. Then a few seconds later he'd say..."ready....set....go". He had so much fun. He was a little prune by the time he got out. He did venture out a couple of times to check out a flower in Brad's back yard and to try to figure out the doggie door. He kept trying to see if he could go through the doggie door. Fortunately, he hasn't figured it out yet. But, it won't take him long. It's a large doggie door, so he can fit. We had hoped to go see fireworks last night, but after an afternoon of swimming Ian was ready for bed. He crashed about 8:30 even though we tried to keep him up. So....we'll see fireworks another time.

STINKER BALL

Ian and Daddy have a new game.....STINKER BALL. Ian picked up his Spiderman ball and then picked up the blue ball for Daddy. They bounced it off one another for a while and then Ian's ball hit the ground. Ian said "stinker ball". So...everytime the ball hits the ground (of if Ian does)...one of them will cry out....."Stinker Ball". Who knows why Ian calls it Stinker Ball...but it's pretty fun to watch them play.

Pictures

Momma has a new camera....woo, hoo!!!! Tonight I figured out how to download my pictures. Another woo, hoo!!! I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA!!!! I was so tired of waiting for my other digital camera to take a shot. Now I have one that has amazing shutter speed. Woo, hoo!!! These pictures are from the past few weeks. I could post a bunch more...but these are a few of my favs. Enjoy!!!

Ian's Skin

Ian has developed some strange light spots on his face. I've tried several different types of lotions and nothing seems to work. So, today I called the doctor to see if we needed to see a dermatologist. Dr. Sood wanted to see him just to make sure it wasn't anything major. After a quick look by Dr. Sood....it's nothing to be concerned about. He said that because Ian's skin is so dark naturally, this will happen to him in the summer months. His skin is very dry and we'll just have to do our best to keep it hydrated. We'll also need to make sure we're using sunscreen at all times when he's outside. That's going to be a challenge. Sometimes Ian likes lotion and sometimes he says "no otion momma".

Two's and Guilty Momma

It's official....the "terrible two's" are real. Ian is definitely going through some sort of phase now so I'll assume it's the terrible two's. He has really started using his words more...primarily the word no. I know we'll get through this, but it's challenging to say the least.

He didn't get a good nap yesterday. We attended Vietnam Family Day and it started right around his usual nap time. We only stayed about an hour because he was just too cranky. Then last night he fell asleep just fine and even slept in his big boy bed...all of 15 minutes.

Today....again...not a good nap. But...so far, he's asleep in his bed. Hopefully he'll sleep well tonight.

He stayed in the bath tub a little longer than normal this evening. When he got out, his little fingers looked like little prunes. I think that's the first time that has happened. He didn't like it at all. He kept saying "momma fix it" and kept trying to wipe his little fingers on my shoulder.

He's also going through another "velcro" stage with me. He wants to be by my side...in my arms...on my lap....all the time. I love the closeness...but I can't get anything else done. I'm feeling so guilty. I told Charlie today while we were waiting for church to begin that I'm just feeling to guilty for not being able to spend more time with him. By the time we all get home in the evening it's nearly 6:00pm and he starts getting ready for bed around 7:45. So...not a lot of time with my little guy. What's a mom to do? I know I'm not the first or the only mom to have these feelings, but it's sure tough on momma heart when he cries. I'm taking a couple of days off in July...so maybe we can spend some more momma and Ian time together then.

Conversation With Ian

This morning I had the pleasure of experiencing morning drive conversation between Charlie and Ian. Charlie's car had to go to the shop, so the boys took me to work. The conversation goes like this:

Charlie: Way

Ian: No Way

Charlie: Way

Ian: No Way

Charlie: Way

Ian: No Way

Get the drift? This went for about 3 blocks and then Ian started talking about "pick-up pucks", "cars", "vans", "burbs (birds) up in sky", "airpanes up in sky", etc.

Usually my drive to work is quiet with the sounds of contemporary christian music on the radio. Today, it was completely different....and I LOVED IT. What a great way to start the day.

Ian is Mr. Talkative at home and in the car. I think he talks quite a bit at school too. But, he doesn't say much at church or around people he doesn't know well. It takes him a little while to warm up...but then....watch out...he'll talk your leg off.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things