getting her groove on

 

don't leave

Laney has said it a few times now and I am defiantly talking and getting into more details about it with her now that she has expressed it but it threw me for a loop and tugged at my heart strings the first time she said it.  It blows me away the things she strings together and says.  Where do children come up with these things??? In her sad concerned voice..........The line has been "Don't leave me ever Momma".

I'm a little tea pot

tip me over and pour me out ;)

Princess and the Frog

This movie has been a huge hit in Laney's heart since she saw it for the 1st time at an outdoor movie in the fall of 2010.  Well the other day she asked to watch it and when the 2 frogs kissed and became a prince and a princess Laney yelled "kissed, married, married, married" than she looked at me and said "NOW they go out to eat Momma"?  OHHHHHHHHHHHHH the mind of a child.....love it!

magic kisses heal

Laney will take a sticker and wrap it around her finger and say to me "momma say what's the matter".  I say it and she says I have a "boo boo".  I say would you like me to kiss it she says "yes, magic kiss Momma".  I kiss it and she says "all better, thank you".  This girl rocks my world!

Happy Birthday Gramma

Hope you enjoy your birthday and have fun in the sun!  Miss you Gramma!  Here are a few pictures of me lovin my new monkey gift ;)

buckle up & drive safely on vacation Gramma!

slippers

We have ceramic and hardwood floors throughout our house and it is chilly so needless to say we all wear slippers.  Well the other day Laney's slipper popped off as she was walking around.  She walked up to me with it in her hand and said " Momma fix mine GLASS slipper please" ohhhhhhhhhh yes the little princess ;)

CNY comes to an end on 2-17-11(Lantern Festival)

 Enjoying a good book (thanks Ivy)!

Thank you - update to indecisive help post

Thank you for the e-mails and the comment postings on my indecisive help post http://2bigkidsinlovebuildafamilytolove.blogspot.com/2011/02/indecisive-help.html
So many of you offered help, advice, opinions and some really good laughs.  Yes many of you have me pegged.  I am a rule follower and if there was a rule book that said hey1st time Momma at age 2 you do this and age 3 you do that I would say OK I will follow the rules - LOL. Also many of you hit the nail on the head as it is not Laney who is not ready it is Momma who is not ready.  To cut the hair and loss the baby look, to loss the baby crib - yup it is me who waited so long to become a mother and it is going by way to fast ;)!
# 1  - Crib sheets equal no fun, OK good point.  It makes me hug hubby a little tighter since it is a shared job on Sunday's (my hubby does rock). OK so....................... the decision is FINALLY for Laney's 3rd birthday we will convert the crib to a toddler bed (and I will cry).  We have started talking it up and she seems excited.  Thank you guys!
# 2 - We are lucky to have pictures of Laney from 3 weeks old.  About 15 pictures in total from 3 weeks until she was 13months old when met finally held her in our arms.  It appears she had her head shaved at least once.  OK so....................... the decision is FINALLY for Laney's 3rd birthday we will get her 1st hair cut (and I will cry). We have started talking it up and she seems excited. Thank you guys!  Oh should I put a disclaimer here :) Ok I am an emotional Momma and subject to change my mind - LOL.
# 3 - I did some research on Lent and I found that many give up a vice, add something that will bring them closer to their faith and give extra to charity.  Well the charity part is easy.  Many of you know Half The Sky Foundation is near and dear to our hearts.  We thank them for being such a tremendous part of Laney's first 13 months of life.  http://www.halfthesky.org/
The closer to faith part well that was part of our families New Year, new beginnings, positive adjustment goals. We have taken huge strides on that front and feel wonderful about those.
The vice part OK this was tough but finally.............the decision is made and I feel good about it.  See I do not sit still long enough to read books.  If I start to read a page I feel guilty and say I should clean, organize, work, make a list, plan this or that, research this or that, blog, spend time with hubby (or Laney or the doggies).  I just never sit down and let myself relax and get lost in a book.  Well I consider this a vice, a bad practice that I have and I want to change it so............................ I got a gift for Christmas that is near and dear to my heart.  It has an amazingly touching heartfelt inscription (thanks Mom) and I know it will prove to be a great read (not to mention Laney's name is in the book)!
"Bound by Love" is an opportunity to participate in the story of Lily, Josh and CCAI -- a portion of each sale goes to the Chinese Children Charity Fund, which works to better the lives of orphans in China. "Bound by Love" is the collaboration of adoptive parents: The author, editor, artist and publisher are all parents of Chinese children. Inside you'll find stories of Lily and Joshua's families as well as Lily's childhood, hers and Joshua's courtship and move to the United States, the beginnings of CCAI, pictures, maps and more. Author: Linda Droeger
http://www.chinacharm.org/product/c6e28439-76ee-43aa-9dd7-e1c6112d00ad.aspx
So my 40 days of Lent will be spent trying to change a bad habit I have and trying to sit down, relax and enjoy a good book!
I was about to hit post on this and read it to hubby and he said OH?? For Lent he was raised giving up your favorite thing not a vice.  Ohhhhhhh Brother!?@?*?

Valentines Day 2011 # 2

Happy Valentines Day 2011



Library group fun



library books rock



picnic lunch for Daddy




nite



Valentines Day 2011 # 1

Well this is Laney's 2nd Valentines Day home with us. We celebrated a little on Sunday since Daddy was home all day with us. We all got gifts and had a nice breakfast. Than we headed to church where the mass ended with Amazing Grace (oh yup I cried). This little girl is a miracle in more ways than 1. She has helped heal the pain in our hearts. We will always take a moment to say a prayer for two precious little souls that left our world on V day 2004. But how awesome that our hearts have been helped by this precious little angel named Laney. Happy Valentines Day Laney! Oh we also baked special treats (Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and Chicken Almond Grape Salad) and spent time doing crafts and tomorrow we have a special lunch date.

So excited to see her gifts in the bag



Princess & the frog water bottle(metal) which she was so excited about.  She says yeah this big girl breakable.  The little puppy cheeks light up and he says "I woof you".



daddy's big book gift, mommas hobby craft gift & our precious Valentine




I love her little hand sneaking a chip

Valentine Family photo before church 02-13-11





indecisive - help

I know I am lucky to have these be my struggles right now. Lord knows it could be much worse.  But the truth is I feel so indecisive on these things so I figured why not try to get some opinions.  I seem to be struggling to make a decision so please comment here on the blog or e-mail me if you can offer an opinion.  I am all ears/eyes.
#1 = If I should transition Laney from her crib to a big girl bed (her crib coverts into a toddler bed - thanks Auntie Dawn).  She has never attempted to climb out of her crib.  For those BTDT what signs did you look for that it was time to make the change?  How old was your little one when you made the change?  How did it go?  Any tips on the transition?
#2 = If I should get Laney her 1st haircut.  I say yes I should 1 day and no no no I can't the next day.  I love the wispy curl ups on the sides.  I love the wavy curls on the ends.  But the back does look like it might need some help.  Her hair is thin and she does not have a lot of it compared to other children her age.  For those BTDT how old was your little one when you did it?  What made you decide to do it or why did you wait?  Any tips?
#3 = What should I give up for Lent? Why can't I decide? If you participate in Lent please help. What have you done in the past for Lent?

Sorry for this brief interuption of cute Laney photos but her Momma is indecisive this week and I need help!

Christmas on the brain - still

Anyone else still have kids dancing around the house singing Christmas songs???  YUP "Tinker Bells" as she sings for Jingle Bells and "better not pout, Ho Ho is coming to town" she is still singing.  The other day she was sitting at the kitchen table arms folded, nothing on the table just sitting there.  I said "what are you doing Laney"? she said "waiting for HO HO"

SuperBowl Party

Laney was excited to go to a football party



so how do I drink my rice milk with this thing on my head?



Laney loved hanging with the boys!

she was thrilled everyone shared their gear with her (of course daddy says this was a photo op only she is a Denver Bronco fan thru and thru).

happy in the helmet




she took many "rests" throughout the night & this was what she used as her blanket.



Her very favorite part of her night 110%





music lover!!

Hubby's team was not in the Superbowl so we got to enjoy a great Superbowl party at friends house who's team was in the Superbowl.  There were 5 kids but Laney was the only little one and the only girl.  The boys were so sweet to her and shared their football boy stuff with her.  She loved it!  Than our wonderful host took Laney to see their Piano and that was it that was where Laney stayed for the rest of the night.  Our beautiful music lover was in heaven at that piano.

CNY celebration # 2

Our Chinese New Year Lunch was a nice celebration.  To see so many families with their precious children was awesome.  Laney talked about her "China New Year Party" for a week before and said "yes yes yes I put red money in red dragon mouth" but when the dragon came our way she cried and clung onto me.  Needless to say Mommy put the red envelope with money in it in the red dragons mouth.  Now 2 days later she keeps telling me "Laney alittle scared of the red dragon at China New Year Party but I ok now momma". As you can see she was very happy doing alittle photo shoot before we left ;)

CNY celebration # 1

 CNY celebration # 1 was wonderful! Laney was excited to wear clothes from China. I must say we were not thinking when we were in China in May/June that Chinese New Year was in February in the USA (COLD)!!   Laney was full of joy and said Ni Hao, Happy New Year to everyone she saw.  When they gave her food, drinks, toys she would say Xie Xie with a big smile. Before we left she handed out a red envelope with hugs for her friends at her favorite out to eat (as she calls it). She got to stay up late and really had a nice CNY celebration # 1.  # 2 to come on Sunday, can't wait.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Gong Xi Fa Cai is how you say Happy Chinese New Year (in Mandarin). Speaking it is challenging to learn in my opinion but it blows my mind to think about learning to write it  - 恭禧發財

It means wishing you to be prosperous in the coming year.  February 3rd 2011 begins the year of the Rabbit (Our Family is Daddy = Sheep, Mommy = Pig and Laney = Rat). In China it is also known as Spring Festival. Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. This year the 3 of us will celebrate on Thursday night and then on Sunday we will celebrate with 30 others!  Pictures to come in the coming week or so. It is so special to celebrate CNY. Gong Xi Fa Cai

start with ear

The days are ending that Laney is talking with the baby girl pronunciations so I wanted to jot down a few that have been fun but are going away as this little baby grows up into a little girl.
Momma turn on "ear-bies" please =  Lullabies
Momma I have an "ear-dea" = Idea
Tomorrow is a special day - YEAH for 2/3/11!

special breakfast (just because)