As the snow fell (and fell and fell) on Friday night, we resolved that we WERE going to Disney on Ice in Columbus, even if we had to rent a dog sled to do it :) Well, we woke up on Saturday morning to about six more inches of snow on the ground, but the plow came through about 5:15 a.m. so we were able to get up our hill. We stopped to pick up Chelsea (who had been snowed in at a friend's house on Friday night) and then headed to Columbus... Besides the snow-covered roads, we had one more challenge... On Thursday, our windshield wiper motor died, and, because the replacement part didn't arrive on time Friday, we relied on a quick "rigging" job. Unfortunately, that "quick fix" broke before we even got out of Athens-- heavy sigh... Thus, poor Roger had to keep sticking his arm out of the car to move the windshield wiper when I absolutely couldn't see. However, we made it to Columbus around 10:15 a.m. in time for our 11 a.m. show.
Ellie-Kate was SOOO excited!! We told her that the princesses were still getting changed so she kept saying "Princess? Changed?" She was completely engaged in the show, and we were all mesmerized by the fabulous skating, terrific Disney music, and awesome special effects. As I looked at Ellie-Kate's face, I couldn't help but think about how wonderful that it was to have her here, able to enjoy this event that has become a family tradition for us. Her world now includes visions of wonderful skaters and special characters and their stories. What a difference that 11 months has made...
More soon--
Christie
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Happy 25 month birthday, Ellie-Kate (2/26/10)
We celebrated Ellie-Kate's 25 month birthday by enjoying a nice movie night at home (except for Chelsea who traveled on snowy roads on the fan bus to watch Athen High School lose in the sectional basketball final). As we ate dinner, we watched Beauty and the Beast-- arguably one of the best Disney movies ever! Ellie-Kate kept pointing at the screen, saying "Belle, Belle!!" Although we have Disney Channel on the tv a lot, she has never really seen the Disney classics so we're trying to introduce her to (and remind Emmy of) those special shows before we go to Disneyworld in December. With her room adorned with the Disney princesses, she's familiar with their images, but not the voices, songs, and stories that made them famous :)
We ended the evening with the best bedtime in months! Ellie-Kate went down in less than 1/2 hour-- without any screaming, etc. We're not quite sure what has made the difference, but we'll take it :)
Happy 25 month b-day, Ellie-Kate!
Love, Mommy and Daddy
We ended the evening with the best bedtime in months! Ellie-Kate went down in less than 1/2 hour-- without any screaming, etc. We're not quite sure what has made the difference, but we'll take it :)
Happy 25 month b-day, Ellie-Kate!
Love, Mommy and Daddy
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Happy 11 month anniversary, Ellie-Kate!!
Wow, I can't believe that Ellie-Kate has been with us for 11 months. On the one hand, I can't imagine our lives without her or before her so it feels as though she's just always been with us. On the other hand, the past 11 months have FLOWN by!! I am in awe by how much that she has grown-- physically, intellectually, emotionally... We had such an awesome anniversary day yesterday! I was able to be home with her, and we had so much fun... Our quiet moments are the best... She loves for me to brush and fix her hair, and she then gets the brush and works through my hair... Last night, she took off running, and I paused for a second to grab something and then went to look for her in the foyer. I didn't see her right away, and I called her. She came running from the dining room, and I bent down with my hands on my knees and said, "Ellie-Kate!" She laughed and put her hands on her knees too, imitating me :) Chelsea burst out laughing from the dining room and said, "She's the cutest thing!! I'm sure that none of us were that cute!" The others WERE pretty cute, but, wow, Ellie-Kate just has such an awesome temperment and fun personality :) We spend most of our time in awe of her!
Other quick family updates... We learned last week that Britti was accepted into the Disney College Program. She'll be with Disney for at least seven months for this program, and she hopes to land one of their competitive internships afterward. She moves to Orlando on May 19. What a great opportunity for her to live and work in the "happiest place on Earth," but we are going to miss her so much!! We're definitely going to take a family trip there in December, but we might try to do something between May and December, if we can swing it. She does get a discount... :)
Chelsea's busy with track conditioning, and she's been running every day in the freezing cold and snow. Emmy's having fun with her basketball team, and she is quickly gaining the respect of the many boys on her team and parents in the crowd for her shooting and dribbling ability. Britti and Emmy had a great time at OU Sibs Week-end last week-end, and I'll try to upload pics when I get a chance soon.
Well, I need to sign off now and get ready for class. Hope that all is well with you :)
Christie
Other quick family updates... We learned last week that Britti was accepted into the Disney College Program. She'll be with Disney for at least seven months for this program, and she hopes to land one of their competitive internships afterward. She moves to Orlando on May 19. What a great opportunity for her to live and work in the "happiest place on Earth," but we are going to miss her so much!! We're definitely going to take a family trip there in December, but we might try to do something between May and December, if we can swing it. She does get a discount... :)
Chelsea's busy with track conditioning, and she's been running every day in the freezing cold and snow. Emmy's having fun with her basketball team, and she is quickly gaining the respect of the many boys on her team and parents in the crowd for her shooting and dribbling ability. Britti and Emmy had a great time at OU Sibs Week-end last week-end, and I'll try to upload pics when I get a chance soon.
Well, I need to sign off now and get ready for class. Hope that all is well with you :)
Christie
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Two year well-check-- 2/16/10
Ellie-Kate is THRIVING!! The doctor was really amazed by her growth. She's at the fifty percentile for weight (28 lbs.) and 99+percentile for height at 37 inches :) For a little girl on the special needs list just a year ago, she's in terrific shape! The doctor said that she's even taller than some four year olds. She had her last two "baby" shots so she's now all caught up, and she won't have to have any more until she's four.
ANYWAY, thanks to everyone so much for caring! The doctor attributed her progress to good nuitrion. Yes, she's eating more than egg and meat soup now, but she's also benefiting from lots of love and prayer. God really has His hand on this precious little girl and our whole family :)
Have a great evening!!
Christie
ANYWAY, thanks to everyone so much for caring! The doctor attributed her progress to good nuitrion. Yes, she's eating more than egg and meat soup now, but she's also benefiting from lots of love and prayer. God really has His hand on this precious little girl and our whole family :)
Have a great evening!!
Christie
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Update from the BAP family :)
Wow, we have had a LOT of snow lately, and I just learned that we're due for another big snowstorm tomorrow. Although we're enjoying the snow days (especially sledding!), it's been tough for Chelsea and Emmy to get in a rhythm of school and activities. Even though the snow slowed us down during the week, we're glad that we could get "out and about" for Emmy's basketball game yesterday as well as a dinner at the Chinese buffet last night in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Today, we went to Sunday School and then a peformance at OU by the OU Chinese Students' Club to celebrate the Year of the Tiger. After the show, Roger and I went out to celebrate Valentine's Day at Casa-- our favorite restaurant.
Over this week-end, I have been completely drawn into a book, recommended by one of my dear "Kunming" friends. "The Waiting Child," by Cindy Champnella, is such an inspirational and moving account of a little four year old girl, adopted by the author, who compels her new family to go back to China and adopt a little boy that she cared for during her time in the orphanage. I do think that conditions have likely improved in the decade since the author last visited China, and some of the policies seemed different than what we experienced during our journey. However, the book was a riveting call for others to consider older child adoption, and it was also a intense reminder to me about how very grateful that we should be for how smoothly that Ellie-Kate has assimilated into our lives...
She absolutely LOVES to play ball with Emmy, and they spent all of Friday evening doing just that as the older girls went to a movie. Roger was trying to teach Emmy some basketball moves, and Ellie-Kate imitated them to near perfection. Ellie-Kate even mastered "posting up"-- at least as much as any two year old could. They finished with basketball, and Ellie-Kate moved on to volleyball, insisting that Roger teach her to spike. She practiced for nearly 15 minutes, working up quite a sweat! God definitely knew what He was doing when he placed this special baby in our arms.
Bedtime remains the only rough part of our day... Ellie-Kate HATES to go to bed, and our usual time, from beginning to end, is around two hours of screaming, crying, and fighting to stay awake. Please pray that things start to get a bit easier for her and for us. Especially after reading "The Waiting Child," I re-realized that this behavior could be from deeper feelings/fears than just a desire to continue playing so we're going to talk with the International Adoption Clinic at Children's Hospital and get a bit of perspective and advice :) However, again, we are very very well aware that we have had it SOOOOOO good in terms of Ellie-Kate's bonding and fit with our family, and we trust that God will help us to help our little girl (and us!) to get more rest more smoothly :)
I hope that everyone enjoys a great week as well as the photos that I will upload tomorrow. Stay warm amid all of the winter weather :) Thanks for caring about our family!!
Christie
Over this week-end, I have been completely drawn into a book, recommended by one of my dear "Kunming" friends. "The Waiting Child," by Cindy Champnella, is such an inspirational and moving account of a little four year old girl, adopted by the author, who compels her new family to go back to China and adopt a little boy that she cared for during her time in the orphanage. I do think that conditions have likely improved in the decade since the author last visited China, and some of the policies seemed different than what we experienced during our journey. However, the book was a riveting call for others to consider older child adoption, and it was also a intense reminder to me about how very grateful that we should be for how smoothly that Ellie-Kate has assimilated into our lives...
She absolutely LOVES to play ball with Emmy, and they spent all of Friday evening doing just that as the older girls went to a movie. Roger was trying to teach Emmy some basketball moves, and Ellie-Kate imitated them to near perfection. Ellie-Kate even mastered "posting up"-- at least as much as any two year old could. They finished with basketball, and Ellie-Kate moved on to volleyball, insisting that Roger teach her to spike. She practiced for nearly 15 minutes, working up quite a sweat! God definitely knew what He was doing when he placed this special baby in our arms.
Bedtime remains the only rough part of our day... Ellie-Kate HATES to go to bed, and our usual time, from beginning to end, is around two hours of screaming, crying, and fighting to stay awake. Please pray that things start to get a bit easier for her and for us. Especially after reading "The Waiting Child," I re-realized that this behavior could be from deeper feelings/fears than just a desire to continue playing so we're going to talk with the International Adoption Clinic at Children's Hospital and get a bit of perspective and advice :) However, again, we are very very well aware that we have had it SOOOOOO good in terms of Ellie-Kate's bonding and fit with our family, and we trust that God will help us to help our little girl (and us!) to get more rest more smoothly :)
I hope that everyone enjoys a great week as well as the photos that I will upload tomorrow. Stay warm amid all of the winter weather :) Thanks for caring about our family!!
Christie
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Our sweet little two year old :)
It's been two weeks since Ellie-Kate turned two years old, and she's really pushing her desired status as a "big kid" :) She continues to get braver and braver, pushing her boundaries and trying new things. At playgroup, she climbs on a bike and cruises around the gym-- yes, she glances over to make sure that I'm still there, but she seems to feel quite safe as she ventures beyond my side. She even worked up to diving into (and off of) the large inflatible in the gym. Moreover, she keenly watches the older girls, and she wants to experience whatever they do-- from sledding to drinking out of a big kid cup to eating off of a spoon "just like Mommy's" to shooting a basketball "just like Emmy."
Even as she seems to imitate "big kid stuff," she seems all the more cuddly over the past few weeks. Her face lights up as family members return from a day at school or work; she bursts into laughter as she shares a joke (even when she can't possibly get it!) at the dinner table, and she has started consistently referring to me as "Mommy," with a sweet and loving twinkle in her eye. (Before, she called me "Mama" and referred to Emmy as "Emma. She's really picked up the "ee" sound now.)
A few milestones... Ellie-Kate's favorite number is "8." (How many two year olds have a favorite number?)... She loves to play with calculators, especially Chelsea's graphing calculator :) ... Her hair is just now long enough to go back in a pony tail or up in pigtails... She can hit baskets (in her little tykes basketball hoop) from across the living room, using pretty good form to boot!... Her favorite toy is Pei Wei, a Build-a-Bear panda that I made for her in the December after we locked in on her but before we traveled to China... She LOVES to sled, and she's very excited about watching skiing on tv, given her reactions to Olympic commercials... When she wants to do something too, she pats her chest and says "Ellie!! Ellie!!" and points at the object of her desires :) She can say how old that she is, count to 10, say the first five letters of the ABCs, and knows the words to her favorite songs-- such as Twinkle, Twinkle. She remains the center of her family's affections, and her sisters love to fix her hair, dress her, play with her, and engage her in activities :)
Meanwhile, Britti continues to wait for the Disney decision and to work on her thesis... Chelsea just received some great grades after a rough first semester (mono at the beginning and then losing her beloved Uncle Robbie right before finals), and she's enjoying her status as the girlfriend of the starting center of an area high school basketball team--even if that team is a rival of her own high school... Emmy is also getting some great grades now, and she's enjoying all of the snow days that we have had recently, even though her basketball game on Saturday was cancelled... I have been struggling with sinusitis and bronchitis, but I'm slowly starting to feel better... Roger's been busy with our animals and the girls, especially when I've been down for the count. Praise God for His divine provision in our lives!!
Thanks so much for caring about our family!! Please enjoy all of the pictures that I'm about to post :)
Fondly-- Christie
Even as she seems to imitate "big kid stuff," she seems all the more cuddly over the past few weeks. Her face lights up as family members return from a day at school or work; she bursts into laughter as she shares a joke (even when she can't possibly get it!) at the dinner table, and she has started consistently referring to me as "Mommy," with a sweet and loving twinkle in her eye. (Before, she called me "Mama" and referred to Emmy as "Emma. She's really picked up the "ee" sound now.)
A few milestones... Ellie-Kate's favorite number is "8." (How many two year olds have a favorite number?)... She loves to play with calculators, especially Chelsea's graphing calculator :) ... Her hair is just now long enough to go back in a pony tail or up in pigtails... She can hit baskets (in her little tykes basketball hoop) from across the living room, using pretty good form to boot!... Her favorite toy is Pei Wei, a Build-a-Bear panda that I made for her in the December after we locked in on her but before we traveled to China... She LOVES to sled, and she's very excited about watching skiing on tv, given her reactions to Olympic commercials... When she wants to do something too, she pats her chest and says "Ellie!! Ellie!!" and points at the object of her desires :) She can say how old that she is, count to 10, say the first five letters of the ABCs, and knows the words to her favorite songs-- such as Twinkle, Twinkle. She remains the center of her family's affections, and her sisters love to fix her hair, dress her, play with her, and engage her in activities :)
Meanwhile, Britti continues to wait for the Disney decision and to work on her thesis... Chelsea just received some great grades after a rough first semester (mono at the beginning and then losing her beloved Uncle Robbie right before finals), and she's enjoying her status as the girlfriend of the starting center of an area high school basketball team--even if that team is a rival of her own high school... Emmy is also getting some great grades now, and she's enjoying all of the snow days that we have had recently, even though her basketball game on Saturday was cancelled... I have been struggling with sinusitis and bronchitis, but I'm slowly starting to feel better... Roger's been busy with our animals and the girls, especially when I've been down for the count. Praise God for His divine provision in our lives!!
Thanks so much for caring about our family!! Please enjoy all of the pictures that I'm about to post :)
Fondly-- Christie
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