Tuesday, April 28, 2009

WARNING: SOME OF THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT ELIZA!
(If you want to read about Eliza only, skip the first few paragraphs.)

It's Tuesday and we've had a run of 90 plus degree days here in NC. That's 90 with humidity! It's not pleasant. We generally have a short spring here, but c'mon...90 already? I seriously almost passed out during my tennis lesson on Saturday morning (which I love playing by the way) and felt sick during golf too...Derek and I got in 9 holes that afternoon...not a good idea, I thought I was suffering from heat stroke.

On Sunday, Allie and I played in the season's first "family golf"...Best Ball format. We didn't score very well, but we had lots of fun despite the heat. We were paired up with my good friend Marisa and her 7 year old son Jordan, who might end up being in the same grade/class as Meiying! Allie is just getting started so she's at that phase of becoming quickly defeated if she doesn't make good contact with the ball and thus easily distracted with thoughts of "what time is it", "I'm hungry", "I'm thirsty", "I'm tired"... She has a really good swing and would seriously crush the ball if she made contact. I finally told her to slow down though and think of a fluid dancer's move...WHACK!! She did it. We did play 2 of her drives from the junior tee's (thankfully, big advantage) and she sunk a long putt to make par for us on one much needed hole. I couldn't make a putt to save our life that day so we 3 putted just about all the other holes. And the golf Gods thought it was humorous to make us play out of the bunkers quite a bit too. Yeah, can you believe out of the 2 of us in a Best Ball format, the best we could do was come up with a sand shot? Allie learned how difficult that was once you stepped down into those bunkers with a high lip staring her in the face! I've been working on my short-iron game though and I'm actually starting to enjoy that now (bunkers, chip shots)...my coach-husband is very proud of his teaching! The horse pasture comes in handy for a driving range and our sand/riding arena is great for practicing those sand shots. I'll tell you tho, my mid-40 body just can't handle the hot temps like it used to unless I'm sitting in a pool and that's still a few weeks away.

To make matters worse, our A/C is not working AGAIN. Remember that from last summer? I think we just need to break down and invest in a new unit. This is the original unit to the house and every summer, we have to replace something very expensive on the unit. Not good timing w/ the adoption expenses. I'm expecting the repair man on Wednesday and we'll see what the prognosis is this year. In the meantime, we close up during the day and run the fans and open up the windows and doors at night (somehow, Mom, that worked growing up in upstate NY, not in the south though).

So, that leads to this post on Eliza...WHICH IS WHAT THIS BLOG IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT...SORRY FOR DIGRESSING. My princess E is still riding her bike like crazy and getting more daring; don't know where she learned these things (no hands, zig-zagging, going way too fast). She took lots of falls this weekend, but didn't cry once. She's a trooper. Her knees and shins are all black & blue! We bought 2 pairs of summer sandals (her first flip-flops) and a sandal version of hightops (gladiator jelly sandals, flashback to the 80's) that hopefully, she'll keep on her feet at school. She still has that barefoot obsession. The converse hightops were the only shoes she couldn't get off so we're hoping the gladiator sandals will replace those for the summer. She wore them to school today and I asked for a progress report at the end of the day so I'd know whether to buy some other colors (Walmart, cheap, but cute.)

In today's video, I wanted to show you all the progress she's making on saying "juice" just since last week. She's really working hard on this word. Also, in the video, you'll see her appear like she's rocking (which can be an autism stim, not for Eliza though), but she's not rocking...she's actually trying to push away from the table which is what she does if I don't respond fast enough to what she wants. The problem is, since the A/C isn't working, the humidity made everything sticky, including the floors, so her chair is NOT sliding no matter how hard she pushes. Ha, ha! She also keeps looking away from the camera (which can also be an autism thing), but in this case, she's more stunned and perplexed about why she can't slide her chair. I got a little chuckle out of it when I watched the video back because I know her so well and know exactly what she was thinking...that look that comes over her "Darn it, I'm not in control".

Her teachers told me yesterday that they had a little conversation in sign language with Eliza that went like this: Eliza signed that she wanted to "walk" (guessing to her next center or task). Her teacher signed "no, Eliza, sit and wait"; Eliza signed back "sit and wait" and down she sat. No words were exchanged, only signing. That's pretty neat! They were proud of her. They are such an amazing and gifted group of teachers. I can't tell them thank you enough. She's also been mimicking everyone like crazy. She loves to watch Super Why...especially the character Princess P. When Princess P says "wands up", Eliza holds her invisible wand up. It's hilarious. In the photos below, Eliza is watching the very beginning of Super Why and I'm trying to tell her we have to leave for school (I DVR-it so she can watch it after school). Well, enjoy and wands up everyone!









Thursday, April 23, 2009

I apologize for the previous non-Eliza posts. Here's a few Easter photos for your viewing pleasure. Our dear friends-like-family, George and Judy, put on a Scavenger Easter Egg Hunt. This was very serious business...rules and all.

There's also a video with Eliza saying my favorite word "mama"...also her favorite lately...she says it all day long. Sometimes just babbling; other times, very purposeful. Just hearing it is food for my soul though. This morning, she walked into our bedroom and softly said "hey". Then, she said "Daddy". (Derek's out of town.) The rest of the morning, it's been "mama". In the video, you'll hear her try to say "juice". This is the first time she's actually said it! Her teachers told me that she had the best day ever yesterday. She was really focused and a sponge. It must be the pep-talks we have in the car on the way to school when I tell her to use her manners, have fun, smile, be silly, be nice to her friends, listen, talk, try to go on the potty and that I want to hear good things when I come back in the afternoon to pick her up.

Did I mention that we're DTC (dossier to China for you non-adoption speaking folks)!! Sorry, I had to slip that in there because I woke up this morning and reminded myself that I don't have to do any paperwork today! Alrighty, enjoy...











Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Do you know what this means?

Hint: Girl + Flower = ?

You guessed right,
Meiying ("Beautiful Flower")
Got the call, our Dossier left for China today!!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009






So, did anyone watch The Amazing Race on Sunday night? They raced from India to China's Guangzhou Airport and then onto Guilin, which is where Meiying is! We were pretty excited to watch. So, click on the Osmanthus flower above, which is grown all over Guilin by the way, to find out the timeliness of that episode!

Saturday, April 11, 2009


I’m a BIG girl now! This is me on my bike yesterday. I practiced a lot yesterday.

Today, I rode my bike while Mommy and Daddy walked Hogan. We went all the way around the loop. I did it all by myself and I didn't fall at all today. I even rode through lots of puddles. That was so much fun!

Mommy said next time she would ride her bike with me. I can't wait!!! Daddy thinks I'm going to be ready for a new-bigger bike already. Wow!

Happy Easter, Love Eliza

P.S. I do still wear my glasses, but the straps hurt me behind my ears so I take lots of breaks during the day.






Tuesday, April 07, 2009





Isn't she beautiful? I took these in the car after bike riding. Derek ran into Starbucks and Eliza climbed into the driver's seat. I wish the middle photo hadn't turned out blurry because it would've been one of the best pictures of Eliza.

Anyway, here's 2 of Eliza's "new" favorite videos to watch...

She loves riding her bike. When I'm weeding in the backyard, I'll find her in our shed, sitting on a big bike that she somehow managed to climb onto (and thank goodness it didn't fall over on her). She also loves to try out all the bikes when we see any in the stores. We do have a big-girl bike with training wheels that she's "working" on, but for the sake of fun and not work, she would rather ride this bike right now because she loves pedaling backwards and the big-girl bike "brakes" when you pedal backwards. Anyone remember those "Big Wheel" trike things from the 70's...this is very similar. Derek and I were reminscing about how much fun those were when we were kids. No wonder she enjoys riding it! As you can see in the video, she also enjoys riding up on the curbs and then backing down. You can't hear it in the video, but she has figured out if she pedals fast, then stops pedaling, she skids! She's so funny...





Thursday, April 02, 2009



Today, APRIL 2, is World Autism Awareness Day
April is Autism Awareness month
Please take less than 1 minute to watch the 2 videos here

Will you go for a walk today
(or sometime this month, for you non walkers)
While you walk
Take a moment to say a prayer or make a donation or simply be a friend
Talk to your children about being a friend to the
1 in 150 children diagnosed with autism today
Do it for Autism awareness, research, a cure
Eliza and I thank you for your love and support

And to Amy, Beth, Kristi, Melissa, Pam, Rachel, Yolanda...
my growing number of mom friends
both home and here in the blog world
who tirelessly champion their children
who despite their diagnosis
grow and succeed in their achievements daily...

I send you hugs, high 5's (and a vacation, if I could)

You rock, your kids are amazing and you're an inspiration!