Holy Guacamole Batman!

When we were in the process of adopting Elizabeth I read all sorts of stories from other people. It was funny to read posts about "interesting" questions they would get about their adopted children like, "is rice their favorite food?" "can she use chopsticks?" "how much did she cost?" "does she speak Chinese?" So far I have not gotten too many questions. Since I don't like things to be awkward I usually answer peoples questions before they ask. I know they are in their heads. For example, when we are at the playground and people look at E and ask how old she is I usually reply, "she is 20 months and we have had her home from China for five months." I usually also say something like she is just really little or something. They look really surprised that she is so small for being 20 months and she is still not walking.

On Wednesday we were at Sam's school for his meet and greet with his new teacher. One of the kids in his class asked me if E was going to speak Chinese when she grew up. I asked him if he was going to speak Chinese when he grew up. I told him that if she took classes in Chinese or if he did then they could speak Chinese when they grew up.

So, is rice her favorite food? No. Pasta and fruit are on the top of the list. She also LOVES guacamole! As Grammy would say, "I bet she did not get that in the orphanage!" She will eat it as her main and only entree for a meal. She tolerates rice, but prefers noodles. Below are some pictures from lunch. She had a bowl of guacamole and was so happy to sit with her bowl and spoon and eat the whole bowl!

I guess I was wrong

So I guess there are people out there that do read this. I got a few comments posted from people I did not even know that they do read this. They are waiting for their children from China too.

We have one more week home with Sam. He starts school after labor day. Sam loves Elizabeth, she sometimes likes him. She gets excited when she sees him after he has been gone all day. She sometimes likes when he plays with her. She really likes when he shares his treats with her. That is her favorite. I posted a picture of E eating licorice that Sam gave her. She is easily overwhelmed and Sam can very easily be overwhelming. I get so excited when she is giggling and laughing at Sam. Usually she is upset with him and wants me to rescue her. I know it will get better. She really only likes to be with me anyway. Still, Sam is so good and does not get mad at her or frustrated or anything. I am so blessed with him and could not ask for a better big brother for Elizabeth. I think too that the age difference is still pretty big, as they get older I am hoping they will play together more.

Speaking of not being friends, E's cousin Jenna was here today. They are not really friends yet. Jenna tried to pull her nose off twice and bit her toe once. We took them to Target and Sentry and put them in those carts with the two seats attached. E was reaching over and pulling Jenna's hair. Both Bridget and I were encouraging E to do this since Jenna is always picking on her. Some day down the road, they will be friends.

Here are some recent pictures.

The remote is my favorite toy!

My brother is nuts! He has stickers all over his face!

I think I can get these stickers off, let me just stand up and get a better view!

One thing my big brother is good for is treats! Mommy alwasy makes him share his treats, this time it was licorice. I think it is my favorite!

Someone actually reads this blog!

Often I post to this blog and I think I am just posting for me. Or for E and Sam when they get older. It is really cathartic to write out some of the things bouncing around in my head. I always hope people are reading this and sometimes people tell me they read something here. I know my mom reads it. Sometimes I put weird things in just to test if any one is reading this. Unlike an email, no one has to respond and you can't really tell if people are reading this. I do have to admit, I don't read other blogs much, so I can't complain about people not reading this. My father in law has a blog, I check it every now and then to see if there are articles about the family. The ones on theology I don't understand much. I do check out other blogs from our group of families that traveled to China together. It is nice to see the kids that came home with Elizabeth.

So tonight at church (http://www.milwaukeemennonite.org/) Devin, who had attended with us and moved to Denver was back for a visit. He brought his girlfriend and his parents came from Iowa to meet her and to worship with us. Since they live in Iowa, I have only met them a few times. Only when they came to Milwaukee to visit Devin and his sister who also lives in Milwaukee. It turns out they have been reading my blog! I guess Devin has been too and sending it to them when I update it. So, to the Yoders, thank you so much for reading this! I am glad you finally got to meet Elizabeth and it was great to see you all today.


It would not be a complete post with out a picture of E, so here it is from yesterday. Sam got out his old chair and set it up for her. He made sure to put the umbrella on it for her so the sun was not on her. He takes such good care of her and is a great big brother.

A Day At The Park

Today the weather was beautiful, mid 70's, clear blue sky, slight breeze. David is buried under a pile of homework from his current summer class. I took the kids to Jacobus Park in Wauwatosa for the morning. They have a big swing and E loved swinging in Sam's lap. Sam was all over the playground and E found a steering wheel and stayed there for a very long time. Then we took a walk. Sam rode his bike and we explored the park. Sam is getting so big. The concepts he understands, the things he does, are so incredible for me. We were looking at the map to see where we wanted to go in the park. We plotted out our route and set off. Unlike a state park, the trails are not marked with colored signs. We headed out and the path split a few times and Sam was insistent we were to go left. I was not sure. We went back to see the map and Sam was right. I guess he was paying more attention than I thought. I also just love to watch him play with Legos. He will start with a pile or bag of random pieces and then in a few minutes, there is a cool car, ship, boat, or something. Then each time I look back it is different. Most of the time Sam is sort of all over the place, but with Legos, he will sit or lay on the floor for a while working with the Legos. Then he has a story for all his creations.

Like most of the world, we have been watching the Olympics. This is the first time ever they are somewhere we have been. It has been fun to watch and say, "We were there!" Sam loved the opening ceremonies, as we all did. He stayed awake for most of them too. My parents had us over and we ordered out Chinese food and watched on their big screen TV. Elizabeth stayed awake for most of them too, but not to watch them, just to be with me. Sam has not been too interested in the sports part of the Olympics, I guess they are not as exciting as the opening ceremonies were. He is getting better about watching them.

Here is a picture of Sam and Elizabeth swinging at Jacobus.

Opposites attract, hopefully

Ever since we found out Bridget was pregnant with Jenna we thought maybe our girls will be the same age?! Then when we got our referral for Elizabeth and found out they were two months apart, we were so excited! Bridget and I made all sorts of plans for the girls about how they would be best friends and play together. We also bought them matching outfits and started buying toys and things in pairs, one for each girl. Now that they have been together for about four months, they could not be more opposite. Partly it is their background and Elizabeth is just coming from a way different place. Partly it is their personalities. Elizabeth is very slow to warm up and a lot more quiet than Jenna. Elizabeth is also a bit delayed and is more like a 13-14 month old, not 19 months like her chronological age or 21 months like Jenna. Jenna is so physical, she likes to run, climb and jump. E is not walking yet, but really wants to. I think it is a blessing and a curse for them to be so close in age. We expect them to be best friends, but at this age they don't really play together anyway, maybe when they are four? We also are temped to compare the two. This is not fair since they are so different, and E has a lot of ground to make up to catch up to Jenna. Plus all things being equal, they are just really different. It does make it fun to watch them. It is fascinating to see them with the same toy and how Jenna plays with it and then how Elizabeth plays with it. Then to see them fight over the toy. Just kidding, that part is not fun. It is amusing though that E is starting to fight back and not just take it from Jenna. It will be fun as they get older to see how their relationship develops. Hopefully opposites will attract and they will not feel compared to each other or feel competitive.

Here are some pictures from Monday when Jenna was over. Elizabeth took Jenna's role and was the ham! Jenna took Elizabeth's role and looked at me like she had never seen a camera and did not know what to do. I had put both their hair in pig tails, it was super cute!

Dancing

Elizabeth continues to grow and figure things out. Lately she has been dancing to music. It is so much fun to see her dance and enjoying the music. Yesterday we went to State Fair. She seemed to like it, especially when Auntie Bridget gave her a ring pop. There was a high school marching band that all the kids really enjoyed. Sam had a huge ice cream cone and she was yelling, "Mam, Mam, Mam!" and sticking her tongue out for a lick. Mam is her word for Sam. On Wednesday Grammy brought over a little pool and she loved it. Sam and Jenna were jumping in and out, splashing getting all wet. E sat on a little basket so she did not get too wet and very methodically scooped water from the pool and poured it into a pan. They all had a great time in their own way. The other thing she has really enjoyed is playing in the sand at Pike Lake. When we pull in, she gets really excited.

Sam and I went down the big slide at State Fair. It was a blast!

Elizabeth and her ring pop! Thank you Auntie Bridget!

The kids playing at Pike Lake. Sam would build the towers and she would knock them down.