Thought I better update the blog so that I don't disappoint all THREE of my readers! The kids are doing fabulous. A friend snapped this picture so we can use it for our last adoption post-placement report. Hard to believe that we are coming up on the one year anniversary of Ethan's adoption. I am finally starting to feel like we are getting into a groove with having 3 kids...amazing that it only took a year! Sometimes it feels like running a group home...everyone has a designated color of towel and toothbrush, 3 sets of clothes and shoes laid out in neat little piles...and my lastest and greatest invention: the "morning caddy" I like to call it. A little basket on the kitchen counter that houses extra toothbrushes, socks, hair stuff, fingernail clippers, wet wipes, etc. Basically all the items that seem to vanish most often. Can't find a brush? No problem. Hangnail? I can take care of that! Gives me the false sense of security that I am ready for whatever they can throw at me. Let's face it, keeping 5 people organized in 1600 sqare feet of house takes a little creativity. I start getting myself ready at 5:00, first kid gets up for school at 6:00 and the last kid's bus comes at 8:35. So a solid 3 1/2 hours of waking, dressing, feeding, packing, etc. (in shifts of course). And then I leave for work. Meagan has grown up so much this year. Everything about fourth grade was tough...from the curriculum, to the homework load, to the expectations in terms of staying organized. So, I was sort of bracing myself for fifth grade. Well, much to my surprise, it has gone very smoothly. I guess fourth grade boot camp really paid off. Meagan gets up with her alarm, keeps on top of her homework assignments, even packs her own lunch sometimes. And is making A/B's in 2-year advanced language arts and 1-year advanced math. So proud of her. NiNi was just accepted into the full-day kindergarten program (it was a lottery and we got in because another student withdrew). The only problem, she was already 6 weeks into the school year and would have to move to a different class. It would have been a huge financial benefit for us (no paying for daycare) but we left the decision up to her. For 2 days she kept saying no, no, no...she'd miss her friends, miss her teacher, etc. The day we had to make the call, she decided to go for it. I asked her what changed her mind and she said, "I want to be brave." She is doing great and making new friends and loves eating lunch at school and riding the bus "two times." And life is good for our little man. He would be happy to rule the roost if we'd let him. He enjoys bossing around his sisters and being coddled by his daycare teachers. Chris calls him a "prima donna." And he knows how to "work it" when he doesn't get his way...in an all out roll-on-the-floor tantrum, except he is smart enough to walk over to a soft piece of carpet before he very dramatically throws himself down! He is finally making some progress with his speech...probably has about 40 words now (some of them intelligible only to me) and is starting to put 2 words together. His favorite phases are "up high" (when he wants dad to throw him up) and "my ta-wah" (referring to the dish towel he likes to carry in the crook of his neck). He recently got quite a shiner by jumping from the couch to the coffee table. Missed the coffee table and caught the corner with his eye. It nearly swelled shut and turned every color of the rainbow. Then we took him in for a haircut. Some crazy lady cut it into the shape of a bowl. I bet you can guess what happened next....PICTURE DAY at school. Poor baby. Let just say it was not his best look. Of course his mama thinks he's cute no matter what!
