Thanksgiving break in pictures (all with croup times 2)

Started off with a big boy bed.

Made some popsicle stick snow flakes.

Painted the snowflakes.

Painted a little boy.

Hung out under the Christmas tree.

 

 

 

Ended with a little Candy Cane Twist.

8 years ago...

We got the phone call we had been waiting 9 months for.

 

Back then, 9 months was a long time!

 

We have a daughter!

It feels like yesterday, that thrill of finally knowing that our child is real and waiting for us on the other side of the world.  

 

Exactly one year later, we had our court date to finalize her adoption in the eyes of Colorado.

  

She was such a tiny little peanut!

A bit of a dare-devil!

 

 How cute is she?

 

Match day started falling on Thanksgiving feasts in pre-school.

 

Yeah...pretty sure the turkey legs were NOT her favorite thing in kindergarten!  

 

Syd and Teagan have been best buds since preschool!

Last year, a new member of the family :-)

Today, home sick with a yucky cough :-(

Syd is an amazing, smart, wonderful, funny, fantastic hockey player and nutty young lady. 

We love you, Syd.

With all our hearts.

P.R.I.D.E

Today was the third grade Pride assembly.  The kids sang a bunch of patriotic songs and did a great job!

And here is the zombie crew of 3rd grade.  Any idea how take pictures at a distance without the creepy, glowy zombie stare?

Syd also earned a Pride pin (a paw print) for being "Always patient and positive with classmates."  And with some of the kids in her class, that's a tough thing to accomplish!  Way to go Syd!!!

PS:  Insurance denied our visit to the specialist for Alex :-(  Back to dr here to go over our options---again.

Perfect timing...

Syd came home last week excited that her class is going to be writing to a pen pal.  I vaguely remember writing to a pen pal, my memory of it is one of fun and excitement as I waited for that next letter in the mail!

I ask Syd who her pen pal is and where do they live?  "It's C from Mrs W's class."  

Huh?  

My definition of a pen pal is not a kid in the other 3rd grade class that Syd's known for a few years.  

By chance, I came across this wonderful website, China's Children International.  It's run by two Chinese adoptee high schoolers and all content is specifically for adoptees.  There's a lot of great info on the website: a kids page teaching Chinese words and songs, cultural information, a blog, resources for Chinese language and my favorite--a survey to hook your child up with a pen pal.

A couple of days after we filled out the survey, Syd got an e-mail (through my account) from her new pen pal!  Syd is soooo excited to be making a new friend!  She comes home from school asking if she got any new messages from M and writes back to her immediately.  She was kind of bummed that this was all being done via e-mail, so I told her that once they know each other better they can exchange addresses and send actual letters or postcards to each other.

What a great way to meet someone new that has a similar life story.  M lives in a different state, in a different part of the country and Syd is really excited to learn about where she lives.  I'm excited for her and I can't wait to watch this friendship develop.