Family Photos

The annual picture time at church allowed us the opportunity to get our first professional family photo without all the additional sitting fees. I still long for the day to be photographed outside the studio by a professional, but this photo session resulted in some prized photos. We got all of our proofs for free since the above photo is going to be submitted in a contest by the photography service. We will never know if we won, but if we do, you will see this photo in their publications and on display.

Ty was unsure about this entire experience as it was difficult to get him to smile in the posed shots (which is why I do not like posed photos at times), but we got it done and have some precious memories and photos to share.

Happy Halloween!

This picture is from a house on the main street in Arthur, a local Amish community. The variety of the carvings was eye catching and amazing!

The little train engineer ready to get some candy!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

We have the honor of living close to a premiere pumpkin patch that has been featured on Martha Stewart (show and magazine), the DIY network, Travel and Leisure magazine and Country Living. This pumpkin patch is filled with interesting displays, mazes, pumpkins from around the world, farm animals, etc. I am amazed at how creative they get each year to come up with unique and different displays. Ty had a blast running of his lunch from a local Amish restaurant while amazed by all the pumpkins.

Isn't this the sweetest face ever?

Look at all the creations...from a train, to spider, to Noah's Ark, rainbow of pumpkins...

The mums and pumpkin trees are works of art in themselves.

Ty posing outside the Amish restaurant. He found the perfect rock and bale of hay to sit on. Perfect photo opportunity!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Ty catching raindrops on his mouth. My son loves to play in the rain and I let him!

Fall is my favorite time of the year...cooler temperatures, carmel apples, visit to the pumpkin patch, leaves changing, comfort food... we have all of that and some rain. This has been the wettest Fall I can remember in my 8 years of living in the Midwest. It is gorgeous one day and gloomy the next. At least it makes for good potty training weather. I am so proud of my son! We are still in diapers at nap and bedtime, but he didn't even want to pee in his diaper this evening when getting ready for bed! After I interpreted "PP Potty" for Troy who was putting Ty to bed, the little guy did his business!

Art in Central Park

Every September brings the juried art show to our local downtown park. This is where we began to "shop" for pieces of art for our house. Our first year in town, we purchased 2 framed prints from Randall Shedd, a photographer from Indiana who started to photograph his own flowers to save gas money during the high fuel prices. His photography is beyond anything I have seen before and I do not even know where to begin to describe it except, "I want it all!" He did put out a calender one year which enabled me to savor a taste of his work each month.

We missed the show last year while we were in China and couldn't wait to expose Ty to this yearly ritual. This was the first year we did not purchase a piece of art as we figured out we had already purchased our favorites from our preferred artists who were present. This year offered a different dimension in the fact that Ty got to be a part of the children's activities. They had a white van that was to be painted as desired. Ty didn't know what to think, but carefully took his time to paint what he could reach. A car was a different subject for him which brought a lot of confusion. He looked at us like, "I am really allowed to do this?" We said, "YES! Go for it!" He was still unsure but attempted to do what he could while it started to rain.

It's Potty Time!

It all started Monday night while in the tub. Ty said "PP" and he peed in an old Nuby cup that he plays with in the bathtub. We cheered and did a little potty dance and told Daddy who was super proud. There wasn't anything on the calender on Tuesday so Ty spent the morning in his big boy underwear and he went potty every time! He has continued this routine while we are at home. We still haven't ventured out in big boy pants, but he does understand the concept. His face lights up and he does his own little dance when he accomplishes the deed. It is too cute! Of course he wants the gummy bear that waits for him at the end. I wasn't going to bribe him with food (stickers and stamps on the hand instead), but the grandparents brought candy from my mom's recent trip to Germany. Ty has been constantly running to the freezer where we keep the candy (we prefer our sweets frozen for some reason) wanting the yummies and I have denied him. Finally I told him he can have a gummy once he goes potty. That was the trick!

Howdy Ya'll!

Yep, we are alive and kicking. My Mommy and Daddy have been busy with life that posting on the blog has been their last priority. They have been busy doing paperwork (along with work and church stuff) so I might have a little sister in a couple of years.

Guess what? I no longer qualify for speech services! Unheard of coming from a child born with cleft lip and palate, but Mommy and Daddy agree. They are going to let me see Ms. Linda once a week until I am 3 and then decide from there. Ms. Linda says I do not sound nasally, I can make all the appropriate sounds for my age and I am on target both expressively and receptively in language. My articulation is not great at times, but gets better each day.

My grandma and grandpa just visited from Texas. Mommy has lots of cute pictures to post from our trip to the pumpkin patch. I had so much fun looking at all the different animals, pumpkins and chasing Daddy in the corn maze. By the way, I can now say "Daddy"! I still call him YaYa at times, but I have come a long way from calling both my parents "Mama".

Time for my mommy to get to bed. Talk to you soon.

1 Year Ago Yesterday...

This was my look as I walked into the restaurant and saw my precious child of God. He was the first kid to arrive and beat us to the restaurant. You can see more about this day here.
It was so hard to control myself and not rip my son out of the caretakers arms.

I remember we had to wait, and wait (at least it seemed like for me) for "the moment". Patience is not my best virtue and I so badly wanted to hold little Ty.

The poor little guy had no idea why these people were crying and taking all these pictures. And this crazy lady was once again trying to capture his attention.

...finally in our arms, but so scared.

...we became a family of 3! It was such a surreal day that is hard for us to put into words. We said that Ty was "so good and didn't cry." Looking back at these pictures, our little guy was so scared. Look at his stiff arm, he barely wanted to look us in the eye and he has no idea why this crazy lady kept rubbing his back. Thanks to our travel mates, they were able to capture these pictures.

A Year Ago Today...

Troy admiring Ty at the Chicago airport.

... we left for China to pick up our little Ty. Today has been a very emotional day for me as I reflect about Ty's story this past year, but my heart was also left in China. A friend put it so well. "Amy, it is like you were in labor and you are reliving your experience." I fell in love with the country and its people. I know one day we will go back to pick up our daughter.

I remember waiting at the gate to board our plane in Chicago. There were a few American families in the minority of Asians. You wondered, "Are they going to China to get their child?" We noticed a few had already connected, but we were too shy to join in. We justified our feelings, "Maybe they are with another agency." But we were wrong. We all met up with Helen, our Beijing guide at the airport. We were so exhausted after traveling 24+ hours and couldn't wait to go bed. We went to bed starving, eating only cereal that I had packed for Ty. But we had the best coffee ever that morning at the Holiday Inn Downtown Beijing.

Fun With Ms. Linda

Ty has has weekly speech therapy starting this past April. It has been amazing to think he has gone from a sign vocabulary of maybe 25 signs, saying 2 words (Mama and No) and now having a vocabulary of over 50 signs and 100 words! We give a bunch of the credit to us working with him through songs, books, talking to him and plain old play, but Ms. Linda, our speech therapist has been a blessing. Ty runs to the door when Ms. Linda comes over to play and helps her bring in the toys. Ty radiates with joy and excitement when she comes over and loves to play with her toys. It is "play with a purpose" and he strives for the sounds/words we want him to say. Ty is so engaged with Ms. Linda's toys that we do not want to duplicate them at home so he will look forward to her visits.

Ty found the Mardi Gras beads at the bottom of Ms. Linda's bag and dumped them out on the floor. I am not sure how Ms. Linda uses the Mardi Gras beads because Ty went silent due to being so engrossed. Ms. Linda and I sat back and watched him play. By the way, it was at the end of his session so we were not concerned with him being mute.

Ty seemed to be starving during this therapy session and helped himself to a snack of almost gone puffs.

I love the look on his face with all the crumbs!

Ty helping himself to a little tea!

Round 2

We got word today that our application to begin the journey for another Chinese Waiting Child was accepted. We have requested a girl between the ages of 0-2. The current wait for a girl with minor special needs is approximately 18-24 months so the timing is right for us. God knows who our daughter is and we patiently wait (and put together our dossier) while we continue to cherish our little Ty who has been the greatest blessing!

Gymnastics

Ty likes to tumble at home so we enrolled him in toddler gymnastic classes at our Y. They were offering a buy one get one free deal so the price was right, but the timing may be off. While he participated in the class, he didn't show the same joy and excitement to go each week as he did KinderMusik or even BabyTALK Times at the library. The teachers were college students home for summer break and were wonderful with Ty, but he was missing that spark. So we are going to wait until he is 3 before we enroll him again. I have noticed a true gymnastic center is offering a free trial class so we might check that out to compare the two. We want to encourage Ty's gifts, but want him to have fun too. At this time, it looks like we have a singer/musician/dancer on our hands.

Beans

Growing up, my dad's mother offered some type of bean at every meal. This was a big joke in our family with the following question after every visit, "What type of bean did you have with your meal?" If it wasn't green beans, it was navy beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, lima beans...you name it. Luckily I like beans and their nutritious value. While we do not have them at every meal in our household, they are a popular part of our diet.

We are blessed Ty has a great respect and love for beans. He can eat them straight out of the can as displayed above. Kidney beans are a favorite snack and hummus too.

Once again, I am amazed how a child that is not biological is so much like his Mom and Dad. Another example of God at work.

Time Out Madness

Our little guy has begun to put himself in time out for things I wouldn't put him in for. We give him 2 warnings and then it is time out time. Some things are automatic TO like hitting the dog with the golf club. On this particular evening, Ty put himself in TO before he even did anything. I began to wonder if TO is really effective for him. Then he did it...started chasing Jack around the house with golf club in mid-air, swinging it back and forth. That was enough. Luckily Jack was not hit, but we will not tolerate the teasing. So TO it was and this is what we got:

The tears...

... and more tears. Ty did apologize to Jack.

Water, Water, Water

It is hard to believe our little guy's paperwork said he despised bath time and anything to do with water. Our second day with him, we took him to the baby pool at the hotel and he was a champ. Was his bath water too cold? Where there not any toys? We will never know, but we do know we better beware if water is near.

I bought plastic tubs earlier in the spring and filled one with sand and the other was for water. After an evening of watching Mom and Dad practicing open water swims in our local lake, Ty decided it was his turn to get wet at home. He plopped himself right inside the container despite his pool on the other side of the deck filled with water.

Another one of those smiles that melts my heart. (By the way, we sent this outfit to him in a care package to China. Ty also wore this outfit on the day we received him. To say the least, this was the last day he wore this outfit as it is now in safe keeping for Mom to create her magic.)

George Goes Swimming

After our diaper dilemma, Ty decided George needed to put on his Elmo undies and plastic diaper protectors. He was all set and ready to go...

... SWIMMING!!! Ty is showing off his free-style while George is floating on his back.

George Needs a Diaper

One day, Ty decided George needed to wear diapers too. So Mama gave him a diaper just like Ty's.

But then George needed a diaper change after he pooped per Ty.

On goes the new diaper while George does a handstand.

But George isn't cooperating and the little guy is not happy.

So he throws a fit out of frustration.

FRUSTRATION... How do you deal with a child who is easily frustrated? This is where Ty is just like his mama. My mother will tell you that I was easily frustrated as a child and it still remains as an adult, just in a different manner...I think. Ty gets upset if he cannot accomplish a task right away or if his toys are not cooperating in the proper manner. For example, he will shove all toy food possible in his microwave kitchen set and then get so mad when the door will not shut. The problem is, he doesn't give up! He is determined to make things work even when it is impossible. Any suggestions for an easily frustrated mom with an easily frustrated child?

Ty and His MeMe's

This photo was shot back in June after Ty fell asleep in the car on the way home from an afternoon wedding on one of the hottest days of the summer. We placed him in his crib for a short nap before we headed off to the reception... we honestly needed to shower it was so hot. When we went to wake him up, this is what we saw...how precious. Ty has a handful of MeMe's, his word for babies that bring him comfort. We have accumulated MeMe's as gifts from friends (some homemade) and a few from hospitals. The bear he is hugging was a gift from Shriner's in Chicago when we went for our consultation. His MeMe's are scattered throughout his crib and he throws them out when in the mood. Each day brings new sleeping friends. We hear him throwing his friends on the floor when we are downstairs. It is always an interesting sight to see which MeMe's are on the floor and which get the honor of sleeping with him.

Our Dancing King

Ty attended his first wedding back in June when Troy married a couple from our house church network. It was an outdoor wedding on a very HOT and HUMID day. He managed to sit through 1/2 of the wedding before he got antsy, but got all his wiggles out dancing at the reception. As I have said before, this little guy recognizes beats and music instantly grasps his attention. The dance floor was very quiet during the reception while the music played, but Ty made his way to investigate several times. Finally, he found a partner to dance with him and the floor soon became filled with participants, mainly children.

Look at the smile on his face. Such pure joy and determination!

A little slow dance for you.

Happy dancing feet!

And more dancing feet!

It's Potty Time!

Ty pooped in his potty for the first time today! The whole potty issue has seen its ebb and flow. Some days he wants to sit on his potty for 2 seconds, will tell me he pooped and needs his diaper changed, or nothing at all. I am not pushing him in this area just yet, but follow his lead. While eating his afternoon snack of Craisens, he says "poop". I ask him if he would like to sit on his potty and he says "Yes!" A few minutes later, surprise! We did a potty dance, some high 5's and he got a sticker which made him proud!

Home Sweet Home

Back in June when we flew of out St. Louis to go back to Texas, we made a stop through our old neighborhood. We truly miss this area. So many great memories. This is where Troy and I started our marriage...put down roots, our first place together besides my apartment in Austin we lived in for 3 weeks before the big move. Since we would be living off my salary while Troy was in seminary, he sold his truck and we were left with my Civic. He rode his bike to seminary each day or I took him before work on the bad weather days. We were so poor, but so appreciative...but we made it. We grocery shopped at the seminary food bank on the designated days and then went off to ALDI and Soulard Farmers Market for the extras. Because our apartment was old and not energy efficient, our gas and power bills were almost as much as our $390 rent payments. I thought rent was a steal coming from Texas where my rent for a one bedroom was $570 in the early 90's! Our neighborhood was across the street from the Saint Louis Zoo and Forest Park(bigger then New York's Central Park). This was our new backyard along with Turtle Park. We rode our bikes, ran and walked the dogs in the park. We even had a loop around the zoo so Joey, our poodle at the time, could see her "zoo friends", the zebras, flamingos and other fury beasts. Oh, the memories. It was such an incredible place to walk and admire the architecture of the houses, meet new neighbors, have a cup of coffee at the coffee shop, enjoy a hamburger at Seamus McDaniel's, and celebrate on St. Patrick's Day. Since we were the "Irish/Catholic" neighborhood in STL, St. Patty's Day turned our quiet and quaint neighborhood into party central. There was a parade, beer and lots of food. Our neighborhood soon became a party for over 100,000 people! Helicopters would fly over, it was so bazaar!

This is where we got our dogs groomed, just a walk down the street...so convenient.

Our apartment. We lived in the top right complex. Our little Joey would sit in the window and look out. She was known as the "little doggie in the window". Unfortunately, we lost her when she was 5 due to a major back injury we think was caused by her jumping off the window sill.

New porches at the back of our apartment. Ours was not covered and did not meet code. Not a good place for young children or lots of people on a wild night.

New flags to highlight our neighborhood.

Conquering the Catwalk

Mo Ranch has a well engineered catwalk with see through grates that takes you from one side of the camp to the other. I couldn't tell you the length or height, but you get some incredible views of the Texas Hill Country. Troy is afraid of heights and it was his goal this year to cross the catwalk with his son. Of course Ty was in his stroller and enjoyed the vibrations of the grates as Troy pushed his way across with great speed. Ty was yelling, "Go, go!" cheering his dad on the entire way across. A glimpse of the catwalk from our cabin.

The grates you can see through which makes it even scarier for Troy.

"On your mark, get set, go!"

Nephew Patrick peering over the catwalk saying hello.

And he did it! Victory!

And More Ballons

In addition to water balloons, Ty got to experience his first punch balloon. I don't know the technical name for it, but you know, the kind with the long rubber band at the end that tests your coordination. The two cousins spent a good amount of time making up their own ideas of what to do with a punchy balloon. It became a soccer ball, an exercise ball and a good ole time creating laughter and smiles balloon. Just look at the intensity on their faces!

Balloons With Water?

During our trip to Mo Ranch in Texas, Ty had his first exposure to water balloons. The little guy loves balloons regardless of what kind, but the idea these were filled with water was a new concept. The different shapes, colors and the squishy feeling was something to be explored.

"What is inside this thing?"

"These balloons are pretty cool until they break in my face!"

"Get ready boys. Here comes double trouble."

"And more trouble."

A Year Ago

A year ago today at 5:30 p.m. while I was making turkey tacos, we got "The Call" and saw these pictures of our son minutes later. I still remember the shock when Pam said, "I have a little boy who needs a mommy!" Our medical checklist had just been submitted and accepted 8 days prior on June 16th. It typically doesn't happen that fast, but we were open to either a boy or girl this being our first child. CCAI received a new list of Waiting Children on June 18th, my birthday...and Mu Shi Tian, now Ty Jameson MuShi, was the best present ever in that list of children waiting for forever families. We celebrated tonight with turkey tacos to remember this amazing day and amazing gift from God!

We Are Alive

Sorry everyone for not updating in a while...I hear you. We have been back from Texas for a week and a half now, but life has been busy. My time on the computer has been dominated by data entry help for a coworker (hopefully I will still have a job come July 1...crazy Illinois politics. Gov. wants to cut social services, including early childhood (ME!) which is DEADLY!) I have lovely pictures to post from our trip to Texas (I will give you a sneak peak of one moment) and lots of cute Tyisms. The little guy is getting cuter and funnier each day. And of course, our new floor. It still isn't done. It is in, but touch ups need to be done and it is driving me crazy. I am ready to have my house in order and decorate. Oh course one project leads to another. I have always despised our indoor light fixtures and our new floor is calling them to be replaced SOON.

Auf Wiedersehen Vinyl Flooring

"The crud!"

The time is now approaching as I can say goodbye to the dreaded white vinyl flooring that has given me nightmares these soon to be 4 years. We have so many people come through our house each week between therapists, friends and house church family... the floors need to go bye-bye. We have marks that will not go away and I have tried every safe cleaning product possible along with finally using bleach. But no, the brown crud enjoys the comfort of our home and refuses to leave. Thanks to our friend Guy, he will be house sitting and installing new laminate floors in our kitchen, laundry, 1/2 bath and dining room while we are on vacation visiting family at Mo Ranch in Texas!

Mr. Bluebird

Ty used to be an extreme drooler, a common occurrence for some cleft kids, until Mr. Bluebird came along. He is a Jiggler, a "fun facial and oral massager" our speech therapist gave us to try. It has taken Ty a few weeks to warm up to Mr. Bluebird and his vibrating, tickling motion, but alas, he has become a favorite friend. From our understanding, Mr. Bluebird has stimulated Ty's facial nerve endings and he is more aware of his drooling. It hasn't stopped, but is less of an ordeal. In fact, I find Ty wiping his drool or a little reminder from me works. Our speech therapist also suggested we buy sweat bands for Ty to wear on his wrists to wipe the drool. This too is a process we are getting him used to. I refuse to have my 2 year old continue to wear bibs, but just last night, Ty grabbed one from his drawer and insisted he wear it to bed. I think the little guy got so used to wearing bibs, they became part of his identity. He realized he hasn't worn one in a month or so.

Mr. Bluebird doing a circle dance on the floor.

Ty biting Mr. Bluebirds plume.

Yes he needs a diaper change, but that is a different post.

Mr. Bluebird gets to drink from his Nuby.

The Birthday Cakes

Since we were not around for Ty's 1st birthday, we decided to celebrate it at his 2nd birthday party. We had a monkey theme since he is obsessed with monkeys and climbs like one, but I did not have your traditional cakes. For his first birthday cake, I made monkey bread with lots of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and biscuits. It was delicious! For his 2nd birthday, I made banana bread cupcakes and decorated them with vanilla wafers, raisins, white chocolate chips and red icing. We had a decorating production line that consisted of my MIL and Troy. I think they turned out really cute and they were a hit. I do not have many pictures of his party since I was running around with my head cut off, but a gentleman was taking pictures and is going to share them with me, so I will have more to post at a later date.

The 2nd birthday monkey cupcakes.

The monkey bread complete with a "1" candle and monkey.

A Major Breakthrough

Ty and I often have some cuddle time when he wakes up and we head to the swivel rocker downstairs to watch the birds outside. This is one of my favorite times of the day as Ty has LEARNED this behavior and routine. He may have experienced it in China, but I strongly doubt it as it has taken him a while to get to this point. Anyway, I was contemplating with Ty what I should fix for dinner. I would ask him, "Should I fix _____?" (fill in the blank with your favorite food) and he would repeat all that I said! Of course it didn't come out clear, but that can be perfected later. Tears started welling up in my eyes as this huge discovery happened. Of course I told our speech therapist about it today and she too almost got teary eyed as Ty said: ball, up, hammer, zip, duck, eye, all done, frog, write, mama, eat, no, now, more, out and whoa. That is 16 words! This is incredible coming from the little boy who plays very well for the developmental and speech therapist, but is silent for them. This in incredible coming for our little guy who only truly said "Mama", "No" and "Elmo"!

Another huge breakthrough, Ty requested milk this morning. I have tried all types of milk from cows milk (skim, whole, 2%, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, organic) to soy milk, to goats milk, etc., but gave up after no success. Ty even refused the milk they gave us in China that is SOOO much sweeter then ours and one that I even liked and I am not a milk drinker. We have supplemented Ty's calcium intake with cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt. At our 2 year old check-up, our pediatrician. sent us home with some Pediasure and wanted us to try milk again. I have been filling up Ty's cup with a small amount each day and he has tolerated it. I was floored when he gave me the sign for milk. Speaking of signs, Ty is now using over 50 signs and combines 2 and 3 at a time. For example, he signed, "Dad, please play" this afternoon.

I had a feeling we were going to have some sort of major development happen. As I have studied and witnessed with my clients children, children usually regress or have a period of "disorganization" prior to a milestone. Ty did not eat as well last week and seemed out of sorts. He wasn't his happy go lucky self and seemed really serious at times and gave us scowls. He would cling to my legs and want me to play with him at all times. While it can be frustrating, I have to remind myself (a lot) that something great is about to happen!

My New Addiction...Toys!

I told myself that I would not buy toys for Ty. In fact, the majority of our toys have been given to us as gifts or recycled from friends and neighbors. But...TJ MAX has become my new resource for toys. Our speech and developmental therapist have the coolest toys which Ty loves. I refuse to duplicate their toys because I want them to be exciting for Ty during his sessions with them..but they have told me about TJ MAX. Our store carries a lot of Melissa and Doug toys which a friend told me about. Her son was born with CL/CP and said their toys are often used by therapists. I found this picnic set by Melissa and Doug and Ty has spent hours playing with it. Each piece of food has Velcro attached and you use the knife and cutting board to cut. It is great for fine motor skills which Ty obviously has no problem with.

Our Backyard Camping Expedition

Troy and I have been talking about taking a camping trip with Ty in the near future. Camping is something we have both done in the past, but have not experienced as a couple. Troy took the youth from his youth ministry days camping and I grew up "car camping" (everything you need fits in your car) with my family during deer season and backpacking for the first time (everything fits in your backpack) in college. My first backpacking trip was a 5 day/4 night to Big Bend in West Texas with some co-workers from the YMCA. We carried along a backpacking tent, but slept under the stars most nights. Later on in college, I worked at the Outdoor Center and led moonlight kayak trips on the San Marcos River along with a trip to the Grand Canyon my senior year. My friends and co-workers from the OC took backpacking road trips to Colorado and New Mexico and camped along the way. Once again, at least one of us carried a backpacking tent, but usually slept underneath the stars. Troy and I purchased a 4 person "car camping" tent this past Friday night on our first date night since bringing home Ty. Troy set up the tent Saturday afternoon and Ty was enthralled by it. After grilling out on the deck, we settled down for the evening in our tent. We read books and sang songs under candlelight from my candle lantern hung from the ceiling of our tent. 8:00 is Ty's normal bedtime and he was too wound up to even think about it. He explored every corner of the tent and played with my camera, head lamp, sleeping bag, toggles on the windows...you name it. Finally at 9:52 p.m., Ty crashed. Troy and I decided that we would go inside at 10:00 if he was not asleep, but he beat the time limit...but at 11:00, he woke up and there was no consoling him. It was a hot night and the temptation of a cool house and soft bed was too near. This was a great reminder of why I prefer to sleep underneath the stars, but Ty is not ready for it just yet. So we went inside and left our tent to idle with our sleeping bags until we broke it down the next afternoon.

My boys in our new tent. Troy says, "It matches our house." Not exactly the purpose, but he likes everything to have its perfect place. Actually, it complements our house with University of Texas burnt orange.

Ty studying the rain flap of our tent.

"I am ready for a night of fun!"

"Peek-A-Boo!" We unzipped the window flaps for some air circulation and Ty enjoyed playing with the material before we rolled it up and secured it to the toggles.

Ty looking a little mischevious.

"Can I see into my eye with this head lamp?"

My Steal

The May 2009 issue of Parents magazine had a feature on birthday parties that "WOW". I modified the Andy Warhol banner idea and created my own version with pictures of Ty from the first 2 years of his life since we celebrated both at his birthday party. We are so grateful for Love Without Boundaries and the ability they provided us to have pictures of Ty early in his life. I think we will continue to this tradition of the photo montage.

A Sunday Stroll

We spent a glorious and cool Sunday morning (the beauty of organic/house church on Saturday evening) at a local conservation area that has various trails and a paved bike path that connects another park. This was my first time to explore the area and it was a true beauty. Due to recent rains and flooding, the bike path was our only avenue to explore. We did off-road in the stroller on a trail that led to the river, but had to stop due to the path being underwater. The picture above is a piece of our hike.

My boys enjoying their stroll.
And he is off! Ty and I had a little run to get out some wiggles.

The beloved walnut we found that Ty would not give up. It continues to ride with us in both of our strollers.

The aftermath of rain.

The little guy was ready to get out and push the stroller himself. I love this shot.

Ty found a stick that became a drumstick.

A pond that we came upon with lots of fish being caught.

This is a retired Christmas tree farm at the conservation area. We had a lot of fun picking up pine cones, play in the needles and enjoying the smells. It brought back so many memories of my time spent in Colorado and made me want to go back....NOW!

My little guy rocking on a log.

Sunshine Madness

The weather has been so beautiful this past week, especially without any wicked thunderstorms as per the previous week. Ty and I had some outdoor fun snuggling in the deck chairs post nap and playing in his water tub. He looked too cute in his swim attire with the new sunglasses that it was definitely picture time. Ty is fascinated with the camera and must see each picture after it is taken. He especially likes it when I try to take pictures of the two of us with my arm extended. We end up with silly pictures that bring lots of laughs.

2 Years Ago

Two years ago today, our little guy was abandoned at a children's orthopedic hospital. My heart aches more today then ever as I think about his biological parents and what they have been through the past 2 years. I wonder if they are ever provided counseling to deal with their loss. I want to let them know their son is alive and well in America. His lip and palate have been repaired and he is beginning to talk. That he has great rhythm for a 2 year old and loves to figure out how things work. That he has no fear of animals, is incredibly flexible and wants to do gymnastics on our floor at 2! God had a hand on his life from the very beginning. He was sponsored by Love Without Boundaries for his lip repair, with one of their foster families and then at Swallows Nest the last couple of months of his time in China. Who gave him the name which means "Heaven Sent"? I pray that God will grant them peace and somehow, someway they know all is well. We are honored God chose us to parent our little Mu Shi Tian.

Little Paco

Troy has a myriad of names for Ty, but when it comes time to eating Mexican food, Ty becomes little Paco. He gets his own dish of salsa and dips his chips just like the rest of us do. The heat hasn't bothered him yet, but this salsa is fairly mild since we are in the Midwest. Here are more pictures from his birthday encounter with the sombrero and fried ice cream! I was dying laughing while I took the pictures. He just stood still and went along with the gig, but moved his eyes to communicate. I am surprised they didn't come back shaky.

"What just happened to me?"

"Mom, Dad. What am I to do?"

"I am patiently waiting. What is going on here?"

"Why do you keep taking pictures of me Mama?"

"And what am I to do with this?"

Duece Day Revisited

Round 1 of Ty's birthday started off with opening the package from Aunt Becca, Uncle Travis and Baby Porter in Alaska.

Like father like son? Not in this case. Try "like dog like child". Ty and Jackson have a special bond.

Ty and his new set of golf clubs. He also got some play dough (a favorite of his), a beach ball perfect for soccer, a rubber duck and wooden blocks to through according to him. Ty is into throwing anything in his hand these days. Thanks Becca, Travis and Porter! You did great!

After his 2 year old check-up at the doctor (all is well), we went to the mall to play and pick up some balloons. Ty adores Elmo and I had to pry these balloons out of his hand. He was determined to have them in his crib at nap time. I instead convinced him that Elmo was going to watch him sleep from his dresser.

After nap, Ty opened up his presents from Mom and Dad. Yes, we decided to recycle and use the days newspaper. Ty still didn't understand what the day was all about despite our efforts to talk it up all week. It was more of a celebration for us!

Ty got a recorder, bug catcher (Ty is into bugs) , Melissa and Doug magnetic bug puzzle (we love M&D toys) and a Discovery Toys peg board.

Ty and Dad catching bugs.

Check out that arch and concentration on his face.

We ended the day visiting our neighborhood Mexican restaurant where Ty is known by first name. I love this shot as he was not sure what to do when they put on the sombrero, smudged him with ice cream and then sang to him. Look at that face. "What am I to do Mommy and Daddy?"

"Yeah, it is all over. Happy birthday to me!"

We ended the day with a visit to his favorite playground. I wish I had video to record his excitement as we pulled into the parking lot. Ty is OBSESSED with playgrounds!

Duece Day

Our baby turns 2 today! We are celebrating throughout the day and will have the party next weekend as this weekend is CRAZY! Look for pictures and details in the day to come! I must go now and wrap his presents for him to unwrap once he wakes up from his nap!

The Party Invite. Ready to monkey around?