What We Have Learned

Time escapes us and we have already been home more then a month with little Ty. It is amazing how our lives have changed and how precious our time with him is...and how little time we have for ourselves. We wouldn't trade it any other way. We KNOW he was meant for us and we fall in love with him more each day. Here is a little list of what we have learned in our short time with Ty:

* You can never have enough bibs for eating and bibs to wear to catch the drool and clean the snotty nose. We prefer the hand towel type bibs to plastic bibs for eating.

* Two piece P.J.'s are ideal when you have a period of nasty diapers.

* We prefer Huggies Supreme or Kirkland brand (thanks Mom and Dad) diapers for Ty. Luvs stunk and Pampers were O.K., but its the waistband in the Huggies that keep the junk in. Huggies wipes are better for us too. (I know we might get yelled at by some people for using disposable diapers, but it is the one thing I am not budging on since we have to deal with the type of diapers we do...they are getting better by the way. We do recycle just about everything we can and compost too.)

* It is possible to have a blowout diaper that reaches the shoulders when you do not have the right brand of diaper on.

* Never say, "I hope my kid won't do that" because they probably will. For example, poop in the tub, pee on the carpet after bath time before you have a chance to put a diaper on (Ty likes being in the natural state) and spit up all over the outfit you just put them in.

* Our time on the computer is limited, especially blogging if you haven't noticed.

* Kids music, especially Dan Zane, Justin Roberts and Ralph's world is pretty catchy for adults. I currently love "Father Goose" by Dan Zane.

* Just because your child was up later then their bedtime does not mean they will sleep in.

* We are grateful for Love Without Boundaries for their doctors, volunteers and all that they do for each child. The photo above is from them. We have received many more that I will have to post later, but isn't he the cutest little thing? Those cheeks continue to remain very kissable.

* We are grateful for Swallow's Nest, Ty's foster family in Kaifeng and all those that took care of him at ZZ SWI. We know he was in loving arms.

* Grateful that God chose us to parent Ty.

Our Library Pic

We have an incredible library in town (who has the greatest children's library staff) with the top floor being for children. There is an area for puppet shows, a play area and an auditorium where we have gone for storytime by BabyTALK (my employer) that includes story time, a craft, fingerplays and fun songs to sing. Since Ty has been in town, we have made it to the library at least once a week. Ty has become a great fan of Justin Roberts and Dan Zanes. Mom and Dad need to check out new CD's to because we are REALLY tired of the first ones even though we still play our favorite songs over and over again while in the car. As I have said before, Ty LOVES music and you can see his little lips moving pretending he is singing the songs. Anywase, this picture is from our first visit our first week home after I was over the stomach flu. The library staff takes a picture of each famiy on their first visit and then puts it on a wall. They thought this picture was so cute they emailed it to me. The staff has fallen in love with Ty and he turns on the charm each time blowing kisses and giving tons of smiles... even though you won't know from this picture.

Ty vs. La Gondola

Ty had his first experience with La Gondola, a local favorite known for their homemade sweet bread and spaghetti. They have a Family Feast which Troy was craving the other night and treated us using his birthday money. We stripped Ty down to his fighting pampers knowing he was going 12 rounds with La Gondola. It was a close fight at the beginning, but in the end, Ty pulled out a clear and messy victory knocking out the competition. He is looking forward to the rematch in the near future. Yeah Ty!

Escape from Doggytraz

Ty discovered the dog crate and our doggie-made screen door to the deck all in the same day. He is fascinated with all things Jack related, including his water bowl. Luckily he hasn't discovered Jack's toy box. Maybe it's because all of Jack's toys are dispersed amongst Ty's as Jack likes to share on his terms.

Mom, I Don't Want to Be Sunflower Pooh!

Sunflower Pooh was one of our first purchases in St. Louis when we arrived back in 2001. We were downtown taking care a business when we visited Union Station. The Disney Store had an incredible sale going on at the time and we bought this costume despite having only Joey, our poodle at the time. We had to let Ty try this costume on as it has traveled with us between all our moves, just waiting for the day a little bundle of our sweetness could wear it for Halloween (we have loaned it out for others to use). Well, it is obvious what he thought of this costume even though we would have modified it with holes for his feet. Oh well, no big deal. We will save it for #2, Lord willing.

First Taste of the Midwest

First I will cut my corn with a knife...

... and then try my fork.

So proud I have to kiss my "plowboy" dad.

I tease Troy about spending the majority of his childhood on a farm. If you knew me in my teen-age years, I was adament I would not marry or date a person who raised livestock or crops. I am not against these people at all, I just thought I was too "cultured" or a city girl to understand their way of life. God has a funny sense of humor and I married a "plowboy" as I call/tease Troy. He really didn't have an interest in the lifestyle and considered himself more of a city boy and moved to Austin once he got a chance. Now we call our current destination a mix between his hometown in Iowa and my birthplace, Austin. Agri-business is huge here and there are corn and soybean fields all around, which I have learned to appreciate their beauty. I am becoming more educated in the machines used and the difference between sweet corn and field corn.

Ty had his first try of corn this past Sunday and was not too sure of corn on a stick. I let him play around with the corn as he was intrigued with what it was all about. FIrst he tried a knife and then a fork. He figured out a way to eat some corn as he didn't want my help in his discovery.

Do They Have Beans In Beijing?

You know you are apart of this family when Mexican food is at the top of your list. As a born and bred Texan, Mexican is a weekly part of our diet, if not daily with homemade salsa and tortillas. We have a neighborhood joint that has become a Friday night favorite with $1.99 margaritas and the best Mexican on this side of town. Ty has already discovered he LOVES refried beans, rice, guacamole and tortillas! I was SO proud of my boy and KNEW he was meant to be ours!

Total Cuteness

Mom was ecstatic Ty was eating his green beans!

"Hello Grandma. I cannot wait to see you and Grandpa." (Ty loves his monkey slippers!)


The package is more fun then the gift.

Jack gets a bite of PB @ J.

Ty gets a bite.

Dad gets a bite.

Ty continues to be a trooper and so much fun. We saw a pediatrician that specializes in international adoption in St. Louis on Tuesday and poor Ty had 5 shots, 3 viles of blood drawn and 2 x-rays in addition to hanging out in a tiny room for 2 hours while mom and dad answered questions. We had great intentions to go the Dr.'s, eat lunch at our old neighborhood joint and shop at Trader Joe's, but poor Ty had enough.

This week Ty has been eating anything we give him, except milk despite our tries to make it good with chocolate syrup or vanilla extract. We have figured out we can hide it in his rice cereal with yogurt so he gets some calcium. We are grateful he likes cheese too. He has also cut his nap down to one hour a day, but sleeps 12 hours at night.

Ty LOVES music and we checked out a Justin Roberts CD this morning at the library in addition to a few others. While driving home listening to Justin, Ty was sucking one index finger and beating the other against his chest to the exact beat. It was too cute. We knew he had musical talent when he would drum to the beat when we sing songs, but this was another reminder. Ty is also giving lots of kisses to us and has even tried to kiss Jack.

Since We've Been Back

A surprise welcome from our house church family.

Playing at the library.

Our little drummer boy.

Looking cute in my new hat.

Smiling for Daddy on his birthday.

"I'm coming to get you Mom."

Isn't that the cutest grin?

Ty and Daddy taking a stroll along the lake.

Ty trying hard to put on both his shoes and socks.

A, T, and P. House church friends.

We are all better now and have been out and about since we have been stuck in the house. Ty had his first trip to Target, Walmart, the library, friends house for a birthday party and took it all in like it was no big deal. We have also started to introduce him to co-workers and of course all those from house church when they came over on Sunday. Ty takes everything in and tries it all. The boy does not have any fear. He steps into a situation with full anticipation and excitement. He continues to charm those he meets with his giggles and smile.

Ty's diapers are getting better. We still have our occasional blowout that requires a bath, but we are getting to be experts now. The little guy still does not like to get dressed or have his pants changed, so we have our wrestling matches despite distractions to make it fun. He is also starting to eat fruits which make us proud. Bananas are the only "natural" fruit at this time beside canned mandarin oranges and tropical fruit, but we will not complain. Otherwise, he is a meat and potatoes boy.

Jack has been incredible with Ty. We were afraid that he may not do well and be extremely jealous since he doesn't have a great history with kids, but our prayers have been answered. Jack has been so gentle and full of kisses. He will even go into Ty's room when he is sleeping to peek into his crib. This morning he was howling along with Ty's cries as he was waking up. It was too cute.