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?"