RUNNING LATE

Those of you who know me would agree I have a RUNNING LATE problem. Just reading this title you may snicker, groan, or even bristle a little (Mom, is that you bristling?).

I am working on it.

I know, you've heard that before...
...many times
...ever since you've known me
...my whole life.

The addition of a new little one has exacerbated this problem of mine. Still, I am working on it.

Getting on with the story:

Monday I am RUNNING LATE to get Simon to the orthodontist. We are going because Simon has lost his retainer (AGAIN!!!) and we need to re-evaluate his progress and possibly purchase another new $900.00 mouth-piece. So, I am crabby and RUNNING LATE. As my hand reaches for the front door handle, Simon announces, "I need to go to the bathroom and will be back in a teence." ("Teence", by the way, is a word he has invented that is supposed to sound like whatever is about to happen will happen quickly when, in fact, it takes a very, very long time. Whenever I am in a hurry and hear "teence" come out of his mouth I cringe.) He heads to the bathroom where he remains for a very, very long time. During his bathroom-break, I recall the road construction on the street where our orthodontist is located; our re-route is going to take about five minutes longer. My heartbeat accelerates and I take deep breaths while asking the man above for patience. Simon emerges from the bathroom with an enthusiastic grin on his face, apparently he thinks this "teence" was of the short variety. He is wrong.

Walking out the front door I inquire, "You brushed your teeth while you were in there, right? We are going to get your teeth looked at, remember?" He looks guilty, pivots and says, "I'll be right back in a "quick-teence". Folks, if you thought a "teence" takes a long time, a "quick teence" is the kiss of death. Before I can respond, he is gone.

If you were an observer to this situation, you might see trails of smoke seeping from my ears.

I buckle Sylvie-Aganoti into the car, walk a few laps, work on the deep breathing some more, throw in a couple of count-to-tens. Many, many minutes go by in slow, slow, slow motion. We are beyond RUNNING LATE and have moved into the apologize-profusely-and-promise-to-do-better-next-time zone.

FINALLY, Simon bounds, triumphantly from the house.

What is on his face? Is that hot pink surrounding his lips, on his cheeks? Oh my gosh, he didn't?!? He gets closer. I demand, "Simon stick out your tongue!" He DID!!!! What on earth? HE DID!!!

Backtrack to last week. Simon goes to the pediatric dentist for a routine checkup. As we leave, the hygenist and family friend, Brenda, hands Simon some reveal tablets. She instructs that every once in a while Simon should chew a quarter of a tablet and it will reveal areas he needs to hit harder with his toothbrush. "Fun," I thought. "Wow, what a great idea," I thought. "This will really motivate him to be a good brusher," I thought.

OMG!!!!!!!

We are now so, so RUNNING LATE and my son has a hot pink face and teeth with revealed plaque. As, in a rare moment of expedience, Simon eliminates the brushing step to save time. Simon, with chagrin, admits to chewing a whole tablet rather than a quarter. We are now going to the orthodontist, where he will peer into this kid's flaming-pink, plaque-covered mouth to give us an opinion on the retainer that has been lost for the second time.

Those tablets are definately not fun, not a great idea and, apparently, he has not been a good brusher!!!

Is this really happening?

Of course it is...

This is life with four kids. This is what it is like as I get back into the swing of summer off with the kids. This is why Clark is not one bit jealous of my free-time during the summer.

I laugh (a little maniacally) because, what else is there to do? I call Clark, we commiserate and he expresses appreciation for my being home to take the kids here-and-there, what else can he do? And, I vow to work harder on not RUNNING LATE, what else can I do?

Lastly, after our visit with the orthodontist, I take a picture of the kid with a red-hot mouth. I wish you could see him prior to the appointment!

p.s. We do not need to spring for a new retainer, as Simon found his yesterday!

Our little girl has turned.....

.....into a Vulcan.

Oh yeah, and she is TWO also!!!!

When we ask how old she is, Sylvie-Aganoti proudly dispays four fingers split into two groups of two. I wish I had a picture of her Vulcan fingers, instead, here are some snaps of our super-duper two-year-old!

Poor kid had to make her own birthday cake--chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles.

Cheese, I'm TWO, TWO, TWO!!!

Can you believe we get to have a pink soccer ball in this house!?!

Who has the coolest Daddy on the block?

If you live in or near Missoula, you might spy us out and about in our Fairy Princess skirt that we like to wear happy and sad, rain and shine, day and night. You get the idea!

She is learning to love the water park.

This is one of my very favorite pictures. She has such awesome big brothers!

Reading a magazine together.

Out to dinner with Aunt Charmin, Uncle Mike and girls.

Just today!

Catching up...

Here are some pictures from way back and a few recent ones too. I am disappointed to confess that I took a month off from any kind of picture-taking. Moving has been so, so much work!


Look how our girl has grown!

My friend (and soon to be adoptive Mom) Angela, her mom Denise and S-A at a baby shower.

Going for a walk. Thanks for the ride Daddy!

Beautiful Montana winter berries...

Simon and mom walking the train tracks at Fort Missoula.

St. Patricks Day! Sylvie was overtired and a huge pill!

Science Circus put on by High School kids. Can you believe skewers through balloons?!?

Simon eating a cricket (he opted for no chocolate on his). Yuck! Oh, and a black eye to boot...

What a pretty girl! Grandma Steffie brought this dress home from Mexico.

Still at the Science Circus!

Sink bath, one of S-A's favorite activities.

Liam was in a play and did an AWESOME job. We had no idea he was a talented actor!!!

Jake reading a book in the new house.

S-A thought it was hilarious that he was UNDER the chair not in it.

Sylvie-Aganoti and her Daddy.

She asks for "pretty" in her hair. Look how long it is getting!

Breakfast outside on the porch of our new house.

She asks for a "ride" and likes to gallop through the house on willing shoulders.

Thanks Grandpa!

Simon doing homework. We do not have all of our furniture at the new house, hence all the lawn-chairs and laying around on the floor...

Ta-daaaa!!!

Still Here!

We have moved... ...mostly. We are in the process of selling our old home and cannot yet move all of our things, but we are in and remodeling--yikes! With the school year coming to an end, the boys wrapping up sports and moving, moving, moving I've been too busy to post. That will change in a couple of weeks.
Thank you Clark for getting my computer up and running! I will post pictures of Sylvie-Aganoti soon. She has grown soooo much!!

Yikes!

No posting for so long! What's gotten into me?!?

Soccer, tennis, life....

AND MOVING TO A NEW HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!

More later.

Sports

Jake plays tennis five nights a week. Liam has soccer practice three nights a week, a game last weekend and a tournament this weekend. Simon starts soccer soon. All the boys in this house are antsy for golf season to begin.

Sports, sports, sports!

Sylvie-Aganoti... ...maybe she'll be into ballet. Or science. Or gardening. Or acting. Or reading books.

Or sports!

Let me guess...

...black beans.

After my second Dr. appointment for relentless ringworm, I take Sylvie-Aganoti to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. As I order, the burrito-guy says with a smirk on his face, "Let me guess... ...black beans."

Maybe because I am wearing a black shirt and vest.

Maybe because I look like someone who likes black beans.

Maybe because I am holding an Ethiopian baby.

Maybe this guy is a complete ass.

Maybe not.

Three months ago I would have thought the burrito-guy was quirky and nothing more. I find with Sylvie-Aganoti in my arms the world looks a bit different. People's comments sound different.

Surprised and trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, I say, "No thank you, pinto beans." Retrospectively, I could have asked, "Why would you guess black beans?". I wonder what he would have said?

If he was making a racially-charged comment, what was his purpose? Did he think it was funny? Did he intend to be nasty? This three-second incident has stuck with me for hours. I keep thinking about how this will feel for S.A. when she is old enough to realize the hang-ups some people have with ethnicity and non-traditional families.

I am hopeful that the burrito-guy did not mean anything by his comment. Though, sadly, my gut says otherwise. I wish I could turn back the clock and handle things differently.

Maybe I would stick a bean up his nose...

Keep on keeping on...

A picture of our sweetie pie eating lunch...

It has been too long since my last post. Sylvie-Aganoti is growing like a weed. She is close to double in weight from our first day together in Ethiopia. She is still a picky, picky eater. No thanks on the fruits and veggies! We've visited a pediatric dentist. Her teeth are in great shape and reaffirm her given age. SA's birthdate truly looks like June 10th 2007. She continues to have intestional issues and we may be looking at surgery. Her growth, combined with the severe malnutrition she experienced in her first year of life, has weakened her muscles. Details aside, an operation will ensure that everything is in place and working as it should. It is very scary to think of surgery without any knowledge of her past medical history. Another interesting component of adopting internationally.

This weekend we had the pleasure of meeting a family from Ethiopia. They are living in Missoula as the wife, Waganesh, completes her Master's Degree. They have a 13-month old son. It was such a treat to visit with them about Ethiopia and adoption. Waganesh used to be involved in international adoption; specifically, reuniting adoptive families with birth families. She has offered to help us find SA's birth-mother. What a blessing it is to get to know them.

So Many Firsts...

It has been two months that Sylvie-Aganoti has lived with our family. Below are some of her "firsts" that we've been lucky enough to share with her.

First Open Gym

First Children's Museum Trip

First Time to the Mall with Cousins (not wearing her game-face)

First Superbowl (this was the best part of the 3-D hype)

First Life-Sized Doll

(their relationship has progressed to hair-pulling and long drags down the hall)

First Wedding and Meeting Clark's Mother's Side of the Family

First Lady Griz Basketball Game, where she got to...

...sit by this kid, and...

listen to this kid play in the marching band (Liam is top row trumpet, second kid in).

Ready for Her First Hike up Blue Mountain

First Time Sitting Nice With Her Baby...

...almost.

First Wooden Toy Made for Her by Grandpa Doug (a REALLY great duck!).

First (hopefully last) Glimpse of Brother Jake Dressed as a Crazy-Guy!

First Dental Visit (her teeth are in wonderful shape).

Lastly, Her First Jello With Whipped Cream ( a Reff tradition).

Got it!!!

Enjoy the laugh. We do! We love, love, love this baby...

Where are you?

I've been back at work since Monday. We had huge concerns about Sylvie-Aganoti's attachment with us... Have we had enough time together? Does she know we are her parents yet? Will her care provider understand the needs of an adopted child? Will Sylvie feel abandoned? Will she attach to her provider more than us?

Worries aside, this situation is optimal. The woman providing her care only offers before and after-school and after-school care for a few kids. In-between these times, Sylvie is her one-and-only charge. Even better, her house is located across the street from the school where I work. It is literally less than a minute from my office to her front door. The location enables me to scoot over there for my lunch break, feed Sylvie and rock her to sleep. We feel so fortunate for this arrangement!

We have visited her care provider for the last few weeks to try and ready Sylvie for our work transition. She liked visiting when I stayed with her. However, when I left her for three hours alone and Clark picked her up, she refused to make eye-contact with him and hit at him a couple of times. Then she cried all night, absolutely all night long. Again, we were very, very concerned for this week.

So, Monday I dropped her off at 8:00 and was back by 11:30 for our lunch and nap routine. I walked in the house and Sylvie, seeing me, tosses her toy, and runs toward me laughing like mad. About three feet away she comes to a screeching halt, bellowing, "Where are you?". The look on her face was, "Where the heck have you been!??!" I scooped her up, hugged and kissed her and pointed at my school across the street. She seemed pacified. We had lunch, she napped and when I picked her up after work she was ok. Every day afterward has been just fine. Her provider is wonderful and has been open to reading articles on adoption and attachment, and is very sensitive to our need for alone-time during lunch.

We are incredibly relieved this is going ok. Not just ok, but better than we might have hoped for. Though, now she asks, "Daddy, where are you?" We have to arrange for Clark to pick her up soon.