Ayic? Ayic?

Yes, I am going to catch this darn blog up. Just you wait and see. But I didn't want to forget this adorable bit of Kamrony goodness before then.

Late Christmas morning I began to have a panic attack about the incredible amount of toys that are slowly overtaking every square inch of the house. I sent Dan to the attic to get some Rubbermaid bins down so I could begin dividing toys into a 'keep for posterity' pile and a 'donate to church' pile. I guess we haven't opened the attic trap door in a while, because clearly Kam has existed under it for months now without ever knowing of its (amazing) existence. You should have seen the look on his face when the ceiling pulled down in the hallway and out popped a ladder!

So Dan and Nedy scurried up the ladder to hand down the bins all while Kam stood below, gazing up, drunk with wonder. "Baby? Go? BABY?! Peeeeeeaaaaase?!?!" I let him climb up the ladder a bit--turns out he's skilled at ladder climbing--and peek into the wonderland (read: mass of boxes) above.

And then I got nervous and made him come down. And then he threw a toddler fit. I looooove toddler fits. (insert sarcastic tone)

When he recovered, he looked at me with the sweetest little face he could muster and said, "Ayic? Ayic??" And I said in my silly, deep tone, "Noooooooooooo."

So for the past week, he's had a new joke. He randomly asks, "Ayic? Ayic??" and answers himself in a near-perfect mimicry of my tone, "Noooooooooo" with the biggest, dimple-inducing smile on his face. Ohmygosh, it is sooooooo funny.

And last night, I rocked him to sleep--or so I thought--and put him in his crib. So why did I hear, "Ayic? Ayic?? Noooooooooo" coming from his room for the next 10 minutes?

Oh, the boy cracks me up.

Christmas Day 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Eve 2011

 

 

 

Pum Pum...again!

I'm a big fan of Christmas music. Come mid-November, Christmas tunes are near-constant background noise at our house.

Remember this?

Well, it seems Kam has taken a play right out of Nedy's book; his love for The Little Drummer Boy rivals that of his big sister. (Who, incidentally, has broadened her horizons a bit this year with a new favorite, Feliz Navidad.)

Kam is nothing short of a Little Drummer Boy (a.k.a. 'Pum Pum') junkie. He can be completely occupied making "num nums" at the toy kitchen or "zooooom!"ing his car all over the floor and cease all activity the instant he hears even the first 2 "ding dings" of the Little Drummer Boy. "Pum pum!!! Pum pum!" Absolute pure delight.

So the other night I was rocking him to sleep and he was in his usual three-minutes-into-rocking-eyes-closed-about-to-nod-off state when the darned Drummer Boy comes on the radio. I may as well have given him a Pixie Stick (or seven) in his bottle. "PUM PUM!! PUM PUM!! PUM PUM!!!!"...all the while clapping his hands with the biggest, goofiest smile on his face you can imagine. And then the child who usually falls asleep within mere minutes is wide awake, full of the giggles and random exclamations of "PUM PUM!" for the next 15 minutes.

And would you believe the exact same scenario played out the next night?! What are the odds that that song would come on while I'm rocking him to sleep two nights in a row?!

And, more notably, what is it with my kids and that song?!?! ;)

Court!

Korea's adoption process is, legally speaking, a lot different from China's. With Nedy's adoption, she was legally adopted by us in China and we became her legal parents right from the get-go. She came to the U.S. on a visa type (IR3, if you care of such details) that made her an automatic citizen upon entry. With Kam's adoption, because of Korea's process, we technically became his foster parents when he was placed with us. He came to the U.S. on a visa type (IR4) that granted him permanent residency status in the U.S., but not automatic citizenship. (Kam has a Green Card, in case you're wondering.)

While we readopted Ned in our court system for the purposes of obtaining a local certification of her birth in China, we did not legally have to do that. We were already her parents with full parental rights. This was not the case with Kam. After completion of three post placement procedures with our social worker over a 6 month period, we were eligible to file with Children's Court to legally adopt him. Our court date was scheduled for December 13, 2011.

The court appointment was short and sweet. The judge heard our social worker Gale's remarks on us, reviewed our paperwork, asked a few clarifying questions, gave a few thoughtful remarks on families, and signed and sealed the Order of Adoption. Needless to say, December 13 was an important day for our family. Kam became our son in the eyes of the law. (Of course, in our eyes, Kam was ours the moment we took placement of him, but that doesn't mean that having the law on our side isn't a welcome event.) Kam's name was legally changed to that which we chose for him, including keeping his full birth name as his middle name.

Kam's thoughts on his big day? He was mostly bored, intrigued momentarily by the big bailiff and the ankle shackles under the table... The court did give him a Brio train to celebrate, and he thought that was pretty cool. And he really enjoyed his celebratory lunch out, too. :)

We love you, Kamronbear! While December 13, 2011 is just a legal thing in our minds, it was a milestone day of celebrating you and how lucky we are to be your family.


Up next? After we receive Kam's local certification of birth facts, we then file for citizenship on his behalf. As I understand it, the processing of the request can take 6 months, but is relatively straight-forward. And then? Officially done. I like officially done. Officially done is a good thing. :)

a Girl and her Nana

My Mom and my Ned. These two make my heart super happy.

St. Nick

Southeastern Wisconsin and St. Nick. I still remember being shocked when I went to college in Minneapolis and found out that (*gasp*) St. Nick had a "regional preference."

Glad we live here is all I have to say 'bout that. ;)

the rest of Nedy's 4th birthday...while it's still November...

I have to be honest here.

Truth is, I can't blame my lack of blogging on the whole 2 kids making me crazy thing. We've got our routine pretty well set and we're all humming along nicely. Most of the time it's pretty fun around here, what with the hilariously witty gal and the great mimic himself who is adding words daily. (For the record, I am talking about the kids here...but I am hilariously witty and Dan continues to broaden his vocabulary, too. Just so you know.)

Anyway, I'm not blogging more because once the adorable little beings retire for the evening, I've been...how do I say this?...sitting on the couch with a drink in hand watching reruns of Criminal Minds. There. I admit it.

Moving on.

So it's still November for another couple hours and I'm adding more pics from Nedy's birthday. (From the day of her birthday, that is. Her party is coming in a separate post. Maybe in February. Kidding. Kind of.)

Dan and I decided a couple years ago that we would always take off work on the kids' birthdays and let them pick their special celebration for the day. Nedy decided a few weeks before her birthday that she wanted to spend her day at the Milwaukee Art Museum and then "go eat lots and lots of spaghetti for lunch." Awesome, right?!

So here it is; Ned's idea of a good time:

Teething. Poor baby.
Occasionally I give in to Nedy's requests to try the "big camera." (Yes, I let her. Yes, I know there will undoubtedly be a broken camera blog post in my future.)
"Gog! Gog!" Kamron loooooves dogs. He spotted this one right away.
Nedy was open minded about this series. "Mama, what's that really about?" Searching for a deeper meaning in three primary colored canvases. Love that kid. I made up some line about the beauty of color itself and that the simplicity of the paintings allows us to focus on the color. She played along.
Peek!
"Mama, that looks just like a dandelion when it goes to seed! I should blow on it and you should take my picture."
Preview of the Christmas photo. This isn't it, but it's close to the one I chose. (And yes, Dan is wearing that orange shirt again. I swear he owns more shirts, but Ned specifically requested he wear the orange one on her birthday because orange is her favorite color.)
After a nice morning at the museum, we did "lots and lots of spaghetti" right and went to Buca for lunch.
Cheers!
Happy Birthday, Ned! You may be four, but you'll always be my baby girl.