Vaccinated

Our public health department had a huge H1N1 vaccination clinic at the indoor stadium of a local university, and we decided it was worth it to get the kids vaccinated. It was a zoo. We had to go get wristbands at 9am, then come back at noon to get into the line for the actual shot. When we got back, the line was outside around the building in freeeeeeeezing cold wind. I had stocked up on snacks since we were missing lunch, but I was not prepared for a THREE HOUR wait. Grace knew she was getting a shot at the end of the ordeal, so had to go through the long hungry wait anticipating pain, the poor girl. Here is Sam after his shot, a happy camper. Now I just hope we don't all get the swine foo (as Grace calls it) from the thousands of people we were milling around with for 3 hours.

Halloween

We had a really fun Halloween this year! Grace was very brave, even went into some pretty spooky yards. Viv figured out pretty quickly that she could get candy from people by saying "trick or treat", even though I don't think most people understood her. And even Sam got very excited about the whole thing, he got to the point where he was waving his arms around until we took him up to the door to get some candy.

Grace's hat is a little big :) and she also had a cape, but she didn't like wearing it. And, funny story, she fell in love with a treat bag at our new favorite thrift store, and I just noticed that it had some letters on it... I only noticed the "ick" and figured it was the tail end of "trick...." but when we got home I realized it actually said PATRICK. Oh well, a little electrical tape took care of that! She doesn't have her own picture because she was too excited to get going.



Vivian did a great job saying "thank you" to everyone in her sweet soft little voice. At one door, she stood there staring at the man until he said "you're welcome." What a polite kiddo :)

We had a fun time and let the kids eat all they wanted in the car on the way home. I was a little worried this would result in someone throwing up in the middle of the night, but so far everyone is okay!

Cats

We bottled peaches this year, and to get the peaches, we drove out to a farm in the middle of farm country. They had like 4 litters of kittens running around. Grace loved it, so I let her run around outside while I went into the house to pay for the peaches, leaving the van door open so Viv and Sam could enjoy the fresh country air. When I got out of the house, I heard Sam crying, but his door was not the open one, so I couldn't see why. Grace's explanation was, "A cat got in the car." When I got to him, he had THREE cats crawling around on his tiny little lap. Which might explain his reaction here, (although he was genuinely excited about the cats):



Vivian, on the other hand, is terrified of anything with fur. Or feathers. Poor girl.

Talking About Adoption

I think most people who read this know that we adopted Grace and Vivian. We were very blessed with both of our adoptions to have very positive experiences. Now I work at LDS Family Services as a social worker, helping adoptive couples go through the process. It's a great job, I get to meet amazing people, and I hope that I can share my perspective with them. Adoption is such a blessing for us, for many birthmothers, and many other families.

LDS FS recently launched a brand new adoption website which is SO much better than the old one! It's still at http://www.itsaboutlove.org/. Check it out if you're bored.

There is a page there about positive adoption language that I wanted to copy here. (I can't figure out how to get Blogger to format it normally, so I guess you'll have to scroll down-- sorry!) I am not easily offended when talking about adoption. I know people are generally doing their best to be sensitive, but sometimes might not know the right way to phrase things. I hope people feel comfortable asking about adoption if they have questions, because we are always happy to talk about it, non-"PC" language or not. I'm hoping this list of the currently "correct" terminology will help people feel more comfortable!

The one that I feel most strongly about is the term "give up for adoption." This is pretty common, you hear it all the time. But it does send a subtle message to a child who was adopted that her birthmother didn't want her. We feel very strongly that placing a child for adoption is an act of immense courage and love! We're so grateful for Vivian and Grace's birthparents and their families and their trust in us. I think if we could eliminate the stigma surrounding placing a child for adoption, the world would be a better place. And now I'll get off my soapbox. Oh, and if you know anyone who is considering placing a child for adoption, I know a few wonderful families. (Though not us at the moment:) )

Negative Terms	Preferred Terms
Gave up her child for adoption	Placed her child for adoption
Real parent; natural parent	Birth parent, biological parent
Adoptive parent	Parent
His adopted child	His child
Illegitimate	Born to unmarried parents
Adoptee	Child who was adopted
To keep	To parent
Adoptable child; available child	Waiting child
Foreign adoption	International adoption
Track down parents	Search
Unwanted child	Child placed for adoption
Is adopted	Was adopted

A touch of PTSD

Vivian had a rather traumatic experience over Labor Day. We went out to eat, and a nice employee made her a balloon out of a latex glove, you know the kind. Vivian enjoyed carrying the balloon around, and it was a beautiful day so we took our lunch out to the outdoor dining area. You can see where this is going. We made it through most of lunch with the balloon, thanks to a couple of courageous saves by me and my mad hops. But finally, the balloon escaped and floated up to the sky, looking back down at us with that silly face. Vivian was pretty broken up at the time and cried for quite a while. Which is pretty normal, I think. But she is STILL talking about it.

It is actually so cute in a heartbreaking kind of way. She says, "Boon...... sky....... boon...... sky" with her lower lip sticking clear out.

We Seem to Have Entered a Time Warp

It just simply cannot have been a whole year since Sam was born. Can I please stop the clock?

Sam has been the easiest, sweetest, funnest baby possible. I hesitate to even say how great he is because everything I say on my blog seems to become untrue as soon as I've said it. {For example, Vivian has started watching TV. Yay!} Sam has a smile for everyone, and he is free with the laughs. He's very ticklish, which is fun for his sisters. Sam is just so easy-going. I love the way he is all casual when I hold him--he just kind of drapes his arm around my shoulder and chills with me. Not clingy, not struggling to get down, just hanging out. I'm afraid that will not last long once he starts to walk. I love the way he kicks his legs when we pick him up, like he's so excited to get to you he's trying to swim there. He's excited about life.

Sam's first official word is "ball." He loves to play with balls of any size. He also enjoys pushing a little car around. I think he also tries to say "boo" when we play peekaboo. He crawls super fast and he's trying to jump like his sisters. Jumping on beds is a big fave around here, and Sam does not want to be left out. I think he might jump before he walks. For now, he has little calluses on his toes and knees from crawling. Sam will go anywhere--cement, dirt, water--doesn't bother him.

I can't imagine our family without Sam, and I'm so so glad he's here.

Two already

This is from the day we first met Vivian at the hospital in Kentucky.

And here is the day we brought her "home". Check out that frowny mouth.

And at about 10 months. Love those huge cheeks!

I have to confess I was a little worried about Vivian, and sometimes wondered what I had gotten into. She was kind of a grumpy baby. Hardly smiled, took a very long time to laugh, and then did it rarely. Then when we found out she was going to be a middle child, we were afraid she would get lost in the shuffle between the new baby and the demonic 3-yr old.

In the last few months, Vivian has really come into her own. She has a great sense of humor. She is extremely sweet and compassionate. She is really quite obedient. She is an adrenaline junky. She comes with a dash of vinegar. She's a complex little girl. I predict she will be either an engineer or an opera singer--man has she got lungs. She has NOT gotten lost in the shuffle. She is an excellent mimic, which makes her a fast learner. She likes to blow her nose, and sometimes misses the Kleenex. She loves to clean things. She contorts into strange shapes to make herself impossible to pick up when she doesn't want to do what you want. She says "yogurt" like an old German man with phlegm. "Gogurhk." The first thing she says when when I go get her in the morning is, "Shhhh... Sammy." She will not watch any TV, has absolutely NO interest in it. Except for "manna manna" from the Muppet Show, which she thinks is hilarious. She is a tease. She still frequently has a very serious look on her face, even when she is having fun. But her sweet laugh is right there waiting. She is an absolute delight, and I am so glad she is part of our family!