Pig Wrestling. Really.

Li'l Miss has been counting down the days until the county fair, pretty much since last year's fair.  We drive by the fairgrounds all the time, and she's always talking about the animals and wondering where they've gone off to for the 51 weeks of the year when they're not hanging out at the fairgrounds, just waiting for her to show up and love on them. 

So, earlier this week, Li'l Miss got all dressed up and hit the fairgrounds three times in 36 hours.  She watched the pigs, saw baby chicks hatching, and petted the horses.  (She had to settle for this since what she really wanted was to "sit on a horse while it's running".  Thinking that's not going to happen this year.)

This mama has to confess that the fair is slowly growing on me.  (Yes, that would be me, the very un-farmy California girl.)  This year I actually knew what people were talking about when they said they went to the "truck pull".  And I totally had a blast at the pig wrestling contest.  You would have loved it too.  Seriously.

Teams of four people started out in this giant mud pit.  (The fire department generously filled the pit before the competition...and stuck around to "rinse" the contestants after each round.  After all, we Midwesterners aren't going to let a little drought keep us from enjoying some good pig wrestling.)

Their task was to catch a pig and put him on top of the tire in the middle of the mud pit...in 60 seconds or less.  Sort of like this.

It was messy.  (Note the muddy waterfall coming out of this little lady's boot.)

R.E.A.L.L.Y. messy.

The pigs were not cooperative.

But the contestants were hardcore, and the victories were sweet.

All my California friends have no idea what they're missing. ;)

Surprise Pictures!

It's been a crazy Saturday, and I was totally not intending to blog tonight...

...BUT WE GOT NEW PICTURES!!!

I opened my email today to a surprise mini-update on our Li'l Man.  A sweet woman who visited his orphanage last month was able to meet him and give him a treat and some cuddles.  Here's what she wrote about him.

"Really cute little one.  Solidly built.  Came over to me took the cookies.  Cried and then went away.  Brought them back for me to open.  Sweet and cute as a little bear.  Very fast walker.  Cried when I picked up but the second I set down stopped.  Playful and engaged."  

She also sent three pictures, but they're pretty similar.  Here's the best one.

The first thing I thought when I opened these was, "He's growing so much!"  He really does look more grown up in these pictures, and he's getting chubby little cheeks.  His wardrobe still needs some work, but we're working on that.

Can't wait to hold this little man! 

 

Best Friends

You know that saying?  The one about dogs being man's best friend?

Well, when it comes to Li'l Miss and Li'l Pup, it's totally true.

They are best buds, no question about it.

They love to share hugs.

And...uuummmm...yougurt.

(Don't fall for that face; she's sooooo not innocent.)

I think, sometimes, one of these crazy girls forgets she's a human dog.

Yup, the saying is definitely true at our house: Li'l Miss + Li'l Pup = BFF.

Check-Up Time

Li'l Miss had her four-year check-up this morning.  It's been on our calendar for a while, and this mama has been watching its impending arrival with great trepidation.  

Nope, I wasn't dreading the shots (only because there usually aren't any at a four-year appointment).

No, I wasn't freaked out about the 57 questions regarding Li'l Miss's development.

And, no, I'm not weirded out by doctors' offices.

I was worried because Li'l Miss's three-year check-up went something like this...

DOCTOR: Hello, Li'l Miss, it's nice to see you today.

LI'L MISS (falls on the ground convulsing and screaming): WWWWAAAAAHHHHH!

Seriously.  It was so. not. fun.

I thought it was bad when the doctor gagged her while attempting to catch a tiny glimpse of the back of her throat.  When he turned to me and asked if she often throws fits at home, I pretty much wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

So...I was not too excited about Round 2 this year.  

I spent the last couple of days bribing convincing Li'l Miss that her doctor is actually a really sweet guy who wants to help her be healthy and strong.  I told her all about the ice cream cone she'd get if she managed to avoid total meltdown his two kids and how he's taken care of her since she was a teeny, tiny baby.

And, it actually worked.  She did A.MAZ.ING.

(Of course, it might not have been my clever bribery arguments that did the trick.  It could just be that my baby girl is growing up - way. too. fast.)

Here's a picture of my big four-year-old - who, in case you happen to be interested in such random facts, is 40-3/4 inches tall (75th percentile) and weighs 36 pounds (50th percentile).

 (If you can't tell, she was not really into my impromptu photo shoot.)

Here she is deciding she's totally done with getting her picture taken.

The only part of her appointment that was not-so-great was finding out that her pink eye is making a reappearance and that she also has an ear infection I had no idea about.  (Yup, just call me Supermom.) 

There were no tears until the very end...when she had to get a shot after all.  And that, actually, was the very best part of her check-up.  Because the shot she got is for typhoid, which you don't get if you're just going to be hanging around in the good ol' USofA.  You only get a typhoid shot if you're going to be traveling.  You know, traveling to someplace far away.

Like China. :)

VACATION!!!

We actually arrived home from vacation two weeks ago today.  Since then, a small person with pink eye, a big person with a fever, and the general we're-home-from-vacation-the-fridge-is-empty-and-no-one-has-clean-socks craziness have pretty much filled my time.  (Oh yeah, there was that holiday and that birthday party squeezed in there too.)

So, while life has been just a touch c-r-a-z-y, we did have a wonderful vacation and I wanted to share a few of my favorite pics.  (I know I promised birthday pictures, and I will post those soon.  Truly!)

We spent six days in northern Michigan with Jeremy's family.  I had never been there before, and I loved it.  (Not so sure I would love it six months from now, but it was absolutely beautiful in June!)  

What's not to love about someplace where you can do this every day?

Li'l Miss was absolutely ecstatic to have her cousins living right upstairs.  They entertained themselves for hours catching bugs in the yard of our rental house.  I don't have any pictures of their adventures in the yard, but here are a few cute shots of the three "big" cousins.

 

 

We got our fill of time in the water, which was awesome because Water + Kiddos = BLISS.  We spent a day exploring the dunes and splashing in Lake Michigan, as well as time in the pool, at an indoor waterpark, and just hanging out at the lake near our rental house.

Some of our other favorite moments included fishing...

...riding a ski lift - you can actually take your mountain bike up and ride back down, but we decided we weren't up for that much adventure...

...and hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa (of course!).

It was an amazing week, and we are so thankful to Jeremy's parents for dreaming it up and inviting us to go along.

Now Li'l Miss just has to learn to survive without her buddies living under the same roof.

 

My Four-Year-Old Birthday Girl

Today my sweet, funny, inquisitive, crazy princess turned four.  She pretty much burst out of her bedroom this morning telling the world how excited she was to be four. years. old.  (She followed that up with a major crash into the corner of the coffee table that left her with a bloody eyelid one hour before her party.  Ack!  It turns out that playing Cinderella and trying to walk with one plastic heel on our hardwood floors is not a happy plan.) 

Li'l Miss, I am so blessed to be your mama.  I wouldn't trade that gift for anything: an easier life, simple answers, a road with less bumps - anything.  I love your questions, your kisses, your tan little arms wrapped around my neck.  You are forever my baby girl, no matter how big you grow.

Last year on Li'l Miss's birthday, I shared her birth story.  Her daddy and I gave her a hardcover photobook that tells this story for her first Christmas.  I know many of you may not have had a chance to read it (or might just be up for reading it again *ahem* mom *ahem*).  So here it is....

(For all of you who want to see the slightly bloody princess, I promise to post pictures on Monday.  My crazy life is finally slowing down, and I will have time to blog.  Really.)

 

Daddy, Mommy, tell me again about when I was born.  Tell me again how you had waited and waited and waited for a baby, and how you could barely sleep after you heard that I was coming on July 7.  Tell me about how your friends and family were so excited to meet me that they bought all kinds of presents and some of them even helped get a special room ready for me.

Tell me again how Grandma and Grandpa came over and helped load up the car with two gigantic suitcases; a bunch of snacks; a green tent; six bottles of Mountain Dew for Daddy; lots of teeny-tiny baby clothes; almost a million diapers; and my stuffed teddy, Owen.

Tell me again how you crossed a big river, drove over tall mountains, and stopped to spend the night in our green tent at a campground in Georgia.

Tell me again how you wanted to jump up and down when you finally got to Florida because you knew that was where you would meet me.  Tell about how it seemed to take forever and ever to get to the city where you would stay while I was born.

Tell me again how I didn't grow inside of your tummy, Mommy.  Tell me about how I was growing inside of my birth mommy's tummy.  Tell me about how she really loved me and took good care of me while I was growing inside of her, but she wasn't old enough to be my mommy so she chose you and Daddy to be my parents.

Tell me again how Daddy wanted to stop for Taco Bell on the way to the hospital, but it was closed.  And how Mommy was being grumpy because she was worried about being late.

Tell me again how you weren't late at all.  Tell me about how you sat in the waiting room with your tummies all tied up in knots and about how my birth grandma came to tell you that it was almost time.  Tell about how you were talking with ***** when I was born.  Tell me how I came at exactly 1:37 p.m. and weighted 6 lbs, 15 oz. and was 19 1/4 inches long.

Tell me again how you walked to the nursery window to see me.  Tell me about how you thought I was beautiful and perfect and amazing.  Tell me how you cried because I was yours.

Tell me again about my nurse, Gina.  Tell me about how she gave me my very first bath and my very first diaper change and about how I didn't like either of them very much at all.

Tell me again how Mommy got to hold me in the nursery when I was still brand new and how Daddy was jealous because he had to wait until the next day to hold his baby girl.

Tell me again about all the people who came to visit me while I was in the hospital: *****'s brother and sister, my birth grandma, and even *****'s grandma and step-grandpa!  Tell me about how excited they were to meet me and how excited they were to meet you since you were going to be my mommy and daddy.

Tell me again how you got to take me home from the hospital when I was three days old.  Tell me how my birth mommy dressed me in the special dress you had picked out for me and how it was white with heart buttons down the back.

Tell me again how carefully you put me in my car seat.  Tell me how Owen sat next to me and how he was bigger than I was.  Tell me about how you kept looking over your shoulder all the way home to make sure I was safe.

Tell me again how you took me home to our special friends.  Tell me about how they let us stay at their house in Florida and helped take care of me.  Tell me about my buddies - C and P - and how much fun I had with them!

Tell me again how you loved me already, even though I was still fresh from Jesus.  Tell me how you cuddled with me and played with me and woke up in the middle of the night to give me my bottle.  Tell me about how your cell phone bill was so expensive because you had to call practically everyone to say that I was going to be your baby forever and ever.

Tell me again how we went the the airport to pick up Grandpa.  Tell me how he gave me my bottle and how he thought I was so tiny and how we became great buddies right away.

Tell me again how we stayed in Florida for almost forever and how I got to do all kinds of things that most babies don't - like going out to eat every day and taking walks on the beach.

Tell me again how we finally got to come home.  Tell me how we drove all night because you were so excited to bring me home forever.  Tell me again how I was so excited to be home that I stayed awake almost all night long.

Daddy, Mommy, tell me again about the way we became a family.  Tell me again about when I was born.