The Story of Hsin-Hua Lin

Sponsor Hsin-Hua to Run the Runny Nose Kids Race!!!

2012-01-24T16:04:00.000-05:00

Hsin- Hua will be running in the Runny Nose Kids 75 Yard Dash on March 25th, 2012 to raise money for her school.

This fundraiser is for the Parents Association of Hsin's preschool, on which I am the Co-President. We raise money to fund programs like Kidnetics fitness, sign language classes and music classes for our children throughout the year.

NEW this year, our fundraising efforts will also benefit a scholarship fund to assist parents who cannot afford full tuition. We are especially excited about our fundraising efforts going to help parents who really need it!

We hope that The Runny Nose 5K,1 Mile Walk and 75 Yard Kids Dash fundraiser will not only help us to fund these valuable programs for our kids, but we also hope to instill a lifetime love of healthy living through exercise for the children who participate.

Would you like to sponsor Hsin-Hua to run the Runny Nose Run Kids 75 Yard Dash?

______ $10

______$15

______$25

______Other Amount

(You can either make a cash donation, or checks can be made payable to FELS)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING HSIN-HUA AND OUR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS!

(If you are local and would like to run the race, register at http://www.pretzelcitysports.com/ )
(If you are a local business person and would like to be a sponsor, please leave a comment and I will contact you).

Picture Update!

2012-01-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

I have so many pictures from the last few months and since this is the closest thing to a scrapbook I have for Hsin, I feel the need to document.

These pictures are a little out of order...Blogger is a PAIN when it comes to ordering pictures. I didn't have the energy to fix them!

**********************************

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We spent an awesome New Year's with our friends the Weiss's! Hsin had a great time torturing their sweet cat, Pauly and Stephan ran 22 miles with some other friends and we all had fondue for dinner!!!

Hsin and Sebastian playing doctor with the cat.

I have no idea what this is all about. Hsin is also in that tutu an awful lot these days!

DIRTY BIRD TRAIL RACE - THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

Daddy ran the Dirty Bird trail race Thanksgiving weekend. Hsin and I hung out with Jo and some other friends and cheered everyone on!!! That is Hsin's legs sticking out...the Ergo backpack is a staple at races!

Hsin eating her stand-by race breakfast...pink donuts with sprinkles.

The Peters crew!

Hsin was excited to see all our friends.

Hanging out on the blanket playing with toys.

Coloring.

Future Runner!!!

Kissing Daddy for a great race!

CHINESE NEW YEAR - ANNUAL DINNER AND PARTY

(This past weekend...its the year of the Dragon!)

Hsin looked at the two tables of our friends at the Chinese New Year dinner this weekend and said "Mommy, we're eating like a family". It made me so happy because I truly feel like everyone around those tables are like family!!! We have SUCH wonderful friends.

Trying to get a picture of kids is always a challenge!

Pretty close!

Hsin is really into that fake smile lately!

After our party we had friends back to the house for dessert and the kids trashed the playroom. Keira bumped her head and Dr. Hsin-Hua was on the case with a princess ice pack!

She "took care" of Keira for almost 30 minutes! I think Keira was loving all the attention :)

Hsin and Samira behind a PILE of toys.

Hsin told me as I was putting her to bed "thank you Mommy for my super fun Chinese New Year party". She had a BLAST!!!

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Groggy face...she slept until 8:30 :)

She literally said "WOW" everytime she opened something!

Hsin LOVES Olivia!!!

Ruby slippers, just like Dorothy.

She wore them ALL day!

Hsin loves to clean up and do whatever we are doing. So we got her a pint sized broom!

This was one of her favorites! She LOVES Belle and immediately said "Can she sleep in my bed!!!"

The dollhouse that was the BIG Santa present. She is also wearing her Belle costume!

So Proud Of My Girl

2012-01-10T16:08:00.000-05:00

As part of a new year and new starts we began a chore chart with Hsin-Hua last week. She refers to it as "my jobs". She is very serious about getting her "jobs" done each night and even talks about doing them on the way home from school.

The "jobs" are simple and I think appropriate for a 3.5 year old. Hsin-Hua feeds the cats, picks up their bowls and puts them in the sink when they are finished, she sets the table, and she wipes the placemats after dinner. If she does all her jobs each night she gets 3 quarters. 1 quarter goes in a jar that she can spend however she likes. 1 quarter goes in a jar to be saved. The last quarter goes in a jar to be spent in a way that makes someone other than her happy. This was our way of teaching charity to a 3 year old.

Last night on the drive home from school, Hsin-Hua told me that when we got home she needed to feed the cats and do her jobs. She said that then she could have her "monies" and put them in her jars.

I asked her if she knew what she wanted to do with the money she had to make other people happy.
Hsin: Yes, I want to buy a present.
Mommy: Who do you want to buy a present for?

Hsin: I want to buy a present for Joann (her teacher).

Mommy: I think that is an awesome idea. Do you think a present will make Joann happy.

Hsin: Yes. I think I want to buy her a book. Joann likes books. She can read it to all the kids.

Mommy: I think that is really nice Hsin-Hua and I think it will make Joann very happy.

Hsin: All the kids will sit on the rug and Joann will read the book. She will be super happy and it will be super fun.

My heart just melted. I thought I was planting the seed for a lesson she might actually understand in a few years, and here she goes understanding the importance of doing things for others for no reason other than to make them happy. I shouldn't be surprised! Even at her young age of 3, I see in Hsin-Hua a compassion and love and caring for others that I haven't seen in grown adults! She has the softest and kindest heart, and I know this will make her life very happy and very fulfilled.

I love that girl with all my heart and soul, and then some. Not quite sure what I did to deserve such an awesome kid. To say I am grateful is the understatement of the century!

Please Read If You Have Kids And Take Them To The Dentist

2011-12-30T09:46:00.000-05:00

I am writing this post in the hopes that every parent out there that reads it won't have the same thing happen to them, or their child that happened to us and our Hsin-Hua.

It is a cautionary post for all parents taking their kids to the dentist, but I feel like it is especially for parents who have adopted internationally.

We read all the books we were supposed to when we were waiting for Hsin-Hua to come home. All the books about attachment, bonding, grieving, and potential medical issues in children born overseas and raised in orphanages or foster homes. We new that pre-natal care, unknown formula, going to bed with a bottle could all have a huge impact on our child's dental health. Based on what we read, and what we had heard from fellow adoptive parents, we almost assumed Hsin-Hua would have some level of issues with her baby teeth.

So we were not surprised when Hsin-Hua went to her first dentist appointment at her 3rd birthday when they told us she had cavities in her front 4 top teeth. We had expected something like this. And we were seeing a very well known pediatric dentist in our area. He said that she would have to go under anesthesia to have the teeth drilled, baby root canals performed and then put caps on her teeth.

We believed him, and we went ahead with the surgery. After her surgery was complete, but before Hsin came out to recovery, the nurse came out and told us that her teeth had been so bad once they went in that they had had to remove almost all of them and that because of this the crowns weren't likely to last longer than maybe a year. We were so upset. We felt terrible that Hsin's teeth had gotten this bad, but again, we new that circumstances in her first year of life could have contributed to this.

One of the 4 crowns didn't even stay on long enough for us to leave the surgical center. We had to take Hsin-Hua back to the dentist a week later for them to reattach it. It was a horrible and traumatic experience for her as she was awake the entire time.

Since then, Hsin-Hua has to have all her food cut up for her so she doesn't have to bite into anything. The crowns she has are so fragile that we can't take any chances that pressure will make them fall off. Hsin knows she isn't allowed to bite into anything, and she always reminds us and herself to "chew with your back teeth, not your front teeth". The crowns that are on her front teeth are white on the front surface, but are silver on the back. It is the only way they make them. If you look closely at her front teeth they are not straight, and they are not the same color as her other teeth. She will have to have these crowns until her adult teeth come in which could be in 2 years, or may not be for 5 years.

So about a week before Christmas, another one of the crowns fell off. Hsin-Hua was so upset that her tooth fell out that she was sobbing and yelling "my tooth fell out, my tooth fell out". We comforted her by telling her that this was natural and that we could have the tooth fairy come and leave her a treat. This finally calmed her down.

We decided to see a new dentist this time. We ordered her x-rays from the first dentist and she had her appointment yesterday with the new dentist to discuss options for repairing the crown that had fallen out.

After the new dentist looked at Hsin-Hua's x-rays he turned to Paul and said "I hate to tell you this, but your daughter's cavities were so small and minor, they could have been fixed with simple fillings".

When Paul called to tell me this, I broke down sobbing.

The first dentist ravaged my babies teeth, after putting her under general anesthesia for what was actually just minor cavities. Her teeth were not far gone, they were small and simple cavities that could have had simple fillings. She could have her own 4 front teeth and not crowns. She could eat like a normal 3 year old and not need her food cut up like a baby.

I called the insurance company to get more detail into what the first dentist had actually done and it is all becoming clear now.

He did this to my baby because it made him more money.

He billed for anesthesia (thousands of dollars), he billed for regular drilling of the teeth (hundreds of dollars), he billed for extensive internal work done on her teeth (hundreds of dollars), he billed for the baby root canals (hundreds of dollars) he billed for the caps (hundreds of dollars).

If he had just filled her cavities the entire procedure would have billed less than $500.

This dentist performed unnecessary work on my babies mouth and has made the early years of her life in terms of eating very difficult, and for not reason other than to make more money.

I am KICKING myself for not getting a second opinion. I trusted that a medical professional would do the RIGHT thing, especially with a child. I shouldn't have trusted that. I should have listened to my gut when this dentist doesn't allow parents back with their children, even 3 year olds, I should have listened to my gut when they said that once she was under anesthesia they wouldn't tell us ahead of time what they would be doing to her, they would just do it and tell us later. I should have listened to all of these bells going off in my head and gotten a second opinion.

PLEASE parents...if your child's dentist is telling you that your child has extensive damage to their teeth and needs extensive work...GET A SECOND OPINION! Adoptive parents, I know we are prepared to hear that our children's teeth are in bad shape, but still...GET A SECOND OPINION!!!

I feel like the sh*ttiest Mom on the planet that I let this happen to my baby!
Don't let it happen to yours.

(I will not name the dentist out in public on the blog, but if you live near me and want to know who the first dentist is, leave a comment for me and I will let you know. You REALLY shouldn't allow your child to see this guy. I just won't sink to the level of posting his name on the blog...but I'll tell you personally).

Hsin-Hua has an appointment with our new dentist this coming Tuesday to repair the crown that fell out. This dentist is LOVELY. His office is very nice, the staff is wonderful, and although Hsin screamed during her initial visit with the first dentist, the new dentist and his nurse were so wonderful, Hsin was actually giggling during the exam. If you want to know this dentist in the area as well, I'd be happy to share. He doesn't directly participate in insurance coverage so everything has to be paid out of pocket first and submitted as a claim to insurance. WHO CARES...if he takes care of my babies mouth.

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-19T16:28:00.000-05:00

Hsin-Hua is SERIOUSLY excited about Christmas this year. All we talk about is Santa, lights and what she put on her "list".

Hsin made a list for Santa and basically all she wanted was a dollhouse, Beauty and the Beast and a tea set. I'm pretty sure he can handle that. She will tell anyone who asks "I want a dog house", which means "doll house". She also knows she has to listen to Mommy and Daddy and use her manners for Santa to come.

So we went to have lunch with Santa on Saturday. I assumed, as did Paul that Hsin would be scared of him that up close and personal and not want anything to do with him. WRONG! It was honestly the funniest thing I have ever seen and heard and I wish I had video taped it. We were the first people there, and Santa wasn't even fully ready for kids yet. Hsin saw him across the room and YELLED! (now, for anyone that doesn't know Hsin...she isn't really a yelling type kid. She is really quite quiet). Anyway, she yelled "SANTA...I WANT A DOG HOUSE PLEASE". So the man came closer and said, "What little girl", and she said again "SANTA...I WANT A DOG HOUSE PLEASE". To which the Santa asked "what is your dogs name?". So we cleared up that little bit of confusion and Hsin went on to say "SANTA...I BEEN LISTENING AND USING ALL MY MANNERS, CAN I PLEASE HAVE A DOG HOUSE." He told her he thought he could handle that and walked away. Hsin then stared after him and kept saying, very quietly, mostly to herself "He was waiting here, just for me" over and over again. She was AMAZED!!! She barely took her eyes off him the whole time we were there, and she has been talking about him ever since.

Hsin is also fascinated by who celebrates Christmas and who celebrates Hannukah. She goes to a Jewish preschool even though we are Christian so she has been learning a lot this year and it is kind of cute to see her process it all. She told me one night on the way home from school "Mommy, Jewish people don't have Christmas lights." She has also told me "Jewish people celebrate Hannukah and Christian people celebrate Christmas. We are Christian so we celebrate Christmas". She also then asked is her Daddy was Jewish because we had talked about our friends who the Mommy is Christian but the Daddy is Jewish so they celebrate both holidays. The next logical question in the mind of a 3 year old is "Is my Daddy Jewish too". I explained that her Daddy is Christian, but her friends Daddy is Jewish, so now she gets it. Very cute how their minds work at this age. I'm excited for next year when maybe she can teach us a little more about what she learns at school about Hannukah.

Well Happy Holidays everyone!!!
I'll post Christmas pics I promise...and here is the pictures we used for the card this year for any of my blog readers who aren't on our mailing list!!!

National Adoption Month

2011-11-08T12:30:00.000-05:00

Its November, and that means it is National Adoption month.

Seperate from that, but related, Hsin-Hua has been VERY interested lately in talking about when she was a "little tiny baby" and how she lived in Taiwan, had a binky and lived in Mrs. Tang's house (her foster Mother).

I just read this post on an adult adoptees blog and although I am not the one adopted, and Mrs. Tang wasn't my foster Mother, I feel like this post sums up how I feel about Mrs. Tang, and I hope someday Hsin-Hua feels about the woman who cared for her and loved her for 9 months of her life.
http://chopsticksnotincluded.blogspot.com/2011/10/forgotten-mother.html

I always remember and think about Hsin-Hua's Mama in Taiwan. We have her picture in Hsin's room and we say good night to that picture every night. We talk about her. We tell Hsin that she grew in her Mama's tummy, and we even talk about how pretty she is. That is about the extent of it...Hsin is just 3 you know. You can't get very deep with a 3 year old.

Mrs. Tang though has always had a BIG place in my heart and we talk about her often as well. Mrs. Tang knows a Hsin-Hua that I never knew and that even her Mama never knew. Mrs. Tang knows the Hsin-Hua that lived from approximately 10/2008 until 7/27/2009. She knows what type of baby Hsin-Hua was in those early months. She knows what silly things she did. She told us that Hsin-Hua was the funniest baby she ever had, and that she cried from laughing so hard at some of the things Hsin-Hua did. Funny things I never saw, and even her Mama never saw. Mrs. Tang loved my Hsin-Hua very much. I know she did. In the way she talked about her, even through a translator, and the say she looked at her, you could just tell. The look on Mrs. Tang's face as we drove away with the baby she called Cool Mei was one of the most hearbreaking things I have ever seen in my lifetime.

I hope that like in that blog post we get to go back to Taiwan and can find Mrs. Tang and let Hsin-Hua meet her. I can picture her stroking Hsin-Hua's hair, and being so pleased with what a wonderful, lovely and sweet child she has turned out to be.

I love Mrs. Tang in a way that words can't describe and in a way that seems almost impossible since I only met her for a short time and only once. But I love her for loving my baby all those months. For helping mold her into the secure, happy and loving child she is today.

Mrs. Tang is not forgotten. I think about her almost daily. When I peek a glance at Hsin-Hua in the rear view mirror in the car sometimes it crosses my mind that I wish Mrs. Tang could see how wonderful this girl has turned out to be. Its not that I don't think about Hsin-Hua's Mama, I just think about Mrs. Tang a lot.

During this National Adoption Month, when adoption is a little more front of mind...I am thankful for 3 women from Taiwan...Mrs. Tang, Hsin-Hua's birthmother, and most of all, my little Hsin-Hua.

Good Gracious Its Been A Long Time!

2011-10-21T08:33:00.000-05:00

I am SO angry with myself for letting life get so busy that I have ceased to document all the amazing things that are going on with our Hsin-Hua.
She is becoming the most amazing, funny, loving, sweet child I think I have ever met in my life. I know she is mine, so of course I think she is the best...but I swear, there is something really and truly special about Hsin-Hua that goes beyond just parental love. Paul and I joke that the world would be a happier place if everyone could have a Hsin-Hua.
Here is some of the things that our little love is up tothese days.
-Hsin's imaginary friend "Buddy" is a constant in our lives lately. Everything Hsin does she says "and Buddy too". I dress him, diaper him, bathe him, buckle him into the car, take him to school and hug and kiss him. All we really know about Buddy is that he is smaller than Hsin and sometimes she holds him in her hands. She makes him hold her hand in the parking lot. What can I say...the kid likes rules :-)
-Hsin is really into puzzles lately. We have a bunch of jigsaw puzzles, and Hsin likes to ask us "wheres it goes" for each piece.
-Hsin is also saying "maybe, maybe" a lot. Sometime for no reason at all (really funny) but sometimes it goes "maybe, maybe, its a dinasaur bone". Who knows :-)
-Poor baby had to have dental surgery to repair and crown 4 front teeth. It was torture and one of the crowns fell off right when we got home. The return trip to repair that was done with Hsin awake, and screaming in my lap. Worst moment as a parent yet. Afterwards we told Hsin she could do something special and she asked to go to Target. That's my girl. Once there, she wanted to get cake mix to make pink cupcakes with pink icing and pink sprinkles. She told her friends at school the next day that she baked "cukcapes" with her Mommy because she was "brave at the dentist and Mommy was so proud of me". She then told me "I want no more dentist Mommy".
-We have been doing flashcards of letters with Hsin and it is the highlight of her day. As soon as it is time to head upstairs for our nighttime routine she yells "I want to do letters". Hsin can recognize about 15 written letters, and about 20 letters in sign language. She also can identfy a word that goes with the letter like "M is for Mommy" for most of the letters. We are so proud that she is learning this so quickly and even more proud that she LOVES learning it so much.
-Hsin has the most sweet and gentle heart. If she hears one of so "ouch" or "uh oh" she rushes over to ask "are you OK Mommy". If you have a boo boo she wants to make sure its OK, hlep clean it up, and kiss it. She will ask for days after if your boo boo still hurts. Hsin is still so concerned with Lily, our older and sick cat. Lily cries a lot and Hsin follows her around saying "your ok, your ok" and giving her hugs. She also gets very protective if the other cats bother Lily. She tells them "leave my Lily alone".
-Hsin LOVES helping. As soon as we get home from school she wants to help feed the cats. She has a little step stool that she carries all over the kitchen so she can reach the counter and help. She knows that Lily gets medicine in her food and has to eat in the bathroom, Mr. Peepers has to eat in the pantry so the other cats don't bother him, and Pei Ling eats near the back door. She waits patiently for them to finish and then she takes their plates and puts them in the sink.
-Hsin also loves to cook and bake and anytime we are cooking in the kitchen she grabs her little stool and says "I want to help". We have baked cookies, cupcakes, pies, cakes, breads and much more and Hsin is super at dumping ingredients in the bowl and stirring. She is also great at stealing bites of things like half the apples for the apple pie :)
-Hsin's favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast. She sings the song "Beaty and the Beast" all the time. She gets so excited at the part where Belle comes out of her room in the yellow dress at the end. She says "oh Mommy...she is wearing her beautiful yellow dress". She is starting to really get into princesses.
-Hsin is SUCH a girly girl. She wants her nails done, loves doing my hair, wants to wear perfume and jewelry and dressing up as a princess. She also walks around in the store pointing to things and saying "oh, that is so cute". She never asks for anything at the store, which is sweet, but she loves to tell you how cute things are.
-Hsin has decided she wants to be Mulan for Halloween. We have not seen the movie, but she has a Barbie like doll of Mulan and she loves that "she is a Chinese princess, like me". Funny thing is that we never told her that. We did tell her that Mulan is Chinese, but that was it.
-Hsin is beginning to have "best friends" at school. Certain kids are her best friend and she will tell us that she loves them.
-We started to let Hsin pick a little prize (dollar stuff from Target) from a basket when she pee pee's in the potty. She wants to give us a prize when we go, she even gave Paul a princess wand. Whatever her prize is before bed when she goes, she wants to sleep with it. She slept with Elmo socks last night :)
-Hsin's favorite TV show is Olivia the pig. She has memorized certain lines from the show and busts them out the the most random ways. She holds a princess wand and says "I am queen of the fairies, we will dance and all be merry. Will you be merry?" This is from an episode about a play Olivia does. Hsin also asked me this morning as we were getting dressed "where are my lucky tights?" This is from an episode where Olivia loses her lucky pair of red and white tights. I told Hsin that what she was wearing today was her lucky sweatpants :)
That is all I can think of and time for right now...I am really going to try to be more on top of this blog again. I know I will forget all these little things someday, and I will really regret not capturing them somewhere.
Now...some more recent pics of Hsin from a race Daddy ran a few weekends ago.

Hsin playing with her babies while Daddy ran.

Cheesy grin, wating watermelon at Daddy's race.

Hsin's friend Sebastian who is at a lot of races with his family too brought that little Minnie Mouse for Hsin when he heard she was coming that day. How adorable. Hsin loved it and added to her stack of stuffed pals in her bed!

Sebastian's little brother Florian. Hsin and those boys play so well together even though they are YEARS apart in age.

Look at how dirty that childs hair is! It was 50 degrees and sprinkle raining all day. After 10 hours in that, you are bound to look like a soggy mess. She is a CUTE soggy mess though.

Hsin-Hua - 3 years old

2011-08-01T10:46:00.000-05:00

Hsin-Hua,
You turned 3 years old last week. You have been home for 2 years now. We love you more than life and here is a little record of all things "you" at 3 years old. I am sure I will forget things...you are so funny and such a clown you have us laughing all day every day. Here goes...

you love your bunk beds and honestly can't wait to go to bed in them. Other parents hate us because of this. If Daddy or I ask if we can sleep in your bed you say no.
you do not under any circumstances want any of the cats in your room at bedtime. If one hides under the bed you will scream bloody murder when you discover it. When we are tucking you in, you remind us that each cat must be removed before we leave :-)
You won't get out of your bed. I don't know if you just don't want to, or if you somehow think it is like your crib and you can't get out.
you are becoming quite the girly girl. You want to wear a dress or skirt at all times. You even want bathing suits with skirts on them. You want to wear sparkly shoes, your rhinetone cat necklace, Dora watch and flowers or bows in your hair at all times. You also insist that your nails and toes are painted at all time.
your favorite thing to do before bed is "do Mommy's hair". You pretend to blowdry it, but ponytails in it and all the while you say "is it too tight", "you look beautiful", "I love your hair" and other adorable little things. Everynight I have to pull you off my head to go to bed.
you have started going to the nail salon with me to get your nails done and you LOVE it! You love to pick a new color every time. You sit on my lap during my pedicure and want to put your feet in the water. You are so good while they paint your nails and you say "don't touch" and "don't move". After you are done, you love to go up to everyone else there and show them your pretty nails. The ladies love you and always give you little stickers for your nails.
you love to sing. You sing all the time. Sometimes it is real songs like ABC, or I'm a Little Teapot, but sometimes it is your own made up song with made up melody and made up words. Those are my favorite and you are SO into it.
You have a few imaginary friends. One is Buddy. He has actually been around for a while now. He used to get in trouble a lot. You sat him in time out and would acuse him of biting you or hitting your friends. You have described him as being old, brown, having fur and wearing a pink shirt. Other than that, I have no idea what he looks like. You will announce his presence by saying "Buddy is here" then you will tell us what he is doing. Buddy has been doing a lot of cooking lately.
Your other imaginary friends are a family of monsters. It started with Baby Monster who was sad a lot and we would always hear you consoling him and telling him that it was OK and it wasn't scary. Then all of a sudden baby Monster had a Mommy and Daddy Monster too. They even went on a week long beach vacation a few weeks ago. If we asked if the Monster Family was here, you would say "no, they are at the beach". You were very matter of fact about it, and one day a week later you announced "the Monsters are back from the beach". Baby Monster seems like a bit of a wimp. He cries a lot, gets scared easily, and you are always being very nice to him.
You love Lily and you are so kind to her. You are gentle and sweet and whenever Lily cries, which is a lot, you hug her and tell her its OK. If Pei Ling tries to bother Lily, you step in and tell Pei Ling to leave her alone. Lily is an old and cranky cat, so we aren't sure why you love her so much, but we also don't understand why Lily has so much patience for you either. It is a sweet yet strange relationship. It breaks my heart to think of how sad you will be when Lily passes away.
Your 3rd birthday party was the highlight of your year. You were so excited about the Nemo cake, and all the Nemo decorations, but nothing matched your excitement when your friends from school came to your party. You would be playing, but when one of your school friends arrived you would run out to me, sweaty and out of breathe to tell me "Mommy...I saw Vanessa!" like you couldn't believe they were here. You did that for all you favorite friends.
You have a clear best friend at school. Her name is Vanessa and the strange irony is that she is Taiwanese too. You go to a Jewish preschool even though we are not Jewish, so another Taiwanese girl in your class was not expected. You and Vanessa are thick as theives and your teacher says the two of you whisper to each other all day, and apparently the Monster Family is an invisible family the two of you created together. I am calling the Director of your preschool to see if I can be sure you two are still together when you move up to the 3 year old room in September. I would hate for you to miss your first best friend.
Mommy and Daddy are stressing out about what to do with your binky. You are still using it at nightime, and you love it so. We keep pushing out the date when we are going to make you say goodbye to it. Right now we are talking about having Santa take it away at Christmas. We'll see. We may end up with a teenager who has a binky. We just don't want to take it away from you!!!
You still love Shiu fiercely. You sleep on his belly everynight and carry him everywhere. You also love the bunny that the Easter Bunny brought you. You named him Hoppy. We bought you 2 mini-Hoppies and you named them Taiwan 1 and Taiwan 2. Not sure why. You clutch one in each hand when you sleep.
You had your first dentist appointment and it was terrible. You hated it, screamed for poor Daddy, and you even have your first cavity. We are hoping you aren't prone to them. We went and picked out a princess electric toothbrush and floride rinse so we can help your teeth as much as possible. This morning you were so proud of cleaning your teeth you made me call Daddy on the way to school so he could be "excited for you".
You still love sushi, edamame, mexican food and other "strange for a 3 year old" food. You were not at all interested in your birthday cake, but loved the spicy salsa at an authentic Mexican restaurant we went to. You also eat crazy amounts of food, and you are the talk of any party. People want you to come to their house so you can inspire their kids to eat :-)
You are a pretty reserved kid when it comes to being physical. You love to run, but you aren't much of a jumper or climber. You are pretty quiet too. This works out well for Mommy and Daddy, we love it. Just yesterday we were at a kids party where all the kids were in this big inflatible bounce and swim thing. You stayed, very happily I might add, on the other side of the yard, in a small baby pool. You had fun splashing, dipping your face in and calmly playing while the other kids ran and screamed and jumped and slid. You are just the laid back, quiet type...and we LOVE it! Our sweet, quiet little girl.

I'll keep adding things as I remember them. I wanted to put at least some of this to paper so I wouldn't forget and all of a sudden you are 5 years old and headed to Kindergarten.

We love you Hsin-Hua...with all our hearts.
Hugs and kisses sweet girl.
Mommy and Daddy

Happy Birthday And Family Day Sweet Girl

2011-07-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

Today, our beautiful, funny and sweet little girl turns 3.

This time last year we were celebrating our first full year as a family and today we celebrate 2 years as a family.

This time 2 years ago, we rode in Fion's car for 3 hours to Taichung, Taiwan to arrive at Mrs. Tang's house to meet our daughter for the first time and bring her home.

I can still remember the butterflies in my stomach as we drove. The way my heart felt like it would burst when I first laid eyes on you in person. The feeling of your little body being placed in my arms. The way you didn't cry, but you looked me up and down trying to figure out who I was and why I was holding you. The way you grabbed onto that suffed mouse Shiu and havn't let him go since. I remember the little green dress you were wearing that we had sent her a few months before. I remember how you were bald on top and had little mudflaps of hair over your ears. I remember how you loved to pull Daddy's sunglasses off when we were at the baby store buying diapers. I remember you sleeping in Fion's car on the way back to Taipei with the little blue binky with the koala bear on it in your mouth. I remember looking at every inch of you and taking you all in. I remember your wrinkly little old man feet (they are still wrinkly). I remember the way you smelled. I remember playing on the floor with you that first night and Daddy and I couldn't stop saying how much we loved you already and couldn't believe this day had finally come after so long. I remember you big grin with only 2 teeth. I remember thinking you were the most beautiful and amazing thing I had ever seen.

And now, 2 years later to the day, I can't remember my life before you were here. You are the light of my life and the joy in my heart. I ache I miss you so much when I am not with you. You make me laugh, you make me take myself less seriously and you have taught me to love in a way I never thought posssible.

We love you Hsin-Hua with every fiber of our beings.

(We love you Chia-Feng for giving us the gift of your daughter. We cherish her everyday, and never forget that without you, this precious little girl wouldn't be a part of our life. We hold a special place just for you in our hearts always...right next to the enormous place that Hsin-Hua fills. We wish for you peace and love on this day of Hsin-Hua's birthday and honor you!)

New Blog

2011-06-22T10:18:00.002-05:00

This one isn't going away...this one is the "Hsin-Hua" blog...but I started a new blog about running. I am a serious runner, but I am a slow runner. So I started a blog to chronicle the life of a slow runner.

Be advised...this new blog will not be as "family friendly" as the "Hsin-Hua" blog...I will be "keepin it real" on the new blog, using the language that effectively conveys my point, and hopefully making the readers laugh a little...so if you aren't up for some questionable language, etc...don't read it.

If you are up for it though...or maybe you are a slow runner...check it out at:

www.damnslowrunner.blogspot.com

Pictures

2011-06-17T14:32:00.012-05:00

Hsin eating a donut before our 5K.

Hsin and Shiu ran an awesome 1K in DC...Look at her awesome medal.

Stretching before her 1K in DC

Waiting to cheer for Daddy at his 50K

"I RUNNY FAST"

At the Greek Festival with friends from school

On the train at the Greek Festival.

Playing with friends at Daddy's 50 mile race.

Hsin's buddy Sebastian gave her first pick of the popsicles at the Dirty German 50 mile race.

Hanging out at the creek while Daddy runs 50 miles.

Hsin-Hua and her "Eee-Pa" (grandpa).

Hsin with her cousins Thomas and Tara.

Ballerina Hsin-Hua going to her friend Ruby's party.

2011-06-17T10:04:00.004-05:00

Wow has Hsin been growing up. I can't believe that we are only a little over a month away from her 3rd birthday and our 2nd family day. Time really does fly.

What is Hsin up to these days...lets see...(these will be totally in random order)

-wore big girl underwear for a whole day (except nap and bedtime) and was dry the whole day.

-is beginning to tell me when she has to go potty even if I don't ask her

-LOVES singing. Favorites are "I'm a little teapot", "Pat a Cake", "Twinkle, Twinkle", "ABC's", "Old McDonald".

-We are entering the terrible 3's. Don't get me wrong, Hsin is still very good...but I am starting to understand why everyone told me that 2 was easy and the real challenge would start at 3.

-Hsin has an opinion and doesn't mind sharing it

-Has gotten smart and tries to change the subject when she gets in trouble. Her famous line if she is in trouble is "My tummy hurts". We know its all fake :-)

-Has a clear preference for certain friends at school...but has just started hitting when she is frustrated with them. Not good.

-Loves wearing a dress or skirt...she calls them "ballerinas".

-Loves running. She was upset the other night when I had a race and there wasn't one for her. She said she wanted to "runny fast and get a necklace"...meaning a medal.

-tells us every morning "I'm SO tired". She still LOVES to sleep, and sleeps like the dead :-)

-has so much emotion and sass when speaking or doing anything. She constantly has us cracking up. We asked her during dinner one night if she wanted to go to Target (Hsin LOVES Target) and she said with an attitude "Uh, let me eat dinner first".

-Oh..Hsin also still loves to eat and eats in quantities that put grown adults in awe. Current favorites are: tuna sashimi, edamame, tomatoes, mac and cheese, scrambled eggs, cheese, grapes, watermelon, water ice, tortilla chips and salsa, bread, soup and candy.

-can do most letters of the alphabet in sign language with a little help. LOVES singing the ABC's and trying to do all the signs like Mommy and Daddy. When we do each letter individually, she asks for help to get her fingers just right.

-loves practicing her letters, numbers, colors and animals at bedtime. She calls it "doing pictures".

-still loves the water. If we are filling up her little pool, she starts stripping naked to get in the ice cold water as soon as possible. Pours buckets of water over her head while squealing in the pool and in the bathtub.

-can take off her own shoes and socks and puts her dirty socks in the laundry and her shoes in "the spot" which means next to her laundry basket.

-if I pee on the potty, or do something that we are usually proud of her for doing, she will put her hands gently on each side of your face and say "Mommy, I so proud of you". I guess they are little sponges and hear averything you say :-) It is kinda nice at 34 years old, having a cheerleader for me on the potty. Who knew not peeing my pants would be such a big deal at my age!!!

-As far as the cats...pretty much ignores Mr. Peepers, which is fine by him...he ignores her too. Loves to play and play rough with Pei Ling...which is fine by her, because she is a kitten and loves to goof around. Now Lily. Lily is old and sick and no matter how ornery and angry she gets she has infinite patience for Hsin. And the sweetest thing is that Hsin reciprocates. She is always so concerned about Lily's well being, and if the other cats are treating her right. If Lily cries (which is all the time) Hsin walks beside her, gently hugging and petting her saying "Its OK Lily, you're OK Lily". It is usually very soft and quiet and really meant only for Lily's ears. If the other cats go near Lily's food or are generally annoying her, Hsin steps in on Lily's behalf and will yell "Pei Ling...you no be mean to Lily...or you no eat Lily's food". She does not however intervene on any other cats behalf. It does my heart good that Hsin has so much compassion just born in her heart that she knows Lily is old and ill and needs to be treated just a little more gently. This is one of my favorite qualities about Hsin.

-Hsin knows she is from Taiwan and will tell you that if you ask her. She also understands that her foster Mom is still in Taiwan, and that her Mama is still in Taiwan. We have started to talk in a little more detail about both of these important ladies in Hsin's life. We think she is getting old enough to understand some basic concepts about them.

-When saying goodnight to the picture of her Mama last night and talking about her a little, Hsin told me "I like Mama...she's pretty". Melted my heart (and she is beautiful...looks a lot like Hsin).

-Thinks that Shiu her mouse takes the bus to school. Everytime she sees a school or public bus she yells "Shiu's school bus...I will see him in my cubby". We have a duplicate Shiu that stays at school so I don't have to drag him back and forth everyday. I needed SOME explanation for how he gets there and home each day if he doesn't go in the car with us. So, we told her that he takes the bus with all his stuffed animal friends. She bought it hook, line and sinker...and I am sticking to that story for as long as I can. Hopefully until Kindergarten when Shiu probably won't go to school with her anymore. (Oh man that just made me sad. Both thinking about Hsin in kindergarten, and thinking of a time when she is "too old" for Shiu to be with her all day).

-understands and loves the idea of birthday parties. If we tell her we are going to one, she instantly breaks into a rendition of "Happy Birthday". For some reason she adds an extra B to Birthday making it B-Birthday, and always pretends to blow out the candles at the end of the song. For her birthday this year, she requested a Nemo theme.

-Finding Nemo is her all time favorite movie. I'm surprised the DVD hasn't turned to dust we have watched it so many times. She also loves Kung Fu Panda, and Bambi...but if you ask her what movie she wants to watch...9 times out of 10 she says Nemo.

-Hsin is getting taller and taller, but not much thicker. Which is surprising given what she eats. I think she will have long legs and be pretty thin.

-Hsin's hair has finally gotten longer, which gives us lots of styling options. It is still on the thin side, but filling out everyday. We can do pigtails on both sides, pull it over to the side with a bow and do one big ponytail in the back. Hsin usually has a preference for what style she wants each day.

-Hsin is getting into playing with my hair. She will comb it, pretend to put ponytails and bows in it and all the while ask me "is it too tight?" and tell me "oh, you look so cute". Its adorable.

-While in Target last week, I was looking at sports bras, and Hsin grabbed a bright pink one off the shelf and proclaimed to the whole store "OH Mommy, that is SO cute"...and yes...she said it just like the CAPS imply...full of sass. A woman standing near us nearly fell over in tears laughing. Hsin has actually always had a thing about bras. She notices them in stores, yells about them, notices mine in the drawer, in a laundry basket and on my person. She has also been talking about "boobs" lately, and I am constantly reminding her that "boobs" are private and we shouldn't talk about them, or touch them :-) Oh the conversations you have to have with little people!!!

-Hsin knows she is adorable, and uses that and being affectionate to try to get out of trouble. We are going to have a long road ahead of us here, because she isn't getting any less cute or affectionate :-)

-Loves, loves, loves her bunkbeds. I think she sleeps deeper now than she ever did in her crib. She slept straight through a raging thunderstorm last night!!! There are some nights she will tell us mid-show, mid-story, or mid-song..."I go bed now. I sleep in my bunk beds". If we ask her if we can sleep in her room or in her bunk beds, she very firmly says "no". If Paul asks to sleep on the top bunk she tells him he is too big, and that only her cousin Maudee can sleep up there.

-Hsin still sleeps with her face buried in Shiu's tummy. She has added to the team, Hoppy, a bunny that the Easter bunny brought, and Bambi, whom she calls Bandaid. Shiu still travels everywhere with us all day and all night. Since Easter, so for about 2 months, Hoppy has been requested everywhere we go as well. Hsin can barely hold the two of them at the same time, tucked under her arm, but she will fight and wrestle with them to get a firm grip, because in her mind...there is no question whether they are coming with her.

-Everything is "lemme have..." right now. I don't know where it came from, because Paul and I don't say it...but almost every request we have to correct her to say "I would like ___ please" instead of "Lemme have". I have a feeling this is going to take a while.

-Hsin has a new Hello Kitty purse that is just her size. As soon as we gave it to her she said "I need monies for my pocketbook". I find it funny that her first thought was money...and that she calls it pocketbook. They must call it that at school, because I never say pocketbook. Paul also gave her old video cards and business cards which she thinks are her credit cards. If we ask her at the restaurant if she is paying, she will pull out her "pocketbook" and start taking out money :-)

-If Hsin wants to sit on your lap she will say "I sit on my lap".

-Oh...I forgot in the food one...Hsin loves meatballs and chicken parm now too.

-Hsin alternates between calling herself Hsin-Hsin and Hsin-Hua. She also has just started to want to pretend that I am Hsin-Hua and she is Mommy. She thinks its a riot when I call her Mommy and she calls me Hsin-Hua.

-One of the times we were playing this name switch game, she said "I need to pick you up Hsin-Hua" and proceeded to grunt and groan trying to pick me up by my leg. She finally proclaimed "You too heavy". Thanks Hsin. I'm working on it.

-If you ask her to come here, or to go somewhere and she doesn't really want to, she will tell you she is stuck in the mud.

-Hsin has started to go to the nail salon with me when I get a pedicure. She takes her shoes and socks off to stick her feet in the water with me. We usually play angry birds and if she is good, the ladies will paint her nails. She LOVES it.

-While getting a pedicure last weekend, I asked her what she wanted for lunch, and out of the clear blue she told me Whole Foods. OK...I love the salad bar at Whole Foods, and Hsin HAS been there...but not for weeks if not a few months. Not sure where it came from, but its funny how her mind works sometimes and what she remembers.

-Knows the difference between Mommy's car and Daddy's car and sometimes has a real preference for which one we take.

-Hsin recognizes running clothes and if you take them out she will say "You going running?" and if you put them on, she will say "Bye Bye...runny fast".

That is all I can seem to remember right now.

I will post some pics too...but they are going in a seperate post below so I don't have to fight with blogger to organize them in this post.

All Was Good...Then It Got "Dark & Dirty"

2011-05-16T08:47:00.003-05:00

Hsin-Hua spent a girls night out with her Aunt Wendy and Aunt Susan this weekend. They baked a birthday cake, played babies, and Hsin even became BFF with Aunt Wendy's dog!Hsin-Hua having Sushi dinner with Mommy and Daddy on Friday night.

What did Mommy and Daddy do while the little one was gone? Well, we had QUITE the adventure.

As planned, we headed to Reading around 4pm to grab some dinner and then meet up with friends for the Dark & Dirty 6.5 mile nighttime trail race. It was rainy and foggy so we knew the night would be interesting and probably a bit challenging.

Paul, me and John S (friend from college) getting ready for the race.

The race was challenging for sure. The leaves and rocks were slippery, and the all the fog made it nearly impossible to see. Lots of tripping and slipping and bad footing. I was thrilled with my finish time, as it was exactly the same as the Ghouls & Fools night race from last fall when I was in MUCH better shape than I am now. Paul finished 16th overall, and missed placing in his age group by just one spot!!! Every one of these trail runs, Paul's time keeps getting better and better.

So, believe it or not, the adventure hasn't even begun.

We finished the race at about 10:30pm. Since Hsin was sleeping at Aunt Wendy's we were in no rush to get home. We were just hanging out, having a beer and having a good time.

Then we heard that a group of trail runners from Long Island, who came to PA to do this race had 2 members still out on the course. It was WELL past the time when they should have finished. The ladies were in their 60's, but experienced trail runners. They should have finished by now. So at about 12:15am, a search party was sent back into the woods to look for them. Paul was in that search party. By this time the rain was POURING down. One runner went from the finish line backwards, and Paul started at the half-way mark and headed toward the finish. The idea being, they would either find the missing ladies, or cross each other's paths.

The other runner found the ladies...but not before Paul took a bad spill in the woods and bashed his knee on a rock. Cut up, bloody and with a busted knee, Paul found his way back to the half way mark where someone picked him up.

Thankfully though after a trip to the ER in Reading, no broken bones, and nothing torn. Just bad bruising, bad swelling and a bad sprain. The poor thing looks like he has a baseball under is knee cap. He is now on strict rest, ice and elevation for the knee so he can hopefully recover in time for his first 50 mile race on Sunday!!! Fingers crossed!!!

What an adventure. We didn't walk through our door until 4:30am on Sunday. I am now downing coffee just to keep my eyelids open for work today.

I need sleep!!!!!!!

Hsin's First Ponytail and Trip To LI

2011-05-09T14:41:00.001-05:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T13:16:00.002-05:00

I didn't give you the gift of life
but in my heart I know
the love I feel is as deep and real
as if it had been so.

For us to have each other
is like a dream come true
no, I didn't give you the gift of life
life gave me the gift of you.

I love you Hsin-Hua Lin and I am blessed to be your Mommy this Mother's Day.
I can't help but think about your first Mama in Taiwan. She is your Mama always, and I wouldn't be so lucky to be your Mommy if it wasn't for her....and for that I love her too!!!

Cooking, Running, Sick Cats and Hsin-Hua

2011-05-05T07:59:00.016-05:00

(I apologize up front for spelling and grammer issues...I'm not taking the time to correct them..........so just deal with it :-))
Being back on Weight Watchers to lose weight for my Marathon in October, I needed something fresh and new...I found 2 new cook books I am not sure how I lived without for my whole life. They are by the chick that calls herself "Hungry Girl"...she is on the Food Network or cooking channel (I can't keep them straight anymore). One is 200 Recipes under 200 Calories and the other is 300 Recipes under 300 Calories. Here is what I made this past weekend:Hsin and her Daddy playing outside.

Ziti...less cheese than the usual recipe and loaded with spinach, onions and mushrooms. Its like 278 calories or something ridiculous like that and it was DELICIOUS. We had it for dinner every night this week, excpet last night when I had an overwhelming craving for Sushi. The first night we had it, Hsin even came to me begging for more. The girl does love her some spinach.

She looks SO old in this picture.

Strawberry muffins...the recipe was for blueberry muffins, but strawberries were cheaper than blueberries, and what can I say, I'm cheap. Whole wheat flour, and no-sugar added strawberry flavored applesauce (blueberry if you are following the original recipe) and these babies have under 200 calories in 'em! Hsin thought they were cupcakes. Only thing I would do different...strawberries since they are cut release more moisture. In my cupcake saver they only lasted 3 days. I would leave them more air next time, or bust my wallet on the blueberries.

Hsin-Hua eating Thai food.

Crustless banana cream pie...this had something insane like 115 calories per serving...is that even possible when it tastes so good? Homemade custard with slenda and low fat butter, lots of bananas, and I did add a layer of no sugar added, banana cream pudding to bulk it up a little. Next time I will make more custard. Only thing here is that banana cream pie only lasts about 3 days too.

Chunky and sweet chicken salad...chicken salad for under 200 calories? How is that possible? Fat free Greek yogurt and a small amount of fat free mayo mixed with chicken, apples, grapes and cucumbers. Delicious!!! Ate it for lunch all week and still loving it.

Hsin-Hua in her ballerina costume for a party...chillin with Pei Ling.

If you want the actual recipes to any of these, just leave me a comment. I am planning to make stuff from her books every week if I can. On deck for next week is mac and cheese that is under 300 calories!!! I can hardly wait.

************************************************************************************

I started running again, and boy is that horse hard to get back onto when you have been off for like 5 months. After the holidays (and an additional 5 pounds on my person) life just got a little crazy. Sick kid, sicker cats, husband training for the Boston Marathon, full time job, yadda, yadda, yadda. I didn't have time and frankly, I had NO motivation. I was feeling kinda lazy.

But I have been feeling lousy about the way I feel. Running for me isn't really about being fit and healthy and running races although that is really fun. Running makes me mentally feel good about me...that is really why I do it. How do I know this is true...I started running this week, ran 3 miles Monday, walked 2 miles Tuesday and ran 2 miles yesterday. Compared to the half marathon shape I was in back in November, this is nothing. I haven't lost any significant weight, or developed any muscle or tone in tese 2 short days. BUT...I am walking a little taller, and FEEL a million times better. Training for races is really about the accomplishment for me, not at all competitive. Finishing a hard trail race, or finishing a half marathon is about that feeling of "I DID IT" and feeling proud of that accomplishment.

So starting from scratch after being away for so long is HARD. I feel tired, out of breath and my legs are sore and heavy. But it felt like this when I started before and it got better and better every day. I just have to keep pushing.

Tonight I am running with a group of women for the first time. I have never run with people before, so it should be interesting. I hope I can keep up :-) I'm a little nervous.

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Hsin-Hua is becoming such a big kid these days I can hardly keep up. I looked back at pictures when she first came home and I barely recognize the baby with no hair and only 2 teeth.

That "baby" now goes on the potty about 85% of the time, sleeps in big girl bunk beds, runs like the wind, talks up a storm, has amazing compassion for a little person and is honestly the love of my life (no offense Pauly...you still are too. You weren't replaced...you now just have to share that spot with someone else).

****************************************************************************************

Our cats are hanging in there. For the last few months they have been the single biggest stress in our lives. Mr. Peepers almost died...twice. He stopped eating sometime in late February and develope Hepatic Lipidosis, which is liver disease. He was jaundice, lost 7 pounds and was near death when he was diagnosed. After a week long stay at the vet, he came home with a feeding tube surgically inserted into his esophogus through his neck. We had to feed him an all liquid diet, through syringes, directly into this feeding tube, along with his medications, multiple times a day. He did not take well to the liquid diet, so after a week of him "messing" himself and needing a bath multiple times a day, children's immodium finally fixed his little system. We had a week where things were going as smoothly as they can with a cat eating through a tube in his neck.

Mr. Peepers in the first few weeks with his feeding tube.

Then, Mr. Peepers started to vomit everything we put in him, including his medication. He couldn't keep anything down, and could barely stand up. We took him back to the vet, and they said that things didn't look good. He said we would probably lose him. The vet did however offer to keep Mr. Peepers for a few days and give him strong anti-nasuea medication. He did however present it to us like we could do this so we knew we did everything we could for him before he died. We left him at the vet tearfully, knowing that the following week we would have to let hime go. We were heartbroken.

Our sweet man rallied though and after 3 days at the vet, was holding down the small amounts of food they gave him through is feeding tube. 2 days later he came home. We were giving him large doses of anti-nasuea medication and rationing out his food in very small amounts over many times throughout the day. It seemed to be working and we were hopeful.

A week after he was home, we came home to find that Mr. Peepers had ripped his feeding tube out. It was just hanging from the bandage around his neck. We rushed him to the vet and they said he would need sugery again to re-insert it. They said we could take him home first and try force feeding him with a syringe in his mouth and just see if he would eat on his own (which he hadn't in almost 2 months). We were more than doubtful, but gave it a try. We penciled ourselves in for surgery that Monday in case things went poorly.

Friday night we kept Mr. Peepers in the basement with food and when we went down on Saturday morning that brave little man had licked the bowls clean!!! He ate everything!!! NO MORE FEEDING TUBE!!! NO MORE BEING QUARANTINED TO THE BASEMENT!!! NO MORE SYRINGE FEEDINGS!!!

Back to normal. Mr. Peepers hugging Pei Ling while they sleep.

We are now 2 weeks into Mr. Peepers being feeding tube free, and eating on his own. We still look at him in amazement. Our wonderful vet even says there is no medical reason that Mr. Peepers is still with us other than that he is a fighter and a miracle!!! He sure is!!!

***

Lily my sweet old girl is getting sicker and sicker. Poor thing has hyperthyroid, wacky kidneys and heart problems. The vet even told me that he never heard a heartbeat sound as strange as Lily's does. She is down to 6 pounds (her heaviest was 18 pounds), she is thirsty and hungry all the time (the hyperthyroid does that), she is on medication twice a day, and she mostly just sleeps and stays to herself. She has moments were she has what seem like mini-strokes from blood clots moving around her system, and sometimes she just can't keep her balance. I think it is why she just lies down and sleeps so much. Its easier. All we can do for her is keep her comfortable and make sure she isn't in any pain.

Lily (in the box) and Mr. Peepers at their vet appointment last week.

***

Pei Ling is just a naughty, little kitten and she brings such joy to all of us. She loves Hsin, and Hsin loves her. She tortures for Mr. Peepers and Lily because all she wants to do it play. She does clean Mr. Peepers and sleep next to him to keep him company. She currently has a fat lip from an encounter she had with a bug :-) Adopting her was a great decision...just like all our adoptions were great decisions!!!

Pei Ling sleeping

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Hope everyone has a great weekend and that weather is good wherever you are!!!

Mabels Labels Fundraiser

2011-05-02T13:46:00.003-05:00

Hey Moms...
Tired of lost clothing and toys?
Child starting camp, preschool or grade school in the next few months?
Heard about Mabels Labels and was thinking of giving them a try?

I personally use Mabels Labels on everything from cups to blankets, shoes, clothing and bags.
They wash well, identify items as belonging to my child and can go through the dishwasher. Some Mabels Labels I have on cups still look like new after almost 2 years and hundreds of trips through the dishwasher.

Mables Labels also make great gifts for other Mom's for birthday's, or showers.

So...sold on buying Mabels Labels?

Here is how to get 10% off your order...AND help raise money for Hsin-Hua's preschool.

Just order your Mabels Labels through this site and you will get 10% off, and your purchase will be credited to Hsin-Hua's preschool.

www.federation.mabel.ca

Thanks!!!

Life IS Good

2011-04-28T13:43:00.003-05:00

With everyting that has been going on lately with sick cats and life in general, I have been feeling in a funk. I decided to pull myself out of this funk by thinking about all the things I am truly thankful for that are wonderful in my life. So here goes...some are serious, and some are silly, but all I am thankful for:
-a wonderful, loving husband who is my best friend
-an equally wonderful, loving kid who is the coolest person I know.
-my health
-Paul's health
-Hsin's health
-a great job
-a steady paycheck
-a solid house and roof over our heads
-health insurance
-a reliable car
-awesome family
-great friends
-the internet as a good distraction when I can't concentrate on anything
-online shopping
-clumping cat litter
-cats in general
-my kitchenaid mixer which allows me to make scratch cookies on a whim
-I can't believe its not butter
-Splenda for baking
-Maudee
-a good nights sleep
-classical music to calm my nerves
-a Corona lite every now and then with a lime in it
-sharing a chicken parm dinner with my Hsin-Hua
-Hsin-Hua's Mama in Taiwan for making such a beautiful kid
-Mrs Tang for loving my baby for 9 months while we waited for her
-pigtails
-Shiu...Hsin's mouse
-a daycare/preschool that I love and my kid loves
-a relatively decent commute to work
-spring is here
-my landscapers who clean my yard, paint and make things beautiful each spring
-that it is almost popsicle and kiddy pool season
-chai tea
-cheez its
-my new treadmill
-facebook
-a kid who has great manners
-my really awesome vet who loves my cats as much as me
-scientists and doctors who have created medication that saved my Mr. Peepers life
-Lily...my cat who has been my best friend and by my side for 12 years. I hope we can figure out how to make you better
-Pei Ling for being the sweet, crazy kitten you are and keeping us laughing
-Mr. Peepers for pulling through 2 near death experiences and returning to us
-my sister Steph and her sweet kids
-E-Pa and Nona...my Dad and Step-Mom
-running
-life in general
I really do have it pretty good. Sometimes when things feel like they are piling up, you just need to stop and remember how good life really is and appreciate all the blessings you have.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T08:42:00.009-05:00

Quick post here everyone...

Easter 2011 was great! Hsin was so excited about the Easter Bunny coming and all she kept telling us was that he was bringing eggs and money. Not sure where she got that from :-) In addition to candy, money, chapstick, coloring books and stickers, the bunny also brought a Yo Gabba Gabba sleeping bag, blanket and Brobee pillow that we brought with us for naptime at Aunt Susan's house.

The Easter egg iunt at Aunt Susan and Uncle Howard's house was a blast! Hsin had a great time scooping up all her purple eggs filled with money and candy! The food was great, the company was great and we found out that Aunt Liz and Uncle Sean are having twins!!!!! Hsin even booked an overnight play date with Aunt Wendy in May! They should have a blast.

Above are pics from the day! Blogger is being all weird and won't let me move them down.

Hsin-Hua Is A Big Girl And Has The Bunk Beds To Prove It!!!

2011-04-14T12:11:00.034-05:00

I don't know why...but blogger won't let me delete all this extra space...sorry you have to scroll down...

Hsin got BUNK BEDS yesterday.

We ordered them about a month and a half ago and have been talking about them ever since.

Well, yesterday they finally arrived. I got them all set up and with her boys in them during the day and when we got home last night she practically flew up the stairs.

Thankfully I was able to get in front of her to capture the moment of PURE JOY when she ran into her room and saw her bunk beds!

Funny quotes from Hsin about her new beds:

1 - referring to the "up" bed..."I too little, I can't reach all way up there".

2 - upon seeing Shiu (her mouse) in the bed..."Shiu go nite-nite here too?"

3 - upon seeing all "her boys" in the bed..."all my boys Mommy...all my stuff"

4 - "Daddy, you sleep in my bunk bed"

5 - announced to everyone at school today..."I sleep in bunk beds at my house".

That little girl was SO excited about her bunkbeds it literally made my heart burst!!!

We watched her on the video monitor after putting her to bed and for about 30 minutes she kept popping her head up to look around. She just couldn't contain all the excitement until she finally passed out on her new birdie pillow.

She slept like the dead straight through the night. She even had a little rat's nest in her hair this morning to prove the good night's sleep she got.

Here are the pics of her first moments with her new beds...

Where Have We Been???????

2011-04-01T13:59:00.003-05:00

Busy! So after our awesome visit from Jules and Hayden, life took a little turn for the stressful. Mr. Peepers our sweet, fluffy man started to act a little strange. He wasn't eating much, was tired all the time and was just not himself. We watched him for a few days and then decided to take him to the vet. Turns out he was in liver failure and a very, very sick kitty. When a cat doesn't eat for a few days they send fat to their livers, then the liver can't process it so it gets all clogged up, and they end up with liver disease. It becomes a downward cycle because they feel sick and they don't eat, so the liver gets worse, which makes them more sick and so on and so on. So it can be reversed. But the only way to reverse it is for him to eat. But he won't eat. So after a brief stay at the hospital, Mr. Peepers was given a feeding tube directly into his stomach. We have to feed him a liquid diet 3 times a day, and it has been making his digestive system all hay-wire. Needless to say "piddle pads" are awesome and save you a whole lot of mess, and bathing a cat 3 times a day is NOT FUN! On top of all of this, Hsin came down with something this week that had her temperature in the 102-104 range on and off and out of school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Hsin is on the mend though and was back at school today. Mommy got to go back to work today, and Mr. Peepers has been eating small bites of turkey which is very promising. He will likely be on the feeding tube for at least 6-10 weeks...or until he is eating enough on his own for a couple of weeks. So...we have had our hands full around here :-) Hoping for a smoother and more routine week next week. We sure could use it!

Please Touch Museum With Hayden And Ruby

2011-03-18T22:04:00.003-05:00

Hsin and I played hooky from work and school today to spend a wonderful day with friends.

First we stopped by Mommy's office to say hello. Hsin loved seeing all "Mommy's friends" and was so polite and friendly to everyone.

Then we headed downtown to pick up Jules and Hayden, our friends through Taiwan adoption, who were in town from TX!!! Jules and I have been friends online since 2008, and got to meet in real life in 2009 when both our beautiful children came home. It was SO good to see both of them again, and see how much our girls have grown.

We spent the day at the Please Touch Museum, and even met up with another online adoption friend, Jen who's gorgeous daughter Ruby is from Tailand.

The girls were all instant friends and had a blast running around the museum.
We got dinner at our favorite Sushi place, threw money in the koi pond, and then headed home for some ice cream and a movie.

The tired out little people are tucked in bed, exhausted from a LONG but fun day. And the Mommy's are going to stay up chatting until who knows when. SO sad we have to take Jules and Hayden to the train for the airport tomorrow morning. We miss them already!!!

Adoption has not only brought the most amazing and wonderful little person, Hsin-Hua, into my life, but has also brought amazing and wonderful friends for life that share a common bond. We have been truly blessed to have been able to become a family this way, for all that it has brought to our lives.

Here are pictures from our wonderful day.

This free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

Purim Parade At School

2011-03-16T11:27:00.002-05:00

As I have mentioned on this blog before, although we are not Jewish, Hsin does to a Jewish pre-school. This week her school had a celebration for Purim which included dressing up in costumes, having a parade, and a putter show followed by hotdogs for dinner.

Here are pics from the celebration.

Free digital slideshow made with Smilebox

Trip to Long Island

2011-03-06T20:35:00.002-05:00

We had an awesome trip to LI this weekend to see my sister Steph, BIL Tom and my neice and nephew Thomas and Tara. We also got a visit in with Janet, her Dad and Step-Mom.

The kids were insanely excited to see each other and couldn't get enough of each other. Hsin slept over in Tara's room on Saturday night, I painted the girls nails, the kids ran poor Pauly ragged in the back yard and we saw a juggling act. Hsin even got to learn how to play Angry Birds with Janet :-)

Paul and I made it to the outlets too, and we bought all Hsin's new bedding for her big girl beds at Pottery Barn Kids outlet. On the way home today we stopped at the furniture store and ordered her new bunk beds...should be here in 4 weeks. Hsin is SO excited for her "one bed up top, one bed on bottom". She pretended to sleep in all the floor models.

It was an awesome and relaxing time with family this weekend!!! Just can't wait to do it again!!! Love you Steph (and Tom, Thomas and Tara).

Awesome Day With My Girl

2011-02-21T09:14:00.004-05:00

Daddy and a friend left the house at 5am yesterday to head to DC. They ran the Washington's Birthday Marathon. So what did Hsin and I do...what any girls would do when Daddy is away...SHOPPING!

We started our day with bagels and donuts for breakfast at one of our favorite local places. Then we hit the craft store for stickers, Easter stuff and yarn for the blanket I am making for Daddy.

Then Old Navy and then the mall.

Hsin LOVED pushing Shiu in his stroller all over the mall and was so good about following Mommy and not bumping into people! We even saw the McG's and had lunch with them and the boys at Friday's!

Hsin and I were cracking each other up the whole day and had a wonderful time.

We then headed home so Hsin could take a much needed nap, and Mommy could do laundry and relax with control of the remote :-)

After nap we watched Kung Fu Panda (for the 900th time), went out for Sushi, then grocery shopping!

I love that Hsin-Hua something terrible!

We missed Daddy, but we had a GREAT day!

***In other news, Pauly has registered me for a Half Marathon in the beginning of April (yes her did it and booked the babysitter before telling me :-). I haven't been in that kind of shape since November! I have only a little over a month to get ready...YIKES!!! Looks like there are some long runs in my future!

Picture Updates

2011-02-15T09:36:00.007-05:00

I haven't updated in forever...so here are some pics from what we ahve been up to lately. I swear now that I am done travelling for work, I will get better at blogging again.

Hsin got a big basket of oranges from our friends the Family K for Chinese New Year. To say she was a fan is an understatement. That girl loves her some oranges. She ate 3 all in one sitting and would have eaten more if I let her!

Our Chinese New Year dinner was a great time. We have celebrated every year for 5 years at the same restaurant. The first year was just Pauly and I. Then we invited the P's the next year, then we added the M's the next year and then finally last year Hsin was with us and we were up to 20 people. This year we added some of Hsin's friends from school and had a party of 25. We had a great time and all the kids got to learn a little bit about Hsin's culture and a very important holiday for her birth family.

I know these are out of order...but oh well. Our new kitten Pei Ling and Mr. Peepers were immediate best friends. It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen. They clean each other's faces, hug each other while they sleep and play with each other all day. Our sweet fat man has even lost 2 pounds which is great for him! They are so funny to see with each other...21 pound Mr. Peepers and 1 and a half pound Pei Ling!

We also spent SuperBowl Sunday with Hsin's best friend from school and her family. Hsin and Kiera had a great time playing together, the Mom's got to hang out and eat great food and the Daddy's got to watch the game! It was a great time.

Finally, this weekend we had a birthday party for one of Hsin's friends on Saturday morning. It was at a really cool Fun Center and Hsin had a blast. She liked the ball pit and the train the best :-)

I promise now that I am caught up on the last few weeks...I will be a regular poster again!!!

Recent Pics

2011-01-27T10:49:00.001-05:00

We are stuck at home on a snowy day!

Not much to update other than some pics.

We went to a gymnastics birthday party this weekend, and Hsin has new pigtails.

The Chilly Cheeks

2011-01-17T17:28:00.008-05:00

Pauly and I ran a race on Sunday that honestly made a half marathon for me feel like a piece of cake. It was called the Chilly Cheeks and it was a 7.5 mile trail run who's course creator is the spawn of Satan. The course zig-zag'd up and down a mountain covered in snow, ice, slick rocks and horrid terrain. It felt like I was in Pergatory and cursed to run in those woods for the rest of eternity! The uphills were at times just shy of 90 degrees, and at least a mile long each. The downhills were just as bad because they were so slick you had to hang on to trees to save yourself from crashing to the ground and tumbling down the hill leaving teeth and broken bones in your wake. And the flat parts...well there were none. I slid down hills on my butt, climbed hills of ice by clawing at rocks and tree stumps! One hill was so steep there wasn't even snow on it....it couldn't stick! WOW what an accomplishment. I am really proud of Pauly who came in 20th overall out of almost 600 people...and I am really proud of me for finishing it at all. Paul already has us signed up for the Ugly Mudder which is basically the same race again in February. OH JOY!Still warm and cozy inside the Leiderkrantz waiting for the race to start.

The start line.

The guys in shorts are nuts...the one guy in shorts in the gray shirt toward the left of this picture came in 2nd overall.
There is shorts guy who came in 2nd overall...number 435. Pauly is number 271...up front with all the fast guys. I'm in the back :-) Can you tell from Paul's face that it was about 28 degrees?

Pauly, right after the "bushwhacking" section of the race. We scaled the side of a moutain with no trail and an incline of almost 90 degrees. This picture shows one of the only and short straight and flat sections.

Pauly running up a hill.

Me running down a hill.

Shiu Has Some Behavior Issues

2011-01-12T12:34:00.003-05:00

So Hsin has been putting Shiu (her favorite stuffed mouse) in Time Out A LOT lately.

He wasn't up 5 minutes this morning before Hsin declared that he needed to sit in Time Out.

Apparently he is "hitting" and "biting" on a regular basis (nevermind he doesn't have bones or teeth) and he must sit in Time Out for his bad behavior.

This morning he was accused of biting Hsin on the hand. She lovingly walks him to the Time Out "spot", points her finger at him and says "Shime Out for biting" and then walks away for a brief moment. She then returns, picks him up, makes him say "sorry" in sign language", hugs and kisses him and then goes on her merry way.

He was in Time Out a handful of times yesterday, and frequently over the weekend.
The funny thing is that Hsin hasn't been in Time Out almost at all lately...she has been really good.

I guess Shiu isn't following her good example and is going through a phase of behavior issues :-)
That rodent better learn how to act right! :-) I guess he is going through the terrible two's.

Movies, FATASS, Babies, Playdates And Pee Pee...How's That For A Title?

2011-01-09T21:21:00.012-05:00

What a weekend! I know I say that a lot...but this one really was busy.

Friday night was sushi with my two favorite people as usual! I had a really wacky week at work so it tasted even better than usual :-) Afterwards, Pauly had plans to play poker with his friends so Hsin and I watched "How to Train Your Dragon" which was a really cute movie!

Saturday we got up at 5:30am to drive to Reading. A friend we have met through running different races was hosting what is called a FATASS (informal, free, no awards race) on a trail path near his home in the mountains of Reading, PA. Hsin was a TROOPER and was actually in a great mood even though I woke her from a dead sleep to leave. On the way it began to snow...and snow and snow and snow. It was also about 22 degrees...chilly! The run was a 10K loop and you could start whenever you wanted and to as many loops as you could. I started while Paul and Hsin hung back at Stefan's beautiful log cabin home. I did one 10K and MAN was it hard. It was snowing rather heavily, the path was narrow, rocky and covered in snow and it was cold....but the snow did make it easy to follow the path of footprints so I didn't get lost :-)

All of us before the Horseshoe FATASS run. Pauly and I are in the back row.
View from inside the cabin. Those woods are where we were running.

When I got back, Paul suited up and he went out for 2 loops or 20K. He ended up putting up the 2nd fastest 20K time out of everyone there! I ended up running a much better time than I expected, so I was very happy. Hsin had a great time playing with Stefan's kids and the other kids that were there with their parents and she was such a good girl. We had her up before 6am and she stayed up until 2pm before we let her fall asleep in the car!

Stefan's son was helping Shiu play the keyboard!
Hsin is wearing her "Future Runner, Philly Marathon" shirt :-)
Tucking in the babies and Shiu.

That night we had fun over at the P's house for dinner and playdate for the kiddos. The B's came over with their 2 boys as well so there were 7 kids total...it was LOUD! Hsin is obsessed with babies and wants to hold them ALL THE TIME.

Hsin holding baby Mason.
"Mommy, I hold the baby".

Sunday we had a playdate with Hsin's friends Maram and Samira from school. The kids played so well together and had a really fun time. We couldn't believe that naptime had past by almost an hour before we even looked at the clock. You know you are having a good time when time flies like that. I pulled out my camera but totally forgot to take any pics :-(

After an afternoon of errands, and cooking soup we had a very exciting thing happen Sunday night before bedtime. HSIN PEED IN HER POTTY!!! I usual ask her before she gets in the tub if she wants to sit on her potty and she usually will, but nothing ever "happens". So she sat on her potty last night, like most nights and I was putting away laundry in her room. She said "Mommy, I pee pee in the potty" and I went over to look, figuring it was like every other night where nothing "happened". But I was wrong...there was pee pee in the potty and we celebrated with high-fives, hugs, cheering and a peanut M&M. Hsin was very excited! So I guess we are starting potty training :-)

Yes I did take a picture of the pee pee in the potty!!!

What's Up?

2011-01-07T14:11:00.024-05:00

I haven't posted in a while since Christmas...so a few updates.

We had a big snow storm on my birthday and we attempted to play in the snow. Hsin was NOT a fan of the cold wind, so hopefully the next snow will be followed with not much wind and some higher temperatures :-) Pics below.

We spent New Year's Eve with our friend the P's. We had a lovely dinner (no kids) at their restaurant, and then just hung out and watched the ball drop at their house. It was a very peaceful and quiet New Years.

New Year's Day we had dinner at our house with the M's. Hsin and the M's older daughter Hannah play so well together. There is no whining, great sharing and you basically don't hear a peep out of them. Pics below.

Last night we went over to Maudee's house to exchange gifts with her. We even borrowed "How to Train Your Dragon" so Hsin and I will watch that movie tonight. Pics below.

Hsin is talking up a storm. Real and full sentences. This morning she said "I wear Panda Bear shirt to school". She also asked "Drive new car to school?". She repeats anything and everything we say, and just hearing what is going through her mind finally being spoken is hysterical.

Paul picked Hsin up at school yesterday and Hsin gets really possesive of her parents at school. She usually will very strongly tell the other children "NO, my Mommy" or "NO, my Daddy". Well yesterday when her friend Olivia came over to Paul at pick up she hit Olivia when saying "NO, my Daddy. Not hard, but we have a zero tolerance on hitting. It is an automatic "time out" with no warning. Hitting hurts, so it gets a "time out". So Hsin served her time, right there at school and then hugged Olivia and said she was sorry. Well...I was cracking up when Paul told me this because I asked Hsin "What happened at school today when Daddy picked you up", and she said "I hit Olivia". I asked her "what happened when you hit Olivia" and she said "I had to sit in time out, then I say I sorry and I hug her". OMG...how freaking funny is that!!! I almost started crying laughing. She was so matter of fact about it, and totally got that hitting gets time out. Too much!

Anyway...here are some pics from our recent "goings on".

Dressed to go out in the snow. My Gram knit little snow suits for our Cabbage Patch Kids when I was little. I still have one of them, so we put that snow suit on Shiu so he wouldn't be cold out in the snow...that is him in the blue outfit :-)

We tried riding on the sled, but when Shiu fell off, Hsin got really upset and wanted off. Who knew she would take a Man Overboard so seriously.

Reading books with Hannah.

What are you reading Hannah?

Hsin's book was funny I guess.

Cheese!

Giving baby Ching-Wen a bath.

Hsin was being a bit of a Ham for the camera.

Both girls with shampoo for the baby.

Cheese.

Hannah, I wash her hair.

Cousins hugging!

They kept playing back in the mud room where it was dark. Can you see the look of sheer joy on Hsin's face? She LOVES Maudee.

Dancing in the mudroom.

Playing hide and seek. Hsin kept yelling "find me, find me".

Maudee gave Hsin a Pillow Pet ladybug for Christmas. Maudee brought her unicorn Pillow Pet down and they pretended to have a sleep over. Hsin kept saying "Sleep tight". They both thought it was hysterical.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T14:08:00.016-05:00

Christmas 2010 was lovely.
Christmas Eve we spent with Paul's family in NJ. 7 fishes, great company and a wonderful time. Bad Mommy forgot her camera (I had cookies, wine and gifts to remember :-)) but Hsin looked adorable in her Christmas outfit!

When we got home Santa had arrived and left all Hsin's gifts under the tree...
The special gift this year was the Cozy Coupe. Hsin's teachers told Santa that Hsin loved the one at school

When we got to the bottom of the stairs Christmas morning, Hsin said "I want down" and she ran to the car to get in it!

This expression sums up how excited she was to get this car. She did tell us that it was from Santi Sauce (Santa).

Whenever we asked if she wanted to open another present, she said "no". She would have been all set with just the Cozy Coupe!

"Mommy, I driving".

Just chillin with her arm hanging out the window (The Elmo slippers are from Santa too).

Mr. Peepers liked the baby stuff.

Later in the day friends came over for a bit and brought Hsin an adorable Little People camping set and a book. After dinner we went to see friends and their children. They got Hsin a fake cookie baking set...adorable! Hsin LOVES cooking.

Grandpa and Nona came to see us the day after Christmas and Hsin loved the tool bench they got her for Christmas. She kept telling me "Mommy, I make it" because she helped put it together.

Santa and Grandpa and Nona got Hsin lots of fun things for her babies. Here Hsin is "Taking Ching-Wen for a walk".

"I change diaper, ok". She kept saying this to the baby.

Tucking her baby in "night night".

"Night Night Ching-Wen".

Pauly got me the most beautiful new jewelry from Na Hoku for Christmas as well as a new cold weather running shirt. For my birthday (today) I got a beautiful bracelet and the Burberry purse I have wanted for years! It is beautiful, and I kind of wish I had somewhere to go today so I could wear my jewelry and use my new purse!

Here's hoping the snow is enough to be pretty, but not so much that school is closed tomorrow!

Happy holidays, and Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone's holiday was a lovely as ours.

Sick

2010-12-22T09:47:00.003-05:00

So the "sick" that Hsin got in RI...well it was REALLY sick. Paul decided to stay home with her from school on Monday just so she could get some rest. Since her cough was a bit worse when she woke up, he took her to the clinic to get checked and they sent him to the ER to have her lungs X-ray'd.

Turns out it wasn't pnuemonia (thank goodness), but it was a really serious case of RSV. Poor kid is on steroids and the nebulizer every 3 hours. Yesterday was a little bit better, and so far this morning seems even better. Paul even called to say that Hsin is now holding the nebulizer mask on her own face :-)

I stayed home yesterday so Pauly could get some work done, and he is home today so I could come into the office.

We are all a bit tired and ready for this RSV to be kicked! Hopefully by tomorrow, so we can go on with Christmas fun!

Rhode Island

2010-12-19T21:04:00.019-05:00

We headed to Rhode Island on Friday morning to attend a wedding for a close friend from work. We had a lovely dinner on Friday night at a cute place on the water. The wedding was beautiful...but sadly we had to leave the reception early. Hsin was a real trooper, but she got really sick...high fever, cough, and was generally miserable. With some tylenol in her system she hung for a little while at the cocktail hour and about an hour at the reception. Just long enough to be the prettiest kid there in her little dress. Daddy and Hsin had a nice time dancing together for a bit. Once Hsin got really tired though...we decided at the last minute to pack it up and head home. We walked through the door at 1:30 am...and all slept until almost 10!!! Hsin is still a bit under the weather. We are hoping another good nights sleep and she is back to her normal self.In the hotel lobby waiting for our cab to dinner on Friday night.

Hsin and Shiu waiting for the cab.

Mom...stop taking my picture!

OK...one more.

Building a tower at dinner. (We bring Hsin's cooking stuff to keep her entertained. She LOVES to cook).

Being silly.

Not feeling well, but looking pretty for the wedding.

Mommy and Hsin!

Daddy, Hsin and Shiu headed to the cocktail hour.

Poor Hsin couldn't even muster a smile.

My handsome man...Daddy. Hsin's handsome man...Shiu!

Daddy and Hsin dancing. Hsin really wanted to go play the band's guitar.

Laughing with Daddy.

3 tired people out to breakfast this morning. Hsin was SO hungry.

Licking jelly off her toast.

Telling me "Mommy, I lick my toast". Thanks for the play by play Hsin!

Still exhausted! Hopefully headed to bed soon and only a 3 day work week!!!

2010-12-12T14:22:00.003-05:00

Friday night after our usual Sushi dinner, Daddy had a poker game with his friends so Hsin and I had movie night. We got in our jammies, got a big bowl of cheese curls and watched "Open Season", or as Hsin called it "Brown Bear Moomy". She likes to name movies after the main character! It was really fun just snuggling on the sofa and watching a funny movie together.

Saturday we had a birthday party for Hsin's friends from school, Maram and Samira. A whole bunch of Hsin's friends from school were also at the party so we all had a really fun time! Pictures are in a slide show!

Make your own free digital slideshow

After the party, Hsin took a quick nap while Mommy and Daddy got changed. Hsin's favorite babysitter came over last night so we could go out to dinner with friends at the Melting Pot! YUMMY!!! We got there a little early so swung by Crate and Barrel, one of my favorite stores, then had an awesome dinner of melted cheese, cook your own dinner and melted chocolate :-) Happy Birthday Pat and Rachel! After dinner we walked around the mall a little before heading home. It was a really nice night out!

Some of my readers may remember when Hsin had to leave Hibachi in her diaper and jacket because he had pooped through her clothes. Well Hsin had a "dining in your diaper" experience again this morning, but although it all worked out ok, it was a little scary. We went to a new little diner restuarant near us for breakfast. Hsin was sitting next to me in the booth when the waitress brought out our coffee. At the exact minute she came around the corner, I was picking up a book on the table. She went to put the coffee cup down, hit my hand and the coffee cup started to tip over. I pushed Hsin out of the way as much as I could, and most of the hot coffee landed in my lap...but Hsin was crying so I was afraid she was burned. I grabbed her up, and ran to the bathroom. I stripped her down to her diaper to check if she was burned, determined that she was just a little red on her leg and on her one arm, and once I hugged her she stopped crying. A registered nurse was even sitting next to us and said that Hsin was fine. So everyone was OK...my legs are a little sore, but we are all OK. BUT, since Hsin had wet coffee clothes, and she said to me in the bathroom "Mommy, I still want a bagel", we just put on her fleece coat and let her eat breakfast in her diaper. The restaurant put her pants under the heat lamp in the kitchen so she could wear them home :-) Oh the drama and pants-less antics of the Hsin-Hua !!!

Now a tired out Hsin-Hua is sleeping upstairs, while Daddy is at the gym and Mommy is just relaxing (I did bake 10 dozen cookies this morning for my work holiday party this week). Looking forward to a lazy Sunday and maybe a fun dinner with my two favorite people, Hsin and the Daddy!

Happy Holidays everyone. Christmas is almost here!

Where The Heck Have We Been?

2010-12-02T20:41:00.018-05:00

More like, where the heck HAVEN'T we been.

We have been busy bees!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Paul ran the Philly Marathon, and I ran the Half-Marathon. I set a personal record for a half marathon by beating my previous personal record by 12 MINUTES!!! It was very exciting, and was a really fun race. We spent the night before with a friend of mine from work and her boyfriend. My friend also ran the Half-Marathon too. We had a great time, and it was a great way to wrap up the marathon season (although Pauly is running another one next month :-))

Then there was the short week at work, and off to MD to see my Dad and Step-Mom for Thanksgiving. My Step-Mom's son, daughter in law, and their two children were there as well. They were 2 of the sweetest kids I have ever met. They were awesome with Hsin and kept fighting over who's lap she would sit on while they watched Monsters Inc :-) It was adorable. After dinner (which was wonderful) the kids decorated gingerbread houses. (Pictures below)

Later that weekend we got all the Christmas decorations up, presents purchased and wrapped...whew! Now I just need to ship some. (Pictures below)

This week Hsin's school had a party to celebrate Hanukkah. She came home with a little goody bag that included a dreidel, chocolate coins and a hand painted and crafted menorah. We put birthday candles in it and lit the first one last night for the first night of Hanukkah and the second tonight. Its kind of cool that even though we aren't Jewish we are getting to learn about that religion and its customs through Hsin's school. Aren't we just the "poster family" for diversity :-) German/Irish/Polish parents that are both Methodists, with a Taiwanese child who goes to a Jewish school!!! Hsin will either be REALLY well rounded, or REALLY confused one day..ha ha ha. (Pictures below)

Well...we are headed into another busy weekend. I have 9 dozen cookies to bake tomorrow for a cookie exchange Hsin and I are going to on Saturday. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies are what we are bringing. I will need my "all you can eat" Sushi fix to give me the energy to bake, bake, bake tomorrow night!!!

Have a great weekend all and stay warm (if you are in the NE like me).

Paul, Lisa and I before the Philly Marathon.

Watching Kung Fu Panda or "Pana Bear Moomee" as Hsin says.

Hsin, Kiki and Cooper watching Monsters Inc. Cooper won the argument to get Hsin to sit on his lap.

The beautiful Thanksgiving table.

Hsin, Kiki and Cooper decorating their gingerbread houses.

Hsin took her decorating very seriously...like she does with everything. It was really cute!

Hsin's Menorah with the first candle lit.

Part of our Christmas village. This is my favorite decoration. This picture doesn't do it justice when it is glowing in the dark.

This year we built a different part of the town. A little trailer, a diner and a tractor repair shop.

The diner's little windows light up and there are people sitting inside.

My beautiful tree.

From top to bottom...Daddy, Mommy, Hsin-Hua, Lily, Pickles (yes I still hang her stocking) and Mr. Peepers.

Happy Holidays everyone...whichever one you celebrate.

2010-11-17T10:04:00.005-05:00

I found this about a year ago and I have been reading it recently to remind me that people's reactions, and actions should NEVER hold me back from achieving what is important to me...doing what matters to me...being who I want to be.

So I thought I would share:

PEOPLE ARE OFTEN UNREASONABLE, IRRATIONAL, AND SELF-CENTERED.
FORGIVE THEM ANYWAY.

IF YOU ARE KIND, PEOPLE MAY ACCUSE YOU OF SELFISH, ULTERIOR MOTIVES.
BE KIND ANYWAY.

IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL, YOU WILL WIN SOME UNFAITHFUL FRIENDS AND SOME GENUINE ENEMIES.
SUCCEED ANYWAY.

IF YOU ARE HONEST AND SINCERE PEOPLE MAY DECEIVE YOU.
BE HONEST ANYWAY.

WHAT YOU SPEND YEARS CREATING, OTHERS COULD DESTROY OVERNIGHT.
CREATE ANYWAY.

IF YOU FIND SERENITY AND HAPPINESS, SOME MAY BE JEALOUS.
BE HAPPY ANYWAY.

THE GOOD YOU DO TODAY, WILL OFTEN BE FORGOTTEN.
DO GOOD ANYWAY.

GIVE THE BEST YOU HAVE, AND IT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH.
GIVE YOUR BEST ANYWAY.

Zoo? You Better Zoo Your "bleep" On Outta Here!

2010-11-14T15:58:00.005-05:00

(If you are a Martin Lawrence fan...you will TOTALLY get that title. If not...oh well.)

I know I sound like a broken record...but it was another fun and filled weekend as usual!
Dinner with friends for Sushi and Hibachi on Friday. Hsin and her little friend Keira had a great time playing and eating together while the Moms and the Dads had a nice adult dinner and conversation.

Saturday night Mommy and Daddy went out for an authentic German dinner at a recetly reopened Brauhaus in our area followed by a little social event for Daddy's track club.

Sunday we met up with Hsin's friends (twins) from school at the Philly Zoo. Hsin had an awesome time looking at all the animals, and hanging with her buddies. I think if we had let her she would have hung out watching the gorillas the whole day!!!

We had an awesome time again this weekend and are tuckered out and ready fora good nights sleep before going back to work and school tomorrow :-)
Have a great week everyone!

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Fun and Busy Weekend

2010-10-31T20:21:00.003-05:00

(PICTURES ARE IN A SLIDESHOW AT THE BOTTOM)

We had another crazy busy but super fun weekend. Friday was Sushi night like always. Hsin however decided to poop all the way up her back while sitting in her highchair and we didn't notice until we were getting ready to leave. Mommy had JUST taken the spare clothes out of her diaper bag...so after 20 minutes in a public bathroom with no changing table, Hsin was cleaned up but had nothing to wear home bu her socks, sneakers and her jacket! It was too funny NOT to take a picture of it.

Saturday Daddy had to work so Hsin and Mommy ran errands like dry cleaning pick up and drop off, pet store and grocery shopping at Walmart. After a quick lunch at Whole Foods we went home for a nap. When Daddy got hom we got dinner at our favorite restaurant The Fireside, and when we got home we had our first real Movie Night as a family. We got all snuggled up in our bed and watch Monsters Inc. Hsin LOVED it and sat still for the whole movie.

Sunday morning we got up and headed to the park for Daddy's 1/2 marathon. It was sponsored and directed by a German family, and since we are German, we thought we would have Hsin wear her Kiss Me I'm German shirt. She is German by association. The race director's son's were the sweetest little boys I have ever met. They instantly LOVED Hsin, and even asked her if she was German (how stinkin cute...kids are so innocent). They played with Hsin for almost 2 hours. They had her help give our medals to all the finishers, gave her her first bratwurst sandwich (which she loved) and danced with her to German music! Hsin had a blast and was laughing her little head off the whole time.

Daddy set a personal record, won first in his age group and came in 4th overall! We were SO proud. Hsin was even yelling "Yeah Daddy runny really fast"

Hsin barely made it to the car before she passed out. She slept for 3 hours :-)

When we woke up, we had a little bit of dinner and then got in our costume to head over to our friend Keira's house (Hsin's friend from school). Kiera's other friend Josh came over too as Buzz Lightyear and they all went trick or treating together. Hsin did awesome, loved picking her candy out of the bowls, and left her Elmo hood on the entire time. She LOVED being Elmo.

Worn out and with a belly full of candy...we came home a little while ago...bathed the filthy but happy and tired Hsin-Hua who is now happily snoozing the night away up in her bedroom.

Another weekend where writing this blog is the first time I have sat down...and another weekend that I had a blast and wouldn't change a thing!

Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween weekend!

Ghouls And Fools

2010-10-25T11:51:00.004-05:00

Some of you may remember the night races that Paul has done in the past. Trail 10K through the woods in the middle of the night...dodging rocks, branches, and downed trees.

Well this year I decided to join him for the Ghouls and Fools 10K!

I was PANICKED at the start line. Seriously...heart racing, felt like I was gonna barf, terrified.

AND...

I had an AWESOME time!

It was so much fun flying through the woods in the dark. Jumping over things and dodging the terrain made me feel like I was flying. I ended up running with a group of 3 other women the entire way and they really pushed me to finish strong. My plan was to come in around 2 hours, but I ended up finishing in 1:35.

I think I am hooked on trail running now. MAN was that fun!

Pauly did amazing too...he came in in the top 35. I can't even imagine running that treacherous terrain at the speed he does. I would break an ankle, and possibly my neck :-)

BIG NEWS

2010-10-17T19:34:00.002-05:00

We are headed to Boston this spring!!!
Why is that big news?
BECAUSE PAULY QUALIFIED FOR THE BOSTON MARATHON THIS WEEKEND!!!!!
(For those who don't know, the Boston Marathon is such a big deal in the running world that you have to qualify by running another marathon in a certain time limit for your age group. It is insanely competitive.)
The time Pauyl had to beat was 3 hours, 1o minutes to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. What time did Pauly run this weekend's marathon in Baltimore? 3 hours, 7 minutes...so he even had 3 minutes to spare!!!

I am so incredibly proud of him! I know how badly he wanted this, and he has worked SO hard to get faster and faster at every race he does. The course was REALLY hard too. It was uphills at least 6o if not 70 percent of the run, and there was a very steady wind, mostly at your face for the run too. Not only was it really hard to qualify for that time, but on this course, I thought it was nearly impossible!

Not to my Pauly! Nothing is impossible for him, and I can't wait to be at the finish line in Boston screaming my head off for him!!!

I also ran this weekend. I did the Baltimore half-marathon. That is how I know that the course was almost entirely uphill and that there was head wind MOST of the time. Because I was contending with it myself. It was a HARD run. I didn't feel as good during it as I did for the one in Wilkes Barre. The hills were getting to me, the wind was tough, and my feet started to be sore around mile 8. I really thought I was making terrible time. Although I finished Wilkes Barre in 2:41, that was a flat course so I assumed I would not run as well in Baltimore. My goal was just to run it in under 3 hours. By mile 10 I thought there was no way I was making my goal (and I won't look at my stop watch until mile 12) so I adjusted my goal in my mind to 3:10. Then I got to mile 12 and looked at my watch. It said 2:34. I could believe it. I crossed the finish line with a chip time of 2:47...just 6 minutes slower than my Wilkes Barre time, hills, wind and all. I am SUPER proud of myself.

The Philly marathon is in November. Pauly is running the full and I am running the half. It is also an entirely flat course. My goal for that is to run it in under 2:40 and set a new personal record. Pauly's goal is to try to run it in 3 hours flat. I wish us both the best of luck :-)
========================================================
What was Hsin up to this weekend. She was hanging with Grandpa and Nona. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO BOTH OF YOU FOR SPENDING THE WEEKEND WITH HSIN SO WE COULD BOTH RUN THIS RACE!!! WE LOVE YOU BOTH! Hsin told us at bedtime tonight that she loved Grandpa and Nona and that she had fun at their house this weekend.

Well, have a great weekend all...I am off from work tomorrow and getting a massage!!!

What A Day!

2010-10-09T20:44:00.024-05:00

We left our house at 8:30 this morning...and we walked back in the door at 8:45 tonight. Over 12 hours on the go! And we wouldn't have it any other way.

We started like we always do on Saturdays...bagels for everyone and coffee just for the grown-ups at our favorite coffee shop, then errands of getting gas in the car, dropping off and picking up dry cleaning, and then to Wawa to pick up sandwiches for later in the day.

Quick pit stop home to shower, get dressed, pack ourselves up and head out.

Where were we headed? Well first we met with The Family K at a local Harvest Festival. It was the biggest and bestest (yeah, I said it) Harvest Festival we had ever seen. We had a lovely picnic lunch at the playground first. The weather was perfect as was the company. After we ate our lunch, the kiddos played a bit on the playground.

Then it was off to the festival. First stop was the hayride. I don't have pictures of that, but Judy does, so I am sure I will see some soon.

Then on to the petting zoo. Hsin's absolute, hands down favorite was the rabbit. Funny...because my absolute, hands down favorite animal when I was little was ALSO the rabbit. I even had a pet rabbit I got when I was about 7. I think that a pet rabbit may be in Hsin's future (thinking around kindergarten age).

After the petting zoo we went on the pony ride. Hsin also really digs the pony rides. This was her 4th one.
We tried the moonbounce. Although Hsin was a HUGE fan at her birthday party...she is not so much a fan anymore. It may have been the fact that it was 2:30 and no nap had been had yet, but when she stepped inside the moonbounce, instant meltdown. So we watched Andrew win some games, shared a pretzel and lemonade with Daddy and then caught the shuttle back to our car. We didn't make it out of the parking lot before a certain little someone passed out from exhaustion.

We did not go home...no way man...that wouldn't be any fun. We headed over to the Laurel Hill Cemetary for the Rest In Peace 5K at 5pm. It was literally a race through the cemetary. We had packed our running clothes and brought them with us this morning. Thankfully we were parked in a semi-private parking lot since the only place to change was in the car :-)We both wanted to run it...but Hsin was with us...so I ran the race with her in the jogging stroller. I actually didn't do to badly considering there were massive hills AND I was pushing a toddler AND her stroller. I only did about 7 minutes slower than my usual 5K time. Not too shabby.

Speaking of not too shabby...Pauly came in 2nd overall. Yup...that's right. My awesome, super terrific, also incredibly adorable, hunk of a husband was the second fastest person to run the whole race. The award was a really cool funeral looking bouquet to stay with the whole "cemetary" theme of the race. A TON of the runners were in Halloween costumes too.

Hsin was a trooper for the race. She had her hip hop music playing on the speakers of her stroller while I had my music on my ipod. She ate snacks, sang songs, danced a little and checked out all the sites on the 3.1 mile run. She even rang her cow bell for me to cross the finish line.

Grilled cheese and french fries for dinner at a local diner and home by 8:45.

Non-stop...filled every minute...busy day=GREAT DAY!

We will all sleep well tonight!

What Is The Hsin Up To These Days

2010-10-06T08:46:00.002-05:00

I promised some updates on Hsin a while ago and between travel for work, a mysterious illness that laid me up for about a week and generally being busy at work and training for another half marathon (next weekend) this blog has suffered terribly.

My dear, dear husband tells me on numerous occasions throughout the day "You know Heath...the blog isn't going to update itself". To which I politely reply "No sh*t Sherlock"...we giggle and I still don't update the blog.

Well, I have a few minutes now so I will do my best to remember and document the latest "goings on" of the Hsin-Hua.

-yells at random times at home, in the car, or anywhere "MOMMY (or DADDY)...pause for drama...I SAW YOU!)
-yells in the shower "MOMMY...pause for drama...I SHOWER"
(She really does pause for drama)
-Is suddenly into cooking shows and loves to watch them with us. This is awesome because Mommy and Daddy can get a break from NickJr.
-Loves to pretend cook with her fake food. Loves to announce that she cooks but it sounds like "I suck". Which is hysterical for her parents.
-The last thing Hsin always says as we walk out the door for school each morning is "Bye Bye Shats (cats)...I u you (I love you).
-Hsin has a book called "I like cats" go figure. Daddy reads it pretty often before bed time. It basically goes a little like "Thin cats, fat cats, curl up in my hat cats". You know, sing songy. Well when Hsin reads it to herself she says "E Shat, E Shat, I like Shats". Sometimes she will say this line at random times throughout the day, in the car, talking to herself as she goes to sleep or when she first wakes up.
-Obsessed with her vitamins. Because we told her she can only have one a day, she thinks it is called "A ONE". The first thing she says when you get her in her room in the morning is "Mommy, A ONE?" She will also ask for "A ONE" at list 50 times throughout the day and makes you remind her she has to wait until tomorrow for another "A ONE".
-Says "bless you" if you sneeze, cough or blow your nose.
-Says sorry and gives hugs if she throws, hits or does something that warrants a "sorry".
-Says please most of the time
-Says thank you most of the time.
-Loves to run and loves when other people run. Still yells "I runny"!
-Says "I love you" all the time...sometimes even when you haven't said it first.
-Loves the "I love you, you love me" song and sings it ALL the time. In the house, in the car, in bed, practically in her sleep.
-Loves the "clean up song" but it sounds like "She wop" instead of "clean up".
-If you ask her what is her name she says "Hsin-Hua".
-If you ask her how old she is she says "two".
-If you ask her where she is from she says "Taiwan".
-If you ask her who her best friend is she says "Shiu".
-If you ask her what her favorite dinner is she says "Sushi".
-If you ask her what is on Daddy's arm she says "tattoo".
-If you ask her who her teachers are she will name all three of them. Honey, Heather and Kathy (Hsin says Faffy).
-She has started to name some of her friends at school, but mostly if you ask her who her friends are, she says Shira, which is her babysitter. Glad they are friends.
-She was bitten at school the other day and actually told us who bit her.
-Since we talk about biting and NOT biting our friends a lot (trying to be proactive...Hsin has never bitten, but she has been bitten a bunch, so...) she now sings the "Don't bite your friends" song from Yo Gabba Gabba a lot and at random times when noone was even thinking about bites.
-Hsin will give hugs, say bye bye and thank you when we leave someones house.
-Hsin's favorite foods continue to be Sushi and soup.
-Hsin's hair is still growing really slowly...still can only do pigtails on top of her head. It is finally getting thicker though.
-Hsin is still skinny minny and I have to sew little pinches in her pant waistline so they don't fall off. She still fits in 18 month pants, but they are like floods.
-Speaking of Minney...Hsin has a new obsession with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She says their names in the most hysterical way that I can't express in written words. If you heard it you would pee your pants laughing. She has a little Mickey and Minnie from her great Aunt Gail and great Uncle Butch and she LOVES them. Often they AND Shiu must accompany us out of the house. Like I don't have enough people to keep track of.
-Hsin has a Hello Kitty purse that Daddy got her and she loves to carry it on her shoulder just like Mommy. She has her own chapstick in it (another obsession) and thinks she is such a big girl when she uses it.
-Hsin got earphones for her DVD player in the car. Mommy and Daddy love it because we can have a real converstaion while Hsin is happy watching Elmo on long car rides. Hsin calls them her "Elmo Ears".
-Whenever Hsin sees another Asian child in a book or on TV or on a package, she says "A Hsin-Hua". Its kind of weird...but I think she knows they look like her.
-Not too much interest in the potty yet. She wants to accompany me to the potty and she wants to "flushy", and occasionally will sit on her potty with no results. We are in no rush...and pull ups come in size 2T which is way to big on Hsin...so really...no rush.
-Still thinks Shiu is the coolest thing o nthe planet. He comes everywhere, must be everywhere, and sometimes we catch her just hugging him, looking him in the face, kissing him, and telling him she loves him.

OK...that is all that is immedately coming to mind.
I don't have pictures, but we are meeting the Family K at a harvest festival this weekend so I am sure we will have pictures from that.

Just Some Pictures

2010-09-19T20:31:00.010-05:00

Sorry Grandparents...its been awhile since I posted some pictures...so here are a few from the last 2 weeks or so.

I am going to do an update one day this week on all the crazy stuff Hsin is saying these days.

But to hold you all over...here is some cuteness...

At the playground.

At the wildlife preserve.

Playing at the Family K's house.

Getting shushi (sushi) for dinner...with our new Hello Kitty purse from Daddy (and Shiu of course).

Photo Of A Friend

2010-09-10T14:25:00.007-05:00

When Hsin stayed with The Family K this past weekend, Judy was kind enough to take some wonderful pictures of our lovely little girl.

However, my favorite photo is of a friend of the family that doesn't get his photo taken unless it is along with Hsin-Hua or somewhere in the background.

He is a dear friend.

He endures being dragged on the floor, being wiped with boogers and tears and drool.

He gets dropped, hung upside down, and smooshed under and between things.

He gets to test drive difficult things like wearing a nebulizer.

He gets fed soup and other food items although he doesn't necessarily like them.

His midsection is getting a bit flat because it is used as a pillow.

He is constantly hugged and kissed whether he wants it or not.

His fur is worn and matted and he looks far beyond his age.

He has had what we like to say in our house is "a tough paper route".

But all this is because he is immensely loved.

Loved by Hsin-Hua in a way that is fierce and mighty.

He is her best friend, partner in crime and sleep over buddy.

He is loved by this Mommy and Daddy for being "that guy" for Hsin-Hua who helps her get through some tough times and tough transitions.

Who is this guy that we love so much?

Who else but our beloved Shiu!!!!

This picture is just "soooo Shiu". He looks so tired and so loved. See the pictures below for the reason the little mouse was worn out.
We love you to mousy little pieces Shiu!!!

Thanks for the pictures Judy!!!

I DID IT!!!

2010-09-06T12:53:00.010-05:00

I ran my first half marathon. I had two goals for this race. The first one was to not walk at all...and I didn't! I ran the entire 13.1 miles without stopping or walking. My other goal was to finish it in less than 3 hours. I finished in 2 hours 41 minutes...so not only did I finish in less than 3 hours, but I had 19 minutes to spare!!! It was so hard, but it felt so good, and like such an amazing accomplishment to do it.

Our wonderful friends The Family K had Hsin-Hua sleep over on Friday night so that Paul could run the race with me. They took wonderful care of Hsin and Hsin had a wonderful time with them. It was so important to Paul and I that he be able to run this race with me...and thanks to The Family K's kindness and generousity, he was able to. It was so motivating to see Paul running (it was a multiple loop race so we crossed paths often), and having him run in the last part of the race with me was something I can't even describe in words!!! It wouldn't have been the same if he couldn't run it with me!!! BTW...Pauly came in 9th overall and 2nd in his age group! He never ceases to amaze me!

After the race we spent some time with The Family K, then headed to a BBQ at the P's house...always a good time.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel that bad the next day. A little sore, but not as bad as I thought I would. We headed to Paul's cousins for a BBQ in NJ and had a lovely day. Pauly and Hsin went swimming and had a lovely time splashing around in the pool, and Mommy had a lovely time just relaxing for the day.

Today is a nice laid back day too, before heading back to work and school tomorrow. Hsin-Hua helped me pick weeds and clean up the yard (I told her to put all the "green" in the bag...and she weeded like a champ!). We then planted mums for the fall. I LOVE mums. Just love them. I love fall, it is my favorite season and mums just feel so fall to me.

When Hsin-Hua gets up from her nap we are getting Sushi for dinner and then making rice pudding! Sounds like a perfect night to me!

Here are the pics from the weekend!

Pauly and I at bag check before the race.

Me finishing my first HALF-MARATHON!!! The 13.1 sticker is on my car!!!

Daddy and Hsin swimming in Paul's cousin's pool.

Watching the bonfire in sweatpants...what could be more cozy?

Sometimes The World Hands You Something Wonderful

2010-08-31T11:31:00.005-05:00

Just when you think that nothing is going your way.

Someone amazing comes along and does something unexpected, and just SO kind you don't even have words to acknowledge it.

This world is an amazing place, and you know what...it is full of some pretty amazing people.

I personally am blessed to know some of these people and have them in my life.

Thank you Judy.

Your gesture means more to me than what it is on the surface.

So Much To Catch Up On

2010-08-30T08:30:00.018-05:00

Wow...I have been away from the blog for a while, huh?

Well, I am going to start with today, and then go backwards a little.

Today was the first day of the new school year. Hsin moved up to the next room at school, with new teachers, new friends, new cubby, and new routines. This room feels so "big kid". She needs a helmet to ride bikes, a toothbrush and toothpaste for after they eat, and they wanted to know if she drinks out of a regular cup. Hey people...what's the rush? She just turned 2. Kids in this classroom start going in the potty too. Some of the older kids alreay go in the potty.
Hsin was a little freaked out this morning. She was a trooper and didn't cry (that I saw anyway) but she was hugging Shiu so tight I thought his head might pop off. Mommy on the other hand had tears in her eyes as she walked out the door.

This was Hsin on her first day of school last year...just 6 weeks after she got home. She was a tiny little baby, who couldn't walk, and couldn't talk.

And here is Hsin on her first day of school this year. Big kid with a helmet and toothbrush, who said I love you Mommy before I left.

I hope she has a good first day. Mommy is a little sad and stressed out about it :-) Hopefully Hsin isn't!!!

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OK, so going backwards now...last night was Yo Gabba Gabba Live! Holy Moly was that show crazy!!! It was awesome to see all the characters live and in person. Hsin liked it but I think it was a little too loud for her. She tried to sing along to some of the songs she knew, and she did the one Dancey Dance they did, but mostly she sat on Mommy or Daddy's lap and just watched. We bought her a Yo Gabba Gabba Live T-shirt for the show, and we also got her a Brobee backpack that she LOVED. She was hugging and kissing him before the show.

Brobee backpack.
Giving Brobee hugs.
Watching the show from Daddy's lap.
DJ Lance Rock, Muno, Plex, Brobee, Tudy and Foofa.
Doing the Peanut Butter Stomp Dancey Dance.
Fruit snacks!

*****************************************************

And now just some random pictures from the last 2 weeks.

Hsin figured out how to ride her rocking horse and loves it.
Hsin all dressed up for a baby shower.
Rain boots and umbrella.
Pretending to nap with Daddy.
*******************************************************************

Lastly...as you can see on the ticker at the top of the blog, there are only 5 days until I run my first half marathon. Unfortunately, a last minute change in plans means that Hsin has to come with us, which means Paul can't run it with me. I was really looking forward to doing my first big race like this with him. I was hoping he would be motivation for me...knowing he was running it too, even if he wasn't actually with me, would have really pushed me to run my best and finish. It was not planned, and there isn't anything we can do about it...so I will be running my first half marathon on my own...wish me luck! I am very, very nervous. I know I have trained hard for this, and that I can do it. This change in plans though has thrown off my confidence a bit though.

Have a great week.

Happy Birthday Grandma, 4H Fair, And Pentathalon

2010-08-15T13:07:00.009-05:00

What a busy weekend.
Friday night we had a BBQ Birthday party for Hsin's Grandma (Paul's Mom). A very relaxing night with good food and fun in the backyard!

Saturday we met up with the P's...loaded up the minivan and went to the 4H Fair (Pics in the slideshow). Hsin got to go on a pony ride again and loved it. I barely had to hold onto her she did such a good job holding on to the saddle. After the fair we went to the P's restaurant for lunch and when I looked over to check on Hsin, she was feeding potato ham soup to Shiu off a piece of lemon. WHAT? Yup...off a lemon, and Shiu was COVERED in soup. At least he wasn't hungry :-)

Hsin slept over Grandma's so Pauly and I could get up at 5:45am this morning to go to his pentathalon. With only 35 minute breaks between each event, Pauly ran a 3000, 800, 200, 1500 and 400. Wow is that a lot of running with little breaks. We met up with friends Ahn and Dan and their friend John. Ahn and John ran, while Dan was a spectator with me. Our friends John and Jen (they met us at the Dark and Dirty Race too) also came just to watch. John is recovering from a broken collarbone from mountainbiking so is currently on break from running.

The track meet was a lot fo fun to watch and cheer at. It felt a lot like being back in college watching Pauly's meets. Paul did really well...and now we are home...Hsin is sleeping, Pauly is laying in his PJ's and I am catching up on all our blog-able moments from the weekend.

When Hsin wakes up later, we are getting Sushi for dinner. YUMMY!!! Have a great week...I need to get back in the groove with running. That half marathon is only a few weeks away...and I am NOT prepared!

A picture slideshow by Smilebox

Better Late Than Never!

2010-08-12T14:05:00.022-05:00

Hsin and Daddy both had a race last Saturday ( I know, I know...I'm a little behind). I didn't know about the kids race in advance...which would explain why Hsin is in jelly shoes :-) and not running sneaks.

Night before the race having some stir fry and noodles. Hsin actually figured how to use chopsticks just by watching us...and uses them the right way and without a rubber band on them! They are mini ones though.

Breakfast of champions...bagels and cream cheese. Oh its on kids...I may be only 2...and kinda little...but I'm gonna kick your hineys!Checking out the running field and developing her strategy!Leg stretches with Daddy at the bleachers. Look...just like Daddy!
Do you see that game face? Hsin-Hua was sizing up the competition at the start line and was SERIOUS about winning!Hydration is VERY important during a race! Don't start without that sippy cup!Running with the pack...and her trusted running coach Daddy!Wait...is that the finish line up ahead?That finish line is in site!Getting close!Hsin crossing the finish line...WOOHOO!Daddy crossing the finish line! WOOHOO!Congratulating each other on a good race!
Hsin hanging with the competitors. What sportsmanship!

Daddy accepting his award. First place in men 30-39 and 8th overall out of 360.

Daddy and Hsin...my two favorite runners!

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It has been a crazy busy week...Mommy has worked late 3 days this week, all we have eaten for dinner is soup and pb and j. So needless to say...the blog suffered this week.

Current things the Hsin is "hot" for:

Popsicles

Showers. Yells in the shower Mommy, Mommy...I shower!...no kidding kid! I'm in there with you!

The cats when they are eating dinner. Yells...Mommy, Mommy...cats-dinner!

Says I Love You out of nowhere, without us saying it first and knows what it means. It is often followed by a hug or kiss.

Laughs at burps! Hey...who taught her that toilet humor? NOT US!

Said "damn it" at school the other day. Again...who taught her that? Not us!

Into running. Seriously. She runs and yells Daddy, Daddy...I runny!

Into jumping. Yells Daddy, Daddy...I jumpy.

Many random thins now have "y's" on the end of them. Runny for running, Jumpy for jumping, all doney for all done...many many others.

Knows everyone's names when asked but adds an "ah" to the front of all of them. "Ah Shi-Wa" for Hsin-Hua", "Ah Mommy" for Mommy, "Ah Daddy" for Daddy, "Ah Illy" for Lily, "Ah Beepy" for Meepy, and "Ah Shiu" for Shiu. Not sure why...but that is Hsin for ya.

Loves dancing and will do dance moves you show her...latest favorite from school is "pump it" with her arms and shaking her hiney.

Loves music and knows the words to MOST hip hop and dance music on the radio.

Well...that's all for now. Another weekend is upon us...enjoy!

Shiu's New Stroller

2010-08-01T20:03:00.013-05:00

When we visited the Please Touch Museum for Family Day, Hsin really loved the baby doll in the stroller. So we bought her a little stroller at Target to push Shiu in. After school on Thursday Hsin and Shiu gave it a little test drive.

Once we made it back to the house, Hsin decided to strip her clothes and play in the frog sprinkler, have a popsicle and then learn how to jump rope (or "jumpy jumpy" as Hsin says) from our sweet neighbor Emily.
This weekend we just spent some nice, quiet and realxing time. We got Sushi on Friday as usual. Hsin is a HUGE fan of "shushi" and ate 6 whole pieces herself. We'll have to buy her her own "all you can eat soon". We then went for a walk at the park with Shiu and his stroller.
Saturday we hung out, ran errands and visited friends Ray, Rosie and their daugther Hannah...they just welcomed a new little sister, Sarah. Hsin and Hannah had fun "jumpy jumpy" on Hannah's bed and then were pretending to have a sleep over :-)

Good, relaxing weekend. Its too bad we need to go back to work tomorrow.
Hve a good week!

Happy 2nd Birthday and 1st Family Day

2010-07-27T20:01:00.004-05:00

Two years ago today, a beautiful woman in Chiayi, Taiwan gave birth to the most beautiful and amazing baby girl. We have never met, and maybe never will, but we love her with all our heart and could never, ever express to her how lucky she has made us by giving us the opportunity to be Hsin-Hua's parents.

One year ago today, a wonderful and loving woman prepared to say goodbye to the funny and lovable baby girl whom she had loved and adored for the last 9 months. We wouldn't get to spend more than about 30 minutes with her, and for as long as we live we will never forget how heartbreaking it was to pull away from the foster home and foster Mother who cared for Hsin-Hua. Mrs. Tang will forever hold a special place in our hearts for loving our daughter and helping to form her into the little person she is today.

One year ago today, we drove 2 hours from Taipei to Taichung to meet our daughter and have her join our family forever. When we pulled up to Mrs. Tang's house we were amazed at how tiny Hsin-Hua was, and at how beautiful she was. She didn't cry. She just stared and stared and stared. She held onto me and Shiu the mouse. We instantly fell head over heels in love with this sweet little girl. She had us laughing that very first night by blowing raspberries, standing on her tippy toes and thinking that water bottles were the coolest toy she had ever seen.

We can't believe it has been a year. It feels like Hsin-Hua has always been here...that we never had a time without her. We couldn't love that little girl any more if we tried. She is easy going, sweet, affectionate, funny, entertaining, polite and just all around the coolest baby on the planet. She makes it easy to be parents and every day is filled with more joy and love than we ever could have imagined.
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To celebrate Hsin-Hua's birthday and our first Family Day we went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. It was AMAZING. If you live in the area and haven't been...GO. We spent almost 3 hours there and Hsin had a blast. I took so many pictures I had to do a slideshow to capture them all.

Happy Birthday sweet baby girl. We love you more than words can say!!!

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BIRTHDAY PARTY WEEKEND!!!

2010-07-26T08:20:00.022-05:00

Hsin-Hua had her big 2nd birthday celebration this past Saturday and it was AWESOME!!!

We had friends and family come to the local YMCA for a gymnastics party complete with moonbouce, Yo Gabba Gabba cupcakes, pizza and a TON OF FUN!

All the kids seemed to have a great time, and most importantly, the birthday girl had an awesome time. I don't think I have ever seen a smile last that long, or heard that continuous of a laugh coming from such a little person! On the car ride home she passed out and was yelling and throwing her hands in the air in excitement even as she slept.

A huge shout out to my step-Mom Pat and my sister Steph for ALL the help in getting the party set up and decorated. I couldn't have done it without you, and in the 100 degree + weather it was exhausting...THANK YOU!!!!!!!

And a big thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Hsin-Hua's first birthday in this country with us! We love you all and wouldn't have wanted to celebrate with anyone else!

Here are some pics from our weekend.

Eating popsicles with cousins Thomas and Tara the night before the big party.
Yo Gabba Gabba cupcakes.
This poster was hanging at Hsin's birthday party in Taiwan last year. We want to hang it at her party every year.
Family picture in front of the poster, just like last year (Hsin's dress is also almost exactly the same dress she was wearing when we picked her up at her foster mom's house on her birthday last year.)
Cheese balls were Hsin's favorite snack at the party. Her pin says "It's my birthday" just in case anyone didn't know :-)
Oh did Hsin LOVE the moonbounce! She kept saying "Mommy, Mommy, I bounce".
Some of Hsin's friends playing.
Talking with friends Reese and Raegan.
Climbing the obstacle course with Daddy.
Almost one year as a family of 3!
Singing Happy Birthday.
Blowing out the candle.
MMMMM...cupcakes!
Cousin Maudee and friend Raegan.
Grandpa and Nona got Hsin an easel for her birthday. She loved it. She kept yelling to me "Mommy, Mommy, I color".

This morning Hsin went to school with 24 pink cupcakes with pink icing to celebrate her birthday with all her friends at school. Tomorrow we will celebrate the actual day just the 3 of us!

Happy Birthday Hsin-Hua Lin...we love you so!

Nothing Says Summer...

2010-07-21T08:21:00.006-05:00

...like a baby in a diaper with a drippy popsicle.

Quick Weekend Update

2010-07-18T19:19:00.004-05:00

Sorry but there aren't a lot of pictures of the Hsin this weekend. I just didn't have my camera handy although it was a fun filled weekend.

Friday Pauly and I had off for the day. Hsin still went to school, but we did some errands, I got my hair done, and Pauly got something done for Hsin's birthday. I will let the picture do the 'splaining.

Yup...Daddy sat through about 4 hours of pain to have a permanent tribute to the Hsin-Hua on his person!

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Friday night Hsin and I headed over to the McG's house for a little BBQ and some fun with their boys. Hsin had a great time and Jack was adorable and so helpful with Hsin. He kept wanting her to go with him to play, and held her hand to take her outside to show her the swing set. Too flipping cute. Pauly came over a little later since he was still getting his tattoo finished past dinner time.

Hsin and the McG boys having a pj party after taking a bath. Hsin kept closing her eyes, laying down next to Jack and saying "nite nite". It was adorable.

Saturday we had an uneventful day with nothing much more than a haircut for Hsin, some playing in the yard and helping Mommy pick weeds :-) Grandma was nice enough to babysit for a few hours so Pauly and I could go and get dinner and ice cream together.

At midnight Saturday night, Pauly drove down to Philly to run an 8.4 mile race to benefit an organization called Back On My Feet. It is an organization that gets homeless men into running so help boost their self-esteem and help give them the confidence to go out and do things they never thought they could before. There were a number of races throughout a 24 hour period...but the one Pauly ran was called Midnight Madness. Out of over 500 people, Pauly came in 9th!!! That is right folks...9th! He seriously is flippin amazing! He makes me SO proud.

Sunday, Hsin and Daddy spent the morning in their PJ's just hanging out while Mommy ran 10 miles for the first time ever!!! MAN was that hard. It was really hot...but I DID IT!!! Just a few months ago, I would say that I couldn't ever run farther than 3 miles...and here I am running 10 miles in one shot! I can't believe it. Although it was really hard and I was REALLY tired after...I feel much more confident that I will be able to finish the 1/2 marathon in September. I'll probably do 2 more 10 mile runs and one 12 mile run before then...so I will really know I can do it.

Tonight we had friends over for dinner along with their 5 year old daughter. Hsin had a great time...she loves older kids! They played and danced and sang, and well, Hsin was in all her glory!

It was a good weekend.

Hopefully its a good week too.

A Few More Weekend Pictures

2010-07-12T08:17:00.007-05:00

Last night after Hsin got up from her nap...we made the last minute decision to go to our township's "Concerts In The Park". Bands and singers come a few Sundays throughout the summer to a beautiful park near our house. Everyone packs a picnic dinner, blankets and lawn chairs and listens to great music.

Hsin had a blast dancing, meeting new friends and eating a little bit of everything that was in our cooler!

Clapping and dancing to the music.
Sitting "like a lady" in my lawn chair.
This is the face I got when I asked Hsin to smile.
Hsin just walked up to this group of 6 year olds and said "Hi". They said "Hi" and then touched her pigtails. Kids are too funny.
Daddy and Hsin getting a closer look at the band

Weekend In Pictures

2010-07-11T13:04:00.008-05:00

Not too much to report this weekend...just some cute pics.

This child loves sprinklers with all her heart!

She was picking it up and aiming it at herself to be sure every inch was wet.

She also wanted to make sure she could drink as much as possible.

Pony rides at one of the birthday parties we went to this weekend.

Hsin loved it and she said "thank you pony" when her ride was over.

Too flippin' cute...Hsin and the horse I mean...not me :-)

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-06T08:26:00.011-05:00

Happy 4th of July...a little late.

We had a pretty quiet and peaceful weekend (finally).

Spent some time in the sprinkler (or Hsin's favorite...drinking from the sprinkler), playing in the little pool, hanging with friends and just chilling out.

Hsin LOVES drinking from the sprinkler.

When we were filling her little pool, she grabbed the hose and drank from that too.

Hsin has taught herself how to climb up on the sofa to watch her shows. She looks so little on the big sofa!
Hsin has always been a bit of a "lounger"....
Sort of like her big brother Mr. Peepers.
Playing in the pool with friends.

Eating popsicles and apples on the deck.
Instead of the typical red, white and blue for the 4th...Hsin was rockin it out in her new RUN DMC shirt that Daddy scored for her at Target!

I also forgot in Hsin's 23 month update that she can say the whole alphabet with help, and count to 10 with help. Also as recently as the last few days Hsin wants to sit on the potty. She doesn't do anything on it yet, but she wants to sit on it, says she is all done (with nothing) and then gives you a high five and is very proud of herself. She will say for the next 5-10 minutes "I o potty" which is Hsin for "I go potty". We aren't discouraging her, sowe are letting her do it whenever she wants...but I am not ready for potty training yet. We may get her a little potty soon though since she seems to really like sitting on one.

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In running news...

Paul placed in 2 different 5k's this weekend. 3rd in age group at one and 1st in age group in the other!!! Hsin and I didn't attend those races, but Pauly did amazing!

I ran 8 miles for the first time on Sunday morning. I ran it slow, but I ran the entire time and didn't walk once. It was tough...hot and VERY hilly. This coming weekend I attempt 10 miles. YIKES!

23 Months Old

2010-06-29T08:10:00.003-05:00

The 27th was also the day that Hsin-Hua turned 23 months old.
This is the last month that we will refer to Hsin's age in terms of months instead of years and maybe a 1/2 or a 1/4 thrown in there. She will be TWO YEARS OLD next month.
WOW

So here are some Hsin-Hua updates at 23 months old:
-still loves Shiu to pieces. However at bedtime Hsin insists on a whole crew of boys. Curiously, all but one of the boys she has selected for this crew are by the same company as Shiu (Jellycat). So we now have Seymour Swine Flu, Le Bunny, Pickles Cat, and the non Jellycat, George the Giraffe. It is quite a pile that Daddy must put in the crib at night. When we peak in aon Hsin sleeping before we go to bed, we can barely find her in the stuffed animal pile up that is her crib.
-still loves veggies.
-obssessed with hotdogs. We don't eat them at home, so when we are at someone's house for a bbq, Hsin will yell "ot dog" until someone gives her one.
-sings the "I love you, you love me" Barney song NON-STOP. Not sure where she learned it, I assume school, but she sings it in the car, in the house, in her crib, to fall asleep, as soon as she wakes up...anywhere is a perfect location for a round of "I love you".
-Runs and jumps like al little athlete. Definetely is getting more coordinated and doesn't fall as often. When she does it is usually because she is looking anywhere but where she is walking.
-loves, loves, loves water. Will stand in front of a hose, stick her face in the sprinkler, will dunk her head face first into a bucket of water...she loves water! Also loves dirt. It works out well if the dirt comes before the water so she can wash the dirt off :-)
-is beginning to not want to hold hands in places where she needs to. I said I would never be the Mom who put one of those harnesses on her kid...but I am. When you are at a public place and your kid refuses to hold you hand...let's just say "I get it now".
-loves giving hugs and kisses like crazy.
-says "I love you" without us saying it first. She will randomly come up to you, hug you and say "I ov oo" which is Hsin for "I love you". Also says "nite nite I ov oo" when we tuck her in at night.
-loves to snuggle. If she is watching a show on the bed and you sit down with her, she will shimmy her little hiney over to be right next to you, then lay her head down on your lap, shoulder, whatever and just pack it in to snuggle the rest of the show.
-has fallen in love with raisens. Favorite snack of all time I believe. She will march into the kitchen and yell "aisen peese" until you get her raisens. Hey they are healthy...so I'm not complaining.
-Hsin spent her first evening with a non-relative babysitter and did great! She and Shira are going to be best friends I think. I think this weekend Shira may come over so Mommy and Daddy can go see the new Twilight movie.
-is getting a little more defiant and testing limits. We are definetely entering the 2 year old stage. Just hoping they aren't TOO terrible.
-"no" needs to be said at least 3 times before it is listened too...and often it still isn't and a time out is needed. Hsin is starting to really understand time out though and if she is doing something naughty and you say "do you want to sit in time out" she strongly says "no" and most times will stop the naughtiness.
-has started throwing a little bit. This falls into the parent's definition of "dangerous" so this gets an automatic "time out". We hope if we stick to it, maybe will have it kicked in a week or two.
-still getting taller, but not much wider. Summer makes it easy with clothes since dresses really work on a skinny, but tall baby.
-Hsin really is starting to understand the concept of "potty". She always tells us if she pooped by saying and signing "potty". She also will announce where Mommy or Daddy have gone if we leave the room to potty, and she will stand next to you in the bathroom and say "Mommy potty" as if I didn't already know what it is that I was doing :-)
-loves the cats more and more everyday. Poor Mr. Peepers still wants nothing to do with her, but Lily is game to hang with the little person. Hsin sits next to Lily while Lily is eating and will pet her and say "nice cat".
-Hsin is obsessed with boo-boos. She talks about her's all the time. "I av boo boo on my knee" is a line we hear all the time. She will even say "nite nite boo boo" when we put her pj's on, then pull the pant leg up so she can make sure it is still there. She is also very concerned when either Paul or I have a boo boo. We are trying to teach her not to poke our boo boo's as it hurts :-)
-finally just started to take the step out of the house without holding someone's hand..She doesn't even need to hold on to the wall. She had a weird little phobia about it...she COULD do it, she just wouldn't. Now that she does it makes getting out of the house in the morning with my work backpack, lunchbox, Hsin's bag for camp and keys a LOT easier.
-can climb the stairs holding onto the railing (and with a watchful hand behind her hiney).
-fast becoming a Daddy's girl!!!

A Few Random Firsts

2010-06-27T19:41:00.007-05:00

So Friday night we went out for Sushi as usual...and Hsin asked me for some of my salmon sushi (my favorite by the way). I figured, what the heck...she probably won't like it anyway. Well, she did. She ended up polishing off an entire piece of sushi...and they are BIG pieces! Girl after my own heart. Good thing my favorite place has "all you can eat". Sushi is an expensive habit for a toddler to develop!

Saturday after naptime we headed up toward Reading again for another race of Pauly's Sunday morning. We had dinner over a college friend John's house and Hsin played with his daughter Aubrey.

The hotel we booked online, well, let's just say it didn't look like it did online, and it was next door to "Baby Dolls". Use your imagination as to what an establishment called "Baby Dolls" is. Once we were inside though, the room was actually pretty nice, the bed comfy, and there was plenty of room for the pack n play.

Pauly ran the Double Trouble 15k today. Its called the Double Trouble because after running the 15k, you can decide to then run it again to make it a 30k. Pauly, having just did a marathon 2 weeks ago, stuck with the 15k. Its a trail race through the woods, so it is rocky and has roots from trees across the trail, and can be a little tricky to run. At the finish line I saw a few runners covered in mud and one guy with a busted open chin. When Pauly came across the finish line he had a bloody knee (Hsin was VERY concerned over Daddy's boo-boo) and a broken right pinky finger. Hard-core I tell ya.That is my Pauly (green tank, black shorts and black compression socks)...right up front with all the elite runners. Only the BEST get to start on the front line like that.

Hsin made friends with some of the other kids watching their parents run!

This super Mom was blowing bubbles. Instant hit with the little people.

He ran an amazing race though. He beat his time from last year by 10 minutes and came in 36th overall out of a few hundred (final numbers not posted yet). SUPER proud of my Pauly, as always.

Literally "flying" across the finish line. Broken pinky, busted knee and all.

After the race, friends Missy and Tim came to meet us with Ella, another little Taiwan cutie. Hsin and Ella participated in their favorite activity...eating. I think they both ate snacks non-stop for about an hour :-) It was really good to see them again, and Ella has gotten even cuter than the last time we saw her.

Hsin and Ella...taking a seat and eating some snacks.

We ate a quick hotdog and hit the road...within minutes Hsin was passed out in her carseat. The little critter was so tuckered she slept the whole hour home, then transferred to her crib for another 2 hours. She doesn't really transfer well, but she was TIRED!

Mommy and Daddy were really in the mood for a nice quiet dinner for two, and Grandma is not feeling well this weekend...so Hsin-Hua spent her first evening with a babysitter. An adorable 10th grader from our neighborhood that comes highly recommended by the same Mom that recommended our day care, pediatrician and electrician...she was AWESOME!!! Hsin loved her, and they had a LOT of fun for the few hours we went out. Mommy and Daddy had a quiet dinner, and stopped off at Target. It was devine!!!

Have a happy week!!!

First Trip To The Ocean

2010-06-20T13:08:00.028-05:00

Ice cream on the boardwalk!Hsin and Shiu riding in the wagon...headed for the beach!

Helping unpack the wagon!

Daddy and Hsin going to check out the water.

Hsin stopped off to play with some kids we didn't know :-) She is quite the social butterfly.

Building and knocking down sandcastles.

Hsin was SO brave in the ocean. She just marched right in and cracked up laughing and saying "whoa" whenever a waved crashed on her.

Laughing at the waves.

Waiting for the "big one".

"Whoa"

Hsin and Daddy!

Hsin had an awesome trip to the beach this weekend.

She LOVED the boardwalk and watching all the people. Of course she loved the ice cream too.

Hsin LOVED the ocean and all the sand. It was like a HUGE pool and a HUGE sandbox all in one. She did go through baby initiation at the beach and ate some sand :-)

Happy Father's Day to Hsin's Daddy, my Dad and Paul's Dad!!! We love you all!

Daddy Runs ANOTHER Marathon!!!

2010-06-14T08:32:00.013-05:00

Another fun and busy weekend for us!

Friday night we had dinner and played at the P's house with their girls! Hsin and Reagan were being cute and giving each other hugs before going to bed.

Raegan and Hsin in PJ's and ready for bed.
In between giving hugs!

Saturday morning we just ran some errands and played in the pool until naptime when Pauly and I left for Reading for his marathon.

That is the bulb side of a turkey baster my child is drinking pool water from. Don't judge me!

Sunday, the day of the race was HOT and HUMID!

I was recruited by the race staff to help at the finish line by giving out medals to all the finishers of the Half and Full Marathon. It was really cool to be one of the first people to congratulate all the amazing people who ran those races, some for the first time...and all of them in oppressive and almost dangerous heat and humidity.

Starting line.
And their off...

Because I was stationed at the finish line I had the perfect front row seat to when Pauly approached the finish. I could tell from about 100 yards out that he wasn't doing well and was in a lot of pain. I was able to help hold him up after he crossed the finish line when his legs cramped so badly he almost collapsed! The massage medics were able to help him out so he could walk again though :-) He did AMAZING!!! He came in 22 overall out of the Full Marathon runners, which 300 or so registered for (official race times have not been posted yet).

Poor guy...you can see the pain on his face! After 26.2 miles who WOULDN'T be in pain!

I am so proud I hardly have words to describe it. Not only does he go out and RUN these races but he does REALLY well in them too. He is an inspiration to me to keep working on running myself. I will never be as good as him, but I can keep trying to aspire to be half the athlete he is. I love him something fierce and I am proud to be his wife!!!!!!!

Hsin and Shiu took a sympathy nap (really just pretended to) with Daddy.

An early Father's Day present...Hsin has a T-shirt that says "my daddy ran 26.2 miles". She wore it for him last night!

Weekend With Maudee

2010-06-07T08:24:00.009-05:00

Maudee came over this weekend, and Hsin couldn't have been happier.
We had a simple night at home on Friday night where we ordered spaghetti dinner from our favorite restaurant and played at home until bedtime.

The happy look on Hsin's face when Maudee walked in her room on Saturday morning was hysterical. It was as if to say "oh my gosh...you slept over? That is awesome".

We were all up early so we could head to Pauly's race. It was a 10K trail race about 20 minutes from home. Hsin and Maudee had a picnic breakfast of bagels and cream cheese and we waited to watch Pauly cross the finish line. Pauly improved his place by over 40 people since last year's run of the same race, and improved his time as well.

We picked the perfect spot for our picnic...right on the start and finish line so we had front row seats.

Hsin on her Elmo phone waiting for the runners to start crossing the finish line.

Is that Daddy approaching the finish line?Yup...here he is.

After the race we headed home and the girls played in the pool in the backyard. Boy was it HOT!

And yes...I didn't bother with a bathing suit for Hsin. We were in our own backyard...so why bother, right?
Who says you can't eat soaking wet pretzels WHILE standing in a pool?

After naptime, our friends the K's and their boys came over for a BBQ dinner. I totally forgot to get the camera out so I have NO pictures at all. The kids had a great time though. Maudee and Andrew played in the sprinkler while the younger kids played in the pool and ate and ate and ate and ate! Hsin looked adorable in her aligator bathing suit too...I just have no pictures to prove it!

Sunday morning I headed to a local 5K on my own. Pauly and the girls stayed home and had a relaxing morning in their pj's. I didn't run as well as I would have liked. I did not beat my best time, in fact I didn't even match it. I am not one for excuses but when I say the course was hilly...I mean enormous hills that were both long AND steep. I train on hills. My whole neighborhood where I run is hills, and big hills too...so I am not normally slowed down by hills...and this course kicked my butt! I missed my fastest time by about a minute. Better luck next time I guess. I am waiting for the results to be posted so I at least know where I placed. I think the race was hard on everyone...I saw a lot of people walking.

Grandma came over at lunch time to hang out with the Hsin so Pauly and I could get a quiet lunch and run a few errands without the toddler. It was lovely! We wrapped up the weekend with Sushi for dinner, some Yo Gabba Gabba on TV, singing the ABC's in the tub and bedtime with all the boys (Hsin now HAS to sleep with not only Shiu the mouse, Seymour the pig, but she has added Le Bunny the rabbit, and as recently as yesterday, Pickles the cat).

Have a great week everyone!

Hsin Is 22 Months Old...and Mommy Reached A Running Milestone

2010-06-04T07:52:00.004-05:00

So Mommy's milestone is a shorter one...so I will go first.
I have consistently been able to run 3 miles for a while. I always thought (and said) I would never be able to run more than 3 miles. Well...I did! 2 weeks ago I ran 4 miles...and this past Tuesday night I ran 5 miles.

Running 5 miles feels like a REAL runner to me for some reason. 3 miles always felt like anyone who put their mind to it...could do it. I never felt like a REAL runner until I could run at least 5 miles...AND I DID IT! I didn't walk once...I ran the whole thing. And my neighborhood is almost ALL hills so it wasn't an easy 5 miles either.

Next week I move up to 2 days at 4 miles, 1 day at 5 miles and 1 day at 6 miles! It keeps climbing like that for the rest of my half marathon training.

I don't say this often...but...I'm really proud of myself :-)

SO...ON TO HSIN
-you talk ALL the time now. Some is nonsense that means something to you, but not much to us...but some are actual words, and some 2 or three word sentences.
-you blend words and signs a lot. You will either say the word and sign together, or the first word may be a word, then the second is a sign. Its really cute.
-you say the words for: cat, dog, mama, dada, Beepy, Lily, Shiu, rabbit, rain, dirty, cracker, cup, please, thank you, milk, juice, cookie, PopPop, Grandma, Nona, Grandpa, I love you, ponytail, shoes, socks, shirt, book, uh-oh, kids, friends, school, home...oh gosh...I'm sure I'll think of more after I post this.
-you keep getting taller and taller, and not much wider. Thank goodness its summer...dresses work really well on skinny but tall kids!
-you love music and bop and dance whenever its on. Daddy is thrilled because you prefer dance, hiphop and rap music to any other kind of music.
-you love to scrub yourself in the tub. You grab bubbles and scrub your arms and hands and belly and your hair.
-you love to brush your own hair and your own teeth.
-you not only walk now but you run. You have skinned knees all the time, but you are tough, get right up, say "booboo" and keep running.
-you love to be outside. Playing in dirt, water, your swing or in your wagon.
-you ran your first race. and won your first medal. You cried and held a hotdog the entire time.
-you still sleep like the dead all night. When we put you in your crib you are passed out before we shut the door. We think you play so hard all day that you are just exhausted when the day ends.
-you think Daddy is hysterical when he reads Goodnight Moon and says in his funny voice "IN THE GREAT GREEN ROOM".
-you have the biggest grin behind your bink when we come in to your room in the morning. It literally lights up the room.
-you typically hold up at least one of your boys when we come in the room (Shiu or Seymour) as if to announce that they are still there.
-you insist that the boys (Shiu, Seymour and sometimes Le Bunny) sit with you on the changing table in the morning when you get dressed and at night when we put on your pj's.
-you answer "yeah" to anything you want to say yes to. And it is the cutest sounding little "yeah".
-you love to sit on your little pink chair to watch your favorite show.
-you still love Yo Gabba Gabba to a crazy degree. You yell "Aya Babba" when it is on TV, or if you want to watch it.
-we are taking you to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live this August!
-you still eat an astonishing amount of food, and prefer veggies over everything else. We love it. If we give you a plate of all different food, you always eat the veggies first and fast. The other night you were so upset, begging for more brocolli and we didn't have any more. What kid begs for more brocolli? You do!
-you like to tell us that your diaper is dirty...even if it isn't.
-you have the most amazing belly laugh when you think something is really funny.
-you still love giving hugs and kisses.
-if we sing your favorite songs, you try to sing along but only really say the last word of each line.
-you sing along to the ABC song and say about 10 of the letters pretty clearly. Your favorite is the "ME" at the end of "won't you sing with ME".
-If we say each letter of the alphabet, you will repeat each letter back to us and most are pretty clear. Our favorite is W...you say "ba-da". You will also repeat "Y-Z" over and over again and drag out the ZEEEEEEEE with a big smile on your face. You also try to do the signs for the letter which is really cute.
I can't think of anything else right this minute but will add things if I remember.

We love you more and more everyday Hsin. You are the perfect kid to complete our family and the 3 of us are like 3 peas in a pod.

Our Weekend In Photos

2010-05-31T19:54:00.004-05:00

We had such a busy and fun weekend the only way to share it without writing a novel is with pictures. Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend...we sure did.

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Paul Is TRYING To Work From Home!

2010-05-26T08:59:00.001-05:00

But someone seems to have other plans!

Dirty Face And Dinner With The M's

2010-05-23T17:42:00.012-05:00

Hsin and I were cleaning patio furniture on Saturday and with muddy hands, Hsin decided to wash her face.

She eventually decided to at least wash her hands in the bucket!

The M's came over for dinner on Saturday night and Hsin and Hannah played SO well together!

Cool Hsin in her shades.

Yo Gabba Gabba Live

2010-05-20T10:35:00.002-05:00

Is coming to Philadelphia in August.

We will be there rocking it out with DJ Lance Rock, Muno, Foofa, Toody, Brobee and Plex.

"WELL LET'S DO IT...AH BREAK IT DOWN!"

Night Race And A Visit From The GodParents

2010-05-17T08:42:00.022-05:00

This weekend was a really fun time!

Friday night we got dinner at the mall food court (high class I know) with the P's and their girls! The kids had fun running around the mall and Hsin was a trooper as usual and went to sleep in a pack n play at the P's house while Jenny and I hung out and the boys watched the Flyers game at the restaurant.

After running some errands on Saturday monring, including a hair cut for Hsin...we put together some new furniture for our front patio. Hsin was SO helpful, and I am not even being sarcastic. She was handing me tools, putting caps on screws, and any time I would drop something she would get it for me. I think Hsin will take after me (and NOT Daddy) and will be very handy.

She was not however happy with the fact that whenever she sat on the box the furniture came in to eat her goldfish, it would collapse :-) See angry face below.

Hsin also suddenly grasped the concept of talking on the phone Saturday, and would hold the phone up to her ear and say "Hiya Dada" and then crack up laughing at herself. She would also say "ring ring" before answering it...funny girl.
Saturday afternoon Pauly and I headed up to Reading PA (Hsin stayed home with Grandma and PopPop) for the Dark and Dirty Race (you may have seen this post from 2 years ago). This is the race where you run through the woods in the pitch dark with nothing but a headlamp on. We met up with Paul's friend John from college who ran track and cross country with Pauly. They both ran the race and John's wife and I stayed back to cheer them across the finish line. John came in 32 out of 400 and Pauly came in 40 out of 400. Poor Pauly got lost twice and fell twice.Pauly crossing the finish line.

Pauly took about 20 minutes off his time from 2 years ago!!!

John's wife Jen and I decided that we will do it next year too. It is crazy...but just seems too much fun NOT to do. Its an almost entirely uphill 6.6 mile run...but hopefully after training for a half marathon in the fall, by spring 6.6 miles should be a piece of cake :-)

Sunday we woke up to Hsin all of a sudden answering "Yeah" to things instead of her usual head nodding. It was hysterical when I first heard it. I asked her if she wanted pancakes for breakfast and she said "yeah" with this funny little attitude. All day she then answered "yeah" to almost anything!

We played outside in the morning and cleaned up the patio furniture...which now includes a picnic table for Hsin. All of us ate lunch at the little kid table this weekend :-)

After naptime, Hsin's God parents Mike and Anna came over for dinner.

We had a great time catching up and playing in the beautiful weather outside!

This was another great weekend with the Hsin...we love this kid more and more with every passing day.

Happy Mommy's Day

2010-05-10T12:20:00.008-05:00

I had a LOVELY Mother's Day weekend. I forgot my camera all weekend though, so all we have is i-phone pics...not the greatest quality.

Friday night we went to a friends house for pizza with the kids. Hsin was the little tike with 2 three year olds...but she hung pretty well. The three year olds were funny and kept asking things like "how come she doesn't really talk", and "how come when I tell her to come here, she doesn't listen". Hey kid...welcome to my world and dealing with toddlers. You want to babysit?

Eating pizza with the big kids.

After dinner and some playing on the swing set, we walked up to Main Street and got ice cream and said hi to a lot of "dawgs". Hsin was a little leary of the cold stuff at first, but once she got used to it she ate almost all of Mama's cookies n cream.

We also stopped off at a little park, where instead of playing with swings and other what-nots meant to entertain the little people, Hsin was fascinated with picking up mulch and handing it to Daddy. She is brilliant is she not :-)

Saturday we ran a bunch of errands in the morning, during which Hsin was a tropper. She was well behaved, sweet and funny the whole time. Of course we had Yo Gabba Gabba playing in the car ride between stops, and that never hurts one's chances at having a well behaved kid in the car.

Feeding Shiu imaginary soup at lunch.
Giving Shiu some milk too.

After sharing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at our favorite lunch spot it was nap time. And a 3 hour nap it was...which is GLORIOUS! During said break from the cherub we got Mother's Day dinner together for the in-laws. Paul's Mom, Grandma and Father all came over for dinner.

Sunday morning I was up at the nauseating hour of 5:30am to head out to the annual Susan G Komen Breast Cancer walk I do with the C's each year. It was FREEZING cold for this time of year, but it was a lot of fun, and for a good cause! Afterwards we all headed back to the C's house where Mr. C always makes breakfast for the walking ladies, and Hsin and Pauly met us there.

All the ladies ready for the walk.

Hsin was great playing with the boys in the back yard. She was also quite the huggy little thing which was really nice for Mother's Day. Sometimes the kid just loves to sit on your lap and give you endless hugs and kisses (boogers and all) and it really is just the sweetest.

Before naptime Hsin helped us get the shopping list together, or rather "rolled around in the coupons like she just won the lottery", and ran around the house playing "boo" with Daddy. This is where Daddy sneaks up behind Hsin, yells "boo", Hsin screams, falls down on the floor and laughs until she almost barfs! Its hysterical!

After naptime, Hsin and Pauly took me for my favorite, Sushi for dinner. Hsin was an angel and quite entertaining at dinner. She was a little ham this weekend and had us laughing the entire time.

Pretending to send text messages at dinner. She was VERY serious the whole time like she really knew what she was doing!!!

My Mother's Day gifts:

A card that said "You are the best $%^& Mom in the whole #%$^ world...Sorry Mom, I gotta call em like I see em".

This is too funny, because this is totally something my kid WOULD say. No mushy, lovey, dovey cards for us...no way!

A hand made card from Hsin from school with a picture and a poem.

Gotta love the school for the shout out to Mom.

Super cool Oakley running sunglasses that don't slide down your nose when you run.

Pauly said that Hsin was charging the teachers cash for hugs to save the money to buy them.

An awesome weekend with my awesome husband and super awesome kid.

Does it get any better than this?

Hsin offically saying "I love you". It is a little mumbled, but she will say "I love you Mama".

That is awesome!!!!!!!

Thank you to Hsin-Hua's Mom in Taiwan for having this beautiful child that has made me the happiest Mom alive! I hope that you are happy and at peace today.

Happy Mother's day to all Mom's...with kids, waiting for kids, wanting kids...

if there is a kid in your heart that you love like crazy (even if you don't know who they are yet)...you are a Mom!!! So happy day! I remember the 3 Mother's days before this one, and man were they hard. Any of you still waiting, your day will come. It doesn't feel like it now, but it will come. My thoughts are with you, and I am sending you big, big hugs!

Better Late Than Never

2010-05-07T11:33:00.003-05:00

I never did Hsin's 21 month update. It has been SO crazy at work, and at home lately, I literally have no time left in the day. We work until 5...race home, eat dinner, hang with the Hsin, bathe the Hsin, PJ the Hsin, read to the Hsin, put the Hsin in bed...then one or both of us go running, then one or both of us do work that didn't get done before 5, then we collapse bed...and THIS is what you call "we do the same thing every night!".

Anyway...here are some updates on the peanut and what she has been up to lately.
-talks ALL the time. Really attempts to imitate what you say.
-says "I love you" but only we understand it.
-calls the cats by name. Lily is "La" and Mr. Peepers is "Beepy".
-says "school" when we pull up to school in the morning, and says "kids" about her friends there. -says her own name "wa wa" and "mama", "dada", and "poppop"
-says "home" when we pull in the driveway.
-announces to the kids at school at the end of the day "Mama, Home" as if to say "Hey kids...this is my Mama and she is here to take me home".
-says "thank you" most of the time if you ask her too. Again, only we understand it.
-love for Seymour Swine Flu the little pink pig is growing. Both need to be with her when we get dressed in PJ's and both sit on Daddy's lap for story time before bed. I just ordered a second one so we can wash them more frequently.
-loves to play outside. recently helped wash the patio furniture (played in bubbles) like a champ. -loves going for walks in her wagon. She kneels on the bottom between the two seats and watches all around. Shiu is usually along for the ride.
-dances A LOT to Yo Gabba Gabba. Especially during "Dancy Dance" time. Points to the floor like DJ Lance Rock when he says "ah break it down". (If you watch it in your house, you know what I'm talking about).
-loves her new "straw" cups and doesn't really use sippy cups anymore.
-LOVES dogs. Says "dawg" everytime we see one, even from the car.
-Announces buses by saying "Bu" when we see them.
-surprised Mommy by saying "Choo Choo" at a train yesterday...didn't know we knew that one.
-knows what she isn't supposed to touch or play with, and will walk up to it and say "no no" while shaking her finger at it. She will even tell you why on things like the stove. That gets a "no no, hot".
-says "no" to things she doesn't want in this flirty little way with a look and a weird accent that makes it sound like "newwww".
-whoever goes to get her out of her crib in the morning, usually gets asked where the other parent is. If I go in, she almost immediately says "dada?"
-Still loves her binky at night. Plugs it in right before story time. Doesn't use it the rest of the day though.
-still super skinny, but getting taller all the time. I need to take hems out of some pants I hemmed about 2 months ago already...they are floods now.
-loves water. Says "wada" and anytime she sees it wants to stick her hands in it. Loves when we water the plants...she will stand right in front of the hose stream, and stick her hands in the wet dirt.
-asks for ponytails, or says whether she wants one when you ask her. She will hand Mommy the comb to use and then puts it away.
-loves to pretend to wash herself and hair in the bathtub.
-will use any vessel available to try to drink bath water. We have taken cups away, but she will use any toy that holds a drop of water and try to drink it.
-eye teeth look like they are coming in finally. Hopefully they come in completely soon.
-such a good walker that she attempts to run now. Currently we have 2 skinned knees which we are proud of and announce as "booboo" and point to.
-very tough. Will fall down and get two bloody knees, and cry for about 10 seconds before wanting to move on to the next thing. I think she thinks booboos are cool.
-eating like a big kid out of bowls and with a spoon "poon" or fork. So much easier to clean up now!!!
-still loves giving hugs and kisses A LOT!
-still loves chapstick
I am sure I am missing things...so I will add them if I remember.
Hopefully some pics from this weekend and our first Mother's Day too.

26.2 Miles

2010-05-03T18:57:00.010-05:00

I am the proud wife of an incredible man who RAN A FREAKING MARATHON this past weekend! Holy crap am I proud. I was all teared up when he started, and a mess when he finished!

Not only did Pauly RUN the marathon but he did REALLY well. He had a time of 3 hours, 24 minutes...which put him at 241st out of 11,000 people. That is top 2% people. MY HUSBAND! He seriously is awesome!

Hsin had a fun filled weekend with Grandma and PopPop!

Pittsburgh (where the marathon was) was a really cool city. We had dinner Friday night at Lidia's restaurant...Pasta party dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse the night before the race...and Saturday we spent just walking around the city checking the neighborhoods out. It was a really fun time and nice weekend away.

Pittsburgh is called "The City of Bridges" and the Marathon ran over 6 bridges in the 26.2 mile run.

View from the top of the Inclines. Very pretty city.
Pittsburgh Marathon!!!!!!!
Before heading to the start line.

Start line. You can't see Pauly of course...but you can see the guys who ended up finishing in the top 5...the little guys in the middle of the front row!
Pauly is in this picture, its just hard to see him. This family I met and I ran to the 4 mile mark to catch the runners (their daughter-in-law and Pauly) come across this bridge. I did catch Pauly but all you can see are his shoulders next to the guy in the navy shirt. It was DOWN-POURING at this point...so I wasn't realy sharp with the camera and there were a TON of people in front of me.
Approaching the finish line!!!
ALMOST...
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DID IT!!!
Pauly...I am so proud of you! You are an inspiration to me!

(Tomorrow...I start training for the Baltimore Half-Marathon in October...if I put it out here it really puts the pressure on to actually do it :-) I would never have the motivation and inspiration to even THINK about doing something like that if it wasn't for my Pauly! Thanks for motivating me and telling me that I can do anything!

Just Some Pictures From This Past Weekend

2010-04-21T08:50:00.015-05:00

I don't have a ton of time to post, so I figured I would just put up some pics.

Celebrating the start of the Phillies season in our Phillies T-Shirt. Pretzel rod in mouth like EVERY morning on the way to school!
She had only woken up a few minutes earlier...so she was NOT pleased about my picture taking.
Hsin and Lily are fast becoming best friends. Lily rubs Hsin's legs so hard she almost knocks her over. This night was a total love fest between the two where Lily was even allowing Hsin to pet her A LOT! Hsin is so gentle and kind with her cats and with all animals. It is really nice to see.
Hsin was so excited that Lily actualy sat still long enough for her to pet her fur.
Chasing Lily, but keeping one eye on Yo Gabba Gabba on the TV.
Saturday we went to the sheep shearing at the local farm. We got to pet a goat. Their fur is a lot softer than I thought it would be. Hsin got her first "straw" cup and as you will see in the following pictures, she didn't let it out of her sight the whole weekend.
Hsin and me on a hayride at the farm.
This was about 2 minutes before Hsin passed out. She was so tired she was snoring and drooling within minutes. Hsin also finally has a "Taiwan" jacket to match Mommy and Daddy's.
Playing at the P girl's house. Hsin and Kaelin were playing the keyboard together.
They really did share very well together.
Hsin and her beloved "straw" cup.
I had to get a picture of this. Hsin was cleaning up the P's playroom all by herself. She started to pick up toys and balls and put them away in their bins. It was adorable and when I told her she was a good girl, she was so proud and kept cleaning up! The cup of course was held onlto the whole time!

Just Thinking

2010-04-15T08:46:00.002-05:00

While at a conference for work in NYC this week, the entire group I was with had dinner together on Tuesday night. A large part of the conversation ended up being about people's heritage, family geneology, etc. Where people' s parents, grandparents and families came from. How they got here to the US. Who they look like. What their childhoods were like.

It dawned on me during this conversation...what if I were Hsin-Hua? How would I feel participating in this conversation? Other than some small data points we have from her Taiwan Mom...she doesn't know any of these things about her first family. Maybe she won't care. Maybe it won't bother her. BUT, maybe it will.

You don't start everyday thinking about your child being adopted, or thinking about what they have lost as a result of being adopted...nor should you. They are just your kid and that is that.

But these moments happen that remind you of what your child has lost. They have gained things too...that is a given, but they have lost their first family, a culture, a country, a language, ancestry, a certain connection and history.

There isn't anything that can be done about it....but we can remember and be sensitive to it.
***********************************************************************
Another note about this dinner...as I was in my hotel room getting ready to meet everyone, I was thinking to myself "please let no one bring up the Russian boy on the airplane story from the news"!

Does anyone else ever just NOT want to talk about the fact you are an adoptive family and NOT be the authority on all things that contain the word "adoption". The story is sad and upsetting on so many levels, and I am not even going to begin to get into it here...but sometimes, on a selfish note, I hate when things like this hit the news because I KNOW everyone is going to ask ME "oh, so what do you think about..." simply because I am an adoptive parent. Like when Madonna was trying to adopt and everyone wanted MY opinion, when Angelina and Brad are in the news about adoption...everyone has to ask what I think. And sometimes I just want to be a parent, not an adoptive parent and not have my opinion count any more or less than anyone else's. I don't know anything about these people, their adoption, their situation...and actually in most cases don't care (especially about Madonna and Brangelina).

So did it come up at dinner?...of course it did. Thankfully the conversation didn't last TOO long before moving to the next topic though :-)

Have a great week everyone!

Proud...But Not Of Hsin...Of My Awesome Husband

2010-04-11T19:36:00.014-05:00

We packed up the Murano this weekend and headed to Lancaster, PA. Pauly was running a 1/2 marathon in preparation for the full marathon he is running in May.

We stayed in the most adorable little Bed & Breakfast called The Coutry Hearth. It was so cozy and the owners were so sweet. Our room was call the Cherub room and had little angels all over it. Each night after Hsin went to sleep we sat on the porch swing or the little gathering room downstairs. We are hoping to go back this fall without Hsin and do the full on Amish experience for a long weekend. Hsin is a little too young for it yet.

The sweet little porch where we sat at night.
The house was built in the 1700's.
The original kitchen which is now the dining room where we ate breakfast.

Anyway...back to the half-marathon. There were 1100 runners in both the half and the full combined. The totals will be out in the next two days or so, but it is estimated that about 600 ran the half. Pauly P came in 16th overall and 2nd in his age group. WHAT? YUP! That is what I said...16th overall as in, only 15 people finished before him and over 500 people finished behind him. I am RIDICULOULY proud. Like tears in my eyes, hug the living cr*p out of him proud. We got to stick around for the awards ceremony where he got a plaque for finishing 2nd in his age group. My husband is the coolest! Seriously, THE COOLEST! (And he is flippin cute too).

There is Pauly behind that third cone in the lime green shirt approaching the finish line.
Crossing the finish line with a time of 1 hour 32 minutes and 31 seconds! That is MY husband. Ladies...back away from the goods...he's all mine!
Recieving his plaque.
A little shout out to Hsin's home country with the Taiwan flag jacket on...go DADDY!
Bundled up and chowing on some banana while waiting for Daddy's award ceremony.

Like I said above, Hsin is a little on the young side to really enjoy Amish country, but we did hit a petting zoo for her enjoyment. The enclosures were kind of small, so as animal lovers, it was kind of sad, but entertaining for Hsin.

Hsin talking with the goats.
This sweet looking Donkey's sign said "I might bite".

We are home tonight, and glad to be here. It is nice to go away, but even nicer to come home :-)

Even More Pictures (See Easter Ones In the Other Post)

2010-04-06T09:36:00.008-05:00

Pauly just sent these random pics from his i-Phone and ...I needed to post them too!

Hanging with the big people at our friend's party!
Hsin had to stand RIGHT in front of the bubble maker as it spewed thousands of bubbles RIGHT in her face. She was DRIPPING with bubbles within seconds!
Driving her BMW in the driveway.
Hsin has been a "lounger" since the day we met her. She makes herself as comfortable as possible...in this case with a big water bottle and using Shiu as a footrest! She was watching Yo Gabba Gabba of course!
As I have previously posted...Hsin is often FILTHY after school so we usually lose at least her pants as soon as we get home. This is "post-school" lounging time...with Shiu of course.
Hsin knows that Lily won't run away when she is eating. Food is WAY too important to Lily. So Hsin uses this to her advantage to catch a good pet. She gently touches Lily's fur and says "Nice". She is pantless again because of school filth!
This one is from our trip to NY for my Great Aunt's funeral. Hsin and Shiu enjoyed riding on the luggage rack in the elevator!

Easter Pictures

2010-04-05T13:52:00.027-05:00

OK...so I can't get the slide thingy to work...so I am going to post a LOT of the pics...just not ALL of the pics as it takes forever to load one by one on blogger.

Grandpa and Nona got Hsin "The Foot Book" and "The Guy From The Foot Book" for Easter. He was a hit and watched Yo Gabba Gabba with Hsin in her "Special Chair".

This is a typical "Hsin" pose. All sassy with the hip stuck out!

Hamming it up for the camera.

LOVES her special chair.

Grandma and PopPop got Hsin a sandbox for Easter.

Sunday morning LAUGHING at Daddy as we ran around the front yard in the sunshine!

Playing blocks at our cousin's house for Easter.

Easter egg hunt at our cousin's house. Daddy was a good helper in spotting and pointing out the eggs.

Hsin really "got" it this time and ran after the eggs once spotted and tossed them in her bucket!

Post-nap "casual wear".

Eating bread and telling the dogs "no no" when they tried to take it from her!

Blowing her nose...a favorite way to spend the time.

Bossing the big kids around and playing ball.

Easter Hsin

2010-04-04T20:11:00.004-05:00

Here's the deal people.
Smilebox is not working correctly tonight, and I have a SHAMELESS amount of pictures of the Hsin from this weekend. I have FULL intentions of posting ALL of them (that's right...all of them), and posting them seperately on Blogger would take a century. I am a Mom with no shame in her game who is not too proud to say that my kid is FREAKING adorable...so I took an obscene amount of pics her this weekend, and if you choose to read my blog and keep up with "The Life of Hsin-Hua" then you WILL be subjected to each and every one of the pictures of delicious cuteness that were taken this weekend.

Patience my dear readers...patience.
Until then, I thought I would give you a sneak peak and the unreal amount of cuteness in the above picture of my peanut laughing on our front lawn this morning!

Goodnight and I promise I will figure out how to get all those lovely pics up soon.

Some Catching Up

2010-03-28T12:34:00.018-05:00

Well I wish I could say that it was as beautiful a weekend as last weekend, but unfortunately, winter has returned to the northeast for a bit. Back into the 30's and 40's...and gloomy too.

Rewind back to Wednesday of this week and we had Hsin-Hua's re-adoption hearing. This is the hearing where Hsin-Hua got to officially and legally change her last name to ours, officially and legally her adoption is recognized in the State of PA and the US, and finally, they will issue her a PA State Birth Certificate. It was a VERY quick hearing, and we were in and out in about 5 minutes. The clerk of the court was nice enough to take a picture of us with the judge (its a little blurry, but documents the event) and since Shiu has been in every other important photo...he had to be in this one too.

Yesterday we had the local 15,000 egg hunt. I had envisioned a beautiful, sunny, spring day like last weekend, but instead it was a freezing cold and cloudy morning. It was fun though. they had the whole thing arranged by age so the little people were egg hunting with other little people and big people were with big people. Hsin was in the 0-3 age range, and only ended up with 5 eggs in her bucket since it took her a few minutes to "figure it out". Her favortie part of course was eating the candy that was inside the eggs.

After naptime we headed to Philadelphia to drop off some of Mommy's jewelry to be cleaned and serviced, and to get dinner at our favorite vegetarian Chinese restaurant. After filling up on lo mein, seasame tofu and stir fried string beans we headed over to friends Frank and Lia's house to see their brand new baby girl Isabella. Hsin was fascinated but a little shy about the baby. You can see she alternated between closely checking out the baby, to standing and watching from afar. Hsin did a great job missing her bedtime again...we kept her up until after 9pm...which explain the PJ's :-)

I finally took out the adorable Pottery Barn Kids chair that the ladies who work for me got Hsin before she even came home. We thought she was finally big enough to sit in it to read and watch Yo Gabba Gabba. She imediately LOVED it!

Lily liked it too!!!