Olympics here we come!

The girls are now in Gymnastics -- here they are getting ready for class. They are just so adorable. And I'm not just saying that because I'm there mother. Really -- they are cute. :) We have gone to two class so far. Cassie loves it!!!! Chloe is okay with it and did better the second class. I'll try to get some pictures of them at class -- it's just too cute to watch.

A letter to Cassie, from Mommy and Daddy

Today Mommy took you and Chloe to Gymboree, just like any other Thursday. Today in class, everyone was pretending to be bears. Bears eat berries, leaves, and fish. The class leader, Miss Jen, had pretend berries, pretend leaves, and pretend fish placed everywhere so all the little bears could collect them and pretend to eat them. It was all very cute, and you and Chloe were your usual cute selves. While Miss Jen was setting up for another activity, you started carrying pretend fish to Mommy. Mommy shared a laugh with Miss Jen at the sheer cuteness of this act. But then Mommy noticed something odd. Even though these were only pretend fish, you were holding them by the tail, away from your face, very much like anyone might do if they didn't want to get any slimy fish goo on them. This was odd because as far as Mommy knew, you had never seen a raw fish or smelled one, much less seen how someone might carry them. Then things got serious. As you carried more and more fish to Mommy, you seemed to get scared. Something was wrong. With each one, you became more and more withdrawn, and more and more disturbed. Something clearly was bothering you. After that, you clung to Mommy for dear life for the rest of the class. Mommy wondered what you were thinking. It is in moments like these that we are reminded that we don't know everything about you. We don't know what life was like for you before you joined our family. You were 13 months old when you joined us. What were you doing two weeks before that? Two months before that? What experiences did you have? What people did you know? Who made you happy? Who made you sad? Who do you miss?

Clearly you had a memory today. But what was that memory? Was it is something that happened before we became a family? Were you scared? Or did you remember some people or place that you had forgotten. Or maybe you were thinking about something that happened before we became a family, and maybe that reminded you that you've had a lot of upheaval in your life. Maybe you're wondering if there is more upheaval to come. Or, maybe not. Maybe you just remembered that fish smelled funny, and were thinking really hard about why these pretend fish don't smell like anything. But then, why were you so upset, and so clingy afterward?

Whatever it is, Mommy and Daddy wish we knew.

The Queen and her court

4 tiny words......

...that melted my heart. Last night while I was trying/begging/pleading with Cassie to go to sleep, she said the best 4 tiny words......"I have a mama.". Not only is this her first ever 4 word sentence, but they were the sweetest words ever spoken. Cassie first called me mama in March of this year -- I think that's when it was -- even though she's known who I was for a long time now. She has just not been able to say the words -- commitment issues I guess. :) Or attachment issues is more like it. And she's had more than her share of them. But, I think we have turned another major corner in that department. Being able to verbalize that she has a mama is huge for Cassie. And having her repeat it about 15 times didn't hurt either.

My first born is finally 'getting it'. And the wait to hear those words has made them even sweeter than if I would have heard them 6 months ago. I have one smart cookie for a daughter. And she has a mama. And a dada and a sister.

We are one blessed family.

Bad blogger....

okay -- that's me. I've planned on updating the blog many times over the last few weeks and then something happens and I just don't have the time. I also haven't read any blogs in weeks either. I need to do that today too and catch up with all my blogger friends.

The girls are doing great and getting so big!!!! In the past two months Cassie has grow .75 inches and Chloe has grown 1.75 inches!!!! That's just crazy. My baby girl - Chloe - is catching up in so many ways. She's actually on target -- according to Early On - who evaluated both girls two weeks ago -- in all areas now except for fine motor skills and speech. We are going to do some speech classes with Chloe and hopefully get her talking more. She's now saying about 60 words and learning more words and things every week. Cassie on the other hand is on target or advanced a little bit in all areas except in speech. And she's only now behind a few months in speech. Like I have said before -- these girls just amaze me.

Both girls are still great eaters and love fruits and veggies. Chloe would live on bananas if we let her and Cassie would live on sticky white rice and tomatoes. Those are their favorites right now.

Even after having Chloe on two different -- expensive -- brands of probiotics she was still having lots of liquid poop issues, even with no dairy at all. I did some research on some other brands and read a ton of reviews for them and decided to switch Chloe's probiotics....again. The brand we switched her too is very cheap compared to the other two brands we used. But I figured it was worth a try since we weren't getting any positive results with the other brand she has been on for the past 3 months. She's been on them for a little over a week now and since the 4th day on them we have had solid/normal poop. That's very exciting news around here. For the past 7 months that has rarely happened. I'm going to give it another week and then try to slowing add some dairy back into her diet and see what happens. So far I'm very impressed with these probiotics.

Not much else going on around here and I'll end this post with the promise to update the blog more often and I'll add some pictures too.

Here are some pictures of our FCC picnic and also Cassie and Chloe giving lessons on the proper way to set a table. With your favorite fuzzy blanket of course. And just some other cute pictures of them. Since mama thinks they are cuties things ever!

11:56pm

At 11:56pm on August 5th 2009 -- one year ago today -- we got the best telephone call we could have imagined. It was the call about Chloe -- the second we saw her face we knew she was our daughter.



We have loved her since then and more each day since she's been home with us. We are blessed.

6 months with Chloe

Yesterday was 6 months since our Gotcha Day for Chloe. We are so blessed to have her as a daughter and sister. She's just perfect for our family. I can't believe what a happy little girl she is. And she is perfectly happy to assume the little sister role -- at least for now.

Here's the progress Chloe has made in the past 6 months.

1. She learned how to walk!
2. She can climb.
3. She can jump.
4. She can hear -- thanks to the ear tubes.
5. She has grown about 2 inches and gained 3 lbs and 1 shoe size.
6. Her red blood cells are now normal.
7. She can say 38 words.
8. She will now walk on grass with no shoes on.
9. She has cut her first 2 year molar.
10. Best of all she has a mama, dada, and a 'big' sister.

How did we celebrate the day? The zoo of course.