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COME FULL CIRCLE

This is a digital scrapbook of our journey to complete our family in Vietnam.

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12/25/2008

Braindead and watching t.v.

Okay, it's been a looong day. I'm updating my post and watching Rocky I and Rocky II and I can't come up with a title for this last post. My brain is fried and I'm ready to go to bed. Here are some more pictures of the kids during their loong day. Ava didn't have a nap today and she did pretty well. Other than the minor melt down while riding her tricycle (or NOT riding), she didn't whine much. Since this was her first tricycle, she couldn't grasp the concept of pushing the peddles with her feet.  She kept getting frustrated because her feet kept slipping off the pedals.  She made it to Mom Mom's house and Grandmom's house. She also got her first big wheel at Grandmom's. Her feet couldn't reach the peddles and she was okay with that. She has a little bit to go before she can ride the big wheel. We finally got home around 6:30 p.m. and the kids crashed at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.





The backseat driver

This was Ava after six hours of Christmas morning excitement. She had been running on full steam since 6:30 a.m. and by 1 p.m. , while she was visiting with Mom Mom and Pop Pop, she was our "NO" girl. She still was so cute on her first tricycle ;-)

Ava's dance partner

Ava has a special fondness for Elmo and anything that makes music.  So we thought this was a perfect gift for her.  After you watch the video, I think you'll agree.  Of course Ava was a little overwhelmed this morning and she played with her new toys for about two minutes before moving on to the next thing.  I think the kids will actually "enjoy" their presents over the weekend when the chaos dies down.  









Sebastian claims that last year was the best year because there were more presents but this year, the presents were much better.  I think he meant in quality.  He was really excited on a few things, one was his Mario cart game that came with a steering wheel.  The other was his Star War's game (yes, another video game).  The other thing I think was his Spy Gear.  His comment was, "The Santa we saw at the mall must have been the real Santa because he listened to what he wanted."  He was referring to the Santa we waited for an hour and half a few weekends ago.  The one that Ava freaked out on.  We saw numerous Santas this season, but this one must have been the "real deal".  A seven year old's testimony ;-)



Santa isn't so bad after all

The first thing Ava went for at 6:33 a.m. on Christmas morning was the left over cookie that Santa didn't eat (look closely at the first two photos below). She found the cookie on the paper plate that was sitting on the t.v. tray next to the fireplace. It was way too early in the morning for us and our reflexes weren't 100%.  Since this was Ava's first "official" Christmas with presents, it only took her three packages before she became a "pro".   After that, she really got into it.  She politely sat and opened her designated presents.  She didn't tear into every single package she saw.  In fact, she walked right past the tree when she first came down and made a bee line to the goody tray.  






The night before Christmas

Here is video of Sebastian preparing on Christmas Eve:

















I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post. I guess the holidays are to blame. All the last minute preparations, shopping, wrapping, cleaning and organizing. Even though we've been home for a week, the kids were only in school for two of those days so it's not like it's been total rest and relaxation.

This year Ava didn't have any idea that Christmas was coming. Sebastian on the other hand has never been more excited about Christmas than all the previous years. It has been hard to keep him on the ground for the past couple of days. He kept telling us he couldn't wait for Christmas day and every day he would tell us how excited he was.

It's funny...I know we don't have many years left before he loses that "innocence". He still wants to believe in Santa but he's constantly around older kids that tell him that Santa doesn't exist. Last week Sebastian and his Daddy were waiting for the school bus in the car. Since it was so cold outside, they invited our neighbor's kid, Michael, to wait in the car with them. Michael is two years older. Sebastian's Dad asked Michael if he was all ready for Christmas and Michael replied "Yeah. I know what I'm getting for Christmas because I saw all the presents in my Mom's closet." Sebastian didn't say anything but his Daddy didn't really give him a chance to dwell on it too long because he changed the topic rather quickly. We know it's not going to be long before Sebastian "get's it". In fact, he already may have figured it out but hasn't "let on." Or I may be in total denial because when I saw the excitement in Sebastian this past couple of days, I just want to hold on to his precious childhood just a little bit longer. I'm just happy that Sebastian and Ava will have a few years together (to share their Christmas memories together).

12/16/2008

Let it snow!

It had been snowing all afternoon and Sebastian and Elizabeth couldn't wait to play in it after dinner. In fact, they were already betting that school would either be closed tomorrow or delayed. Talk about optimistic.




Mall Marathon

After we spent half of Saturday morning at the mall waiting for Santa, Michael decided to stop to get his hair cut. Which meant Mommy had to keep the kids occupied or busy. Between Ava rearranging the hair product shelves and Sebastian browsing the video game store, Mommy was ready to go home!



Ava's sidekick

Ava likes to "play" with Marley on occassion. He has got to be the most laid back cat I ever known. He puts up with so much, especially when it comes to the kids. His love for human contact/attention is really his weakness. He doesn't see it that way of course. I had this calico cat when I was little and I remember putting the cat in my baby doll carriage and dressing the cat up. The cat tolerated it for so long and then would take off. Not Marley, he's like Ava's little "ragdoll".






Ava's comedy act

Ava wanted to color on her yellow table and play with her baby doll stroller at the same time.  She kept using the stroller as a chair AND as the "vehicle".  Of course her whole "routine" turned comical as gravity started to take hold of her pants.  You'll hear us giggling in the background in the video below.





12/15/2008

The Real Santa Experience

This weekend we decided to take the kids to the mall to see Santa. We started off early in the morning, as soon as the kids got up. We stopped at Ruby's Diner first for breakfast and then we shopped for an outfit for Sebastian so he had something formal to wear for the Santa picture. Ava already had several holiday dresses for her picture opportunity with Santa. There's something about having a little girl, their wardrobes are always loaded with "adorable", girly outfits.






























We even ran into our neighbor from down the street. Here's a picture of Sara and Sebastian. While we were waiting for Santa's arrival, I was talking with Sara's Mom. She told me that the same Santa has come to this particular mall for years. In fact, they have been bringing Sara to see the same Santa every year since she was a baby. Sara is nine yrs old. Sara's Mom said Santa hasn't changed one bit.


















Here are a few more shots while we were waiting (and waiting, and waiting).

Look, a life size snow globe!


















Ava feeling Daddy's "whiskers"



















and dancing...



















and getting a story read...



















Finally, we got a Santa sighting. Santa was suppose to arrive around 10:30 a.m. He didn't make his appearance unti 10:40. We had been in line since 10:15 a.m. thinking we were the early birds. Boy were we ever wrong. We were probably 25th in line. As he was making his way down the hallway, he greeted all the kids. He was dressed in the old fashion St. Nicholas costume.



















Ava saw Santa coming down the hallway and she remembered she saw Santa at Walmart a few weekends ago and did not exactly warm up to Santa again. Click on the two photos below to zoom in on Ava's face.































By the time we got our turn, it was almost twelve noon. As we inched closer to the end of the line, Ava was still unsure about the whole situation. We weren't allowed to take pictures once the kids got on Santa's lap. I will post the final results in about a week because I don't want to ruin the element of surprise. We are using the final photo as our holiday cards so I don't want to reveal too soon ;-)

12/14/2008

Home away from home


This is what my desk looks like in December. I provided the tinsel tree and one of my managers provided the presents under the tree. The presents were real by the way (boxes of chocolates). Only five more working days until we have a two week break. Our company closes during Christmas and New Year's. With the remaining vacation time, it makes a nice litte retreat. Too bad we didn't plan a nice trip to Europe or to Disney World. It may be in the works in 2009...if the gas prices keep going down.

12/11/2008

Walmart Stock

My husband said we should've bought some stock in Walmart or Rubbermaid because I'm a frequent shopper and I'm always loading up the cart with storage bins. The look on Ava's face is like "What? We were just here a few days ago!"














What do you mean I can't rearrange the Christmas balls??













There's a reason why they put a picture on the storage bins of a child inside the bin and a big red X across the picture. So Ava had to sit in the front of the shopping cart (barely).













This picture cracked me up because Ava looks like she has big green backpack on her back.













Uuuuughh......this is getting heavy on my back!

The new OLD look

Can we say "ham and cheese" please? She's such a ham for the camera and gives the cheesiest grins ;-) This was her first piggy tail hairstyle since her haircut. So it's the kinda new and old look.


Tree Trimming Tradition

We finally got the tree trimmed earlier this week. We had to wait until Ava went to bed because when she saw the decorations on Mom Mom's tree, she wanted to take the ornaments off to check them out. I figured we'd wait a another year before Ava joins our annual tree trimming ritual. Sebastian was just like Ava at that age (23 mths old). I don't know who was worse, the cats swatting the lower branches or a toddler rearranging the ornaments. Usually the ornaments ended all up on one tree branch and you could see the branch bent all the way to the floor. Sebastian lost total interest in decorating until he was about six yrs old. Now he looks forward to tree decorations!




We had a tough time deciding if we were going "FAKE" this year (meaning, purchasing our first fake Christmas tree). The price of real trees have sky rocketed and we even contemplated last year on buying a fake tree after the holidays. But the fake trees were all sold out after the holidays. We would have had the tree up a week earlier this year but we still couldn't decide. We even looked at the trees on Black Friday but couldn't break down at the time. We finally made the purchase (at Walmart....what a surprise)!

I grew up with fake trees but Michael and I never had a fake tree in all the years we were together. This is the first year we'll have a fake tree in our house. I don't think our cat, Marley, noticed the difference.






"I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love." (Linus Van Pelt quotation)









































A Christmas scene...almost picture perfect!

















What's a tree without a cat underneath it? I don't think there is such a thing as a "cat repelling tree". In fact, as soon as the tree comes through the doorway, our cats are literally attached to the trunk.

Doesn't Marley look like he's saying, "BACK OFF"?













Sebastian was in charge of the window decorations as well.