Tom and Sandy

Firsts.

sandy — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:08:26 +0000

It is said that one of the sad parts of adopting a child that is older than an infant is that as parents we will miss out on many of Claire’s “firsts” – her first words, her first steps, etc. That is certainly true. We didn’t see any of that. And we grieve with her over the possibility that no one saw those things or truly cared. Or maybe they did, we just will never know.

But July has been it’s own month of “firsts.” So I think I will spend the next few posts documenting some of Claire’s new activities.

Her first Independence Day as an American citizen, which brought her first parade, and we suspect her first rootbeer float and first time to wave a sparkler. Thanks for the darling flip-flops, Shari! And despite the looks on their faces in this picture, the kids assure me that the parade was very fun.

Then there was the ever-popular “first movie” – The Karate Kid. She actually seemed to really enjoy it, though I am fairly certain she didn’t really understand it all!

MORE FIRSTS TO COME!

Lost in Translation.

sandy — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:14:59 +0000

So two weeks ago, Claire and I were walking down a tree-lined street. I was carrying her in my arms. We came upon a stretch of trees with low-hanging branches. Because I am such a responsible mom who carefully guards and protects our children, I thoughtfully told Claire to “duck” as I myself lowered my head a bit to avoid the overhanging trees.

Let’s just say that was a poor choice of words. Luckily, we came out with just one or two tiny scratches.

And that’s how Claire learned that not all ducks are yellow and fluffy and quack – some are green and brown and look a lot like trees.

Artwork by Grant.

sandy — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:16:44 +0000

Introducing Hydras

Tom — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:18:30 +0000

This post is a bit of a test for a work project I’m currently in the middle of. But I figured those of you who regularly visit wouldn’t mind too much seeing the boys I spend so much time with. The pictures below are of 15 of my favorite 5th and 6th grade boys on the planet … each one is an absolute rock star … and they aren’t too bad at soccer either. They really are good boys down to the last one.

Ponytails. Barely.

sandy — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:06:32 +0000

She has been asking for them. So today, we gave it a shot. She just b.a.r.e.l.y. has enough hair for two tiny little ponytails. She is so excited for her hair to grow long like Kate’s, yet, interestingly, she does have her complaints. “My hair hot,” she says. I guess since she has had super short hair all her little life, perhaps her newfound longer, thicker hair does create a bit more heat around the cranial area. Yesterday she was confident after running around in the basement for 1/2 hour with her siblings that the entire reason she was sweaty rested in her ever-growing hair. Hopefully the ponytails make the long hair worth it. I suppose this is her first lesson in understanding what every girl knows: sometimes beauty requires sacrifice.

Summer = Swimming

sandy — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:14:22 +0000

School let out Friday, June 4 for the summer. So Friday, Monday, and Tuesday meant trips to our nearby waterpark, Cherry Hill. We anticipate spending most of our summer days here, weather permitting. Claire gets more brave each time we go. We are glad she loves it, because even if she didn’t, everyone else loves it so much she would just have to come along anyway!

Here’s a quick video of Claire and Kate on the slide. Claire will do this slide again and again and each time her smile is the same. She never tires of it. (I wish I could say I am this talented photographer that takes cool vintage shots, but I really have no idea why the lighting makes the video look like it was taken in 1950s. Oh, well)

We just can’t help ourselves . . . we love Cherry Hill!

Scooter-ing around

sandy — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:27:32 +0000

Claire doesn’t like to be left out of any thing the kids do. So, of course, she had to try riding a scooter. She loves it, along with all the extra attention and praise she gets from her sibling “teachers” whenever she tries new things. We think she is just as “brave” as the other Weeks kids, particularly since she scootered for the first time without shoes on and without a helmet (if you are the safety police, please cut us some slack!) Claire seems to be truly enjoying discovering her new world, and we couldn’t be more happy that she shares it with us!

One Month.

sandy — Thu, 13 May 2010 03:22:45 +0000

One month. 30 days. 720 hours. 43,200 minutes.

Though she’s been in our hearts for many years, this is how long we have enjoyed the blessing of having Claire in our arms. Our lives have been forever changed. And WE LOVE OUR LIFE!

She can read?

sandy — Tue, 11 May 2010 23:29:45 +0000

So yesterday I was reading “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” to Claire and I stepped away for a minute. When I came back, this is what I found. . . It took her a few seconds before she realized I was there, but once she did, she thankfully had no problems continuing her “reading.” Sometimes she will ham it up in front of the camera and sometimes she won’t show her face. Luckily yesterday she was willing to share her new talent. Oh, and the story really does have stairs, a treehouse, a mess, a pig, and a duck in it, just in case you were wondering

Bookmark to Aunt Sharon

Tom — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:28:50 +0000

Sorry about the delay on this … but we wanted to announce that we’ll be sending the promised bookmark on to Aunt Sharon this week. Thanks to everybody for the comments and kind words as we traveled through China!