Roman Speaks

I can't believe all of things this boy says for his age, I will not be able to write them all but here goes some

I did it, look balloon, Dora, mine, potty, peepee, yucky poo poo, bath, diaper, cup, eat, food, I want some, Daddy, Allie, Rara (AJ), Rose, Boudreaux, Mommy, bed, Shoes, where, this, there, cheese, cracker, juice, milk, sorry, your welcome, thank you, car, truck, chair, swimming, I'm coming

This is all at only 21 months, he is way more vocal then any of my other kids were at this age so it is just amazing to me to see him so little saying all of these things. He is the cutest and sweetest little boy, I love him so much.

To Pee or not to Pee

Well today I started to potty train Anderson. I wanted to give it a try to see if he was ready but it seems as though it will be more of a challenge then I am prepared for. I had the babysitter come this morning to watch the other kids while I worked with Anderson. He woke up with a dry diaper and he went on the potty and peed. After that, he kept having accidents and also would pee on the potty if you sat him on there so all in all, he just wasn't able to tell when he had to go but if he just sat on the potty he would evenutally pee. As the day went on, he started having tantrums and not wanting to go on the potty and then I just thought about it for a while and decided not only is he not ready but more than that, I am not ready. I am not ready for the struggle, the accidents, having to bring three to the bathroom in public, traveling with three having to make potty breaks. I just got Rose out of pullups at night and here I am trying to go right into training Anderson, I need to just wait. I really need a step by step guide on how to do this because I don't have the confidence to just wing it so here is my plan. I was told about the 3 day potty training guide that gives step by step, day by day instructions with my name written all over it. My plan is to wait until I have enough respite hours to just have the babysitter come all day long with the other kids for those three days and then just focus on Anderson and try to get him trained. I also am going to wait until I am in the right mindset to give it my all which I am just not right now. On another note, Roman says potty so I bring him and he pees, afterwards he says "I did it Moma" maybe I should start with him :)

Playing Catch up

I can't believe it has been this long since I have written. I am understanding the importance of having all of this documentation for the kids more and more everyday. Life passes by so fast and you start to forget things. I feel like a bad mom sometimes because I don't have a baby book for them to write important things down and even if I did, when do I find the time. I guess that is why it is so great to have all of the technology we do today because typing is much quicker. Just a brief rundown since last I posted. The adoption was final on 2/12/09 and we also withdrew our foster license due to the law being no more than four under the age of 6. We are still trying to get used to all of the adjustments involving the kids being offically ours such as name changes, adding to medical insurance, added expenses, etc. We have been enjoying them nonetheless but they do keep us on our toes. Alice and Rose just had their first dance recital on June 5, 2009. They did really well, we were so proud of them first of all that they were brave enough to be on stage in front of all of these people. Of course I cried. Secondly, they actually did the dance fairly well. We are continuing to keep them in dancing year round because they love it so much. The girls also started going to a accelerated private preschool and are now off for the summer. They have really learned a lot just the few months they went, they are actually writing their names, (not perfect) but still really good. Alice also knows her last name and my full name which is great if ever she would get lost or something. The kids just finished their refresher lessons with ISR as well. I will not be doing that again, it is such a hardship to bring four kids to lessons everyday, this time for four weeks straight, not to mention it cost us $1000. On the flipside, Anderson is loving swimming in the water which is odd for him, he is so bashful. He swims to me underwater and gets my hand and then swims back to the step, too cute. Rose does the same and she did last year too. We also just started receiving respite services for the kids so I am able to get a break a few days a week and go run errands and Mike and I are doing a date night every weekend so that has been fun and relaxing.

Final Adoption

January 21, 2009 - Wednesday
Final Adoption
So we will offically be adopting all four kids on 2/12/09. I can't believe it is finally going to happen. For Allie and AJ, it has been 2 years in the making. Rose and Roman has been 8 months, it just worked out that it is all happening at once now. At the same time, Mike will get his MBA in February and AJ turns two so we have a lot to celebrate in February. We will end February by going on a cruise and then back to our life in AZ with finally, some stability. We are not sure what the future will hold as far as more kids, maybe we could get another sibling of Rose & Roman, or Alice & Anderson, but definitely not anything for two years, hopefully. We need to get some in grade school first before taking anymore babies. For now we will focus on our careers and family life and just keep living. Thank you to all for your love and support. Whoo Hoo!

August 17, 2008 - Sunday
I Love You
So here is the story with Rose. When she first came to us, she could not speak really clear. She was talking but not articulating her words age appropriately as well as she would mix spanish with english. We have been working with her and got her a speech therapist and she has come a long way. Well I would always try to teach her to say "I love you" and she would repeat each word after I said it but had a hard time saying it all together. Today out of the blue she was laying on me and she looked at me and said "I Love you", I was so proud of her and so touched that she really knows the meaning of it. It is so sweet and I tell you once she got it she really got it because today she hugged Roman and said "I love you" and then she was putting her baby dolls to bed and she told them "I love you", too cute. On another note, Alice and Rose are always hugging and kissing each other but Anderson is macho man, well today Anderson actually let the girls hug and kiss him and he hugged and kissed them back so that was really cute. Then Anderson went up to Roman and hugged him after. These are the moments that truly define our happiness with the kids.

Living in AZ

August 3, 2008 - Sunday
Living in AZ
I will make this brief because my hand is hurting from typing so much. So far we have been in AZ for two years. We love it here, it is much different then Louisiana, good and bad. Some of the things I miss about Louisiana is my family of course, but also the culture. Some of the things I don't miss is the rudeness of employees everywhere you go, family drama, hurricane evacuation, the humidity, misquitos, and many more. Overall, Mike is advancing in his career, we were blessed with four beautiful children, we live in a close family oriented community, all four seasons are only a road trip away, we have made some great friends, and most importantly we love each other and are happy with our decision to move here. I can't say what the future will hold for us but for now we will remain in the good ol desert.

Dancing School

August 3, 2008 - Sunday
dancing school
Okay so here goes my thoughts on dancing school. Well I am so excited that Rose and Alice will be starting dancing school next month, not only because I love the art of dance but because they love to dance, and I think they will just have a blast. I think it will be a special bonding time for us to share this together and I am really going to enjoy watching them blossom. It was very important for me to send them to dancing school because when I was little I started when I was 3 years old and I LOVED IT, unforunately after 2 years I had to quit because that is when my mom and dad divorced but I always wished I had been able to continue it. I wished so much in fact that when I was 17, a senior in highschool, and made my own income, I enrolled myself back into dancing school and I paid for everything myself. I was finally able to go back to what I loved to do if only for one more year. To this day, I love to dance, I may not be the best dancer but I like to get into the groove. Needless to say, if it is something that they choose to do and they love it, great, if they don't like it, I won't force them to go but I just want them to have the opportunity that I did not have growing up. Isn't that what parenting is all about, you always want more for your kids then what you had.