Famous First Words

Ty's English Words are coming somewhat slowly but when he says something (in English) that we can understand it's a reason to celebrate. Considering his open palate and short time with us we are thrilled with the words he can say. I've made a list on the sidebar that I will try to keep updated
His receptive language is far greater than his expressive language. And for all of you who did not major in Education, that means "he understands a whole lot more than he can say."

My college professors always told me one day I'd need this stuff. Too bad I didn't become a speech pathologist though.

Anway, if you take a look over at the list you can see his newest phrase was "it's mine" He and Kaylee were fussing over who was going to sit on a certain pillow and this phrase came out as clear as day. I guess with 4 older siblings it's bound to happen.

I'm just wondering what the next phrase will be?

I'm betting on "Don't touch that!"

Get out of my Way

We have been searching high and low for our own copy of Mario Kart for the Wii. David did some fast talking with the manager of our local Toys'R Us and found out when and where the next Nintendo shipment would arrive. So with this information David and Zane were there at opening on a Friday morning to secure our game. We had been playing the Davis's game that was on loan to us. (Seems as if they have no time for Mario Kart, because Mac is busy trying to win his bowling crown back from Grey)

Apparently, men are required to stand and children are able to sit while playing. Hey maybe GM should make cars where men could stand up and drive cars. This might make them less agressive drivers, hmm! Just a though.
There are several Great aspects of this game but the ones I love are:

a. 4 people can play at one time
b. Not much skill is required to attempt the game. (However, much skill is required to actually get your person across the finish line)
c. There are no violent action figures or "things to kill"
d. NO, I don't work for Nintendo


My long time friend Rachel and her husband David (also our friend, btw) happened to be in town for the night. So, they got to debut the first few rounds of Kart in our house. I'm sure it was the highlight of their trip.

A post I didn't have to write

Once again I will take the opportunity to showcase my friend, Gayla's superior blogging skills.

Because well...........almost 1/2 of us are featured on her site. So, hop over there and take a peek at what we did last Friday night http://thedavis4.blogspot.com/2008/07/pool-party-at-pools-pool.html

Catchin' some Air

A couple of weekends ago, Some of the Walling family came by to meet the newest member of the family. David made hamburgers and we relaxed in the pool. The kids really enjoyed having their Uncle Teddy there for a lot of throwing.

I'm pretty sure Zane didn't get as much lift as Trent did.

Mia, playing beauty shop with Aunt Darla
Bryce hangs out lookin' cool.

I'm hoping for a better night..Tonight

The kids and I (minus Zane) are visiting Nana and Paw Paw for a few days. Sleeping arrangements are always something to be contemplated and carefully thought out. Not because there isn't enough room it's just a matter of who sleeps where and with whom. The are not permanent spots because the kids like to rotate through sleeping with Nana and Paw Paw.

So the first night here Kaylee got the primo spot with N & P. I decided that it would be nice just to mess up one big bed and have all the kids sleep together. So, Trent, Mia, and Ty all slept peacefully through the night together in the king size bed. While I ever so gingerly slipped next door to a queen size of my very own.

Last night Trent won the spot with N & P. So I had Mia, Kaylee and Ty in the big bed. I was still giddy from my night alone and fell fast asleep. Then the following began to occur and more than once I considered just not going back to sleep and staying up for the day...

10:45 Ty begins whimpering, upon inspection I see that Kaylee has made a large C with her body and is effectivley pushing him off the bed. He's hanging on with all he's got. So I move Kaylee into the bottom bunk of the bunk beds, In the same room with me.

12:00 Mia wakes up crying, She has forgotten to wear her pull up and is now completely soaked. I wash her off, change her clothes and move her to the top bunk, in the same room with me.

1:30 Ty wakes up crying, He has discovered that he is now in the bed and room alone. So I move him into the bed with me....(do you see a pattern here)

2:45 I wake up sweating profusely and try to turn the fan on higher and accidentally turn the light on instead. Kaylee wakes up and wants to get in bed with me. I explain to her that Ty is already in the bed with me. She then begins to question how she got to this room in the first place?

4:15 Ty wakes up crying out Lao, Lao This is his word for Pee Pee. I quickly make a mad dash to the bathroom with him and we make it there with only needing to change his clothes and not the sheets.

(whew! because at this point there are no more unoccupied beds that don't already need new sheets) I was quite certain if he and I went back to the big bed then everyone else would need to be transferred over as well.

7:30 Wake up to little voices saying....Come on mommy it's time to get up, haven't you slept enough? As a matter of fact NO!

Remember a complete night's sleep is a gift and should not be taken for granted, See #5 below!

Small Crab Advisory

As Hurricane Dolly churns in the Gulf, I thought I'd show what churns in our back yard.

Ty has really enjoyed the freedom he gets from having his on personal watercrab, I mean watercraft. The floaties are not overkill. It's just that sometimes he gets out of the crab and plays on the steps. So, just in case he were to fall in he would have some flotation device.

Last week we had a few friends over to swim. Mrs. Darla surprised Ty with this Welcome Home cookie. At first he didn't really know what to think about it.

But after one bite he was sold. In fact I think he had three pieces. Mrs. Darla obviously speaks Ty's love language. One day we went by Trent's friend, Andy's house and they had one of these GeoTrax Train sets and Ty just loved it. I tried to find a set on Ebay cheaper but after really looking we decided to go ahead and get the first set. He really enjoys doing the remote control and running the train around the track. (so if anyone has any of the pieces that want to get rid of, let me know)
Ty helps Mia take good care of all the babies.
Everyone loves Happy Hour at Sonic. Who wouldn't love a .49 Strawberry Slush?

Things I learned from my China trip

1. Never go grocery shopping hungry after a long trip to China. EVERYTHING looks tasty. I even considered buying a can of sauerkraut.
2. Taxi drivers in China must be highly skilled or highly insured. A two lane road can quickly become 6 lanes. Being in a small taxi and sandwiched inbetween two buses mskes you get "prayed up" quickly.
3. English phrases on Chinese shirts can be quite comical. One I saw said "I am your wild life" It makes one wonder when we have shirts with Chinese characters on them what they really say. (However, I know a local Wal-Mart where you can see people sporting worse phrases on their T-Shirts.)
4. A person can quickly become accustomed to doing no housework, no cooking and no cleaning. 4 star could easily become a way of life.
5. China is quickly mandating that all stores must charge for shopping bags. I don't think it will be long until we will do the same. I'm kind of glad about this because I always feel guilty about having 589 shopping bags after a Wal-Mart run. But I'm wondering how many of those cloth bags I would have to take with me to do "Big" Shopping. (Maybe they will let me use a couple of rolling suitcases.)
5. Sleeping through the night is a gift and should not be taken for granted.

The last few

I received some of these pictures from our friends the Cotters and thought I would post the last of them. I really like the one of Leah and Ty in their strollers.
Ty hitched a ride on David's laptop bag. He attracted quite a crowd as we rolled around waiting for David to exchange the last of the Yuan back to dollars.


Ty and Leah in their matching Safari Park strollers.

Does he speak Chinese?

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We get this question often. The answer is YES and often.

Most of the time I really wish I knew what he was trying to tell me. But there are times when the tone is less than pleasant and I'm glad I don't understand. (usually some type of injustice has been done to him by a sibling, or at least he thinks so)



A funny story about his language - One day he walked into the kitchen and told several sentences. I said, "Oh! OK, I see" Then he walked out. Trent said "Mom do you understand what he's saying?" I said, "No, but I want him to keep talking to me so that he will learn English"

Later that evening Ty said something to Trent and Trent responded back to him with "Blah, Bloo, blocka, doo, su me a" (It was his own version of Chinese)

I said, "Trent you've got to speak English to him so he can learn" Trent said, "Mom I really want him to keep talking to me"

Scroll Down

I posted a new item but when I did it went under the 4th of July post. So you'll need to scroll down to see it.

God Bless the USA

God Bless the USA
and the EPA, USDA, AMA, ASPCA, CIA, OSHA and all the other agencies that we love to complain about......but truly are what makes AMERICA great.

If you don't agree with me then go to a foreign country for 17 days. You'll come back a changed person....

We went to our local parade this morning. When I saw the flags marching in the front of the line I almost broke into some Lee Greenwood....a tear came to my eye and I can say with gusto......I am so Proud to be an American!!!
Ty was a little unsure at first about all the people and probably the fact we were sitting on the edge of the road. But once the candy started flying he was a changed man.



The Pickrell Triplets riding in style, sporting their patriotic stroller.

That's Zane on the far left bringing up the rear of the parade. His boy scout troop was responsible for picking up trash at the end of the parade.

10 Things we know about Ty

1. Dogs are not his favorite animals.
2. Running up to someone and growling tickles him to death.
3. He doesn't like apples.
4. Even though he doesn't speak English he has no trouble getting his point across.
5. He enjoys water activities, the bath and the pool.
6. Cleaning his plate is not a problem.
7. Ironically, he prefers apple juice over milk.
8. He is secure enough in his manhood to sport a pink Hello Kitty watch.
9. Using a remote control is something he is accustomed to doing.
10. His stitches last week were not his first. He has a 3 inch scar on his stomach that was once stitched up. It's very faint but still evident in bright light.

Uh Boo Uh?

In Chinese Uh boo Uh? Means are you hungry or not? Well yesterday, we found out the local ducks were boo Uh (Not Hungry) Everyone was awake by 6:20 so we decidedbefore it got to hot we would take the kids on a bike ride to the golf course and feed the ducks. There are usually tons of ducks at the pond but yesterday we were only able to locate 2 of them.



Then once we found them they were not hungry. They just looked at our bread like it was rotten or something. Ty on the other hand can tell you that indeed it is not rotten.

After walking around for a little while we had time for a small photo shoot. I got a lot of really good shots because the sun wasn't very bright yet. Here are a couple but I'm saving the rest for a new header I'm working on.

A Realization

David and I were in China for Mia's adoption in June 2005. At that time, three years ago, Ty was already a month old........

I had not thought of that before. When I told David he said, "Why didn't we just pick him up then?"

Good Question....It would have saved a lot of nights sleeping on hard beds.

Settling In

Ty was welcomed home by two gifts. The red bag and balloon were waiting on the doorstep when we arrived, it's from the Steincamps. There was a green squishy frog in it that he carried around most of the day Saturday. The balloon has spent equal amounts of time tied to his wrist and tangled in the ceiling fan.
Also the Green bucket and shovel, from the Odoms, was stuffed with lots of water toys and a little rubber boat. Ty really enjoyed opening the presents.

Ty has really enjoyed playing with all the kids but he has quickly become Mia's shadow. Wherever she is he is not far behind. It's so fun to see them together. She is about 4" taller than him but I think he outweighs her by a good 4 pounds.

I'm not sure this game has a name but the rules are:

1. Stand way back from the chair

2. Run as fast as you can

3. Jump head first into the recliner

4. Turn around & Laugh Hysterically

5. Repeat

We're HOME

After a 30 hr travel day we arrived home safely. At one point we were convinced we would have to stay over a night in Newark but we made it to the gate by the skin of our teeth.

In Newark we had to de-plane, go through immigration, go to a different dept. for Ty's immigration, claim our luggage, go through customs, re-check our luggate, pick up boarding passes that should have been issued in Beijing, go through security and walk a mile to the correct gate. (We only had 90 minutes for all of that)

It was a lot of smooth talking, fast running (literally) and the kindness of many people in the security line that allowed us to move ahead of all them that allowed us to get home last night.
The ironic part is once we got on to the plane the attendant shut the door and then we sat on the runway for over an hour waiting for our turn to take-off.

Our trusty airport driver James Odom (and Dawson) picked us up a little before midnight and promptly drove us to SONIC for the best ever Strawberry Slush. Thanks James for all the shuttling. The Odom Family starts their 2 week summer vacation trip tomorrow and they have a blog if you want to follow along.

Ty did awesome on the trip home. He slept during a lot of the long hours. At one point I looked over and David had taken down both of the tray tables and laid Ty across them with a pillow under his head. I think he must have slept there for 4 hours or so. I thought it looked a little uncomfortable but the longer I looked at him the more jealous I became that he actually was horizontal.

Ty seems to be adjusting well to his new surroundings. I wonder if he wonders how long we will stay here. After two different hotel stays I wonder if he "gets" that this is his home. He's very curious and has had fun examining all the toys and rooms of the house. He's been a little spooked by the cats in the house. He enjoys them when they are outside and he can see them through the glass but when they are up close and personal he is a little skiddish.

Everyone else returns tomorrow. So we are resting up and trying to get our body clocks switched back over. All of our eyes popped open about 6 this morning. None of us are accustomed to getting up that early but we went ahead and by noon we were all dragging. So we took a little nap this afternoon and now I'm ready to go back to sleep. I think the nap made things worse instead of better. But you know what? We're HOME and that's all that matters!!!!

(By the way we are having some serious phone issues so if you need us then you'll have to call our cell phones.) We believe that lightning may have struck our modems and Vonage device.

Last Full Day in China

We started today out with a leisurely breakfast and a little last minute shopping. About 3:00 we went to the US Consulate for the swearing in ceremony. It was such a beautiful site to see so many adoptive families finish the paperwork process. The man in charge of the ceremony asked how many second time adopters there were. Then third time and then 4th time. There were two couples there adopting for the 4th time. One of which is Stefanie and Chris over at NiHao Ya'll....she is also pictured at the bottom of this post.
Cameras weren't allowed at the consulate so we had to take pictures of our new American here at the hotel lobby.

After the ride back from the consulate we went to have a celebratory dinner with our new friends The Cotters. (see below)

After dinner we walked past the White Swan Hotel to have an ice cream treat. Then we walked around in the White Swan and ate our cones. The waterfall in the White swan is very pretty.

Then we came back to the hotel to see if we could stuff appx 17 days of shopping into our 4 bags. We've almost got it all in.....we are definetley much heavier going home than when we started out.....We leave EARLY in the morning for our first flight but we'll be home before Friday is over in TX. HALLELUJAH!!!

Wet Wednesday

This morning started off with a quick breakfast and a walk over to Starbucks. They don't have my "usual" Tall White chocolate Mocha so I asked for a regular mocha and said "more sugar, more milk, less coffee" Apparently that did the trick because she knew the look and she said," You want whip cream too? Yes?" OF course YES!!! It was a real treat.

Then we all settled back in the room to wait for our consulate appointment to be through. Our guide Leila submits all the paperwork but we have to be in the room "just in case" there are questions to be answered while she is at the consulate. The boys had hoped to go swimming but the rain began shortly after dawn and has continued all day long.

During this wait time I found a little book I had brought from home. It was a Lift-a-flap book. Ty and I spent a long time lifting all the flaps over and over again. I didn't care. It was some real quality time for both of us.
After a quick lunch at Lucy's we left with the Cotter family to find the "toy market" We had never been here but heard about it. Basically it's a 7 story mall with about 200 booths on each level. Each booth sells something different. I believe this is where you would go if you own a giftshop or small store. I think most people buy in bulk here. One booth might have all stickers, then the next booth would have all hats, or all backpacks.....It was really interesting. The funny thing is there were very few toys there. I didn't find much we couldn't live without.....but it was a great way to pass an afternoon.

David tried to figure out a way to bring this 3D picture of the Lord's supper in his carry-on but I"m thinking it's over the size limit.

Ty took a little nap after the shopping and unfortunately we had to wake him up just an hour later. It was not a pleasant experience and we hope to not repeat that again any time soon. But doesn't he look so sweet sleeping?

We walked down to 7-Eleven to get a few drinks and snacks. Then we stopped by a souvenir store and David did a little bartering. Have I said I hate the bartering? David doesn't seem to mind it and the store clerks actually seem to enjoy it.

Just one more full day and we'll be on our way....One more post to go....Good night