Our Last Good-bye Dinner with Friends

Beckett in the bucket and the kids in the fire engine

I can't believe we are really saying good-bye!!!! :( We love our house, we love our neighborhood, we love our friends and family, we love our yard, our library, our park district, our neighbors, I could go on and on. We invited some friends over for a little barbecue on one of our last weekends before moving to Houston. I love having friends who have kids that are friends with our kids, so we can have family dinner parties and everyone is entertained! I am in disbelief that we won't be here in just a couple of weeks- we have lived in this house for almost 3 years and it is perfect in every way for us. I remember when we first looked at the house and saw the yard, the huge deck, the landscaping, we thought: "this is the perfect party house-" and it lived up to our expectations. We had a nice little outdoor party with lots of kids, plenty of good food, and adult conversation enhanced by Tonio's awesome mojito's. Maybe Caputo's (my favorite local grocery store) can expand down to Texas? Although it wouldn't be the same without the little Italian grandma's. I'm going to miss our life here:(.

Celebrating readoption and falling in the fountain

It is official! (well, it already was) Tonito has been "readopted," which means that we can get him an "original" birth certificate from the US anytime he needs one. It actually is just a "record of foreign birth" that is registered and accepted everywhere in the US, which means I do not need to bring in his single China birth certificate and translation to register him for school, etc. And he can just call up Cook County anytime he needs an "original!" First he was "served" his papers:

Then we headed to the courtroom:

It was a special courtroom just for adoptive families, and definitely was catered to families with young kids:

Afterwards, the kids LOVED looking down at the streets below, at the garden rooftops, the cars and buses, the lake, etc.

Tonito was counting taxis:

After court, we went down to the plaza, walked around the market, and then played a little in the fountain.

Just as we were leaving, literally a minute after this picture was taken, the lady in the far right corner (with the blueish dress pulled up) offered her chair for our kids to sit on while they put on their shoes. Just as Vivi and Tonito sat down, the wind blew some papers away and she stood up, which of course caused her lawn chair to flip over and throw Vivi head-first into the fountain. It was as if she were sliding into first base, only underwater and in a dress. Poor Vivi!!!! Soaked and dripping, we walked to Mickey D's for some ice cream.

See the roots and a playdate with Azalea

Check out our peas and green beans! If you click on the picture, you can see the roots too. This was our centerpiece for the past month, and we loved to watch how fast it grew. All of our little peat pots of lentils, corn, pinto beans, etc. were growing so fast the roots were coming out the bottoms, so we donated them to Grandma's and Tio Timo's gardens, where they are growing well. Look at my magenta rhododendrons in the background- I am going to miss my garden so much!!!

We had a fun playdate with our friend Azalea, whose mom was my college roommate and travel buddy when we studied abroad in Spain together. What is funny is that Maya and Azalea are both the youngest, and generally the "boss" of their siblings, usually getting whatever toy they want. So putting them together- they both grabbed onto the baby crib with fierce looks in the eyes and would not release their grip even as they screamed for help. They were not used to such stubborn competition! Both Stacie and I just let them try to figure it out. It's hard because Maya will just grab a toy from Vivi or Tonito, and they know they are not supposed to hit or hurt her, so they usually just move onto something else. There has to be a balance or she will be in for a rude awakening in preschool:). On the flip side, having older siblings is amazing for her speech, her imagination, her knowledge... The way she plays and makes the animals and princesses talk is not like a 21 month old. Oh this is the best- the other day I hear her singing in the family room. She is holding the little mermaid princess on a tower of the castle, and has all of the other princesses in a semicircle "audience." Then she starts singing "aaah-aaah-aaah, aaah-aaah-aaah" (from the Little Mermaid, when she is giving her voice to Ursula). So she keeps singing all day and makes the other princess hug and kiss the Little Mermaid. Then at dinner, I was trying to get her to do it, so I started first, and she yelled at me: "I do dit! Don't do dit mommy! I do dit!" She proceeds to reprimand anyone who tries to sing the Little Mermaid song (including Tonito and Vivi). She's smiling and laughing as she scolds us, but she is pretty serious!

Dinos at the Zoo

Tonio decided to take the kids to the zoo on Sunday to give me a little break (so that I could clean the house without little ones underfoot). The zoo has an exhibit now of dinosaurs that move, breathe, and look incredibly real-enough that several kids were crying! The kids were absolutely amazed: "look at the long neck!" (/wook at the wong neck!/) Tonito brought his stuffed t-rex and showed it in awe to the zoo's t-rex. Vivi was a little freaked out at first until Tonio explained that they really were pretend, they couldn't move their feet to get any closer, and they would not attack us. What a fun exhibit.

Next, Tonio took the kids to the family center, where they painted each other like lions. Tonito was in a protective mode (maybe because of the dinos) and he and Vivi were acting so cute hugging each other, holding hands, and just buddy-buddying around the zoo. Of course Maya wanted to be a lion as well! She wants to do *everything* the big kids do, and her verbal skills are amazing because of all the imitation! She came home telling me about the "asaurios" (dinosaurios), the "t-rek" (t-rex), and roaring like a lion. She now fights over the lemur (ye-mo) with the other kids, and frequently wins the argument! Maya is quite fiesty when she takes her thumb out.

Nuestros queridos amigos!!!!

Our wonderful friends Daniela and Claudio and their beautiful kids Analua and Francisco came to visit us all the way from Massachusetts, where Claudio is a professor. We met Dani and Claudio in 1999 when I was in grad school at U of I (and Tonio was studying as an exchange student at U of I for the second time). I was an ESL instructor and Claudio was in my level 5 ESL class- the lowest level, for those students who just arrived to the US and have virtually no English. He and Dani were newlyweds from Brazil, and Tonio and I were newly engaged, and we all just hit it off. I think it is one of the only times that we each made friends with a couple, instead of one of us having a friend, and then introducing our spouses. We had a lot of fun at U of I, Dani and Claudio are both very intelligent, and the hardest working people I have ever met. Claudio went from speaking no English, to passing the TOEFL, to getting accepted and completing his PhD and now he is a professor! It is truly amazing (sorry for bragging Claudio). We rarely get to see them, but have kept in touch over the computer, and see each other once in a while. I love how nicely our kids play together!!!! I appreciate the way Dani parents them- they are really good, sweet, polite kids. We love you guys!!!

Look at these cuties.

So sweet.

Playing at the park together!

Starting our good-byes

Vivi, Giorgi, Temuri, Maya, Levani, Tonito

Vivi and Tonito made a very dear friend at school this year, and now our families have become friends. Both of our husbands travel a lot for work, our kids are all around the same age, and we have similar philosophies on raising kids. Tika (their mom) and I both like to cook, and try to make our kids eat healthy, and so we love to get the kids together for dinner when our husbands are out of town. The 6 little kids play surprisingly well together! I won't say who has a crush on whom, but there was a little flirting going on:). Tika and the kids go to Georgia (the country, not the state) for the summer and so we were saying good-bye for a long time- but fortunately they just bought a new house near by my parents- so whenever we are visiting we should be able to also spend some time playing with them! We will miss you so much Tika, Giorgi, Temuri, and Levani!!!

Watermelon and roly-poly drama

WATERMELON is in season, and for those who don't know, Tonito's province (Xinjiang) is famous for melons, and especially watermelon! Even when we were in Guangzhou and people asked where Tonito was from, all of the Chinese people we met would mention something about the good watermelons from Xinjiang. (maybe because it is so far away that is all they knew!:). So anytime we are at the supermarket and Tonito sees the watermelon, he of course asks for it! now that it is in season we eat it all the time... I think we could grow watermelon in Houston? Maybe we will try...

We are studying bugs and insects right now at home- it is so fun! I used to always collect bugs as a kid, and make little habitats for them in old aquariums, so when my mom was getting rid of the aquariums I grabbed them and put them in our garage. Armed with buckets and jars from the recycling bin, we started by going on a bug hunt and found a ton of roly-polys, aka pillbugs, under the rocks and garbage cans. Then Vivi saw a centipede and screamed- not because she was scared... no, she was ECSTATIC to find such a big bug! She grabbed the red, wriggly, leggy, centipede and I told her to quick put it in the bucket "so it wouldn't get away" (or so it wouldn't bite her!? Do they bite?). Gross. Tonito was a ltitle jealous, but no worries- he started finding centipedes as well. We ended up with at least 20 roly-polys, a handful of worms, a couple of beetles, and 5 or 6 centipedes. The kids had made the cutest little house (can you describe a dirty aquarium with sticks, dirt, bark, and rocks as cute?) for the bugs, and loved dumping them in and watching them burrow down. We also threw in some potato peels because I read somewhere that roly-polys like to eat them.

*

Fast-forward 2 days: the kids kept going out and looking at the bugs, but couldn't usually find any roly-polys. So at night we were reading a book about pillbugs and all of a sudden there was a huge picture of a reddish centipede, the exact one we had in our little palace. Underneath I read the words with dread "One of the only predators of the pillbug is the centipede." I should have thought quicker, but instead, I explained what a predator was and the kids got a little "circle of life" lesson. I couldn't imagine Vivi getting so upset: real tears, sobbing, "why did they eat our roly-polys? why didn't we protect them?" Tonito started crying as well and asked to call Grandma. We called my mom, who listened while the kids blubbered about how the mean centipedes ate all of our roly-polys. Then the bombshell fell:

*

My mom: It's OK Vivi, it's not your fault!

Vivi: (without missing a beat) I know, it's mommy's fault.

Me: Wait, I didn't know centipedes ate roly-polys sweetie. It's not mommy's fault, it's no one's fault.

Vivi: Well, maybe a little bit your fault. Sorry mommy.

*

We have sinced recovered from the traumatic event, banished the centipedes from the palace, and re-populated it with fresh new "mommy, papi and baby roly-polys." I can assure you that everyone is doing much better. We returned to the books and read one about earthworms.

*

Vivi: Do worms eat roly-polys?

Me: Nope! Just old plants!

Tonito: I love worms. They go po-po in the dirt. (he learned this at school)

Vivi: Me too! I always loved worms.

(then the page comes about birds eating worms.. wheels turning)

Vivi: Do birds eat roly-polys?

Me: No.. (hoping she won't get upset that they DO in fact eat worms)

Vivi: YAY BIRDS! (she yells while ecstatically thrusting both fists in the air for victory)

Tonito: Me too. I love birds.

(apparently worms are not as cuddly and cute as roly-polys)

Me: Actually, I think birds might even eat centipedes!

(wheels turning)

Vivi: YES! I love birds. I always loved birds. They are my favorite!!!! (pronounced "fay-brit")

Tonito: Me too. Yes, birds!

*

Aaaaah, a happy ending. Now every time we see birds pulling out worms from the grass the kids are convinced they are eating the centipedes and saving the roly-polys. By the way, if you ever build a roly-poly palace, they really do love the potato peels!

Dia de las Mamas

Celebrating Mother's Day with my mom


I am the luckiest mom in the world! Seriously. Four years ago I just had chubby cutie-pie Vivi, who was just learning how to sit up. Then two years ago I was pregnant with Maya, chasing around my little monkey Vivi. Then last year, my first Mother's Day with both Maya and Tonito- with Maya crawling around and doing her little dances, and Tonito warming up to me with his sweet hugs and dimply grin. Now, just a year after Tonito came home, I have 3 loving and gregarious kids, who succeed in laughing all day and lightening everyone's moods. I wish I could make time go slower- such a cliche, but such the truth! How can I capture this time when they are so perfect and innocent, and stretch it out to last forever? I wish I didn't have to spend so much time cleaning my house for showings so I could relish in their silliness more often. Here they are playing hide-and-seek with each other on Mother's Day:

Tio Timo and Tia Colleen

We are going to miss Tio Timo (my brother) and his wife Tia Colleen SO MUCH when we go to Houston!!! It has been fun living so close to them and having our midweek dinners and playdates. I just have Maya with Tim in these pictures, but the kids adore both Tim and Colleen, and always have so much fun playing with them. Please come and visit us!!!!:)

Getting Ready for Mother's Day

Making butterfly cards: (is that bad that I helped them make my Mother's Day card?)



Making trellises (is that the plural?) for Mommy and grandma, with papi

Our Spring Unit

We were learning about plants, gardens, and spring in general this week, so we decided to plant some seeds of our own! I scoured the kitchen for possible seeds and found dried pinto beans and another kind of bean, dried peas, dried lentils, popcorn, and in our Cheerios box: flower seeds. We planted all of them in little peat pots and in a see-through planter (to observe the roots). I will post in a few weeks if the seedlings take:).

We also learned a little (a mini-introduction) about looking at a geo-physical map: the 3D kind. Anything hands on and touchy-feely is right up their alley, and the love to close their eyes and try to find the mountains. We also talked about the colors representing different biomes such as yellow for deserts, green for forests, blue for water, etc. They did a great job locating areas I would list, and wanted to know where different animals lived. Funny enough, Vivi can locate Madagascar better than the US (obviously, because lemurs live there), and Tonito is very good at finding Norway (because that is where Papi travels frequently). Having taught high school for several years, and witnessing firsthand some students' severe lack of geography knowledge (it was common for high schoolers to think Africa was Latin America for example!?), I am trying to make more of an effort with my own kids!:)

Chores for Little Ones

Of course Maya wants to do EVERYTHING that Vivi does!!!

Our kids are still in the phase where they like to help (yay- I hope this lasts a couple of more years??). Tonito is my garbage man, taking out the recycling, emptying the bathroom garbage cans, and dragging out the garbage and recycling to the curb every week. (Side note: he is the one who has discovered their paintings and drawings "accidentally" thrown in the recycling: "Mommy, look what happened!!?? Why are these in the garbage?" "Oh honey, Mingo chewed on it a little so I had to recycle it." Shoot- note to self- recycle art projects when they are in bed, and hide them at the bottom of the pile!)

Vivi likes to empty the dishwasher, mainly the kids cups and plates because they are in a low cabinet. She also does the silverware (as does Tonito), and likes to electric broom. Actually they fight over the electric broom (!). She likes to pick up her room and "surprise" me when all of the toys and clothes that Maya throw around are all organized and put away. Vivi's favorite job is helping me in the kitchen- she wishes she could cook every day with me. She and Tonito also set and clear the table, and are in heaven if I give them a chlorox wipe and tell them to "wash" the floor" (which I frequently do if I am having a showing:).

The main reason I am recording these little miracles into the archives is so when they are teenagers I can at least reminisce about my little helpers.

Here's Vivi helping Tonito when he wasn't feeling well:

Brag Night and Strawberry Shortcake

To celebrate Brag Night at school, and spring in general, we made strawberry shortcake! The kids *loved* that I let them cut the strawberries by themselves (with 2 hands on the knife at all times!). Maya just loved grabbing handfuls of berries and watching the mini-chefs work.
After dinner we went to Brag Night at their school, and they got to be tour guides and show us the different "centers" and activities. It was so cute!!! The school has enriched them so much this year- I am so glad we were in this district Tonito's first year home! Both of the kids have learned and experienced so much in this class, and we couldn't be prouder.

Princess Maya Bruiser

Update #3: Maya (last but not least!)
She might be little, but her smile and presence are not. Our sweetie-pie Maya is cuddly, silly and smiley, but defends her toys (and takes the other kids' toys) with a ferocity unexpected in her tiny little body! We talk a lot about "being nice" but everyone knows she has Tonito and Vivi wrapped around her little finger, who frequently lend her their beloved t-rex and lemur. On the other hand, she follows them around constantly and believes she is 4, like they are. Every morning I do the kids hair with them sitting on the bottom step. As soon as they are done, she sits down and says "hair mommy." And I have to use the same spray bottle and comb and she will sit there for as long as necessary for me to put in a little pony tail or just comb it. So cute!!! But she also follows them when they are running around crazy, and has many, many bruises on her head to prove it. Her recent head injuries: 1) diving off the piano bench into the ceramic floor in Mexico 2) slipping on wet bathroom tile and hitting the side of her face on the floor 3) running around as a "lion" with V and T and running smack into the door jamb (think purple unicorn bump) 4) running into my mom's stove and getting the scariest goose egg yet. Maya, slow down!!!!
She loves to give hugs and kisses, almost as much as she likes to get hugs and kisses, and is attached to my leg sucking her thumb the majority of the afternoon. In the morning we like to go on walks and look for "tweet tweets," as she calls birds, and read lots and lots of books. Maya is talking more and more, and we understand what she is saying more and more:

-"princess" (can you believe she already says princess!? we can't, except Vivi, who is very proud)
-"seatbelt" (she is obsessed with wearing the "seatbelt" in the highchair, stroller, etc)
-"I did it!"
-"I do dit!" (meaning I want to do it by myself!)
-"Don't do dit!" (see the pattern? I think she thinks the first one is "I di dit")
-"Te quiero" (I love you in Spanish)
-"I'm sorry mommy"

OK, the last funniest thing that she just started doing: I was in the kitchen making lunch, and Maya was playing with the princess castle. All of a sudden I hear her singing "aaa-aaa-aaa, aaa-aaa-aaa" and recognize it immediately as the Little Mermaid song! She was holding Ariel, and making her sing to the other princesses. She would make her say "Hi everybody" (hi ery-bah-ee) and then starting singing:). So I would sing with her, she would laugh, and we kept playing this way for a while. Then a couple of days later she started it at the breakfast able. Tonito joined in, and immediately Maya frowned at him and said "Don't do dit!!!! I do dit!!!!" until he stopped. Then she would smile and keep singing until he would start again (repeat and repeat). Fortunately Tonito also thought it was hysterical and kept playing the game with her until she was laughing too.