Icecream = SMILES

And yes, they were stripped down before eating! Makes for easier clean up...

Me & My Sweetie

Happy Valentine's Day

The day started out with these for me...

And these for Morgan...

And of course chocolates for all the kids. Morgan made these for her class...

And of course Lily enjoyed licking the icing...

And Liam enjoyed watching them cook...

I can't wait for my date night tonight with my sweetie. (new babysitter..so pray please for the little ones) First time in a long time since we have been out on Valentine's Day! I have a little something special for him to open at dinner. Will have to share tomorrow...dont' want to give it away if he read this post today.
Liam had his first gymnastics class today. He did well. Lily has become so independant, so it makes it easier to focus on him. I am sorry proud of my little girl!!! She is growing up right before my eyes.

Thanks Pinterest!

I was trying to come up with something different to do for the kids in Mason's class this year for Valentine's Day. I was tired of the same old, same old. So, in an attempt to do something creative I differed to Pinterest. I love this website! The kids love how these turned out. They taste good and they are perfect for Valentine's Day.
So you go from this:

And this:

To this:

And this:

Liam's Doctor's Appointment

On Tuesday, we had Liam's first doctor's appointment. He really did quite well (considering taking 5 vials of blood) and all the nurses were talking about just how cute he is. That's my boy, such a cutie pie. Anyway, we discussed Liam's two medical issues briefly...his kidneys and megacolon/Hirschsprungs disease. He is going to refer him to a specialist for both...urologist for his kidneys so we can find out if there was/is any kidney damage and what exactly they did in China when he had surgery and a GI doctor for the megacolon/hirschsprugs disease. When Liam was in China they did a biopsy of this colon and the test came back positive for hirschsprugs disease. Our doctor said that if that is true then he must have a very mild case since he is having regular/normal bowel movements. But we still want to check it out and find out all we can about this little boy! So, he will have to follow up the the urologist, GI doctor, an ENT and an ophthalmologist. The last two are just prodical...we did the same with Lily. For now we are collecting our stool stamples and will go back on Friday for them to see if he had any reaction to the TB test (also prodical to be redone once home). His doctor was very happy with his growth and overall physical condition. Liam currently comes in at 27.8 lbs (49%), 35" tall (76%), and head circumference of 46.5 cm (8%).
We had our first (1 month) home study last night. I can't believe the new regulations for home studies with China now. This will be drawn out for 5 years now...crazy. With the new changes, our home study agency will not be completing anymore home studies for China. Just too much work for a small agency. They will however continue with the ones that are currently in place, thank goodness! We have been with the same social worker since 2007 when we started Lily's adoption. We have been blessed to have her.
Everything else is going well and we are settling into our new normal.

Superbowl in the hot tub

Just doing life

Not much going on around here. Just doing life as we know it now with our newest addition. He puts a whole new twist on "doing life". Our days are much more uneventful and we stay around the house more than before. We did have Lily's follow up this week with her surgeon. We waited an hour and a half to been seen, so a 10:30 appointment turned into a 12:00 appointment. Lily and Liam were tired and hungry by then and more than ready to go. Another month of tubes. Her scar is still raised so the doctor said to try to keep her away from sugar as much possible. Should help with the healing process. Do you think I should have told him about the 5 lb bag of gummy bears she ate in China?!?!? I think NOT!
The two little ones are learning to appreciate one another and it is so much fun to watch. They are playing better together and are always together. Where one goes the other follows. Lily always wants to know where her little brother is and Liam loves to do whatever Lily is doing. Believe me it is not always fun and games, they definately have their moments, but over all things are going better than I ever expected. Part of it is just Liam's personality. He is not clingy and plays well independently. This has been a huge blessing.
We had a couple days this week when he wasn't feeling good (cough and runny nose) and I thought he was going to drive me crazy. He doesn't do well when he is not feeling himself. He was very WHINY and wanted to be held all the time (definately not like him)!! This becomes challenging when Lily and Liam feed off each other. One whines and then the other whines..Oh My!!!!! Glad it only lastest a couple days.
Lily is sleeping better. She has slept through the night since Tuesday night. So, all the kids are sleeping through the night and life is good.
Here are some pictures from this week. We had wonderful weather this week with temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's.
Gotta have some blanket rides..

Then the little ones try to pull Mason - didn't happen..

Then for some bubbles outside..

Then last but not least. The little ones in the cutest shirts ever..