Tuesday, August 25, 2009

One year later - Jaxie's Day

One year ago I walked into the civil affairs office in Nanjing China - feeling a little disoriented, and missing my hubby (who was home with our daughter) like crazy. It was a big room, and there were a few children there already, but I didn't see Jackson. Then I noticed a little boy sitting peacefully with his nanny, partially hidden behind a wooden partition. It. was. him. [insert tears of joy here] :)

He came to me with no reservations what-so-ever. We had a difficult beginning in China, getting to know each other, Jackson grieving, and physically not feeling all that great. But, from the minute we got home he just settled right in.

He is soooooooooo sweet, has a great sense of humor, and is very charming. He has grown 7 inches and gained almost 10 pounds. He has a huge vocabulary now and is making great strides in speech therapy. He loves trains, swimming, and books. We are truly blessed beyond measure to have Jackson Reece TaoChuan in our life.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: Jackson's First Year
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

June/July Update

Hello-
Sorry we've been away for awhile. All is going well. We are getting into the swing of summer. The temps have been crazy; cold, then mid-90s last week, now cold again. We are either in pants or not leaving the pool. We are managing to fill up our days with organization projects (the house slipped into disarray when Mommy returned to work), playing, gardening, berry picking, trips to the zoo, and hanging out with family and friends.

Kids update:
Addie - received her notice that she will be attending our local 4 Year Old Kindergarten this fall - every morning, every day. This will be a big change from pre-school (two afternoons/ week), but we think she is ready. The nice thing is that the 4K-site is right behind our house. She is swimming like a fish this summer, head under the water and no life-jacket in the pool. She love chewing gum, bright nail polish, wearing dresses, her fuzzy blanket and kitty (strawberry), singing, dancing, painting, Disney movies, and Sunday school.

Jax - our sweet little guy is growing up. He has grown 6 inches and gained 10lbs since coming home last September. He is a totally different kid. He is very outgoing, and always has a smile waiting with his adorable dimples. I finally had to cut his thick, shaggy locks - it made me sad to see all the hair go, but it is much cooler for the summer. He is now saying two and three word sentences, and is a star student at speech therapy. He wants to do everyting himself - lots of "I do it" going on. He is also a fish - very calm in the water. He loves to put his face in and float on his back. Jax loves to swing, play cars and trains, blow bubbles, snuggle with his fuzzy, fix things with his "tools", and cuddle with everyone.

We are taking a few trips this summer - up north to my parents cabin and to Iowa for a family wedding. So we will log many hours in the car over the next few weeks. I start my new job August 6th, so about one month left to play :)

Here's a few scrapbook pages of the kids: