Going Back

We are so excited to be going back to China.  We hope to be there in November to pick up Little Miss the Second!  Things have changed since we adopted Chloe and we can't post specific details until she is truly part of the O'Huffman clan.  However, she is already so loved we can not wait to meet this little one. The process has changed a lot too.  We have steps that we didn't have before so sometimes I feel a little lost and I'm not sure how close we really are.

Chloe is also excited about seeing China now that she will be able to remember it.  We talk about our time in China all time but now she will walk the Great Wall for herself! I am so excited for her. We get mixed reactions when people find out we are taking Chloe with us but I could not do it any other way.  Would it be an easier trip without a 6 year old, perhaps, but we can not deny her this opportunity to be a part of building our family.

I am so excited to begin the next chapter.

Laid Back Weekend

Not much happening this weekend, so we attempted to clean up the house.  That really didn't happen we kinda of made more of a mess.  Next week some time we should be getting our new pantry so all of our food is currently residing in boxes in the living room and on the kitchen table.  We destroyed one of the armoire's that was housing our dry groceries and the other one's fate is sealed just waiting for the pantry to arrive.  The armoires were not ever meant to hold heavy things such as canned goods and it showed.  They were getting a bit dangerous and if we are going to be having a toddler in the house again then we need to make sure the furniture does not fall apart on top of her.

I also made a packing list for China.  I forgot how much stuff we need to take and I had 4 years to plan the last trip.  I feel much better with a list in had we can start accumulating stuff and be ready when the call comes that we are leaving.  

Chloe went to a Birthday party for her friend from Daycare.  Her boyfriend was there, yes she has a boyfriend he is almost 4 and they are certain they are going to marry someday.  They really are great friends and I hope they stay that way for a long time.  The party was at Get Air, a local trampoline park, she loved it.  They jumped forever, Chloe was a sweaty mess but she had so much fun.  

All in all it was a good weekend.  Now I just need to figure out what to do for Chloe's Birthday in a couple weeks.  Who gave her the right to turn 6!!?  I can't believe she is going to be 6.  She loves My Little Ponies, Rainbows, School, being an anesthesiologist someday and her "boyfriend." She is just an awesome girl!  I can't wait to meet her sister and learn who she is.    

Chloe and the ladder, I think she was the only one I saw make it to the end.

Her boyfriend holding the ladder for her.  She says he has "Prince Hans Hair"  

Enjoying dodge ball 

Just because Jim and Chloe had ice cream without me last week!

Loving School

Chloe is loving school.  She only had 2 days last week and was so bummed, this week she is going all week (except Labor day) and every day she asks "Can I go back tomorrow?!"

They use a color system for behavior so green is good, yellow is a little bad, red is bad and blue is really bad.  I might be missing a color or too but you get the picture.  Apparently Chloe said something inappropriate yesterday, I am still a little confused by what was said but whatever it was the teacher decided to briefly change her color to yellow.  So we had a big talk about what happens if you come home with a naughty color.  I told her that if I ever hear that she was on red or blue she will be in bigger trouble at home.  I explained that she would loose all privileges, no TV, no desert, no Kindle or Innotab, no going to friends houses...you know the things that are supposed to make kids cringe and promise to be good.  She looked at me all serious and said "Can I still go to school?"  I told yes you will still go to school.  She smiled as big as can be and said "Well, that's ok then as long as you don't take away school"      

What are we going to do with this girl?

Impromptu Girl Time

The plan today was to clean the house.  As all great plans go things got changed.  I hurt my back in some unknown way and there was no way I was going to be able to do all the bending needed to clean.  So Chloe and I headed to the far away Wal-Mart and left Jim at home to have his own fun.  We got what we need at Wal-Mart, plus a bunch of stuff we didn't need.  Since it was lunch time and walking through the grocery section it became increasingly obvious that we were hungry we headed to Panda Express on the other side of the parking lot, Chloe's choice.  

It was a fun time to spend with my girl and I never realized it would be so educational.  They had a TV screen set up that showed pictures and facts about China.  Chloe made a list of all the cool things she wants to see when we got to China.  I believe the list included, a real panda, the Great Wall, "herbidden" City, and a Dragon dance.  She really enjoyed it and so did I.  I really can't wait to show her China.

I also worked on skirts for school for her.  We did very little school shopping this year in, trying to save money.  So I decided I have lots of fabric I will make her some skirts.  So far I have made her 5 and they are so easy.  I have also discovered a new found love of bias tape!  Makes the hem so easy and makes a great boarder, so cute. 

All the skirts.

Modeling the Rainbow Dash skirt in her best shoes!

Kindergarten

It finally happened Chloe started Kinder this week.  She is in the dual language program where she will learn Spanish along with English.  I know she will do great, I wish we lived in a better area for her to learn Chinese but any opportunity to learn a second language is amazing.

She absolutely loves it!  She was a little nervous to start but once she got there she had her backpack put away and was saying "bye mom" before I could even blink.

Her newest thing is to say guess what before she tells you anything.  She got home from her first day and she had to head straight to gymnastics I picked her up from gymnastics and she constantly chattered all the way home, then I hear "And Guess What? I want to go back tomorrow!" She is amazing!

Walking to school from Nana's with Mom

New Dress

Since we seem to be having an early spring and I wanted a little project I decided to make Chloe a new dress.  I saw it on Pintrest and I thought I could do that, plus Chloe has been really into rainbows lately.  I love it!  It was so much fun, from picking out the fabric to putting it all together.  

It was a little Chilly this evening for the photos but she was a trooper and I had a coat waiting for as soon as the twirling was over. 

 She loves the way it twirls and so do I.  

And finally a curtsy!

And proof I was waiting with the warm jacket.   

Great weekend with my family! 

What Do You Want to Be?

Chloe blew the other Mom's away at dance class last night.  I was a little annoyed with all the "how much hair did your kid have when she was born" talk, they know they are leaving me out and it is a bit rude since the girls are 5 it doesn't really matter any more.  So when one of them stated that her daughter drains the battery on their tablet by watching people open packages of toys on youtube.  I took the opportunity to tell them that Chloe prefers hospital tours and videos about medical procedures, which she does.  I know it was petty but the kids were in the other room and they started it.  So one mom says "Well, maybe she'll be a doctor", I said "She actually wants to be an anesthesiologist."

That might of dropped a few jaws.  She really wants to be an anesthesiologist.  She has always wanted to be a doctor since she could talk but when she was 3 she specialized and she has not gone back.  I made the mistake not to long ago of looking at a picture Chloe had drawn and telling her that it was beautiful and maybe she could be an artist someday.  She got all serious and said "No Mom, don't you remember I am going to be an anesthesiologist"  I think she lost all hope for my IQ that day since I couldn't remember that simple fact.  It is not just a word she says either she really knows  what they do and why she wants to be one.  She devours any medical knowledge she can get.  She hates it when we go to the doctor without her since she can not quiz the doctor on all things medical.  I had the flu on Christmas and we all ended  up at the local urgent care after opening up gifts, she was so excited that the nurse used a pulse-oximeter (excuse me if I can't spell these things).  The nurse could not believe the terminology that was coming out of this 5 year old's month.  Jim and I recently went in for physicals and need blood drawn, Chloe went with us,  She came away with a rubber tie thing, cotton swabs, 2 vacuum blood vial things, gloves and the knowledge of what a phlebotomist  does.

So the other mom's had no idea what their daughters wanted to be when they grew up.  They are 5 it doesn't matter and in most cases will change 10 times in the next 10 years and that's fine.  However, when the girls got out of class that was the first thing they asked them was "what do you want to be when you grow up?"  Of course the answer was typical 5 year old one wanted to be a mommy, another a My Little Pony and the other had no idea.  Chloe was dying to chime in since she KNOWS what she wants to be.  She was practically stuttering, "hey hey hey ask me!"  So of course they asked and she told them.  I don't think the believed me but they believed her.  She said "I want to be an anesthesiologist, you know why? Because anesthesiologists help people feel comfortable and go to sleep when someone is going to have surgery and that is really important but they are all a part of a big team of doctors and nurses that help you get better when you need surgery."  She's awesome!