Sarah's First Halloween

This year we had two ninjas AND A MINNIE MOUSE. 

 The boys actually wore the same exact costumes as last year, since they still fit. They did get new weapons though, which they were thrilled about (these fancy, double sword things).

After school, we went to Grandma's house in Shelburne for dinner and trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. There are about 25 houses (just the perfect size for the boys right now - we've done this the past two years) and they get to pass out candy to her trick-or-treaters afterwards. (Right now we like it this way because Rupert and I can both go with the kids, instead of one of us having to stay home and pass out candy. And Grandma gets to see the kids in their costumes.)  After the third house, Donovan (my SHY/QUIET/RESERVED son), screamed, "Halloween is AWESOME!! Look at all the candy we are getting." (Okay, so there were probably 10 pieces of candy in his bag...He has no idea that in a couple years when he goes to a big neighborhood, he's going to need a pillowcase...For now he's happy and satisfied with the 45 pieces he got tonight!)

SARAH DID GREAT! (We weren't sure if she'd be too scared.) We carried her (Minnie Mouse) and she was only scared at one house where the homeowner had a scary mask on (that even Donovan backed away from). She was trying to say "trick-or-treat" by about the third house. She showed us again she likes to take charge and organize things (hmm...wonder who she's learning that from...could it be from Mommy and from Donovan perhaps...). We have the boys alternate who rings the doorbell/knocks on the door as we trick-or-treat. She was keeping track and as we approached each house she'd shout out the name of the brother who was supposed to go up first. Also, if her brother forgot to get a piece of candy from the bowl and put it in her bag, she was quick to remind him!

The moment to melt my heart was when we got home and the boys took out all of their candy to sort it and count it and put it in a Ziplock bag for each of them. Sarah was being put to bed at that time. The boys took out all of their Hershey Kisses (about 12 from each boy) and set them on Sarah's placemat at the table. (Hershey Kisses were a candy I mentioned would be perfect for Sarah this year.) They wanted her to have their Hershey Kisses. I took some of the candy from her bag and gave it to them. Their response was, "Wow! We get even more candy when we have a sister!" I told them to enjoy it now because next year she'll be eating it all herself.

Sarah with the new Minnie Mouse slippers Grandma gave her tonight. (She wore them with her costume since she was being carried.)

Sarah with the pumpkin Daddy painted Minnie Mouse on for her.

We did have a casualty this evening. I was so careful watching out for Aaron, who didn't wear his glasses with his ninja mask, but it was ME with the problem. I stepped off my mom's front walkway and rolled my ankle. OUCH! Oh and that was just as we were heading out to get started trick-or-treating! I carried Sarah halfway around the neighborhood and then passed her on to Rupert, not because she was too heavy (though she is a hefty 25 pounds), but because it was killing my ankle to carry her. By the time we got home it was all swollen up. Clearly sprained it. UGH! Those of you who know I started running in June as soon as school got out...this is killing me. Today was the first day I was up to 6 miles (in 63 minutes, so 10 1/2 minute miles which is good for me), up from 5 miles which I'd been at for about 3-4 weeks now. Needless to say I have several "rest" days ahead of me while this darn ankle heals up (fast I hope). Also, both boys have colds, so except for hockey Saturday morning, we weren't planning to go ice skating or hiking or anything.

The Girl Can EAT (and I mean EAT!)

After all my talk about how MUCH Sarah eats, I thought a visual was in order. This is a typical breakfast for her. What is not clear in the front view photo is that there is an ADDITIONAL white bowl near her that contains a hardboiled egg. That's in addition to 10 grapes, 6 strawberries, 1/2 a kiwi, a full banana, a breakfast sausage, and 4 big pieces of homemade banana bread. 15 minutes from now, she'll have packed it away. Where I have no idea. This girl loves to eat!

Santa's Village

We spent Sunday at Santa's Village in Jefferson, NH. The weather was FANTASTIC, and as always we had a great time. The boys saw Santa, and told him what they want for Christmas (no surprise there - Legos, transformers, and power rangers).
Sarah stayed at home with Grandma and they had a great day. Sarah is doing great but there is no way she would have done the 2 1/2 hour ride, missed her nap while there, and done the 2 1/2 hour drive home. I think Donovan was almost 3 when he went the first time. We are aiming for next summer and then next fall. (We love to go in the fall when it is cooler. In fact last year we went in November and that was GREAT.)
Here are some photos of our great day. (Oh and highlight for me was not having to do schoolwork on the car-ride home, which has been the case the past couple years when we visited.)

44 inches tall

47 1/2 inches tall

Tall enough for ride by himself!

Have I mentioned he's my quiet, serious child? I don't know what happens to him sometimes! The kid who does not want to attract any attention to himself turns into this...

Sometimes still opting to ride with Mom :)

Antique Cars

Bright and early before we left home. 

CaptainS Underpants

So, we are working our way through the Captain Underpants series, along with other books by the same author. The humor is right up Donovan's style.
The other day I bought Donovan his first boxer briefs (instead of "little boy underpants" as we call them around here) and immediately he said, "These are what Captain Underpants wears." So...in seconds out came the red capes and Aaron stripped down to his underpants too. Oh my! Sarah is certainly being exposed to QUITE a bit here in our family, including brothers who strip down to their underwear at a moment's notice, tie red capes around themselves, screaming Tra-la-la and running around the house.

Here are the TWO CaptainS Underpants...

Looks like Aaron is flying!

Pretending to eat cheeseburgers. (Apparently Principal Krupp likes them?)

Donovan is my SERIOUS son...Apparently  not once he turns into Captain Underpants. 

Tra-la-la - AWAY HE GOES

The most HUMONGOUS carrot ever...(from our garden)

The boys picked carrots from the garden the other evening. They were all good sized, but one was PARTICULARLY HUMONGOUS.

We were all that surprised!

So proud (notice Sarah peeking out from behind)

puckering up to kiss the carrot! 

Kissing the carrot (I don't know what gets into this kid sometimes! Although perhaps it's better to be kissing a carrot than a girl at age 6 1/2!)

Aaron with the carrot. (The carrot greens are totally blocking Sarah...but notice she has her toy pan, ready to boil the carrot for dinner!)

Happy Girl

Sarah got a new outfit and she LOVES to try on new clothes. Here she is.  As you can see she's pretty  happy about it. 

It's Been One Month! (PHOTOS!!)

It's hard to believe it's been one month since Sarah walked into our house (well, actually, let's be honest here, she was carried. Back then she hardly wanted us to ever put her down). She entered our family a very scared little girl. But her openness to experience everything new was always clear (just hiding behind her timidness). In just one month she has already blossomed so much. She is such a joyous little girl. She wakes up happy, loves to EAT, loves her brothers, and is so much fun to be around.  She can be very silly. She loves to play musical instruments, sing, and dance around. (The other afternoon in the car Aaron and I had to tell her, "Sarah BE QUIET, we can't hear the radio!") She's learning her colors, shapes, can count objects to six, and has already learned quite a few English words. She's saying some phrases ("Here you go," "I love you," and she loves to say "HELL-O" to people, really emphasizing the /L/ sound). She comprehends quite a bit English and follows directions well (Mommy loves that fact!). She adores her brothers, and they her. She plays a vicious game of dodgeball.

One Month Home

Aaron, Sarah, Daddy, Donovan (Mommy was the photographer.) 

LOVE Aaron's hand on Sarah's shoulder.

I do not think it is possible to adequately explain HOW MUCH this child eats at meals. She loves EVERYTHING. (It is often common for post-institutionalized children to eat a lot when first in a family, but we are a month into this and she is showing no signs of slowing down...) She loves all meat, fruits, and veggies. Some of you may recall that in China Sarah seemed to pick out every single tiny shred of green vegetable and refuse to eat it. Those days are long gone. She devours broccoli, bok choy, lettuce, etc. etc. etc. And if those pants in the top photo look a little short it's because SHE'S GROWING!

She's sleeping great (12 hours at night, 2 hour nap).

I had forgotten how BUSY life was with a 2 year old (or should I say perhaps I underestimated how BUSY it would be with one 2 year old and two almost 7 year olds!).  Our days are going much too quickly...I want them to slow down!

Standing under one of the lanterns we bought in Guangzhou. LOVE that Aaron is holding Sarah's hand.

(Please disregard the toys strewn all over our living room. And do not even try to imagine the playroom. I have given up on an organized, tidy home. Somehow it seems less important to me than it used to. Life will never be the same! And I have surrendered to the 10,000+ Legos strewn around the house. The boys are thrilled that Sarah does not put Legos in her mouth and does not break their structures. And she's very helpful, in that when she finds a loose Lego on the floor, she brings it to one of her brothers.)

We have some big changes that have happened around here lately! 

Donovan and Aaron are both riding two wheel bikes now without training wheels. Our routine now is that as soon as we get home from school, we put Sarah in the bike trailer, and the 3 of us go for a bike ride while Sarah rides along behind my bike. The boys are LOVING riding 2 wheel bikes. Aaron got a new bike, as he outgrew his old one (so now he and Donovan have the same size bike).

(Apparently I need to locate my photos of Donovan riding his 2 wheel bike...)

The boys are both playing first grade soccer through our town's rec program. They are on the navy blue team, along with 4 of their close friends. Both boys are doing great. In the last game, Donovan had one goal, and one assist. Aaron almost scored. He had a great shot on goal, but the great goalie stopped it. He's hoping to score a goal this season.

Aaron shooting on goal (in practice).

In other sports news, we are gearing up for our first (hopefully of MANY) hockey seasons. Donovan and Aaron both learned to ice skate this past spring and Donovan wants to play hockey. Mommy is thrilled. I hope he LOVES it. We are counting down the weeks until it starts...

All geared up. SO EXCITED (Donovan and definitely Mom!)

Rear View - A cute tushie in his compression shorts. (He thinks the compression shorts with the built in cup are the coolest thing. We ordered the long pants version too.)

Moments after taking off his hockey gear, he tied a red cape on and Tra-la-la...he became Captain Underpants....(He is loving reading that series by the way.)

(It has been suggested I save this photo for his wedding reception...)

Sarah photobombing with the craziest glasses on. At least she is fully clothed...

More photos of Sarah...

She can be one silly girl!

She loves her doll.

Sweet, Sweet Sarah

And then a comparison is in order...Then and Now...

The day we met...It was clearly not love at first sight for her :) I know one day she will look at this photo (and we have about 100 taken that hour with her and she basically has the same expression) and say, "What was I so upset about?" She will likely laugh at having been so scared by us and everything that was happening. As her mom, I will never forget how heart-wrenching that hour was, with her totally inconsolable. The reality that she had to lose everything she had ever known, to start anew...was overwhelming emotionally for us as adults in that first hour...

Here she was one week after being with us...

(oh and I so love that a [former] student emailed me when we were in China and said, Ms. Walsh, you stopped biting your fingernails. Yup. FINALLY!) It was apparently this photo the student noticed it in...

And so here she is today...

Sweet Sarah, you have embraced all aspects of your new life with openness and joy. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for you. We are so lucky to have you for our daughter (and sister).