Well as you can imagine being the parent of a 2-year-old...New Year's Eve is quite thrilling...NOT!
Anyway, we did have some good laughs, when our lovely child Lily who loves to be naked, announced that she needed to use the bano (bathroom). She proudly stood on her blue stool in front of the toilet, lifted up the toilet seat (just like daddy), and tried to go....oh so cute!!!! If I wasn't worried that she might pee all over the place I might have run and got my camera.
Oh, how I love the toddler!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
When the child's away the parents will....
SLEEP!!!!!
Today was the first day during our break when we had no obligations...I had big plans of going to the grocery store blah..blah...blah...but no...we got up at 6 or 7, I forget now...took Lily pad to daycare...and then around 8 fell blissfully asleep in the bed together until almost noon!
Ah, the exciting life of the parents of toddlers!
P.S. Lily was so cute this morning...she got into my Vaseline and came running to the kitchen to show me her greasy hands filled with chunks of gooey greasy Vaseline...so proud of herself! Gotta love it!
Today was the first day during our break when we had no obligations...I had big plans of going to the grocery store blah..blah...blah...but no...we got up at 6 or 7, I forget now...took Lily pad to daycare...and then around 8 fell blissfully asleep in the bed together until almost noon!
Ah, the exciting life of the parents of toddlers!
P.S. Lily was so cute this morning...she got into my Vaseline and came running to the kitchen to show me her greasy hands filled with chunks of gooey greasy Vaseline...so proud of herself! Gotta love it!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Holiday Season Update
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| Lily...our precious gift among gifts |
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| Christmas Eve 2008 |
Favorite Books: I Love You Forever (which by the way..I can't stand:)) and the Foot book by Dr. Seuss. I think we read these two books at least every day sometimes at both nap and bedtime.
Favorite Foods: Yogurt and Granola Bars with Chocolate Chips
Favorite Activities: Loves to sing and dance. She also likes to rock out with her guitar when her daddy is rocking out. I love watching her sing into her "microphone" (the antenna of an old CD boom box) while rocking her little body out, occasionally with her hot pink guitar in hand.
She loves to pretend to be a cat....most days she is a gato (cat in Spanish) named Lily....she meows, purrs, etc... Mommy indulges her fantasy, and Daddy tolerates it!
Spanish is becoming less and less of her vocabulary...we are bringing in a new person next week to speak Spanish to her, so hopefully it will help. Whenever I speak to her in Spanish she answers me in English...it still bothers me, but I feel like I am fighting a losing battle some days.
Lily has enjoyed the Christmas season even if she didn't get all of it! She loves Santa Claus. Every time she sees him now she exclaims "Santa Claus". She loves to sing the songs Rumbbabumbum, Jingle Bells, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. We have tried to make sure she is aware that Jesus is the reason for the holiday with a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve and reading the children's version of Luke 2 on Christmas morning.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Protecting Lily
We've only been home 3 months and in just a short time I have come face to face with the harsh realities of adopting a child from another country. I knew it would happen...but nevertheless, it saddens me deeply...I wonder how I will be equipped to deal with the questions and comments. Will I have the right answers at the right time? Will I accidentally share too much of Lily's "private" story somehow exploiting her in the pursuit of honesty or will I become jaded and angry and strike back in equal rudeness. How will I be able to help Lily deal with people's questions and comments?
Lord, help us to protect our precious daughter Lily. We love her so much.
Love,
Kim
Lord, help us to protect our precious daughter Lily. We love her so much.
Love,
Kim
Friday, December 19, 2008
It is amazing how some things never change
We received two emails from Guatemala today...
hola KIM: Espero todo este bien rafa acaba de enseñarme tus fotos son muy lindas y ustedes lucen muy bien. Gracias por lo que icieron por Lili. Espero verte nuevamente algun dia. Dios te bendiga y que pasen las mejores fiestas de navidad y año nuevo los queremos mucho, con amor. Gloria y familia besos.
For those who don't understand Spanish...basically, it is from Gloria...thanking us for what we have done for Lily and that hopefully she will get to see us again someday!
It is truly amazing to me that someone can be two so different people...it totally blows my mind.
The other was from Lily's 1st foster mother. I had accidentally sent her an email several months back and so the other day when she wrote me, I sent her photos of Lily and updated her. Today we received this letter
HOL A KIM GRACIAS POR MANDARME LAS FOTOS DE LILY ELLA SE VE FELIZ GRACIAS POR TODO EL AMOR QUE LE DA KIM PERDONEME EL ABUSO PERO YO QUIERO MOLESTARLA SI ME PUEDE AYUDAR ECONOMICAMENTE YA QUE NO TENGO TRABAJO Y ESTOY ENFERMA DE LA PRESION ALTA Y LA MEDICINA QUE TOMO PARA REGULARME LA PRESION EN CARA Y AHORITA POR LAS FIESTAS NAVIDEÑAS ME HE VISTO MAS AFECTADA ECONOMICAMENTE PERDONE LA MOLESTIA CUALQUIER CANTIDAD ES PARA MI LA MEJOR AYUDA GRACIAS Y MIL PERDON
Again, she is basically telling me that she needs help economically...she doesn't have work and she is sick and the medicine she needs to take and the Christmas season has affected her economic situation. So whatever quantity of money you can send is a big help.
Ahhh....Guatemala....
hola KIM: Espero todo este bien rafa acaba de enseñarme tus fotos son muy lindas y ustedes lucen muy bien. Gracias por lo que icieron por Lili. Espero verte nuevamente algun dia. Dios te bendiga y que pasen las mejores fiestas de navidad y año nuevo los queremos mucho, con amor. Gloria y familia besos.
For those who don't understand Spanish...basically, it is from Gloria...thanking us for what we have done for Lily and that hopefully she will get to see us again someday!
It is truly amazing to me that someone can be two so different people...it totally blows my mind.
The other was from Lily's 1st foster mother. I had accidentally sent her an email several months back and so the other day when she wrote me, I sent her photos of Lily and updated her. Today we received this letter
HOL A KIM GRACIAS POR MANDARME LAS FOTOS DE LILY ELLA SE VE FELIZ GRACIAS POR TODO EL AMOR QUE LE DA KIM PERDONEME EL ABUSO PERO YO QUIERO MOLESTARLA SI ME PUEDE AYUDAR ECONOMICAMENTE YA QUE NO TENGO TRABAJO Y ESTOY ENFERMA DE LA PRESION ALTA Y LA MEDICINA QUE TOMO PARA REGULARME LA PRESION EN CARA Y AHORITA POR LAS FIESTAS NAVIDEÑAS ME HE VISTO MAS AFECTADA ECONOMICAMENTE PERDONE LA MOLESTIA CUALQUIER CANTIDAD ES PARA MI LA MEJOR AYUDA GRACIAS Y MIL PERDON
Again, she is basically telling me that she needs help economically...she doesn't have work and she is sick and the medicine she needs to take and the Christmas season has affected her economic situation. So whatever quantity of money you can send is a big help.
Ahhh....Guatemala....
Monday, December 15, 2008
God is.....
Lily has learned at Ms. Helen's to pray before she eats.
She says God is good, God is great, and we thank him for our food. Let's eat.
Well, last night she was leading us through her prayer and I guess she got mixed with the words great and good and the words came out God is...GROSS.
Olav and I busted out into laughter. Of course, what makes it even more endearing as we were laughing she had no idea what we were laughing about...but deciding it must be funny so she started laughing too! I am not even sure she knows the word gross yet...
So now whenever Olav and I get into a discussion that might get intense one of us will break the tension with God is gross. It gets us both rolling with laughter!
She says God is good, God is great, and we thank him for our food. Let's eat.
Well, last night she was leading us through her prayer and I guess she got mixed with the words great and good and the words came out God is...GROSS.
Olav and I busted out into laughter. Of course, what makes it even more endearing as we were laughing she had no idea what we were laughing about...but deciding it must be funny so she started laughing too! I am not even sure she knows the word gross yet...
So now whenever Olav and I get into a discussion that might get intense one of us will break the tension with God is gross. It gets us both rolling with laughter!
Friday, December 12, 2008
More Photos
Lily loved the Christmas lights...aside from opening the boxes and popping the bubble wrap, I think this was her favorite part of decorating the tree!
Lily's "first" snow...well not exactly a real snow...we have had several snow flurry showers, but few have stuck around...this laid only about 1/4 inch on the ground, but it was fun to touch and throw at Daddy! Notice the "bolsa"....a purse like this can normally be found with Lily whenever she travels!
Lily's 1st Thanksgiving in the US. What a joy it was to share the day with our family. Lisa and John hosted. Bob and Ginger came in from Vermont. My Uncle Eddie, Aunt Di, and my cousin Eric came. Jessica was home from college. Very fun!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Mommy instinct and Tears in my eyes...
MOMMY INSTINCT
First, let me start by saying....in the middle of the night when Lily wakes up crying...I don't want her to come into our room, I want her to stay in her room and bed and cry it out...but no....my mommy instinct automatically says "Come here, Lily".
The other night I told Olav I didn't want Lily to keep coming into our bed in the middle of the night when she woke up because I felt it was starting a bad pattern, he said, "I know, you were the one who told her to come here". "Really", I said. I guess it is just that mommy instinct. So now every night before I go to bed...I try to will my brain not to call out to Lily, "Come here, Lily".
So yesterday after willing my brain once again before sleep not to say "Come here Lily", Lily cried out...and darn it if you would not believe it I called her to our bed when she awoke. Fortunately, after she came into our room and laid down in our bed...I came to my senses..."I don't want her in our bed". So I picked her up and put her back in her own bed with no fuss...
We'll see how many more times my mommy instinct kicks in!
TEARS IN MY EYES
While I was super thankful to have Lily home for Thanksgiving...honestly Thanksgiving has never been a day that has a huge emotional pull for me. But Christmas...that is another story.
I remember the first year we were trying to adopt Lily, Christmas 2005... well-intentioned friends said, "Next year you will have your daughter home with you". The following year Christmas 2006...Lily still wasn't home and Christmas was a very difficult time for me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I yearned to have Lily home for Christmas. Christmas 2007 was joyous because I had gotten to be Lily's mommy finally and because my dad and my sister and her family came to see us in Guatemala. But of course, there was always the lurking shadow of will we ever get to come home that was present until August of 2008.
So last Sunday when we went to church they were having a special advent service, complete with music, and dance. Lily pad was rocking out to the music....it brought tears streaming to my eyes....she really is home this year for Christmas! Even now as I write this I get choked up about it! Our beautiful baby girl is finally home for Christmas! And I tell you....regardless of what craziness is going on in the world this year....for the Gjerde family....this will be a great Christmas!
Love,
Kim
First, let me start by saying....in the middle of the night when Lily wakes up crying...I don't want her to come into our room, I want her to stay in her room and bed and cry it out...but no....my mommy instinct automatically says "Come here, Lily".
The other night I told Olav I didn't want Lily to keep coming into our bed in the middle of the night when she woke up because I felt it was starting a bad pattern, he said, "I know, you were the one who told her to come here". "Really", I said. I guess it is just that mommy instinct. So now every night before I go to bed...I try to will my brain not to call out to Lily, "Come here, Lily".
So yesterday after willing my brain once again before sleep not to say "Come here Lily", Lily cried out...and darn it if you would not believe it I called her to our bed when she awoke. Fortunately, after she came into our room and laid down in our bed...I came to my senses..."I don't want her in our bed". So I picked her up and put her back in her own bed with no fuss...
We'll see how many more times my mommy instinct kicks in!
TEARS IN MY EYES
While I was super thankful to have Lily home for Thanksgiving...honestly Thanksgiving has never been a day that has a huge emotional pull for me. But Christmas...that is another story.
I remember the first year we were trying to adopt Lily, Christmas 2005... well-intentioned friends said, "Next year you will have your daughter home with you". The following year Christmas 2006...Lily still wasn't home and Christmas was a very difficult time for me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I yearned to have Lily home for Christmas. Christmas 2007 was joyous because I had gotten to be Lily's mommy finally and because my dad and my sister and her family came to see us in Guatemala. But of course, there was always the lurking shadow of will we ever get to come home that was present until August of 2008.
So last Sunday when we went to church they were having a special advent service, complete with music, and dance. Lily pad was rocking out to the music....it brought tears streaming to my eyes....she really is home this year for Christmas! Even now as I write this I get choked up about it! Our beautiful baby girl is finally home for Christmas! And I tell you....regardless of what craziness is going on in the world this year....for the Gjerde family....this will be a great Christmas!
Love,
Kim
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