Insectos....BUGS!

Lily is deathly afraid of bugs...I have absolutely no idea where she got this fear from...we are of the mentality unless it is really offensive...live and let live...her philosophy is KILL IT MOMMY...KILL IT DADDY!

We think her ears are broken!

What did you say? You heard us! Lily's ears are officially broken...her compliant listening days have gone (wait after 9 months were there any complaint listening days:)). Maybe they will return...hopefully!

Easter, Passover and Dance Class

Wow...all these firsts...

This was our first easter here in the US. While we did a "light" easter in Guatemala last year (basically looking for plastic eggs), this was our first year doing all the "easter" crafts. First, let me say that coloring eggs with a 3-year-old is much more exciting in thought, than in actual practice. I was so excited about doing this with her. Unfortunately, the egg dying took all of 3 minutes! Lily didn't want to use the wax crayon or put stickers on the eggs...she wanted to dunk them and dry them. Then she wanted to eat one. So she smashed it with her fist! Now that was funny! At first, I thought maybe it was just me...maybe I didn't explain the whole egg-dying process to her properly. So we had a second chance at Tia Lisa's house. I thought now that she had some practice, maybe it would go more smoothly...not...3 minutes later, and she was done!

Easter morning I hid her basket...she promptly found it with no time to spare! Later that afternoon we went to Pop-Pop's house and found plastic eggs that the "easter bunny" had hidden. Very fun!

Lily also went to her first Passover seder. I was concerned because it was being held at my aunt Dianne's house which is not child proof and the sedar can take quite a while. Of course, my sister had said that last year her kids sat through the whole sedar. I couldn't believe it...there was no way Lily was going to sit for that long. We got through the first page...after that...I don't remember much of the seder. Lily was busy and active! Shortly thereafter Kodi and Aly decided to get into the act as well! Shortly before dinner, someone offered the great idea of watching TV...MAGIC. The 3 children were unmovable, quiet, and focused. We enjoyed our dinner without distractions.

Lily began her first dance class as well. Talk about cute!!!!! OMG!!!! I felt kind of emotional though as this was a class for 3-year-olds and it wasn't a mommy-and-me class. At the beginning of the class, the teacher went around the circle and asked the children who their best friend was. I thought for sure Lily would say Aly or Kodi or someone from daycare...but she said, MOMMY!

They then did 10 minutes of Tap,, 10 minutes of Ballet, and 10 minutes of Creative Movt. Can I say again...oh soooo cute!!!!!! My favorite was when the teacher was teaching them the basic positions of ballet...1st, 2nd, and 3rd....when Lily did 2nd...she spread her feet way apart and squatted...Oh so cute...I laughed so hard!

Random thought of the day

We are reading bedtime stories tonight and of course in a huge "sorpresa" Lily picks her favorite book...A Spanish treasury of Princess Stories given to us by a dear friend. The book is extra loved...the princess's insides have been ripped out...the book cover has been separated from the spine. Soon I am going to have to duck-tape the rest of the book together. She loves the pictures and occasionally lets me read a few sentences to a few paragraphs in Spanish!

She's 3!

Rock it out baby!

Tengo 3 anos!

Yo soy Lily...professional pinata striker!

Lily saltando in the moon bounce

Globos from Bubby Patricia and Guermillo

Painting our pinata

Wow, where does the time go! I can't believe it! Our baby is 3 years old!!!!! Where has the time gone! What a ball of sunshine she is in our lives! So full of energy and life!

At 3 she loves to do puzzles. She has gotten very good at them. She can do 24 and 30-piece puzzles all by herself. For Easter, I bought her a 50-piece puzzle and another friend just bought her a 48-piece puzzle.

We celebrated her birthday in several ways. I bought a pinata with strings and we took it to daycare. The kids enjoyed the experience as for many of them it was their first pinata. We also made cupcakes. Lily enjoyed using the beaters. She wanted to do it all by herself. She also enjoyed putting the sprinkles on the cupcakes. We tried to keep it as hygienic as we could, but she kept wanting to put the sprinkles in her mouth!

The next day we had a small family party. We invited my family and a few of our close friends. Lily and I made a pinata together. It was a really fun project. I think we will try to do that every year. The first day we did it, I am not sure she really got the hang of it. But by the 3rd layer, she was professional. We had a great time trying to whack it open. Lily and I did such a good job on the pinata that it took a plank of wood swung at half force to crack it open. Thanks to our friend Mr. Jeff.

Lily had her first experience with the Easter Bunny. Of course, she had to see him, but once she got up close to him, it was the death grip! At one point in the evening, the Easter bunny got out of his chair and walked toward a door. Lily followed him until he reached the door. When he went through the door she stated, "He has to go to the bathroom".

Now every time she hears the word Easter.. she shouts Easter Bunny. So cute!

Lily also has discovered glue! We went to this Easter Eggstravaganza and she was at a craft table with glue, tissue paper, and a cardboard egg. Let's just say the cardboard egg was so heavy and laden with glue that we left one of them there at the Eggstravaganza and I threw the other one away when we got home. It would take them months to dry!

Lily continues to love to dance and sing. I wish I could figure out how to embed a video because we have some video of her which is just a crack up. She takes her blood pressure cuff and uses the ball as a microphone. She sings random songs with random words. Not even quite sure what she is saying!

She is doing really well with her Spanish teacher. We love Ms. Rosa. She is so patient with Lily and Lily is learning so many new things. She has been singing up a storm in Spanish lately! Of course, we are so proud.

Chill Out!

Last night Olav and I were relaxing on the couch...watching our daily evening entertainment (Lily)...when she turned to us and said in her big girl voice....CHILL OUT! We burst into laughter! This a phrase that Daddy frequently says to Lily when she gets worked up or whiny.

So then I got to thinking....she often borrows phrases from her daddy's vocabulary but not mine...why?

Our hypothesis...I am always speaking to her in Spanish..and since she prefers English...she has no phrases to repeat. Of course that is just our current hypothesis!

Download before I forget!

Lummi Sticks at Gymnastics

Bat Girl...upside down!

This is what no nap looks like!

Readoption Day

Readoption day...Lily wants to swing on the jury bar

Chillin with Daddy

Playing with brother Fredrik

Super Cool Lily with upside down "lentes del sol"

There has been so much I have wanted to write and so many pictures I want to put up...but I never seem to have the time or energy. So I thought I take a quick moment to download my thoughts before they escape me!

Lily's re-adoption hearing was about 2 weeks ago. In some ways it was just a formality, basically cementing Lily's adoption by US law and giving her a certificate of Foreign Birth birth certificate that can be obtained through the Department of Vital Records. I didn't think it would affect me too much emotionally, but I did feel the tears welling beneath the surface as we went before the judge. What was interesting is that of the 10-15 re-adoptions being done that day...we were the only husband-wife group re-adopting. A sign of the times huh? All the others were either a co-parent or second-parent adoption of same-sex parents. We tried to get a picture of Lily with the judge, but the best we got was her swinging on the jury rail next to him!

Lily loves gymnastics. Her favorite things are the ladder and the rings! We are so thankful to our friends who gave her this class as a welcome-home gift!

Have toddler...will travel...to Denmark and Norway! Are we crazy or what...we shall see! We hadn't planned on going to Norway as when I priced it earlier it was going to cost over 5K. However, a dear friend told me about an airline sale through SAS for half-price. We decided to do it! However, we decided to go through Denmark and see Copenhagen and Legoland! Should be fun! Either that or we will come home with bullet holes through our heads!

Lily has started the "bailar" phase. She only wants to wear dresses that she can "bailar" or dance in (really spinning around). Also lately she only wants to wear her "zapatos de tacones or zapatos de bailar" (Shiny shoes or dancing shoes). She even wears them to sleep!

I can't believe her 3rd birthday is coming up in less than 2 weeks! We are going to have a small family birthday party for her! I am excited I got her a "digital camera"...so she can "click, take a pic" like Dora!