Celebrating the 4th of July

Kaeli and YeYe about to take off on YeYe's Amish scooter
















Watching the fireworks display by the Danowskis, our neighbors across the street

Happy 3rd Birthday, Kaeli!

NaiNai made a chocolate cake with purple flowers and "white", just as Kaeli asked for.












Some of the celebrants - Karen, Nai Nai, Tom, Amy, Laurie and Chris - at the food table.

Teaching "Sog" how to swing

Kaeli enjoys being outside so much - this day she was teaching her best friend "Sog" (a frog) how to swing from a branch of her favorite tree. 

Day at Madison's

Kaeli spent the afternoon at Madison's with BaBa while Amy and I went to a talk given by Michael Han, who leads adoptive families heritage tours in China. On the way home, Kaeli insisted that we needed to go shopping for a guitar. She loved playing it - here she is with Madison accompanying her on the recorder.


Both girls modeled sunglasses for BaBa - Kaeli shows signs of having eaten a chocolate covered fortune cookie recently.








Kaeli and Madison really enjoy their time together, and David (Madison's BaBa) says he loves playing with them on his own. Amy and I enjoy the time we get to spend together doing "mommy things" like shopping, going to workshops, etc., so everyone seems to benefit and enjoy themselves!

Next experiment - sleepovers!!! 

Earth Day at Sellwood Park

Kaeli and I went to Sellwood Park for the Earth Day celebration to see Miss Sarah, Kaeli's music teacher at Goddard School, perform. Kaeli took off her shoes and danced and did yoga along with the crowd and had a marvelous time. She loves dancing to Miss Sarah's drumming and diggeridoo music!





























A yoga move

A visit from Cousin Jeff

Cousin Jeff is in Portland for a conference this week, and was able to come spend Monday evening with us. Kaeli immediately took him by the hand and led him into her room to play. They read for awhile, and then we went out for dinner. We went to a restaurant where Kaeli was quite taken with the restroom. The first couple of times (out of 7 trips) that we went in, she said loudly "Oh, NICE!!!" and touched the wallpaper and tiles. After we went back home, Kaeli sat with NaiNai and "Mr. Jeff" on the couch for her bedtime story.

"But I thought the only rule was that I couldn't get out of bed!"

This is Kaeli NOT taking a nap! I took this picture after going into her bedroom and turning on the light to find out what all the noises were...

She is going to be a great lawyer someday. We discovered that she follows the rules to the letter, but that we need to expand the list of rules. She now has a "big girl" bed, and has explicit instruction NOT to get out of bed unless someone is there and has said that she can get out of bed. We didn't, however, specify that she couldn't reach under the bed and pull out a toy bin and play with toys in bed instead of taking her nap. We have now added that clause to the contract.  

Kaeli & JioJio Saying Goodbye

JioJio had to say goodbye and leave for home Sunday afternoon. Kaeli told Miss Kim and Miss Mary at school on Monday all about her weekend with JioJio.  

Two-fisted Eater

Kaeli sang "Happy to You, MaMa!" on Easter for my birthday and helped blow out the candles on the cake. Then she dove into it, using two spoons!  

Kaeli's First Easter Egg Hunt

Kaeli's school held Easter egg hunts for all the classes today. NaiNai, YeYe and MaMa visited to watch the treasure hunt. Kaeli was very particular about which eggs she picked up - several did not meet her standards so she put them back down.
After the hunt was over, it was play time. Kaeli loves to ride the tricycles and drive the cars.
 

Monkey See, Monkey Do

After quite a bit of maneuvering and pulling and squirming, Kaeli was able to imitate NaiNai's position on the couch. 

Next on the Agenda - Table Manners!

At dinner last night, Kaeli suddenly had the need to share a healed "owie" and show us all that it was "all gone". She's sitting on her new Stokke chair, which is adjustable as she grows. It gives her a footrest while she's sitting - in addition to the tabletop!

 

Kaeli's First Hair Cut

Yesterday Kaeli had her first hair cut! We went to see Mel, NaiNai's hairdresser, and Kaeli sat in a high chair and wore a cape with elephants on it. She was really quite good and sat quietly for the trim. You can see "Sog" sitting on the wire shelf to the left, supervising the session. 

More from the Playground - April 9th

David miracously caught both girls sliding down the slide - with big smiles on their faces!







 

Kaeli & Madison Together Again - April 9th

Madison and Kaeli spent the morning together with Madison's BaBa while their MaMas went shopping. They played at the Oak Hills playgrounds with their babies, their tricycles and Kaeli's new stroller.

David, Madison's BaBa, took photos while they were having a great time sliding, swinging and playing.
 

Kaeli's Chores

Kaeli actually does several chores around the house now. She helps set the table, being very careful about where the napkins and silverware go. She really enjoys Thursday nights, which are "garbage" nights. She helps YeYe get the garbage ready for the garbagemen the next morning. She is in charge of bringing the wastebaskets from YeYe and NaiNai's bathroom and from "her" bathroom to the kitchen where she and YeYe combine them with the kitchen trash. She helps YeYe "compact" the trash, too. And she always has to be up on the kitchen counter looking out the window every Friday morning when she hears the garbage truck coming so that she can watch them pick up the cans and empty them. She used to say "foof go bye bye!", but since she is now potty trained, there is no more "foof" to go out in the trash! 

The Stroller

Kaeli received a stroller for Baby, along with her sunglasses. The stroller has been the first thing she asks for each morning since then, and it goes everywhere with her. She has already logged quite a few miles on it on her afternoon walks with NaiNai and MaMa. For some reason unknown to us, Baby always has to have her pajamas with her, but not ON her! On the walk today, Kaeli suddenly stopped and announced "It too hot!" and pulled the "jamas" out from under Baby and hung them on one of the handles of the stroller for the rest of the walk. Baby seems to be quite content being without clothes most of her life so far - they're always very near, if not ON her. 

Kaeli and her Shades

Kaeli has new sunglasses, which she is trying very hard NOT to break (like her first pair, and Laurie's, and MaMa's...). She even wears them during bedtime stories...