Potty Training

Well potty training lasted about 4 hours. We started the morning off great with a pee on the big potty & an Elmo sticker as a reward. Along with lots of clapping & exaggerated kudos by Stephan & I. After that it was downhill fast. We decided to crank the heat & let her run around the house in her "big girl" panties (after going through 2 outfits in about an hour). 5 pees & 1 poop on the floor later (about 11:30 am). We were staring down lunch & then nap time & then we had errands to run. On went the diapers for "night, night time". And just like that our potty training was done.....for now.

I am convinced we have to commit to a week of this & have no plans to go anywhere. I welcome any suggestions. We actually aren't in too big of rush, she's not even 2. Just wanted to see what she thought...apparently she doesn't give a s__t.

LOA has arrived!

We just received word today that our "Letter of Acceptance" for Hudson has arrived from China. It is at our adoption agency, we should get it tomorrow via Fed-Ex. So now that we have the "LOA" checked off our list, we wait for the very last step....which is our travel assignment. It typically takes about 2-3 weeks. With the way things have been going though & with Chinese New Year coming up, I am prepared for a little longer. I hope we will be traveling by March.

We have a few things to do between now & then which should help pass the time: apply for our visas, get our appt. at the Consulate in China, airline reservations, pack, and make sure everything is in order for Ravenna. She will be staying with my parents (grandma & grandpa) and other family members will help out as need be. God bless them for willing to spend 24/7 with a 2 year old for about 2 weeks. It will be so hard to leave her, but it will be the best thing for all of us in helping Hudson adjust.

A peanut peeler

We just recieved a response from some ?'s we had requested about Hudson.
Here is a summary:
He is still taking a nap...yes! He is very smart & has a very fast reaction to things. He can take care of himself well. He eats with a spoon and can take his clothes on & off. Sounds like he is potty trained...yes! He loves to play with cars & take things apart. His favorite toys are cars. He speaks well & says sentences of 5-6 words. He is very expressive & likes to sing (cute).

He is not a picky eater and has good appetite. Here are some of his favorite foods: (may have a little trouble preparing the 1st item) steamed meat w/ sauce & eggs, boiled eggs, fish, bananas, milk & yogurt. He also likes to peel peanuts, which is a skill I know will take him far!

All this said here are his new stats: height = 37" or 3.12" feet, weight = 35.3 lbs. Seems that steamed meat is putting some weight on him. We won't be needing the Baby Bjorn in China that is for sure.

Now we are just waiting for news on the next step to bringing him home!

Hudson's changing timeline

Unfortunately we got bad news regarding our next step in bringing Hudson home. It seems as though our paperwork wasn't processed in time to get us back and forth to China before Chinese New Year (which falls early Feb). There was an error/mistake on the China side of things. So we are now hoping to travel in early March. So keep thinking good thoughts for no more delays! We can't wait to get him home.

Christmas fun

Here are a few pictures from the week of Christmas. What fun it was watching Ravenna. We had plenty of snow which made it extra fun! Happy New Year 2008!