Pink Fluffy Hippo

Today was my first day back at work after being on family leave for the adoption for 3.5 weeks.  It felt great to have so much time off and to spend all of it with the kiddos.  I can't believe how much they grow and change in just a few short weeks!  I'm looking forward to taking another couple of weeks in September and going to see the Derichsweiler grandparents in North Carolina!  (Hopefully we won't be there during any hurricanes...I think that's around the season for them!)

It was easy to transition back into work and it felt like I was just there yesterday.  Needless to say it's good to know they can function well without me.  My current boss has accepted a new job overseas so this is his last week in the office.  There isn't a replacement for now, so I'm boss-less for awhile!

I have been completely lazy about pictures and video lately.  I just haven't been in the mood to take any pictures...I need to pull out the camera and start some clickety-click of the kids before you don't recognize them anymore!

I can give you a cute update about Cooper though!  His favorite color is pink.  We always offer a choice to one of the kids (it switches at each meal/snack time) on which color sippy and which color bowl/plate they want.  Cooper ALWAYS choose pink, and if that's not an option he chooses the color closest to it - purple, red, orange.  However if you offer a pink cup and a red cup (or purple or orange) he will always take the pink one.  Charlotte doesn't discriminate on color...she just wants her food and drink as fast as humanly possible.

We are trying to convince Cooper that I am not his lovey.  Charlotte falls in love with anything soft and comforting and has always had a lovey.  Hers looks something like this except it's pink and worn out!

But she also loves her FP Laugh and Learn Puppy (so creepy when you hear it go off through the monitor "Got my toes!"):

She is also loving her blankey lately (kind of like this but a different color):

Of course she will also take the seahorse if we offer it:

Cooper on the other hand has had several different 'almost' lovey's.  He first loved burp cloths and blankets, particularly covering his face which used to freak me out!  We've had this owl shaped crib toy that has teethers, a mirror, and crinkle wings which he used to hold or suck on but now he tosses out of the crib.  I started a mission to find him a lovey so I took him to Target with me and handed him every item that resembled a lovey until something stuck.  He tossed all the stuffed animal blankies, all the stuffed animals, the rattles, the blankets, burp cloths over the side of the stroller...until I gave him this:

A musical pink fluffy hippo.  You pull the tail and it sings a lullaby.  He hugged it and loved it and wouldn't put it down.  Of course we got home and it wasn't so amazing anymore.  I stuffed my bra with it for a day or two and now he will cuddle with it while falling asleep.  I think we may have found Cooper a lovey other than me!

Laundry Maniac

Cooper is teething and has been for close to 3 months now.  Off and on he gets worse and then better, then worse again.  The molars on his left side are peeking through the gums, but the molars on his right are still completely swollen.  Now his I-teeth have started in.  I think one has poked through, but the others are still swollen.  Poor kid...over-achiever like his mommy!

He is sleeping so much better at our new place.  He has his own room now, plus the bedrooms are on the second floor so it's quieter.  He sleeps 2.5-3 hours for naptime, instead of the 1.5-2 that he was doing at the apartment.  He only wakes once per night, but not every night and goes back to sleep quickly.  It's like heaven for me!

Cooper is starting to talk.  He says mama, bah (ball), and ah-da (all done).  He really only babbles when Charlotte isn't around since she is a bit of a blabber mouth and likes to dominate the conversation (a little like mommy in that regard).

About our new house....I LOVE it!  It is so nice to be out of the tiny apartment and have tons of space again.  It is also nice to get all of our stuff out of storage.  The living area is pretty big, but we aren't used to having hardwoods yet...so my feet and back are a little tired.  We want to get an area rug and a new dining table, but we have time to get those.

I like how open the living room, dining room and kitchen are, plus all the south facing windows make the rooms have the best the light.  The office is easy to close off from the rest of the house, so Chris and I can have some space from each other.  The office is a little small, but we still have room to put two full corner desks in it so it works.  The patio is really big and both the dog and kids love to go out and enjoy the sunshine.

I never thought I would like living in a house with two stories since I've always lived in one story houses.  I have to say that it is really nice, especially with kids.  The house stays a bit cleaner since I don't have to clean up all their clothes and their toys!  I love having a huge master suite again.

The best part??  We have a laundry room on the same level as the bedrooms!  A whole room just for laundry.  That has our own washer and dryer (that we only got to use for about 8 months before moving to the apartment) in it.  I keep washing clothes because I love how convenient it is.  I look forward to getting a full load.  I think it's temporary, but seriously your own washer and driver - best. thing. ever.

It's also wonderful to have a 2 car garage again and be able to come and go directly from the house instead of having to deal with an elevator.  We have our big freezer back and all of Chris' tools, so life feels normal again!

The only things I would change:  I wish the house was a little more updated.  The floors are nice and new, but the appliances and cabinets are a little outdated in the kitchen and the bathrooms are definitely outdated.  I think we also have one too many bathrooms with 3.  We only use two of them so maybe if we have people stay with us the third one would get used?  To be honest though, these aren't really complaints.  I love it here and we are all much, much happier.

Photo Books

I bought some plastic photo books for the kids and put pictures in them.  I added pictures of friends and family and they are both obsessed with the books.  They carry them around and look through them over and over pointing to all the faces while saying a bunch of gibberish.  Charlotte adores the picture of my dad and says a new word!

Bpampa

She calls my dad Bpampa and says Hi Bpampa over and over while pointing to his picture.  It is so cute!!  I need to get it on video, but I couldn't wait to post about it.

I will work on a post about the new house (loving it!) and about Chris' hiking trip (they had fun and got some fantastic pictures!).

She has my eyes

One of my fears of adopting was not being able to see myself in my daughter.  I've always thought it was a strange fear because seeing myself in my daughter is the least of what makes me her mother.  I get reminded every time I go out when people say 'Is she yours, she doesn't look like you', or 'Are they (Cooper and Charlotte) related, they don't look it'.  I guess it's natural for other people to look for a resemblance and even for me to look. 

I know Charlotte and I are actually related, and I see a ton of my family in her (especially my sister Savannah), but I definitely got more of the white genes than the Eskimo ones.  Charlotte and I have the same pinky toe and that's it--well physically.

After spending a solid week with me and only me, I definitely see myself in my daughter.  She now tilts her head, raises her eyebrows says in the most authoritative voice 'jibberjabberarglebloogleblaglejibbersnop' while making big hand gestures.  Besides the 'jibberjabberarglebloogleblaglejibbersnop' part I look exactly the same when I speak.  Unfortunately I have no idea how to interpret Charlotte-ese, so I just say uh-huh, tell me more and she repeats the entire thing, body language and all.

She also yells at Scout when she barks, requires that her hair gets styled every day (she will bring me her 'pretties'), gets emotional especially when she's tired and hungry, and is very loud.  I most certainly see myself in my daughter and it makes my heart get a little bit bigger just like How the Grinch Stole Christmas (like Jen says).

Happy Father's Day

Christopher is finally home!  It's great to have him here and the kids are crawling all over him.  We have a lot to get done before I go back to work next week, but we're taking a day or two to relax.

It was a wonderful Father's Day too.  Chris really liked his present.  I had the kids do footprints which I then made into little Tarheels and framed.  Then I had them take a picture with letters to spell out UNC Dad. 

And here are the pictures I used.  It was really tough to get them both to look at me and show the letters in a way you could actually read them:

 

On a sad note, we are so sorry to hear about my older siblings' grandfather passing away yesterday.  Gerald Perito was a very kind man who welcomed everyone as family.  May he rest in peace.  We love you Lisa (and the rest of the family!)

Last Day Alone

Today was my last full day alone.  It was a good day!  We finished Christopher's father's day present and I love how it turned out!  I'll post what I did tomorrow in case he is reading the blog while he's out of town (he's back to civilization now).  After nap and lunch, we went shopping at the mall with Christina.  It was dreary and raining most of the day, but the sun was shining after we finished shopping.  It was great to get out of the house, have some adult company, and an extra pair of hands.  Christina is such an awesome friend!

I can't wait to see Christopher tomorrow!  Here are some random pictures from this week with the kids:

Climber Cooper

Having fun on the patio

  Seeing Christina for the first time in several months.  He sat on the chair like this for at least 5 minutes.

Funny Hose

It was a rough night last night.  It took almost an hour and half to put Cooper to bed and then from 11 am until 3 am he woke up every hour and took 20-30 minutes to put back to sleep.  I ended up sleeping on the guest bed and letting him roll all over me for 30 minutes before we both finally passed out around 4 am.  He woke up bright and early at 6:30 am.  I made him roll all over bed, yanking my hair and trying to suffocate me with a pillow just to get a very interrupted 45 min of sleep.

I got everyone up for the day and although I was cranky, the kids were both in great moods which helped me get out of my funk.  We were all able to nap for almost 3 hours and then had a wonderful afternoon together.  We went for a long walk and then played in the pool for awhile.  Who knew the hose could be so funny?

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Bedtime was a little early and went very well, so I hope he sleeps better tonight.  Poor Cooper is still trying to cut his 4 molars (going on 2 months now) and now he is also getting his 4 I-teeth.  I thought it was strange that he hasn't been eating hardly anything over the last few days.

Only a couple more days until Christopher gets home...I miss him a lot and it will be great to have a helping hand again!

Cranky Day

Today was a cranky day for everyone.  I woke up in a bad mood because I couldn't fall asleep.  Somehow having a male live with me for the last 7 years of my life leaves me terrified of being left alone through the night.  Who knew??

Cooper woke up an hour earlier than normal because Charlotte was shouting at the top of her lungs letting everyone know that she was awake and ready to get out of bed.  This made for a cranky morning and an early nap.  Then Cooper decided he only wanted to sleep half the amount of time he normally does so I laid in the guest bed (yay we have that back now!) while he climbed all over me for an hour.

Then we got Charlotte up and ate lunch.  We took our normal walk, but half way through Charlotte starting throwing a fit because she wanted out.  I should have guessed that today wouldn't be a good day for errands, but I went out anyhow because I couldn't stand the one baby gate we have.  I hate moving it up and down the stairs and having to readjust it.

We went out and they were good for the most part, just whiny and cranky.  We had snack when we got home and after some playing and cleaning, I made dinner.  This is where it sort of fell apart of the day.  Cooper started throwing his food on the floor, so I took his tray away (they have these plastic trays that snap onto the high chair for easy clean-up).  Charlotte started doing the same so I took her tray off and set it on the table while I cleaned up Cooper's mess on the floor.  Big mistake!

Charlotte hit the tray over and over and then took it off the table and threw it on the floor, making a huge mess!  Argh!  I got really frustrated and Charlotte could sense it so she broke down crying.  Then Cooper started crying because Charlotte started crying.  I got everyone cleaned up and then they were happy as can be--I think mostly because they could steal bites of my food while I ate.

We went upstairs for the nightly routine a little early because I wanted to give Cooper a haircut.  I really like how it turned out even if it's not perfect and I only nicked my finger a bit.  Can't beat free!  I'll post before and after pictures tomorrow.

I hope tomorrow goes more like the first day.  Hopefully we will all sleep better and wake up in better moods.  I'm glad Caren is coming over tonight to hang out...I need some adult company!

Daddy's send off

We dropped Chris off at the airport bright and early at 6:30 am this morning.  He's going on a week long hiking trip in Colorado with some friends.  I think he was a little nervous since we just moved, I'll be all alone with the kids (and he knows how much work it is!), plus he feels out of shape.  I think he'll have a blast seeing his old friends and come home much refreshed.  In the mean time it will allow me and the kids to have our own routine and spend some quality time together.

Today was a really great day.  We ate breakfast when we got home and then played for awhile.  Then it was nap time and we all zonked out for almost 3 hours!  After lunch we played  a little more (they got into the dried blueberries and had an early snack...sneaky little things!), took a walk with Scout, and then ran some errands.  We enjoyed some milk and a blueberry muffin at Starbucks and then finished our shopping at Target.  By the time we got home, I had just enough time to make dinner and clean up.  After dinner we watched Imagination Movers (they love the music!) and then it was bath and bedtime routine.  They both sat with me to read an entire book (first time they've done that) and then fell asleep really quickly.  All in all a wonderful day and not nearly has hard as I thought it would be.

A little update about the kids since I haven't talked much about what they are doing these days.  Charlotte is starting to talk a little more.  She doesn't say any really clear words, but she attempts to say several.  So far she says:

Bpiper (diaper which she brings me and lays down when she needs a diaper change...almost ready to begin potty training!)

Bahh (ball which she yells over and over very loudly as she tosses the ball)

Bubba (bubbles)

duh (down when she can't get down from a place she has followed Cooper too)

hi daddy (but it's all run together and not quite as clear as we say it)

mama (she rarely says this, but every once in awhile she will stand at my legs and say it very softly)

ba-ba (nursing...although she doesn't nurse she says it over and over when Cooper is and then she'll crawl in my lap and pull down my shirt and lay her head on my chest saying ba-ba)

ah-da (all done)

dis (this and she points to whatever 'this' is.  Sometimes she is asking what it is so she can learn the word and other times she wants me to do 'This little piggy...')

Cooter or ooper (Cooper)

Charlotte has also become very loving.  She wants to hug and kiss everyone all the time, including Cooper (who gives her the side-eye) and Scout (who freaks out and runs away).  I love it since she hasn't done much of this until now and she is just so cute to snuggle with.

Cooper is a CLIMBER.  I mean into everything.  He pushes chairs, tool boxes, boxes, anything he can find or he opens drawers to make himself taller so he can climb.  I haven't taken a picture of everything yet, but I'm not sure I love having our kitchen table back:

They are both starting to self feed with utensils.  I love watching them do this...they get so messy but they seem to enjoy their yogurt that much more.  Chris won't let them do this because the mess stresses him out...he won't even stay in the room when I let them!

So tired! So big!

Oh, so tired.  One more day and Chris leaves to go hiking.  Almost done unpacking, only 7 or 8 more boxes and that includes the stuff that came out of storage!  The house is a mess, but I love it!  So big!!  It is fantastic to have a washer and dryer again, as well as our large freezer.  The kids love it too.  They run and run, climb all over, race up the stairs, play in their kiddie pool on the patio, take everything out that we put away, and just be mischievous children.  They can't get enough of this new adventure.

Taking everything out of the cupboards before safety latches were installed:

Splashing in the puddle on the patio:

Which led mommy to buy a kiddie pool:

Moving day was really tough.  Early morning rush.  No nap all day for the kids.  The battery died in the Murano and stranded Chris at storage while the movers came to the new house where I had to direct them to put the stuff in the right place, plus keep the kids busy and the dog from escaping.  I called Caren for help and she came right over--just as Chris showed up after AAA jumped the car.  Then gas company had to come out because we had a small leak at the new house and the apartment complex for our old place forgot about the pre-inspection which really ticked Chris off.  The only upside to the move was not having to move ourselves in!

Okay off to get some zzz's...more update coming later!

Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop

Almost done packing!  I think we have 2 boxes left (the office and the rest of the kitchen).  We've done really well considering we didn't even start until last Friday.  I'm a little nervous about the logistics of moving tomorrow with the kids and dog.  The movers are going to storage first and then doing the apartment.  We plan to have the kids nap at the new place, but I won't have their high chairs or toys for meal time and play time.  I'm sure it will work out just fine.

In the mean time, check out this fantastic new song that I love!

Getting to know Grandpa

My dad creates videos on youtube and sends them to the kids.  During dinner we play the videos and they love them!  This one is an old one, but they don't seem to mind.  Now that they are a bit older, they interact with the video...laughing, waving, talking.  It's a nice way to get to know grandpa since we don't live in CO.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Moving with Toddlers

Last year when we moved it was tough and quite a bit different with an immobile infant.  I have to say that having two walking toddlers who are intensely curious about what we are doing makes packing and moving a little more difficult.  The good thing is that it's taking us little to no time to pack everything up.  The house is about 2/3 packed and we've only spent 1.5 days on it!  This is how Cooper and Charlotte like to help:

Boxes are fun to sit on:

Old baby items make good chairs:

The view for Handy Manny is much improved when sitting on size appropriate chairs (and yes those are tiny french braids in Charlotte's hair):

Family Fun Time

We are starting to pack tomorrow since we move next Wednesday.  We are procrastinators.  And we haven't lived here but a year.  And most of our stuff is in storage.  And we don't have that much stuff in a 2 bed apartment.  But mostly we are just procrastinators.

Charlotte is starting to say more 'almost' words.  She says bubba for bubbles, bawww for ball, bow beh for brown bear (as in the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see?), dis for this (as in This Little Piggy), mama, hi dada, and ba-ba for nursing (although she doesn't nurse and Cooper calls it mum-mums).  She has been waking up a little early so I get to see both of them before I go to work.  She brings me her 'pretties' for her hair and raises her eyebrows at me and mumbles something.  So I do her hair and she loves it!  So cute.

Cooper is busy being Cooper.  He has the attention span of gnat so I feel like I'm not really spending as much time with him teaching him as I do Charlotte.  He is starting to use more body language, follows direction, claps his hands when he hears 'Patty Cake' or 'If you're happy and you know it'.  Mostly he just tries to figure out how to get around all the baby proofing we put up!

The two of them fight quite a bit more now.  Charlotte walks up to Cooper and just pushes him down and then hits him on the head.  Cooper walks up to Charlotte and pulls her hair hard enough to get her on the floor, then he steps on her.  He also pinches her on the arms.  They fight over toys a lot, so we take tons of stuff away.

They also love to play.  They will yell back and forth at each other, play tag, roll the ball back and forth, and laugh and laugh at the dog.  It is so much fun right now!!

Tonight we had fun being goofy with the kids.  After I snapped this picture of Chris and Charlotte while we were in Denver,

I went through the last 5 months of pictures and there were none of Chris and Cooper.  So tonight I took some of them being goofy:

 

Then he wanted to take one with me:

And finally we did a couple of family pictures (Charlotte was saying 'dis'):

Annoyed

I've been working on wedding invitations for a co-worker (yes I'm somehow doing this again after I did Ursula's and Kate's - which I don't have a picture of yet).  I was really excited about this 'job' because all I had to do was the design work, which is the part I love.  My co-worker and her family were going to do the assembly which is the part I like the least. 

Well as it turns out they already had the design of what they wanted in their head and they wanted very little of my input.  I'm not happy with the final outcome and I just want to be done working with her on it.  I'm annoyed enough to not even take a picture of it.

The other thing I happen to be annoyed about?  The weird questions we get about the adoption that we don't get about having a biological child.  Today I got the question 'Why did you adopt her?'  I know the person didn't mean anything malicious, but I think that is such a weird question--I never get 'Why did you get pregnant?'

I answered "She was adopted for the same reason we had our son - to grow our family.  Maybe I don't understand your question?  Do you mean, How did we know that adoption was right for our family?, or What type of adoption did we choose?"

I didn't feel this way before the finalization, but I really feel protective about Charlotte's privacy.  Her adoption story is for her to tell.  I'm okay discussing adoption, but the details of her adoption are private and for the perfect stranger, I just think it's reasonable to respect our privacy, while at the same time be able to ask questions to learn about adoption.  I'm okay if the person admittedly recognizes that they aren't sure how to ask the right question, otherwise I get annoyed.

In case you are interested here is an article about Positive Adoption Language.