Double Digits

Reese has been home for 10 weeks now, almost 11. She has been such a trooper with all this change in her life. We've got one surgery down and another to go (this year), a new country, new home, new way of life, new language, she's gained 3 brothers, a new mom and dad as well as other family - I could go on and on.  She can say "eye", "nose" (no), "hi", "all done", "mama" and "bye". She's constantly busy just like the boys. The boys love her - Blake and Truitt are constantly asking for hugs :) She loves her brothers, shoes, hats, purses, blankets (anything soft), play food but she'll also play with cars, trucks and legos too.

she is affectionate - loves to hug and cuddle

 

 loves the rainboots

 loves her blanket

 LOVES food!

 loves the bucket on her head and a random shoe (doesn't have to be hers)

more cuddles

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was wonderful. Kurt made breakfast for everyone - which is an accomplishment in our house some days! At church we had Reese's dedication, what a special treat on this Mother's Day. Kurt did the grocery shopping and got me Pei Wei for lunch - yummy! Kurt and the boys went out for a long bike ride while Reese and I went to Grandma's house to visit with Grandma and NaNa. I just had such a nice relaxing day...so thankful for my hubby who made it happen.

Braden made this book at school for me. It is very sweet and will be fun to look back on in a few years.

 Reese's dedication

Reese's Surgery - Part 1

So I am finally posting about Reese's palate surgery. She was scheduled for 11am but didn't get it until after 1pm. By the grace of God she did not sign for food once, not once! After they took her in Kurt and I grabbed lunch - we were super hungry. I knew if I (who had breakfast) was so hungry she must have been even more so.  We have so many friends who loved on us...brought dinner, goody bags, toys for Reese - ya'll really know how to make a girl feel special :) We are very thankful for the blessing of friends.

 She was given a purse, keys and cell phone by a sweet friend of ours - what a life saver! Just when she'd start to fuss I'd give her a new toy....she LOVES having a purse.

 It was very hard to see her after surgery. She is all cleaned up in the photo but she was a bloody mess at first. I don't do well with people I love being in pain...so I had some issues in recovery but after the crying and nearly fainting I was able to walk up to her room with everyone :)

 This was the next afternoon, she started to feel more like herself while on pain medication. She was happy with her cups, bowls, teapot and spoons.

She was given a cute book and the boys made her get well cards. While we were there a group of med students came by with a cart full of things for her to choose from (they were Aggies - whoop!) and I picked some stickers. She had fun putting them all over her coloring book.
We have since had a follow up and she is doing well. We have scheduled her lip/nose surgery for July 17th. The recovery time is shorter for this surgery but will still be painful I'd imagine. We'll all be happy when this is behind us!

Blackberry picking

Over the weekend we picked blackberries/dewberries (whatever you want to call them) - they boys had fun, especially Truitt! He was so on task and wanted to pick every single one....like me :) Turns out we all like to eat them and have enjoyed them over the last few days - on their own, in ice cream, in popsicles etc. Free entertainment and food!

Grandma went with us one day

Some are better pickers than others. Braden taking a break from picking....Blake taking a break from eating what I picked!

purple hands!

Enjoying some blackberry/yogurt popsicles

On Easter morning we went to church and then family came over for lunch in the afternoon. The weather was nice and we had a good afternoon.

Reese is watching the boys wondering what they're up to :) 

 Shefigured it out....fast!

Traditionally NaNa hides the eggs and then the boys hunted them down. Afterwards the boys hid eggs and then Aunt Beca and I had fun finding eggs. 

Reese with her great grandma, NaNa

Bubbles with Aunt Beca

Eggs

I'm slow....we had fun dying eggs. Easter is next...

What's up?

What have we been up to lately? I feel like we're settled with Reese and back into the "normal" routine. She goes to the Y with us, church, bible study etc - she is doing very well. We have met with Reese's doctor and we have scheduled her suregery to fix her palate on May 1st. Once that has healed completely we will have her lip fixed (likely 2-3 months later). I register Truitt for Kindergarten tomorrow - wow time flies! I will miss my little game playing man but I know he will enjoy kindergarten and getting on the bus with his big brother in the mornings.

A few photos from the last few weeks....

Run 4 the Children

Lego Towers
Feeing the ducksTruitt started soccer - LOVES it!
Fun at the park

Spring Break

I was happy to be home for Braden's spring break but boy was it wild! Not really wild, just really loud and busy :) We went to the Blue Bell creamery and the zoo....and just enjoyed time being off of a schedule. The boys played outside loads, Reese also loves to be outside and loves being around her brothers, wherever they are. She is still exploring the house and her(as well as the boys) toys. She watches the boys wrestle and isn't afraid to get close (in the danger zone!). She will start screaming and waving her arms when they're rolling around on the floor, as to join in the action - it's cute.

She likes rolley polleys :)

LOVES the pretend food, bowls, spoons etc.

Proud to be an American

We landed...it's official, she's an American :) Our trip home was uneventful. We had a few lay overs (Japan and LAX). We pulled up to our house with about 30 people in the yard - what a welcome home. We felt so loved. I wish it hadn't been dark and rainy (what friends we have!) and I could have gotten some photos. I was so happy to be home and see my boys, I shed a few tears.
We have never traveled where the time difference is so great and we are still trying to get past that. It doesn't seem to bother Reese, thankfully. She is doing well, she sleeps at nap time and then goes to bed by 9 and wakes up about 6-7am. I am hoping she'll start waking up more towards 7 :)

Our brief stint in Japan....
Layover at LAX, working on 2 hours of sleep - can you tell? It was sunny and bright too, in China we saw the sun once!
This was the best we could do for a family photo in the dark...Truitt just barely made it into the photo :)
Braden was very excited to show Reese her room. Truitt is giving her pretend food to play with, Blake is playing with balloons.

Our new "normal"...that's a lot of peeps at the table!

The Brady Bunch

Yesterday I said goodbye to one of my besties, Sarah. They spent their last night having dinner with us...I felt special :) seriously. She and her family are a blessing to our family. Over the years we have been through many of life's big experiences together and it's been fun. I pulled up to their house and I got that nervous/butterfly feeling in my stomach just like I do when something big is happening with my family. The boys piled out of the car and played with the girls like it was no different from any other day. The car was packed, hugs were exchanged, goodbyes said and they got into the car. Tears fell and they were gone. I am sad and yet at the same time I am happy and excited for her to have this fun adventure with her family. I pray their time there is blessed and I hope business brings her to Houston a few times over the next 2 years!