That was a first

Will: Elana... I saw your belly button!

[Elana laughs]

Me: Hey, what's a belly button?

Kids: The spot on your tummy!

Me: But what IS it? Do you know?

Kids: Uh...

Me: It's where you got your food when you were a baby in a belly!

[Kids laugh]

Will: Who was in your belly first? Me or Elana?

Me: [totally caught off guard] Oh hey we forgot to read about tarantulas in your encyclopedia!

[Kids run to get the book, I tell Colin that I panicked]

Colin: Why? It's a good opportunity to talk about it.

*At this moment I know I need to answer Will's question. And for the record, we are not trying to hide his adoption. But I see this sensitive boy wondering why parts of his story are different and trying to figure out how that applies to his place in the family, and I want the info delivered in the most compassionate way possible. I firmly believe we should always answer his questions. I firmly believe his birthmother is a very valid connection (even if we never know who she is). Colin and I talk often about age appropriate and sensitive ways to teach Will about his background.

But this was the first time Will had asked so directly and it was hard to be honest. I can give you a million reasons why I think it shouldn't have been hard... but it totally was.

Me: Will, you asked who was in my belly first; it was Elana.

Will: And then me?

Me: No, then Sam.

Will: But what about me?

Me: You were in someone else's belly, in Vietnam. That's where you were born, remember?

Will: Oh, yeah.

[Will turns to the encyclopedia, I gently take his hand]

Me: Do you have any other questions?

Will: No.

And just like that he was on to the next thing.

Kites and a Picnic at the Park

We're finally to a point where I can take the kids to an open (not fenced) park by myself. Between that and doing crafts, I'm finally hitting my stride! Yes!!!

Valentine's Day Craft

This year we made a Valentine's Day craft and sent it out to family. I call it a door hanger... actually I call it "A Heart-felt Gift" (hearts made of felt, get it?! ha ha ha). This craft is one I made up, inspired by something I saw in a catalogue...

You need felt, twine, a bell, scissors and hot glue gun:

Cut out all your hearts (I cut them doubled because the get paired on the twine):

 Tie the bell to the bottom of a piece of twine (you can measure from doorknob to floor to get the length):

 Lay out the hearts to get the spacing you want, then put glue around the edges of the "bottom" heart, place twine on, then place the "top" heart on:

Tie an adjustable knot at the top... (slip knot?):

 x4:

Sam ...and the moon

These pictures are from December. And just for the sake of my waning memory, Sam started really smiling in response to us at 2mo and just a few weeks later started to giggle and laugh. It's the greatest thing to hear him laugh! What a sweetheart...

"Why I oughta..."

And here's our view of the moon from the family room. I thought it was pretty cool.

Gettin' crafty!

In January I decided to make some of what I will call crafts-in-a-bag; something that I could give the kids to do on rainy days (but that didn't take much work from me!). So I came up with these little doodles (tree, flowers, snowman, bumble bee) with all the pieces ready to go in a bag. Just add glue, drawing, and good times! Mama like...

A sling for Elana

After giving birth to baby Sam, Elana was excited to do all the things mommies do, like hold her baby (kitty) in a ring sling. So my gma helped me make a sling for Elana. It was super fun, super easy, and--in my opinion--super cute!!

christmas!