December Weather

What a time we’re having – a fun little girl, a great place to live and blessed beyond what we can count. We hope that this season is more to you than getting presents and that you stop and take a look at the blessings that are in your life and in our world, all because of one very special child that was given to the world so long ago.

This weekend was so great. Warm, humid and best yet – no snow! It was 9:30 at night and we had our windows open for the 73 degree air that was gently blowing around outside. Aahhh! Can you feel it? Oh the joy of not having to layer on the down comforter and the heavy pj’s just to keep warm. I must say that there is a down side to the warm weather. We had a visitor Sunday night around 1:30a.m. Our KCWS (kitty cat warning system) is fully functioning and pulling her weight around here. Girlcat (now 14 years old) came to our room and howled a very distinct cry of alarm of "Mama", so up I hopped out of bed and followed her to the kitchen. There, in the glow of the nightlight, I saw him. No, not bug, not an earthworm, but a very small, full-grown, snake. He was less than 12” long and about as fat as a pencil. I personally have no tolerance to critters so luckily for him I went and got Kevin to help me figure out what exactly he was…Kevin saved him to slither another day by checking some pictures on the internet. We figured out that he was a harmless critter called a Texas Brown Snake who likes dark moist areas – much like the new mulch we put down a couple weeks ago.

Other than that, the week has been pretty uneventful. Aanika is growing every day and is just a hoot to be with. The picture is of her and her new “desk” that Momma made for her.

Aanika with Cameron and his Jeep

Happy belated Thanksgiving! We had a nice day at Kevin’s boss’ house which is north of Houston and about a 1.5 hour drive from our house. They were kind enough to invite us but had a crazy turn of events…it was a beautiful sunshiny day and they had no power! They have no idea why but they made the best of it. Luckily, they have a gas stovetop and grill so they could finish cooking everything. The power eventually came on after everything was finally cooked and going on to the table. Isn’t that usually how things go? :) Aanika had a ball with their grandson, Cameron, who is almost 5 years old. They have lots of toys for the grandkids so they had plenty of things to keep them occupied. The best toy is in the picture above. Cameron has a battery-powered Jeep and was more than willing to take Aanika for a ride in it. We got some great video of Aanika riding next to him with her arm around his shoulders! He’s a very polite driver…Aanika had been holding a chalkboard eraser and accidentally dropped it while they were riding. He turned off the jeep, got out and picked it up for her and then hopped back in and put on his seatbelt and off they went again! What a hoot.

Other than Thanksgiving, it’s been pretty quiet around here this week. I’ve done more painting (our bathroom) and have started getting the house ready for Christmas. We’re having a couple of get-togethers here for the holiday season so I’m trying to get everything finished ahead of time. I don’t generally work well under pressure so I try not to procrastinate too much! Kevin’s going to help me hang some lights on the house today because I’m too chicken to climb to the rooftop! I’m also planning on painting Aanika’s bathroom today too as well as getting out for a bike ride. It’s absolutely gorgeous weather today (sunshine and low 70’s) and we’re planning on getting out to enjoy it! The little one’s a bit under the weather today but hopefully the fresh air will do her good.

Gotcha Day - First Anniversary

Homemade ballet shoes

Have I mentioned lately that Aanika is growing like a weed? All of a sudden it’s like she’s turning into a little girl (who loves dance) instead of the sweet little baby we went and picked up almost 1 year ago. Yup, this time last year we were in Beijing, China and getting ever closer to meeting our little sweetie. Gotcha Day is on Tuesday and we’re planning a fun evening out at one of the restaurants here in town.

The week has been kind of crazy around here…I’ve been in a purging mood and have stripped out all of the closets and dresser drawers and starting pitching things. We both had our things to be gotten rid of - for me, things that are much too small (face it, I’ll never be that skinny again!) and for Kevin, he had things in his drawers from as far back as 1988! I swear the man is a packrat. On top of that, Aanika’s room has had a once-over as well. One of her walls has now been painted purple, her closets and drawers stripped AND her toys have finally found some temporary form of organization (let’s see how long it lasts) so that they actually have a place to be put other than on her floor! The only thing left is to go through years of papers and lack of filing in the office. Does everyone put off the worst task for last? : )

Pigtailed Cutie

Another week has come and gone…boy, how the time flies. Not much has happened since our last update. Aanika’s hair is finally getting long enough that we finally have been able to put her hair up in pig tails – totally changes the way her face looks…And how totally cute she is with them!! Halloween was interesting for us this year. We don’t normally celebrate it (that’s a whole other discussion) but Kevin thought that we should pass out treats to the little ones. So, to avoid having people ask us why Aanika wasn’t dressed up, we did her up in one of the outfits we bought for her in China. Boy, did she look cute!

The weather here is finally changing to feel like autumn. Apparently we had one of the warmest October’s on record. The rest of this week and weekend look like they’re going to be beautiful with temps in the mid 60’s-mid 70’s. The other thing we’re getting accomplished around here is adding some furnishings and changing out some of the curtains that came with the house. We’re just not navy blue kind of people! The house is really feeling homey and cozy now that we’ve added some warm lighting and warm/dark woods into the mix. We just never really had the space for much “stuff” in our other homes before so it’s been nice to be able to finally fill the rooms with more than just couches.

The only other thing that’s going to happen around here this week is to put up Aanika’s new purple curtains in her room. We’re getting ready for the transition to a regular bed and have started purchasing the bedding and décor that will be used. Right now it’s pretty much a blank canvas so it ought to turn out to be quite a cute room when it’s all done.

Teeth dents and the hardwood floor

Those little light marks are from Aanika's front teeth!

Things have been pretty quiet around here this week. The Riverdancing has slowed down a bit (thankfully) but now she’s moved on to ‘Angelina Ballerina’ which is a bit more annoying. It’s a British-done cartoon about a mouse (Angelina) who loves ballet. At the end of the program, they actually teach you ballet moves and positions of the feet etc. Aanika is so cute with it though. When she wants to watch it, she either will hold up the remote for the DVD player or she brings it to you. All this is done while she’s nodding her head ‘yes’ and saying “Leena” along with some other stuff we have yet to figure out. Of course it’s all followed up by a dramatic “Mmpwease” which is ‘please’ to you and me. When she was learning to say please, it started out with her wanting more of something. Thus, we get ‘more, please’ as mmpwease. Really very cute when you see it all together.

Well, we’re moving into a new stage with Aanika lately…toddler mishaps. Usually it’s just a scraped knee, or a pinched finger but we’ve had two owies in two days. The first one was a tumble off of a chair because she’s finally discovered climbing – she ended up with just a little bump on her noggin. The second one was yesterday - see picture above. Look directly in the center and you’ll see two little marks. This is what I saw left behind on the floor as I picked Aanika up off of it! Luckily it wasn’t a full-force fall onto her teeth…she had already fallen and as she was trying to get up, she fell again so it was really only from a few inches off the floor that resulted in this. She was very lucky to say the least.

Grandpa Marx and Aunt Ria visit

Sorry for the delay in updates. We had some special visitors from Michigan last week! Bompa Marx and Aunt Maria came down to celebrate my birfweek* with me. We had a great time while they were here. Kevin took us to San Antonio the first weekend that they arrived (first missed update). The weather was perfect for our adventures. We went to the Alamo (very cool) and also spent our two days exploring the Riverwalk and still didn’t see all of it! It was very lush and green and absolutely beautiful.

The rest of the week we spent closer to home (within 1 hour’s drive). Saturday the 16th was going home day for them and it was also a recovery day for me from all the running around we did all week (second missed update). Aanika had a ball having new playmates for a whole week. The girl is absolutely crazy over her Bompa (see the picture above). After he left, she went into his bedroom a few times looking for him. She thought it was great when we called him and she was able to talk on the phone with him.


Definition of "Birfweek":
Part one: A birfweek is an extension of a birthday-day. It is up to the person celebrating to decide if the days preceeding or following the actual birthday are part of said birfweek. The birthday-day must fall within these dates.
Part two: The person celebrating their birfweek is allowed to purchase at least one birthday item of their choosing (within reason) and not have to explain the purchase.
Part three: Something has to be purchased for or done for/with, in regard to the person celebrating, on each day of the birfweek in recognition of said celebration. This is to be negotiated between the two parties. NOTE: This celebration is only to be practiced between spouses or significant others.

Treehouse breakfast

Boy, another week has come and gone – time flies when you’re having fun! Aanika and I finally found a new family doctor and were able to go and get her next round of vaccinations taken care of. It went pretty well – to get the tears stopped, we called Daddy on the cell phone and let her chat with him while I paid our bill. It’s so cute because she talks up a storm but we really have no idea what she’s saying. There’s usually a lot of hand motions and pointing, giggles and you can always pick up the “goodbye” and ”see ya later” when she’s finished. She’s currently 33½ inches tall and weighs 26 pounds, has at least 16 teeth and is in very good health.

This evening we’re heading back to the county fair for duck racing (that oughta be interesting) and a professional Rodeo! I’ve never been to one and am really quite excited about it. Kevin says that if I like watching it on TV (which I do), then I’m really going to like it in person. That’s pretty much going to be the fun of the day except that I’m making one of my “experimentation meals” that I’m famous for. Hey, don’t snicker and feel sorry for Kevin…more often than not they turn out great.

The picture today is Aanika and Daddy doing one of their new favorite things – hanging out on Saturday morning and snacking on breakfast cereal in the tree house. The Riverdance obsession continues. It’s the first thing she asks for in the morning! She grabs her apple juice, giggles a bit and waits for it to start. I’ve finally convinced her that she can actually sit and watch it because normally she’ll stand in front of it through the entire program…it’s 1½ hours long!