Thanksgiving snow in North Texas!!

Kali and "Aunt" Cathy catching snowflakes

What a shocker! Sitting around the living room watching football after the turkey gorge, and someone yells, "It's snowing!" Kali got to experience snow for the first time and she loved it. No snowman yet ... it was a wet snow that didn't stick, but she and Carson were able to get a few little snowballs out of the accumulation on the cars. And Jordan thought he had to go to Wisconsin to see some snow for Thanksgiving!

This is Kali's new hair. I know, I know ... it doesn't look much different than before. We had about 1/2 of the length taken off, so no more Afro Puffs for a while. This short hair is so much easier to deal with. Just wet it down in the mornings, spray a little leave-in conditioner, pick out and go! Maybe that's why I keep mine short too ... add a blow dryer and take away the pick, though.

Every time we both look at Kali, we can't help but think of the difference between the little girl we brought home and the little girl we have now. Every day she adds more to her vocabulary and she is such a chatterbox ... fits right into my side of the family! She smiles and laughs all the time and those beautiful little eyes just sparkle. We have learned how to divert her almost-tantrums now ... distraction works wonders! All I have to do is get her talking about something else and she forgets all about what made her upset in the first place. It takes a lot of patience (and I will admit that this is something I run short of more often than I would like) and trial-and-error to find out what works. I hope we have hit on something now that will work for quite a long time. Of course, we still have the drama ... oh, the drama! One would think her leg was being cut off when she gets the slightest little booboo! And when she gets mad at us, she starts crying for anyone, and I mean ANYONE, who is not in the immediate area. It was her Papa, it was her sister Landree, and more recently it was her teacher, Alicia! The one that had us laughing the hardest was when she was crying for her little 3 year old friend from daycare, Lily!

But the best part of having Kali ... when she grabs my face and says "I love you, Mommy" just right out of the blue.

We are both completely in love with our daughter! Because of this, I can now say what I am about to say and be comfortable with it. I have always tried to be honest in this blog, so here goes.

I was very disappointed in myself when it was not love at first sight with Kali. I was even more disappointed when the love did not seem to come for some time. I didn't want to talk about it for a while ... I thought there was something wrong with me, or that maybe we had jumped into adoption too soon. I certainly didn't want to write about it in my blog ... what would people think of me? "What a witch, not loving that precious little girl!" Don't get me wrong ... I always wanted to take care of her and protect her - that maternal thing - but I just wasn't prepared for the lack of affection that I had for this child. I know we have all had the fantasies of seeing our children for the first time and having them immediatey love us and us love them. Even though I knew this was just a fantasy, I couldn't help but wonder if it still couldn't happen that way ... but it didn't. Maybe it was having biological children of my own already, whom I absolutely adore, and then adopting; maybe it was adopting a toddler rather than an infant; or maybe it was neither of these and it was just me.

But then I did start talking about it to friends and family, and I found out that maybe I wasn't so weird after all. Maybe it was more normal than I thought not to have that instant love with this new little person in my life. And then it happened. I can't say exactly when, but sometime in the past 6 months, I fell in love with my daughter! I am pretty sure it happened sooner for Rick, and I must say that I am a little envious of that. Now I find myself doing the same things to her that I do to Carson ... stroking her hair or cheek, rubbing her back when she is sitting next to me, kissing her for no reason at all. When I tell her that I love her, it comes straight from my heart and I know that I mean every breath of those 3 words! So, for those of you who may be experiencing this same situation, you're not weird. Just be patient ... it happens. For those of you who bonded instantly and felt that love from the moment you first laid eyes on your sweet children, be thankful for that blessing!

So on this first Thanksgiving with our new daughter and our newly formed family of seven, I am most thankful for the mysterious and wonderful way that love works its miracles in our hearts!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Page Family!

I hear they all do it ...

What is it with kids and scissors and their hair? I managed to raise one who never cut his own hair ... that is, not until he was 18 and decided to use the dog clippers to shave his head ... does that count? I remember when my 18 year old neice was small and decided she didn't want bangs anymore ... clip ... that's one way to get rid of them! So I'm warning all of you parents of young children ... hide ALL the scissors, even the dull ones that you think couldn't cut water ... they probably still work on hair!

In addition to cutting his own hair ... big chunk, right in the middle above his forehead (if you look closely at the picture, you can kind of see the semi-bald spot) ... Carson decided it would be fun to cut Kali's hair too. Let's put it this way ... she no longer has a widow's peak! I had to cut Carson's hair extra short to try to blend his work into the rest (I still think Rick secretly put Carson up to this just so I would be forced to give him the shaved head 1950's farmboy look he so wants our son to have!), but there was no way I was going to attempt to tackle those curls of Kali's. So today she got her first haircut ... well, her first haircut with us. After 11 months of growing hair (her head was shaved sometime around January of this year at the orphanage) and 5 months of me longing for it to grow faster so we could start braiding it, we're back to tight little curls. I have to admit, though, it looks really cute short. She looks so chic! No picture yet ... maybe tomorrow.

And we no longer own a pair of scissors ... maybe I should hide the weedeater and hedge clippers in the garage too ...

Happy Halloween!!

The Queen and King of Hearts!

Happy Autumn!!

From Ethiopian Princess ...

... to American Diva!

After we had Carson, I would jokingly think that the hospital switched babies on me. After all, how in the world did I, with brown eyes and brown hair, get a tow head with blue eyes?? Now it's deja vu ... I don't think we have an Ethiopian little girl! With her almond shaped eyes and big chubby cheeks, Kali doesn't seem to possess the traditional Ethiopian features. But here's the clincher ... she is so warm natured, she refuses to sleep under her covers. She will kick them off every single time you try to cover her up. And when she gets out of bed, her little arms and legs will be like ice from the air conditioning, but she swears she isn't the least bit cold. For those of you who have already been to Ethiopia, you get this ... all those people wandering around in mid 70 degree weather wearing coats and scarves and bundling up! For those of you yet to travel to Ethiopia, you'll get it once you see all those babies bundled up like little Eskimo babies.

Poor Carson. One can tell he is definitely the product of older parents. He is playing T-ball with other 3 and 4 year olds through the Boys & Girls Club. First, it is clear that these kids are waaaay too young to be playing any kind of organized sports. It's not competitive in the least ... there are no outs, no score keeping, and every kids gets to bat twice. But when some of the 3 year olds are crying and refusing to go out on the field, and others are just leaving the field to go play on the nearby swingset, yes ... they are too young. This is all for the parents, not for the kids. As for Carson having older parents ... he is the only one on the team without his own bat bag, baseball bat, and batting helmet. We bought him a glove and that's all. But I certainly can't throw stones ... I bought all that stuff for Jordan when he first started playing ball too. Just a little bit older and wiser now ...

HAPPY AUTUMN!

Pink ribbons everywhere!

I can't believe it ... this disease has hit close to home now. My cousin's wife, Kim Klein, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. Kim and Randy have 3 children and Kim has been going to law school to finish her education. Even though they have insurance, the out of pocket expenses are still staggering. Kim started a blog to chronicle her journey through breast cancer, and now her blog has been chosen as one of 20 finalists for a $10,000 scholarship!

Please take a look at Kim's blog (http://blawgcoop.com/lawmom/) and help her win this honor and the money to continue with law school. And please add Kim and her family to your prayer list. With all the love we have in this Ethiopian adoption community, I am sure there is room left for one Law Mom who needs our support and encouragement!

What a week!

Attorney Susan Paquet, Carson & Daddy, Judge Catterton, Kali & Mommy

Kali is officially ours now according to the U.S. government! There is only one more step to this whole process and that is to apply for U.S. citizenship for her. But you'll never be able to convince Kali that she is not an American already ... Wednesday evening, after she took her baby doll to the doctor and the dentist (both have offices in our front yard under the mesquite tree apparently), she took her doll stroller, turned and waved to me and said, "Bye, Mommy. I go to Wa-Mart."

For those of you in the DFW area, I do recommend using Susan Paquet as your adoption attorney. She is the one recommended by Gladney. She is very efficient and just gets it done. It did feel a little strange, though, meeting our attorney for the first time 30 minutes before going into the courtroom. Other than the courtroom appearance, which took all of 30 minutes for the 5 families adopting that morning, everything was handled over the phone and through the mail. And the total out-of-pocket was much less than we expected too. It was totally painless!

Carson has his first t-ball game on Saturday morning. He is only 4 so it isn't Little League. This is through the Boys & Girls Club. He had his one and only practice Thursday night and it was hilarious! At this age, they are not taught positions yet. They're just all stuck out in the outfield and it is a free-for-all when that ball is hit! Whoever gets the ball first gets to throw it in ... and probably got a knee in the eye too when going after the ball with all 8 other boys! It is a sight to see and I can't wait to see how a real game goes. Go Team Spiderman!!

To my family and friends, you may want to sit down for this one. My BIG baby boy, Jordan, has officially joined the NAVY!!!

We sure didn't see this one coming when he announced his intentions to us a month ago. But we are very proud of him and his decision to follow this path. He signed with the Navy on Thursday of this week and will be going to CTN school (Cryptologic Technician Networking). He is very "stoked" about this and cannot wait to begin this phase of his life. I now proudly display a "Proud Parent of a SAILOR" sticker on the back window of my car. Jordan, you rock!!!

Attitude Galore!!

I agree with Rachel, it is getting harder to blog. Not only are there fewer hours in the day than there ever used to be (yes, I promise!), but it's just hard to blog about normal every day life.

But there is still one thing I can talk about ... ATTITUDE! I thought raising boys was tough, but I had no idea what tough was until I had a girl. And it doesn't matter what country a girl was born in, a girl is a girl is a girl the whole world over and they all come with attitude galore! It's in the "Born a Girl for Dummies" handbook, Chapter 1, titled "Diva-licious"!

I recently ran into a friend who also raised only boys. She is now raising her 3 year old granddaughter. We found out that we now have a lot in common ... a little princess who insists upon being queen of the house! Kali is the most stubborn little creature that I have ever run across in my life. She can be sweet and loving one moment, and totally defiant in the next. I hate to put a stain on the fairer sex of the world, especially since I am one of them, but I firmly believe that the attitude has everything to do with those double X chromosomes and the hormones going bonkers in her little body (yes, I am convinced now that the hormones appear waaaayyy earlier than the teen years in girls!) and nothing to do with adoption transition. You know the wet noodle thing that all kids do when they get upset? That's Kali every time you want her to do something that she does not want to do. She gives you that glare that says "Make me!" and when you try to pick her up, you get wet noodle and major attitude. And the biggest cut-down she can think of when she is mad at you is "You're not my friend!"

Ok, so we want our girls to have some attitude and be able to handle themselves, right? I much prefer that she wait until she's grown and take that attitude out on someone else!

Surprisingly, she has not a touch of grace. If it can fall out of her mouth, it will. If it can spill and make a mess, it will. And if more can get on her clothes than in her mouth, it will. But I suppose we'll have to let her slide on this for a while ... after all, she was used to eating with her fingers and is only now getting the hang of using utensils. And to be honest, it is kind of funny. She will drop the candy out of her mouth at least 3 times before finishing it, and that's just from opening her mouth to talk!

On the bright side, her English is soooo good. She is quite the chatter box. We still have a bit of trouble understanding her here and there, but all we have to do is ask Carson what she said ... you know that they all speak the same language when they are under 5 years old anyway. And she still has that smile that lights up the whole room and a giggle that makes us all want to break into fits of laughter.

We will be visiting the Tarrant County Family Court on Wednesday of this week to make Kali an official American! She will no longer be Kalidan Rickey Page, she will become Kalkidan Faye-Sophia Page. She will have a birth date of 08/22/04 instead of 08/22/05. But the best part is that she will be ours according to the US Government as well as the Ethiopian Government! Add one more to the inheritance ... like there will be any!

It may take time, but she will learn ... I am the queen of the house and I will win all power struggles! It took her daddy a while to learn that one too!