We are a family that have been expecting our second child for over four years now. We started the adoption process in the spring of 2006, submitted our paperwork to China in September of 2006 and have been waiting patiently for a child since. We finally we got our referral and plan to have the process completed and travel to China this coming spring!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Welcome to America!

So in the next installment of WTF are you doing? We introduced Beatrix to Easter.

Imagine yourself never having experenced Easter before. Some people, who you now live with, put a bunch of colored liquid in glasses on the counter, and get out a bunch of eggs. Now, for no apparent reason, you are told to take the eggs, put them in the colored water, and then take them out. Weird.






The next morning you wake up, but instead of having breakfast, you are handed a basket and told to find those eggs from yesterday. Because now, inexplicably, they are all over the
house and outside. (How the hell did those eggs get outside?)

The other kid is doing it, it seems odd, but whatever.







Now you start finding eggs in the bushes, and in the flowers and in your toy car, behind flower pots, in trees, etc. Now you are really thinking, wtf!?! How did those eggs get all over the place?
What are they doing in the tree?










After you find all the eggs (How did they get out of the fridge?) you are handed a basket filled
with candy.

You think, don't question such a godsend, it is odd, but hey, at least you got a big basket of
candy.










Buona Pasqua!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

It's all downhill from here

Eating marshmallows to keep her distracted long enough to stay in her seat while the plane takes off.


On the flight from Hong Kong to Detroit we were in business class. I had always wanted to have a flight with these individual seats that recline to a completely flat bed. It was glorious and the best trip ever except for 2 things:

1. One of our seats was broken and wouldn't recline. We since complained to Delta and all they offered was a $500 travel voucher. Not much compensation for such a pricey seat. Without the recline 14 hours sitting straight up is brutal. Fortunately we could just pop Beatrix with us and leave that seat empty.

2. Beatrix was not impressed with the seats nor the movie collection. She was much more interested in running up and down the aisles. She did not allow us to have the complete relaxing experience for which the seats were intended.

Olivia, on the other hand, loved it. She stayed awake the whole time watching movies and getting snacks. Once I showed her the basket full of snacks that was in the galley, she made sure that the basket was empty by the time we got to Detroit. She was also complemented by the flight attendants and other passengers on what a great traveler she is. Of course it wasn't always that way. She has traveled a lot, but I remember the first solo trip I made with her was a short flight from Pittsburgh to Nashville. She was about 9 months old and was very active. She did not care to sit and we were immediately in a fight to keep her on my lap. Thankfully there was a young woman on the flight who was sitting in front of us and she turned around and distracted her for the duration. I'm not sure how we would have got through that flight otherwise. Since then Olivia has flown to San Francisco with me solo twice when she was around a year old and again when she was 2. Both times she was great. She has also gone as far as Paris when she was 4.5 and she loved that flight too.

Here's to hoping that Beatrix becomes as great of a traveler as Olivia. However, how will she ever be happy in coach?

Friday, April 1, 2011

New business venture

Beatrix is wondering what she got herself into here.