How is it possible???!  It really cannot be true.  Did my first baby -- the tiny litte baby girl that we brought home from Vietnam just yesterday-- did she really don a backpack today and go off to school?

I had always heard parents say it, and it is said so often it seems cliche, but kids really do grow up SOOOO fast!  I find myself lately holding T more, just trying to savor these last few precious moments that she's still small enough for me to carry, little enough to fit in my lap.

This moment seemed such a short time ago...

And here's my big girl today on her way to school for the very first time. 

She looks so impossibly tall and grown up

Hanging her backpack on a hook in her classroom

Gathering around with the other kids for prayer before class time

T had a blast at school today -- painting, playing with playdoh, listening to storytime, trying unsuccessfully to comfort the other kids who were crying!  She told me when I came to pick her up, "Mommy, I cried just a little bit, but then I was able to pull it together."  Hahahaha!  I love this girl so much.

Wow -- it's been a while since I posted anything here!  This is going to be a long post with lots of pictures and videos, so if you don't make it through the whole thing, I won't hold it against you.   

Quick note on my "currently reading"... Actually I read it last month and I'm currently re-reading it ...and thinking that it may very well be the best Christian book I've ever read.  And not just because I happen to be an adoptive mom.  Highly recommend.

Last month we celebrated Tiana's 3rd and Aliyah's 1st birthday with a picnic in the park complete with a bounce house and water balloon games!  The girls had a BLAST! Here's what it looked like: 

I am amazed by God's grace to us in giving us our two precious girls!  We love them both so much and pray that they will come to know and marvel at how much more they are loved by our Savior.

July also brought the start of hosting Tustin Care Group in our home!  OK we're all such dorks in the picture, that's "T" for Tustin...  I have been super encouraged by all the saints in our group and we've enjoyed getting to know them.

Our family spent the bulk of our free time in July gearing up to host children under Safe Families.  We did our homestudy, livescans, and online training. We gave up on trying to stay "cool" and bought a minivan.

... and some beds

Hair stories...

I had the privilege of attending Michelle's fabulous and fun 80s themed bridal shower.  Tiana always has her fashion antenna scanning for fresh ideas.  The day after the shower, Tiana was playing dress up.  Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Look, Mommy!  My hair looks " '80s"!"  This is the outfit she came up with:

The bracelets hung on her ears are her rendition of big hoop earrings.  What are we going to do with this girl???!!

About Aliyah's hair...

One of the things that intimidated me about adopting from Ethiopia was "black" hair.  Not black the color, obviously, but the coarse/brittle texture and curly-crazyness of African hair.  And, being a hair dunce to begin with, I was sure that I would fail miserably, be utterly unable to tame the 'fro, and wind up with a daughter who resented the fact that her very uncool Asian mom let her grow up looking like Buckwheat all the time. 

But, God is gracious in many ways.  First off, Aliyah's hair is mostly curly, and not super-curly/frizzy.  Not at all that I dislike super-curly/frizzy hair, but just that I would be in over my head (no pun intented) and not have the slightest clue as to how to care for it.  Secondly, I happened to remember watching commercials for a little device called a "Topsy Tail" growing up -- a little loop that helps you "flip" a ponytail.  Thirdly, I have an older daughter with silky, "easy" Asian hair on whom I could practice different hairstyles before trying them on Aliyah -- not that the result would be the same, of course, but at least I could practice technique a little!

So, I made my own "Topsy Tail" with some jewelry wire and scotch tape, mustered up the energy to wrestle with my bionic-strength, squirmy one year old for half and hour, and Aliyah's current hairstyle was born!  Mike and I think she looks pretty stunning with her hair like this, if we do say so ourselves.

In case there are other current or future non-African moms of African children (with hair similar to Aliyah's) who are reading this, I'll give y'all the start to finish step by step of what I do to Aliyah's hair in case it's helpful to you and so you all can give me feedback on what I'm doing wrong!!!   The rest of my dear readers can feel free to skip forward to the next topic.

1.  Shampoo with J and J head to toe bodywash. (Aliyah has sensitive rash-prone skin so I've been reluctant to try other shampoos so far.  Any recommendations?)

2. Coat her hair with Mustela, Aveeno or other moisturizing hypo-allergenic body lotion

3. Comb through carefully, although inevitably, she'll move her head sharply enough while I have the comb in a tangle that some strands break off.  Arrgh.

4. Part her hair down the middle. I have her watch a video to try to keep her looking straight ahead so the part doesn't veer to one side.  HAHAHA! 

5. Divide each half into 3 sections securing with Goody latex "damage free" hair elastics.  Not sure if the "damage-free" claim is true yet, we'll see. Hopefully Aliyah won't be half bald in a few months!

6. Gently loosen the elastics away from the scalp a little. 

7. Flip the little pony tails through the bottom middle of each one with my homemade topsy tail.

8.  Finish with rubbing a bit of Cetaphil body lotion -- which dries a little bit crispy, keeps the curls separated, and combats frizz.  I like lotion better than the different oils I've tried because it seems to absorb and not leave an "Aliyah's head was here" spot everywhere she rests her head!   And because hair care products in my limited experience seem to make the skin break out.

In other news...

Tiana has finally learned to catch a (large, soft) ball!  (At least half of the time, and when thrown to her at exactly the right velocity and position).

But as you can see, she would much rather play with her hair.

And FINALLY...

Here's Aliyah saying the words that she knows so far:

I think she wanted to keep showing off for a little while longer -- so she refused to say "bye-bye".  Either that or she wanted a Cheerio incentive to do her last trick! 

Having kids and watching them figure out the world around them is such a HOOT!  Last night, we took the girls to El Torito Grill for dinner for our "family night out".   We decided to valet park the car since it was cheaper than the hourly rate.  As the the valet drove away to park our car Tiana asks, "He's borrowing our car, Mommy?"  HAHAHA!!!

It's especially funny to see Tiana try to master restaurant etiquette -- sometimes sweet and appropriate, sometimes just a little off... 

We were nearing the end of our meal when I asked T,

Me: "Tiana would you like another tortilla?" 

T: "Oh, no thank you.  You go ahead and enjoy it, Mommy.  I'm all done, thank you though!" -- SWEET

As we were finishing, the manager came over to ask how everything was.  He was dressed just like the food servers except his name tag said "Manager".  Of course, Tiana can't read the name tag...

Tiana says: "It was really good, thank you." 

...and proceeds to hand her finished plate to him.  After pretending to admire her leftover mess, he set the plate back down on the table.  I'm sure T was thinking "no, silly, you're supposed to clear the plates off the table now!"  Uh...nevermind that he's the ****manager**** -- A LITTLE OFF 

Then, when we were getting up to leave, the busboy was clearing off the table next to us.  Tiana says to him, "It was delicious, thank you!"  And when she got no response (he was pretty focused on his task and indifferent to customer service issues), she said it louder, "IT WAS DELICIOUS, THANK YOU!" ... "THANK YOU!!!" (Like, "Isn't he supposed to say 'you're welcome", or "thank YOU", or something??) -- SWEET ...AND A LITTLE OFF.

And of course, we have our Aliyah, who waves and says "AHHhhhhhHHHhhhhhh!" ("hi") to everyone and everything in sight.  Then screams really loudly in impatient protest when the Cheerios run out.

Eating out was never this much fun before kids!!!

______________

Aliyah is astounding us all with how fast she's learning and how communicative she is. 

Anyone who knows T knows that she is obsessed with accessories:  shoes, purses, jewelry, headbands...  Since she doesn't have pierced ears, her favorite way to spruce up an outfit lately has been to stick star stickers on her ears like earrings.  Pretty cute if you ask me! 

A couple days ago, the girls and I met Mike for lunch.  When we were done and about to part ways, Mike and I hugged and he felt something prickly on my back.  Little did I know I had been running around town all morning looking like this...

How did she put those stickers on my back without me noticing??!!!  It must've been while I was talking on the phone and changing Aliyah's diaper.  I vaguely remember T counting and pointing on my back.  Everyone who saw me from behind that morning must've thought I was a total dork!!! Thanks a lot, T.

In other news... Here's Aliyah trying out her new carseat! 

And Aliyah's first sign language skills...

4 minutes and 2 very loud burps later...

You'll notice that for Aliyah, the sign for "milk" and the sign for "all done"  look the same, the only way to distinguish what she means is her little voice saying "ah-duh"  when she means "all done".  Not bad for 9 months old, huh!!!  These two little girls continue to amaze and confound us -- what precious gifts they are!