Botox for your Blog

Is your blogsite looking blah? Would you like to start the new year with a new blog look? Well, you should consider getting a little bloggy facelift! My BBFF Rebecca (www.untilwemeetintaiwan.blogspot.com) has all the skills to give your blog a fresh new look!

Her design site is http://remdesigns.blogspot.com/, and blogovers are done in exchange for donations to benefit children in orphanages in Taiwan! Sweet!

You may be asking why my own site is looking rather "plain Jane" and has yet to become a beauty blog. Well, when it comes to anything having to do with decorating anything, I am a TOTAL commitment phobic. But I have resolved to put my blog in Rebecca's trusty hands and help out those babies in Taiwan who are still waiting for their mamas!

Precious face

Our Thanks-for-the-Day
That Costco bakes Thanksgiving pies so I don't have to!

Matthew's doll

I have noticed that I play with Matthew differently than I would a girl. Less conversational play and more rough & tumble play. Less role play and more racing trucks down the hallway. Less touchy-feely talk and more explaining how things work. And I was thinking about how women often complain that men don't communicate...don't talk/share feelings/nurture/etc...and I thought "Oh no! I'm raising a boy whose future wife might feel that way!" So I thought about getting Matthew a doll...like a boy Cabbage Patch or something...with which I could model nurturing and conversation.

I tested the whole doll thing out by introducing Matthew to two of my old dolls. Much to my dismay and Scott's secret pleasure, there was no love. There was no interest. He just grabbed them by the hair and swung them back and forth like he does his trucks. So...in lieu of a baby I began using a blue puppy dog...kissing the puppy, clothing the puppy, etc.

Well, this weekend Matthew rec'd a package from his Great Aunt Theresa, and inside was "Sweet Pea"...a little soft doll in a pea pod. As I pulled Sweet Pea out of the box to show Matthew, he kissed it! Not only once, but twice! Completely unprompted! Ahhh...early intervention! Haha! And one day his wife will thank me!

Our Thanks-for-the-Day

Getting a check back from your insurance company for overpayment! It's like FREE MONEY!

Random stuff (how many posts are you allowed to have with the word "random" in the title?

The other evening Matthew's temperment was pretty much summed up by the above photo. So after I put him in bed, Scott and I were in the kitchen and I glanced over at the refrigerator...which showcases the photos of Matthew sent to us by the Taiwan agency...the photos...all sweet...calm...smiling...and I said, "False Advertising!!!!"

He has become the King O' Lunge lately...whenever you are holding him he is lunging out of your arms. It could be to direct you to move, to try to grab something he thinks is in reach, or just because he is feeling lungey... I'm not sure how long this phase lasts, but I hope it is over before I need back replacement surgery. Can you replace your whole back?

We are trying decide which things we think are important to say "no" to and which aren't...so that we will be consistent with our "no's." For example, the outlets (even though they are plugged) are always NO...but staying out past curfew on Friday nights isn't something we're too worried about. We have a home office, and that is where things get fuzzy. No matter how many super cool toys you have for Matthew, of course he always wants to play with the cords and gadgets that go in a home office. SOmetimes when you are trying to pay bills or work on readoption stuff, you just need to get things finished...so those can be times when a typical "no" gets overlooked...so we are thinking we need to get our acts together on this. Tonight Scott firmly told Matthew that, when in the office, the only thing he is allowed to play with is the carpet. We'll see how that goes!

Our Thanks-for-the-Day

The sweet little giggles that come when mama dramatically shoos away a bug.

Santa baby...

Matthew met Santa today! I dressed him in his fancy duds and rushed him (between naps) over to the mall to get his photo taken in the Winter Wonderland (in the desert). There was only one kid in front of us and all he wanted was a blue ninja turtle, so the line moved really quickly (not quick enough for Matthew's diaper which I had JUST changed before we walked into the mall).

Matthew didn't cry at all, but it was hard to get a photo because he kept looking back at Santa. It was a stare-down of some sorts that only the two of them understand...I guess we'll see what Santa leaves in his Christmas stocking (or "sock" if you read the previous Christmas post).

Since no one else was waiting in line, I asked Santa if he would mind watching Matthew while I did some shopping, but he said he had a date with some egg nog in the JC Penney's parking lot. I didn't get the $20+ photo cd, so here is a photo of the photo!

Please pass me a tissue...

In our hotel in Taipei
On the way back to Taipei from picking up Matthew in Fengyuan
At home in his Ikea chair!

My eyes are all teary! Since the dictator is sleeping I thought I would take a moment to check my email and blog and, when I saw that 1st photo in the last post I thought "Gosh, Matthew sure looks big!" SO I looked at some photos from when we met him in Taiwan...and he has grown so much! BOO HOO HOO...my baby is growing up!

Photos that don't make the cover shot

The good shot: Matthew in new outfit from Aunt Pat & Uncle David KYB. The not so great shots are below:

BTW, anyone recommend diapers other than Huggies Natural Fit? Even though I change Matthew every 5 minutes (or so it seems), the Huggies don't seem to be holding up their end of the bargain. Perhaps my boy is "The Urinator" and I'll have this problem no matter what diaper we use??? And while the subject is diapers, why don't babies ever pee and poop in the SAME diaper?

Our Thanks-for-the-Day

Digital cameras! I can't imagine how much money I would have wasted by now if I was using a camera with film!