Making Progress

Sydney has made HUGE strides in the short soon-to-be 2 months she's been with us. Take this picture, for instance. There was absolutely no coaxing to get a smile. She smiled voluntarily. She and Evan dressed up as butterflies. She even tried to say 'butterfly'. She is starting to repeat what we say more and more. She repeated the alphabet just today! She will say 'hey', 'mom', 'mama', 'bye bye' and 'night night' with no coaxing. She is working on 'eyes', 'nose' and 'mouth'. She know them but will not always say them. 'Mouth' is the funniest because she either has a lisp or is quite tongue-tied from the little bit of Cantonese she learned.
For several weeks we've had issues with daycare. She would cry and throw tantrums when we'd leave her. Little by little she's been getting more and more comfortable as she's learned to dance with the other children and play in the McDonald's-like play area. This past Thursday she gave me a kiss and practically pushed me out the door! I am so glad she's comfortable there now. The more we get to know her and bond, the more in love we are with this little angel.

Roller Derby Queen

Evan has been wanting some inline skates since she saw then at the skating rink. I told her she could buy them with her own money. It was hard for her to give up most of her money, but she decided she REALLY wanted them. She has had them on almost all day saying it feels like her dream come true!

1st and 2nd Days of 1st Grade

School started this last Wednesday. Evan was so excited to start 1 st grade, although her teacher is a little strict. We took her to school the first day because that just seemed the thing to do. She was going to ride the bus the second day, but we got so hot and sweaty waiting that I ended up taking her. Sydney cried when we dropped her off and she couldn't follow. She started crying harder when it was time for her to go to daycare. She cries when I leave her, but she ends up having a good time. We stayed with her for two weeks to try to get her used to her new surroundings and then started leaving her for a few hours. She just completed her 2nd week of staying by herself and has made huge strides. She now talks and interacts with the other children. She is doing so well.

Fun at the Pool

We really have not done very well at getting to the pool this summer. Evan is a great swimmer, and it looks like Sydney enjoys swimming, too. She tans nicely, so I guess I will always be the fairest in the family (and maybe even the world!).

Visit to the Cardiologist

Sydney was born with two holes in her heart (a VSD and an ASD). This is more than likely the reason she was left at the front door of a local doctor's house at 8 months old. She had open heart surgery and was on a heart/lung machine at 8 months. She was a serious scar but is in great shape! A few weeks ago we took her to a pediatric cardiologist to make sure her body has healed properly - and it has. She fought the EKG and the taking of her vital signs but didn't seem to mind the echocardiogram too much. Dr. Jackson said she looked great and shouldn't have any problmes down the road. She will probably NEVER be an olympic swimmer, but I don't imagine we have to worry about that. We will continue to see him once a year until she's 18 just to make sure all is well. Dr. Jackson is at LSU Health Sciences Center which is our local charity hospital. There are some hoops to jump through, but we were very pleased with the experience. Both girls even got a very cute and NEW stuffed animal.
We took her to JulieAnne's Bakery afterwards for lunch and a cookie for being such a trooper.

Smooth Rider

Mike bought Sydney her first tricycle, and she abolutely loves it! I think Evan enjoys it just as much as she does because she loves to push her sister. Evan has waited such a long time for a sister to 'baby', and she definitely jumped right in. She loves to bathe Sydney, wash her hair, put her diaper on and get her dressed. She's an awesome helper!

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

Since we missed Sydney's first 2 birthdays, we decided to have a party for her to make up for it. I ordered a small cake just for her so we could get those pictures. It turns out that a 2 1/2 year old isn't nearly as messy as a 1 year old. She received lots of great gifts, but I think she is still a little overwhelmed with all the toys that are already in the house.

A Little Bit of Heaven

Just a few more pictures of our girls.

Family: That's What it's All About

Stealing a moment with PaPa

Our Little Angels

Look how sweet they are: and we have these little ones FOREVER!

My Girls

I can't believe it has almost been a month since my last post. Here are a few miscellaneous pics that I love. Evan and Sydney have bonded so well. They are true siblings - sometimes they adore each other, sometimes they can't stand one another, and sometimes one likes to aggravate the other. Isn't it amazing how the art of aggravating another is pure instinct?