Three Years Ago

We got the call, in a sense - it was actually an email, on July 20 and on July 22, we had a precious 4 lb. 14 oz. little boy in our arms.  This picture was our first image of the little man who joined our family.  It still seems so surreal at times.  His adoption process from start (decision after lots of prompting) to the day we had him in our arms was only about 15 weeks.  God had/has big plans for this young man and we are so blessed to be a part of it!  We can't image life without him now!

Sweet Carter

I am working on a post about this amazing little boy's birthday but I had to go ahead and put up a sweet story.  Tonight, I was about to take Grace to bed but handed her to John to say goodnight then I walked out of the room to do something else.  While John held her, she got a huge pouty face and was about to cry.  When I came back and was just looking at her cute pout, Carter stood by me and said, "Mommy, she wants you!" in a very sweet little voice.  He has such a sensitive little heart underneath all that mischief!!

Here is the journal entry for the start of Carter's 4th year:

You are three years old!!  You love telling us “I fwee!!” and so excitedly!  What a joy you are in our lives!  It’s really hard to believe that you have been with us for three years and have just grown and changed and have started to show us how smart you are.  One thing I’ve really noticed since you started talking so much is that you really know what you want and make sure we are aware.  It’s nice that we never have to guess how you feel about things. 

Music has always been a love for you but recently you show favorites in songs.  You love to sing “Roaring like a lion” and you get so excited about the song “Jump Rope” on kids place live.  You sing, “dump (up), down, dump down.”  Parker has declared it your song.  As I thought about it, it fits your personality because your life is like a jump rope – you are up, up happy as can be or down, throwing a tantrum on the floor about getting your way.  In the last three weeks, we have seen those tantrums infrequently though.  We have high hopes that you are outgrowing them a little. 

For your birthday we celebrated with Nanannette & Grandpa Marvin starting Friday afternoon, we played Saturday morning at home and then your cousins, Parker G, Warren and Graeham came over to swim, celebrate and have cake.  It was a late night for you little man…  you couldn’t settle down for anything after your cousins left at 9.  Of course you were up bright and early on Sunday so we made it to church and then took you to the zoo because you LOVE the lions and tigers.  “I wan see da animaws!”  By the end of the zoo visit, you were melting down because you were so tired but you had such fun!

Our Big Three Year Old

Again, another year has rolled away.   God is growing Carter into a young man full of life!  This week I spent so much time thinking about his birth-mom and what a blessing she is to our lives for having carried this precious boy and chosen to give him a forever family.  How did we get to be the ones to have this privilege?  

 We have a tradition of decorating, 

which includes lots of streamer and balloons,

 bedrooms for birthdays.   

I'm not sure he spent much time noticing these decorations though, he was anxious to get downstairs.  Throughout the morning, Carter kept having mini break downs.  I think we had talked about his birthday a lot this last week and he had some uncertainties about what this day would bring or maybe what turning three would mean to him.  By noon, he was doing much better.  

 He LOVES wearing Parker's jersey and insisted on sleeping in it this night.  He would spend his day with a lacrosse stick in his had if we would let him.  If we did thought, there wouldn't be much left of our house that isn't damaged.  

Tentative entry into the decorated kitchen.

A little of what I put in the letter to Carter's birth-mom:

Little Carter is three!  He loves telling us “I fwee!!” and so excitedly!  What a joy he is in our lives!  It’s really hard to believe that he’s been with us for three years and have just grown and changed and have started to show us how smart he is.  One thing I’ve really noticed since he started talking so much is that he really knows what he wants and will make sure we are aware.  It’s nice that we never have to guess how he feels about things. 

Music has always been a love for Carter but recently he shows favorites in songs.  He loves to sing “Roaring like a lion” and gets so excited about the song “Jump Rope” on kids place live.  He sings, “dump (up), down, dump down.”  Parker has declared it Carter’s song so now he repeats that.  As I thought about it, it fits his personality because his life is like a jump rope –up, up happy as can be or down, throwing a tantrum on the floor over not getting his way.  In the last three weeks, we have seen those tantrums infrequently though.  We have high hopes that he is outgrowing them a little.  

Someone loves cookies, cake, icing, ice-cream - pretty much anything sweet.  :)  Happy Birthday Carter man!  

We love you so much!

Milestones for the kids

The last update of info regarding the changes in the little ones was in February.  We have seen so many changes in both of them and life is just so busy with the two of them that I've been terrible about keeping records!  They are joy and challenge, lots of laughter and then tears, wide open and snuggly.  Life is never dull with these three gifts!

In early February, GL and I celebrated Chinese New Year with Ella Claire, Riley and Julie and other FCC families at Happy Valley Restaurant.  Gracie loved listening to the music an watching the little girls preform their talents.  It was so special to be with Ella Claire!  Our little girl was happy to get dressed up.  She is very girlie - if I get out lotion, nail file, make-up, etc., she wants in on it!  She is also obsessed with shoes!  That was one of her first words.

Later in the month, Parker celebrated Cub scout milestones at the Blue & Gold Banquet.  They gave out awards and graduated the groups to be ready for the next level.  Parker will be a Web 2 and mid next year, he will officially become a BOY Scout.

We also had a great family time with all of the Lamb cousins together for the first time with Grace, Wesley and sweet little Anna Elise all here at once.  Precious cousins!  I love, love seeing them together!  

This spring, although Gracie Lin took her first 4 steps mid-February, she didn't actually decide to really start walking until April 20th.  Of course, Mommy was away in NYC for the video project I've been helping John with.  She has also learned to go down stairs, she handled the deck steps really well pretty quickly.  Now after 4 months of PT, she is going up and down most steps easily.  GL has also learned to feed herself pretty well with a spoon or fork but she is so very messy!  Over the months, Grace has learned to hold her own more and more with Carter and now I find her instigating the disagreements.  She will kind of pound on him or push him around and then she starts to scream like she is the victim when he turns it back on her.  We have to be very careful when we are refereeing.

February

June

Our fun little man Carter has really blossomed!  He has had such a hard time having Grace join our family but they love each other so much!  Her arrival combined with his being two has made for a tough year so far.  Thru speech therapy, he has made great strides in his communication skills and I think we are seeing how that is reducing his frustrations a lot.  He loves, loves, loves playing any kind of ball outside.  He really prefers Lacrosse since that's what Parker plays.  One thing he has going for him is that he knows what he wants and he let us know; it's so great now that he can communicate most things!

March

Parker... he is growing into such a great young man!  I know I say that often but he just amazes me continually!  He has such a big heart for others and although he doesn't show sensitivity much, I think he definitely feels it but doesn't want it to show.  He will defend others if we try to ask if something was done or said to hurt his feelings.  On the other hand, he still wants to do things his way after being first and an only child for so long.  This summer has been rushing by and we are just trying to savor every moment we have as immediate family as well as with all of the fun activities we have going on.  Parker had a great week at Woodlands Camp with his great friend Andrew.  We missed him of course but he is making great memories of his own and growing into the person God created him to be.

June

One thing that stands out to me all this year is how much fun all three kids have together.  Carter and Grace will take turns letting Parker push them around the house on a little firetruck.  Carter calls it his 'tacki" (taxi).  They have the best time with that!  Later this spring, Grace and Carter have just started to fight over things like the firetruck and Mader (bubble blower).  No mater what one of them has and what is available, the only thing they want is what the other has.  These two are so tight because they spend all of their time together but they definitely fight a lot.   Never knew what we were missing!  :)

April

Celebrating our Birthday Boy!

Our big boy is 10 - is this when we start to call him a Tween?  I'm just having a hard time with him being so old!  It just seems like yesterday that we brought him home or that we realized he was joining our family even!  Parker is turning into such a great young man though.  He is just amazing with his little brother and sister (most of the time:).  i.e.: This morning he started a water fight with his brother then deserted him but left the water with our little man.  This ended up with one of Parker's art pieces being destroyed by water and his devastated reaction followed by Carter holding him and saying "I sowwy Pawkew" and patting his back!  From 'tragedy', such sweetness.  :)  They are always a joy!

It really is fun to see how they grow up - I know he's only 10 but yesterday, I mean, a year and a half ago we celebrated with him that he was half way to leaving us for college.  Although he says he will be at home forever.  :)  Parker had some struggles staying focused at school this past year and we have had a fear that he would loose his love of learning.  Looking at this after 3 months of prayer and investigation, we have discovered that it was just God's way of getting our attention to get on track for where He wanted us to be with Parker and as a family.  We are 'holding our nose and jumping' into homeschooling for 2012/13 school year which feels like a fast moving train coming toward us.  The thing I'm reminded that I can do at this point besides read, read, read to get prepared is to just trust in the Lord with all my heart and know that He will direct our path.  It's all very overwhelming but we are taking one bite at a time to learn.  We are all very excited about what the end of summer brings us this year!

So at 10 years old, Parker loves, loves playing with his siblings and prays every night for another sister.  He is still into legos and anything creative and is enjoying playing LAX.  Most of the time, Parker is very giving and thinking of others.  He is full of joy!  This year's celebration included a trip to the new LegoLand Creativity Center at Phipps Plaza with his friend Andrew.  They had a blast!  A couple of weeks ago at the homeschool conference, Parker discovered Duct Tape Armor.  Since then, he has been completely into making it and planning wars with his friends (below PVC pipe for making swords).  He also got a new kitten a few weeks before his birthday and has been having so much fun with her.  We all are actually - she is just supper playful and keeps us laughing.  So this is what 10 is like!  We love it!

Reunion in FL - Chinese Cousins

We had such a treat yesterday - Gracie Lin was able to reunite with Aubrey Mei. Aubrey is 3 days older than GL and from the same orphanage care. GL immediately reached out for Aubrey and was so interested. I so wish I could know what they are thinking and if they remember one another! They met on the beach and Aubrey wasn't thrilled with the sand so once we moved them to the deck, they started to show interest in one another and follow one another around a little. We went back to the house and GL would follow Aubrey and then give up. Then, Aubrey would follow her a little. We took these little girls out for dinner along with Carter. Fortunately, we were outside because their favorite game (all three) was to copy each other banging something on the table. It was such a special time to see them together!

Spring is here! What?

Next week is Sping Break! We actually leave town this Friday. It seems that once Spring Break happens, the school year is gone; the rest of the year is a blur! Well, the entire school year has been a blur for me so I'm hoping that Summer brings a new pace for the Lyman family! I have been terrible at keeping up notes for my kiddos this year on the what has happened in their lives. I thought maybe a wakeful night would be a good time to note some events.

As soon as the weather got warm (so early this year!), the kids were in the water! Carter and Gracie played in water at the ball park one afternoon while Parker practiced Lacrosse. They were both stripped before the drive home one in underwear and the other in a diaper for the drive. :) I wish I had gotten Gracie Lin on camera - she was in a dress and just soaked and covered in mulch and grass clippings. There are still green stains on that little dress. Of course, Parker has been off to the creek as often as possible. He and his friend Danny took advantage of a great fishing day and certainly didn't forget to bring along the dog to splash around and frighten the fish!

Last week, the kids had a great time playing out front. Who can resist a blossoming Cherry tree? In Parker fashion, he is wearing camo, flannel pajama pants and a long sleeve under armor top. Note how everyone else is dressed. Carter is getting so tall - at Christmas time, he stretched to reach the ground on his little bike, now both feet are on the ground, legs bending. Grace just became an overnight expert on that tricycle. She would pull herself up the hill a little and let it roll back down with her. She only took one tumble and just took that in stride! Not sure what Carter found but he was certainly showing it off! I have to add one more very excited picture of Carter running down the drive - he was marching up and running down.

Parker just returned from his first Turkey hunting trip with Grandpa Marvin. He thought it was pretty cool to hear the turkey calling but they didn't get anything. As always, he had a great time at the farm! He is having another great school year. It seems that just in the last month or so, there is a new maturity to Parker. He surprises me with solutions he comes up with to help with the little ones or times when he just takes care of something that needs to be done.

Carter is talking in full sentences - he can tell you a story now and it's pretty amazing. He is making great strides at putting his lips together to form letters and helping us understand him! He is having adenoid and tonsil surgery on April 24. We are hoping that helps him to get better sleep at night and helps his speech. He still LOVES "Cars" movies and he has discovered match box cars since Christmas. He has had a couple from the cars movies for a long time but just recently started to really get into the huge box of cars his Dad and brother have collected over the years.

Gracie Lin is so close to walking. We have been working to help her get her left foot straight and teach her to balance her weight on both legs and not just the right. She has been taking 3-4 steps at a time but last Wed. with some little pushes from Ms. Holly (PT), she took about 8 steps. Last night, she walked from one room to the other - maybe 20 steps. I only caught her from falling back once. GL also has 6 teeth now. She got them all between Feb. 14 and Mar 14. She has not really complained at all about them! She does soak thru a couple of shirts a day on occasion with all that drool. It's so finny too, when she does physical therapy, she works so hard and drools so much in that 1 hour that I have to change her top afterward.

John and I just got away for a couple of nights to Washington DC. It was a work trip, but we got two full nights of sleep and a dinner out alone - we celebrated out 12th wedding anniversary. We are so very thankful for Annette & Marvin to be able to take over for a few days! When I sat down at the airport, leaving Atlanta, I realized that I had been alone for almost 2 hours! I have been to events with John and friends but to just be alone... It was such a strange feeling not to have at least one child with me. There is never a dull moment now that there are three of them! We wouldn't change it for anything!