A Haircut

We went to get Twerp #4's hair cut today. It was her first haircut with me, so we went to the place that has little toy airplanes or cars that the kids get to sit in. I didn't think she would like someone getting that close to her head, but I didn't think it would go anything like it did!

Here's the before picture. Her bangs are in her eyes...the back of her hair is really long...SFLB (short front, long back) went out in the 70's, so we had to get it a little more updated. Her hair is still growing in from where she had it shaved in China for her IV during the surgery, so we wanted to make it a little nicer while it is still growing in...

Here, she's a happy girl.

Here, not so happy! She couldn't figure out why she was sitting in this airplane and why she had a cape on and why I was watching her cry with a camera in my hand!


The haircut only lasted for a total of 5 minutes. All the toys we gave her would calm her down for a few seconds, but not much longer than that. Then, she'd remember where she was and start to cry again.
Here she is just a mere 10 seconds after her haircut. As soon as I took her out of the airplane, she immediately stopped crying and started to wave goodbye to the stylist! So funny. She played with the trains while I paid for our cut and then we went home for a nap.


At least I have some hair for her book and a certificate to put inside also...oh yeah, and a bunch of really sad pictures! One day, we'll look back on this and laugh...maybe even tomorrow!

Birthday Cake!

We ate cake for Twerp #4's birthday. I wasn't feeling up to making a cake from scratch, so we go the "Funfetti" cake mix from Target. Sounds a little scary, but my kids always love it and all the colorful pieces sprinkled throughout the batter. It was a hit with Twerp #4 too!


She was also a little neater and cleaner than most of our kids' at age 2. She is starting to love the sweets. We haven't given her too many sweet things, mostly fruit and the occasional sucker when she needs to be quiet for a little bit, but her love of cake has started to blossom.


She found Twerp #3's Junior Firefighter hat and wanted it on most of the day. It made such cute pictures!



Welcome to 2 little one!

Our first family picture!

We've tried to get a family picture for the last month...but not everyone was able to cooperate. Usually it's either Twerp #3, or 4 that won't look at the camera or even stay in the vicinity of the camera! But on Twerp #4's birthday, we strapped her into her chair and got the other kids to gather around and got a good one.

She's 2!

Happy Birthday, Twerp #4!

I can't believe she's finally 2! Actually, I can believe it because she was only 1 for the last month that we've been home. What I can't believe is how well she has adapted to our home, our family. Twerp #4 is amazing. God created her to be our daughter and to fit in perfectly with our family.

My oldest and my youngest get along so well. He lays on the ground, and she jumps up and down on his bottom...then he tickles her. It's adorable. Twerp #1 is the best big brother EVER! Twerp #3 is also an amazing big brother, but he doesn't sit long enough for me to get a picture of the two of them.


Auntie Maren can make Twerp #4 smile. I just love this picture. Happy birthday Huan Qin!


Grandma Pederson LOVES coming over to see the Twerps. Twerp #4 is changing so quickly that our weekly visit with Grandma shows her just how quickly this girl is growing. Grandma can see a change each time she comes over.


I can't wait to see what this next year brings for you! I can't wait to look back on our pictures of you today and see how God is shaping and molding you to be more and more like Him! Happy Birthday, Aaselia!

Love, Mom

One month later...

Today is our one month anniversary for our Gotcha Day with Aaselia! One month ago today, we held her in our arms for the first time. One month ago today we realized just how small of a diaper an almost 2 year old can wear. One month ago today, all of our lives changed.

One month ago today, this is the face that we saw. She was sad, alone, confused and catching a cold. She couldn't understand anything that we were saying. She was quiet...hardly made a noise. She didn't have the muscle strength to walk due to her long stay in the hospital. Her entire world was turned upside down.


Today, it's a different story...and she's a different kid. She understands quite a bit of what we're saying. She's going out of her comfort zone more and more often. She can play by herself for a little while while I'm doing laundry. She LOVES going on walks! She loves to play in the playhouse in the backyard. She plays pretend and wrestles with her brothers. She gets jealous when someone else is on my lap. She still loves it when I make Chinese noodles and Lo Mein. She laughs throughout the day. And the first thing I hear at 2:45 when the three kids walk in the door is, "Is Aaselia up yet?"


We're a family of 6. We're a family that is loving her culture...Twerp #1's favorite market is 99 Ranch up in Irvine. He loves to pick out her next snack to try and really loves the samples they make at the store. Aaselia - Twerp #4 - is a joy to our family. I'm sure things will change so much more over the next few months. I promise that I'll get back to blogging regularly. After 3 weeks of being home, I can't blame it on the jet jag anymore, huh?!?


It's been awhile since I've written here...or since I've written anywhere! I was really good about blogging in China, but when you're up at 4:30 every morning and having a hard time sleeping on the hard beds, you'll blog whenever you can.

But now that we're home, it's a little harder to get things done. I mean, I've had a hard time staying caught up with the laundry and homework, not to mention blogging! I have to admit that the hardest time of the day for me is from 3:00 - 6:00. One child waking up from a nap (and so cute you'd just want to cuddle with her for the next hour or two!), three kids needing help with homework, dinner to make, a floor to sweep, snacks to hand out, more homework "guidance," a pile of cheerios to pick up, mail to sort through, soccer to get to, reading with all three children for their daily homework, spelling tests...it just goes on and on. But we're having a blast and just starting to get into the swing of things.

God bless you all!