Gearing up...

Although Chris and Emma don't officially start school until after Labor day, it's been a week of gearing up for school. Chris has been back at his school in work meetings and Josie has been attending her daycare all day. I'm happy to report that she is making HUGE improvements. She isn't as tearful when she gets dropped-off and she's been eating and interacting with the other toddlers. Her sleep schedule is still hit or miss at night. Some nights she sleeps straight through, other nights we're up with screaming and crying episodes that can go on for hours...big yawn. On the nights that she's out of sorts, we're back to co-sleeping (not Mommy's favorite choice) but I'm in survival mode with my crazy schedule at the University.



Emma had her 5th grade school pictures and open house yesterday. It's going to be a busy year of juggling school, religious education classes, soccer practice/games and the normal chaos of packing lunches and completing homework. Despite my anxiety of managing everything, Emma's excited about school start-up. She even has several of her friends in the same classroom this year.





Happy Labor day weekend, everyone! I'm hoping to catch up on some much needed sleep.

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Prior to Josie, Emma and I used to spend part of each weekend doing some type of craft activity. Let's just say, crafting is not quite the same with a toddler. Emma wanted to work on her scrapbook and I thought painting in her highchair was a safe enough activity (notice how she is dumping her cup of water into her paints). Thank goodness I remembered to put a paint smock on Josie before the festivities began!!

Major Kudos

How many husbands would take their 10 year old daughter back-to-school shopping...ALONE? My hubby did and gets MAJOR kudos for taking on this amazing feat. Not only did he do ALL the clothes shopping, he also did the lunchbox acquisition, the knapsack purchase and checked off the school supplies list. Since returning to full-time work, my life has gotten much more complicated. This balancing act is definitely tipping towards insanity right now. I can't wait until it's October and everyone is used to their work and school routine. Chris returns to his school schedule with meetings next week and his full-time schedule after labor day. I'm going to miss his Mr. Mom status.



In other news, Josie didn't cry all day at daycare yesterday. She was tearful, but it didn't last the entire time. However, she didn't nap and she didn't eat lunch or snacks, so she was starving at dinner last night. She actually slept ALL night long (a first in weeks) because she was so tired. Maybe daycare will be a good thing afterall :)

Have a great weekend.

China Ghosts

My patient husband is trying to put down a crying Josie who refuses to give into sleep, while Emma and I are spending some quiet time reading in my bed. I just finished another fantastic book, China Ghosts: My Daughter’s Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood by Jeff Gammage. One of my favorite sentences in his book is from the epilogue, “Adopting a child from China puts you through a transformation, gathering you up from one place, spinning you around, then setting you down somewhere else, facing backward. It changes your life in ways you never could have foreseen.” (page 237).



Josie’s adoption is an emotional journey of extremes. It's a place where utter joy is paired with sheer exhaustion on a daily basis. Here’s a child who can smother me with kisses/hugs and then wake up screaming in fear hours later. It’s not anything I could have prepared for prior to our adoption. It’s just something that I'm continuing to work through. It’s made Chris and I stronger and better parents. Connecting with other adoptive mothers, and my blogging support group is what saves me on a daily basis. I also appreciate how my coworkers continue to be sympathetic to my sleep deprivation and ongoing Josie stories.

Chris and I recently met with our social worker to compile information for our six month post-placement report. In preparation for our meeting, we had a list of questions that needed to be answered. It gave us an opportunity to sit down and reflect about the last five months as a family of four. It’s been a whirlwind of activities, emotions and milestones. We both came to the same conclusion. If we were younger, and the adoption process wasn't so long, we’d adopt another child with a medical condition. It’s been a life-altering experience and we are more enriched because of it.

People often tell us that Josie is so blessed to be a part of our family. Chris and I both quick to respond that Josie has blessed us more than we could have ever expected. Now, if we could only get her to sleep through the night and understand that daycare is actually a good thing, life would be GRAND in the Kenward household.

5 month sister anniversary

As of August 16th, Emma has officially been a big sister for five months. Although we have our moments of jealousy and frustration, the girls adore each other. The age difference is far bigger than Chris and I ever wanted, but we couldn't be more in love with our girls'.

In honor of our five month Josie day, I've gone through some of my favorite sister pictures from our China trip and compiled a very short video of the girls taken our first 24 hours after we received Josie.


Emma helping feed Josie on our first night together

Nanchang Day 2 with Josie

Nanchang Day 3 with Josie

Playing with dolls in our White Swan Hotel room

Sneaking in a kiss at the White Swan Hotel breakfast buffet

Navigating stairs with Josie at the White Swan Hotel


Every night before bed, Emma insists on "one more kiss" which turns into "several more kisses" on her sister's head. It just melts my heart watching this bedtime ritual. Happy five months, Josephine Xue Kenward!