Sawyer and Saxton, the Two Trouble Makers...

Okay, so these two have some kind of conspiracy going. Before Saxton came home, Sawyer was a little closed off from the rest of the world. It would take him forever to open up to anyone, including his Mom and Dad. Since Saxton has been home, he has been a different little boy. These two are in cahoots with taking over this house. While one is distracting us in one part of the house, the other is in the kitchen getting in to the snacks in the pantry or getting a yogurt out of the refrigerator. So here is a list of things these boys have done over the last couple of months that I found annoying at first, but are now too funny not to share.

1. After folding a load of laundry on the bed, the boys decided to pull all the clothes off the bed so they could use the bed as their personal jumping gym.

2. While potty training, Sawyer decided it would be a good time to learn how to write his name in the snow. Only problem though, there was no snow and we were in the bedroom.

3. Saxton and Sawyer love to play chase around the house. The only problem with that is the dogs love to play chase too. Ever see the movie Turner and Hooch? Picture that.

4. Two Words: Crayola Markers. Thank goodness they are washable.

5. The boys favorite thing to do in the tub now is to see who can pour more water on the other one with the cup we use to wash their hair.

6. Saxton makes anything he can into a backpack.

7. After he takes a nap, Sawyer likes to do this thing where he is pretending to sleep but he still eats or plays with his toys.

Now here are some other pictures. Enjoy!

This last picture was taken the day Saxton joined our family. Please remember that this was just two days after we got to Hangzhou, but I can hear Saxton saying, "what is wrong with this kid. It's only four in the afternoon and he is a sleep? What a woos."

Picture Update...

Per the request of our friend Nancy , here is a picture update. These are never seen pictures of our trip to China as well as recent ones. Enjoy:

Is it November Already?

This year has flown by like we were standing still. We moved from Seattle to Pennsylvania and the next thing you know, we are a family of four. Now we are at the beginning of the Holiday Season. Where does the time go?

Some exiting news to tell: First, our friends Mike, Nancy and Melanie are now in Taiwan with their new daughter, Harley and are doing really well. We are over the moon with excitement for this new family of four.

We joined the Philadelphia Zoo over the weekend. It is the first Zoo in the United States. For it's age, it is a very nice zoo with a lot of new attractions and animals.

Next, my parents will be coming from Colorado to meet Saxton for the first time over the Christmas Holiday. We can not wait for them to get here. Hopefully it will snow the day before Christmas so we can have our first White Christmas as a family.

Sawyer will be transitioning to the Intermediate Unit Early Intervention Unit in December to continue his language and speech development as well as his social skills. All though, all of his therapists have said that he is a totally different boy now than he was before Saxton came home. He has become more vocal, he mimics more often and he loves playing with his brother.

Well, truthfully, that is all the exciting news I have right now. But I do have some new pictures to show, so here they are.

Guess what the boys are doing in this picture:

Who needs toys when you have...

Other Cute Pictures...

Time For a Long Overdue Update...

Much has happened since the last update, so much I don't know where to start. First, our friends Mike, Nancy and Melanie are getting ready to leave tomorrow night for Taiwan to bring Melanie's new sister, Harley, home. After a very long wait, they finally get to meet her on Friday. We are very excited for them and can not wait to follow their journey on their blog.

For our family adventure this past weekend, we took the boys to the Camden Aquarium, across the river from Philadelphia. They loved watching the fish, sharks and hippos do their thing and I am sure the fish loved watching them do theirs.

Next, I have applied to become a Volunteer Fire Fighter for the Yardley-Makefield Fire Company. After I get voted in, they will send me to the Buck County Fire School in Doylestown, PA. Once I have completed the school, which will take about six months of weekend work, I will be certified as a Fire Fighter 1. I am very excited about this opportunity to serve the community and play with high powered toys.

Finally, we had an appointment for Saxton's Palate surgery today at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He is tentatively scheduled for surgery on the 13th of Feburary, unless there is a cancellation earlier. The doctor said that six months after the palate surgery, he will do a revision on his lip and build up his nose. His lip and nose will be more complicated than Sawyer's surgery because Saxton has a unilateral cleft lip, where as Sawyer's was a bilateral cleft lip.

So that is pretty much what we have been up to. Here are some updated pictures for your enjoyment:

Weekend Trip to Massachusetts...

This past weekend we went up to Rowley and Ipswich, MA to visit Shelby's family. We all had a great time playing with Bupshi, Papa, Nana, Uncle Stephen, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Paul. This was the first time they all met Saxton and they all loved seeing the little character that he and Sawyer have become. Here are some pictures from this weekend...

New Pictures...

As most you you can tell, we have been fairly busy getting adjusted to life as a family of four. Finally, on Sunday night Sawyer and Saxton slept from 7:00 pm until 5:00 am, without waking up. This is the first time since we've been home they have slept through the night at the right time of day. No more six hour naps in the middle of the afternoon.

Sunday seemed to be the day when everybody finally felt better, also. Sawyer was laughing and playing like he normally would and Saxton had to follow along and do whatever big brother was doing. Let me tell you though, Saxton knows how to test the limits. He will look at you with this big evil smile, then point at something he knows he shouldn't do. When you tell him 'NO,' he'll look at you again with that big evil smile, then start to pout. Well, at least until you redirect him to something else.

Today we went to get the boys haircuts. Surprisingly, neither of them made a peep. Usually, Sawyer is screaming bloody murder. But, we let Saxton go first this time and I think Sawyer didn't want to be upstaged by his little brother.

And now...the new pictures...

Taking Some Time...

The title of this segment could have a couple of different meanings. One, we have been taking some time to get readjusted as a family of four. Or two, we have been taking some time to get over our sickness we caught while we were in China. Well, actually, we have been doing both.

Some people have commented to us that it seemed that we didn't post as faithfully near the end of our trip as we were during the first week. Well, that is because I got sick, first. No, I did not get sick from eating the food or drinking the water, which I did plenty of both. I got sick from the heat. That's right, the heat. I got a boil so big on my forehead that if I was to stand nose first next to the wall, the boil would hit the wall first. Now, that was a big boil because my nose is not that small.

Consequently, I had to go to the clinic at the White Swan. First they gave me an antibiotic and a band-aide and said this should help, but if it doesn't in 24 hours, come back. Well, it was like I was feeding the growth on forehead a five course meal. It quadrupled in size and my face started to swell up. So, after about 12 hours, I went back to the clinic and they proceeded to stab this unwanted parasite with a needle that looked like a BBQ skewer. Well, it was like they just knocked the top off of Mount Fuji, blood and puss running everywhere down my forehead. Yum right? It gets better...

After the "eruption," the nurse turns to me with a piece of gauze in her hand, with dark brown goop on it, and says, "this is a Chinese remedy that we use on the children who have boils. It should help to draw the puss out." Well, not only did it draw the puss out, it drew all the fluid in my body to my face.

By the night before we left, my eyes were almost swelled shut. I believed I was having an allergic reaction to the this dark brown goop. But, the weird thing was, there was no swelling around the popped puss pocket or the band-aide. Anyway, I took the dark brown goopped band-aide off and put on a clean band-aide with the antibiotic the doctor gave me and swelling started to subside in my face, but the puss pocket started to get bigger again. I was afraid that when I went through Customs I would have to declare and third child born from my forehead. Luckily the Customs agent had a sense of humor.

Well, while all this was going on, the boys were taking time to get to know one another.

You can never really prepare yourself for the sound of two little boys' laughter, it is overwhelming and very contagious. This little display of affection toward one another went on for over an hour. They would chase each other around the hotel room trying to tickle one another. After one would catch the other, they would laugh uncontrollably. It was a very welcomed sight.

And now back to the story. Well, the day before we left, Sawyer came down with what we thought was just an ordinary cold. His temperature was up to 100.3, so we started him on Ibuprofen. We thought we were in the clear once we got home and his temperature dropped back to normal. But by Saturday night, he started to have blisters on his lips and in his mouth. So we immediately called the doctor. Come to find out, it was more than a cold. It was a viral infection that had to run it course and the only thing we could do is give him Tylenol and Ibuprofen to help the pain. Even though all off the sickness, the bonding continues...

And now a word from our sponsors...

-Plane Tickets to China: $4500.00
-Food while in China: $250.00
-Watching a rerun of a College Football Game at two in the morning with your newly adopted son from China, because we have yet to adjust to the time and who is wearing your socks: PRICELESS
There are things money can buy, but family love and memories are the only thing that truly lasts forever.

We Made It....

After a total of 26 hour flying and driving, we have made it home. Both boys did unbelievably well on the flights from Guangzhou to Tokyo, Tokyo to Detroit (the long, long flight) and finally Detroit to Newark. Both boys slept most of the way, which made the flights really nice, but it is going to be a long night. We will post more tomorrow or the next day once we get acclimated.

Take care and thank you all for the nice comments.

Consulate Appointment...

The last step to go home has been completed. Today was Saxton's Consulate appointment. Next post will be from home. See you all soon.

The Red Couch...

In the customary tradition of the Adoption Community of China, the famous Red Couch was taken today. Last year, Sawyer did nothing but scream. Saxton on the other hand did nothing but look at us as to say, "what are you silly people doing to me now?" Well, without further ado, here is the picture:

We also got a decent family picture:

After the red couch, came the group picture:

Then we went to the Pearl Market...and came right back. Both Sawyer and Saxton had meltdowns twenty minutes after we got there. So our guide David called the van to take us back to the Hotel. Saxton went down for a nap fairly quickly after we ate lunch, but Sawyer has not wanted to take a nap this afternoon. Good thing about this is he will go down early with Daddy and get some extra needed sleep. Tomorrow is a free day for us, so we are really unsure of what we are going to do, except one of the guides we had last year, Rebecca, will be taking us out to dinner at a Cantonese Restaurant. Shelby is dying to try the snake soup.

Medical Day...

Today was the medical examination day. Shelby, Sawyer and I took Saxton to see the the Doctors to get final approval that everything was good with the boy. And of course, it was.

Unfortunately, Sawyer and I did not get to see Saxton's exam. I think Sawyer had a flashback because once we went into the Medical Exam Office, he flipped out. So, him and I went for a little walk around Shamian Island.

After the Medical Exam, we went back to the hotel and then to the pool. What a nice releif from the heat. It was 95 degrees here with about 65% humidity. So a dip in the 84 degree pool cooled us right off. Of course Sawyer was a fish, but Saxton did not know what to think at first. After about 15 minutes, he finally settled in and had fun.

Tonight, David took us to the Thai Restaurant down the road from the hotel. It was excellent food, we loved every bite. Then we went back to the White Swan and to the Mattel Room. We were really disappointed that there was not as many toys as there was last year. But, the boys had a great time anyway.

Tomorrow we go do some shopping. Yipee for me!! (not)

Also, watch for a famous picture place tomorrow.

One Step Closer to Home...

We made it the White Swan in Guangzhou at about 4:00 pm local time. I really never thought it would be so nice to be here. The rooms we were originally going to get were not available for this week, so we got upgraded to a Parlor Suite. At first we were disappointed that we would have two ordinary rooms that were connected by a door in the wall, but we soon got over that fact when our guide, David, said you guys have been upgraded to the Parlor Suite. This room is awesome!! It has three rooms, a living room, a master bedroom and another bedroom with two twin beds. It also has three bathrooms. We will take pictures and post tomorrow. What a nice way to end this journey.

Tomorrow we have Saxton's Medical Exam. so it is time to go to bed. We have two very tired little boys.