Yep, another April storm. It happens every year. Spring is a weather phenomenon around here. Today we are forecasted to get 6-12 inches and by Monday it will be 70 degrees. Anyway, it is beautiful and we really need the moisture so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Yesterday, Easter!
We woke to this……..
A snow storm. It was beautiful and made me want to sing “I am dreaming of a white Christmas …” Unfortunately it is EASTER. You know, white shoes and sundresses. It actually snowed most of the weekend, starting on Saturday morning as I was having a relaxing run at Garden of the Gods. Okay, so it wasn’t relaxing but it was beautiful.

The kids looked adorable in their Easter best and we had a wonderful morning at church. I always leave feeling so renewed and full of life and love for God. It was also very helpful that the girls went into the nursery, Sam colored the entire service and Mason was happy crawling back and forth on the empty row of chairs beside us. I actually heard the sermon. Doesn’t happen all that often, let me tell you.
After church, the kids came home and hunted for Easter eggs. They love doing this and even like doing it when the eggs are empty. Sometimes I hide them for Paige and she goes out finding them.

In the afternoon, we went to my brother’s house and Stacie made an awesome dinner. Thanks Stacie, it was delicious! The kids had another fun egg hunt that my parents set up for them. The loot included rings, necklaces, toy cars, stickers, candy, etc.

Saturday (are you confused yet, stopped reading?)

Because it was snowing, our neighborhood egg hunt was postponed. Sam had a birthday party in the afternoon. Pretty quiet. Saturday evening we went downtown to one of our favorite restaurants, Il Vicino, and had pizza. It was such an enjoyable evening, the kids were so good. After dinner, we walked down to Acacia Park, played for a few minutes and then hit Josh and John’s for ice-cream.

Did I get a little bit of ice-cream on my nose?

Friday

Sam had collection day at school. All the 1st graders brought in a collection that they had and displayed it for the other students and parents. Totally adorable! Here is Sam and his friends with their collections. Sam brought his car collection. I believe he had 87 cars there.

Okay, so the kids are home and I am being summoned for a snack and attention. What do they think I am? A stay at home mom or something?

See ya!

Jennifer

Today marks one month that we have been home with Mason. It is amazing the changes he has made in one month!

This scared little boy…….

has definitely come out of his shell!

and we are completely in love with him!

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Yesterday, while I was getting dressed and pulling on my too tight jeans (a whole different blog post) Alice has this discussion with me.

Alice (in her best valley girl voice): Mom, are those, like, skinny jeans?

Me: Um, no. These are my plain old mom jeans that I have been wearing since (insert year here).

Alice: Oh, for a minute there I thought you had skinny jeans.

Me: Nope.

Alice (after long pause): Can I get some skinny jeans?

Me: Aren’t you five?

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Mason had his first haircut today. Okay, this obviously wasn’t his first haircut but the first one with us. Scott had to hold him and they both came home covered in hair. He looks pretty adorable. His hair was really just a grown out buzz and had no shape at all. While we were in China, one of the shop owners told us that Mason looked like a Beatle 🙂 Anyway, it is hard to tell from the pictures but he is definitely cleaned up.

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This past weekend was pretty relaxing and we had a nice time hangin’ with the kids and getting some stuff done around the house. Saturday morning we went to the Easter Egg Hunt at our church. The weather was horrid so the egg hunt was inside. Sam, Alice and Paige had no trouble finding plenty of loot. Mason wasn’t quite sure what was happening but once he figured out the game he was all for plucking eggs off anything within his reach. He was even more excited when he discovered what was inside those brightly colored eggs. Candy! I actually caught him eating a chocolate egg with the wrapper on.

I think that I may have to live with the fact that the more kids you add the less the chances of getting them to all look in the same direction, without buckets on their heads.

Many blessing to you all on this Palm Sunday. Tomorrow we are off to Greeley for the next set of casts. These weeks seem to be flying by. Here’s to good weather and no traffic!

Jennifer

Today was the first day back after spring break. It was relatively painless. Mason had his casting appointment today but the weather took a turn for the worst and I only made it to Gleneagle. I will be making the trip tomorrow instead. Hopefully there are no surprise snow storms.

Here are some cute pictures from last week. We stayed pretty busy rollerskating, playing in the snow, making cookies, swimming at the YMCA and watching movies.

I am finding it really hard to get a nice picture of all the kids together. The odds are pretty good that one child (Paige) will have her eyes closed 🙂 She got it from her momma.Making the perfect snowball. Hmmmm……Who should I throw this one at?

Don’t bother me….I’m eating.

Have a great week.

Jennifer

Sign language. It worked really well with Sam, Alice and Paige. Sam signed the least because he was talking in sentences by 18 months. Alice could sign everything she needed and didn’t talk quite as early as her talkative older brother. Plus, he said everything for her so why did she need to speak 🙂 Paige was right in the middle with signing. She knew all the necessary signs and used them until her words worked better.
We started using signs with Mason right away. I was hoping that it would start to eliminate the uh-uh’s and point and grunt actions. We have been home less than a month and he already knows 8 signs and uses them without prompting most of the time. His first sign was birdy. We started using it while we were staying at the White Swan. They have a great bird cage that he loved. Every time we would get close, he would start signing birdy, birdy. He also knows more, all done, please, book, eat, milk, and up.
Of course I think he is a genius! Scott does too but he thinks that maybe someone taught him the signs before we came into the picture. That is how good it is working 🙂 I am happy because it has eased the frustration related to the communication gap. Of course, we don’t know Chinese and he doesn’t speak English yet so I am hoping we have found a common ground for the time being.
If you are interested, we used Sign with Your Baby by Joseph Garcia. I received the box set while pregnant with Sam. It comes with a DVD and booklet with great drawings of all the signs.
A couple days before we traveled, the kids and I watched the video and practiced. They have been great at doing the signs as well.

On to the snow……
Blizzard warning. That is what our trusty meteorologist is saying. It is snowing and pretty blustery outside. Of course, we are staying inside and watching movies. It is the perfect day for cozy clothes, warm blankets and Disney films. Unfortunately, the toddler in the family hasn’t gotten the memo about curling up on the sofa and watching a movie in its entirety. Pretty sure that applies to all toddlers. I don’t care if it snows all day and night, we have nowhere to be. Now, I am hoping for sunny and 65 degrees on Monday, the day I drive to Greeley.

Aren’t you impressed? I am blogging two days in a row and I have Mason on and off my lap. Don’t get too excited, I can’t promise too much 🙂

Have a wonderful day!
Jennifer

Tuesday, Mason had his first set of casts put on. He is adjusting really well and having no problem getting around the house. As you can see from below, it hasn’t stopped him from getting into all sorts of things. I was worried that he might not be able to sleep well with the casts but they really haven’t affected him in many of the ways that I would have imagined. I know that I would be complaining wayyyyyyy more than he has if my legs were casted from thigh to toe. We go back to Greeley (2 hour drive) on Monday for the second set of casts. They will soak off the ones he has on, move his feet and recast him. This will go on for 6-10 more weeks. I am going to get good at driving to Greeley! Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels between here and there every week. Tonight we had dinner with our friends Kent and Victoria, their children and Vic’s mom. Kent and Vic are going on a cruise for a week so we wanted to see them before they left. We had a nice dinner and great conversation.

Alice adores Mason and is really a great helper. I have been calling her the little mama. Here she is in her costume glasses. She loves them and wears them everywhere.Don’t you love these two smiles together? My two boys….Piagie, our sweet baby girl. She is still maintaining her baby status. Not so sure about baby but she definitely is super sweet and all girl! Uh-oh….time for the baby proofing. These casts aren’t keeping this little man down. He is crawling and scooting all over the house. I even caught him trying to get himself up the stairs today. He actually made it up 3 steps.

Well, I have almost successfully made it through my first week alone with all the kids. We did pretty good with our schedule and routine and I even managed to drive carpool one day (Scott drove my other day). Now I just have to figure out when to work in running. I did sign up for the Pike’s Peak Ascent (August) so I need to start moving my booty at elevation. Ughh….I get tired just moving this booty up the stairs. Maybe that’s a sign 🙂

Much love,

Jennifer

Before traveling to China, I used to stalk the blogs of those parents who were traveling before me. I loved hearing about their preparations and adventures, travel plans and adoption happenings. I would also get very irritated when those new parents and diligent posters started missing days, even weeks of posts. Now I understand. Once you arrive home, life becomes so much busier than we imagine it will be. Last night, I sat and stared at my computer and debated, sleep or post, sleep or post. Sleep wins out every time! Anyway, I decided to start this post and try and finish it by the end of day. That is a good goal. What do you think? Another good goal for today…..vacuuming 🙂

Well, finally I am back at my computer and it is 6:11 pm. Almost time for baths. Today was a pretty good day. Scott went back to work after a month off and I had my first day with FOUR kids. We played outside most of the day since the weather rocked! I love Colorado….

Mason really enjoyed being outside and only fussed when I sat him on the crunchy grass. He picked his feet up and refused to put them down. Paige seems to be taking to Mason and had a fun time playing with him.

Here are some cute pictures from this week. As I mentioned, we have been having beautiful weather. We took the kids to the zoo on Sunday. Not sure what Mason thought of all those huge animals.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Our sweet baby Paige turned four on Friday. I can’t believe it and I still tear up when I think about it! It seemed like only yesterday that Scott and I were walking, and walking and walking…thinking she might never enter this world. You see, she liked my belly way too much. 10 days after my due date, Paige Abigail Wescott entered the world at 8 pounds, 8 ounces.

This year, she wanted an Ariel party (The Little Mermaid). Scott, Mason and I were traveling home on her birthday, the 6th, so we decided to push it to Sunday and have a small family party at home.

Paige and her “Big” Barbie hangin’ out and chatting under the foyer table. Paige loves her dolls and spends lots of time talking to them. It is very sweet. If the house is quiet, I can bet she is playing with her babies in her room.

Happy Birthday, Our Angel Baby! Love, Momma, Daddy, Sam, Alice and Mason

Jennifer