McKenzie Turns 2

Yesterday was a wonderful day! My new baby turned 2! I have always been one to celebrate birthdays and to make a big deal about the day anyone was born. Of course, I have no way of knowing what McKenzie's first birthday was like and I never will. I don't know if there was a cake or a party or a celebration of any kind. So I felt a little pressure (from myself) to make this one great because the Lord knows how much I love this baby!

We reserved the pavillion at a neighborhood pool for the party. McKenzie loves to swim and this is the place where she has the most fun. She hasn't made many friends in the four months since she arrived, so we invited Maddie's friends and some family friends to help with the celebration. We asked our friends not to bring any gifts since our family has been so blessed with toys and clothes. We just wanted them to have fun with us! The one exception to this rule were the grandparents. So, we opened presents on Saturday morning with just the four of us. Nanny and Pa (my parents) sent McKenzie an aquadoodle, which was the hit of the day. (I highly recommend this gift for any two year old or four year old). Grandma Rasmus (Kim's mom) gave McKenzie a Little People house complete with a doorbell and toilet. The girls have had a ball playing with the little people in this kid-friendly, plastic encased doll house.

Here are Maddie and Mama playing with McKenzie's aquadoodle.



After opening presents, I took Madison to dance class and McKenzie accompanied Kim to Wal-Mart to pick up the cake. It was only a few days ago that McKenzie began expressing a real interest in Elmo, so we found this cake design at Wal-Mart that is actually 24 cupcakes placed together to make Elmo's head. It was so cute! After dance and some lunch, we took a super quick nap and then it was off to the pool. McKenzie went down for her nap with no problem, but Maddie has trouble really committing to the nap.



The pool party was fun, that is for sure. It was incredibly hot and we were fortunate that Tropical Depression Erin passed over the night before, so we were left with merely humidity and not down pours. A kind, or perhaps forgetful, soul left 4 giant, inflatable sharks at the pool for our kids to enjoy. They were a huge hit!



The Elmo cake was fun, though neither of us really thought through the red icing. The red icing made EVERYTHING red, including teeth, tongues, fingers, my shirt, etc. I was concerned at first about the mess, but then I thought, what the hell. You only turn two once! So we let her lose! For any of those reading this blog who haven't had the opportunity to meet McKenzie, you must know her love of food. She needs to experience her food - the smell, the taste, and more often than not the feel. It was a riot!



It was a great day and Madison cried when her friends had to leave. Many of these children have been together in day care since they were a year old. Now, they are starting to go their separate wasy. It was great to be together again and I asked the children to perform their school song. We call it a Mt. Sinai Christian Academy Reunion!

Put the Lime in the Coconut

Did you know Maddie loves to eat limes? Yep. Lemons too. I don't know why, but she loves them! She always has. As a matter of fact, every kid we've ever had loved the lemon from my tea. Kim was cooking dinner the other night and needed to squeeze the juice of several limes into the dish. Maddie was more than happy to polish off the rest. As a matter of fact, she wouldn't even put them down to go to the bathroom!

Barbie Jeep

Kim and I have been wanting to get a riding toy for the girls for a while now. So, yesterday Kim finds an ad from a local family needing to sell a Barbie Jeep since their kids have outgrown it. Off Kim goes to get the Jeep and she stayed outside with Maddie until it was dark last night, teaching her how to drive. Maybe you can understand now what I mean when I say Maddie loves McKenzie so much it hurts sometimes!

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The Wonder Twins

Yes, here they are - Madison and McKenzie - the Wonder Twins! We are waiting for them to activate any time now. Perhaps they will each take the form of something quiet. Probably not. Our family is remembering the Terrible Twos as McKenzie perfects her use of the word No. The last few days have been rather challenging, but that will change in an hour or two. I just told Mom how much I love my babies. She said, "Now Amy you were just complaining about fighting and temper tantrums yesterday." Welcome to Parenthood! My feelings change on the dime!

Seafood Dinner

My favorite part of going to any beach is to find a great place to eat seafood. On the first night of the mini vacation, we went to a place that was advertised on the highway. While I enjoyed my meal, Kim did not, so we won't go back. The highlight of the evening was definitely watching Maddie discover the lobster tank. She eventually caught onto our watching her, but it's still funny. Enjoy!

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Weekend in Galveston

Finally, the clouds parted and the sun came out for about an hour. Given how long it takes to load the car with beach gear, we decided to get in the pool. Maddie took swim lessons last summer and loves the water. Kim worked on diving this particular weekend. Kim is so good with kids in the water. It is in these situations that I get to know who her dad was, who passed away before I came along. She is so patient and gentle. McKenzie is a true water baby. She loves putting her face in the water. She holds her breath beautifully and submerges her entire head. It's amazing! McKenzie began copying the diving lessons and did her own thing off the step into the pool. Very funny!

Moody Gardens

Well, it's raining again. It has been raining for weeks. We took the girls to Galveston on July 5 to have a mini vacation. I had to be there for business, so the family came with me. We had hoped the rain would stop long enough to play on the beach, but it didn't. Instead, we spent a day at Moody Gardens. I don't know the complete story behind Mooday Gardens, but I can tell you it is huge. Within a huge pyramid, there was a rain forest. In another pyramid, an enormous aquarium. Through the end of August, there is a dinasour exhibit. Since Maddie loves dinasours, we spent a log of time there too. It was a fun day and we plan to go back.

My favorite part of the day was the aquarium. We had the chance to watch the seals being fed. They are hysterical! We sat there for the longest time watching them play and swim and be silly. Maddie loved the pinguens, which are all the rage right now. Kim's favorite part were the sea horses. And McKenzie loved it all.

Lazy Days of Summer

While this may be true for the girls, it has not proven true for the moms. Kim is working non-stop with the activities being held on the UT campus for the summer. She comes home hot and tired every night. I am working harder than I ever knew was possible. My self image has always included words like lazy and not so smart. Well, I have busted through the self image because I am working my butt off! The lesson for the month is self care, which neither one of us picked up along the way.

As for my darling divas, they are fantastic! The summer has been remarkably mild with an unusual number of thunderstorms that leave us sticky and everything else green. Kim let the girls play in the sprinkler the other night to cool off. Maddie loves the sprinkler, but it seemed to be McKenzie's first experience. Maddie, of course, showed her the ropes.

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We're headed to the Luling Watermelon Thump tomorrow. Kim and I have always wanted to go and have never made the drive. So now we're going. Of course, watermelon IS Maddie's favorite food. Remember the summer when she ate so much that her pee-pee turned pink? I am anticipating an awesome nap out of both of them! We are suppose to have a playdate with 2 of her best buddies from school in the afternoon. We'll see if they're up to it. McKenzie is playing well with friends. Maddie is getting used to not being the center of attention, which isn't easy. Kim and I are making efforts to spend one on one time with her. I tell myself all families go through this, right? Here are some other snap shots of my babies.

Presenting McKenzie Kathryn Rasmus-Ford

We are so excited to announce that Shawna is going to be a permanent member of our family! We received the call last week that she is eligible for adoption and we are completely in love with her, so the next step is to begin the adoption proceedings. Granted, her social worker is 3 weeks behind returning our calls, so I don't anticipate any of this will happen immediately.

Despite Maddie's pleas to re-name the baby Coconut Tree, Kim and I have chosen the name McKenzie Kathryn. We both like the name McKenzie and Kathryn is to honor my Aunt Kathy, who you all know I lost 3 years ago. Her given name was Mary Kathryn and I still miss her every day. It is still unbelievable to me that she won't know my children. She can never be forgotten now and that is why I love this name so much.

Of course, changing the name of a toddler isn't easy. The books we read suggest calling her Shawna McKenzie for a while before completely dropping the Shawna. That is the plan for now, and to keep Maddie from teaching her how to say Coconut Tree. This situation completely reminds me of my friend Mollie James (now Vickery) who once took over her little brother's room when he lost a hand in spades.

McKenzie is too young to know what is going on. She will be 2 in August. She is just happy and loves to be loved. Here she is dancing in the kitchen the other night.

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We will keep you posted on the progress of the legal proceedings. In the meantime, we'll be loving her like crazy!

She Smiles!

Shawna is having a great time in her new home. She continues to be joyful and happy. Maddie has finally shown her how to "work" the camera. Here are the results of Maddie's tireless efforts




Our home has definitely been in turmoil as we adjust to someone new. We bought bunk beds last weekend and they broke. No kidding, they broke. Of course, we were trying to save money and bought them at Big Lots. Kim and I took them back and bought new ones at a furniture store. In the meantime, Maddie is sleeping on a mattress on the floor in an empty room. There are doll babies in the bathtub and toys everywhere as we await the arrival of the bunk beds. I have stayed surprisingly calm during the transition. Normally, I would be nuts!

Maddie woke up slowly this morning. I was trying to get her dressed for school when she walked away from me. I asked where she was going. She said, "Crazy, wanna come?" This is a DIRECT quote from Kim and we both cracked up. She is hysterical! It made me want to sing the song from Nanny Golden and Mom "I'm going crazy, don't you wanna come along I'm going crazy just singing this song!"

National Geographic in Round Rock

Please meet our new tenant, Sammy the Snail. Sammy moved into the yard after all the rain began in April. Kim is completely fascinated by snails and she was able to capture Sammy in his glory.

Picture Day

Today is picture day at Mt. Sinai Christian Academy. Everyone had a bath last night and I lined them up for hair to be combed. I am so proud of my girls! They are just beautiful and so sweet to one another. Shawna hasn't had her picture taken nearly enough so Maddie is doing what she can to show her the ropes of working the camera.

DooDoo

Our beloved Doo Doo (aka Deby from Chicago) came for a visit over the weekend. We had a wonderful time and we miss her terribly already. Deby flew into Austin on Saturday afternoon and stayed through Wednesday. I wish we could stop time to play more. After picking Deby up on Saturday, we picked up the newest member of the family, Shawna. Thank goodness Deby was here because Kim and I spent a few hours in the ER Saturday with the baby, who had 2 ear infections and a fever of 102.3. Deby stayed home with Maddie and had a Disney film fest. When we came home, here is what we found.





By Sunday, Shawna was feeling 100% better. The fever was gone and she was ready to play with Maddie. Here they are playing with the empty diaper box.




By Monday, Maddie and Shawna had pulled out a million toys to play with in the living room. Shawna seems fascinated by doll babies, so I asked Maddie to bring the baby stroller out for her. Kim predicted it would take 5 minutes before someone new was put in the stroller. She was right!




Shawna's case worker is coming to the house next week to give us more details about her case. What we do know is that she has been permanently placed in our home as a foster child. Her previous foster mother ended up in the ER Saturday night as well with an asthma attack. Kim and I stayed with her as long as we could because she is a single mom and drove herself to the hospital. She doesn't have asthma and had never had an attack. She was eventually admitted to the hospital for a few days to get her breathing right. So, Shawna was officially moved to our home.

The baby is extremely happy and is becoming more verbal every day. She says Hi, Hello, happy, dog. She knows sign language very well and signs more, please, milk, yes, and bye. Shawna started school at Mt. Sinai Christian Academy, Maddie's Alma Mater, today. I know she will do well. Her case worker hasn't been helpful in facilitating this transfer. It has been over a week to get a phone call from him. It makes me so sad to know that Shawna could be lost in the system if not for Kim's persistance. My honey is an incredible advocate for children. Kim called today about a hair appointment for Shawna. She has very course, broken hair. I am confident in my hair-combing skills, but I think she needs some professional help in the hair department. It makes me laugh to think about how much hair Maddie had at this age! Speaking of, Shawna will be 2 on August 18. She shares a birthday with my cousin, Ginger!

We will keep you posted on the progress of our newest member. Please keep us in your prayers!

Easter Weekend

Depsite the freezing rain and bone chilling cold, we had a wonderful Easter weekend. Maddie didn't get to wear her Easter dress, but the forecast calls for temps in the high 80's tomorrow, so maybe next Sunday. Instead we wore long johns to church! Just kidding, we really didn't wear long underwear, but we did bundle up!

The bigger news of the weekend was little Schewanna. She is 19 months old and became increasingly verbal over the weekend. We picked her up on Saturday morning. Sitting in the backseat together, Maddie leans over and says, "So, do you know Lightening McQueen?" I swear, that child will someday lead seminars on How to Win Friends and Influence People. Schewanna didn't say much or come to life until we got to the Texas Jumping Bean (warehouse of inflatable toys), where she laughed and played and started babbling. She was wonderful and we had so much fun. Maddie was great with her and by the end of the weekend, she was hugging everyone and smiling and playing - complete change from Saturday morning.

We picked Schewanna up Saturday morning in the pouring rain. Immediately, both girls fell asleep in the back seat.





Next, we go to Texas Jumping Beans with Sarah, Stacey, Emery, and new baby Sabrina. We had so much fun! Schewanna is apparently a dare devil because her favorite thing to do was climmbing a steep ladder and coming down the slide at break neck speed. Then she and Maddie would come together. So much fun!






Easter morning dawned at about 4 Am, when Maddie woke up and was ready to start the day. Kim told her to play in her room until the sun woke up. Eventually, I joined Maddie in the living room to watch cartoons. Apparently, I fell asleep. So did Maddie.




After church, we went to Gracie's house (mother of great friend Rebecca) for Easter fajitas. This has been our Easter tradition for 3 years. As usual, we had a wonderful time. Maddie and Schewanna had a ball. We finally left Gracie's about 5 Pm to take Schewanna back to her foster mom. I am fighting sadness because I have total faith that God is in charge and wants only the very best for me and my family. I know whatever happens, it is His will and I trust it completely. Needless to say, I love this baby. I hope she will become part of our family. She and Maddie really enjoy each other and I think they look remarkably alike. Here is the baby playing at Gracie's.






Maddie got to dye Easter eggs with Gracie, daughter DeeDee, and friend Scott. She had a ball! As usual, she had to put on Becki's shoes. What a diva!