Happy Birthday Little Miss Shine!!!!

"On a dim, clattering afternoon in the rainy season, I sat in a crowded living room in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stupefied by water. The rain drumming the tin roofs of the hillside district was deafening, as if neighbors on rooftops banged with kettles and sticks. The mud yard boiled and popped in the downpour. " - "There Is No Me Without You," Chapter 1, August 2004.

Our little one was born during the rainy season in Ethiopia. As I was reading this book, I couldn't help but imagining what her birthmother endured giving birth during this season.

Today we celebrate our Little Miss Shine's first birthday. A year ago today we had no knowledge of this little one. Little Miss was with her birthmother in east Africa celebrating the day she was given life. My heart goes out to her birthmother today. As we celebrate this little miracle, she grieves the little girl she held in her arms just a short year ago today. I would love to tell her that her little girl is loved, safe, has a warm place to sleep, plenty to eat and drink, and has the cutest laugh I have ever heard. Miss Shine is very inquisitive, determined, and stubborn. She is learning to talk, has started taking her first few steps and can always get across what she wants with or without words. ;)

Little Miss has been such a blessing to us. I thank God everyday for this precious gift who has brought our family so much joy. She is our daily dose of smiles.

We will celebrate today with gifts, balloons, cupcakes, hugs, and kisses, but we also remember the Ethiopian woman who made such a great sacrifice. We are forever connected by this sweet, little, curly haired girl. So not only do we celebrate, but we pray for Little Miss Shine's birthmother that she has enough food to eat, clean water to drink, but also pray for peace and happiness all the days of her life.

Thank you for the most precious gift anyone could ever give. We love Little Miss so much.

Am I Being Ridiculous?

Last weekend we celebrated the Little Miss' 1st birthday early due to my family being home. As she tore into the gifts covered with wrapping paper covered with "white" Disney princesses and opened cards with other "white" dolls or figurines, I couldn't help but wonder what is this teaching her. I realize how difficult it is to find a card or wrapping paper, if one wants it to be primarily girly, not be covered with princesses or light-skinned little girls, fairies, etc. I also realize that no one meant any harm that is what one has always done when giving a gift to a caucasian girl. Little Miss is all new to both sides of the family. Yes, she is the first person in our immediate families to have dark skin.

My question is where do we draw the line? I bought a few years back a doll house with both light and dark skinned dolls. For her birthday we bought her a African American rag doll; I was shocked how difficult it was to find a doll that had AA hair. So many of the AA dolls out there are just the caucasian doll's mold with brown dye. :(

I just want my daughter to grow up and love the person she is! I want her to love her skin color, her hair, etc. I want her to embrace her Ethiopian heritage. I want her to love herself. I wonder what message are we sending to her when she is given the blue eyed, blonde haired dolls, cards, paper, etc?

Am I making too big of a deal about this? Please help. I would love the suggestions of other families in this situation.

Hair Challenge

Just because.

Day 1 - Coils. I think it is super cute. Ringlets everywhere. It did take quite a bit of time. She would get tired of me twisting, so I would let her play for a while and then sneak in a few more coils while she was busy playing.

Day 2 - I must say I LOVE this style on her. My sister and I were both braiding as quickly as possible. This was not an easy or quick hairstyle, but it was fun.

Day 3 - We were on our way to church, so this was fast. Two mini ponytails with butterfly barrettes. I am sorry it is difficult to see in this photo. As for E's smile, all we do his hold up the camera and she smiles like this. ;)
Day 4 - This is one of my favorite styles. It is quick and easy. Two pigtails are always so cute. I just love her puffballs!!!

Day 5 - Twists. Simple. Quick. Easy. Cute.

Day 6 - The headband look is the one I do far too much. But it is cute and very easy. There are SO MANY cute headbands out there. We were headed to the pool, so I didn't want to spend too much time on hair today.

Day 7- I started with two braided pigtails, but decided they look must cuter with bows at the ends. I am going to have to find and order little snap barrettes for the ends of her hair. If any of my reader know where to purchase these, please let me know.

Overall, I don't think I did too bad. I am not going to win any hair awards, but it is a start.

My Monthly Favorite

I was at the pool last week with the kids. A little 8 year old little girl swims up to me and

asks, "Are you babysitting?"

I reply, "No, she is my baby."

8 year old continues, "Do you come here a lot?"

I answer, "Oh, only about once a week."

The 8 year old skeptically looks at me then at the baby and back to me, "My, she has a dark tan."

It took everything in me not to laugh out loud. :D

BTW - my hair photos will be posted later this week, so stay tune.

Challenges

I have a friend who blogs nearly daily. She is a stay-at-home mom with 4 little ones. She challenged herself to jump out of the daily habit of yoga pants and t-shirts and graduate to makeup, hair, and cute outfits daily. She holds herself accountable by taking a photo of herself daily and posting the photos weekly on her blog. I must say she has inspired me to take on this challenge. Now, I am not committing to post weekly photos, but I must say my every day clothing has changed. I have not completely retired my yoga pants, but do have more days than not that I am dressed for success! So thank you, friend.

I have decided to take on another challenge. Little Sister's hair is continuing to grow and grow and it is taking more and more time to fix daily. Yes, mostly because I am learning how to tame her beautiful curls. It seems that Little Sister supports the same hairstyle nearly daily, a cute bow or flowered headband. As cute as that may be, I must jump out of the box and try new styles. My challenge, that I will post to the web, is to see how many different styles I can create with her hair in a week's time. So, stay tune for photos to follow soon.

Our anniversary

Eight years of wedded bliss- our anniversaries began with weekend get-a-aways, Chicago, concerts, etc. This year we spend the day at the zoo. Romantic? Not quite...Do I miss those weekends alone? ABSOLUTELY!!!! But I wouldn't change it for the world!

A DAY IN OUR LIVES

I thought I would try something different than my usual posts. Yes, I realize I will not be offered a reality show any time soon, but this is a basically day at our home.

My day starts with coffee, Ethiopian coffee is my 1st choice. I am SO excited because I discovered a store within 100 miles carries fair trade Ethiopian coffee. YAY!!!! I know you are thinking 100 miles seems a bit extreme. If you only understood my location, the backwoods, you would share my excitement.

Big brother starts his day with," Mom, for breakfast I would like cheerios, raisins, and peanuts in a bowl with juice, please." Every morning this is his request and has been for nearly 18 months now. He eats his trail mix with his daily dose of PBS. I don't know why this surprises me; I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch for many years. This strange ritual began in kindergarten and ended sometime during the 3rd grade. That calculates to over 800 pb & j's if I only count school days. YIKES!

Little Sister will stand at the window nearly every morning begging to go outside to play.

Usually we head out around 10 either for a walk or the sand box. I think we finally have a handle on how much sand Little Sister is consuming.

Lunch

Litte Sister was refusing to eat when I would try to feed her, so she is trying it out. Yes, messy, but as you can see she LOVES it!

More time outside - the water table is a hit!

Naptime - my favorite part is when she wakes up, and brother can't wait to play with her. He jumps in her crib and they will play alone together for nearly 20 minutes.

After nap more time is spend playing either at the park, in our backyard, or at the pool.

They day end with supper when Daddy comes home. After supper is playtime, bath time, and bedtime.

Bath time - She is such a little ham!

Our day in a nutshell - goodnight