5-7, China Preparations

These three photos do not give an accurate depiction of the craziness that has taken place in our home this past week.  We've accepted the referral of our little girl (who currently resides in China, by the way), pretty much agreed on what her name will be (maybe....), and grown accustomed to the idea of having a little one toddling around the house in the very near future.  And, that's just the big stuff.  Now it's time for the details:  packing preparations for China; baby-proofing the house; 'what will she wear?!'; diapers- holy smokes, which brand?!; bottles...hmmmm; carseat; toys; and the list goes on.  Yes, we're overwhelmed.  We're thrilled, but we're still overwhelmed.  Over the past few months, in preparation for our referral and having no power over anything else, I began working on the gifts for the orphanage director, orphanage nannies and provincial officials.  I also crocheted 4 blankets to give to the orphanage.  Last week, now that we know how small she is not, I gathered up all the 0-12 months clothes we'd been given and got them ready to take to the orphanage as well.  Everything you see in the suitcase below will stay in China.  Holy mother of a suitcase!  The thing weighs 46 pounds. It's complete now, all zipped up, strapped (God forbid the thing bust open!!) and ready to go.  I love lists, and now that's one item (well, actually several) I can scratch off.  

Last year, in the upheaval that was our move and in conjunction with the 5+ year adoption wait, Sven and I made the command decision to give everything away that we'd been collecting:  toys, highchair, car seats, bottles, strollers, monitors and clothes.  EVERYTHING.  You can imagine the gut-sinking feeling we've had trying to replace everything now that it IS actually going to happen.  It hasn't been easy-- physically, emotionally or financially.  But, we have rationalized that this purging must have needed to take place as part of our adoption journey- a sort of confirmation that beyond the odds, this was supposed to happen-- simple and easy or not.  Bringing this baby home is the most important thing, the rest is only details-- stuff.  So, thanks to some wonderful donations through a friend's church, we've started the accumulation process again.  We're doing fairly well, I'd say.  Last week was the week of panic that 'she'll be naked!!'.  We had to fix that-- but sensibly.  Sven and I made not one, not two, but THREE trips to Goodwill last week (ok, maybe not so sensible by trip 3, but go with it).  It's actually quite humorous.  The first visit we were in denial about her actual size (yes, we already had our referral, but we were still in denial that she could possibly be that big!), and we purchased items in the 9-12 month range.  Trip 2 brought the realization that maybe we'd gone a little small, so we scoured over the 12-18 month size.  Three days and a dozen loads of laundry later, I worried this baby was going to be squeezed into everything we had purchased so far.  So, back to Goodwill for sizes 18-24 months.  (Hey, I have nothing against Goodwill-- especially when we live in the 6th wealthiest county in the country!)  Anyway, so the photo below is a small sampling of the clothes we have ready for our little girl.  The fun part (no, not at all, actually....) was trying to minimize what clothes we would take to China for her while not knowing which of the three size categories are going to fit her!  But, at least she won't be NAKED!

5-6, Our Garden

Sven and I haven't tried our hand in gardening since 1999. We had a few small planter boxes in the backyard of our first house.  Things were growing right along until we left for Hawaii for a week.  Even though we had sprinklers set up on timers to keep everything watered (and bear in mind we were in WASHINGTON.....), everything dried out and died.  So much for all that work and planning!  Well, it's been 13 years and we're finally in an environment that may be conducive to gardening.  Maybe.  And unlike most of our neighbors, we're lucky enough to have a privacy fence around our backyard.  Well, you've seen my previously posted deer photos, so you know how critical that fence is to attempting a garden!  My neighbor across the street (who doesn't have a fence) said that last year the deer came up onto their patio and ate their tomato plants right out of the pots!  Yes, so we're lucky indeed.  Why not give it a try?  And, since we'll have a friend housesitting for us while we're in China, we thought (hope) maybe she'll be able to keep an eye on it for us.  So, here it goes.....Gardening at the Krauss Haus- Take 2. 

We have space for a little garden, little, so I couldn't resist giving these Topsy Turvy planters a try to save space.  We have the big one full of three types of tomatoes and peppers in two small ones. 

Age 2 or 10...there's just something about playing
with water that boys can't resist....

Now onto the real dirt part of our garden.  Nikolas took it upon himself to design the herb garden.  (Ok, so it may be only cilantro and basil, but it sounds more elaborate to call it an herb garden...)  He took this job very seriously....

...and is quite proud of himself.

As Sven and Nikolas were planting squash and cucumbers, I couldn't help but thinking of when Nikolas was little and helping Grandpa plants "apples" (potatoes to you and me).  It was so cute.  How exciting that we get to have a little one in the house again with the funny things they say and do.  I can only imagine the types of things Nikolas will teach her.

Yes, I know this photo of Sven and Nikolas is out of focus.  But you know what?  It's too darn cute not to include.  I have one lens that can only be used with manual focus on the new camera.  I'll blame it on that.  Time to practice, I suppose, and try shooting without the autofocus crutch every now and then.

Pumpkins.  Nikolas wanted pumpkins (I think Sven did, too....).  THAT made us remember the pumpkin patch we had growing in our landscaping by our front steps in Maryland.  The previous tenants must have planted them.  It was the oddest thing- what a place for a pumpkin patch!  We'll see if this patch does as well as that one in Maryland did.  

Ahh....the reward of watching things grow.....hopefully.  I'll keep you posted!

5-5, Volleyball Boys

It's about time Sven had a day off so he could play bruiseball....I mean, volleyball, with Nikolas.  If given the choice,   Nikolas would rather work on his volleyball skills.  My choice is to forego the bruises and play a leisurely game of badminton (I'm the family champion, by the way...).  I was quite happy this afternoon to stand on the sidelines and 'test my new camera' while these two squealed their way through a game.  Bear in mind, that there are basically no rules in said game and score is usually only kept for a few points.  Regardless, it was great for the boys to spend some time together.  And, it was great break for my arms, too!

5-3, Bonding with Bunny

When Mom and Dad limit your electronics time (tv included), you have to get creative.  For Nikolas, this meant climbing in the rabbit's pen to see if he had it any better.  Turns out, he didn't.  The poor little guy had just lost a claw (who knows, maybe he was trying to outrun Nikolas.....) and was bleeding, hopping, hopping, bleeding.  Nikolas was pretty concerned about his little, furry friend.  (No worries, he's ok now....minus a claw.)  We don't keep a very accurate count as to Rascal's age.  I think he's about 6.5 now.  We sort of stopped keeping track when one vet told us he'd just seen a rabbit that was 12.  Gulp.  12.  We love the little critter, but rabbits aren't as easy of pets as the book said....especially when he spends 98% of his time in his cage in our living room.   Oh well, he's got it made now that we've set up his palace in the backyard, the weather's quite comfy and we haven't seen the foxes peeking in....yet.....

Doesn't his expression just scream,
'Really, Mom, ANOTHER picture?!"

Nikolas just HAD to get me to take a picture of him 'eating' this worm.
Don't worry, no worms were injured in the filming of this scene.....

One thing about trading in one lens for two, is you're bound to have the 'wrong'
lens on at the right time.  I love these bluebirds that frequent our feeder.

Pretty little flowers in our backyard.....

5-2, Hoops Time!

As I told you in my last post, I've been thinking about adding a new lens to my arsenal.  Well, we decided to approach this 'dilemma' from a new direction.  For the past week, I have been 'test-driving' a new lens....and another new lens.....and a new camera.  Yes, I know, I am spoiled.  But in all fairness, this Nikon kit from Costco was almost half the price of the ONE professional lens that had been on my wishlist. And also in my defense, I am solely responsible for capturing our family's memories.  This new camera is significantly smaller than my 'big camera' and all of the lenses are compatible with it.  It may just be the right solution for quality, versatility and size.  Because of the need to take a lot of photos in such a short period of time (is this camera really a keeper?!), I've decided to blog some of our everyday moments while testing out this new equipment.  Sure, I'll take your feedback, too.....afterall, you're the ones who will be looking at all of these photos I'll be taking with this new camera.  Tell me what you think!

Nikolas has a weekly appointment in town.  It's become tradition for me to take him to the park afterwards.  What a great chance for me to test the speed of this camera/lens combo.  Bear in mind, that NOTHING will ever keep up with Nikolas!  This child's been running since he learned how to walk.  Hopefully he'll use some of his energy to help us keep up with sister!

His facial expressions crack me up.  After all, this IS serious business!

Thanks to my new camera, he's willing to humor me and pose for a change.

Our little athlete-- is there anything he can't do?