A Teenager in the House

You actually get two posts in one day, because it is a day of celebration for the Howard Family.  We are celebrating Bailey's 13th Birthday, and we are celebrating Amelia's Referral Day!

2002

Thirteen years ago, our precious boy made his arrival into the world.  He would not join our family for 10 months, but we celebrate Bailey's birth today.  I can hardly believe that he is 13!  I refer to him as "My Little Old Man", but he truly is getting old.  His doctor says he is in great condition for his age.  He has cataracts and a bad back, but there are no signs of major health issues or a heart murmur, which is common in Pekingese at this age.

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Bailey really seems to enjoy his new house.  I know he misses his old yard, but he loves to lay on the back porch for hours.  He likes to watch the neighbors and go on walks through the neighborhood and on the nature trail.  Bailey and Amelia have come to love each other.  They want to be everywhere together.  Bailey continues to love to ride in the car and goes with me to take and pick up Amelia from school.  He is still VERY protective of his home and will bark and sometimes attack feet of visitors that do not acknowledge him.  Bailey continues to be afraid of storms and is now showing signs of fear for the tone David's phone makes when he receives a text.  I have no idea where that came from, but Bailey runs to hide in the closet when he hears it.  He continues to love soft toys and soft treats.

2010

2011

2011

2012

2013

If you asked me when David and I married if I thought we would have two Chinese children, I would probably have laughed at you.  I can hardly believe how God has put our family together!  Bailey, I hope you have a very Happy Birthday!

Fun on the Mini Trampoline

Amelia has been enjoying her mini trampoline.  Despite the allergy issues we have all been having, we have played outside every afternoon.

I love this sweet face!

Bailey smiled, too. :)

Amelia even decided to jump with her Hello Kitty chair.

An Update

We are now pretty much settled into our new house.  Moving is terrible.  The last of the boxes has now been unpacked, but I still find myself reorganizing different rooms or closets in the house.  Here is an update of what we have been up to since the move:

We moved into the new house.  Shutters and a fence have been ordered, but here is a sneak peak at the outside of the house.

Amelia got a big girl bed when she moved into the new house.  We put the toddler rail up on her crib.  She has only fallen out once.  Amelia's second morning in the new bed, she decided to run around it in circles.  She didn't realize the railing wasn't up on all sides anymore, and she fell out backwards.  She learned her lesson and hasn't done that again.

Amelia's hair now fits into pig tails!  The back of her hair is not long enough for complete pig tails, but it's a start!

Amelia and Bailey have become best friends.  They hang out together and love each other.

Camp Winnataska celebrated their 95th birthday with a big party.  We were able to see lots of friends and spend a day at camp.  Amelia's favorite parts were eating cake, seeing "Mike Mike" (Micah), and swimming in the pool.

Amelia had a play date with Ella.  They played in Ella's new baby pool and had a fantastic time.  I love that they are such good friends!

Even Baby Elijah came to the play date.  Isn't he the cutest!!

 Amelia had so much fun in Ella's pool that we decided to get her one when Target put them on clearance.

Amelia wears sunglasses now.

Bailey keeps watch from a distance so he won't get wet.

Can you believe that they are so close????!!!!

An Answered Prayer

Since we decided to adopt, I have prayed that Amelia and Bailey would learn to love each other.  After being left for 17 days and a sister moving in his house, Bailey was not the most welcoming of big brothers.  There was the incident on Day 3 that left us dividing the house in half with baby gates and daring Amelia and Bailey to look at each other.  I thought there was no hope for them to ever get along.  Well, I was mistaken.  The new house has brought the two of them together.  There are NO baby gates up in the house.  Amelia and Bailey go everywhere together and seem to love each other.  Here is my proof:

Can you see it?  Amelia is actually feeding Bailey his food FROM HER HAND!  He waited patiently for her and was extra careful not to bite her fingers off.  Amelia actually made a pile of his food next to his bowl, and he let her. 

Bailey actually wags his tail when I bring Amelia downstairs in the mornings.  He lets her rub his back and accidentally step on his tail without a reaction.  It is an answer to prayer.  He whines if he is left downstairs when I take her upstairs, and she BEGS for Bailey to come up with her, "Bailey. Stairs." "Bailey. Play" (she wants to play with him in her playroom upstairs).  Amelia and Bailey actually have tea parties together.  She fills and refills his cup over and over, and he pretends to drink out of it.  Again, it is an answer to prayer.  It is more than I could have ever dreamed would happen!