What's wrong with this picture?

California Hayride
(note we are taking a hayride through a parking lot next to a strip mall)

It's Fall in California. We've had a couple of days of rain in the last few weeks (early this year; it's usually November before we start seeing rain again), the leaves on the oak trees are turning, the nights are requiring the winter blankets on the bed, and the baseball season is almost over.

We spent much of today at the Nut Tree pumpkin patch and amusement park. Alex had little interest in pumpkins, corn or hay....but there was the back end of a semi-tractor trailer parked next to the pumpkin patch and someone's camper parked next to the hay wagon tractor and those were pretty cool, in his opinion. He did eventually warm up to the corn bath - a gigantic "sandbox" filled with dried corn kernels. He had no interest in actually getting into the thing, but when he discovered you could pour kernels over yourself like water in the bathtub, he was pretty amazed.

Trucks vs Adoption

We're doing our best to set the stage for lots of discussions with Alex about growing your family through adoption. We've read all the 'talking with your child about adoption' books for parents. We've examined numerous picture books about adoption (many of which I felt were too specific to other situations to be helpful). I found one in particular that I think speaks to all children who have been adopted, Fred Rogers Let's Talk about Adoption. So I ordered it last week and it arrived in my mail today. It is a wonderful book that tells children how they needed a family and their parents needed a child and adoption made them all a family.

After dinner tonight I told Alex I had a new book to read with him.

Me: Alex, I have a new book about adoption we can read together.
Alex: Trucks?
Me: No, a book about adoption.
Alex: (without further discussion, hustles over to his My Big Truck Book, plops himself down and starts to point out the trucks)

So much for adoption parenting. Apparently not as important right now as finding that big yellow school bus in the big book of trucks.

Speaking of truck books, one of the books we took to Taiwan last year was Byron Barton's Planes. It has brightly colored pictures, few words, and is perfect for a one year old. And we knew we'd be spending hours and hours on, yes, a Plane. We have since added two others in this series, Trucks and Trains, to our collection, and Alex loves them all.

Putting the garden to bed

There's something about having a toddler in the house that made gardening a tad difficult this year. Years past I've started the new gardening year in January, sowing seeds in flats and transplanting to individual pots indoors while we waited for Spring. I can garden year round here and I enjoy having a summer garden, with all the heat loving vegis, then starting all over with a winter garden in September - carrots, kale, swiss chard, broccoli and cauliflower all thrive in the cool nights, warm days of 'winter' in California. This year was a tad different. All Spring I kept meaning to get out in the garden to double dig and sow some seed. Eventually, one weekend (right around Memorial Day) I dashed out to the garden center, bought a bunch of already-6-inches-high vegetables and thrust them into the ground. DH dutifully watered them for me throughout the summer, but I think I tended to them once. I even had a hard time getting out there to simply pick the ripe stuff. Despite beyond benign neglect, those vegetables just kept on growing and flowering and fruiting. We were rolling in yellow crook neck squash there for a while (although the zuccini faltered completed). For the last month I've been meaning to get out there and compost what remains...with the noble intention of sowing the winter garden seeds.

Today, seeing no free weekend days on the horizion, I put what passed for this years garden to bed. As I yanked each plant from the soil, I gathered up the remaining fruits - cucumbers, baby zuccini, summer squash, a couple of still green pumpkins, an already yellow acorn squash, and two half eaten red ripe tomotoes. (I'm glad somebody was enjoying them!) The new compost pile is started. And there is one less thing going unattended nagging at my conscience.

Happy Adoption Day!

Alex, October 2006 (age 13 months)

Alex, October, 2007 (age 25 months)
(Do you think he got some sun this summer???)

One year ago today we were at St. Lucy's in Tainan, Taiwan picking up Chien-Lu. We left San Francisco for Taipei on a 1a.m. flight. We arrived in Taipei around 6 a.m. Monday morning and boldly took the city bus from the international airport to the domestic airport ($1.50 instead of a $45 cab ride and just as efficient). A second quick flight from Taipei to Tainan, and before we knew it we were checked into the Evergreen Plaza hotel. We were treated to not one but two days of sight-seeing in Tainan by a St. Lucy's volunteer who provides translation services to adoptive families. She and her husband were so gracious! The second day (a day before we were to pick up Alex) we just happened to be near St. Lucy's and had the good fortune to be able to stop in and visit. It was wonderful to meet our son and made the next day a little less nerve wracking. This is not typical at St. Lucy's, but my earlier visit in July, to meet with the medical doctors concerning a vision issue that was discovered after referral made our whole 'gotcha' experience atypical. By the time Gotcha Day arrived both DH and I had previously met Alex and so it was 'gotcha' rather than 'metcha' day for us. Wednesday morning, first thing, we were back to St. Lucy's and this time we left with Alex in hand (actually, in arms) for our return flight to Taipei. By Friday night the three of us were back home in California. It was a whirlwind week!

It is hard to believe how quickly this year has past, until we look at our little boy and realize how very much he has grown in the last 365 days. He is a constant joy, even in the midst of being a very 'spirited' child with strong opinions about what he wants and how he should always get everything he wants. We are so glad he is a part of our family!

And since 'then' and 'now' photos may not be enough, here's the video of our Gotcha Day, which we had the good fortune to share with another Heartsent family. It still brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. God is good.

More traveling

In the last week Alex added four more states to his 'states visited since arriving in the U.S.' tally. We flew to Boston, Massachusetts, then visited family in New Hampshire and Connecticut. On the way back to Logan airport we took a quick detour over the bridge into Maine. As we departed for home I wondered, 'Why didn't we scoot down through Rhode Island on our way back from Connecticut??' Oh well, another time.

We were back in New England for Alex's big sister's wedding celebration. Jill & Craig eloped in August of 2006 but also blessed us all with a traditional wedding ceremony and reception at the fabulous Castle in the Clouds in Moultonboro, New Hampshire on October 6th. The weather was perfect - unseasonably warm so the sleeveless dresses we all wore weren't an issue. It was overcast and perfect for pictures. Sadly, with a two year old in tow, I took a grand total of 6 (lame) photos. But the official photographer has posted a sneak peak on her blog. It was wonderful to spend time with all our family and friends - thank you all for making the trip! Some of you came great distances to celebrate with us, and we all appreciate it!