Double Happiness

Dino-Dog (Maddy's art at it's finest)

It's been a while since I shared some of Maddy's wonderful art.   We get a constant stream of it here at the house and she knows to put her best work on top of the printer/scanner so we can get a permanent digital record of it. (Check out previous works of art here:  <Maddy's Art>)

I call this one "Dino Dog" because it sorta looks like a dog but it has a row of spikes on its head like a dinosaur.  Since the girls have been watching several dinosaur cartoon DVD's lately, it's likely this is what Maddy had in mind when she created this adorable beast:

I love the blue, orange and red circle and I think it's pretty interesting that she planned ahead and included those shapes before coloring the animal.  They don't serve any purpose other than decoration and that seems like an advanced concept for a 5 year old since most other kids her age are focusing on getting other details right (like the number of legs) and trying to keep their coloring inside the lines.  Best of all, I REALLY love the lips!  Look at those!  And the alternating orange and yellow sun beams and the perfect order of the colors in the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple).   This is probably my favorite Maddy picture of all time!

Drawing is Maddy's "best-loved-free-time-thing-to-do" (my favorite German phrase for "Hobby": liebling freie zeit beschäftigung).  She does this in all of her free waking moments and the persistence and practice is really paying off.  Her hand-writing is already better than most adults and her artistic ability might even be a bit in front of that!

Pesky Parasites and Pretty Posters

Yeah, a little bit of everything this week!

Thanks for all of the fantastic advice about our "little problem".  I'm so glad I dared to share such an icky and embarrassing experience because I got such an amazing outpouring of support and advice. 

Just knowing that families I admire and respect have also dealt with this was so reassuring!   Nobody was judgmental or condescending and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that because, frankly, I was feeling somewhat vulnerable.   

A friend even emailed me a link to the Chapman blog where they battled this eight-legged beastie earlier this summer. I love the Chapman family so much.  They've taught me more about faith and hope and healing than anyone I've ever known in real life and even though I can't get through a single one of Mary Beth's blog posts (or hear SCC sing the Cinderella song) without tears dripping off of my chin, I rarely miss a post.  But I missed *that* one. 

We caught this really early so it wasn't as much of a big deal.   My Dutch sister, Sjoukje, suggested that we slather on the conditioner and comb our hair daily and we've been doing that with very reassuring results.  I think we've beat this, folks!  Phew! 

Pesky parasite drama aside, this week was really memorable for another reason:  Maddy was Student of the Week at school!  Here's a little scrapbook page I put together for our family album:

She was really excited last Friday and proudly carried her blank poster home in both hands (I had to fasten her seat belt for her because she didn't want to let go of that poster).  We worked on it all weekend long and I had to reassure her each night that she didn't need to sleep with it -- that it would still be here in the morning. 

She helped me scour our computer for photos and thought long and hard about her answers to the various questions.  Some were easy but others were quite hard and she had to give them some thought. 

Maddy has been around many Doctors and she's such a good little patient.  For months (years?) she's said she wants to be a Doctor when she grows up so this was the easiest question for her to answer.   I love the photo she drew of herself as a Doctor!    Someday, I think this might be hanging in her office, next to her matted and framed medical degree from Stanford.  She's so smart and tenacious so this goal is totally within her grasp.  I'm just hoping that she specializes in geriatrics!

Maddy, Sweetie, we're so proud of you!   

Daddy is not 100!

Yesterday was Daddy's birthday.  We started the day with snuggles and four or five enthusiastic rounds of The Birthday Song.  Then Gwen told us how to make a birthday cake:

• 5 eggs
• 4 pounds of sugar
• 4 pounds of chocolate
• mix it up
• bake it in a hot over for three minutes

 Maddy said Daddy was more than 30 but not 100. 

 
 Maddy made Daddy this pretty birthday drawing.   Then we headed to San Francisco for the day.

Daddy demonstrates the super hero pose.

This is a cool photo Daddy took of the Jewish contemporary museum and St Patrick's church, reflected in an adjacent window (Mommy did a little bit of post processing, perspective correction, cropping, etc).

Gwen is understandably skeptical about the extra feet and fingers on the "Shaking Man" but you really have to see the next photo to appreciate how Maddy felt about this bizarre statue...

  Daddy took this photo looking over the shoulder of the statue.  Maddy's expression is priceless!

 

 

We call this photo "Dancing in Bear/Bare Feet"

 

 

This heart (also in Yerba Buena Gardens) is really pretty.  We wanted Gwen and Maddy to pose sweetly and this is what happened.  Can't you just feel the love?   This was one of many clues that our girls still can't really function without naps (they slept all the way home).

Minor skirmishes aside, this was a really fun day!   For Dinner, we all went out to Krung Thai (Michael met us there).  None of the girls in our family like Thai food but it's a favorite of the guys so it makes the Birthday Dinner list every year.  No worries though - rice is always good!  Happy Birthday, Daddy!  We sure do love you!

G is for Gossie (help needed!)

"G is for Gossie"

But what is N O Q U V X Y & Z for?  We've got all the other letters of the alphabet covered but we're looking for ideas for these remaining few.  When we're done, we'll make a precious little ABC book and sell it on-line and give all the profits to Grace and Hope (the organization that made Maddy's foster care possible in China).   This will help other Qinzhou kids enjoy the benefits of having a loving family to belong to while they wait to be adopted.

Two Christmases ago, Nana gave Gwen and Maddy one of their favorite books:  Gossie.  Today, Maddy presented me with her drawing of Gossie.  Isn't it spectacular!?

So, any ideas for N O Q U V X Y & Z?  As you can see from the picture above, our little 4 year old Picasso can copy ANYTHING!  All she needs is inspiration.  Do you have some?

Maddy Art (December)

Here's another installment of Maddy's amazing art.  She loves to draw and I really love to showcase her amazing creations!  

She has a crayon or a pen in her hand all the time and she puts her heart into everything she draws.  She's a perfectionist and at least 90% of her papers up in the trash but she'll enthusiastically bring us her favorite drawings and ask us to scan them.  Pretty often, we'll poke around on trash day as we pull something out of her trash can that she didn't think was worthy.  The horse you see below was one such treasure.  Maybe she was critical that his mane was not connected to his head on top?  Who can know?  All we do know is that her creations are almost always brilliant and we love them (and her!). 

We don't push her to do any of this so we really marvel that her eye catches so many small details:  blades of grass, rays of sunlight, fingers (sometimes more than 10!), scales on a friendly dinosaur, dots to decorate her family's names, or a moat around her castle's drawbridge.  It's all beautiful!  We really enjoy seeing her world through her lovely drawings! 

 

    (click image for larger view)