Time passes with little time to breathe

What a great past few months it has been. Luke is loving third grade, Maria and Andres can't get enough of pre-school, and I have finally gone back to work after being blessed with a long, but needed, leave. There have been so many changes in each of the kids. Luke seems to be so much older and is doing a great job at being the big brother. He is adored by Andres who asks where Luke is everyday. When Luke finally arrives home, you can tell Andres' day is at its best! Luke is so good with both of them. The way he plays, colors, draws, teaches English, wrestles, plays chase, etc. . . well it's just amazing. And he insists on reading their stories to them almost every night. It warms my heart to see how interactive he is. And if there were ever any doubts about whether or not adopting two more kids was the right thing to do (which there never has been), well, all I have to do is look at the three of them together to see that it was a true gift from God to bring us all together. It's also been a thrill to watch him play soccer and football this fall. With my declining KC Chiefs, Luke's games are now a highlight of every weekend.

Maria definitely loves to learn. I don't know that I have ever seen a child try to speak the English language as diligently as she does. She can now count to 10, draw circles (WOOHOO--HUGE accomplishments, believe me) and acknowledges that she is 4 and not "ocho" (8) like she insisted for months. Yes, my friends, it's the little things, right? She can't get enough of pre-school and wants to go every day. And she is also in dance. For whatever reason, the first few times she went, she cried when it was time to go into the studio. I was baffled by this as she had not cried when put into ANY new situation and she squealed with excitement the few weeks preceding her first class. I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine, but now, everything is fine, she has learned to do a turn and a scale (with much wobbliness). I'm sure there are other things but that's what we see after every dance class when we come home and get a "showing" of her dance skills. Outside of pre-school, I think her most favorite thing right now is soccer. She plays with other 4 year old girls. There is no skill and little understanding of the game but all of the girls do a great job of swarming around the ball in one big clump. So far, she has scored a goal in every game and two in the last one. As the proud parent, I must say that in those games, her goals are the only ones scored. As the humble parent, I must acknowledge that none of them have been a result of knowing to take the ball and dribble it down the field. Instead, she has just been in the right place and the right time. But who cares? It makes her so happy.

Both of the kids are getting speech help. Maria more for pronunciation, Andres due to lack of speaking. However, Andres has made incredible progress. He is now speaking two-word sentences that only I can understand but nevertheless they are two-word sentences. Pretty amazing accomplishments for the kid who only had about 3 words in his repertoire when we got him. He, too, adores pre-school. All of the teachers there constantly ask me if he is always so happy. Yep, that's our Andres. He also loves soccer and is amazing dribbling the ball. I watch him and can't believe is only two and can dribble with such speed and control. Maybe by the time he get to be 4, he will be the lone ranger who actually understands the game. : )

We've had some great family outings. We went to our local town fair where they tried a funnel cake for the first time and devoured it within a few minutes. They really got a kick out of a Japanese Steakhouse once they got past the loudness and fire. As yet another attempt to completely brainwash them (and keep them close to home when college time comes), I took them to a KU Jayhawk pep rally.  THEY WERE IN HEAVEN!  Every kind of Jayhawk imaginable--stickers, statues, blow ups, and of course Big and Baby Jay mascots.  They both got removable  Jayhawk tattoos on their arms that neither wanted to wash off.  It has been one of the best times I have had with them so far.  Just a GREAT night!  Also, we went to the KC Art Fair and just had a wonderful evening outdoors in the beautiful September weather. Maria and Andres got to meet another cousin who came in from Baltimore. It was fun to watch Maria and Kate interact since they are both four. The most amazing part was to see how they played with no problems even though the language barrier existed. It proves how resilient children are. We've also had fun introducing them to other new foods. Some of the favorites--powdered doughnuts, watermelon, chilled ice sticks, Chinese food. Some not-so-favorites--really just one, chili if it's "pica" (spicy/hot).

I can't believe in another week and a half that we will be celebrating five months of being together. I'm getting so anxious for Christmas. When I saw how much excitement putting a few Halloween items out caused, it made me daydream about the thrill of Christmas. I can't wait to see them open presents, meet Santa, etc. It will definitely be a Christmas to remember.

Finally, the first day of school!

Busting at the seems with excitement to go to "cool"

Not so excited that little brother will be at school for a few hours

Maria was SO proud of her first piece of artwork she brought home from school. You should've seen how much her face lit up when I put it on the refrigerator for all to see.

The muddiest football game of the year!

Andres' #1 pasttime

First soccer game

Big Day--Soccer!

All smiles at this point before heading into the dance studio

What is this crazy thing?

Pumpkin perfection

This is a kid who knows how to get INTO his powdered doughnuts

I just love this picture--he looks so much older now compared to when we got him!

Definite watermelon fans

This is piece #2. Pretty sure he loved it--check out the shirt . . .

. . . oh, and the mouth!

Perfect cousins

Fun at the park

Always the camera-hog ham

They adore each other--can you tell?

And yes, he's still a clown

Perfect indication of what we may have to contend with in the future.  The perfect flirt and lady killer!  But who wouldn't be attracted to a beautiful Jayhawk girl!!??

For Andres, the intrigue of my most favorite mythical bird has just begun. 

Does she look beautiful in red and blue or what!!??