Zoo with the kids

I just realized I never posted pictures from my first zoo trip with the kids this year. It was a little chilly but the zoo was practically empty. The kids got to be the first ones in the zoo (it was a really big deal) and the animals were really active. There were a lot of volunteers there and since we were practically the only people, everyone spent lots of time teaching the kids about the animals and answering all of their questions. We got to watch them feed the penguins and spend lots of time in Amphibiville, which is what the boys were most excited about. They had the new baby giraffe in a special building and we got to spend a lot of time in there. He seemed to like the kids, he kept coming over and putting his head down near them. Actually, a lot of the animals looked toward us, Kaylee thought they all liked her. Check out the picture of the seal, he was laying like that the whole time and kept waving at us!

Jabari the baby Giraffe

Long Easter Weekend

Last week was a big family week! Amanda, Anya, and Asia came up from Ohio on Wednesday and we went to the zoo on thursday with Eric's mom and grandma, and Brandon and Allison. I didn't take my camera but you can see pictures at Amanda's blog. 

That night Aunt Chris and Uncle Howard flew in from Pennsylvania and on Friday we made homemade ravioli. It was a bit of an adventure, and maybe too much work for how quickly they disappeared, but they were really yummy! 

Saturday Amanda and the girls left, and after working the Easter egg hunt at church, we picked up Aunt Chris and Uncle Howard and brought them to our house to meet the cats, who thoroughly enjoyed the attention and acted like they never get love from us! Then we went and picked up Grandma and met Brandon and Allison and Eric's parents in Hamtramck for Polish food, yum!

Sunday was Easter. We had to be at church really early for praise band practice and breakfast before Sunday school and service. Pastor's wife Connie started singing with me, I love having 2 part songs, its so much better sounding than just plain old me! After church we went to my parents for the day. Jenny, who lives with my parents, and her boyfriend Jordan were there, and mom's friend Casey (Kasey?) brought her boyfriend Mario. Janelle and Ryan were of course there too. We had a big lasagna dinner, and then all the guests left to go to other Easter festivities, and Janelle's best friend Whitney stopped by to color eggs and then find our baskets, it was nice enough outside to hide them outside, and then had a few rounds of extreme egg hunting. Whitney had to go, and then we played a game I got in my basket called Slap n Grab (yes, there were a lot of jokes!). It was really fun, but a little dangerous!

It was a really busy but really fun weekend!

Apparently I am out of shape...

I met Brandon at his house on Monday night to go and play basketball with the group he plays with on Monday and Thursday nights.

I had figured I was in good enough shape to make it through the 90 minutes of playing, and I did make it. I took and missed all 3 shots I tried, but I made some good rebounds and was able to place a good pick by the end. If the guy I was guarding set a pick, I had mild success with rolling to cover the man with the ball, after only a few mess ups.

Yesterday I woke up very sore, I think I was using leg muscles I haven't used in a long time.

Today, I could barely get out of bed, but after a hot shower and lots of stretching I think I'll be up for the Thursday night session.

Bird friends

As the birds started to come back to the trees around our house, the cats were very interested in watching them and chirping at them. We thought they would enjoy (or be driven crazy) if we bought a suet feeder and hung it on the balcony. It has been a few weeks now and the cats don't go running up and jump on the sliding door anymore, they just sit and watch and chirp as the birds eat. We've gotten some really pretty birds too. It started with the little chickadees and sparrows but we have a couple of woodpeckers and some other bigger birds, and the other day even had a pair of cardinals! 

The saga of the cat beds

When my parents first got their 2 cats, they got little cat beds, one for each cat. Well of course neither cat would sleep in the bed, so they got tucked away.

My dad came across one and offered it to us. All of the cats really liked it and took turns laying in it.

 

Then they discovered that 2 could fit in the bed. It was a squeeze, and sometimes they definitely didn't look comfortable, but neither one wanted to be the one to get out of the bed.

Eventually they all wanted to be in the bed, and would sometimes sit next to the bed and pout if they got to it too late.

Then it became a free for all. Anyone that wanted to get in would get in, and it was a contest to see who would stay in the longest while being squished.

At that point we decided it was time to call my dad and ask him to find the other bed. He did, and we brought it home and put it right next to the other bed so that they could all cuddle together. However, we didn't realize that one bed was a lot more special than the other bed.

Eventually they started to get the hang of it.

Finally, after weeks of trying every possible position, they finally figured it out, and now they're regular pros!

Positive Adoption Language

This article was taken from http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/pdf/PositiveLanguage.pdf. We want to get everyone educated and on the same page, and also answer a lot of questions that we have gotten that I'm sure many other people have wondered about as well.

Positive Adoption Language
The way we talk—and the words we choose—say a lot about what we think and value. When we use
positive adoption language, we say that adoption is a way to build a family just as birth is. Both are
important, but one is not more important than the other.
Choose the following positive adoption language instead of the negative talk that helps perpetuate the myth that adop-
tion is second best. By using positive adoption language, you’ll reflect the true nature of adoption, free of innuendo.

Words not only convey facts, they also evoke feelings. When a TV movie talks about a "custody battle" between "real
parents" and "other parents," society gets the wrong impression that only birthparents are real parents and that adoptive
parents aren’t real parents. Members of society may also wrongly conclude that all adoptions are "battles."
Positive adoption language can stop the spread of misconceptions such as these. By using positive adoption language, we
educate others about adoption. We choose emotionally "correct" words over emotionally-laden words. We speak and write
in positive adoption language with the hopes of impacting others so that this language will someday become the norm.

Nursery furniture!

We mostly have the nursery furniture set up. It didn't take too long to put together (love Ikea's easy to follow booklets!) but then we spent a lot of the evening moving things around (and by we, I mean Eric, hehe). I'm pretty sure they're where I want them now, but we're not attaching anything to the wall for a few days so I can be sure. Then we'll anchor the furniture and hang the art and we'll be good to go!

The big thing with wood leaning on it is a wardrobe, but the instructions say to anchor it to the wall before putting the doors on since they're so heavy. It will also have 2 drawers on the bottom right.