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Friday, February 22, 2013

6 Months!

Dave said it best: These have been the best 6 months of our lives.


I mean, look at that face!  He is pure JOY.  LX has started sitting up, loves standing with help, and chatters all of the time.  He is working on "HI," and when he cries, I swear he is saying "mama."  Be still my heart! He is working on a couple of teeth so he has been uncomfortable lately.  

We had a doctors visit today, and it went well.  He weighed in at 17.1 lbs. and is 27 inches tall.  His head is 45 cm.  Sadly, he got 3 shots and one oral vaccine.  He was pretty sleepy and crabby for the rest of the day.

One of the best parts of being LX's mom is getting him up in the morning and from nap.  He gives us the biggest smile, like we have been apart for days, weeks, years rather than mere hours.  Sometimes my face hurts from smiling so much.  He is a miracle in every sense of the word.



Friday, February 15, 2013

My Little Valentine

I love Valentine's Day!  I love that their is a holiday just for celebrating the way you feel about someone.  We usually have low-key Valentine's Days, and this year was no exception.  LX and I made these cute Valentines for our loved ones.  They were a hit!

LX loves to dress for the occasion!  He looks so big!


Dave is teaching LX how to do Valentine's Day the right way!  He surprised me with a rose for each person in our family, including the dogs.   I am so glad that LX has such a good dad. 


I hope your day was special! 








Friday, February 8, 2013

Life of Pi Review

From Goodreads:  
Growing up in Pondicherry, India, Piscine Molitor Patel - known as Pi - has a rich life. Bookish by nature, young Pi acquires a broad knowledge of not only the great religious texts but of all literature, and has a great curiosity about how the world works. His family runs the local zoo, and he spends many of his days among goats, hippos, swans, and bears, developing his own theories about the nature of animals and how human nature conforms to it. Pi’s family life is quite happy, even though his brother picks on him and his parents aren’t quite sure how to accept his decision to simultaneously embrace and practise three religions - Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.

But despite the lush and nurturing variety of Pi’s world, there are broad political changes afoot in India, and when Pi is sixteen, his parents decide that the family needs to escape to a better life. Choosing to move to Canada, they close the zoo, pack their belongings, and board a Japanese cargo ship called the Tsimtsum. Travelling with them are many of their animals, bound for zoos in North America. However, they have only just begun their journey when the ship sinks, taking the dreams of the Patel family down with it. Only Pi survives, cast adrift in a lifeboat with the unlikeliest oftravelling companions: a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

Thus begins Pi Patel’s epic, 227-day voyage across the Pacific, and the powerful story of faith and survival at the heart of Life of Pi. Worn and scared, oscillating between hope and despair, Pi is witness to the playing out of the food chain, quite aware of his new position within it. When only the tiger is left of the seafaring menagerie, Pi realizes that his survival depends on his ability to assert his own will, and sets upon a grand and ordered scheme to keep from being Richard Parker’s next meal.


My Review:

First, I must say that I cannot recall a story that has been so beautifully told.  I loved how Martell takes his time weaving Pi's story in 315 pages.  His attention to description and detail are second to none.  I quickly fell in love with Pi, from the silly way he came to be called Pi to his deep and desperate thoughts while adrift in the Pacific.  I could truly feel his grief, his fear, his longing.  Just as strongly, I could feel his faith.  I don't want to give too much away, but the ways in which he manages Richard Parker are nothing short of genius.  It is a wonderful and inspiring tale of both physical and spiritual survival.  

Richard Parker.  What to say about him?  His name was comical, but his ferocity was not.  I found myself looking at his picture on the cover every so often in sheer awe of his size, strength, and beauty.  The story was unbelievable and yet believable.  I loved how Richard Parker, in essence, saved Pi.  It was a poignant example of how our greatest fear can become our greatest triumph.  

Here is one of my favorite parts:  "I wish I had said, 'Richard Parker, it's over. We have survived. Can you believe it? I owe you more gratitude than I can express.  I couldn't have done it without you. I would like to say it formally: Richard Parker, thank you. Thank you for saving my life.'"

I also loved how Pi taught me about religion, zoology and animal training.  I got quite an education that I was not expecting.  I found myself reading parts of the book aloud to Dave, and saying "can you believe that!?!"

To conclude, you would be crazy to not read this book.  

Monday, February 4, 2013

Famous Adopted Kids

This post has been on my mind for a very long time, but the recent Superbowl coverage of two famous adoptees has pushed me to finally write it.  Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers and Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens were both adopted.  Colin as a 6 week old infant and Michael as a teenager.  If you have seen or read The Blind Side, you are probably familiar with Michael's story.

In the pre-game interviews, one of the first questions asked of Colin was a leading one that basically made him say that he was adopted.  He handled it quite well, and he responded with "being adopted was the greatest blessing of my life."  Many people who has been touched by adoption probably feel the same way.  I know we do.

Michael takes exception to how he was portrayed in the feel good, but somewhat unrealistic The Blind Side.  In a recent interview, he states that he has always been a strong athlete and that he isn't the slow-witted gentle giant that the movie makes him out to be.

Where am I going with this?  I guess I don't understand why the media places so much emphasis on adoption.  I feel someone being adopted is like them having brown hair or loving pizza.  Would you tell everyone you meet those facts?  It is one fact about their lives, but it is not the most important one.  It is undoubtedly part of who they are, but it is not the sum of their being.

Another frustration is when Colin's parents were introduced as his "adoptive" parents, almost as if this is somehow less of a parent.  To me, a parent is someone who builds you up, takes are of you, and loves you more than life.  Whether a child lives with biological or adoptive parents, I am pretty sure that ALL parents feel that way about their kids.

I am glad that adoption is becoming more out in the open, but I wish it didn't have to be the headline.  In case you didn't notice, Michael and Colin are pretty awesome athletes and nice guys.  Why isn't that the headline?