Team Sanborn

Show and Tell

2012-01-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was Annabelle's "Show and Tell Day", FINALLY. Andrew's teacher has each kid bring show and tell every month, and Annabelle has been WAITING. ALL. YEAR. for her turn! She wanted to take Benjamin as her "most prized posession". Here is how it went down:

Annabelle: I chose to bring my baby for show and tell. His name is Benjamin and I had to get special permission from Mrs. Andersen because he is ALIVE (surely her teacher meant to ask permission if you wanted to bring in a pet, but she is right, Benjamin is alive).

Me: Do you want to tell them anything about Benjamin? What he likes or doesn't like?

Annabelle: Well, he drools a lot, he likes to chew on things, he has an afro, and one time when my mom was changing him he peed on her.

Insert hysterical laughter from the entire class. If you know any 5 year olds you know why this was so funny. Apon seeing how she was the LIVING. END. because of the pee comment, she had to insert another zinger.

Annabelle: And at night, he sleeps with his booty in the air.

More hysterical laughter. Again, all 5 year olds think the mention of the "behind" is hysterical.

Me: Anything else Annabelle?

Annabelle: Yes, let's show the class how he can walk

I put Benjamin on the floor and he refuses to walk, but crawls right up to some little boy we DO NOT KNOW and kisses him right on the mouth.

Of course more laughter!

Benjamin, and by extension Annabelle, was famous by lunch time. The whole playground had heard about the "stand-up comedian and her side kick in room 17". Andrew asked if he could bring Benjamin for show and tell next time. Stay tuned...

Early Risers

2012-01-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

Andrew is my early riser. Period. He usually goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes around 5:30 or 6. We have tried pushing back his bedtime, and he only gets up at the same time, but SUPER CRABBY!!!!!! So we are working on ways to manage his early tendencies:) This week however, he went to bed every night at 7:30, a few nights he was asleep by 7:15 and he was sleeping until 7:30, twice until 8 am. I hated waking him up to go to school! I was hoping we were entering a new phase, the "Mommy gets to sleep past six" phase. Wishful thinking. This morning at 7 am all was quiet when I got up, but all of the lights in the house were on. A sure sign Andrew has been up for a while. But his door was closed and the lights in his room were off. A sure sign he is in the front yard riding his bike... So I opened his door and flipped on the light and found this.

Here are my boys! Andrew got Benjamin out of his crib (a stern talking to came later) and brought him into bed to help him go back to sleep. This is the reason all the lights were off. Do you see the smile on that kid's face??!! Seriously in love with this idea!!

Brotherly love!! And wrestling, isn't that the same!!!???

You may be wondering why Benjamin isn't wearing pants. I was wondering the same thing!! When I asked Andrew where Benjamin's pants were he said, "they are in my dirty clothes momma, they had pee pee on them." I am hoping he wasn't so wet because of the juice box in the background....

I always think God has at least one more child in store for us... I often hope it's a girl, I love the hair bows and the tutu's, and I secretly love the sassy:) But today, I cried as I realized His perfect plan for our lives included brothers and best friends who are both early risers.

Okay, so blogging isn't my forte these days...

2012-01-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

But I am going to change that! I will have to back up just a little to get in all the amazing things that have happened since September... Ew, I know, last blog was September!!!! Here are a few pics to catch you up:)

I made my own baby food.... Turned out great, but I made so much (remember it is my first time with only one baby), that Benjamin was on to bigger and better things by the time he finished this batch and I didn't need to make any more.

Sorry about the orientation!!!! An entire college football season came and went, and our Irish didn't do too bad! Looking forward to next year!!! Go Irish!!!

Benjamin has graduated to doing chores, his favorite is "helping" with the dishes, but here he is doing laundry.

We have forward motion!!!!!

Andrew and Annabelle were in a "Nursery Rhyme Parade" at school. They were adorable as Jack and Jill!

Halloween!!!!!!! Spidey and Jasmine say hello!

And so does "Snuggle Puppy"

Biggest day of 2011, Benjamin Jer becomes a Sanborn! Read more about this here

We lost teeth, OH SO MANY TEETH!!!!! Annabelle has lost 2. Andrew has lost 5, well, knocked out 3 and lost 2 if you want to get technical!

We are exclusively on solid food now (in addition to formula, no more baby food), and DO NOT GET BETWEEN BENJAMIN AND HIS FOOD!!!! As you can tell by the face he is making in this picture!

More pictures to come!

Happy Grandparents Day

2011-09-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

I know, I am a little late! Every year our elementary school does a tribute to Grandparents put on by the kindergarten classes. It was seriously THE. CUTEST. THING. EVER. I bawled my eyes out the entire time. This was just a few days before the 3rd anniversary of my daddy's "homegoing". So not having him there to see this was so sad. I cried the entire time. I know you're not surprised. But seriously, a little girl a few rows in front of me asked her mom what was wrong with me. The mom shrugged her shoulders like I was from outer space! Really lady? 130 kindergarteners pouring their hearts out in song and dance to honor their grandparents??!! IT WAS TOUCHING!!!!!!! We brought Mimi, Grandma and Grandpa, Grandma Elsie and Gigi to school to see the kids in their first elementary school production and it was so fun! We are so blessed to have such amazing grandparents and great grandparents pouring into our children's lives. We love you!

Here is the video... Andrew is in the top left, Annabelle is toward the front in the middle (its hard to see them in a sea of 130 small people). So make sure and turn off the music player at the bottom of the blog and turn up your sound!

A big shout out to

Mrs. Romero, our music teacher

Mrs Andersen, Annabelle's teacher

Mrs.Willman, Andrew's teacher

"So Lucky" part two...

2011-08-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a woman at the store said something really sweet and kind of profound. I of course cried, and am crying now just writing... I was at the store with Bill's Grandma Elsie and Benjamin while the big kids were at school. Of course no less than a dozen strangers stopped to oogle Benjamin "He's so cute" and he was EATING IT UP!!!! He was smiling at them flashing his dimples like nobody's business!!! It was hilarious. One woman said, "You sure are lucky". I almost burst into tears immediately. She has no idea! We are "lucky" three times!!! It really made me take a moment and thank the Lord for how "lucky" we are. We have 3 beautiful children (I can say that with confidence as they are all adopted and none look like me:)). They are a hand full to say the least. They are exhausting, they don't always get along. They demand limitless time and energy. They are messy, even when trying to help clean up. They often have attitudes and sometimes even talk back (gasp). They are strong willed and sometimes bossy (where do they get it). They throw fits in Target or at home when asked to do something they don't want to do. They always need something else when we have nothing to give. But they are ours. God has given them to us and we cannot imagine our lives without them. We are so "lucky"!

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-07-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well here it is!! The first day of kindergarten (sniff sniff)! Well, to those of you who know me it goes more like: The first day of kindergarten (sob sob)! The kids had a lot of fun, after a rocky start, the pictures can tell the story! We are so proud of our "babies" and cannot believe the time has flown by so quickly! Enjoy!

This is how you make lunches!

Ready to go!

Last year we had the same pic of the "double school supplies". This is for all my teacher friends out there so they can rest assured I am not a slacker mom (as far as school supplies are concerned). BTW- Target has killer deals on Crayola!

Nice mug shots right?

Here they are ready for the first day! They both had PE on the first day, so they have on what I refer to as "Sporty Spice" clothes. Annabelle was a little upset she couldn't wear anything fancy... Rest assured she did on day 2!

Again with the mug shots...

They were laughing at the black blur at the bottom of the pic, our dog Tank

Daddy praying with them before school

Grandpa was part of our posse on the way to school

Benjamin is soooooo over this!!!

More or our fan club... Mimi
Not pictured Bill, Molly and Aunt Frankie

The three amigos at school

Now is when the morning starts to go arye... They both got really nervous which means Annabelle got really quiet and looked super snotty and Andrew got really loud and obnoxious.

Both kids had these color sheets on their desks

This was the first thing on Andrew's desk, and cue tears.... That's right, I didn't even open it and I started crying! The inside (I read 3 hours later and still cried) was about how the teacher knows we love our kiddos and she will love them too, and take good care of them while they are in school. And cue more tears...

This is right before we attempted to leave and Andrew screamed- "I am not staying here by myself!" Cue UGLY CRYING!

This is Bill swooping in to the rescue. After Andrew screamed and started crying, I had to vacate the classroom because of the ugly crying and then I had to take Annabelle to her classroom. So Bill stayed with Andrew until he felt comfortable (so her said, he may have been lying to make me feel better. Either way, thanks Babe)

This Annabelle refusing to smile and or color because she was so nervous. This is my outgoing social butterfly who had been introducing herself to people since she was 11 months old, NEVER unsure in ANY social situation. And cue the ugly crying again!!! BTW- she told me I was never allowed to do her hair like this again because it was too "baby" WHAT THE HECK???!!

A big shout out to my "Tissues and Tea" Support Group:
Mom
Aunt Frankie
Nana (Gigi)
Aunt Shari
Aunt Brenda
Lydia
Erin
I wouldn't have made it through this day without you!
Only 179 more to go.....

Who's keeping score?

2011-07-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Target Shoppers,
Please excuse the screaming. Yes, I manhandled my 5 year old (looks like 8 year old) into the cart. Sorry. I did this because he was yelling at me. Sorry. Yeah, you probably heard that part but didn't see it as I was trying to hide in a "time out" corner. Then, when you thought the ruckus was over, he slapped me and I put him back in time out which of course inspired more screaming. Sorry. When the screaming calmed down and I asked him to leave with us, more screaming. Sorry. I took it upon myself to go ahead and check out with only the items in my cart, to rid you of the screaming faster. As we tried to exit Target, the screaming only intensified. Sorry. Said 5 year old (no really, he's only 5) saw we were passing the snack spot and was not going to be getting any popcorn because of his behavior. Sorry. No- I'm not sorry. I have 3 kids under 5 and sometimes regardless of your dirty looks and head shakes, I have to discipline my child(ren) in a public place. This time (and lots of other times I guess) it was Target. AND I WAS NOT GOING TO HAND OVER A REWARD TO A MANIAC JUST SO YOU WOULD STOP STARING AT ME!!! And by the way Target Shoppers, there is a good chance this will happen again. Taking into consideration that I have 3 kids (and we frequent that particular Target). Sorry.
In case you were wondering:
Andrew-0
Mom- 1

How many hours do you put in?

2011-06-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching on-line education classes for Grand Canyon Univerity for over a year now and I love it. I often hear interesting things from my students and the one I heard today was worth a blog post. Here is the quote:
"...educated women spend on average 21.5 hours per week attending to the needs of their children..."
I feel like I spend 21 hours a day tending to the needs of my children (and husbands count too right?). Even if my kids were in school 5 days a week (sniff sniff), I would still have them at home for about 5 or 6 waking hours each day and then the whole weekend which would be more than 21 hours a week right?
Anyone else have an opinon on this? I would love to see your comments!

Goodbye Preschool

2011-05-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

So this post is a little premature as we still have school until the Tuesday after Memorial Day, but I have to share this video! I would like to point out that last year at this time, Andrew turned his back on the audience and then threw a screaming fit when it was ice cream time. So this year was an AMAZING improvement! Needless to say, I bawled my eyes out at the back the whole time. My babies are heading to kindergarten!

If you are looking for an AMAZING preschool, Chandler has a great program and I have had the opportunity to work with several preschool teachers in my role as a kindergarten teacher and I can say they are truly the cream of the crop! Now excuse me while I brag on the specific teachers who have touched my kids lives this year.

A GIANT thank you to Miss Elissa- you have been the best teacher to both of my kids! You have no idea the amount of tears I shed leaving Andrew with you that first day two years ago. He had never been anywhere without his sister, and he was barely able to communicate. You have helped him become an independent guy, ready to conquer the world. Annabelle waited for a whole year with GREAT anticipation to enter your class and you did not disappoint! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.

Miss Karen- thank you for loving my Andrew even when it was hard. You two have a special bond and you have always seen him for the amazing kid he can be even when he isn't acting like it. Thank you for helping him learn so much.

Miss Carolina- We miss you dearly! You spent so much time pampering Annabelle, the "beauty shop center" will never be the same without you. Thank you for helping her adjust to a new group of students and making her year so fun!

Miss Tami- What do I say? You have only been with us for a short while, but you have no idea how relaxed my whole body became when I say you standing in the room as Miss Carolina replacement. You were dear to me when you were just "Austin's Mom and even more now that we have switched roles:). Thank you for humoring both of my sweet kiddos-they adore you!

Miss Lisa- I jumped for joy when I found out you would be Andrew's speech teacher this year. I loved having you as a parent, you were so supportive and that is one of the things that makes you such a good therapist. Andrew has come so far this year, and we owe much of it to you!

We have had the best year! Thank you for preparing us for kindergarten!

First Baby Sitter

2011-05-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

Last night we went out to eat with my college roommate and her husband. They live in Colorado, so we don't get to see them very often. The last time we saw them, we dropped the kids at Bill's parents house for a sleepover and stayed out WAAAAAAY to late. I seem to remember driving home with another couple, the husbands sound asleep in the back seat. Well, in case we were wondering, we aren't 18 any more! So this time we opted for a more civilized meeting at one restaurant (instead of bar hopping, which is what got us into trouble last time). Since it was a week night, we knew we would be calling it early, and all the family we usually have baby sit were busy.

So we hired a sitter. The most amazing 8th grade boy in America- he just happens to live across the street (lucky us). Seriously, he gives me hope for all mankind. He always waves and says hi, even when he is with his buddies. He is so polite and responsible. No, I will not be giving his name out as we would like to hoard him for ourselves.

Ten minutes into our big date night, our sitter (or really, his mom Laura) calls and tells us everything is fine.... I immediately flash to hundreds of different scenarios all of which end in the police at our house and caution tape on our front door. Good thing Bill answered as he may be a TAD more calm in the "babysitters calling to say everything is fine" department. Andrew was zealously pressing play on the DVD player (Netflix and Hulu were both out, told you this baby sitter was amazing-entertaining the kids without technology as you will see as the story progresses), he tripped and smashed his front teeth on the Mama Roo (the Mama Roo is fine by the way- Thank the Lord!!!). His lip and mouth were bloody and he was wailing up a storm. This is why the baby sitter opted to call his mom, can you blame him? Andrew calmed down after a Popsicle (no, we did not rush home, Mother of the Year acceptance speech in another post). And the baby sitter played board games with them until they went to bed.

So that was our first baby sitter... Thank you Clayton Hinners (and Laura too)- you are the best! Please don't let this craziness keep you from accepting jobs from us again...

And stay tuned for pictures of Andrew's newly loose tooth... EWWWWW!

Pre-School Wisdom

2011-05-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

Keep in mind they are both in the same class...

Me-What did you guys learn today at school?
Andrew- Miss Elissa says we should never smart everyone.
Me- Um, what is smart?
Andrew- You know, when you take your hand and smart someone who is bothering you.
Me- No, honey, I don't know, show me (what was I thinking?)
Andrew proceeds to take Annabelle's arm and give it a nice loud open hand slap.
So are we clear? Smart=Slap

Me- What about you Annabelley?
Annabelle- I learned about different kinds of animals. Mammals are animals that have live babies, you know, we are mammals. Then there are animals who have babies who hatch out of eggs and they are called security systems.
To re-cap: mammals have live babies, security systems have babies who hatch out of eggs.

Amazing, Right?!

2011-05-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow- May 2nd is my mom's 62nd birthday! We had dinner together tonight with some of her fav's (Parmesan chicken and green beans, and her grand babies). We have so much fun anytime we are around her. If you know my mom, you know how little this post is going to cover. If you don't know my mom, that's too bad! She is amazing! My mom married my dad almost 36 years ago and it was love at first sight. Remember my dad had a congenital heart defect that cause all kinds of issues? When they met, he was healthy, but she knew about his history and what might be to come. She married him anyway. Amazing, right?! I am glad she did because a year later, they welcomed the most beautiful baby girl into their family. Four years later a slightly less cute baby boy (ask my brother about this). During this time my dad traveled a lot on business and my mom was a stay at home mom. She would write him love notes every time he left. Amazing, right?! My dad kept them all. When I was little my dad got sick. He was in Tucson, and we of course lived in Phoenix. My mom would spend the day with us, drive to Tucson to be with my dad and then home again so we wouldn't miss her. She did have to stay a few nights and she still says she was in agony choosing "my dad over us"- Hello?! That is how important it was that she was truly "there for us". Amazing, right?! When my dad came home, it was apparent my mom would need a job. We were in school full time, so she could have done anything. She chose to work retail so she could be home when we got home from school, and get us ready for school without rushing in the morning. She worked at night and on the weekends to help make ends meet. This way she could be around if we needed her and the time that should have been "her own" after we went to bed was filled with customers and standing on her feet for 8 hours at a time. Amazing, right?! She cheered us on at sporting events, helped in our classrooms, thew the most amazing birthday parties and led our AWANA teams, high school d-groups and choir tours with the rest of her "free time". She always made her family the top priority in a time when moms were being urged to put themselves first. Oh and by the way, she told us every night how much she loved us and that we were a gift from the Lord. Amazing, right?! She hosted all of my roommates (and Bill's too) for every holiday so they wouldn't miss their families so badly. She fed the high school football team every night before the games-CORN CHOWDER ANYONE?! Amazing, right?! She took money out of her retirement to pay for my wedding because she wanted everything to be just as I had always dreamed. Amazing, right?! She battled breast cancer, never complained, and only missed one day of work after each round of chemo. Amazing, right?! When my dad was dying, she was with him from "shift change to shift change" to make sure he felt safe and comfortable. She let anyone visit because that's what my dad wanted. She never looked at the time she spent with him as "just her time". Amazing, right?! When he passed away she gave each of his siblings an amazing gift, a "part" of daddy when she made teddy bears out of his clothes. She didn't keep his clothes to hold on, or donate them to let go. She used them to make precious keep sakes and ran out of time to make one for herself. She still hasn't had tome to finish that project. Amazing, right?! She has channelled her grief into helping others understand what it must be like at the end of life and how to handle the impossible. Amazing, right? Now that I am a mom I appreciate all of her hard work and sacrifice more than ever. When she picked us up from the airport when Benjamin was born, she ran through baggage claim bawling, "he's just so beautiful" to everyone she saw. She has no shame when it comes to her grand kids because she loves them so much. Amazing, right?! She is over the top gentle hearted, she cries at cough medicine commercials (that is where I get it) and has an overwhelming need to be sure everyone else is okay, that is how she "becomes" okay. She is a tireless servant, one of the strongest women I know, and I am so proud to call her my mom. Amazing, right?!
Love you Mom- Happy Birthday!

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

I LOVE traditions! When I say LOVE, I mean obsess about, plan, prepare, re-plan and so on. I even spend time "reflecting" after we celebrate to see what we can do to make the next tradition even better. So this year, I did all the regular stuff for Easter and added something. We of course know the real reason for Easter and we try to encourage our kids to focus on that by trying to not have too much "bunnyness" going on. We don't dye eggs (more for the messiness factor, but I am now going to state it is on principle), or get our pictures made with the Easter Bunny (because Andrew would run screaming from the mall as he did during the great Santa Clause Debacle of 2009, but again, I am going to say it is principle). Our Easter baskets contain the kids favorite healthy snacks instead of candy (for my benefit so I don;t have to peel them off the ceiling on Easter night at bedtime, but you guessed it, I'm calling it principle). Annabelle has been asking a lot of questions... I swear this kid won't be believing in the tooth fairy by the time she looses her first tooth! Why does the Easter Bunny come at night? Why does he bring treats? How can he be at "Olivia's Mall" and "Our Mall" at the same time? Is the Easter Bunny a boy or a girl? Does she (Annabelle chooses to think it's a girl) have sharp teeth? Does she wear clothes? Is she real or just a person dressed up as the Easter Bunny? So instead of just blowing the whole scam, I answered her questions and added one more, "It's not about the Easter Bunny" piece to our Easter celebration. A letter from Miss E.B. herself!

The kids FREAKED when they saw this! They obviously forgot Santa leaves us an eerily similar letter every Christmas!

EB also left a basket full of goodies for Daddy since he tends to steal from his children. Sad, Really.
We had Nutri-Grain bars, fruit leather, fruit snacks, jelly beans and Swedish Fish Eggs (two exceptions to our "candy free" Easter). Later at the Easter Egg hunt at Aunt Brenda's, they got Teddy Grahams and Goldfish.

Benjamin's Easter basket had a book, pookie and "my first Easter" outfit.

Andrew's basket also had a few trains

Annabelle got Tangled- which we have been watching non stop since Sunday morning. Good thing it's a cute movie!

Daddy's Easter basket had some new shorts and Magic Shell...It doesn't take much!

Here are the Robin Egg trails from Annabelle's room, Andrew's room and our room (since Benjamin is still bunking with us)

Andrew lovin his Easter surprises!

"Mom, are you seriously taking a picture of me with Crazy Hair?" EWWW!!!

Benjamin enjoying Easter too... Like the Mickey next to him? Choking hazard I know, but Andrew cannot stand for Benjamin to be alone in his cribs during nap time. I promptly remove this toy every day when he's not looking!

My two oldest cuties ready for church. Andrew really is more excited about his hat than he is letting on!

My baby cutie! Check out his loafers!

Happy Easter!
Love,
Team Sanborn

EW....5 Weeks With No Post

2011-04-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Blogspot,
I will no longer use my blog as a place to go to look at my "blog roll" for other people's updates. From now on, I will post about our family before ~~stalking~~ reading about other families. I will not allow your time stamps under blog headings to mock me. I will not let another holiday go by while the previous holiday is still posted as the most "recent" post. Except for Easter, as I do not have the pictures down loaded yet.
Sincerely,
Molly

Happy St.Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Love,

Andrew, Annabelle and Benjamin

Happy Birthday Annabelle!

2011-03-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

Of course this post was quick in coming as to be sure to give each child equal time:) Annabelly is also 5-YIKES!!! So here is a glimpse of our baby girl at 5:

Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Restauraunt: Someburros

Favorite Activity: Riding my bike, or hugging my "sniffy pillow" (just realized in the pic our house looks like a candidate for the show "Hoarders", but be sure to watch the video where the house looks much nicer)

Favorite Part of School: Playground (gasp- I know)

Favorite Friend: Andrew

Favorite Movie: Anything Barbie or remotely involving princesses

Favorite Thing to do with Daddy: Go places with him

Favorite Thing to do with Mommy: Shopping (AHHH!! Am I in trouble or what?!)

Favorite Clothes: Dresses

Favorite Shoes: Fancy Flip Flops

What do you want to be when you grow up: A Painter

Favorite Book: Beautiful Brown Eyes, Angelina Ballerina

What do you want to learn when you are five? Read, write and add numbers

AHH!! That last part melts my heart (good luck to her kindergarten teacher- no pressure).

Annabelle-

We cannot believe our tiny baby girl is five. It seems like only yesterday we brought home a four month old, 9 pound, itchy mess. And here you are, a beautiful, smart, hilarous girl. You asked Jesus into your heart this year and you have become so tender and curious about all things having to do with God. You love to shop with me, convincing me every mommy needs a little shopper! You love to try new things, you just ate Kale and loved it. You are getting more and more confident about who you are- we are so proud of that. You have been such a responsible young lady since Benjamin came home, always offering to help when we look like we need a hand. You are quick to defend the "under dog" and we are so glad God has laid that on your heart. We are so excited to see what the next year will hold for you sweet Baby Princess. We love you!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2011-03-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

Andrew turns five today- WHAT!!!!???? Where has the time gone? Blink of an eye my friends, blink of an eye! So here is a little bit about Andrew at five years old:

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Favorite Restuaraunt: McDonalds (I know, blame the parenting as the reason he thinks this is a restauraunt.)

This is his actual birthday dinner!

Favorite Activity: Ride My Bike

Favorite Part of School: Circle Time

Favorite Friend: Annabelle (sigh, I know)

Favorite Movie: Toy Story (any of the 3)

Favorite Thing to do with Daddy: Play outside with my friends

Favorite Thing to do with Mommy: Go to McDonalds (I swear we only do this once every two weeks)

Favorite Clothes: Basketball Shorts

Favorite Shoes: Crocs Tennis Shoes

These are a must for any mommy trying to avoid velcro and tie shoes!

What do you want to be when you grow up: A Police Officer

Favorite Book: Mercer Mayer (I think he means anything written by Mercer Mayer)

What do you want to learn when you are five: ride my bike with no training wheels

Andrew-

We are so proud of you! You have made it to five with your adventurous spirit and no broken bones! Although you did just get your first bike, so we will see. You love to giggle and make jokes. You are a big guy with an even bigger heart. You love your trains, your bike and imaginative play. You have also just started to enjoy singing, which melts my heart every time. You are very sensitive, sometimes overly so which sometimes leads to "emotionally charged episodes" (see fits). You are very protective and loving when it comes to anyone he loves, especially his brother and sister (beware all bullies and possible suiters). You still love to snuggle on the couch with your silky and occasionally you suck your thumb. We love that there are tiny bits of little Andrew left in this big package. You are wicked smart and we keep praying you will continue to use that power for good, not evil! We love you so much Bubby and cannot believe you are five! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Disneyland Part 1

2011-01-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know...
We went to Disneyland over Christmas and had an AMAZING time thanks to UB! He bought us ticket for Christmas... ALL OF US!! Mimi, the A Babies, Bill an I and himself! Thanks UB for the best Christmas present!!! Here are a few pics of our trip:

Looks a little blurry right? This was taken as we got off of Space Mountain. Annabelle was not a fan!

Even face painting is more magical at Disneyland!

See what I mean?!

Our last vacation as a family of four!!

The girls: From the top
Annie, Mimi, me, Autumn, Annabelle, April and Amy

The matching scarves... Hopefully Autumn will be living with us soon as she attends GCU:) Bunk beds are waiting Autumn!

Andrew and Annabelle waiting for the Tiana Show. Notice the rain boots? These were not a fashion statement. It was forecasted to rain the entire day! So we all wore rain boots. It did not rain the whole day thankfully, but due to the forecast, the rides were empty. And it did rain later and we were grateful for the rain boots!

The kids with Tiana! It was so cute! Annabelle ran right up to her! Andrew on the other hand, side stepped close to her without making eye contact. I think he may have a little crush!

Andrew and his favorite cowboy! Oh, and our cousin April of course!

This was the "Ferris Wheel of Death" as it was coined by my brother. It's a regular ferris wheel, but the gondolas are on rails and swing wildly with the motion of the ferris wheel. Annabelle had to hold UB's hand.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE DISNEY ADVENTURES!

Sons Week!

2011-01-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Yeah me... I didn't miss it this time!! Well, I almost missed it but was reminded by a friend from college on Facebook. That counts as remembering right??!!
My Andrew:
Right now, you are sleeping in your room with all of your disney "friends" tucked in with you. You are 3 feet 9 inches tall and 47 pounds. You are amazingly strong and a daredevil (as long as it doesn't involve large crowds). You are kind of turning into a diva- your sister has taught you well! You are sweet and kind. I love it that you are the kid who tucks an aging dog into it's doggy bed with your favorite silky. You love trains and playing outside. You love to borrow Elliot's bike. You are quickly becoming a kid who calls me mom, not a baby who calls me mamma (sniff sniff). I am so glad I have someone to hold my hand on scary rides at Disneyland. You are leaning how to make decisions for yourself and are quite outspoken at times. You are too busy to take the time to wipe your nose on a tissue, you use whatever is closest (your shirt, a pillow, the couch). You love animals and your sister and are fiercely protective of both. You look at the world with amazement- the picture at the top of this post is so you!!! You are beyond excited to have a little brother and have taken great pride in helping us find a name for him. Your favorite is "Will-ea-am". You have handed down your beloved baseball cap, it is in his crib waiting for him. I am so glad I have you in my like Bubby- I don't know what I would do without you sweet son!
Love,
Mom

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T19:24:00.000-08:00

We are celebrating New Year's in FREEZING California this year. It was literally 53 degrees for a high yearterday. UB bought us all tickets to Disneyland for Christmas. We did Disneyland yesterday for 14 hours straight! The kids had a ball! Andrew even fell asleep as we waited for the 2:30 christmas parade. We were right on the curb and he slept through the marching band litereally 4 inches away from us. He was SUPER tired! The kids did great, LOVED every minute of it and we can't wat to go back for two more days. I will post some pics when we get home. We are so greatful for such an amazing year. We have so much to be thankful for! Happy New Year!
Love,
Team Sanborn!

2 important men, 2 important dates, 2 days late Part 2

2010-12-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

On December 13, we celebrated my dad's 9 year "Transplantaversary". It is just what it looks like! We celebrated every year on the day he got his transplant. For those of you new to our blog and story, my dad had a heart transplant on December 13, 2001. He was born with a heart defect that is easily fixed in babies today, but 60 years ago...not so much. When he was transplanted, he was the oldest living person with that heart defect. Throughout his life he had several surgeries to correct issues connected with his heart. But 9 years ago, he was given the gift of live by someone we do not know, whose family we have never met. Of course the reality is that for anyone to receive an organ transplant, someone has to give up an organ. So we celebrated every year (and still celebrate) in honor of his donor and his family. All we know about Daddy's donor is that he was a 30 something male. And we know that while we had much to be thankful for that Christmas 9 years ago, another family was experiencing something quite different. I write a letter to the donor's family every year telling them what an amazing gift they gave our family. The man who could not dance the entire "Father/Daughter" dance at our wedding was running around after two toddlers a few years later. Even now that my dad is gone, we still celebrate. We had 7 amazing years with my dad we would not have had if it weren't for that one unselfish gift. As of 2006, the family had never read our letters. It does not matter. What matters is that we are forever grateful to a man we will never know and to his family we will never meet for giving us the gift of life.

2 important men, 2 important posts, 2 days late Part 1

2010-12-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Justin!!
Where do I start about my sweet brother? I (like many people) end up introducing myself as Justin Cates' sister. I also like to point out that "he has changed a lot since high school"-HA!! But really... There are not words to describe this man. First, it seems weird to even call him a man. He will forever be the 4 year old our neighbor and I dressed in a white dress and slathered make-up all over. He will be the kid I used to straddle and hold down to torture, even though he is a little bit bigger than me now. He will always be the kid that started hitting on waitresses at my birthday dinner when he was 12 -really Justin?! The reason my whole world was turned upside down 30 years ago.
He is also the reason I have 2 children. Well, for lots of reasons really. Okay, Bill gets some credit, Amy Clinite gets some too (along with all of you who prayed us through our first adoption journey) and God gets it all. Very early on in our relationship as siblings, I knew my brother would be my lifeline. If you dont have a sibbling, I am sorry and you will probably look at this post as craziness (Bill does). If you have one other sibbling you know just what I am taking about. When my parents were embarrassing me, he understood and rolled his eyes too. When he got picked on I was right there (and vice versa) until high school football hazing (sorry UB). When we were 18 and 14 respectively my dad had a stroke and our relationship intensified. Mom was taking care of dad, and that left us. At a time when most siblings CANNOT STAND EACH OTHER, God drew us closer. Through the darkest days of my life (and there has been some pretty unrelenting darkness), he was there to hold me up. So many other instances I could mention, but won't (he will have another birthday and I can blog about those then), but one in particular.
He took me to Africa. I had never wanted to go, I was a "sender"! God gave me a good job so I "sent". God had other plans and Justin was an important part. As soon as he got back from his first trip to Kenya, he started pursuading me to go. One year later, I went, kicking and screaming and finally submitting to God's will. On that trip I fell in love with a continent really, not just Kenya. The trip changed my life in so many ways. The way that will go down in history is this-God used that trip to plant the seed of international adoption. On that trip to Kenya, we were on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya with a broken down Matatu. I was basically in Ethiopia at the same time Andrew and Annabelle were concieved. Wierd huh? So I have 2 children because I could not imagine my life without my sibbling, and I have 2 children from Africa because my brother saw my brokennes and would not give up.
So today we celebrate his life, all 30 years of it. He is amazing really. He is strong and sensitive. He loves the Lord in a mighty way, and his family with just as much fire. He works hard and sacrifices a lot, more than most people know, for the welfare of others. He is fiercely loyal and ridiculously hilarious. Did I mention handsome and single?
So Justin, when mom and dad called from the delivery room to tell me "it's a boy", and I told them to "put it back"... I was wrong. I would never want to walk thorough life without my sweet baby brother by my side. I love you!
Happy Birthday Tiny Brother!

"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year..."

2010-12-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

I titled this blog for the last picture I will post, but please keep reading! I love the holidays... I mean I REALLY LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!!!! I love baking and hot chocolate and singing and sweatshirts and christmas lights (I really LOVE christmas lights). I especially love the reason for all of those things. I love that we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
I have always had GRAND plans for how to usher this time of year in. I wanted a peppermint mocha in my hand, watching my sweet family decorate the tree in the dim light provided by only the tree. Christmas carols are playing in the background as my adorable children sip hot cocoa and eat christmas cookies in their warm matching jammies. Since we have had kids, we let them put a few ornaments on and I have my fantasy after the kids go to bed (peppermint mocha and all). This year I was BEYOND excited that I got to have the whole thing!
Well, it wasn't exactly as I pictured...
The christmas jammies from last year (HUGE last year) did not fit, which is why we are in summer jammies. Andrew decorated the whole tree from 4 feet down while Annabelle sat on the chair and pouted because I would only let her have one cup of cocoa. I didn't get my peppermint mocha because we were in too much of a rush to get this done before it got too late and it was meltdown city! The kids were sick of christmas music since I was playing it all day while I decorated the whole house. So from the whole elaborate dream I had pictured, I had cocoa and cookies.
I am so thankful that no matter HOW I pictured it, or HOW it happened, we are still celebrating the birth of the Son of the one who created it all!

Hot cocoa and gingerbread squares

Who's hand do you think this is?

This picture turned out kind of blurry, but trust me, SHE IS NOT HAPPY!!! Poor Andrew is like, "why are you so mad? I did all the work!!"
Truly the most wonderful time of the year!

"Camp Central"

2010-11-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

We attend a great church, Central Christian (we go to the Gilbert campus). I mean a really great church!! As one of the perks of going to a big church- there are thousands of programs! On Thursdays for the past 12 weeks, I have been attending Holy Yoga from 9-11 and there is "child care" available as well. For a nominal fee, I have been dropping off Andrew and Annabelle each morning. When I say nominal, I mean nominal! It was $15 bucks per kid for the whole 12 weeks. I would have been perfectly happy if the kids were running around barely supervised for the time they were there- honestly!! I know, not my finest "Mommy of the Year Moment", but I LOVE HOLY YOGA!!! The volunteers did an amazing job!!! These are women who have their own kids and would probably much rather have gone to Holy Yoga with me, but they volunteered their time so I could go spend some time with the Lord. While the kids are there they get to hear bible stories, have a snack, play on the playground and do a craft. And of course they got loved on by the staff! THEY LOVED IT!!!! They also got a t-shirt and today we were treated to a special program! The 3-5 year olds got up on the stage and sang for all of the ladies in the "Stepping Stones" ministry. Follow this link to the video on YouTube! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fol2UxX51lQ

PS- I also noticed how different my kids are... I know, you already knew that from reading this blog. But watching them on stage it is SOOOOOO apparent!

Happy Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T19:34:00.000-08:00

So this may seem like a "weak" holiday to get all patriotic... Why not 4th of July? There is always Memorial Day! Why Veteran's Day you ask?? Well, we were asked to put together a project for the hallway of the kids school. I thought it was a cute idea. A star to honor each veteran in your family. So I started to just write the names of our family on one puny little star and I was overwhelmed with emotion. These people in our family, served our country and I am half-assing (sorry about the language Aunt Robyn) a star to "honor" them. NO WAY!!! So I got on the school's website and downloaded 4 more stars so we would have one to honor each person in our immediate family who has served in the military. Of course we had to add a little glitter (sorry Uncle J.B.), in red white and blue of course. And maybe our starts looked a little "over the top" (I know this because of the placement on the board... front and center), but we were proud of them. We are exponentially more proud of the sweet men who have left, and are leaving a legacy of national service, duty and courage in our family. Thank you for all that you have done, we know we live with the freedoms we have (including the freedom to add to our family from Ethiopia through adoption) because of you. We love you!

This is the main hallway at school

There were a few of these flags in the hallway, they were hanging from the skylights.

This is one of the bulletin boards, the one we have our stars on

Here they are on the board.

And here are our individual starts honoring those we love who have served our county:

Andrew and Annabelle's Great-Grandfather
Bill's paternal grandfather served in the army
He passed away in December of 2009

Andrew and Annabelle's Great-Grandpa
Bill's maternal grandfather served in the Air Force

Andrew and Annabelle's Great-Grandpa
My maternal grandfather served in the Marines
He died when I was in the 5th grade

Andrew and Annabelle's Great Grandpa
My paternal grandpa served in the Merchant Marines
He passed away in December of 2007

Andrew and Annabelle's Great Uncle
My paternal uncle served in the Air Force

Thank you for all you have done to give us the freedoms we enjoy and often take for granted. Including this:

Court hearing May 2007, making Andrew and Annabelle citizens

We Have Gone Global People!!!

2010-11-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

Well, maybe not global but our Annabelle is on Facebook. Well, I know there are pics of her all over Facebook, but that's not what I'm talking about! And yes, technically we have gone global (Thank you Naomi and Heidi) but this is different. My college roommate is a happening mommy to 4 and has started her own jewelry business. It is called K. Jo Kuffs and her stuff is available on Facebook. She names all of her designs after the ~~most adorable little girls she has ever met~~ daughters of her friends. So here is Annabelle's Kuff!!! Notice the shout out to her Ethiopian heritage?!! So go to Facebook and check out her designs at K. Jo Kuff's (do you think I plugged her enough) and order your "Annabelle" today!!!

Halloween

2010-11-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had a blast trick or treating OF COURSE!!! Get candy, run around, repeat! What's not to like??!! In our family, we take the dog and pony show all over the East Valley before it goes trick or treating! Our family has been so sweet to meet us at Mimi's for the last few Halloween outings because Bill (aka the Car Seat Nazi) couldn't get the kids safely in their seats in costume. So this year we went to Mimi's, Aunt Brenda and Uncle Kim's, Gigi's, Aunt Shari's and Aunt Frankie's all before trick or treating! Annabelle loved it (of course), Andrew-not so much (are we surprised). Here are the little guys as Tiana (from Princess and the Frog) and Woody (From Toy Story).

Doe this really need a caption? How cute right?

Seriously cute!

Okay, so it looks like Bill is just standing there with some guy... But really, the cowboy is our neighbor Randy (who bullied us into dressing up by the way, nice costume Hinners), and Bill dressed as our neighbor Randy. Confused? Bill is wearing Randy's "weekend uniform". That is what happens when someone makes the Sanborn's dress up! Genius!! HA!!

Okay, this was not a drunken debacle I promise, it was totally G rated! This is our neighbor Andy and our friend Jim , both triathletes (Andy is an Ironman). Andy is sponsored by Michelob Ultra (hence the pic of him drinking) , so in turn all of our neighborhood parties are also sponsored by Michelob!

Andrew and his buddy Elliot (Super Why)

Bill, Ruby, Annabelle, Gillian, Logan, Andrew, Elliot and Riley
One of the reasons I love our neighborhood... We have chili and treats across the street from our house at the Hinner's house and the grown ups hang out after trick or treating and the kids run around. Our Neighbor, Randy takes the kids on hay rides every year. He hitches his Polaris up to his trailer, fills it with hay and blankets and takes the kids for a ride. The daddies go with of course!

Happy Harvest from Team Sanborn!

Adventures with Hammy (Second Episode)

2010-10-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Hammy,
We had such fun together Hammy! Thank you for playing with me while mommy was cleaning your cage. It was so funny to see you run around on your wheel- you are SUPER fast!!! I am sorry I took you out of your cage without asking (again). I am sorry I dropped you on the floor when you bit me. I am super sorry Tank had you in his mouth when you died of a heart attack. I will miss you pal! On a brighter note, I had a really good time going shopping for another hamster with mom and Annabelle. He looks just like you Hammy! He is gray, but he is super tiny because he's a "dwarf hamster". We named him H2, like Hammy the second... Plus mommy thought it was funny since you are so small and named after a big vehicle. We wanted to name him Hercules, but mommy thought that would be a little hard for the kids to say. So we went with H2. We also got H2 a really cool cage. Mommy says it's Andrew proof, whatever that means. Well, so long Hammy you were a great friend.
Love,
Andrew

PS- Here is a pic of H2 in his new home!

Our Visit to the Pumpkin Patch- A Photo Montage

2010-10-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, before you think I have started to take myself too seriously, I want you to know the only reason I a putting the pics here is because the whole story is better as a narrative with pictures!

Here we are on the hay ride at the pumpkin patch

Um... Nice scenery I guess?!

Seriously... This is our scenery on the hay ride, yes that is a "Sierra Waste" receptacle

We were guessing this was the "spooky" part of the hayride, if there was spooky music and some people dressed in spooky costumes and it was dark. But it is really just rotting pumpkins.

"And for the end of our tour an abandoned warehouse"

This is one of the only pics of Andrew smiling the WHOLE day!!!

Erin going for a ride on a rusty Schwinn

Ah, the reason we came to this ghetto pumpkin patch in the first place...

Seriously mom, get out of my face with the camera!!

Annabelle was the first one out of the "hay maze"- I know I was amazed too!

Andrew got fed up with the hay maze, climbed on top of the bails and walked out. What a problem solver!!!

Add caption

This was "Take 200" of me trying to get a pic with my kids-at least we are all smiling right?

"Movin on Up"

2010-10-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

So we have had so much lazy fun over October break... LAZY being the important word in that sentence! We have stayed in our jammies several days until it was time to take a bath and put on new jammies!!! LOVE IT!!! But we did make short order of one job- reorganizing the playroom. When I say "reorganizing" I mean "cleaning out and donating/throwing out everything they don't play with". When we were done, there wasn't much left. Now before you start feeling sad about my kids not having anything to play with (Mimi), remember this is a whole separate room for toys, besides what is in their bedrooms!!! So, we consolidated and put the kitchen in Annabelle's room, the tool bench and book case in Andrew's room and left the playroom empty. Except for a rocker... MAKE WAY FOR BABY!!! Here are a few pics of the final product!

Andrew's room with the "Handy Manny Tool Bench", and notice the book shelf in the closet with bins for cars, legos, Toy Story stuff and puzzles

Annabelle's room with the play kitchen- when Santa (Mimi) bought this, she knew it would someday be relocated to Annabelle's room which is why it matches

Annabelle's closet where we "re purposed" a doll house as a shoe rack

And finally the empty ~~playroom~~ nursery!

Ok... Not totally empty! I hope Baby #3 doesn't have a lot of clothes...

The 1st Adventure of Hammy the Hamster

2010-10-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Hammy-
I just want to start by saying I'm sorry. Our other class pet, Sunshine, loved to be held and played with. He loved to run around our house and get "chewed on" by our dog. Now that I think of it, that may be why Sunshine went to hamster heaven. Anyway, my mom says I need to apologize for taking you out of your cage at 2:00 in the morning while everyone else was sleeping. She says you didn't like being chased around the house by our enormous 100 pound lab. She also says it might make you nervous when I put you in my bed or keep you in my pocket. So I am sorry. Are you sure you didn't like it? Mom seems pretty sure, but I thought it was SUPER funny! Well, I am so glad mom agreed Annabelle and I could take you home over October break. We are going to have such fun!!!
Love,
Andrew

Go Irish!!!

2010-09-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Now that is is college football season, we are all happy and BUSY campers on Saturdays. Here are a few pics of our littlest fans!

Thanks UB for the "game garb"! Uncle Justin made sure we were all outfitted with OFFICIAL Notre Dame attire. I will include a pic of my "bedazzled" ND hat in another post.

Andrew's jersey is in honor of Mike Floyd- he's a wide receiver for the Fighting Irish! Two years ago, he lit a candle for my dad at the Grotto at Notre Dame. Kind of a big deal- check it out at

http://archives.nd.edu/ringel/default.htm

Our little cheerleader, don't you know he has matching plaid hair bows!

Here's to a great season and a lot of fun along the way! GO BLUE AND GOLD!!!

A Re-post from 9/9/09

2010-09-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

I am having a rough time tonight, so I don't feel like posting, but I didn't want to let today go by without posting so here is a post from last year.

The Last Time

Dance and Sports Class

2010-09-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

We are entering week 4 of "Having a Ball" and "Tap, Ballet and Tumbling" and they are LOVING it! Part of it is because we get to go with our sweet friends T and B, which mommy is loving as well because she gets to chat with their mommy while the boys or the girls are in class. Boys go to sports first (45 mins of activity is AMAZING) while the girls wow the sweet folks at the senior center with their um "tap dancing". This consists mostly of jumping and spinning while making noise with their tap shoes- but they do look darn cute while doing it! The girls go to dance next, 15 mins each of tap, ballet and tumbling while the boys distract all of the employees that work at the senior center with their antics. Also pretty cute, because they are kinda low key after being exhausted in "Having a Ball". Here are a few pics- you will notice there are more pictures of dance. I know- I am sorry! But Sports is so fast moving, all the pics I took turned put to be a blob that may or may not have been Andrew. And bear with me because all the pictures are taken through glass and some through glass and mini blinds.

Andrew and Annabelle ready for class 3 hours before it started!

Andrew stretching his "hammies"

Andrew stretching his arms... And that's where the action begins and the "good pics" end. Sorry folks!

Annabelle and B posing for their "before they were famous" shot

What a good listener! Or maybe giving someone the "stink eye"

Seriously, is there a cuter tap dancer anywhere?

Cut to... the boys playing while the girls are dancing

This time, she is actually listening!

Look really closely- SHE IS RIBBON DANCING! Seriously hilarious!!

Ballet takes a lot of concentration!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-08-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today would have been my dad's 61st birthday. Hard to believe it is our 2nd one without him. It has been a sad (of course), overwhelming (naturally), busy (purposefully) and sad day. Did I mention sad twice? My mom broke her foot recently and so I got to help with the preparations for the big dinner we held in his honor today. I also got to clean after the party- but it was nice to keep my mind off of what we were actually gathered for. We had a big dinner with our family at mom and dad's (I still call it that even though he has made his home somewhere else for almost 2 years). My mom and I put together picture frames with my dad's name in it, and the meaning of his name: "Jerry- a holy man, having great strength". If you knew my dad, you know how amazing the parallel is from his name to his life. Andrew and Annabelle spent the night with Mimi tonight. And the first time I really truly cried tonight was on the way home. I was weepy all day (thank you to all of my girls calling to check on me), but on the way home, I lost it. I think I feel so sad knowing so much time is passing without our sweet Pappy. Pappy, we miss your sweet smiles and big hugs, your corny sense of humor and your bright twinkling eyes. We miss the way you loved us and never let us forget. We are so thankful for the assurance that we will experience all of those things again some day. We love you Pappy, today and everyday and we miss you fiercely. Happy Birthday Daddy!

Summer Fun Part 3

2010-08-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe this post should be called "you know it's time for Andrew to go back to school when..."
Andrew was getting restless before school resumed and to prove it he went right into "Captain Destructor Mode", making messes and generally wreaking havoc all over our house! Here are a few pics of what happened. By the way, the undocumented messes took place on other days and I did not have the energy to snap pics about them. But they do deserve honorable mention:
Epmtying an entire super size bottle of spray sunscreen on Buzz and Woody, who were laying on our mattress while I was washing the sheets.
Spraying an entire can of shaving cream onto the counter and wall of the master bath while I was in the bathroom (talking on the phone, its' the only place I can get privacy) I was told by an "ex-friend" that maybe he was getting into trouble because of the "quality of care I was providing". Andi- you are going to eat those words before you know it friend!
Dumping 5 lbs of sugar from the jar onto the floor while I was doing Annabelle's hair (wow- that was awesome to clean up)
Successfully cracking (and not getting the shells in) 1 dozen eggs into the sink while I was in the shower (a different time than you will see pictured)
The mother of all messes- as pictured

This is our fridge, with a barstool pulled up to it, the black stuff is chocolate syrup (you will see that in other pics as well) and the white stuff is flour (other pics too)

This is the other side of the fridge and part of the breakfast "nook"-notice the empty carton of eggs?

Here is where the eggs went... And that gross looking congieled stuff? An entire container (100) fish oil caplets

More nook

By our stove

Now the mess was sort of contained to the kitchen, but as you can see in this shot, flour footprints all over the house

Don't be fooled by the toys lying around- they are obviously not nearly as fun as the other stuff Andrew chose to play with!!

Here are his little chocolate footprints as he made his way to the garage to inflict more damage

Here are his grubby little paw prints on the doorknob. Thankfully, this is where I caught him.

Next step? Throw him in the shower with a loofa and try to clean up the mess. When he got out of the shower and got himself dressed he cam into the kitchen and said, "Oooh Mommy, look at that big mess, I get you a towel?"

Summer Fun Part 2 (Sort of)

2010-08-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

These are my two maniacs at bedtime... There is nothing really "summery" about it except it's light out as I try to get Andrew to bed.

Who is putting who to sleep?

Notice even Tank is in on the action!

"Mommy, I promise I will be sooooo good if you let me watch a movie in bed tonight"

"HA! Just kidding!!! Maybe this is why you don't let me watch movies in my room!!"

Summer Fun Part 1

2010-08-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

took a "few" pics of the kids this summer so I will start posting them now. If you don't live in AZ, or Chandler in particular you may not know that "fall" has already arrived. That is why I am speaking about summer in the past tense! So although it is just as hot as it was in June, any pics taken after the first day of school (July 26) are considered "fall related". I know a little weird huh? So here are a few summer pics!

Andrew in the book nook

Andrew rockin the Hannan Montana guitar

"Are you looking at my sister? You better not be!"

"That's What I thought!"

A little love in the water table, yes, I know water tables are for playing "at" not in...

Annabelle thinks it's a little too much love in the water table!

Rewind

2010-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is a post I should have done 2 months ago when it happened. But I forgot about it until now! Last week when it was pouring our "garden" (see non landscaped dirt patch) got flooded. Andrew took one look and said, "Hey guys- I got a great idea! I going to get my swimsuit!". I though that's odd... We don't swim in the mud- WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!! Sometimes we do. Here is what gave him his inspiration:

2 years in the making

2010-08-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

We started an adoption journal 2 years ago. We had no idea when and how God whould add to our family (we still don't), but I knew I wanted to chronicle the journey. When I worked for Building Arizona Families (the adoption agency we used to bring Andrew and Annabelle home), I counceled lots of familes to write down thier journey. I did this with Andrew and Annabelle and wow-what a gift!!! It's so cool to look back and see God's fathfulness. When I started the journal, I was so excited....It was a step in the right direction at least!!! As months turned into years and all I was journaling was about how we were still praying for the baby and we knew God had all the plans in the works and we just were't aware of them yet. I was getting really discouraged. Last week I asked "my girls" (we meet on Tuesday nights to pray and encourage one another) to start praying for a miracle. I was no longer anxious to bring home another child, but aching. Bill is on board with adopting again too, but thanks to his job in accounting (and our lack of home equity), all he sees is dollar signs.
Our most recent conversation went like this:
M: SO you are sure you want to adopt again right?
B: Of course, I have always been sure, but where is the money going to come from>
M: If this is God's plan for our family, he will make it happen!
B: Molly, be realistic, we cannot expect God to drop $20,000 from the sky?
M: Is that what is would take for you to really have peace about this?
B: Yes (picture Bill rolling his eyes), God would need to drop 20 grand from the sky!

So I asked the girls to pray that God would drop the money for the next adoption out of the sky. AND HE DID!!! Well, not the entire ammount, but over a thousand dollars came from a VERY unlikely source. In addition, Building Arizona Families also offered me a job doing home studies (I worked for them before, but this is perfect timing). All of that to say, God has provided a way for us to start our next home study! AAAHHH!!!!! So pretty soon we will be adding another section to our blog with strictly adoption type news (I know adding a new job will totally allow me more time for blogging right). Of course we will keep you posted-thank you for entering into this new amazing journey with us!!
Team Sanborn + 1 (or maybe 2)

First Day of School

2010-07-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

TODAY WAS THE BIG DAY! We started Pre-K at Riggs Elementary. Andrew and Annabelle are in the same class this year (hooray)- which we have been waiting for! Here are a few shots of us getting ready and going to school. As a "new" SAHM, I am making it my resolve to take more pictures. This time last year for their first year of school I was too much of a train wreck to properly document the event so this year I took a "few" more. I even started crying after taking the pics of the school supplies. I KNOW YOU ARE SHOCKED! After looking at these pics I think I am overcompensating! You be the judge!

School Supplies provided by Mimi- Everything on the teacher's "Wish List" times two! A note to my friends with multiples, start saving now!!!

Andrew's Backpack

Annabelle's Backpack

Of course Mimi couldn't leave the school supply isle without something for my kids to keep in their backpacks in addition to the "community supplies" pictured above!

All packed up and ready to go- all the supplies wouldn't fit in the backpacks, so we had to carry Target bags too! Thanks Mimi!!!

WE CANT WAIT!!!!

Annabelle in her "staging area"

Clothes furnished by Mimi, Shoes furnished by Grandma and Grandpa

Andrew in his "staging area"

All packed up and ready to go!!

My sweet babies-notice the hand holding!

At this point we are still at home and I have been crying all morning!

Mimi and the kids walking up the sidewalk

Standing in front of their room

Annabelle playing with Katie- one of only 3 other girls in the class, Andrew is playing with the kiddo in the white shirt. His teacher is hugging him so you can't see him

Annabelle peeking at us at pick up time!

Andrew getting ready to leave (that's Miss Karen sitting in between them)

Andrew making a run for it down the hallway after school

We are so tired, we need to rest before we walk to the car!

Their project from today- a poem from "The Kissing Hand"

Of course Annabelle's first job after school was to have a snack

Andrew just wants to vegge after school in front of the TV

So the fist day of school was a ROUSING success!!!!! The teacher said they did great, and no issues between the two of them. She said you would never know they were related! No bossing (Annabelle), and no body slamming (Andrew). So proud of our babies!

Happy Famiversary #4

2010-07-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today we brought Andrew and Annabelle home from Ethiopia. We celebrate our "Gotcha Day" as the day we met them. On this day, we flew home to our friends and family, to our lives. Everything looked different than it did before we left. Our home seemed warmer (metaphorically and literally, it was 115 the day we came home), our friends and family seemed "better", everything was more exciting. It was like walking into a familiar room that has just been painted a little bit brighter of a shade than it was before. Still the same color, just brighter some how. Our baby toys seemed more high tech, the car seats seemed cuter, our nursery seemed more "pottery barnish" because now they had babies in them. I cannot even describe it. We were home. Not panicked and jet lagged (that came later), but calm and ready (as we would ever be) and blissfully happy. Seriously blissful. We waited so long to be parents, this was our dream come true! We watched the video of the day we met them in Ethiopia (I know, we should have been watching the "airport video, but we watched that on Gotcha Day because the Gotcha Day video was getting turned into a DVD from a tape-Confused?). It brought back a rush of tears and sweet memories of my babies before I really even knew them. The last part of the video was of the policeman who found Annabelle taking us to the place he found her. A little ditch carved into the side of the road. Far enough from the road that she was not in danger, but close enough to foot traffic so she would be seen. Something about that still makes me bawl as I am typing. My sweet baby girl wrapped in a blanket on the side of the road in Ethiopia. Next to trash from the street vendors. Her sweet little body lying there waiting to be rescued. I feel like her birthmom must have watched from somewhere to make sure she was okay, that someone came to her. I cannot believe the choice that woman had to be facing to leave her baby. Can you? Andrew was waiting to be rescued as well. Abandoned in an ally covered in blood, umbilical cord still attached. We don't think his birthmom ever got to see his sweet face, she probably died in childbirth. All we know is at that same time a half a world away, we were waiting to be rescued as well. Rescued from the pain and doubt of infertility. Rescued from the waiting and anguish of adoption. We needed desperately to see God work a miracle and make us a family of 4. Thank you Lord for rescuing us- all of us, and moving heaven and earth 4 years ago to make us a family.

Happy "Gotcha Day"

2010-07-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

Our Sweet Babies on Gotcha Day 4 years ago!

This was Andrew's face for the first 3 months- we called it "shock and awe"

Annabelle with a half smile... "Is this my good side?"

Today is our big day... Well one of them anyway! We celebrate a lot in this family (true dat)... But since Andrew and Annabelle celebrate a lot of BIG THINGS on the same days, it makes it easy to remember!
Today is our "GOTCHA DAY"- or the day we finally "got em" in Ethiopia. The first time we were able to put our hands all over OUR sweet babies. We were told to expect them all over before cuddling them because they could have all kinds of contagious skin diseases. Yeah right. We had kissed them all over by the time I remembered we were supposed to do that. And it turned out Annabelle did have a SUPER contagious skin condition-scabies... Ever heard of it???!! Andrew had a um... "chicken pock" on his arm. It was infected and the size of a nickel on his tiny arm. The edges of his owie stuck out from the edges of his band-aid. We think it was some kind of bite from "something". The first "bath" (wash down in a sink), the first time we changed them (Andrew loved being naked). We changed their clothes 3 times in the 6 hours we had them. Not for the usual reasons you change babies clothes (spit up, poop or pee), Just because we could- and they were OUR BABIES!!!! The first time we fed them. Andrew sucked his bottle down and held it with his own 2 hands (at 4 mos of age). So sad to me then, but now I know he was just trying to help as he always is. Annabelle only ate about an ounce at each feeding, a combination of terrible stomach pain, upper respiratory infection and allergy to the formula. This worried me to no end! Just ask my mom as I called her sobbing that night (10am) her time. "Yechy and Hamme are sooo sick, and their clothes dont fit, they are way too big. And there is something wrong with Annabelle's skin, but it doesn't look like any of the pictures I brought in the notebook. And did I mention they are sooo sweet and beautiful??! (Ah- a mother's love! Looking at pictures, they were not as "beautiful" as I thought)."
After a whole day with my babies, we took them back to the orphanage at night. I bawled my eyes out at the prospect of sweet Annabelle not sleeping because she was unable to breathe lying down due to the congestion. I was scared Andrew was holding his own bottle during the night time feedings, or worse yet not even getting a night time feeding. Both babies cried too- I am sure this was just God's gift to me to let me know they were attaching properly. I was terrified because Bill asked ME what temperature the water should be during bath time. REALLY???!!! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!!!!???? We had left the "bath time duckie thermometer" at home. We didn't sleep a wink recalling how adorable the babies were and how sweet all the nannies were and the Dr. who cared for them, seemed to know everything about them in addition to all the other kiddos she cared for. Bill has some really interesting (see weird) "video diary footage" I will post it someday.
I know every mommy says they can't remember their life before they had kids. Neither can I. I also know every mommy remembers the minutes before their baby is welcomed into their arms. Whether it came in the form of the excruciating, "one last push", or the excruciating wait standing outside the "family room" watching two nannies carry your tiny bundles down a sidewalk. No words can quite describe either of those instances. Love, relief, worry, exhaustion, elation, the feeling of your heart no longer residing inside your body, but outside (wrapped in a hot pink snow suit, that was Andrew, not Annabelle by the way).
We prayed for Andrew and Annabelle before we knew who they were, before we knew they were going to be adopted and not biological. We had an army praying before and we got our referral. That same army lifting us in travel and the minute we met our babies. Praying for safety and wisdom and strength and endurance. 4 years ago today, we held our babies for the first time and our lives were changed forever. Thank you to all of you who loved and supported us that day and still do.

Noise

2010-07-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have recently marveled at two things:

1. How independent the "babies" are getting
2. How much of a mess they make

Yes, I know... Mess- Welcome to having children Molly! Maybe it's because I am home more, maybe it's because our home has been transformed to the Cleaver home with dinner on the table at 6 every night and mommy doing all the housework while daddy is at work. Maybe it's because I felt I had more of an excuse for the wreckage we call a family room when I was working. I think mostly it's because the kids are getting so independent. They like to play without me (insert sobbing here). Due to this, they get out what they want when they want. No direction really until it gets too crazy. It is such a joy to watch them, and sad at the same time. I want to jump in and play! Usually I do, but I also know there is value in having them play without me. So without direction, the house gets messier. I'm not that concerned about it because they are really good helpers when it is time to clean. Well, Andrew is... And Annabelle is learning to be a good helper (and like it)-it's her goal for July to "have a good, helpful attitude when anyone asks her to help" (Andrew's is to "use kind hands and words and to not freak out when he doesn't get his way"). So even though the mess is catastrophic, it no longer means I will be up for 2 hours after bedtime cleaning it up or using up every last bit of patience "helping" them clean it up.
I feel like we clean up 40 times a day, and we did just finish our chores and the kids wanted to have a dance party. This generally means I have about 10 more minutes of "clean". They put on their own CD (Veggie Tales, "Boys in the Sink" hilarious if you don't already have it! It's Veggie Tales "boy band" style. A rap and love ballad are included), turned up the volume and danced with wild abandon. I was trying to check my e-mail and was a little on edge about our budget with me staying home, and being home bound today as Bill needed the van, and the volume of the music- and then I looked up from my lap top. I saw my two precious babies dancing with their silkies as capes and laughing their heads off. At the end of the "updated" hairbrush song, they collapsed into a heap on the floor laughing hysterically. I thought back to 4 years ago today when we had no noise in our house, good, bad or indifferent. The occasional moan from the dog, or the quiet hum of the laundry machine (once a week mind you because I only needed to do laundry once a week-remember those days). But no noise. No yelling, crying, fighting, shouting, fussing, dancing, laughing, chatting-nothing. Just quiet and solitude. Peaceful, yes. A sweet friend who walked with me through infertility would pray for me each week as we met, "Lord- give Molly a peace knowing the pain and disappointment will be turned into the sounds of little feet filling her house". We had no idea what God had in store then. So much more than just feet! So yes, its messy, crazy and LOUD. But I wouldn't for a second want my life without all the noise.

I wish I had a "nanny cam"!

2010-06-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

The kids have been getting up super early and going to bed a little later (darn you summertime sunshine). So today, by 8:30am the babies were a TRAIN WRECK!!! So we laid down on the couch for a little rest. We all fell asleep for about 10 minutes-just enough to energize them, but not enough to make them less crabby of course. I hear Annabelle say, "Hey Andrew- Mom's asleep, want a snack?". Instead of blowing my cover, I continued to keep my eyes closed. I hear Andrew get the barstool and drag it over to the fruit snacks, pull the canister across the counter, open it and pull our several packages of fruit snacks. Now remember, my eyes are closed, so I have no idea how many fruit snacks are actually being eaten. Annabelle decides to take her fruit snacks to the art table-"I wanna color. Do you wanna color? Mom's still sleeping, so I will have to get the stuff myself." I then hear the crashing of about 16 coloring books as they fall off the art table. Andrew- "Oh no Anbewl, not a good choice. Holy Cow! Want some fruit?" Annabelle- "Yes please, cantaloupe"-good to know they use their manners when they think I'm sleeping! I remember there is no cut melon, just a whole melon in the fridge. I now sink furthur down in the couch so I can supervise this while still looking "asleep". Andrew takes the stool from the fruit snacks to the fridge and gets the melon off the top shelf. Andrew- "Woah, be careful buddy!" He puts the fruit on the kitchen table, goes and gets a cutting board out of the drawer and a Cutco knife out of the knife block. He carefully chooses the best knife for the job, the pointy seraded one-great! He carries the knife, tip down mind you, to the table. Annabelle-" Let me help, I'm a better chef than you." Andrew- "No, I good cutting this Anbewl, watch me". He then cuts the melon right in two. SERIOUSLY!!!! Not exactly even pieces, but in two! Andrew- "Awesome! (takes a bite from half the melon). Takes the knife and cutting board to the sink. Andrew- " So delicious Anbewl, wanna have some Anbewl?" Annabelle- "No thanks, I don't like cantaloupe".

Happy Father's Day Billa!

2010-06-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at church we heard a great Father's Day message. The message was powerful for Bill and watching him be impacted was powerful for me. It wasn't anything earth shattering, but listening to my husband worship was. For the first time in a long time, I heard his voice singing above the rest. It was like looking at him with new eyes. He made a few "promises" as his role as dad goes due to the message. He is starting a journal for each of our kids to write to them about what is going on in their lives, and how he feels about it. This is huge considering he has never journaled (except in college where his "journal" was more of a notebook to comment about scripture). He has also committed to a few other things that will help keep our family running smoothly. I have had a really hard time on Father's Day the last couple years, as it's kind of sticky when you don't have a dad. By have a hard time, I mean bawling my eyes out for the whole weekend and not being able to walk down the card aisle. I have been holding Bill to the same standard I held my dad to. Well, guess what? Bill is not my dad. My dad had more practice and more insight, as he was a father for 32 years and Bill has been one for 4. My dad as I remember him (MY HERO) may be different than my mom remembers, or what really happened. Regardless, my dad will always be the measuring stick I use as dads go. So I need to cut Bill a little slack. I got a phone call from a sweet friend today reminding me just how great my husband is. Sure, he works too much and sometimes inadvertently undermines what I do with the kids. GRRR!!! But he loves me, he loves our kids, he is committed to being a dad and a husband. He is faithful and hard working. Although he seems to put too much into his job, he is the primary breadwinner and so his job has to be important (to him and to us). So today I am reflecting about how lucky we are to have him. Happy Father's Day!

Musings of a stay at home mom

2010-06-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

HA!!! Yep- that's me!!!!! I'm a stay at home mom!!!! Well, I've been done teaching for about 10 days, so I have a ton to "muse" about! I will say we have had some AWESOME days at home- lazy, busy, what have you. 3 days we stayed in our jammies until swim lessons, had swim lessons and came home and put clean jammies on. I love summer! My kids have also discovered someone interesting this summer. Her name is Dora. Yes, you know her- Dora the Explorer. Thank you Lord for sparing me from Dora all these years. The lists of issues I have with Dora is lengthy. I know all kids shows are kind of S-T-U-P-I-D, but I think Dora may be the worst (or maybe it's that we have one DVD and it seems to have been streaming non-stop for the last 10 days). First of all, Dora's parents wave goodbye to her in the opening credits and THAT IS THE LAST WE SEE OF THEM!!! Really Mr. and Mrs. Explorer?! Nice family values- your 5 year old can just roam (seemingly the whole world) with her pet monkey with no supervision (except her older cousin- Diego is another post). I am estimating Dora's age on the size of her head. Pet monkey? Kind of a bad idea huh- although he seems to be the brains of the operation. Dora has a backpack that contains all kinds of things that would never fit into a backpack (trust me, Andrew has tried). When she takes them out to have you choose what she needs to help her, the backpack eats everything else and says "delicioso"- this mortified Annabelle. "The backpack just ate all of Dora's stuff- Mommy, how will she get the stuff she needs to finish her adventure?" Great question. The map- the only real directions Dora ever receives or follows come from him. He helps her get to her destinations with a song that memorizes the land marks. I do actually like this as it teaches kids to be aware of their surroundings. Although it is a little vague like, "dunes, boardwalk, beach". Really, cause those are super exact. No one would ever get lost following 3 word directions for 30 mins. Then there is Swiper, the sly fox who always tries to steal stuff. "Swiper, no swipping" (3 times)! If this works, obviously Swiper has some sort of moral compass and knows what he is doing is wrong. HE needs to go to rehab and choose another profession. "Paging Dr.Drew"! Often our encouragement doesn't help Swiper make a good choice. To this I say, "DORA TURN AROUND!!!!" Swiper is always RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!!!!!!! Lastly, "DORA-YOU CALL YOURSELF AN EXPLORER??!!!" Make a freaking decision! Don't ask us, a bunch of kids, what to do! You are the "explorer"! You should be able to exercise some Independence and good decision making skills. SERIOUSLY! Isn't that why your parents let you out of the house in the first place to "EXPLORE" everything? Gosh Dora! Get it together!

Friday was the last day!

2010-05-30T00:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this post is a day (scratch that, it's now past midnight- 2 days) late. Friday we had our last day at "Basha Bear Cubs". That's the day care center the kids have been going to for the last 5 months. I was dreading taking them for the 3 months we knew we would have to take them after our beloved Miss Alyssa resigned. The time has flown by, but you have no idea (unless you have done it) how much of a refief it was to walk out of that hallway with my babies for the last time.
They made it through the first experience "I never wanted them to have" (other expereinces include but are not limited to broken bones, broken hearts, and all of jr. high). I grieved over sending them, trust me, if I wasn't a contracted employee it never would have happened. I would have quit as soon as Miss Alyssa did, but I wanted to finish well at my job. The decision to stay home was made into a no brainer when I saw the change in my kids as they attended day care for the first (and last) time. The cost involved was also a rude awakening for sure!!
I have 2 kinds of kiddos in my life and one is the "survive anything and let it roll off her back" kind. Day care didn't phase her! Even when another 3 year old called her a b*#$@ on the play ground. Even when another kiddo said "your hair is too ugly, you can't play with me". And the last straw (just this week), "EVERYONE has to have a boyfriend mom, Amelia said". Cut to me with a paper bag breathing heavily into said paper bag!
Then I have the other kind of kiddo. The kind who is "institutionally sensitive" (it's a real thing- look it up). The kid who picks up every bad habit in the room. The kid who cries every Sunday because "I no wanna go Basha Gear Gubs". The kid who gets sent to time out because someone called him a baby for crying when he missed me (okay, the time out was for practically choking out the girl that called him a baby). The kid who said "mommy, I stay you all day all time now? No more Basha Gear Gubs? Yeah Mommy!!" I know right- rip your heart out!!!
So you can see why (even though it was a necessity) we are so glad to be done! Our teachers there did a great job (hense none of the "counseling worthy" moments came as a result of their actions). They tuly loved our kids and were kind. They just aren't me. And that is why we are so glad FRIDAY WAS OUR LAST DAY!!!

Mama, Mommy and Mom

2010-05-23T22:03:00.001-07:00

I have had a massive migraine all day- I took too many Excedrine Migraine pills and I was crazy "busy" today. By "busy", I mean I was tired and sick to my stomach sensitive to light and sound, but I couldn't rest because my heart rate was so high from the caffeine in the pills. Usually I would be THANKFUL for said caffeine, but today it was overload. So the migraine never went away and I had this buzzing feeling all day. So I did jobs I could do in as much quiet and darkness as possible. I rearranged the tupperware cabinet (disaster before, we'll see how it looks in 2 days), organized the kids medication cabinet (moved the enema's out hoping to never use them, see "poop jail" and "paroled from poop jail" and finished Annabelle's scrapbook (Andrews will be done next week). Don't be too proud of me, it's only to 15 months. At this rate I will be done with year four when they are 6-Boo!! And it's not FANTASTIC!!! It has fancy paper and adoption announcements and birthday invites and stuff, but nothing too out of this world. Looking through all of their baby pics it reminded me of how far they have come. God is good- All the time!

Before I pass out from all the "drugs" I have done today, let me get to my point... I have a friend who blogged about this (betterisonedayinhiscourts.blogspot.com), she's on my blog call. She is much more eloquent than I will be tonight- I promise you that! She blogged about the transition kids and women go through from mama to mommy to mom. Of course I bawled my eyes out- as I always do when I even think about my kids getting older! Annabelle calls me "mom" often, but also calls me "mama" and "mommy" so I'm okay with it. Mostly depends on her mood (not sassy-mama, sort of sassy-mommy, extra sassy- mom). Today, it was my baby boy (insert boo-hoo here). He always says my name twice, "Mommy can I have those fruit snacks please mommy?". Today he called me Mom. He called me Mom 23 times. You know I counted!! Never mommy, mama or anything else, just straight up mom- all day long. I even tried to give him a hint, "Mommy loves you, Mommy will help you, do you want MOMMY to do it?" But alas, MOM it was. I should probably just accept it and move on, but I'm not quite ready to stop being mommy. Here is to tomorrow when (hopefully) Mommy will make a comeback.

May I take your order?

2010-05-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

We have been wanting to add to our family for some time now. We would like to adopt from Ethiopia again, we are hoping $20,000 drops from the sky to make this possible! I started an adoption journal about a year ago. I write an entry in every once in a while so our baby #3 (or baby #3 and #4) will know how much we were praying for him or her (or both) while we were waiting. I did this for Andrew and Annabelle and it was very theraputic as we waited. With this adoption journal, I am feeling more anxious. I don't know why, I just am. I think I know our baby (or babies) are out there waiting and I have no way to get to him or her (or them). We have a few friends who are expecting and it has made our kids even more excited about getting another baby. They talk about it all the time- it's so cute! They tell everyone, "we are waiting for our baby, it's coming soon!" I hope so sweet Andrew and Annabelle!
Today's conversation was with Annabelle and it went like this:
A- Gosh mommy, I really want a baby.
M- I know honey, me too! We just have to be patient and wait on God's timing.
A- I thought God was picking if the baby would be a boy or girl. He gets to choose when the baby comes?
M- Yes honey. I know it's hard to wait (trust me cutie- I KNOW).
A- Jillian is having a baby, Olivia is having a baby. Mom- hurry up and order our baby!
If only it was that easy!!!

Annabelle's last day of school

2010-05-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, if you've been paying attention, Annabelle isn't going to school right? Well, technically no... Andrew goes to preschool 3 days a week, they both go to Basha Bear Cubs (day care) 3 days a week. Annabelle started preschool at the beginning of the year, but it was too much to take them to two schools on the same days and... you get my drift! So Annabelle and I have been having "girl time" while Andrew is at school. We go grocery shopping, to Starbucks, do our chores, paint our nails, just the two of us. On Tuesday, her teacher Mrs.Johnston called and invited us to the end of the year party at preschool. I was a little nervous abou this because she hadn't seen the kids in so long. What if they didn't remember her, or what if she acted shy? But we went. It was so fun! She hugged all her friends (even the boys) and had a great time. The other moms even brought their end of the year projects back to school for Annabelle to put her handprint on. It was a pillow case with all the kids hand prints on it- Annabelle made one too. The teacher told us that everyday since Annabelle has been gone (almost 6 mos), when she takes attendance and says "Who are we missing", everyone says, "Annabelle". Of course I think my baby girl is pretty special but it doesn't hurt to hear it from someone else!

Parolled from Poop Jail

2010-05-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today was the day!! Andrew busted out of Poop Jail!!! For the last 5 days he has been grounded to his room awaiting the arrival of well, the poop. Check my previous post if you have any questions. He pooped in his pants 2 times in 2 days in poop jail (more than 3 hours each time), so we took all his clothes off. I have to say he was quite a sight the last 2 nights, naked reading a book in bed, naked eating popcorn on the floor, naked playing with cars. The occasional naked time out for throwing something at his sister (who may have been taunting him, oh who am I kidding? who WAS taunting him). He fell asleep naked twice, for the whole night. We were determined to "win the power struggle" (BTW- I can't tell which of my kids is "the strong willed one"). So today, he went to poop jail after school, had a snack, played (only 1 hour) and eventually got tired of being in his room and pooped on the little potty. He ran out of his room yelling, "Mommy, I poop on potty", "Come see Mommy". Well I am embarrassed to say, that little brown grossness was the best thing I ever saw!!!! We jumped up and down, we yelled, we hugged!!!! We got to pick fruit snacks and a new pair of underwear! I realize this is only one time in what might be a long drawn out battle- BUT I'M TAKING THE VICTORY!!! Now the poop jail philosophy says he has to go back to poop jail tomorrow. Hopefully the result will be a consistent pooping everyday and soon without poop jail. For now, we are just happy for one evening with one poop.

PS- Today is the anniversary of our "Adoption Day". 3 years ago today we went to the court house in Mesa and declared our desire to be a forever family. It was a tear filled, amazing day. But the post commemorating this momentus occasion got moved down on the priority list by poop. Who would have thought?

Poop Jail

2010-05-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

Seriously, look it up!!! Andrew has been having a hard time um pooping lately! He was super constipated, a round of laxitives, ensuing diarrehea (sp) and back to constipated. Okay, now we are "regular". I know you're relieved! Now our problem is not using the toilet. I know- if you think this is too much information please skip this blog and come back in a few days.

The rest of you want to know about "poop jail".
For the last month, Andrew has been pooping in his pants. Every day between the hours of 4pm and 6pm he comes to me and says, "Mommy, I pooped in my pants". We have tried pull-ups, no underwear, no pants, m&m's, fruit snacks, movies, trips to the Disney Store. We have even promised an immediate trip to Disneyland. NOTHING IS WORKING!!! Nothing is bodily wrong with him... So we are trying a new approach. It's called "poop jail". It was reccommended by our pediatrician- so we feel it isn't child abuse if he suggested it!!! When I researched it, a few articles pointed out the same thing. If a child over the age of 4, and nothing is physically, neurologically, emotionally or developmentally wrong with him there is only one reason they are pooping in their pants. POWER STRUGGLE! If the child is able to urinate on his own (which he has been doing for a year and a half), he can poop on the potty but is choosing not to-hense the POWER STRUGGLE! Well, a different mommy may say, "oh, he'll be fine eventually"- not this mommy! Buckle your seatbelt Andrew!!! If it's a power stuggle- MOMMY WILL WIN!!! Maybe this is so important because I have encountered a 3rd grader who is not totally potty trained and I am convinced THAT WILL NOT BE MY CHILD!!!! So here goes. Right now, Andrew has been in his room (aka. poop jail) for almost 2 hours. He has had his dinner, in poop jail of course. He is not allowed out of his room until he poops on the potty. He has also pooped in his underwear twice. While the potty is in his room, not even 3 feet from where he has decided to poop in his pants. This is not pretty! I am not looking forward to the next few days of "poop jail", but hopefully it will be the means to an end. I will let you know how it goes Hopefully my Mother's Day present will be a big fat turd in the toilet!!

Sort of Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

So I was looking for some cute pics to post for "Wordless Wednesday" and I came across these. Aren't these "precious"?

New School Year

2010-05-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about being a teacher is the "new start" every July (yes, we are modified year round, so the first student day is July 26 this year). I love buying a new lesson plan book, moving the furniture around in my classroom, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, getting my roster and writing my "welcome" post cards. There is just something refreshing about always getting a new start. Now, my own kids are getting that "fresh start". Andrew and Annabelle will be starting Pre-K at the school I teach at in July. Well, I should say, used to teach at. After 11 years of "fresh starts", I am going to be experiencing all of it exclusively as a mom. I am so excited to get to stay home with my babies the last year before they go to school full time. I am beyond excited to only have to worry about 2 lunches instead of 25, 2 conferences instead of 25 (50 in my half day kinder days), 2 field trips, 2 back packs, 2 water bottles (a must for school when it starts in July). Just 2. I am so thankful for this opprotunity. I am also getting really nervous about leaving my chosen profession. I love teaching- LOVE TEACHING!! If there is anything I would want to do outside my home, it's teach. I love seeing the light in the kids eyes when they discover something new, I love saying the pledge and having a moment of silence each day. This is all I have know for 11 years. When I first started teaching (right before we got engaged), I thought this will be fun... 2 weeks off every 10 and summers off! AWESOME!! And then I had my first day at school. I took my class of 21 kindergarteners inside my classroom, waved good bye to thier parents and started sweating! I looked at those sweet tiny faces and felt the total weight of my responsibility. It was my job to make them smart, to protect their physical being as well as their hearts, to make sure they eat lunch and go to the bathroom... The list goes on. I WAS TERRIFIED!!!!! I eventually got into the swing of things, but every first day I had that same "pit in my stomach" feeling of immense responsibility. I settled in to teaching and knew, "this is where I belong". In 21 more school days, that will no longer be my responsibility. Sigh of relief- I THINK NOT!!! I now have an even more immense responsibility as a full time stay at home mom!!! YIKES!! I have those same moments with my kids all the time, "it's my job as your mommy to help you learn, tell you the truth, explain how a toilet works, tell you why you can't have candy for breakfast, and keep you safe and..." the list goes on right?! My life changed forever the day we got our referral. I had a feeling I didn't know exsisted. It's like love, fierce love, and pride, chest bursting pride, and anxiety, breathe in a paper bag aniety, and thankfulness, a what could I ever have done in my life to desserve this amazing blessing thankfulness. It's all summed up in the way we love our kids. The kind of love only a mommy can feel. That feeling has made me rethink what I have done with my life for the last 11 years. I now know-this is where I belong. With my sweet babies Andrew and Annabelle. I don't know how long I will get to be home, that's not important now. Even more than when I became a teacher, dedicating my life to my students and my profession, I know "this is where I belong".

30 blogs in 30 days

2010-04-30T18:04:00.001-07:00

Can I get a "hoot hoot"? So today is my last blog for April. This expereince has taught me to really enjoy my kiddos. Something (at least one thing) happens each day that is worth writing about. So pay attention Molly! Thank you so much for reading the blog- it is so encouraging to read your comments. KEEP EM COMING!!! I won't be blogging everyday, but I will try to blog a lot more often than I did- PROMISE!! It just wouldn't seem right if I didn't end these 30 days with a funny story about my little ones. We were watching 101 dalmations (the cartoon one), and the daddy and mommy tell the puppies to go to bed.
Me: "Wow- look at those puppies listening the first time" (looking for a teachable moment even on TV)
Annabelle: "Yes"
Andrew: "That's good choice mommy. Puppies listen first time"
Annabelle: "Well, that's fine for puppies mommy, but not for kids. And besides, that's not even real"
Sigh- here's to more teachable moments!

Never go to the bathroom

2010-04-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

Going to the bathroom has been perilous since we first became parents. Our first perilous experience came in the airplane on the way home from Ethiopia and the hits just keep on coming. My children are 4 years old and it is still dangerous to use the restroom. BTW- I was a teacher before I was a mom so I already had a bladder of steel and could complete most of my business in the bathroom in less than 30 seconds. Today here is what happened.
Andrew (yelling so he could be heard from the kitchen through the bathroom door): Mommy, I get some water okay mommy?
Me: sure honey
Andrew: Mommy, I get some lenninade okay mommy?
Me: Okay buddy, I might need to help you
Andrew: (loudly to himself now) Woah, thats big lenninaide!
...Some noise...Which I now recognize as splashing...
Andrew: Mommy, I need your help with the lenninaide mommy
Me: Okay buddy, I'm just washing my hands
Andrew: Mommy, I think I spilled the Lenninaide mommy!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T21:31:00.001-07:00

National Daughter's Week

2010-04-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

Actually, I missed National Daughter's week (it was a few weeks before son's week, but I didn't even know there was a son's week until it was almost over). So here is my post about my daughter. I would like to reiterate my statement from Andrew's post for son's week- boys and girls are VERY different and I have been blessed with one of each. As boys and girls are different, so are their relationships with their mommies (and daddies too). I cannot express the way my sweet baby girl melts my heart. Her beautiful brown eyes and those pouty lips-she is my Ethiopian Princess. Her delicate long fingers are so gentle. She always wants to take care of everyone around her. She rubs my head when I have a headache, and she knows when I've had a long day and wants to rub my feet (lotion included of course). She loves to watch others when they try something new- she is such an amazing cheerleader. She is so careful when trying anything new herself. She is not very fond of dirt, and even less fond of all things from the insect world. She loves anything pink, pink and sparkly is even better! She loves cooking and wants to have her own cooking show some day (I think any show with her name in the title will do). She always needs some more nail polish on her toes, she hates chips!!! She has a lot of sas- just enough to make me sure someday (A VERY LONG TIME FROM NOW) she will be able to handle herself just fine! Every morning when she gets up, she likes to know an itinerary for the day. I just don't know where she gets that from!!! Okay, enough with the bragging... I have an amazing relationship with my mom so I knew having a daughter would be great! We love going shopping and to lunch together. But it's more than just having a baby girl to do girly things with. When we first met this tiny 8 pound baby in Ethiopia, her sweet gaze took my breath away. She looked at me as if she had been waiting her whole 4 month life, just for me to hold her. I was prepared for crying when she met us, or listlessness from not eating enough, or just plain feeling icky because she was sick. I was not prepared for her to fall asleep in my arms within 5 minutes of meeting her, with me promptly wrapped around her teeny tiny finger. I was not prepared for those beautiful eyes to say, "there you are mommy, I've been waiting for you".

Mother of the Year Monday

2010-04-26T18:08:00.001-07:00

We do a lot of fun stuff. We do playdates at least once a week, we paint, we color, we do our nails (Andrew gets clear coat on his toes, we play in the play room, we help make dinner, we have sleepovers at grandmas house, mimi's house, we have family dinners, we visit Gigi, Aunt Frankie, Aunt Shari, we go to lunch with our friends, we had a "Tiana Screening Party" when Princess and the Frog came out, we go to the zoo, the library, the grocery store, Starbucks, the museum, the puppet show, the park. The list goes on. So it warmed my heart when my babies wanted to be parents. Here's how it went...
Annabelle: "Andrew- lets go get our kids"
Andrew: "Ok Annabelle"
The babies go get Tiana and Woody and wrap them in silkies.
Annabelle: "Okay, our babies just got up. Let's put our kids in time out!"
Andrew: "Yeah Annabelle! Woody and Tiana make bad choice! TIME OUT!"
And that's what my kids think "being parents" is all about.

"Trying" or Trying

2010-04-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been seeing "happy couples" all around me. You know the insanely happy couples that feel like everyday is thier honeymoon. On facebook in the past few days, I saw one of my friends celebrating her anniversary. Her husband got her one dozen roses for each year they had been married (6 dozen to be exact). Another firend who was just overwhelmed being a mommy to 4 kids, her husband gave her a trip to the spa with her sister. Someone else I know felt the need to declare how fantastic her husband was on her status-something about being married to the most handsome, creative, brilliant man in all of creation. I was feeling really insecure about my husband... No roses (forgot our anniversay this year), I literally scream at him, "I AM LOSING IT!!!!" before he notices I am stressed, and I don't think I have ever gushed about him on facebook (sorry Bill). I made excuses in the past, maybe if we had more cash he would be able to do nice things for me. Maybe when we have kids, he will appreciate the kind of mom I am and show my appreciation for that. I am starting to realize that he just isn't that kind of guy. Truly. This is a tribute to William Sanborn-and the time he "tried".
Friday I came home with a really bad headache and a sore throat and cough. Consequently, I did not clean the house (I like to do this on Fridays so we have a clean house all weekend). Here is where the "trying" starts. He made a few comments about how much of a mess the house was. I think this was his way of telling me I usually do a good job (thanks Bill). I took some Nyquil at 8:30 so I could get a good night sleep since I was headed to Beth Moore on Sat. morning. I made a point to tell him I had to get up at 6 to get the kids ready and myself ready before I left. He let me sleep till 6:30-more "trying". But now we are 30 mins behind schedule! I got to Beth Moore on time, and had an amazing time! I got home (remember, still sick) and Bill took the kids across the street with him to hang out with some neighbors ("trying" again). But 15 mins later I looked out the window and no Bill in sight! He ran into another neighbor's house to help her with a computer problem. And left our kids in the driveway. So I went outside to watch the kids for an hour or so with a temp of 101. I brought the kids in, bathed them and put them in bed by myself. I took more Nyquil at 9- no Bill. This morning, Bill did take the kids to breakfast (actually trying this time). Then he invited the neighbors in when I was sitting in my pj's sick on the couch (remember the mess the house was in on Fri. night? Exponentially worse on Sun). He spent the whole day taking apart the kids car seats (agian, "trying" a little?) and not getting anything done that needed to be done around our house, so we can smoothly function this week. At the end of my rope, I went grocery shopping alone. Feverish, tired, hacking and steaming at my husband. I returned home to find the kitchen clean, both kids bathed, Andrew sleeping, Annabelle getting her nightly breathing treatment and 2 loads of laundry done. I love you Bill. You may not be the roses and champage, spa getaway, surprise me with diamonds kind of husband but thank you for trying.

Random Happenings at the Sanborn Home

2010-04-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

So I am still sick, and exsausted from spending the day at the Beth Moore conference (best way to spend a "sick day" ever!). But I am only 6 away from blogging everyday! Here are a few random pics to fill up the "blog a day" quota. I know- cheap!!

Andrew in the "book nook", aka the hole next to the entertainment center, note the big black cords...

Andrew and his Daddy playing baseball- I could not for the life of me get the pic up of them together! Maybe tomorrow... This is how the afternoon went-Andrew would hit the ball off the tee, and run after it while Bill said, "great job buddy!"

Annabelle with her "rock star" look! She went to her first "girly girl" party and got this snap in hot orange "hair piece" and the pink bow wrapped around a braid. I think maybe the stylists at "girly girls" didn't know how to do black hair... You decide!

Father of the Year Friday

2010-04-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

We are all really tired (and a little sick-Andrew has a hoarse voice and runny, stuffy nose, Annabelle will need a breathing treatment any minute and I think I'm getting a sinus infection). So I am pulling out a story from 3 weeks ago that I keep forgetting to post on Fridays. Bill has taken up cycling, quite avidly actually. He is on a ride every Sat for at least 5 hours. He loves this time as it is a good distraction from work (he has worked until midnight 4 nights this week). So on Saturdays it is me and the kids. We go to Paradise Bakery for breakfast with our Mimi and whoever else wants to join us. A few weeks ago, Bill stayed home from his ride and had Andrew while the ladies went to breakfast and shopping. We do this all the time on the weekends when there are two of us. We often joke about how easy it is with only one kid, so I didn't worry about the boys together (aparently it was the girl I should have been worried about). The boys watch "Dirty Jobs" together while we shop! Annabelle, Mimi and I , left the house at 8am. At 10:30, I was a little surprised I hadn't heard from Bill. Great! He and Andrew must really be having fun. We ate breakfast, went to Target, where Aunt Brenda bought Annabelle a pair of sparkley flip flpos, we went to Someburros for lunch (of course) and to Carter's (huge sale). At 12:30, 4 hours later, I finally got the phone call.
Bill- "How is everything?"
Molly- "Fine- what's up?"
Bill- "Um everything's great. Andrew ate a great lunch, we went to the park. We are having a ball! By the way, where's Annabelle?"

An apology to all moms

2010-04-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Annabelle and I just spent over an hour at Tagret looking for two birthday presents. Both little girls, one turning 4 and one turning 6. I could not believe the amount of CRAP that is out there!! So if Andrew or Annabelle or both are invited to your child's birthday party I would like to apologize to you and to your child. I will apologize first to your child because Andrew and Annabelle will probably bring clothes for your gift. I know it's not as fun as a playdough ice cream maker (thanks alyson) and not nearly as messy. But I am too practical of a mommy to buy something that will break in 5 seconds or junk up your mommy's house. Build a bridge and get over it. Now to my mommy friends- I am sorry for any piece of garbage my children choose for your kids on thier birthday. I know and fully understand that clothes would be more useful and practical. There are only two incidents in which I will not require my children to choose something practical for your birthday boy or girl. First, if we don't know each other very well I may not feel comfortable choosing clothes for your kids. For instance, I am not a big fan of the skull and cross bones on baby clothes. I am sorry if this offends your skull and crossbones boob tatoo. Second incident in which I will allow my kids to buy junk for your kids- payback. If your kids bought something for my kids that is horribly loud, annoying, obnoxious, has more than 5000 pieces (legos excluded), or requires a PhD to operate- you are getting it right back! This disclaimer excludes all members of our family, since you are related to us and have the right to buy whatever you want. But if you have kids too, remember what they say about payback!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-21T21:18:00.001-07:00

"I don't deserve this"

2010-04-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today we took Andrew to get some blood work done. He has been sleeping a lot and not eating very much, so I took him to the dr and they want to run a bunch of tests, just to be sure he's okay. If you have children, you can understand why I was not too thrilled about doing this!!! Annabelle has been positively fixated on the "blood work". Asking questions, telling everyone we meet... Andrew on the other hand just kind of shrugged his shoulders, "ok mommy, I be okay". So we take him and sit in the waiting room for 30 seconds, seriously, I WAS NOT READY because they called him back so quickly! He came over and gave me a big hug "bye mommy see you soon" and Annabelle a big hug, "don't worry Annabelle, I be okay". At this point I wanted to burst into tears (I know SHOCK). Bill went with him, I could hear him say, "OW, OW, OW" with increasing volume. Then they came out. One alligator tear still in his eye, sticker on shirt, cotton ball wrapped around his elbow and sucker in hand. "I so brave mommy"-he said. Then I really did cry because he was brave, and a little because I was shocked! My man child/diva?! No drama? Not one tear (remember, the big one stayed in his eye). Wow. Bill and I went on and on about how proud we were of him... Annabelle of course interjected with, "boy, I sure was waiting patiently in there!". Of course lots of kuddos for her too- Andrew was probably like "WHAT!!!!!" So the kids got to have McDonalds for lunch. I said Andrew got to pick because he deserved it. Halfway through the meal Annabelle says, "mom- take my fries", I say "why?", Annabelle "I don't deserve them". I tried to not laugh because her face was so sad, she must be serious! Not 2 seconds later Annabelle says, "Hey mom-what's deserve?"

PS- She never did eat her fries even though we concluded she did deserve them, basically just for breathing (you should have heard the discussion about what makes you deserve something big like a mani/pedi versus deserving something you "need" like food). Andrew ate her fries, and boy did he deserve them!!!

Hot Babes

2010-04-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

I have always had difficulties with the heat! I guess it's pretty unfortunate I live in AZ then huh?! Well, growing up our house was always set at around 70 degrees. NO JOKE!!! Even in the summer. My mom and dad almost went broke with the electric bills in the summer- can you imagine?! Well, I have been married to Bill for 9 years and the biggest argument we have is about the temperature of the house. I say, "turn it down, I have thyroid issues- I can't regulate properly". Bill says, "we aren't made of money- get your own personal fan" and then I say, "you don't care about how I feel"- and the argument ensues. Well, my baby girl is hot blooded too! She only sweats from her nose- if you've never seen it, it's hilarious! Little beads of sweat on the bridge of her nose. When she is really hot they appear again as soon as you wipe them off. When we brought them home from Ethiopia we had a layover in DC. When we got back onto the plane, we were stuck on the runway with no air. July in DC-enough said. Annabelle with her scabies and exczma, heat was not good. She screamed bloody murder for the 6 hours we waited on the runway (okay, it was only like 15 mins but it seemed like 6 hours). As soon as we started moving I put her tiny 8 pound body up to the air vents and she was in heaven! That brings me to the current story... Annabelle has been getting in bed with us at night. She has to be touching every part of me with her tiny little heat radiating body. YIKES! I usually move into her room so I can sleep without sweating! So last night we were snuggling on the couch and she kept fidgeting. I told her, "this is not play time, you can either lay with me on the couch or go to bed". To which she responded, "I love to snuggle with you mom, but you are always so hot". So she may be adopted, but she is definitely mine!

Happy Birthday Annabelle!

2010-04-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is really two posts in one because it's a few pics from Annabelle's b-day and a lot of pics from the Luau party we has for both kids. We had such fun playing Limbo, a fishing game, treasure hunt and of course the smoothies, fruit kabobs, hot dogs, and cupcakes were a big hit!

You will see the cupcakes in a pic- beach scenes with two teddy grahams on each one (one in a bikini, one in board shorts of course). This was the first year the kids really had a ball at their own party! So to all you mommies out their who feel like parties are in vein... keep up the hard work and it will pay off someday! Happy Birthdays sweet babies!

All the March birthdays

Annabelle opening her Princess helmet from mommy and daddy

This is the only pic of Annabelle and her scooter (oh you can't see the scooter), she got all ready, took one "scoot" and said , "gosh, my scooter needs a rest"

AND THE PARTY BEGINS.....

Bethany enjoying her cupcake... This pic is mostly up because it's BJ (Olivia's daddy cleaning up)- what great friends we have!!

Now the cute pic of B!

Andrew (nice Hawaiian shirt huh?), Logan, Trevor and Bethany

Andrew and Logan

Our new friend from school- Alaina- who stopped by with her parents on the way to Sea World!

Annabelle opening presents

Andrew- "um, that's blue, it's probably mine, excuse me, um, just a bit further..."

YES-WALL-E UNDERWEAR!! How sweet they still get excited about that!!

Liv helping Annabelle open presents

What's a luau without LIMBO??!!

Logan says- this is EASY!

Carter and Winston's daddy showin the kids how it done!

Annabelle says, um this looks fun, but get that pole out of the way, my hair may get caught!

Cupcakes made by mommy! Yes, the teddy grahams are lying on the beach wearing bathing suits!

The Hill family. My college friend Emily and her sweet husband Ryan and their 2 boys Carter and Winston. Baby Truman made his appearance a week later. Em has been pregnant at 2 of the kids 4 birthdays!

Fishing Game

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl! We are so proud to be your parents! You have learned so much this year and we are starting to see more and more of your sassy spirit! We love the way you have "negotiated" your bedtime routine and how your eyes sparkle when you smile. You are really learning how to be helpful. We are so excited to see what God has in store for you in the next year!

Air Show

2010-04-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Bill took the kids to an air show at Falcon Field today. They saw planes (obviously), and helicopters (Bill was the most impressed with these) and a huge display of tiny model railroads. The railroads were Annabelle's favorite because, "they are just so tiny and cute". When I asked Andrew how his day was he said, "Momma, I had a great day with my daddy". AAAWWW!!! I would post pics except I dont have any because Daddy forgot to take any!!! I guess he did something right, since he was the "best thing" at the air show.

Oh what a difference an hour makes!

2010-04-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

I left work at 3:05 today- it was AIMS testing this week and I am spent!!! But glad it's over to say the least. I wanted to pick the kids up early but was warned by Annabelle to "never pick them up before recess-hello". Yeah I know-precious! So I left the kids at school and went straight home and cleaned the whole house in about an hour! Seriously the place was a total dump!!! I cannot believe how much I can get done in just one hour of solitude. I HIGHLY RECCOMMEND IT!!! I then picked up the kids made dinner and all that other stuff. So now it is 8:30 and I have my aching feet up after a long week instead of busting my bootie to get the house clean before I pass out! AWESOME!!! Every mommy needs this every once and a while. Seriously-make a pact with your friends or neighbor- spend an hour by your self each week and see how you feel!!!

National Sons Week

2010-04-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

I got a message about this from a friend who has two little boys! I had no idea and if anyone knows when National Daughters Week is, please let me know... You know how I need to make everything even!! This is great timing because I was just discussing this with a friend of mine. She is expecting her frist baby in a month and a half. She has sisters and this little guy will be the first "man-child" in her family. When I asked if she was excited about having a baby boy, she was a little unenthusiastic. She is excited to be a mommy at all, boy or girl and a healthy baby and pregnancy so far has been has to her, been a huge blessing. She has no idea what is about to happen to her. Now, I have been given both sides of the spectrum (stay tuned for Daughters Week). So I know from which I speak (and so do those of you who have at least one of each). As boys and girls are different, so are thier relationships with their mommies (and daddies for that matter). I cannot put into words the way my sweet baby boy melts my heart. His big brown eyes and those long eyelashes-forget about it. When he snuggles with me on the couch, I always close my eyes and squeeze a little tighter. The way he is so adventurous (see the post about climbing on the top of the car), and careful at the same time. He loves to be dirty like nobody's business, and loves bathtime even more. The way he says "Yay!" when he finds out he is home with me the next day instead of going to school. At night, when I say prayers with and for him, he always says amen and "Mommy, scratch my back please mommy"-yes 2 mommies! Whenever I tell him I love him he says "I love you to so much mommy". When I pick him up from day care he always tells me he has missed me. He takes care of Annabelle, he loves to rub my feet- with lotion!!! Well that kind of turns into a mess but boy are my feet soft! He likes to help me cook, he wears a bbq apron. Okay, this post could be ridiculous at some point, so ends the list of why Andrew is the best son. I thought the reason I love him like I do was because when we met him in Ethiopia, the nanny handed him to me first. His sweet wide eyes took my breath away. I thought it was because I was finally holding a baby, or because we had waited so long to bring them home, or the sheer excitement of it all... But now I know I was so emotionally overwhelmed and "bawling my eyes out happy'' because he was my son.

Family Recipies

2010-04-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

I love to cook- my mom is a great cook, and so was my dad and they say they got it from thier parents. Lately I have been thinking a lot about family legacy... I know kind of deep-well it doesnt have to be. I think about it a lot because I want my kids to be tied to their heritage as Sanborns (and Cates) not just as Ethiopians. Now that Andrew and Annabelle love to help me cook, I wanted to find some family recipies. Tonight seemed like a great chance as I had 3 generations of women at my disposal at dinner. I would get the famous recipie for Aunt Heddy's jam. She makes all kinds, but most famously, stawberry and jalepeno. I was so excited to get these coveted recipies and low and behold- they are on the box of pectin... So much for legacy!

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

2010-04-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

So another thing I learned from a fellow blogger ("Mother of the Year Monday" being one as well) is "Wordless Wednesday"- usually just a picture, um that's probably pretty obvious... But I am choosing to do it today because I have a migraine and took Excederin PM before I remembered I had to post... I hope I don't fall asleep before I publish this post!

Mother of the Year Monday...

2010-04-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it's time again for me to showcase why I will not be getting the "Mother of the Year" award. I hope to make this a weekly section of this blog, as there are no shortage of these "moments" at our house. As in many neighborhoods, we have the the ice cream truck on our street. Although this is actually the Kona Ice guy with his tricked out truck playing Reggae music with a disco ball seeming to lure children in at the dinner time hour. This is one argument I don't want to have with my kids. They are not getting a snow cone every night at 5:30! I would like to say it's on the principal that it's not great for them, but it's really because I never have any cash. So my kids hear the truck coming from 3 blocks away and they say... "Mommy- listen, it's the music truck!"

How long before they figure out the guy actually sells ice cream out of his "music truck"?

In the blink of an eye

2010-04-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

So you will have to excuse the randomness of this whole month! I feel like the whole reason to blog is to keep friends and family updated on our crazy life. Since I was terrible at blogging before, I only wrote about big things. Now that I am blogging everyday, I feel at liberty to discuss less "important" things. Today is one of those days. When we had our baby shower (4 years ago... can you believe it?), we skipped the games (thank you Al and Aunt Brenda) because I HATE games!!! But as I opened each gift, the person who gave me the gift had to offer a piece of advice. All of the awesome women at the shower gave amazing advice (even the ones without children!). The theme of the advice was the same... YOUR BABIES ARE ONLY LITTLE FOR THE BLINK OF AN EYE! While I knew this to be true because so many wonderful moms had told me that, I still had a hard time with it. Waiting for my babies seemed to take a lifetime!!!! How could everything slip by so quickly? I remember vividly standing in the nursery at about 3am. Andrew and Annabelle had only been home a few months and I was feeding them every hour (Annabelle) and every two hours (Andrew). I remember thinking- "I must have taken a shower in the last few days because I didn't smell like spit up, but I don't remember when. I have no idea what time it is, or the day for that matter. The only thing going through my mind was how hungry Annabelle must be to be screaming so loudly, and WHY ON EARTH WAS ANDREW UP TOO???!!! It wasn't his turn!" I stopped in my tracks, holding and feeding Annabelle with one hand and patting Andrew in rhythm with the other, took a deep breath and savored the moment. "This will be over in the blink of an eye", I said out loud. And now, it seems like I did blink and my sweet babies are eating spinach and artichokes on their chicken and leaving a restaurant carrying their own black Styrofoam "to go" containers. So if you are a mommy, or about to become a mommy heed the advice of soooo many mommies before you! Enjoy every precious moment. Every pee stained, puke soaked, tantrum throwing, food spitting precious moment because it will be over in the blink of an eye.

Prayer for a Friend

2010-04-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

I was going to blog about something else tonight, but then I read my friend Kristen's blog www.betterisonedayinhiscourts.blogspot.com. I have known Kristen since high school and her sweet husband Kirk since college. I had the privilege of praying for them as they waited on the adoption of their first son Zachary. Since then they have welcomed Mackenzie (also adopted) and now after 11 years of trying, they are pregnant with a little boy. They got some bad news today. The kind of news that just takes your breath away as you read it. Visit their blog for more detail. Even if you don't, please join us as we pray for this amazing family.

Happy Birthday Andrew

2010-04-09T20:08:00.001-07:00

Okay, so Andrew's birthday was actually one month and one day ago. But those of you who know me know what a hassle it was to blog about birthdays. I have a NEED for everything to be equal, and I wanted each baby to have their own special entry. But I was so terrible at keeping up with the blog, I was afraid, Andrew (b-day first) would have just 2 days for his birthday and I would post Annabelle's and then forget to post a few days after and her b-day would be up for weeks, while Andrew's would have only been up a few days. Then it would look like Annabelle was my favorite... You can see the problems this creates. Well now that I am blogging up a storm, I can blog for each of their special days without worry of favoritism! Yeah!-so here is Andrew's 4th birthday:

Celebrating all the March birthdays on Bill's side: Andrew and Great Grandma Elsie on the 8th, Grandma on the 9th (Grandma couldn't make it to the party), and Annabelle on the 10th. Annabelle shares her b-day with our anniversary (which Bill forgot this year, but that's another post)! We are busy in March!!!

Andrew and Annabelle on Andrew's actual birthday

Opening presents from mommy and daddy- helmets, for what you may ask.... follow the story line please!! Andrew ran away from his present from Uncle Justin- he needed a little time to adjust!

"I love me some "shake shake" (parm cheese)!!" That is a ring of parmesean cheese on his face from trying to stick his whole mouth in the container.

Oh- here is the present from UB- a scooter!!!! WOW!!!

"Now let me just get the wheels going the right way, not that's not right, grrr!! This better be awesome once I figure it out!"

AND IT IS!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Boy! We love you so much and are so proud off all you have accomplished this year. It seems like you are learning more and more everyday. We love your laugh and your precious hugs. We will never get tired of hearing you say "I yuv you so much!" You are truly an amazing blessing and we cannot wait to see what the next year has in store.

Sun Bathing Babies

2010-04-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today it was 85 degrees and we took advantage by getting in our swim suits and filling up the water table. BTW- they got the water table for their 1st birthday from my mom and dad and we still use it all the time!!! So if anyone out there is looking for a great b-day gift for a baby- WATER TABLE IS IT!!!

Andrew in his new swimsuit- Thanks Mimi, uh I mean Easter Bunny!

Annabelle modeling the 2010 old Navy swimsuit collection (notice the coordinating, not matching swimsuits? THAT'S HOW WE ROLL!!! Again, thanks Mimi)

A little sibling love IN the water table (now, I had to get a pic before I yelled at them for being in the water table... I think the weight limit is like 30lbs-oops)

This is how our sweet moments often end, in terror!! Andrew is a little bigger than annabelle and a lot stronger, so he usually body slams her, or picks her up or in this case squishes her and causes her to almost fall out of the water table. Although it doesn't take much since she loses her balance climbing more than 4 stairs without a grown up and a handrail.

MAN DOWN!!!

2010-04-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

So I missed my blog yesterday. In my defense- I fell asleep in my clothes at 8:30pm and woke up at 3:30am to two ice cold hands on my feet (Annabelle had a nightmare). So I am going to cheat and post twice today. I am on my way outside to take some pics of my sweet babies playing in the water! I love AZ!! Remind me of this when it's 115 for the 10th day in a row! Post again tonight!!

Almost midnight

2010-04-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

I just came into my room and saw the computer and realized I STILL HAVEN'T BLOGGED TODAY! Yikes! Okay... Short and sweet! I finished a Bible study tonight- Beth Moore's Breaking Free. It was awesome! Ladies- if you've never done a Beth Moore study, GET TO IT!! All of her studies involve homework time, but not too much and you will be spending a lot of time in the Word. This particular study focused on how we often let our lives be ruled by sin- and we don't even know it. She is a wonderful Bible teacher and so knowledgeable. Plus, her sweet southern accent puts a kind spin on anything she is preachin! I try not to "sell" people or things on this blog- but this study was amazing!!! To learn more about Beth Moore's life and ministry go to www.lifeway.com

6 down, 24 to go!

Easter with Team Sanborn

2010-04-05T20:38:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of the pics from the Easter season- starting with easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpas, moving to Easter Eve morning at Mimi's, then Easter morning at our house and ending with easter egg hunt at Aunt Brenda and Uncle Kim's. Details from the Easter on yesterday's blog, but pics today!! Happy Easter!!

Annabelle and Andrew hunting for eggs at Sanborn's

The first "swim" of the season

Easter Eve morning getting Easter baskets at Mimi's

Of course they got the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks to go along with the "build-a-bears"

Oh sweet brother- the Easter Bunny has come, please wake up!

If you have ever had Easter at the Cates home you know exactly what this is... A trail of Robin Eggs leading from Annabelle's bed to her Easter basket

Andrew's Trail

Andrew's basket

Annabelle's basket

Our new family tradition of Daddy reading the Easter story

Collecting our "trails" to put in our Easter baskets

Posing for the camera at church

6 of the 7 great grandbabies... Blakeleigh was sleeping

Caiden, Cooper, Annabelle, Andrew, Brenton and the little guy in the back is CJ

Annabelle loves that her eggs are easy to find... All are hot pink!

Andrew says- what hunt?! I dominated those eggs sucka!

The Theme for this month is "Big"

2010-04-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

The theme of "National Blog Every Day for a Month" this month is "BIG". So sometimes we will be blogging about big, and sometimes not. Today, we are. Today was a BIG day. Of Course first and foremost was the day it self. Easter- it's a pretty BIG deal. Thank you Lord, for dying on the cross and saving us from ourselves.

We had a BIG day with our BIG family, 7 kids under six (for one more day anyway- happy b-day tomorrow Caiden), 8 easter eggs for each (that's 56 easter eggs stuffed with goodies and hidden in Aunt Brenda and Uncle Kim's yard), 8 first cousins (kind of like aunts and uncles), 12 grown ups (who we love so much and are also related to us in one way or another) and this is the BIGGEST part of the day- 14 BIG hours with no tantrums. Yes that's right guys!!! BIG deal!!!! Church (not at our church with sunday school and familiarity) for almost 2 hours. Sitting still too!!! Move to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Kim's for almost 4 hours- again, no tantrums even when it was time to leave. Playdate in Jillian and Elliot's yard for 2 hours in the evening, no tantrums. Dinner and bedtime with no tantrums. BIG deal again. I am feeling so blessed for so many things today. I am blessed by my savior who died for me, blessed by the grace extended by that same savior everyday, blessed by an amazing family, blessed by the "easter Bunny" who always knows just what my kiddos need (thanks Mimi), blessed by the memory of my sweet Daddy who would have loved every minute of today, blessed by my husband who was so helpful during the chaos, and blessed by my precious babies BIG day with no melt downs. I guess you could say I am blessed BIG time!

Never Leave a Child Unattended

2010-04-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well, sometimes this goes without saying. Just as I start to let my guard down- WHAM-O!! As the mother of Andrew Jess Yecheneku Sanborn, I am VERY aware of the reality of the name of the post. Lately the kids have been playing really well together for really long periods of time. Today I took Andrew home to change our clothes (we went to breakfast at our Mimi's house in our jammies-pics to come tomorrow). Annabelle stayed with my mom, so it was just my baby boy and I! I changed Andrew and started to change my clothes when I heard the service door from the house to the garage shut. I was not alarmed by that since Andrew often gets himself into his car seat when he is in a hurry to go somewhere (BTW, we were going to Target). I am, however, ALWAYS hesitant to leave Andrew aka "Handy Andy" in the garage too long for fear he would recognize the tools in Bill's arsenal as Pat, Rusty, Dusty, Squeeze, Flicker, and so on. For those of you reading this blog that are unaware- those are some of "Handy Manny's" tools (a hammer, a wrench, pliers and flashlight respectively). While Andrew loves his play tools, he has not realized the difference between the toys and the real things yet. For example, the weight of the tools, the way they can cause damage or serious bodily injury to others. I digress... So as I hurriedly throw my clothes on and race to the garage to prevent my 4 year old from inflicting injury on himself, I discover the tools are not what I should be worried about. The car is. As I swing open the door, I see Andrew standing on the top of the van. Yes, you read that right. He was standing on top of the van. I tried not to panic for fear or startling him and causing him to fall to his death (or at least or first ER visit), I calmly said, "Andrew, that is very dangerous, please get down". WHAT WAS I THINKING!!??? He sat down on the roof of the van, grabbed the edge where the sliding door was open and swung himself inside the van. He then got in his car seat, we drove to Target and never spoke of the incident again. And what did we learn from this little incident... "Never Leave a Child Unattended"!

Sweet Nothings...

2010-04-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Okay here it is 11:00pm on the 2nd day of the "blog everyday for a month"- I am barely making it today, and it's only day 2!!!!! Today we had a super busy day which included "quiet time" where I was the only one who fell asleep. I woke up to the smell of poopy pull ups (Andrew has had some gastric-intestinal issues), and Annabelle saying "I want popcorn". You would think my "power nap" would have left me refreshed, but alas... So at the end of our day, Bill still isn't home and I am doing shower time alone. Usually this would warrant curse words or result in bath less children but today was different. Today I wished I could have frozen time. I watched my sweet babies bundled in fluffy towels, sitting on their knees on a bath mat facing each other. Andrew would say, "Annabelle tell me somethin" and touch her chest. Annabelle would say, "Eyeball" or something just as sentimental. Andrew would repeat what she said and they would both laugh so hard they would drool. They would point at each other and say, "ew- you're drooling" and laugh some more. Seriously, I wish I had a video camera, but I think the semi-nakedness may have been censored by the "powers that blog" . Don't get me wrong, they fight and bother each other and make faces at the one that is in time out. They brawl with the best. But today for about 5 minutes, I got to see them as more than brother and sister, I got to witness them becoming friends.

Well- Here Goes Nothing...

2010-04-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I have been a major slacker about blogging lately because we have been so busy, which isn't that why we decided to blog in the first place? To keep you all informed of all our crazy antics? So I decided to commit to "National Blog Every Day For A Month", Yikes right??!! Hopefully this will get my bootie into the habit of blogging everyday. Plus, I was totally put to shame by a certain unnamed friend who is in Africa blogging by candle light with intermittent power outages. So I guess wanting to watch "Modern Family" isn't a good enough reason to skip it!! And I will be suckering all of you readers into blogging if you don't already (ahhem- Alyson). It's fun it's easy- well, we'll see!! So check back with us often and happy reading!

The Zoo

2010-01-12T08:49:00.000-08:00

Okay... Not exciting by any means- but we go to the Zoo A LOT!!! I mean A LOT!!! We have a membership so we try to go once a week. These pics are from our trip with our friend Olivia. We also have pics from our trip to the Zoo with grandpa and daddy, but most of the pics were of the animals (nice work daddy). So if you have a burning desire to see a pic of a tiger or lion, leave me a comment and I will post one! Otherwise- here are the kids at the zoo!

The one good (see picture of the kids) pic we have from the zoo with daddy and grandpa

Annabelle and Olivia sharing some love

Andrew loves him some goats!!!

Mom, I am soooo over your new camera!!!

My sweet boy posing for a picture

The kids checking out the tiger

Annabelle and Olivia BFF

So you will be seeing a lot more pictures now that Mimi and UB gave me a camera for Christmas!! Yeah!!! Here's to a new year and LOTS of new pictures!! That reminds me... Christmas pictures to come!

Mother of the Year Monday

2009-11-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

I got this idea from 2 other bloggers (one is on my blog call "Adventures of the Bunch Family"). Of course, it seems as if I have no end to my entries to the "Mother of the Year" contests. Yes, I say contests because I have been in the running since 2006 when we brought the babies home. The latest "my adoption agency would never re-certify me if they knew this" story comes from yesterday. I have been taking the kids on a walk in the jog stroller for almost a month now- every night, without fail. They fall asleep at almost the same spot in the walk each evening! It has been heavenly. In the last few days the walks have been getting increasingly less relaxing because the kids are staying awake for longer and Andrew is "bothering" Annabelle. Last night the "bothering" consisted of him looking in her direction. I was totally fed up by the last half mile. I actually made my three year olds get out and walk the rest of the way home. In their jammies with no shoes! So there you have it... Mother of the year- I think not!

No pics yet but...

2009-10-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to blog a little more as my kids are just so stinkin funny! Of course they would be even funnier in pictures but still! Yesterday my mom took the kids and I to see the Toy Story Double feature- I know we are crazy! The kids had a lot of fun, except for the first 20 minutes. During the previews, there was an advertisement for "A Christmas Carrol" with Jim Carrey. Of course in 3D! Andrew was so freaked out he kept crying saying "too scary!". At the end of the preview it said the movie was rated PG and "some images are unsuitable for children". Who's bright idea was it to play that preview in a theater filled with children??!!!

Okay, back to the kids- Annabelle is watching the cooking channel with all her own cooking tools (she hopes to have her own show someday- she will do anything as long as it's called the "Annabelle Show"). She is giving directions and telling her "audience" how delicious everything will be. Andrew is outside with Tank sharing a glass of instant breakfast. He has poured the instant breakfast on the ground to allow the dog easier access. And who says boys and girls are different??!!

The Last Time

2009-09-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

This year has brought a lot of painful firsts without my dad. My brother's first job, mom and dad's anniversary, the first Thanksgiving, Christmas, every holiday. The babies first swimming lesson, Home Depot "build-it" day, the first day of school. That was supposed to be "our time". Two whole hours just me and my dad while the kids were at school. Now it's two whole hours of him absent from the place he should be. While each first is just as painful as the one before, I can't help but think of the lasts. One year ago today was the last time. The last time I saw my sweet Daddy's eyes. The last broad smile. The last joke about the hospital food. The last time I stroked his swollen arm, or rubbed his aching back. The last time I saw him with my precious babies. The last time I prayed with him, and held his hand so tight. The last time I laid my head on his chest. The last time I hugged his neck. The last time I sang to him and kissed his head.

I know that with God's grace we will move past the painful firsts and the excruciating lasts.

Psalm 31:7b

"...for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul."

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-08-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today would have been my dad's 60th birthday. Last year on his birthday, the babies made him a poster that said "Hurry Home Pappy". He spent his last birthday in the ICU at Banner Desert. Then, we thought he would be home in a matter of days. God had other plans. We celebrated tonight with our whole extended family. We had all of Daddy's favorites for dinner- Mom made meatloaf, UB made mashed potatoes, Nana made corn souffle and brought watermelon (which Andrew ate half of) and we brought dessert, his favorite ice cream Mint Chocolate Chip from Baskin Robbins. My mom was so thoughtful and bought us all gifts- ALL OF US! She gave us pics of Daddy. She framed 2 of Daddy and I at our wedding. She also gave me a necklace and a heart pendant with Daddy's birthstone. UB, Bill, the babies and I gave her a ring "from daddy". Uncle Kim prayed before dinner and thanked God for the grace He gave us to get through the last year. I put my sweet babies to bed and Andrew actually said, "miss pappy sad". Yes baby boy, we miss Pappy and we are sad. We rejoice in the knowledge that he is resting in the presence of Jesus right now. We love you Daddy- Happy Birthday

Andrew's First Day of School

2009-08-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew and Annabelle on Andrew's first day. As you can see, Annabelle rolled out of bed to wish her brother well!

It's Official! Andrew loves school! He started school a few weeks ago and is having a great time. On his first day, Mimi stayed with Annabelle while I took Andrew to school. Annabelle is not enjoying brother being at school, she laid on his bed and pouted after he left. When I dropped Andrew off, he didn't even notice I was gone. I was, of course, hysterical in the hallway. Fortunately, Andrew is at the same school I teach at and one of my friends came around the corner to witness my sobs and gave me a big hug. As a matter of fact, the only time Andrew cried the whole day was when I went to pick him up! I reminded him that I am his mommy and he should WANT to come home with me!! A big thank you to all his teachers for making this transition smooth. And of course, thanks to Sunshine, the reason Andrew gets out of bed every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I know the pic looks funny, but it's the best one I have with his "pack-pack"

The reason Andrew even goes to school- the class hamster, Sunshine

We may even get to watch Sunshine over Oct. break- lucky us!

Andrew and his teacher Miss Elissa

This is Andrew actually crying when we came to get him (Annabelle, Mommy, Aunt Frankie and Mimi). I guess it's good he doesn't want to leave, no matter what my ego says right?!

Happy Famiversary!

2009-07-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the airport on July 15, 2006

SO GLAD TO BE HOME!!!

I have been a little reluctant to post since our camera has still not been replaced with a working one!!! But here goes... On July 15th we celebrated the 3 year anniversary of the day we became a family. Now technically, we became a family the day we saw their pictures and accepted the referral. We became a family again on June 14th when they went to court and took our last name and again on July 10th when we met them for the first time. But we call the 15th of July our Famiversary because that was the day our babies met their family. We had a big homecoming at the airport with all of our "family", related of not! What a beautiful sight they were. It is kind of bittersweet because last year on our Famiversary, our family gathered for African food (not too adventurous trust me) and of course our Pappy was here to celebrate too. It was our first Famiversary without him, and it just wasn't the same.

On a lighter note, we went out for Ethiopian food and Andrew and Annabelle loved it! Picture Andrew eating an entire injera by himself and Annabelle demolishing an entire serving of fosolia! It was quite a sight!!! Here are a few pics of these sweet babies 3 years ago. Enjoy!

Annabelle with Mimi, not too sure of the paparazzi!

Andrew with his grandpa. This is what his face looked like for the first 2 months he was home. We called it "shock and awe"

Andrew on the first night he slept in his crib

Annabelle is feeling like she is in the lap of luxury! This is the life!!!

Proud Americans on the day after they came home... Ready for a swim!

Swimming Lessons

2009-06-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

We now have graduated! We took "intensive" swim lessons every day for two weeks and are now expert swimmers! Yeah right... These lessons were more of a lesson in mommy letting go, as I had to watch them through the glass. They did awesome! Not a tear (except for mommy's) and they listened and followed directions really well. But here are a few pics of the kiddos during their first swim lesson adventure!

Here are the little sweet ones before the lesson, a tad nervous...

Annabelle just realized that there is a good chance she will be getting her hair wet!!!

Andrew gazing thoughtfully at the other swimmers

It's a little hard to see as theses pictures were taken through glass, this is Andrew- no "wobble goggles" needed swimming across the pool with their teacher Mr. Tyler

Here is Annabelle with Mr. Tyler swimming across the pool! Notice the "wobble goggles" AND HER HAIR IS WET!!!

Two Babies Turn Three!

2009-03-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

I know- it's hard to believe. And in the interest of fairness, Andrew's b-day was yesterday and I wanted to do a special blog just for him. But then Annabelle's special day is coming tomorrow she would need a special one as well and if you follow my blogging history you know I am not very consistant. One blog could last for 2 days (Andrew's b-day) and others are the only blog for a month (Annabelle's b-day). This created a problem of Annabelle looking like the favorite just because I am a slacker. So here is one blog devoted to both of my sweet babies. Andrew's entry is first because his birthday is first not because he's the favorite (do you for see many years of this back and forth??). Mother of Multiples Batman!

Andrew turns three...

Andrew is still the strong silent type in every way. He loves "Cars", Sesame Street, his dog Tank, playing at the park (especially climbing the rock wall), playing basketball, watching football, running, hiding, jumping on a trampoline and eating all kinds of foods. He will try anything once. His new fav is hummus- go figure! He has such a tender heart. He can't stand it when his sister is in time out and is equally distraught when he gets placed there as well. He willingly apologizes when he wrongs others and loves to hug and kiss. He loves it when daddy comes home from work, which results in minutes long bear hugs around the neck. He loves to dance to all kinds of music. He can play the french horn with Grandpa's instruction. He can take almost anything apart. He has a smile that will melt your heart. Someday (when he's 30) he will drive the ladies wild. He stole my heart the first time I held him in my arms and right then and there I thought I could never love him more. I was wrong. I love him more and more each day. Happy third birthday Bubby!

Annabelle turns three...

Annabelle loves pink, sparkles and anything remotely involving princesses- Disney or otherwise. She has a very long attention span which has allowed her to enjoy cooking with me. She loves to chat with her friends on the phone, sing, dance and play with dolls, use her imagination, have her toenails painted (pink and sparkly if you please), tell her adoption story, make plans for the future and snuggle on the couch. Gross motor skills are not her strong suite, so she is very cautious when trying new things. She loves all things chocolate and cannot wait to grow up and "go to college in Kenya". She is very inquisitive and loves to be the center of attention. She is a wonderful helper and just wants everyone to get along! She says the most precious things. Right now my favorite is, "Mommy do you know I love you with all of my heart?" She is sensitive enough to know just want I need to hear to remind me of what is important. I never get tired of hearing her sweet little voice. I fell in love with Annabelle the moment I saw her picture over e-mail. I knew those beautiful eyes and that pouty little smile were meant to be in our family. I could have never imagined how perfectly she would fit into my heart. I love her more with each passing day. Happy third birthday baby girl!

There are two other people I cannot go through the "birthday season" without thinking of. My sweet babies birthmoms. It is still impossible for me to believe the enormous blessings being heaped upon us everyday by these sweet children. Thank you for giving your children the gift of life and giving us the gift of family.

Our camera is broken!

2009-03-02T21:48:00.001-08:00

The lens can just won't open- I CANNOT IMAGINE HOW THIS HAPPENED!!! You read my earlier posts about our budding photographer Andrew right? So needless to say I do not have pics, but today was a little funny so I thought I would share the story...

I came out from cleaning the bathroom (never would have done this even 6 months ago, but I am able to do more and more the older they get. Time for another one huh?) and it was a little too quiet. I walk into the family room to see Andrew sitting on the floor, legs stretched in front of him with NO JOKE at least 38 pumps of Cetafil lotion all over his arms legs an yes, MOUTH. Not like he was putting it on his face and he accidentally got some on his mouth. Like he was licking it off his extremities and some got on his face instead of in his mouth. We used some of the leftover lotion on Mommy, sister and the rest of Andrew's body and then took a towel to the rest. Today we took really good care of his skin- so soft and shiny!!!

Later in the day, Annabelle had a huge fit for seemingly no reason. During said fit- she lost all bladder control and peed. Not super funny for mommy who had to clean it up, but the funny part was overhearing Annabelle "retell" what happened to Aunt Shari that made it funny. "My shorts made a bad choice and pee peed". So Annabelle didn't make the bad choice, it was her shorts- just to be clear!

A Hug and a Kiss

2009-02-18T20:50:00.000-08:00

Well... Andrew and Annabelle have had their first fight. IT started with someone pushing someone else and one thing led to another and they were on the ground wrestling. With a very straight face (almost impossible to do when these cuties fight) I called them over. They were both crying at this point. Annabelle could have actually been hurt since Andrew outweighs her by 10 pounds- but as we know Annabelle has been know to pour it on real thick!!! Andrew was also being a bit dramatic- the alligator tears were out in full force. Once they calmed down, I told them to apologize to each other. Andrew said "I savy Anbewl" (which translates to I am deeply sorry sweet sister) and gave her a hug. I told Annabelle it was her turn and she said, "I am not sorry!". Of course right to time out for her and I instantly became my mother and various other Cates women (Aunt Brenda). I actually told my 2 year old daughter she was "acting ugly". Well, she came out of time out and apologized and hugged her brother but then proceeded to tell everyone who called for the next week that she had to go to time out for "being ugly". All that to say, here is a cute pic of them in less "ugly" times!

Adding to the blog...

2009-02-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have been blogging for about a year now and am just figuring out how to add elements to my page... Sorry- hope to have the final outcome to you soon!

Christmas at the Sanborn Home

2009-01-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

Andrew on his new bike

Annabelle on her new bike

Andrew "decorating" Christmas cookies

Annabelle loves the green sugar!

My sweet "Snuggle Puppies"

We had quite a few Christmases this year... One with Bill's Grandparents, one with his parents, one with my extended family, one with mom and Justin and one with just the four of us- whew!! We had so much fun though, it was the first year the kids really "got it". Here are a few pics of our adventures!

My kids are so funny!

2008-12-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Andrew is the culprit this time. I just sat down to post some new pics on the blog and I realized Andrew took 37 pictures this afternoon, or evening, or maybe it was yesterday... Anyway, most of them were taken with his fingers over the lens, so completely dark! But some of them were funny and actually quite "artsy". I am just now kicking myself as I am thinking-"gee, maybe one of those pictures would have been one of those crazy photos people spend obscene amounts of money on." Well, maybe I should hand him the camera tomorrow...