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Teach them to VOTE

Today we went and fulfilled our civic duty at the polls.  At first, my hubby wanted to take turns watching the kids at home.  I gave that a big negative.  Teaching kids civic responsibility begins with us.  What better way to instill excitement about their future part in our democracy than showing them? On the way to the voting site, I explained that in America we get a choice in who runs the country.  That this occurs by voting.  And, how we should be proud to be a part of this.

Rallied and in good spirits, Kayla watched me sign in, she had me lift her up so she could see that I bubbled in my choices, and she stared as I guided the ballot into the scan machine.  Then, she proudly put a "I early Voted" sticker on her shirt just like Mommy.  We took a picture outside to mark the event.

Once we were back into the car after our teaching moment, I asked Kayla what she thought about her first real experience with voting.  There was a small hesitation...then Kayla proclaimed " that was good,  but now can we go BOAT?"

...Uh yeah, okay, well best laid plans...we headed over to Huddle House to celebrate anyway. :-)

Met with the Plastic Doctor

Just a quick update on THE SCHEDULE.  We met with the plastic surgeon yesterday for the BIG consult...read as two hours in the waiting room, five minutes of looking at Jonah and ten minutes discussing our plan of action. 

At the consult, the Doc gave the option of fixing the palate first since Jonah has started speaking. From what he said the lip is basically cosmetic, but it's typcially done first.  Also, if the palate is fixed first the ear tubes will start immediately doing their job to stop the chronic ear infections. And, one other thing, it may make the lip repair smoother.  So, he asks about three times which we'd prefer...uh...let me think...THE PALATE! 

He's already learning to say so much, so I'm super excited to think how much he'll improve in the months after the surgery.  I still don't know the exact timing, but it could be as quick as 4 weeks out. 

A-Maizing Fun

It's funny how many little things you discover once you have kids. Last Saturday, we went to  Conner's A-maizing Acres .  It's apparently been around for years. Actually, I didn't discover it, a friend invited me to a Sign-N-Play group outing.  This is where the group leader uses/teaches sign language to the kids (parents too) during the outing.  Cool way to incorporate learning signs into an activity. Jonah's picking up a few signs, though he prefers to verbalize--non-stop I might add.  Of course, we're encouraging signing to cut down on communication frustration.

At the Acres, the kids swam in a pool of corn kernels.

We "lucked out" that the Redneck Games were being held while we were there.  Kayla thoroughly enjoyed watching the Rooster Catch.  One local was able to grab two at one time.  Even though I'm small town bred, I can assure you I've never chased a rooster--however, I may have been chased by one at some point.  And, just so you can know me a little better, I did have a pet pig for about a week.  I digress.

The Cow Train provided a little brother-sister bonding.  The plan was originally for me to ride with Jonah and Kayla to ride in front of us.  That is until my rear made it ABUNDANTLY clear that Mama would not be sitting in that cow barrel anytime soon. So Kayla received instructions to hang onto her little brother and off they went.  She took her job seriously.

The kids had fun watching the pigs, chickens, and feeding the cows.  Neither seems to have made the connection yet that pig = bacon, chicken= nuggets, or cow= hamburger helper.  I see no need to speed up that knowledge. 

The baby horse was a hit with Kayla.  The pipe slide was Jonah's favorite.  He's going to be my little daredevil.

The stack of hay...well climbing on hay is just a good time.

And, there was a huge corn maze that none us were up to doing in the heat of the day.  We walked far enough in to say we did it and then called it a day.

The simple life is the best life.

Buzzing around on a Rainy Saturday

When there's nothing else left to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon, when you've exhausted your toleration of Dora, Diego, and Scooby doo, and when the kids are climbing the walls (and your husband is watching football)...you might as well turn the house into a hive, make some bees and buzz around the house.

I guess you can tell from this Jonah is doing awesome. Kayla adores her little brother.  And, we're slowly adapting to life with two very active little ones.  We've met with the Cleft Team and are hoping for Jonah's first surgery to be early next year.  After the next consultations in a couple of weeks, we'll be able to really put it on the calendar.

I have to say, Jonah has melded so easily into his new life that I'm still in shock.  I was really expecting a super rough year.  I can only attribute this to the many prayers that went up on our family's behalf.  Thank you and keep 'em coming!

Mr. Personality

He comes out of his shell more and more everyday.  When he needs a nap (like on the Airport Express MTR), watch out! He's an energizer bunny with an attitude.  I see a lot of outdoor play in our future.

Getting to Hong Kong

We debated about taking the train from Guangzhou (for fun, only saved a small amount of cash) or the chartered mini van (recommended by the agency).   In the end our sense of adventure won out and we took the train.  All of us were very glad we did.  That being said, our guide Amy was a tremendous help and our experience would have been much more chaotic if it had not been for her.

*Some of the following detail is for AP's who may be reading/travelling soon, so bear with me.*

We all rode together to pick up Jonah's visa and then headed straight for the East Railway Train station which was just around the corner.  There's the infamous Asian Games construction going on, so where we were dropped off was ugly and would have been hard to find our way alone.  Luckily, Amy had arranged for a porter to meet our van and carry the bags we were checking (for a small fee--well worth it), and lead us through security, immigration, and to our gate.  She got us that far and we said our goodbyes.   

Our in-China guides were super helpful again this time in China and I can't say enough good about them.

The train ride was quick and fun.  It took just under 2 hours to get to Hong Kong. There was plenty of room to move around. I do wish I had thought to request the seats with a table when we purchased the tickets at the concierge, but the train wasn't full so no biggie. 

There were squatty potties as needed before you enter the HK district where they are locked.  Apparently, they have issues with the *litter* dropping on the track.  

The train station there was simple to navigate, reclaim our bags, and exchange some money.  We took the "red" taxis to the airport hotel (for about $200HK). 

Six Thumbs up on taking the train!