Christmas time is here!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~Isaiah 9:6 Listen to this passage

Iris is sooooo aware of Christmas this year! Her excitement over presents and learning about the story of Jesus's birth, complete with angels, sheep, and stars was fun to watch. By December 25th, Iris could barely stop talking or sit still, except to watch a Christmas DVD. So, what was Advent and Christmas like for us?

* Christmas concert at preschool on Dec. 3, when Iris did not want to sing and only wanted to sit with Mommy and Daddy in the audience. Of course, she had no trouble asking for cookies afterward. By Christmas day, she got good at singing songs, such as "Jingle Bells", "O, Christmas Tree", "Joy to the World", "Frosty the Snowman", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", " Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer", and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing".

* Helping Mommy and Daddy decorate the house and outside with lights and ornaments.

* Helping to wrap gifts and send Christmas cards. She especially liked licking the envelopes. Can't someone die from envelope poisoning? Not a habit that we wish to encourage.

* Attending the Singing Christmas Tree concert at church, where Mommy was "camera 1" videographer.

* Lighting the advent candles each week.

* Baking gingerbread cookies with Mommy.

* Keeping secrets (NOT!) about where the presents were for Mommy and Daddy. Shhhhh!

* Putting ice skates on for the first time. Iris stood on the rubber mats fine, but didn't want to touch her feet on the ice. It was more fun for her to sit in a chair which Mommy pushed around the ice rink.

* Visiting A-ma and A-gong for the weekend, and celebrating Auntie Ruth's birthday with delicious cake. Mmmmmm!

* Watching in wonder and amazement at the mini-drama during the Christmas Eve children's service. After she saw the living nativity scene outside (with a cow and donkeys, as well as sheep!), she remarked that she wanted to be the angel sitting above the shed where the manger scene was.

*Opening presents on Christmas Day. Here are a couple of videos with Iris playing with her new doll house and figures:




As I was late and short on time to get Christmas cards out, I pray that many friends and relatives enjoyed a marvelous Christmas and had a taste of the true Holy Spirit which comes from Christ our Lord. He is born-Emmanuel, Savior, and our Redeemer.
Joy to the World!

November in a nutshell

We could call this movie, "All about Iris" - at least her birthday.


The party date was set for November 13, but both Iris had a flu or cold bug. A few weeks later, her preschool director sent an e-mail about a "Fifth disease". Iris may have had that, but she was well enough for her party the following week. This was her party with friends, Michael, Grayson, and their families. In all there were five children 3 years and younger with six adult parents. The lunch was pizza and there was an in-house simulation of a lion dance parade through the Avenell house. The music was great with Michael's dad, Chris, playing a loud drum.
Iris really caught onto the princess theme, too, with a pink canopy above her bed to encourage her to sleep on her "big girl" twin bed. However, she has more frequently preferred sleeping on the floor over the bed. It must be a maturation thing...I hope.

Two days later on her actual birthdate, she celebrated with friends and teachers at preschool. Mom sent along mini cupcakes. She had a candle and people sang, "Happy Birthday" to her. That same evening, we packed up the car to drive to AZ where grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were waiting to shower her with another birthday cake and presents. There was a fabulous "doll" cake, where a Barbie size doll (standing up) was placed in the center of the cake, which became her "gown"of frosting. Iris loved it!
Then, Thanksgiving came complete with pies, gingerbread house, and time playing with cousins. It was a great visit, except for a run-in with the Westie dog named Riley. Iris was quite cooperative on the long drives there and back because she slept a lot. However, she was most creative with the pen that was meant for doodling in a notebook, not on her face, legs and Barbie doll. That was accomplished after we spent nearly one hour going 10 miles on Interstate 10 in AZ. We were all glad to have made it home safe and sound. Iris was super excited, too, about the presents that we brought back with us.


Finally, on December 5th, Iris celebrated her last birthday party with a playgroup in which most of the children were born in late 2007. So, there were about 8 children gathered around a table to decorate birthday cupcakes. Once the decorations were available, the children wanted to eat them more than the cupcakes. The moms drew names, so that only one gift needed to be given to each child. This made things simple. The potluck meal was great, too, especially for the Dads that don't know each other well.

By this time, Iris knew well how to sing, "Happy Birthday to_________". And that was needed for her Auntie Ruth's birthday and for Christmas as she practiced singing for Jesus. Through the month, I believe Iris learned how to open presents well, eat cupcakes and say "Thank you" when people gave her presents.

As I reflect about the change between her 2nd and 3rd birthdays, I am in awe of her development in language, motor and attention skills. I'm also very thankful that she is healthy, growing taller, listening some of the time, and coming along with toilet training (It's been well over one year since we started!). I love her smile, laughter, her expressions that she copies from us. Mommy and Daddy will have to watch that more carefully now. It's also nice to hear when she wants me or Daddy, but at bedtime, this is what I call a "stall tactic" because crying ensues, which we need to ignore in order for her not to get used to us coming in, and for her to self-soothe. What's next?

Christmas is coming.....

What happened in October?

Yes, we're still together-Dada, Iris and Mama. It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are several thousand words...not literally.

First, our relaxing times: hike in a new county park called Taylor Mountain (pictured above), in our backyard with a new cat friend that we named, "Miss Puff", beach fun in Mendocino county where we spent a weekend in early October. The water was freezing, but Iris loved being there!


Birthdays: Friend Joshua turned four the same day that Mama had celebrated another birthday. Iris helped Dada with the cake and couldn't stop talking about sprinkles.


Harvest time: Playgroup friends had great fun at Oluf's Pumpkin Patch, annual pumpkin patch visit and jack o'lantern carving with cousins Matthew and Noah and Aunt Ruth, but no corn maze fun this year. :(


Halloween: Preschool had a Halloween parade and cookie treats, which Iris thoroughly enjoyed. Bottom line-Iris likes sweets! Of course by Halloween, she was ready and primed for trick-or-treating. She really was impressed by the glow-in-the-dark outlined people costumes that she calls, "green people". She was a truly happy pumpkin by the time we returned home from our neighborhood rounds.


Today is All Saints' Day, and I think of all the saintly people in our lives that continue to help us, love us, and point us to the true light of Christ. Thank you and thanks be to God!

2nd Anniversary of Happy Day

For those who have adopted internationally, "Happy Day" is the date on which all paperwork is signed and your son or daughter is officially and legally under your care. What a responsibility! Little did we know two years ago just how huge that commitment was. However, God continues to sustain and teach us to walk humbly and love Iris to the best we can.

A snapshot of this second anniversary:
-Iris is starting not to take naps. It's still quiet time in the bedroom, so mom can do things like blog and clean the house. Occasionally, that means naptime for mama.
-Iris is over three feet tall and weighs about 30 lbs.
-She likes to sing "Happy Birthday" and knows that her birthday is coming up soon.
-She insists on things, such as choosing which pull-up design or which pair of shorts she's going to wear.
-She'd rather walk than sit in a stroller, but it's not long before she wants us to pick her "Up. Uppy". Then, Daddy or Mama is the ride.
-She names people more often. She has great associations, such as "Dale...chocolate. Popie...flowers.
-Iris also likes to requests songs for Mama to sing, including a Japanese tune that A-ma taught us.
-She likes to watch herself in videos, as we've been showing her videos from our first meeting in China.
-She's gotten good at tantrums, whining or fake crying to try getting her way.
-Her pronunciation is very clear when she says, "Go away." "Stop it." "I want Mommy or Dada." and "Come here."
-She knows the polite phrase, "May I have....?" She even complimented Dada for "Nice asking" when he politely requested something.

-She loves being in her room with her books and stuffed animal friends.

-She is definitely testing the limits to her doing the opposite of what we ask her. For example, dropping food off the table. If she does that, she must pick it up.

Suffice it to say that Iris is a "typical" two-year old. As she's going to be three years old soon, I wonder how many more toddler independence years we have ahead of us. Some have said that the testing doesn't end, but changes in nature. God help us!

This is from an outing to an apple farm.


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