Afternoon Serenade

Today during snack time, Ethan decided that he should play his guitar for Annelise while I accompanined him with vocals. Annelise loved this and added her own unique sound to the mix :) I'm not sure whether my singing sounded better or worse with his playing, but brother and sister had a wonderful time making music together :)

Guangzhou at last

Ethan is nearing the end of his Chinese adventure. We made it to Guangzhou and when we ate dinner at Lucy's Bar and Grill where they have American food he said "I like this Chinese grilled cheese." He has been quite a trooper and is a wonderful big brother. We are all looking forward to being home and see a trip to the Hula Hut in our future. We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon!

Cooling off

Ethan enjoyed time at the pool here in the hotel. He liked letting Annelise splash him a little (not too much, you know). He brought her a floaty ring so that she could be like him. I think in a few years she will give him a run (or should I say swim) for his money in the pool. Brother and sister had big fun together in the water!

Big attraction

Ethan is a big hit with people in China. They like to touch his cheeks and talk to him - something about American boys really makes the girls smile :) Here we are at the Yue Lue Academy where he was smiled at plenty :)

Brotherly Love

Annelise has really started warming up to Ethan. This morning she actually went to him to let him hold her. He was so proud and happy to be holding his Mei-Mei. She made a game of going between me and Ethan - he really likes his new role.

Big Brother

Ethan liked watching Annelise sleep

Hey, I'm a brother!

It's official - Ethan is a big brother. He was so wonderful. When we first saw Annelise he said that she was so precious. When they gave her over to us he kept whispering in her ear "I'm your big brother, I love you." He is a little dissappointed that she didn't want to hold his hand right away (heck, she didn't really want any of us right away). He has been playing with her a bunch and has made her smile several times. He is really enjoying his new sister :)

Hero

Starting the Great hike
Ethan and Cameron climb together

Ethan and James on the top of the watch tower

James and Ethan at the bottom - we made it to the 2nd watch tower

There is a saying in China that you are not a hero until you have climbed the Great Wall. Well, I am here to report that Ethan is officially a hero :) There are many (myself include) who had their doubts about his ability to enjoy the Great Wall without one of us carrying him. His excitement built all day and when he could see the Great Wall from the bus window he started yelling “I see it! I see it! There it is! There it is!” He could hardly wait to get off the bus. He started up the ramp to the part of the Wall that we would climb at a jog. I was sure he would burn out after a few minutes. Not so this little hero. He climbed and climbed persistently. We made it to the first watch tower and I thought that was pretty good, but he wanted to keep going. At the next landing area we tried to convince him that would be far enough, but he didn’t buy it. We told him we could go up to the next watch tower. Our reward for this extra effort was being able to climb up in the watch tower and walk along the ramparts. It totally rocked. If we would’ve had the time I really think he would have walked that Wall until he passed out. He loved it. Because of time restraints we had to descend (which was a bit treacherous – very steep). He fell asleep hard tonight! Today he was a hero on the Great Wall, tomorrow he will be a big brother, which of course is a whole other kind of hero :)

Ethan's first friend in China

Sleeping Panda

Ethan and Cameron at the Summer Palace

Temple of Heaven Gate

Today Ethan made a buddy. His friend Cameron is traveling to the same orphanage as we are to get his new baby sister as well. As soon as the two met they were both excited to have someone to talk to. They sat together on the bus and held hands often as we were sightseeing. He was quite the trooper for our sightseeing tour. There was quite a bit of walking, but he did very well given the lack of sleep that we are all suffering from. At the restaurant where we were served traditional Chinese food Ethan ate some of the chicken offered (you go boy!). He also enjoyed some chocolate ice cream. He told me that his favorite part of the day was seeing the pandas, where he got another new friend whom he has named “fun panda bear”. He wants his class to know that (and I quote) “I bought a really nice fluffy panda.” I hope that Bill and Fun Panda hit it off or it could get ugly J He is looking forward to breakfast and to walking on the Great Wall.

Ethan goes to China

Ethan sleeps on route to China

Ethan and Bill share a bagel in Chicago

Ethan and Bill are ready to leave Austin

On the plane

Ethan succesfully made the journey to China with his faithful companion Bill. He made the flight pretty well taking a few naps here and there. He sacked out at 7:30 pm China time but woke up at 2 am ready to do "work". After a snack, he went back to sleep until 5. This morning he's already done some school work and ate breakfast (I think he thinks he hit the lottery with the breakfast buffet - we stocked up for the day). Today we will be seeing the zoo, Summer Palace, and Temple of Heaven. (We have accomplished a lot this morning and it's 8:00 :)

The Night Before China

'Twas the night before China and all through the house, every creature was packing and getting ready to go :) Ethan and Bill (he is the white bear who comes from Ms. Taylor's kindergarten class) are all ready to go to China. Here they are having fun on top of the suitcases. Do you think we will have enough stuff in China? Well, we have all got to get rest for our early morning flight!

Happy Halloween

So tonight for Halloween we started out doing the traditional trick-or-treating. James stayed home to man the door while Ethan and I went out. We started at Ethan's teacher's house (impressive that she encourages the kids to come to her house :) He had a blast. Then we trapsed around our street, where Ethan decided that he wanted to go with the "herd" (his word!). He got an impressive take and was back home enjoying his spoils when the night took an unexpected turn. As the kids continued to come by for candy, Ethan got increasingly more into it. At first he was excited to open the door (in fact he was the only one who was supposed to open the door). Then he decided to sit on the porch (not terribly unusual - other folks in the neighborhood do it). When we started running low on candy he went and took some (lots actually) out of his own pile to give away. Finally, just sitting on the porch waiting wasn't cutting it, so he actually took the bowl of candy to the edge of the driveway on the curb and with his whistle and his blinking pumpkin (that he got somewhere along the way) he was whistling and flagging kids down to give them candy. At one point he actually was running after some kids to make sure that they got some. He even tried to give candy to a chagrinned dad (who politely turned him down). He gave away most of the candy and had a blast. I think that the giving part was actually more fun for him than the trick-or-treating. Eventually we had to drag him inside (which was a little easier because James' friend from work had stopped by with his wife and daughter). Obviously we had a fun, if unusual, Halloween. Oh yeah - he was Darth Vader :)

Painting Pumpkins

On Saturday our neighborhood had a Pumpkin Patch with a pumpkin painting event. Ethan and I participated together. We didn't win any prizes, but we enjoyed the artistic process. Here is our pumpkin (mostly done by the boy himself). It is a cool cat for Halloween. As you can see, he is quite into the "scary" spirit of the thing (well, that is as long as he's the one doing the scaring :) )

A little aid at the AIDS walk

Before

After

On Sunday, Ethan and I participated in the Austin AIDS Walk. Originally it was just going to be me, but Ethan suckered me into letting him walk too. Well, walk may be a too strong a word - I did a lot of carrying on this one, but we did make it to the end. It was going a bit poorly until Ethan found this really cool rock (which he brought home and painted). The rock even enjoyed some water (it got a bath) at one of the water stations. He did ask me why we were walking for AIDS, so I got to tell him about a disease that makes people of all ages sick and that some die. He was very happy to help raise money for finding a cure. We were proud to walk with my friend Velma who was walking in honor of her Uncle Bruce who died from HIV 10 years ago and his partner Rodger who is still fighting the disease. We weren't the absolute last walkers, but let's just say we could see the rearguard police car :) It's not so important how you finish...just that you finish. And of course, it's just nice to know that you can finish. He says he may sit the next walk out, but I'm sure he'll have other plans when the subject comes up :)

Fire Station Field Trip

Ethan took his first field trip today (and I had my first field trip as a mom). We walked to the Sam Bass Fire Station. The kids had a great time listening to the fire fighters and seeing all the cool gear. Ethan was really excited about getting to explore the backseat of the cab of the firetruck. Most kids walked through pretty quickly, but Ethan (who has long wanted to be a fireman) made sure to sit in all the seats and look at the the nifty stuff. The kids enjoyed a special treat when they were invited into the upstairs part of the fire station (which I have been told hasn't happened before). We got to see the kitchen/living room area as well as the classroom, where firefighters prepare themsleves to better keep the community safe. One of my favorite parts was when one of the firemen showed the kids the bookshelf with manuals on it. In one voice the class let out an "ooooh" over the books that eclpipsed their excitement over anything else (including the jaws of life, the axes, the fireman in full gear, and the firetruck itself). I guess you never know just what will capture the imagination of kindergarteners :) I have decided that the men of the Sam Bass Fire Department are among the bravest I've ever met - they openned the floor allowing questions and comments from 30 some odd five year olds and lived to tell about it!

Flaming Tigers Win :)

Ethan and his kickball cohorts won their first game today. Usually the game ends up tied because the teams switch after scoring 3 runs a piece and the game just goes on until the time is up. Today, Ethan's team actually got 3 outs before the other team scored their 3 runs in one inning, so they won! (Very exciting) The best part is watching Ethan and his teammates wrestling for the ball - maybe he's more ready for football than I imagined! James stepped in a pitched (read rolled the ball) for the team to kick. He did well in his first kickball game :) I helped the team line up to kick and Gran E helped keep score. All in all, it was an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning!

Kickball Kickoff

Ethan had his first kickball practice last week. What a hoot! There is nothing that will bring a smile to face (or just make you laugh out loud) than 5 five year olds running around a baseball diamond (haphazardly mind you), kicking up more dirt than the actual kickball. His first game was canceled due to Huricane Rita, so the season opener will be this Saturday (during Annelise's baby shower of course). His team is called the Flaming Tigers - a compromise of two suggested names. I asked Ethan what he wanted the team to be called and he said "the red, blue, and green fighting lightsabers". Work that into a chant if you dare :)

When you least expect it

Today I was the first one awake in our house (unusual in and of itself, I know) . Thirty minutes later when Ethan came downstairs he had a surprise for me. He had made his own bed. Now, you probably think "not such a big deal", but he made his bed with absolutely no prompting from either of us. Ethan has a bunk bed, and to be honest it is a pain for me to make his bed because it is up high and now it is also in the corner, so usually I just don't (so high up there nobody can really see it anyway). Last night I put on his "favorite dinosaur" sheets and made the bed up nice. I guess that he really liked it that way, because he did his very best to get it back to that condition. He even placed his bears nicely. I really didn't expect this for a good long while and I don't know if it will happen again (though he says that he wants to make the bed everyday) I guess what I have learned is that miracles happen when you least expect them :) To reward his effort I took a picture of him in his freshly made bed. Go Ethan!

Ethan and Emily

This weekend we had the opportunity to meet the Prahl's, a family from Frisco who will be traveling with us to get Annelise and their new daughter Mia. They have a 2 and a half year old daughter Emily from the same province - Hunan (but a different orphanage) - as Annelise and Mia. Ethan enjoyed meeting Emily and playing with the chopsticks at P.F. Chang's. I asked what he thought about Emily and he said "she's cute" and a little while later he said "but I'm bigger." No doubt about that :) It is nice to think that as Emily and Ethan played together that Mia and Annelise may be playing side by side half the world away.

True Artist

So far, one of Ethan's favorite things about kindergarten has been art. He just loves to paint (always has really). The other day he came home from school telling me that he was going to be a "true artist" and that his artwork would be hung all over the world. So, he was painting a bunch of cardboard (outside on the grass where the clean-up is minimal) when he decides that he is going to sell these paintings. I asked if I could buy them (thinking that then I would be able to throw them away - afterall, they would be mine). Nooooo, he wanted to sell them to the neighbors. So far no takers, but if you find yourself in need of painted cardboard, now you know where to come :)

Just Fiddlin' Around

Ethan had a Nursery Rhyme Parade today. He was the Cat and the Fiddle (of "Hey Diddle Diddle" fame). That there is a real genuine fiddle that my mother used when she was a girl. Ethan said that it was "old, old, old, old." GranE figured he could lose a couple of those olds :) If he has a future in music, I don't think it will be the violin - not sure that James and I could take the practicing :)

Keepin' it weird

Ethan and Cassie did their part to keep Austin weird :)

Ethan finished his first 5k on Saturday. He brought it off in a recorder seting 1 hour pace :) He was quite a trooper in the 5 pm, upper 90's heat and only needed minimal piggy-backing to rest his legs a few times. His favorite part was being hosed down along the route, but he was quite disapointed that they had run out of Amy's Ice Cream by the time we made it to the station :( Anyway, he says he'll do another 5k, but it should be in the winter time!

Ethan starts school

Ethan is all ready for school

Ethan and Ms. Taylor

I thought that it would only be fair to give Ethan a site for important stuff happening with him. Ethan started kindergarten August 16 - here are a few pictures from that day.