Smart Lil' Cookie

Jalen's such a smart little boy and I know he must get so frustrated that he can't always communicate what he wants with us but he is getting better. His speech is becoming more and more clear by the day and he is really into mimicking everything we do now so gotta start watching what we say and do :)

Today he kept repeating "a ball" over and over and pointing to our hall closet where we keep our vacuum and Swiffer broom. I kept telling him "there is no ball in there" but finally gave in and opened the door, he grabbed the Swiffer broom and went running into the kitchen where he got down on his hands and knees and shoved the broom under the stove (like he has seen mommy do before to get a small object out when it is pushed or rolled under). He thought there was a ping-pong ball under there and knew just what to do to get it out. Unfortunately there was no ball there so he was very persistent to keep trying and I have my camera in reach so I was able to record his persistence. Sometimes he just amazes me with what he knows and how his little brain works!

Jalen Jammin' in the Car

We turned around to see Jalen bopping his head back and forth today the song
"Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now (wish right now, wish right now)"



So funny. I know it has been a while since I have posted on here. I love adding pictures and for some reason have such a hard time lately uploading pictures on here versus the quickness I can do on Facebook. Jalen is a little over 20 months old now and is just doing so many new funny things. If you say Ready, Set,.." he yells "Go!" although it sounds like "Doh!" and if you say "On your mark,.." he says "get set, go", again sounding more like "det set, doh", the pattern is he hasn't gotten the "g" sounds down yet :) Jalen also will say "two" after we say "one.." and he tries to hold up 2 fingers when he does so (preparing him for his 2nd b-day in Nov). Jalen has been doing good in daycare and I was told one day by one of his teachers that he has such a funny personality and one of the best she has ever seen. I know this but I didn't know how he compared to the other cuties in his class. He also is beginning to really know his colors, especially yellow, he loves to yell "lellow!".

It has been very hot here, 107 deg today to be exact...thought we moved out of the desert! We are going camping this coming weekend in Sulphur, OK (just 30 mins from our house) with Hilary, Joshua and Jude and cannot wait. It will be our 3rd attempt so please no rain this time around! We will be heading up after work on Fri and coming back on Sun. there are cold springs, rivers and a nearby lake so we should be able to stay cool pretty well. We are so excited to have Jalen experience camping for the first time and how much fun to do so with a friend I grew up camping with!

Jalen Update

This first picture is the day after surgery napping on the couch...he uses Laila as a step stool and climbs onto the couch when he is tired to nap. The 2nd picture is when we got home right after surgery, this picture was followed by about a 3 hr nap!





I am home with Jalen today and he is doing ok. He's not eating or drinking as well as he did the day of surgery as I am sure he is feeling the pain more now but when he is hungry or thirsty he takes it all in at once practically. He hates the Tylenol with Codeine but it almost instantly does make him feel better, just doesn't taste great and it's amazing how 1 tsp can take so long to get into a little boy's mouth! Above are a couple pictures since he has been home, poor little guy, I can't wait till he is fully recovered and back to his normal self again.

Jalen's Surgery

Jalen is doing wonderful so far. A little trooper in pre-op, surgery, and post-op and now sound asleep at home and resting very comfortably.

I am having a hard time getting more than these 2 pictures posted to this blog but the rest are on facebook as well as a couple videos that I am uploading right now from Jalen's surgery this morning.

New Pictures of Our Family

Jason, Jalen and Joely

Finally a recent family picture!

Laila and Ali

May 2010 and Exciting News!!!

Well,I have been a bit behind on the blog lately. We have had so much going on lately that it was just put on the back burner but I'll get you up-to-date. Jalen is now 18 mths old and actually getting some long hair (for him at least). His hair is still so blonde that it is hard to tell in some lights but up close it is there and getting quite long especially on the sides and in back. He has been talking up a storm although it is still his language of trying to communicate. We can usually tell what he is saying but I'm sure others can't so well. He constantly still says "uh-oh" and now loves calling the dogs which ends up sounding like "ay-ya" for Laila and "ah-la" for Ali. He has been doing better at day care with his biting reports although in the last 2 weeks I have had 3 papers to sign off on 2 in regards to him being bitten for no reason and 1 for him running and falling flat on his face and ending up with a big fat upper lip and scratch up to his nose. He's a tough boy though and none of this phases him. Jalen also has his school pictures taken so I will put them up when I get a chance. They turned out so cute! We have been having quite a bit of rain and thunderstorms here too and as I'm sure you've seen on the national news, some tornadoes. We are lucky that Ada generally gets missed though so even though we have had some warnings already and alerts to take cover, we have not been hit.

In other news, as most of you know now...We're Adopting! We are so excited and have started the long process towards adopting a little boy or girl from Ethiopia. We have a new website dedicated to our adoption process and would love for you to follow along and pass it on to anyone you know.

http://expecting-from-ethiopia.blogspot.com

here are a few pictures from the month of May so far...enjoy!

Jalen in his MSU t-shirt from papa


Jalen playing with his friend Carter (and Carter's mom Heather)


Jalen and Mommy during the tornado warning, watching the storm


Our back and front yard during the big storms



Playing ski-ball at a b-day party for a little girl in his class


Riding on the carousel, notice the healing fat lip


Riding on a choo-choo


Hanging out with Carter and his parents (Heather and Buck)

April 2010

Well, it has been over a month now since I have last posted, wow how time flies! Jalen is 17 mths now and just changing and learning new things every day. He is trying to repeat things now all the time and has been saying a lot of new words, although most are now 100% clear, we can tell what he is saying. He does say "hola" pretty clear though and it took me by complete surprise when he did. He loves it when I sing the Spanish alphabet to him because it is so upbeat and fun and I am hoping to teach him Spanish more now that he is repeating and starting to talk. He also can sign "more", "please" and "thank you" although he generally blows a kiss when you tell him to say thank you. Here are a couple pictures from Easter in AZ, I am having problems uploading pictures on here for some reason so if you want to see all of them, check out my facebook page. Between now and Memorial Day we have a lot going on, getting together with neighbors for a cookout, having Home Depot come in and install blinds in our windows, going to McKinney, TX for Jude's 3rd birthday party, going camping with Hilary, Joshua and Jude in Sulphur, OK, going to OKC for a day for a continuing education course and then Jen and Ryan are coming here for Memorial weekend, we are so excited!!!

Daddy and Jalen

Mommy and Jalen