ONE LOVE, SUMMER 2010

Well the months just tick by, with this exciting new family and all, don't they? Where did July, August, and September go? Things happen rapidly around here! Vanessa worded it so well last night when she added this to our nightly prayer: Thank you God for my whole family, even me!

Here are a few princess shots of Nanners and Zo-Zo:

At the end of June we celebrated Father's Day and Jack's birthday. Nicole came to visit and we drove Zoey and Nicole home together as a family. Zoey was so excited to go home, but we did feel a big gap with her absence. As chaotic and exhausting as three preschoolers can be, it was also great fun to have three. In some ways, it is harder to have two than three, since three are loads of entertainment for each other. We built some wonderful memories with our time with Zoey.

For Father's Day, our adoption agency asked Jack to be the guest speaker for the monthly nation-wide teleconference they put on for their contracted families. He was a big hit! We watched the original Home Alone movie while he was on his conference call. Home Alone was the movie we saw on Maui in October 1991 on our honeymoon.

After Jack's birthday we packed up and headed east for 4th of July. First we were in Connecticut, overpopulating Auntie Cyndi and Uncle Dave's house. They took us blueberry picking - Van was so focused and serious for this event she didn't eat as she picked and used both hands to grab, making her the top picker for the group - frog catching, puppy petting, swimming, boating and fishing. Much poker was played with the nephews. We also went to an indoor bounce house park type place. Keenan was a big hit. Grandma came. Vanessa followed the big boy cousins with great intent - only deterred by the bite of a turtle Daddio caught - and loved every minute of action. People commented that Vanessa and her big cousin Daniel looked like siblings.

Then we headed to Vermont in a 100 percent humidity heat wave. Grandma rented a big log cabin up there. Almost everyone was there - even Cousin Andy and his girlfriend Michelle. We swam in the river, caught a toad, bbq'd, ate raspberry pie, saw a wicked awesome fireworks display at the high school ball field, set off sparklers and fire crackers, ate s'mores, attended the longest running parade in the state of Vermont (very down home, I might add), and generally had a blast. We barely saw Vanessa because she and Auntie Anne were busy catching up over tea. Keenan navigated the stairs over and over again so we could keep an eye on him. I'd post pictures, but I didn't have a camera, so I took lots of shots with other people's cameras and now I have none for the blog! (So, Jennings family, if I get any pics on email I'll post them here.)

After our idyllic New England summer adventure, we returned home to exotic California. The first thing we did was go to court for the final step in our adoption of baby Keenan! It was just Mama, Daddio and Keen-wah, we decided to have Vanessa go to school that day. The judge and the other official people all rose with us, we held our hands up, and the judge pronounced us a family. Daddio got choked up and said, "I had no idea this would be just like a wedding!" Yes, as Aunt Mary used to say to her two adopted children, just like mommy and daddy chose each other to make a family, so did we choose each other through adoption. We are family!

Then on July 29th Keenan turned one! We decided to have a low key celebration with just Nicole and Zoey for the weekend. It was nice. Nicole is a blessing to us and has made us feel we are his parents from the beginning, with great encouragement and no doubts.

So many people asked us carefully, "How is it going, this open adoption?" Nicole gives us great confidence, says, "you are his parents," does not question our ways, is sweet about making us feel like experts, and she's not jealous. She makes this work. I say it sometimes feels weird, simply because we didn't grow up seeing open adoptions around us as models, and there aren't Hallmark cards for some of our new, extended family. Other than it being brand new territory, it's pretty natural. Keenan is very, very loved.

At the 12 month mark, our wee man child is sleeping through the night. At his well baby check up they measured him at the 90th percentile in height (surely due to mismeasurement of a wiggly guy with a couple extra centimeters of hair on his head). His favorite song is "You're a Grand Ole Flag" because Zoey (and the whole family) had to learn it for her preschool graduation. He has cut new teeth. His favorite games are This Little Piggy, Chase/Be-Chased-By the Monster, and Fetch. He has a wicked throwing arm and he'll dance to anything even remotely resembling a tune. Keenie is a fancy guy - loves putting on shoes - his, Vanessa's, or mine - and the shinier the better. He still looks at Vanessa like she's a rock star and he loves his Daddio to pieces. At one point we must have shown Keenan how lions greet each other - they touch their foreheads together and say Mmmmm - because that's Keenan's favorite greeting.

Just after his birthday, we took Keenan to Mount Hermon for a week with the Hoyts. Auntie Susan and Uncle Jimmy rented a giant cabin and Vanessa and Keenan were the only little kiddies in the family this trip. Vanessa was thrilled to go to "camp" half days, but Keenan cried the minute we set foot in the daycare center and he sensed a parting of parents and babies. That didn't go over so big.

We also went to Santa Cruz boardwalk and introduced Vanessa to kiddie rides, kiddie roller coasters, log ride and haunted house. Whoopee! Our first ride was on the dragon. I rode with her in a dragon built for two. When the ride stopped, she jumped off, headed out, then turned and wrapped both arms around the dragon's long green neck. She stood there, hugging, for a full 60 seconds. She really liked the ride. Some of the nearby adults chuckled.

While at Mount Hermon, I received two compliments which will sustain me for a year, I swear. Two different people, on different days, said, "you have so much patience." Now that was an answer to prayer.

The rest of August was spent enjoying something we rarely ever do... staying home, not traveling and not hosting visitors. It was quite necessary. I soaked up Jack's presence around the house, as did the kids, and everyone's game elevated a little bit.

Keenan's getting a lot of attention out in public these days. Between his walking, dancing and running and his blondie curls and carmel skin, he's become quite the looker. He's fawned over where ever we go, kind of like Vanessa was in Beijing.

Here is Keenan in action. Hope this video loaded correctly!

Well, I was going to edit this and add more photos, but I dropped the laptop that is working and bent the connector to the external hard drive with all the photos. So, this is it for awhile. Hope that's okay.