Welcome to Mister Rogers' (Blue) Neighborhood

As the Super Bowl hype continues to build, our good friends at the Indianapolis Star keep us informed on what the other guys (knuckleheads in the Second City....or rather, the 3rd or 4th city by now...) are saying about us and our team. The other day, a tribune columnist called Indy the Mister Rogers of metropolises. Hey, we've been called worse. He went on the describe how troubling all the niceness between Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith is. (Thank goodness it isn't our coach named Lovie, or we'd really hear it!) And he went on to list a few others things that were weighing on his mind, trying to stir up a little trash talk. I was going to go on and on about the fact that this is what's wrong with the world today - people have trouble with nice. But instead, since we are all for having fun and playing games around here, please find below, as un-nice as they could be, the thoughts of my kids on the evil Chicago Bears:

Nevermind that the entirety of their dad's side of the family lives in or around Chicago. These kids call a spade a spade, a Colt a winner, and a Bear a big loser. Geniuses already, eh?

And here is Quinn's prediction for the big game: Colts 40, Bears 1.

GO COLTS!

That's 15 Yards and an Automatic First Down!

Personal foul, number 88, roughing the sister:
Nah, not really.....not sweet ol' Quinn. The Patriots, sure, but not a guy wearing the Shoe!
Although admittedly, he was called for a block in the back later in the evening.

And here is Keira earlier in the day, warming up for the big game by loosening up her throwing arm: (Thanks to our super Cincy friends for keeping Miss K in some nice Colts duds!)

The week before, she was ready for the game in her "cheering girl" outfit (Quinn's term):

And here, taking a break to confiscate one of Quinn's favorite cars....afterall, what are sisters for if not to annoy their big brothers?!

And later, she's thinking "Well, if he won't let me have his Lightning McQueen, maybe I can swipe this firetruck while he's not looking...."

Life is good! (Ok - that's what I'm thinking....I hope she is too! I know that's what Q is thinking since he's in the background watching a TV show on Saturday morning!)

Keira has been in our family for over a month now, and I think we've all been doing pretty well. Minor sleep issues aside, the adjustment is going as well as I had hoped. Maybe not as well as daddy had hoped, since she still has a strong preference for me...but well, knowing us both, wouldn't you??! (Ha ha!! Just kidding, sweetie! Really, I'm joking....mostly...!)

Miss K had her second visit to the international adoption clinic here. They've been fabulous and she seems to be in great health. She's only managed to gain about 0.2 kg since hitting US soil, so we are working on that. And, in case you couldn't tell by looking at us, here's proof that she is not genetically related to me: the doctor said "she needs more fat in her diet...you should put butter in her vegetables...whipped cream in her formula...." Ahhh, now that's a diet I can follow!

And now in closing, I leave you with the words you all are assuming you'll find somewhere in my first post-Patriots beating post: SUPER BOWL!

The Stand-Off Continues

No - not between Keira and Quinn or K and her parents. The stand-off between our computer and the digital camera. They apparently hate each other right now and refuse to speak to one another. So, I cannot download the super cute pix of Miss K in her little Colts cheerleader outfit (fabulous gift from her youngest aunt --- xiexie!). She was all decked out for Saturday's showdown between the Colts and the evil Baltimore Ravens. We all know how that turned out. Score another one for the good guys. I am hoping the camera and the laptop can settle their differences soon so we can post some pix in time to bring on good karma for Sunday's showdown versus the also evil Patriots. Until then, here are a few parting thoughts:
1. She called me mama! I was putting her in her PJs on Saturday evening and she looked up at me, smiled, and said mama! Yippee. I gave her big kisses and hugs. And she did it again. Of course, she hasn't done it since, but we are making progress. And I thought the Colts win Saturday was a big deal. This was even better.
2. I may have spoken too quickly about how well she has been sleeping. All in all, still better than I thought. And still in bed some days til almost 9am! However, a new habit has appeared: waking up about 1-2 hours after going to bed, and refusing to close her little peepers for another 1-2 hours! She's the drowsiest looking girl, but those eyelids won't shut. Thankfully, this doesn't occur at 2 or 3 am. But still. The trade-off is that I get these adoring little stares. And periodic smiles. And pokes at my chest to "wake" me up. Apparently me closing my eyes to show her how it is done is not making much of an impression.
3. On a non-baby note, this to the city of Baltimore and the media in general: Stop it already! The Colts have been here since 1984. Granted, leaving in the middle of the night was probably not Mr. Irsay's greatest idea, but it is done. Stop talking about it. And, for the love of pete, would someone please remind them that they stole a team only a few years back! They are playing with the Cleveland Browns. As former Indy Mayor Hudnut commented on game-day, "....get a life!"

R.O.C.K. in the USA

With apologies to fellow Hoosier, John Mellencamp, we r-o-c-k in the USA in a chair. At night. When it is bedtime. And to borrow from Readers' Digest, Life in These United States has been going well so far.
As you can see, there is no shortage of brotherly love for little Miss K. And she loves it. And of course, so do I.

As for day-to-day life, I think we are now all over jet-lag. I was prepared for this to take about 2 weeks (I had heard 1 day for every hour of time difference), but I think we were back on Indiana time in less than a week. And for those of you who know the history of time in Indiana, that is no small feat!

Keira herself is doing great! She's been sleeping 14 hours overnight these last few nights. Although apparently for her, afternoon naps are optional. Very optional. But if the girl can go from 7pm to 9am, I can let that one slip by. She's been eating well and feeling more secure here, I think. Quinn still gets the biggest smiles from her, but she's got plenty for mom and dad too. And, today's "first": first time not crying when being put into a car seat! Yippee!! As Quinn puts it, he can now finally have some peace and quiet in the car. Oh, and by the way, as far as her noodle affinity goes, it apparently only applies to noodles of the asian persuasion. This girl has little use for spaghetti. Except for as a hair decoration.

And now, a little look at what the Guangxi Girl has been up to.

Taking a minute to read. Well, a second, really. She's much too busy to sit down for a story or two. She'd much rather have a crawling race with her brother. (Hey, she knows she's in Indiana...and it's all about racing here.) She hasn't caught him yet, but she can hold her own.

And here she tries to walk to daddy's outstretched hand:

And lastly, just to teach her early on the wise ways of this house, here she is the day before the Colts 23-8 win over the Chiefs. (No, it really isn't all about racing here in Indy!)

(I can't decide if she's thinking "Gee, my big brother is so cool!" or "Stop it with the choke-hold already!")