Back to School

After a fun, crazy summer, it's time to get back to school.

B started back to school yesterday. He is a 1st grader! His teacher is fantastic and we are still so pleased with our choice to homeschool with our co-op. B is reading chapter books on his own and is very into Legos these days.

SJ started ballet lessons, she has been so excited to get started. It was a huge blessing to arrive at class to find the other girl in class was a Liberian adoptee we had previously met! SJ has been taking piano lessons all summer. It's been very hard to get her practice time in, but I think the structure of the school year will help us.

We Coffeys are headed into our Birthday Season, more on that to come...

Non-Picky Kids

I just made a post on Facebook about non-picky kids and it got moms talking!

Since people are asking...

what worked for us, so far:

-modeling. I was a grown woman before I knew my Mom did not like green peppers and my Dad did not like beets. They were both served regularly on our table, but neither parent ever said anything about not liking them. If you don't like something, just hush, skip it and move on.

-serve a variety of food ON THEIR PLATE. Yes, you know the kid will probably not eat cole slaw, but he'll definitely never try it if it's not even on his plate. Put tiny taster portions of everything on their plate.

-train them to taste everything on their plate. We have a house rule that you taste everything, this has always been the rule, they now do it without being asked. Tastes change as you grow, and studies show it can take 10 times of tasting to learn to like a new food. Even if they didn't like it yesterday, they still taste it today.

-don't buy kids' meals at restaurants. It trains a kid to always eat chicken nuggets and fries, every restaurant has them. Order from the regular menu, so for example at a Mexican place, get them rice and beans, or order a little extra for yourself and share a plate. It's cheaper too!

-teach gratitude. It goes without saying that there are millions in this world who go to bed hungry each night, yet we complain that there are onions in the casserole. Be thankful you get to eat today and teach that to your children.

-breastfeed your baby. Breastmilk tastes differently each day depending on what mama has eaten, yet formula tastes the same every day.

-indulge preferences, but not demands that change the entire family's plan. For example, SJ likes her milk warm or room temperature. She still gets milk like everyone else, her milk is just warm.

Mealtime is relaxed and easy now that our kids eat what they're given with gratitude. B was difficult to teach between ages 3 and 4, but he's been taught now and eats a good variety without complaint. He even eats sushi! SJ thankfully eats anything except cold food, understandably as she had never had anything cold until 10 months ago. She'll eat things traditionally served cold here in the US, she just waits for it to warm up a little!

Christmas 2008

We have had a terrific Christmas season, celebrating the birth of Christ, and celebrating with our SJ for the first time.

SJ knows what birthday parties and presents are, so she has picked up easily on the concept of Christmas as Jesus' birthday. We did get a strange look from her when SuperDaddy brought the Christmas tree in, that one didn't make sense to her at all! But she quickly joined in the fun and has enjoyed the traditions.

B has enjoyed the creative ways to celebrate, making a gingerbread house, seeing the various Christmas lights the neighbors put up, and helping Mama wrap presents.

Christmas Day brought fun gifts, ALL of the family and several friends over for the day. B's favorite presents were his Indiana Jones toys and his Karate Kid headband. SJ has enjoyed her Backyardigan toys and Wonderpet figures. We had our traditional delicious meal including Ethiopian and Filipino foods. The grandchildren blew out the candles on our Happy Birthday Jesus cake. We took a long walk, exchanged gifts, played Monopoly, and spent the whole day relaxing and talking together.

It has been a terrific time of reflecting on the gift of Jesus and the blessings our family has received this past year. We are especially thankful to have our SJ home this year. God is good.

My Beloved Nieces and Nephews

I'm cuckoo over my nieces and nephews, what a joy they are! All of the fun stuff, and little responsibility. And my kids are so blessed to get to grow up with their cousins, what sweet memories they'll have.

(Liv and Cruise Control are SuperDaddy's sister's kids and BJB and Jelly are my brother's kids.)

Liv- my first niece, a sensitive, insightful, creative soul

BJB- my first nephew, loves slapstick, is a realist, and so stylish

Cruise Control- my second nephew, stubborn, confident, and expressive

Jelly- my second niece, over the top wild woman, silly, and oh so funny

Dedication Sunday

This past Sunday, we had the privilege of dedicating our daughter to the Lord. We dressed her in the family christening gown (which fit a 2 yr old!?!), an Ethiopian headdress, an Ethiopian cross necklace and of course, new shoes. B wore a traditional Ethiopian shirt. We were able to hold a lit candle in honor of SJ's First Mother during the ceremony. Most of our family and friends were able to join the festivities. Following the service, Auntie Jo, Miss Missy and Mamaw were kind enough to serve lunch for us. I made doro we't for SJ, which she inhaled. It was a special day and we are honored to parent this little lady.

Brother and Sister

It is clear to me that God planned for SJ and B to be brother and sister. They are quite similar, in the cutest ways.

*They both love to swim and jump off of the diving board. SJ is already swimming around (with floaties of course) the pool and going off the diving board! B got too much sun today even with 3 reapplications of Coppertone.

*They both want to change clothes and/or shoes several times a day. SJ is a shoe fiend, she even likes to sort her brother's shoes and pick them up for him. Most of you know about B and his costumes, he's been in this "phase" for 3 years now.

*They are both fearless and adventurous! B loves all rides, the higher and faster the better. SJ saw a commercial for Dollywood's Thunderhead Coaster. She pointed at it and said, "SJ ride!".

B and SJ are growing in their love for each other. I feel so blessed to watch them together. And yes, they like to annoy each other too, they truly are brother and sister.

Beautiful Kids

We had house guests for the weekend, our friends the Yorks, including their gorgeous baby boy G. Mrs. York was so kind and took loads of beautiful pics of the kids.

To my precious son:

Yesterday you said, "I think I might cry" when we were talking about Mama and Daddy's trip. We cuddled in bed for a long time and I made sure to savor every detail of you, even the way you kneed me in the ribs. I feel guilty for leaving you yet I know this is the right choice for you. Thank you for being such a trooper on this crazy adventure. What an amazing brother you are, already thinking first of SJ. We're sure she will love you so much, everyone who meets you adores you.

I miss you already.