"I'm Beautiful"

Sorry, this is an older post that I forgot to upload (from February 20, 2011).

I need to update this blog with two weeks’ worth of information. The reason I am behind was because we were attempting to better our Sabbath observance. What that means is we are trying to make it a special day from all the other days in the week. So Jaynee and I worked on adoption paperwork, staying in our church clothes, not taking a nap, playing games. When the girls were up we read scripture stories to them, listened to music, and watched a family movie (something they are not accustomed too). In addition to that we also decided to have the girls write a letter to their Grandpa & Grandma Lorenz & Buddy. They thought that was the best idea of the day. They were so excited to write their letter to buddy, and then on the first possible day to mail it, they were so excited to put their letter in the mail. They also called their grandparents and Buddy to see if they had received their special letter. It was rather cute.

That same weekend, we attended stake conference. I was busy attending 3 of the meetings, while Jaynee and the girls attended only one session. We arrived early to the family session of conference and were able to find a seat close to the front. While we were sitting there some of the local church leaders were visiting with those in attendance. The wife of the South Carolina Temple President came and greeted us. Just as she was leaving Sofi said something to the effect of "I remember her". Jaynee and I were puzzled. We couldn't think of a time that she would have met this lady. Then we realized that she assisted with Sofi's sealing to us last May. We then asked Sofi if she remembered her from the temple, and she said yes. So Jaynee asked Sofi if she wanted to say hi to her "Friend". Sofi's answer was yes. So Jaynee and Sofi went and found this lady (Sister Coyle). Jaynee explained what had happened earlier after she had said hi to us. She too was shocked to know that Sofi would remember her nearly 1 year later. They chatted about Sofi until it was time for the conference to begin. It was a rather unique experience for us all. I also believed that it helped Sofi behave more because of the special spirit she felt meeting her friend again.

Later that day (also Sunday) while the girls were listening to music, Sofi also began to sing a new song of her own creation. She began to repeat the words "I'm beautiful" for nearly 5 minutes. It was entertaining. Jaynee and I couldn't help but smile as she would change her tempo, pitch, and volume from time to time during her solo. She has since then continued to sing her created song.

Echo Bush

For those of you that have little children and watch some TV with them you will understand this title. I will explain it later.
The girls have been progressing a lot lately. They are experimenting with the English language, trying new physical feats, and attempting to gain their independence and leave us. They have so much to grow and learn first.
Emma and Sofi have been working on the ability to speak recently. They are throwing different words together to sound smarter than they are. They like the way certain works sound so they overuse them. One of the more popular ones is "very". Everything is very good, very cute, and very nice. I have even heard they want to sit on the very couch. Jaynee and I smile all the time.
Last week Sofi decided that she was big enough to start climbing some of the shelves that we have in the house. She has nearly made it to the very top before we stop her. It is amazing how fast she can run and get up there. I know the second time she traveled from one end of the house to another and was nearly the top in less than 15 seconds. That may not be a lot of time, but it is for me as I continue to recover from knee surgery. Emma too has been having fun with jumping, running, and spinning. She has not yet decided to climb and when she does she may be even faster. Let’s just hope she doesn't want to climb until she is old enough to know when not too.
The last thing the girls have been doing is trying to show their independence. This morning Jaynee was saying a prayer over the food. Typically the girls help assist by repeating what we say. Sofi decide to ad-lib a little. Jaynee said something about blessing the food, and Sofi changed to bless mommy and daddy that they will get better. I don't know how the two are related, but Sofi is doing that more and more. Also, the girls think they are old enough and smart enough to parent one another. Jaynee and I often catch them scolding the other using the exact same words with the proper tone of voice that Jaynee or I have used on them. It is funny to see the girls yell at each other for something before we get a chance. What is really weird is that they are using the very words we were going to say. The title for this entry is the name of an episode from Dora the Explorer. A part of the episode has a bush that says everything that Dora and the monkey says. Well our girls seem to think they are the bush some days.
Just to fill you all in on some of the other mundane items in our lives: Sofi has one leg 1/2 inch longer than the other so she must wear a heel lift when she wears shoes; Emma still doesn't sleep at night, but she believes she is capable of reading a book even when there is no light; Jaynee will be hosting a food storage party at the end of the month; and I am still going to rehab and working on getting my leg better. I hope to be out of the locking leg brace by the end of this week.
Lastly, I have a 4-day holiday this upcoming weekend. We were initially going to travel to Atlanta so that we can get our first interview for the adoption process to begin, but the counselor will be coming to see us. This is a big step for us. We were going to go travel somewhere but it is also Stake Conference, and I have a couple of meetings that I must attend. So I think we will be looking to take some time off later this spring.
Sorry there are no pictures. The weather was a little cold, wet, and snowy. Yes, it snowed for about 3 hours this past week. I believe that makes it our 4th snow storm this season. I don't think Augusta has ever seen that much snow fall. Mr. Al Gore, where is this global warming you believe is occurring because I have yet to see it except in Iraq.

Luke, I am your Father!!

It is always hard to figure out what happened over the last week that would be interesting for anyone else but for us. I guess I will start with the latest pictures that Jaynee got then go from there.
Jaynee pulled out a couple of empty wrapping paper tubes for the girls to play with. They began by first having a sword fight. I like to think about my little girls as apprentice Jedi's in training; hence the title of this week's post. From there Sofi wanted to play another game. How she came up with it I don't know but it basically involves laying the two tubes out in a row and jumping over them. When you are done, you run back to the beginning and do it all over again. Jaynee said this went on for 20 minutes. I do believe that they slept very well that day for their afternoon naps as well as during the night.






Last week Jaynee purchased pressure vest for the girls. It is to be used as a means to provide comfort for the girls by having something wrapped tightly around their body. It seems to be working for Sofi who loves the vest. Emma will wear it, but is not too please to have to put it on from time to time. Here is a picture of Sofi posing with her vest.


Lastly, Jaynee has been working really hard to keep the girls engaged with an activity or two each day. Lately it has been putting together jigsaw puzzles. The other day they were playing Elefun which is a game that helps the girls learn coordination by catching butterflies that are launched through a really long nose of an elephant. The girls are getting better at it. At first they could only catch something by accident, but now they sometime attempt to catch the falling butterflies. They still need some work, but at least they are making progress.



Jaynee and I have been as busy as ever. With both of our church callings, me going back to work, and starting my second to last class for school, it seems like we have very little time to enjoy each other's company. We have been working on it, and as long as I continue to follow my planned homework schedule we should be able to enjoy a night a week playing games or watching a movie. Sometime I forget how much time we don't spend together since we got the girls. This is something I really want to work on and I am pretty sure that Jaynee wants the same. When my parents were here, we played a lot of games together and since then that craving has not left us. Let’s just hope that I continue to work diligently on my homework so that we can continually have quiet personal time together each week.