Sounds Sticky

Dayna was with her grandparents this week and saw a few of these small statues in a friend's yard. For the rest of the weekend, she was calling them the "Teriyaki Soldiers."

I think we may need to make a point of seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors when we go to China again.

Dayna's Top Six

I asked Dayna what the six best things were about being six. Here are her responses.

1. Meeting my new friends Katherine and Makaylee. (Sorry...no picture of Makaylee.)

2. Being a first grader.

3. Getting to see the places where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived.

4. Going on an airplane to Oregon for Christmas and seeing Papa and Nana.

5. Getting to be a Girl Scout.

6. Just being six.

Farewell, sweet six-year-old. I'm looking forward to seven!

(Not so) Tender Moments

It's been awhile, but I've recently started singing Dayna's favorite lullaby at bedtime again. "Baby Mine" has always been special to us. That's the song I sang on a CD we sent to the orphanage before we met her, and has been a favorite ever since.

Tonight, shortly after tucking her in, I could hear her sweet, pure voice singing "Baby Mine" to her dolls and animals.

But before I knew it, the tender moment was over. She's now singing "I Want Candy" in a not-so-sweet and pure voice. Complete with hand jive.

Oy vey!

Fine Dining

Dan & I were treated to dinner at a fine restaurant tonight. We were served leftover pasta salad with fresh grapes, iced tea, and homemade ice cream for dessert.

We were even encouraged to enjoy a romantic moment. (It's not often we get permission to do this!)

But the pinnacle of the evening was the amazing service we received. Isn't our waitress the cutest?

Endangered Species

Dayna was visiting with her Nana the other day (my mom) who was telling her about a recent visit from Grandma and Grandpa Wilson (Dan's parents.)

Dayna, having never referred to them as "Grandma Wilson" or "Grandpa Wilson" was a little confused, and thought Nana was talking about her Great-Grandparents.

When Dayna's confusion cleared, she exhaled a large sigh of relief and said, "That would be weird...because Great-Grandma is extinct."

...and Dear Jesus

...thank you for choosing the right parents for me.

Love that girl!

The Best Medicine

I came home feeling completely miserable. Nasty head cold and a fever. I knew this morning I shouldn't have gone to work, but report cards were due today, and there was really nothing I could do. So I left sub plans for tomorrow, called someone in, and left all my work at school feeling no guilt whatsoever.

Now I'm home and in my jammies. The electric blanket is turned up, and the remote controls are close at hand.

But these things aren't making me feel better...no, the best medicine would be my Dayna. My sweet girl who made me a bread and butter sandwich and put a tea bag in a big mug (I had previously filled it with hot water) and brought everything in to me on a tray. I must say...I'm feeling better already.

(But I still think I'll stay home tomorrow.)

Hair

Dayna is smitten with the Jackson 5 right now. For Christmas, she spent her own money to get her dad a "Best of the Jackson 5" CD. The other night, she was looking at the CD cover and asked her dad why they all wore their hair in an "alfredo."

Bacon

Today's blog is brought to you by our guest blogger, Dan.

Dayna had a minor procedure at Boystown Hospital on Monday that required her to be put under general anesthesia for about 30 minutes.

The anesthesiologist has the ability to make the gas smell like certain tasty scents. So when he entered the room, he asked her if she wanted grape, strawberry or bubblegum.

Dayna replied, "Do you have bacon?"

Being good with kids, the Doctor replied, "Not...anymore. We got rid of that when we
discontinued Macaroni and Cheese. We also got rid of tuna because no one ever requested it."

She settled for bubblegum.

Editor's note: The views expressed in this post are not necessarily endorsed or supported by Alaina. No pig has been killed or otherwise harmed in the posting of this blog entry.

Going Bananas

Dayna: Sometimes I drive you bananas.

Mom: Yes, but I will always love you bunches!

(Okay, you can groan now.)

Eeewwww

We try really hard to not let Dayna dictate household policy, but I had to share her latest edict:

"For the next two weeks no more romanktic stuf! Yuck!!!!!! (No more plese!)"

I've got to admit...Dan and I were *whisper* alone tonight for 3 hours. And we were so busy about the business of life that we can't get accomplished with a 6-year-old around that we didn't even have a chance to think about "romanktic stuf."

I guess we'd better fix that. When our two weeks are up, that is...

Our Budding Author

Dayna has been working at school on adding detail sentences to her writing. Here's her latest story (all spelling left intact):

The Dog and the Walk
by Dayna Wilson

One day Tom took his dog's leshe down. The dog was very egsiydid.
Next Tom put the leshe on the dog. The dog was still very egsiydid.
Finally Tom took him for a walk. The dog was very very egisidid.
The End

Thoughts on Heaven

Dayna's favorite pastime is "tickle wrestling" with her dad. Not just tickling or wrestling, but tickle wrestling.

We were talking tonight about heaven and giving Jesus our crowns. Somehow, the conversation turned to the fact that we will actually be able to touch Jesus in heaven, and not just think of Him or look at Him.

"Can I tickle wrestle with Jesus?" I'm pretty sure that will be in the cards.

"Will he tickle wrestle like Daddy?" Probably even better, because He'll know all the best tickle spots.

"Like my knees and my toes and even my armpits?"

Yes, Dayna. Even your armpits.

Spa Day

I came home from my meeting this morning to be greeted by a little girl who wanted to serve me. She found my inflatable foot bath and had her daddy help fill it with warm soapy water. She found a pillow and put it in a chair, brought me a book and a can of pop, and encouraged me to just sit and enjoy. She massaged my feet, painted my nails, applied many, many, many layers of top coat, and (not-so)-gently blew on my little piggies to help them dry.

Then she brought out my makeup. She took a warm cloth and (not-so)-gently removed my existing makeup, then applied many, many, many layers of foundation, blush, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick, lip gloss, and so on.

Next, she (not-so)-gently brushed my hair and placed many, many, many hair clips and rubber bands in it.

(You know...it's really too bad that we're having computer issues and I can't post a picture.)

Finally, she placed a pillow on the floor and gave me a massage. She applied many, many, many layers of baby lotion (to moisturize) and baby powder (to keep me dry), followed by several sprays from a water bottle (to moisturize) and pumps from an air pump (to keep me dry) {can you say brrrr......?}

Despite my strange looking toes, somewhat decent makeup, unusual hair and goosebumps all over my back, I've got to say...I kind of enjoy having a spa day.

Oh...and Dear Jesus...

...could you help my Mom and Dad not to kiss so much?

Surgery, Sutures, and a Very Silly Girl

Dayna had her third surgery last week. This one was pretty minor compared to the others. She had her ear tubes removed and a little bit of scar tissue removed from her lip.

The week before surgery, I was praying very hard for Dayna...praying that she would not fear, but trust God; praying that she would be comfortable; praying that she would heal quickly; praying that she would not be frustrated by her dietary restrictions after the procedure. There were some prayers thrown out there for me as well...

The weekend before surgery, we went grocery shopping and bought all sorts of soft foods that Dayna might like: instant grits, flavored oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, mashed potato flakes, pudding, jello, bomb pops, macaroni and cheese...you get the picture. Dayna was pretty excited about her "special" foods.

Two days before surgery (Monday), I took Dayna shopping for some special pajamas. Really, this was a practicality issue, as all of her pajamas pull over her head...not a good thing after facial surgery. While we were shopping, Dayna turned to me and said, "I wish we didn't have a Tuesday this week...then it would be WEDNESDAY!!!" I asked why she was so excited about Wednesday, and she replied, "I'll get to have SURGERY!!!!!" (She's pretty excited when she talks to you.) I asked why she was excited for surgery, and she gave me that look (the one like "don't you know anything, Mom?") and said in a slightly exasperated tone, "It's not like I get to do this everyday."

So...I no longer had to worry about her fear. The morning of surgery, we made it to the hospital bright and early. The plastic surgeon is the same one who did her lip and palate repair. We absolutely LOVE Dr. Hollins. The ENT is the father of 3 of my former (and dare I say favorite) students. Only the anesthesiologist was an unknown. When we got there, I was thrilled to find out that Dr. Kolb would be the anesthesiologist. He is the head of our craniofacial team, as well as the director of our local international adoption clinic. Dr. Kolb is also the father of 10, 8 of whom are adopted internationally. I couldn't have asked for a better trio to be working on my little girl.

Well, her procedure went very well. She was a little dazed and dozy for most of the morning; we dealt with headaches for quite awhile. Finally, we were able to get Dayna up and about, which helped her headaches. She really just wanted to lay in the hospital bed all day and watch movies (I guess "it's not like she gets to do this everyday"). In fact, we had a very hard time getting Dayna to agree to come home. She wanted to stay overnight!

The next day, we went up to Dan's folks'. We figured it's always more fun to recover at Grandma and Grandpa's house than to sit at home.

Well, we're one week post-op. Dr. Hollins removed the last of her sutures yesterday. Dayna has been cleared to eat regular foods again. And what did she ask to eat this morning for breakfast?

Oatmeal.

Silly girl!

Squishy Face

Coloring before the surgery

Before - notice the happy grin; the little bump in her top lip is about to disappear

She will take any reason to snuggle - so will I

After - she had a remarkably small amount of swelling

I notice that Dan took her blankie AND her stuffed starfish

Sleeping it off

Awake, but still dazed

Finally up and about - going to the playroom

Resting at home, watching "Kung Fu Panda"

3 days post-op

7 days post-op

Last Day of Kindergarten

Today is Dayna's last day of Kindergarten. All year, I have been sending special encouraging notes to Mrs. Starns on this pad of paper. Dayna has been instructed not to use this paper.

Well, today, I let her write her own encouraging thank you note to Mrs. Starns. The spelling is creative, but I think you'll get the idea.


And just in case you need help with the translation:

"Dear Mrs. Starns:

You have been a great teacher to me. You have taught the kids about reading and writing and comprehension strategies. Again you have to me love (?).

Love Dayna"

Dayna's Top Five

Today is Dayna's last day as a five-year-old. I asked her what her top five things were about being five.


1. Getting to start Bible Study Fellowship.


2. Learning how to swim and not be afraid in the pool.


3. Starting Kindergarten.

4. Earning her own money (sorry...couldn't find a pic, but you can see our system here.)
5. Going to Disney World.

Five has been fun...but it's time to move on.

Dear Easter Bunny

Dayna got it in her head to write a letter to the Easter Bunny today. All spelling, capitalization and punctuation (or lack thereof) is hers:

Dear Easter bunny can you get me and my Dad Daniel sum mrshmelow Peeps and please hid as much Easter Eggs for My famuly can find. My name is speld D-a-y-n-a You usually hear it like this D-a-n-a but its D-a-y-n-a.

I sure hope she gets everything she wants :)

That's What Mommies Do

It's been a rough few days at the Wilson house...mostly due to lack of wisdom in parenting and lack of self-control in childhood. So, as Dan & I pray about how to handle this latest phase (please God, let this just be a phase!) I think back to one of Dayna's favorite phrases when we ask why she does something..."That's what Daynas do!"

So this morning, I popped this little poem in Dayna's lunchbox:

I will love you when you're grumpy.

I will love you when you're mad.

I will love you when you're happy.

I will love you when you're sad.

I will love you when you're snuggly,

And when you're mean and argue too.

I will ALWAYS love my Dayna,

Because that's what Mommies do!