Friday, March 14, 2008
CLUBB FAMILY UPDATE

The time between our last update on February 14 and this one (which was supposed to be posted March 14 and is now several days late) went by with lightning speed as the “Clubb Family of Four” continued to enjoy the simple, everyday things of life…

• Waking up in the morning to the sound of Ainsley and Griffin carrying on their early-morning conversation;

• Watching Griffin eat more waffles at breakfast than Daddy;

• Having time for just Mommy and Daddy each week (even if sometimes it is just those evening hours after the kids are in bed);

• Eating dinner together as a family each night;

• Seeing Ainsley and Griffin become more and more best buddies and playmates, especially now that Griffin is walking and is basically keeping up with Ainsley;

• Finding some of those rare moments during the Pittsburgh winter when everyone can get outside for a walk and some time to run and play;

• Going out for a big breakfast or a nice dinner;

• Building a fort with Ainsley and Griffin;

• Being reminded again and again – as parents and as kids – that ‘it’s not all about you’;

• And on and on and on with any number of other seemingly mundane moments – good and bad – that really are God-given gifts to be celebrated!

Of course, there were also some extra special things we enjoyed this past month…

• A very important birthday;

• A visit from Gump Gump and Aunt Dannie;

• A visit from Grandpa K;

• A trip to the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum; and

• Seeing a few days where the snow started melting and the temperature rose and we were able to reach down deep and find hope that spring will eventually arrive!
 

Ainsley turned 23 months old on March 5, so she is now less than one month away from being a two-year old! She is already trying to speed up time as she now says she is two and proudly arranges her fingers to show two fingers! She is definitely showing signs of becoming a two-year old as well by displaying some tantrums when not getting her way. Most of the time, though, she remains a very good girl (she loves to say, “I’m goo-girl”). Ainsley especially likes to “mother” Griffin by taking his snacks and juice to him, picking up his toys for him, and, of course, telling him “no-no” if he does something she knows they’re not supposed to do. She is learning more and more colors. Now, in addition to her favorites of orange and purple, she knows pink (kink), red, green, blue (boo), and yellow (yeyow), and can readily point them out to you. She definitely seems to be ready for spring, as evidenced by that fact that each morning when we open the door to let Bosco outside, she says, “No all gone!” (Translation = “Snow all gone!”). And, we had to say until very recently, “No, the snow is still there!” She also asks to go to the pool pretty often and does not seem to realize that it is still a long way off until it is warm enough to swim. Even so, we are all getting spring fever and are counting the days until we can enjoy some time at the pool this summer!

Griffin turned 12 months old – yes, ONE YEAR OLD – on March 9! Did we already mention that!? Ha! He is learning and communicating so much more every day. Walking is now his preferred means of transportation for sure. In fact, sometimes it is more like running. He constantly surprises us with some new “trick” he’s learned. Some of his favorites include:

• Waving and saying “bye bye” when people are leaving;

• Saying “tickle, tickle, tickle” as he tickles his own feet;

• Throwing stuff in the garbage (not just trash, but toys and dollar bills have been found there too!);

• Holding a phone to his ear and saying “hello”;

• Saying “no, no” and shaking his head no when he is doing something he shouldn’t;

• Saying “sss, sss” when something is hot; and

• Sometimes making the motions and noise of a monkey!

He also has quite a temper at times. We have had to break up many tug-of-war games between Griffin and Ainsley as they fight for the rights to a prized toy. He is also taking over his Daddy’s knack for bumps and bruises and has already bruised and lost an entire fingernail, bit his tongue and bled, bumped his nose and bled, and got hit in the eye resulting in a bit of a black eye! If he ends up getting into mountain biking and Tae Kwon Do like his Daddy, there may be many more bumps and bruises ahead!

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

● Face Forward! – Now that Griffin is one year old and weighs at least twenty pounds, he has joined his sister facing forward in his car seat. He loves it! The first time he took a ride facing forward, he was so excited, as if he was seeing a whole new world!

● Final Post-Placement Visit – This month we had our final post-placement visit from our adoption agency’s social worker to prepare an updated home-study report that must be sent to China as part of the whole adoption process. China requires several post-placement updates during the first year following the adoption. This completes the many meetings and mountains of paperwork with our adoption agency and the Chinese government, which all began back in April 2005, when we first began the adoption process!

Next month, April 14, will be the 1-year anniversary of Ainsley’s arrival in the US to complete the formation of the “Clubb Family of Four!” That will be our last update on this Web site. We are so thankful for the folks at www.myadoptionwebsite.com who made it possible for us to chronicle our adoption story online from the point of our referral, through our travel plans, our time in China, and the entire year since our return!

Just a reminder that after April 14, we will be posting updates on a blog that we are in the process of developing (more details forthcoming). We are thankful for all of you who have taken such an interest in our story and we look forward to sharing more exciting adventures for anyone who still wants to come along for the ride after April 14! Until then, we continue to welcome comments in our guestbook section as these will be kept as part of the archived/CD version of this site, which we will be able to keep and share with the kids as they get older.