These are cool, I wish I'd bought some when Piper actually needed a bib! I keep a pair in my purse now, for times when we are out and about and happen to stop for ice cream or something messy. You can use a napkin, washcloth, anything really, even a tea towel...so you're never out without a bib or cover up ever again.

This would have been great on our trip to china, we took loads of disposable bibs, which were great at the table but for bottle time we went through masses of bibs and they just wouldn't dry in the humidity when we washed them. Great invention...now why didn't I think of that!

BOOKS FOR AN PING - WE DID IT!



As you know, we are hoping to adopt a child from the 'Waiting Child' program through our agency CCAI. Our agency receives lists every few months with children from all over China. Most of the children are over 12 months old, and often we see children whose files are due to be sent back because no one has come forward as their forever family. I have been watching the journey of one family in our group who have recently opened their hearts to a 12 year old girl who had just a few months before she would no longer be eligible for adoption(due to her age)...I was so taken by the family and their dedication that I wanted to do something 'nice' for their new daughter, something that would help her feel at 'home' with her new Mom & Dad. I thought, a basket of books in Mandarin would be a nice way for her to relax in her new bedroom, so here it goes...lets see if we can raise $200 for a basket of cool books for An Ping! I found a resource for Harry Potter books in Mandarin...how fun!

Congratulations to our friend Stefanie, at this very moment she is on her way home from China with her newest addition Jude! This family is an inspiration to our own in so many ways, Stefanie and her husband have SEVEN, yes I said that right, SEVEN children! The three latest additions are all beautiful children from China. We are thrilled for them and send lots of love and hugs to the entire family.

If this isn't the cutest child you have ever seen, you are stark raving mad!

TaTa! oh, I mean TaDa!


Here's the new crew, ready for the reunion. Posh Spice has a couple of turtles trapped under her shirt...please God, someone set them free, they clearly have nothing to eat under there! Sorry folks, but does Posh look a little t-h-i-n?!

THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD!


Yes it's true, the Spice Girls are back! I couldn't believe it. Not to say I didn't kinda like the dancibility of some of their tunes, I just don't know if the world at large is ready for another spice-attack?

I'll tell ya want I want, what I really really want....I wanna-I wanna-I wanna really really really really really..not see this happen. What happens in the 90's should stay in the 90's!

although, this time around the girls are a bit more, how do we say...interesting. Scarey just had Eddie Murphy's baby, Posh is indeed posh and married to the worlds best soccer player and snoodling with the crazy Cruises, Baby is having her own baby, Sporty...well, I dont know much about sporty, and Ginger, is about to author kiddies books...they all seem to have grown(no I'm not making fun of Posh's breasticles).

Maybe I will watch and see what happens.

PROOF!!!



I finally found it, yes, it's true...I have proof that I used to be fit, I used to run, and jump and play...okay, maybe just run and play..the jumping thing is overated, I get excited, I'm a bit clumsy, it normally doesn't end well, but that's another story for another time....but here I am, 8 short years ago, weeks before I met Mike...running in the Bolder Boulder in Colorado.

Mike is getting ready to run a 5K down in Texas with one of his client/customers as part of the team...it's a 5K and I know he'll do a great job...but this was a 10K run..and I finished it!

It really makes me feel like I need to get back on track. No pun intended. The last five years have been a bit of a blur....but look, it's me...or a former version of me.

hmm...I've been tagged? I wasn't quite sure what this was about, but I guess in the blogosphere people are looking for inventive ways to pass the wait for their children. So here it goes. The 'tag' asks for eight facts/habits about me.. gee I didn't think anyone cared!

Here we go...


1. I have dresses in my wardrobe that are 7 sizes smaller than my current size!!! Holey Cow Batman, that's a doosey!

2. I injected over 300 vials of Gonal F (a fertility drug) during 2003. I constantly worry about the impact on my future health from injecting this poison! I also wish we'd educated ourselves about adoption earlier...we could have saved our family a lot of pain and money!

3. I moved in with my wonderful husband less than a month after I met him...seriously, I KNEW I was going to marry him...and look...we've been together for almost EIGHT years!

4. I am homesick for New Zealand a good part of every day. I'd be good if I could go home more often, but ticket prices are too scary.

5. I wish I was a vegetarian, I really do, I think about it all the time.

6. I'm pretty sure I have ADD, I re-read all my school report cards a few years ago and it pretty much confirmed it, I think I read 'excellent marks but fails to concentrate', and 'has issues focusing' at least 20 times. Mike calls me 'Distracto'.

7. When I was 17 I was a go-go dancer at a nightclub, nah, not a sleazy club, but one of the coolest dance clubs(think Miami Beach, Paris Hilton that kind of scene...oh, that's probably too sleazy, maybe halve that)...we used to stand(fully clothed in 80's high fashion) in cages suspended 10 feet in the air and boogie down to the popular sounds of the day. That was the most embarrassing fact. Can anyone say 'teased hair'! Sad...very sad. I don't have any pictures to prove it so don't ask!

8. I regret not going back to college. I would love to have been in marketing, PR etc...I think I'd have been good at it. Maybe next time around.

there it is, now that wasn't too painful. I'm not going to tag anyone because I don't really know enough bloggers yet. I also need to figure out how to add links to other bloggers into my post...I'm still learning! Oh, I'll be adding one more tag answer to my blog this afternoon...something about 'what's in my handbag'

Then I'll get back to regular blogging.

our next 'project runway' star



I had to take Piper's measurements today, for a top secret project. She was very helpful, stood still and watched me very closely. Of course when Daddy came home Piper ran for the measuring tape and yelled at her father to play her new game.

"stand still Daddy I need to measure you!" and, "hmmm, what measure are you?"

...you might just be a redneck....



...if you rig the bird feeder to deliver 500 volts! We got an email from Mike's Dad tonight, seems that in his retirement he has enjoyed watching the wild birds come to feed in the back yard, but the squirrels and deer have been driving him crazy.

You can tell he put his electrical engineering skills to work on this one. Apparently it works, it probably puts on a good show!

Good ole West Virginia ingenuity! 'Git er done' Poppy!

WHERE DO BABIES COME FROM?

In our case they come from CHINA! This is the CCAA matching room, the first part of the 'last trimester' of the adoptive process, can you even believe the numbers of dossiers?, and this photo was taken several years ago, so imagine that the pile is at least three times as large now.



Each group of dossiers is color coded by agency, so that the staff know which agency files belong where. I don't know what color CCAI uses...I just get overwhelmed looking at the photos.

Wall to wall dossiers, can you imagine how much work goes into matching children to parents? While some work is done on the computer, there is still a lot that is pure 'paper'...I dont know how many people work in the matching room...but I can imagine how exhausting it is to try to make the 'right' decision. I truly believe that the staff look at each child's file and try to find the parents that would be best for each one. We know Piper was hand chosen, and we couldn't have been luckier!

every nook and cranny is jammed with dossiers!

Why is the wait so much longer???

When we applied to adopt a child from China in late 2004, the time from your paperwork being logged in at the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) to the time of a referral was approximately six months. Our papers were logged in on February 21, 2005 and six and a half months later we received our first photo and information about our new daughter.

This time around things are different, very very different. Not only have the wait times increased dramatically, but there is very little we know about whether they will improve or continue to get worse. The current wait for families from 'log in' until referral is 19 months, almost three times what it was in September 2005! In fact families with November 2005 log in's are yet to receive their referrals, this is indeed disappointing and immeasurably sad. Families are looking at potential waits rumored at 3-4 years!

There are facts, speculations and rumors as to why this is happening, we choose to believe the information that we hear about from our agency CCAI which has a very good relationship with the CCAA.

From what we understand, there are still many many thousands of children in orphanages in China, and abandonments occur at a regular pace with only slight fluctuation from year to year, what does seem to be the 'issue' is that the Orphanage Directors are not submitting paper ready children to the CCAA at the same rate, hence the dramatic slowdown.

Now, why do you think they would do this? Doesn't China want to help the orphans find families? Help relieve the stress on the social system? Of course they do, but for the last 15 years the orphanage 'child rearing fee' that families are required to pay the orphanage has been a very manageable $3000USD. Yes, that's right, just $3000. While other fees in the past 15 years have soared, mainly for home studies, USCIS and background fees (most on the American side), the China fees that are paid to an orphanage to help defray the costs of feeding, clothing and caring for an orphan have remained the same. I'm certainly not the person to say "hey lets increase prices", because for one, it's already a huge financial strain on most families to even consider adoption, as it is for ours. What I do think should happen is a gradual increase over the next few years to help the already strained orphanage system prepare the time consuming paperwork that is required by the CCAA to make a child 'available' for International Adoption.

Let me tell you one important thing; We have the utmost respect for our adoption agency CCAI, we can't thank them enough for walking us through this process the first, and now second time. Our agency quietly admits to one of the lowest agency fees for China adoption in the nation, while also maintaining incredibly low operating costs and an enviable Children's Cultural Center and Charity foundation. For these reasons we are not just clients of CCAI, but we are FAMILY members who will continue to support the wonderful work that the owner/founders Josh & Lily do to help Chinese children find forever families. They are our daughters hero's!

and still there's more....

We decided early on in the process of adopting a second child that we would be open to a child with a known medical condition, in the world of International Adoption these children are referred to as 'waiting children'. We filled out our medical conditions checklist in early January, soon after our official log in date, we were not motivated by the fact that we could see a match within the year, but more so by a desire to open our arms, heart and home to a child who would be 'overlooked' by the traditional or NSN (non special needs) program. We spent a lot of time researching the medical conditions on the list, and by the end of January we submitted our list of what we feel we can honor as a family, emotionally, physically, financially as well as what resources our local area offered.

We as a family feel extremely privileged to have adopted from China, we are parents of a smart, funny and articulate little girl who has a bright future ahead of her.

The Waiting Child program works a little differently that the traditional program, and again,this differs from agency to agency. In the traditional program, officials at the CCAA in China actually 'match' you with a child (and I must say from personal experience they do a very nice job!), whereas in the WC program, each individual agency in the US periodically receives 'lists' of waiting children, the team then translates all the information and tries to 'match' the children with a family, see, it's almost the same, just done on this side of the world. At our agency, the average match time is 8-10 months from the time you submitted your medical conditions checklist, we are at 5.5 months, so there is a slight chance we could receive a match by the end of the year. The process is a little more complicated beyond that point, and it could take several more months than the traditional referral-travel time line, but many families will travel within six months of match to get their children.

I know, this post was a long one, and you are all probably yawning...we just wanted to open up the discussion for those who were interested in knowing what the 'process' is like. Adoption is not easy, it is not fast, it is not inexpensive...it is AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, MEANINGFUL, and it is PERFECT for our family.

This weekend, we attended a really fun wedding in St Paul. We had a complete blast. It was our first official 'Piperless' weekend...we made sure she was well taken care of and stocked with fun and exciting games, puzzles, movies etc and in the loving arms of our next door neighbour Bethany.

Mike and I arrived at the church as the bride was walking down the aisle..uh oh.

I had purchased a new pair of shoes for the event, having mostly flip flops, scungy sneakers and a pair of summer slides in my wardrobe. they were the highest ever shoes I have ever worn, and after tiptoeing or shall I say hobbling from the carpark to the church and back, I decided to go back to the hotel before the reception and put on my slides, okay, I know it wasn't terribly 'fashionable', they did have a mini heel so it wasnt a crime punishable by death, just not the skyscrapers I had envisioned I would wear! Good choice Hayley, comfort over beauty!

The reception was at the 'University Club', a grand old building that I think independantly supported marble mining in the last century! The setting was romantic and enchanted, and our table was a lot of fun. The coolest idea was an actual old fashined photo booth set up for the guests to take their pictures, instead of the standard 'guest book'. David & Sarah thought a book of photos of their guests would be better! We thought so too! We made one set for the happy couple and a couple sets for us to take home...this is one of them, the others are not as flattering!

awwww...aren't they cute!



What a great pair! May your lives be filled with adventures! Have fun in the Virgin Islands. We can't wait to get an invitation to your next backyard cookout/brewery tour!

When someone coined the phrase "I can see your house from here" they must have been where we were standing! It's kind of cool that you can stand in one city 'St Paul' and see another 'Minneapolis' in the distance, the famous pairing is commonly known as the 'Twin Cities' because of proximity, they definitely aren't identical, more fraternal...almost oddly related. We thought this photo from the Hotel restaurant warranted posting. Minneapolis is waaaaaaay in the distance, squint and you'll see her!

This weekend we went to a colleague of Mike's wedding, it was in St Paul, just 45 minutes East of where we live. Piper got to stay home with our trusted babysitter Bethany, while Mummy & Daddy hit the town! Okay, we didn't really hit it, more like casually brushed by it. This morning we opened our hotel blinds and saw that we actually had a view for once, no longer relegated to staring at the side of a brick building, construction site or carpark...wee!

Another great donation, now you can't beat the cuteness of this dress!

Our item list for the CCAI charity raffle and auction is growing...



flyawayhomeclothing.com will make a dress for one lucky family, these are just to die for and so adorable. Sizes are 18 months to 4T. I have been emailing with the lady who makes these dresses, she herself is an adoptive Mom, and heading back to China for number two in the future! Thanks to Jennifer Raff, whose little cutie is modeling her creations, I'm sure the lucky girl who wins one of your dresses will be in heaven!!

When you just know that your family fits toether


Piper 'parks' her shoes inside either mine, or Mike's...I dont know why she started doing this but we think it's pretty cute. Sorry about the scungy sneaker shot...reminds me that I need a new pair.
.

Introducing Miss Stickey Stickerson.

Yesterday, while out driving I handed Piper a sheet of stickers that had come in the mail. In all honesty I did this to curtail the constant stream of whining being directed at me. Hey, I'm human! Anyway, a split second later there was s-i-l-e-n-c-e! What? Had Aliens swept down and abducted my sweet child into the nether-regions of the Universe?

O hail ye gods of self adhesive magic dots! It takes a lot to get Piper to be quiet, the girl is a chatterbox...hmmm, kinda like her parents. I must remember to take stickers on car rides, especially those excrutiating 7 minute ones to Target!

Yesterday we went to the Foss Swim School for lessons. Piper did great! She was a little apprehensive when she saw a little boy freak out when he was dunked, but as soon as she got in the water she was fine.

I forgot to put the CF card in the camera again, so ended up approaching another family with a camera to see if they could snap a few pics of this inaugural event. We send a big 'Thank you' out to Dawn for emailing these last night, we appreciate it! (yes, you got it right, I approached people we didn't know to ask if they'd take photos of Miss P!, desperate times, desperate measures!)

As you can see, Mike & Piper had a whale of a time. Even when the lights went out and the kiddos had to swim in the dark (okay,it wasn't dark per say, just dim)



the lesson ended with a look in the mirror and blowing yourself a big kiss

WHATS IN A NAME?



When we chose Piper's name it was on a list of about five names that we kept throwing around, would she be a 'Lucy', a 'Paige' or a 'Piper'. Piper just kept coming to the top of the list, over and over, so we decided on her name and set to task of finding a middle name. Now in the world of China adoption, many families give the child their Chinese name as a middle name, in honor of their heritage. When Mike & I found out that Piper's Chinese name Qu, LeSi was in fact VERY difficult to pronounce (it's the Si part, sounds like tsr...quite difficult for our tongues to grasp), we decided to honor her Chinese name in a different way and give her a 'family' name instead. So Piper became Piper Lily Hannah Hoppe, the Lily Hannah being my great grandmothers name. We had a calligrapher in China paint Pipers Chinese name on a rice paper scroll for her to keep, hence the 'honoring' of her Chinese name.

So why do we have the picture above??? Because it's time to let you know we have picked the name of Piper's sister, we don't know when she will join our family, it might be 2008 or 2009 or worst case it could be 2010! We just don't know. One thing we do know is her new name, in a world of uncertainty it's nice to have something tangible to hold onto.

This time Mike and I had less discussions about names, he quickly vetoed a few of my choices, he didn't even give Jemima a chance, or Camilla, or Jemma. We briefly discussed Penny (Mike's grandmothers nickname) and Paige, but firmly rested on ...

PAISLEY, actually 'Paisley Rose' (Rose is after my mother Rosemary)...

We thought it was quite different, almost a cross between Paige and Daisy, two of our favorites. As it turns out through the world of adoption blogging there is another family in Texas who just received their referral for a little girl they too have named Paisley! We are in good company!

Today I took Piper to see her first movie...'Surf's Up'. It's made a lot of sense that this would be her first movie because my little wahini is is love with all things surf related. Do we live in Hawaii? New Zealand? even California? Nope, we live in land locked Minnesota (you can't count the lakes, it has to be OCEAN to call it surf).

I wasnt sure if she'd be able to sit through the whole 1 hour, 25 mins but she did, and was mesmerized. Apart from an occasional squeal of pleasure she stayed fairly quiet, loved all the songs, and rocked out like any good surfer would. The lovely thing is that movies are FREE until you are three and we went to the matinee so it was a huge $4 for our afternoon of entertainment. The movie was cute. Some humor for grownups, I'd give it a thumbs up for little ones.

Later...

Piper can be very inventive, she told me "I'll be back in a minute okay, you wait here", took off to the garage and came back with her sled, she then promptly threw it into her paddling pool and...well, the picture tells the story.

I do believe 'surfs up dudes'

Every girl needs a wand, we are still working on the tiara, but the wand will suffice for now. I tried so hard to get a cute picture this weekend but Piper was...how do I say...'non complient', okay OBSTINATE! She will tell me when I'm allowed to take pictures with commands like "go get the camera Mummy", "not now, I'm too busy"(yes, I know where that one came from), and the classic "CHEESE"..or should I say "jeezy cheezy"

how pink is too pink?


We are looking at paint colors for Pipers big girl bedroom, we want to transition her into a big bed and new room long before her sister arrives. I want to paint her room P*i*n*k. We are doing a 'shabby chic' style look, with an old bed frame we picked up on ebay and floral pillows and bedding. We even got a fantastic dresser from Craigslist that is blue! I just cant figure out what shade of pink? I dont want it too be too pale and non-existant, yet I am in fear of pepto pink that will make her feel like she is living inside an antacid bottle...so where my friends does one draw the line? When is pink too pink, or not quite enough?

Ode to the Pied Piper of childrens music



Our friend Justin Roberts (well, he emailed me PERSONALLY, so he must be my friend), has agreed to send several CD's to us for the CCAI event. This guy is not only a rock star, but he "ROCKS!" Justin's music is amazing, he has a bunch of great cd's available on Amazon! We try to catch him in concert whenever we can. Mike has mentioned that he often drives to work after dropping Piper at daycare with Justin's CD on, and doesnt realize until he parks his car that he has been rockin out to kids music...this is from a guy who loves the Beastie Boys, The White Stripes and The Vines!

Yesterday I contacted the author of a wonderful book written about an adopted girl from China. The author Mary Cummings belongs to the local MN chapter of FCC 'families with children from China'. I heard back today, she is happy to donate a signed copy of her lovely book for the CCAI raffle & silent auction. There is a link to Mary's book on our blog, so if you would like to pick it up from Amazon, the link is right there!

Here's what the editorial said about the book!

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5–A gentle, sensitive story of international adoption told through the eyes of a Chinese-American girl. Ada Lorane Bennett explains how she came to have several names–the first was from her birth mother and is buried deep in her heart, another she received at the orphanage, and the third came from her adoptive parents. In telling her story, readers learn about Ada's life in America, her likes and dislikes, and a few facts about her homeland. However, it is the child's present life in the States and her love for her adoptive parents that is emphasized. A few Chinese words are introduced and explained within the context of the story. The book concludes with pages from Ada's scrapbook. Consisting of pictures and thoughts, they reveal what is important to her–family, friends, pets, as well as facts about China. The theme of family should interest most children, but adopted youngsters will relate to Ada's feelings as she considers her past as well as present circumstances. Simple, lyrical text enhances the quiet tone of the story. Soft and delicate, the realistic illustrations capture the mood of the story and reveal Ada's thoughts about who she is and where she came from. The warmth and simplicity of this story, plus the positive message on adoption, should appeal to most readers.–Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA

Book Description
Ada has three names. Wang Bin is what the caregivers called her at her Chinese orphanage. Ada is the name her American parents gave her as the three traveled home. And there is a third name, a name the infant Ada only heard whispered by her Chinese mother. That name, unknown but treasured, is someplace in Ada's heart.
Additonal pages based on Ada's scrapbook will inspire readers to collect their own drawings, photos, and thoughts.

...further astounded by the kindness...




I just got an email from my new friend Karri, she has astounded me by offering to make one of the most complicated patterns for the donation, valued at $400-500! I had originally hoped for one of the lovely more basic patterns, but this is a big surprise! This is beyond what I dreamed for and I feel truly blessed to know that this fantastic woman is donating a huge amount of time for children in China! Thank you Karri!!!!

I had to post this, the other day Piper disappeared. I heard a rustling noise in the kitchen, so I knew she was close by...but what was she doing? hmmm...she was being very quiet, and if I dare say, the scent of 'sneakiness' was in the air....

It seems Piper has discovered not only that she can help herself to snacks in the cupboard but that she has the uncanny ability of a navy seal to conceal her location...well, maybe her hiding skills need a little work, but for a two and a half year old she seems to understand that cover is important when raiding the cupboards.

"what?"

THE GENEROSITY OF OTHERS PART DEUX



To add to the list of fabulous people who are donating, Suzanne Myers has also agreed to give one of her fabulous name charm necklaces to the CCAI auction. As you all know, I received one of Suzannes necklaces for Mothers Day this year and I LOVE it! She is truly an amazing artisan and we cannot thank her enough for her kind donation. She will make a personalized necklace for one lucky family who wins the silent auction!

I already have my second charm picked out, and I can't wait to have Suzanne attach it next to Piper's charm! But, that's for another day!

THE GENEROSITY OF OTHERS

A big big heartfelt thank you to our friend Karri, at Karri's Quilts. She has offered her services to make a 100 good wishes quilt for a lucky family who wins the silent auction bid. This will be especially great for the winning family because Josh and Lily, CCAI's founders have agreed to donate a very special squish(fabric square and wish) to the winning family. I approached Karri this week about the possibility of her donating her sewing service to the CCAI auction, within hours I had a resounding 'yes', talk about great luck! Karri has been making 100 wishes quilts for adoptive parents for several years, her work is fantastic and we plan on having her help us make our next quilt!

To contact Karri, please click on the link on the right hand side of the page.



I must say, this is my favorite design!

ROAD TRIP!!!!

We just decided that our family will be attending our adoption agency's midwest reunion in August. We are excited beyond belief to go to Columbus and meet with hundreds of other CCAI families. We are even getting to stay with our friends the Battaglia's in Chicago (their beautiful daughter Jenna was adopted from Qujiang at the same time Piper was), and our friends the Novaks in Columbus(another family with a gorgeous daughter that we met on our adoption trip to China).

The weekend will be filled with masses of fun activities and adventures for the children, and grown ups alike.

We cant wait! As always, CCAI tries to raise funds to support various needs in China during these reunions, so I have contacted several small busineses to see if they can help out with donated items for a silent auction and raffle. I've already got a great response from two wonderful people....the generosity of others is magnificent!

Old First Church, Bennington, Vermont

UPDATE
Olive is in 'time out'...but a serious thought crossed my mind,...since Olive 'schnauzer dog', mauled her plush counterpart (also a schnauzer, and namesake), is this some form of cannibalism?
I failed to mention that Olive also decapitated 'mini Olive' a mini mini lil' Ollie a few days ago. No biggie, a bummer...but there is a disturbing trend here?.

Piper is fine with Ollie's sore foot. She wants to put bandaids on it.

BAD DOG!

oh boy...I'm in trouble! this morning I arrived home at 6.30am after a night of baby nursing. I saw Mike for about 37 seconds, just long enough to grab a good morning kiss and give him the mocha I'd picked up for him at Caribou coffee.

I sank into bed knowing Mike would get Piper up & ready for school without incident.

At 9.30 I was woken by a persistent scratch at the bedroom door, clearly our schnauzer Olive needed to let me know two very important things

1. she was bored
2. she needed to go outside because she had found something I shouldn't see and wanted to 'hide' it from me.

The difficulty with number 2. is that I have to let her outside so that she can hide her 'booty', whatever it may be.

OMG SHOCK HORROR SWEATING FEELING DIZZY OH YE GODS NO!!!

Olive had found Piper's doll 'Lil Ollie' and eaten one of it's paws! my moment of panic was replaced shortly thereafter with ideas of just how I will fix this by 12.30pm when I pick Miss P up from school???

Internet...order a new Ollie, after much searching I found her replacement. It will need to be washed, whiskers appropriately matted for it to pass inspection. Okay, now what do we do about our battle scarred friend. Off to the fabric store I go for grey thread. Maybe on the way I will figure out what I will say to Piper about 'Lil Ollie's' accident...she will notice!

This is a big deal for us, Piper has not had an easy time making friends with her soft toys, her build-a-bear 'Charlie' and her Asian 'Penny' doll are relegated to sleeping outside her crib, only Ollie is allowed in the temple of Piper.

palpitations, cold sweats coming back...groan.




Here's a photo of the two of them in happier times, pre 'limb difference'