Aidan became a U.S. citizen today!

Aidan is not quite 3, and he already had to have a trip to juvy.

The day started out at the Snohomish County courthouse, but when our lawyer arrived, he discovered that there was a slight mix-up. The judge scheduled to handle our case was not present. He was about a mile or two away at the Juvenile Justice Center. So we had to jet over to the other facility to complete Aidan's readoption. When both parents travel to adopt in China, the child becomes a US citizen at the US consulate before returning to the states. But when one parent travels, as in our case, the child must be readopted here in order for the child's citizenship to be completed.

Here we are with the judge after swearing that all the information we provided was true. It was a very brief, but joyful ceremony. I'm sure that this is one of the more pleasant moments for judges and other court staff. Aidan had a great big grin throughout the process and had our attorney and the judge chuckling.

Albert Lirhus was the same attorney who handled Lily's readoption.

Both Julie's parents and my mom were present for the occasion.

Proudly waving the flag.

Afterwards, we headed to the Everett waterfront and had lunch at our favorite Japanese restaurant. We probably should have had a typical American hamburger, but we were in the mood for tempura and yakisoba.

Aidan was so glad his Papa was there to have fun with him.

And here's just a cute shot of my girls that I had to include. Behind them is the view from the restaurant where we ate.

Aidan's 3rd Birthday Party

Aidan doesn't turn 3 until tomorrow, but we celebrated his birthday yesterday afternoon. We had a number of friends and family over for snacks, cake and ice cream, games, and tearing into gifts. We decided to go with a "car" theme, since Aidan likes little toy cars. Had to use the Disney paraphenalia from the movie "Cars" since that was readily available, although our family has not seen the movie.


Here's Aidan digging into his cake.

And here he is digging into his presents. His favorite ended up being the musical card he got that plays Rascal Flatt's "Life is a Highway." He carried that around all afternoon opening and closing it to get the music to play.

We played a few games, including the classic "Drop the Clothespins into the Milk Bottle" (our bottle was an empty Paul Masson wine carafe. Shhh! Don't tell anyone).

Lily tied for the best score.

Grammie O (Kurt's mom) flew up from California to celebrate with us.

And we were all pooped by the end of the day.

Today we have a court date in Everett to finalize Aidan's readoption and to celebrate his becoming a U.S. citizen. Stay tuned for more pictures!

More Summer Fun

The rain and cooler weather has returned. We had a stretch of unusually hot and dry weather here in the Puget Sound. During the hottest week, Julie and the kids went down to stay with her mom and dad who live a little over an hour south of us. They have a daylight basement which stays much cooler than the oven which our house becomes on hot days.

Not only did the kids stay cool, but they got to stay with Grandma and "Papa." Aidan especially just plain loves his "Papa." It's as if I don't even exist when Julie's dad is around. In addition to the fun around the grandparent's house, they also had the chance to ride the carousel at the Auburn Super Mall.

We also have news regarding Aidan's surgeries. His first one is scheduled for October 13 at Children's Hospital in Seattle. We'll certainly be posting more information as that day approaches.

Living it up at the waterfront and the pool

We went to the Mukilteo waterfront yesterday. After an early lunch of fish and chips at Ivar's, we just HAD to have some ice cream. What better way to start your day at the waterfront? By the way, I know that Aidan looks three sheets to the wind, but I promise, we did NOT spike his Pediasure. A friend of mine says his family calls it an "ice-cream stupor."

Brother and sister on the playground at the waterfront.

As you can see, it was a glorious day in the Northwest.

After naptime, we set up the pool in the backyard.

We've had the sprinklers out already this summer, but this was Aidan's first time in the pool.

What do you think? Does it look like he's enjoying himself?

Both this shot and the previous one are my favorites of the bunch. For this one, I tried to get the kids to pose and smile in the pool, but Lily ran toward the camera and this is what I got. Rather serendipitous, I must say.

And now, for something completely different!

That last video I posted was, of course, very silly. But now, here's a very serious one. Enjoy hearing a virtuoso performance from the duo of Lily and Aidan on the piano.

Just having some fun with Jib Jab

Lily helped me with the "casting," including my mom and Uncle John.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

A Trip to the Zoo for Lily's Birthday

Today was Lily's 4th birthday. After breakfast at IHOP in Everett, we dropped my mom (a.k.a. Grammie "O") off at SeaTac airport. Then, we drove back north into Seattle for a surprise visit to the Woodland Park Zoo. The weather here has been glorious for weeks (Shhhh! Don't tell anyone!!!), and we wanted to take advantange of it. Above you can see Aidan, me, and Lily in front of the flamingo exhibit. You can't see it, but I, also, am standing on one leg.

There was a play area where you can experience some animal habitats. Here's me trying on a turtle shell for size. I found it to be claustrophobic.

But Aidan seemed to like it.

So did Lily.

Here's Lily Ping with her pal King. Kong, that is.

And in this shot, the gorilla is the one in the front, in case you were wondering. Aidan was a little freaked out by the statues. After seeing the real gorillas, I think he thought these, too, were real.

"Can I pet the kitty, daddy?"

Here's a lovely flower and our son Aidan. Oh, yes, and a blue orchid, too.

Aidan dug the cookies. (Not out of the garbage. I meant he liked them.)

And Lily slurped down her refreshing "Itsakadoozie!" popsicle.

Aidan and Lily busted a move while listening to the funky music coming from the loudspeakers.

Our fearless safari leader made friends with another zoo animal, as you can see.

We also stopped by to check out the elephants.

The zoo also had a very cool (no pun intended) penguin exhibit.

We ended the day with sandwiches from Subway and more sundaes at home with the ice cream left over from Lily's party on Sunday. Earlier, Lily got four "high fives" and a pinch to grow and inch. She made sure to reciprocate on my backside throughout the day.

Lily said, "I can't believe I'm four!" I can't either. It seems like it was yesterday when she was just a little 10 month old baby being placed in my arms for the first time.

Lily's "Ice Cream" Birthday Party

Lily turns 4 tomorrow. We celebrated with friends and family this past Sunday afternoon. Lily requested an "ice cream" theme.

Here's one of the crafts that the kids made.

And here's Lily's conehead mother demonstrating one of the games ... who can balance a cone on their head the longest while walking.

Here's Lily's birthday sundae.

After everything was cleaned up (well, almost everything), it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. Kurt's mom, otherwise known as Grammie "O," was also in town from California to help us celebrate. She heads home tomorrow afternoon.

Happy Birthday, Lily! We love you!

Aidan Adjusting and Adapting

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. If that's the case, then the above ought to tell you how well Aidan has been adapting and adjusting to being a part of our family ... and how Lily is adapting and adjusting to having a little brother. Aidan seems to have slid comfortably into our lives, as if this is where he belonged all along.

We gather every night for bedtime prayers in Lily's room and sing and pray ... that is, after they get out all the "sillies," of course. Brother and sister say good night to each other. Aidan's "good night" consists of a breathy "nigh-nigh" with hands folded together by his head. Thankfully, we are able to lay him down in his bed and he goes to sleep without any problems (it's Lily who still calls out for mommy and daddy several times before she goes to sleep). We don't even have to hold him or sit with him anymore. That went by the wayside a couple of weeks ago, and our spines are grateful.

Aidan's still getting a bottle with PediaSure in the morning and evening, but he's become quite adept at using a cup now. He still can't get a good seal on his mouth, so some inevitably dribbles out on occasion. For the most part, however, he does a good job keeping his chin at just the right angle so he doesn't lose too much liquid.

A couple of weeks ago we had an appointment at Children's Hospital in Seattle. We met with a host of doctors, nurses, and surgeons getting us prepared for Aidan's upcoming surgeries. He will have his cleft palate repaired first, sometime in July or August, if all goes according to plan. Then, after that heals (approximately 3-6 months later), he'll have his upper lip and gum line reconstructed. When he turns 7 or 8, he'll have another surgery.

The first Sunday in May our congregation held a shower after church for Aidan. We greatly appreciate the love and support the people of our church have shown us. We were "showered" with clothing, gift cards, toys, and a money tree to help with some of Aidan's upcoming medical expenses. One of our church members made and decorated two beautiful cakes for the shower. One had a baseball diamond on it, the other (above) had Aidan's name in Chinese characters plus more baseball stuff.

Thanks for checking in with us!

Easter with the Onken's

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We had a wonderful Easter celebration at church this past Sunday. Here's Aidan and Lily posing in front of the "memorial garden" which our congregation puts in the chancel every Easter.

Aidan really seems to be adapting very well. As you can see, he's even learning to smile on command whenever the camera comes out.

The picture below was taken last week, but I just had to share it with you ... my three favorite people (four if you count "John Candycorn" ... that's the name Lily gave to her stuffed monkey which you can see over Julie's right shoulder. How did he get the name? It's a long story).