Shen's First Baby Tooth & Kung Fu Panda 2

Two big events for Shen this past month: He lost his first baby tooth, and the tooth fairy brought him $5 (I 'think' that is only for the first tooth). My, how inflation has happened. Daddy remembers getting a dime for his baby teeth! You can see the picture of the big boy holding his tooth in his palm, and also smiling with the tooth missing.
Also, Shen was VERY excited to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D!! As we exited the theater, the Panda was waiting, so we got a picture of the Panda with Shen.
Enjoy!!

Shen's First Organizaed Sport

This past Spring, Shen got very involved in sport for the first time. He had a great time, and did very well. He learned ball handling skills of dribbling and passing, and scored several times throughout the season. All in all, he did really well, and had a great time. Jodie and I were REALLY proud of him, how he connected with his teammates, how he supported them when he may not have been on the field, and how he celebrated their successes on the field. The highlight (for daddy) was arriving at O'Hare one day late from a speaking engagement, getting home and, while still wearing his suit, saw Shen score his first goal ever. Daddy raised his arms in triumph, and Shen wanted to know why daddy raised his arms like that :). A GREAT Experience for Shen!!! Here are a couple of pictures to celebrate the beginning of sport in Shen's life. In the 2nd picture, Shen is # 25!

Star of the Week

This is big week coming up for Shen! although i haven't blogged in awhile, i feel it's important to get this one in. Each week a student in Shen's Kindergarten class is named Star of the Week. Mommy has worked VERY hard with Shen on getting his poster done. The poster has some of Shen's writings as well as photos showing him in China and then with his Forever Family.
He is so excited to have this poster done, and to be able to show it to his little friends at school. I am going to attach a photo of his poster when we get it finished.
Each day, he gets to take something to school for Show 'N Tell. On Tuesday, he took Buzz Lightyear - his favorite toy "to infinity and beyond." On Wednesday, he took Carrot, his stuffed animal, bunny, that is special because mommy surprised him with bunny last year. He sleeps with Carrot every night, and loves the bunny. On Thursday, he took his Lego Truck, that he put together all by himself (with only a little help from big brother, Connor). He is so good at building things!!
Love to all,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Shen is a U.S. Citizen

August 27, 2010, will always be a big day for Shen and our entire family! On this day, daddy took an oath on Shen's behalf, citing that, yes, he was physically born in China, but that all allegiances are now to the United States of America! In the oath is that Shen will defend the United States, and even bear arms to do so. It was 'chilling' and heart-warming at the same time, to accept that responsibility for Shen.
Just imagine that it is one week shy of 2 years ago, that daddy ventured to China to pick him up. And, now, he is a Citizen of the United States. What a great country we live in, and thanks to God for all the Blessings He has bestowed on our family.
I will blog in the near future to summarize all the things that we have done this summer, and I'll add some pictures of Shen from the all the activities.
Love to you all,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Shen and Benny

It has been so long since we have posted but we have made a few posts on our Facebook page. Daddy is in Seattle today and just felt like putting a picture of Shen with one of his two favorite cats, Benny. Benny is a Himalayan that just likes to cuddle (on HIS terms). In this picture, you can see that Benny has cuddled up to Shen and seems very comfortable.
We have had a great winter and Shen is growing so rapidly. It was cold, with a lot of snow, but we have survived, and are healthy, happy and enjoying the warmer weather of the Spring.
We love you and we will try to continue posting occasionally.
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Daddy's Birthday and Thanksgiving

Sorry it's been awhile since we have blogged. Daddy's been traveling and we went to the North Carolina coast with our cousins, the Lauffer's, for Thanksgiving. Attached is the birthday party that mommy, Connor and Shen had for daddy. It was perfect, especially given that daddy doesn't like counting birthdays a whole lot anymore....
Thanksgiving was truly wonderful. Shen got to meet his cousins for the first time, and he especially got to connect with Lily, their daughter, aged 7, who they adopted from China, several years ago. We played on the beach, swam in the ocean (although it was pretty chilly), toured a small town, toured the USS North Carolina Battleship (Shen and Connor REALLY loved that), and generally had some incredible fellowship on an incredible holiday. We are all so thankful for everything that God has bestowed upon us. And, we are especially thankful for all of you.
Just an FYI....we will be updating this more sporadically as time goes on. However, we have begun a Facebook account under daddy's name, so please visit us there and stay in touch.
May God Bless you and Keep you!!
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

This Past Halloween

Although we are a week late in getting this on the blog, it is still worth telling! Last week's Halloween weekend was an incredible amount of fun for our entire family. It started out with Friday night, when Connor and Shen carved their own pumpkin for the holiday festivities the next night. You can the photo of the boys in the garage and big brother showing little brother how to carve a pumpkin.
Halloween began in Algonquin on Saturday at 3:00pm. Shen was VERY excited to be Optimus Prime from Transformers. In fact, he couldn't wait to get his costume on. You can see Shen and Mommy posing on the front porch before he and daddy went trick or treating. Mommy stayed behind and had a fire pit in our driveway, handing out candy to all the halloweeners, while Connor walked with daddy and Shen a little, and then joined his buddy Armin for teeenage trick or treats :).
The boys made one serious haul of candy. In fact, we have already thrown it out, explaining to Shen that it just won't keep that long :)
Sunday, while it is supposed to be a day of rest, especially AFTER Halloween, was not for Shen. He was still so excited to be Optimus Prime that he wore it to Wal Mart so he could show off to people. Note the picture in the middle of Wal Mart! People loved seeing him dressed up and several said, Hi Optimus, or Look, there's Optimus Prime!! It was a great weekend and wonderful family time!!
We hope all of you are well!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen