Men in trees
I haven’t seen that show but there are handsome men climbing around in my trees right now — we’re having them pruned. Makes for a nice view.
We’re waiting for them to finish so we can meet AmFam and duo at the park.
Recently Madison was playing with her babies and said something about one of them being adopted. I said, “What does adopted mean?” And she answered, “It means you go to China.”
I said, “Actually it means that a baby is growing in one woman’s uterus but when that baby is born, she goes to live with another family. That family adopts the baby. Like we adopted you because you grew in Jessica’s uterus…”
“And you got me from the hospital?” she finished.
“Yes, then you came home with us and that means the baby was adopted.”
She is excited about seeing baby L because she likes babies. When my friend came over with her twins for Paige’s baby shower, she sat holding little R with a beatific look on her face. She sat with her for a long time, just smiling about it.
She includes Jessica in conversation now as most definitely part of her family. Like she will say, “You are a shuggadoogdoog!” (It’s a nonsense thing Brett says to her.) And she will run through the family, “Daddy is a shuggadoogdoog! Jessica is a shuggadoogdoog! Nate is a shuggadoogdoog!” Jessica and Nate nearly always get mentioned together the same way Gram and Gramps do and they all get talked about the same way, in the same context. She brings them up when she brings up family and not when she brings up friends (AmFam, her babysitter, Paige). This is all since this fall really, since she first told Jessica definitively, “I grew in your uterus!”
For a time after that she’d bring up Jessica self-consciously or not respond much when I brought her up but now she seeks the discussion out and also is much more apt to bring her up casually than she was even a few months ago. It’s a profound change and I think a very positive one. She is much more comfortable about it and I see this in her real-life relationship with Jessica, too. (She now spontaneously asks to call her. She always starts the same way, “Thank you for the musical instruments.” She does this with the grandparents, too, thanking them for presents whenever she first sees them or talks to them.)
…I like that we’re part of her reality.
And I like Madison.
And guys in trees. But instead of pruning, we’re chopping our apple tree after this year’s bloom. She’s got an incurable blight but I needed one more season of pink blossoms.
I hope the bee does this someday, just babble on about the queen in conversation.
To me a sign that you are doing something right is when your kids is comfortable with all his parents.
cool
Just wondering if this is something girls are apt to come to earlier than boys. B is just not interested if we’re not talking about a monster truck, or some other thing on wheels.
Of course, ours is a semi-open adoption, so we don’t see J like you guys do. I’m trying not to feel jealous. 
I think this may be my first comment here, but I love your blog! Posts like this always make me smile. I can tell just by reading how much you love your kids and it’s awesome! Just wanted to say hello and tell you how much I appreciate your blog…and I love men in trees…cute ones