This is all it takes to completely shut down the entire city of Houston and get a day off of school.

Can you see them? Tiny little icicles and a super thin coat of ice on our deck. Last Wednesday we actually had what the rest of the country calls a snow day. It was great, but to wet to get outside. We went to McDonald's for lunch expecting the place to be loaded to the gills with all the kids out of school. We couldn't believe it when we found the parking lot empty and the play land quiet. Come on Texans, you can do better than that!!!

Meet CoCo, this is Gwynn's alter ego. She has finally hit her terrible Two's, with a vengeance!!!! She is stomping around here demanding things and trying to boss her brothers and me around. It is hard not to laugh at her when she is doing it because she is just so darn cute!!! Can you see that look on her face, that girl knows how to cut her eyes at you!!! By the way, Brad did her hair in the crazy ponytails and she loved it!! That night when it was time to get ready for bed she cried, I mean really cried when I took them out. Oh, one more thing, she said two new words yesterday....Bow and Shoes. God I love her!!!!

Doesn't he look cute? Well only when he is standing still! For Christmas Gwynn got both a shopping cart and a stroller, unfortunately she never gets to play with either of them. Alex always has them loaded up with his Dino's and runs up and down our extremely long hallway with them. I was surprised when he stood still long enough to snap a shot of his baby doll. The other great thing about his new favorite pass time is the noise hard plastic wheel es make on hard stone tile. My Motrin is running out, help!!!

Last but not least.....Happy Birthday Ethan.........

Ethan turned 6 this weekend and we partied all weekend. It started on Thursday with cupcakes at school. Friday we took him out to his favorite hibachi restaurant. Saturday we had 6 of his friends at the movie theater and Sunday was our family dinner. Boy that was a crazy weekend. Ethan go roller blades and was scooting up and down the hallway as well. He also got a really cool ride on toy called the flying turtle. He just can't stop telling people that he is now six and is totally looking forward to being seven. He wonders how tall he will be in a year and how many teeth he will have lost. It is just too darn cute. He has the sweetest smile.

Merry Christmas!!!

Wow, what a stash of toys. Don't be alarmed, Ethan was taking all the kids toys and piling them up. Still was a great Christmas for all.
And I was worried about getting a tom-boy. NO WAY!!! she has the necklace, ring, bracelet and Cell phone. Gosh I just love her!!!
All Alex wanted for Christmas was a T-rex. Even after pushing the envalope on what is naught and nice, Santa did bring him the T-Rex he asked for. He hasn't let go of it since.

Brad got an X-Box 360 and we haven't seen him since, hee hee. And I got a navagation system for my car. All in all, it was the best Christmas yet. We really had a sence that our family was complete. Really Complete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We hope you all have a blessed New Year!!!

Our Love,

The Jamails

Me and Alex on a Field trip to the local Christmas Bush, Oh I mean Tree farm. Boy was it cold that day!!!
A coulple of days later when it was 80 degrees, we got Gwynn out on the hand me down bike. How cute is she!!!
Don't they look like such good helpers decorating the tree. We are lucky they haven't knocked it down.
And last is one of the pictures that didn't make the cut for the Christmas card. If you were wondering, we didn't move. We are actually sitting on the front steps of my In Laws new house.

Here are just a few pictures from the last month. We are looking forward to a most amazing Christmas and an even more blessed New Year.

The Jamail Family

More proof that I have the most amazing husband!!!

The Egyptian exhibit at the Met

A view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the South Sea Port
The Great Lawn in Central Park.

For the fifth anniversary of my 29th birthday my husband took me to New York. No kids, no diapers, no baby monitors and a whole lot of fun!!!

We flew out on Thursday night and spent four wonderful days exploring New York city. It was Brad's first trip and I enjoyed showing him a few places I had become familiar with while living in Queens. We saw two Broadway musicals, Chicago and Mamma Mia, and literal ate our way from battery park to the upper east side. We went to ground Zero and visited the back rooms of China town, hee hee. Our hotel was right next door to Madam Trouseau's wax museum, but we couldn't seem to fit it into our busy schedule. We did seem to fit a trip to Tiffany's in, immagine that, but little other shopping. I can't wait to see where he takes me next year!!

Happy Halloween

I hope your holiday was as fun as ours. We had a block party, a costume birthday party and then the actual Halloween night of fun. Our costumes payed for themselves this year. Alex dressed like the Hulk and would show his muscles when asked and Ethan dress up as Peter the night from Narnia. Of course our Gwynnie went as Tinker bell in a costume I slaved over for the last few months. It wasn't totally finished by the 31st, oh well, still looked cute.

This year Alex decided to be scared of just about everything Halloween. He would put his little hand up to his mouth and start chanting "too scary, too scary". We had to walk him with his eyes closed past anything the lesast bit questionable. I think he almost had a heart attack at wallmart when a halloween decoration started talking to him. Hopefully he gets over this by next year, I really missed decorating the house with all of our fun and scary decorations.

Ethan is doing great in school. He is reading like a champ and taking Tai Kwon Do lessons two days a week. He loves riding the bus and is in a wonderful science program two afternoons a week. The bad news is, at 5 1/2 he is having his adnoids removed for the third, yes I said third, time and tubes put in his ears. The doctor said we are his first patients to have adnoids grow back twice and that Ethan should have grown out of this by now. So I told him that all my children are extraordinary, hee hee.

Gwynn has officially hit the terrible two's. Everyone askes me if she is adjusting well, don't have to worry about that girl, she is over the adjustment. She is doing great, and letting me know exactly what she likes and doesn't like. She has started talking some, and is doing great with her sign language. You really can tell the difference between boys and girls. No offence boys. She is just as cute as they come and is a great helper around the house. We are really enjoying her!!!

I hope you all have a great thanksgiving.

My first Hair cut!!!

This is the before picture

After

She sure knows how to mug for the camera!!

She wasn't too sure of what was going on.

If it is at all possible for Gwynn to get any cuter, than she has. After her first hair cut she is adorable. We just evened up the back and cut bangs. Of course the hair dresser cut the bags just as I was uttering, no bangs please. Isn't it always what happens. But she looks too cute with her new doo. I am so happy to finally have a little girl!!!

First Day of School

Riding the bus for the first time
I couldn't help myself, you know that I am a scrapbooker at heart. Couldn't pass this photo-op up.hee hee

Here is Ethan sitting at his desk on the first day of school.

It is official, I have a big kid now. Ethan started Kindergarten on September 17th. He is so excited every day to get up and go. We even got him an alarm clock to start his day. Good thing we did because he usually wakes mom up to help him get ready. He has to catch the bus at 7:15, yuck!!!

After the first day of school when asked what the best part of his day was, he said "riding the bus". So I changed tactics and asked, "ok, at school, what was your favorite thing?" He replies "Recess". What a stinker, huh? After much prompting, I got a little information out of him. The third best thing about school was when Ethan read out loud to the class. Boy, talk about swelling with pride, I think my bra size jumped up a few. We are just so excited and proud of our big guy!!

Poor Alex is having some issues with his big brother going off to school with out him. Alex keeps asking where his bus is. I tell him when he turns 5 he will get to ride the bus too. That is when he looks at me strait in the face and says "Me five too". Now, there is no arguing with that one. I really think he believes it. We have tried to go with the pretend bus, or that mommy drives his bus, but none of that works. Right now we are just letting him stay up later so he is still sleeping when I have to walk Ethan down to the bus stop. We will see how long this drama goes on.

All in all, school has been great. It is quite a challenge juggling the three kids with totally different schedules. I am hoping that one of these days I will get the hang of it. Right now I am considering painting my truck yellow and getting a class C license, I sure feel like a bus driver!!!

The Long awaited update to the Jamail Family Blog.

I have been having some serious technical difficulties trying to upload pictures to this blog. I had all but given up. Just for fun, I tried again tonight, and hey, it worked. Yippee!!

Below you will find pictures of our 4 week vacation to California. Two weeks of that was spent camping at Eagle Lake. The kids had a blast, as usual., swimming in the lake, taking boat rides, catching frogs and getting VERY VERY dirty!!! All if you can complain about how hot this summer was, but I have you beat, it was 117 degrees one of the days we were in Redding California. Talk about out of the frying pan and in to the fire!!! If you were wondering, we potty trained Alex while on vacation. Wherever he went, the potty went, much to my grandmothers delight, hee hee. We also took a drive through Lassen Volcanic park and played in the snow. The boys thought it was the coolest thing that they got to play on a Valcano.

I hope you enjoy the photo's and I will try harder to keep this thing updated.

Sledding down a volcano!!!
Gwennie and her friend Naia Partlow. Does it get any cuter than thoes two?
There must have been hundred of frogs out on the shores of Eagle lake. The boys would just bend down and grab them by the dozens.

Here is the cutest pig tails EVER!!!

We had a camp fire every night, Ethan would help light it. Gwynnie only stayed awake long enough to see a couple of the camp fires. Hey if you don't get to eat the some-mores, what it the point, right?

The Cutest Kids!!

Ok, so I may be a little biased, just a little, but didn't our photo shoot come out great. A few weeks ago I sent Brad on a Birthday Extravaganza and I took the kids up to Dallas to visit Shelly. She hooked me up with a gift certificate and her family photographer and these were some of the best pictures we have ever taken. Brad and Shelly's husband Matt went on a total guy spree. The played golf 3 times, poker, and went on a guided fishing trip in Rockport. It will be hard to beat that birthday, so I probably wont even try, hee hee.

Shelly and I spent the weekend running around after our 5 kids. It was exhausting!! We ate most of our meals at chick-fil-a, anything to keep the kids happy and occupied. Grace had a blast with the boys and they were tuckered out every night from all the play. Let me tell you, it will be a while before we do that again!!!

Preschool just got out on Friday, and the thermomiter is topping out around 92 degrees. It sure feels like summer around here. We have about 6 weeks to fill before we head out to California for our anual camping trip at Eagle Lake. I just can't wait to get there!!! The idea of taking three kids alone on a plane is a little frightening. Brad will join us for the last week and a half we are there and fly back with us. We used frequent flyer miles to book his ticket, and that stinker is in first class. I have informed him that we will be switching seats on the way home!!! Or ELSE!!

I hope you all have a great summer!!!

Happy birthday Gwynn

Our baby girl turned one on Easter Sunday!!! It was a crazy weekend and all of us but Ethan were sick. The poor birthday girl even threw up her birthday cake, and don't worry, we got that on film. It was pitiful!!! Hopefully birthday #2 will be better.

We all seem to be settling in to the new family. We were really concerned that Alex and Ethan would have some adjusting to do, but that just hasn't been the case. This couldn't have been more perfect for our family. Brad and I have decided this is it, we are DONE!!!! The Jamails are a family of five, can you believe that?

finale... More Pictures

I know that it has been a while since my last post. It hasn't been from a lack of trying. But this three kid thing is throwing me for a loop. I know, I know, you all are saying that I did this to myself, and I should have seen it coming. And I totally did, but it is different when you are living it. I wouldn't change it for the world. We are having a great time.

Gwynn is really coming around. She has a ready smile and a sweet laugh. Although she is all seriousness when you get out the camera. (You can tell from the top picture that she is in attack mode whenever the camera is in range) She is has really loosened up. My friend Virginia came over this week to take some pictures of Gwynn for her announcements and I had to laugh at what a workout Virginia got just trying to keep Gwynn in the camera lens. Ethan can really make her laugh and she is tolerating Alex at this point. We have made some breakthroughs. The other day I came out of the bathroom to find Gwynn on her back and Alex sitting on her belly bouncing up and down. I just about had a heart attach until I heard the deep belly laugh coming out of Gwynn. I did make Alex get off her, but at least they are finding common ground.

Gwynn is a great napper and has found her love of food. It just amazes Brad and I that the girl who couldn't tolerate a cheerio 6 weeks ago now will eat just about anything. Peas, pasta, pretzels, Olives and just about any table food we are eating. And the sheer amount of food she can stuff in her little belly is astounding. Now I know how her booty got so big, hee hee.

I am really enjoying picking out her clothes every morning. And as crazy as it may sound, when she messes up her outfit I get giddy just thinking I get to change her into something else. Of course we have bows to coordinate with everything and that always changes with the outfit. I bought a ton of squeaky shoes while in China. I really thought I had covered all the basis until I realized I need a size 18 in black (Chinese size) so if any of my friends currently in China are listening, could you pick me up a pair?

We took the whole family fishing tonight and had a blast. Gwynn loved just sitting in her stroller watching the action. Ethan has learned how to bait his own hook, cast, and even take the fish off the hook when he catches one. Alex has a little less patience, but loves to run around and torture the ducks. We have definitely become more into whole family activities since we brought Gwynn home. We are even considering getting a tent trailer, with an AC unit. I do have some standards. If I can't camp somewhere that is cold at night, at least I can make it cold.

That is about it for now. I have a few kids to put to bed and laundry to do, dishes, the list just goes on and on!!!

WE MADE IT HOME!!!

Believe it or not we made it home in one piece. Thank God those customs guys didn't stop us, I think we may have been just a little bit over our allowed amount to bring back into the country.

It has been just over a week since we got Gwynnie home and we are finale back to normal. Well, normal for the Jamails. Ethan is at Nana's house and Alex has the flu. Doesn't that sound just about right? I should have known something was up when my Pediatrician kept saying our daughter from China HAD to be healthier than my home grown kids. hee hee.

The flight home was half great. Gwynn was a total trooper, she didn't cry for more than a few minutes when she was really hungry or trying to fall asleep. Brad was the perfect attentive daddy. It was me who had the problems. About 10 hours into our 20 hour trek home I started feeling nauseous, and spent the next 10 hours staring into a barf bag or shoving flight attendants and passenger's out of line for the lav's. Its was terrible. We had such a wonderful trip, but I just fell apart the last two days. When I did shove a flight attendant on my mad dash to the bathroom, she waited outside the lavatory. She just had to ask me if I was pregnant, knowing we had just adopted a baby girl. Well, I thought to myself, if this is going to get me any special favors or more sympathy I would go along with it. It worked, I had the flight attendants running interference for me and helping me find empty bathrooms when the "need " arose.

Brad kept telling me he thought we should stay over in New Jersey until I felt better. I just wanted to get home. We had a wonderful airport employee meet us in Customs and immigration with a wheel chair. She was great. I held Gwynn on my lap while Brad lugged around all of our carry on luggage and stroller. This wonder woman pushed me and the cart with our checked baggage. She took us to the front of every line and got us to our connecting flight with a ton of time to spare. I told Brad it was kind of surreal, being wheeled around with Gwynn like they wheeled me out of the hospital with the boys. Funny thing was I had felt much better after giving birth than I did after a 14 1/2 hour flight.

We finale got home at 9 pm. When we pulled into the driveway we could see the boys pressing there faces to the front window waiting for us. They were soooo excited. Alex couldn't stop kissing things, my leg, Gwynn, the wall, even his brother. Ethan was all smiles and questions, they have really fallen in love with there sister. She just fits right into the family.

Gwynn is adjusting to us very well. She is still a very serious little girl, but she knows how to loosen up. She will be sitting in the middle of the floor being totally quiet and all of a sudden out of no where she just burst out laughing, good belly laughs. Grandma was a big help the week she stayed. She took most of the night time duty and played with the boys during the day. We sure hated to see her go, and I am sure she hated to leave. My dad threatened her with divorce if she didn't come home, yea right dad, you couldn't live without her, hee hee. So now it is just the 5 of us. Anyone want to come visit???????

I am going to try to keep the blog updated with pictures and funny stories about the family. Keep checking, you never know what I might get us all into, ha!!

Hong Kong here we come!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, do you recongnize that beautiful castle in the background? Not one day out of Main Land China and we are really trying to Americanize our daughter. Honk Kong Disney, watch out.

Actually there is a deeper story to it, so let's get you up to speed. We left Guangzhou in a flurry on Friday morning. We ran out the night before and bought a second extra suitcase to pack all the gifts and crap we bought (hey, your folks going in March, be thankful the shops will have enough time to restock before you get there) Of course this was officially just for weight distribution so we don't get charged again, yea right. But we had to have all of our checked luggage ready to go and sitting outside our door by 9 pm the night before. I think we did a pretty good job and expect everything to make it back in one piece. We head to the airport at 5:45 a.m. and check in for Gwynnies first flight. Everything is great and we make it to Hong Kong in no time.

Here we check into the Regal Airport Hotel. Only having one day in Hong Kong we decided to make it easier on ourselves and stay at the airport, where transportation to the city is easy to find. So the bellman brings up all bazillion of our bags to our room and when I dig in my bag to find my money belt, it isn't where I thought it would be. I take his name and promise to bring a tip down later. Well.... About an hour later and after we have throughly searched every bag in the room about 10 times we conclude that the money belt is gone. Brad and I take inventory and come up with 25 American dollars and a few hundred Yuan. Uh oh..... I call the hotel back in Guangzhou and believe it or not, the money belt was found in our room and turned in. Let me tell you, I felt like a total jerk. In my usual fashion, I am ok with it until I have to call our friends the Kesters and ask for there help in getting it back. Kevin answers his hotel phone and, poor guy, has to listen to me blubber to him. Sorry man. I was just having a moment. But that still leaves us with next to no money and a whole day in Hong Kong, not the cheapest city to hang out in.

After carefully deliberation and in an attempt to raise my spirits we decide what the heck, lets go to Disney. It had just opened two weeks before and we knew they would take credit cards. We had enough money to get us to and from the park and a few snacks while we were there. We went downstairs in the hotel and caught the scariest cab ride in our lives. Poor Gwynn was just holding on to us for dear life as this crazy cab driver went about 70 miles an hour down the freeway. No car seat, not seatbelts and Brad noticed that you couldn't even open the doors from the inside. SCARY!!!!!!!!!!! But we made it and it was great!!!

Gwynn loved the parade and Brad convinced me to take her on the tea cups. Don't' worry, I spent the whole time not making it spin. She got so much attention by everybody in the park. Even some to the performers in the parade came up to her as they went by. She is just too darn cute. The park was small with very few attractions but it was beautiful and very clean. The castle seemed smaller because of the mountains behind it but they put on a spectacular fire works show over and around the castle right before the park closed.

What a great day!!!!

This is our last full day in Guangzhou....

Our trip is definitely winding down and all of us are ready to go home. Hotel living is great, but I am ready for my soft bed that actually has more than just a fitted sheet and a down comforter. The good thing is we have been so tired here that the bed never stopped me from sleeping, but others were not so lucky.

The above pictures were from a few days ago. We went to what is know as the 6 Banyan Temple. It is a beautiful Budist temple just tucked into a crowded and busy street. You wouldn't know the beauty inside from the curb. The carvings and budist statues were amazing, and many locals came with incense and offerings while we were there. The last photo is when we got a blessing for Gwynn by a budist monk. Brad said that he stood as far back as possible just incase the lightning struck, hee hee. I thought it was a wonderful experience and wouldn't have missed it.

Brad got the opportunity to climb the pagoda and take pictures from the top. There was no way to carry a baby up, so I was left to watch Gwynn and the stuff. When Brad came down he was hunched over and totally red in the face. I guess it was really hot and very difficult to climb down. He said I was an easy climb up but that he had to almost squat down to get through the door ways on the way down.

Gwynn has been an amazing gal. She is still very reserved when we are out in public but is all smiles and coo's when we get her back to the hotel. Yesterday I had to take a special trip to the American Consulate with our guide Michelle. I had spelled Gwynn's Chinese name wrong on one of the papers (really, I can't spell in English so what do they expect) so I had to stand in front of the consular and sign something saying I am not totally incompetent, hee hee. On the trip I got to talk to our guide a lot about China and her life. She told me that Gwynn was her favorite out of our group, I am sure she says that to everybody but, she said that she has a very classically Chinese disposition and is the standard for beauty in China. Of course I am just gushing over this and I think that Michelle just doubled her tip, but I do totally agree with her. Not only does Gwynn look Chinese but I think she will always carry more that that with her, no matter how American she gets. She is an absolutely stunning baby. I just can't wait for you all to meet her.

Ok, I keep hearing that her stats never came through so here we go again. She is 17.3 pounds, maybe more since we got her. She totally has a buda belly and her butt just keeps on going, adorable. She fits perfectly into GYMBOREE 6-12 month clothes, hint hint. She is already bow trained, and loves shoes. Good thing because I bought just about every color and size of squeaky shoes while I was here (don't worry, you can remove the squeak) She is 69 1/2 cm long and her head is 16 1/5 inches around. Otherwise know as totally perfect. Her runny nose and cough has almost gone away completely, and the rash she developed on her face is just a few little bumps now.