Play

Joel is pretty crazy about Blen.

If Joel wakes up before his sister, he'll come in our room and ask where he is. Once we bring her downstairs, she's always greeted with a smile and a "Blenny!".

Many mornings I'll go to pick out Blen's clothes and notice a large mound of books in her crib. When I asked Joel, he stated, "yeah, sometimes if I wake up first, I'll go in to her room and read to her".

Blen adores "Jo". She'll try to do basically everything he does. He can make her giggle and smile better than the rest of us.

Sharing?

It's the age old battle fought by all siblings. A true test of will.

The challenge in our home;

In one corner: Joel

He's had our house all to himself for 5 years. Even when sharing with mom and dad, he'd give the oldest, most worn down truck , car, ball, etc assured you it was "the best one". His sharing involved choosing which toy and letting you 'borrow' it 'just for a little bit'.

In the other corner: Blen

The nurse spoke with us at the orphanage about her daily routine, sleep schedule, likes, dislikes, etc. Her #1 problem: sharing. The nurse informed us she's been known to bite and hit.

Awesome.

Our referring style:

Evolved from: NO, Joel...NO, Blen...She's only 1 1/2....that's naughty....

response: 'She's hitting me'... 'I guess I'll NEVER be able to play with insert any toy here again'(picture it said with more sorrow than Eeyore).

To: Put everything in your room you don't want her to play with......

response: Joel wants even the vaccum in his room b/c he "never knew how much fun it could be before" ie-Blen had touched it.

Our current style: Work it out.

Good times.

Blen Alexis

We've decided Blen's middle name will be Alexis after Wendy's dad, Alex. Here's more...

Fun facts about Blen;
Favorite 'diss': remains a shoulder shrug (translation: no thanks, I'm not interested-in you)
Favorite toy: whatever her brother is playing with at the time
Favorite food: scrambled eggs, pasta, rice....anything but fruits & veggies








Favorite drink: water. not milk. or juice. or even kool-aid(not that we've tried it)



Favorite place: anywhere outside, regardless of the weather










Spoken words(English): "Jo" for Joel, "Mama" for Wendy & John, "wa-wa" for water, and her all time favorite "No" for EVERYTHING
Favorite book: "Moo, Baa, La La La", by S.Boynton
Favorite form of communication: point & grunt
Favorite new 'comforter': daddy
Favorite accessory: dirt
Favorite hair accessory: food and headbands worn backwords & over her eyes.
Favorite dance move: bending arm to twist and wave to the beat (she loves Bob Marley)

She likes to watch our cats do anything but whines when they're close to her. She points and barks at dogs, but is no fan of petting them.

Her hair is beautiful, it's grown longer and into little curls.
Her smile brightens the room and makes her eyes sparkle.
She makes smacking sounds with her lips when she wants a kiss, or to give one.

Many people have told us she looks like Joel. Seriously.