One is FUN!!!

So Saturday was a big day for Michael. He turned the big 1!!!! We had a really fun time getting ready for his celebration. Auntie Terry(she is going to help care for Michael & our dogs while we are picking up PC) is in these first pictures signing his birthday plate. She also made the big cake for everyone while I made the little one for Michael. We decided to do carrot to make it a little healthier.



We had a wonderful dinner of beef short ribs, rice, and asparagus. Michael really loved it and wolfed it down. We had it once before and he told me he wanted it for his birthday dinner:)

Then we blew out his cake. It was great watching him taste cake for the first time!!








We had another cake for him pre-presents. He wanted to dive into that one too but we didn't let him.


We had a pinata that my nieces and nephew loved, but Michael didn't quite get it yet. He did love his gift from Tito Dave, and so did the others. It was quite a riot to watch them mimic it.





And this is the end of a wonderful day!!! We are so blessed and deliriously happy to have our son Michael!

Out and About

Sometimes I wonder if you don't need a vacation from vacation. I learned from this trip that even though the baby may sleep on the plane if you travel in the evening, it doesn't pay to travel and get there late because guess what, the baby still gets up on his schedule which is 6 am!! So, I think I'm finally starting to catch up but it's taken a few days...Please go back to sleep!
Mom, I have to get up and kiss myself!


On the second nite we were here, we went on a dinner cruise. It was Michael's first one and for that ocassion he was able to sport a new outfit given from Aunt Jackie. Boy, she has good taste! We saw dolphins swimming in the bay, and a couple of manatees poking their noses up.Cruising the Marco Island harbour.
My stylin' outfit from Aunt Jackie!


The next day we went on an Eco Tour of Marco Island. Michael was a gem in his carseat as he was in it alot, and believe it or not he took a nap on the airboat!! Can you believe it? He loved the wind and being on the boat, those things are quite fun and amazing. What is even more amazing is that at the moment we had a break from the loud blades of the airboat, the cell phone rang. It was our travel agent saying she was able to get us a flight out on our preferred date, not having to leave a day early!! What an answer to prayer. This way John doesn't have to switch work again, and Michael doesn't need to be away from us a day longer. We are so happy about that. So now all we have left is to book a hotel in Almaty. I'm waiting to hear from the concierge about a possible discount for adopting. It's worth a shot!
Yes, he fell asleep!
I like airboat rides!

Babes at the Beach

Michael is so thrilled by this beauty queen!
Does John look ready for a daughter?
Beach Babes!
Foot and mouth disease...
Beach Boys!
We are on our annual get away from winter trip in Marco Island, Florida. John is also doing continuing medical education here so we are able to afford it pre-adoption travel. It is so nice to get away from the cold.

It is also nice to meet up with a fellow adoptive parent. There are special bonds that form between us as no one else understands the process as well. Not that people can't be supportive, there is just that age old going through the same heartwrenching experience that forms ties that bind. Not only that, adoptive parents seem to be a great breed of folk. We met our fellow blogger, Me plus One, Jackie and her daughter Nola. What a great privilege!! Jackie is a wonderful woman who has an incredible little girl. Nola just loves her Mommy!! It was so nice to share our experiences up front and personally and talk about what brought us to where we are today, and the fact that life is so much better with the addition of our children. Also, sharing concerns and hopes for our children, as well as parenting techniques. We had a wonderful visit that was way too short!!
Beautiful Beach Babes!!

Treats, teeth, and testing!

My husband told me I found the best treat for him for his birthday. I just had to share, they were soooo delicious!! It's from the chocolate covered factory and got delivered to him right at work!! These things were like a meal in themselves, 2 dozen chocolate covered strawberries. I put the quarter by it so you could see the size comparison, also, they packaged it pretty nicely too!!

Then, John would always say that Michael would need dentures some day. Not any longer, at 11 months 1 week he got 6 teeth in, and now he has 8 teeth in a week later. Way to go Michael!!! I don't think this kid is going to do anything in small ways. He wasn't even that cranky, except for the fact that last week he got pneumonia and was breaking teeth also. He's on the mend now, but I feel so sorry for him when he coughs:(

The last thing is testing!!! PC or precious child had her court date and things went well. We are now in the waiting period and got our travel dates today. We are east over Easter! But, the trip is longer now due to some changes-we are going to be gone 2 full weeks! This is really testing me because I think I'm going to be heartbroken for my Michael:( It's also just testing waiting for the waiting period to be over....UGH!!!!!!

Birthdays and Blackberries

Happy Birthday dear Daddy!

Okay, I tried to do the video thing and then the video I took didn't turn out, uGH!!! So instead it's double posts so look below for more pics. Here's a picture of Michael visiting his dad at work on his birthday. His disappointed look comes from no CAKE!!! He has to wait until he's one in few weeks.
Then, he just had to have those blackberries. He's getting pretty good with his fingers, he's found he can smear things with them!!! Try getting that one out of his clothes...

Baby buddies and water bug

We were able to see our friends over a week ago and I'm just now posting post superbowl. Glad to see that someone other than the Patriots took the title.
Michael has had the "pnuemonia" although doctor dad didn't quite agree with that diagnosis. We gave him the antibiotic anyway, which of course he didn't agree with the selection...but on to the current topic, Kaleb and Michael had fun playing with the bag, their parents had a good afternoon chatting, all to say we wished they lived here. Kaleb is getting some mighty fine cheeks from the picture. How can 2 little fellows be so cute and yet so different?
We've also been taking Michael to water babies. He absolutely loves it. Not afraid of the water at all. John calls him a water bug. Loves to splash, blows bubbles in it, back floats, and survived the dunking. He gets so excited when he gets there he starts screaming with joy!! I'm just glad the waters warm as we have had subzero temps lately. I hear a warm fronts coming through but I'm glad we're headed to Florida this Saturday!

Had to do it!

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

My friend Jackie had this on her site and I just had to find out!