A Day With Thomas and Bubbe Joyce Comes to Visit

We spent the day today with Thomas the Train in Baltimore. We met Nicole, Mike, Heather, Bobby and of course their kids up there. We all had a good time. The kids enjoyed themselves and we ended the day with a real train ride. The kids also got to ride on a little train by themselves. I guess this could be considered JT's first amusement ride and he did it all by himself. He enjoyed looking back at Gavin and eating his snack. I think JT's favorite thing was getting a stamp on his hand. He looked at it all day and kept saying, "Thomas." He was a good boy in the car and came home and had a nice nap.

Last week Joyce came in for a visit. She got to spend some quality time with JT and Zeus. She joined us for a Yoga class that I have been taking with JT. If you are wondering.....No, JT never does the Yoga. He walks around or runs and stares at people. But it gives me something to do with him and Nicole and Gavin are there as well. Joyce also got to see first hand what a great dad JT will be. JT's friend Lauren gave him her baby doll and he loves it. He carries it around all the time. He will even share his waffles with her. Joyce and Zeus really bonded on this trip. She even kissed him on the lips before she left! We are so proud of her. We will be back to see Joyce at the end of May when we fly up to Rochester. It will be JT's second plane ride but the first he will actually be able to enjoy. We will see how he does!

No news with the adoption. We actually had to get another form sent in with a state seal on it. We did it and it's in. So.....we keep on waiting!

Ladies and Gentlemen

Today we went to the circus. I think I had only been to the circus once and that was well over 20 years ago, make that 30 years for Kevin! We weren't too sure how JT would do. It's dark, loud and you have to sit still for 2 hours and 20 minutes. JT did have his own seat and starting off sitting on Kevin's lap. He loved the music at the beginning and then everything got very loud. JT started crying. He was really scared. He wanted to sit with me, cried for a few minutes and then was mesmerized by the whole thing. Nicole and Gavin joined us while Mike and Jack parked the car. When Mike came in, Jack started crying. Kevin, Mike and Jack left and Kevin had a great idea to help Jack with the loud noise. (see picture below)

The boys did great. They loved the circus and sat still the whole time while on our laps. (except for the 10 seconds that I took a picture)We had a picnic dinner on the lobby floor, while we enjoyed our funnel fries. That would be like funnel cake, but made into fries. Great idea! They are much easier to eat that way. We saw the tigers, the motorcycles in the ball (which I think is so neat and dangerous!) men on stilts and the best part was the elephants. By this point, I couldn't find the camera so I have no pictures to show. We will get those next year. We couldn't believe how well JT did. He usually can't sit still for more than 5 minutes. Now we know it is possible. I guess we just need some elephants and tigers laying around.

The Monkey Man

A few years ago, well more like 8 years ago, I purchased 2 Anoles (little lizards) at the Super Pet Expo. This is held every year at the Dulles Expo Center. Meredith actually purchased 2 ferrets at the same time but ended up returning them after realizing nothing compares to her Scoutty Momma. I mentioned to Kevin that we should go this year. They have dog rescue groups and people can bring their dogs and I knew JT would love it.

This morning when I got up, I thought I would just check out the event online and see what was going to be there. When I saw that "The Monkey Man" would be out and at 11am, I had flash backs of my younger years at Myrtle Beach. Oh, the memories. It would be night time in Myrtle Beach at the Pavilion. The smell of funnel cake and cotton candy and the sounds of my cousin Michael yelling, while going round and round on the swings. I never went on the "scary" rides, so I waited at the gates where people would exit after riding the rides. Then I would see "The Monkey Man." I would give the monkey a dollar bill and the monkey would grab it. He would shake my hand. Then I got a Polaroid of the monkey. I still have one in my photo album. Being the great mom I am, I would only want the same experience for my son! I yelled for Kevin to get dressed and we were off to the Pet Expo!

When we got there, JT was overwhelmed with all the dogs. We stopped at the Great Dane rescue. JT thought the black and white spotted ones were cows. He gave a few of the dogs a kiss and we moved on towards the back where "The Monkey Man" was suppose to be. I saw a man who had on a top hat, funny colored looking shoes and he looked half clown, half magician. On his shoulder was the monkey. She was a cute little thing, with a diaper on and a clown suit. I had JT and he loved when the man pulled out his ukulele. He sang a song and as soon as he finished JT said, "More, More." Well, the "Monkey Man" doesn't sing on command like we do at home! When I explained to JT that he was going to do some magic tricks, JT threw a fit. Kevin removed himself with JT and walked around. I stayed and enjoyed the magic and could hear the screaming, of an almost 2 year old, in the background. I too removed myself to help Kevin. We sat in the corner while I restrained my child for about 20 minutes. And no, I didn't accidentally type in an extra "0", that was 20 minutes! It really didn't bother me too much. It was very noisy and there were lots of barking dogs, so I really don't think many people even noticed. I did break out into a little bit of sweat but the stress level wasn't as high as I thought it would be!

After JT's tantrum, we made it back to "The Monkey Man." I gave the monkey my dollar bill. She gave me a hand shake and kissed my nose! I then got my picture with her from Kevin's cell phone. Then JT got to do it. It didn't phase him at all that it was a monkey. For all we know, he probably thought it was small dog. Then he and Kevin got their picture. I was so happy for JT, even though he didn't really care. He will in years to come. It made my day! (BTW the monkey's names was Janga)

JT in Concert

Take a few minutes out of your day to enjoy some tambourine playing at it's best. Here is one of JT's favorite songs. He has become quite the tambourine player in his day. We were getting ready for bed and that is why he has no diaper on. He said, "On" which means he would like to listen to "his" song. He got out his tambourine and went to work. He seemed really into it so we grabbed the video camera. We didn't want to distract him and put pants on, so he played in the flesh. Please excuse the brief nudity.

He played right on beat (shown wonderfully at about 6 minutes through the video), threw his hands up at the appropriate times and even kissed his audience when Phil did (about 5 minutes and 45 seconds through he video). Watch closely. This is about 8 minutes long but we think you will enjoy it.

You will need to go to the bottom of the page and turn off the music. This way you will be able to hear the music in the video.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Why?

Why Adopt? And why from Ethiopia?
Many people have asked us these questions. It's simple:

-One in ten children die before their first birthday.
-One in six children die before their fifth birthday.
-44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old
-Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school.
-88% will never attend secondary school.
-Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.
-Ethiopia has approx. 4.3 million orphans and the country is twice the size of Texas.
-Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa..

Finally Some Snow-Our Little Man Is "Cooking"

Last year we never got any snow. We got some ice but JT never got to have a "real" snow day to go and play and put on a snow suit. I guess his snow suit from last year will be for our next little man. So, it finally snowed. It only took us 45 minutes to get JT ready to head outside! I was sweating to death. JT was consumed with playing with his chainsaw that Gavin gave him.

We put JT on the flying saucer and pulled him with a tow rope. He loved it. All the neighborhood kids were at the top of the hill sliding down. I really wish JT could have gone out there with all the big kids. I have the best memories of playing in the snow with Jenny and Francesca in Cinnamon Creek. We had a hill that we called "Kill Hill." Jenny's dog Duke would chase after us and try to take our hats off. We always had to stop short before hitting the trees at the bottom. Estelle told me not go on that hill several times because she thought it was too dangerous but I would lie about not going and go anyway. The good news is that I am still alive and well and hitting a few trees never did much harm. I hope JT and our other little man have such great memories when they get older.

As for the adoption....Everyone always asks us how the adoption is going. We don't mind at all but the fact is that there is never any news and we probably won't have any for a long time. It's annoying but we knew this was long process when we started. I do wish we went with another agency that seems to be getting referrals more quickly but we can't change now without losing a lot of money. So hopefully by this time next year we will at least have a scheduled court date and a picture of our little man.

It's weird to think he isn't born yet and his birth mother is probably only a few months pregnant with him. I do wonder if she already knows she will be giving him up for adoption or if that decision will come later. I have no idea what kind of medical treatment they get during a pregnancy but right now as we speak our little guy is "cooking" away in his birth mother's belly. I hope she is taking good care of herself.

The are so many reasons why people give up their babies for adoption. For people in Ethiopia it is mostly because of poverty. Sometimes the family has to decide what children or child to keep while they give one up because they know they can't afford to take care of them all. We will not know why until we get the paperwork and we may not ever find out. I guess it really doesn't matter. We are hoping that we do get to meet the birth parents or mother or at least family members. It is their decision. We want to be able tell out little guy about his family and have pictures to show him. We do plan to go back when he and JT are older and show him where he is from. We do want him to now that his birth mom had a very difficult decision to make and she loved him so much that she gave him to us. That is whole conversation within it's own! As for now..... we wait.

Enjoy the pictures. We are still working on the Genesis video.

Happy New Year

It's been awhile since we posted. We had Thanksgiving at our house this year. JT hung out with his cousins Taliya and his new cousin Alani. Towards the end of the night, JT was cranky so I turned on a Genesis concert we have taped on TV. As he watched, he was anticipating all of Phil Collins' moves. My cousin Mike was very freaked out by the whole thing. Stay tuned for a video of his dancing and hand movements. We will post that soon. He watches this concert everyday at lunch. He has the whole thing memorized and we think he may be a musical genius! Just so you know, this is the only TV he gets to watch.

We then celebrated Christmahanukwanza for the 5th time this year. We got together with Nicole and Mike, had brunch and exchanged gifts. JT loves the chainsaw Gavin got for him!

As we head into the New Year, JT is in many activities. He continues to go to the Little Gym on Wednesday nights. He will move up to the next age group and rejoin his friends Gavin and Parker for the 6:15pm class. He has soccer practice from 9-10am and swim lessons from 11:30-12:00pm on Saturday mornings. Yesterday was his first Saturday of this and he had a well deserved 3 1/2 hour nap when we came home.

I have a new job. I am now a Pampered Chef consultant. Funny, since I don't cook. I paid $150 and got $500 worth of supplies and figured if I can make some extra cash and hang out at parties, it will be worth it. I have my first party with school friends at the end of the month that I am hosting. If you want to host, let me know. You get lots of free stuff and it doesn't cost you a thing.

As for adoption stuff... we sit and wait and will continue to do so for a long. We hope by this time next year we will have a referral.

Stay tuned for the dancing video. Enjoy the pictures. Lately, JT is a little obsessed with his work goggles and enjoys sitting in boxes and sharing his snacks with Zues and Tzeli.

Happy Halloween

We got a little jump start to Halloween this year when JT and Gavin headed to their first Halloween party held at The Little Gym, where they both take a gym class. They had fun dressing up and looked at each other like they were nuts. Neither one of them really liked wearing the hoods to their costumes but were pretty good about putting them on when we told them too. They enjoyed some games and some cookies.

JT enoyed his 2nd Halloween. He did go last year as a turtle and seemed to enjoy himself. This year he loved Trick-Or-Treating, running around to the houses, he waited patiently for his candy and had fun going with our neighbor Justin. Justin goes out with JT early, then joins his friends for the real fun! Estelle and Al joined us as well and Al did a good job with the video camera.

JT liked his costume but wasn't too fond of the hood. He looked wonderful in his Peacock outfit and showed off his sexy legs in his orange tights. These pictures will be good blackmail for later on in life! Enjoy.

It has arrived and we are officially "waiting"!!!

So I guess when they something will take 9 weeks to arrive, they mean 9 weeks! Yesterday our fingerprints from immigration finally came. Kevin faxed them over to our agency in Mass. They can now send everything over to Ethiopia and all the paperwork gets translated to Amharic.

Our official application date to Ethiopia was October 7, 2008. The estimated wait time is 14-22 months. We got a nice letter welcoming us to the program.

So, why the long wait? There are 4-6 million children in Ethiopia in need of homes. Only a small percentage are legally freed and available for adoption. Many are older children and sibling groups. There are over 70 worldwide agencies. 25% of those are in the US. 120-160 families apply to Wide Horizons (our agency) for the Ethiopian program a week! With that all being said, we will be waiting for a long time!

We are glad our part is done with. We will have to re-do our fingerprints next summer but that is all. We are excited!

Good Buys, Apple Picking and Cox Farms

Saturday morning started early when I went with my neighbor Lisa to the yard sales in Kirkpatrick Farms. I bought a piano where JT can practice his Elton John interpretation. I bought a wagon for $5 and the best buy was the moon bounce that sells for $200 and I snatched it for $40. It's as good as new!(Those are our neighbors jumping while JT was sleeping.)

We then headed off to Stribling Orchard. For the last many years, we have been apple picking with Nicole and Mike. Jenn and Tommy had joined us several times in the past and this time we were joined by Heather, Bobby and their two kids, Darden and Parker. This was also JT and Gavin's first time. We never made it last year. Kevin and I continued the tradition of never even buying apples and just eating as we went along! We did enjoy the fresh white bread they make and had that for lunch. Kevin did his yearly entertainment of juggling, while munching on an apple at the same time. The pigs were still there, rolling around in mud and eating the apples we threw at them. We will be back again next Fall.

On Monday we went to Cox Farms.JT learned how to milk a cow. JT and Kevin went down a big slide. We ate apples and had apple cider, which JT didn't like. JT made friends with a baby cow and stuck straw up his nose. And the best thing of all, is that JT made a new friend. JT found the lonely gray goat at the bottom of the hill and found a corn cob. He was nice enough to share and they hit it off. After a nice morning, JT came home and took a nice long nap.

As for adoption stuff, still no word! I am pretty annoyed that we still haven't gotten our fingerprint papers back but I am emailing them today to see what the deal is. Hopefully they will be here soon.