Baptism Pictures

Father Rodas, Bill, Monica, Nick & Grandma Lucy

Monica, Bill, Grandma Lucy & Nick, Godfather Israel, Godmother Maribel


Grandma Ellen, Grandpa Bill, Monica & Nick, Bill


On Sunday we celebrated Nick's baptism. We had our close family in attendance at the church and then we got together at our house for good food and conversation. Nick did great, both at the church and at home, despite missing his nap. By the end of the day he was running on adrenaline and slept very well!

22 month old for hire - the sequel

Today, he went on strike. He insisted on participating in the spreading task, but wanted to be carried instead of pushing or walking along.

22 month old for hire

Dammed be child labor laws! Actually, we did the work and he did all the playing in the mulch.

3 & 22... a few days later

Last Thursday marked our third month as a family of three, commonly known in the adoption community as Gotcha Day. On Saturday, Nick turned 22 months. While we have gotten much better at this parenting gig over the last three months, as we near the Terrible-2's, we find ourselves with less available time to allocate to mundane tasks, such as blogging. Nick loves being "on the go", and frankly, so do we.

Nick continues to thrive and surprise us every day. It has been while since I measured him last, but he has definitely grown. He can now stand on his tippy toes and reach the door handle... yikes! Good thing for those double cylinder locks. He is becoming more interested in solid foods, latest craze is grapes (peeled, of course), and cheese. I am still working on the mac n' cheese. I am pretty certain I have the only toddler in America who does not like it!

We spent a lot of time outdoors last weekend enjoying the beautiful spring weather. This coming weekend we are heading back up to Chicago for a much needed 4 day weekend, and to celebrate Mother's Day.

** tap, tap** is this thing on?

I just looked and it has been since April 3rd since my last post!? Yikes! We got a few emails from friends in the adoption community asking if everything was ok, and it is. Life has just gotten busy and now that the weather has finally shapen up, we find ourselves doing more stuff outdoors and going places with Nick.

Case and point... this weekend, we are currently in Chicago. I came up for the Fancy Food Show and we did some fun stuff as a family too. On Saturday we strolled around Lincoln Park. Nick was soooo visibly happy, doing a lot of "talking" and waving at everyone. We must have looked like locals because we were asked for directions.

In the afternoon we met my friends Shannon and Susan and we took the kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Had a blast there with Shannon's kids and Susan's niece. Nick is finally taking more to riding the carousel and did great. It has been hit or miss at the one in Indy (inside the Children's Museum). I can't rave enough about the Lincoln Park Zoo.. and free?!?! We will go back when we come up in May for another long weekend we already have planned.

On Sunday, while I was at the show, Nick and daddy headed out to the Shedd Aquarium and the Nature Museum... thanks Shannon! Bill insists we go back to the Shedd next year when is a little older. He had a great time and we are thinking in about a year will enjoy it even more. I guess you can see the animals really up close. Can't wait to go, I have never been.

Speaking of weekends in Chicago, I gotta put a plug here for the hotel we are staying at. It is right across from the Lincoln Park Zoo, two blocks from the heart of the Lincoln Park buzz, two miles north of downtown Chicago, free high speed internet, and the rooms are huge! It used to be all apartments, and now they have 1/2 the bldg as apartments and the other 1/2 is a hotel. Our room is just like a one bedroom apartment. Oh, yeah, what is it called? The Belden-Stratford Hotel. There's also a continental breakfast included, but we are skipping it for this...

So back to every day life... really nothing out of the ordinary. We took Nick for a follow up appt to check on his development and he is now caught up and on target for fine motor, gross motor, and cognitive skills. We had a feeling that was the case, but wanted a professional telling us. He is just saying three words, but they also assured us that it was normal considering that all he heard for 18 months was Russian, we have only had him with us for a little under three months, and we are teaching him two languages. What words is he saying? Bye-bye (which the doctor pointed he says with a Russian accent, too cute), agua (spanish for water), da (russian for yes). He is almost 26 lbs now and grew another 1/2 inch.

I now leave you with pictures.... and I will try and come back and fill in the gaps of the past three weeks. Seems Nick does something funny or has one new trick every week, he sure is a lot of fun.

The three of us strolling around Lincoln Park Zoo, along with Shannon's D & L.

We may have to take L with us. Nick really took to her and held on

to her hand/finger most of the time. D was a really sweetie sharing

his Spiderman doll too!

Yes, he is being trained early.

At the Conservatory, across from our hotel


Road trip!

We had a robin rent out some window ledge space this spring,
and Nick is fixated with the nest and the eggs.

A Sad Day for Novokuznetsk Families

EDITORIAL NOTE - Adoptions that are already being processed; meaning families who have completed trip 1, are traveling or ready to travel on trip 2, will be allowed to continue their adoptions. This information was also shared by our agency. To the folks that panicked before I added this editorial note, I apologize.

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While this has not received a ton of attention in the public media (at least it was news to the people I mentioned it to); another child adopted from Russia has died in the US. At this point, it has been ruled a homicide.

Some regions in Russia closed their adoption programs last week, some have added more requirements. Today we learned that as of yesterday, the Governor of the Kemerovo Region suspended all adoptions. This may be temporary, while the process is evaluated and perhaps additional requirements are defined; we just hope is not permanent.

The thought of all these children waiting for families and the possibility of even more delays in the adoption process is just heartbreaking. The latest statistics I read indicated that every 100th child born in Russia ends up in an orphanage.

The State of Kemerovo, particularly, the city of Novokuznetsk hold a very special place in our hearts. I just hope and pray that this hiatus in the adoption process only temporary.

Tagged!

I have been tagged... allright, I will play along.

1. Link to the person who tagged you: Carla
2. Post the rules - done
3. Share six unimportant habits/quirks about yourself: see below
4. Tag three other people - Nancy, Carrie, Becky
5. Make sure the people you tagged know you've tagged them - done

So on to those quirks -
* The clothes hanging in the closet must be grouped by color. I find it easier to pick out a pair of jeans, skirt, or pants and then just pick a color for the top. From there all I have to do is go to that "color zone", and voila!
* I remove book jackets from books. I don't like them to crease or get marks on them. When I finish the book, I put the jacket back on.
* I do not roll down the windows after running the car through the car wash. The little water marks drive me nuts. So I wait at least till the next day, unless it is a hot summer day.
* It kills me when Bill hands over my purse holding it by just one of its handles. Makes me think it inflicts pain to the purse. Kills me even more if it is a Coach bag, or one of the bags I acquired during one of our Italy trips.
* The tupperware type containers must be stored with their lids on. No lid? Goes in a holding area in a different cabinet till the lid is located.
* I like peanut butter, and chocolate, just not together. Not a fan of the peanut butter cup, or buckeyes.