New Faces And New Things To Try Part II

Wow! The past couple of weeks have really flown by. Here it is already Friday and I haven't even finished my update from last weekend. Well, here goes:

As mentioned last Thurs we met up with my friend Kathleen from school and then on Friday we had lunch and a wonderful visit with Jill and Nicholas. Nicholas was also adopted from the Ekat region in Russia. He has been home about a month now. That was just the start of a crazy, fun-filled weekend.

On Saturday we went to a party for my Aunt Jackie's 50th birthday. We had a lot of fun catching up with friends and meeting new people. It was also Colby's first experience with a swimming pool. We already knew that he loved water but this was crazy. I didn't realize there was a pool so I didn't have any of our swimsuits. Because it was hot I decided to bring Colby down to the pool when it was quiet and just dunk his feet in. I took off his clothes just in case he got wet. Well, he did! We sat down at the walk-in steps and before i knew it, he had jumped off of them! I almost went swimming just to get him. I thought he would have scared himself and not do it again but I hadn't even sat down and he jumped in again. Boy I wish I had my suit! But, I didn't so I asked my cousin Andrew to bring him swimming. He was glad too and all the kids went back in the water. Colby had a blast, but then we found out that Pull-Ups do not belong in water! Luckily I had an extra set of shorts in Colby's bag and he wore those. He had a blast swimming with my cousins Andrew and Stacy and friends of ours Amanda and Michael.

Andrew and Colby enjoying Colby's first swim in a pool! Stacy and Colby.

Amanda and Colby, yup still in the pool. Aunt Jackie and Colby ready to hit a pinata.

At the party I was able to catch up with a family friend, JoAnn and her family. JoAnn now lives in Virginia and she and her husband have adopted 4 children from Russia. First 2 boys about 4 years ago and now 2 girls about a year ago. The kids are 7, 8, 9, and 10 this year. The girls are the older two. We had a nice discussion with her and her husband about our trips and the whole adoption experience. It was nice to share our story with someone who can relate to what we have gone through. The girls were adopted in a region in far Easter Siberia.

Michael and Colby. Two little ones who have come a long way to find wonderful families.

On Sunday Colby and I had lunch with another friend of mine from school. It is amazing who you can find again on Facebook! Kelly and I were really close in elementary and middle school. She now has a son, Joey, who is 9. The four of us went to the Rainforest Cafe and had a great time. Joey was nice enough to give Colby his Thomas the Train wooden train set. There are a ton of trains, a few buildings and enough track to build a great set. The weekend must have worn Colby out because while Kelly and I talked and finished eating in the restraunt, he fell asleep. Thunderstorms and gorillas all around and my kid falls asleep! I loved just holding him and getting the chance to relax.

Then on Monday Mike, Colby, and I walked down to Mike's grandparents' house after dinner and met more family. Mike's one uncle, Steve, and his family live in Utah so Colby hadn't met them yet. Steve and Kay have 2 kids, Eva is 8 and Jack is 5 (I think). Colby had a lot of fun playing with Jack and the Hess trucks. Eva and Jack will be here for about a week after Steve and Kay go back home so we hope to see a lot of them and maybe even go to the beach. I hope i get the chance to take some great photos because Jack and Colby look like two peas in a pod. They could be brothers!

Well, I think we are now up to date. I'm sure we will have a lot more to post about soon. If it stops raining we might get to the beach next week. Another first time experience. We've been to a lake but the beach is very different. We did walk along a beach in May but he hasn't gone swimming in it yet. I can't wait!

Help A Fellow Blogger

There have been many adotion stories that I have beed following along with on the various blogs that I read. One such story is Adrienne's. You can read it at http://preparingforamiracle.blogspot.com/
She and her husband have a beautiful little boy but have been trying to add to their family. They have experienced many hard times in the past but are now preparing for a little girl from Korea. Please help them by clicking on the button on the left side of my blog. Help bring Little Lily home! They are having a great raffle giveaway to help defray the costs of her adoption.

New Faces and New Things To Try

This past week has been full of new faces and new experiences for Colby. We have certainly been very busy. This is the first chance I ahve had to really sit down and write about some of our fun and excitement. Hopefully the little man will continue his nap just a little longer.

Last Thursday night, Mike, Colby, and I went to visit with Kathleen and Jim. Kathleen and I went to school together since elementary school. She and Jim now live in Virginia. They were on their way to visit with his family in New Hampshire and they always stop and her parents' house over night. They also always stop for some ice cream and a local farm, Rich's. It is in Oxford/Southbury and the ice cream is amazing. You even get to eat it while you watch the cows in the field. All their ice cream is made on premices. Well, Thursday night it was raining but Kathleen and Jim were nice enough to get us some ice cream and we enjoyed it at her parents' house. It was late but Colby had a great time. It was the first time Colby has seen a piano also. And he LOVED it! Kathleen played a song for him and then he took over. He really looks like he knows what he is doing. I will definitely end up paying for some sort of music lessons! We had a great visit. I loved seeing Kathleen again. We had the chance to get caught up on things and she and Jim really enjoyed seeing Colby.

Kathleen, Colby, and me. Kathleen, Jim, and Colby.

Kathleen and Colby play us a tune. Colby shows off some new talent!

Friday Colby and I went to visit a fellow adoptive family. Jill and Nick also adopted their son from Russia, through the same agency. Little Nicholas also came from the same region as Colby. When we went to get Colby in late January, they were on their first visit to see Nicholas. Now Nicholas is home! He came home about 3 weeks ago. Nicholas is almost a year younger than Colby and such a little cutie! They really enjoyed meeting eachother. They played together and chased Jill's dog, Junior. Poor dog didn't know where to hid. While we were there, Jill's sister, mother, and two nieces stopped by. They were really nice. They even brought us lunch- Wendy's delivery. It was great. Jill's nieces are 2 and a half and 5, I think. They loved playing with the boys. Colby was even chasing the girls around the house. A lady's man already! Jill also has a piano so he was able to show off his playing talent. He is so cute. While he plays, he sits and hums along or just keeps saying, "Dancing!". Anytime he hears music he says that and starts to do his little dance. The kids had a great time and so did the adults. We can't wait to get together again and include Sharon when when she brings Sean home from Russia too.

Colby and Nicholas share some yummy Gerber treats. Nicholas plays with a cymbal.

Colby and Madison play a tune. All the kids enjoy the piano.

Well, the little man is starting to stir. I might have time to add some photos but I will continue with our busy weekend update soon. More to come!

We Are Still Here

Yes, we are still alive! We have had quite a busy few days. Colby has met many new people the past 4 days. I have met up with a couple high school friends and we had a party to go to on Saturday. I have lots of photos and yes, I promise to upload them soon. Colby also experienced a swimming pool for the first time! Wow! So many new things. I hope ot get time tomorrow to update more. We also have cousins to meet from Utah. I can't wait for Colby to see Eva and Jack. I think Jack and Colby will get along great. Jack is 5 and Eva is about 8 or 9. So, I promise more to come but it is 10:30 PM and this mommy is getting tired.

Something Cute

June 26, 2008

Our second visit with Colby. He is just so cute!

I have been using my "free" time to sort through my videos and download them into DVDs. It is a tedious task but worth it. Mike and I only have a video recorder so whenever we record Colby, or our trips or whatever, I then need to turn them into DVDs through the computer. I was able to find these cute videos and with some efffort, get them downloaded to blogger. I hope you enjoy!

Random Updates

This has been a busy week for us. After his high fever and cutting his 2-year molar, Colby still isn't quite himself. The crabby boy is enjoying longer naps and seems very tired at night. He is also quick to be frustrated as well. However, we keep moving on.

Monday we spent a quite day at home but on Tuesday we had Sharon over. She and her husband, Patrick, live nearby and are waiting to go back to get their son Sean. He is 20 months old. Sharon came over on Tues so I could see photos from her first trip, they just came home about 3 weeks ago. Sean is an absolute cutie. Quite the chubby little boy, he looks like Patrick. Funny, Colby looks a lot like Mike.

Wednesday Mike was home and we had our social worker, Christine, over for our 6 month update for Russia. Wow! 6 months. It needs to be done early because it has to be in Russia before the 6 months is up. Christine was quite impressed with Mr. Colby, the show off. We had a nice chat then Christine mentioned that this would be our last meeting face-to-face. SHe would still be calling us for 2-3 years for updates and photos but she wasn't required to visit anymore. Wow! That was a shock. She's been there since we began this journey and now we are "on our own" so to speak. I hope that we will see her again though. Colby and I will have to visit her as he grows up . He was calling her "Aunt". It was very cute.

Today we are at home. We were asked to babysit my nephew Keith but he isn't feeling well and my brother Keith thought it would be better not to have the boys together. Colby certainly doesn't need to be sick.

Tomorrow we are heading to visit another friend, Jill, and her son Nicholas. Jill and her husband, Nick, also adopted their boy from Russia. Nicholas even came from the same region as Colby, Yekaterinburg. Nicholas is younger than both Colby and Sean at only 16 months I think. But, we are hoping that the boys become great friends. We know the mommies are already. I can't wait to see Nicholas for the first time. They just came home from Russia about 2 weeks ago.

Also on the adoption front, on Wednesday Mike and I went down to the Children's Probate court to see what we need to do to have a U.S. birth certificate issued for Colby. We haven't done anything with following up the adoption in the U.S. and now that things are settled down, as much as they will, it is time. We were told that we do not need to re-finalize the adoption here because we were present at the adoption in Russia and his Russian birth certificate has our names and his adopted name on it. So, all we needed to do was apply for a certificate of foreign birth issued. They took copies of our adoption papers and the judge will call a hearing, sometime in August, to see the originals and then issue the U.S. birth certificate. Colby was in a rare mood by then and ready for lunch so we went home. After lunch, while he was napping I went back downtown to the Social Security office to start the process for a Social Security card. They copied the original documents and will send them to be translated (dumb because we have the translations attached but they can't accept that, they need to translate it themselves) and then they will issue the card. They said we should get the card in about a month or so.

So, things are moving along. We are getting things done that have been pushed aside. Accomplishments have been made, or are in the works anyway. And now we just need to work on a job for Mommy!

The Weekend Battle

What a weekend! Colby woke up on Saturday completely not himself. I took to refering to him as "The Punk" all day. He was into everything, including the can of oil-based paint Mike was using to repaint the outside trim on the windows. Black paint everywhere! Although he knows how to say, "Don't touch" and does say it, he says it while he is touching what he shouldn't be touching. We heard in his sing-songy vouce, "Don't touch, don't touch, don't touch......Uck!" He now has a painting shirt. That paaint won't come off. I'm amazed it came off of his hands, arms, and legs so well. After a day of that, I needed to get out so we went to 99 for dinner and ran into Mike's parents. We had a nice dinner but Colby wasn't eating anything. Even Mike's parents commented on how he wasn't himself. Well, later that night we found out why.

Colby ran a fever. The ear thermometer read anywhere from 100-103 at its highest. Ugh! What a cranky mess. We tried giving him a cool bath but he just screamed. He finally dozed off around 9:30 or so but that didn't last long. I was up with him most of the night. I do admit that I didn't mind it too much at 12AM when I brought him into the living room to rock him back to sleep. It was raining and it sounded pretty. He finally went down around 1 but was up again very soon after. Mike and I both got up. More Motrin and more rocking and he went back down. Sat night wasn't too bad overall. But Sunday!

Sunday Colby was a total bear. Lack of sleep, a fever, and my little one was completely frustrated all day. He wouldn't eat and barely drank anything. I was getting worried. I had decided that if it continued into Mon morning that I would call the doctor. I knew to give it a good 24 hours. We were supposed to go to Mike's parents for dinner but we called them to tell them we wouldn't make it. We tried all day to get Colby to eat and drink something. However, I must say that for high his fever was, he did very well. He still wanted to go outside and play a little. I could tell his energy was low but he was a trooper. Sunday night he was up almost every hour. Mike woke for the first two times and tried cool washclothes and getting Colby to drink more. After the second time, I was up with Colby just going in his room and holding him for a little while and rubbing his back. I think his fever finally broke around 1 but he continued to wake every hour.

I had noticed during the day that Colby's cheeks were very red and he wasn't eating. I knew that a fever can be caused by teething, especially when the molars come in. Well, I had checked Colby's teeth but he didn't want me to touch them. They hurt! He cut his top left second molar! My poor baby. I think all 4 will be cutting in very soon. He is only chewing with his front teeth and still not eating much today. Sunday night I put some OralGel on his gums and that seemed to help. Yikes! Such a high fever for cutting teeth. Ugh!

He is now down for an early nap. He is still a frustrated little bear, easy to cry and fuss and he isn't eating much still. Hopefully he is over this hump. It was a little scary, such a high fever and his not eating. I was able to get some Pedialite into him but he had me worried. Thankfully we made it through. Now all Mommy needs is some sleep!

Our Trip to Lake Winnepasaukee

Mike, Colby, and I took our first overnight trip as a family. We went to New Hampshire to Lake Winnepasaukee. I have been going there since I was a little kid. My mom's parents have a house there right on the lake in Alton. Now my parents have a house right down the street from Mamie and Poppy's. So I was thrilled to bring Colby there over the July 4th weekend. We left on Thurs and came home on Sunday. The weather wasn't the best but we had great company. My sister Kristin, her son Teddy (age 13), and her boyfriend Steve as well as my brother Keith and his son Keith (age 2, just 2 months younger than Colby) went up there too.

We had a great time just relaxing, watching a few thunderstorms go by, and playing cards and dominoes. The thunderstorms are really neat to watch develop on the water. The water stops flowing into the bay and starts to flow out to the lake. The lake is huge and the storms blow up white capped waves and the wind was howling. The storm stayed off to our left but we could see the rain and lightning. Pretty cool stuff.

The boys had a lot of fun together. Colby and Keith really hit it off and played really well together. It was nice to have another little one around to keep Colby busy. We were able to chat with my sister and brother and just catch up. Colby loved the water but Keith wasn't so sure. My little water bug even threw a fit when we took him out. Ugh! So, enjoy a few photos....I certainly took plenty!

Teddy's big catch, a 16 1/2 inch small-mouth bass.

Aunt Kristin and Colby playing in the water.

Colby and Keith making/destroying sand castles.

Colby the water bug. Look at that little belly.

Uncle Keith, Colby, and Keith making sand castles.

Colby and Keith sharing baseball hats.

Two cute kids.....Colby and Keith.