Hockey

This Sunday Mike and I brought Colby to his first hockey game! We went to Hartford, home of the Wolf Pack, to watch an AHL hockey game. They played Providence Bruins. The Wolf Pack is the"farm team" for the NY Rangers and Providence is the farm team for the Boston Bruins. We all had a great time.

Ever since I can remember, I went with my mom and other family members to Hartford to watch hockey games. Back then we had an NHL team, the Hartford Whalers. I grew up with hockey. When the Whalers left, we kept the season tickets for the Wolf Pack. They are a pretty good team with up and comer players. A few years ago we stopped getting season tickets and I have only been to a handful of games since. But, now we brought Colby.

It was amazing to sit there and watch him experience something so new. The sights and sounds. It is very noisy and so much is going on. But, he loved it. We were there early enough to see the teams warmup and watch the zambonies clean the ice. We ate pizza and just enjoyed an afternoon together. And yes, the Wolf Pack won...in overtime!

This is just one of many new experiences I want to enjoy with Colby. They may be things I have done growing up, but with Colby everything is a new experience!

Sleep...

Well, we are still fighting the sleep demons. Colby just doesn't want to go to bed or most especially nap. I realize that many children age 3, which he will be next month, begin to decrease nap time. However, Colby without a nap is a bear. He doesn't go to sleep any earlier without a nap and from 6-8 at night he is miserable those days. The only difference is that without a nap, he does go to sleep quicker than days he has a nap.

Yes, I admit, I do watch Supernanny and I loved Nanny 911. I like to see how she handles sleep issues. We do have the set routine with bath, book, etc. Usually Colby wants Mike to sit with him. That's fine. However, we can't sit with him forever. He doesn't fall asleep right away and starts to fuss if we get up. The usual routine, Mike reminds Colby he will only sit for a couple songs (Yes, we have the radio on. Colby likes it. I think it gives him the noise he is used to from the baby home). They listen to the songs with Colby in bed and Mike on the floor. After the two songs, Mike goes to leave. Not too long after, we hear the pitter patter of little feet and out pops Colby. He doesn't cry or make any noise. He just stands there. Mike and I then take turns walking him back to bed without talking to him. This can go on and on for at least 30-40 minutes. One night it went almost an hour. I just don't know what else to do. I miss the crib! I'm not sure if he misses our company, is just being a brat or what. The sleep issue started right before the holidays when it started to get dark out sooner. I can only hope it will end now that it is staying lighter out.

And nap is hit or miss. Yesterday he fussed and yelled and refused to stay in bed. Today, he finished lunch, put one of his stuffed animals down for a nap, and put himself to bed. Granted now he is reading a book but I can handle that. As long as he rests. What can we do? Any suggestions? Ugh! I hate nap and bed time!!!!

Ok...so I wrote this a little too quickly. Colby just fell asleep for his nap. Yes, he put himself in bed and I sat with him for 2 songs. Then we started with the getting up routine. He decided to read books and play with his toys instead of rest, even though I left him with a few books. After an hour I put him in a boring corner and told him if he wanted to stay up he could sit there. After a little crying I watched as his head started to droop. Yup, asleep in the corner. I just carried him to bed. Ugh!

My Big Boy

I am amazed at how big my little man is getting. There are so many things that he can now do that he couldn't do before. Today we went to the park and Colby was off and running. He was jabbering away with two little girls, playing follow the leader, and climbing up the slides. Yes, UP the slides. He was quite proud of that! And to think last year I had to hlep him climb the steps to get to the slide. He is now a little monkey!

Also, a couple months ago we went and registered Colby for the 3 year old preschool program. Wow! To think that in the fall, he will be going off to preschool. He is VERY excited about going to 'chool like Nessa, our neighbor. Anytime we drive by her school he says, "I go there, after later." How will we ever wait until the fall? I'm not so sure that I am looking forward to that day though.

Recently my sister Karin came up from Manhattan and brought us a few things that her boys had. I love getting hand me downs from the boys. The best item, besides the bike which Mike needs to put training wheels on, is a race car back pack. Alex and Max, me nephews, showed Colby how to put his books, pencils, and toys in the backpack and go to school. Now Colby drags it everywhere. He even decided to pack it himself and wear it to Mike's parents' house. With his baseball cap and backpack, he certainly looked like a big boy.... Where did my baby go?

Returning to the Beginning

Last night my family had a wonderful opportunity. We were asked to speak at an adoption information meeting at our agency, Wide Horizons for Children. It seems like a dim memory that Mike and I went to our initial meeting with Wide Horizons on Sept 22, 2007. We have come such a long way since then. Seeing the faces of the couples sitting in that meeting, I was brought back to how we felt walking in. We were so unsure, even nervous. We had no idea what to expect and how that day would change our lives forever. There were three couples at the meeting last night.

I am not sure how my talk went. I had made notes to follow but typical of me, I was soon off track. I talked about the timeline of our adoption and how it felt going through the process. I made a point of giving my information out to them so they could call or email me. I wanted to make sure they knew that what helped me most was talknig with people who have gone, or are going through, the adoption process. Family and friends mean well and are helpful to an extent but they can't understand how emotional this process is. I talked about meeting Colby that first time, and again 7 months later. I wanted to focus on the positive things but also mention that it can be a difficult process and that it is ok to ask for help. They enjoyed meeting Colby although he seemed more interested in playing with the toys and ran out of the room. One couple seemed interested in the Russia program. I am not sure about the others. But I can only hope that meeting us will help those couples to begin their own adoption journeys. And I hope that they do decide to check out my blog, call, or email me anytime. I would love the opportunity to help others through this process like so many have helped Mike and me. I couldn't have made it through the long wait without the hlep of my fellow blogger adoptive friends. Thank you all!