Snow, Winter at Lyman Orchard, Colby's Baptism, and A Year

We have certainly had a busy February. We finally had a pretty big snowstorm. All the snow had been staying south of us (sorry Joy). But this week we finally got enough snow for Colby to really enjoy playing in. And he definitely did. While I was tutoring, Mike and Colby built a little snow fort/igloo, complete with crawl spaces. Colby and Misha loved climbing on it, instead of in it. We also went to Lyman Orchard on Saturday. They have a Winterfest complete with ice carvers, snowboarders, and even a small hill for the kids to go sledding on rubber innertubes. The ice sculptures had a medieval times theme this year. Colby enjoyed watching the man use the power tools to carve the ice. Then we had a nice sled ride, all be it in the mud! The snowstorm we had had earlier in the week gave way to warm temperatures and lots of melting. Yuck! But, the day was warm and it felt almost like Spring is near. I think Colby's favorite part was sledding down the little hill on the innertube. He went sitting down first but then I had him lay across the tube. He loved it. That and watching the snowboarders go down the small hill they had made to do a few tricks. In Colby's words, "I do that!" Yikes! Do we have the next Shaun White?

But the weekend ended with a celebration. We had Colby Baptized. When we were planning his Baptism, I wanted to wait until after the holidays. It was such a hectic time. So I called the church in early Jan to discuss a date. I mentioned Feb and was reminded that the church only does Baptisms on the third Sun of the month and the date happened to be Feb 21. When I was asked if that was ok, I said that it was perfect. What timing! We brought Colby home on Feb 21 of last year. He has been home a year! I know many people like to celebrate Gotcha Day, the day they pick up their child/children from the baby home. However, we picked Colby up on the 17th and then had to still go to Moscow to the Embassy. It didn't truly feel complete until we reached home. The moment I saw my mom. My parents and Mike's parents picked us up from JFK Airport around 9 or 9:30 at night, after we had to wait in immigration. The first person I saw was my mom and a total sense of relief hit me. We did it! Colby was home, we were home, and we were a family. That moment I knew everything turned out ok. What a sense of joy!

So, now this year, we celebrated Colby's welcome to our family last year, and his welcome to God's family. And I couldn't have been prouder. As Rev. Gordon brought Colby on his walk down the isle he mentioned the special meaning of the day. He also mentioned that it was Gotcha Day. Another coincidence, our Rev also adopted his little girl. He certainly knew how special the day was. We had a nice lunch with our families at our house and just enjoyed being together. What a special day and what special memories I will always have for February 21st!

Fall Fun

Well, this weekend the weather certainly took a turn for the worse. I was hoping that we would have many great Fall days. I love the changing colors and the crisp feel to the warm days. But no, it actually snowed towards the end of last week and even this past Sunday. I think we skipped right from rainy Spring to winter. I'm not sure where Summer went and now it seems Fall is getting the boot too! Yuck!

But, before the weather changed, we did have a wonderful weekend. On the 10th, Mike, Colby, and I went with my mom to Lyman Orchard. They have a huge corn maze, apple picking, and even horse-drawn wagon rides. The weather was cool and the sky was a little grey but we had a great time. Colby took the lead to show us the way through the corn maze. He enjoyed it when my mom or I would run ahead and pop out at him somewhere else. At one point Colby ran up ahead

and Mom and Mike went a different way. I followed Colby. Mom and Mike ended up on a bridge and called out to us. We went to join them. Come to find out, Colby took the right way. Leave it to a 2 year old to find the way!

After a quick lunch, we went on the wagon ride. It was a short ride but Colby seemed to enjoy it. The horses were made Samuel and Adams! They were big grey Dapples, draft horses. They were beautiful. I really miss the horses Poppy had on his farm. Then we went into the store to look around. Mike and I bought some apple butter. My mom bought an apple pie for my dad and also a caramel apple for Colby. He ate it a few days later. What a mess!

I have wanted to go for a long walk in the woods but we have been very busy or the weather was terrible. But, Mike and I did bring Colby for a short walk in Wolcott. The walking path skirts next to the lake and is quite pretty. We went one day right before dinner. Colby enjoyed climbing on the rocks and picking up sticks and pinecones. Colby and I made one of the pincones into a little man with some sticks. He just needs an acorn for his head. Hopefully I'll get that today. Although, someone is not cooperating with his nap! Ugh!

A beautiful day today. We spent the morning at the park, although it was a little wet. No one else was there though. It was nice to get out and enjoy the sunshine after all the rain yesterday. Hopefully we'll have a few more nice days before winter really sets in.