My first week back at work and Drew's first week of daycare went very well!!! Better than I ever could have hoped for...
By Friday, there was very little crying at drop off (Patrick does drop off) - apparently when Drew walked in all the kids came over to him, saying, "Drew's here!!" When I went to pick him up, he was all smiles and wanting to show me all the cool things on the walls at daycare - there's a big painting of Lucy from Peanuts at her lemonade stand, along other things...Miss Diane says Drew is great and very easy going and everyone loves him - awwwwwww..... :) At the end of the day, Drew is tired from all his playing and very messy too - as it should be. "Bunny" has been making the trip to daycare to, so help Drew feel comfortable - Bunny is looking a little under the weather and is in need of a bath!!
Work is going well for me...I'm back into the swing of things and things are good...
Tomorrow Aunt Lysee is coming to visit!! Patrick put together the new, much improved grill so we're havng a cookout before we go see "The Other Boylen Girl." - I'm very excited even though it got bad reviews...it was such a great book, so I hope it's not awful...
This week Patrick leaves for W Va. to get the older boys, who will be here for a week...Aunt Stephanie is coming for a visit too - so we're very busy...we actually are very busy through the end of April with our cousin Breele's 1st birthday party and then Passover - Drew's first Passover!! Aunt Sheri will be disappointed he doesn't know the Four Questions yet - maybe next year...
Drew's cousin Spencer (and my nephew!) turns 1 this week (April 2)!!!!!!!! Happy birthday Spencer - we hope you had a great party today and wish we could have been there for the celebration...
Later this month, Drew's cousin David (and my nephew) will turn 1 (April 29)!!!!! Throw Grama's birthday in the middle of all that (April 20), and it's a very busy birthday month for us - lots of celebrations!!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend....
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Home sweet home...
Well - after 29 hours in airports, I finally made it home!!!
California was great...it was so good to see Uncle Steve, Aunt Lizzie and David - David is getting so big!!! He's crawling all over now and pulling himsefl up - he'll be walking any day now...I miss being able to see him all the time though :(
We had a great weekend - a BBQ with Liz's mom on Friday and lunch for me and Teevie at PF Changs - yum!!!! Saturday we went to Laguna Beach and David and I dipped our feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time!! Well, tecnically it wasn't my first time as I touched the Pacific when I was in Costa Rica, but it was my first time in the US. We had lunch at a really cute outdoor place in Laguna, though we did not see anyone from the MTV show!
We also spent some time at Liz's sister Maureen's house - Maureen and her family are great and have a gorgeous backyard that was so nice and relaxing...
And I ate my first In and Out burger - it was a big weekend!!!
Rancho Cucamonga, where Uncle Steve lives, is so pretty...and the weather was perfect, low 80s and sunny...
In other news...Drew started daycare today and did great, according to Miss Diane. He played all day and had a good nap and there were so problems at all - some crying when Patrick dropped him off, but he was fine...that's a big weight off my shoulders. Apparently he had fun with all the other kids too, so that was good...
OK - go check out some of my Calif. pics!!!
California was great...it was so good to see Uncle Steve, Aunt Lizzie and David - David is getting so big!!! He's crawling all over now and pulling himsefl up - he'll be walking any day now...I miss being able to see him all the time though :(
We had a great weekend - a BBQ with Liz's mom on Friday and lunch for me and Teevie at PF Changs - yum!!!! Saturday we went to Laguna Beach and David and I dipped our feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time!! Well, tecnically it wasn't my first time as I touched the Pacific when I was in Costa Rica, but it was my first time in the US. We had lunch at a really cute outdoor place in Laguna, though we did not see anyone from the MTV show!
We also spent some time at Liz's sister Maureen's house - Maureen and her family are great and have a gorgeous backyard that was so nice and relaxing...
And I ate my first In and Out burger - it was a big weekend!!!
Rancho Cucamonga, where Uncle Steve lives, is so pretty...and the weather was perfect, low 80s and sunny...
In other news...Drew started daycare today and did great, according to Miss Diane. He played all day and had a good nap and there were so problems at all - some crying when Patrick dropped him off, but he was fine...that's a big weight off my shoulders. Apparently he had fun with all the other kids too, so that was good...
OK - go check out some of my Calif. pics!!!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Happy Purim!!!
Drew celebrated his first Purim tonight...he had so much fun at temple shaking his groggers (he had three at one point!) every time Haman's name was read. He thought it was very funny and wasn't scared at all with all the noise. He even clapped his hands during the songs - what a good, Jewish little boy we have!!! :)
I loved watching him at temple, doing the things I did when I was little - it's an amazing feeling...
There's a picture of Drew in one of the masks Grama gave him on the side of the blog...
Happy Purim!!!!!!!!!!
I loved watching him at temple, doing the things I did when I was little - it's an amazing feeling...
There's a picture of Drew in one of the masks Grama gave him on the side of the blog...
Happy Purim!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Kazakhstan adoptions on hold!
Wow - apparently all Kazakhstan adoptions are temporarily (hopefully) on hold and any dossier that has not gone through the embassy or consulate yet, can't go through. Last year at this time we had collected most of our dossier and were in the process of putting it together to send to translation and then to the consulate, so we would have been out of luck.
My heart goes out to all of those who are in the paper chase process or who were not able to go to embassy review yet. Our agency is saying it is likely temporary, but that could mean a month or a year or longer...who knows?? The Kazakhstan government can do anything it wants.
There are so many children there - and in other countries - that need families and so many parents-to-be that need children. It just shouldn't be this hard.
China's waiting times are 2-3 years or more, Guatamala is slowing down or stopping, Russia is reaccrediting all of its agencies and the US has it's own mess of problems with adoption and the children and would-be parents are the ones who suffer - not the people who make all these rules or open and shut down the process for no good reasons.
I feel so bad for those just waiting to be parents who now don't know if their dreams will ever come true. I remember being in that position and it's an awful and unsettling feeling to say the least.
We are so lucky that we got Drew home when we did - he's only been home for three months and look what's happened in that time - it is scary to think that if we had been just 4-5 months behind where we were, who knows what would have happened. Already, in Taraz where Drew is from, court proceedures have changed and people are being left up in the air as to when they will go to court. Also, there's been new paperwork instituted that is delaying things. There have also been rulings about dates on dossier documents that can't be over a certain number of days old and people are doing their entire dossiers 2 or 3 times before they even get to Kazakhstan.
Why????
It just doesn't make any sense....and it makes me so sad and so thankful at the same time...
My heart goes out to all of those who are in the paper chase process or who were not able to go to embassy review yet. Our agency is saying it is likely temporary, but that could mean a month or a year or longer...who knows?? The Kazakhstan government can do anything it wants.
There are so many children there - and in other countries - that need families and so many parents-to-be that need children. It just shouldn't be this hard.
China's waiting times are 2-3 years or more, Guatamala is slowing down or stopping, Russia is reaccrediting all of its agencies and the US has it's own mess of problems with adoption and the children and would-be parents are the ones who suffer - not the people who make all these rules or open and shut down the process for no good reasons.
I feel so bad for those just waiting to be parents who now don't know if their dreams will ever come true. I remember being in that position and it's an awful and unsettling feeling to say the least.
We are so lucky that we got Drew home when we did - he's only been home for three months and look what's happened in that time - it is scary to think that if we had been just 4-5 months behind where we were, who knows what would have happened. Already, in Taraz where Drew is from, court proceedures have changed and people are being left up in the air as to when they will go to court. Also, there's been new paperwork instituted that is delaying things. There have also been rulings about dates on dossier documents that can't be over a certain number of days old and people are doing their entire dossiers 2 or 3 times before they even get to Kazakhstan.
Why????
It just doesn't make any sense....and it makes me so sad and so thankful at the same time...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Our healthy little boy...
We finished up the last of Drew's necessary testng since coming home - he had his hearing test and he's fine - no problems there. Last week he visited the eye doctor and no problems there either. We had our developmental visit with our pediatrician this week too and she proclaimed him, "A very smart little boy!"
So, Drew is doing great - he grew an inch since coming home and has gained about 3 lbs....he's in the 10th percentile now for hight and weight, which is great, and well, let's just say he's got some big brains growing in that head of his. But Uncle Steve told us that there was some study done that showed successful people tended to have bigger than average heads - so Drew should be very successful!!!
Drew went to work with me today so I could meet with my boss before going back on Monday - eek!! He liked playing with all the things on my desk and was a good boy during my meeting. He was very shy though and hid in my shoulder a lot...
He got very excited today when we saw a kitty on our driveway and then a dog was barking in the neighbor's yard - lots of squealing and trying to run after the animals and pointing - he's so funny with animals - he just loves them. I have a feeling we're going to hear lots of begging for various pets for the next 18 years or so! LOL...bring on the goldfish, gerbils and hermit crabs!!
Tomorrow we're getting our tile in our downstairs bathroom and our new dining room table - yeah!!!!!!!! I'm so excited, though it means Drew and I are stuck at home all day - oh well - we'll deal with it...
So, Drew is doing great - he grew an inch since coming home and has gained about 3 lbs....he's in the 10th percentile now for hight and weight, which is great, and well, let's just say he's got some big brains growing in that head of his. But Uncle Steve told us that there was some study done that showed successful people tended to have bigger than average heads - so Drew should be very successful!!!
Drew went to work with me today so I could meet with my boss before going back on Monday - eek!! He liked playing with all the things on my desk and was a good boy during my meeting. He was very shy though and hid in my shoulder a lot...
He got very excited today when we saw a kitty on our driveway and then a dog was barking in the neighbor's yard - lots of squealing and trying to run after the animals and pointing - he's so funny with animals - he just loves them. I have a feeling we're going to hear lots of begging for various pets for the next 18 years or so! LOL...bring on the goldfish, gerbils and hermit crabs!!
Tomorrow we're getting our tile in our downstairs bathroom and our new dining room table - yeah!!!!!!!! I'm so excited, though it means Drew and I are stuck at home all day - oh well - we'll deal with it...
Friday, March 14, 2008
Drew's busy week...
Ok - before I start this post...
Jennifer - Thanks for the note - I wasn't able to get onto your blog to see how your little girl is doing...can you send me an invite if you read this????
Now back to our show...
Drew had a good week, with lots of firsts:
1. Drew helped me make his first Hammentaschen (I probably spelled that wrong!). Hammentaschen are three-cornered cookies that are made for Purim - a Jewish holiday that's happening next week, The cookies symbolize the three-cornered hat that was worn by Haman. Haman tried to have all the Jews in Persia killed, but his plan failed, so we celebrate! (Can you tell I was my Hebrew school valedictorian!! LOL...) Anyway - we made blueberry, cherry and chocolate chips ones - Drew helped put the chips in, that is until he decided it was much more fun to eat them. He was cute though - when we had to put the cookies in the oven and take a break before we could do the next batch, he got very upset and insisted on continuing to fill the cookies. I'll post a picture of us baking on the side of the blog. We made them a few days early because Grama is coming up on Sunday and we can celebrate Purim with her. When I was little I used to bake Hammentaschen with Grama, so it's nice to continue this tradition with Drew! :)
2. We have our first refrigerator art from Drew!!! We had our last Mommy and Me class this week, which was sad cause we really liked it. We made "happy" collages - it's really cute. So it's up on the frige...
Drew had his eye doctor appt. today and the doctor said his eyes are very healthy - a good thing. Next week we see the pediatrician for our 3-month in the US check up and then we go for our hearing test - just a precaution, I think his hearing is fine.
I can't believe next week is my last one at home with him - so wierd. I was freaking out today about it with his daycare provider and she assured me things would be fine and it was normal to be nervous, but Drew will be fine...I'm still worried. She said I could call every half hour if I wanted though :) I may take her up on that. He's never been with anyone but us since he's been home. In my mind, I know he'll be fine, but emotionally I'm terrified!! I'll keep you all posted...
Next Friday I am going to visit Uncle Steve, Aunt Lizzie and cousin David in California!! I am very excited... Drew and Daddy are going to have a bonding weekend. Daddy better not take Drew to Hoosters - I don't think he's ready for that kind of bonding...
Chris and Ben are coming in a few weeks and Drew is going to meet his Aunt Stephie in a few weeks too!!! Aunt Stephie is going to Rutgers next year for her PhD so she's coming east (from Chicago) to check things out and then taking the train up to visit us - woo hoo...should be fun...
Tomorow is mine and Patrick's five year anniversary!! We had always talked about going on a trip to Europe for our five year, but I guess our "trip" to Kazakhstan took the place of that - LOL!!! Maybe we'll make it there for the 10 year???
Hmmmm...can't think of anything else right now. Drew does so many cute things all the time (and some not so cute things!!) that it's hard to remember them all. Generally, he's really a happy, curious and smart little boy who we are very lucky to call ours.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Jennifer - Thanks for the note - I wasn't able to get onto your blog to see how your little girl is doing...can you send me an invite if you read this????
Now back to our show...
Drew had a good week, with lots of firsts:
1. Drew helped me make his first Hammentaschen (I probably spelled that wrong!). Hammentaschen are three-cornered cookies that are made for Purim - a Jewish holiday that's happening next week, The cookies symbolize the three-cornered hat that was worn by Haman. Haman tried to have all the Jews in Persia killed, but his plan failed, so we celebrate! (Can you tell I was my Hebrew school valedictorian!! LOL...) Anyway - we made blueberry, cherry and chocolate chips ones - Drew helped put the chips in, that is until he decided it was much more fun to eat them. He was cute though - when we had to put the cookies in the oven and take a break before we could do the next batch, he got very upset and insisted on continuing to fill the cookies. I'll post a picture of us baking on the side of the blog. We made them a few days early because Grama is coming up on Sunday and we can celebrate Purim with her. When I was little I used to bake Hammentaschen with Grama, so it's nice to continue this tradition with Drew! :)
2. We have our first refrigerator art from Drew!!! We had our last Mommy and Me class this week, which was sad cause we really liked it. We made "happy" collages - it's really cute. So it's up on the frige...
Drew had his eye doctor appt. today and the doctor said his eyes are very healthy - a good thing. Next week we see the pediatrician for our 3-month in the US check up and then we go for our hearing test - just a precaution, I think his hearing is fine.
I can't believe next week is my last one at home with him - so wierd. I was freaking out today about it with his daycare provider and she assured me things would be fine and it was normal to be nervous, but Drew will be fine...I'm still worried. She said I could call every half hour if I wanted though :) I may take her up on that. He's never been with anyone but us since he's been home. In my mind, I know he'll be fine, but emotionally I'm terrified!! I'll keep you all posted...
Next Friday I am going to visit Uncle Steve, Aunt Lizzie and cousin David in California!! I am very excited... Drew and Daddy are going to have a bonding weekend. Daddy better not take Drew to Hoosters - I don't think he's ready for that kind of bonding...
Chris and Ben are coming in a few weeks and Drew is going to meet his Aunt Stephie in a few weeks too!!! Aunt Stephie is going to Rutgers next year for her PhD so she's coming east (from Chicago) to check things out and then taking the train up to visit us - woo hoo...should be fun...
Tomorow is mine and Patrick's five year anniversary!! We had always talked about going on a trip to Europe for our five year, but I guess our "trip" to Kazakhstan took the place of that - LOL!!! Maybe we'll make it there for the 10 year???
Hmmmm...can't think of anything else right now. Drew does so many cute things all the time (and some not so cute things!!) that it's hard to remember them all. Generally, he's really a happy, curious and smart little boy who we are very lucky to call ours.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Friday, March 7, 2008
We have daycare!!!
We found and finalized daycare this week for Drew. I go back to work on March 24, so it was getting close. It's a home-based daycare and the woman has two other kids almost exactly Drew's age, which will be so good for him I think. There's also a few older kids there for after-school care, and it will be good for Drew to hang out with older kids too I think.
I can't believe I'm going back to work in two weeks - I feel like I've been gone soooo long, which I guess I have - my last day of work was Dec. 14. It's going to be wierd, and I know I'll freak out worrying that Drew is OK...I know he'll be fine, of course, and I'm sure it will be worse for me than for him.
Drew had a good week this week. He's outgrown so many of his 12-month clothes, which is great. We're able to start wearing all the cute 18-month clothes that he got, but we haven't been able to wear yet. This week we also got new sneakers, as he outgrew the other ones. Of course, the new ones look the same as the old ones since there's not too much of a selection in his size! We also got new socks, new undershirts and new PJs...
When we were at the mall today, Drew got sooo excited when he saw the Disney store! He started pointing at the big Mickey Mouse and squealing - it was so funny!! We went in the store and he had to touch all 101 dalmations I think!
We also had Mommy and Me this week, but Drew wasn't too into it. It was child yoga and he's not really able to balance on one leg and be a tree yet! LOL...so he decided it would be more fun to push a chair around the room...next week will be our last week of Mommy and Me as I have a dentist appt. the following week. All in all it was a good experience for Drew so I'm glad we did it.
We also had a playdate with Carrie and her twin boys this week, which was fun. The boys all thought it was hysterical to close and open the door to Drew's room and scream! They were all so cute...
Let's see - what else??? Hmmmm....Oh - Drew used his Cookie Monster towel the other day and I made the mistake of singing the "C is for Cookie" song for him - oh my god - he now wants me to sing that song over and over again all the time!!! He will start dancing and look at me and nod - that's my signal to start singing! When he wants me to sing "itsy bitsy spider" he starts moving his hands together like the spider! For a kid who doesn't talk yet, he really does get his point across well.
Have a good weekend everyone...enjoy the rain!!
I can't believe I'm going back to work in two weeks - I feel like I've been gone soooo long, which I guess I have - my last day of work was Dec. 14. It's going to be wierd, and I know I'll freak out worrying that Drew is OK...I know he'll be fine, of course, and I'm sure it will be worse for me than for him.
Drew had a good week this week. He's outgrown so many of his 12-month clothes, which is great. We're able to start wearing all the cute 18-month clothes that he got, but we haven't been able to wear yet. This week we also got new sneakers, as he outgrew the other ones. Of course, the new ones look the same as the old ones since there's not too much of a selection in his size! We also got new socks, new undershirts and new PJs...
When we were at the mall today, Drew got sooo excited when he saw the Disney store! He started pointing at the big Mickey Mouse and squealing - it was so funny!! We went in the store and he had to touch all 101 dalmations I think!
We also had Mommy and Me this week, but Drew wasn't too into it. It was child yoga and he's not really able to balance on one leg and be a tree yet! LOL...so he decided it would be more fun to push a chair around the room...next week will be our last week of Mommy and Me as I have a dentist appt. the following week. All in all it was a good experience for Drew so I'm glad we did it.
We also had a playdate with Carrie and her twin boys this week, which was fun. The boys all thought it was hysterical to close and open the door to Drew's room and scream! They were all so cute...
Let's see - what else??? Hmmmm....Oh - Drew used his Cookie Monster towel the other day and I made the mistake of singing the "C is for Cookie" song for him - oh my god - he now wants me to sing that song over and over again all the time!!! He will start dancing and look at me and nod - that's my signal to start singing! When he wants me to sing "itsy bitsy spider" he starts moving his hands together like the spider! For a kid who doesn't talk yet, he really does get his point across well.
Have a good weekend everyone...enjoy the rain!!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Drew's weekend...
Drew had a very busy weekend with lots of vistors and visiting!!
On Friday my friends Jodi and Caryn came to visit for lunch and hung out with Drew for a while..he had fun reading with them them and hanging out. I hadn't seen either of them in a while so it was nice to hang out...and even nicer when I went out for dinner alone with them! :) No offense to Drew of course...
Saturday we went tile shopping, which I was very excited about...new tile for the bathrooms - woo hoo!!!!!!! Anyone who's seen our downstairs bathroom knows that it died in about 1968 - yellow and green - yuck!!! Black and white will be much better!!!
Yesterday we went to vist Jackie and Joe and their kids Jayne, Grace and Charlie and had a great time!!! Drew was walking around like he owned the place and had a great tiem playing with all the toys and Charlie's great car collection...he also learned to play the harmaonica and had everyone clapping for him. He LOVED Jayne and had so much fun with her - she was picking him up and carrying him around and he was giving her hugs...it was so cute to see!! I can't wait until Jayne is old enough to babysit!! :)
In general, Drew is doing great...Here's a few Drew facts :)
No more highchair!!! Drew is entirely in his big boy seat and has been doing great with using a fork and spoon on his own...he's such a big boy!!
Drew has also been letting us know after he poops or pees (sorry if too much info!) so we can change his diaper. I wasn't even going to think about training until he was 2, but maybe he's ready to just start sitting on the potty and getting used to it?? My baby is growing so fast - LOL...
So - it's been a while since I've had an update on Drew's big brothers...
Ben joined the track team this year!!! Woo Hoo - go Ben!!! Those of you who know Ben know he's a really good runner. So we can't wait to hear all his results...
Chris has been picked to be concert master next year in orchestra (I hope I said that right!!) - Chris has bene playing violin for years and also does all regional and state wide orchestras...
So - we have two very talented older boys...hopefully Drew will follow in his brothers' footsteps....
I go back to work three weeks from today...wow! Time flies...I have mixed feelings. I am looking forard to going back to my job - I like what I do and miss reporting and writing. On the other hand, I don't want to leave Drew anywhere or with anyone - it's so hard and there's no easy solutions...oh well - I, like all other mothers around the country, will figure it out and Drew will be fine...
On Friday my friends Jodi and Caryn came to visit for lunch and hung out with Drew for a while..he had fun reading with them them and hanging out. I hadn't seen either of them in a while so it was nice to hang out...and even nicer when I went out for dinner alone with them! :) No offense to Drew of course...
Saturday we went tile shopping, which I was very excited about...new tile for the bathrooms - woo hoo!!!!!!! Anyone who's seen our downstairs bathroom knows that it died in about 1968 - yellow and green - yuck!!! Black and white will be much better!!!
Yesterday we went to vist Jackie and Joe and their kids Jayne, Grace and Charlie and had a great time!!! Drew was walking around like he owned the place and had a great tiem playing with all the toys and Charlie's great car collection...he also learned to play the harmaonica and had everyone clapping for him. He LOVED Jayne and had so much fun with her - she was picking him up and carrying him around and he was giving her hugs...it was so cute to see!! I can't wait until Jayne is old enough to babysit!! :)
In general, Drew is doing great...Here's a few Drew facts :)
No more highchair!!! Drew is entirely in his big boy seat and has been doing great with using a fork and spoon on his own...he's such a big boy!!
Drew has also been letting us know after he poops or pees (sorry if too much info!) so we can change his diaper. I wasn't even going to think about training until he was 2, but maybe he's ready to just start sitting on the potty and getting used to it?? My baby is growing so fast - LOL...
So - it's been a while since I've had an update on Drew's big brothers...
Ben joined the track team this year!!! Woo Hoo - go Ben!!! Those of you who know Ben know he's a really good runner. So we can't wait to hear all his results...
Chris has been picked to be concert master next year in orchestra (I hope I said that right!!) - Chris has bene playing violin for years and also does all regional and state wide orchestras...
So - we have two very talented older boys...hopefully Drew will follow in his brothers' footsteps....
I go back to work three weeks from today...wow! Time flies...I have mixed feelings. I am looking forard to going back to my job - I like what I do and miss reporting and writing. On the other hand, I don't want to leave Drew anywhere or with anyone - it's so hard and there's no easy solutions...oh well - I, like all other mothers around the country, will figure it out and Drew will be fine...
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