Just a Quickie. . .

First, an apology:
Sorry Ty--I should know you're in the Fourth Grade now. . .But, didn't you just have your 1st Communion????? When did you continue to grow up???? Love you kiddo!

In case you didn't know, I am so proud of my niece and nephew. They are really great kids and I hope Aidan grows up to be just like them! Kudos to my sister and brother-in-law for doing such a great job with them!

And, second:
Lori, you have my greatest admiration and respect. I don't know how you manage with four kids! And they all sound so terrific, too! You are a mother to be emulated. Truly.

I promise no more ranting!!! : )

Barring Fay remnants or Gustav or any other rain event, we are off to Lake Gaston on Saturday. Looking forward to seeing how the boy does on the water. We already know he loves to be in it!

Comments Potpouri . . .

There is so much to do, and so much to do!!! We have about 20 projects started around our house and all of them only need something small to finish them. For instance, we made the huge decision a couple of years ago to finish off our basement. We added a large laundry roon, a large Rec room, another bathroom, a closet and what will become the Man's Room. The Rec Room, Laundry Room and bathroom only need the baseboard and doors to be caulked and then the doors can be painted. The Man's Room needs many things, but in order to get the final inspection, the slate flooring that is already glued down just needs to be grouted. Also, the door to the Man's Room has been stained, but now just needs the finish to be put on and a door knob purchased and installed. We have everything to finish it all so now we just need to buckle down and do it!


Add to that, we (I) decided to remove the wallpaper in my kitchen and then to paint it. I did this while I was off after coming home with Aidan but still need to get the stuff off behind the refrigerator. And then we (I) need to finish doing the touch ups of the actual paint and to the trim. . .


We did finish re-doing the Study closet, though. . . Because of the stress of all of this extra work, I pinky swore (really!) with Pat that we would not start any more projects (I can think of at least 20 more that I'd love to do!) until those started are finished. And, we agreed that we will give ourselves the deadline of Thanksgiving to complete those started. It could happen!


But, now it is the end of summer. . .time to start stewing those tomatoes that aren't getting eaten fast enough and freezing them for later use and for harvesting of the basil to make pesto. I have all the supplies. I just need to do it!

When is there time to do any of these things with a two year old boy around???????????????

We had further confirmation on Friday that we need to always let Aidan get his nap. We had decided to have dinner out at TGI Friday's on Friday night. Close to home and relatively inexpensive (subject for a couple of paragraphs from now). We were told that he had only slept about an hour for that day's nap. Well, it showed. Aidan was in the worst temper he had been in for weeks! He was throwing things, being argumentative with us, and kicking the wall. At one point, Pat actually said we should just pay for our drinks and go get Taco Bell and go home! I somewhat stubbornly stuck to my position of eating out and it was the most unenjoyable meal we have had in a very long time. I should have listened to Pat. . .when we got home, a little after 7:00, I stripped Aidan down, put on a clean diaper and his pjs and plopped him into bed where he promptly fell asleep a minute later. There he stayed for 12 hours! Sometimes Aidan acts a little like a teenager. . .is he really listening? Or has he developed, at an early age, the knack for only hearing what he wants to hear? Sheesh! What will he be like as a teenager?!?!

My niece and nephew started schoold today: Kendall is now in the 7th grade and Tyler is now in the 3rd grade. Aren't they the best looking kids around??? Aside from mine, of course! : )

My mother called last night and reminded me that I will now have to decorate more for allllllll of the holidays. . .yes, I told her, I know. It's not really my thing, outside of Christmas, but I'll do it for Aidan. . .I need to find him a stocking, speaking of Christmas!

I was going over our budget the other day. . .I guess I will cut out my pedicures. . .it is the end of summer anyway. I am also looking to make a few other cuts like going out to dinner as often (how unfun!). These higher gas and food prices (we are buying a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk every week mostly just for our growing boy!) are killing our budget not to mention the lovely day care expense we didn't used to have! But, I am going to stubbornly hang onto my Cleaning Lady as long as I can. . .it's only twice a month! And what a time saver it is! : ) So, anyone know of a good miling cow and some laying chickens for sale??? Cheap???? : )

Blessings, and promises for less ranting next time!

Stacy

Hi!!

Hi! I got my Social Security Card in the mail yesterday! Yippee!! Now Mommy and Daddy can start my savings account and my college fund! And they can claim me on their taxes, too!

Mommy let me do the post today because it is post #100! Already!

See ya,

Aidan

Some Pictures downloaded!!!

Here are some pictures we finally got downloaded from one of the cameras. . .the other camera will be downloaded this weekend!

This is me with my two sisters and my mom at the party for Aidan's baptism. It was great to have us all together for something so wonderful for a change! We are spread out across the country: Virginia, Illinois, Nevada and California, so we usually only get together for a funeral. This was so awesome! Aidan showing no fear at the ocean. . .
My cutie pie really enjoying the beach. . .I'm soooo happy he loves the water!

Trying to walk in Daddy's big shoes. Who cares if they are on the wrong feet! Moby will catch me!

At the hunting camp scouting with Daddy. . .Doesn't he look like an angel?

I'm sooooo excited to be here with Daddy! Too bad I have to wait, like, 10 years until I can hunt! (Mommy's not sorry about that!)

Kitty cat Cow!

In the pasture with the Alpacas. and Daddy. . .

One of the Pacas came up close but Daddy saved me!


They are kind of cool looking!



We really enjoyed our time at my sister in laws. I think we'll have to do that again! Labor Day weekend will be spent at Lake Gaston on the Virginia-North Carolina border. Should be fun to see how he does boating!

Learning all about our little man

The more Aidan grows, the more he changes. . .he is really becoming his own little person these days. He talks constantly and 95% of the words he says are clear in their meaning. Not only that, he understands what we say allllllll of the time. He is so incredibly smart, he even knows the name of our street! We're still working on the number part, but when asked, he knows what street Aya's house is on!

It seems most kids from Russia are extremely yummy to mosquitoes and gnats. . .Aidan's legs and arms and sometimes his face, too, are nearly always covered in mosquitoe bites. But, the worst was actually gnat bites. Apparantly, Aidan is allergic to the gnats. Last Wednesday at dinner, I looked at Aidan's face and saw what looked like a black eye. I freaked a little and asked Pat what had happened (Pat had picked him up from Day Care). All Pat knew what that there had been a black spot, bug probably, by his eye that he had brushed off. The eye didn't bother Aidan and it didn't get any worse through the evening, so I forgot about it.

The next morning, when I got Aidan up, his eye was swollen on the inside next to the bridge of his nose. I put a cold compress on it and noticed that it didn't seem to bother him so off to Day Care we went. I told our lady to let me know if it got worse, of course, but still called a couple hours later. It ws the same, no worse and no better. But, then an hour later I got a call that the eye was starting to look worse. . .not the eye itself, which never even got red, but the area around it. I called and got an appointment with the pediatrician for that afternoon and by the time we got him there, Aidan's eye was swollen shut! Sheesh! A couple of doses of Benedryl, that night and the next morning, and all was well again, with the swelling having gone away by dinner on Thrusday night. The eye was bruised for a couple more days and you can still see where the gnat bit him, but it is all good now. Funny little guy only acted like "Why are you all looking at me so much and worrying about my eye??? It's all good!"

Last weekend was awesome. I took Friday off and got a lot done in preparation for our post placement visit coming up in September. All I need are a couple more pictures. I even got the US Passport application filled out for Aidan. We decided to renew our passports at the same time we get Aidan's so they will all be on the same schedule. Ours come due next April anyway, so it seems right to go ahead and do it now.

Saturday we went down to Aunt B and UB's and saw the Alpaca's. Before we went, I taught Aidan how to say Hi Aunt B and he actually did say it! The trip down was mostly uneventful. Aidan didn't begin to feel any car sickness until the very end, during the hairpin turns going up over the mountain from Harrisonburg. But, once we were straight again, he was fine. When we arrived, he took one look at the Alpaca's and said. . " Kitty cat Cow!" He was very excited to see them. He was pretty brave about being in the pasture with them, but didn't try to get too close. By the end of the day he was calling them Pacas.

He did get sick a little on the drive back down to Harrisonburg, but not until close to the end and only a little. Hopefully, he will eventually get his sea legs and the car sickness things will pass. . .I felt so badly for him, especially with the poor pathetic looks he would give me!

I'll post pictures of the Alpaca experience soon. . .as soon as we get them downloaded from the camera! In fact, I think we may have to do a picture post with all of the pictures we have on there!

By the way, summer is over in Krasnoyarsk. . .the high Thursday is going to be 42 degrees! and the low will be 26 degrees! Yes, fahrenheit. . .and that is below freezing! Brrrrrrrrrr. . .it's only August. . .

All you folks in process are in my prayers. . .especially that things settle down in Russia!

Blessings,
Stacy

Can you hear Aidan growing???

Quick post:

We measured Aidan last night. . .he has grown almost 2 1/2 inches since we got home! Wow! I can't believe it. Look for yourself:

The top line was from last night, August 14th and the bottom line was from April 17th! Wow! I think I hear him growing now. . .

These boots are made for Aidan!!!

Aidan now loooooovvvvveeesss boots. He saw Daddy wearing boots so he wanted to, too. First, we tried to wear Daddy's boots around (left picture). Because they were a bit big and bulky on our two year old feet, we needed some that were more our size. Luckily, Mommy had bought him some from Cabelas (right picture). We now want to weart them every day! Aidan says, when asked what shoes he wants to wear, "Aya's booooots!"

Aidan continues to do really good on the melt downs. He still has them, but they are becoming fewer and farther apart and less intense. I still worry about that cold Russian stare he gives me when he is mad, though! I think Aidan has actually adjusted better than Pat and I. He has assimulated himself into our home and lives like he has always been here and a part of us. I love that he feels so comfortable with us. I think it's really Pat and I who have had the hardest time: Pat because he is used to doing what he wants when he wants to and me because I am used to being quiet and by myself so much. Now, there is a two year old little boy running around the house and two big dogs running after him. Sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming. . .but then I look at them and think I wouldn't trade it for all of the quiet there is! Well, five minutes of quiet might be nice, though. . .but I still wouldn't trade anything for it! : )

He found that blankety blank Duck and put it in his crib the other day without Mommy knowing. We found out that it ws there around two am when he rolled over on it and played its wonderful song! After hearing it for the third time, Mommy tiptoed into his room and removed the Duck which is now "somewhere else!"

The other night, Aidan was looking at his Big Truck book (truck obsession x 10!). He opened it to a certain page and then came running over and pointed to a certain truck and excitedly said, "Daddy's Work Truck!" And, you know what? It looked very similar to the bucket truck Daddy drives for work. Smart kid!

Saturday was a super fun day. We went to a neighbor boys birthday party where Aidan had a blast! I'll post some pictures we took soon. Saturday night we went to some friends for a cook out. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Aidan had a blast with everyone and he ate like a horse, too. Of course he was happy. He was "outlide" all day long! It was a wild day and evening and we were all tired on Sunday.

The dogs have progressed in their names: Maggie has been Maggie for a week or two now and Mosby has now been named "Moby" by Aidan. This morning Aidan hugged Mosby and said, "Aya love Moby!" Cute! At least Mosby has graduated from DOG. . .Now he's a whale!

This weekend we are going down to Aunt B and UB's house. They live in West Virginia and own Alpaca's. I wonder how Aidan will like them. . .he loved the cows and chickens he saw when he went to the hunting camp with Daddy last week, so hopefully he'll like these, too.

Today marks four months since we came home from Russia. We're going to measure Aidan tonight to see how much he has grown. I can't wait! I know he is a lot taller, possibly as much as three inches. . .however, he continues to weigh in at 30.4 pounds. No gain there, but he eats like crazy and drinks so much milk! All good things for a growing and healthy boy. . .

Quandaries. . .

I have a couple of quandaries that don't really involve Aidan directly.

The first: On Saturday, the Redskins play Buffalo at 7:00 pm. So what? you ask? Well, Michael Phelps swims his first event at 10:00 pm on Saturday night. For a former competitive swimmer, that's a big deal. I guess I'll have to miss the last few minutes of the game. . .sigh. . .I hope they aren't critical minutes!!

The second: Every year, all of the ministry heads of the church are invited to a meeting at which the fall stewardship campaign, fall ministry fair, and other ministry head issues are discussed. This year, I am feeling like not going. . .the venue I used for my ministry--our newsletter--is no longer in publication and I didn't ever even find out if I have a budget this year--I had one last year, though. The other topics to be discussed this year will be the Capital Campaign, which I think is a topic for me and Pat to discuss without the church listening in, and to show off the work completed on the property. I will see that work at a tour I am scheduled for later in September. I just don't know about this one.

However, speaking of my ministry: I received a call from the church to give a lady a call up at the Loudoun Museum about some of my research. Pretty much it boils down to that they will be promoting my research and many of my articles that pertain particularly to the church. I have one more article and one old picture of the inside of the church to take up there. This year is the 250th anniversary of Leesburg, so this is really an honor to have my work highlighted in this manner at the museum. It's nice to be needed!

Aidan continues to do really good. He was a little more cranky today, but it was because his nap was cut short (Daddy picked him up early) and he didn't get his usual pantry full of snacks. But, he'll get to bed early and all will be well.

Daddy is taking Aidan up to the hunting camp tomorrow to scout for deer. No guns, though! Aidan isn't old enough for that, yet. But, he'll be decked out in full camoflage, thanks to Mama! Daddy will take some pictures to post later.

We got Aidan signed up for the fall swimming lessons at Ida Lee park. They begin on September 6th and will be half hour sessions beginning at 9:40 each Saturday and will run into the first weekend of December. Looking forward to this!

Finally, when we first got Aidan out of the orphanage, he was always saying Doby, doby, doby, doby. . .when we came home, he began calling the dogs Doby. Both of them. Pretty cute, considering this means "Happy" in Russian. The other day, I heard Aidan say a stiff Maggie and hugged Maggie really hard. However, Mosby is now just Dog. Poor Mos!

More later!

Aidan loves this song!! He always does the hand wave thing when he hears it!

Stacy

Status of stuff

The picture on the left was taken on April first. The picture on the right was taken on August first. What a difference 4 months make!!!

Aidan was given a bicycle that doesn't have pedals that is supposed to help a child learn balance. When he received it, just over a month ago, he couldn't reach the ground with his feet. In fact, his feet were at least two inches above the ground with stretching involved. Today we put him back on the bike to see if there was any progress and his feet not only touch the ground, they are flat on the ground! I think it might be time to measure him again. . .

Our meltdown situation has been improving. I discovered that a big part of the problem has been that we weren't trying hard enough to figure out what he was trying to tell us. Over the past week I have been making a concerted effort to listen carefully to what he is saying and to communicate clearer with him. What a difference it has made! Not only have the number of meltdowns gone down, the severity has as well! I'm so proud of him because Aidan is really really trying, too!

Aidan and I went to Children's Chapel on Sunday and found out that the teachers go back to school on the 18th! That's now less than two weeks! The kids have an additional two weeks beyond that. . .what happened to summer?

We have switched back to using a regular "Big Boy" cup at meal times to drink our milk. I am trying to reserve the use of sippy cups for non-meal times so that we can get back to using a regular cup. . .Aidan tends to walk around with that sippy cup hanging out of his mouth all the time! Either that or it is tucked up under his arm like a football! Mama would like to limit that look, if I can!

The cicadas are sooooo loud right now!

Please join me in praying for those still waiting to hear something: accreditation, re-accreditation, or referral. There are so many!

I would love to go and get another little guy from the same orphanage and everything. However, the thought of paying $400. a week in daycare makes my stomach hurt and puts the brakes on any further thought on that!

Enjoy the coming cooler weather!

Blessings,

Stacy

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!!

Let it begin!!!

Tonight's game doesn't start until 8:00, so Aidan probably won't see any of it and I will probably only see the first half, and it is only pre-season. . .but, YIPPEE!!!!

Aidan and I went shopping at the Outlet Mall yesterday morning. We got a lot of great stuff for him for the coming winter. Lot's of nice casual clothes, with an eye toward potty training, and even a couple pair of dress pants and a dress shirt. I'd like one more full dress outfit for him that he can wear to church, too. I also was able to get two pairs of shores: sneakers and a pair of dress shoes, both from Stride Rite. Carters had the best selection of clothing for the best prices, but Gymboree was a close second. I was even able to get a pair of camoflage underwear at Carters and a potty training incentive! Last week I ordered a full camoflage outfit for him, pants, fleece pants, shirt, hoody jacket, hat and even hiking books. He can go scouting with Daddy now dressed just like him!

On the way out of the mall, I took Aidan to the toy store: a kid's wonderland of all kinds of play opportunities!!!! : ) He wanted one of everything. . .even the dolls (disturbing, but he is two!). We bought two toy truck things, a broom and a dustpan, and a kaleidoscope, which interested him for about a half hour.

Then, yesterday evening, we met some friends at Dulles Town Center. The only thing I accomplished there was to get Aidan some Gummy Bears at the candy store. No one had my size shoes or even Pat's size shoes!!! I hate that. . .I guess I'll have to order the expensive running shoes from Road Runner again. At least I can get my size! What I wouldn't give for a nice brown leather slip on casual shoe in my size. . .sigh.

Our Six Month Post placement visitation is coming up next month. We still have about 6 weeks until the meeting--it's scheduled for September 13th and will give our Social Worker time to get the report done, sent back to us for notarization and apostilles and then back to her to send in--but I thought I would start getting some pictures together to have ready for our Social Worker. So much has happened since we've been home and I'm sure we will talk about the status of Russian Adoptions as a result of the other local Harrison couple (the hearing is scheduled for later this month) but I'm also sure it will all go well. Tomorrow marks 4 months since Aidan came to us from the orphanage. . .can it only be 4 months that he has been with us???Hasn't he always been with us???

Well, church and then grocery shopping and then I really MUST vacuum. . .