Some Aidanisms. . .

I haven't posted any Aidanisms in a while, but he has had some!  Here are some of his 4 year old sayings:

Mama, I like these Mcjamas.

Can I play on the Mcputer?

(Maybe a few less visits to McDonalds are in order. . .)


I want to put myself to bed but you come in and rock me after I finish my Tag book.  'K?

That wind was really bad.  Is our house going to blow away?

Drive by the Jesus lights!  (a lighted Nativity)

Mama, you say the prayer tonight.  But, make it about God.  I like him!

Alex is my BOF.  What's a BOF, Aidan?  Best Friend Forever.  Do you mean BFF?  Yeah!  BFF.  Alex is my BFF!  Who told you about BFF?  Charlotte. (really cute and precocious little girl in his class.)

I'm just kidding!

Santa said I'm on the good list, even though I was really kind of a little bad this year.  (grinning hugely)

There's more, and I'll share them soon.  But, I'll end on the note of being on the good list although being a little bad.  : )  Funny boy!!

Everyone Loves A Parade

Yesterday dawned cold and cloudy.  Not so unusual in this recent cold snap we've been having, but boy is it cold!!  It was 20 degrees when we got up.  So we bundled up in our hats and gloves and heavy coats and walked up the street to stand around outside, watching our annual Christmas Parade!  Love it!!!

Aidan's buddy from school, Jack, and his sister Rachel, met us at our house with their Mom and we all walked up the road together.  The children loved it!  They were so excited waiting and waiting for the parade to start:

Even Maggie was excited, good girl that she was being. . .

The kids all got their bags ready in order to pick up the candy that the parade participants always throw. . .

And then, HERE THEY COME!!!!

I always have to laugh because the Police Escort at the beginning is always immediately followed by the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Church float. . .nice, but funny.  I say funny because our town officials are always AFTER that. . .

I love that the town always includes some of the old vehicles in the parades we have.  This is an old Police Paddy Wagon.

 There were lots of dogs in the parade this year. . .a whole section of Greyhounds from a Greyhound Rescue. . .and Maggie was being soooo good!!  That's my good girl.

Many churches were represented and several of the area high school bands were in the parade.  

We even had the Bolivian Christmas Dancers. . .many of whom were wearing open toes sandals with no socks!

There were some adorable snowflakes. . .

 And then, Frosty and Rudolph on top of the Fire Engine. . .

And then. . . .THERE HE IS!!!!  SANTA!!!! 

Hi Santa!!!!!

The loot from this parade is almost as much as from Halloween:

After the parade, we headed over to the mall, where we found a parking lot so jam packed, it's hard to believe the economy is still suffering.  So, no sitting on Santa's lap that day.  Off we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to do a little leaf blowing. . .

Aidan really helped Daddy clean up Grandma and Grandpa's yard. . .He was so into it that there was a lot of leaf debris in the bathtub last night!!!  : )

Nice day. . .

Santa Makes A Preliminary Visit

Every year, one of our local fire departments puts Christmas lights all over one of the trucks and has Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph join them for a tour of the town to the joy and amazment of the children.  The first year Pat and I lived in Leesburg, the town was small enough that the firetruck was able to do the whole town in one night and it was always closer to Christmas. . .in fact usually only a day or two before.  But, the town has gotten so large that they now do this 9 nights!  Last night was the night our street was included. . .Aidan and the neighbor girls were sooooo excited!!

We all bundled up and went outside to wait. You can hear them coming for a few blocks as they wind around on the streets before ours. . .then the advance truck comes by and a nice man yelled out to the children, "Santa's Coming!!" The children went wild with excitement!

And then. . .he came!!!!!

Aidan loved it!!!  I don't think he remembered last year because he wanted to know why Santa didn't throw candy to him!!!  LOL. 

We had to explain Santa would be back on Saturday morning, with candy, during the Christmas parade!!

Afterward, we came back inside to warm up and get ready for bed.  What a fun night!!!

In other news:

I have been following the news on the US/Russia Bilateral Adoption Agreement and see that it is all agreed upon and is just awaiting the final signatures.  Or something like that.  There are apparantly 5 points that the Russians wanted the US to agree to.  For the most part, I have not been too concerned about this thing.  Afterall, we are final with our decree in hand; we have followed all the rules were were told to do; and we have completed all of our post placement visits and reports--save for our 3 year, which is coming up--as requested.  We love our son and he loves us.  All is good.

Well, apparantly, I should have been paying closer attention because two of the points do directly concern us:
1) The Russians want Russian children to always have Russian citizenship.  I kind of thought this was already the case.  I am already committed to keeping Aidan's Russian passport, as well as his US passport, current.  I thought it was up to him to renounce either of his citizenships, or not, as he so chose after he came of age. 

2) The Russians want US families to have annual visits by Social Services until the child comes of age, which I presume means 18.  Fine, but who's going to pay for that?  The families?  Russia?

These concern us directly because, and this was the finepoint, the Russians want this to be retroactive to include all adoptions already completed.  Hmmmm. . .Is that really legal?  Well, apparantly, the US has agreed to this so that means we'll have to comply.  But, it is a little upsetting to find out that something you thought was final can be changed. 

Well, whatever.  I'll do whatever we have to do to make sure Aidan continues to grow up in a loving home with his family and all the advantages we can give him!

And now, back to Santa news!!  Stay tuned for Parade pictures. . .

Oh Christmas Tree!!!

Today, we went up to Williams Gap and met some friends at Snickersville Gap Tree Farm.  We were hunting.  Hunting for a Christmas tree.

Wait, you might be saying.  Didn't you all do your tree last week?  Well, yes.  But, and this is a big but, we really wanted Aidan to have the whole Christmas experience.  The real Christmas tree way.  And boy did we have fun!  I think it's safe to say that Pat and I had forgotten how fun it actually is to go tromping around in the country, breathing in the cold air (whew! was it ever cold!!), with the noses and toeses turning to ice, looking for just the perfect tree.  So, here's a pictorial of our outing today:

Here we are hunting the big tree!

I can't wait to find the perfect tree!  Is this it???

No, dear boy.  We need to walk up the hill and look for a while.  We don't want the first one we find. . .right by the truck!  What fun is that?

Is this the one?

Nope.  Gotta keep looking.

Is this the one??

Nope.

We're still looking!

What about this one?

Is this the one?

Could it be???

Okay!  This is it!

Now we just gotta cut it down without hitting anyone else. . .Cut right there, Dad.

Look good?  Okay, let's attach the rope and drag it back to the shed.

But, first, let's get a picture of this hunting party team in front of the bagged tree.

I can drag this back. 

Really, I can.!

Okay, Daddy can help me.

But, me and Catherine will take over on the downhill.

Silly Mommy.  She gave me the camera to hold!

And I got Daddy, too!

What a fun day!  Pat and I decided that next year we might not put up the fake tree. . .in fact, we might set that aside for a time when Aidan is in college and has to come home to set up Mom and Dad's tree for them. . .  : )

What a great day!!!  Cold, but great!!!

You Know You're Attached When. . .

you drop your child off at school, head back to the front door and are almost there (the classroom is at the far back of the school) and hear "MOMMY!!"  turn around and do the quick step back to your child's classroom, knowing all the while that it is YOUR child who called. . .even though the school is teeming with young children talking and yelling all over the place.  When I got to Aidan's classroom, he launched himself at me and said, "I didn't give you a hug goodbye!"  Melted heart and tears at the edge, I hugged my son goodbye for the day and then headed off to work with a majorly warm spot in my entire soul. . .I love days like that. . .

Christmas update:  Steopa the Elf arrived safely yesterday morning, inspite of the heavy weather--crazy warmth of 64 degrees that dropped to 46 degrees within a half hour, heavy wind and rain.  He arrived with the Advent Calendar full of goodies and a new car for the Polar Express Train.  Pictures will come this weekend. . .