Happy Anniversary!

Sepember 15, 2009. Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of the first day we held Nicco in our arms. We can both remember it like it just happened. He was so tiny, so beautiful. He had every bit of the fire we see in him today. We are so glad, so blessed you are a part of our family Nic. We all love you!

Nicco's Birthday!!!

August 3, 2009. Nicco turned two on July 31st. I can hardly believe it, he is growing up so fast. We started our week off with a Birthday party at Chuck E Cheese for all our friends. We had the best time playing all the games and riding all the rides. Chuck E came out and Nicco was happy to give him a big handshake as always. On Friday, Nicco's actual birthday we went to Chuck E cheese with dad and Tony for lunch! We can't seem to get enough of Chuck E lately. Saturday was our big family party and we ended with our now traditional fireworks display. Nicco recieved so many fantastic presents. His all time favorite? A Diego tooth brush! He loves to brush his teeth! Happy Birthday Nicco!!

Mom & Dad's Anniversary!!

July 15, 2009. Wow! Where has the time gone? I can hardly believe we have been married 7 years today. I had a great morning with a special note from my hubby, what a nice surprise! We are really looking forward to our family vacation and spending some time together. Nicco is growing so fast we wish we could slow down the clock. Hope everyone is well and taking time to enjoy the day! Some pics from the past...

Are you Sleeping?

June 16, 2009. Nicco is such a prankster, could he fit in any better? His favorite activity is to pretend he is asleep and listen as we all talk about him sleeping until he finally starts cracking up because he has fooled us. He has actually really fooled us on occasion. He loves to joke around with Chris and is always playing "monster" with something. The above picture he is feeding daddy the killer lizard, lol. As you can tell by the pictures he is always mugging for the camera. He has such a funny personality. He has missed his best friend this week who was on vacation. If he asks me to go bye-bye (translation: let's see Timothy) one more time I think I will scream, lol. It will be nice to get together at the circus tomorrow, should be fun! We went to the Zoo last week and I actually made it into a picture for a change. URGH! My diet is frustrating me because I don't want to stick to it, and I can really see the weight I have gained in the photo's. I will have to try and get back into the swing of eating right again. I have such trouble when I don't eat every couple hours and exercise :(
Hope everyone is having a great week!

Swim Time!!

June 4, 2009. Nicco is loving the new pool and the discovery of the hose. I couldn't help but take the time to post some of the cute new pictures from the last couple days playing! Yes, he did manage to climb into that pool before we could get his clothes off and a swim diaper on! He has really been eating lately and getting bigger everyday, I guess like everything else, it needed to be at his own pace :) We have had a slight break with our play group because everyone is so busy with summer fun! Hope to see all our friends again real soon at Nicco's big pool party.
To my friend in Dayton, Ohio who has been adamantly searching for me on google, HELLO!!! you've been so quiet, drop me a line and say "hello"!!
Everyone enjoy the weather...

Just me & my boys..

May 25, 2009. Spent the morning with the boys and wanted to share some pics I took. I can't believe how much Tony is changing, right before our eyes! We have had a great weekend. Yesterday, Christopher bought me a bike and a bike trailer for Nic to ride in. It rained as soon as we got it set up, but we can hardly wait to take it out for a spin. I have been trying very hard to lose some weight without stressing on what I eat. So far, I have lost 12lbs in about 2 weeks. Ah, only 40 more to go. My goal is to get to my weight when Christopher & I met again by age 50, lol, we'll see if I can make it! Nicco got a new pool over the weekend too! I'll post the pictures of this soon. What a hoot to watch him jump in clothes and all when he saw it! He cried his eyes out when it was time to get out. Hope everyone has enjoyed the weekend!

Sand Box!!

May 19, 2009. We had a great forever family day. We decided to get Nicco his favorite, a sand box. Nicco loves dirt and can sit in the sand box forever if we let him. Our biggest problem has been getting Nicco to keep the sand in the box and NOT in his mouth! We still seem to be in that stage where everything enters our mouth accept food! Mom said she can finally tell how small Nic is by these pictures of him laying in the box. I am hoping to see some weight get put on by the next doctor appointment, as he is still at 23 lbs. We hosted our first at home play date with some of Nicco's new friends. We had a great time and the kids were really angels, they can play at my house anytime! Nicco has really started to pick up some words now that he has been involved with the play group and I have certainly enjoyed my new friends. Off to enjoy the park today, it's beautiful outside!

My Fortune Cookie Said..

May 7, 2009. A week before I was to leave for Guatemala last year I had a fortune cookie with Chris. We always share our fortunes and sometimes Chris will even keep his in his pocket for good luck. My cookie said "your lucky number is seven" Christopher's cookie said "a short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share". Little did we know how much those fortunes would mean to us. We did not know our Embassy day when I left for Guatemala, we were still waiting for DNA to be done. When I arrived we reunited with our friends we had met on a previous trip, they gave us the best tip ever. "Call the Embassy and ask them to take you stand by" they said. Well, to cut a long story short, it took me a very long time to get through to the embassy via phone, but when I did, they scheduled me the next day, May 7th!! Both of those fortunes are now part of your scrapbook, Nicco. I'll never forget this day as long as I live. You cried the entire time at the US Embassy and everyone knew who you were. It would be the one and only time I have ever seen you cry like that, you are always so happy. Happy Anniversary today my little shortcake, you are truly our blessing!

A year in Review...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The above video was made for Nicco's first birthday. I thought today, the day before our Anniversary Embassy day I would share it with those who have not seen it. Enjoy!!

2 Years ago Today...

May 5,2009. Happy Cinco De Mayo!! It was 2 years ago today that Christopher & I sat in our local Mexican restaurant discussing our options with adoption. We kept looking over information for Russia but I never felt committed to the program. I KNEW Nicco was in Guatemala and it was on this day that Christopher knew it too. I'm not sure what sends you in the right direction of where your child is, it's just something you know. We started our process with an application shortly after and it would be a year later that Nicco would come home to our family forever. Today we took Nicco for dinner at our restaurant and he enjoyed the tortillas and beans. We had an amazing night together. I can't believe you have almost been with us a year already little buddy. Sometimes it seems like you have always been here, always inside our hearts. The picture above was taken shortly after our decision, my have we changed. Hoping everyone enjoyed their Cinco De Mayo as much as we did..

1 year ago today...

April 30, 2009. I had just settled into my room at the Marriott in Guatemala city. I was so excited to spend some time with my best friend Stephanie. We hadn't seen each other in so many years, and there she was holding my hand through all of this. I could hardly believe in just 2 days I would be holding Nicco forever, and was I scared! Chris was home working and pacing the floors. He may have been more nervous than I was and we both new this was going to be a long wait. I remember so many things going through my mind that night. I wondered if you would still remember me, would you still like me? And whatever would I do if you didn't? I wish I would have known it was going to be this easy. That you would be so spectacular, a happy little guy, and we would fall madly in love. Soon we will celebrate our first forever family day. We couldn't love you anymore than we do!

Enjoying the Weather!

April 26, 2009. It has been so beautiful here in Saint Louis. We have been having a great time with our playgroup and our new friends. This week we spent sometime at the nearby park. Mom was able to get some much needed walking in and Nicco had a great time making friends. No surprise, the girls seem to love him where ever we go. Nicco loves to find sticks and dig them on trees. I don't think he cares much for the play centers, he is happy and content with some dirt. His favorite thing to do right now is play in a sandbox. We will be adding this to the upper deck soon. He is talking more and more and the p.a.t. aide was right, he is using two or three word sentences. I think he will be talking a lot very soon. Enjoy the pics!

Happy 1st Easter!!

April 13,2009. Nicco really had a good time with everyone on his very first Easter. Grandma had her traditional Easter egg hunt, and it didn't take Nicco long to find all his eggs. He looked so dapper in his Easter outfit. It was nice to get together with family and celebrate the day together. All the kids are getting so big so fast. Our next celebration will be our 1st Forever Family day, May 7th. I can't believe it has been almost a year already!

Easter Bunny!

April 5, 2009. We went to visit the Easter Bunny last Saturday. Poor Tony, he is such a good sport. Nicco really didn't need Tony there this time, he loved the bunny! We had a hard time trying to get the picture with Nicco looking at the camera. He kept looking at the Easter bunny saying "hi" with a big smile on his face. I wish you could hear what was going on in their minds.
My birthday was last Saturday as well, I am getting close to 50! Christopher gave me a card with a message every day for my Birthday week. My favorite was the one in the photo above. It say's "Love, having no geography, knows no boundaries." from Truman Capote. I love this card and couldn't have said it better.
I talked with Joey, she is awaiting her Visa and very excited to go to Australia soon. I am excited for her. She has that same sense for adventure that I had. I spent my 20's & 30's traveling with my career and moved to several states before finally settling in. In St. Louis of all places? Still surprising to me to this day. My dad always said I had Gypsy blood in me. lol. Maybe Joey does too.
Do they fish fry anywhere else in the world? We have just spent our last few Fridays meeting our family for the Friday fish fry's for lent. We finished it off with our family favorite, the Mexican fish fry in our old neighborhood. Some of the best Mexican food you will ever eat! We waited for 2 hours in the line and got there early! The line was around the building by the time we left. It is getting quite popular here. If you are in St. Louis and haven't been, you are missing it! They have full entertainment and church tours. They offer both English mass and Spanish, with 80% Hispanic parishners. I think we are going to try and baptize Nicco here in Spanish. The school is fantastic and if we lived closer this would be the place for Nicco to attend, I really like the curriculum.
Our 1 year Anniversary is fast approaching! I can hardly believe it has been a year. It is going by too fast. Nicco will be 2 soon. Somebody slow this down for me.

Enjoying the Weather..

March 18, 2009. Wow, the weather has just been unbelievable lately. We have really been enjoying it. We took the kids on a nature walk over the weekend. Nicco just loves to look and explore, he really loves to be outside. I think we have seen almost all the good parks here in the last week, it has been a lot of fun.
It is almost time for our sleep center appointment. We have been logging Nicco's sleep now for a week. I can't wait to go and get some answers on his wild movement at night. His little legs are always moving. I was reading some stories on a forum the other day from parents who can't get their kids to sleep without help from them. You just wouldn't believe some of the things these people do! Their stories will really crack you up. Working with the sleep center has been the best decision we ever made. I am so glad we have such a great pediatrician who talked us into going. Nicco has been sleeping on his own since a month after he came home thanks to the clinic, and it only took 3 days to get there. I am hoping his leg movements, which he has had since birth, are just part of his growing process. I am really hoping this is not restless leg syndrome. We will pray for the best and hopefully have some answers soon.

Developing my style...

March 13, 2009. Nicco went shopping at old navy with me the other day. While we were strolling the boys department he spotted these sun glasses. I never thought in a million years he would wear sun glasses. I have often seen those and thought "whose kid will wear those?". I humored him and tried them on, well, I wasn't getting those sun glasses back. I bought them and he continued to wear them everywhere all day and night! He is such the ham and is already developing his own sense of style. Nicco suave, I love you.
We have been enjoying all the wonderful weather we have been blessed with lately. We love going to the park and feeding the ducks. We love to go down the slide at the playgrounds. We have joined several playgroups in our area and have been venturing out everyday and having a good time.
Nicco is starting to talk more and more. It is all about when and if he wants to talk to you. He still responds to Spanish better than English though, especially with body parts. Today Nicco repeated his ABC's all the way through to Z and even knew when the letter Y was coming next. I was so proud of him. Getting him to talk has been a challenge even though we know he can, it must be on his terms, lol.
He has been in the new gymnastics class for 3 weeks now and can almost do the Chinese splits! He loves this class. Last week they taught him to pose when he completes his moves with arms raised in the air. It is so cute as he lands and poses and states "ta da". So proud of himself, as he should be.

Check this out!

March 10, 2009. I wanted you to know about this publication I’m a part of called Serious.Life Magazine. They just published the March issue today, and I am in their Featured Blog Directory. It’s a very high quality magazine… you’ll really like it.

The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by a family who have seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (see Abby's link on the right). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.

Again, the subscription is FREE, and I know you’ll enjoy the magazine, so take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues. http://www.seriouslifemagazine.com

Updates on Nicco coming soon!!

What a beautiful day..

February 9, 2009. It was so gorgeous today we went to the park. I can't believe the weather, it is just incredible. Nicco loves to play on all the activities at the park and it is so hard to get him to leave when it's time. He really loved the teeter totter with dad. I think he could swing from sun up to sundown. it was just a really great day.
We recently cut Nicco's hair again. I can't believe how fast his hair grows! Today, Christopher decided to gel it all back for a different look. We have decided we like it long, LOL. I think we will try to let it grow this time and see where we are. He is so cute though...
I wanted to say thank you to those who sent me their support about a recent post on Guatadopt regarding racism. I appreciate all the kind words and did not know this was a common theme with this person. Hopefully someday the world will be a better place for all to live in.