We've come so far since that day...

Five years ago today we became parents for the first time. We were smack dab in the middle of Siberia when the judge declared us parents of a little blonde haired boy that we wouldn't be able to hold in our arms until the next morning. We celebrated by going to eat pizza with friends who also became parents that day. Oh the memories... I got out our old pictures of our time in Russia on our 2nd trip. Here are a few of C back then, including our first ever family picture :)

Last night in Russia at the Hard Rock Moscow

I'm home!!!!

And our BIG boy five years later. I know everyone says this, but I need to find some bricks to tie on his head. He is growing too fast!!! He is just a little over a foot shorter than me and he's only in kindergarten!! C chose his favorite restaurant to eat at tonight to celebrate. In these pictures he is chowing down on some celebratory molten chocolate lava cake. Mmmmmm

He is definitely one of a kind. He has my heart for sure. He loves telling his momma that he loves her ,too! I hear "I just want to hug you, mom" at least once a day. It doesn't get any better than that.

Where the blacktop ends

Last night Hubs and I had a fabulous date night! He bought Keith Urban/Sugarland tickets for me for Mother's Day back in May and last night was the concert. We had a great dinner downtown and enjoyed lots of time to just talk to each other. C took our picture before we left. This was his first attempt at using a real camera. I could have straightened it up and cropped it, but I want to remember his version :)


The concert was a lot of fun. I think I liked Sugarland's part of the show more. At one point during Keith Urban, Hubs leaned over and said "either I'm getting old or this concert is louder than normal". It did seem like it was really loud! I don't think my hearing returned fully until this morning.

Little Party Crashers

Last night we attended a couples shower for my cousin who is getting married in October. The kiddos weren't really invited, but they crashed the party in high style anyway :)

Stacking

I have known about the concept of "stacking" for a while, but had never actually tried it myself. If you are not a "couponer" then this will be of no interest to you, but for those that do, I wanted to share my really good deal so you could try it to. Stacking is when you legally "stack" more than one coupon on the same item. You can do this when you have one manufacturers coupon and a store brand coupon for the same item. So, here's what I got: (I had a three year old sidekick with me so half of these items are for her :)

The grand total would have been 13.86.

The amount I paid....... .86!!!!

I had four $2 off CG product Publix store coupons and two $2.50/2 off CG product manufacturers coupons.

Too Big Too Fast

Today was AP's first day at "big kid" school (aka Mother's Day Out at our church). Although, she walks into a really big school three times a week for speech, that doesn't really count as school because she only stays for thirty minutes and mommy is waiting in the car :) AP was excited about getting to go to school. She woke up and asked to wear a "mommy shirt". Who knows what this really means! She has certain clothes that she has deemed "mommy" clothes and that's all she wants to wear. There is really no rhyme or reason. So this is the "mommy shirt" that she picked for today :)

This is her teacher, Ms. Ellen. She is one strong lady, a mother of quads plus one more!

When I picked AP up I asked her how school was, her answer.... "cool", said very nonchalantly. Seriously, this girl thinks she is 13 instead of 3! Have I mentioned that she told us a few days ago that she wants to get "a little diamond right here" while pointing to her nostril!!!!!!! Where she got that idea, I'll never know. She's got a tough road ahead because her daddy won't even let her get her ears pierced even though she asks almost every day :)

While AP was at school, I got to be the helper in C's classroom today! I was so excited. This was one of the main reasons that I quit my full-time job, so that I could be a part of C's school experience. I told C to pretend that I wasn't there and he did a really good job! It was so cute when we were leaving his school he said "I love it when you're in my classroom. How many days until next Thursday?"

Peanuts for the Peanut

AP LOVES eating peanuts. She is obsessed with them. I think a lot of it has to do with the thrill of breaking them open and finding the little nut inside. She is also a little bit of a rule breaker and I think she likes that she can just throw the shells on the ground, kind of like she is getting away with something. She really likes going to restaurants where she can throw the shells on the floor.

Uncle gave her a bag of nuts earlier today and she knew that she could have them after her nap. She woke up and immediately asked where her peanuts were!

This is the face she made when daddy asked for a peanut! The girl does not like to share her peanuts :)

Also, I ran across a blogging momma's site today. She is having a giveaway for three books from Tapestry. This is a site that sells some great books about adoption and stories for kiddos to read that involve adoption. So all you adoptive mommas head on over to www.adoptivemomma.blogspot.com for a chance to win!

With 2 Hours To Spare

Since I was unable to be there for my nephew's birth, I really wanted to make it there in his first 24 hours of life. As the title suggests, we made it with 2 hours to spare!

Words can't describe how sweet and cuddly new baby T is. He'll be one tough boy, though, because big sister and AP wanted to help with him and love on him non-stop. They don't have the gentlest techniques either :)

We had a little photo shoot the first night that T was at home to work on his birth announcement. What. a doll. I kept telling my sis that he got cuter every time I looked at him! (not that he was ever anything but cute)

I SO wish that we lived closer. I would love to be rocking the little guy right now :(

Say Cheese ~Pictures Added~

Today is Picture Day at C's school. He was most concerned about his spikes looking good for his pictures :)


AP also had her Open House for the MDO program that she will attend one day a week at our church. We got to meet her teacher and see her classroom.

As soon as he has his picture made, we are scooping him up and heading north to see that new baby boy!!

A Day for NEW things

Today AP and I had our first playdate with just the younger sibling crowd. It was a little weird to be playing at a new place and exploring it without the C man :( Although, I am sure he was having way more fun at school. Have I mentioned here that he LOVES school??? I hope he always loves it. He is so eager to rush out of the car and face the school day in the mornings, such a neat kiddo, he really is. But I digress, today AP and I met one of her little friends that she calls NayNay. They are getting pretty big themselves. They carried on their own little conversations, copied each other, and showed each other how to do things. This is the only pose we could get out of the two of them!

We played right up until time to go get C at school. Then it was time for C's baseball practice. When we got there we were greeted by the coach that told us it had been cancelled. Since C was pumped about getting to go to batting practice, we decided to let C try out the batting cages for the first time by himself. I was a little nervous that he would dance around and get dinged in the head with the ball, but we had a long talk about the rules in the batting cage.

Although he only made contact with a few, I think he learned a LOT. He really sped up his swing and the time it takes him to get his stance ready for the next pitch. I was impressed with this since C is a take-your-time-kinda-guy :) He also learned the importance of staying where you are supposed to be in the batter's box. We will definitely be visiting again.

And last, but very definitely not least, the best NEW thing of the day....... my nephew was born this evening in Ohio!!! He is one healthy baby boy, weighing in at 9 lbs 4 oz. I was a little bummed that I could not be there, but don't worry Aunt Sissy will be there before he hits 24 hours old!

First Full Day!

We had a little improptu photo shoot before we left this morning. Can you tell C gets into his poses? I completely surprised myself by having everyone ready to go about thirty minutes early!!!