Christmas 2010

Thomas was excited to see what Santa had brought him. He unwrapped each present one paper at a time. After the 2nd present he said "All done". We showed him the other presents and he slowly unwrapped those.

Thomas helped me bake some goodies for friends and family members. He is like a little perfectionist and was very careful to get all the ingredients in the bowl. The best part of "Baking with Mom" was when he got to sample the goodies. I should say, the stool was sitting next to the cookie sheet (of baked cookies) and when I turned around, he had climbed up and taken a cookie to eat. The look on his face was so cute. "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar...." THOMAS stole the cookies. He said cookie instead of cheese for the picture.

Praise report found in our mail

Today we recieved a court document with a court date of January 20, 2011 for the court hearing with the appeal judge. This is the beginning to the end. We can't get a hold of the SW (due to Christmas) but we believe this is the "important" hearing that will come to a conclusion of permanent placement. If this happens on that day, then we could be looking at finalization of the adoption very soon. What a great Christmas gift to recieve. This document is the document that "shows light at the end of the tunnel."

Update on the process

We had a visit from Thomas's new attorney. This attorney was appointed by the state for the appeal process. Other than the visit from her, we probably won't have any more contact. She is in communication with the SW and gets all the information from her. The purpose of the visit was to see how he is in our family and ask us a few questions. She was a very nice lady. Very young, of course the older I get, everyone looks younger.........LOL!!
She gave us some encouraging news about the process. She said that once the appeal was filled, then put on the desk of the judge, then a final decision it's a total of 6-8 months. The appeal was filed in September, now we are 3 months into the process. So the 6th month would be March. She said it should be done by March. That's much more encouraging than early summer, as we were told before. So we are excited to look at a calendar and see how March isn't that far away. The end is in sight!!!!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile, nobody has heard from the BM. For all we know she has left CA again. Doesn't suprise us that she filed, then vanished. It's a repeated history from her other children's adoptions, too.

A visit to the Wild Animal Park with our cousins

Nama & Papa bought us passes to the Wild Animal Park & the Zoo. Today we decided to invite Thomas's cousins, Luke & Mary (with their momma) to go to the Wild Animal Park. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The sun was out, it was a little cool in the shade and the park wasn't packed. It's nice to have family close who also have kids Thomas's age, so they can grow up together.

Luckly Jim was off and able to go with us. He kept up with the kids on foot, while Kerri & I pushed the strollers. After lunch on our way to the lions, Mary fell asleep. The boys walked, ran and jumped. We got to see some ducks, some gorillas, some monkeys, and the sleeping lions. It was a great day to be with cousins!!!

We left the park and it only took 5 minutes for Thomas to fall asleep. He slept all the way home, plus another hour at home. First trip to Wild Animal Park was a lot of fun!! Can't wait to do it again!!!!!

A birthday party for the 2 year old!!

We had a birthday party at a place called Pump-It-Up. It was a party room full of fun jumps, slides, music and games. We had a the whole room to ourselves. We jumped for 1 1/2 hours, and when I say "we" I mean everybody. The adults were getting into it, too. Jim & our friend Brian had a good jousting game in the one jump ring, all in fun!!! Thomas had a huge smile on his face while he jumped and slid down the slides. We invited some of Thomas' cousins and some of his friends. What a bunch of fun.

(Left to Right): Eli, Ben, Josh, Seth, Becca, Tanner, Luke, David, Brady,

Thomas & Nama

Special memories being made with special friends and family.

On our way to Knott's Berry Farm we had our first real taste of parenthood. We drove down a really curvy road and got to the bottom of the grade when Thomas threw up over everything. Well I should say all over himself. As we pulled over, he kept throwing up. Now here's the real kick, we were in a rental car and I didn't have any of my normal Mommy car supplies. Only had a basic diaper bag with diapers, a pair of pants and a pair of jammies. So I put my sweater over his lap, took his shirt off and we drove to the nearest Target. Thomas had a terrified look on his face and kept saying "uh oh bubbles". I ran in Target and got some towels, Lysol wipes, some bags, a pair of new pants and a shirt for Thomas. When I got back to the car Jim had Thomas stripped down to his diaper, with all the clothes, and bags sitting on the ground outside next to the car. Thomas was laughing and playing with Daddy in the car. After a cleanup of the seat, the carseat and Thomas, we continued our trip. I am 100% positive that he got car sick. Note to self: "Bring a complete change of clothes, towels and bags when we got down the hill."

We had so at Knott’s Berry Farm. The best part is we got in free. The month of December they have an offer for Firefighters and a family member to get in FREE. So we got to use our money on things we wanted to get. As you may recall from photos past that Thomas isn't much of a smiley kid in pictures, although he's happy. Well when he met Snoopy (for the first time) he had a little grin on his face.

He also got to ride in an airplane, like his Papa's. Again, notice the big smile!! This must have been his favorite ride because he rode the "neyow neyow" two times.

Knott’s Berry Farm has a lot of rides in Camp Snoopy for children, so Thomas had fun riding many rides alone. He got to use some of his independence and was so happy. This ride was so cute and only went as fast as he would "push and pull". {Video below}

Thomas got to ride on the log ride with us, and didn't say "wa wa whoa" when we went down the rollercoaster drop or anything like that until we were done. He kept saying "oh no" when he saw how wet I was. We ended the evening with a visit to none other than the popular Santa Claus. Again, notice the big smile!! He even walked right up to him without being scared. This child is mine because I loved Santa Claus as a child, too.

As we were walking to the car, he saw the moon in the sky, which was just a sliver size. "Uh oh, Dada, moo boke" was his comment to us. {TRANSLATION = uh oh dada moon broke} We made a quick stop for dinner at McDonalds, and then headed home. We were in the car no more than 15 minutes when we heard our little happy boy snoring away.

Look who's 2!!!

Today is Thomas' 2nd Birthday. Jim & I are taking him to Knotts Berry Farm, since Firefighters get in free this month. We will have an official party on Sunday with many close friends and family members. This last year has brought so much joy into our lives. Hearing him say new words, watching his personality come through, watching him grow (in height) and teaching him new things. WOW a year has gone by fast. Love that little boy with all our hearts!!!!!!!!!!

(Pictures of the trip today and his party will be posted later)

Thomas gets a special message

 

Click on link below

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/guest/Nf0onAzrdT_Fl5yFYVj36Q

In their Jammies

Jim bought a pair of footsie PJ's to be like Thomas. It was kinda like a joke, but when Jim wore them, he said they where very comfortable, like wearing a robe but with no draft. They are reading Santa and the Christ Child (or Baby Gaga) as Thomas calls Baby Jesus.