Happy New Year 2011!

Friday, December 31, 2010 No comments

We had a great 2010 and we look forward to what 2011 will bring. It was one year ago tonight that Matt and I boarded a plane and celebrated in 2010 as we flew from JFK to Dubai and on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to meet our son. As I put Oliver in his crib tonight I thought of all the anxiety and excitement of that night and here we are one year later, a family of four, under one roof ringing in 2011 together.

Happy New Year to everyone!

The Last Week of 2010

Thursday, December 30, 2010 No comments
We spent our last week of 2010 with family. My parents, sister and brother-in-law came into town for the holidays. We had a fun week with them. Here's how our last full week of 2010 went...



Flash (the dog) and Chloe ended their bickering and decided to cuddle up. Flash now sleeps each night in Chloe's room and usually in her bed with her.

Chloe sang in a quintet in our church Christmas pageant.

Oliver enjoyed his first Christmas with us.

Chloe enjoyed Christmas. Santa brought her a telescope!

Our white Christmas came a day late. Depending on who is reporting, we got anywhere from 18-28 inches of snow the day after Christmas. Either way, it was a lot of snow and with municipal cutbacks clean-up was slow coming. We went into NYC on Wednesday and it was a nightmare getting around with all of the tourists in for New Year's Eve and the mess of snow still blocking streets and sidewalks.

Chloe got to play in the snow with PaPaw, her Daddy, her aunt and her uncle. (Her mom and her BeBe conveniently stayed indoors with her brother!)

 We had some great family games of Sc*rabble on our i*Pad*s. It was a great way to pass the time while snowed in!



Happy Holidays

Monday, December 27, 2010 1 comment
We had a great Christmas (photos later) but it's gotten overshadowed a bit by the blizzard that struck on Boxing Day. We got about 20 inches of snow--plenty to shovel and play in!!



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18 Month Old Today

Thursday, December 16, 2010 2 comments
Oliver is 18 months old today! We went to the doctor this morning for his well-check and he is 32 inches tall and weighs 26 lbs., 14 oz. Developmentally he's doing great and he's getting his two-year molars in on top and bottom!

In the interest of remembering all of this, here's Oliver's favorites and an Oliver antecdote about his speech at 18 months old.

WORDS: go!, car, ball (actually car and ball sound alike, but, I know the difference), doggy, woof, meow, kiss, oww/ouch, night-night, bye-bye, hi (which sounds like "Hoya" or "Hiya" and has a funny story to go with it below), up, mommy, daddy, Oliver (sounds like Aw-wih-wer), nose, hot, no, shoes, toes, what is it?, where is it?, Flash (which sounds like Mump or at least that's what it sounds like to me because its always said in a scream), Lizzie, shirt, monkey (his favorite stuffed animal), sit, bus, bottle (bah-bah).

FAVORITE TOYS: Cars or anything with wheels. He usually has two cars he carries around, one in each hand. Chloe has a whole set of cars that she shares with Oliver (although Oliver believes the cars are HIS). We let Oliver play with the cars supervised and have learned that the cars can only be Match**box and not *Hot* Wh*eels (they have tires that can be removed/bitten off).

THE ANECDOTE: I go grocery shopping in the same store weekly and it never fails that everytime we are in this store, I get asked if Oliver is Puerto Rican or from the Dominican Republic. I always thought people assumed this because of his hair.  But, last week we were checking out and our cashier was Puerto Rican. Oliver kept waving and saying "hi". When Oliver says "hi" it sounds like "Hoya"/"Hola"/"Hiya". Can you see where this story is going? Anyway, the cashier starts speaking Spanish to me and to Oliver. I had to tell her I don't speak Spanish to which she asked, "Why does the baby? Does his Daddy speak Spanish?" Uh, no. Why would she think that I wondered? We checked out and headed to the door where we passed another lady to which Oliver waved and said "hiya". She stopped, grabbed Oliver's hand and said, "Hola bebe!" and then proceeded asking me something in Spanish. I politely told her I don't speak Spanish and she said, "Oh his Daddy must speak it with him!". I told her his Dad was English and Oliver was adopted from Ethiopia. "But he speaks Spanish!" she told me. I told her she was the second person in 10 minutes that told me that and I assured her Oliver doesn't know Spanish. "Yes, yes he does!" she said, "He told me 'hola'"!

The First Snow (Dusting)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 1 comment
The first real snowfall of the year. We've had flurries recently but nothing stuck. Last night we got our first measurable snowfall and though it was really only a dusting, it didn't stop Chloe from wanting to put on her snow pants and attempt to make snowballs.


 And while Chloe played in the snow dust, Oliver ate a mini bagel with cream cheese--that's what big sister had and that's what he wanted too. He ate it while he watched Chloe in the snow. (Mom didn't really think through the repercussions of this breakfast choice until it was too late).

I'm off to clean the doors and couches of cream cheese....

And, before I forget, its a big day around here--Chloe's six and a half years old--you know how kids at this age take these milestones very seriously. Chloe's been looking forward to this for a long time. It's also Chloe & Oliver's Nana's birthday (as in the annually celebrated one). Happy birthday Nana!

A NJ Birth Certificate for Oliver

Monday, December 13, 2010 No comments
Oliver's NJ birth certificate arrived in the mail today. Next step, filing to get his certificate of citizenship and then his passport.
Oliver playing with our favorite puzzle board--locks. Its about only one of a handful of toys that will hold his attention right now.

Starting Them Young

Tuesday, December 07, 2010 1 comment



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