Just Some Fun...

Savannah is giving her teddy bear a ride on her shoulders like we give her. All done Teddy. Time to get down.

Yuki and his toy

Yuki sleeping in the baby bouncer

Seth coming around the bend

Is that an almost toddler look or what--like Mommy why are you taking a picture

He is so into his playing

He is smiling at the balls going down the ramp and so proud he can do it

I have a ball--I am a boy. If I have a ball, a car, a train or a truck, I am happy!

Yes, I am playing

Now I have the green ball

Now I am on the move

Savannah took this picture of me and our babysitter feeding Seth

Stephanie, our babysitter and Seth taken by Savannah

Yuki

Savannah sharing with Yuki

Our creative girl with glue and paint

Learning to cut with safety scissors

Doing a great and careful job

So proud of this girl

Just been trying to stay cozy and warm and have some fun since the groundhog said 6 more weeks of winter. The snow has been missing us and staying further south, but we do have bitterly cold temperatures in the teens and twenties everyday.

Savannah loves her little brother and her "my new kitten, Yuki" as she calls him. She is so kind to Seth by sharing toys, handing him his bottle, feeding him, getting diapers, and picking out his clothes. She is always kissing him and saying she loves him. She even says, "He's so cute." She still gets upset when he cries. She wants him to be happy. She is talking up a storm and can even "even" read her sentence strips. We are so proud of her amazing development. She has really matured in the last year. Can't believe she is almost 4. Today I am going to the Montesorri open house and that is hopefully where she will spend her school years for as long as we live here in this area of CT.

Seth is a super fast crawler, master climber and wants to eat only real food (milk is for babies). He is developing in leaps and bounds and is such a fun baby, but you can't take your eye off him for a second. He likes to turn around in the highchair and loves to be in the shopping cart and wave to everybody. He is very social and will give that winning smile to whomever gives him a bit of attention.

Waiting and wishing for spring...stay safe and warm!

Savannah's Photos (and Mommy's too)

Called his name and got him to stop for a second Looking back (because we called him again)

Playing

Savannah tried to take a picture of Seth, but these are the type we get these days because he crawls SO fast.

Always on the edge

Just beautiful

SShe made her "necklace" at school

Being silly

Even sillier with bagel in her mouth

Savannah took this of me

Savannah took this of Dora

Savannah and I took these together of Yuki sleeping

Yuki likes his new tunnel

Fast asleep

Cat nap

Savannah has become quite the little photographer. When I take out the camera she says, "I try. Please! I take a picture." Well, she has learned to look in the view finder and center and shoot. She is doing really well. Sometimes she takes the ceiling or the garbage can and many pictures of Dora, but that is ok and a start. She tried to take a picture of Seth, but he moves too fast now. And we can only get Yuki when he is sleeping. She took a picture of me too. Her masterpieces are above.

We are having a good week and hoping for no snow this weekend. It looks like the big storm is going to miss us and hit the mid-Atlantic again. Unfortunately, the groundhog saw his shadow. 6 more weeks of winter. I just hope we don't get snow on the kid's birthdays and for our trip. We went to jet out of here safely in March.

Still waiting for news from the court on Seth's finalization. It is getting frustrating. I called this week and the person I usually talk to is was working on a project and couldn't be disturbed and the person on the phone asked her for me if they received the documentation they needed and the answer was "partially," but I don't know what that means and what they are missing. I will call back next week or have our social worker call so I don't seem like I am hounding them. There is a fine line between following up and being annoying and we need their help and cooperation to get this completed. I don't think it is going to be the 30 days they promised. Nothing can ever be easy or smooth, but nothing in life worth it is.

There is a Guatemalan Families get together this week in Disney World. Since we just went in December, we couldn't go again. If we lived in FL, it would be easy. I am working on going to the Japanese Adoptive Families reunion in May in Disneyland and we would get to see our friends in Southern CA too.

Have a good weekend from our happy household.

Savannah, Snow, and a Kitty Cat

Beautiful Kitten It is always nice to share

Snowshoeing for the first time with Daddy

Making tracks

Having fun in the snow

We got Savannah snowshoes a few weeks ago, but when they arrived the big snow had melted and we were getting rain. Well with the new snow fall and a little warmer temperatures, Daddy took Savannah in the backyard to try our her new snowshoes. She did great and had a lot of fun. She treked around the backyard like a champ. She now loves to look out the window and see her tracks.

Savannah and Yuki are best friends (along with Pumpkin and Seth--everyone loves Yuki and he loves everyone too). She pets him, plays with him and shares her food. She says, "One piece for you. One piece for me." It is so cute and he is a willing participant. She played with him for a half an hour in the kitchen the other night throwing a ball. It was so precious. She also tells him to sit and stay. Maybe she needs a dog.

Seth is doing great. No pictures of him in the last day or two (Daddy has some on the iPhone) because you can't take your eye off him for a second to get the camera. He is into everything. He is trying to stand on his own, but gets scared and can only balance for a few seconds. He stood with Savannah holding his hands last night, but of course, no camera accessible and it wasn't for that long. Maybe I should hang the camera around my neck or on clip it to my pants.

Seth's New Highchair & Kitty in the Bouncer

Eating at the table Tastes just as good

I've got a mouthfull

The high chair adjusts as he grows

Side view

Whole chair. It converts to a chair and can hold up to 150 lbs.

Showing his food--lovely

That's a smile

Chewing

Great Place for a cat nap

Pretty Kitty

Sacked out

I couldn't wait for Seth's birthday to "give" him his convertible high chair. So Rich put it together last night and we are putting it to good use. Seth ate breakfast in it and seemed to enjoy it a lot. It is very sleek and easy to get him in and out and he can sit at the table. No tray to remove or clean. I have to clean the table anyway so why not eat right on it. The best thing is that it is adjustable as he grows and then it converts to a chair that can hold up to 150 lbs.

Yuki is doing great and everyone loves him. Even Pumpkin. They are playing together. Here are a few of him sleeping in the cat's world's favorite bouncer.

It is bitterly cold today after the snow yesterday and very windy. It will hopefully be much nicer tomorrow when we go see our friends in NY and their new baby. It is January in New England, so what do I expect. Maybe this will be our last New England winter? Doubtful, but I am working on 2011!

I have planned the kid's birthday parties and then we will jet out to Puerto Rico 2 days later. Can't wait. How far away is it? Hopefully I can make it through another 6 weeks of winter before then. I am hoping for the groundhog not to see his shadow.