Mid-Winter Break

This past weekend and the week so far have been awesome! My nephew spent all of his mid-winter break with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Bill. He had a blast hanging out with his new cousins. He ended up going home and telling his mom he wants a little brother! My sister said no way! She's happy with two kids.

Since we've had so much snow, we decided to take the boys sledding. They had so much fun the first day, we went a second day. All of us took turns flying down the hill. Lawrence and Willliam had no fear whatsoever. They each took turns zipping down the hill on their own with Mama or Papa not too far behind, of course. Papa decided it would be fun to give Lawrence a big push. Well, he zoomed down the hill and then about half way down he hit a huge bump and flew off his sled. We anxiously waited to see if was okay or if he would stand up with tears. Well, the second one happened. He was crying because he had a pretty bad bloody nose. We got him all cleaned up and he was right back at sledding. The bloody nose didn't stop him from doing more sledding!

The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun and our boys just loved spending time with their cousin. There will be more sleepovers in the future, full of lots of laughs and good times!

Poor little William was inconsolable tonight. He fell asleep kind of late for a nap so I had to wake him up to eat some dinner. I sat him down at the table and not five minutes after sitting him down, he says he has to go potty. Well, he really had to go and barely made it. He had some difficulties with his aim, probably because he still wasn't completely awake yet. He hit the floor, the toilet seat, and his pants, so those had to go. I decided not to put more pants on because he would taking a bath soon and be putting on his PJs.

I put William back in his seat at the table and the next thing I know, he's sobbing. He wanted new pants and refused to eat his dinner. I carried him upstairs to his bed so he could relax and maybe go back down to eat. While he's relaxing, I go ahead and get their clothes ready for school tomorrow. William starts crying even more! I'm confused and a little frustrated because I can't figure out why he's crying. I finally get him calmed down enough to try and talk him through why he's crying. Turns out, he's upset about a combination of things: he wanted new pants, no school, and he'd rather be home with mama! That just melted my heart!

Any way, things continue to go well! We love our boys to pieces and they are really starting to more comfortably show that love back. We are blessed to have these boys in our lives!

Peace,
Kelly

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is the boys' first Valentine's Day with us! It was an even better day because Lawrence and I had no school because of a winter storm that came through over night. The boys each got a Valentine from Mama and Papa. Then, they spent the afternoon with Grandma & Grandpa and Papa, while I stayed home and cleaned the house!

When the boys all came home, I had prepared a Valentine's Day chicken dinner. We ate dinner by candlelight. It was quite romantic! Lawrence and William were mesmerized by the candles, but eventually William blew them both out. We all enjoyed ourselves and left the table stuffed. Then, it was time for their bath and bedtime.

Bill has been doing alright as Mr. Mom. Some days I come home from work and the house is a disaster: toys scattered across the floor, dishes in the sink, and unfinished lunches sit on the table. Other days, the house is picked up and the dishes are done. He sometimes gets frustrated because the days get long and he doesn't always know how to fill the day, but he's enjoying this bonding time with the boys. Life will be different when he starts his new job, so he loves this extra special time he has with the boys.

This was a wonderful day and we can't wait for more Valentine's Days together!

Peace,
Kelly

My First Day Back to Work (Not Quite!)

Today was supposed to be my first day back to work after taking off ten weeks for the adoption. I spent last night getting my schoolwork together, packing my lunch and picking the day's outfit. I set the alarm for 5:30a.m. and finally went to sleep.

I awoke at 5:30, dragged myself out of bed, and was just about to get in the shower, when my phone rang. It was my car pooler, Melissa. She had the best news, "School is cancelled!" My teaching partner called also to share the good news. I couldn't believe it. I'm supposed to go back to work and school is cancelled due to severe cold weather. The Midwest has been hit by an Arctic blast and the temperature this morning was -5 degrees and -25 degrees with the wind chill. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold also but not as cold, so my guess is that I'll have to work tomorrow:( I think the high is supposed to be around eleven degrees.

I enjoyed spending one more day at home with the boys. We spent the day playing games, reading books, and just hanging out. Bill rough-housed with the boys for a bit, too. They love being tossed around and up in the air by Papa. Tomorrow will be Papa's first day as Mr. Mom! I know all will be well, but I'm not sure what the house will look like when I get home;) I wonder how long William will cry before he wears himself out. He is very much a Mama's boy and isn't ready to hang out at home with Papa all day. Bill bought some earplugs to save his ears from the screaming because our little guy has a strong set of lungs! I don't worry about Lawrence because he goes to school in the morning and he loves hanging out with Papa. William tends to give Papa grief about things and not me, while Lawrence likes to back talk to me and not Papa.

I'll have Bill post next time and share his adventures as Mr. Mom and a top ten list!

Peace & love,
Kelly

Oh My Lord!

This weekend was a lot of fun! We started the morning with a trip to the post office to get the boys' U.S. passports. Bill had to take this on by himself, while I had an eye doctor's appointment. After my appointment, I had to run over to the post office and sign the paperwork. We had no idea how William would do with the passport picture. Fortunately, the lady had some candy and that's all it took for him to smile and take a great picture. Lawrence loves smiling, so he had no problem getting his picture taken.

After the passports, we had an appointment at Wal-Mart's Portrait Studio. Again, we had no idea how well this would go. Much to our surprise, the boys did wonderful and mom spent way too much money!! I can't wait until the pictures come in 2 weeks. They both had the most darling smiles in all of the poses, so I had to order portraits of each one. I justify buying so many by saying that this is their first set of professional pictures. I'll be better next time and not spend so much, right?

After the pictures were done, we went home and waited for grandma, Aunt Lisa, Dante, and Imani to arrive. My mom, sister, and niece and nephew came over Saturday for a visit. We spent some time at our house and let the boys show off their new toys and games. Then, we went to an indoor playground near our house. The kids spent about 2 hours running around, climbing ladders, and sliding down the slides. We went out to dinner and then came home. We played musical cars with the kids after dinner. We ended up taking Imani home, while our boys rode home with Grandma and Aunt Lisa. Well, they both get very excited when they see an airplane. They scream, "Samalyot! Samalyot!" My mom and sister didn't know this and when we all got home, they told us William kept shouting, "Oh my Lord! Oh my Lord!" They couldn't stop laughing. Well, it was even more funny when we told them what he was really saying. They started laughing even harder.

The boys continue to adjust very well to everything around them. They love being with the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins and vice versa. They bring smiles to our faces as well as the family and friends they encounter. They are truly a blessing and we feel so lucky and honored to be their parents! Life is so good!

Peace & love,
Kelly & Bill