Happy Easter!

We actually did our Easter egg hunt last weekend, which was a good thing, because it dumped rain here Sunday morning! This photo was taken at our subdivision's egg hunt, but we had another one for Cole & Khaine at the house later that same day. Our dog (Bella) helped Cole find most of the eggs!! I think he was happy to have the help & really enjoyed his first egg hunt. We'd also like to say "Thank You" to everyone that sent Cole Easter presents:)

Cole Updates

Our little man turned 3 on February 28th, we pulled him out of his preschool (just didn't think it was benefiting him), and he has added a few more words to his vocabulary (i.e., Gma & Gpa).

He's also getting taller, and no longer requires as many pant rolls!! Overall, he's doing wonderful in every way.

Our subdivision is having an Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday, and Cole will get to experience his first egg hunt. I will try to get some photos to post & write about the event.

That's pretty much all I have for now.....

Cole's 1st Day of School

Our little boy started preschool today! Mr Cole was very excited about going to school, as you can see by his morning smile:) He will be going on Tues & Thurs every week.

Daddy got him to school around 7:30, and set him up in the cafeteria for some french toast, which Cole immediately inhaled....and don't think he didn't ask for seconds, which of course he was promptly given. Our little one isn't going to be little for too much longer at this pace! Let's just hope he burns it off on the playground....

After breakfast Cole was taken to his classroom. I watched as one of his classmates took him under his wing. A new friend, yay. They proceeded to play with different toys while sitting at the table. Cole was intently looking around, and taking it all in. He did very well, didn't shed one tear the whole day, and slowly got the hang of things with the help of his teachers & classmates.

It seems he was having a ball rolling around in the grass & bark out in the playground. I found about a pound of both in the hood of his jacket! Hehehe. He had music & story time, and managed to take a 2 hour nap at school...I'm guessing he needed it!

I drove over to the school just before 5pm to pick him up, and chat with his teachers. They showed me the artwork he had done earlier in the day, which was tacked up on the wall. I didn't think to bring the camera with me, but I'm sure they'll give it to me at the end of the week, so I'll just scan & post it once I get it.

Oh, and he has Martial Arts every Saturday morning starting this Saturday. I will try to get some photos for sure. That's all for now!

Cole's 1st Photos with Santa

Happy Halloween!

Make a Smilebox postcard

1 Year Ago Yesterday...

This little bundle was placed in our arms, and in our hearts forever:)

It's amazing to see all of the changes Cole has gone through in the past year.

We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Grandparent's Day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Me & Cole

Cousins

Cole's cousin Nicholas & his auntie ReeRee are visiting from CA, and as you can clearly see Cole is having a great time!

His auntie purchased the matching outfits per Nicks request:)

I should mention that the outfits also included matching vests, scarves, & long sleeved t-shirts not shown in the photos. Too cute!

Boys, boys, boys!

My friend Lisa was passing through town, and asked if Cole & I would like to meet up with her and the boys for lunch.

BTW, Lisa is waiting to pick up her precious daughter from Uzbekistan.

Cole loves to be around other kids, and Lisa & I hadn't seen each other since way before we brought Cole home.

We all had a good time, and I'm looking forward to seeing her daughter at our next meeting!

Merry Christmas!

Family Photo

We had a photo shoot yesterday at the mall, and I quickly realized that Cole's modeling career would have to wait, because he really doesn't like strangers taking his picture. Point in case, the photo to the left was taken by mom....note the happy face! Oh well, at least we got a partial grin out of him.

Dinner With Grammalin

Marc's mom (Linda) is here to close on her new construction home, which she purchased while visiting here during Mother's Day, and of course she was also here to visit her newest grandson. If Cole doesn't look like his normal smiley self, it's because the photo was taken before dinner & he's just not truly happy until he eats!! Well that, and the fact that he had 4 vaccinations today...poor little guy. He is enjoying his time with his grandma, who of course has been spoiling him rotten:)

Medical Review

We took Cole to an endocrinologist on Friday, to check into the rickets he was diagnosed with in Uzbekistan. I'm happy to report that the Dr felt very confident that the rickets are no longer an issue, and that Cole is at all the right levels. We did decide to do one additional blood test just in case, but we're pretty sure it will confirm the Dr's opinion.

I also received a phone call from his primary care Dr yesterday who told me that all of his previous testing showed a healthy little boy! The anemia he once suffered in Uz is also gone. But his testing did reveal that he was not immune to Hep, so he will definitely continue his series of vaccinations for Hep. Overall, the Dr was very impressed by the test results, considering he was adopted internationally.

We are still working on getting Cole an apt to have all of his developmental stages evaluated, but there seems to be a long wait to get him in....we may just have to wait until 2008. All good news in the meantime, and he's catching up quickly in the height & weight department:)

Happy Thanksgiving

For our 1st Thanksgiving with Cole, our dear friends, that have fed us at their place for the past 3 years, were able to come over to our house.

We had a really nice evening, and Cole was loving all the food.

We have so much to be thankful for:)

First Haircut

I had to get my hair colored this morning, it was turning grey way before Cole came, anyhow while we were all sitting there it occurred to me that I should ask my stylist if she did children's haircuts? Yep, so Cole ended up getting his 1st "professional" haircut. I was so proud of him, he didn't fuss or cry at all the whole time, and his hair looks great. He even got a few compliments later in the day while we were running errands. I'll post pic's as soon as I can download them from my cell phone...

Saturday Nov 10th - Jackson's B-day Party

We took Cole to a birthday party yesterday at a place called Frozen Ropes Baseball Park. It was Jackson's 7Th B-day, and Cole was the youngest one in attendance, but he very much enjoyed watching all the kids play various baseball games. And then he got to play with a wiffle ball towards the end of the party, which he had a blast doing (See Video Clip Below).

After the party we headed over to Jackson's house to visit with his mom & dad, and let the kids play. Jackson's sisters, Anna Carol & Katie, thought Cole was their very own real life play doll! They made him drink from his water bottle & do pretty much whatever they wanted him to do. He was in absolute heaven, believe me!

Happy Halloween!

Cole had a great time answering the door and seeing all the kids in their costumes, but he absolutely loved going trick-or-treating himself with daddy.

It didn't take Cole very long to get the hang of things....walk up to the door, look really cute, hold pumpkin bag out, and get lots of cool stuff!!

I'm pretty sure that Halloween is his favorite day of the year now...until he has his 1st Christmas anyhow.

P.S. It seems that the costume worked much better for Cole without the head piece.

Certificate Of Citizenship

We received Cole's Certificate of Citizenship, but they mispelled Uzbekistan! Oops. So, it has to go back, and we will have to wait for a new one to be issued, because unfortunately it does matter. We also need to submit 2 passport type photos when we send it back, so I guess I'll have to take our little man to the post office for some pics.

I was really thinking that once we completed the adoption that we wouldn't really have anymore paperwork to deal with...yeah, I was dead wrong!

We applied for Cole's passport, but I found out that his social security number still has to be applied for, because the forms we filled out in Uz at the US embassy had to be redone & of course that part got filled out with a no, instead of a yes on the corrected form...we were in a hurry & I missed it. Anyhow, at this point I'm hoping we will receive Cole's passport without his social security # being submitted. If not, well then it's gonna get tricky, because the passport agency has Cole's birth certificate, which of course is needed to apply for his Social Security #. Always something.

Oh, and then we need to file his Recognition of Foreign Adoption paperwork with the courts, so that he can be issued a new birth certificate from Texas. I'm telling you the fun never ends! LOL. He is still worth every bit of paperwork & more!

Fort Worth Alliance Air Show

The boys went to the air show today, and as you can plainly see Cole is still all smiles from it! You could say he had a good time.

I am waiting on photos from Stoney, that were taken at the air show, and will post them as soon as I get them.