Cruise-a-Palooza!!!

Vacation time was here and boy did we all let loose and have fun!

Who knew my pesky chunky little brother would grow up to be an awesome uncle who has turned into Mr. Fit losing over 100 pounds!!! Now I call him for workout advice... crazy world.
Here we are getting ready to board.
Sweet M* always brings the party. This little guy has more energy and enthusiasm in his body than anyone else I know.
Hubby and my brother attempting escargo... turns out they enjoyed it?
I think Captain looks more and more like Hubby everyday. So handsome!
Me and Cuddlebear all fancied up.
Belle with her idol.
The beaches were so much fun.

How cute is he in this hat?
Belle has developed the best personality this year. She is one funny little girl.
My million dollar smile man.
I just love this picture.
When M* first came home he would freak out if the slightest drop of water fell on his clothes and here he is 7 months later completely drenched and LOVIN it!
With Mr. Fitness in the control seat we beat every record there was for surrey biking. I thought we were going to run people over as we lapped all the other leisurely bikers. Phew... note to self do not attempt to keep up with someone who works out WAY more than you. Although, Uncle J better watch out bc I'm doing P90x so next year may be different.
Cuddlebear is getting so big. He is finally enjoying some of the faster rides.
Is there any age where a stroller is no longer necessary???
Christmas in Florida. Where else could you be wearing shorts??
The one family picture from the cruise that was decent.

The cruise was so much fun. I am a huge fan of cruises recently (this was our 2nd) since all of my kids absolutely LOVE the kids club. It is so nice to be able to have a few minutes alone with my husband just to relax. And, I was SO impressed with M*. I was really worried about leaving him in the kids center because he had only stayed with me or my mom since coming home. But, he did so well. I can't get over what a brave little boy he is and I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity to be his parents.

Birthday... yes there's more!

This year we began the tradition where each child on their actual birthday gets their very own special day with mom and dad. I LOVE this tradition. I learn so much about each of my kiddos during this special time... and I get to spoil them in ways I never could bc it is hard to spoil all four. And, the kids LOVE this tradition too. The boys have been planning their special days since Belle had her's back in August and Sweet M* continues to talk about what he is going to do on his special day next June.

Captain chose Magic Mountain and he surprised me with how brave he was on all of those crazy roller coasters... I was extremely thankful the k2 was closed. Cuddlebear chose Knott's Berry Farm bc he recently developed a love for Snoopy. He loved doing all the little kid stuff which was right up my alley.

I did learn that 2 big birthday parties and 2 very special days = complete exhaustion. Thank goodness a cruise was on the horizon.

Birthday Party #2

After the crazy big party for Cuddlebear I was happy Captain chose to have his party at a place that did everything for us so I was lovin' it. He also invited kids from school which was the first time he had ever chose to do that. When I used to ask him in years prior he only wanted family... a little bitter sweet for me I guess. Anyhoo, the party was a lot of fun... all the kids (especially Sweet M*) loved the blow up entertainment. I don't even know how many times Sweet M* climbed up and down that huge slide. The party was a lot of fun, but towards the end I think all of the attention starting getting to Sweet M* (see his face in the pic above). Birthdays have been hard on him. He had his birthday after being home for 6 weeks. I don't think he knew what it was and I think he barely remembers it. Belle's birthday came in August and he had a few pretty big meltdowns watching her open gifts. He did pretty good with Cuddlebear's big party but I made Cuddlebear wait until I put Sweet M* and Belle to bed before he opened gifts so it was cheating. At Captain's party he started thinking that he was being mistreated and we were not being nice to him- poor kid- and so Hubby had to take him home before he completely shut down. I have to say those moments are hard. The ones where he just does not understand. Your heart breaks for him. It breaks for the other kiddos because you don't want to ruin their special days. ugh! It's hard. Although, after both the boys back to back birthdays and looking back at his pictures of his birthday and flipping through the 2011 calendar a few dozen (hundred) times I think he feels a little more secure that his day will come again.

Birthday-apalooza

Okay... first off I apologize for being a terrible blogger. I AM SORRY! Secondly, I apologize for stepping back in time and dragging you all back to November. But, life caught up with me and I did not have time to post and I have been conflicted on where to start again. So, I decided I would go blog crazy and post daily (from my backlog) until I caught up and that way I wouldn't have to feel guilty about missing any important moments. Whew... okay now to proceed since I got that off my chest :)
November was the month of birthdays. Both of my big boys had their special days. And, this is where it all began. Cuddlebear wanted a birthday with his entire class. I the dummy thought he wouldn't get a lot of kids to show bc he is just in kindergarten and we didn't really know that many of his friends or their parents. As you can see by the pinata line I was wrong. Anyhoo, because I "thought" it was going to be a small party I had merged it as a family party too where we would do cake for both boys. Hence the cake for both. So, as you can imagine this was a completely exhausting but fun filled crazy day. It was such a joy to watch Cuddlebear with his friends. He LOVES his friends and I was so impressed at how much joy he brings others. He is a sweet sweet boy!

Brick or Treat Mayhem!

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This past weekend we enjoyed some Brick or Treat time at Legoland with some very dear friends. This was Sweet M*'s very first experience with Halloween, costumes and trick or treating. I (as usual) was worried about how he would react to people in costumes and masks, but like the brave boy he is he acted as if he had been doing this his whole life. He amazes me daily.

The video is for their Papa who they miss dearly... we can't wait to vacation together soon dad :)

My Sweet Boy!

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Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We had a lot of fun this weekend at the pumpkin patch. Firsts with M* are always a true joy. To watch a kiddo at his age experience all of the magic each season brings is a gift. And, I am so excited about all the holidays that are soon on their way.

This past Thursday we hit the 5 month home from Ethiopia mark, and it made me think about how far Sweet M* has come in the past 5 months. Day to day is pretty routine now and I think we know M*'s moods and triggers and we are able to work pretty well around them. Of course he is 3 1/2 so some tantrums are just age related... but at least now we are able to tell the difference.

I can also tell that M* is getting more comfortable with us now as he has started to initiate affection and enjoy snuggling much more than he had in the past. It is "real" now. Just like his smile. If you take a look at the picture above with him on the horse you will see his true "real" smile. In the beginning he didn't know how to smile at all, then he transitioned to a clenched teeth smile ( I think he was just imitating us) and more recently we have been seeing the gorgeous smile that melts my heart.

One thing I never thought about while I was waiting to bring M* home was how often I would think about his birth family and all the tragedy that surrounds adoption. As the adoptive parent we are excited to get through the process and bring "our" child home. We want them so badly that I think it blinds us (at least it did me) and we often too easily forget all the unfortunate circumstances that leaves our children needing new families. I honestly do not think that a day passes by where I do not think of Sweet M*'s special people in Ethiopia... that I don't wish I could email them photos, videos etc... of him and his laughter and joy. I wonder how they are and if they are healthy. And, lately M* has been missing someone or something a lot. It is hard to watch him go through the grieving and sadness that is part of his story. I cannot pretend it didn't happen or bandage the wound... all I can do is assure him that we love him and will care for him always.

All this grieving has really affected me and I feel like I have so much more to do for Ethiopia. I have big plans, but they can't happen until after my kiddos are off to college so... one thing I want to do that is plausible for me to do right now is sponsor a child. There is an organization that is based in M*'s area of birth and I am pretty sure that is where I am going to start. It is called Common River and you can check it out here. But, there is also this great organization and you have such an intimate contact with your sponsor child that I am not sure which I will choose. Do you sponsor a child? Do you recommend a certain organization?? Leave me a comment if you do :)