Bucci Photography, Dec 2010

We got a chance to have some photos taken by my favourite photographer.....she's awesome......and got some fabulous shots of our super star!

Grandma

Grandma is here and no one or anything else matters......he has his grandma and he is happy with the world!

Hats

Running Over, singing

Adrien's wonderful grandparents who loved him before us used to sing lots of songs to him. My favourite song is Running Over. We haven't sang it in a while but started again and he remembered it...hand motions included. This is him singing it haphazardly, he can sing it MUCH better...just wanted to share it!

Let it snow!

Cause my boy loves playing in it!

My little model

Rick Mercer

http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/video.html?rdr=913

My brother's family was visited by Jim Flaherty......there was a media blitz and it was pretty exciting for them. I think we all were disappointed when they didn't make it to the promised news hour but that was ALL corrected yesterday.....for those Canadians that like political comedians, Rick Mercer is a household name.....one person he enjoys making fun of is Jim Flaherty......well, needless to say, in his "Front Page" segment, he used a picture from the visit and made fun of it....if you'd like to see it, it's at the link above and fast forward to 9:45......

Magic Santa

http://magicsanta.ca
This site lets Santa send your child a message....it`s so cute!

Here is Adrien`s
http://magicsanta.ca/player.html?code=51CC7N

This is another site
http://www.portablenorthpole.ca/home?gclid=CJGS8_GEuKUCFQTNKgodiUl3Zw

This is his video
http://www.portablenorthpole.ca/watch/guest/QIlLIpk32AyOvIVb-W-eYQ

Hold on tight

It's going to be a L-O-N-G ride.....the Social Worker contacted me on Monday stating that she wanted to meet with Hubby and I to get the paper work for number 2 started. After I had to reapply! Anyways, this is going to be a long process as we have to do PRIDE training and aren't signed up until the spring.....is it even winter yet?

The boy is doing so well.....growing, talking and laughing up a storm. He's figured out pronouns and now says "I", "yours", "mine" and "he"......he starts toilet training on November 18....he'll be 30 months then and I think it's about time! Plus, he hates wearing a diaper....oh....here he comes, here comes my slappy feet!

Thoughtful Thursdays

Our newest niece sure is growing fast....and since her Zia Jo-Jo has only seen her once, she's not use the to papparazzi her sisters and cousins are used to SOOOO when the flash of my camera blinks onto her face, I get a picture like this.....so cute

Mortimer

Robert Munsch is a favourite author in our home. We have a large collection of his stories, that include Angela's Airplane, Murmel, Murmel, Aaron's Hair, Paper Bag Princess and many more. Adrien's daycare centre introduced us to Mortimer....and we read it EVERY night.....E.V.E.R.Y N.I.G.H.T We have gotten to the point when he "reads" the story and starts it correctly, with "One night...." He LOVES the story so much and tries to do different voices and has named all the different people in the story!
CONFESSION TIME: I posted a post over a year ago confessing that I don't read enough to my child. Then, over the summer I became worried that his speech wasn't progressing as quickly as his peers....his teacher recommended that I read to him, her assuming that I did....and I did....sometimes....but after that it became part of our bedtime routine...He gets 2 sometimes 3 or 4 books before bed.....and honestly, within a week, he had his first language burst....I don't know if it was due to the reading or because he was ready.....but his language continues to grow, using three to 5 word sentences... part of it could be the reading and the other part is that I am no longer accepting one word answers....I pretend I don't know what he is saying.....last night, at bed time, he asked my a question and I responded with absolutely....a few minutes later, I asked him a question to which he appropriately responded "ab so lucy"....love that boy!

A little bit of everything

Adrien has recently become aware of arts and crafts and animals.....it seems his current favourite animal is the tiger.....he roars like a tiger, he crawls around like a tiger, he calls lions tigers.....it's all about the tiger! He and I were playing one day when he found a pen....and proceeded to draw tiger stripes on his face....he was quite proud of himself and kept telling me how cute he was....and of course I had to agree, he was one cute tiger...well Rob came home and saw the ink on his son's face and I thought he was going to freak out....asking me if I knew that our son could get ink poisioning from the drawing and how was I ever going to get it off of his skin.....his face of all places....I just kept laughing, not trying to upset Rob but at how concerned he was.....folks, if my child was going to get ink poisioning from the pen on his skin, there would have to be a warning of the package of pens....when in fact the package has no such warning....so until it does, I will continue to write on my own skin allow my son to write on him!


My brother and sister in law have four of the most beautiful daughters in the world....and as you can image, they have accummulated A LOT of toys and kids stuff. They generously gave Adrien a children's Cailou pull out couch....he was THRILLED! (that's putting it mildly!) He insisted to listen to his bed time stories on it....so I put the couch on the bed and he sat on while I read to him. When the stories where done, he wanted to sleep on it....who am I to agrue...it's not a big deal, so I pulled the could out, put his pillow in it, covered him up and he fell a sleep so fast! He lastest one night and hasn't asked to sleep in it since! Though he plays with it all the time!


My nephew got a monkey Blabla (http://www.blablakids.com/Online-Shopping/Classic-blablas) that he loves......so my mom bought Adrien a Blabla for himself, though it is not the trademarked one, Adrien calls it Blabla and sleeps with him every night....he tells him stories and talks to him as he falls asleep....I think it's so cute that my kid sleep with a stuffie.....and that he has a friend who lets him do all the talking (I could use a friend like that! lol)

Crochet

In second year college, my friend taught me now to make a granny square with a crochet hook (and because she was left handed, that is how I crochet to this day and CAN NOT for the life of me, flip it!).....I dabbled in blanket making for many many years......I made EVERYONE I knew a blanket....and their babies......then my mother in law taught me how to do all the different types of stitches and tried to teach me to read a pattern.....the pattern reading was a no go.....About two years ago, a girlfriend and I bought a book and taught ourselves how to read patterns and since then I have been making hats, scarves, arm warmers, ponchos and more blankets for anyone and everyone that wanted one! But I had never made anything for my son....I couldn't find anything that I thought he would like, until I came upon this pattern yesterday......He loves it....I love it! Now I'm going to try to make him a sweater....wish me luck!





pattern from http://bugalugshandmade.blogspot.com/2010/05/broom-broom-boys-beanie.html

Leaves

After playing in his friend's back yard and learning how to throw leaves, it has become his passion... EVERY opportunity he gets, he wants to throw leaves. Being as how I am a lax mother (yeah right!) I don't normally let him throw random piles of leaves as you don't know what is in them. By our house, there is a walk way with a creek....we went adventuring in it.....and I let him play in the leaves....and yes, I call him a "bum"...what a great time of year to explore and walk!

Sweet Sundays

Handsome

All kids are beautiful......I understand that, all creatures of God are beautiful.....having said that, I I have seen some not so cute kids....what? I'm being honest.....And I was secretly worried that my kids wouldn't be cute......when we found out about Adrien, the SW noted how adorable he was... but that was her job, she had to say that.... and ALL kids are beautiful..... since Adrien has been home, he has received a lot of attention around his cuteness. And when I look at the pictures of him, before I really loved him, I could see how cute he was....once I fell in love with him, all I could see was love..... sometimes, when I look at pictures, I see how handsome my little man is and hope his heart remains as beautiful as I see him....

Thanksgiving weekend

We will be celebrating our 9 year anniversary......we went away....we had a great time...

At the Elgin Train Museum in St. Thomas

On the train at Story Book Garden

Adventures in Wonderland

L'Artist

It took him a while but he finally fell in ♥ with art!

#2

Rob and I have always discussed having more than 1 child.....(don't get excited, that's Adrien's cousin, our newest niece)....Having Adrien home has solidified that for us in a number of ways. First, it is so much fun (yes, and stressful) being a parent, watching your child learn, explore the world, discover their likes and dislikes and growing as people. Second, we want a sibling for Adrien, as Rob is an only child, he shares his desire for siblings....someone who knows the inside jokes, someone who has been there forever, someone who Adrien will have as family once Rob and I have left this earth.....family.....Third, our family doesn't feel finished yet....someone is missing....another member.
With adoption, the "rule" is that once a child has been placed, the adoptive parents have to wait 18 months before they can reactivate their profile. Our 18 months is up November 28! For us, that means that it will be 3 years since our homestudy has been approved and we will have to update it, getting police checks and medicals done again. And for the agency, it means that we have to do PRIDE training as at the time we did our parenting course with CAS, PRIDE was not mandated yet and as our SW was walking out the door after our LAST visit, she casually tossed over her shoulder that we would have to do the training before we could proceed with a second adoption. Me, being me went to the internet because I KNOW that doing PRIDE through CAS is difficult, the classes get filled up fast, infact, last February as she was leaving, I was asking her to enroll us in the VERY next one, which she said she couldn't...blah blah blah....so I checked out private PRIDE trainings....$1400.....WHAT???that's CRAZINESS?????? So I contacted the CAS that the boy came from asking if they had a session soon that we could get into as we can not become ACTIVE until both our homestudy AND our PRIDE training is complete....(note to self...contact her again...just had an idea)
So the point to this is that we applied AGAIN yesterday for our second child and heard back that we have been enrolled in the Spring 2011 session of PRIDE training.....because if you can see the joy in my son's face as he holds his cousin will tell you he needs a sibling. He loves his two baby cousins, always wanting to hold them and make sure they are ok..... so rollercoaster ride #2 here we come....hold on tight cause I think this one is going to be a L-O-N-G ride....again......

Hey Soul Sister, by Train

His FAVOURITE song.....

He asks for it all the time and now that I've downloaded it from iTunes, it's all we listen to in the car.....he gets really excited and normally starts singing at the top of his lungs! So cute! And yes, he gets his (current) favourite girl to dance....though I'm going to try to stay at #1 for a LONG, L O N G time!

Wordless Wednesday, BFF's

Always wondering

Because family is the root of my being, of my core, of my heart, (and I love mine something fierce) I am curious as to my son's family of origin....I have scoured social networks looking for them, looking through countless profile pictures scanning for a resemblence....and not because I necessarily want them in our life, I just want to see her face...I want to know what she looks like, it's a desire so strong that I envy those with an open adoption....I want to know what his mom looks like...what colour is her hair, her eyes, what shape is her face, how tall is she...etc....mainly so I can tell him but also because I want to know....When I go to the area he's from, I scan every woman's face looking for something familiar about it...wondering if that is her...so, the other night.....my sister and I were scouring FB via the phone, just playing around looking up old friends and playmates when I jokingly typed in the name (not telling her).....and something popped up...now, it wasn't her because of where she lived....so I tried to narrow the search.....to include the location where he was born....and someone came up....but dang privacy settings, I couldn't see anything....except the friend list...so I went digging some more and found a face that could be my son's in 30 years....it was eerie....so I went digging again and came up with another face that could be his twin now....I know I found his extended family...there is no question in my mind...but no pictures of her....and now what, I have no intention of contacting them....NONE....then I did a Google search for his sperm donor (I call him that out of respect for my husband who is still figuring out the adoption process for himself) and added more information...(how do I get this information...don't worry about it) AND HE CAME UP...I thought it was him until I continued reading and he wrote something that confirmed 99% for me that it was him....I have his birthdate, his weight, height and eye colour....and other personal information that Adrien will want...but no picture of him...

I am asking myself why am I feeling the need to do this and I think it's because enough time has past with Adrien in our family and it's time to start working on number 2. And my concerns with #2 is how my #1 will feel if #2's adoption is open.....that's a whole other post of thoughts going through my head!

My Mom♥

As a kid, I remember my mom being there for me...always....taking me to the doctors, letting me have friends over, buying me things and always there to talk. She did anything and everything for me.....and I let her, I expected it of her and demanded it of her. I wasn't always the nicest daughter but I felt a fierce protectiveness over her. She was my best friend growing up, always there putting us first....of course she made mistakes, she's human, but she taught me what kind of mom I wanted to be and for that I thank her, I love her with all of my ♥. During all the infertility hardships, her tears were as steady as mine and I know her broke each and every time a procedure failed. One of the first things I remember when we got the call.....one of the first thoughts was how I was going to tell her because she was going to go crazy with excitement. I called her and she was at Sam's CLub and all she kept repeating was "oh my gosh....really? oh my gosh....really? Fast forward 18 months later and the bond between the two of them is so strong!
My mom has 7 grandchildren, from three of her four children. And every single one of them know, love and cherish her....she has found something about each one of her grandkids that makes them special and has bonded with them over it.....
You're one great lady and I am HONOURED to be your first born daughter....I ♥ U

A Sunday in September

Today we had a family day....we went to Riverside Park and played at the park, threw rocks into the river and played pretend....

Adrien and I balancing on a moving surface.....he insisted on calling it a trampoline and was asking other kids to get off, please, so he could have a turn

TUNNELS!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know if it's just my boy or ALL BOYS, but this little guy LOVES the tunnels!

I love this picture of hubby and baby.....looking out into the dirty dirty water... what handsome men I live with!

Throwing rocks off the bridge....I think hubby and I almost peed ourselves laughing at him!

Adrien LOVES airplanes....when he sees one, EVERYTHING must stop so we can watch it cross the sky...while at the park, planes kept flying by.....we decided to pretend we were planes! It was awesome!

chugging on the tracks...

horsey rides

I LOVE THIS PICTURE OF US.......

What a fabulously beautiful day with my family......

Today was filled with LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

♥♥♥♥♥