What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

We had a WONDERFUL vacation this year. A mini China reunion at Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA, then on to Lancaster and Dutch Wonderland.

We met up with the McDonalds (who were in Harbin with us getting Olivia) and the Printys, who were in Beijing with us, then went off to their province to pick up Macy. It was great to see both families and I think Jacob really enjoyed seeing the girls again, not to mention Mason & Ethan and Nina. Sesame Place was so-so, but it didn't matter. The main purpose of that leg of our trip was to see everyone and it was great. A few of the families that were in our group couldn't make it and they were missed. Hopefully, next year we'll all be able to get together.

The second leg of our trip took us to one of our favorite Bed & Breakfasts of all time (and we've been to many) - the Apple Bin Inn in Willow Street, PA. The owners, Jamie & Steve Shane, make you feel so welcome and serve you an amazing breakfast every day. I wish we could have had our reunion there! It was fabulous. They made Jacob feel very welcome, as did another couple that was staying there (they were sweet enough to leave Jacob a gift and birthday card the day they left). Jacob loved "his" room and "his" bed in "Steve's house." There are a lot of B&Bs out there, who don't welcome children, but Jamie & Steve were fantastic with him.

During our trip, we rode the Strasburg Railroad, tooled around Lancaster, bought new Amish made quilts, went to a petting zoo, and visited Dutch Wonderland. Dutch Wonderland was PHENOMENAL. They have a lot of rides for the littles - and some that are good for the adults. We highly recommend it and plan on going back next year. And, it's about 20 minutes away from the Apple Bin Inn. That's a win-win in my book.

Photos of our trip:

Official Adoption Day Anniversary

One year ago today, we made it official in the Civil Affairs Office in Heilongjiang Province, China. We signed and fingerprinted a lot of papers, handed over some gifts and walked out of the office a family.

I'm sure, as he gets older, Jacob will have a lot of questions about how he came to be in an orphanage, but for now, I'm going to savor every moment with this amazing little man.

Gotcha Day Anniversary

Tomorrow, May 31st, marks one year since we've been with Jacob. It has been a phenomenal year, filled with love and amazement at the smart & loving boy we were lucky enough to find. There has been a lot of frustration too, while we all worked hard at finding our groove. I believe we have finally found it, and I am so glad that we have our little boy.

I may be biased, but I don't think that there is a cuter, smarter, funnier kid in the world. He is everything we hoped for and more.

Thank you Jacob for being our son and thank you God for bringing us together. Jacob, I am proud to be your mommy and I love you more than anything in - or out of - the world. I wouldn't change a thing.




Love always,

Mommy & Baba

Neglect

I am guilty of neglect. I haven't updated the blog since last year!!

There has been a lot going on and not much time to spend writing about it, but I promise I'll post and upload some photos soon.

Video of Jacob at Harbin CWI - March 1, 2010

I was lucky to find this video of Jacob's orphanage, Harbin CWI, from March 1, 2010. I think it is a story about a little boy who was abandoned and Jacob is shown pretty often in the video.

It's wonderful to be able to see him before we met him. I just wish we had some photos of him from when he was a baby.

You can see the video here.

Halloween 2010 - Jacob's First Trick-Or-Treat Experience

Our little ninja, Jacob, had his first trick-or-treating experience today. We went out twice - once with just me, him and Baba and then again with Tiffany and Luke.

He had a great time, but thought he was supposed to go in all the houses we went to, instead of just taking the candy. By the third house, he had the "Trick or treat. Thank you" down pat.

He's already asleep, but he's rolling around and talking a lot in there. He does this often when he's overtired and has had a very busy or emotional day. He seems to relive it in his sleep.

We only had 17 kids come to the house so far, and I don't think we'll get any more. It's dark and my driveway is scary. :o( I really like getting a lot of kids.

Halloween pics are here.

October 2010

Pumpkin Picking, Pumpkin Carving, Halloween Costumes and Random Silliness

The title says it all. There are photos of Jacob trying on his Halloween costume, picking pumpkins with Baba and Mommy, carving pumpkins with Baba and Nana, posing in his school Halloween costume and just hanging around.

Seriously, who's cuter than my Jacob?

Jacob's Halloween Party

We had Jacob's first Halloween party today. It was wonderful to see everyone and watch all the kids run around and have fun.

Jacob was a ninja (am I stereotyping a bit?), and looked adorable in his costume.

It was a little chilly, but we had everything set up for outside, since the kids all wanted to run around. Tom lit the chiminea so people could warm up if they wanted to.

Brandon stayed overnight to help us decorate. He was a great help.

Pictures are here.

School Pictures

We got Jacob's school pictures yesterday. He's just adorable!!

Baptism

Jacob was baptized at our Church, St. Mary's, this past Sunday, 10/10/10. He was his typical hambone self and had a great day.

The party following the baptism was wonderful. Getting the family together to celebrate is always a good thing.

Pictures are here.

Apple Picking

I'm a big fan of Fall and all that comes with it - apples, pumpkins, cool weather and, of course, Halloween.

Every year, we go apple picking to our friend Elissa's family farm in Water Mill, Seven Ponds Orchard. It's a chance to see Elissa and also to pick some really yummy apples.

This year, having the little guy with us, made it really special. After we hung out with Elissa for a while, we went in the corn maze, picked apples and string beans, went on a hayride (which Jacob loved, since he could ride right behind a tractor), we headed over to Montauk to have a bite to eat, see the lighthouse and wander around on the beach.

What a fantastic day with my two guys. Pictures are here.

There are also pictures from Jacob's first train ride (LIRR to Manhattan, then on to Chinatown) and some other random photos.

Duh...I thought I Posted These...

Here are the photos that were on the cameras we sent to Harbin CWI before we traveled to pick up Jacob. In my completely unbiased opinion, he is the most adorable kid I've ever seen! ;o)

How We Spent Our August

Here are some photos of how we spent our August:

- First baseball game with Baba (LI Ducks)
- Garvies Point Museum with Aunt Joyce and Brandon
- First night in his big boy bed
- The park
- Meeting Shu Shu Pete's new puppy, Diggum
- Playing with his Build-A-Bear
- Hanging out with his cousins

We've had a fun summer.

Second Day of School, Riverhead Polish Festival & Hanging Out With Cousin Brandon

Here are some photos from Friday and the weekend. Jacob had a great time at school on Friday (and told me I didn't have to stay!). Saturday, we ventured out to Riverhead to the Polishtown Festival and Jacob had his first pony ride. Today, Aunt Joyce and cousin Brandon came over for a visit. Jacob had a great time with everyone.

Summer 2010 - Miscellaneous Photos

Jacob takes up a lot of time and I haven't been able to post as often as I'd like, so I'm lumping a lot of stuff into this post.

We have had a busy and fun summer so far. Here are some photos from our travels.

They include:

- Tom and Jacob modeling their orange peel vampire teeth;
- Photos from our local park visit;
- Playtime with Duncan and Andrew;
- M&K Alumni Party at Steve & Anna's; and
- Dean's 6th birthday family get together.

Bite Your Tongue!!

So, the other day I was out and my niece, Jessica, was trying to get Jacob to nap. Jacob decided that he had no interest in napping, but he was very interested in jumping up and down in the crib and laughing.

Click here to see how well that turned out. He bit a nice big divot into his tongue and got blood all over the place, scaring the absolute crap out of my niece and himself in the process.

One would assume that he would learn from this experience, but no, he decided he wanted to jump around in the crib today when I put him down for his nap, until I told him to stick out his tongue, took a couple of pictures and showed him what he had done the last time he decided to jump where he's not supposed to.

First Day of Montessori

Jacob had his first day of Montessori pre-school today. It was just for a couple of hours, until he has bonded with someone there and I feel comfortable leaving him.

He had water time fun, story and song time and lunch. Tomorrow he goes back in the afternoon; I'm not quite sure what they are going to have planned.

Here are some pictures of him on his way, at the school and after we got home.

He decided when we got home that all of the cars in the bay window had been bad and were in need of a time out. There's a couple of shots of them all lined up being punished. Pretty funny.

More tomorrow...

Poor Neglected Blog

Sorry, blog, but your main subject takes up ALL of my time and I've been neglecting you. Dear blog, to help ease your pain, here are some videos of Jacob from when we were in China.

To those of you who get to see Jacob, you really see how well his English has progressed just by watching these videos. He's a pretty amazing kid and we are lucky to have him.

My Wacky Son

Here are some pictures of my wacky son, hamming it up for the camera...

Shu Shu Peter Gives Xinxin A Haircut

We really liked the haircut that we got for Xinxin in China, so we asked Shu Shu Peter to help recreate it. Xinxin was much more cooperative in China than in here, but Shu Shu managed to get it done anyway. You can see photos here.