Alot going on...

Well, Cody's case in foster care is coming to an end! Praise the Lord! On January 4, 2007 Cody will become an adoptive placement and no longer a foster placement. Then we hire our adoption lawyer to prepare the paperwork and file in court to adopt Cody. His finalization court date should be in February! Finally, our precious son will be legally ours forever!! We are busy planning an adoption bash to celebrate this event!!

Cody starts preschool around his 3rd birthday! He gets to ride a big, yellow schoolbus and will attend preschool 4 days a week for 2.5 hours. I know that preschool will really help him.

We had to take Carleigh to the dr yesterday. She has an ear infection in her right ear. Boy it wasn't any fun diagnosing it though! It took 3 adults to hold her down and flush out the ear wax in her ear so that the peditrician could see inside her ear! Poor baby! She is doing better and is speaking lots of new words. This week, her new word is "up." Whenever she gets up or wants us to pick her up she says "up." She also says "book" alot. She is on the verge of a vocabulary explosion!

We are also planning Cody's 3rd birthday party! January - March will be busy with birthday parties and adoption celebrations, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Loving the kitchen!

Carleigh loves her kitchen set!

Christmas evening

We had Christmas dinner with Jennifer's family at her sister's house. The kids got to open their presents from Mamaw and Pappaw and Aunt Connie, Uncle Jerry and cousin Brittany. They were in toy overload afterwards!! The biggest hit was Carleigh's Baby Grand Piano. They were fighting over it!!

Christmas morning

Santa was good to Cody and Carleigh this year. Carleigh received a kitchen set, play food, Doodle Bear, books, V Smile Baby videogame system and lots of clothes. Cody received a preschool center, Little People Preschool playset, Wiggles microphone, cd player and lots of clothes.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas eve, we celebrated with Matt's family at his sister's house. Cody and Carleigh loved spending time with their cousins.

Christmas Party

On Saturday, December 23, we went to a Christmas party and the kids got to see Santa again. (We have seen Santa 3 times!) Cody loved Santa but Carleigh was terrified of him again!

Santa came to our door!

And brought Cody a firetruck, bunny and book. Carleigh received a bunny and a baby doll! Carleigh wasn't so sure about Santa this time!!

Enjoying Babysitting!

Matt and I are babysitting our close friends' baby. He is such a cutie pie. The moment Carleigh woke up and saw the baby at our house for the first time, she said "Baby." She has been mesmerized by baby DJ. Even Cody has watched him and is so gentle around him. When he was going home, they watched as his mommy put him in his carrier, making sure that he was all right. Ok, it gave me an urge to adopt again, but I still need to wait a few years!!

Enjoying my time off!

Yesterday was my official first day off for Christmas. I am thrilled to have two full weeks off! I do not have one gift wrapped yet!! So, tomorrow I am wrapping and cleaning my house! I plan on baking later in the week and may let Carleigh make her own special Christmas cookie. I am hoping to slow down time over the next two weeks.

Cody's IEP meeting was last Friday at the Kindergarten Center. There were 14+ people there and at first it seemed overwhelming. However, Cody is going to be the happiest little guy when he gets to attend preschool 4 days a week starting around his 3rd birthday! He also gets to ride a school bus!! My little baby boy whom I brought home from the hospital at 5 lbs 2 oz is now old enough to attend preschool! It is amazing how time flies! Carleigh will be in preschool before I know it.

Not so sure about Santa...

So sweet with Santa!!

Gotta brag!!

Last night was the annual Foster/Adoptive Parents & Family Christmas Party at our agency. The winners were announced for the "Cutest Kids" Photo Contest. Cody and Carleigh were the WINNERS!! Woohooo!! I knew that their Halloween costumes were adorable and would be highly considered as the best at the agency. Cody's prize was a Thomas the Train set and Carleigh won a Disney Princess Baby Doll!! Also, they watched a magician, had pizza, played in the toddler fun zone area, and got to sit on Santa's lap. Santa gave Carleigh a handmade blanket wrapped around a lavendar Care Bear and Cody got a coloring book, crayons, stuffed bear and candy. We had a fun time and I ran into someone that I went to elementary - high school with!! What a small world and we were wearing the SAME holiday sweater!!

Above and below are a few pics of the Christmas party!

Christmas Card Photo

This is the photo that will be on our Christmas card this year. It is almost impossible to get a perfect shot of two very active toddlers. I really like Cody's smile in this pic! Many of you will be receiving this photo in the mail within in the next couple of weeks.