Cutest phrases

Yesterday, Carleigh walked into Cody's bedroom as Cody was walking out and down the hallway. Carleigh yells, "Cody, come here!" (So cute!) A few minutes earlier, I was trying to open a really difficult jar, once I finally popped it open, Carleigh claps her hands and says "Yay!" Her favorite phrases are "I do it!" and "Do it again!" She chimes in when I sing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." And the last cute thing she does that I will share is that whenever she closes a book, she will say "Amen!"

My Shopping Marathon Day

I now know why I do not shop all day long...boy was I exhausted last night! Normally, I am at the stores by 5am, but my sister talked me into not starting until 7am. I was ok with that since I was sick half of the night. Well, we started the day off at Walmart, then off to Target and Old Navy. After breakfast with Jerry, Britt, and Jeremy we stopped off to unload the car. (I had to sneak the presents through the backdoor due to curious toddlers. Then we headed for Kmaart and Walgreens, another Target (because Britt needed us to get something for Jeremy that she forgot to tell us to get) and I found the Barbie Doodle Pro that was sold out at our Targets.

Then we went to Kohls and then off to Waynesville. For those who don't know, Waynesville is a quaint old-fashioned town with lots of little shops of crafts, primitive items, fudge, toys, etc. I bought Carleigh two plush animal puppets that make sounds when you close their mouths. (She is obsessed with puppets these days) I also bought a few other gifts. We did not get home until 6pm. We rested for a few minutes then off to dinner with Matt and the kids then grocery shopping. My marathon shopping day started at 7am and lasted until 9pm....14 hours! Whoa!

I was wanting to put up our new Christmas tree, but fell asleep on the couch! So, I am getting ready to put it up while my two are taking their nap. Our ircicle lights are up on our porch and we just have to put up our spiral Christmas trees and the icicle lights on our carport to be finished with outdoor Christmas decorating! I do not want this weekend to end...I have really enjoyed my long break from school.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Matt, Cody, Carleigh and I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have SO much to be thankful for this year:

1) Our Lord and Savior!
2) Both adoptions were finalized in 2007.
2) Matt found a job.
3) We have a good babysitter!
4) Our friends and family!

You've got mail!

Carleigh was hoping for mail!

Leaf Fun!

Raking leaves

Matt wanted to rake the leaves before the rain hit this afternoon. After making big piles, Carleigh and Cody decide to jump in them and scatter leaves everywhere. Carleigh grabs the rake and says "I do it!" It was so cute watching her rake the leaves and check the mailbox. She wants to be a big girl in alot of ways.

0 what a night!

Last night around 2am, there was a party going on here! Not really, but Cody started crying uncontrollably and woke EVERYONE up and yes Carleigh too. So we were up watching a Sesame Street video trying everything to calm our little guy down who couldn't tell us what was wrong. We think it was his ear as during bathtime, Carleigh thought it would be fun to pour water on Cody's head. So, we gave him some pain reliever and he started to calm down so everyone went back to bed around 3am this morning. Then, I started feeling sick around 6:30am and felt like a zombie, but finally feel back to sleep. We woke up around 9 and woke the kids up at 9:30am (they NEVER sleep that late!). Thank goodness today was a day off for me. I can't imagine teaching with about 2 hours of sleep and then being sick. *yikes*

We are excited here because Matt may have Friday evening off which means two straight days off that we (or should I say "I") get to see him!! Yeah!

And yes, I am going shopping early the day after Thanksgiving for Christmas shopping, but I am NO WAY being at a certain store at 4am! No thank you!!

My Two Blessings

Christmas Shopping

We got some Christmas shopping done this weekend! Yeah! I am just amazed at how God does truly provide! Christmas was going to be tight this year due to some unexpected expenses (Carleigh's adoption being one of them), but we received a check for some money owed to us and therefore we will be able to shop comfortably for the 12 people we buy for each year. God is so good!

Loving Santa

We bought Cody and Carleigh a little plastic Santa Claus at the parade. It brought back memories of my childhood. I vividly remember a plastic Santa Claus a little large than theirs, and carrying it around the house. My mom took photos of me holding it. I wanted to do the same for my two and they really like their Santas.

The jolly old elf!

Oh boy!

My niece Brittany enjoying the parade!

Everybody loves a parade!

Cody with his special friend Brenda!



Aunt Connie (aka Jen's sister) with her great niece Emily and of course, Carleigh

Santa Parade 2007

Everyone had a great time at Hamilton's annual Santa Parade. It was a bit chilly at first, but it warmed up and everyone stayed warm. Cody was antsy at first, but enjoyed it as it started. They got candy, cotton candy, necklace, and a plastic Santa Claus. I think Cody will have a permanent blue stain on his hands thanks to the blue cotton candy! (Thanks Aunt Connie!)

My parents, Matt, the kids, Aunt Connie, cousin Brittany, Jeremy, Emily, Sherry and Brenda sat with us. We had quite the little crowd. I was so happy that Matt go to see the parade before going into work at noon.

Cody is feeling better and getting his appetite back. Carleigh was as sassy as always!

Update

Cody is feeling a little better, but I am afraid that both of them have a stomach virus. I went to make Carleigh's bed and noticed she got sick during her nap. One good thing about both of them being sick is that we can get rid of it quickly. I am hoping it is a 24 hour bug.

I have been cleaning out my bedroom and found my old electric keyboard. Well, that just thrilled Cody and Carleigh. They are creating over 100 sounds and loving here. They are sick, but can still enjoy the keyboard.

My little sick one...

Cody has come down with some sort of virus. He was fine last evening, but started crying in the middle of the night. He doesn't have any energy and is drinking and eating very little. He had to miss preschool today and I suspect he will not be there tomorrow. Next week, there is no preschool due to Thanksgiving break so I am glad my little guy will have time to recuperate.

It always scares me when he is sick because any illness can be serious and can cause seizures. I called to check on him from work and my mom said that he is playing a little now.

I don't like this time of the year due to all the viruses and sickness going around. I hope I didn't bring anything home to him.

Talk, talk, talk and other developments

My kiddos have been talking alot lately! To some that would be annoying, but not to me. Everytime Cody or Carleigh says something, I am just cheering them on. Lately, Carleigh's vocabulary has exploded! Some of her new words are: "Ready, set, GO!" "I do it!" "Do it again!" She is starting to put 2-3 words together and can understand directions that I give her. Cody is also learning new words and seems to repeat what Carleigh says a few days after she has discovered the word. I am just so thankful that he has her in his life to help him!

It was such a sweet sight last night when Carleigh showed true concern for Cody. Cody had hurt himself and was crying. Matt was comforting him and Carleigh when over to him and patted him and then got teary eyed. It is so comforting to see that she does love and care for her special big brother.

There are days when I think her "terrible two" stage will nearly kill me, and then there are special moments like these or special hugs that make me melt!

In other areas...we are now thinking about Christmas and making lists for family. So, I have to start sifting through the zillion toys that they have and start giving their least favorite toys to charity. I just cannot handle that much stuff in my house. We are also thinking about switching rooms such as bedrooms, living room etc. to free up some space so that we can have birthday parties at home instead of at restaurants. In a year or so, we are hoping to buy a bigger house with more room. For now, I think switching and maximizing space will help for at least another year.

Cody's Parent/Teacher Conference

Ok, I gotta brag! Last night I went to Cody's parent/teacher conference with his preschool teacher and her instructional aide. It went well. We went over his IEP and the progress he is making. We are thrilled that alot of the IEP will be re-written because adequate progress has been made in most areas. They are amazed at how much progress he has made since last spring! His teacher told me that one little boy who is in his class is only there due to a speech issue and is on-target developmentally and he has befriended Cody. Well, the teacher was working with this little boy to identify his name or at least the first letter of his first name. He was having a hard time so Cody went over to the little boy and picked up the "B" and gave it to him! Oh that just makes my momma heart proud! He has such a high cognitive ability that if we could just get the communication going, who knows what Cody will do! They also said that he can play on ALL the playground equipment at the Kindergarten center which is HUGE progress since last year, he had to be watched carefully and could not climb on the equipment. He can also walk up and down the stairs holding on to the handrail. He also has friends in his class including girls. I worry so much about him and am just praising God that he is continuing to grow and progress every day. Way to go Codeman!

Our family!

Our family is complete! Praise the Lord!

At approximately 9:25am, Carleigh officially was adopted into our family! We had lots of friends and family there to witness our joyous occasion: Jen's parents, Matt's parents, Jen's sister Connie, niece Brittany, Britt's boyfriend Jeremy, friend Sherry, and friends Mary Ann, Trent, Niki and Shannon. Carleigh's Guardian came as well as our foster care worker and our adoption worker. The agency had refreshments, balloons, and special presents for the two children being adopted today.

It was hard talking about why we wanted to adopt Carleigh and I sounded weepy and was holding back the tears. When my mom, my mother-in-law Mary and my sister were talking about her, they were also holding back the tears. We are so blessed to have Carleigh in our family. Following the ceremony, family met us at Golden Corral for brunch and Carleigh got to open presents.

We are going to be so thankful this Thanksgiving! Two adoptions in one year and our family is complete! (for now)

Special time with Papaw!

Brother and sister forever!

Waiting for court to begin!

My family seated in the pews.

Banging the gavel

The cousins

Family and Friends

Aunt Connie, cousin Brittany and Britt's boyfriend Jeremy



Friend Sherry

Brunch Photos

Tomorrow is the big day!

Tomorrow is Adoption Day for Carleigh! It still seems so surreal.

I have been thinking about the day we brought her home from the hospital...my mom, Cody and I went to pick her up in the early afternoon. Seeing her laying in the hospital nursery with just the hospital clothes she had on, I felt sad that I couldn't have been there when she was born, but am so blessed to be able to bring her home with us! I got to dress her in the outfit that I brought and I remember all the security issues involved with me taking home a newborn that I did not give birth to. She was so tiny, but not nearly as tiny as Cody.

She has blossomed into a smart, curious, michievous, and happy little girl. She and Cody love to chase each other and make one another laugh! It is amazing that words are not a barrior to their friendship. I am so thankful that she and Cody will grow up together and also have the biological link that they both share. Although she is too young to understand what adoption is, we will begin to introduce the word and what is means each year. We also have her lifebook that explains what happened to her prior to adoption.

I plan on working on a slideshow of her life thus far. I will try my best to limit the number of photos as she is only 2.5 years old!

I will post photos of the Adoption Day sometime tomorrow.