Most Recent Family Visit....

I told my parents they could come and visit once Tax Season was over....once they heard that they immediately booked a flight from Los Angeles to Dallas on April 15th! Soon after they made their plans, my sister-in-law Leigh and her youngest daughter Jackie decided to come out from Connecticut to visit as well. This would be the first time for Nicholas to meet his Aunt Leigh (currently ranked in the top 3 of the always controversial "Best Aunt" list) and his cousin Jackie.



Nicholas has 9 first cousins. The first cousin to meet him was Jeffrey, last summer. Now after meeting Jackie, who happens to be Jeffrey's little sister, he has met 2 of 9 first cousins. If your scoring at home....Nicholas also has 5 Uncles and 3 Aunts....he has currently met 3 Uncles and 2 Aunts.

Now for the visit....

April 17th we all attended a community event in Flower Mound. The event was hosted by the Children's Advocacy Center of Denton County...which is also where Lisa volunteers a couple of days a week. ( www.cacdc.org ) Once we found out there would be a Fire Engine, an Ambulance and a Police Car.......we knew we had to take Nicholas!

The GIANT fire truck has arrived!

The fireman didn't have to ask Nicholas twice if he wanted to sit inside.

Getting into truck!

Clicking his seat belt...

Our boy loves fire engines!

With cousin Jackie at his side, it is now time to answer the age old question of "Just how long are the seat belts on a giant firetruck??"

Trying to get Mommy to "OPEN THIS." From watching his favorite DVD about Firetrucks, he knows where all the 'good stuff' is hiding...

There was also a Bounce House for both Nicholas and Jackie to enjoy.

After bouncing for a while, it was time to check out the ambulance.

Getting strapped in....

Having a great time pretending to be a patient....Funny story...well not really...but just two days later....Lisa had to pick up Nicholas from school early because he was running a low fever. She brought him to our doctor who prescribed some antibiotic....they then went to Target to pick up the medicine. Once they were back in the car and began to drive through the parking lot, Nicholas suffered a Febrile Seizure. Although no one bothered to mention this to us before....these are apparently common in children less than 6 years old. It was caused by his body temperature going up rapidly in a short period of time...his little body just couldn't take it....one of the doctors said it was if he ran a full marathon in 5 minutes....just too much stress on his body! A good Samaritan called 911 for Lisa and an off duty nurse, who happend to be at Target, helped with Nicholas....soon after, Nicholas and Mommy were taken by ambulance to Lewisville Hospital. I sent Lisa a text to tell her I was on my way home...she texted back, "Call me please." When I called her she told me they were in an ambulance...not what I expected to hear...By the time I got to the hospital, the boy was sleeping and Mommy was starting to "de-frazzle." Lisa did such a wonderful job dealing with this unexpected trip to the E.R.....as I have said many times before.....Nicholas and I are very blessed to have her in our lives. Long story longer.....Nicholas recovered from the seizure and was back to his normal self a day and half later...

Reading a book with Grandma Janice on the couch...

Reading a book with Grandma Janice and Jackie and an inflatable ball, on the couch.

Nicholas and his favorite Aunt Leigh...so many cameras going...not sure which way to look....

Giving a big hug to his favorite cousin Jackie....

Reading his newest Elmo book with the Jackster. Speaking of Elmo...Aunt Leigh got Nicholas a talking and moving Elmo...he sings, tells jokes and uses batteries like nobody's business....He can also be used to encourage good behavior...for example...."Nicholas, if you want to play with Elmo, please stop chasing the cat..."

To promote safety and the rules of the road, Nicholas' school had some Police Officers come out to speak to them about safety and show them how to behave on the road. As our first major project (of many more to come) we helped Nicholas make a car out of a cardboard box..when I say 'we'....I of course mean Lisa! She is very crafty....I helped cut a few things out, the rest was all her!

An overhead view of his new wheels...

She even made him a personalized plate! I think we finished around midnight or so......

The adventures continue!!

Our First Family Easter in the U.S.A.

Last year during Easter, we were of course in Kiev, Ukraine making our final arrangements to come home with our bundle of boy. What a difference a year makes! Our Easter celebrations began on Good Friday. Since I was off of work, both Lisa and I were able to go to Nicholas' school and help with his first ever search for Easter Eggs! His second Easter Egg adventure was in our backyard on Easter Sunday. Lisa's father and his friend Carol (aka C.C.) came over for dinner and brought even MORE eggs to add to our backyard.




The beginning of the Easter Egg Hunt at school...

I tried and tried, but was unable to flip this picture to the left! This is a close up of Nicholas finding an egg shaped like a football. (For maximum enjoyment of this shot please lean your head all the way to the right.)

After all the eggs were found, the teachers and some of the parents "re-distributed" them so each child would get about the same number of eggs.....some kids were a little faster than others so the egg to child ratio was WAY off.....While the eggs were changing owners, I went inside to watch Nicholas play. He loves spinning and spinning....

Sitting at the table with most of his classmates about to look inside his bag to see how he did...the bag was designed and created by Nicholas and Mommy..

Here is his "Bunny Bag" from the front....totally cute! (and so is the bag)

As luck would have it, for Nicholas that is, his class was also celebrating someone's birthday. They had mini-cupcakes as a special treat. About 56 seconds after this picture was taken, our sweet little boy managed to consume 4 mini-cupcakes and ask for "more." A Good Friday indeed.

Here is Nicholas searching for eggs in our backyard...and the best part?? They were ALL his...no egg re-distribution required!

For his second ever Easter Egg Hunt, he seemed to catch on quickly and really enjoy himself.

Mommy and Daddy love you so very much!! We are so glad you enjoyed your first Easter and look forward to many, many more...

Happy Gotcha Day!!

In the wonderful world of Adoption, the day you were legally became parents is referred to as "Gotcha Day!" This day is normally celebrated each year in the same fashion you would celebrate a birthday or anniversary.

Well, April 13, 2010 was our first 'Gotcha Day.'

On April 13, 2009 Lisa and I went before a Ukraine Judge with our wonderful translator Natasha, and were named Nicholas' parents!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we went to dinner with our friends Tim and Kat at one of our favorite restaurants...Please enjoy the pictures below....I have fallen way behind on blogging, so I have lots of pictures and stories to share...as we tell Nicholas...."You have to be patient."



On our way to our fancy dinner!

During the meal, on our way back from the restroom, Nicholas decided he would like to go outside and explore...here he is during his "Now I am going to sit on every chair on the patio," phase...

Our official "Gotcha Day" photo in front of the greatness that is Chipotle...or as Nicholas calls it...."Pote-Lay".....thanks for snapping this photo, Tim!

Our official "Gotcha Day" photo using the zoom feature! (Thanks again Tim!)