Cullen LOVES Water

Cullen can not ride a bike or tricycle for that matter (much to my frustration). He just doesn't seem to have any interest in it. He doesn't have much interest in playing catch for very long and I have to hit him in the stomach with the ball to get him to actually catch it. But Cullen LOVES to swim and shockingly (shameless mother bragging here) I think he's pretty good. Picture this, Cullen is at swimming lessons and his little arms and legs are moving a million miles an hour with his cute little belly hanging over the front of his trunks. He swims to grab a ring off the bottom of the pool (it's not that deep) comes up and blows water out of his mouth all over and yells, "I a whale". All I could think to myself is, um, yeah ya are!

Tonight Cullen took a VERY long bath, while I tried to remove the lipstick he smeared into the carpet. (I got most of it up but there is still a bit of a reddish pink tint on the carpet.) I'm still wondering where the heck the lipstick came from. Anyways, in classic Cullen fashion he enjoyed his bath like it was a full service spa!

On our way back home from La Crosse I took my Grandpa by Wisconsin's largest tree- here are a few pictures of Bob and Cullen by the tree.

I said I would post some pictures of this weekend but I didn't really take many (my Grandpa Bob is the cute guy on the left and my Mom is the hot woman in the middle not looking at the camera).


You might notice that there is a birthday cake in the bottom right hand corner of the picture. How many birthdays can one kid have? Who doesn't LOVE a birthday month?

I'm slowly but surely getting ready for our trip to Africa, tonight I went out and bought some of the odds and ends that we will need to bring with us. I'm anxious to get a travel date- I just need to know when everything has to be done by. I feel like I've been running a really long race, I'm starting to get a bit exhausted (Does the paperwork ever end?) and every time I turn the corner I think the finish line will be there and it's not. Hopefully we will hear in the next two weeks when this portion of the race will end and a new journey begins!

Mama x 2

I realized today that I have not yet posted pictures of Geremu so here he is! These pictures were a part of his referral so they are already about 7 weeks old. We have not made a decision about his name yet, we are waiting until we meet him to decide if we will keep Geremu for his first name or change it to his middle name. I can not wait to meet him!

We talk with Cullen a lot about Geremu. He does seem to understand what is going on. Everyday when he wakes up he asks, "Mom and Dad go get Geremu today?" I know he understands that we are going to bring home his brother but I'm not sure he understands how long we will be gone for. He also has this idea that Geremu is going to bring all sorts of toys with him (I'm not sure why he thinks this). He'll say to me, "I share my toys with Geremu and Geremu share his toys with me". Ready or not... "Your toys are Geremu's toys."

Weekend Away

Cullen and me went to my parents house for the weekend and Nick went to Madison. I only had a half-day of school today so we got an early jump on travel. Grandpa Bob drove to our house this morning so he could make the trek with us. The weather in the state today was so different from city to city and the gas prices are only going up. I'll try to post some pictures of our day tomorrow. The Big Guy has a game at noon, it's suppose to snow in the morning- yikes!

Good Friends

I have two REALLY good friends at school. My sisters always thought we were the same age because of the way I talked about them. Last year we had a school picture taken of the 3 of us. Yep, somehow the picture people managed to squeeze all 3 of our big heads into one small school picture. That's how my sisters figured out that we aren't quite the same age. Michelle, is 10 years older then me and Amy is my fathers age. Despite the age difference we have a lot in common (I would like to note that they are WAY more immature then me). Throughout the adoption process they have helped us through so many of the difficult decisions and step along the way. Every mile stone that is passed we have celebrate together, below is a picture of the cookie they gave to me today (they are just so nice). I've been waiting to make it through court to eat chocolate and celebrate the day.

I think they may have gotten my hair color mixed up with Nicks:)

April 22, Our Lucky Day

We just might be the luckiest and happiest people alive! Today, on the day our first son turned 3 years old, we also legally became parents for a second time. We made it through court in Ethiopia today and Geremu is all ours! We couldn't be any happier. Next step, wait some more- but now there is an end in sight. We have to wait 1-3 weeks for a birth certificate, then we should get a travel date shortly after that.

Cullen had a wonderful birthday today, it was low key but fun. He brought cupcakes to the sitters today and shared those with his friends, I'm sure Cullen was LOVING all the attention. We came home and played outside before doing a small celebration with just the three of us.

Leaving the Hospital

1st Bithday 2nd Birthday3rd Birthday

3 Years Ago

Three years ago today I went to school just like any other day. I had to leave school in the afternoon for a doctors appointment, it was a Wednesday and I had another stress test to see how the baby was doing. I remember laying on the table while they were preforming the test. The nurses tried to wake the baby then have the baby move because they were not getting the results that they wanted. I didn't know going into the appointment that I wouldn't leave the hospital or have another meal until after the baby was born. It would be another 2 stressful days until Cullen was born.

Fast forward 3 years to a similar situation. Who would have ever thought on the same day 3 years later I would be completely stressed out again about another member joining the family? Two days until our court date, please pray for us!

Ahhh, Nesting

The past 6 weeks I really have not been sleeping well. I know it's because I'm a little stressed, anxious and nervous, etc... so today I decided that I would do something about it. I started to re-do a bedroom for Cullen and his new brother. Yep that's right, if I can't sleep I'm going to get one of my million things to do before our son comes home checked off. The room isn't totally done, I have a bit of shopping to do and a few things I need to build but once it is finished I will take a few pictures and post them.

Nemo

What a beautiful day! Just want to tell one quick story before heading off to bed for the night. I think I mentioned that Cullen got a new fish this weekend from Erica and Katherine. The name of the fish has changed multiple times but I'm going to refer to it as Nemo because that seems to be its name ever other time. So Cullen has been really good about watching the fish and talking to it everyday. Today he decided to start putting stuff into Nemo's bowl. He started with his Dora vitamin. By the time I noticed it was in the bowl it was soggy, falling apart and hard to fish out. Shortly after telling Cullen we don't put stuff in the bowl I could hear Cullen talking to his fish. He kept saying "pretty", when I look at the bowl I notice that it's not visible and he was not referring to his fish when he says "pretty" but the mess he had made with his Packer pom-pom. The handle of the pom-pom was in the bowl and the poms were flowing out of the bowl and covering the outside so the bowl wasn't visible. Needless to say the second time I wasn't as calm as the first. The last straw was when Cullen put the cap from the water bottle into the fish bowl tonight. The fish is now out of Cullen's reach.

Special Guest

The all-star weekend line-up continued with my Aunt Kathy coming Sunday evening, she is staying until tomorrow (Tuesday) around noon. She is attending a conferences at the University in town. Last night we met at a fabulous restaurant for dinner then came back to our house to celebrate Cullen's birthday. Kathy also brought along a cake for the party- yummy, I'm not one to turn down a cake! Cullen LOVES his birthday possibly as much as I LOVE birthdays!

Tonight after dinner was over Cullen wanted a piece of his birthday cake from last night. Nick cut him a piece of cake and gave it to him. Cullen then infomed us that he "needed" a candle. After Nick gave him a candle Cullen proceded to sing Happy Birthday to himself (I think he gets this from his father). We still have a week to go until his actual birthday- this is going to be a GREAT week!

Early Birthday Celebration

When we woke up Saturday morning and looked outside this was our view- what is the date again?

Wasn't it just in the 60's last weekend? Saturday was a GREAT day, we met friends for lunch at Red Robin to celebrate Cullen's birthday early. Katherine came (she grew up down the street from our family in La Crosse, you might be familiar with her parents Julie & Jim) and Erica (Katherine's former roommate, she now attends UW) and Erica's parents (we LOVE them, they drove down from Green Bay). Cullen loved the birthday song they sang him at Red Robin, he kept repeating the one line he could remember.

After Red Robin we came back to our house for cake (that they brought) and gifts!

Cullen is now the PROUD owner of a fish thanks to Erica and Katherine. Later in the afternoon the girls went shopping and the guys stayed home with the kids. Nick's cousins Katelyn and Connor joined the party in the afternoon and spent the night. After pizza for dinner we did a repeat of singing Happy Birthday upon Cullen's request and polished off what was left of the cake. Cullen was pretty tuckered out by bed time.

Guys Night Out

The Backyardigans came to the Preforming Arts Center today and Nick brought Cullen to the musical. Cullen and Nick both enjoyed the show. I had a night to myself, I finalized some weekend plans and read a bit. I wanted to get to bed early but it appears that didn't happen. I said earlier that we have a GREAT weekend planed, stay tuned-in to find out what is happening. Below is a picture of Nick and Cullen after the musical, they came home wild, it must have been one heck of a musical!

After School Fun

Now that track season is in full force Cullen and me like to keep extra busy everyday after school. Today we got to spend the afternoon with a good friend of ours B. Both of her parents coach track so during track season we get to spend a little more time with her then usual. Today I was in charge of setting up the obstacle course that they would race. Cullen got his butt kicked but I don't think he even knows that.

Cullen & B preping the course

Cullen and B Racing

One last thing I want to mention, I've got a kick butt weekend planned. Stay tuned to check out the line-up as the weekend gets closer!

Cullen's New Ball

So today after school I had to run to the grocery store to get a few staple items for the week. Every time I go to Festival Foods Cullen really wants to buy a "ball" before we leave. The "balls" are kept in a pretty cool container that intrigues Cullen, when the "ball" comes out it goes around the machine a few times. Today I splurged and put a quarter in the machine for Cullen to get a "ball". I never imagined that he would have as much fun playing with the "ball" as he has, I'll have to splurge more often. At one point on our drive home from the store the "ball" flew out of Cullen's hand and hit the window- it didn't even get a scratch on it. Below is a picture of the gumball that Cullen has been playing with since he got it, he has no idea it's edible. I can't wait until Cullen goes to bed tonight, the "ball" just might disappear- yummy!

Head Sized Pretzel Only $.97

I don't have much time to write but I wanted to share some pictures from the day. Today was a beautiful day, Nick's Aunt Karrie and Uncle Mike came over with their kids for lunch. After lunch Nick and Mike took the kids biking then to the park. While Karrie and I talked and ran to Sam's Club. We got dinner at Sam's Club for the kids- cinnamon sugar pretzels as big as your head and chicken. The pretzels were a hit, Cullen basically licked all the cinnamon sugar off of his then called it quits.

Here is a picture of Cullen wearing his new sweatshirt from Pop, Cullen thinks he looks like Curtis and Johnny now! Thanks for the sweatshirt Dad.

Running on Empty

Today I got up early, ate breakfast and headed off with Nick's truck to get a painting job done. Since I've had Cullen I don't take a ton of painting jobs but I do still paint once in a while, especially when I can work it where it doesn't take away from family time. So off I went to conquer the world and needless to say I didn't make it very far. I ran out of gas as I was getting onto the interstate. Apparently, Nick was running low on gas and forgot to tell me. I'm no rookie at running out of gas, I'm actually an old pro (my old car didn't have an accurate gas gage), but I haven't run out of gas in at least 5 years. I had to walk off the highway then into 4 different businesses to ask to use their phone because the first 3 wouldn't let me. I'm pretty sure my appearance didn't help my cause. I hadn't showered and just pulled my hair back, I also had clothes on with paint all over them. When Nick finally can to my "rescue" he informed me that he didn't have much gas in the container so it was very possible that I just might run out again before I made it to a gas station. I'm sure I had the look of horror on my face so he added, "Ann, just think wouldn't it be really funny if you ran out twice in one day?" Um, no! Did I mention that the reason he didn't have much gas in the container was because he had used most of the gas before to get to school? Well I did learn an important lesson from all of this, never leave the house looking like a scrub without a cell phone. I sure do wish I had a picture to share with you of what I looked like but for some reason Nick didn't think to bring the camera.

It was a beautiful day here and we got a lot done. Nick and Cullen were outside all day. I was able to finish the painting job pretty quickly and enjoy the afternoon with them.

Oh Happy Day

What I'm about to announce is VERY exciting so drum roll please... we might legally become parents to a second child the same day we became parents to a first! Yep, that's right folks, today we were given a court date of April 22nd. Otherwise known as Cullen's Birthday! I'm so excited I could PUKE, it's like morning sickness without the weight gain! I think it's a GREAT omen that it's April 22nd. I really hope we make it through the first time, but I also don't want to get my hopes up too high. I do understand about 20% of the cases don't make it through the first time, but here's to hoping that I don't fall into that 20%! Hoo, de hoo- what a GREAT month!

On a completely different topic I thought I was dying around 5:15ish, I got something in my eye and couldn't stand the pain. It was the most irritating thing I can think of that has ever happened to me. Actually on second thought, getting hit on the back of the head with a tennis ball by my doubles partner in college may have been more irritating. Anyways, I tried flushing my eye out with the hose from the kitchen sink a few times unsuccessfully. At least that got me to the point where my eye didn't hurt when it was open so I packed Cullen up (Nick had parent teacher conferences tonight) and went to Urgent Care. Cullen immidiatly told the doctor that my eye hurt, just in case he didn't read the chart before coming into the room. The doctor asked me where my eye hurt. He flipped my eye lid and found a wood sliver on the back of my eye lid. I was in and out of their in a matter of 15 minutes. Thank goodness for Urgent Care!

Did I mention I'm not eating chocolate?

So when my mother told me it was her plan to give up chocolate for the New Year I was wondering what exactly was wrong with her? Who gives up chocolate for an entire year? Apparently so did my Dad and sister Colleen. On New Years Eve in the midst of being called weak I gave gave in to their ridiculous nagging and said I'd give it up too.

The first month was hard, really hard, I LOVE my chocolate! My Mom told me that after 23 days it would get easier, I have no idea where she came up with that figure, but 3 months into this it's not any easier then on day one. Not a day goes by that I don't think of chocolate. I'm also starting to wonder what I have to prove to anyone anyways? The first month I would come home to messages on my answering machine asking if the "weakest link has cracked yet". Weakest link my butt, Colleen cracked under the pressures of school. Since my girl scout cookies were delivered I'm debating eating a row or box daily. Did I mention that I have been hungry since January 1st? The good news is that a quarter of the year is already done- that's longer then I even thought I'd make it.

On a more exciting note I've been busy putting together pictures of Cullen and perfecting my Photo Shop skills. I have a long term plans to slowly unveil my Photo Shop pictures on the blog but I can't go crazy all at once or I'll have nothing to talk about in a week. Below is one of the many pictures I've put together- I like to call this My Boys - 1!