Geremu + Belachew = FUN

I had trouble posting pictures and videos yesterday so I'm going to do it today. Geremu and Belachew are like two peas in a pod, they have very similar personalities (hence the reason it was so hard to take pictures of them both looking). It was so great to be able to meet Belachew and his parents and so nice of them to make the long drive up to see us, we had a lot of fun with them. Here is a link to their family blog http://www.paulandcindyadopt.blogspot.com/. When the boys were down for their afternoon naps we watched the DVD's of their time at the care center together. It was fun to see the two of them together getting into mischief in Ethiopia. It's good to know that they had each other while they were in care, they defiantly share a bond.

Here are how the boys started the day together yesterday.

So stinkin' cute!
Geremu and his shadow
The boys eventually made their way on top of the table to try and swim, jump and splash in the 2" of water.

Taking the car for a spin.

Lastly here is a video of Geremu and Cullen at the park- they would wait for one another at the top of the slide so they could go down together laughing each time. If Cullen beat Geremu back to the top of the slide Geremu would yell, "CULLEN, CULLEN" to tell him he was on his way.

Cindy also took a cute video of of the boys jumping up and down in the water table but I'm having trouble downloading it onto the page.

Kenyon Belachew Visits Wisconsin

Geremu's friend Belachew from Indiana came to visit our family for the weekend. Geremu and Belachew were very close buddies at the care center over in Ethiopia. It was so nice to finally be able to meet Belachew and his family. We have been talking about Belachew from time to time when Geremu brings him up. I told Geremu about a week ago that Belachew was coming to visit, we had to stop talking about it because Geremu would wait by our front door and say "Belachew na" meaning Belachew come. Anyways, here is the first photo from the boys meeting. Belachew was very excited to see Geremu and Cullen. Geremu was a little quiet at first but true to form he warmed up very quickly.

Cullen wondering where his feet went???
The boys walking home from the park
The pink bath tub makes another blog appearances!
Rub-a-dub-dub three boys in a tub!
We don't have any excellent pictures from the day, it's really hard to get both Belachew and Geremu to stay still long enough for a picture. Stayed tuned in to see for more pictures.

Geremu's Gift to Ethiopia

We are using Geremu’s birthday (September 5th) this year to support charity: water's September campaign to bring clean and safe drinking water to the people of Ethiopia.

More than 1.1 billion people in the world today don't have the most basic thing: clean water to drink. Over 4,500 kids die each and every day from water-related disease. To do our part, we've been supporting an organization called charity: water that has been making a real difference.

This year, we've decided Geremu really has everything he needs so instead of birthday gifts we are asking for donations. 100% of the money raised will go directly to building freshwater wells in Geremu’s birth country (Ethiopia), which will be proved with GPS coordinates and photos on Google Earth.

We are asking for Geremu’s age in dollars ($2.00 or more) to help us reach our goal. If interested please join us by making a donation on Geremu’s page:
http://www.charitywater.org/birthdays/fundraiser/sept/view/576

Thank you!

One of these things is not like the other...

At the beginning of the summer Cullen and Geremu were given these bubble wands as gifts. They are seriously amazing, they make bubbles like nothing I've ever seen without batteries and are very easy for kids to use. They also looked exactly the same when they both got them. After a summer of use Cullen's looks no worse for the wear, Geremu's on the other hand has seen better days. Geremu likes to make the bubbles then chase after them breaking them with the wand and whatever is in the way might also get whacked. Here are some videos of the boys in action.

Geremu's Baptism

Geremu was baptised on Saturday afternoon and we celebrated with family. Everything went off without a hitch and the meal afterwards we great. It was nice to see my sister Colleen and cousin Chad. Here are some pictures if his big day.

The Godparents Colleen and Chad.

When did Cullen get so big?

Nick, his mother and Geremu

Colleen hanging with G-Unit The boys hanging out waiting for dinner to be served.
Pop had no idea that Geremu was sampling the cake during this picture.

Cullen Quote

Today Nick took the boys to a football scrimmage. After the boys were running around for awhile Cullen told Nick he was thirsty. Nick went and got them Gatorade and then decided to get them popcorn too. Cullen never drank any of the Gatorade but loved the popcorn. On the drive home Cullen was still eating some of the popcorn in the back seat when he yelled, "I can't stop eating".

Oh, one more thing I want to share, when we accepted Geremu's referral in March, he weighed 18 lbs and was 18 months. Today we had a doctors apt. he is now 23 months and 26 lbs. and has grown more then 2 inches.

Ugh...

Geremu is getting baptized on Saturday and I wanted him to look extra good for the big day. His hair was getting really very long, knotted and uneven because of how it's been growing. So I decided to take him to get his hair trimmed up just a bit. I wanted to keep the curls, but even everything out. The place I took him to is excellent with hair like his and came highly recommended. Geremu hated the experience and so did I. He sat so good for about 1 minute, once the man started cutting, Geremu lost it. The man was pulling his hair away from his head with a comb and using a clippers against the comb which seemed to me like a good idea for the trim. Once Geremu started flailing around, screaming, etc... it no longer seemed like such a good idea. Since Geremu didn't hold still a large chunk of his hair was gone in back before I even realized it. Long story short, Geremu didn't get a trim, he got a lot of hair taken off. It is really short and he looks like he did in his referral pictures. I don't blame anyone, I never imagined that he would be so afraid while getting his haircut. I know it is just hair but I can't help but be sad because that hair had been a part of him while he was at the care center in Ethiopia and it's all gone now. Like I said earlier with the new haircut he looks so much more like he did in his referral photo, which makes me a little emotional too. Here is a picture that is not very good but you can see just how short his hair is now.

The good news is that despite the haircut his sparkling personality and smile haven't changed one bit. After all the screaming and fighting the hair cutter, Geremu fell asleep in my arms before I even made it into the car afterwards.

Olympic Fever

I can't blog every other day because I'm too busy... watching the Olympics "By the Light of the Moon". It's a good thing the Olympics only come around once ever 4 years because I am completely sucked into the excitement. I seem to enjoy every sport from swimming (M. Phelps for President) to badminton (the Chinese dominate), I'm addicted. Are there withdrawal support groups for people like me to join after the closing ceremony?

I'm not the only addict, here are the boys waiting for Big Papa to pull up the Men's 200 meter race on the computer earlier today.

What's for dinner during the Olympics when Mama's not cookin'?

Pizza, and for extra fun play with the box afterwards.

Trip to Meet Family

Well we had a wonderful 4 days visiting with family. We went and visited with Great Grandpa Bob and Great Grandma Nita on Thursday. The boys LOVED trying on Bob's hats as you can tell from the below pictures.

Friday we spent the day at the zoo with cousins Christa, Callie and kids. The boys had a great time and were pretty tuckered out by the time we left.
How cute is Jersey eating her first ice cream cone???
Friday night we went to a baseball game and Geremu met Aunt Colleen, Uncle Greg and Cousin Kevin.

Then Saturday we hung around and visited with Grandma Great C. and also got to see Aunt Kathy, Uncle Jack, Uncle Tom, Cousin Kennedy and Aunt Nancy. Saturday night was pizza and malt night at my cousins house I don't even know why we bothered to buy pizza because who in their right mind is going to eat pizza when you are given all you can drink malts at the same time? Geremu had a great time meeting and playing with his cousins and we enjoyed spending time with family.

Camping

We got back from camping this afternoon and had a great time with Nick's relatives. I have so many good pictures from the short trip. The boys had a great time as usual.

Cullen and Geremu get along so well I can't believe they have only had each other for 2 months. Both of them have come such a long way this summer. Geremu understands what we are saying now so much better. The other day when I was getting him dressed I asked him to stand up and he stood right up. Now this might not seem like much to most of you but this never would have happened a few weeks ago or maybe even the day before. The kid is freakin' amazing!

Here the boys are cuddling! Playing in the dirt (a favorite activity).
Our friend Jim let us take his cart for a spin.

Fun with the family...
Cullen would have to take breaks from swimming because his tummy hurt (I think from swallowing water).

All I want to do is have some fun...

Cullen playing in the water

Geremu "belly flopping"

Iowa Fun

Well we got back from Iowa late last night but are headed out to camp for 2 days with Nick's extended family today. I'll post again when I get a chance but wanted to get some pictures on from our trip.

Geremu loves babies and can't seem to leave them alone when one is around. Here is one of the many times Geremu was snuggling up to baby Mac.

Mac relaxing in her chair.

Geremu relaxing in Mac's chair.
This was Cullen's favorite activity at the cousins house, running down the big hill (he did this every night).
Every evening we did a little something fun. One night we went to the farmers market, the next night we went to the Iowa State Fair, we also took the kids swimming yesterday morning. Here are some pictures of all the fun we had at the State Fair.

So cute!
Not so cute...
I'm thinking gastric bypass surgery might not be a bad option.

The kids enjoying the sights!

Uncle Craig gave free rides to any kid that stepped in poop.

One of my most favorite sights to see while traveling- we had to go way out of our way for this one.

Iowa or BUST!

We took a trip down to Iowa to visit the cousins, I'll write more when I'm not so tired. It's late and I need to get to bed.

Rocket balloon fun!

The new baby Maclaine Emerson

Craig and Britt's attempt to unsuccessfully have Geremu overcome his dog fear.