We've had a great 2010....
(need adobe flash to watch video)
...and are looking forward to 2011!
Happy New Year!!!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
all i want for christmas...
dear santa,
i know i'm a little late in writing to you (i've been soooooo busy lately between pre-school and swimming classes and playdates and parties...).
but anyway... you probably know that i really love to cook. like really, really, really love to cook. i go to cooking classes once a week and get to do some cooking at nursery school too. it's so much fun!!
some kids my age like to watch thomas the train or yo gabba gabba or sesame street. i kind of like them too, but lately i'm much more into the cooking channel. those shows are so cool!! mommy says i should have my own show. ( i think she's right, but i need to get a good agent first...).
anyhow, i've been telling mommy and daddy that i really want to have guy fieri come over or i want to go to his house. either way. it would be the greatest playdate ever!!! i saw him on the street once with my babysitter, but we didn't get to talk. you know how it is in nyc - everyone's always moving so quickly... mommy always says she'll work on getting us together, but i'm not sure she's serious. so that's where you come in. i need your help getting in touch with guy so that we could hang out and cook together. can you help me?
that's my chirstmas wish. and that's it. all i want for chirstmas is a playdate with guy fieri. so santa, if you can, please make it happen.
thank you,
simon
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
(funny) moments volume 1
I've always hoped this blog would act not only as a record of our adoption processes, but also a record of special or funny or just plain cool moments in our life as a family. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that is easier said than done, as I never seem to find the time to write things (well, type things) down.
But as I seem to have a minute or two tonight, I thought I'd share a bit, especially as we've been having the kind of week that keeps us laughing and also makes me really want to document the silly little moments that are so defining right now, but will probably get lost along with so many other memories as time goes by.
So, you see, after what you may recall was a rough ride of Simon getting used to sleeping in a bed, the novelty finally did wear off and, for a while, our bedtime routine became pretty smooth again. Then about a week or two ago, Simon started emerging from his bed about 1/2 hour after bedtime, wearing one sock and advising us that he needed his other sock, which he lost. Of course, the sock would not be "lost" if Simon hadn't taken it off his foot (where it always is when we put him to sleep). But that's just a minor detail.
So night after night, one of us would go into the room, search the bed and find the sock (99% of the time it is hidden under his pillow)... then struggle to put it back on Simon's foot as he tries to bury it under the covers or kicks his legs up and down, making the simple task of putting a sock on pretty much impossible... Simon laughs and laughs and tells us "it's funny!!" (It is, but of course we can't let him know that!) Sometimes this happened more than once per night too.
We started to get a bit tired of the sock game... and it's probably fair to say our reaction started to make that clear - ya know, voices raised a little louder... or like the night I marched in, took his other sock off and told him he didn't need any socks (I know, I'm tough ;) ).
Well, anyway, that seemed to work. On Saturday night, Simon went into bed no problem and we didn't hear a thing about socks. Then, about an hour after bedtime, Simon started crying and saying something about Moose (Moose is his stuffed animal that is a giraffe, got that?). We tried to make out the wails of distress ("Moooooooose..... Moooooooooose......") and could only interpret something about Moose being lost and Simon needing Moose. So Ryan went in to see what was wrong.
About 30 seconds later, I hear deep, Simon belly laughs and his favorite line - "it's funny!!" Seems Moose got lost the same way Si's socks got lost... in the abyss known as: under Simon's pillow. I have to admit, this one was pretty funny.
Then there was Sunday night. On that night Simon emerged from his room a couple of hours after going to bed telling us he needed help cleaning up. Seems he felt the need to take a water bottle off of his dresser, open it, spill some water on his bed, grab some diaper wipes from the changing table in order to try to clean up the spilled water... and well, let's just say we had to change out some blankets, retrieve dozens of wipes, and replace one sock, which had mysteriously come off in the midst of the action. It wasn't really funny.
Which leads us to Monday night. On Monday, Simon went to bed fairly easily, although we may have had a missing sock or two early in the evening. But by 10-10:30, I was pretty sure he was sleeping.
Then we heard a bang. Ryan went into his room and about 7 seconds later yelled out to me "uh Mer... he emptied the whole box of wipes..." I knew that meant there was something else going on, because the wipes are used for clean up. They never come first. So as I'm calling back to Ryan to ask him what other damage there was (and he's saying he doesn't see anything), Simon comes running into the living room. All smiles and a white head.
Yes, you read that correctly. Simon's dark hair looked strangely white. White because he had opened several of his hair products and decided to try some new styling tricks, apparently in the dark and not in front of a mirror, because - I must say -the kid normally has a pretty cool sense of style, but this was just awful!! He told me he "made a mess" and tried to clean up (he did, he's good that way). But we still had quite a bit of work to do. He giggled and smiled, but didn't say much more. I did though. I had to. "It was funny."
But as I seem to have a minute or two tonight, I thought I'd share a bit, especially as we've been having the kind of week that keeps us laughing and also makes me really want to document the silly little moments that are so defining right now, but will probably get lost along with so many other memories as time goes by.
So, you see, after what you may recall was a rough ride of Simon getting used to sleeping in a bed, the novelty finally did wear off and, for a while, our bedtime routine became pretty smooth again. Then about a week or two ago, Simon started emerging from his bed about 1/2 hour after bedtime, wearing one sock and advising us that he needed his other sock, which he lost. Of course, the sock would not be "lost" if Simon hadn't taken it off his foot (where it always is when we put him to sleep). But that's just a minor detail.
So night after night, one of us would go into the room, search the bed and find the sock (99% of the time it is hidden under his pillow)... then struggle to put it back on Simon's foot as he tries to bury it under the covers or kicks his legs up and down, making the simple task of putting a sock on pretty much impossible... Simon laughs and laughs and tells us "it's funny!!" (It is, but of course we can't let him know that!) Sometimes this happened more than once per night too.
We started to get a bit tired of the sock game... and it's probably fair to say our reaction started to make that clear - ya know, voices raised a little louder... or like the night I marched in, took his other sock off and told him he didn't need any socks (I know, I'm tough ;) ).
Well, anyway, that seemed to work. On Saturday night, Simon went into bed no problem and we didn't hear a thing about socks. Then, about an hour after bedtime, Simon started crying and saying something about Moose (Moose is his stuffed animal that is a giraffe, got that?). We tried to make out the wails of distress ("Moooooooose..... Moooooooooose......") and could only interpret something about Moose being lost and Simon needing Moose. So Ryan went in to see what was wrong.
About 30 seconds later, I hear deep, Simon belly laughs and his favorite line - "it's funny!!" Seems Moose got lost the same way Si's socks got lost... in the abyss known as: under Simon's pillow. I have to admit, this one was pretty funny.
Then there was Sunday night. On that night Simon emerged from his room a couple of hours after going to bed telling us he needed help cleaning up. Seems he felt the need to take a water bottle off of his dresser, open it, spill some water on his bed, grab some diaper wipes from the changing table in order to try to clean up the spilled water... and well, let's just say we had to change out some blankets, retrieve dozens of wipes, and replace one sock, which had mysteriously come off in the midst of the action. It wasn't really funny.
Which leads us to Monday night. On Monday, Simon went to bed fairly easily, although we may have had a missing sock or two early in the evening. But by 10-10:30, I was pretty sure he was sleeping.
Then we heard a bang. Ryan went into his room and about 7 seconds later yelled out to me "uh Mer... he emptied the whole box of wipes..." I knew that meant there was something else going on, because the wipes are used for clean up. They never come first. So as I'm calling back to Ryan to ask him what other damage there was (and he's saying he doesn't see anything), Simon comes running into the living room. All smiles and a white head.
Yes, you read that correctly. Simon's dark hair looked strangely white. White because he had opened several of his hair products and decided to try some new styling tricks, apparently in the dark and not in front of a mirror, because - I must say -the kid normally has a pretty cool sense of style, but this was just awful!! He told me he "made a mess" and tried to clean up (he did, he's good that way). But we still had quite a bit of work to do. He giggled and smiled, but didn't say much more. I did though. I had to. "It was funny."
Sunday, December 19, 2010
year in review
january.
start of a new year. quiet... but we've got plans.
february.
simon turns 2! ej turns 5! we start the adoption process for a little girl!! we take a trip to mexico... 2010 is underway and we are moving full speed ahead.
march.
fingerprints, doctors, homestudy... rules changing... how quickly we find ourselves immersed in this crazy process and gearing up for the emotional roller coaster ride again.
april.
a minor bump in the road. mer travels.
may.
cis fingerprints. spring has sprung. mother's day. off to germany we all go!
june.
cis approved. father's day. simon starts cooking classes and swimming lessons. ry travels. on the waitlist!!
july.
summertime! my birthday! off to germany again.
august.
trip to oregon! simon transitions to a bed (mommy and daddy suffer many nights guarding the door). ry's birthday!
september.
simon starts pre-school!! weekend in maine.
october.
trick or treat!! simon discovers the magic of halloween (and continues to request that we have "happy halloween" at least once a week). apple picking. yo gabba gabba. another business trip for me.
november.
mommy and daddy sneak away to costa rica; ej and simon vacation at grandma's and grandpa's. thanksgiving.
december.
chanukah! santa!! presents, presents and more presents!
So all in all, a fun, exciting, exhausting, and inspiring year... and we are looking forward to an even better 2011!! Happy, merry, holidays and best wishes for the new year to everyone!!
start of a new year. quiet... but we've got plans.
february.
simon turns 2! ej turns 5! we start the adoption process for a little girl!! we take a trip to mexico... 2010 is underway and we are moving full speed ahead.
march.
fingerprints, doctors, homestudy... rules changing... how quickly we find ourselves immersed in this crazy process and gearing up for the emotional roller coaster ride again.
april.
a minor bump in the road. mer travels.
may.
cis fingerprints. spring has sprung. mother's day. off to germany we all go!
june.
cis approved. father's day. simon starts cooking classes and swimming lessons. ry travels. on the waitlist!!
july.
summertime! my birthday! off to germany again.
august.
trip to oregon! simon transitions to a bed (mommy and daddy suffer many nights guarding the door). ry's birthday!
september.
simon starts pre-school!! weekend in maine.
october.
trick or treat!! simon discovers the magic of halloween (and continues to request that we have "happy halloween" at least once a week). apple picking. yo gabba gabba. another business trip for me.
november.
mommy and daddy sneak away to costa rica; ej and simon vacation at grandma's and grandpa's. thanksgiving.
december.
chanukah! santa!! presents, presents and more presents!
So all in all, a fun, exciting, exhausting, and inspiring year... and we are looking forward to an even better 2011!! Happy, merry, holidays and best wishes for the new year to everyone!!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
i can do it!
I can do it!!
Besides being one of Simon's favorite things to say (though not always entirely accurate, the statement can be used with everything from getting food out of the refrigerator to brushing teeth... putting on shoes and making breakfast... reading books and, apparently, driving a car...), I thought it was time I proved that I can still write a meaningful blog post. I can do it.
Of course, writing this blog is not as easy as it once was. Life is certainly fuller than ever... and there is surely more blog material floating around in my brain than I will ever be able to share. But time seems more scarce than ever. Managing a job, husband, and crazy dog seems infinitely easier than managing a job, husband, crazy dog and an almost three year old! Who knew the "power" of a toddler?!!?!
And frankly, I must also admit that I sometime get the sense that the only people reading this blog are the people who share the same last names as Ryan and me (not that we don't love you and want to share with you, but there's probably a better way!). Perhaps that's what happens after you've completed one adoption: the anxiety around the adoption process lessens, and so too does the need to be constantly surrounded by others going through it. Don't get me wrong. We continue to be amazed by and to learn from our fellow adoptive parents, but I don't feel as connected to the larger adoption/blogging community as I once did. Maybe that's just me, maybe it's just that my "generation" of adoptive parents are also struggling to balance it all and have less time for blog reading and writing, or maybe it's something else... I'm sure I'm not explaining this well, but the gist of it is that it sometimes feels harder to write a blog when I'm less aware of the audience than I was a year or two ago....
But anyway, here I am and here I go...
The posts are fewer and farther between, but the activity in the guzo household is as hectic as ever. In the last few weeks, Ryan and I celebrated a wedding anniversary, took a getaway trip to Costa Rica, enjoyed Thanksgiving with family, reconnected with old friends, and... if you've been checking out the little lilypie ticker at the top of our blog, you'll know that we also recently passed the five month mark on the waitlist for a referral!
In 2008, the estimated wait for a referral was 3-5 months - with most referrals coming by month 4. Because things didn't go as expected (which actually should have been expected), we waited 5 months and one week for Simon's referral - which, by the way, is just about where we are today (5 mos., 6 days). When we passed the five month mark in 2008, I was emotionally drained and confused, trying desperately to rapidly re-set my own expectations around the adoption process in order to handle the new environment, to handle what we believed we had prepared ourselves for, but what was, in reality, something we could not have comprehended until we were living it.
Today, we are happily and comfortably looking forward, anticipating another 3-4 months (and, just to be safe, maybe 5-6) before we receive a referral and hoping that all will go relatively smoothly so that we can travel before courts close in the Fall of 2011. Piece of cake, right?
Sort of.
The four month... and now the five month milestones have been interesting. We are talking about the adoption again in the present (not the far away future) more than we have since we completed our paperwork. Even though we really do have a pretty long road ahead, it is short enough that we can start to anticipate the end. And it's fun. Even though the next few months will bring back a lot of stress and anxiety and anticipation.... and likely disappointment and frustration, it also brings back the excitement about expanding our family, the joys of thinking about buying new baby clothes and bedding and toys.... We can only smile when we imagine Simon's reaction to a baby sister. Our "baby" now such a little man. Of course, we also imagine the chaos, the even greater challenges of finding time to do pretty much anything, and the knowledge that our Costa Rica trip was properly our last "adults-only" getaway for a good year or two. (But hey, it's not about us, right?). And it is good. Really good.
So hopefully as we re-enter this phase of the process, we will also find ourselves becoming more engaged in the blogging process again. It was such an important part of Simon's adoption... I believe it may be again. And I know I can do it.
Besides being one of Simon's favorite things to say (though not always entirely accurate, the statement can be used with everything from getting food out of the refrigerator to brushing teeth... putting on shoes and making breakfast... reading books and, apparently, driving a car...), I thought it was time I proved that I can still write a meaningful blog post. I can do it.
Of course, writing this blog is not as easy as it once was. Life is certainly fuller than ever... and there is surely more blog material floating around in my brain than I will ever be able to share. But time seems more scarce than ever. Managing a job, husband, and crazy dog seems infinitely easier than managing a job, husband, crazy dog and an almost three year old! Who knew the "power" of a toddler?!!?!
And frankly, I must also admit that I sometime get the sense that the only people reading this blog are the people who share the same last names as Ryan and me (not that we don't love you and want to share with you, but there's probably a better way!). Perhaps that's what happens after you've completed one adoption: the anxiety around the adoption process lessens, and so too does the need to be constantly surrounded by others going through it. Don't get me wrong. We continue to be amazed by and to learn from our fellow adoptive parents, but I don't feel as connected to the larger adoption/blogging community as I once did. Maybe that's just me, maybe it's just that my "generation" of adoptive parents are also struggling to balance it all and have less time for blog reading and writing, or maybe it's something else... I'm sure I'm not explaining this well, but the gist of it is that it sometimes feels harder to write a blog when I'm less aware of the audience than I was a year or two ago....
But anyway, here I am and here I go...
The posts are fewer and farther between, but the activity in the guzo household is as hectic as ever. In the last few weeks, Ryan and I celebrated a wedding anniversary, took a getaway trip to Costa Rica, enjoyed Thanksgiving with family, reconnected with old friends, and... if you've been checking out the little lilypie ticker at the top of our blog, you'll know that we also recently passed the five month mark on the waitlist for a referral!
In 2008, the estimated wait for a referral was 3-5 months - with most referrals coming by month 4. Because things didn't go as expected (which actually should have been expected), we waited 5 months and one week for Simon's referral - which, by the way, is just about where we are today (5 mos., 6 days). When we passed the five month mark in 2008, I was emotionally drained and confused, trying desperately to rapidly re-set my own expectations around the adoption process in order to handle the new environment, to handle what we believed we had prepared ourselves for, but what was, in reality, something we could not have comprehended until we were living it.
Today, we are happily and comfortably looking forward, anticipating another 3-4 months (and, just to be safe, maybe 5-6) before we receive a referral and hoping that all will go relatively smoothly so that we can travel before courts close in the Fall of 2011. Piece of cake, right?
Sort of.
The four month... and now the five month milestones have been interesting. We are talking about the adoption again in the present (not the far away future) more than we have since we completed our paperwork. Even though we really do have a pretty long road ahead, it is short enough that we can start to anticipate the end. And it's fun. Even though the next few months will bring back a lot of stress and anxiety and anticipation.... and likely disappointment and frustration, it also brings back the excitement about expanding our family, the joys of thinking about buying new baby clothes and bedding and toys.... We can only smile when we imagine Simon's reaction to a baby sister. Our "baby" now such a little man. Of course, we also imagine the chaos, the even greater challenges of finding time to do pretty much anything, and the knowledge that our Costa Rica trip was properly our last "adults-only" getaway for a good year or two. (But hey, it's not about us, right?). And it is good. Really good.
So hopefully as we re-enter this phase of the process, we will also find ourselves becoming more engaged in the blogging process again. It was such an important part of Simon's adoption... I believe it may be again. And I know I can do it.
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