The Kansas Cousins

Tommy had another weekend full of family visitors. His two cousins and uncle from Kansas stayed with us for the weekend and Tommy had a blast! They loved reading to Tommy and feeding him donuts. He will be in heaven in two short weeks when he sees them again, along with three other cousins - fun times!

What We've Been Doing

This month has flown by! We've been busy with playdates, visitors, graduations, and lots of time outdoors!


This is Tommy and his buddy Nicholas, who is almost 3. Nicholas knows to smile at the camera - Tommy still ignores it and usually runs. We met Nicholas and his parents at the Morton Arboretum a couple of weeks ago. They have a great children's area and the two of them wore each other out.











































Smelling the pretty tulips












Last week Tommy's cousin Henry stayed with us for a few days - the only pictures of the two of them together are while they were watching a DVD - and here, chewing on their pacifiers.












I think Henry had just woken up from a nap here - Tommy was trying to exchange pacifiers with Henry.










Early morning PBS and milk time















And lastly, cute baby Charlie!! He had just arrived at our house after a morning of airplane travel and was still a happy little boy!

















Charlie says, "no more paparazzi, Aunt Tara."

Happy Mother's Day

Last weekend Tommy and I hit the local garage sales and came home with a slide for the backyard, a cozy coupe, this tricycle, some random trucks, and a train table complete with tracks and Brio trains! It was like Christmas - for about $100!

Tommy was testing out the trike in the garage because it was raining this day.









Bathtime - before his latest haircut.












Our park district has an event called "Touch a Truck" once or twice a year - it was truck heaven. There were about 2 dozen trucks, cars, busses, cranes, and bulldozers there - and a cement mixer. Kids could climb on, sit on, and honk the horns. Tommy loved it!








Checking out the back wheels of the cement mixer.

"Kissing" his baby doll - he really likes the doll, but also throws it down when he sees his train table. He has also been giving the baby drinks from his sippee cup and saying "num, num, num."

Happy Mother's Day!

May Day

The past few weeks have been busy with visits from grandparents, trips to the zoo, park, and playgroups. When the weather was warm, we were spending hours outside each day. Then, it turned cold and rainy, and we've been houesbound most of this week. Tommy manages to have fun regardless of the weather, as you can see in these pictures.

We have been very saddened by the news of Vietnamese adoptions coming to an end. Though not surprising given recent events, we are still upset by the news and very sad for the children waiting for families in VietNam.

I'm copying this from my friend Dawn, whose daughter Katie is adopted from VietNam, and who, like us, was planning on adopting another child from VietNam, but now will wait:

The message I want to leave you with is this. Surely in the coming weeks all of you will encounter some kind of news release related to Vietnamese adoptions. The articles you read and the news releases you watch will be disturbing, and your thoughts will immediately turn to those you know who have adopted a child from Vietnam. The information uncovered by the US government will forever impact the thoughts people have regarding Vietnam and adoption. This will be a difficult stigma to overcome. Please remember, that although they have found cases of fraud and wrong doing this does not mean that ALL adoptions from Vietnam are unethical. Hundreds of Vietnamese children were adopted by US families last year and it is simply impossible for all of them to be associated with fraudulant, unethical behavior. Most people, by nature tend to believe the worst. You have the power to educate these misguided individuals. In doing so you may quite possibly prevent the types of comments that can be so hurtful to adoptive parents and their children.




















And lastly, a quote I came across today on my planner at work, of all places.

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." --Desmond Tutu

How true, how true.

Homecoming

One year ago today, we arrived back at O'Hare - my sister and niece were there to meet us after we picked up our luggage and made our way through the loonnggg line at the customs and immigration desk. Tommy became a US Citizen when the immigration officer stamped his IR-3 visa, and we had never been so happy to get off of an airplane!
The flights were long, but thinking back, they weren't that bad. Ninh took us to the Hanoi airport around 10pm on April 15, and we boarded a flight to Seoul around midnight. Tommy slept the entire 5 hour flight to Seoul, and then during most of the 5 hour layover at the Seoul Incheon Airport. He was wide awake and ready to go when we boarded the plane for our 14 hour flight to O'Hare!

18 Months

Tommy turned 18 months old on Sunday. He passed his 18 month checkup with flying colors and was flirting with all of the nurses and doing all of his tricks for the doctor.
He is in love with anything with wheels - trains, school bus, trucks, wagons, etc. His current favorite is the loud school bus that wheels itself when you push the button. He pushes it under the couch and chairs, and then crawls under to retrieve it. He's also been watching a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD over and over, and has a new Thomas push train he carried around with the school bus.
The weather has turned warmer, so we've been out for walks and stroller rides to the park. He is becoming more steady on the stairs that go to the slide, and is becoming braver when it comes to climbing on things outside and around the house.
Happy Spring!

Celebration

We celebrated Tommy's adoption day with a chocolate cake and balloons. Tommy liked stinking his finger in the chocolate frosting and hitting the balloons like they were drums.






Giving Mommy a taste of the frosting















The cake, minus two fingers full of frosting













Yum










Tommy is very generous when it comes to sharing his food