The little things...

As much as I thought I would be absolutely fantastic about writing down all the little things A says and does to remember later... I don't.

At least this is a quick and easy way to remember.

The other day I was installing a car seat (DEMON car seat!) and Abel was supposed to be sitting in the seat next to me quietly (HA). He wasn't and I told him he needed to sit on his bottom to which he responded, "NOOOOoooo!". I turned around and said, "Excuse me, what did you say?" Abel: "Ummm, YEEEEEaaaahhh!". Quick thinking, huh?

When he sees any kind of Christmas decorations (lights, Xmas tree, etc..) he exclaims simply, "Christmas!" and when wishing you a Merry Christmas, it sounds more like, "Meeeeewy Mehr Mehr!"

For the past two days he has been saying something over and over to me which I thought was "doing?" Like, "what are you doing?" Except tonight we were watching Elm0 P0tty T1me again and when they said, "doody," he started laughing hysterically and saying "doody doody bwahahahahah!" Ohhhh.

He is very into kissing right now. This morning I woke up to a slobbery kiss. When he plays with his dolls and toys, they usually end up kissing. But he has now started trying to kiss me to distract me when he knows he's getting in trouble. When he's about to get a time out, he walks up and says "mmmmmmm.....mwah" Nice try!

While he knows more colors, he always answers the question "what color is this?" --RED. I have started only asking him the color when things are actually red. :)

I realized the other night that because we don't go to church he has no clue that Christmas is about Baby Jesus. So I bought him a book call The Story of Christmas. I also bought him pizza on the same trip. So when he wants the story he now asks for "Baby Pizza".

Life is never dull!

Two Much

This is my A-Train at two years.

He counts to eleven (ehhwehvan), but usually misses a number. Most of the time he skips six, but he likes to mix it up to keep me on my toes.

He reads. Well, at least he thinks he does. And he's pretty convincing.

He knows lots of words, but most of them are in Abenglish which as of yet does not have a translation dictionary. This means the native speaker gets extremely defensive and angry at times.

He loves to sing. Sometimes I don't know what he's singing about (see above) but he always has a song in his heart.

He still sucks his two fingers.

He has been cutting his two year molars for the past 17 years.

He loves babies. He will cross a huge room to comfort a crying baby. ("S'otay daby!") He loves baby toes. And hands. He begs and cries to hold them. He feeds his babies at day care.

He is an artist and takes his crafting VERY seriously.

He is a lover. A cuddle-craver. Kisser and hugger.

He rules the playground and is getting more daring every day.

He is a master of routine. Before bedtime, when we finish prayers, I hear an "Aahhhmeen" and then immediately into "Tinkle, tinkle weeetle stah....."

He likes to put his own dishes in the sink. He looks at me, raises an eyebrow... "Ahh done?" All done and up on his tippy toes he goes to launch it into the sink.

He is amazing and exhausting all in the same breath.

He is quickly becoming less baby and more boy.

Happy 2nd birthday to my favorite guy!!

Here is his birthday eve interview... at 1 364/365.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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Sous chef

I love to cook, but it's nice to finally have some help in the kitchen!

We made a spider pizza!
Waiting patiently....
Cheers!

Tantrum: Deconstructed

The moody (almost) two's....

For the record.

Nothing exciting....

I want to remove this from my sidebar, but don't want to lose it so adding it as a post.

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4/14/09- Returned from Ethiopia; began adoption research
4/25/09- Attended Info Meeting at The Cradle

4/27/09-Faxed application to The Cradle (Home Study Agency)
5/2/09- Faxed application to IAN (International Adoption Net--Placement Agency)
5/4/09- Accepted with IAN
5/5/09- First meeting with adoption counselor scheduled-CANCELLED : (
5/13/09- First meeting with adoption counselor REscheduled
5/16/09- "Adoption 101" class
5/26/09- Second meeting with adoption counselor
5/29/09- DCFS licensing paperwork submitted
5/30/09- "Parenting at Risk" class
6/18/09- Third meeting with adoption counselor - mad dash to complete reading/worksheets commenced!
7/11/09- RE-fingerprinted
7/30/09- Home visit; DCFS clearances came through!
8/1/09- Dossier submitted (sans home study) and I-600A submitted

8/5/09- I-600A received by USCIS
8/12/09- Home study submitted to IL DCFS for approval

8/22/09- Received IL DCFS permit!
9/3/09- Home Study approved by IL DCFS int'l coordinator

9/10/09- WAITLIST- #5 baby boy; #12 baby girl

9/15/09- USCIS fingerprinting

9/24/09- Dossier sent to Ethiopia

9/28/09- Dossier arrived in Ethiopia!
10/2/09- WL Update: #5 boy; #11 girl

10/9/09- WL Update: #4 boy; #11 girl
10/12/09- Courts re-opened in Addis

10/19/09- WL Update: #4 boy; #10 girl

10/20/09- Received 171-H!

10/23/09- WL Update: #2 boy; #9 girl

11/9/09- WL Update: #2 boy; #8 girl

11/10/09- Officially two months waiting...
12/4/09- Offically three months waiting...

12/22/09- First see Little B's face....waiting....

1/1/10- Officially four months waiting...

1/25/10- Referral of Little B...ACCEPTED!

2/12/10- File opened with MOWA

2/25/10- Heard about my court date of 3/10!

3/10/10- Court date (didn't pass)

3/24/10- Second court date...PASSED!!

4/27/10- Leave for Ethiopia!

5/2/10- Meet Abel!

5/9/10- Home forever on Mother's Day

This morning.

Today my boy marched into day care like he owns the place.
He pointed out all the Halloween decorations: "ohhhh", "spiiideh", "punkeen".

Then he walked up to his friends....
"Hi, Gwacey!"
"Hi, Melia!"
"Hi, Jay!"
"Hi, Nay!"
"Hi, Wiiiley!"
One of his buddies didn't say "Hi" back and got a time out because nobody is rude to their friends at Titi's house (love that.) She then had to give a hug and say she was sorry. A-train grabs her so tight and says, "mmmmmmMWAH" like he's giving her a kiss.

I thought my heart was going to bust out of my chest.

All love.
So sweet.
This boy has turned my heart inside out.

{Mamarazzi} -- Jammie Day

Please pardon the bed head. There is no time for hair fixin' on this lazy Sunday.

{Mamarazzi} -- An afternoon at the park

This kid...

...is the most joyful human being I have ever met.

He will make you laugh like you have never laughed before.

He will make you stop and wonder at things you see every day.

He will make you think about how you could have ever lived your life without him being in it.

Well, at least that's what he does to me.

Much deserved updates

The little dude is a weed. Huge. Long and lean and out-of-control gorgeous.

He continues to have an adventurous side and is always on the go. This is his preferred tv-viewing site. Holy health insurance.

He is super creative and loves lives to play.

He is quite the jokester.

He thinks I am crazy and I am okay with that.

The summer has been a busy one, especially when you throw in his surgeries and travel. His vocabulary is expanding every day and he recently threw me for a loop by counting to 6. SIX! This from the kid who barely said a word two months ago.

He is also quite the vocalist and is constantly serenading whoever is lucky enough to hear with his sweet versions of Twinkle, Twinkle and the ABC's. The kid can carry a tune!

He thinks he knows his ABC's and will confidently (if not incorrectly!) tell you every letter he sees. Sometimes his confidence is persuasive!

Little man is having some sass-attacks lately. Who is this demon child who frequently takes residence in my sweet, innocent Abel? Ahhhhh...yes...

The two's are coming. Two fast.

In Season

The little dude and I are equally obsessed with nature's sweetest antioxidant. We are making the most of blueberry season and today was an

all day improvised BLUE fest!!

Pancakes with blueberry syrup. A delicious way to start the day.

Brie, blueberry and honey quesadillas.

Blueberries on arugula with edamame and goat cheese.

Don't knock it till you try it!

Brownies with whipped cream and berries.

My little friend is a purist. He likes his blue's room temp and in their natural state.

The best part of the day was hearing him pronounce blueberries.

Something like, "bubuvebele".

The Summer of...

For many years, my friend Richelle and I have had the Summer of … Something.

The first was the Summer of Sushi. We went out for it. We made our own. We even got sick from it. (Word of advice: never, ever trust an all-you-can-eat sushi joint.) We were slightly obsessed with yellow fin and wasabi. It was the first “Summer of… “ and it stuck.

The next was the Summer of S{x & the C1ty. We watched every.single.episode on DVD over the course of two months. It took a lot of laziness, but we were up for the challenge. We definitely lost brain cells that summer.

Next, the Summer of Salads. I bought a salad spinner and named myself Queen of the Greens.

Following that, the Summer of Solo. She moved to Ethiopia for three months and I summered alone in Chicago, joining her for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer.

Next, the Summer of Self-Preserving. Canning, canning, freezing, canning… We had tomatoes, apples and berries until the next Spring.

Last summer was… well, last summer could best be described as the Summer of Survival. Both first time moms and learning how to “summer” all over again, with child.

This year, Richelle is back in Ethiopia having the Summer of Soddo (I took liberties, R!) and I have taken the whole summer to find my way. At last, I have found it. It is most definitely….

..... SUMMER OF SANGRIA.

Mmmmm… refreshing! Cheers!!

The Blahhhgs.

So much to catch up on, but yet again have the blahs about blogging.

More updates soon, but look how the boy is growing!