How a baby eats cake.....

What a sugar crash looks like.....

This time last year....

....I was packing for our second adoption trip AND preparing my desk/office for the second "maternity" leave in 7 months time. That's because baby boy decided it was time for the world to meet him. I swear Andrew knows that today is all about him because he was extra happy when he woke up this morning. :)

Here's our blog post from last year:

Hey everybody! Much to our surprise our son was born this morning! We found out at 2am last night that the birthmother was in labor (almost 3 weeks sooner than we expected) and Andrew Michael was born this morning at 8:48am. He weighs 7 pounds and is healthy (have not seen any pictures yet). We are frantically getting ready to leave town later today and we have a 12-14 hour drive ahead of us to get to North Dakota. We will probably take our laptop with us, and if we do, we will do our best to post to our blog. What a day!!!! And I thought getting ready for Vietnam in 2 weeks time was challenging! :)

Going on one....

We're just a few short days away from Andrew's 1st birthday. That'll happen on the 17th. During the first 4 months, when we were in the middle of dealing with colic, I didn't think it would go fast enough. Then Andrew turned a corner and went through so many precious stages I wished I could have savored longer. Of course, I know it only gets better. Each new phase that either of the kids hit quickly becomes my favorite. But, I know I'll also miss my "baby."

This week we took Andrew to the doctor for congestion and shortness of breath and found out that he has RSV (respiratory virus) and a double ear infection. On top of that he is cutting his top two teeth. The doctor sent us home with an antibiotic and a nebulizer for breathing treatments. Despite it all, Andrew has been learning how to walk this week. He took his first few steps last Saturday and he has been improving all week. He is gaining confidence and balance.


Last weekend my brother and his family were in town visiting from Kentucky. My niece, Lauren, is turning 5 at the end of the month. She wanted to have a birthday party with Andrew at Papa and Grandma's house.


I'll wrap up with a quick update on Sarah. The oven timer just went off and it's time to take out the cinnamon raisin bread (my new hobby - homemade bread) and get some sleep. Potty training has gone so much better than I imagined. The first two days were filled with many accidents. Sarah learned quickly, though, that she didn't like the feeling of wet panties and pants. I also had her help me clean up each mess. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) she didn't mind helping me. It was supposed to be motivation for her, but then again she does like to clean.... She is completely daytime trained, even nap. I'm sure night will come a bit later. I'm so proud of myself because Sarah has touched and sat on may public toilets now and I have survived - lol. She is so happy to be in panties. I can't imagine how good it must feel to be out of a diaper.

Finally Four

Finally we are "officially" and legally a family of four. On Friday, March 28 we re-finalized Sarah's adoption and had her name legally changed from her Vietnamese name to the name we gave her. Even though Sarah's adoption legally took place in Vietnam, re-finalizing it our court system allows us to obtain her legal documents (birth certificate) in English from the state in which Sarah was adopted (Oklahoma). It will basically cut down on the hassle of doing things like getting her an American passport, enrolling her in school and also extra-curricular activities.

Andrew, on the other hand, was officially adopted Friday. Although we have certainly been the "mama" and "daddy" this whole time, it is awesome to know that the law now recognizes that relationship. I'm also very excited to finally have his last name changed to ours! After much thought we have decided to use Andrew's court date as his Forever Family Day instead of the day we left the hospital with him. That way he won't have two big days to celebrate two days apart.