New bed - well kind of!

Well, the first (blurry) photo is the bed we purchased off of Craig's list. I am 1/2 way done with it, but still have the trundle to go. After all of the drama with the paint, it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but it is probably as good as it is going to get. The plan is to work on the trundle over the next week or two.

Now we have to decide on the rest of the furniture. Leaving it a light wood, or painting it black (or buying new to match!)? I would actually like to get horizontal furniture instead of vertical because our little guy is a climber and the potential of it falling on him worries me. If it were up to him, he would climb to the top of the house and yell "hey Daddy and Mommy - look at me"!

Another first!

It is a rainy day so we decided to hit the movie theatre. Jackson's first movie was "Alvin and the Chipmunks". He did a really good job. At first, he wasn't a fan of the noise level but quickly adapted. He sat through the entire movie and did a good job at paying attention. Of course, he had M&M's, popcorn and an Icee, which helps any good movie become a great movie. Ironically, the chipmunks were on a cruise so Jackson was really excited about seeing the big boat since he knows we are going to go on one next year. He also knows we are going to the beach to see all the cousins soon, so he is hoping they will watch a movie with him.

Twin bed for Jackson!

Last weekend, we bought a trundle bed off of Craig's List. It was solid white and I loved it. I thought that the white color was too 'girly' so to make it more masculine I painted it chocolate brown. I had the plan laid out to strip, sand and prime for the new paint color. Jackson and I went to Home Depot to buy the supplies that we didn't have in stock at home. While we were there, the employee that worked in the paint department convinced me that I didn't need all that prep work and I was wasting my time. Instead, he said we needed to buy a certain (expensive) kind of paint with the primer built in. Well, this was a fail. It took a ba-zillion coats of paint, and still doesn't look good. I guess we are going to have to strip the brown paint and start again.

Here is Jackson doing the "pretend" sanding in his hard hat and hockey skates. My boy is prepared for a hard days work! Today we are going to go back to Home Depot, and I hope that guy is there because I really want to tell him that his advice sucked. Last night Bill and I put the bed together (it was in pieces), and it literally should have been a 10 minute project that took 1 1/2 hrs. Although it wasn't comical at the time, today I find it hilarious.

Jackson is so excited about his new bed he can't stand it! We already have new sheets and a monkey blanket. Now we just have to finish the bed - keep your fingers crossed..................

A Cruise and A Lovers’ Quarrel

We have officially placed a deposit on a Disney Cruise for July 2013! The 4 day Cruise is a “Russian Reunion Cruise” for families that have adopted from Russia. It is still 1 ½ years away, but Bill and I are super excited. I asked Jackson last night if he wanted to take a Disney Cruise, and he said “yeah”, even though he has no idea what I was talking about. The super cool thing about this trip (not that the trip itself won’t be super cool enough on its own!), is that Jackson will turn 5 years old while on the cruise! We have been wanting to have a big birthday bash for him somehow, and I believe this will do it! It will be awesome to connect with so many friends that we have gotten to know over the years, as well as see some old friends we originally met while in Vladivostok.

Now onto the lovers’ quarrel. Jackson is a ladies’ man, and has been since he started school. I did not believe it at first, but it is coming more and more apparent. Anyway, he has a girlfriend named “Natalie” at school. Sometimes, the teachers make them sit at different tables because they get too wrapped up in each other. Last night, when Jackson came home, he said “Natalie is not my friend”. When we asked why, he said that she pushed him. He would not admit any wrong doing, but we both suspect he was wrestling her to the ground and had her in a head lock and she finally got tired of it. Today, when Bill picked Jackson up from school he saw the two of them playing in a blissful state. Jackson has reported “Natalie is my friend”. It may be time to meet her parents!!

2011 Year in Review

We have had a really busy year, and we are constantly in transition. Looking back at 2011, we have had a lot of firsts..but we have also had a lot of seconds! It is humbling to review the milestones and achievements of our little guy, and we are very proud of his growth and development. He is completely a different kid than he was a year ago.

January 11th - 1st minor league hockey game of the year (many more to come)
February 1st – Started school part time
February 28th – Started school full time
March 24th – First kiss, we have a ladies man
April 20th – Spring Program at school
May 28th – 1st theme park rides, officially an addict
June 1st – 1st visit to Miss Donna – back up babysitter
June 5th – Annual Pirate Festival
July 7th – Missouri Vacation
July 8th – 1st professional haircut
July 11th – Graduated to the big boy bed
July 15th – Knoxville Vacation
July 24th – I turned 3 years old!
July 30th – Doctors visit, I weigh 28 lbs and was 37” tall
August 12th – 2nd eye surgery
September – 1st Professional Hockey game
October 5th – 2 year post placement report
October 23rd – Busch Gardens Vacation
October 20th – Gotcha Day, 2 years!
November 18th – Learned the word “WHY”, haven’t stopped asking it yet.
November 27th – Thanksgiving with family
December 14th – Re-adoption finalized in Virginia
December 17th – Christmas Program at school
December 25th - Santa brought me a tractor!
December 29th - Ocean City Vacation
December 31st – Graduated out of pull ups at nighttime! Results TBD...