New ride

Oops, first accident

Caden trying to honk the horn

One of our neighbors was getting rid of some toys and gave the boys their Gator. It's a pretty big hit for both boys! Surprisingly Caden sits and loves to ride. He has fallen off a few times but just gets right back in the passenger seat. I'm sure there will be some fights once Caden is older and wants to drive but for now it works well...Quinn loves driving and Caden loves riding beside his brother.

Caden and Elena

Hi Omma, we love you!

Why are we just hanging here??

Sweet baby girl!

Caden and Elena were foster brother & sister while they were in Korea. When I traveled to Korea in February, Elena's parents had just received her referral. When I went to KSS to meet Caden for the first time their foster mom also brought Elena so I got to see her and take some pictures for her parents. Elena came home at the end of August. She only lives a few miles down the road from us! How awesome is it for these 2 little ones that they live so close to each other?!?!?!

Caden's adoption finalization

Before the hearing

Caden in his cute outfit!

Family shot with the Judge

All 4 of us stamping the seal on the Adoption Certificate

Gifts from our adoption agency

Yesterday we had our court hearing for Caden's adoption finalization. It was very nice. There were a total of 5 families at the hearing, including us, who all adopted through our agency and from Korea. Caden and 3 others were all on the same flight home so it was nice to see the other babies again and to see how they have grown.

Each family was separately called in front of the Judge. She talked each of us. She asked Quinn how it was to have a little brother. He wasn't shy and talked to the Judge and told her Caden was 1 and it was good to have a little brother. We took a picture and then sat back down.

After all the families had gone in front of the Judge each family was then called back up to obtain their Adoption Certificate and seal it. The Judge first had a piece of paper with Quinn's name on it and let him push down the seal on his piece of paper. Then we all got to seal the Adoption Certificate. It was very nice how the Judge included Quinn as well. The court also took family pictures of us. They gave us a small picture yesterday and will mail us a 5x7 copy.

There was a representative from our agency there who brought a teddy bear for each boy and 2 books (Korean games and Korean holidays and festivals). Caden's bear had a little note on it stating "Congratulations! Today you became a United States Citizen. Best wishes from FAC.".

A very good and memorable day!

1st day of pre school

Quinn's first day of pre school went really good. He was a little scared before we left home but once we got there he was fine. Of course, I think this all had to do with the fact that his friend Kyle is in his class. He and Kyle went to Goddard together when I was still working (staying at home now with the boys....I'm not sure I ever posted that???). Once we got there he was so excited to see Kyle. They went in their class like they owned the place, pulling out toys, running around, not shy, etc. Once it was time for me to leave Quinn said he didn't want me to leave but Kyle's mom asked Kyle to show Quinn the other room. Quinn gave me a hug and kiss, said bye and was off with Kyle...no tears. He said pre school is fun and he's ready to go back on Monday!

New camera for Mommy + new hat for Quinn = photo shoot

I got a new camera and Quinn is all of a sudden interested in having his picture taken. Once he got a new hat he really wanted his picture taken. There were 2 hats so Quinn said Caden could have the black and white one. Quinn is always making these silly faces so I'm glad to have finally captured some of them!

Swimming

Quinn finally put his swimmies on. We tried last year and this year and he was not interested. One day swimming with Grandma and he was hooked. Now he only wants to be in the big pool and is Mr. Independent! We probably put him in swim lessons this winter and/or spring. Maybe next summer he will be able to swim on his own.

New belt

Grandma gave Quinn a belt that was daddy's when he was little. Quinn is quite fond of the new belt and likes to wear it every day. However, he prefers to wear it around his shirt/waist. We tried jean shorts and putting the belt though the belt loops but that was not approved by Quinn. So, I guess he'll just continue to wear it around his waist.

Quinn has a lot of imagination. He likes to act like he is Buzz Lightyear, Spiderman and sometimes likes to play either pizza delivery man or ride his scooter through the house and have me say red light, green light, turn left, turn right, etc. He doesn't follow the rules with the scooter game so he usually ends up getting tickets from mommy aka the police. We have been spending a lot of time at the pool this summer. Quinn can "swim" under water in the baby pool, jumps in from the side, and likes to go under at the same time as mommy or daddy...whoever is holding him. Recently he started wearing his arm swimmies. So he can now swim across the pool alone and jump in my himself. I think we'll try to get him into swim lessons this winter so hopefully next summer he will be swimming on his own without swimmies. Quinn will be starting preschool the 2nd week in September. He will go 2 mornings a week.

Caden had his 15 month appointment on Monday. He was 26 lbs and 33 inches long. He is now in the 68th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height. Quinn was 25 lbs but I'm not sure about his height. He is still a few inches taller than Caden so maybe he's 35 inches. Caden is saying mama and dada. I think I heard him say more and all done each one time. He knows the signs for these words. Caden continues to climb on EVERYTHING. So, he hears the word "no" many many times a day from me. Maybe that will be his next word?? He does shake his head no sometimes when I tell him no. The kitchen chairs are still Caden's favorite....then from there to climb onto the table. Another favorite of Caden's is to open drawers and take things out. He also hears me saying "no" many many times a day for this! He is still cuddly which I love! He is also still very laid back.