We've got a...

Golden Ticket!!

I'm still in shock. Our 171-H came today! That's 9 business days from when we were fingerprinted! Last time it took 8 days, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised, but I had heard it was taking longer in our state these days. Apparently not.

So, now I need to get to work on the dossier. I have been working on it, but I thought I had a bit more time.

Here is what still needs to be done...

* Get medical letters from doctor's office. Appointments are done - just waiting for the letters.
* Get Kevin's out of state birth certificate certified by the out of state Secretary of state. (Should take a couple of days at the most.)
* Get our reference letters back. (Time to light a fire under our friends' booties)
* Employment letter for Kevin.
* Photos of us and our home.
* Finish our financial statement.

That's not so bad! I'm hoping to have everything by the end of next week (since I need a deadline) and then I'll have it approved by CHI and then off for certification, then more certification, then even more certification... you know the deal.

EEK!

Then... and Now - Friends

Micah has been home for over a year, so I thought it would be fun to start comparing last year to this year - to see how much he has changed and grown. This post is about friends...

Then..

Miles & Chuck. These were taken the day after we got home from Ethiopia when we took Micah to meet his new friends down the street. Chuck is my best friend's youngest - he is about 9 months older than Micah. Mic was almost 6 months here.

and Now...
BFFs

Then...
George (Chuckie's older brother), Micah and Chuck - taken the same day as the first pictures.

and Now...
It's blurry - you can't get these 3 to sit still anymore!!

I have more on the 'friends' theme to share, but I'm already in tears looking at how tiny Micah was, so the rest will have to wait - I want to smooch his fat little baby face! :)

(Chuck & George are 'blog names' - unless Micah's friends have blogs, I will be changing all the names.)

Strange Fashion

Remember when I posted about Micah's weird outfits? Here's another one...

For some reason, I just think of Flashdance when I see these pictures. He found my headband and insisted that I put it on him. And, yes, that's a swiffer in his hand. He is still in love with the swiffer. This morning it ended up in the toilet, along with gobs of t.p. Time to get a new swiffer! (If you're wondering why there is a pillow on the chair - that is where I read - curled up in my yellow chair. :)

Baby #2 Update - Still working on the dossier. We were fingerprinted last week and are waiting for the 171-H. Hopefully the dossier will be very close to finished (or even completely finished!) by the time it gets here. I think I need to give myself a deadline for the dossier too. :)

$116!

This is Gracie...

(Before the Hannah Montana concert)

She is 9 years old. I've known her since the day she was born. I knew her when she was Micah's age and looked like this...

I am really, really proud of her these days. She recently took it upon herself to collect money for HIV+ children in Ethiopia. She told her class at school all about it and then collected money at school. She and her brother and a neighbor also had a lemonade stand and collected money. They've decided it should go to Ahope and they collected $116.00! Gracie has a big heart - she and her brother will do amazing things one day - I just know it. Thanks Gracie for being such a great kid - you are inspiring!

Tagged

1. I try to eat healthy foods and avoid things like high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. If the label is unreadable, I usually don't buy it. That, however, does not stop me from buying and using this disgusting product...
I know, I am ruining my coffee and myself, but I am addicted. I've tried the soy french vanilla creamer - not the same.

2. I am a ridiculous procrastinator. If I have a deadline, it will be finished, but until then, whatever needs to be done will languish. Deadlines actually make me happy and I used to request them at work. I should have been a journalist - they have to work with deadlines. I even give myself deadlines for the blog.

3. When I don't have a book to read, I feel a bit lost. I am pretty sure I am addicted to reading, which sounds good, but a good book will generally lead to lots of #2.

4. Once, when I was 14, I was in London with my family. My big sister thought it would be fun to try to get me into a bar (not to drink, mind you). I got all gussied up (which in those days meant hot rollers and lots of hair spray) and was denied immediately (you had to be 18). I was mortified, but that night we ALL got food poisoning, so it was actually a good thing I didn't make it in.

5. I really, really do not like boogers. Poop doesn't bother me, but boogers are so disgusting. (I'm sure many people share this view, but I think I'm rather extreme about it.)

6. I am a very simple dresser. I have to force myself to wear things that have prints or that are any color besides black, grey and white. I recently accepted brown as well, but black still rules. In high school my mom used to beg me to wear any color besides black. Old habits...

7. I can't think of another one, so see this post, but be warned - #7 there is not entirely g-rated. :)

I know a lot of people have already been tagged, so sorry if you're getting tagged twice or more, but here are the people I am tagging...
Jill
Nell Ann
Kristine
Jenni
Bergmama
Danielle
Jen

My Dream Come True... And Baby No. 2

Have you all seen Parenthood? It is one of my favorite movies. Scoff if you must, but I love it.

I used to watch it when I was younger (it came out in 1989 - so yes, I was much younger) and I loved, loved Justin - remember Justin? The little boy who ran down during his sister Taylor's recital and ruined the whole thing? Yes, that's him. I always said that I hoped my child would be just like Justin. Apparently, I said this out loud, a lot. It has come true. Instead of blond curls, my son has beautiful brown curls (which I love). But, like Justin, my son has the ability to make us laugh hysterically and the ability to make us leave school-sponsored functions in shame. Let me explain...

Remember when Justin wore a cowboy hat and a holster... and that's it? Micah comes up with outfits like this on a daily basis. Here is a recent ensemble that had me giggling. He asked to have all of these things put on...

It may not look that strange to you, but in person, it was silly. Frog boots (that he specifically asked for at the resale shop), camo shorts, snoopy shirt and a hat. This outfit is mild, comparatively, but some things are not fit for the Internet.

Second, we have recently entered the toddler stage in full force. Micah is testing the limits every day and has acquired the gift of continual movement. Our child has always been "busy" and "spirited" but he is taking it to new levels. Levels that are sometimes questionable - such as when we went to a recent adoption forum put on by our school district and he decided that ALL of the toys in the room were HIS. How dare those other children even pick up a toy? SO, I attempted to follow him around and give the toys back to the children as he ripped them from their hands. Then we received a long look from the administrator, so we left in shame. Thankfully, our parent-educator came two days later and told me how normal it is at this age. She gave me some great ideas (consistency being the most important) and we are working on it.

Tonight we went to a music class and Micah did okay - he tried to pay attention and lasted about 20 minutes, which is good for him. Tomorrow we are taking a trial class at the Little Gym - we believe that Micah has a real strength in the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and we're hoping to foster that in him (as well as get some energy out and offer an opportunity for socialization). We really want to find a way to allow Micah's "spirited" side to grow and prosper in a constructive way, rather than to dampen his spirit and reign him in. It's not easy, but we've known that this would be our challenge from our first few days with him. It's a 'challenge' that we are happy to take on and we hope we can do our best for him.

Okay, if you've made it this far, you probably have a 'spirited' toddler yourself. Otherwise, you'd have grown bored of my long-windedness. (Is that a word?) If you have any stories to share, or tips, I'd love to hear them.

And, baby #2.... I was wrong about the fingerprints - we do have to have them done again. Not a big deal - we're going Thursday and then hopefully we'll have our 171-H 4-6 weeks after that. The plan is to have the dossier finished by then so we can get everything certified and off to Ethiopia by December. So, we're still moving along... albeit a bit more slowly than I thought. :)

And, after a long post such as this, I like to share some random cute pics, so here goes...

Hanging with his peeps

Sweet Yogurt-Face

Scary Yogurt-Face

Dragon is in the lead...Micah has other ideas

The dragon is winning in our Halloween costume poll! The dragon costume I picked out, however, is $70. My impulsive side lost and I decided that was too much for a costume. (Especially since I don't plan to make his little sister wear all of his old costumes - except for the puppy dog from last year, she should get all of her own costumes.) So, I was extremely happy to find a "dragon" at Target! Please ignore the tag that says "dino." This is so OBVIOUSLY a dragon and NOT a dino...

And, this costume even has claw hands! Claw hands I tell you!

I also bought the bat at Old Navy, but, unfortunately it looks more like a rat when the wings aren't showing. The check-out person at ON even thought it was a rat. Ummm... no. So, that will probably go back (sorry for those of you voting for the bat!).

I do have to add that Micah decided to show me today that he has other ideas for Halloween. I think he wants to be this guy...

Why, you might ask...

Okay, so he only got half of the mustache done before I took the sharpie away, but I think it looks pretty good, don't you? (The sad part of this story is that I took the sharpie away and didn't realize he had actually drawn on himself for another 5 minutes.)

Halloween Costumes - Help!

I just can't decide what Micah should be for Halloween! You can help me decide by voting in the poll!

Here are the choices...

1. A Dragon...
2. Brutus the Buckeye
This would depend on me actually making a costume, which is not likely, but hopefully he would look like this in the end...

(He would probably end up looking nothing like this - keep that in mind while you vote!)

3. Ninja Baby (because ninjas are cool)...

4. A Bat

I reserve the right to not listen at all to the poll results. I'll tell you - right now I'm leaning towards the Dragon - first, because it is really cute - with a long tail in the back, and second, because I just finished this book and am feeling the love for dragons right now. (You all remember that I am a dork, right? Good.)

The Hat

Micah allowed me to put my hat on him the other night - he then would not let us take it off. If it came off by accident, he would come and ask to have it put back on. So, of course I had to grab the camera...

Oh, so sweet...

Until you try to take his hat off.

Is it just me, or does he look so BIG in this picture? Like a big boy. Sigh.

Micah has a new trick for Halloween. If you say to him, "Show me your scary face," he will scrunch up his face and snort in and out of his nose. I, personally, find this to be the cutest thing ever. You may not agree...

Scary right?!

He also has a new obsession - shoes. I cannot keep shoes in the closet anymore! He drags them out, tries them on, walks around. Tonight he even went into his Dad's closet and laid himself amongst the shoes...and smiled. Ahhh, a bed of shoes.

He is very fond of flip-flops.

So, now you know what we do to entertain ourselves at night before bedtime. Hats and shoes. We are so exciting, I know.