Happy Birthday!!!

Let the celebrating begin!
It actually started a week ago when we were in Rhode Island for my brother's wedding. Gavin was able to celebrate his birthday with my side of the family which was pretty special, since typically everyone will be in school during a typical year. My dad and Gavin are September birthdays. We had a combo party for the two of them. As you can see Gavin was hypnotized by the cake.


We are so happy that we got to celebrate Gavin's birthday with him. Anyone for a birthday chocolate chip muffin? Gavin knew exactly what to do when the candles were lit! 

He also received some special gifts from Korea. Last year during his dol, he happened to choose the stethoscope. As you can see he has already begun practicing medicine.

Yesterday and today, I couldn't help but think of Korea. 

These are special pictures from his first birthday. 

...and here are my wishes...

*that Gavin may know how loved he was from the moment he was born*

*that his birth mother has found peace in her heart*

*that his foster family know that they will always be part of our family, and we will be forever grateful for all that they have done for our son*

Happy Birthday!
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1st Family Vacation

This past weekend we traveled to Rhode Island for my brother's wedding. 

We LOVED it! There's so much to tell and I hope to blog about everything, but for now...here is an Animoto Video to show what a beautiful, extra long, weekend we had.

Fun in the Sun!

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4 Months Home

We have been a family for four months! Some days it seems like Gavin has always been with us. Some days we can't believe we have been a family for 4 months. Time flies for me now, but I am reminded by Matt that time is constant, LOL! 

Gavin still loves the outdoors. Even in the horrible Texas heat if we go to a park or are outside, it can be a challenge to convince him that he would rather be in the nice cool air conditioning when it's time to go home.

Gavin  loves our pups. The most interesting relationship he has with the dogs, is the one with Ace. I suppose they act kind of like brothers. I love this video...I know some people thought we trained Ace to pull Gavin in the bed, but it was totally random that he happened to pull him when I told him to. What I didn't capture is Ace and Gavin fighting over who got the dog bed. They do that over the dog toys, too.

The first official week of school has come and gone. Gavin is in the 3K class at his daycare. He really loves his friends and his teachers. We are at the point when Matt drops him off there are no tears, and when I pick him up there are no more tears. The tears he gave me weren't the I want to stay tears. They were the how could you think of leaving me tears. They would have made me feel horrible and guilt ridden except for the fact when I would peek in the room he would be happily playing with his classmates.

Matt's favorite time of the year is here...football season! As you see we have a Husker in training...

                                               but you never know he could be a Badger...

Back To School

One of the best "back to school" activities in our school district is Convocation!



Convocation is when schools take turns gathering at one of the high schools get to hear our superintendent, see videos from events from the past year, and my favorite part is the high school
performances.
My school district is huge. We almost have 100,000 students...there's over 70 elementary schools, etc... What's unbelievable to me is that we are just one of at least 7 school districts in San Antonio...and our district can grow to be around 150,000 students. I wonder if that will happen when I'm still teaching. This is my 14th year and the district has grown in leaps and bounds since I started.



Can I say, I LOVE my team!!!! I couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with. Wishing everyone a wonderful first day!!!

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Bye Bye Summer

I can't believe how quickly this summer has flown by.

Last week I started to prep my classroom.

And...I had the cutest helper one day.

After we were at school we stopped to have lunch with Matt.

Time seems to fly now that we have Gavin home...and I have to say even though summer is coming to an end, there are so many things to look forward to!

3 Months Home

 What can I say...we love our sweet son and can't imagine our world without him. 

Smart, silly, sweet, stubborn, snack lover, social...

He is beginning to really enjoy going to "school". His teacher says that he loves being around the other children and is not afraid to get a toy that he wants...that can be decoded in many different ways, LOL.

Potty training could be happening sometime soon. He's begun to notify us when the time has passed, but we're definitely heading in the right direction. 

He is making an attempt to repeat us more frequently and will typically have a hi or bye for people we meet. 

We are still working on sleep. Although he will nap at school, the only way for him to nap at home is starting off with a car or stroller ride. He still wakes up during the night, but that is getting better, too. 

One last week, before I start going to workshops for the new school year and Matt has been working more hours that ever before, but life is good!

Every day is so much sweeter with this little guy at home!

Sharing a snack with daddy.

Cheese!

Ready for the Olympics!

Best Friends!

Growing up quickly!

Excuse the mess, but just had to capture our favorite hat!