2nd Installment - the Year in Review

In April, we celebrated Passover with the family. Nathan and Sela love to spend time with their older cousins. And of course, the food was great too. Nathan even enjoyed the matzah this year!
Sela got her first professional haircut in April. She was so good and sat so still.
We were visted by Rick, Liz and the kids in April. Too bad the kids weren't feeling so good and we only had limited time together.

The end of April brought on a trip to Massachusettes for Juliet's birthday. The kids enjoyed a bath together in Auntie Mary's big bathtub. And Sela enjoyed getting all dressed up for the party.
Nathan was so happy when he got his hands on somebody's baseball glove, now we just have to teach him what to do with it.
When it was time for Juliet to open her gifts, Nathan cried when he realized there weren't any for him.
But things got better quickly, because after the presents were opened, the cake was served!

Once everyone had left, the kids were exhausted!
We celebrated Mother's Day in May with the family at Aunt Teri and Uncle Jamie's house.
And, although Sela does love her mommy, PopPop is and always will be her number 1!!
Also in May, we drove to New Jersey to visit Cousins Dave and Lynn and their kids Gabriel and Isabel. The kids got along great and we had a terrific time!

Nathan especially enjoyed all the great toys they had!
When we returned, we went to a birthday party for Grandma Helen. It was just too bad she wasn't up to attending the party. Regardless, we had a great time at Aunt Diane and Uncle Jeff's house. Nathan truly takes after his mother - check out the tongue!
As the weather got warmer, we spent more and more time at Aunt Sherry and Uncle Saul's pool. They were so nice to share it with us and spend so much time with us over the summer. Too bad every kid can't have an Aunt Sherry and Uncle Saul! The kids and I are truly blessed!

Looking back over the past year - 1st Quarter

This has been an amazing year for our family. Our family was now complete and we were all settled in and getting into routines. The kids continue to grow and learn each day and we were blessed to spend time with family and friends.

The year started with Sela's formal readoption day. We went to the courthouse in Howard County with Nathan and PopPop, where her name was formally changed to Yisela Mari Shooman. Nathan started the New Year with yet another scrape and bruise on his precious face, and continued his love of being naked.

We celebrated Sela's first birthday in January with family and friends. She loved her birthday cake and enjoyed eating it with her hands.
In January, we also had a visit from our dear friends, Auntie Mary and Juliet. We walked around downtown Baltimore, visited Washington DC and spent some time at the Air and Space Museum.
In February, we were visited by more friends. Lisa, Lori, Benjamin and Joel came to visit from Chicago. While they were in town, we met Pattie and Noah at the Aquarium in Baltimore.
Aunt Teri joined us for a show in DC called Disney on Ice. We met our friends Patty, Ella Rose and Liliana for the show and joined them and Mr. Brian at a wonderful Mexican restaurant afterwards. The kids sat still the entire time and loved the show.
Juhani, Nathan's Godfather, was preparing to leave for his move to Indonesia in February to be with his fiance who is working at the Embassy in Jakarta for the State Department. We wanted to spend some special time with him before he left, so Juhani and I took the kids to Disneyworld for a long weekend trip. The kids loved everything about the trip, but mostly just being with Juhani.

We were very lucky that while we were in Florida, Auntie Mary and Juliet were there too and we were able to spend a wonderful day with them at Disney.
March brought on the ACC tournament. The kids love to watch basketball with me on TV and will yell and cheer for the TERPS!!
Onyx and Mishu continue to do well and are tolerant of the kids. Onyx is now 6 years old.

And, Mishu turned 6 as well this year. Thankfully both girls are healthy.
In March, we had another visit from Auntie Mary and Juliet and this time they brought Mr. Rob with them. We had a wonderful time visiting Washington, walking by the reflecting pool and visiting the World War II Memorial.

That weekend, we also hosted a get together of the local families of our Guatemalan Adoptive Families Group. We had lunch and playtime in the park. It was so wonderful to see all these beautiful children together!

Nathan's Report Card and My first Parent/Teacher Conference

It was no surprise that Nathan got a good report card. He loves school, his teachers and his classmates.

I was a little concerned about the few areas that he did not receive proficient marks in, but learned today that those are items the class is still working on or have not covered yet, so nothing to be concerned about.

Nathan does very well in all his social interactions both with teachers and classmates. He is polite and follows directions and plays with everything. Although his favorite activities appear to be the housekeeping section and blocks, he does play at every section and participates in all the activities that are available to him. The teachers think this is terrific, I think it is because he has a short attention span.

I learned a lot from my meeting with his teachers. Nathan is right on target, and some of the concerns I had were eased. Some behaviors I had concerns about appear to be normal for his age group. Nathan is growing and developing beautifully and is doing very well at this school. His teachers and all the teachers at the school are absolutely wonderful, caring and compassionate people.

No pictures from the weekend, and unfortunately our trip to Massachusettes to see Auntie Mary, Mr. Rob and Juliet had to be posponed. Nathan had pink eye last Thursday and Sela got it over the weekend. We just weren't in the picture taking mood. I am sure we will make up for it next weekend when we have a playdate with Anne's kids John, Luke and Grace.

Bubie and PopPop left for Arizona last Friday and the kids miss them already!!

Finally, Bubie Ruby called me in a panic this morning because she thought she had forgotten my birthday! Her oldest grandchild - how could she forget? She was very relieved however when I informed her that she had the wrong month. :)

Terps Basketball

On Sunday night, my parents and I took the kids to their first Maryland Basketball Game. What a thrill it was to watch them experience the excitement of their first game. I had dreamed about this moment since becoming a mother! I have always loved basketball, coached for many years and now I was able to share this experience with my kids.
I haven't been to a game since Nathan came home, so this was very exciting for me in so many ways!
Sela was all dressed up in her cheerleader costume and loved every minute of it. I don't think she stopped moving the entire time. She danced along with the music from the band, cheered and just jumped up and down because she was so excited when she wasn't giving random kisses to her PopPop!
Nathan was thrilled to be able to see his favorite player Bambale Osby (as Nathan refers to him - the guy with the big hair). We have watched him together many times on TV and there he was live and in person!

It was a late night, and the kids were very tired, but they did great! I was so proud of their good behavior. It was the best game I have even gone to - even though they lost!

Nathan was a little overwhelmed at first, but then relaxed and enjoyed the experience. The popcorn helped too!

Thank you so much Bubie and PopPop for sharing your tickets with us and thank you also to Uncle Ron and Aunt Joan who gave my parents the tickets!! It was certainly an experience we won't ever forget!

Wonderful Weekend

We had a wonderful and very full weekend!

Friday night started with a Channukah party at Temple Bet Aviv with Bubie and PopPop.

The kids enjoyed watching Cantor Marge and choir sing and even went up on the bima and danced! Nathan proudly lit the Channukah candles with Bubie on his new menorah and did the kiddush and LOVED the wine. Sela, as usual was hanging on PopPop's leg when he wasn't in the kitchen cooking latkes. After dinner, the choir sang a few more songs and Sela stood right in front of them and danced as if they were singing just for her!

On Saturday, we had a Channukah party at our house with cousins, Aunts, Uncles and of course PopPop and 2 Bubies! The kids enjoyed opening their gifts and playing with their cousins.

That evening, the kids opened even more presents that they had received from Juhani and Sarah who recently returned from their honeymoon in Australia. Nathan loved his t-shirt and wanted to model it right away! (of course, in typical Nathan fashion, he doesn't have on any pants!)

Sela received a purse from them and was so pleased she pranced around the house modeling it. She wouldn't stand still for a minute so I could take a picture!

Sunday was a big day as well.

We had yet another Channukah Party at Bubie and PopPop's house with Aunt Teri and Uncle Jamie.

Channukah Celebrations!

On the first night of Channukah, we went to Mom and Dad's house for candles, presents and dinner. Nathan and Sela received their very own Channukah menorah and were very excited! Mom and Dad also got them each another gift. Nathan received a car and Sela got a book. Both were very excited about all their presents.


After presents, we lit the candles. Although Nathan appeared to be very excited about it, he got very upset when we told him that the blessing he was saying was the wrong one. Not only did we correct him, but then went on to say the other two. I thought he learned the blessings in Hebrew School and certainly has heard them lots of time at home and in the car, but I think he got a little confused and wanted to say the blessing we say before eating. Either that, or he was ready to eat!!

It was very special to be able to share the first day of Channukah with my beautiful children and my wonderful and very generous parents.

On the second day of Channukah, we received a big surprise: SNOW!! It usually doesn't snow here this early in the season and certainly not this much. We were not properly prepared, but enjoyed looking at the beautiful snow.

The Channukah celebration begins!

What a weekend!!

I am so thankful to live to close to my family and don't know how people live so far away from theirs. My family has saved me one more than one occassion, and the opportunity to do so again this weekend when my fridge and freezer broke down. Mom helped me cook all the food that had defrosted in the freezer and Teri let me bring tons of stuff that hadn't yet spoiled to her house. They are terrific and I am so greatful for their help!!

We were able to have the Channukah party at our house as planned on Sunday and it was so wonderful to see and spend time with our cousins and watch the kids play together. Here are some pictures and I hope to add more soon:

All the excitement was a little overwhelming for my kids, but we are looking forward to doing it again next weekend with more family!