Just my luck...

I absolutely love playing games. I think it all started way back with rounds of Sorry, Splat!, and Hungry, Hungry Hippos with my siblings. As I got older I fell in love with cribbage while playing with Erin and then Boggle became a family favorite too. Of course our family got addicted to Tetris and Mario games when we got our Nintendo system, but for the most part I grew up playing board games. In college Rachel, Molly and I never put away our games; they were always left in the living room so that we could occupy our time in other ways than studying! It was during those years that I played cribbage almost nightly as well as Hand and Foot. Playing games has just become a staple in my life.
Sadly, for me, that hasn't been the case lately. I cannot even remember the last time Mark and I pulled out a game to play. It just doesn't happen any more. Needless to say, I was elated when he suggested we play a round of Scrabble this weekend! (I can remember lots of fun times hanging out and playing Scrabble in our ten years together. The best was a few years ago when it was super cold and snowy over the winter break and we were stuck indoors trying to stay warm. We spent those couple of days eating, drinking hot chocolate and playing multiple rounds of Scrabble.)
Anyway, it was a great game on Saturday. The score was close, the words we were coming up with were good and it was great to spend time playing together once again. Then Zoey comes along to see what we were doing and walks all over the board. Great.
I guess I'll have to wait for another full moon, 40 below zero day when the stars align and Anthony takes a long nap to get in another game. (Maybe by then I can fully learn all of the crazy "Bergeron rules".)

Meeting Auntie J

Anthony meeting Jami for the first time.

More presents! Thank you for the thoughtful gifts!

This past weekend we headed up north for a much anticipated visited from Auntie Jami! Mark's sister lives in Lake Tahoe and, unfortunately, we don't always get to see her as much as we would like. Anthony has been practicing saying Auntie Jami for over a month now and was all set to really put on a show for her. That he definitely did! Whether it was saying her name repeatedly, screaming at supper, staring at her or going upstairs to see where she was at he was all about getting to know and spend time with this new auntie. Thank you for coming home, Jami!

Hanson family shot! As you can see Anthony really wasn't into getting his picture taken that morning. This, unfortunately, was the best out of the bunch.

He was, however, fascinated by her bracelet and needed to check it out.

"Anthony's Expanding Vocabulary -

New words seem to fly out of his mouth everyday" is officially being retired from blogland. Honestly, Mark and I just cannot keep up with the amount of new words he knows and the stories he's constantly sharing lately.
Just tonight it took awhile to go to bed because he had to recap the day at Renae's house with all of his friends, what the cat's did and the toys he played with. Then he started to talk about what he did this weekend and got stuck on happy birthday. He still believes it was Auntie Manda's and Uncle Damon's birthday. He had to tell me how we went to Papa Willie's basketball game and then we went out for nummies with Auntie Manda, Uncle Damon, Grandma Kathy, Papa Willie, Uncle Erik (it's so cute how he says this), mommy and Anthony. Then he explained that we sang happy birthday. (And then we had to sing happy birthday again tonight. When I sang "Auntie Manda" he once again had to add in Uncle Damon too!)
It's amazing how much he remembers and his ability to recall with accuracy. Just a few months ago this would not have happened at all!

There have been some favorite conversations with Anthony in the last couple of weeks that I will probably always remember and start laughing once again.

A: Mom, my butt hurts.
M: Why? What's wrong?
A: My butt hurts! (He's now standing up in his chair pointing to his butt.) Kiss it, Mom!
M: (Giggling) Sweetheart, I'm not going to kiss your butt.
A: KISS IT! (Then lots of tears)

One day Anthony started to play a game of pointing to a body part and then I would have to kiss it. All was well until he called out his penis.
A: Kiss my pee pee.
M: That's inappropriate. We don't kiss pee pees.
A: KISS MY PEE PEE, MOM!

Then there was the drive home from daycare today. I had the radio off and we were talking about his day at Renae's. Then he started to play a game of "Mommy is a ____" and then I would have to moo or oink or whatever. I kept playing even when he had stopped until he finally said...
A: No, Mom.
M: What? You don't want to play anymore?
A: Turn on the music.
Is it even possible for a two year old to want to listen to music more than talking with his mommy? I thought that behavior was reserved for the teenagers years, but I guess not. I tried to continuing talking and all I heard from the back seat was MUSIC!!!
Yikes!

In just eleven months all of this language and conversation and stories has transpired out of A. What a beautiful gift! I can't wait to see what he comes up with as he continues to grow and learn. I'm sure we'll be in for a wild ride.

Fishing on Sylvan

This past weekend Anthony and I headed up north to help out on my parent's house while Mark stayed home and, unfortunately, got sick. Saturday and Sunday we were busy staining and varnishing while A spent some quality time with Grandma and Papa Hanson. (Thank you again for helping out!) Every evening we had supper together as a family, which is pretty rare these days, but a lot of fun too! Especially when I start thinking about what could have happened last July... Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the progress that has been made on mom and dad's house. The great news is they are close to being done and moving back in. Maybe the next photos will be of a house warming party?!
Monday morning before heading back home Auntie Manda and Uncle Damon took us ice fishing out on Sylvan Bay. It was a lot of fun and something I haven't done in a long time. Anthony did enjoy it - the holes with water, "shark bait" the minnow, the Rhino, Auntie scorching her hair, and needing to know where Uncle Damon was at all times. It really wasn't a surprise that he didn't last too long before starting to cry and wanting to get off of the ice. We stayed out for a couple of hours, but didn't catch a thing. (He probably would have lasted longer if fish would have been coming through those fun holes that were too irresistible to NOT play in!) I think I had a little nibble, but didn't do the right thing to "hook" it. Maybe next time we'll have better luck. Overall, it was a good weekend up north and ice fishing was a great way to top it off!

Auntie and A hoping to get lucky!

Just hanging out in the fish house.

Hope

Regardless of your beliefs or political views today is a historic day for all of us. There have been several times throughout the day that I have been moved, chilled and filled with a great hope for the future. I'll be the first to admit that politics is not something I'm super passionate about nor do I always know all of the facts. However, this election process was very different for me. I started to take a greater interest, got involved in thought provoking conversations and even got excited about the possibilities.
Today was one of those shining moments I was thankful to be a part of young people's lives on a daily basis. Once again I was blessed to be with the same group of students during the inauguration as I was on September 11th. We had a discussion about what this day means as well as tying it to our previous unit - The Watsons go to Birmingham and Civil Rights. They made great connections between a fictional text, segregation of the past, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech and the giant leap we have made today as a nation. The discussion was rich, authentic and, most importantly, heartfelt. After the discussion we turned on CNN and watched as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of our country. As the crowd in DC was asked to stand so did all of my students in my classroom without any prompting by me. They watched totally engaged and afterwards clapped and cheered with such enthusiasm. I was filled with chills and tears and pride for this group of students who truly get it. They have the ability to see beyond all of the politics and somehow know what this day truly means. Afterwards a student asked, "I wonder what Daniel Watson would say if he were here today?" What great connections they made!
The events of today fill me with a great optimism for our future not just for me, but for my students and my precious A. What a great day!

Staying Warm

On a cold day and night like today the Hanson boys stay warm with a fire, sweatshirts, lots of blankets and some cartoons on tv. We had a great day off from school and daycare, but it got even better - as always - when daddy came home from work!

Back on course?

Hopefully!
Monday morning I got a call that Anthony was throwing up at daycare. I quickly got everything prepared for a sub and spent the rest of the day taking care of him. Thankfully he only puked once when we got home, which was all over me and the floor. For the most part we had a low-key, mellow day of reading books, watching Cars/Monsters/cartoons and cuddling. Later on that evening I started feeling sick too. What a joy it was to be puking and having my two year old cry each time for mommy. Ugh. On top of everything, it took Mark almost four hours to get home that night. Needless to say, when he finally walked through the door I was in tears -- tears of happiness and oh-my-god-I-think-I'm-dying.
Yesterday all three of us stayed home. Luckily, Anthony was feeling much better; however, I wasn't. I'm so thankful Mark took the day off because I don't know how I would have managed with just the two of us.
I finally kicked whatever bug I had late last night and am feeling much better this morning.
However, Anthony has been up five times throughout the night crying "owie" and "hurt". I'm hoping we'll be able to get through the day and that we are truly back on course.
My fingers are crossed...
(Hopefully this super kick-your-butt bug doesn't come visit you. YUCK!)

Nick's First Birthday

Rockin' the party hat!

Lovin' the cupcake!

Crusin' with his balloon!

Cute, cute, cute!

On Saturday we traveled to Farmington to celebrate Nick's FIRST birthday! (How is that possible???) It was a great day of friends, fun and even a game of Scrabble with Erin and Emily! Yahoo! (It's been awhile.) The best part was spending time with my "oldest" friend and her two kids. It's amazing to see the differences between CJ and Nick and take time just to be with them.
It was fun to hang out at the Lefebvre's house and spend the whole day with them. Our wish would be to be able to see them more often. Luckily, we always have the months of January, May and August to get together for the kids' birthdays. Hopefully this year we'll be able to find other times to get together too.
Happy birthday, Nick!
We love you!

It's coming along...

It has taken some time in getting everything done with my parent's house, but it definitely is starting to come along. I really appreciate all that my sister and brother-in-law have done to help out mom and dad as well as their constant posting of pictures to keep me update and in the loop too. In case you haven't stopped by Team Tuttle lately here's a link to see the progress.
I'm looking forward to taking a trip up there next weekend to see everything and help out a bit too.

Mom's Little Helper

This weekend there was even more laundry than usual to do. Lucky for me I had a great helper. Friday night as I was starting the process Anthony went upstairs and got his wagon. I thought he was just playing, but he surprised me by helping out. He made many trips hauling clothes, which was super helpful and cute. A definitely makes the chore of weekend laundry way more fun!

Thank you, Elmo! Part Two...

Potty update: I'm glad I didn't get my hopes up too high because nothing has happened in the last week. No going potty, no celebratory dancing or picking out a cool sticker for the potty chart. He's not even remotely interested in it. The closest he gets is telling Mark and I that his diaper is wet or dirty and asks us to change it.
All of this is completely normal, right?
I'm looking forward to the day when I can really thank Elmo...

Duluth Weekend

This Saturday we headed up to Duluth to spend time with the Arlts and the Paulsruds for our annual winter getaway. We had a great time at the Edgewater and taking time-out of our busy lives to spend some time together.
Anthony took a bit to warm up to the water, but eventually had a great time. He loved playing with the balls - no surprise there! - and spending time with all of his friends.

Miss Ella Bella taking a little break to get snuggled in and watch some cartoons. Our little goddaughter is quite the cutie patootie and super brave! She was the only kid who would go down the kiddie water slides all by herself. What a big girl!
Anthony and Clara enjoying an after dinner treat - Sweet Tarts. Clara is now four, but, as usual, seems much older. It's amazing how she swims! No life jacket needed for this girl and no fear of jumping into the water and swimming away. It was a joy to keep watching her in the water.
SAMMY PANTS! He has gotten so big and is quite the smiley guy.
Lucy Marie! (Are you loving the hair?!) This was her first adventure with all of us and she did a great job. She's such a good baby and super cuddly too.

We had a great time being together and spending lots of time in the water. It's amazing to think that it's been ten years now since Mol, Rach and I lived together. (And to think about how much has changed in that time!) It was fun, as always, to get together and have most of our focus be on kids. (We're almost outnumbered now - five kids to six adults!) Life continues to be busy so I'm glad we have our biannual get togethers to enjoy the kids and reconnect. I'm already looking forward to camping this summer, but am hoping this year the weather will be much warmer.

Birthmommy Christmas!

"Ooohhh"
"Aaahhh"
Who knew my mom's caramel bars - which was requested - could elicit such a response?

Birthmommy and A spending some quality time together.

A mommy sandwich!
What a lucky little boy to have TWO mommies that love him!

Last night we had our last Christmas celebration of the year - Cynthia and Jim came over for supper, presents and taking the time to visit and catch up. It was wonderful to see them once again. Even though we try to talk once every week or two I always end up missing her.
The last time we got together was for Anthony's birthday party in August, which is already over four months ago. During his party he was busy playing with friends, trying out new toys and having tons of fun outside. This visit was a lot different. He knew his birthmommy was coming to visit us and kept saying her name a day or two in advance. Before she got to our house I thought he was going to go nuts! He kept saying her name over and over again completely excited to see her. It was super cute!
Our visit was too short as always, but special and meaningful. Anthony loves to entertain with his jumping, dancing, screaming, running and I think Cynthia loved watching the whole "Anthony Show". Opening presents was a lot of fun and he absolutely loved his wooden train. The choo choo was so popular that he didn't really want to open up anything else. Great job picking out a perfect toy for him, Birthmommy! The best part of the evening was just being able to talk, be together in the same room and give lots of hugs and love to our hero.

It's been through word of mouth as well as our family blog that others have contacted me with questions regarding adoption. It really has been a joy to talk with others these past ten months answering questions, giving advice and hopefully squashing any lingering fears that exist. I know that no two adoptions will ever look the same. When we adopt our second child it will be a different experience for us. However, I want to welcome any readers out there who simply keep tabs on us because you are in the same boat or would like to adopt to use us as a resource. I can guarantee you there will be many highs and lows when going through this process, but it will be completely worth it. Hopefully in the end you'll hit the jackpot, like us, and be matched with a wonderful birthmommy who you'll connect with so strongly and feel such a deep love for.

Thank you, Elmo!

Today I was shocked! Astounded! Filled with motherly pride! And left wondering if this could be for real this time around. Cynthia got Anthony Elmo's Potty Time for Christmas and he carried it around with him for most of the morning "talking" to Elmo. Then he started carrying around his potty chair. (I was delighted just to see interest in it because he has only been using it as a step stool to make bubbles in the sink or brush his teeth.)
Surprisingly, he told me he wanted to go potty like Elmo, which left me shocked. (Again there has been NO interest and I had completely stopped trying.) Within a few minutes he peed and POOPED on the potty chair!! He was really worried about it and kept saying "uh oh" until he saw my reaction. Of course I was singing and dancing and giving high fives until he started getting excited and doing the same. He picked out monster (a new favorite) stickers - one for himself and one for the potty poster (which hasn't had a sticker added to it since last spring) - and then we had to jump and dance some more.
I'm trying to be realistic --- this very well could be just a one time shot and maybe he won't be interested in it again for awhile. Any thoughts on how to proceed? Should I encourage him to use the potty again or should I continue to let this be his idea? I don't want to push too hard, but if he's ready I want to help him out and be supportive. (One can be supportive with a two year old going potty, right? Sounds a bit goofy, though...)
In any case, this momma is so excited!
Way to go, Bubsa Boo!

Welcome 2009!

Mark and I had plans for New Years, but then he became sick and we decided to stay home. We had a low-key evening of pizza, setting goals/making predictions for the upcoming year and then watching the family favorite - America's Funniest Home Videos.
Then Jenn called from the party giving me a play-by-play of how much fun they were having and who was dressed as what. After hearing about Michael being the Karate Kid and Charlie with a mohawk, I decided to venture out by myself after Anthony went to bed.
Here was the result ---
I had a great time visiting with friends for a couple of hours and welcoming yet another new year in 80s style. Actually the night was a great balance of family and friends with the realization that I've been greatly blessed in both areas of my life. I'm looking forward to another year with all of it's highs and lows and thankful I have so many wonderful individuals to share my life with.