Retail Therapy...good for the soul!

I've returned a new girl from a weekend of fun and shopping. Nate took me away to Spokane for my birthday. I feel so rejuvenated from my retail therapy. I just have to show you some cute stuff that will be packed in my suitcase waiting my upcoming (June) trip to Haiti. Yes I do have the suitcases out already and if you have an issue with that leave a comment!!! I did not purchase any of these things this weekend but what can I say baby size clothes are a LOT cuter than mama size clothes!!!!

PS: That green wall in the background is Kobe's bedroom...a little sneak preview of what's to come. Stay tuned....

Dying Easter Eggs, just for kids???!!

Who says adults can't dye Easter Eggs with no intentions
what-so-ever of hiding them for a kid?

This just in...

We have been in IBESR since February 22, 2008. So just about a month now. The typical stay on that little vacation stop lasts anywhere from 2 months to 6 months. Please hope for the two month visit for us.

Who doesn't love a good rollercoaster?

I like to refer to our adoption process as a rollercoaster and up until a couple of weeks ago I was pretty much flying high from our match with Kobe. Then I kind of hit a low when his room was painted and I received the much coveted smiling picture (thanks again April) and now I'm back up in the sky.

Check it out!! Our checklist is updated because we are in IBESR!!! We are not sure when we went in but I surely hope we are out soon. Seems a little silly being all excited to get in only to get back out! For a more detailed description of IBESR CLICK HERE!!

We recieved our February update today and it's a good one. To summarize:

This little boy is the chief in his room, he is very active and strong. He controls everything in his room like toys; he gets them as his own, getting them away from his roommates. He is often in the older children's room to play and has learned a lot from them.

The update says his health is good and he has gained a lot of weight and grown quite a lot. Here is the photo that was included with this update.

Wanna hear a funny story?

Well I'm home for a very late lunch and if you know me you know I don't do well when I don't eat. It's been a rough day and I want to think about something that makes me smile. So here it goes this is a TOTALLY true story, I pinky promise.

My nephew Javien makes me smile and this is why. A little background, Javien is four years old and apparently has developed an awesome imagination. It took me by surprise so imagine my voice stifling a giggle. He and I were hanging out this weekend and just the two of us took a walk down to the playground by his grandma's house. Along the sidewalk there are bushes with thorns on them.

This is our conversation:

Javien: Auntie Krissy one time when Kobe was here we were walking down to the park and he touched the pokey things.

Me: Oh really Kobe was here? Playing with you?

Javien: Yeah and he cried when he touched the pokey things because it hurt his finger.

Me: Oh the pokey things hurt Kobe's finger? When he was here with you? Did you kiss it better?

Javien: Yeah I kissed his finger better and then we were walking to the park and I protected him from the pokey things.

So now this is Javien, we made play doh and he was really

excited to get food coloring all over his hands...

How can you not love this kid?

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!!!!

Nate hate's it when I say that. So it looks like Kobe is going to be a lefty, according to my little poll. Just for everyone's information I only voted one time. Kobe's a lefty just like his mama!!!

And here's the proof....

He's eating with his left hand...

He's waving with his LEFT hand...

He's holding his toy with his LEFT hand...

Q & A Free For All

Ok ok ok I give already. If you have any questions relating to our adoption this is the place for it! I have been asked a million times over some questions, all very good questions I might add. So here it is feel free to ask more if you dare...

NEW!!! Awesome question from my awesome sister in law:
Did we get to choose an age for our baby?

Yes we sure did, the creche, I think houses kids up to the age of 7. (Correct me if I'm wrong adoptive mom's) We asked for a child infant to two years old at the time of referral.

Why did we choose Haiti?

Well we found Haiti sort of randomly we originally thought Mexico was a natural pick for us because we love Mexico, but the adoption program between the US and Mexico didn't seem real strong or predictable so we thought Guatemala was where our baby was but alas the fees for the Guatemala program were just a little more than our itty bitty budget could handle then we found Haiti and fell absolutely head over heals in love with Haiti and now the rest is history.

Why don't we adopt a child within the United States?

We have decided that choosing a country to adopt from is a very very intensely personal choice and after some incredibly tough times with a family adoption in the US and learning A LOT about adoption laws in the US we decided it was not for us.

How much does it cost?

First I want to make it clear that adoption is not about buying a child in any way shape or form. Yes we have paid many costs for adoption services such as our home study, our paperwork, our doctors testing, and our psychological evaluation. By the way YES we both passed. Fee's vary greatly between countries and adoption agencies so if you are interested in adopting I would highly recommend you research it well. You can never research adoption enough.

Did we get to pick the sex of our baby?

Yes, that is one of the lovely perks of surviving the torrential storm of paperwork, the self inflicted wounds from the home study, the anxiety attacks caused by the "evaluation"....
BUT we did not choose we would absolutely love any baby girl or boy that came to us so we said we did not care and that is how our little boy found us. Maybe next time we will pick!!???

When will he be home?

To be honest we have no idea when Kobe will come home. We've resorted to making up some month to answer the question but in reality there is no telling. So kindly refer to our adoption checklist to the right. And trust me you will know well actually the WHOLE WORLD will know when Kobe is coming home. Thanks to my (Kristi) big mouth.


So now it's YOUR turn to ask us a question....come on what are you waiting for nothing is off limits...well unless I choose not to answer it!

A lefty??? Could it be???

Just out of curiosity is he a lefty???

It appears he takes after his mommy (aka ME) in this respect.

And we all know lefty's are way kool kats!!!

The many moods of Kobe

Grumpy

Playful and Sleepy

Hungry

Lovey

Shy

Happy

Really Really Happy