HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY LIZ

******Happy 6th Birthday Abby Liz******

If you happen to see the most beautiful girl in the world......

WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Wednesday (September 2nd) we will celebrate Abby's 6th birthday! Holy Cow! Where does the time go????

Please send Abby a birthday "comment".....she will love it!

***we will be having a house full for her special day and we are all super excited about our visitors! Kevin's sisters Kate and Alison will come to Ohio for the first time! Along with Uncle Jay and the girls and Uncle Tim too! Abby thinks this is super special......and we agree!***

Big sis and lil' brother!

Just a few pictures of the kids!

This week has gone by super fast, except around 2:30 am.

Shuan is still adjusting to night time sleep. How Abby can sleep through all of it is beyond me!

Getting to know BIG SIS!

At Big sis, Abby's soccer practice
Abby doing drills with Coach Neal

Ashley(our neighbor), Shaun and Abby!

It has been a much more balanced couple days! Shaun is adapting to our family VERY well. He is sleeping great at night and takes a short nap in the afternoon. He eats anything you put in his path and is just so fun. We have been enjoying the interaction between him and his big sis. She starts school on the 26th, so this time to bond is so special. I have a feeling she will not like being away from him. She just loves him and has become, as we predicted, his little Mama!

She is very gentle with Shaun. Very sweet and at his command!

I know that this time has not been easy for her, she has handled it well. It has been important to make special time for her, as she has had Kevin and I all to herself for as long as she remembers. Her and I had some "girl" time and had our first of many annual pedicures! It was so much fun watching her experience this for the first time. It was a day I will never forget and we have the best looking toe nails on the block!

Dad and Abby took an afternoon to enjoy a quiet lunch together and then have some fun at Dave+busters (arcade). She says it was super fun and came home with a few little prizes.

(one she gave to Shaun, AWWWW!)

School shopping starts on Monday! I am looking forward to her picking things out for herself. She also wants a new hair cut. This is a bit scary for me, but it will always grow back. When I asked her what she wants she pointed to her chin and said "to here".....YIKES! BUT, since then, she has changed her mind with a few different ideas. We'll just have to wait and see what she decides.

We are so proud of Abby Liz! She is the best daughter ( and big sis) in the whole world!

Our kids!

God gave us two beautiful, smart, happy children!

We could not be more proud:)

Yes, it is 5:30 am Wednesday morning. Daddy's last day off before our regular routine starts. I have been up since about 3 am listening to my little boy fight sleep. Watching a small child go through a time change is really pitiful. It breaks my heart.

We have had a rough few days adjusting with our new family. Grandma and Grandpa Connor were here until Tuesday morning and were a big help all around. Thank you! I feel bad that I never had the chance to cook them a good meal and promise I will make them one of my specialties next time they visit!

About Shaun!...

What a little stinker he is! This boy is smart, fast and know that he wants his Daddy! If He sees or hears Kevin, he wants no one else and will stand at Dads side just wining away. Dad is doing great with him and he is really starting to do better just around the house. If he steps away, his heart breaks, but we are dealing with it and talking to him while we are in other rooms so he can still hear us and is encouraged to explore his new home.
With Mom, he is getting better. Unlike much of last week, I can now be a Mom to him. We are starting to bond and it is just the most precious thing ever.
Changing his sleeping patterns have been hard with the 12 hour time change. We are seeing a positive change everyday and we think by the end of the week it will be more normal around here!
YES< Shaun has already climbed out of his crib! I have taken off the front rail to make it a day bed but this little guy seems to prefer the floor. :( I plan on disassembling the bed today and putting the mattress on the floor, soon we will get him a toddler bed.....small steps.
Shaun is eating and drinking well, but has a raspy voice due to crying so much. It is so sad :( Monday he sees the pediatrician with Daddy, we'll see how that goes........


About AbbyLiz...

What a GREAT big SIS! I had no doubt. She was mostly back to herself on Tuesday after visiting Caroline and attending her birthday party. Her and I (mom) took some special time together yesterday and had pedicures! She loved it and we plan on doing this together once a year in between our birthdays!
She had a great time with family in NY while we were in Thailand. Everyone said she was very good, never cried, never got hurt, very polite but DID miss us terribly.
She is doing very well with Shaun. She has played with him, fed him and helped comfort him. We are just so darn proud of her! Wednesday she is doing something special with Daddy, I am sure I will have pictures to share!

Mom and Dad....

Well, have you ever felt that if the world had nothing else for you..........it would be OK? We are just so blessed and thank god every chance we get. We have cried together since we have been home just watching our kids eat at the same table, play with the same toy, play in the same yard................in our arms! Our family sandwich now has the "bologna" and the "cheese" with our"Bread". We have never been happier and are so glad to be home.
We look forward to our days ahead watching our family grow closer together..... since we both agree, this is it! A family of four, forever!


Love to you all...........

I'll be adding more posts through out the week on Shuan and Abby's progress!

We're home!

Time with Dad at the palace

HI All, just a quick one to say we are HOME!!!! Words cannot describe how it feels to have my children in the same place! I promise to write more soon.....just way tooo exhausted from 27 straight hours of travel. I am still feeling movement.......so sleep is not happening. I am taking the first "shift" transitioning Shaun. It is 3 am and he has been asleep for about 2 hours...........Kev is asleep along with big sis Abby. WISH ME LUCK!

Wed/Thursday pics!

Our Thursday in Thailand

Well, I was awaken at 3:30 this morning by a hungry Shaun, he took his bottle on his mattress on the floor, then crawled up on the bed and cuddled with Mommy the rest of the evening. :) That, I will never forget. What a gift, after such a tough day yesterday.

Today has been a bit better. He seems to be adjusting to us more, with lots more baby babble, walking more steps and being his curious self. (he loves to flush the toilet!) He HAS started calling me Mama.....wish is such a wonderful feeling. Kev and I have worked together today to get him use to the both of us. When he is interested in me, Kev steps away for a bit and lets us have that time together. It seems to have helped a bit, but I can tell he is still grieving. I have actually held him more today, he is such a wiggly guy when he sees Dad, but we have stayed patient and he is doing much better with me. Thank you all so much for the wonderful thoughts.......................

Today we ventured out to the Kings Royal Palace by way of the river. Words can not describe just how breath taking this place is. I felt so at piece there and actually started to cry when I was kneeling in front of the Jade Buddha. Emotions got the best of me here, but I think it was needed......i feel much better tonight.

We did the US Embassy thing this morning but will not get Shaun's visa until tomorrow. That is all we have planned as we are a bit exhausted from the week and have to be at the airport at 2 am Saturday morning.

Our hotel has not been great..............I will not get into it on here but for the price and the hype....not worth it. I have never stayed anywhere so chaotic and noisy at all ours of the day and night. Most of the guests are from mid-eastern countries and truly have no respect for other guests, the staff or each other. It has really made these moments harder in so many ways.

On the other side, Thai people are the most warm and friendliest I have ever met. I would love to come back here someday for a holiday................and stay somewhere else!

Well, I am going to try to post some pics later using Dad's laptop. Hopefully it will work because we have some amazing pictures from today at the palace. Even a few of the Jade Buddha (which photos are not permitted).....gotta love the zoom!


We are about to have Italian with Dad and Janet, so I better say good bye!

Love to you all.....K

2 more days in Thailand.....

Hi All, first, let me thank everyone for the warm birthday wishes. It's wonderful being 29! LOL

I'd love to say that today was yet another wonderful day here in thailand, but......it has been a tough one. :(

Shaun is showing signs of grief, which is very hard for me to handle. He spent most of today crying and banging at our hotel room door. If he wasn't doing that, he was laughing.............how can a kid go from crying so hard to laughing, and then right back to crying? I will admit to a bit of crying myself today................he seems to need Kev and I both in his sight at all times, which makes it hard to do simple neccesary things .....i.e.- use bathroom...............:>
This has definetly been the hardest day for me as a MOM. I know now that we were spoiled rotten by Abby and that every child is different. It is just so hard to see him like that after such a great day yesterday.

Also, web cammimg with Abby has been a lot harder than we had thought. With the time dif. and our schedules, we have not had much phone/ webcam time with her..............and of course our web cam is giving us a hard time......................I just miss her so much. My heart is aching for my daughter and also for my son. I am sure we will have a better day ahead, but boy, it has been a rough one. So rough I had some tequila at dinner just to relax.(but it never kicked in)

I am so thankful that Kev's Dad and step-mom are here with us. They are so supportive in us and our parenting and it was just what the doctor ordered for me today. Thanks to them for sitting in the lobby with me tonight and just letting me vent my fustrations with life. I appreciate them so much, it will be hard to say good bye to them in a few days.

We had our Thai meeting this morning, it was the easiest part of the day. The board was very sweet and Shaun was a ham for them. I do have some neat pictures to share with you all, when the time allows and my computer cooperates! He is officially ours!

Just a bit of shopping today, nothing special. Had NY style pizza for lunch and a great Thai dinner poolside with the folks! Also had a chance to get to know a Norwegon family adopting a 3 year old boy. Very nice family. We hope to stay in touch with them in the future.

Well, bed time for me......................Kev and Shaun are already there.

Love to you all, and please pray for an easier day for Shaun. I know this is very normal, but seeing him this way would just break your heart.

what day is it????

Well, today was an eventful day to say the least! We met Pat at 10:30, then Shaun arrived at 11:00 with his smile on! We had a short meeting with Pat and Shauns local social worker about his schedule, then that was it.......he is ours!

Today we did some sight seeing with Dad and Janet! We went on the sky train to the river, then took a river boat north for about an hour. Shaun slept most of the way there, but was wide awake the rest of the day. We stopped at China Town to see what we could find for Abby.....I'm not telling. LOL !!!! I think I took about few hundred pics!
Then we came back to our hotel and had a nice refreshing swim before dinner. Tonight I actually had real Pad Thai......it was excellent! Shaun made a nice mess with his steamed rice, then enjoyed Daddy's leftover onion slices from his cheese burger! Let's just say this boy CAN and WILL eat!

No pictures tonight....sorry! It has been very hard with the time dif. to web cam and call family......that is really the only hard part for us. I know some of you have tried to skype (Sharon and Lynn) but we had to get going for our meetings. I will try to post more in the morning, but it may not be possible now that we have the little one all the time. (lynn, I don't have your skype name!)

About Shaun.....he is a handful! He has obviously never been told "no" so it is quite a challenge at times, but over all, he is just great. He is taking a few steps at a time and babbles a bit. His smile and laughs are incredible. Abby is just going to love him! We cannot wait to web cam with her at Grandma's so she can finally see us with her brother.


Until next time!

K

SOOOOOO TIRED TONIGHT! ( ps. Shaun is wearing 12 month jammies tonight!....he is so tiny for 16 months! Just about the size Abby was when we went to China.....but she was 10 months!)

Day 3

Just a few fun pictures for you all to see! Shaun is a HAM to say the least, we love his smile! Right now we are enjoying Kev's dad, Mike and step mom, Janet who arrived in Bangkok last evening. It is so nice to have them share this experience with us.

Surely we will have more pictures of the proud grandparents and Shaun by tomorrow !

a movie for you!

Hope you enjoy his laugh as much as we do!

Thai foot massage

Okay, so, if you come to Thailand, a foot massage is a MUST! I know we have already posted about this but it is worth telling you over and over again.....because we are going to get them over and over again!

One hour of pure relaxation! Go in with a headache, come out feeling like a new person. Side by side, Kevin and I really enjoyed this again today. For only 10 bucks you get an hour of paradise while they rub your feet and legs down with oils and eucalyptus. After that, they have you sit up while they rub out your shoulders, neck and back. It is really the best thing ever! We plan on having it done again before we leave!

So, if you are ever in Bangkok, just DO IT! You will never regret it!

Relaxed and refreshed....

K and K

Day 3 part 1

So, now you all see just what all this was about! He was worth every bit of wait.


We have really been enjoying the city, it's VERY hot, even at 8 am, so maybe we will shed a few pounds while we are here. I have no doubt that our little one will have us running after him continuosly! He is just so full of energy, and those smiles..............Ah! What a wonderful smile he has! He is definitely a ham when it comes to the camera! (just like his big sis!)

Today we will spend the afternoon with Shaun. Do a bit of shopping with him and Pat our social worker (who is wonderful, by the way!) After lunch, Pat said we could spend some alone time with him until she brings him back to Bang Sai for his last night with his foster family.

Speaking of his foster family.....what wonderful people! We enjoyed sitting and talking with them and finding out more about our son. He is the MASTER of that home, it is obvious! They really appreciated that we brought pictures of Luke (adopted by the Sebralla family) You could just tell that it meant a lot to them. They are expecting us to keep sending pictures of Shaun as he grows, and of course we will. He is their 6th foster child. They have pictures of all the children in their home. When we said our goodbyes to them, it was bitter sweet. The Papa grabbed Kevin and embraced him in a big hug. I know this meant a lot to Kev as he was not sure what kind of "man" influence Shaun has had. As we could see, he is very close with the whole family. It is amazing that they are such wonderful, loving people in this world. Shaun is very lucky to have started his life with them, he is healthy and happy......what more could we ask for!

Tonight, Kevins Dad and step Mom are joining us, and we are looking forward to seeing them! It is so wonderful that they could make the trip from Fujian, China to see their grandson! Plus, with all of Shaun's energy, 4 extra hands is going to be so helpful.

We are going to get going but will be on-line this evening to skype! Hope to see some of you on there tonight. We aren't getting home sick yet (other than our Abby), but it is so nice to see familar faces. Hope to see you on!

Funny thing...................they think I am Thai! Imagine that! Why is it that no matter where I go, I am asked if I am a native, except in America????? Kev thinks it's pretty funny, as do I.

Take care everyone, and thank you so much for the comments! It sure would be nice to see MY family post some thing on here................get with it people!

Love to you all!!!!

K, K and S !!!!!

PS- we are getting another foot massage this evening......YIPPPEEEEEEE!

Day 2

Look at our BOY!!!

Today was a very exciting day! We woke up early, had breakfast and then met our son! As Kevin and I were sitting in the meeting room watching a video presentation, we heard our little boy outside the door....that's when my tears started to flow!

What else can I say but....HE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!! He is just about the size Abby was on gotcha day (normal size for Thai) and is FULL of energy! At first he was pretty shy, and just clinged to the social worker. We got down on the floor and got out some toys and he began to warm up a bit. After about 30 minutes of this, we tried to pick him up. He wasn't sure about this and became very fussy, but it didn't take long for those smiles to start coming out. Once he got used to us, he was great! He really took to us quickly, and began to show us how different having a boy will be! Man, does this kid have some energy. And he's fast as hell too. He can take a few steps at a time before falling, but sure can fly when he's crawling. Anyway, we went for lunch, then back to our room to get him used to it a bit. He was all over the place, and we both immediately realized that we have some "child-proofing" to do when we get home. What fun, though. His smile truly lights up the room. Abby is gonna love him!!!!!! Ok, so we'll post more tomorrow, cause we want to call some of you back home.

Today is THE DAY!!!!!

Well, Gang....This is what we came here for! Today in about an hour and a half, we will meet our Shaun! He is probably on his way to Bangkok as we write this. We will meet our social worker, Pat at the hotle in about an hour, view a Holt presentation and then we meet our little man!
Words cannot describe just how we are feeling right now, nervous, excited.....all of the above! It's hard to believe that this long awaited day is finally here.

We could not be happier! We will post pictures later tonight and plan on being on SKYPE tonight our time. Hope you all get a chance to see our meeting with our son.

Thanks for all the support, Bangkok is GREAT and we hope to make the most of it.

Day 1 part 2 with pictures!

This nice young lady is playing an instrument I've never seen before but it sounds very soothing

My new tattoo! Shaun's Thai name
No, he was not drunk.......

Bangkok traffic,,,,,,,,,craziness

view from outside our hotel room

I got my coffee......Happy ME!

Kevin......in Bangkok!

YES, this is a must! It was so nice to relax for just 300 baht (about 10 bucks)

View from our 7th floor balcony! The pool is nice and refreshing!

The doggie made it too, Abby. We are taking him everywhere!

Kevin in Tokyo airport

Kathleen in Tokyo

This is our plane.....leaving detroit

This is where it all started, sorry these are backwards...

Gotta go....there is an elephant just outside! REALLY

Day 1

Well so far today has been very relaxing. We have been walking the streets of Bangkok, and doing some shopping, and eating. We even took a nice dip in the pool. Very humid here, but not too incredibly hot, probably only about 90. Just feels warmer with the 1000% humidity! I (Kevin) was adventurous today and got a tattoo. Really happy with the way it came out, and it was VERY cheap compared to getting one in the states. Relatively painless too. Maybe we'll send a picture of it on a future post. Kathy and I got foot massages too, which really consisted of an almost full body massage. An hour for $10! And let me tell you, it felt great. We're definitely gonna do that again before we leave. We've found some GREAT deals shopping too, I'd forgotten how much fun it is to haggle. We're gonna grab dinner soon, and do some more relaxing, since tomorrow will be a long and full day. We'll try to get in touch with some folks stateside once you wake up, which will be later tonight for us. Until then............... sa wa dee krap!!!!!!

K & K