Last Day of School!

When Oliver began school last September he had already come so far since joining our family. He understood much of what was being said. He could put together a few words in short sentences. He was curious about what was going on around him.

Today, as he celebrated his last day of Pre-K 3, we are simply amazed at how much he has grown. Not only is he quite a bit bigger and taller, but he's using full sentences, surprising us at every turn with the words and descriptions he knows. He will happily sing to himself or show us the motions to a song he learned at school. Sometimes he will even share or ask a friend if he can play with a toy! Oliver's teachers were wonderful this past year. Patient. Understanding. Firm. Fun. 

As part of the final day, parents were invited to join for the second part of class. Tony suggested making it a family day, so we started with a quick stop at the library to pick up two books on hold for Oliver. It was off to school for Oliver, and when we joined him later we were treated to several songs -- a couple that we've heard Oliver singing around the house recently. It was so darn cute! The teachers put together a slide show, then we had a little snack and our final good byes.

A final drop off -- though Oma did 99.9% of them this past year.
THANK YOU OMA!

Proudly showing his completion certificate and posing with his wonderful teachers.

Friends!

Oliver has been asking to go bowling lately -- asking to bowl with the things on the edge (how did he even learn about bowling, let alone bumper bowling?). So for our fun family activity we took him bowling for the first time. He did a great job! For the first round we helped him by holding the bowling aid, but by round two he was shooing us back to our seats so he could "do it all by myself". He did pretty well and we all had a great time!

Look at that ball go!

Yeah...

No surprise here, he loved the little fan! Now, where did he learn to raise up his shirt?

The rest of the day was a lot of fun too, and he was in a great mood. To think back to this time last year, I am simply beside myself with how far he has come -- and how far we have come as a family. Now, on to summer!

Two Big Weekends

An overdue post means we have some catching up to do! First, let’s start with the fun stuff…the past two weekends. 

The weekend of May 15th
Tony hit the road for his annual guys’ fishing trip, and I was blessed by the arrival of my Mom (a.k.a. Nana). She hasn’t been up since August, more has she had the opportunity to spend much time with just Oliver (and I), so it was a special time. Her flight landed early Friday, so we took advantage of being so far south and headed straight for the Minnesota Zoo. The rest of the weekend was a little lower key, giving us all a chance to catch up and connect. Here are a few photos from the weekend:

He managed to eat the whole thing! And this was the kiddie scoop.
You should have seen our "single" scoop cones!

Evidence of a good time. Thanks for the treat, Nana!

Nana and Oliver's story time

We were sad to see her leave on Sunday, and Oliver was pretty mad that we weren’t getting on a plan with her to head to St. Louis. Hopefully we will soon!

Memorial Day Weekend
As usual, Oliver and I began the weekend on Friday — and what a beautiful day it was! We had an early morning appointment at the University of Minnesota. Oliver did such a great job that I gave in and let him visit the animals at the opposite ends of the super long hallway. He always wants to see them, but usually we are rushing off to a second appointment. This time we stopped to visit. He gave me lots of goofy poses while holding Baby Otter, who tagged along for the meeting. I am so proud of how far Oliver has come since we first began regular appointments last August, and am very pleased to say we will not be returning any time soon. 

Oh...look at me and Mr. Elephant!

Oh...I'm riding a dinosaur! Mom never lets me do that...

We also enjoyed a picnic lunch in between errands, then squeezed in more time outside before dinner. I’m glad we did as much of the holiday weekend was a wash out.

Wishing Daddy was with us

On Saturday the three of us spent some quality family time at the beautiful Minnehaha Falls, followed by a bike ride to Nokomis Lake. We had a lot of fun — Tony snapped these while we were at the park:

Goofy

Waiting for lunch (and post elbow-scraping plastic chair falling incident)

Sunday was super rainy and involved a lot of movie watching, with an episode of playing in the rain / mud / puddles thrown in. Monday was another rainy morning, so we headed to the local indoor playground. It was sunny later on, so Oliver and Daddy had a chance to hit some golf balls.

Long holiday weekends like this one really drive home how nice it would be to either have kids around more regularly or for Oliver to have a sibling. He desperately wants the chance to play with other kids and just wants friends, and it's not always easy for us to provide these chances. Poor little guy. On the other hand, I got lots of cuddle time!

Now, the not so fun stuff.
Last week I learned that I will have the opportunity to enjoy some (or perhaps all) of the summer with Oliver as a stay-at-home mom. That’s the positive spin, at least! 

As I’ve stated in previous posts, I’ve been struggling across many facets of my life: my purpose, making the right choices, developing healthy habits and relationships, and more. One area that has been especially challenging has been work. While I was blessed with this job opportunity last May at a time when I (and our family) needed it, I have known for some time that it wasn’t the right fit. In addition, I successfully completed the primary objective of my employment and have been ready to move on since the beginning of 2015. Due to some budget issues (I'm working at a non-profit), and given that I've accomplished my primary mission, it is now time to begin a new chapter. While I may not be exiting on the terms I’d choose (having another job lined up), I believe it is God’s way of pushing me on. Plus, I’m able to leave on good terms with the full support of those I work with, and I get a chance to have some extra time with Oliver. 

Being unemployed is a bit scary. I’m trying to trust in God to provide, but will admit that it’s not a strong area of my faith. I suppose that is how God works, though. Growth comes through trials and tribulations more often than comfort and ease. 

Mother’s Day Weekend

For the past several years we have gone out for a Mother’s Day brunch with Tony’s side of the family. Usually the plans are made late in the game, offering us somewhat limited restaurant choices. This year was different. About a month ago Tony mentioned that he had made Mother’s Day brunch reservations for us. A month early! He and his brother picked a place and set the plans. Off to a great start!

Fast forward to this past weekend. On Saturday I had the opportunity to enjoy a special Mother’s Day tea with my “Minnesota Mom” (a.k.a. Barb, my mother-in-law), my brother-in-law’s sweet and lovely girlfriend, and her mother, whom Barb and I were meeting for the first time.

The tea service was fun and the company was enjoyable. I dare say we all had a blast! Here’s a post-tea photo of us:

During the tea, one issue did arise. When I commented to Barb that I was looking forward to trying a new place for Mother’s Day brunch and asked what she thought, she was perplexed and didn’t know what I was talking about. We thought that perhaps Jamie didn’t tell her or told her in passing and she forgot. So….we checked with Jamie. He didn’t know anything about it either. I began to panic, thinking that maybe I misunderstood who what going to be at brunch and our reservation was just for three, and that I’d just put my foot in it by asking my in-laws!

I quick text to Tony asking him to call as soon as he got off the golf course was the best I could do. When he finally called, his response was priceless.

It turns out that the two planning-ahead sons forgot to invite their own mother to her Mother’s Day celebration. FORGOT TO INVITE! Who does that?! Luckily their mother is easy going and quick to forgive (and they didn’t have any other plans for brunch). In the end we had a nice meal together and enjoyed celebrating. 

I am blessed to have two terrific mothers in my life, one who has been there since the very beginning, and one that has welcomed me with open arms. They support me, pray for me and encourage me. Guiding me in my own efforts at motherhood. Loving me. Their patience, love, wisdom and faith are inspiring — and I can’t imagine what life would be like without them. Now that I am a mom, I have an even greater appreciation for all that my own mother did to raise me, care for me, love me when I wasn’t all that lovable, and more. And all that Tony’s mom did to raise and care for him. THANK YOU.

On Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day) I am also filled with compassion for those who not able to celebrate in the way that they would like. Perhaps they wish to be parents but are not, they have experienced a loss, they have a strained relationship with their parent or child, or parenthood hasn’t turned out as they had hoped. These celebration days can add an extra layer of pain or struggle, and my heart goes out all who find themselves feeling less than celebratory.

To close out this Mother’s Day post, here is a selfie of Oliver and I having a Mother’s Day Mustache Party Sunday afternoon. He thought it was so fun! Now let’s hope he doesn’t get into my eyeliner when I’m not looking…

And....Done.

We had a pretty good weekend, in part thanks to a beautiful day on Saturday. Oliver got to check out the new cars at the dealership while I got my oil changed; he got his hair cut a little shorter than before (but not yet the summertime buzz); he had some time with Oma and Opa on Friday while Tony and I went to small group; he was treated to a front yard picnic and a trip to a new (awesome) playground; and we went to a super hero musical at church last night with a neighbor friend. What a fun weekend!

But the real highlight for me? Receiving this envelope on Saturday:

This is it. WE ARE OFFICIALLY DONE!! Oliver is a fully legal citizen of the U.S. with a social security number and all. Praise God!!

Tony will be getting Oliver a lifetime Minnesota fishing license, and we are going to look into starting a savings or college fund for him. And eventually we will get him a passport. But we are now actually done with all of the adoption related paperwork, forms and certificates. We have passed through all of the hoops placed in front of us and are at the end of the race. Amazing! And so happy to have everything in place now.