Two Months Already?

It's true. We've been home for two months. Where does the time go? Things are really settling into "normal" here -- as normal as it can be when you've gone from a carefree, do-whatever-you-want-whenever-you-want lifestyle to one that involves ensuring your toddler doesn't swallow poison or strangle the cat. :-) Seriously, life is good, and we continue to try to stick to a routine that keeps us all sane.

We selected a day-care "school" for Max, and so far, we are very happy. It is a well-known franchised chain, and there happens to be a brand new school that opened in late July near our home. For now, he is attending on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and we are "winging it" on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That generally involves me staying home with Max in the morning, and Glenn coming home in the afternoon so I can either head to my home office or into the office to work. I am still able to spend some time at home as I still have some vacation to use. I know I will kick myself later if I do not take advantage of this time now with Max, so we try to work in some "quality" play time during those times together.

We have also "taken to the road" together most evenings, and Max and I head to a nearby five-mile walking path and make the loop together (I continue to love our jogging stroller, and Max seems to like it because it is roomy, he has plenty of area to rest his feet, etc.) We bring the Ipod and speakers, so as I jog and walk my way around the path, Max is jamming to tunes and taking in the scenery. Last night, we saw a deer and two rabbits on the trail, although I think I was more excited about those sightings than Max was! I am already dreading the daylight savings time change, as I am really enjoying this opportunity to get some exercise while Max is with me.

We have already noted an amazing increase in Max's speech since he has been in school. It is so funny to observe some of his new words and behaviors that we're pretty certain are being developed at school. He is definitely LOUDER now than before! Now that we can compare him to the other children in his class, it is relatively clear that he is behind in speech, but we will watch him continue to catch up and we will have him evaluated again in December. In the meantime, we do not worry and we are just having the best time ever as his parents.

We are carefully following the Kazakhstan adoption scene, both to support so many of those who supported us throughout the process, and because we are already considering starting the process again. We still cannot believe how blessed we are to have completed our adoption in one year, and we can't help but to plant kisses all over Max every time he is near because we know how fortunate we are. We are trying to carve out time to follow as many blogs as we can so that we can support those families with our comments and prayers. We'll close with a few photos -- lots of additional "firsts." We love this little guy!

It was "Olympics Day" at school, so Max proudly wore his USA gear, and I sewed a little Kazakhstan flag on the back of his t-shirt so he could brag to his peeps about Kazakhstan's medal haul as well!

We have a great county park nearby with a fun water area. Max and his BFF Eric had fun running through all of the water (thank you, Wendy, for the great day!). I thought Max's swim trunks had a drawstring, but I remebered once we were there that the string is for show. So, he spent most of the day with his swim trunks down around his ankles. Mother of the Year, I am not. :-) I remember reading on someone else's blog how they were discovering an entirely new side to their city now that they have a child. That is so true for us! I had no idea this park even existed until Wendy introduced it to us.

Taking in the sights at the Toledo Zoo -- a great visit with my family.

Max's first Happy Meal. I'm a bit of a fast food junkie, so it's somewhat of a miracle that we made it six weeks before he had his first bite of a McDonald's hamburger. Notice I did get the apple dippers instead of the fries. (Points for trying...) He ate the entire container of caramel sauce using the same slice of apple as his dipper -- without ever taking a bite from the apple. Did he have his fair share of apples at the baby house?
He won't eat them, now.
Max at his first Bengals game (a pre-season game), with two of my closest friends, Ben and Jerry (alas, not the famous ice cream dudes). Ben and Jerry moved to Rhode Island when Hasbro shut down its Cincinnati operations, and I miss them -- and the entire Hasbro gang -- so much. It was so great to introduce them to Max when they were in town for Ben's "bachelor party" weekend. Max won't be attending any other Bengals games -- it's just too loud, and given that it looks to be shaping up to be a dismal season, I can only imagine the obscene insults that will be slinging throughout the stadium this year.
Instead, Max will be enjoying his nap during the games (and if the season drags on, I may find myself napping with him come November and December!)