Basketball Game Sunday, Feb 24 2008

Hi Everyone,

Well we had another good week of getting to know each other.  Gabe is sleeping through the night and seems pretty secure with us.  We decided to venture out and attend our nephew Zane’s basketball game on Saturday night.  The game was in Mankato, Kansas (about two hours away).  When we were about 30 minutes away we heard a loud clanking sound and quickly were without the ability to steer.  We pulled off the road and called the calvary.  Ken and Leah (Andy’s sister) came from the East and Darrell (Andy’s dad) came from the West.  After visiting a few parts stores and a little waiting Leah and I took the kids on the house while the men fixed the van.  We weren’t ten minutes away when we hit a deer - luckily we were o.k. and there was only a slight crack in the headlight.  Saddly the deer wasn’t so lucky :-( 

Finally everybody made it to the big game.  Our nephew Kate was a cheerleader (and in our opinoin the best one) and Zane was a starter.  Our team won the game and as always Zane did an awesome job.  Afterwards while waiting for Zane the kids ran and played on the basketball court.  It was wonderful watching Gabe run and play with all the kids.  He looked so happy and at home.

 After our excitement with the van we decided to just spend the night with Leah and Ken.   Although not planned we had a great time visiting and Gabe got to know his extended family a little better.

Here are some pics from the weekend.

Dana

Katie and Gracie

Zane and Jackson

Playing foos ball with Uncle Ken

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Visit to the Dentist Tuesday, Feb 19 2008

Hi All,

Grace and I both had dental appointments on Monday.  This was Grace’s first dental appointment so I was more than a little apprehensive.  I shouldn’t have worried.  During the exam and cleaning she was awesome.  She actually giggled during the cleaning.  The bad part was that the dentist found the beginings of a small cavity so we got an appointment the next day (today - Tuesday) for her to get a filling.  I was really worried about how she would do during this process, but once again she suprised me without even uttering a whimper.  I was so proud of her and of course I was very impressed with the dentist and his assistants.  We were in and out within 30 minutes.  Way to go Dr. Jones!

And of course here are some pics from this evening.

Dana

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Going to Church Sunday, Feb 17 2008

Hi All,

This morning we took Gabe to our church for the first time.  He did good at first, but quickly became pretty overwhelmed at all the people.  I took him to the church nursery and he played happily for the remainder of the service.  Our entire church family has been so supportive of the process to bring Gabe home.  It was wonderful getting to introduce him to everyone.

 Here is a picture of my three angels.

Dana

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New look for the blog Sunday, Feb 17 2008

Well, our “journey” to Gabriel is over, so I thought we might update the look (and the title) of the blog.

Yes, Gabe does make our family of four into five - the first time this really hit me was in Wichita the night we flew home. After dropping Uncle Eric off at his cousin’s house, we went to Cracker Barrel in Park City, Kansas for supper (I was ready for some food). When we went to sit down at the table, we had to put someone at the end! The three carseats in the van take up a bit more space and it seems like we’re doing more laundry around here.

We’ve been home for a little over a week now and he is doing great. His sleeping patterns are starting to become a bit more “normal” for Kansas time and we’re getting into somewhat of a routine.

I stopped by the Ellis County Courthouse on Thursday to file the report of adoption with the state of Kansas. We got the copy signed by Judge Ed Bouker in today’s mail. That means we’ll hopefully hear from the Kansas Bureau of Vital Statistics in the next few weeks to confirm the info for Gabe’s Kansas birth certificate. After that, all we’ll have to do is file for his Certificate of Citizenship and the Gabe paperchase will be done!

Andy

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Friday Friday, Feb 15 2008

Hi All,

Well, we have passed the one week mark.   Already it is hard to remember what our family was like without Gabriel.  Jackson and Gabriel continue to be best of buddies.  For whatever reason Gabriel is very jealous of Gracie and is quite honestly pretty mean to her.  Bless her little heart we are trying to give her lots of attention.  Of course, she is playing it for everything it is worth.  I imagine things will improve as time goes by.  I’m not sure why Gabe is so jealous of Grace, but doesn’t seem to be with Jackson.  I think it is probably because Grace is smaller and needs more snuggle time - the same thing that Gabe craves from us. 

After a week Gabe clearly can say:  Mamma, Bubba, Up, Go, Thank You, Jie Jie (sister), and Uh-oh.  He can also show you where his nose is.  He continues to be very happy and affectionate with us.  His sleeping habits are still a challenge, but last night he did a little better.  We are hoping for an improvement in this area.

 Here are some pics of Gabe and his brother Jackson.

I can do whatever Bubba does!  By the way the dining room chairs are in the living room because I mopped the kitchen floor.

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New Experiences Tuesday, Feb 12 2008

Hi Everyone,

Tonight Andy grilled hotdogs for dinner.  Jackson asked if he could jump on the trampoline.  Well, when Jackson went out the back door Gabe started hollering for his “Bubba”.  So, I layered him (and Grace) up and sent them out after their Bubba.  Gabe had a great time jumping on the trampoline.  Never once did he even whimper.  Just lots of smiles and laughter. 

Dinner is now over and Jackson and Gabe are both on the top bunk watching t.v. together.

We are hoping that Gabe will sleep a few hours longer tonight.  He has been up between 3:00 and 4:00 am for the last several nights.  The scary part is that he doesn’t wake up crying.  He gets up and wonders around the house and then eventually comes and wakes us up.  This morning at 4:00 am I was awakened to a small voice saying, “Mama”.  He then handed me a box of Cascade laundry soap (he must of gotten it off the kitchen counter) and then my glasses.  I took this to mean I needed to get up and then start a load of dishes!  Oh my, there is never a dull moment.

Dana

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Playing with Bubba Monday, Feb 11 2008

Hi All,

While his relationship with Gracie remains rocky, Gabe is doing much better with his big brother Jackson (aka Bubba). They played very well together tonight. Jackson pushed Gabe around in a laundry basket - big fun to Gabe. Gabe and Grace have a very competitive relationship - competing for mom and dad’s attention - competing for the same toys. Gabe will just haul off and hit poor Grace. At one point tonight Gabe came pulling Gracie down the hall by the hair of her head. Of course many times Grace will have provoked these “attacks”!

Gabe’s newest trick is crawling up the ladder to the top bunk - anything to go where Bubba goes. This trick about made my heart stop mid-beat. There isn’t anything this little guy can’t do. This includes sleeping through the night. He was up again, bright and shiny at 3:00 am this morning. Both Andy and I are just about beat, but Gabe is fine.

Here are some pics of my precious kiddos.

Dana

All three on the top bunk - Gabe crawled up by himself!

Chasing sissy!

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Going to PaPa’s House Monday, Feb 11 2008

Hi All,

Today we traveled to Logan, KS to celebrate Darrell’s birthday (Andy’s dad).  This is the first time Gabe met his Grandpa and Grandma Stanton, Uncle Dew, Aunt Amy, Aunt Leah, Uncle Ken and cousins Zane, Katie, Colton and Lori.

Gabe didn’t disappoint us - he took right to the Stanton family.  He looked like he belonged all along.

Here are some pics!

Dana

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Chinese New Year Monday, Feb 11 2008

Hi Everyone,

Today we celebrated Chinese New Year with our dear friends from the “Kansans with Children from China” group here in Hays.  This is a group of parents who have all adopted a child from China.  We get together several times a year.  We had over 60 people attend the celebration this year. 

We were worried that Gabe would be a bit overwhelmed by all the people, but he jumped right in.  We had a great time visiting and watching the kids play.

 Here are a few pics.

Dana

Gabe is crying because he dropped his corndog!

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A new haircut Friday, Feb 8 2008

As you have probalby noticed from the previous posts Gabe has a very healthy head of hair.  In fact he really needed a haircut.  So, today Andy and I took him to our favorite barber for a haircut.  Needless to say it wasn’t a pretty site.  I brought my camera along to take pictures, but I was too busy holding a very upset little boy.  The barber did a great job working with a moving target.  Of course right before the haircut began the barber gave him a nice sticky lollipop.  So we had hair on the lollipop and sticky hands so the hair would stick everywhere.  We put him in the tub as soon as we got home and he looked like a new boy.  Although the haircut isn’t perfect it is a 100% better.

 On the way to get Jackson from school we stopped by my bosses office and showed Gabe off to the Head Start ladies.  He and Grace were a hit.  We all then went to pick up Jackson.   In retrospect it probably would have been better for Andy or I to have stayed in the van with Gabe and Grace, but we just had to push it.  While in the school Grace got jealous of either the attention Gabe was getting (or more likely that Daddy was holding Gabe) and pitched quite a fit.  Gabe then gets upset that Grace is upset and at one point we were hurrying down the halls of O’Loughlin Elementary with two screaming kids.  I’m sure everybody thought we were nuts.

Here is a picture of Gabe before and after his haircut!

 Dana

 
Before the haircut.

After the haircut.

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