Gotcha Day Celebrations

Before I get to the celebration, this is a picture of Andrew relaxing. Some adoptive families have a celebration for the day the adoption is complete or the day that their child comes home. We have decided to celebrate on the day that our son first came to us. We don't intend to give presents like a birthday but to have family and friends celebrate that this day was and is special. I am sure that my boys may eventually not want to make a big deal of this but even then I will bring out the you are special plate even if we don't have a big tado. Becuase they are special and we love them. Well anyway here are a few pictures of our very first Gotcha day celebration for Aaron Josue Barbee.

Here is Nanan reading to Aaron after lots of food.

Here are Andrew, Papa and Aaron reading. Exactly how do you read two books at once.

Of course I made plenty of food. Aaron loves Guacamole so I made some along with enchiladas, rice, salad and peas. We ended the affair with an ice cream cake from the Meadows because that was what we had when we got back to the states. Mom and Dad had gotten us a welcome home cake this time it was a Gotcha Cake. The people who made it weren't sure what to think.

Here is Aaron eating his Gotcha Dinner...I don't trust him with the you are special plate yet but Andrew will get to use it when it is his turn.

Trip to DC

These pictures are not very good and they are far and few because I was in DC without Perry. We went down to DC and stayed in the hotel where my dad was staying for work. We took that chance to use the metro to get to the zoo. I learned a few things that will make traveling and sightseeing with the boys easier. This is the one picture I got at the zoo. We rode the metro there and I was quite proud of the boys maneuvering and staying with mom as we switched trains. Andrew could even tell you which trains we were on. We saw many animals and I realized how up and down the zoo really is and we only had a few minor meltdowns. Where we stayed the bathroom sink had cupboards that didn't have anything in it unlike home. The boys had a blast brushing their teeth under the sink.

This is at an Ethiopian restaurant after a long day at the zoo. Aaron literally feel asleep with food in his mouth. We got to have dinner with Jill and Dan of whom we failed to get a picture. I enjoyed the food and Dad tried to clean his nostrils out with the spicy food.

I failed to get any pictures but our trip ended with a visit to Paul and Brandy's. The boys got to go to a big park and Paul volunteered to watch the boys as Brandy, Mom and I wandered the aisles of the international food store. I was able to stock up on some goodies for Andrew like dried seaweed...he loves it and Aaron is eating it too. On the less exotic side I bought Korean rice and sesame seeds and rice noodles at a great price. Overall a good but tiring trip.

Dining Room Changes

I made a quilt for my dining room since I had not been able to find a picture I liked and was big enough for the wall. So I finally finished it and bought a curtain rod to hang it. So this is the finished product. I moved my small picture to above the buffet and added candle scones and I think they look lovely. Anyway I thought I would show off my handy work.

Some Easter Pictures

We had Easter early. It began Friday night with communion and finished Sunday with a sunrise service at a local church. In between we enjoyed an Easter concert at church. The Choraleers are always good but this time they were particularly good. Pastor Paul played the trombone for one number and my boys ever since have been pretending to play the trombone. After church we enjoyed a Easter dinner. I failed to take a picture of the actual event so this is a few after Easter dinner pictures. We had dinner at Papa and Mama's(aka Nanan) but we catered in so they had only to set the table. Aunt Cindi brought the veggies, I was responsible for desserts and the gravy and Mom had the turkey and mashed potatoes.

The boys made out like bandits in the candy department. Here Aaron is feeding Grandpop some of the loot.

Since I was in charge of desserts and Perry was off to help, we made cookies. The boys rolled them out with help and iced and sprinkled. It was messy but fun and I couldn't have done it without Perry's help.

Some Spring Pictures

Yes I do feed my boys supper but they think when daddy comes home they should have some more. Here they are helping dad eat some grapes. When the weather warmed up for a few days we were able to spend some time outside. The boys love rolling the ball down the hill and riding the bicycle.

I was looking for something to entertain them while I got dinner. So a bowl of water and some measuring cups provided the entertainment. The towel controlled the mess.

Mom gave the boys an advent calender for Easter and we have been opening the windows each day and one day was decorating eggs. So these couple of pics are from that. Aaron required a lot of assistance but Andrew really enjoyed it. I discovered that Aaron really likes hard boiled eggs. Some may wonder why Andrew always does the V sign. It is the sign for Victory and it is very common in Korea for kids to do.

Pizza with a twist

This recipe comes from a children's cookbook and Andrew helped and Aaron thought helped with this supper. Don't freak out over the tuna it actually tastes good. You might find this useful if you are looking for a change from fried fish or fish fillets.

1 refrigerated pizza dough

1 packet of tuna (you can do the can but drain it)

2 cups of mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup pizza sauce

4 or 5 mushrooms sliced( you can use a can drain it but Andrew loves to use the egg slicer to do this)

1 small can of french fried onions

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a pizza pan with Pam and roll out dough. Spread pizza sauce. Put mushrooms, tuna and cheese on the crust(Andrew and Aaron had fun with this. Bake 15 minutes then spread french fried onions on top and bake 3 to 5 minutes more. Cut and serve. My boys really liked and were more willing to try it because they helped.