Cubby and I learning our letters and the conversation went something like this:

Me: What letter starts with "duh-duh"
Cubby: duh-duh-D!!!!!!
Me: Awesome Buddy! High-5!

Me: What letter starts with "ssss-ssss"
Cubby: ssss-ssss-S!!!!!!
Me: Awesome, right again! Slap me another 5!

Me: What about "rrr-rrr"
Cubby (in all the disgust and sarcasm that can only come from a 3 year old): A LION mommy!! A LION....

How silly of me!! :-)

Each classroom in Cubby's school has a mascot, and the kids take turns caring for the mascot a week at a time. The student caring for the mascot is referred to as the "Pumpkin of the Week" and the kids parents are responsible for journaling everything the mascot did that week.

Cubby is in charge of the mascot this week, which happens to be a stuffed Bunny. Not any ol' stuffed Bunny. Nope - this one is wearing a special PINK DRESS. Awesome for a little boy to carry around all week! Just ask his daddy! :-)

It's been fun having Bunny around, and I'll share the journal as soon as Bunny moves on to her/his next house. For now, though, I thought I'd entertain you with Cubby's "Pumpkin of the Week Interview Answers"...

Q: What is your favorite letter?
A: "U"
Q: Why is this your favorite letter?
A: Cuz "u" and me are family!

Q: What is your favorite number?
A: 4!
Q: Why is this your favorite number?
A: Cuz mommy and daddy and Ilya and Bailey make 4!

Q: Who do you enjoy playing with the most?
A: GOD!!!

Mommy's side note - my heart melted with all of the answers above. However, he really got Norm with this next one:

Q: What is your favorite book?
A: Just Me and My Dad!

Please tell me he'll stay this sweet and innocent forever! PLEASE!

Hello everyone! I'm finally coming up for air as our crazy spring & summer come to an end.





Although I didn't update the blog as these trips took place, I did journal everything from the past 5 months. So although it isn't new to me, it will be to you! Look for those entries to be posted soon.

Now that we're into Fall, guess what's on this weekend's agenda? ANOTHER trip to Disney! So much for slowing down...

Until next time - - thanks to all two of you for still keeping up with the blog!

Hugs,
Kar

If you've met Cubby in R.L. (real life), you know without a doubt, that he is anything but quiet. Or still. Or quiet AND still. Inside voices don't exist in his world and neither does walking.

**Side Note - as I typed this, I found myself thinking back to this post that I wrote during our second trip to Moscow to adopt Cubby, and this picture:

If only I knew then how much running and how little walking our son would do once finally home - - oy!!

Anyway, I digress...

So imagine my concern recently when my house was both silent and still, but Cubby was here.

Somewhere.

The question was what was he up to????

I ventured up to his room and found him intently working on this project...

Which I must say turned out amazing!!!

I love the way his little brain works and his imagination rocks! When I complimented him on the guitar, he told me to look at the surprise he made me in my closet. My first thought?

Uh-oh...

And I found this - -


When I asked him what it was he looked at me like I was the biggest goof in the world and said "A BUTTERFLY MOMMY! DUH!!!"

Of course it is Little Man! Of course!

This summer has been ridiculously chaotic at times, but for the most part it's been great. Proof of this is the fact that I've been meaning to post this for over a week. Although I am waaaay behind in doing so, it's for a great cause and for a great family whom I had the pleasure of meeting in person in early June.

Head on over to the blog of Melissa, Nathan and Iliya - - yes another Il(i)ya!! Melissa & Nathan adopted their precious son, Iliya, from Russia and are now in the process of their 2nd adoption. They're having a great fundraiser right now but time is running out so stop by today and enter for a chance to win some really great items!

Thanks & hugs to everyone,
Karyn, Norm & Ilya

Here are a few conversations we've had with Cubby this week:

#1
Cubby: Mommy, Bailey doesn't feel good.
Me: Oh, really? What's wrong with her?
Cubby: She has a headache!
Me: Oh no! Poor baby girl! How are we gonna make her feel better?
Cubby: Ummmm...(thinking about it very hard)...with a SCREWDRIVER!!
Me: Uhhhh...let's try something else, shall we?
Cubby: My drill?!?!?
Me: Uh, no...

#2
Me: What color is the sky?
Cubby: Blue!
Me: What color is the grass?
Cubby: Green!
Me: What color is your hair?
Cubby: Blonde!
Me: What color is Bailey?
Cubby: Uhhhh...Fur and Soft!!

#3
Cashier: You sure are a cute little boy!
Cubby: No I'm not. I'm HANDSOME!!

Heehee - - I've always wondered how kids end up sleeping like this! He WAS.OUT! So sweet...

This was taken at my dad's house last Thursday after a very long 10 hr ride from Atlanta to West Palm Beach for our 4th of July camping trip in Key Largo. More on that trip later!

And I have to admit, my little sweetie has good taste!

Check it out...

I mean seriously - - eyes closed and everything!?!? Makes me blush just to look at this but I absolutely love this photo, as well as the memories surrounding Cubby's first trip to Disney.

Yes, I am a month overdue on that update but so much has been going on and so many other trips have taken place. It's turning out to be a crazy summer but we're having a blast (when I'm not sick that is) but more on that later.

I HAD to post this picture now. Hope you enjoy it as much as Cubby & I do!

Hugs to everyone,
Kar

in October 2009

To this, in May 2010
WHERE'D ALL HIS CUTE LITTLE BABY FAT GO??? :-(
My little boy's growing up waaaaaaay too fast!

No, we haven't been at Disney World since Memorial Day (although Cubby & I would both LOVE to be back with Mickey & Friends). BUT.....

That doesn't mean we've been home this whole time either!

Cubby's calendar has been quite full with trips to Florida, Alabama, back home to Georgia, and now North Carolina. Hmmm....3 different states in 4 weeks.

Tiring Impressive for mommy and daddy a 3 year old!!

Anyhoo

We have a ton of stuff going on lately. Lots of changes, some good & some not-so-good but all survivable. I miss blogging and my blogger friends, and plan on getting back on the keyboard on a regular basis very soon. I have lots to write about and even more pictures to share. As I gather all that together, I just wanted to drop a quick post and, as Mickey says

See You Real Soon!
Kar

Two years ago we carried Cubby through the gates of his orphanage and we began life as a family of 3. Memorial Day will be his 2nd anniversary of stepping foot on American soil.

So, how are we celebrating this year?

A certain family member who shall remain nameless (but the letters n, a, n and a are in her name) recently taught my peace loving son to stomp on bugs. Now, I don't necessarily like bugs but I also don't try to kill them unless they're the stinging (or biting) kind, and they're obviously coming after me (or Cubby). I'll admit that I'm kinda happy Cubby's aim isn't the greatest when he's trying to stomp the buggies into oblivion.

But that's not the not so cute part. This, however, is - -

Yesterday morning as I'm getting ready for a church event the following chain of events occurred:

Cubby (screaming from upstairs): "MOMMY!!!!!! I POOPED!!!!!"

Me (grumbling a little under my breath): "I thought we tell mommy & daddy BEFORE we have to go poop so we can sit on the potty??!!"

Cubby: "I AM telling you Mommy!! I'm STILL pooping!"

Me (uh oh!! as I'm walking towards the stairs): "What do you mean you're STILL pooping??"

Cubby: "The poop - - it's still coming out of my shorts!! So I'm telling you I'm POOPING!" As if I'm the world's biggest dunce...

Suddenly I kick it into high gear because poop coming out of shorts - STILL coming out of shorts - is obviously NOT good. At all. The he shares this bit of glorious news with me:

Cubby: "The poop - it's on my hands now. It's SQUISHY!!! HAHAHAHA!"

Me (as I choke back my vomit): "DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING! ARE YOUR FINGERS IN YOUR MOUTH? DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGERS IN YOUR MOUTH!!!!"

So I get to the top of the stairs and there is a trail of lumpy poop from his bathroom to his bedroom, to his closet, and all the way back to his bathroom again. Gross I know but it gets worse.

Next I hear Cubby say: "LOOK MOMMY!! Buggies!!"

And he proceeds to STOMP the trail of poop into oblivion, into our lovely nearly white carpet. (Who uses white carpet anymore? Seriously!")

So, into the bathtub my little stinky cute went, into the trash went said shorts, and to the store went mommy to find industrial strength carpet cleaner. It was a fun, fun morning.

Yeah, right!

Sweet ride, dontcha think? This Gold Wing is for sale... Unfortunately it won't be our next family member but wow was it comfy! (And before anyone freaks out, no we did NOT take Cubby for a ride, although he will tell you we went to Africa!)

Our 3rd PPR (post placement report) is scheduled for next week. I'm thinking perhaps it's best we DON'T make this photo one of the 6-8 that we include in the packet?!?!?!? Too bad because getting Cubby to sit still for the nanosecond it takes to click a picture is next to impossible. Getting the 3 of us in one shot is an absolute miracle!

Well, I've got a few days to keep trying.

Our team is still updating 2 blogs and posts are being made pretty often. The official team blog can be found at www.NMCGlobal.com. That is the blog that we updated while we were actually in Zim, and more will be added since we didn't have a chance to wrap up the entire trip while we were there.

The second blog, Journey from A-Z, is authored by yours truly and Rebecca, a great friend I made during this journey.

Both bogs will be updated in the coming weeks, and some cool slide shows will be posted soon. Don't miss it!!

Toodles,
Karyn

If you ask Cubby where I was recently, he will tell you that I was in Zim Bobby Afwica (Zimbabwe, Africa). I love the way he says it - very cute!

Upon further questioning, he will tell you that I was there doing "God's work." And after a slight hesitation, he'll go on to tell you that I was doing God's work so that God could go on vacation!! :-)

I snorted & about fell out of my chair when he said that the first time. Norm didn't teach him that part, he came up with it on his own & I love it!

So, how'd I do filling in?!

The actions of one Tennessee woman have led to the halt of all American adoptions in Russia. The lives of countless waiting children and hopeful adoptive families are now in limbo, including families from our adoption agency who I consider close friends, extended family members. I am heartbroken. Confused. Angry.

Today, I am partnering with other bloggers to assist the Joint Council on International Children’s Services in their efforts to tell the world about how beautiful adopted children are.

Today is “We are the Truth” and this is our story…



On May 15, 2008 the lives of 3 people – my husband, my own, and our amazing son – changed forever. Russian authorities (and of course, God!) blessed us by granting us custody of our beautiful baby boy, 14 months old at the time. Thirteen years of wanting a child had ended for Norm & me, and a lifetime of waiting for mommy & daddy had ended for our son. We each received new titles that day - Mommy, Daddy, Son, Family.

Fifteen days later, Ilya became an American citizen when we crossed through customs at Dulles International Airport. A few hours later we carried him through his front door for the first time, he explored his house, met his dogs and cats, played with his toys, tried on his clothes, and that night slept in his crib with mommy & daddy close by. This was the first time in his life that he had things, and parents, to call his own.

The first few weeks were challenging for all of us as he learned to trust and to let us love him, and as we learned to be parents to a 14 month old who didn’t quite understand how a family unit worked. He bonded with Norm quicker than he did with me, which I admit was difficult and heartbreaking at times. I will never, NEVER, forget the day he willingly gave me a hug and kiss without being prompted or bribed to do so. I will never forget when he told a little boy in his class “MY MOMMY” as that little boy tried to give me a hug. I will never forget how with each day his smile grew brighter, his laughs grew louder, his body grew stronger, and our bond grew deeper.

I’ve said it many times, but Ilya is truly an amazing little boy. He recently started preschool, and despite my initial concerns that he may face some type of developmental delays he is THRIVING in school (and life in general). According to his teachers and school administrators, he is scary smart. His language skills are exceptional, as are his problem solving and peace making skills. He may be the smallest kid in his class, but he will not tolerate being bullied or seeing others kids being bullied. He will get right in the face of kids teasing other kids and tell them it’s not nice to do that, and to apologize to whomever they were picking on. And the funny thing is, they do apologize! It’s hilarious. His caretakers in the Vidnoye orphanage told us he was a peacemaker then, and he continues today to be a leader in social justice!

Yes, Ilya went through the terrible 2’s and sometimes, not often but sometimes, that carries over into the terrible 3’s. He does have his moments, but honestly don’t all of us? More often than not Ilya is a very thoughtful, loving, caring, respectful, happy, considerate, healthy, joyful, funny, helpful little boy.

I cannot imagine our lives without him, and it’s difficult to remember our lives before becoming his parents. This is why I’m struggling with my emotions today. I am angry, confused and sad for the children and parents, the family units, whose futures are now jeopardized. Yet at the same time I am overjoyed at the blessing that is our son. We’ve had bumps in the road, and I’m sure we may face future potholes, but the fact remains that he is our son, we are his parents, and we are bound by unconditional love.

I just returned from a life-changing trip to Zimbabwe working with nearly 250 orphans on a daily basis. In the capital of Zimbabwe, a city called Harare, there are approximately 2000 orphans. Worldwide there are roughly 147 million orphans. 147 million. Can you grasp that?

In my very first post on this blog in 2007, I stated that there were nearly 700,000 children in Russian orphanages but that statistic didn’t include the approximately 2-4 million homeless orphans living on the streets or in railways.

There are parents, loving parents, waiting to meet these children and bring them home. There are family units to be built. There are chances to have prosperous futures where hopelessness currently resides. But these children need to be given that chance. We need Russian and American authorities to work together in order for that to happen, and perhaps more importantly potential adopters need to be fully aware of the commitment they are making before venturing into international adoption. There will be challenges and joys, good days and bad days. And in some cases, rare cases, disrupting the adoption may be in the best interest of the child and their parents. But sending that child half way around the world on a plane by themselves is definitely NOT the answer.

Whether they are in Russia, Zimbabwe or elsewhere in the world, these children deserve a chance at love. Thankfully, God’s Will led us to Ilya, and Ilya to us, and the 3 of us have been blessed by the love that comes with being…

FAMILY.

It's hard to believe the day is finally here, but it is. In one hour I leave to meet my 14 team members and begin our 26.5 hr journey to Zimbabwe. I don't want to leave Norm and Cubby behind, and in fact it's breaking my heart to do so. But there is some reason, some purpose for me in Zimbabwe that I don't yet fully understand.

I do understand, however, I blessed I am to take part in this trip and serve children such as this little girl and her mother:

She is approximately 8-10 years old and unable to walk. Her mom has carried her on her back her entire life, which must be extremely difficult for them both. Our team is taking wheelchairs to distribute to people like this little girl, and we will be able to personally witness the new direction her life will soon be taking. We will also be participating in meal preparation and food distribution at orphanages and many, many other wonderful projects.

I will have extremely limited, if any, access to the internet while I'm gone but you can follow our team's journey at www.nmcglobal.com. Just click on the Zimbabwe tab and see what we're up to.

I'll be back home on April 14 and look forward to updating you and sharing pix.

Take care & Happy Easter!
Karyn

More photos from Cubby's party, and a surprise visitor, will follow soon. For now, I (like birthday boy) am starting to crash from my sugar rush and MUST.SLEEP.NOW.

Two years ago today, I celebrated my birthday in Moscow by meeting and holding our son for the first time. Later that night, I posted the picture below. Our little boy's hand clutching his new daddy's shirt as he quietly slept in safe and secure arms for the first time in his short 11 month life.



I so badly wanted to show everyone the entire picture, the proud new papa and the beautiful baby boy we had been blessed with. Russian adoption laws forbade us from posting that picture until after our court date, so I shared as much as I could in my post - - our son was perfect, amazing, gentle, snuggly, peaceful, adorable - - and God chose the 3 of us to become a family.

We have truly been blessed by the most precious gift from God; a gift that continues giving laughter, hugs, kisses, and snuggles. And this morning, our little gift treated me to the best rendition of Happy Birthday I have ever heard!

My word on March 17, 2008 still echo in my mind today:

"I cannot remember nor can I imagine celebrating my birthday in a finer fashion than I did today. We are in love with the most precious, adorable little baby and could not be happier!"

I love you Cubby, more than you ever know!!

...what this picture is all about?



I'll give you a hint -

Cubby went to his first birthday party for a kid in his class who turned 3 over the weekend. He sat next to the birthday boy, Colton...notice the plate the Cubby has his hands on that is flipped upside down and the V.E.R.Y. mischievous look on Cubby's face and his super chubby cheeks...

'Nuff said?! :-)

It seems like I've done nothing but run crazy since our move to GA. If that's true, why then are my jeans suddenly way too tight and the scale runs in the opposite direction when I walk into our bathroom? Seriously - I've always been petite but I think a lifetime of inhaling all things chocolate is finally settling in my waistline and I'm feeling a bit...round.

I will admit that I am spending more time in the kitchen these days.

Drinking coffee that is.
And folding laundry on the island.
And catching up on everyone's blogs.
Did I mention coffee?

You didn't honestly think I was in there COOKING, did you? Ha!! Can I tell you something? Our oven broke. Can I tell you something else? It has been broken for quite awhile now and we've yet to get a repair man in to fix it. Would you be surprised to learn that it really hasn't cramped my "cooking style" at all? As if I ever had a "cooking style"!

I got a little kick in the bootie last night to put the M&Ms (and Reese's, and Twix, etc., etc.) away. I overheard Norm signing Cubby up for swim lessons. The type where mom or dad enters the pool as well. The lessons start next weekend.

Uh-oh...

I snuck upstairs to try on my bathing suit. The Horror!!

Ladies (& gents) it was NOT pretty. At all. So all chocolate is now gone & today I'm running out to get the Jillian 30-day shred video. I'm not doing this for me though. It's all about Cubby. After all, it's a little early in Cubby's life to traumatize him, dontcha think?

I'm no mathematician, but I figure if I do Jillian's video 3 times a day for the next 7 days, I'll be 21 days into her 30 day shred. Right? So, realistically I'll only be missing out on 9 days of her workout, but should be in pretty good shape. I might not be able to walk or move, or even breathe but we have to hold our breath under water anyway, right?! :-)

Curious? Check out this blog that I am co-authoring with my new friend, Rebecca!

The Journey from A-Z

As Rebecca says in her post, Bring it on God!! :-)

Hello family and friends!

New to the blog? Need a little refresher on the “Send Me” series? It’s okay to go back and read Part I and then Part II, really! In fact, I encourage you to do just that because it has been – what like 7 months? The wait just proves that God’s will does, indeed, prevail - - it’s just all about HIS timing!

In a few days I’ll explain how my prayer to be “more than a tag along” in our move to GA has been answered. In the meantime, I’m going to pick up Cubby from daycare and enjoy the blessing that is my family!

Kar

Back when I was President and a card carrying member of Chocolateholics Anonymous, I L.O.V.E.D. Valentine's Day. But then I met Norm and he really started spoiling me by doing nice things for no reason, giving gifts on non-holidays, and nearly bankrupting us (kidding) by supporting my chocolate eating habits. He took the notion of "just because" to an all new level, and still love him for that.

So, I've kinda sworn off the calendared Valentine's Day for the last 15 years because really, Valentine's Day could happen ANY day, or multiple days, in our house.

But that all changed this year when an amazing, hysterical, super sweet, beautiful, almost 3 year old little boy, proudly proclaimed "I made this boo-kay-ee for YOU my mommy! Happeeeeee Val Tie Day my mommy!"

Yeah, Cupid got me this time! Be. Still.My.Heart. Remind me again why I deserve to be this blessed?

To any families going through the adoption process right now, annoyed with the paper chase, drowning in the dossier, frustrated with the wait, wondering when your court date is FINALLY going to happen...these little treasures...a simple paper bouquet from your little one...make each and every bump/detour along the way totally worthwhile!

Norm & I agree - - we definitely picked the right winter to move south! Our poor friends back in VA are still trying to dig out from Snowmageddon, and while things have been pretty chilly here in Atlanta we aren't missing shoveling that ridiculously long driveway we used to have!

We got a "big storm" ourselves yesterday and ended up with about 2"-3" which is just the right amount as far as I'm concerned. Why? Well, it made everyone in our office concerned enough yesterday afternoon to close the office at 2:30, it was definitely pretty to look at, there are snowmen in almost everybody's yard in our neighborhood, we had a street snowball fight just a little while ago, and now, less than 24 hrs after it started it's almost gone! Our high today is 41, so the snow is just about melted and I didn't even have to shovel our much shorter driveway this time. The sun did all the work for me. Woohoo!

Oh, and Bailey & Bandit were in doggy heaven when they woke up this morning:







And then, I got tackled...



And the fun was over!

In case you're saying to yourself "What, no pictures of Cubby?" Well, I hate to disappoint but he spends Friday nights with Nana so no, no snowy pix of him today. So sorry! Tune in next time - he's even cuter these days if you can imagine!

And when you take my age into consideration, should really I be this excited about this????

Yes, I'm on the email list for updates on when the park opens.
Yes, I plan on visiting.
No, I will not tell Norm before hand that we are actually going here, and there's a small chance he'll enjoy himself.
Yes, I will totally embarrass him (and maybe even Cubby) when we do visit.
Yes, despite my best efforts I am a H@rry Potter addict and yes, I need help!

Feel free to carry on with your normally scheduled activities

Disclaimer: Daddy & Bob be warned you may not want to read this entire post. It's up to you.

There are some things one just shouldn't share on a public blog. This may be one of those times where I shake my head in a few days & ask myself "What was I thinking?"

For about the past week or so I've had excruciating back pain. Norm thinks I've just been trying to get out of bath time. Cubby's daycare apparently holds classes in contortionism and failed to get our approval first. The pain is in my lower back and spreads across my hips. It's so bad that my legs are going numb, especially the left one.

Yesterday my co-workers came up with the brilliant plan of - get this - seeing a doctor! Why hadn't I thought of that? So off to urgent care I went and met the most hilarious doctor I've ever dealt with. I even got a lollipop for being the only patient who didn't see him for "snot issues" (his words, not mine). Yay me!!

He started poking around my spine, working his way from my neck, past my ribs and when he finally reached the source of my pain we BOTH knew he struck gold:

He laughed - I cried

He said "That feels so cool! I can feel your nerves short circuiting and your muscles spazing out!"

I said "I'm glad you're enjoying my misery!"

He said "Let me do it again." and without waiting for a reply, he starts poking around that spot again.

I said "Listen Buddy - do it again & next thing you know you're gonna be laid out on this floor!"

It was all in good fun but I tell ya...I have NEVER experienced that pain before and never wish to again.

When he realized his life was in jeopardy, Dr. Comedian drew me a nice diagram of my spine & explained what he thought the issues was. We did an xray just to make sure there was nothing more serious going on. He wrote me a script for some amazing much appreciated drugs and off I went with strict orders to only pick up Cubby if absolutely necessary. Dr. Comedian even offered to write a note to Norm explaining he would have daddy duty all to himself for the next 10 days, just to prove I wasn't going through all of this to get out of bath time.

Cubby didn't understand why I couldn't pick him up last night, why he couldn't climb on me, jump up & down on me, etc. So we did our best to explain that mommy has a booboo and needs to relax and take medicine for a few days.

Let me interject a very important fact here. When Cubby has a little accident, we usually refer to it as an "owie." Keep that in mind.

Let me also interject that this may be a good stopping point for Daddy & Bob (my mom's husband).

So, Cubby goes to school today and he yells. At the top of his lungs. Of course.

Cubby came to our office the other day to provide some comedy relief for our co-workers. He is V.E.R.Y. animated these days and is absolutely hilarious. While he was running around like a wild child, one of our sales guys (who has a pretty thick southern accent) said:

"Dij y'all know u's raizin a Russian rayd-nayek?!"

In case you need help with that, the official translation is - "Did you all know you're raising a Russian redneck?!"

We hadn't thought about it much, but now that he brought it up, Cubby does seem to have a bit of a "twang" goin on these days. Here's a small sample, but trust me the list is pretty long:

Hay-uhnd (hand)
Pay-uhnts (pants)
Ay-unt (ant)
Bay-ugh (bag)
Nay-eel (nail)
Bay-ed (bed)
Thang (thing)
Gee-tar (guitar)

And the one I love the most:

I reckon!

Are you kidding me?! What 2 year old says "I reckon"? I just about fell over the first time he said that. The majority of the teachers at his daycare do have an accent, which must be where he's picking this up. I think it's adorable and am just wondering if it's time to introduce him to grits?! Yum!

As most of you know, Norm's mom lived with us prior to moving to GA. She made the move as well BUT bought her own house and is living there with her dad (Cubby's great-grandpa a.k.a. Vovo). In fact, she moved down in August last year and had to wait until November to be reunited with her precious grandson.

Anyway, having Ilya's Nana here has been a HUGE help as far as getting settled and helping Cubby adjust to all the newness going on. She & her friend set up the room I am only allowed to walk through and never touch anything besides the coffee pot my kitchen which would still be a complete disaster had they not taken the lead on that project.

Let's just be honest people - - my kitchen is & always will be a disaster so long as it is MY KITCHEN. But I digress.

She spoils Cubby rotten, as any grandma should and still cooks for us more often than not. If she notices things on sale at the grocery store that we use, she will pick up extra for us. She was more than willing to spend the day with Cubby last week when daycare closed because of the snow(??????? HA!!!) the news folks say we got. It actually looked more like a few sugar packs exploded in one patch of our back yard. But, whatev.

So while all of that is great and we truly appreciate everything Nana does, the absolutel best thing she's ever done for us is keep THIS gift from Santa at her house:

We love you, Judy! We really, really do!

And as a side note to Santa - please consider what's on the parent's wish list as well next year. You kinda overlooked our needs (and eardrums) in 09.