Welcome Back!

Yes, you are right. It has been almost a year since I have posted anything on here. It's funny how, once you have a child, everything else just ceases to exist or matter. Time flies by and before you know it, it's been a year since I have updated my blog. Life has been insane over the last year. Here are some updates:

July 26, 2013- A day commonly referred to as Gotcha Day in the adoption community! Silas was finally home in our arms. This beautiful little picture, which will forever be my favorite picture of the little man, was taken in a Taipei hotel the night before we began our L-O-N-G journey home. The first week home was very rough, and I had some amazing adoptive parent friends who provided me with love, support, and "it gets better" encouragement.

Time began to fly by very quickly!  Maternity leave was gone within the blink of an eye. We were fortunate enough to have amazing friends that provided Silas with the best of childcare during the day. There was lots of traveling and meeting family. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the little boy.

But there was one individual that was less than ecstatic... Spumoni. As you can see from this picture, the spoiled pup became affection starved. Don't let her fool you... she is still horribly spoiled!

 And then... Silas turned one! Steve began an annual tradition of taking Silas camping on his birthday. This first year, camping was inside Silas' bedroom and lasted a whole ten minutes before he wanted to be in his crib... but that was pretty much our expectation.

When Silas was three months old in Taiwan, he had heart surgery. Now, at 13 months old, he had another surgery. This picture is of him in his little hospital gown preparing for surgery. As soon as he woke up (and ate) after surgery, he was walking around and happy as a clam. He is a champ! This boy has more scars than most adults. During his surgery, which had nothing to do with his heart, they did an echocardiogram and found that Silas' heart is working great and they have no concerns.

Silas is a great eater... that is one area he has not struggled in since coming home! This kid eats at least 4-5 meals a day... plus snacks (or nacks as he calls them).
He is thin but lengthwise he is right on track.

Silas' first Christmas came with upheaval. After almost 3.5 years in Champaign, Illinois, we felt God leading us to move to be closer to family. We moved, jobless and homeless, to Louisville, Kentucky. We moved two days before Christmas, and were able to be with both Gockes and Lecocqs for Silas' first holiday season.

Steve and I soon both had jobs and found a nice home with a large backyard for Spumoni. I am working for a wonderful organization doing intensive in-home family therapy, and Steve is working for AT&T.

In May, Silas was able to go on his first family vacation. We went to Florida with the Lecocq side of the family, and quickly learned that Silas is a fish. That kid could not stay out of the water! He enjoyed time with family, and was continually spoiled and loved on. He even got to try chocolate pudding for the first time! In June, Silas had his first visit to Churchill Downs and loved the experience! He enjoyed seeing and cheering for the horses.


And now you are all caught up on the little man's life! I am committing to keeping this blog up to date from now on.