13 Months Home (pics)... we're still up to things.

I guess it's time I just start updating you on things we've been up to without making you wait another month for more pictures, huh?  Do I still do monthly updates, now that it has been a year?  Well, at least it has helped keep me on a deadline to make sure blog world can follow our journey!

So, for your next very long post, here is the 13 months home update.  

I'll start with Gambo's FIRST Easter Egg hunt, and first Easter in America.

What a cutie he was!  We gave him a bucket to collect the eggs in, and he didn't know what to do with it.  He started collecting leaves in it!

After showing him that his job was to find the eggs, he did much better.

There were other kids there also egg hunting.  This picture says, "I better get this egg in my bucket before anyone sees!"

His next FIRST was to go watch the train!  Every morning we hear the train enter or leave the station, and this morning, I finally decided we should go watch it.

So we drove over to the station to watch one of the commuter trains take off, and wave good-bye to the passengers.

(Another FIRST below)

But, now, I must mention a big milestone for Gambo... we celebrated his 2nd birthday!!  

My little bitty Gambo, is now 2 years old!  We actually celebrated a little early this year, since we wanted to have him open presents and enjoy them before the movers packed them up.

I had just made a "You are Special" Plate at the paint a pottery store, and I got to use it for Gambo's special birthday cupcake.

Boy, did he like that cupcake!

One of his favorite birthday gifts this year was his very own toy vacuum cleaner!  He LOVES to vacuum.  He begs for me to vacuum everyday, and now he has his own.

He also got a toy lawnmower.  He doesn't only love watching his mama vacuum, he loves watching his dada mow the lawn!

One other big change, though I didn't get any pictures of it, was that we gave him his first Real haircut.  We wanted to wait until he was 2 to actually cut all of it down.  It was growing very uneven still, and we were looking forward to lower maintenance for our upcoming move.

Here's Gambo with shorter hair, still being just as silly:

We also love our everyday moments with him too, like when he brushes his teeth before bed.  

Oh, and he always wears a sleep cap at night, to help protect his hair.

Finally the time had come, and we watched all our belongings get packed up in big crates to be shipped (by ship!) overseas.

 Boxes and Boxes!

And it slowly emptied.

We then sat in our empty home, and pretending to pray for the picture prayed for our upcoming journey.  But we really were thankful for this house, even though we only lived in it for a year and a half!

Before saying good-bye to our house, we went out and harvested the only two peaches on our peach tree that survived the harsh winds this spring.

 Then we said Bye-Bye House,

And we headed off on Vacation!

Off to Colorado we went!

And Gambo got to play in the snow, and throw his FIRST snowball.

 

Then it was off to visit Granny and Grandpa

Gambo is taking a walk with Grandpa and his dada.

We are so thankful for our little man, and can't wait to start our new adventure with him!

Adoption Video!!!

One Year Home, and I finally got the adoption video 

finished!

Here is the short version of our story (5 mins).  Thanks to Kristy Struska for most of the photos and video taken.  She accompanied us as our photographer and support in Uganda, and it was so worth it to have her there!

Tada! One Year Home!!! (with pics and video)

WE MADE IT!  

ONE YEAR has flown by with our little Gambo home!

Can you guys believe it has been this long?  It certainly seems to have gone fast for us.  We were blessed to have a good full year of stability for our little guy.  No upheavals, no "business trips," no trips to the M.E., no moving.  Ahhh... it was wonderful!

Now we must move on to greater things...  yes, I mean, literally Move.  The house is sold.

We have to be out in a few weeks.  Then we find something to do and someplace to go until we leave the good ole USA.

The past month has been busy, and I take less and less pictures of our day to day, but I am taking more quick videos with my phone.  It's hard to capture all the cuteness of Gambo in one pic.  (Though it is possible)

Speaking of pictures, this month Gambo has been obsessed with my old camera tripod!

Maybe he'll enjoy photography like his mama.

What also got him very interested in the camera?  Well, this mama kept pulling it out to take pictures of the Airshow happening in our backyard!

Yes the Blue Angels were performing at an airshow close to our house.

I took Gambo to go watch them (with ear protection of course).

And this is how cool you are supposed to look while waiting for the planes to show up.

Day to day life happens around here

Like Gambo being silly

Music is still a big part of his day

But most music comes out of his mouth now.

He still gets a little camera shy, clamming up, but he loves to sing

He has his silly moments

But he still loves to snuggle!

His FIRST for the month was St. Patrick's Day!  He didn't know what it was all about, but he got GREEN quiche and GREEN pancakes to eat!

On the paperwork front... we got his US passport!!!  Now we can travel!  I also filed for his SS card and didn't seem to have any issues with that.

It was a long line, out into the parking lot, that I waited 45 mins just to get into the building... but here's hoping the card comes soon!

One more large piece of paperwork, the Certificate of Citizenship, we are waiting to apply for.  It will take lots of time and lots of money to process, but later on we will be glad we got it.

Praise God with us that we have made it this far!  

P.S. amazing adoption video coming soon...

11 Months Home Update (With Pictures and Video)

Whoo Hoo!  Getting close to having Gambo home in the USA for a year.  Here is what has happened over the last month.

My little boy with little hands

is growing.  Look at all those teeth now!

Though he has gained some weight, I still carry him in the baby carrier a lot.

A lot of people in store remark how it must kill my back, but I don't mind.

Gambo continues to be fascinated with dogs.

We went on a trip to Las Vegas last month to visit our friends, Nathan and Charity

and Gambo got to play in their backyard.

Mom and Dad got to escape on a date night and saw the Las Vegas sights like the Bellagio fountains with the Paris hotel in the background.

As well as Ceasar's Palace, which we got lost in.

We also were amazed at how they can make the insides of hotels look like you are outside!

Even The Venetian Hotel has a real canal running through it!

Without gambling there was still plenty to see in the area.

(I couldn't leave Las Vegas without getting a picture with an Elvis impersonator)

Around the home, Gambo loves to mop… Yes, he is obsessed with MOPPING right now!

He's also having fun discovering new things like dandelions.

He's enjoyed some days at the park,

which he really loves!

And even when it is not sunny out (a rare occurrence here), he still loves to be outside.

My little rain-lover checking out the rain.

Holding the umbrella is one of his favorite things.

But he doesn't always get what to do with it…

Some of Gambo's FIRSTS this month revolved around animals.

He rode his first horse-- actually it was a pony.  He was scared to death of it at first and clung to me for dear life!

But then he sort got the hang of it by the end.

The only horse he actually liked to ride was this one…

He also found his first worm!

Yes, I have a little BOY, who I am sure will find many more.

I love his curiosity.

But he's too open to suggestion… like when he dad suggested he EAT the worm!

(Don't worry, Mom stepped in and stopped the atrocity)

As far as paperwork goes (when does it end??), we are waiting to receive his birth certificate in the mail.  We also are waiting to get his US passport in the mail.  And after we have those things, we still need to get him a SS Number.  So, there are still several things to do, plus more Post-Placement reports.

But he is so worth it!