Friday (Feb 12) was a big day for us. First of all, we got our paperwork back from the state, so I quickly added it to our dossier and Wally and I ran to the FedEx place and sent the whole thing to Washington DC. This is hopefully the last we will see of all our the paperwork. After a courrier carries it to the Department of State and the Ethiopian Embassy, it will be mailed back to our adoption agency. The agency will then send it off to Ethiopia and we will be allowed to receive referrals. We just need to be patient and trust that God will help our agency find our kids at the right time.
The second thing that made this day special was that it was Wally's 3 1/2 birthday. I've been struggling with Wally lately, mostly because he is a 3 1/2 year old trying to see what he can and can't get away with, so I took this milestone to my advantage. I decided to play up the day and therefore make him realize what he can do now that he is a BIG kid and what is expected of him. It's only been a couple days, but it is working! The BIG kid helped me make a cake. I was hoping for chocolate frosting, but since he was helping, he got to pick the frosting...pink!
We then made some almond bark hearts and flowers to decorate the cake. He took this part very seriously.
After a delicious dinner of frozen pizza (with olives), we had cake with 3 1/2 candles.
Because he is a BIG kid, he got to help light the candles...
We sang "Happy half birthday."
And he huffed and he puffed...
And he blew the candles out...
As a present, I got him a grab bag from the Dollar Store. It turned out to be perfect for him and quite a hit. Perhaps a great idea for road trips.
Joel does try to take pictures of me with Wally, but Wally always gets squirmy. Here we are reading books before bedtime. Fire Dog (thanks Jenna and Molly) has become a favorite stuffed animal and goes with Wally everywhere. Tonight Wally told me that "Fire dogs keeps me warm at night and I keep him warm at night. We are a team."
The second thing that made this day special was that it was Wally's 3 1/2 birthday. I've been struggling with Wally lately, mostly because he is a 3 1/2 year old trying to see what he can and can't get away with, so I took this milestone to my advantage. I decided to play up the day and therefore make him realize what he can do now that he is a BIG kid and what is expected of him. It's only been a couple days, but it is working! The BIG kid helped me make a cake. I was hoping for chocolate frosting, but since he was helping, he got to pick the frosting...pink!
We then made some almond bark hearts and flowers to decorate the cake. He took this part very seriously. 
After a delicious dinner of frozen pizza (with olives), we had cake with 3 1/2 candles.
Because he is a BIG kid, he got to help light the candles...
We sang "Happy half birthday."
And he huffed and he puffed...
And he blew the candles out...
As a present, I got him a grab bag from the Dollar Store. It turned out to be perfect for him and quite a hit. Perhaps a great idea for road trips.
Joel does try to take pictures of me with Wally, but Wally always gets squirmy. Here we are reading books before bedtime. Fire Dog (thanks Jenna and Molly) has become a favorite stuffed animal and goes with Wally everywhere. Tonight Wally told me that "Fire dogs keeps me warm at night and I keep him warm at night. We are a team."
Happy 3 1/2 Birthday, Wally! I will keep praying about the adoption process - that it goes smoothly and quickly - can't wait!!!!
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