Some random pictures to try to redeem myself...

A couple weekends ago, we went camping at "the farm." It was perfect weather and we were all alone. We made pizza pocket and s'mores...

 We played in the mud, caught a frog and turtle, canoed, and rolled in poison ivy.

 Did I mention we ate s'mores?

 We also ate donuts for breakfast.  Some of us got more of the donuts in our mouths than others.

 Daddy managed to catch a frog that filled the jar.  We let it go right away.

 Meanwhile, Sitota was being her super cute sweet self...

 and was playing in the world's largest sandbox.

 Argo was working on his smile (wait, that's all he does...guess he thinks he still needs to perfect it)...

 and catching up on his reading about Team Graff.

 This picture sums up our summer so far...we have been going non-stop since it started.  We haven't had a night off for nearly 2 weeks now.  I think tomorrow will be our first.  Wally decided to take a nap on the floor last weekend.

 We went to a Cedar Rapids Kernels game with Wally's school last Saturday (after the nap).  Wally got to be on the "Dream Team." He got a lovely t-shirt that fit just right...

 He got to hang out in the dugout with the team...

 and he got to go out on the field with the team, shake the umpires' hands, get a ball autographed by the catcher and stand with them during the national anthem...Wally thought that was just about the coolest thing ever!

 Then, he got a snow cone (that was actually really good!).

 Wally has suddenly gotten really into sports.  Maybe it is because we do tee-ball or softball at least 4 nights a week.  His first game was on Wednesday.  This is him trying to steal third.  I had to explain that only the professionals are allowed to do that...he was just doing what he saw at the big game!

 Our baseball player.

 His defensive stance...he takes this seriously despite his grin (and drawing in the dirt).

April Fun...

Wally is obsessed with Wild Kratts on PBS and PBS.com.  So, he recreates shows using Legos.  Here, Chris and Martin (blue and green guys on right) touch a moose (center) to get moose creature power suits (left).  I was impressed with his moose.

Joel won a Award of Excellence at a poster presentation through the VA. Wally was so proud of his Daddy and made him a blue ribbon to wear to the awards ceremony that evening. 

 

This year, Wally and I tried a new technique of dying Easter Eggs.  You put an egg in a little baggie with a couple drops of different colored dye and squish it all around.  It is supposed to result in a tie-dye rainbow effect.  This is hard to do when Wally only wanted to use his favorite colors of pink, purple, and blue.

We made Graff family eggs.

My Cubs fans.  Wally loves to be twins with Daddy and even checked out a really old Cubs book from the school library for Daddy. 

Our church had an Easter Egg hunt this year and this was the only picture I got of Wally because I was busy helping out.  What a nut!

Even though it was raining, we had to go outside and play with the flying spinner from Grandma Mary and Papa Randy.  This was (and still is) a huge hit!  Thanks! 

I love my daffodils.  I can't wait for next year when there are even more!

Wally left his Easter basket outside his bedroom door the night before Easter for the Easter Bunny.  The Easter Bunny apparently saw how much fun the spinner was, so he got Wally another.  He also gave Wally some old underwear (I'm guessing the Easter Bunny was trying to fill his basket at 1:30am in the dark and accidentally picked up some of Wally's underwear from the laundry basket).  However, Wally was very excited to wear his new underwear to church!

An Easter Egg hunt by yourself just isn't that exciting...

But you can stop whenever you want to inspect your eggs in the middle of the hunt without worrying about someone else getting your eggs.  Next year will be different, as Sitota should be some pretty good competition for Wally. 

On Easter, I even got to do something I enjoy...pruning!  I pruned the climbing tree in the loop as it was horribly ugly and neglected.  And, as an added benefit, I can now see Wally climbing the tree while I am in the house.  Our neighbor boy came out to say hi too.

Moose is a photogenic dog, even in his old age.

Just chillin' on the swing and licking a spatula from Mom's Easter dinner cooking.

Easter on the porch.  I can't wait to have real Argo and Sitota rather than just their pictures.

The day we passed our first court hearing (a very big deal!), Wally was so excited.  He had to carry his pictures of Argo and Sitota everywhere (including the bathtub).

Ah, Wally's eyebrow raise...

And Wally needed his picture taken with his brother and sister all over the house. 

To celebrate passing court, I made doro wat, injera, and honey bread...yummy!  Again, can't wait to have real kids rather than just pictures.

Wally found some clay Great Gramma Camilla gave him a few years ago and made gifts for lots of people, including the neighbor boys.  This is an egg holder he made for Daddy.

April has been a fun month, full of excitement.  Can't wait for May!

A visit from Shaundra and Jackson

One of my bestests buddies in the whole world and her amazing son came to visit us at the end of March.  Originally, Shaundra was coming as support in the wake of losing our original referrals, but as it turns out, their trip turned out to be a celebration of our new referrals.  It was so wonderful to have them, and Shaundra even let us practice being mommy, daddy, and big brother to a 10-month-old baby boy as Argo will be roughly that age when he comes home.

Wally started out their visit by giving Jackson a few early birthday presents.  I think Wally was actually more excited about them than Jackson was, despite Jackson's smile.

Since Iowa was way ahead of schedule this spring, Jackson got to experience grass for the first time.  His response was similar to Wally's in that he didn't really like to touch the poky stuff.

 Shaundra is an elementary school teacher and has always loved kids.  I was so excited to see her in action as a mommy (she is amazing - as expected!).  I have always loved Sandra Boynton books, but they take on a whole new level of excitement when read by Shaundra.  Jackson, obviously loves reading books with Mommy.

 We got to bring Shaundra and Jackson to Wally's art show at school.  They only had 1 thing for each student up, so we only got to see Wally's zebra.  The bellybutton looking thing is actually a baby in the zebra's tummy, according to the artist.

 Wally thought taking a bath with Jackson was awesome.  Can't wait to have Brother and Sister home to bathe with! Funny thing about this picture is that it looks like Joel and Rob (Jackson's daddy) are taking a bath together.  It is amazing how much those boys look like their daddies!

 What a couple of cute buddies!

 While Wally was at school, Shaundra, Jackson and I explored Iowa City.  We took in story time at the library and rode a favorite dragon.

 After lunch at the mall, we climbed in the climbing area.  Jackson can't wait to be able to do all the things the big kids were doing.

 Wally, always thinking, figured out a way to swing Jackson while still being able to swing himself.  I think Jackson only got minor whiplash.

 Joel played baby when he had the chance.  Like Wally, Jackson is also eager to walk.

 Wally had fun playing big brother and taking Jackson down the slide.

 Wally did such a good job on the little slide that we let him take Jackson down the big slide.  Somehow, Jackson ended up on his belly at the bottom of the slide, but they were both all smiles!

 We had such a great time with Shaundra and Jackson.  I really do feel that having visitors makes our house feel more like home. 

Thanks for letting us practice on Jackson.  I feel a bit more confident for when our little man comes home!  We love you guys!

Randomness in March...

A happy scientist (or a scientist that is embarrassed because some weirdo is taking pictures of him in the hood).Webcamming is always fun! Hi Gramma Kathy! Hi Aunt Mary!

March 5th: Wally was able to build his one and only snowman this season...

March 6th: Wally was playing in his sandbox with no coat and no shoes. Does this make sense? What a crazy "winter" we had.

Wally found his Snap Circuit set and loved it! I was amazed at how he was able to understand what was going on with the electricity and how he was able to switch out sections to get the effect he was wanting...

I remembered the Lowes Build and Grow program and took Wally one Saturday morning. He built a basketball hoop. Check out his cool trick!

Well, building the hoop got Wally back into building mode. I bought him a little bird house kit, so he built and painted it and hung it under the house. Birds have actually eaten the food he puts in it! Wally is pretending to be a bird in the picture.Then, Wally needed to build a bat house. He learned how on Wild Kratts (PBS show). So, using Papa's wood, he built a bat house that is now hanging below our porch. We've seen lots of bats, but I would be surprised if one actually used the bat house...then again, one used our floor lamp in the living room!After old dog Moose tweaked his neck (or something), the vet suggested we elevate the dogs' food and water dishes, so Wally and I built some tables just the right size for Moose and Daisy's dishes.It has been great fun building with Wally. He has a pile of wood ready to make into a balance beam (Mom just needs to make time to cut a piece of wood for him). He is also making a chair for Brother and Sister...but it needs a better design as it collapsed under Wally.

Moose enjoys Wally's artwork as all good princesses would.

On March 16, 2012, we received new referrals!! To celebrate, we had a picnic pizza party at a really cool park with Brother and Sister Bear.

I can't wait to be able to snuggle all 3 of my babies!

In celebration, I also made some special brownies in honor of our three kiddos.