Saturday, October 24, 2009

blazin' through October.....literally!

Hiking Boys

Smiling Leo in a "pumpkin patch" *Keep reading for details!












Wow! Can't believe October is almost over! We have been busy, busy, busy in all of this heat!
Wil has been growing so fast! He now has 2 teeth, crawls faster than I can walk, can stand on his own for a few seconds, creeps along on furniture and with his walking toys, and imitates noises. He is getting so big!
Leo has been getting big too! We are amazed at how much he can do on his own. His comments on just about everything are amazing! He's smart and really very funny! Last week, he had a stomach bug and was throwing up. he would say, "Mom, I think I have to syrup!" He also enjoys making hypothesis' about everything. "I have a hypothesis that this seed came from this tree..." "I have a hypothesis that if you put a dinosaur with another dinosaur you get another dinosaur." We're not touching that one with a ten foot pole yet!



*Leo always pushes his way into doing what he wants to do. Here is the perfect example: at the zoo, he found a cute lady bug on a swing and decided to join her!
*Leo spotted this Toot and Puddle poster from a mile away!


*These are pictures of us at the zoo on a sunny Saturday afternoon















































































Leo in the backseat checking out the ipod in the backseat




Spooky fireman!



























Well, if this isn't the cutest fireman and his loyal Dalmatian you've ever seen, I don't know where you have been! Wil really acts like Leo's loyal doggie too - admiring every move that fireman makes!









































We were so lucky to have Aunt Jess and Uncle Dave/Steve/Miah visit! Let me explain: Leo could not remember Miah's name, so he just kept calling him random names - the most popular being Uncle Dave or Uncle Steve. Miah rolled with it and it was really funny! We had so much fun this whole week. Here are some pictures from our adventures at Schnef's Farm


































This is Leo on the giant swings. "Again, Again! Encore, Encore" is all he could say! He also had a blast on the roller coaster. The drops surprised him so much that on our second trip, he asked to hold my hand. How sweet is that!?!?













Mommy and Leo on the Bees. The bees did not do so much for mommy's self esteem. They are supposed to go up, but ours did not due to mommy's big butt!








































Oh my goodness, I love this pumpkin patch picture!













We also visited the Desert Botanical Garden. Leo had a blast showing Jess all the cactus and telling her random facts! Wil smiled the whole time!




















Messy face Boys!

















Leo LOVES to find the "Cactus Bones" He was so excited to touch them too!


















Beautiful Chaholy (sp?) Glass Sculptures at the front entrance




















Mommy and Leo on a tractor ride at a pumpkin farm

















More pumpkin "patch" pictures. Apparently, in Arizona, a pumpkin "patch" equates to a bunch of pumpkins scattered on the ground in the shade!





























This is Leo painting a baby pumpkin at Pueblo Grande Museum. It's an actual site of a Pueblo Village. Leo was fascinated by the rooms of the village. He's such a sponge!














Grandma and Grandpa Stewart surprised Leo with this awesome castle when he was sick! He loves it! So does Wil! Leo punched a hole in the door to make a key hole. Here is Wil holding the keys that Leo gave him so Wil could get in. We cherish these moments of brotherly love!

















































Last weekend, the weather was so beautiful, we decided to try out daddy and Wil's new hiking backpack and hike South Mountain! The boys did great! We made it all the way to the top!



























Wil is everywhere! He B-lines to the dog food, tries to race outside and stands himself up on just about everything. Here's a video of Wil as he found himself inside of our bar stool chair!

Wil and Leo dance, dance, dance!



Leo observing butterflies in the butterfly garden at the Desert Botanical Garden


3 comments:

Beth said...

the boys are so cute!!! I love hearing all about Leo's personality!!!

Rydley said...

What a fun post! They're getting so big!

Jia often says she has a hypothesis too! Great show.

Shana said...

Love the costumes! Too stinkin' cute! I also love that Leo understand how dinosaurs make babies, is it too early for "the talk"? Ha, you have your hands full!

Learn Chinese!

Timeline


January 8, 2007 Attend Adoption 101 Information Session in Mesa, AZ
January 22, 2006 - Apply for preapproval from our agencyand Taiwan
January 23, 2007 - Application for USCIS (I-600A) form submitted
January 28, 2007 - 1st Homestudy meeting
January 28, 2007 - Sign adoption contract with our agency
January 29, 2007 - Approved to adopt from Taiwan
February 1, 2007 - Clearance from state of Arizona
February 6, 2007- Maricopa application to adopt is filed
February 13, 2007 - Clearance from state of Michigan, Medical clearances, and Fingerprint invitation arrive from USCIS
February 24, 2007 - Fingerprinted for USCIS
March 11, 2007- Homestudy Complete and Court Certification from Maricopa County received
April 28, 2007 - Homestudy is translated into Mandarin
July 1, 2007 - Finally receive 171-H in the mail
July 6, 2007 - Get new case manager
July 22, 2007 - Sign adendum to contract
August 8, 2007 - Our lucky day! Referral for Lin Kai-Yi, born 6-3-06
August 8, 2007 - accept referral
August 13, 2007 - Sign Child Referral Agreement
August 23, 2007 - Paperwork arrives in Tucson
August 24, 2007 - Paperwork arrives to us
August 26, 2007 - Documents notorized (How many adults does it take to use a stamp?)
August 28, 2007 - Documents certified by AZ Sec. of State
August 29, 2007 Documents sent to TECO to be authenticated
September 4, 2007 - Documents arrive in Tucson from TECO
September 6, 2007 - Documents sent to Taiwan! YEAH!
September 10, 2007 - Update day! We receive 4 pics and a video!
October 2, 2007 - Receive word from TWCA that our hearing date is October 9, 2007 (this happened extreamly fast!)
October 9, 2007 - Keep your fingers crossed for a quick 1st ruling (even better yet, keep your fingers crossed for a final ruling!)
October 11, 2007 - October updates are here!
October 19, 2007 - Receive more pictures and videos from Ray's visit to Taiwan!
November 5, 2007 - November updates are here!
December 2, 2007 - December updates are here! Can't believe there has been no news all month!
December 13, 2007 - FINALLY! Word of our First Ruling! Yippeee! It happened on Dec. 13th in Taiwan (yesterday here)
January 4, 2008 - January updates
February 4, 2008 - February updates
February 28, 2008 - Leaving for Taipei!!!
February 29, 2008 - Arrive in Taipei!
March 4, 2008 - Gotcha Day! Can you even believe it!?!?!?
March 5, 2008 - FINAL RULING FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY! (by the way, our paperwork says the final ruling was issued December 24th!)
March 6, 2008 - First AIT appointment
March 7, 2008 - VISA DAY!
March 10, 2008 - Leave for home!
March 10, 2008 - Arrive home with our boy!!!!!!!!!!!
July 5, 2008 - Find out about Wil's arrival!
March 10, 2009 - Wil Shan-Yi Shaffer is born at 3:38 am 8 lbs. 4 oz. 20 inches long