Christmas Tree Decorating

Daddy was done working reasonably on time on Wednesday, so we set out to buy a Christmas tree.
It was December 1st and it had snowed overnight. It was already dark by the time we got our coats and boots on, which made it extra "special", as Cain likes to say.

The kids did very well while we were at the store; Cain tried to climb/ride an inflatable reindeer as soon as we walked into the store, and Caira got super excited when she saw a pink Christmas tree in the line up (yes, she is already about the pink stuff!!) but other than that they were mellow as usual.

We set the tree up as soon as we got home. It's a little 4.5 foot shiny one, standing on top of one of our end tables, and perfect for us! We decorated it as a family and that too was a success.

The babies love the tree, and can't help but touch the branches every once in a while, but I think they understand that we only get to decorate it once.

I can't believe how fast the holiday season crept up on us! Only 2.5 more weeks until Christmas, and then all the festivities will be over.. It'll just be cold, dark, and January.
At least we will always have the memories, and pictures, of our first Christmas as a family, and our first tree.

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Caira's First Birthday

Caira, my little girl will be 1 year old next Wednesday.
It's weird because her birth doesn't feel like a year ago.. She has been crawling since about 5.5 months, and took her first steps right around her 10 month birthday. She's walking everywhere now, and doing a great job at it! She loves to climb and is very good at "Simon Says" type games (we don't actually say "Simon "says" but instead say "Everybody... clap/touch your nose etc")
She wiggled her toes this morning, when both her and her brother were sitting on my lap, and we were all inspecting each others wiggly toes lol I was pretty impressed by that!
We practiced blowing out candles today, she did pretty good but Cain helped her with the final touches.

Caira is such a little girl- she still cries and makes pouty faces when we tell her no, she loves to brush her hair and play with shoes, but she is also very independent. She used to follow either Cain or myself everywhere, but now we often find her exploring this on her own. I take them to the mall a lot, to play at the kids place, and even there she goes her own way and does her own thing. I let her do a lot more than I Cain did at this age, probably because Cain just started crawling at almost 12 months old (and she's already walking), but also because she's a quick learner and wants to so everything her brother does anyway.

She has been going backwards off of things for months; it was the first thing we taught her as soon as she began crawling. "Go backwards, Caira!" I can still hear Cain. "Bawads Cawa!" XD
Cain is getting so big too, he's tall enough now that he can get onto our counter high dining set, and inspect everything that we've been storing on there because it was the only lace they couldn't reach.. He jumps up and off of the couch with little effort, and of course, Caira has noticed this too. They were sitting on the futon in our home office after lunch today, watching Nick Jr., when Cain decided he had had enough. He jump/slides off the futon, and walks away. Caira stands up, walks to the edge of the futon and as I yell "BACKWAA..!" she leaps off into the air. Of course her other foot was still on the futon, so there she went- face down on the ground- a ball went flying, I guess she must have landed on it, I reach her just in time to see her get to her knees and look at me with big eyes, gleaming with excitement. Silly girl was fine. Phew!

Her birthday is the 24th. Thanksgiving is the day after, and we're having a party for her in Dayton on the 27th. I think she'll enjoy it a lot more than Cain did his first time! She seems so much older!
I wish I had scheduled a photo session with Memories by Morgan, 'cause I remember Morgan saying that she had yet to photograph a one year old that actually ate their personal cake. I'm pretty sure Caira would destroy it! lol

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World Cup Final

Sunday July 10th, 2010.
Spain and The Netherlands in the final. Both have never won before..
Holland played a great cup, working its way to the final game.

I noticed early on that they weren't playing very smooth and fluid like they had before, and I was getting less excited for our victory every minute. This did not look good.
The score was 0-0 by the end of the game, so they went into overtime.
Both teams had some great opportunities, especially Holland, but they didn't take them. It almost seemed like they didn't really want it..

Spain scored a beautiful goal in the 119th minute, just a few seconds before they would have gone to penalty kicks, which Holland would have definitely won, as the Spanish keeper really kinda sucked.

Holland was defeated. I could not believe that just happened! Total shock at our house!

My in laws watched the game with us, and we had dinner together, which was nice. We still had a good day because of that.
Chris and I agreed later, after my in laws left, that we would have had entirely different reactions to the game LOL

All in all a good game, and a great day. Too bad Holland didn't win, but Spain definitely deserved it.

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A Night on the Town

Saturday (June 5ht 2010) was a busy day for us. We left Columbus right after lunch, (after packing and getting everyone ready) to go see Chris' cousin play football. The Warriors smashed their opponent 33-14!! After the game we rushed over o Meyer to get Caira a pacifier (we forgot hers :/ )
where I thought I saw my girl Morgan. I got so excited LOL but then realized it wasn't her as they got closer hahaha I was so sad.
We took the babies over to Chris' mom's house to spend the night. Shortly after we got there, Chris' other cousin arrived with his family. Their kids (3) were staying there too, while us grown folks double dated :)

Chris and I got a hotel room for the night at the Pure Hotel. It was pretty nice, but nothing fancy. King size suite, close to both the Oregon District and his mom's house.
I got ready in record time- dressed in 15 minutes! We were meeting Jelani and Valita at Ned Peppers. We got there around 12.30 and it was PACKED. I realized I forgot my ID, so we tried a different bar, but didn't get in there either. I suggested we call Dominik, his football playing Warrior, who also happens to be a DJ and knows a lot of people in the area. He would meet us at Pearl in 30 minutes. YAY.

I met Dominik at the same time I met Chris. We were friends back then, but don't speak unless we see each other at family gatherings now, and even those "conversations" are very rare. I miss him. Funny, how I had just mentioned that on my Facebook not too long ago!

I used to go to Pearl, now called Vex I believe(?) when I lived in Centerville YEARS ago, so I was happy to go back and felt comfortable hanging out there. We had a blast. Valita and I started talking as soon as we walked in and the Jacksons flocked over to the bar, and never stopped. I laughed so hard, that girl is hilarious! Like I said, we had a great time at the Pearl, got kicked out around 3 I believe, and went over to Denny's to eat. Without Dominik.. BUT I did get a hug!!!! :D

Of course they knew everyone at Denny's, and I didn't know anyone, but it was fun regardless and I enjoyed watching my in laws do what they do. I never really hung out with them before, besides at Christmas, Easter and people's birthdays, so I had fun seeing a different side of them.
I claimed Valita as my new best friend and I'm sticking with it even now that I am sober lol.

We got back to our hotel around 5 I believe, woke up around 9 and went to pick up the babies after breakfast.
We spent the afternoon hanging out with all of us, and went our separate ways around 4PM. Cain was so sleepy, he had a blast playing with his cousins and Nana, and was ready for a good long nap.

He slept all the way home, then ate some lunch, went back to sleep, only to have to be awakened at 7PM, to go to the store and eat dinner. A looong day for little misters, but so much fun none the less. :)

We decided next time we would double date in Columbus, but I don't really see how that would be possible, now that I'm sober, since we have n family here LOL I guess we're taking the kids with us! hahaha

Can't wait or next time! :)

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Memorial Day 2010

On Memorial Day, we were supposed to visit Chris' family in Dayton for dinner (which is an all day thing, really). I decided not to go at he last minute, and stayed home by myself.
It was my first time alone for more than a quick run to the store or a doctor's appointment, and I have to say, I was less lonely than I thought I would be, but more lonely than I said I would be LOL

I took the opportunity to vacuum the whole apartment, since Cain is cared to death of the sound it makes and I can't get as much done as often as I would like.
After vacuuming, I folded the laundry, then I did some dishes, and after it was ME time.

I got comfy on the couch wiht my chocolate cake and watched "Julie&Julia". It's a movie about this woman, Julie, who is a little depressed and decides to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook to get out of her slump. She sets a deadline for herself; 1 year, and writes a blog about it, one post per night. The movie is alright. Julia Child is played by Meryl Streep. My goodness. I need to youtube this lady now, and see if her voice is really that annoying! She reminded me slightly of my grandmother, the way she pronounced things, but her VOICE. YIKES.
She seemed drunk to me. I was seriously waiting for the part that everyone discovered she had a drinking problem, but that scene never came.. I found myself disappointed when I thought the movie was over and another scene popped up.
You understand I was happy when it finally did end- in a very strange way, might I add.

I watched another one that I had been wanting to see and Chris wanted no part of; "My Sister's Keeper". I have to admit, it was all that I expected to be; emotional, sad, a true drama. I was pleasantly surprised, however, that it did have some unexpected turns. I guess anyone else WOULD have expected the turns, but I didn't. lol. I guess I don't like to go into movies thinking about what could happen. It takes away form the mind numbing pleasure that watching movies gives me.

Already being in an emotional state, these movies were the best choice I could have made to spend my Memorial Day. When my boyfriend came home with the kids I was re-energized, patient and loving. Donor babies, children quite literally made to be donors for their older, sick, sibling, have a way of putting things in perspective, I guess.

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Cain's Social Security Number

Most of you know that Cain, my preemie son, born in August of 2008, was born in Holland.
In Holland they handle paperwork surrounding births very different than they do in The U.S.
For starters, a parent, or someone else who was present at the birth, has to go to the Vitals office and report the birth within 3 days of the baby's arrival. They ask for the names of the parent(s) and baby, what day and time, and which hospital the baby was born in, whereas in America, the hospital's social workers (I assume) take care of all of this.
Thankfully I had my mom and sister there. My mom and her boyfriend (/husband) reported Cain's birth while I was recovering in my hospital bed. Cain was, however, automatically added to my insurance when the Vitals office contacted them with his "social security" number. That was great! "Yay, one less thing that I need to worry about!"

Chris came to visit us, and meet his son, about 4 months after Cain was born. We had so much to talk about, plan, share, take care of and catch up on. Chris was in awe of his newborn mini-me and Cain was visibly LOVING his daddy.
So much so, that we basically stayed in the house the entire time Chris was there. Everything that we were supposed to do was no longer a priority; these 2 needed a chance to get to know each other and just cuddle as much as they could. I was so happy to see him again after 8 months, and my heart just melted when I saw him with Cain. I decided I wanted to go back to him as soon as Cain was big/healthy enough to travel.
We only had a week and a half together, and they pretty much spent the entire time in "each others" arms.
Cain and I were both so sad when daddy had to leave. At least we would get to see him again in 2-3 months..

Cain and I sneaked into the country the easiest and least expensive way. Me using my American passport, on a ticket with a return flight. "What's your reason for travel?" "We're vacationing. We're here to see daddy!" "Oh, your son is adorable!!"

Then it started.. We tried to get insurance for us all.. Cain doesn't yet have a social security number, so insurance is out of the question for now. OK, well let's get him his social security card.
The person on the other side of the desk at the Social Security Office tells me I need his birth certificate. "I don't have the original, but this is the abbreviated version." Not good enough, and if we use his passport instead, he will be an alien. On top of that, we need a certificate of birth abroad.
Apparently, when we skipped our to do list when Chris was in Holland, we messed everything up for all of us. We were supposed to go to the US embassy/consulate to notify them of Cains birth. We figured we could just do that when we got to Ohio but.. not so much.
Basically, we need to go back to Holland, which costs about $1200 per adult ticket, 10% of an adult ticket plus taxes for the babies (yes, 2 by now) for the flight, then go to the U.S. consulate and pay $500 to report his birth (which was 2 years ago) so that we can go to the Social Security Office a few miles from our apartment and stand in line for another hour to file for his FREE social security number.

We were planning to go to Holland this summer, mainly to take care of all of Cain's things, but also because of the World Cup (soccer). Chris wanted to go to South Africa to watch the games live, but since that didn't work out, Holland would be a good alternative. They go crazy for soccer, and I'd love to share some of my culture with my boyfriend, after being together for so many years, and only have visited for 1.5 weeks which we spent in the house..
It's not looking so good though.. We are still hoping to go, but in reality it seems pretty impossible. :(
I'm almost positive though, that there has to be another way. They can't force us to spend thousands of dollars to go back to the country of birth, can they?!! I wish there was a way to just ASK SOMEONE what we should. Unfortunately, to-the-point-answers are hard to come by these days, especially when all these phone lines are automated! :/

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Mother's Day 2010

My boyfriend is amazing. He is such a great daddy, but he spoils me rotten too! Early in the morning, I think it was around 7 AM, Caira woke up; she was freezing! Chris got her out of bed and laid her down between us. Everyone went back to sleep.

I heard something and opened my eyes. Chris walks out of the closet, he is fully dresses. "Where are you going? Don't leave me!" "........I'm going....... to .. ge breakfast" He was clearly think of something else to say, but what else could he be doing on a Sunday morning! "Why? We need to finish those sausages" (LOL we use half a pack of sausages each weekend morning) "But it's Mother's Day.." I smiled. Oh yeah.. it's Mother's Day.. "OK. Did you order yet?"

Cain woke up and Chris got him out of bed, and put him in bed with Caira and I. Chris asked me what I wanted to do today. I didn't know. I had kinda figured we would go to Dayton to see his mom and grandmother. He said he planned on taking us to the zoo. YAAAAAAAYYY THE ZOOOOOOOO!!
I had been wanting to go for MONTHS! Since last summer, really lol.

Chris went to get breakfast from Bob Evans, and I called my mom. She was home alone, which I thought was kinda sad, but she sounded OK now (apparently she had been crying most of the morning 'cause her kids don't love her. Oh, mothers.)

I walk into the living room, carrying Caira on one arm/hip, her bottle in my free hand. Cain is running ahead of me, screaming with excitement. (He doens'nt like being "'trapped" in our bedroom very long, he'd much rather run around and get into stuff he's not supposed to) I walk over to the dinding table to put Caira down in her bouncy chair, so we can eat our precious Bob Evans. LOL.
There's a beautiful bouquet on the table, accompanied by a card. I opened the envelope and started reading, but quickly slid it back in the envelope. "I'm not gonna read it right now, you're just trying to make me cry!" My boyfriend is so sweet, you have no idea. I love it when he buys me flowers. It makes me feel all girlfriend-boyfriend. lol. He always picks really nice ones too. :) The cutest part about the flowers, however, is that he bought them in a vase, not just flowers that he had to cut and put in a vase himself. Most women would probably like the latter better, more effort and what not, but I thought it was cute, 'cause I told him a week or 2 ago that I wanted to start a vase collection since I couldn't have flowers and plants on our balcony. He is very attentive.

(I'll update it with a better picture later)

After breakfast everyone got ready and we headed for the Columbus Zoo. We got there a little bit before 3PM (LOL). It was busy in the parking lot, but not too bad. We found a decent parking spot, and loaded the babies into the stroller.
We waited in line for about 2 minutes, and only paid for one ticket- Cain and Caira are both free since they're under 2 years old, and I was free as a Mother's Day special, with the purchase of any other ticket. NICE.

We had so much fun at the Zoo. Chris loves to go, and I hadn't been in probably 10 years. I was excited to take Cain, 'cause I was sure he would love it.
He enjoyed looking at the fish and other animals in the aquarium, but everything else was too far away or sat too still for him to really see. He would look at the animal, and be distracted by something. He liked it if we would point and make the sound, but I think he was a little too young still. Caira liked the "Shores" too, we sat on the far side of the room and looked at the aquarium as a whole. Bright blue background with all the moving objects and brightly colored spots was perfect for her. She sat in the stroller and stared until she feel asleep.

We got home around 7PM, after we went through the Burger King drive through. Cain played with his Iron Man 2 figurine while munching on his fries and chicken. He was so excited. I guess he's at that "doll" age. He LOVED it. We now know what to get him for his birthday. lol.

I had such a wonderful day, and we spent it just the way we wanted to. At the Zoo. :)
Next weekend we'll go to Dayton and celebrate Mother's Day with Nana, Saundra and Great Grandmother.

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