My first week back to work....

Well, we all made it through my first week back to work.....there were some rough moments, but we all persevered. Jason took the week off to hang at home with Paul - they had lots of fun! Tomorrow brings Paul's first trip to day care...we know he will have a great time with the other kids, but it will be tough on mommy and daddy! At least he is only a 5 minute walk from my office - just in case!

Paul's cheesy grin! Check out those teeth.....he's got 6 and is working on a few more (hence the bib in EVERY picture).

Daddy - I'm ready for my close-up.....

Hi Daddy.....

Daddy, I love you THIS much!

We absolutely HATE it when Paul puts his foot up in his highchair....but he thinks it is so darn funny - we had to get a picture of it.

That's my cute little man......

Checking himself out in the mirror....he has recently learned how to point which is so darn cute.

He hasn't been sticking his tongue out as much lately, but here's a hammy shot with the tongue in full force!

Look mommy, I am taller than my lion!

Paul just loves to play with empty butter tubs....isn't that funny that we have all of these expensive toys and it is the recycled plastic containers that are the most fun? This video is just too cute of daddy playing with Paul and the butter tub.

We had a nice time yesterday at the last of the showers thrown in honor of Paul.....it was a fun afternoon with some fun ladies! Paul got so many new books!

Today was pretty low-key...we have started going to 11:30 Mass which seems to jive better with Paul's nap schedule. We went out for lunch after church, stopped by Gram and Pa's house, hit the grocery store and came home for Paul's afternoon nap! Spent a little time in the yard playing with Maya....it was SO nice outside today!

Tomorrow should be interesting - daddy needs to run Paul into the walk-in clinic first thing. Paul has a nasty case of diaper rash that we've been fighting all week - we thought we had won the battle, but it took a turn for the worse this weekend. Hopefully they will have a solution - poor little man has a sore tushie right now despite our best efforts!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend....we had a nice one!

Memorial Day weekend and the end of my adoption leave....

First of all - we must thank all of our veterans and those men and women currently serving to protect our freedom....that's what Memorial Day means to us.....and we are proud of each and every one of them! But most especially, we are proud of Uncle Dan - stay cool (and more importantly safe) over there in Iraq.

We had a nice weekend - the weather was great for part and not so great for other parts - but we made the best of it! A milestone event - it was the first time a non-family member watched Paul while mommy and daddy went out with some friends (thanks again Miss Teresa). On Saturday, Gram and Pa came home from their 2 week trip to Europe....Paul was happy to have them back home! Sunday was beautiful so we spent some time down by the river with both Paul and Maya. Today was pretty low key - we puttered around the house this morning, ran some errands this afternoon and then it was off to Gram and Pa's for burgers and other goodies. Yummo! Here's your Paul picture fix.......

Where's the beach? (we made Paul wear his sun hat on our walk by the river)....

Mommy and Paul (can you tell it was REALLY windy that day)....
How cute - the mommy geese and their babies on the river......they had a good system going to keep the babies all together.

Someone crashed out in the stroller.....how funny is that? Don't worry - he could breathe (I checked).

Paul has some interesting sleeping positions - he is what we call an "active sleeper"...pretty much meaning he moves so much it is hard to believe he actually gets any sleep. This shot was taken during his morning nap today. He started on his back and eventually moved into this position. Doesn't look terribly comfortable to me, but he stayed this way for a good 30 minutes. He had some carpet marks on his face when he woke up - too funny.

Tomorrow will be a tough day - it's my first day back to work after being off for almost 12 weeks. We decided that we only wanted to deal with 1 transition at a time - so Jason is taking the rest of this off and will stay home with Paul. This way, I can focus on getting back into the work routine and NOT worry about how Paul is doing in day care. And then, next Monday, Paul will go to day care for the first time. He will be there 4 days per week and with Gram and Pa for 1 day.

This is so bittersweet for me - I am excited to rejoin the working world as I LOVE what I do and want to start using my adult brain again. But, I have enjoyed my time home with Paul much more than I thought I would. I know that long term I cannot stay home full-time (both financially or mentally), but I must admit that I could do this for a few more months and be just fine.

I also know that Paul will have a GREAT time at day care - he's going to such a wonderful place and it is located right on the hospital campus where I work. He will be a 5 minute walk from my office in case he isn't feeling well or in case I just need a quick Paul fix! He will have so much fun playing with the other kids.

BUT....tomorrow will still be tough. Some happy thoughts and prayers aimed my direction tomorrow will be much appreciated....and then I will ask again for more next week too....so be prepared and ration them for me! =) At least this is a short week and we have a fun weekend to look forward to....the last of the showers for Paul is next Saturday.

Much love from the Marchik family.....

A visit from the Lipic Family!!!

Well, it is the last week of my adoption leave - it is a very bittersweet week, but we are making the best of it and are lucky to have WONDERFUL weather this week! Paul is still battling his cold....man, I am so totally over snot right now!

Paul has an affinity for sitting in Maya's bed....weird, but I guess it is soft?? And look Mimi - he DOES like the ball you brought him! He was throwing it at mommy in this picture - good thing he doesn't have great aim yet and it's soft!



We also have a climber on our hands....he likes to climb onto the lowest shelf of the table in the family room by gripping the top shelf...however he gets "stuck" like this and needs help to get down. You can see he isn't very happy when he gets "stuck"....so Jason decided to grab a quick picture before peeling Paul off the table. We're gonna have to watch this little guy - he's trouble!

And this is what happens when mommy leaves daddy home in charge of putting Paul to bed. I had a Board meeting at the Shelter and while putting Paul in pjs, daddy got a little bored and decided to put his shorts on his head. Turns out that Paul thought it was pretty fun to wear his shorts on his head - they are both weirdos!

And, on Tuesday afternoon we got a call from our friends Kathy and Mark Lipic....they traveled with us to Korea and brought home their daughter, Nia. She is such a sweetie and rounds out the beautiful Lipic children with brothers Grant and Alex. It turns out that the Lipics were coming to the Quad Cities on Wednesday (today) and wanted to meet up for some dinner. We were thrilled! We ended up hanging out at our house and then ordering some pizza. The kids had fun and worked off some energy before they had to load back in the van for the 2 hour drive home.

See Alex, you put the balls in this hole and then it makes this cool noise.....
Nia, if you push it then it will sing to you!

Paul with his hammer and Nia rocking the electric guitar.

Nia was digging the singing Elmo!

Love that expression...Nia is too cute!

Dude, can I have your hammer?

We had such a great time with the Lipic family and wish they lived closer! We are SO glad they called and we could see them. I have just 2 days left this week - I plan to make the most of them! We have our second post placement home visit on Friday morning with our social worker as well.

Hugs and kisses from the Marchik family......

Fun with Aunt Julie and Cousins Jon and Jake....

We loaded up the Highlander today with 2 adults, the little fella and the pooch....hit the road around 8:30 to head to Crystal Lake to visit with Julie and the boys.

Mommy, are we there yet?????

It's a 3 hour drive so we arrived shortly before lunch. The dogs got some romp time in the back yard and then we headed to Portillo's for lunch.

Here's Paul with Jon at lunch......yummo!

After lunch we headed home and then took a walk on the bike path to a small park.

Here's Jake on his bike and Jon pushing Paul in his stroller....

Paul thinks John Deere is the coolest....

Cousin Jon with Paul on the elephant bouncy thing....

More slide fun....Paul just LOVES the slides at the park!

And more swing fun....get's a smile everytime!

You gave me this dandelion - what am I supposed to do with it??

Here's Cousin Jake showing Paul how to blow a dandelion...
Chillin in the backyard with Cousin Jake.....

Mommy, Jake is giving me bunny ears.....
Daddy, I think Elmo is ticklish.....

We got home around 6 and we were all POOPED! We fed Paul a quick dinner, hit the bath and then had some fun in pjs.

Check out the smile on this kid....

Paul and daddy.....

Much love from a tired Marchik family....Maya is sacked out on the guest bed (she had lots of fun romping with Cabo and Remington today)....Paul is sacked out in his crib......and mommy and daddy are bleary eyed on the couch watching a lame SNL program.

Happy Armed Forces Day....

Dear Uncle Dan -

Mommy and Daddy told me that today is a very important day....this is a day to celebrate and honor the men and women that serve in our Armed Forces. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am that you are serving in Iraq....I feel safe knowing that you are there helping to protect freedom. I am sad that I won't get to see you for a while, but I know that when you come home we'll get to spend plenty of time getting to know each other.

I wore my American flag shirt and Mommy gave me these 2 flags to wave in the breeze....I had such a fun time! Mommy and Daddy took plenty of pictures today just for you....

I miss you! Mommy and Daddy pray for you everyday. Please stay safe and know how very proud we are of you!

Love,
Paul

Fun on the slide at the park......listen for Paul's giggles....

Walking with my flags.....

Please take a moment to say a prayer for all of our men and women serving in the Armed Forces either domestic or abroad. They are a very special group of people and their dedication allows us many freedoms and opportunities every day.

A rainy Friday and a cancelled surgery....

We've all been mentally preparing for Paul's minor surgical procedure that was scheduled for today....but we had to cancel it yesterday afternoon due to Paul's lingering cold and congestion. Since he has to go under general anesthetic and this is an elective surgery, it is not a good (or safe idea) to intubate a 1 year old while they are stuffed up.....so, we will reschedule for sometime in June and go through the mental preparation all over again.

Jason decided to take the day off anyway and we thought we would have a nice 3-day weekend! It was an extremely rainy day today, so our options for fun were limited. We hung around the house for a while and then headed to the mall for some shopping fun.

Tonight at dinner, Paul showed off his favorite new hobby....sharing his food with Maya. He used to drop pieces of food on the floor for Maya but has recently learned that she will gently take his Goldfish if he hands them to her....caught them in action tonight....kind of cute, but I would certainly prefer that Maya eat her OWN food!

Here's Maya supervising daddy cleaning up after dinner.....

After dinner it was pajama time.....I think it might be Paul's favorite time of the day. He has a full belly and clean pajamas and a quick window to get play time in before bed.

Whoa mommy - check my moves.....

Cheesy grin and holding a puzzle piece....

All of these toys, and Paul chooses to play with an empty water bottle....go figure.

Mommy, can you show me how to make a spreadsheet on my laptop?? (my little man learning his computer skills early in life)

Checking out a cat on the couch next to him - one of his 4 words is kitty-kitty (which sounds more like kee-kee). Why am I not surprised that our child would learn an animal related word so quickly.

Paul has always enjoyed a rousing game of peek-a-boo...but usually it is one of us hiding our face and then he cracks up when we say "peek-a-boo".....last night he showed us how closely he's been watching us and learning....and now Paul will hide his face. Too cute.....

And from tonight - here's Paul waving frantically at one of the cats and then playing a quick game of one-handed peek-a-boo.

We're looking forward to some sun tomorrow.....here's hoping!!!