Cooling Off in the Pool

Oh yes, we were tempted by BJ's "Safari Play Center", complete with water slide, wading pool, water sprayer and ring toss; and the six foot by three foot "Family Play Center" certainly caught our eye, but in the end we decided the $3.97 Wal-Mart one ring wading pool would serve just as well for Owen's first pool and I think the decision was a good one.

We hope your Memorial Day weekend was equally fun and refreshing!

Owen's First Trim

Owen had some crazy hair above his ears that he liked to pull on with "Puff-sticky " fingers; you can see an example of the frequent result above. Recently I took him with me to my hairdresser and she trimed him up - doesn't he look like such a big boy in his post coif pic?

I got home from my parents house yesterday to find a fun package from my friend Alison (yep, the Alison who made it possible for us to "post" from Kaz) that included adorable favors from her son Jack's recent baptism as well as these beautiful silver tins that say "My First Curl" and "My First Tooth" and have Owen's name engraved below. So sweet and perfect timing as I was wondering what the heck to do with those little wisps of hair!

Where You Going Owen?

Why is it that children crawl straight to the stairs; head right to the hazards; get their hands on everything not intended for them? Is it man's inborn desire to test limits, climb higher, explore all aspects of their environment and therefore themselves?

Well perhaps, but it seems to also be a certain 10-month old's method of keeping mommy on her toes!!

Uncle Rich - this one's for you!

My first official Mother's Day (I have been unofficially celebrating "Stepmother's Day" for 13 years now) was lovely. No breakfast in bed, but Owen allowed me to sleep until 8:00, teamed up with his dad to give me a pretty silver bracelet dangling "O" and "C" initial charms (and had two charms we purchased in Kazakhstan added to my gold charm bracelet), and then Owen really went all out ... he crawled!

It wasn't especially graceful and he didn't get too far, but it was definitely the hand-knee-hand-knee forward movement we've all been waiting for. And of course I teared up because my little baby - who turned 10 months old the next day - is growing so fast (and because my days of putting him in one place and knowing he'll stay there are apparently now over). In fact, since that first crawl he's been practicing quite a bit and is now pretty good, even attempting the step from the family room to the kitchen and crawling to Bob and I, which just about bursts my heart with joy!

Owen is also making consonant sounds - "ba-ba-ba" and "ga-ga-ga" (hey what happened to "ma-ma" and "da-da"?); has a sixth tooth peeping through; can hold his own bottle; drives a flashy red sports coupe; and has a new nickname courtesy of Bob - Catfish - because the boy continues to eat anything we give him! Don't worry, I don't think the name will stick.

As I reported in an earlier post I recently applied for Owen's social security number. The good news is that his card arrived at the house last week. The bad news is that they spelled our last name wrong. So Owen and I went back to the office and once again showed all his paper work from Kazakhstan (which, I have to say, had everything spelled correctly). The clerk gave me a new receipt to sign, and thankfully I noticed that somehow she had now entered the wrong home address. So she had to redo the form for the third time (which she somehow seemed to feel was my fault?) and I think we are now truly all set.

Thanks for checking in - see you next time!

In Memory of Helen C. Kaufmann

Bob and I married in southern, coastal Virginia in October - hurricane season. On our wedding day rain storms and threats of worsening weather had me anxious. My mom told me not to worry; after all, my Pop-Pop Kaufmann, aka Shorty, was in Heaven and was no doubt ordering God and any angel he could find to clear away the clouds and let the sun shine on me. I remember laughing and thinking it was probably true, Shorty was one of a kind.

And perhaps even more amazing was the woman who stood by his side for more than 50 years, my Mom-Mom. She was straightforward, faithful, resourceful, loyal, and honest. She raised three sons, prepared legendary Sunday meals, supported her husband through thick and thin, was friend and confident to countless persons, and managed to pass on a fierce sweet tooth to at least one of her grandchildren (yes, me).

My childhood memories are filled with moments she and Shorty made possible: our family trips to Hilton Head, St. Thomas, and Hawaii; weekends in the Poconos at the "K" Ranch; Christmas days spent with family and huge red felt stockings to open.

There is no doubt that the person I have become as an adult has been shaped by her. You see, the thing I most associate with my Mom-Mom is her steadfast belief in "getting to work". If something was bothering you or things were tough, it didn't do to complain or fret, you simply put on a smile and got back to work. In other words, just keep going. I don't know exactly where her strength came from - the legendary German stoicism of her roots; her family upbringing; or simply an inner resource she found early on that served her well her entire life.

Whatever the case, I hope that the way I tried to keep going through the challenges of my life made her proud, and I will do my best to continue to honor her.

Your work here is now done; rest in peace Mom-Mom.

Owen's Real Mother

People ask me what information we have about Owen's real mother. I usually respond with something along the lines of, "We don't know much about Owen's birth mother, but we do know her hair and eye color, height and age. She wanted a better life for Owen than she thought she could provide, and everyday we are thankful to her for choosing adoption". But what I really want to say is this:

Owen's real mother has brown hair and eyes, and would like to be 2 inches taller. She thinks her hands are her best feature but doesn't like her nose. She is older than she feels but is thankful for each year.

Her parents gave her a wonderful childhood and she hopes to do the same for Owen. She wants him to understand the importance of family and friends and wishes he could have met her Pop-pop. She wants Owen to grow strong and healthy; to be kind to people and animals; to have respect for the world and everyone in it.

Owen's real mother loves him more than she ever dared dream she would. His laugh is the best sound she has ever heard and when she looks at him she can imagine no other. She will support him, fight for him, encourage him, comfort him, and laugh with him every day for the rest of her life. Owen's real mother thanks God every night that she chose adoption.

I know this to be true because I am Owen's real mother; he is my own son. We love not based on the genetic material running through our blood, but because of the emotions living within our hearts.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers I am privileged to know; and this year especially to my friends and fellow "Kaz moms" Alison, Amy, Jenny, Jill, Maureen, Shannon and Susan.

Owen at the Playground

Slide, ok ... swing, good fun ... looking at that cute baby in the mirror, the best!!

Ahhh, Spring

We recently received Owen's Certificate of Citizenship, accompanied by a letter from the White House welcoming him as a citizen of this "great and blessed Nation" and telling him that "Americans are united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals ... Our country has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by principles that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens." Fairly apropos I thought.

As you know, he became a citizen as soon as the plane touched down in DC, but we still have to apply for certain things as well as undertake a re-adoption which, although legally redundant and basically simply filling out yet more forms and handing over more cash, will provide him a Maryland birth certificate which is important because schools, little leagues, scouts and the like often require a US version prior to membership.

And so, armed with the above mentioned certificate, his translated Kazakhstan birth certificate and adoption certificate, plus a completed SS-5 form, this week Owen and I headed for the local Social Security office to apply for his card. We received our deli-style number - 35 - and waited while 32 explained that no, she didn't have a doctor's report but she knew she still qualified for social security; 33 slept through her number being called several times before finally waking to shuffle to the desk and say she had lost her card for the third time; and 34 talked with a supervisor because her daughter had been involved in a social security scam for several months and she didn't want to help her anymore. I suppose none of these were very fine examples of the 'grand and enduring ideals' the President wrote about, but it was finally our turn and all went smoothly. We should have his number and card in about two weeks.

Much more fun was a visit from Nannie, Uncle Todd, Aunt Maria and cousin Hannah. We all enjoyed a beautiful day relaxing on the deck and Owen was fascinated by Hannah's singing and table drumming. He was not as fond of the flash on Nannie's camera and started making the "squinty face" in anticipation whenever he thought a picture was eminent! Smart kid!

Another visit to the doctor for more vaccinations and a weigh-in; Owen is now 20.4 lbs - he has yet to meet a food he doesn't like and now that he has five teeth he is getting to sample much more variety and texture. He's still working on crawling, his main stumbling block being that he much prefers to try to stand by planting his feet and straightening his knees! Recently we've been enjoying being outside - walking with Garrett and Jill; going to the playground with Kim, Casey and Emma; or just playing on a blanket in the yard. The other day I swear he said "oh, boy" (it seems that our language lessons for "B" while in Kokshetau - see the Feb. 26 post - worked out) and a woman at Target swore he said "hi" to her. Everyone who meets him comments on what a happy baby he is, and we agree! In fact, I often find myself thinking of a lyric from one of my old favorites, 'The Sound of Music', which goes ... "So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good" in an effort to explain how we got so lucky to get Owen!

Lunch - A Photo Series