Gifts of All Shapes and Sizes

Happy Holidays Family and Friends! I hope this post finds you all happy and well. We spent a wonderful Christmas with family and feel so grateful for all the blessings of the past year and are looking forward to the wonderful things coming in 2009. Adam had a blast on Christmas and thanks to Santa and the spoil-etry (it's a word, try to use it today and impress those around you) of aunts, uncles, and grandparents he received many cool gifts including truckloads of toy cars, pun intended, which he adores. Adam has been in a total car-craze lately: toys, songs about cars, the movie Cars, clothing of the car persuasion, all bliss to him so he was especially happy. We have also had a great time since Christmas playing with the other toys and games he received and reading his new books and he has been in heaven.

Along with the joy we have had with Adam this Christmas, has come a new joy. As you know we received quite the unexpected and fabulous news that there is a new Kirwin on the way and last week we learned that that Kirwin's name is Cherry Chip. Ha! Really what I am saying, in my own silly way, is that we are having a girl!!!!!!!! You may have guessed given the new girly look of the blog but I thought this occasion called for a little celebration of pink. I don't know how we got so lucky as to have such an amazing son like Adam and now a little girl who so far (knock on wood) has been one low-maintenance lady (although what am I saying? She's a Kirwin, she'll be born and watch out!) So far things have been very smooth and wonderful and it was awesome to have the ultrasound and see her healthy and happy and kicking around in there. It was fantastic because Matt's folks, Adam, and my mom were able to be there as well. We have not decided on her real name yet, but for now she has been lovingly dubbed Cherry Chip by Adam and Christian, although whether they were naming her or simply asking for a snack is still up for debate. Whichever they were doing, the nickname has stuck...unless it really grows on us in which case who knows. As my friend Susan said, "Dr. Cherry Chip, please report to OR 2"....I don't know...kind of has a nice ring to it. :)

Happy New Year to All!

The Lady Herself

Waiting to see Her Cherriness...

Adam's impression of the baby from A Series of Unfortunate Events

"Nervous? No I'm not nervous...not at all". Check out that gut though.

Making Ornaments with Nene (and perhaps one of my favorite pictures ever)

Christmas Fun

Adam knows to never underestimate the power of accessorizing and a good bow....

blame her..........

...........and her.

Cars, glorious cars!

I Got You Babe!

Isn't time the most amazing thing? I am sitting here tonight marveling at the wonder of all that can occur in a year, how quickly the time can seem to fly and yet how long the events of those months seem to span. It seems like only a few weeks ago that my mom and I were leaving on a flight to Korea and yet at the same time I can't really think of a time when Adam wasn't my son. It's almost like how Adam is now a year older and yet I (in the words of Carrie Bradshaw ) haven't aged a day. Time is a mystery.

This year with Adam we have been witness to so many firsts: first steps, first birthdays, first scary illnesses, first hugs, first laughs. But today is the anniversary of perhaps one of the biggest firsts of all: the anniversary of the day I met Adam and got to hold him for the first time, our Gotcha Day! It was a day filled with so many emotions, even now I can't find the right words to describe it and I think probably that I never will. I just know it was one of those rare, momentous days that changes life as you know it and then turns right around and changes the you that is you to boot. What an amazing day and an amazing blessing to bring Adam home to his dad and the rest of the his family anxiously waiting to meet him as well.

I am so thankful to everyone who made that moment possible, our agency and social worker, all of the wonderful people at Eastern Social Welfare and especially to the mothers. To Adam's birth mother and foster mother for giving all that they did. And to my own mother, for traveling around the world with me on the trip of a lifetime. I couldn't have done it without her and I hope to be even a shred of the mother she is. And to Adam I say, baby, how glad I am we gotcha!

Happy Anniversary Adam!

Journey back to that day with me won't you?

Adam's Press Conference

Good evening family, friends, fellow Americans, and Wiggles-aficionados everywhere. My name is Adam Kirwin and it is with excitement and a faint peanut butter aroma that I come to your computers today. As you can see I have briefly taken over the blog to bring you some crucial blogging-related, and more importantly, Kirwin-related business. And as I stand before you today I can honestly say that the state of the blog is....well...behind as usual. However the state of things in the Kirwin household is fantastic and feelings of excitement, joy, and happiness are booming, even more than usual. What has brought about this emotional upswing? Well allow me to show you and please refer to the adorable yet user-friendly visual aids I have created to aid you in this presentation.



Recently members of our household have been privy to a great Shock and Awe Campaign (see visuals:)










Shock














Awe




What brought about this campaign you ask? Well it was the amazing news that sometime in the middle of May, 2009 I, Adam J.M. Kirwin will become a:
(direct your attention to convenient visual C)

Convenient Visual C

Yay!!! That's right, my mom is going to have a baby and I am going to be a big brother. Well, let's be honest, not just any big brother, but just about the best big brother in the entire world.

At this point many of you may be scratching your head and thinking, "How can this be? I was told that such an event was a medical improbability." Well let me be the first to say, Ummm ya. That's what we thought, too. And then let me offer these words of wisdom I recently shared with my mother: Science comes so far and then comes God. And if we have learned anything in the last few years about the ways our family would grow, it's that God's in control. He has a plan and we are certainly blessed for it.

Obviously we are very excited about this news and some of us chose to express our joy in different ways:



So in light of this news, many preparations are being made and prayers are being said. Additions and changes will be made to our lives and home as well as to the blog as we continue to grow as a family. Thanks as always, for being a part of it.

Thank you also for allowing me to bring you this news. As we all know it would probably be years before my mom posted it. Stay tuned for my future postings including: Nap Time: I Know This is A Trick and I'm on to You.

In the meantime, love to you and yours!

AJMK: over and out

"You look like the Fourth of July...It makes me want a hot dog real bad"

Greetings Patriots! Well recently we endured that most ominous and terrifying of holidays, the 4th of July. And I am happy to say we all survived basically unscathed. :) If you know me well, or at least my list of sweat-inducing fears well, you know that I am terrified of fireworks. The noise especially, but also lighting them, seeing them, sitting next to them. Terrifying. Not the smell so much, that's pretty nice, but other than that, no thanks. However given that I am now a mom, I began this holiday with a fierce determination to be an adult and a good role model for my son. I know that I needed to play the role moms and teachers often must play when modeling for children. For instance earlier this year I found myself saying this to my class, "No, that gigantic hissing cockroach isn't scary. Sure, I'd love to hold it. See kids. Look how fun and interesting science can be. I'm not terrified to death in the least at this moment." :) Ah the things we must do for our children. And looking back over this holiday I think I did a pretty good job.
Before we got to the Exploding-Things-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named we had a great time with the family. We enjoyed a wonderful bbq at my mom and dad's house. Adam played in the pool with Christian, enjoyed cupcakes, and then some naked motorcycling. It was a right full day. Then we headed to Golden and met up with Matt's parents for a picnic and some time at the park. Adam went around meeting new friends and having a ball. And then it was time for the "fun". We found a "great" space on a ball field to watch the you-know-whats which was nice and close to the action (and who wouldn't want that?). And holding Adam tightly during the fireworks display, I did my darndest not to jump, flinch, whimper, run away, or rock in the fetal position. I did such a good job in fact, that not only did Adam watch the fireworks with little fear, but eventually he fell asleep. In the middle of fireworks. Sounds asleep. With all of the scary, noisy explosions, he drifted off to dreamland. Wish I could have done the same.

Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday. Thank goodness its 363 days until we have to do that again.


Silly Songs and Malts with Dad. Mom's crazy. This day is awesome!






















Swimming with Aunt Leelee

"Cupcake buddy?"







"You got it buddy."

Ever have one of those dreams where you're riding your motorcycle with your balloon, but you're naked?

Ok anyone can ride a hawg naked but how many people can do...

...this?


Alright someone get some pants on that kid and lets head to the park.









He flies through the air with the greatest of ease.




Ring around the Rosie anyone?

OK time for a quick snack at my place and then we'll hit the tizz-own.




Ok here's the big moment. Look relaxed Carly. Be calm. That's it. That smile looks great. Not forced at all.

Inner Monologue

Carly: Oh God, I'm going to die here. This is it. Who knew I would go like this? Well to be honest, I did.

Adam: Wow that's nice. Why is mom so sweaty? Actually I think I'm just going to close my eyes for a quick sec...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz Huh look at that. I can actually sleep standing up.

Sing Along with Us, dada di di di, yada da da da, Ya We're Hap-Happy...

Visits from Adam's grandparents are so bright, he's just gotta wear shades.

So yesterday I was very, very busy with my many important summertime activities. Although for the life of me, I can't remember which critical task I was accomplishing (it might have been playing at the park, relaxing, creating masterpieces with sidewalk chalk, eating a popsicle, reading, relaxing, swimming, relaxing, napping, relaxing, relaxing, relaxing, or catching up on reruns of The Ellen DeGeneres Show...with so much to do, one cannot be too sure) when I received a text. It was from my wonderful sister Emily and read, "For the love of God, update you're blog. You're on break for Pete's sake." Upon receiving it I called her up and whined about how busy I was and tried to talk her into doing it for me. Man, that girl cannot be bought. (Emily you, like summer, are fabulous.) However, I do know that I am LONG overdue in an update and for that I apologize. I have cleared some space in my very busy evening though and am ready to report. :) First of all I have to say again: Summer. Is. Fabulous.

I have always known this fact and applauded myself for choosing a career that I not only love but that I also get to leave for two months, which I love as well. However now that Adam is here and I get to just spend the day with him, I appreciate the beauty of summer even more. We have filled our days with just normal, tiny, happy things that have meant the world to me and have made for the most wonderful summer ever. We have gone on walks, gone to the zoo, played outside and it amazes me how magical such simple things can be. We are truly blessed (bet you wish you had a nickel for every time I said that phrase in this blog.) We had a great Father's Day and went to Water World and even spent a wonderful weekend up in Breckenridge. It has been fantastic to get to spend time with friends and family alike. Adam is in swimming lessons with his cuz' Christian and loves the water. He is getting so big and has entered full-on toddlerhood. He changes so much everyday and is loving some of his new hobbies like playing with cordless phone and meeting new friends in other states, dumping out mom's purse in under 2 seconds flat, and happily screeching as loud as his little lungs will allow simply because he can. :) We are having a blast. My only complaint is that time is flying by too fast. I just want to wrap it up and put it in a tupperware container in my fridge where it will stay new and fresh for as long as possible (how's that for an analogy hmmm?) I guess that's the way it goes with time. In the meantime, we'll just make the most of every second we have.

Hope you and yours are having a wonderful summer as well!!

A photo shoot I have dubbed The Summer of Fabulousness

Adam's first time going swimming

"Wait, we're going to do what??!! This is not fabulous.

Well... I guess it's sort of amusing...

YAYY!!! SWIMMING IS FABULOUS!!

I knew it. From the get go. Never a doubt in my mind. Let's go to the high dive shall we?

Fabulous times with fabulous friends.












"So...what's yours about? Mine's fabulous"

Matt's first Father's Day. Taking the family truckster to Water World. Isn't he fabulous?










Wheeeee, we're going to Water World.











Hey wait, what's Water World?










Ahhh. Water World has cool attractions and ice cream. Now that is fabulous.