Stomach Flu, Schmumick Flu: Let the Good Times Roll

Greetings! It has been a crazy and wonderful time in our house. :) Well wonderful with the exception of the Robo-Virus that rolled through our house last week and was generously spread to each and every person with whom we came in contact. If you happen to be one of those lucky people...wow...sorry. We are very, very sorry. Cannot stress how sorry we are. Truly. Sorry. Please don't be afraid to visit again. But as the sickness passed we pressed on with some major festivities.
Scott and Meg came in from out of town and finally got to meet Adam who adores his aunt and uncle. We had a wonderful visit with them and Adam of course loves them very much. It was fantastic to have them here. Last Saturday Rose (Grams) threw Adam and I a fantastic shower. It was a great time visiting with friends and family and we cannot thank her enough. Last Sunday Adam was baptized in a beautiful service. Thankfully we had the ceremony when we did because Adam was able to barely-wear Matt's baptism outfit including booties that were knitted by his grandma, which was really special. I think we were about 3 apple Puffs aways from popping a button and putting out an eye, but it did fit and Adam was adorable. :) It was such a special day and I continue to humbled by our many blessings. Then Tuesday it was off to The Stock Show and rodeo. Yee-hawwww. We had the best time introducing Adam to the animals, the events, and the glory of the giant turkey leg. He loved it!! I think we have a future Mutton Buster in our midst.
It has been quite the action-packed couple of weeks. It blows my mind that Adam will have been home 3 months next week. Adam grows and changes everyday. Time seems to have flown and yet at the same time, it's like he's always been here. It's an amazing thing.

Love to all of you and your family!

Next time on the blog: Adam turns one. How has he changed? What major feats has he accomplished in his monumental first year on the planet? What is his outlook for life as a one year old and finally Carly tackles the tough questions like, "Wait, does that mean I'm a year older too?"

Photos of the big events:

Showers are reasons to smile!

























Suck it in! Pheew never a doubt...

All right there partner, time to hydrate after a long day on the range and head out to the rodeo. Move 'em out

Surveying the land.

Dressing in layers helps maintain rancher-style and the ear-warmth.

Happy Holiday Who-bilation!

Make way for the Holiday Cheermeister!

Happy New Year to one and all! I hope you and your family had a blessed holiday season. It is hard for me to find the words (Ha! Somewhere Matt is muttering, "Well that's a first") to explain how amazing our holiday season has been. Being together with family and friends has always been the most special gift to receive during the holidays, but this year, with Adam home....well it was enough to choke me up on more than one occasion. I am thrilled to have had 2 weeks off to spend with Adam and we have certainly made the most of it. We had a great time at holiday parties and lots of lunches and coffees with old friends. We froze our gum drops off at Blossoms of Light at The Botanic Gardens and introduced Adam to his first giraffe at The Zoo Lights. We had a wonderful pre-Christmas Christmas at Rose and Jerry's house where Adam loved spending time with his cousins and vice versa. On Christmas Eve we went to mass and then had everyone over to our house. Christmas day both sides of our family met up at my folks' house and we had a great day opening gifts, playing games, counting our blessings, and basically eating our way through the day. It was wonderful to have Emily back home to celebrate with us. New Year's Eve had a brand new theme for Matt and I this year: Midnight on the East Coast is Good Enough for Me. :) Actually we stayed awake to see the first 5 seconds of 2008, and for that I am pretty proud.

It is amazing to think about all that has happened in a year. It was a year ago that Matt and I decided that our family would grow through the miracle of adoption. A year since we got on the list to meet our son. We had started 2007 with hope, lots and lots of hope. And with each month that passed came more hope, more paperwork, and a greater realization that our baby was coming. Then in October the years of waiting came to an end. From the moment I met Adam every single second of waiting was not only worth it, but seemed like a small price to pay. We thank God for all of our blessings this past year and look forward to what 2008 has in store.

Much love to all of our family and friends, even if we could not physically spend the holidays together, you were in our hearts!

Check out my sweet new ride. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

You Can Do It, Adorable Santa Can Help

Thanks Nana and Papa!

Is there no end to the goofy outfits my mom puts me in?........No. No there's not.

Turkey for Me and Turkey for You, Let's Eat Turkey in My Big Brown Shoe

Festive Holiday Headgear is Something to Applaud Greetings! So once again there is a small delay in my posting, however since it is not yet Christmas, I figure I'm still making good time. You should all be receiving our Christmas card just in time for that most magical and joyous of holidays: Presidents Day. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year and we had so much for which to be thankful. Adam is the answer to our prayers and has filled a place in our home and hearts that was meant just for him. It was fantastic to have a lot of our family from Nebraska including Nonnie, Petesie, Uncle Steve, Aunt Theresa, Ted, Dan, Nick and New York Auntie Em come to Colorado this year and to meet Adam. I am especially grateful to Nonnie and Petesie for making the trip, despite the fact that they were both under the weather and that Nonnie is still recovering from her knee-replacement surgery. And family who could not be here physically were absolutely here in our hearts and minds and possibly on the receiving end of some CU/NU football 'banter'.

Have Baby, Will Vacuum. Holiday cleaning never seemed so adventurous.

Nonnie, Petesie, Adam, Max, and Zoe

Auntie Em takes her clean-up duty seriously. Aunt Lili...not so much.

Adam and Uncle Steve and Aunt Theresa

Dan the Baby Whisperer













President of the Bo Pelini Welcome Wagon

School Days, Schools Days, Oh Those Happy Drool Days

Greetings All! Today Adam and I headed to my school for the fabulous Thanksgiving lunch, lovingly prepared by Aunt Mary and Grams. Put aside all of your preconceived notions about school lunch (and lunch ladies :) because Aunt Mary is known for her fabulous lunches and for taking extra care of the teachers. We ate a great meal and then were able to visit my other kids. What a lucky lady am I!

A good night's rest before a busy school day is essential.

Aunt Mary and Grams: Taking school lunches by storm, one green bean at a time.

Lesson #1: Noses

Thank you Ms. Brown!

From Halloween to Thanksgiving in a Day! This Journey Made Possible by the Miracle of Bloggetry.

So yesterday I posted about Halloween and today a quick post about our wonderful early Thanksgiving Day meal at our Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom's house. That's right. 2 posts, 2 days. I just blew my mind. :) It was a wonderful day with great food and company. We headed out to Mary and Tom's in Highlands Ranch with Grams and Grandpa and Uncle Dennis and we visited with Mary, Tom, Margie, Chuck, Luke, and Tommy and Jen and their family. Their kids Kieffer, Kylie, and Kolton went crazy for Adam and he LOVED them. As usual he was sweet the entire day and no one could believe what a happy boy he was for being home just 2 weeks. Sorry if I'm so braggy about him, we are just sooo blessed, and I...well..ok I'm a pretty braggy. :) I just can't help it, he is fantastic and I am a proud, proud mama. We enjoyed delicious Mexican food, much like the pilgrims and Indians did on their first feast, and had a fantastic day. Feliz Thanksgiving to all!!!

Happy Halloween....ish

The Great Pumpkin and The Little Stinker...Buds till the End

Greetings All! So I know I have been neglecting the blog and I do apologize. Thanks to many of you for your subtle and not-so-subtle (you know who you are) reminders for me to, "Get on it already!" I appreciate your patience. Parenthood seems to have taken Matt and I out of the, "Oh the Kirwins. They'll be here about 10 minutes late," to "Ughhh. The Kirwins?!?! Please tell me you told them the party is at 4 even though it doesn't start until 7. Maybe then they can make it by 9." :) Ok we're not that bad, but there is just so much stuff. Bags and bags of stuff to get ready to go anywhere. Plus Matt and I spend a 98% of our day playing and playing with Adam, taking thousands of pictures which you will be forced to gaze at adoringly, and just counting all of our many, many blessings. So I am afraid dishes are piling up, dust is definitely collecting and blogs have been ignored. However LIFE HAS BEEN FREAKING FANTASTIC. I have said it thousands and thousands of times but I cannot believe how absolutely blessed we have been and how amazing it is to have Adam home. What did we do before him? His transition has been absolutely amazing. Like amazingly, amazing. Like I need to get some Guinness (book not beer) people here to document this. What a blessing! Adam is a very happy little guy with a big appetite. He has had zero stranger anxiety, has been sleeping through the night and taking two naps a day IN HIS CRIB, and has been happy and content on the many outings on which he has been taken. Restaurants, birthday parties, visits to and from family and friends, he has done beautifully. He is teething like a mad man, and has the drool to prove it. We had our Well Baby Checkup yesterday which Adam thought was the funnest thing since four guys in Australia got together one day and said, "Hey. I know. Let's all dress up in brightly colored turtlenecks and sing songs with a pirate," until the shots came and the doctor wanted to take some blood to run some labs. Yikes. I don't know who took it worse, Adam or me. Other than that tough 30 minutes, these last two weeks have been wonderful. Thanks to everyone for your loving thoughts, gifts, cards, flowers, and visits. The three of us could not feel more loved or more thankful for each other and for all of you. Can't wait for more visits to come especially with the holidays coming up! Love to all of you!

Here are some photos:

Bath Time

Papa and Grandfaaaaathhhheerrrr

Adam and Grams

Storytime


















Our doctor visit, while the good times still rolled.





























Ram pride, even in these dark days.