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.

For Your One-Click-Away Viewing Pleasure...

So thanks to Jill, The Ultimate Tech-Guru, I was able to move the slideshow here so you can watch without clicking on the link from the previous post. If you have not read the post below about our finalization please do (maybe before the montage because it explains some of the final pictures) but here it is. Thanks Jill!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Forever a Family We'll Be

Greetings and Happy Mother's Day to every mother out there.

My first Mother's Day as an actual mother has been such a gift. Especially in light of the fact that last Thursday we headed to Fort Collins to finalize Adam's adoption and for him to become a United States citizen. It was one of the best days of my entire life and one I will hold close to my heart. Matt, Adam, and I headed up to Fort Fun with both sets of grandparents anxious for the day. We had a nice lunch at a Mexican restaurant (that's how we roll) and then took a great tour of the CSU campus. It was fun to see places Matt and I had lived and to meander down memory lane. I subtly threw out hints for Adam's benefit about the glory of CSU should he choose to attend and we had a marvelous time. Finally we headed to the court house for the big moment. I was so excited to see there were other families there for their finalizations as well and we were able to reconnect with a couple from our trainings so long ago and to meet their son. Then we met another family whose son was born only days before Adam, in the same town, and who spent the same time in the nursery as Adam had. What an amazingly small world it is. Not only that, but we found out we shared the same social worker and while Mom and I were in Seoul, Jane, our social worker was there as well picking up their son.
Finally we were called into the court room, where the wonderful Judge Williams officially gave us the gift for which we have waited for so very long, a son. It was so quick, but perfect and it amazes me how such gigantic life-changing events can happen in an instant. After the proceedings we were able to take photos and Adam even got to intern for the judge for a short while. To celebrate we headed to Walrus for delicious ice cream and THEN to The Pickle Barrel to pick up sandwiches for dinner. We are truly, truly blessed.

My wonderful friend and fellow Seoul Sister, Jill, has not only been a support through our adoption, but a technical support as well. She is the one who introduced me to the wonder of blogging and recently has introduced me to the wonder of photo montages (Jill, you are an inspiration!) Well in honor of this momentous occasion I thought I would whip up a little photo montage myself, shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Well 4 days later I present you a montage of our journey including our finalization photos. We are so thankful to God and to each and every person who made this journey possible.

Here are the photos:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2ad5978c519349b049adf4&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Springtime with the Kirwins: Egghunts, Extended Family, and Excessive Blinking/Sun-Sensitivity

Happy spring to one and all!

I know I've been passing the tardy-sauce on the blog but between a couple of trips to Nebraska, Estes Park, Easter, and a lovely, lovely illness Adam and I have been battling for the past 2 weeks including double pink-eye (ewwweee!), there simply has not been a minute to post. (Ok, I'll be honest and say there were some nights I really just sat on my couch watching endless reruns of Dawson's Creek after Adam's was in bed, pondering why it was 'Dawson's creek' when Pacey was so obviously the real star, but other than that, I've been a busy woman :) Easter was wonderful! Adam was dressed to the nines in a great outfit from Grams (Rose) and we headed to our annual Easter buffet. We spent the remainder of the beautiful day outside hunting eggs and having a great time.

Adam and I made it back to Nebraska twice and were able to introduce Adam to his great-great grandma Tella and even take a 5 generation photo, what an amazing gift. Then we attended my cousin's wedding and were able to introduce Adam to his Lighthart family and they to him. It was a great time and Adam and Christian were hits on the dancefloor. I can see many a Footloose-esque highschool dance in their future. And apart from disinfecting our house and ourselves, we've been busy with some family outings to the zoo, aquarium, and parks.

Adam is running, yes running, around now and talks more and more everyday. He has a great sense of humor and a personality to match. He is a ray of joy in our house and in my heart. He is a real angel and an amazing child. You might be doubtful, but you can take my word for it. I mean, I'm his mother...how biased can I be? :)


**Next time on the blog: The Kirwins head to Fort Collins to finalize Adam's adoption. He will become a US citizen and they will become a forever family. This day, of course, will conclude the way all ultimate celebrations should, with a Pickle Barrel sandwich and a tour of the CSU campus where Adam can begin his plans to attend in the future. Do days get any better than this?

*"Next time on the blog" brought to your courtesy of Chris Benik, 2008. All copywrite laws apply.

Easter





Dashing, golf-themed attire courtesy of Grandma Rose.

What an angel

This day is so great I just gotta do jazz hands.



Love you Auntie Em!







Great grandpa Petesie and Adam. Soup's on!

I call this my Pat Riley look.

Mountain men of Estes Park

Saints Preserve Us, It's Saint Patty's Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to one and all! We have recently had some fun weeks seasoned with the subtle corn beef and cabbage undertones that this time of the year brings. Not only are we sporting our green for today's holiday, but we recently made the annual trek to Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland to celebrate cryogenically frozen people and Tuff Sheds everywhere. This Saturday we met with our wonderful social worker for our last home visit. It is amazing to think about the journey from our first visit to our last. Bless you Jane, for all that you do. It has been wonderful to be together as a family and I am thankful every day for my amazing son. He is a walking, talking machine and loved more than I can say.

The Frozen Dead Guy Days Parade

How long is the wait for a table?

Sleepy Sleep Guy Days

Joe Dirt O'Toole: Rockin' the Green Mullet