21 months

Yesterday my baby turned 21 months. He has been doing really well. He is still a busy body and we feel like there is very little time to rest when he is awake, but we try to enjoy every second of it. We had his early intervention evaluation a few weeks ago. My biggest concern was his speech and he thankfully qualified for speech therapy services. I can't wait to get those started. They also said that they don't believe he has completely developed his chewing skills which could be why he is resisting table food. The therapist will help him work on this area as well.

We had an absolute wonderful time in Savannah and were sad to our time had ended. Bryson actually did very well during the long drive there and back. He only got fussy the last half hour each way. We walked around downtown, went to many shops, took a riverboat cruise, took them to the park and went down to Tybee Island beach. I have to say, if you don't own a GPS, you MUST get one. It was such a lifesaver. It got us all around town.

We all got to witness first hand how much alike Bryson and Sabrina are. On Saturday they finally started warming up to each other and would play next to each other. They even decided to have a screaming match and would laugh so hard at each other. We couldn't do anything, but laugh. It was great to be able to talk about our experiences, past and children with someone who not only understands, but that has been through it as well. We shared many conversations (even late night ones), laughs and found out how much we all have in common. Too bad they live so far away from us, but that is ok because we have already started talking about another trip.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What does a screaming child plus a packed SUV equal?

A roadtrip with a migraine. At least I'm predicting he will be screaming most of the 5 hours of driving that we have ahead of us tomorrow. Don't worry, I packed 1000 pack container of Tylenol Extra Strength. Hopefully it will do the trick. We are headed to Savannah tomorrow for a little 4 day mini vacation. Over the last 9 months (or so) I have become amazingly good friends with another girl who also adopted from Russia. They brought home their little girl (Sabrina) in July of last year and she is only 3 months older than Bryson. Bryson and Sabrina are so much alike that it's scary. They live in North Carolina, so the half way point between us is Savannah. I'm looking forward to finally meeting them. She has been a great resource, full of advice and most everything I went through with Bryson, she had already gone through the same thing with Sabrina. It should be fun!

On Monday, Tanya and Oliver were in town, so I took off early and we went to visit them at their hotel. We swam in the pool for awhile (okay, I mostly chased Bryson around the pool). Then we went up to their room and let the boys play. Bryson was kind enough to show Oliver where the pots and pans were. Tanya was probably wishing she had some of my Tylenol. They are almost 6 months apart, but from the back, you would never know the difference.

This is what love looks like

Favorite Photo Friday #19

Bryson peeking through the gate on our stairs

Favorite Photo Friday #18

Bryson trying his first popsicle. He was not too crazy about it. He took two bites then handed it back to me and said "all done." Shane was mowing the backyard during this. Bryson sat in that chair and watched him the entire time. He was so mesmerized with it. It gave me a chance to cook dinner without him tugging at my legs the whole time. We might have to buy him his own little lawn mower so he can help daddy.

Happy 4th of July

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. It was extra special for us since Bryson got to celebrate it as an American citizen. We decided to go a parade they were having near our house. It lasted about 2 hours and from what I can tell, Bryson enjoyed it although it was hot! We just couldn't make him understand that he couldn't walk down the street with everyone else in the parade. This was our first time attending this parade and I can't believe how much candy and beads they threw out. His wagon filled up quickly with both. He would wear the beads for a few minutes, then toss them in his wagon. A few minutes later, someone would walk by, see he had no beads on his neck and put some on him. After minutes, those would go in the wagon as well.

Bryson, Mommy & Uncle Garrett

Uncle Garrett & Bryson

Daddy & Bryson

Mommy & Bryson

Bryson with all his beads

After the parade, we all came home and took a nap then we headed over to a friend's house to swim, eat and watch the fireworks. Of course, Bryson loved the fireworks. The only problem was they were going off in so many different directions, he could decide which ones to watch.

Today we decided to head over to Cypress Gardens. It's an amusement park about an hour away that is 1/8 the size of Disney World. Besides that fact it was super hot, we had a good time. Bryson was able to ride a few of the rides.

Favorite Photo Thursday #17 (since Friday is a holiday)