A big week for Jacob!

Sunday was Jacob's 4th birthday. It was a day spent with family and friends at our house. All Jake has been talking about is wanting an Elmo birthday. I was able to find Elmo sugar cubes (cake decoration things) for the top of homemade cakes. We bought him an Hokey Pokey Elmo, which I thought he may be a bit afraid of. Boy was I wrong! He loved it! Hannah, our friend's daughter, and Jacob giggled and giggled every time Elmo started to sing. When we tucked Jacob into bed Sunday we asked him if he had a good birthday and he happily said "yes!" 

We were able to be a part of Jacob's 3rd birthday last year so it is so neat to see how much he has grown in the past year! His speech alone has come so far. In the last 2 weeks or so, he has started to speak in 5-6 word sentences and have actual conversations with us. He is growing up! 

Today was Jacob's first day of preschool. Billy and I feel really luck to have Jacob attending the preschool he is attending. The school is part of the county MRDD and provides services and education for students with special needs. While Jacob is one of the "typical" students enrolled in preschool, he will still have indirect access to therapy services such as speech, OT and PT. Even though Jake's speech is getting better, Billy and I still worry a great deal about it. Our hope is that with some interventions, Jake will continue

 to make progress. When I took Jacob to school today, he barely even said goodbye to me. I was crushed! I left school in tears but as Billy pointed out, I would have been crushed if he was screaming and crying and I had to peel him off of me to leave. I suppose I will take what I got today! 

where oh where has time gone!

My best friend reminded me the other night that I needed to update my blog! I guess I have been pretty lazy about keeping everyone updated on our crazy world. The summer has flown by! 

The week after our adoption ceremony, we celebrated with a huge bash at our house. The boys had a great time having all our friends, family and important loved ones here to welcome them into our family. Some of our family traveled far to come for the occasion and that means the world to us. Billy and I can't express how blessed we feel that the boys have been welcomed into their new family with open arms. 

The boys went to summer camp at our YMCA. They both enjoyed going and spending time with other kids. Kyle had a sleep over one night and pulled his first all nighter, which he felt the effects of the rest of the weekend! 

We took two weeks and did some traveling. We took the boys to Dearborn, Michigan to The Henry Ford. What a neat place. The boys enjoyed seeing old cars, riding in a Model T car, and eating lunch at the Weinermobile Cafe. Their favorite part though was going to the Ford Rouge Factory where we were able to see F150 pickups being produced. From Dearborn, we headed to Lake Erie for a night. We did some island hopping. The boys loved riding the ferries and being out in the middle of a really big lake! 

After a night of recovery and sleeping in our own beds, we headed south to North Carolina and South Carolina. The boys were able to meet Aunt Diane, Uncle Dion, Mike and James when we crashed at their house for night. We enjoyed spending a night with them. From there we headed to Grandma's and Grandpa's house. We went to the Columbia Zoo and the Fort Discovery Science Center. Jacob had a little mishap with his tongue and a bike pedal but nothing that a little time (and an ER visit) didn't heal! 

On the way home from S.C. we stopped in Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate. What a beautiful "home", if you could call a house of that size just a home. While staying in Asheville for the night, we were able to meet up with a friend and her husband. 

After 2 weeks of traveling, we were all glad to be home! WOW! What a fun, crazy summer!