More and More Firsts in June!

More swimming with my sister's kids, Zach and Lyndsay, and our cousins, Hannah Beth and Hayden.

Pool time at Pat's sister's wedding weekend.....First BIG air!

The trio, my boys and Pat's Nephew, Dakota.....they swam, and swam, and swam....Papa had sore shoulders and muscles after that night!

Wow, Are my boys cute or what?

Before Auntie Erin's wedding......

Aunt Julie saved poor Mama since she had to do everything solo with Papa being a part of the wedding party.......couldn't have done it without you, Jules!

He wasn't as beautiful as the bride but I think he came in a close second!

My first lesson in how to enjoy the lake by Ata Bob! He is the expert, they say.......This is how we all spent the day after the wedding....well, not Papa, he went home to work....sorry Papa! :(

My first boat outing in the afternoon......I could not quit talking about the boat!

Grandma Ruth and me watering all the plants.....

Our Evening excursion....I actually drove the boat all over the lake.....Everyone was amazed at my ability to turn the boat in whatever way I needed with only occasional help from Ata Bob.!

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We have had a busy June! Nick is having a great time with all of his new friends and most recently, Family. We had my whole family in last week and Nick had a blast with his cousins Lyndsay and Zach. We attended Pat's sister's wedding this weekend which was beautiful and a perfect way to meet all of the rest of Pat's side of the family. Everyone thought Nick was quite the cute boy which of course he is, most of the time.....he is 3, afterall. He did not seem to be too overwhelmed by the crowd and was very pleasant and gave smiles to all. We are now relaxing with Grandma and Grandpa Kitzman at the lake and can't wait to go play with some new cousins in the next few days. He has taken to the boat as you can see and is wow-ing the grandparents with how much english he has acquired in the last 2 months since they saw him. He has really started to improve on some of his clarity and can really express himself well now. With more speech, we have continued to be amazed at how spooky smart and funny he is..... We have our good days and bad days just like every other parent but overall, he is so typically 3 year old that we consider ourselves blessed beyond measure. I am enjoying all of the help that I have been getting the past week or so with my family and now Pat's. Of course, it makes us miss living near our family even more especially since Nick let my sister "babysit" him while I went to the store......My sister and I both wish we could be closer so we could trade date night babysitting. I miss her already! I still get a bit overwhelmed at all the things I want to do, should be doing, am behind in doing but most days just give up and hang out with Nick.....3 years is alot of time to make up for......Hope everyone is having a great summer. Would love to hear from any of you out there who are reading the blog...I know the junkies are still out there! Thanks for keeping up with us ...we love your prayers and support still! Love to all, K-Pat(at home) and Nick

Lots of firsts!

I couldn't wait to get up on my Cousin's tractor.......seat belt on first, of course!

I loved this BIG tractor!

My second swimming experience.....the bigger the splash, the better!

The big fish and little fish having some fun!

We attended our home study agencies big summer picnic and met Kole, another adorable Kazak boy who came home while we were in Kazakhstan. He is even from the same region as Nick. He is showing Nick pictures of his journey to a new family!

No slide is too steep or too tall for the Kazmanian devil!

Papa and Nick enjoying the picnic ....... we sat proudly in front of the Kazak flag!

A true Kazak horseman.....His first "horse" pony ride. He rode them at least 5 times and sadly watched as they got in their trailer and went home.

Nick's first adventure into a bouncing blow-up thing.....

This was actually Nick's first swim experience at the house where I was a nanny. Nick loved playing with the kids and watching them jump of the diving board....and of course he wanted to try and did......he is going to be a fish like his papa!

They had a slide that he tried also......

Nothing but grins as I try out this new thing called swimming.

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As you can see Nick is trying all kinds of new things this summer and loves them all. I can't think of anything that he has tried that he hasn't liked except vegetables......typical!

He continues to get more and more comfortable in his new home and has had several friends over this last week and played with the water toy. He has also started saying his name which is so cute. He is still Mama's boy and Papa's boy most of the time. His new favorite thing to do is ride his little fire engine around the house and when he comes over to you, he says Nick's home, Woo, Hoo! and he does his hands in the air to celebrate ( I always say woo, hoo, raise it to the roof....) We just crack up every time so of course he does it often. His variations of words keep us guessing but we have learned that Ela-ba-ba is elavator, ta-pa-pa is telephone, e-pa-tant is elephant and so on....and he is saying all of his friends names but they actually sound fairly close to the real thing. I think he is going to be a prayer warrior because he loves to put his hands together and then he will say MAMA! or PAPA! and want us to say a prayer. He rarely lets us forget at meals and even naptime. Sometimes just randomly does it......I guess he gets the scripture that says pray without ceasing more than his parents do at times! Hope everyone's summer has started out great. We are having a great time watching our boy groove into being a son. More pics soon.....love to all, K-Pat and Nick