Highway to the danger zone........

Watch out Tom, we have our own Hottie Pilot!

Nick "Kazman" Kitzman is addressing his crew! On any given day, he might be telling them....
"Great idea, Nick Genius!"
"ready, matrol (control)....let's rock and roll!"
"What a beautiful day, I love this town!"

Maybe if I fly faster, mom won't catch me!

I know one of these shuts the hatch!

Um, dad could you hurry up, I got a mission!

We had a great time at the Airforce Museum in Dayton this last weekend. Nick and Papa had some serious male bonding time. He and Pat must have walked around every plane for a very long time. I love airplanes too but he wanted me to go away everytime I searched them down. Hilarious and sweet!

We were able to spend time with my friend Maria and her family. Maria was my BSF leader in TX and we have remained friends thru marriage and adoption. She and Shannon have two sweet, sweet girls from China. We took the kids to Young's dairy outside town which has great ice cream, animals, and TRACTORS. We all enjoyed our ice cream treats!

What you can't tell below is that Nick is bouncing up and down and exclaiming such excitement because he is on a tractor. He is boy thru and thru.

We had Marion's pizza which is my favorite treat in Dayton although our kids were getting a bit on the edge without naps and such big adventures in one day. We were still able to get a swim in with Melanie (SuSu) but little Kristen crashed upstairs in their room. We tried so hard to get a picture of all of them but did not.

It was a short trip but great to see our friends and introduce our kids! We are so blessed to have several friends that have adopted also and it has been fun to share these journeys together (the happiness and the tears!)

Cinco de Mayo

For many years, I have thought about only one thing on Cinco de Mayo.....the terrible Hail storm of 95ish in Ft. Worth. I was driving home from work trying to beat the storm and as I was getting to my apt.....it rained baseball to grapefruit sized hail on the Cinco de Mayo festival in FW. We had hail in the mid-cities but I left my job just in time (although I had covered parking) to beat the worst part. It looked like bombs had hit. The hospital had windows and covered walkways beat to death. Several people were injured at the festival. Never will forget it but I though this year and maybe for years to come I will forever change my may 5th memories and do a "look how much Nick has grown picture" every year...don't really have a reason but why not? So, now the new tradition.....

LOOK HOW MUCH NICK HAS GROWN IN ONE YEAR!

I put him in the shirt he wore home from Kaz and the pants are the same ones in the picture with the green vest (taken may 5t, 2007). He was not being very cooperative today for the pic but the pants are hilarious and the shirt you can tell better in the second pic. As Quincy from Little Einsteins would say.....I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!!! It seems like he went from older toddler to young boy overnight.

I have just had bloggers block lately and have had plenty to say but no words to say it (or would that be energy?) I have my Dietitian continuing education (75 hours) due at the end of the month....and I guess I figure if I can't work on that then I can't blog either (although it hasn't stopped me from reading everyone else's!) So I will mostly let all of the pictures speak for themselves because that is pretty much all the Gparents and Aunts/Uncles want to see anyway.

We went to the university's big evening ballon lighting and it was actually the first event that Nick really enjoyed and did not mind WAITING in line. I think the big balloons being blown up had something to do with the not minding to wait thing but we will take it whenever we can get it. The balloons were beautiful and as it got darker they would fire up and the light inside was very cool but hard to get a picture of....use your imagination!

We had Nick's final school performance of the year......if you remember, he always leaves the group and comes to mommy and sits with me and does not perform. Well, little did we know, he was just waiting for the BIG performance in front of all the parents.....no little off broadway thing for him.....he was waiting for the big time. He represented Polynesia (all the classes did different countries) and they had Hawaiian shirts and little lei's....so cute. He was crying when I dropped him off to an unfamiliar room for the "show" so I was a little worried. As his group walked out, my heart was beating so fast. They had little pictures for them to know where to stand....his was a bus....we could see him searching for the bus and planting himself. He was smack dab behind another child and we could not see him at all!!!!! I leaned over a man to try and get a picture but we could only see an occasional arm and pom pom thing. I was So excited that he was participating that I didn't even care! We did get a pic of him leaving and our friends, the Uhls, got a video of him while taping their cute son, Riley. You can see the video at http://theuhlsfamily.blogspot.com/ . You cannot see Nick until the end but it is worth the wait....at least we think so!

The Kreative Kazakh continues with his own version of the T. Of course as usual,we bought the real little tikes version but he prefers to make his own.......

101 things to do with old headphones........he loves to pretend he has the headseats that you can talk into.....no need to buy one.....he just turned his headphones sideways so that he could talk with mission control while playing Tad goes to the moon on his Leap Pad.

Most nights as soon as dad walks in the house, he must go to the geotrax room and do some laps...dad is such a good sport to barely get his brief case down and head straight to the "room".

Nick's other passion right now is the fireman and firestation life. He wants to wear his shirt from the fireman all of the time and he loves the uniform that cousin Zach sent home with us. He just gets so excited that he is all smiles......

Finally, my favorite pictures of the boys are usually at bedtime......How cute/handsome are they? Nick's pajamas say "handsome like my Daddy" .....I can't tell you how much we still get comments that Nick looks like Pat....it started with the Judge at court in Kaz and has continued to come up from time to time. They both are adorable so I guess it is true!

Pat and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday! We have had a great 5 years with this last one being the hardest by far......and I wouldn't have wanted to experience the pain and the joy with anyone else but him. We laughed, We cried, We laughed some more and we made it thru the first year of parenthood. It truly has been the hardest journey that I have ever been on personally and I couldn't have made it without Patrick by my side. Thank You GOD for the best husband in the world.....YOU have truly given me the best two boys on the planet!

Spring Break.....day #6 and homeward bound!

Last full day in TX.......and Nick would probably say the COOLEST!

My BIL is a policeman so we got a special look-see at a Police car/SUV with bells and whistles and speed!


Nick got to ride in the back like a "perp" and we forgot to fasten their seatbelts before they took a thrill ride around the parking lot.......If you could see the protective window after the ride, you could see Nick's face print on the window.......hurt, are you kidding, he jumped out of the car like it was the best ride ever......such a boy!



The RIDE of a lifetime!



Next stop ......the firestation and what Nick perceives as HEAVEN? He could not understand why we could not take off to the fire since he was buckled in and ready to go....GO mama! GO mama!

OK, so I will just drive myself.....ALL ABOARD!!!!!

Everyday now, he asks to go see Zach and Lyndsay and the firestation!

This firestation was home to the careflight helicopter and Nick was ready to go on that too but we had to keep him outside the fence......such frustration! ;)

The firemen gave the kids stickers and T-shirts and Nick wants to wear his almost everyday.....so big, but soooo cute!

We ended the vacation on Friday as we left and headed for St. Louis to visit friends and the best pizza in the US....but I grew up there it is a food memory thing.

We had our pizza and played Guitar hero....Pat is better.....the 80's were good to him. Nick became obsessed with Geotrax and now thanks to all the Target gift cards we received has his own set.

We ate breakfast with more friends at C. Barrell...yum and good conversation and then set out for the final leg with our QT sodas.....such a bargain....we don't have those here in Ky and it is a bit of an obsession for Pat and I to get our cups on the beginning of the journey and then "refill" the biggest cups ever at any QT we can find. They have vanilla flavoring and great slushies and Tea......QT gets us home everytime.

So, that is the wrap up of our journey to TX........

Now, back to real life........Just a sidenote to say best wishes to my wonderful blogfriend and almost adoptive parent Karen and her husband Glenn. They leave today for Kaz and we are soooo excited for them. We will get to meet this sweet baby when they get home as K and G live within a quick drive distance! Say a quick prayer for their safe travel to Kaz!

There is also an American family in Zhez right now.......the first Americans since we left! It is awesome to be connected with Zhez right now thru their emails. Dr. Roza has offered to look for some baby pics of Nick for them to take photos of and send back to us.....it would thrill me to get even one little baby pic of Nick for him to have as a keepsake! So excited for them and their new son that they are bonding with.....

Nick has his first school performance tomorrow....not sure he will participate but we are hoping for the best and some good pics......we will let you know!

Spring Break .......day #3 and #4 and #5

So, I have gotten a little behind on the "daily" updates. I was waiting for my folks to send some pics so I could post as part of the story and the time just got away. But, onward we go.....

This is actually a pic from day #2 of 3 generations of women, My mom, my niece, my sister and me! We have lots of family/friend pics from the parties but since I did not get everyone nor did I get permission to post their mugs on the site ( we may have some witness protection folks! ha), I have not included all the great moments on our Spring Break recap.

Sunday of Spring Break brought us our next gathering of family and friends......60+ of them. It was a fabulous day and we were so honored that so many people wanted to meet Nick! My sister and her friend Theresa did all of the decor which was TX themed and cute as anything. A big thanks to T for all of her HARD work and energy spent on making this a special day. I had a great time visiting with some good friends from my first dietitian job in Ft. Worth. My how times have changed................We were all single or married without children in those days....now, there are kids everywhere!

Nick was showered with lots of gifts. We are so blessed! He was hilarious as each person came to the door he would grab the gift and start ripping it open (just like at his birthday party). He was good about saying thank you but not so good at sharing the new toys. He was cracking us up trying to carry them all with him so no other child could get a chance at them!

I think I blogged about Nick having to learn to PLAY in another post but it did my heart good to see him wrestling with Conner and John Ross. It was not fighting just boys playing.....I loved it! Lyndsay did join in...just not in this pic. I really can't remember seeing him play this way yet so it was a mom moment for me.

The party lasted a long time! Just like a good reunion should! We were exhausted by the end of those 2 days and were very glad that we had 4 days left with nothing major planned!

I can't remember if it was day 4 or 5 but Pat was given a big TX weather welcome with Tornado Warnings and then eventually, Hail! I tell stories of Hail back here in the calm lands but unless you live thru TX storms and TX storm coverage.....you just haven't done it right. The landscape is so flat that they can tell you about them and then you can actually watch (and dread) them coming. Their weather guys/gals give Bill Meck a run for his money. They actually get helicopters out and follow the tornadoes......who but TX does this, I ask? This is why I moved.....

Anyway, Outside activities were really not possible. My sisters kids and Nick had a great time playing and it only made me miss living close to them even more (but like I said above, the weather made me remember why I don't). My parents have one of those weather radios that go off with warnings....loved it....got to get one since we apparently can sleep thru our warning systems here.

Wednesday night, my parents kept all of the kids (very brave) and Pat and I got to go out to dinner with my sister and BIL. So fun! We also visited with some friends of my parents earlier in the day, and Nick was able to try out one of those battery operated kid cars. He was a crazed Kazakh in it. We were chasing him and having to run him down as he did not learn a little at a time.....all or nothing seems to be his motto......Look out Lex. drivers in 12 years! of course, that really just means that he drives like everyone else here, ugh!

Dad, will the chicks dig it if I drive with one hand?

Head down, Pedal to the floor......you can sense the intensity here, I think!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Needed to write down a few Nick-isms while I remembered them.

In Mama and Daddy's bed, after a long night (nick up at 4 for a long time, mama had just gotten back to sleep at 6) Nick charges into the room demanding to go downstairs.....our deal is not til 7, zero, zero....he proceeded to pounce on me and be demanding, words were shared, Nick at the foot of the bed pouting, the following conversation occured....

Nick sniffing: "nick sad"

me: why are you sad?

Nick - "momma mad"

me: yes, Im sorry but momma is tired.

Nick lays quietly for a few minutes then sighs.

me: What is the matter?

Nick: "Nick still sad"

me: why?

Nick: mama mad...pause....MY HEART IS BROKEN!

(yes, he actually said, my heart is broken.....I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry!)

me: some big speech about when we are frustrated and tired we do or say things we don't mean to.....i was rubbing his back at the time.

Nick quiet for a minute.....he raised his shirt back up and said "more mama (rubbing of his back) and more talk about Nick frustrated!" Cracked me up.....he loves to hear my big explanations right now......wonder how long that will last.

And, no, I wasn't mad anymore....how could you be?

Spring Break......Day #2

After a four hour leg to Norman OK, we arrived at my Aunt and Uncle's house for our 1st Welcome Nick party. After an awesome lunch of my Uncle's famous brisket (Pat's favorite), we were celebrated with 20+ family and friends. Two of my college friends came by with their children. It felt like no time had passed since college when in fact over 20 years has past......of course, this was only the first of my 4 colleges but a memorable 2 years none-the-less!

My Aunt and cousin did an awesome job with decorations!



My cousin is known for these great cookies which are way too pretty to eat. I saved the cutest ones to preserve for history. I love the detail!



My Aunt decorated the cake and it was so yummy.....and you all know how picky I am about my cakes! I ate on our leftovers for days!

Nick and Cousin Lyndsay stealing a few pre-party snacks and posing for a pic.

After the party, we took off on our final leg of the journey to TX. We arrived at Gma and Gpa house very tired and very happy to finally be there. Nick was thrilled to be hangin with his cousins. It was so great to see them play so well and so loudly together! ;)

This pic is not exactly chronological but too cute not to post!

We got quite a few impromptu concerts on Gma's piano ( I was the player back in the day) and this one was my all time favorite. Gpa's shoes to reach the pedals and he is just jammin away. He loved watching himself in the mirror in the front and even pulled music out of the bench to look completely official. I have got to get to a music store and get some flash cards and beginner cards so I can start to teach him the basics! What fun!

spring break ......day one

We left for TX on Friday and had GPS coordinates for OKC (1st party).......we tried out our new navigational tool and proceeded to tick it off enough that it shut down on us! hilarious! It was my fault....I wanted to go another way thru St. Louis so we could go by the airport and see where Ata Bill worked and Nick now also says that mama lived at the Arch.....too funny. The GPS wanted to go around the city....good idea for non past-residents and also for timeliness but where is the adventure in that! ;) So, we got a good laugh out of how frustrated the GPS lady was with us and then it just shut off! We headed to our first rendevous with my kazmommy friend from the blog world, Stacy. Stacy and another kaz adoptive mommy have started this great organization/ministry to give back to Kaz orphanages. Check it out here. She and her whole family met us at the Lebanon, Missouri McDonald's. They adopted Haven last year from the Almaty region of Kaz and she is a spunky and adorable little one. Her big sister Addison was actually of more interest to Nick. Closer in age and quite a looker herself, Nick promptly grabbed her hand after eating (he is a guy after all) and they took off toward the Chaotic Newly remodeled and action hub of the town, play place. They ran around and around and we watched Haven run around and over just about everything and everyone. What a cutie! It was so great to talk with those that have walked in your shoes. One of the greatest joys I have had in this adoption process besides our boy Nick is meeting and/or blogging with other Kaz adoptive moms (and dads)! What a connection we all have..... All adoptions have some things in common but those who survived Kaz like us and came home with those precious little ones and also endured living in a country for months......the stories we can tell! Love it! We will meet up with them again in Chicago at Kazapalooza 2008! A gathering of a bunch of Kaz adoptive families who just want to meet up and celebrate the country and our kids! We loved meeting The Segebarths and can't wait to see them again! A big thanks to Addison who hand-picked some awesome travel toys for the car! He loves his license plate! He thinks it is a letter to him! ;)

Haven, Addison, and the big cheeser, Nick with the Julius Ceasar haircut......anyone have any ideas on how to get a nice haircut for really straight hair without using lots of product and without doing a buzz cut? Any suggestions, greatly appreciated! :)

Nick and Addison surveying the chaos and deciding when to take the risk and go in....



Nick did fabulous as usual on this first long day of travel. He was great in the hotel and has become quite the helper with unloading the car. He was so cute pulling his little bag in from the car. We collapsed into bed and got ready for the next leg of the Journey to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Norman, OK for his first of two big welcome Nick Parties.........to be continued.

multiple posts are a comin......

Easter and Spring Break were here and gone before I could ever get a good handle on our activities and pictures a-plenty! So, as not to overwhelm me or my parents who like to print out the posts, I will do multiple posts (hopefully, one per day this week) to get everyone caught up......

First, we had a low-key but great 2nd Easter with Nick....our first state-side Easter but our Almaty Easter brings back good memories also ...... below is Easter in Kaz with our family friend connections who worked with the US Embassy (no, it did not help us get done any faster!) Most of the people at the Easter party were employees of the consulate or usaid.....it was our first encounters with Englishers (not all were American) since we had left Amsterdam 8 weeks earlier ....we had no other families adopting in our town.

Nick's first swing experience......he mostly just wanted to sit there....now it is BIG HIGH!

Nick and the Easter bunny.......a little apprehensive to say the least.....Now, he stalks Chuckie Cheese!

Now on to this Easter.......He was so darn cute I must say! But, pictures were not something he was willing to do on the way to church.....he is sporting his teenager attitude here.....hilarious, kind of..........

I was feeling pretty bad about the lack of candy in the Easter Basket but my fellow Kaz toddler mom, Julie, did raisins and almonds....so I feel justified in continuing my goal to keep him low sugar......no, not completely, not really possible in America, but with his weird reactions to certain types of sweets, I feel completely justified! What he doesn't know yet, definitely won't hurt him and he LOVED his Easter basket with a little something from Mom and Dad, Gma and Gpa and Auntie Tracey who were all present for the weekend. It was a great time!

The Boys were having a night together when mom went out for some girl time and Dad was very proud of his adorable pics of Nick in true form. Our boy will be a singing Engineer, I have no doubt......he wanted mom to rig him some earphones from his walkie talkies (strap them together so they would hang over his head like headphones)....I, being on the way out, decided to go with convenience and offered him an old set of real headphones.....I know, the lazy way out....but for the life of me, I could not think of how to strap them together so that they would stay on his head.....Duct Tape? Here he is jammin below with his toolbox/boombox that he stuck the end of the headphones in.

And, last for this first of many posts to catch up is my beach buddie. Pat said he pulled out the chair, got his stool, and his "jug" of water and said they were sitting at the beach! They had a beach party at school and he continues to want to go to "the beach" often. I think that means we should go to Hawaii....doesn't it?

He is looking so grown-up these days.....time has flown....We were talking yesterday about the fact that we had just arrived in Almaty at this time last year.....we had spent 7 1/2 weeks in Zhez and thought we were finally going home .......little did we know that we had 2 1/2 more weeks in Almaty!! Those last weeks were the hardest of my life especially after Pat flew home at the 9 week mark.....Nick was understandably a little crazy and so were we.....I remember distinctly hearing the lady in the apartment next to us giving Pat a lecture (in Russian) about something and I was able to translate one phrase...."plach, plach" which of course means crying so I knew she was not happy about all of the crying in our apartment (bedtime was not pretty)........and now, I remember and wonder if she was talking about Nick or Me?? LOL! ;) But, God is gracious and those memories are now precious and I would love to go back and do it all over if it meant that we would come home with the Kazmanian Devil sleeping upstairs!