pics for Grandma Martha

Grandma Martha is itching for swimming pictures so here are a few. I am still too paranoid to take the video camera to our public pool so we may have to wait until we get back to a private pool setting before I will venture out with the vidcam.

Nick swimming towards the ladder.


Then back to daddy..........



then back to the ladder.......


His new thing besides hurling himself off the edge of the pool (sorry, mr. lifeguard) is to climb "down" the ladder underwater and sit on the bottom or do assisted flips underwater. I worry about his ears since he has never told us when he had ear infections.....fever is our only symptom but he seems to have no trouble at all with the underwater experience. Now, I am thinking Navy Seal or Blue Angel....he says Blue Angel but we shall see....hate to see all that underwater prowess go to waste! ha!


We had a great time at our Kaz family party! By the look of things, we shall have many more Kaz cuties this time next year. Lots of waiting families here in the area! But for now, the current cutie pie kazakhs.....Nick (doing his yo-ho pirate), Wyatt, and Brenna! They had a great time playing together and we had a great time visiting with everyone. Wyatt's and Brenna's families are in the process of adopting a sibling for them! Exciting times!

The Merman from Kazakhstan!

One of my favorite shows in the late 70's, early 80's (can't remember when) was the man from Atlantis.....loved Patrick Duffy! So, now I have my own minus the webbed hands and feet! The Merman has taken to the water like I have never experienced with other kids. For Pat and I, it is the "he took his first steps" experience. We have just beamed with pride for the past 48 hours. We knew he loved the water but my 'just let go of him in the water and let him teach himself ' theory has really given him such confidence and independence. He doesn't just do a doggy paddle......he pushes off and swims under the water with a mighty good flutter kick! And, he was holding onto the side of the pool and launched off backwards just like the back stroke folks do. Pat and I just looked at each other because we don't know where he learned that one! Such a Natural.....I don't have any pics yet because I am always in the water with him but soon.....maybe even video! We are thinking the Olympics 2016! He could swim for Kazakhstan as he is a dual citizen until 18....how cool would that be!





We just had a great week with my Sister and her family. Nick loved having Zach and Lyndsay here. If we heard Nick calling for Zach once, we heard it a MILLION times. I loved it at first because he wasn't saying Mom all of the time but after a while, any name repeated over and over gets old! :) We visited the city pool, the aviation museum, the park and back to our cousin's house for a final swim. My cousin Susan, my sis and I are all within 4 years in age. Our grandmothers were sisters and the best cooks in Ky! We finally got a pick of all of the next generation of cousins! So cute!


We swam and swam and then Dad and Nick had to have a break on the big lounge.....all they need now is someone feeding them grapes and fanning them!




Nick has been talking so much more grown up lately. Full sentences that most can understand and such manners. It cracks me up because I really don't focus on them too much but he says them with such sweetness.......I just melt.

Typical things he says on any given day.......
Nick do you need to go to the bathroom......" No Thank You"
"Thank you for making this food for me" or "Thank You for playing with me"
"I love you so much, Mommy or Daddy"
"Thank you for buckling my carseat"


"weeeee, I love this car, I love those trees!"
The funnier things he says have to do with "repeating" all of the lectures that I must give ad nauseum.....because he knows them by heart not necessarily by action.
"I be nice boy, not screaming or hitting or pushing"
"I being quiet in car not "fustating" mommy"
" I hold hands with mommy so no one grab me, mommy and daddy be sad and I stay close so they can "patect" me."
''not so hard mommy, I just keep trying and never give up"

He is just so sweet. The not so fun but still funny part of his speech development this month is the WHY questions......Why I sad? (because you got in trouble) Why I got in trouble (because you did XYZ) Why I do XYZ?.........AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
Why does the car have wheels (to make it go) Why does a car go? ( to get to another place) Why I go another place........AAAAAAHHHHH ! You get the idea. We usually turn the questions back to him because he generally knows the answer!


Even though he is still his crazy active self, he continues to love, love books! He will sit at the table or in a chair and just "read" the books and look thru the pages. I tried to get this while he was still reading but he gave me a big cheese smile......Adorable! He looks so grown up these days. Makes me sad but we are also enjoying this stage so much! He has such a passion for life and "loves" everything. I have been guilty of being a glass half empty type and it is a blessing to have him remind me daily to see the joy and excitement in EVERYTHING.





We are headed to a Kaz family dinner tonight with our local Kaz friends. Several of them are getting ready to adopt again so we are excited to hear about all of their plans.
If you need to find us, just look for us at the YMCA with the Merman! Enjoy the remainder of the summer!

You might be a Kitzman if................

If your fourth of July includes a parade with a Hodag, a bagpipe band from Canada, and the possibility of seeing logging gear and/or a snowcat on a float, You might be a Kitzman.....

If you haven't even been born for more than 7 weeks and you have already experienced your first bats, crazy groundhogs, chickens, and now the ever popular ladybugs, You might be a Kitzman!

Yes, Uncles Mike, Pat, and Brian, I do understand the importance of flaming balls of fire!

If you learn to paddle a Kayak before you learn to swim, You might be a Kitzman.

If you are able to get big air underneath your tube or twister being pulled by a Pontoon, You might have had the pleasure of riding with a Kitzman driving!

If you giggle and Grin Big while being bounced and tossed to and fro like a ragdoll, You are definitely a Kitzman ( GO NICK!)

If you begin collecting fireworks for next year as soon as this year is over and your display is so big that folks request to come over and watch, You might be a Kitzman.

The finale alone had over 100 blasts in it!

If your passage into manhood is not hunting, football games, or shaving but moving up the chain of fireworks from lighting driveway poppers to Boat dock flaming balls of fire, you might be a Kitzman!

Dakota made the big move this year..........Julie, I am sure I will need your support when my time comes! ;)

NICK"S FIRST FIREWORKS...JULY 2007

NICK'S SECOND FIREWORKS.....JULY 2008

(The Kitzman "gene" has kicked in!) :)

We returned home yesterday with all of our toes and fingers, and can still see, hear, and smell. A successful fourth was declared by all. We had a great time up North and already miss the wonderfully cooler weather and most of all we miss Auntie Rhino and Uncle Brian. I have never seen two people play longer with seemingly unlimited supplies of energy and imagination for Pirate Stinky Pete. I am sure they will have the Argh!! sound ringing in their ears for weeks!

With the distance now great between Nick and his "best Friends", we anxiously await the arrival of my Sister and her family at the end of the week. Auntie Rhino, we won't tell you if someone else becomes his "best friend"! :)

It's a PIRATE'S life for me!

As legend has it, every few years the ghost of Jean Lafoote, the peg-legged pirate
returns to leave a map to guide another generation of Kitzman pirates to their portion
of the stolen treasures from the isle of Dol Larstore!



Pirate Stinky Pete McGillicutty prepares his crew!




Ahoy, mates, the isle is ahead......Heave, HO! or as the alter ego, speed racer would say.....start your engines!



We set foot on the isle and began the search. First mate to the Captain, Auntie Rhino was close behind!


Look! "X" marks the spot!



Captain orders 2nd mate, Paddy Boy, to Dig, Scaliwag, Dig!


Captain, I think we got something!!





Treasure! Treasure!






Mates, Back to the boat! I see Pirate Seadoo''s ship approaching......Raise the motor, Push Back.....GO!GO!

Pirate Stinky Pete and Crew returned safely to the Island of Sodor (I know, I know....another story....but he is convinced that it is on the other side of the lake!)



We hope you all have a "Booty"ful Fourth of July and a great time "treasuring" all of the blessings of being an American!
Pat, Karen, and Stinky Pete

Independance Day (year 2)

Our Yearly pilgrimage north has begun and we were greeted with a nippy 60 degree weekend but the sun has come out and beauty surrounds us in the high 70's and 80's. Nick was so "cited" to be headed to the Lake. All he wanted to do was get on the lake with Ata Bob and go "super fast". We started the vacation of with Baby Colin's baptism which was very nice and what a super cutie he is and he was very well behaved for the service.

We got the boat out Sunday night and Nick wanted to have the boat at full throttle all the time. I am so worried about him now........how will we ever survive the teen years? ha!

Since it was a bit chilly, we did not get out to the Lake to actually swim until yesterday and I have no pictures because Nick proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs while standing in the water as it was apparently "ooky" and too "swampy". He wanted out and although we did get him to ride around with Dakota and Daddy in their rafts, we could not get him to do anything in the water. We will continue to re-introduce Nick to the Ooky water! He saw skiers and tubers going by and said he wanted to do that instead......oh my!

We did not make it out to the lake today because we had some alternate activities planned. We took Nick for his first Go-Cart ride and he loved it, of course! I think the conversations went something like this.......

"Hey Dad, Can we let 'r loose around the 3rd turn and then attempt to pass Dakota on the inside? Yes Son, of course, but just Nod and smile and your mom won't know what we have planned!"

OK, Dad......just Nod and Smile............love you mom, hugs, kisses.....nothing going on here......

Go Dad, Go Dad! We almost have him! Faster, Faster!................................

Back at the garage, Oldest Grandchild and Middle grandchild trying to pass on the sage advice of Second Son.......OK, Colin, little dude, he said if we just smile and Nod, we can get away with anything because they won't know what we have planned........the Kitzman boys can't be slowed down....watch out, watch out!

Next episode, will older grandchild show middle grandchild how to defy gravity and spin effortlessly above the water while above mentioned boat is at full throttle and will youngest grandchild single-handedly charm the socks off all the women in Rhinelander?.......stay tuned for more episodes of "As the hair turns Gray!"

the need for SPEED

Certain things are becoming clear to us as Nick 's personality continues to emerge.......he loves being in the water and now, the faster it goes, the better. The swimming is no big deal, Pat loves to swim too.....but this need for speed will be hard to handle. First of all, I am known for being a grandma driver although I do go a few miles over the limit some days, and I don't mind telling others to mind the speed limit...what's the hurry? Second and our biggest problem is that we are in fact middle-agers who's vestibular systems (the stuff in your head that decides whether you get dizzy or not) just don't seem to be what they used to ....I have never been able to do the fast crazy rides and Pat has learned on our last several trips to an amusement park that he cannot handle them anymore either. Now, I know that there are ways to improve this somewhat, we are a PT family after all but when the carousel sends you over the edge....is there really much hope? It looks like some lucky tween- or teenager will be added to most of our excursions so that Nick won't miss out on feeding his Need For Speed!



Why all this talk about Speed you ask? Well, we spent the evening at the County Fair and from the looks of it, we have an amusement park junkie in training! Our previous attempts at rides hadnot been so good as Nick wanted to get off the rides and/or stand up while it was moving causing the ride to be shut down....not so fun. Well, something must have clicked in Woodford County because he got it! and then he wanted to get it, again, and again, and again.



The first ride was the kid rollercoaster. Pat rode it with Nick and had the camera with him so no pics but he was smiling from ear to ear and got off saying more, more! So, on we went.....




I think the race car was his favorite.....look at that smile!



He has pictures of bumper cars in his "russian book" and he had never seen them in real life! He was so excited. Pat said everytime they bumped someone....he yelled out Sorry! So funny!



He wants to be a pilot most days so the helicopter was right up his alley or would that be runway?



He thought Dumbo and another car-type ride were much too slow and wanted off but did not try to get up....thank goodness. He had his eyes closed and kept sighing on the slow car ride. The lady standing next to us thought this was so funny. He is so dramatic!



Yes, this was the ride that almost sent me to the bathrooms. Probably Nick was saying to me....Mom why are you looking straight up and not looking out? Well, son, it is because i am about to HURL! So humiliating.....I sooooo wanted to be the cool mom! oh well! I can tell you the difference between an f-15 and an f-18....that has to count for something!



He rode several other rides and then some of the same ones over. He went into the fun house with Pat and the glass maze was hilarious....we could see and hear him hitting the glass as it took him a minute to figure out how to feel for the right path. He entered with such exuberance and Wham! and then, Wham! I guess as a Mom I should have been worried but it was just so darn funny! Dad was laughing too! Nick wanted to go right back in so I guess it didn't hurt too badly! It was so fun to see him learning to just have fun. We now feel more confident to try King's island next for more practice! We can definitely see Disney in our future now... woo!hoo!

More Zoo Photos, a campout, and KAZAPALOOZA!

My friend Cathy sent me some more zoo pictures and they are so cute that I had to post them also. Below is my friend Cat and her boys and my map coordinator son.

I absolutely love this photo of Nick and Micah. Micah was so good with Nick and they were just so cute together all day and this picture captures Nick's adoration of his new friend!

The boys had a ball playing on all the different playgrounds. We really didn't even see that many animals. We went to the adjoining splash park after this picture. Everyone was sooo hot at this point!

Nick's friend Lauren Clay had her 3rd birthday at the beginning of June and they had a lunch camp out. It was so cute. They had a "tent" which they all fit under and "roasted" hot dogs over this really cute fake fire pit. Nick loved his hot dog and Smore (poptart version).

We headed to Kazapalooza on Friday. It was held in downtown Chicago near the museum area. It was an uneventful but rainy trip up and Nick travelled well as usual but would not go to sleep for the entire trip until we were right outside the city. He fell asleep reading......I SPY Chicago?

Close up......hilarious!

The first evening was a pizza party at the Sherwood Conservatory....... a brave place to allow 41 families and their little ones to settle in and eat pizza. The 4 moms that planned the weekend were present to get the party started and the mayhem began! It was hilarious. Kids everywhere! It was like going to a big celebrity party. I had followed so many of the families during their journeys to get their children that it felt surreal. Wow, it was THE Sophie and THE Aitugan and THE other Nicholas who was the son of the family who was supposed to join us in Zhez but got sent to Karaganda instead.....they also now have a second cutie son Jacob from Kyrgyzstan. We met folks who had been reading our blog because they had a crazy connection to Pat's sister Tracey. They live in NY also. It was just all so neat! The greatest thing was seeing all of the happy children in their families and knowing what we all had been thru to get them home. It was very much like a family reunion.

Nick posing .......looking like a dignified Kazakh!

All the kids were allowed to play on the stage while waiting for the pizza.

The second day was the big luncheon and raffle. They had a great movie of all the families present who had sent pictures of their journey. Their were three rooms in this restaurant....all filled to the brim like these pics.

Nick was quite overstimulated by all of the big group activities and we had a few yelling/acting crazy fits but we were usually able to just remove him and get him calmed down. Swimming in the great hotel pool was our relief! He has lately turned into an underwater fish. He wants to Dive, Dive like a submarine or go to the bottom and blow bubbles. He has some type of safety device on at all times because he just jumps into the pool. Below is a pic of his underwater usual status.

The last night they had a pool party and Nick decided he was going to be the "lifeguard". He would walk around the sides of the pool with a kick board and scowl at everyone. I don't think the real lifeguard knew that he was being copied....hilarious! I didn't get a pic as we were in the water at the time.

After the luncheon, we had Nick take a nap trying to get rid of the grumpies and then we went to Millennium park where they have a great water feature for kids to play in. It was really fun and Nick enjoyed the "shower".

We had a great time meeting all of the families that we did and hopefully next year we will meet even more. It will be in Nashville so easy drive for us! We are so glad the moms decided to take the jump and do all of the hard work to get us all together.

Our last great highlight of the weekend was having brunch with a family who adopted the year before us at our same orphanage in Zhez. Americans are only allowed to adopt maybe once or twice a year from our particular city and baby house so it is hard to meet up with your fellow baby house alum. Mary Sue and Nick invited us over to their house outside Chicago and we had a great time. Our Nick and their boy George are the same age and were most likely crib buddies. Their daughter Janet was even younger but was also in the same baby house. It will be so special to have them as friends as the kids get older. We plan on meeting the newest alum, Liam Finney, from Zhez in the near future once they get home from Kaz...hopefully at Kazapalooza next year.

Nick and George....."cousins" forever!

We have had beautiful weather for the last couple of days and last night we went to our city Arboretum. It has a great walking/jogging path and lots of trees, flowers and just great Nature.

Nick enjoyed the fish pond and loved taking the various paths thru the garden. He is obsessed with PATHS right now." Where does that one go?" is our main question in the car as we stop at each intersection. I think he is actually starting to learn his left and right directions. He also is crazy about signs.....we have to tell him what each one says.....EACH sign we pass....fun,fun!

The Arboretum built this rose garden several years ago and it is awesome although not in full bloom at present.

Nick always loves the end of the walk when we get to the big old trees. They have them for kids to play in and on. We had quite an interesting time last night as he was on top of the taller ones. Pat had placed him up to look around. He was twirling around and I was getting ready to take a picture and he proceeded to be "superman" without dad being informed and literally launched himself off the tree. Pat was able to grab an ankle but he still made a header into the ground. Unbelievable! Luckily with all of the rain, the ground was not so hard. He cried but was his usual self by the time we got to the car. A head injury scares me to death but he is so known for being "hard-headed" that it didn't even really seem to phase him. We tried to use this as a learning point for being safe and talked about him learning to yell, ready dad or mom, or 1,2,3 jump....anything that would give us a warning that he is about to launch. So when we put him to bed last night, he started to launch himself off of the bed....we said remember what happened earlier, let's practice what we "learned" from your fall today. So he stopped and counted and proceeded to jump...NO FEAR. So, fast forward to today to two specific behavior problems. He was having a fit about something and privileges were taken away and he proceeded in both occasions to say he wanted to go back and "learn" it again and do it right. Interesting!

This post is way too long but I wanted to get a few cute things that he is talking about right now before I forget them.

--He loves the three little pigs story and he can almost tell it himself but he says that the "big DAD wolf" is going to puff and "tuff" you house down. We crack up every time he says big dad wolf!!!

--He has been talking about the cross lately. When we went to church a couple of weeks ago, he saw a cross and said that Jesus was on the cross and He went up to Heaven and everyone was sad. Amazing to me what he has learned from BSF (we studied this right before the end of the year). He was laying on our bed this morning with his arms outstretched and he said, "mom, look I'm Jesus on the cross and I am going up to heaven."

--I was trying to get him dressed one morning and he was being a typical kid and I said firmly, Nick STAND UP.....and he added...singing........" for what you believe in, believe in God, He's the one who will back you up". I was so stunned, I just cracked up. It is from one of his veggie tale movies.

--I always listen to my music in the car....mostly a christian radio station and we were riding down the road....I don't even remember if we had anything specific on and he sang out K-Love...that is the station! I have even heard him sing parts of some of the songs they play more often. Just goes to show they are listening ALL the time. I have had to not listen to country music with him in the car anymore!

-- We sometimes give him a choice between actions when disciplining....you can choose to do the right thing or you can choose to do the wrong thing and have a consequence. Well, it has come back to haunt us as when he gets mad at us for not letting him do A or B, he will yell at us (working on that) that we WILL let him do A and B, "THAT is OUR CHOICE remember!" It is so hard to maintain a stern face when he does this!

OK, enough already......sorry so long but this is our journal of sorts so we have to make sure and get it all down for our feeble minds!

Have a great week!