The cutest pumpkin in the patch!

Well, my goals of once-a-month blog updating faltered in September! So here I sit, on October 7th, a full week behind schedule. I guess this blog is now in tune with the rest of my life, BEHIND schedule! (Yes, I'm always late...)

Theo is of course doing marvelously well. Currently he is sporting nine teeth, a new haircut, and somewhere in the ballpark of 7-10 words. Toddle speak can be a bit confusing, but as he connects meaning to more and more objects and actions, it's amazing to watch his language development. We know, we know, he is genius! (Did you ever doubt?)

The Barrett family has added another level of "new normal" to our lives. I started back mid-September with my graduate classes (only 3 to go!) and Andy began his doctorate program at University of Illinois. So, seeing as we weren't quite busy enough, I'm gone every Monday night and Andy is gone two weekends a month as we educate ourselves on being better educators. Fortunately, the schedule has thus far worked out and each of us end up getting great quality time with Theo. Now if someone could just tell me how to keep the house clean, the laundry folded, and the meals prepared I'd be all set! And to think, we haven't even hit first-quarter report cards and parent/teacher conferences yet! =)

Overall, we are doing amazingly well. Theo's adoption will be OFFICIAL on October 15th. We do not need to make a court appearance this time around, which stikes me as ironic as the adoption finalization is one of the most important moments in the lives of adoptive families. No celebrations are scheduled, but I'm sure we will end up at Dairy Queen at some point. We are also closing in on our final post-placement visits with our social worker, but we will stay connected with Lifelink for years to come. Andy and I sincerely hope that they like us enough to one day invite us to be speakers to their Parent Academy. Here's hoping!

As always here's a link to the newest Theo pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157607839867103/detail/

Stay tuned for more fall happenings!

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Koreans for Obama

August has proven to be a CRAZY BUSY month! Theo is now in daycare full time as I returned back to work officially on August 18th. If someone can explain this working mom thing, I'm all ears! Seriously, who is going to cook dinner for the three of us, because it's certainly proving not to be me! =)

Theo had a great last few weeks of summer that were filled with firsts. This included attending his first Korean Fest in Chicago, enjoying his first Olympics (he was very nice and left mommy alone during gymnastics coverage), and experiencing his first Democratic National Convention. He was a huge fan of the Olympic diving - Andy believes it's because the sport was dominated by Asian people this year, I think it's because he's a talented athlete in the making. I do believe I am correct in this argument? Theo is also super excited about Obama and the upcoming presidential election - what a great year to become an American! Lucky kid. =)

Other than that, there's not too much going on as we try to get adjusted to our "new normal." Theo is growing up so fast and doing wonderful new things everyday. His words now include mama, dada, nana (banana), sit, up (bup), night night, and this (A weird one, I know). He's also learned how to walk backwards (with style I might add) and has become a very good helper when we clean the house (He can use a lint roller like nobody's business).

Here's our latest pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157607042934183/detail/

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Only two weeks left?!??! =(

Yes, it's about to happen.... I'm going back to work! 4 months home with Theo has left me spoiled, so I guess I'd better head back to 4th grade and get reacquainted with life in the real world...

Theo is still cute as ever - keep voting for him on-line for the Cutest Kid in Kane County contest! (The link is in our previous post) He's a completely steady walker (well, you know, except when the carpet trips him and stuff) and is totally enjoying summertime activities. He LOVES playing in the water. Doesn't matter how much or where it is, if it's there he's splashing in it! He also enjoyed his first trip to Brookfield Zoo complete with his very first Mold-a-Rama. His favorite thing at the zoo? Sting Ray Bay! Why? Because he could splash in the water! One summertime activity he did miss was the 4th of July fireworks. Andy and I are still baffled by this as the fireworks are literally shot off right next to our house. Believe it or not, Theo slept right through the fireworks! We're still scratching our heads over that one...

In other news we had our FINAL baby shower for Theo. That would make 10, count em' 10, baby showers for the Crown Prince of Batavia. What can I say? He's just so loved! We also had our family court date on July 11th in downtown Chicago to get our interim order from the courts. What is an interim order? Well as far as I can tell, it's the official document to get the ball rolling on finalizing Theo's adoption. Now that the interim order has been filed, we just sit back and wait for October 15th to come along. That will be Theo's adoption finalization day!

As always I will leave off with a link to Theo's newest pictures!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157606476197633/detail/

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Theo is the cutest!

Here is the info about Theo being part of the Cutest Kid in Kane County contest:

www.kcchronicle.com/cutestkid Theo is #60

If the voting link is not working, here it is: http://www.kcchronicle.com/cutestkid/vote/

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"Give me goldfish!"

Theo has taken to goldfish crackers like nobody's business! Andy and I now have to refer to those fun orange crackers as "koi." I'm sure he'll learn soon enough that koi means goldfish so we are prepared to move onto other fish of reference such as trout, blue gill, and carp. What does this really all mean? It means Andy and I have made our first venture into code talking in front of our kid. Ah, the bridges we cross...

The last few weeks have been busy! Theo attended his first street festivals, Swedish Days in Geneva (where he ate lunch with the mayor ... seriously!) and the Custer Street Arts Festival in Evanston. Rest assured there were corn dogs involved in both outings. He also got to meet his great grandma, Grammy, for the first time who was in for a visit from New York. She was in town for a long weekend and we had all kinds of fun together. Her visit included a trip to the Morton Arboretum where Theo encountered big bugs (What a neat exhibit!) and had a blast wading around the frog pond.

Theo has also had a chance to spend time with many new friends! He finally met his destined-to-be good friends Bobby and Emma, with whom he shared his first swimming experience - he loved it! He and Bobby are only 5 days apart in age so we are positive they will have oodles of fun together as they grow up. Theo and I also spent an afternoon with several Storm staff families where he again had way too much fun swimming. Even though he's only a year old, he's already quite the social butterfly!

Much to Andy's chagrin, Theo is also a contestant in a contest where he is sure to be the winner - he has been entered in the "Cutest Kid in Kane County" contest sponsored by the Kane County Chronicle. I promise I will not sign him up with a talent or modeling agency, but this fun little contest was too much to pass up! So please vote for him at

www.kcchronicle.com/cutestkid Theo is #60

The site is messed up.... here is the link to where you vote: http://www.kcchronicle.com/cutestkid/vote/

As always I will leave you with some images of Theo. Below is a link my Flickr account and a short video of our little man!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68847421@N00/sets/72157605889162065/detail/

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