The Cooper's Journey to Russia

2 Years Ago Today......

2012-02-12T14:30:00.009-06:00

We became a family of 3 with 2 four legged furry brothers waiting back at home for us!!! What a change this small scared little boy has become. We left Baby Home #1 and never looked back. Matthew was so scared in the car on the way back to our hotel and had his head buried in Daddy. Once we opened the door to the hotel and he went in the room it was like ......AHHHH....this is all going to be ok and he was a totally different child! Amazing!!! Matthew has gained 15 pounds and has grown 6 inches in the last 2 years!!! Our 3rd post placement report is enroute to Russia and we have 1 left to do. We readopted Matt in Alabama in December and have received 2 new crisp US Birth Certificates for him. So glad that we finally have that checked off the list. One more post placement visit and I think the paperwork will finally be over!!!! Yeah!!!! What a fabulous 2 years it has been!!!!

WE ARE BOOKED!!!!!!

2012-01-12T20:16:00.002-06:00

We booked today for the Russian Adoption Reunion Disney Cruise set to sail July 21, 2013. We are so excited to meet everybody and their sweet Russian babies!!!!!

Christmas Pageant for School

2011-12-14T18:29:00.003-06:00

Matt had his Christmas Pageant at school. His class were lambs......they were the cutest little lambs we ever saw!!! His class sang 3 songs one which included sign language. They all did so wonderful. We practiced the songs each night and Matt sang his little heart out.....so cute!!! Then the whole school sang Silent Night together at the end.....it was a wonderful and memorable evening.

Santa Clause Event

2011-11-15T13:00:00.004-06:00

Our community held their annual Santa Clause event this weekend. We got to do a craft, ride a train, and biggest thrill of all......got to see and sit on Santa Clause's lap. Last year when we went to see Santa, Matt would not get anywhere close to him. This year when it was finally our families turn to go see Santa, Matt practically sprinted and jumped onto his lap....absolutely priceless and so disappointed did not have the video camera ready. Truely amazing how things change from year to year. All Matt told Santa he wanted for Christmas was "cookies"......guess Santa's list will be small at the Cooper house!! :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2011-11-01T13:33:00.002-05:00

Tate Farms

2011-10-21T22:02:00.003-05:00

We had a ton of fun bringing in the fall at Tate Farms. Matt loved the petting zoo as he loves animals. We took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin. Matt and daddy loved going down the big slide as Matt being "Mr Independent" wanted to do it all on his own but he was just a little too little this year - maybe next year. We played in the pit of corn.....who knew how much fun that would be and Matt had his face painted. Fortunately, it was a nice warm day in northern Alabama.

2 years ago today......

2011-09-28T08:10:00.004-05:00

We met for the 1st time this sad little boy.....now, 2 years later, his laughter and smile lights up the universe!!!

Matt's New Ride.....

2011-09-19T20:45:00.003-05:00

Santa brought this for Matt.......he was just a tad bit small then to ride it.......he has been sitting on it in the house for the last 8 months and finally we THOUGHT it was time to try it out!!!! This little boy laughed so hard it brought chills to us how much he loved it!!!! He had a blast riding in circles around the house over and over and over again! He had a hard time at first trying to steer it in the right direction but by the 20th circle...he had it!!!!! It is so unbelievable to see the joy in this childs eyes!!!! Hard to believe 2 years ago he was living in an orphanage in Russia! We are getting ready to celebrate our 2 years of meeting Matthew for the 1st time in a few days!!! Can't even imagine or remember what our life was like before that day!!! What a dream come true he is for us!!!! Our sweet angel!!!

Disneyland

2011-09-14T08:16:00.003-05:00

Our friends in CA, Mickey and Jill sent Matt this shirt! Hoping to get out there for a visit one of these days and visit Mickey at Disneyland.

Out with the Old....In with the New.....

2011-08-29T21:32:00.002-05:00

Matt has officially moved from his "Toddler" bed into his "Big" boy bed!!! So far so good....the jury is still out whether he "loves" it or not but Mom and Dad think it is a pretty cool bed for a "pretty" special little boy!!!!

Just pictures......Summertime fun.....tractors, sprinklers......and

2011-08-10T21:42:00.002-05:00

And Rainbows......

2011-08-10T21:39:00.002-05:00

A trip to the beach

2011-07-27T18:25:00.007-05:00

We took a weekend trip to the beach in New Smyrna Beach, FL this weekend to meet up with some of Daddy's family! We got to visit with Aunt Judy, Uncle Mike and Aunt Sharon and Cousins, Billy, Marianna, Will and Baby Thomas, Mike and Paige and Brady and Elizabeth and Rebecca. Matt had a blast with his 2nd cousins Will and Brady. This was Matt's 1st trip to the beach on the East Coast of Florida where the ocean and beach are much different than the Pan Handle in Florida where we have been. He loved running into the ocean and especially playing with Will and Brady. It was so much fun to visit with family and enjoy seeing the 3 3 year old boys playing together! If only it could have been longer.....maybe next year!!!

Some more .....

2011-07-27T18:07:00.005-05:00

Priceless!!!

2011-07-10T16:33:00.005-05:00

2011-07-10T16:31:00.002-05:00

Celebrating Matt's 3rd birthday at the beach in Destin, FL

2011-07-10T14:57:00.006-05:00

We spend 4th of July week at the beach celebrating Matt's birthday! This was our 2nd trip to the beach this year and we had a fabulous time once again! The weather was sunny, hot and perfect every day. We spend lots of time on the beach and time at the pool. Matt got braver on this trip and let us carry him pretty far into the ocean instead of just hanging by the edge. He loved playing in the sand and chasing the birds. We went to a fun restaurant for dinner on his birthday. While we waited for our table, there was live music on the patio where Matt kept up with the big kids trying to hula hoop....it was so funny and he had a ball!! After dinner, the staff brought him ice cream and a big crowd to sing Happy Birthday!

As always, the week went too fast and now it is back to the real world and back to work and school! We will be headed back to FL in a few weeks for a long weekend to visit with Daddy's family so we are looking forward to seeing all of them. Matt has 2 cousins that are just a few months older than him so it should be fun to see the 3 boys together playing at the beach. After that Aunt Kristen and her family will be visiting from PA. We have lots to look forward to in the next few weeks. Busy, busy summer but lots of fun!! :)

2011-07-10T14:53:00.003-05:00

Soakin' in some Summetime Fun!!!

2011-06-20T20:44:00.003-05:00

It is definately summertime here in Northern Alabama!!! It is hot!!! Too hot but we will take it over the snow of the winter! Matt absolutely loves to be outside. We don't get much time outside during the week after we get home from work/school but we do spend lots of time outside on the weekends. Poor little things sweats so bad but doesn't seem to bother him in the least. He loves to swing on his swings and would have us push him for hours at a time if he had his way. Saturday and Sunday mornings we usually get out on our nice long bike rides with Matt relaxing in his Chariot carrier attached to Daddy's bike. Matt loves to help daddy out in the yard and as you can see from the pics, has his own little shovel and likes to dig in the places where he should not but o'well.....all is fixable! He loves to watch the butterflies on our butterfly trees and tries to catch them if he can. His newest thing is trying to catch the bumble bees....he will be sorry if he is able to catch one....we keep telling him ooocchh!!! So far this year Matt has not been too fond of the pool so we are working on that. Last year by the end of the summer, we could not get him out of the pool and now this year he will barely stick his toes in....hmmmm????? We are getting ready to head back to the beach in 2 weeks to celebrate Matt's 3rd birthday! Should be a wonderful family vacation for just the 3 of us!!! Poor puppies will have to go to camp! LOL.

That smile just melts our hearts!!

2011-06-15T20:37:00.002-05:00

Matt finally loves tubby time.....it only took him 15+ months!!! LOL Bath time is much longer now than it used to be and it is alot of bribbing to get him out!!! So different from where he would not even sit down and we got in, got washed and were out!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T21:30:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-01T18:38:00.002-05:00

15 Months Home and progressed into a Toddler Bed

2011-05-23T18:30:00.002-05:00

Matt has now been home for 15 months. He recently moved into a Toddler bed after continuously climbing out of his crib!! We thought we would take baby steps with moving him into a bed so we got this little bed to start. Matt has been doing great going to bed at night and staying in his bed (well after 4 or 5 times getting out and being put back in). We are still in the process of potty training which is taking a bit longer than we expected but each day is getting a little bit better with less accidents. He is pretty good about going on the potty when he is put on there but he is still not telling us when he has to go so if we don't stay on top of him and continually put him on the potty, accidents happen!! Another huge accomplishment that has happen in the last 10 days or so is Matt is FINALLY sitting down in the bath tub and of course is now loving his bath time......

Matt can count to 10 and sometimes can get close to 20. He knows almost all of his colors and mostly knows all of his letters. His speech continues to get better and better with every week. It feels like forever ago that we walked through our front door after 24+ hours of travel on that late monday night!!! We can't even ever remember what life was like before Matt was home.

Communion and Mother's Day

2011-05-09T19:08:00.004-05:00

Matt and Mommy headed to PA this weekend to celebrate my 2 nephews 1st Holy Communion's and Mother's Day! Unfortunately both of my nephews made their Communions on the same day in 2 different parishes so our family had to split up. My dad and I and Matt went to Danny's who is my Godchild and my mom and headed to Will's Communion. Thankfully we were all together to celebrate Mother's Day together!! It was great to be with my Mom and Matt's MomMom and my sisters and Matt's Aunts for Mother's day!! The last Mother's Day we were all together back in 2007, we announed the news that we were in the process of adopting!!! This Mother's Day was so much better to have my little boy by my side!!!! It was an exhausting trip as it always as we just go, go, go but worth every minute!!! Here are some pictures from the weekend!! It was a wonderful 2nd Mother's Day!!

Matt's 1st trip to the Beach

2011-05-04T20:41:00.004-05:00

At the end of April, Matt's Aunt Sue, Uncle Ed, Cousins Megan and Danny came down from up north and we went to the beach in Destin, FL for Matt's 1st trip to the beach! We had such a blast! We didn't know if Matt would like it or not but he ended up loving it!!! He walked right down into the sand and right into the ocean. He loved chasing the birds down the beach and just playing in the sand! We were so excited as Mommy and Daddy love the beach!!!!! We road boogie boards, made sand castles, had some great seafood and just played in the ocean which was much warmer than we had expected!!! We had lots and lots of family time!!! We cannot wait to go back....hopefully sometime this summer!!!

On another note, North Alabama where we live, was hit with devastating tornadoes last week. We are finally trying to get back to "normal" after losing power for 5 days. It has been quite a trying several days but we are so thankful that other than losing power for an extended period of time, we were all safe and our home was safe as well. Please keep those in your prayers that have lost everything in this part of the country. We are so hoping we do not hear the word "tornado" or hear the "sirens" going off for a very long time.

A few more pictures.....

2011-05-04T20:38:00.002-05:00

Finally....looking and posing for a picture

2011-03-29T19:36:00.004-05:00

It usually takes forever to get Matt to pose or even look at me to take his picture!!! Right now we are in full force Operation Potty training and he was sitting on the potty and was very proud to pose for this picture!!! Guess boys will be boys as even the 2 year olds like the potty!! LOL. Matt recently moved into the Beginners class at school after being promoted from the Toddler room and once the kids get to that room....it is NO more diapers but Pull ups are allowed temporarily. For the last 2 weeks, Matt has been in Pull ups at school but they were putting him on the potty several times a day. This week we have decided to dive in and he is now wearing big boy pants with Pull ups over them. Yesterday and today he only had 2 accidents and has gone at home on the potty for us as well. We are very proud of him!!! Although it will be so nice to be out of diapers......it makes me sad to wonder...."what happen to my baby?"!!!!

Matt's New Playset

2011-03-21T20:40:00.002-05:00

We got this playset for Matt several weeks ago. It came in 6 big giant boxes with lots and lots (Daddy says thousands) of pieces! After 5 long weekends of a long project for Daddy - it is just about completed. Matt loves it and all he wants to do is swing, swing, swing! He has not yet learned how to move his legs to keep him swinging and he makes it very known when we are pushing him and he is not going high enough and wants to be pushed more!!! This child is fearless! He calls it "Matt's house" and he will only let Zack (choc lab) in and not Gunner (yellow lab). He gets very aggrevated with Zack when he will not go into Matt's house! Poor Zack - he is such a trooper!!! He also likes to climb up the ladder and yell for "Daddy" when we are waiting for him to come home from work. He just stands up there and yells and yells....I think our neighbors think this is a nut house over here! :)

Happy St Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T22:50:00.003-05:00

The circus came to town

2011-03-07T20:35:00.002-06:00

The circus came to town this weekend and we were lucky enough to get front row seats! We were not sure how Matt would like it, or if he would sit still but he was really good for about 90% of the time! We had talked about the elephants and the tigers and he could not wait to see them. Since we were in the front row, the elephants were probably only about 25 feet from us when they walked by! Matt was amazed and so excited! It was a fun filled day for all of us!! :) Here are some pictures from our day!

More Pictures

2011-03-07T20:31:00.004-06:00

HAPPY 1 YEAR "GOTCHA DAY"

2011-02-14T10:04:00.005-06:00

Wow.....1 year ago today we received the court decree and Matthew was ours for forever!! No more looking over our shoulders for something to "go wrong"!!! We had 2 more nights in Vlad and then off to Moscow to finish up and be on our way home to our new lives together. Lucky for us, we had the opportunity the following day to meet "The Porters" http://porteradoption.blogspot.com/ at the Vlad Inn. It was so much fun to finally meet up with a family that we had blogged with but had never met! We had such a nice visit with them and they were the 1st to meet our Sweet Matthew!!

Here are a few pictures from our 1st days together as a family of 3.

Today is the day......

2011-02-08T20:40:00.007-06:00

That we can finally celebrate that our sweet angel, Matthew, has been in our family longer than he was in Baby Home #1 in Vladivostok, Russia!!!! How exciting!!!!! We also had our 2.5 year check up with our Pediatrician today and the doctor is thrilled with his progress! Matthew is currently in the 50% for height and just under the 50% for weight so he is just perfect! Dr. Patz could not believe how much he was talking and putting more than 2+ words together! We were thrilled! Here is a picture of his last day in the baby home in Vlad and a picture today!!! 4 more days and we are at our 1 Year Gotcha Day!!!

Reminiscing

2011-02-01T20:49:00.006-06:00

Today marks 1 year since we were reunited with our sweet angel. We remember it like it was yesterday and we can't even imagine our lives without our Matthew. After we got to the Baby Home that morning, we waited and waited and waited in a tiny little room waiting for them to bring our baby to us....felt like forever! Our hearts were racing wondering if he would remember us! It was the best day ever!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are so excited to hear of court dates being scheduled and others are getting prepared to being reunited with their little ones! We are so hoping to hear good news soon from Chad and Sarah that they too will be reunited with their little boy very very soon!

Here are a couple of pics from our 1st day back with Matthew and then a picture of Matthew today. What a change......his eyes were so empty back then now they are just full of joy and laughter!

1 Year Ago today.....

2011-01-18T15:19:00.010-06:00

We got the phone call that our court date was scheduled and we had to leave for Russia in 9 days and stay for 3+ weeks!!!! We were literally on cloud 9 that day!!! I remember wanting to scream to the world that we were going to get our baby!!! The next couple of days were a scramble trying to make arrangements to get our plane tickets. Thankfully daddy is an expert in that field and that job was left to him. We also had sent for our visa's a few days before so they were all ready in process and one less worry for us. These next few weeks are filled with some many unbelievable memories with being reunited with our little angel after 4 months, going to court and hearing the judge say "yes", leaving the orphanage on Gotcha Day with our baby boy and never looking back and pulling in the driveway that very late night saying "We are finally home!!!".

Matt has come so far in a year. He has gained almost 8 pounds and has grown 5+ inches. He is becoming such a little boy instead of our baby! His vocabulary in the last 2 months or so has exploded. He is most probably up to about 50+ words and just in the last week or two has started to put 2-3 words together!! He is also able to count to 10 (with a little help) and knows almost all of his colors. When we sing his songs with him before he goes to bed he is starting to learn the words and sings along with us. So cute!!! His teachers at school are so proud of how he is progressing and are starting to talk about moving him up to the next class. Only problem....he needs to be potty trained! He has started talking alot of "the potty" but still not really too interested in actually trying. We have bought a little potty seat and are really going to start focusing on it. Mommy bought a book on Potty training so will see how that goes but boys will be boys and he just turned 2.5 so maybe still a little bit too young! He is still a bit of a picky eater but starting to expand his menus. His favorites are chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, turkey meatballs and pasta, cheese quesadilla, loves loves yogurt and would live on it if we let him and he is starting to try pizza. He also loves his fruit but vegetables are tough. We need to get a food processor so we can start trying to trick him with vegetables!! If anyone has any suggestions for getting him to eat vegetables, would love to hear them. He still is not a fan of the bathtub as he stands up the whole time and will not sit down...too funny....so needless to say, bathtime is short and sweet. He has figured out how to stall when he does not want to do something. At bedtime now, he likes to go in his crib instead of being rocked but then he wants us to rub his back or hold his hand or his newest thing is.....he lays down and then when we start to walk out of his room saying good night to him.....he stands up.....hug, hug, hug....how that tugs at your heart so we have to do hugs over and over (which could certainly never get old) he knows that gets us!!! :)

We also this past saturday had our 1 year post placement visit with our social worker which went very well. She too was very pleased with Matt's progress since she saw him back in July for our 1st post placement visit. So all is great at the Cooper's.

Here are a few recent pictures including our latest snowstorm. We have had 2 snowstorms already this winter and we live in the south....crazy! The storm that came in last sunday and left us with about 6-7 inches of snow closed the schools for the ENTIRE week. So it was a crazy week trying to juggle work, home, etc but we managed and we had lots of bonding time at home.

Matthew's 1st Christmas

2010-12-29T10:31:00.002-06:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas (especially with it being a White one - see below post). Matthew did so well and Santa was very good to him! MomMom and PopPop came from PA to be with us on Matthew's 1st Christmas so that made it extra special! We decided instead of traveling up north to being with the rest of our families that since this was the 1st Christmas, we would stay home and enjoy it with our son in his own home! We so missed the rest of our families but hopefully we will be able to join them for the holidays next year. Matthew did not get the opening of presents in the beginning but then his 4 legged brother jumped in and starting ripping off the paper and Matt got the hang of it!!! It was such a joy to see the excitment on his face seeing all of his new toys! A Christmas truely to never be forgotten!

A few more pics

2010-12-29T10:28:00.002-06:00

White Christmas

2010-12-29T10:20:00.002-06:00

Yes, indeed we did, we had a white Christmas here in Northern Alabama! In all our years living up north, we have had several white Christmas' but never would we have thought, Matthews 1st Christmas and living in the south would we awake to a snow covered scene!! The forecasters said maybe some snow flurries but this was alot more than flurries! When we woke up on Christmas morning and looked at the window, it was definately a Christmas dream come true!!! After we opened some presents, of course we had to go out and play in the snow. Thankfully we still had a snow suit for Matthew from being in Russia in February last year. Daddy built a big snowman and we all had so much fun!!!

Christmas Pageant at School

2010-12-16T20:03:00.002-06:00

Here are some pictures from Matt's Christmas Pageant at school. Each class went up on stage a sang a couple of songs and then at the end all of the classes went up together. Matt's class was the 1st class on stage and the place was packed! When he saw us before he was going up he was hesitant to come up but after he saw the other kids, he joined right in. He had such a ball up there, singing and laughing and skaing his jingle bells! We were so proud of him!!!

Decorating the Tree

2010-12-14T21:48:00.004-06:00

We had so much fun decorating the tree!!! It looks a little like a Charlie Brown tree since the ornaments are mostly on from the middle on up but Matt loved decorating and we had so much fun!!! We talk about Santa but Matt does not really understand but Christmas morning will be sooooooooooooooooooo much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today is 10 months since we became a Family......what a difference a family makes!!!! Matt has grown so much and changed so much we just want to freeze him.....it is truely amazing BUT we are so thrilled at his progress! He now knows almost all of his colors, he can count to 5, and knows almost every animal sound there is to know!!!! His teachers at school are amazed at his progress and we are so proud!!! We tried 4 months ago to get speech therapy with him through our state and they told us that he did not qualify (which we were totally shocked at) but he has showed us that he is moving right along with only the help of his Mama and Daddy!!! We love this little boy more than we could have ever dreamed......what a blessing to our family and what a perfect addition he is!!!!!! Never this time last year when we were so sad he was not here did we ever imagine what it would be like this year for the Christmas season!!! We absolutely adore you our sweet angel, Matthew....you are the love of our lives!!!!!! Thank you for making our life complete!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few more pics and the decorated tree

2010-12-14T21:33:00.003-06:00

A fun filled weekend

2010-12-07T21:04:00.003-06:00

We had such a fun filled weekend! On saturday, we went to Disney on Ice and Matt loved it and then on to Matt's 1st Birthday Party. It was at the "Kids Zone" and it had lots of inflatable slides and fun things to play on. At first it took him a little bit to figure out how to climb up the steps on the slides, then once he got it, we could not get him off. On sunday, we went in search for our first family Christmas Tree. It was so much fun looking through the trees and we found the "perfect" tree!!!! We have already put up our artificial tree and the ornaments are on from the middle on up.......Matt bothered them for the 1st few days but has now has left it alone! We will decorate the "real" tree this weekend...ornaments again will again be on the tree from the middle on up!!! I so much remember this time last year where we were so hopeful we would get back to Vlad in December and be with our angel for Christmas and it didn't happen and we were so sad. This year is so wonderful and so much fun experiencing all these new fun things together. Can't wait for Christmas morning!!!

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-07T20:40:00.004-06:00

Matt, Daddy and I decided it was time to make our 1st christmas cookies together......whew.............that was fun!!!! At first, Matt was not interested at all but after he saw he could shake sugar all over them he decided to dive right in! These are definately SUGAR cookies with lots and lots of sugar!! Matt especially enjoyed them when they were finally ready to eat!!! Such a fun day!

Pictures with Matt and his cousins

2010-12-01T18:21:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago, Matt and Mama flew to PA to visit with family for an early Thanksgiving and got pictures taken of Matt and his 1st cousins (on Mama's side) and also Mama and her sisters for MomMom and PopPop for Christmas. This is the 1st time that MomMom has a professional picture of all of her grandchildren and her daughters together!!! We think she will love it!!

Aunt Sue and Uncle Ed had Thanksgiving Dinner at their house and the kids loved playing together!!! Of course, Matt's cousins, Amanda, Megan and Sara carried him around all weekend so he was a bit spoiled when we got back but that is what big girl cousins are for! Aunt Judy (Daddy's sister) also got to join us for an early Thanksgiving so we were so happy to get to visit with her as well! It was a wonderful weekend and we have so much to give Thanks for especially our sweet boy, Matthew!!! Can't wait for Christmas!

Side note.....Matt also has 11 1st cousins and 11 2nd cousins (on Daddy's side) and 5 2nd cousins (on Mama's side)

Matt's 1st Visit with Santa

2010-11-21T21:36:00.004-06:00

Our neighborhood clubhouse had a Santa Event today where we got to visit with Santa, make crafts and take a sleigh ride pulled by a beautiful white horse. We did not know how Matt would be with Santa as we figured he would most likely be afraid. At first, he was afraid and then he started to warm up after he saw the other kids! We made a fun gingerbread house and then took a sleigh ride.....it was so much fun although the weather was very warm and it felt more like Easter than Christmas but we'll take it!!!! Thought we would share some pictures!!! What a dfference a year makes.....this time last year we had been so hopeful that we would have a court date early December and be home by Christmas and unfortunately that did not happen but everything happens for a reason and now this year, we are so looking forward to the holidays and the joys that it will bring to our whole family and especially our baby boy!!! We are so excited to decorate and put the tree up and can't wait to see Matt's face on Christmas morning!!! Memories, memories, memories!!!

A few more

2010-11-21T21:33:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T21:01:00.002-05:00

Tate Farms

2010-10-19T20:34:00.003-05:00

We took Matt to Tate Farms and he had soooooooooooo much fun!!! We went through the straw maze, played on the swings, played in the corn pit and took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. It is so exciting to see all of the new things he is experiencing. We are so excited for the holidays this year as we have waited so long to enjoy them with a little one and now they are quickly approaching and so far Matt is enjoying every single minute!!!

1 Year Ago today

2010-09-27T15:48:00.005-05:00

We met our sweet baby boy!!!!!!! Oh my gosh....somedays I can't believe it has been a year but most days I can't even imagine what our life used to be like without our sweet Matthew. We woke up that morning feeling refreshed after being up for 48+ hours and were so anxious and could not wait for the time to get here when our girls from our agency would be picking us up. Our drive to the Baby Home took about 1 hour. We took in the sights of Vladivostok as we drove thru the unbelievable amounts of traffic. We made one last turn and there it was the Baby Home where our little boy was waiting for his forever family. When we got there we were taken to a small office where the Baby Home Social Worker was waiting to meet with us. She was such a sweet lady and had lots of pictures of forever families spread around her office. She had our little boys file and was going over his information with us. Meanwhile, the Baby Home Doctor came in and began to go over the medical information with us. I (Mama) was trying to take as many notes as I could but it was so hard to concentrate. They told us that our little boy had woken up from his nap and they were getting him ready. A little while passed and all of a sudden there was a knock on the door, the door opened and there he was...this little person bundled up so warm all we could see was his little face which took one look at all these people in one room and started to scream. Tears poured down his face....I tried to keep in together but no sooner were tears pouring down my face as well. The caregiver kept telling him it was ok that this was his Mama and Papa which made the tears stream even harder. They handed him to me and he screamed even harder. They were able to calm him down and then gave him back to us. He was the most beautiful little boy we had ever seen. We just could not believe our eyes!! Everyone that was in the room with us then left and it was just the 3 of us. We sat him on the floor and tried to make him comfortable and showed him some of the toys we had brought for him. All he seemed to want was to be loved and hugged on....we were thrilled. We wanted nothing more than to just sit and love on this little angel. We had the opportunity to spend about 2 hours with him and then our visit was over. We knew we would have 3 more days with him but it was heart breaking to have to leave him behind. This was definately the best day of our entire lives!!!! Here are some pictures from our 1st trip.

Nashville Zoo

2010-09-19T09:57:00.003-05:00

Matt had his first visit to the zoo on saturday. We took the 2 hour ride up to Nashville and enjoyed the hot late September day at the zoo. Unlike Animal Kingdom in Disney, the animals were closer so Matt could see them better. There was a little area where if the kids wanted to could pet some of the animals, goats, camels, etc....Matt liked to look at them from far away but as they came up close as you can see from the camel picture, we was a bit afraid! All is all it was a fun filled family day!!!!

Disney World, Sept, 2010

2010-09-16T07:28:00.006-05:00

We had a fabulous trip to Disney World over Labor Day weekend. We all had such a great time. We went to the Magic Kingdom 3 days, Animal Kingdom and even went to dinner in Mexico at Epcot one night. We saw fireworks 2 different nights, one from our resort and the other in Epcot which were fantastic. Matt was such a trooper as we just really ran him ragid. We would get up early every morning and just go and go and boy did he sleep good at night. We went on all the rides that Matt could get on in the Magic Kingdom (and Mommy even snuck in a few rollercoasters). He especially loved the Carousel in Fantasyland as that was definately his favorite. The 1st day we were on it 4 times straight and had to take him off kicking and screaming!! If they would have let us, he would have stayed on it all day long. We were able to see alot of the characters at the Magic Kingdom and when they were far away, Matt was fine but when they came up close, he really wanted them to get as far away as possible as you can see from the pictures. We got some autographs from Pooh, Tigger and a few more. We also got to see the Electric Light Parade at Magic Kingdom along with the Main Street Parade and then the parade at Animal Kingdom. He loved them all and would clap his hands to the music coming from the floats. I think the favorite for all of us was the Electric Light Parade and we really was just amazing and worth the 1.5+ hours wait we had after we found a spot on the street. Overall it was a fabulous time and we can't wait to hopefully go back next year. Will leave with some of my favorite pictures.

A few more pics....

2010-09-16T07:21:00.004-05:00

It's Football Time - Go Philadelphia Eagles!!!!

2010-09-12T15:16:00.002-05:00

1 Year Ago today

2010-09-09T10:07:00.003-05:00

It was one year ago today that we saw the eyes of our little angel we had been waiting our whole lives to see. This is a day that will never be forgotten. It was 9/9/09 and I (Mommy) sent Daddy this email that morning after I got to the office:

So....today is 9/9/9, my car is about 1/10 of a mile away from turning 99,999 and we were married in 99 - do you think maybe something good should happen today?

Our dossier had now been in Russia for 10+ months and we knew that we were 1st in line with our agency for several months. That afternoon around 4 pm, I called my coordinator just to check in and let her know about some paperwork that had expired that we were working on updating. After I was finished, she said, I spoke to our representative in Vladivostok and she has a referral for you…..my heart dropped!!! She said, at this point, we don’t know anything about him other than his birthday and we have 1 picture of him. Our representative in Vlad is working on getting additional information. She said, would you like to see his picture or do you want to wait until we get more info…..For just a slight second I had to think about it and then I said….We WANT to see the picture. Well as you can see from the picture, it was love at 1st sight. Those beautiful big brown eyes, little button nose and those full cherry red lips!!! Since it was so late in the day, I wanted to wait to tell Daddy in person when he got home. I got home first and waited and waited for what seemed like forever for Daddy to get home. I had the picture waiting on my laptop in the kitchen for Daddy to see. After he got home he was fiddling around outside with the dogs and I kept saying “are you going to come in” he was like yes, in a couple of minutes, so again, I waited and waited and he could tell I was anxious about something. He said is there something you need to show me inside….."I was like maybe", he just looked at me. He then came inside and I directed him over to the picture and there you were….he just looked at me with these big eyes and said “Did we get a referral” and I said, “yes” look at him, isn’t he beautiful!!! We both could not believe our eyes. We were able to get medical information in 2 days and we accepted the invitation to travel and were leaving in 11 days!!! 1 Year Ago today our Lives Changed for Forever!!!

Wonder if our little angel will be an Accountant???

2010-08-31T20:06:00.003-05:00

Matthew loves to play with the calculator and concentrates so hard. It is quite funny!!!! He is a funny, funny little boy that is for sure!!! In 2 more days we are leaving for Orlando to visit with Mickey Mouse. We will see how Matt likes all the characters. We think he may be a bit afraid at first but will hopefully warm up quickly. We are also hoping to go to the Animal Kingdom as he is crazy about animals and we think he would really enjoy it. Also, maybe one day we may take a ride to the beach and introduce him to the sand and ocean!!! We are really looking forward to getting away and having a wonderful nice vacation with just the 3 of us!!! (unfortunately puppies can't come and have to go to Doggie Camp)

Matt's 1st Car Show

2010-08-16T20:46:00.002-05:00

Daddy loves, loves, loves car shows!!! On saturday, we took Matt to his 1st show. It was sweltering hot but Matt loved running around and Daddy of course loved having his son at something that he absolutely loves!! Here are a few pictures.......

6 Months since "Gotcha Day"

2010-08-14T20:28:00.002-05:00

It was 6 months ago today that we walked out of the Baby Home and never looked back!!! That day was full of such excitement for Mommy and Daddy but we definately had one very scared little boy!!! He was definately a "daddy's" boy that day and hung on tight knowing that Daddy would never let anything happen to him and would keep him safe!!! Matt was so afraid leaving the Baby Home and for the ride in the car BUT once we got into our room at the Vlad Inn....it was like "he knew" this is good....this is my Family and he turned into the happiest little boy!! Neither mommy or daddy slept a wink that night just up and down checking on him every minute on the minute!

How this child of our has changed in 6 months.....he is the happiest little boy in the world, is growing right before our eyes and is the love of our lives!!!! We are so thankful everyday for our sweet boy!!!

These are a few pictures from our "Gotcha Day".

Matt's New Tricks

2010-08-09T20:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning while we were sitting at the table eating breakfast, Matt decided that instead of eating his pancakes, he would rather built!! Needless to say, he wanted everything he could from the table. When he started trying to build, Daddy told him not even the best of us could get the cup to stay on top of the syrup, well of course that did not stop him and off he went....he was so proud of himself when he got it to stay! Then he decided to go to 3 stories and wala.....here is the outcome!!!! He was so excited.....he kept doing it over and over and yelling and clapping his hands for joy.....we were cracking up!!! What a great sunday morning breakfast!!! We think he will be an engineer and built bridges and big tall buildings!!!

What progress!

2010-07-17T16:52:00.006-05:00

In just a few short weeks, we went from barely putting his toes in the baby pool to swimming all over the big pool!!! We cannot believe the progress that Matt has made so far this summer in the water. He is Mr Independent now and just wants to swim around by himself!!! He is also taking swim lesson and is the only student in the class that just wears the floatie on his back and swims around by himself. BUT he still will not sit down in the bathtub.....unbelievable!!! We think we will try putting the life jacket on him in the bathtub and see if that makes a difference. Definately has us baffled!!!

Matt had his 2 year visit with our pediatrician this week....he has gained almost 4 pds and has grown 4+ inches since we have been home. He is now in the 76% for height and the 25% for weight. Dr is very pleased with his progress.

Food Ideas/Suggestions

2010-07-13T11:24:00.003-05:00

Matthew has become quite picky with his eating habits lately. He really would live on chicken nuggets if we let him. I am trying to see if anyone out there has any ideas for new foods to try. He really will not eat any type of meats other than chicken nuggets and will sometimes eat turkey meatballs. He will eat mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and sometimes pasta and while he used to like his vegetables, has become quite picky with those as well. He will sometimes also eat cheese quesadillas or grilled cheese. Thankfully he still loves fruit and yogurt so that is a good thing!! He used to love pancakes, waffles and the toddler rice cereal in the mornings and now mostly turns his nose up at those as well. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions for our picky little boy!

Just some spur of the moment pictures

2010-07-11T21:14:00.002-05:00

Definately have to have the camera around at all times......he is such a photogenic little boy!!!!!

1st Post Placement Visit

2010-07-10T18:33:00.003-05:00

We had our 1st post placement visit today. Matt was a little cranky for a little bit after our social worker arrived but then began to show his true colors and that little smile that steals your heart and all was fine!! Our social worker touched on a whole bunch of different topics and was very pleased and impressed with the new and improved Cooper family. Of course at one point, the dogs were both barking, the phone was ringing and Matt was crying so she probably thought the house was a little crazy but overall I believe that her report will indicate that we have a happy happy little boy who is the perfect addition to our family. We had to give her some pictures showing different stages since we have been home and it really is amazing how much Matthew has changed in just a few short months.....lots of love plus lots of good nutrition is definately the perfect combination!!! The 1st picture was taken a few days after we arrived home in February and the 2nd picture was taken just a week or so ago.......our baby is growing right before our eyes!!! Truely amazing!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Matthew!!!!!

2010-07-06T21:53:00.003-05:00

What a fantastic weekend we had!!! We went to Phila, PA where our families live to celebrate Matthew's 2nd birthday with all of our friends and family!!! Matt and Mommy were scheduled to fly to PA while Daddy jumped in the car and drove so we made sure we had plenty of room to bring things back!!! As usual, the airlines do not cooperate, we were originally scheduled to fly from Huntsville to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Philadelphia arriving at approximately 3 pm on friday afternoon. But, as we all know, when flying, things don't usually happen as expected. Daddy left to start the long drive on thursday evening and Matt and Mommy woke up early on friday morning, took the puppies to the kennel and headed to the airport. When we got there, the flight to Atlanta was several hours delayed causing us to miss our connection to Phila. Fortunately, with Daddy driving, we were able to jump on a flight that took us to DC where Daddy picked us up when we arrived. Friday afternoon and even worse, a holiday weekend on Friday afternoon in the Northeast, are usually never a good combination and what should have taken us 2+ hours took us almost 5 hours in the car.......not good for poor Matt!!! We finally made it to Phila at approximately 7 pm to a house full of Cousins, Aunts, Uncles and MomMom and PopPop waiting on our arrival. Saturday was Matthew's Birthday party and he got to meet a whole bunch of family including more Aunts, Uncles, and cousins that he had not yet met!!! What fun we had!!! He was Mama's boy for the 1st few hours not wanting me out of his sight but then he realized, his cousins were alot more fun that Mama and jumped into gear running and playing with them all!!! He loved everyone singing Happy Birthday to him and clapped his hands as everyone sang!!! As you can see from the pictures, he absolutely loved his Elmo cake and made a big mess but had soooooo much fun!!!! He definately has a sweet little tooth!!! The whole weekend was filled with lots of fun and family - who could ask for more!!!! Definately a weekend no one will ever forget!!!!

A few more pics..

2010-07-06T21:49:00.002-05:00

Family pictures

2010-07-06T21:15:00.002-05:00

Almost all of both sides of our families have gotten to meet Matt now. Here are a few pictures with his family on his birthday.

Matt had his pictures taken for his Birthday!!!!

2010-06-24T21:38:00.005-05:00

At 1st he was not crazy AT ALL about the idea.....in fact, he cried and cried and Mama did not know what to do!!! Once he decided it was ok.....he became a big Ham!!! Here are a few of the favorites!!!! We just love all of them.......our whole house will be covered with pictures of our little angel!

A couple more........

2010-06-24T21:31:00.005-05:00

Father's Day

2010-06-23T19:35:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful 1st Father's Day......Daddy of course enjoyed every minute!!! We had a very relaxing day....Matt and Mommy took Daddy out for lunch and then we just enjoyed the day watching the US Open!!! Matt just thinks his Daddy rocks!!! Attached is a picture of one of the 1st times Daddy held Matt on our 1st trip and the other is from Father's Day. As you can see, Matt is not always a fan of getting his picture taken especially when he is outside and just wants to run!!!

Matt loves helping Daddy!

2010-06-07T23:22:00.004-05:00

I think Matt will be a handy man just like his Daddy!!!! Daddy is building a small little barbecue deck in the back our our house for our grill and our smoker and Matt wanted to be right there with him to build it!!!! Poor little guy, he sweats so bad but loves to be outside!!!

Side note....to all the AP's out there - We had had no issues getting Matt's SSN and so in turn in we applied for his US Passport....when we originally applied with the USPS....they told us that all we needed was his "Certificate of Citizenship" and we were ok with sending that in the mail.....we figured god forbid they lost it that we could get another one.....BUT...after 4 weeks of processing, we got a letter in the mail stating that they could not confirm who Matt's parents were and we needed to send his Russian Birth Certificate....well, of course we were quite afraid to send that as that is our one and only birth certificate to our son.....after hemming and halling......we ended up having to send it and we sent it Fed ex with a Return Label that they promised us ALL of our original documents would be sent back with.....Low and Behold....our goverment...that we were very afraid of....sent back to us TODAY.....within only a few days of receipt.....ALL of our original docs and Matt's US Passport!!!!! To say the least we were Thirlled!!!! So if you want to get a US Passport....it is not that difficult!!

Opening Weekend at the Pool

2010-06-01T20:55:00.003-05:00

The weather here in Northern Alabama was not very cooperative for Memorial Day weekend but finally late monday afternoon the sun came out and we were able to make our way to the pool. We had no idea what to expect with Matt since he still does not like the bath tub AT ALL....we figured we will probably last only a few minutes at the pool but we would give it a try!!! Well, as you can see from the pictures, he loved the pool!!! He was not afraid at all and wanted to get in right away....at 1st he was a little bit cautious and stayed close to the side but in no time he was walking around getting further and further away from Mommy and daddy!!! We just looked at each other in utter disbelief!!! Kids are amazing and always always surprise you!!! Even though it was very warm out, Matt's little teeth were chattering away but he still did not want to get out....we ended up finally leaving with him not a happy camper and kicking and screaming all the way to the car!!! We are going to sign him up for swimming lessons at our local YMCA as that will make him feel even more comfortable!!! It is great to know we will be hanging out alot at our community pool this summer since Matt really enjoyed it!!!

Other updates.....Matt has been going to school now for a few weeks.....he is doing very well and his teachers really enjoy him. We are told that he has become a leader in his class and the other kids are starting to follow him (whether doing good or bad! :) Right now he is one of the older kids in his class so we imagine once he moves up this might change but for now he is enjoying being the leader!!! He gives the biggest bear hugs and now when you ask him for a a kiss he gives you a big wet one right on your lips....he is such a little lovebug!!! He loves loves loves when Daddy comes home and fights with the dogs to see who can get to Daddy the quickest!!! He loves to read books and has a few of his favorites but enjoys them all!! He is becoming quite a monkey and is climbing up on anything and everything...can't take your eye off of him for a minute!!!! He also loves our long bike rides on saturday and sunday mornings riding along in his chariot attached to Daddy's bike!! We love to take rides around our neighborhood lakes and always have a little bread so we can feed the neighborhood ducks!

We are so thankful for our little angel every single day and can't remember what life was like before him!!! We are so looking forward to summer and spending lots of time outside and especially are looking forward to July 4th weekend when we will have a big giant celebration for Matt's 2nd birthday!!!!

Attached are some pictures from our 1st weekend at the pool!!!

Mother's Day

2010-05-11T21:08:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful thing to be called a Mom!!! When we started out on our adoption journey in May, 2007, never did I think that I would not be celebrating my 1st Mother's day until May, 2010 BUT although we had encountered lots of obsticles during our journey, I would have waited 3 more years to celebrate Mother's day for our sweet beautiful little angel that we had always dreamed of! Matthew is all of our dreams come true and the light of our lives!!! Yes, he is an almost 2 year old and starting to have more and more of those 2 year old moments but he is just the most loveable little boy and if I could, I would hold him and snuggle with him all day long! I am attaching a picture from the 1st day I ever held my baby in my arms to a picture of my baby boy and I on our 1st Mother's day!

10 Weeks Home

2010-05-03T19:48:00.002-05:00

It was 10 weeks ago tonight that we pulled into the driveway and we were so happy to finally see...Home Sweet Home!!!! Most days...it seems like 10 years ago!!!! Matt has come so far in 10 short weeks it is amazing!!!! He is the light of our lives....can't even remember what life was like without him! He is eating great, sleeping great (most of the time) and he is talking more and more. Not too many words just yet but always talking and saying something!! :) Just some pics from throughout our 1st 10 weeks at home!

1st Haircut and 1st Ice Cream cone

2010-04-20T09:04:00.002-05:00

Matt had his 1st haircut followed by his 1st ice cream cone! He was such a good boy getting his hair cut. He sat in a Mini Cooper (forget that it was pink!:) and just sat and let the nice girl cut his hair. She called the cut the new little surfer boy cut......his curls went away but I am sure they will be back when it grows a little bit. Since he was such a good boy, we took him for ice cream. We had given him tastes of ice cream before and he never liked it but for some reason, this time was different and he loved it!!! Something that will only be a special treat!!! :)

Aunt Sue and Megan come to visit

2010-04-18T09:46:00.008-05:00

We had so much fun this weekend with Megan and Aunt Sue. Matt loved going down the slide with Megan at the Playground. What will happen without Megan....guess Mommy will have to go down the slide. Matt laughed so hard swinging on the swing!!! Matt is so lucky to have so many fun cousins to play with. Hopefully we will be able to take a trip to PA soon to visit with all of our families at the same time!!!

Car Wash

2010-04-09T10:45:00.002-05:00

Matt and Daddy had so much fun washing the cars!! They are a great team together!!! Although Matt still does not like his baths AT ALL....he loves to play in the dogs water bowl and also loves to play in the car wash bucket! We even tried bubble baths.....no luck!!! Wonder what will happen when it come to pool time?????

If anyone has any suggestions for the bath tub....would love to hear!!

Easter

2010-04-09T10:35:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures from Easter. We had a fun filled day with our friends, The Berens Family and The Adams Family. The kids had an Easter egg hunt for Matt!!! He wasn't really too sure but enjoyed it when the eggs opened and there were one of his favorite yogurt treats inside. We decided to wait until next year to visit with the Easter Bunny!

Aunt Kristen and Cousins Amanda, Will and Sara come to visit

2010-04-05T13:57:00.003-05:00

Matthew finally got a chance to meet his Aunt Kristen and his cousins who live in PA. We were so excited that they decided to spend their Spring Break here with us in Alabama. We had so much fun with them. We played at the playground, went to the Space Center, played in tree houses in the Botanical Gardens, rode the Merry Go Round and just had fun hanging out and getting to spend precious time together!!!! Now that they are back in PA, Matt is wondering where all the "fun" people went and why he is not getting carried around everywhere he goes!! :) Spoiled boy for sure!!!

On another note, we had a visit with our pedetrician today. Matt got all thumbs up and doc says he is growing and growing. In a little less than 2 months, he has gained just under 2 pds. He is in the 16% percentile for weight and height. His appetite is getting bigger and bigger and he loves all kinds of different foods especially fruit!!!

6 Months today

2010-03-28T17:42:00.007-05:00

It was 6 months ago today that we met and fell head over heels in love with our Matthew!!! Somedays it feels like yesterday and others it is like he has been here for forever. As we sat in the car and drove to the baby home that morning, we had no idea what to expect and then we pulled up and there it was. We waited in the little room as spoke with the doctor as we waited for them to bring him in. We were both so anxious to see him but were listening and trying to write down everything the doctor was telling us about him. All of a sudden the door opened and there he was....all bundled up and all we could see was his tiny little face with tears streaming down it. When the caregiver handed him to us, he started crying even louder...of course, Mommy's face had tears pouring down at that point. Within a few minutes, the tears had stopped and he was just a quiet baby wondering what was going on. He warmed up pretty quickly and it got better and better each day. What an absolutely amazing week!!! I am attaching some pictures from our 1st meeting and pictures from the last few days. It seems like he is growing right before our eyes. Our 1st meeting, he was a baby and now he is definately a non stop little boy! Some of the habits he had when we first got him have disappeared and we really hope that he has forgotten his days prior to being with us. It is truely amazing!!! We could have never asked for anything more than this perfect little boy who has made our family complete! He still has some sleeping issues and somedays I feel like we take 2 steps forward and 1 back but all in all is getting much better. He loves music and as soon as it starts he begins to dance and wave his hands - we are definately the dancing family now!!! The pups just sit and bark at us as the 3 of us run around dancing - how much fun!!! :) Thankfully the weather is starting to get warmer as he loves to be outside playing in the dirt or chasing leaves around the yard. Can't wait to see if he will like the pool this summer!

MomMom and PopPop come for a visit and meet their long awaited 6th grandchild

2010-03-23T14:08:00.006-05:00

After 14 hours of driving, MomMom and PopPop arrived so very very excited to meet their new grandson. After all the pictures, finally they got to see our little angel live in person. Matthew loved playing outside with PopPop and having quiet time reading with MomMom. He also enjoyed playing with his bubbles and showing PopPop how he helps Mommy sweep with the broom.

Uncle Mike came to visit

2010-03-23T14:03:00.003-05:00

On his way from sunny Florida to snowy Pennsylvania, Uncle Mike took a detour and came to visit!!! Matthew was so excited to have a new visitor and of course meet his Uncle Mike who came and brought lots of fun things to play with!!! We cannot wait to get to visit Uncle Mike and Aunt Sharon at the beach in Florida this summer and maybe if we are lucky, he will get us tickets to go see the Phillies play this year!!!

Couple more pics!!!

2010-03-12T21:26:00.002-06:00

Do you think that Matt's 4 legged brother is so happy that he is here......caught them in the act today!!!! Always, always have to have the camera ready!!!! He also got a new hat today which he just thinks he is all that and a bag of chips in!!! We just think he is the cutest little guy we have ever seen!!!!

2+ weeks home

2010-03-11T21:10:00.002-06:00

We are amazed each and every day on how well Matt is adjusting. He is just the happiest little boy most of the time except for when he is tired. His sleeping habits are continuing to get better but we still have good days and bad but thankfully with each passing day, the good are outweighing the bad. He usually still wakes up in the middle of the night but he is no longer up for hours at a time, we are usually able to get him back to sleep pretty quickly. He is trying new foods each day and sometimes he likes them and sometimes he does not. He is beginning to eat more foods with temperature rather than everything just at room temperature. He absolutely loves to be outside whether he is running around or taking a nice long walk with his puppies in his stroller. He just goes and goes and goes....we say he is the energized bunny!!! Loves to play in the dirt, definately, definately ALL BOY!!!!

We are getting ready to celebrate our 1 month Gotcha Day - when we sit back and think about it as we waited and waited for him to come home, all the waiting is now a distant memory and it seems as if he has been here for forever!

1 Week Home

2010-03-02T08:05:00.003-06:00

Matthew is adjusting to his new home wonderfully!! He is a happy happy little boy most of the time but when he is not.....WATCH OUT!!!! Sleeping is probably the most difficult thing at this point. He goes to bed pretty good at night but wakes up and thinks it is play time!! It amazes me how well this child gets along with such little sleep somedays!!! Of course, somedays, the lack of sleep for all of us gets us all a little irritable but I do believe we are making progress and hopefully we can get on track soon. He is eating pretty good but kind of has his favorites and is trying new things little by little.
The first few days he was not real sure of his 4 legged big brothers but as you can see, he loves them now and does not leave them alone for a moment!!! He follows them around everywhere they go!! Poor things...their lives have been turned upside down and they are not to sure the feeling is mutual between them and their new little brother!!!
As you can see from the pictures, he loves helping daddy!!! Hopefully he will be a handyman just like his daddy!!!!
He loves his stroller and loves to take long walks in the nice fresh air!! Looks like a few more days and the weather will be really warming up so we can get out and enjoy the warm weather!!!

Home Sweet Home!!!

2010-02-23T22:58:00.002-06:00

3 Flights.....24+hours.......We are home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How wonderful it was to pull in the driveway last evening very late!!! Our little angel is adjusting unbelievably!!! He is such a happy happy little boy except sometimes from 1 am to 5 am (we have to work on that!!) Other than lack of sleep.....LIFE IS GREAT!!!! He loves his new house, his new room, all of his toys and his puppies.....well, not too sure about them yet but getting better by the minute!!!!

Will update some more after we get settled and rested!!!!

Tour of Moscow

2010-02-23T22:46:00.003-06:00

We had the wonderful opportunity to take a guided tour our agency set up for us of the City of Moscow during our stay. The city is absolutely spectacular!!! I would also use the word Magical and very very snowy!!! We got there on thursday and it snowed every day all day up until when we left in what we would consider a blizzard on monday!! We were so pleased that we made the decision to go to Moscow ourselves rather than sending a courier as it was such a wonderful opportunity to be able to see another part of our son's country. We truely hope that someday in the future we will have the opportunity to go back to Russia!!!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2010-02-17T17:05:00.002-06:00

We are all packed up and ready to head to Moscow today. Can you tell a little someone is ready to go?????? We are so excited to move on to the next step and then in no time will be headed home to the south!!!! Our little boy is not really liking this cold weather so we think he will be happy, happy, happy living in Alabama where the weather is much warmer!!!

Next post will be from Moscow.

Introducing......MATTHEW WALTON COOPER

2010-02-16T06:37:00.001-06:00

The clock is ticking.....

2010-02-09T05:22:00.002-06:00

We had a very nice visit with "K" today. We had not seen him for a few days so it was so good to see his smiling face! He is becoming more and more independent every day! He is changing right before our eyes but we love it, love it, love it!!! And more importantly, we fall more in love with him everyday! We got smiles within minutes of him coming in the room today. His caretakers told us that after we leave, he is bad, he is sad, he does not listen, on and on......on 1 hand, made us so sad to hear that today but on the other hand, it makes us know that he would rather be with us and that is an absolutely wonderful feeling!!!! After today, we have 5 days left until "Gotcha Day"!!! We sit here at the Vlad Inn and know it is happening but sometimes just look at eachother and cannot believe it. This has been such a long road but we know that he is the PERFECT little boy for us and we would not change anything for the world!!! We are finally on the home stretch.....what an awesome feeling!!!!!

Hang in there our little angel!!!! The countdown is on and there is no one counting louder than your mommy and daddy!!! Everyone at home is so excited to meet you!!!! Your cousin Becca is getting your puppies ready at home to meet you!!! Thank goodness for Becca, she is our other angel!!! Your puppies would not have been happy in the kennel!!!

We love you our sweet little boy!!!

This is our last tuesday EVER without you!!!

Couple random pictures of Vladivostok

2010-02-07T03:24:00.002-06:00

The Sea of Japan is an Ice Skating rink

2010-02-07T01:14:00.004-06:00

The Sea of Japan is frozen solid. It is truely an unbelievable site. People, cars, horses are all out walking around on it like it is a sunny afternoon in the park. We saw people out on snowboards being pulled by parachutes. There are ice skating rinks all over with people ice skating, music playing and everyone just having a good old time even though it is freezing outside. Does not seem to bother any of the Russian people. If you have not been to Vladivostok in the winter time, you would not believe how different it is. When we were here in the fall, people were on the beach and in the sea....now, just a tad bit different.
Thought I would share the pictures so if you have not experienced you could see Vlad and the beach down the street from the Vlad Inn in the winter.

Visit #3

2010-02-06T20:55:00.003-06:00

On Friday we went to visit with "K"!!! We were super excited to tell him that the judge said "yes"!!!! The 1st 2 visits this trip he cried a little bit when they brought him to us. On friday, he did not cry at all....we were so happy to see no tears!!!! We finally had his toys and books that we brought on the 1st trip after getting our luggage. We think he remembered a couple of the toys - he loves music toys and he also showed us that he likes to dance!!! So so cute!!! He seems to be becoming more and more independent each day. He will be in awe once we get home and he has a whole house to run around in. We will visit him a few more times next week and then "Gotcha Day" will be on monday, 2/15. The countdown is on!!!!

The Verdict is In!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-04T02:50:00.002-06:00

The judge said YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whewwwww......glad that is over!!!! Now we have our 10 day wait period and are counting down the days until we can leave the Baby Home with our little angel!!! We can't wait to visit him tomorrow since we were unable to today!!!

Reunited!!!!

2010-02-02T04:51:00.003-06:00

Today is the day we have been longing for since our last visit 4+ months ago!!! We got to see our beautiful baby boy!!! I am not really sure if he remembered us but he sure warmed up pretty quickly. We brought pictures from our 1st trip and tried to spark his memory!!! They brought him into us and he was bundled up like a snowman!!! We couldn't wait to get the layers and layers off of him so we could get a good look!!! He looked as gorgeous as ever!!! What a sweet reunion it was! We are now counting the days until the THREE of us are all leaving the Baby Home together and on our way home to the good ole' USA to start our lives together.

Sleep tight angel and we will see you again in just a few short hours.

Side note - we are hearing and are being very hopeful that our luggage will arrive tomorrow afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed.

The good news is.......

2010-02-01T01:52:00.003-06:00

We made it to Vlad and to the Vlad Inn. The bad news is...............only us and the stuff we have had since we started out on friday night in Huntsville are with us!!! NO BAGS......3 bags checked....not ONE single one made it!!!! Of course, 1st instincts are to freak......I (we) are trying to stay calm and hope that they arrive in a day or so!!! Last thing I expected to be doing within minutes of arriving at the Vlad Inn was doing wash but unfortunately that is what I am doing!! Thankfully since we have been traveling for a few days, we have a few changes of clothes so guess we will just have to get used to seeing ourselves in the same clothes for a while until our luggage arrives - yes, I am being optomistic that it WILL arrive hopefully sooner rather than later!!!! So much for being a Platinum preferred customer with the airlines!!!
Please say a prayer for us that we get our luggage soon!!!

2ND GOOD NEWS......tomorrow morning we will meet our girls at 9:00 am and head to the baby home to see our angel.....when we think of that all the rest of the anxiety goes away!!! He certainly won't care if we are in the same clothes everyday!! :)

2 Flights down - 1 to go!!!

2010-01-31T15:46:00.002-06:00

We made it to Seoul, Korea last evening. Korean Airlines once again was absolutely fabulous unfortunately we will not be flying home with them since we will be taking our road trip to Moscow. We stayed in the Transit Hotel here in the airport overnight and are nice and refreshed for our flight to Vlad this morning. We are on cloud 9 hoping we only have 1 morning to wake up before being able to hold our little boy in our arms again!!!! Our court date is on thursday, Feb 4th so we will be getting prepared as well for that with our girls in Vlad for the next couple of days!!!!
We are preparing to step off the plane in Vlad in a few more hours and hoping the temperature is at least a positive number!!!! Thank goodness for nice warm winter clothes! We are going to need them. Nothing like Russia in February!!!!

Hang on angel.....we are almost there!!!!

The Countdown is Beginning

2010-01-22T14:53:00.003-06:00

Today marks 1 week and counting until we set out on a jet plane to bring our beautiful baby boy home!! We will be arriving in Vladivostok on Monday, Feb 1. Instead of using a courier to go to the US Embassy in Moscow, we have decided to take a road trip and will be heading to Moscow and spending a few days to finish up all the necessary paperwork. We look forward to visiting Moscow and experiencing all the history the city has to offer. I am sure there is nothing like Moscow in the middle of February!!!

WE GOT OUR DATE!!!!

2010-01-20T10:50:00.002-06:00

FINALLY.....we got our court date - February 4th!!! We will be leaving next weekend to go get our beautiful angel boy!!!! Words cannot explain how excited we are!!!!! It has been a very long road and the light at the end of the tunnel......IS SHINING VERY BRIGHT!!!!!
Hang on angel.....we are coming!!! Less than 2 weeks we will be reunited and will never leave eachothers side again!!!!
Our hearts are exploding with love for you and you are always on our mind!!!!
Can't wait to hold you, snuggle with you and give you more love than you could have ever dreamed of!!!!!

Bittersweet

2009-12-24T08:46:00.002-06:00

The holidays this year in the Cooper house are I guess we could call "bittersweet"!!! We are so excited that we have met our baby boy, have held him, have cuddled with him, have given him his oh so perfect name and have fallen absolutely totally in love with him BUT we are so sad that he is not here with us yet in his new home to celebrate the Christmas holidays. We have decided that we will leave all of the decorations up and keep his presents under the tree until he arrives which we are hopeful to be sooner rather than later! This wait between trips is excruciating! Everything is ready and now we are just waiting for HIM!!! We continue to just try and stay as busy as possible as we wait for the phone to ring to tell us...."get going - your little boy is ready to come home!"

Merry Christmas our little angel!!!! Not too much longer and we will be reunited with you and this time we will never let you go again!!!

We love you!!!

Thanksgiving and Shower

2009-12-02T18:38:00.005-06:00

My mom and sisters had a fantastic shower for us this past weekend while we were up north for Thanksgiving. Along with the shower, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and visit with our families!!! It was also so great to see alot of friends that we had not seen for a while. We have so much to give thanks for this year including the wonderful family that we have along with our little angel who we cannot wait to bring home very soon!! We got so much fun stuff for "K" including wonderful books, lots of fun toys and I think he will be the best dressed kid on the block!! :) I sit in his room and dream of us rocking in the glidder reading books for hours on end. We are holding our breathe that we will be hearing very soon about a court date!!! The suitcases have started getting packed so we will be ready to head on the jet plane ASAP!

Stay warm our little angel....we will be there very very soon!!!! We love you!!

Trying to pass the time!

2009-11-05T20:05:00.004-06:00

Our Dossier 2 has made it to Vlad and is in the process of being translated. We are hopeful that things will move quickly and it will get submitted to court in record timing. What a great relief it was to get that all completed, notorized, apostilled and mailed off.

Meanwhile, we have been cheering on our Fightin' Philadelphia Phillies, unfortunately, last night was "D" day and they lost the World Series to the NY Yankees. 2 Years in a row certainly would have been fantastic.....we can just hope for a 2010 World Series.

Here's hoping for a quick court date.

Hang on our little angel boy....we are coming back for you very soon.

Sleep tight and sweet dreams. We love you more than you can even imagine.