So this is Christmas

The rain is here and winter is finally upon us. Kate and I have been kept very busy with Mackenzie and Jack. Together they are quite a challenge to keep up with and the holidays have only made the task more challenging. As Jack is a bit difficult to control, we have made our decorations a bit more robust this year. We have a smaller (4 foot) tree that I had to secure to a small table to keep our son from pulling it over on to himself. So far he has been pretty good about leaving it alone, but we are keeping all the breakable decorations in a safe location just to be on the safe side.

Mackenzie is doing wonderfully and is going above and beyond with Jack. Just in case Santa reads my blog, she really should be at the top of the "Nice List". If not for Mac, keeping Jack entertained would be so much more difficult than it already is. She is also a great pair of extra eyes to help keep tabs on our little speed demon. Mackenzie has been keeping busy with school, tumbling and play dates with her friends. She recently did a project on Scotland for her class and everyone enjoyed some Bag Pipe music she brought. She is part Scottish in case you did not know.

What can I say about Jack other than wow! It seems that the walking phase is over and the running phase has kicked in. We did not get a lot of time to enjoy the whole walking thing and now here he is sprinting down the hallways and supermarket aisles at full speed. We turn our backs for a moment and our child is off like a shot. Jack just had his checkup and is growing very nicely. We have him to the point where I believe he has caught up to where he should be at his age. Jack continues to have a pleasant demeanor and we are stopped most everyday by someone commenting on how cute he is. Kate and I are not exactly sure what it is about Jack, but he draws people in like flies, they just can't get enough of him.

Last month we paid a visit to Kona to spend some time with family. Turns out that Jack found the tropics much to his liking. He had a blast at the beach and in the water although I believe that some sand is still working it's way through his digestive tract. Yummy! All of us were sad to leave and come home but it is always nice to come back and sleep in your own bed.

So that is about it, life is good for us and we are looking forward to the new year. Be sure to check out the photo page for some recent additions and be sure to send us a note so we know how your doing.

Scott

Update for September

My how time flies, it is already September and the leaves are beginning to turn. Of course in California September means heat waves! We have been enjoying (not!) high 90 degree temps with a few triple digits here and there just to keep everyone happy. This week it finally cooled down a bit and we are seeing some coastal overcast. My how I miss the rainy season about now. Bring on the winter!

The Slagle's are all well feed and doing very well. We are getting ready for a short trip to my sisters in Oregon for a few days, but it has been pretty quite for us this summer. We have spent some time at my parents house but mostly kept close to home.

On to the subject you all want to read about. Senor Jack is adapting quite well here in the Slagle house. In fact I would go as far to say he is attempting to take it over. There are no safe areas anymore and his presence is felt throughout our home. No cabinet left unexplored, no cord left un-pulled, and no cat left unmolested. Actually Jack is very good with the cat, but also very obsessed with her as well. Poor Athena, she deserves a nice quite life. Too bad. Jack is now walking for short distances and speaking simple words. He is also able to point to things like the cat when asked to.

Jack has been introduced to the word "NO" with increasing regularity. Seems that he does understand what it means, but seems to not always care to hear it. Being a budding explorer, we must see, try or taste everything. Did you know that bugs are edible? Jack does. Any idea what lies in wait at the very back of our kitchen cabinets? Jack does. How about what sand taste like? Jack does. Ever wonder what the bottom of a toilet bowl feels like? Jack is trying real hard to get that answer for you and more information will be available in the future I am sure. Stay tuned!

School has started and Jack is now spending a bit more time without his big sister. Mackenzie is now a first grader and is having a great time. She has a few of her friends from her kindergarten class with her and the others are only a recess away. Mac and Jack are continuing to bond and they are very close. We are very happy with the way they play and act with each other. Mackenzie has actually been a huge help to us by keeping Jack busy while we do other things. In certain ways, it is easier with two children than with one. Mac is a fantastic big sister and we could not ask for more from her.

Well, all for now. Keep writing and let us know your still there.

Scott, Kate, Mac and Jack

Happy Birthday Jack!

It's Jacks first birthday. He is the big zero one today so Happy Birthday buddy!

While today's birthday party is going to be a low key affair, we will have a bit more of a celebration next week at Mom and Dad's place in Mckinleyville. We hope to see a lot of you folks there.

Jack is doing very well and is learning new things everyday. He is working on standing on his own right now and enjoys it so much we can hardly keep him on the floor. Every time we look around he has pulled himself up on his feet and is cruising around. We did have to spend a little time teaching him how to get down once he got up on his feet, but he seems to have it figured out pretty well now. While he has been up on his feet for a few months, he seems to be getting closer to actually walking on his own. You can almost see the gears tuning in his head as he starts to figure out this whole walking thing.

Jack seems to be on the verge of forming some words. He is making "M" sounds which sound a whole lot like "mama". Perhaps you have to use just a wee bit of imagination, but you can hear it if you listen closely enough. We have also started him on baby sign language. It is something we are all learning together, but it is fun and increases the amount of interaction between us.

I continue to be amazed at how well Jack has integrated in to our family. I honestly feel like he has always been with us and that he is every bit our son.
I don't know what I expected, but it has surprised me just a bit to see how quickly the whole thing happened. It seems as though our trips to Kyrgyzstan were so long ago, yet it has only been several months. Funny how the time flies in one sense while going so slowly in another.

Mackenzie's last day of school is tomorrow and she will officially become a first grader once she walks out of her classroom. We are very proud of her. We continue to be amazed at how well she and Jack get along. Mackenzie takes very good care of her little brother and he is very fond of her. It would be a lot more work for Kate and I if she was not around to help keep him occupied. Mackenzie is also becoming a very good little reader. Each night we spend time going over her reading books and she is doing very well. The really great thing is that she actually enjoys it. Math and reading skills will continue to develop over the summer as we plan to do some work each day.

Kate and I are doing great as well. We are staying very busy with the recent increase in our family size but we are happy and feeling great. We continue to look forward to hearing from our friends and family, so please drop us a line when you have a minute or two. We would love to hear from you.

I have placed a couple more photos up on the public site so go and take a look. the link is at the top of the page. I also have a link to John and Debbie's site up there as well. I know a lot of you are following their story as well.

Bye for now,
Scott

Home, the continuation...

It has now been almost 6 weeks since Jack and I arrived from Bishkek and it is time for an update.

The line is probably getting a bit old, but Jack is doing great and continues to thrive. In the weeks since our homecoming, Jack has become tightly integrated within our family and it is almost like he has always been with us. It really is amazing how fast this process has happened and I am especially impressed with Mackenzie's acceptance of Jack. She treats her brother very well, yet she is like any big sister and occasionally tires of her 11 month old sibling. He does tend to command a lot of our attention.

If there is one negative issue that we could point to, it would be the DROOL! I had no idea a small child could expel so much liquid in such a short period of time. I can't believe that he is still able to pee in his diaper after pumping out so much fluid from his mouth. Our floors are covered, his toys are covered, our clothes are covered, even the cat has drool on her. It is incredible! I need to order absorbent material from the same place that helped clean up the Exxon Valdez spill just to keep up. I look forward to someday in the distant future when we look back on this stage as "cute". But for time being, drool is not high on our personal cute meter.

We are all getting excited about the big party at my parents house next month. It is going to be great to get everyone together and just hang out for a bit. Hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Scott

New date for Slagle Party

Hi all,

We have changed the date of the party to the 23rd of June so we could have more folks free to attend. Seems a lot of kids are graduating that weekend and we want as many of you to attend the party as possible, so it is one week later than the original date. Same rules apply, just let someone know your coming so we have a some idea of how many we are going to have to feed.

If your a big eater you might want to count yourself twice!

Seriously though, we would like nothing better than to hang out with all of you and this is a great chance to put everyone together in one place. You can't beat the price and I hear the food is pretty good too. Dad might even break out the good $4 bottles of Trader Joe's wine if were lucky, although there will probably be some 2 buck chuck available for those of you with less refined taste...

All for now, so come on out and meet Jack and have some fun. We look forward to hearing from you.

Scott

Week one at home

We have completed our first week at home with Jack and I must say that it is going better that I could have hoped. While there are issues and nothing is ever easy with a 9 month old, we are all adjusting very well thank you.

One of the great things that I have noticed is the almost seamless integration that Jack has made in to our family. I no longer think of him as our "adopted" son, but rather simply our child. It is amazing how quickly it has all happened. Jack is happy and seems to be taking to our "California" lifestyle very quickly and I am sure his first couple of words will include "Dude" in them somewhere.

Mackenzie has really taken a interest in Jack and has become very attached to him. She has always been a very caring child but it is amazing to see her interact with Jack. She is a very special little girl and her mother and I are very proud of her. Jack seems to also have a special interest in Mackenzie and watches her constantly.

We are all wondering how the other families are doing and are waiting on word on their progress. I did receive an email from Carolyn and Daniel which stated that they are doing well and are happy to be with their family in North Carolina at last. John and Debbie are most likely very busy with integrating their new family. Kate and I eagerly await word from them.

Finally, for the readers of this blog. You are all invited to a party at the Slagle family compound in Mckinleyville Ca. on the weekend of June 16th to celebrate and meet Jack. There are no invitations, just let us know your coming so we can make sure there is enough food for everyone. There is plenty of room for camping so bring your tent or RV. There is also a nice hotel less than a mile from the house as well so you may stay in comfort if you wish. You can email me with any questions or to let us know you wish to attend.

There is no place like home

Just when you thought the Wizard of Oz theme had played itself out, I go and bring it back. Jack and I are home and very grateful to be out of the airplane. Jack was a very good little traveler and I had very few problems with him. In fact the stewardess on the last leg of our journey told me she has never had such a good little baby fly with her.

We finished our interview at the US embassy on Wednesday without any difficulties and returned to Bishkek that same night. We arrived at the Golden Dragon hotel around 9:30 that night and had a quick dinner before going to bed. We all woke up at 3am, packed our bags for the last time and loaded the cars for the airport. Sergei met us in the lobby of the hotel and escorted us through customs and immigration. After some minor hiccups, we boarded our flight for the first leg to Moscow.

The Moscow airport is much less dreary when sitting in the first class lounge. We were able to clean ourselves up a bit and have some food before boarding the longest flight of our journey to Atlanta. The flight itself was about eleven and a half hours and we flew directly over Germany, and Ireland before hitting Canada and entering the United States over Cleveland.

Atlanta is where we all said goodbye to each other and went our separate ways. John, Debbie and I all had a very short period of time before our flights departed and had to rush to catch our planes. Carolyn had a bit more time than the rest of us and we wished her well as we scrambled to our respective gates. I caught my plane with more than a few minutes to spare, and we had a nice flight to San Francisco where my family was waiting for us.

As Jack and I entered the baggage claim area, we saw Kate, Mac and my parents waiting for us. I was very tired and it was a bit overwhelming for me but I made it. Jack smiled as he saw his mother and appeared to recognize her. Jack put on quite a show and it was all very cute. We drove home and Jack and Mackenzie played until midnight before we all went to bed.

Friday was a rest day for Jack and I and we stayed close to home so we could recuperate a bit. Mackenzie and Jack are already very tight and Mac is bummed out when Jack has to go down for a nap. We plan on reminding her about this fact in a couple of months when he won't leave her alone. Jack is still adjusting to the new time zone and he is waking up at night expecting to see some daylight. Hopefully he will sleep through the night as he did in Bishkek sometime in the near future.

Thats it. The process has completed and we start a new chapter in the book from this point on. Jack is a now a US citizen and we are his registered parents. We have a bit more paperwork to complete, but we are finished at last. And just to head off any funny comments from some wisenheimer ***WE ARE NOT DOING THIS AGAIN, SO DON'T ASK!*** We are a very happy little family of four and plan to keep it that way forever. Yes, we are glad we did it, but it was a lot of work and we really only wanted a little brother for Mackenzie. We are very content with what we have and plan to enjoy it all to the fullest.

Thanks for keeping up with the story and I may continue to update this web page with Jacks progress over the next few months. I just won't be doing it on a daily basis from now on. Take care and keep in touch, we look forward to introducing Jack to everyone and spending some time with our family and friends. My parents are planning a large party at their place in June sometime and it will be a great chance to hang out and show Jack off to everyone. There are no invitations, just let them know your coming so they have plenty of food and then show up on the appointed day(s). You can email me if you have any questions. Hope to see you all there.

Scott