Summer Time...Look At Me Now!

On June 21st 2011, I laid my eyes on this little angel.

I don't think I have ever seen anything more beautiful in my life. In his country, society would deem him as worthless-not worthy of a mommy and a daddy or a lifetime of love. Little did they know what they would be missing out on when we swept him away. 

This is how we found our son-

Laying in a hardwood playpen for hours a day. He was only taken out when they fed him or to change his diaper a couple times a day if he was lucky.


He had no trunk control and could barely hold up his head up for more than a minute. 

Going to Ukraine was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I saw sights I never care to see again in my life, but it was oh so worth it because one year later, look at Quinton now!

 If you make goofy faces while I'm trying to take a nice picture, your goofy face just might end up on my blog LOL.

What We're Up To These Days :)

So, life has been incredibly crazy, but we are loving it. I wouldn't trade being a mommy for anything-especially to a little boy as awesome as Quinton. Ok-so it's possible that I am a tad bit biased, but he really is an amazing kid.

I think Christmas was my last update and Quinton has changed so much! He has about 15 signs that he uses including mommy, night night, choo-choo, play, swing, and of course eat and more ;)

He is not quite walking or talking yet, but he is so close. He is babbling all the time, except of course for his speech therapist. He barely utters a peep for her.

His physical therapist, Sondra from One Step at a Time continues to do fantastic work with Quinton. We are talking about a little boy who could barely sit unassisted when he came home. Now he is climbing stairs, cruising and pulling up on anything and everything in sight. Nothing in his reach is safe anymore. He is taking steps just barely holding on to someone's fingers. It won't be long before he is walking. For now he prefers the booty scooty. He looks like a little gorilla when he moves, but man does he move fast!

Quinton turned 2 in February and he has been home almost 9 months now. It seems like he has been a part of our family forever, though.

Last week I was on spring break and dying to get away, but we were on a really tight budget, especially since the garage door broke. I was looking into something we could do for relatively cheap and we decided to take Quinton to Busch Gardens. We got in for free with our military ID's. It was our first family vacation together. It was only for 2 days, but it was so nice to get away.

Well, this was a post full of random updates, so I will leave you with some (very cute) random photos :)

These pictures are from Quinton's birthday party/baby dedication.

 My mom did an amazing job on the cake!

 This is our living room after we opened all of Quinton's birthday presents. What a blessed little boy :)

These pictures are from my friend Sarah's house. Quinton had a great time exploring and playing with the pig (Sarah has a real pet pig named Olive).

The last of these pictures are from our mini getaway to Williamsburg. Quinton loves cold air and sticks his tongue out whenever the wind is blowing.

 The little clydes were hands down Quinton's favorite part. 

 Somehow this one got out of place, but Quinton is loving riding the choo-choo with his daddy :)

 Not happy when the ride was over. This actually escalated into a full out cry. It was so cute!

 So, when he asked for more (see him signing more?) We couldn't refuse.

 I think he rode 4 times :)

Then he sadly waved bye bye to the little clydes and we headed home. 

Christmas Pictures and Other Updates

I'm pretty sure I was more excited for Quinton's first Christmas than he was. He didn't quite know what to make of it all, but it was so sweet just to have him home with us where he belongs. Here are some pictures from Christmas eve and Christmas day :)

My friend Andrea made this shirt for Quinton when my procrastination got me in trouble...again. It was super cute. I can't find the picture I took of Quinton wearing it, but he sported it all Christmas eve! Thanks Andrea!

 Quinton with his great grandpaw

 Quinton with his Daddy :)

 Jammin on his xylophone with his uncle Josh

 Look at that smile. We are so blessed!

 Riding on his Mickey Mouse train

 So cute, I could eat him...but them I would miss him ;)

 No more pictures, mommy!

 Ok fine. I'll smile, but then you have to leave me alone.

 All of the Reece's Rainbow kiddos have pictures of them sitting in front of the Christmas tree, holding their Angel Tree ornament from the previous year. Quinton didn't cooperate...oh well.

 Quinton and mommy :)

 My little QB :)

This one's not from Christmas, but it's so cute. I couldn't resist.

It has been a while since I have updated. Life is just crazy. Quinton is doing so many new things. He is curious and all over the place! I call his latest move the booty scooty LOL!

He is starting to pick up sign language~He can sign more, mommy, and milk. He waves hi and bye, and he can touch my nose. He has also taken a liking to books this week. He is so interested in them. He loves to turn the pages and point at the pictures and smile. Everything he does, he looks for a reaction. He just got a walker and on Tuesday he will get ankle braces. His physical therapist, Sondra (from one step at a time therapy) is worth her weight in gold and more! She has taught him to go from sitting to laying down, laying down to sitting, how to pull up, and now he is even manipulating the stairs AND taking steps with assistance! She says once we get his ankle braces (SMO's), he will be walking in no time! 

This is completely unrelated, but I need some help. I am entering Quinton into a beautiful babies contest. It is a fundraiser for some fellow Reece's Rainbow families. I am having trouble choosing a pictures. (BTW if you are interested you can check out this link. 2 winners will be chosen: a boy and a girl. Winners will receive a $150 Target gift card and 10 winners will be featured in a downloadable calendar. The entry fee is only $25 and it will help make 4 Eastern European cuties, orphans no more!). Anyways here are the pictures I am trying to decide between. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Picture #1

Picture #2

Picture #3

Picture #4 (I love this one, but I'm not sure about it because it is Christmas, but they have to have a December baby for the calendar, right?)

Picture #5 

Which one do you all like?

There is so much more to say, but I have a little one on the move...nap time is only so long. I will leave you with a link to the Salisbury Post. Quinton and another local RR sweetie were featured in a newspaper article on New Years day. There are some really sweet pictures including one of my sweet Ashlyn (She is one of my students who ultimately led us to find Quinton). Check it out!

Oh, by the way...Quinton's birthday is on February 4th! In just 20 days, I will have a 2 year old! Time flies! Love you guys!