Petaluma

I stitched together hundreds of photos to make this little video of our recent trip to California. (Rich wants you to know that he's not picking his nose at the beginning of this video. He's picking his teeth. That's a little bit better, right?)

Oh, and it was mostly just me and Rich since Alfredo spent most of the time visiting family.


Our visit to Petaluma...mostly by meal from Amy Powers on Vimeo.

dinosaurs!

We've been on the waiting list for the display case at the public library for a whole year and finally, on his birthday, the day arrived. Alfredo decided to display his extensive dinosaur collection. Didn't he do a great job?

Today I'm packing for our trip. Hoping to post from California. Stay tuned!

Happy Birthday, Alfredo!

 

Happy birthday, my sweet boy! I love you so much.

 

Alfredo's birthday always reminds me of when we first met him a week before his first birthday and how he instantly charmed us. The very first time his big beautiful eyes met ours, we became a family.

 

I remember that first week...how I'd make a little nest for him of pillows and blankets and we'd spend those days reading books, playing games and watching shows. If I left his side, even just to go to the bathroom, he cried and cried. I remember him looking at me square in the eyes, holding my face with his dear little chubby hands. We fell in love instantly.

 

Rich and he, from the very first night, found that they shared a crazy sense of humor. They played this funny game where Alfredo would play with this toy...closing all the little doors that flipped up...and Rich would open them back up. Alfredo would shake his head "no" like crazy and then laugh and laugh. They did it over and over. That's how they fell in love that first night.

 



 

This picture was taken on his first birthday, just about a week after his arrival. This picture breaks my heart. I imagine what this little baby had witnessed, what he'd already been through in his short life. And there's a sadness in his eyes that just gets me. That look haunts me.

 

But here we are, 5 years later...a family. That sadness and those unhappy things are washed away by all the love we have together.

 

Happy, happy birthday, Alfredo!