Well this post sure got away from me. I put these photos up on the 2nd, and didn't get around to writing anything about them until now; the 22nd. Oops!

Here we go -

I had meant for this post to mark our one year anniversary of our meeting Tougy (01Nov07), with Halloween bringing our first year to a close, and "Family Day" celebrating the day we first spent time together as three, but while the photos of those two events made it, the commentary did not.


Halloween was lots of fun for Tougy. Boothbay Harbor had a children's parade through the downtown area in the afternoon that had several hundred participants this year.

Though initially a little overwhelmed by the mass of people in unfamiliar outfits, Tougy quickly accepted her role as a taker of candy from strangers.

Mom came straight from work to join us at the parade and so came as - what else - a veterinarian.


Tougy now routinely carries a bag around with her, but for Halloween we didn't yet have one of appropriate size and so she dragged this grocery bag around with her and insisted that she carry it by herself.


As I mentioned, Tougy was apprehensive at first about what was going on, but warmed to the idea of taking quite nicely. What she didn't realize at the time was that later that evening mom and dad would divide everything she had worked so hard for, and eat it all in one sitting.


We began the parade in the middle of the pack with other children from Tougy's school, but quickly fell behind. Our little girl is so social and insists on trying to say "Hi' to everyone she sees.

As a general rule, it seems most adults typically ignore her or simply don't realize she is addressing them, but at this event when all the focus is upon the children, she found that nearly everybody had something to say back to her and she loved it. We were not just the last child in the parade by the end, we were several minutes behind.


Here's what you must deal with if you try and hurry along a little girl who is perfectly happy at her own pace.


No this isn't a Halloween thing, these twins own a clothing boutique together and often dress alike.


Back home, Tougy finally gets to behold the true riches of her afternoon's toils.


Her share of the booty - one square of a hershey's mini chocolate bar. Her reprehensible parents absconded with the rest.


It might have been just one square of chocolate, but she made the most of it.


Our happy little cow.


And just like that, she gave the international signal for bedtime.


The process of International Adoption is a long, often frustrating, and, even in the best of cases, difficult journey punctuated by milestones, setbacks, and triumphs. Deciding which of those punctuation marks to remember and celebrate and which to overlook can be a challenging matter.

Unlike a birthday which is a decidedly matter of fact moment (and one we will certainly celebrate), the moment at which time we became a family is far more nebulous.

We began to visit her regularly on 01 Nov 07. Went to court and successfully petitioned to adopt her on 26 Nov 07. We were given sole custody of her on 11 Dec 07 - the day she left the Baby House for good. And we arrived home in the US as a family of three on Christmas Day.

Within the IA world there are a number of common celebration themes such as Adoption Day, Family Day, Gotcha Day, each applied with a mix of personal interpretation and practicality.

What we sought was a unique day that would be all hers and marked our coming together as a family, and our decision was influenced by both other events on the calendar and our feelings about which milestone was most emblematic of the transformation within our lives.

For Tougy we have decided that the day in which we first felt like a family was the day we met - 01 Nov 07 - and so we celebrated Family Day on this day.

On this, our first Family Day, we took Tougy to the Portland Children's Museum and she had a ball. We had also wanted to go out for lunch afterwards, though upon leaving the museum, knew it wasn't the right time for that.

At the museum they had someone to do 'face' painting, though she was a pre-schooler compared to the pro they had at Kazapalooza. All the same, Tougy came away with colorful balloons on the back of her hand and was quite pleased.


Within minutes, Tougy had created her own work of art through that time honored art process known as rubbing your face. You go Tougy. We love you.


It was our first visit to the (a) Children's Museum with Tougy, and we found it to be pretty entertaining and interesting. KJ had particular fun at the room set up as a vet's office, and showed Tougy different animal x-rays.


Of course nothing represents Maine quite like the cash register. We just love the way those kind folks from Boston and New York buy things.


There was a volcano shaped tube that blew air out the top and would keep beach balls aloft that captivated Tougy's curiosity. Before long, she had to go investigate. That's my girl. Keep asking Why?!


Getting closer to the answer.


"It's fun, but I still don't understand"


Tougy loves the process of moving things from place to place, and then back again. The repetitive action keeps her going for long periods of time.

Here in the store she would go to the shelves and put all sorts of things in her bag, then she would reverse the process and put everything back , then start all over again. She does this sort of thing at home as well, moving all of her wood blocks from the table to the basket and then back to the table for instance.

It is so amazing to watch the expressions on her face mimicking the the thought processes in her mind as she replicates various action/response types of activities.




Where else in the world do you find kids playing 'lobsterman'. Tougy has several books that feature lobster related things, and has among her ever expanding vocabulary words like boat, buoy, trap, crab, sea star, fish, and lobster. Simply amazing to think how much geography influences learning and development.


Of course not all of Maine is on the coast and so we have equal time for the farm. Here Tougy moves the conveyor that brings hay bales to the cows.


And lastly we have a shot of a happy girl and her loving mom on their way to the swings in the woods behind the house.

Take Care.