We had our official "Welcome Home Jeremy" open house today. Attended by family and close friends and colleagues, the party was a success. Jeremy loved the undivided attention, playing with other kids and opening gifts. Even Corbin received a few gifts. The highlight of the event was Jeremy filling is mouth and face with Bob the Builder cake. Again, he loved he attention. It was a wonderful day and we would like to thank all those that attended and those that sent us their regrets and best wishes.
Unfortunately, it seems the open house took it's toll on Jeremy the next day. He was under the weather. He "attached" himself to Tina and eventually fell asleep on her. After some rest, Jeremy seemed to get back some energy as he ran around the house playing with new toys and bugging older brother Corbin. But by late afternoon, he was not feeling well, so it was an early bed time. Too much partying.
Sunday, 18 September 2005
Monday, 15 August 2005
Jeremy Vincent Szymczak
Jeremy is now with us permanently (as of August 11) and he has done a wonderful job of settling in. He has no problem saying no or ignoring our demands. He poops 4 times a day. He sleeps for 11 and a half hours. He wants to be fed immediately upon waking up. In fact, he seems to eat all the time. This kid is literally eating us out of our house.
He chases Corbin around the house and loves to jump on Corbin, but if Corbin gets within a foot of him, Jeremy will whine and cry, trying to get Corbin in trouble. Fortunately, we are aware of this game and usually ignore Jeremy in those situations.
He loves to do things that he is not supposed to do, like moving all the books off the shelves, moving his potty into the bedroom so he can reach things he is not allowed to have or to roll out all the toilet paper when the bathroom door is left open.
He chases Corbin around the house and loves to jump on Corbin, but if Corbin gets within a foot of him, Jeremy will whine and cry, trying to get Corbin in trouble. Fortunately, we are aware of this game and usually ignore Jeremy in those situations.
He loves to do things that he is not supposed to do, like moving all the books off the shelves, moving his potty into the bedroom so he can reach things he is not allowed to have or to roll out all the toilet paper when the bathroom door is left open.
Saturday, 30 July 2005
Adoption Visits
We have finished over a weeks worth of visits with Jeremy and things are going smoothly. Both Tina and Adam have spent some quality alone time with Jeremy, and for the most part he loves their company. He loves the sights and sounds of Windsor - save for buses - saying "woah" whenever we drive on the expressway. Tomorrow and Monday we get him for a full day. Friday will be his first sleepover. That is when things get interesting. Have we said that this kid is cute? No? Well, this kid is cute.
Sunday, 24 July 2005
Saturday, 23 July 2005
Adoption Visits - Jeremy
After a year and a half wait, we have finally begun visits with our second child, Jeremy. He is a 18 month old boy, who has light brown hair and weighs about 26 pounds. We just finished our third visit this morning. This kid is one bundle of non-stop energy.
Corbin met him for the first time yesterday. They chased each other around. We still have about 3 more visits before we sit down with our worker, the foster family, and the Jeremy's worker to discuss the next stage (visits to our house and sleepovers).
Jeremy could be in our house by the second week of August. Stay tuned.
Corbin met him for the first time yesterday. They chased each other around. We still have about 3 more visits before we sit down with our worker, the foster family, and the Jeremy's worker to discuss the next stage (visits to our house and sleepovers).
Jeremy could be in our house by the second week of August. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, 12 July 2005
East Coast Vacation - A Summary
After a few days of recovery from a long trek, the vacation can be summarized in one word: Awesome. Yes, the vacation was awesome. Corbin was well-behaved and a had great time swimming at each hotel (to him a vacation is all about hotels and swimming pools).
The weather co-operated for the most part. It rained a few days, mostly a drizzle, but those were travel days so no big loss. We did not do all the tourist-type things that others may do, but we enjoyed the trip. The New England area of the US and the East Coast of Canada are beautiful areas. We will be back again.
Our Recommendations:
- Super 8 Hotel, Truro, Nova Scotia is a newer hotel with a waterslide. Your kids will love you. A great place to stay over on your way to or from Cape Breton, Halifax, Digby or Yarmouth.
- Irving Nature Park, Saint John, New Brunswick is an awesome nature park with trails, beaches, lookouts and more. A mere 7 minute drive from downtown. And it is free.
- Comfort Inn, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Indoor pool. Arcade room. Laundry. Right off the interstate. Centrally located. This hotel looks beautiful on the outside. A great place to stop when traveling from Southern Ontario to the east coast of the US and Canada.
- The Return of the Toymaker, Digby, Nova Scotia. A toy store filled with hand made wooden toys and more. Your child can build a small boat from wood.
- New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick. An excellent museum that is not too big with lots of hands on activities including a huge craft and play room. Open late Thursday nights. Admission is reasonable. After visiting the museum, have a bite to eat at a local eatery and wander the downtown and waterfront area. Watch the tide come and go.
- Avonlea Village of Anne of Green Gables, Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. Yes, it is a tourist-type thing, but it is cool to interact with the characters in various buildings and on the street. The shindig at the Fishing Shanty was a highlight. You can follow the schedule or go along at a leisurely pace and enjoy the atmosphere.
Sunday, 10 July 2005
East Coast Vacation - Days 9 and 10
Saint John, NS to Windsor, ON
Big push home. Two very long days of driving - about 800 to 900 km each day. Driving through the US with a stop in Albany, NY.
Day 9 - Saturday - consisted of driving through Nova Scotia, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York to eventually arrive at the Holiday Inn Express in East Greenbush (Albany), NY. The forecast called for rain. We left Saint John around 9:00 am and arrived in St. Stephen, NB about an hour later. We stopped by the Ganong chocolate store and bought some more goodies. US Customs was next.
As mentioned previously, both Canada and US Customs are located at either end of the bridge that connects the communities of Calais (pronounced Kaliss), ME and St. Stephen, NB. In fact, the booths on the Canadian side are located on the deck of bridge. Talk about a space crunch. Trucks entering the US have to make a sharp 90 degree turn to the right to get to their booths. I have read that sometimes, trucks are asked to pull straight ahead and the inspection takes places on the main road. Crazy. After the usual questions, we were permitted to enter the USA. Loaded up on some cheaper US gas (about 25 cents per litre cheaper) and continued on our long journey home.
It started to rain in Maine, which seemed to take forever to drive through. In New Hampshire, where it stopped raining, we came across the biggest scam in the US: the Blue Star Turnpike. I don't have a problem with toll roads per se, but the toll road (I-95) in New Hampshire is about 15 miles long, has three exits and costs a $1.00 (both ways if you are doing a round trip).
They have signs 3 miles ahead of the toll plaza warning you about the toll plaza - this is where the wait begins to pay the toll. It took about 30 minutes to get to the toll booth (there must have 10 or so toll booths in each direction). There are no rest areas on the turnpike, but if you have a need for some booze, there are state-operated liquor stores. The only reason this toll exists is to exact a tax from Bostonians and New Yorkers (and other travellers) who are heading up to Maine and the East Coast of Canada for some fresh air and clean water.
As a comparison, we paid $1.50 to drive 89 miles of the Massachusetts Turnpike aka Mass Pike (and they have real rest stops on the Mass Pike). I can imagine the backup during holiday weekends. We took I-495 to I-290 to I-90 (Mass Pike). This took us through Worcester, MA. Traffic was moving well. Around 6:30 pm we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express East Greenbush (Albany-Skyline). After driving for 10 hours and almost 900 km, Adam was tired.
Day 10 - Sunday aka the Last Day of Vacation - started out well. It was sunny and warm - no drizzle to worry about. The Express Start Breakfast Bar was the best on this trip. Besides the warm cinnamon buns, bagels, toast, juices, coffee, boiled eggs, they also had real bacon and scrambled eggs. A very good breakfast. We managed to get out of the hotel around 9 am (since Adam is a Priority Club member, no checkout is required - just leave the keys in the room or counter and off you go). We stopped by a nearby Wal-Mart so Tina could buy a book to read on the long trip home.
It was an uneventful four hour drive to Buffalo, NY and the Peace Bridge (which needs a major upgrade) into Canada. Canadian Customs was packed but moving at a good clip - about 10 minutes in total. Another 5 minutes to pay the bridge toll and away we went on the QEW.
Typical Sunday and summer traffic on the QEW, 403 and 401. Stopped at the Woodstock rest area to fuel up (only 88 cents a litre) and let Tina drive us home - Adam was burnt out from driving some 1500 km in two days. It was a usual drive down the 401 to Windsor.
The flat land after London seemed all that much flatter after driving through the Appalachian mountains and various valleys, coves and bays. We arrived in Windsor around 6:00 pm, to the same weather that we left 10 days ago - hot and humid. The weather seemed unbearable - we got used to the moderate climate out east. Unpacked the van. Vacation over.
Big push home. Two very long days of driving - about 800 to 900 km each day. Driving through the US with a stop in Albany, NY.
Day 9 - Saturday - consisted of driving through Nova Scotia, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York to eventually arrive at the Holiday Inn Express in East Greenbush (Albany), NY. The forecast called for rain. We left Saint John around 9:00 am and arrived in St. Stephen, NB about an hour later. We stopped by the Ganong chocolate store and bought some more goodies. US Customs was next.
As mentioned previously, both Canada and US Customs are located at either end of the bridge that connects the communities of Calais (pronounced Kaliss), ME and St. Stephen, NB. In fact, the booths on the Canadian side are located on the deck of bridge. Talk about a space crunch. Trucks entering the US have to make a sharp 90 degree turn to the right to get to their booths. I have read that sometimes, trucks are asked to pull straight ahead and the inspection takes places on the main road. Crazy. After the usual questions, we were permitted to enter the USA. Loaded up on some cheaper US gas (about 25 cents per litre cheaper) and continued on our long journey home.
It started to rain in Maine, which seemed to take forever to drive through. In New Hampshire, where it stopped raining, we came across the biggest scam in the US: the Blue Star Turnpike. I don't have a problem with toll roads per se, but the toll road (I-95) in New Hampshire is about 15 miles long, has three exits and costs a $1.00 (both ways if you are doing a round trip).
They have signs 3 miles ahead of the toll plaza warning you about the toll plaza - this is where the wait begins to pay the toll. It took about 30 minutes to get to the toll booth (there must have 10 or so toll booths in each direction). There are no rest areas on the turnpike, but if you have a need for some booze, there are state-operated liquor stores. The only reason this toll exists is to exact a tax from Bostonians and New Yorkers (and other travellers) who are heading up to Maine and the East Coast of Canada for some fresh air and clean water.
As a comparison, we paid $1.50 to drive 89 miles of the Massachusetts Turnpike aka Mass Pike (and they have real rest stops on the Mass Pike). I can imagine the backup during holiday weekends. We took I-495 to I-290 to I-90 (Mass Pike). This took us through Worcester, MA. Traffic was moving well. Around 6:30 pm we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express East Greenbush (Albany-Skyline). After driving for 10 hours and almost 900 km, Adam was tired.
Day 10 - Sunday aka the Last Day of Vacation - started out well. It was sunny and warm - no drizzle to worry about. The Express Start Breakfast Bar was the best on this trip. Besides the warm cinnamon buns, bagels, toast, juices, coffee, boiled eggs, they also had real bacon and scrambled eggs. A very good breakfast. We managed to get out of the hotel around 9 am (since Adam is a Priority Club member, no checkout is required - just leave the keys in the room or counter and off you go). We stopped by a nearby Wal-Mart so Tina could buy a book to read on the long trip home.
It was an uneventful four hour drive to Buffalo, NY and the Peace Bridge (which needs a major upgrade) into Canada. Canadian Customs was packed but moving at a good clip - about 10 minutes in total. Another 5 minutes to pay the bridge toll and away we went on the QEW.
Typical Sunday and summer traffic on the QEW, 403 and 401. Stopped at the Woodstock rest area to fuel up (only 88 cents a litre) and let Tina drive us home - Adam was burnt out from driving some 1500 km in two days. It was a usual drive down the 401 to Windsor.
The flat land after London seemed all that much flatter after driving through the Appalachian mountains and various valleys, coves and bays. We arrived in Windsor around 6:00 pm, to the same weather that we left 10 days ago - hot and humid. The weather seemed unbearable - we got used to the moderate climate out east. Unpacked the van. Vacation over.
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