So much to fill you in on - don't really know where to begin. Things have been busy around the Hammond household. Our little man is growing by leaps and bounds. It seems every week there is something new. Where to start? Activities - Serik and I are in a ECFE class (Early Childhood and Family Education) on Tuesday mornings - it's basically a 'mommy and me' class. We enjoy it - Serik gets to play with other kids and we sing songs and talk about mommy stuff. We've also signed up for a music class that will begin the week after Easter. Serik loves music and is always bopping up and down to tunes. For the song 'Happy and you know it' instead of clapping at the part where it says 'clap your hands (obviously)' he says 'ba ba' - very cute.
His vocab is increasing and we get a lot of: ba ba, da da, ga ga and now some th sounds. He lets us know what he wants by - 'ah' ing with an outstretched arm (like to go to the window or for more food). If he wants to know where we disappeared to - usually just out of his line of sight (we're good parents really) he starts crawling rapidly to us and saying 'ah' like a high pitched siren.
He has, as of yesterday, actually taken a few steps. He lunged for daddy and took three steps before falling into his daddy's arms. We're sure the running around the house is soon to come as he's already cruising up the stairs...

Serik also got to meet his Aunt Sara and cousin Ellie this month. They came to visit from Colorado. His Aunt Sara and Aunt Missy had an open house for Serik and he got to meet more of the extended family on the Hammond side. We also made a trip to the Children's Museum to catch up with the families from our fertility group. It's amazing to see all the moms and dads with their kids - who everyone worked very hard for. It is a great thing to see it all come full circle.
We also applied for a social security card - tax time you know - and will soon be doing the readoption in MN so that Serik can have a US birth certificate (makes it easier for school) and a middle name.
No - our child does not have a middle name yet. At the moment it is just Serik Hammond since mommy has a little decisiveness problem. Possibilities include Bekbolat or Cooper. We'll see - but it has to be done soon as it is part of the paperwork for his adoption post placement reports.

In two weeks our little man will be one year old - can't believe how time has flown. We'll be taking our first trips with him (excluding the trip home obviously) in April. First to visit Grandma and Grandpa Wachs and Aunt Caryn, Uncle Mike and Aunt Maggie for Easter. Then it's off to South Beach- Miami for a long weekend with mom and dad to soak up the sun and try out the ocean and pool for the first time. We should have some great pictures of that.

A couple of things we love: the unbeatable feeling of our little man's arms around our necks holding tight, the huge grin and laugh he gives us when he sees us after we've been gone for a while (like when daddy gets home from work), how when he hears the water running in the tub he sprints in there laughing all the way and immediately starts trying to climb in, how every day he discovers new things...