The Walker Blog

8 Months: January 11th, 2011

9 Months: February 11th, 2011

10 Months: March 11th, 2011

Oh my!!! It's been three months already since we last posted!! YIKES! Maybe we can get Cathy to start posting something every weekend so that we can stay up-to-date with things and not get so far behind!

As you can see, little Gus has been growing like a weed! He's now ten-months-old, and believe it or not, he's walking. He's been walking for about a week now... and each day get just gets more and more stable and comfortable. He's not able to stand up on his own, but he's quick to get up if he has something to grab. He's amazing.

Some of the highlights from the last few months include Gus starting to stand on his own (January 9th). He also has gotten really good with his eating and pretty much skipped over the pureed foods and went straight to table foods. He doesn't have any teeth, but he can gum it like the best of 'em!!

One of Cathy's favorite pictures of Steve and Gus (1-13-11)

We enjoyed watching the Green Bay Packers win the Superbowl and of course, we had to dress Gus up to watch the game.

The only thing that could have made it better was if the Bengals were playing!

February was a really busy month for us. Not only did Cathy take Gus out for a lot of fun playdates, but we also headed north to see Cathy's side of our family. While we were there, we were able to arrange to meet Gus's birth family too! It was a great trip and we'll be heading back north in May/June... as soon as Cathy's SIL Christie has her baby girl!! She's due May 18th and we're hoping to head up around Memorial Day so that we can take advantage of the extra day!

In February (on the 2nd), Cathy took Gus to the park for the very first time. He loved it! He wasn't too sure about the swings at first, but eventually got comfortable and had a great time!

We headed up to Michigan and here are some of the great pictures of meeting his birth family:

Gus's birth father's family

Gus's Birth Great Aunt and her family

Gus's Birth Mom's family

While in Michigan it snowed and Gus got to experience REAL snow. He liked it and enjoyed his first taste of snow!

We got back to Michigan and Steve's dad and Sue Ann came for a nice visit. They bought him his first wagon and had a blast taking him on wagon rides around the neighborhood!

On February 28th, Cathy took Gus to the park again to enjoy the 75 degree weather that we were having. Gus really had fun and while they were out, he started to show signs that he was ready to start taking his first steps!

This brings us to March. So far this month, Gus took his first steps (March 14th) and then really started to walk on the 16th. Cathy was able to capture the walking on video, and Steve got the first steps on video too!!

On the 17th Cathy took Gus to the zoo with our neighbor and her best friend Wendy. They spend just about every day together and the kids all love to play together. We're very blessed to have such great friends in our lives. Here are some pictures from Gus's first trip to the zoo!

As you can tell, it was St. Patty's Day and Cathy dressed Gus in the cutest little outfit! Here are some other favorite pictures from this month:

We'll make sure to post again soon!!! Be sure to check Gus's blog each Tuesday for updates and always check the You Tube channel for new videos!!!
:)
The Walkers

The pictures were back in time for us to send some out to Gus's birth family, and then our own family and friends.

Christmas at the Walker house was incredible this year. Not only did Santa spoil all of us, but our lives were enriched by the joy that Gus has brought to our family. The first Christmas as a family was more than we had ever dreamed it would be, and it was so very special. We went to Christmas Eve Mass with our neighbors Wendy and Ryan and their family, and then came home and prepared for the big day! Here are some pictures from our special day!









After such a great Christmas, we were blessed with snow on the 26th! We had some snow back on December 4th, but it was a light dusting compared to the snow that we got on the 26th. We took Gus outside for some fun in the snow (he did NOT enjoy himself) and then we came inside to get warm!!

We had Cathy's parents for a week and then Steve's dad and Sue Ann were here for the actual holiday. While they were all here we did a lot of fun things and took a lot of great pictures. One fun thing that we did was take Gus to meet the Santa elf at the mall. He was so cute when meeting the elf and was all smiles. We're sure that this time next year will be a different story, but for his first picture, it was priceless. Here's the picture:


One day while they were here, Cathy brough Gus and her parents to The Hill Building at ATC to meet Steve for lunch and see the building. Cathy dressed Gus in a really cute tie onesie and matching orange shoes. Here are some pictures from that:





Cathy's parents left and then a few days later, Steve's dad and Sue Ann came down for their visit. They brought Gus some fun Purdue gear and we took some pictures of the three of them all decked out in black and yellow!

We had our first post-placement visit and it went well. We have one more in January and then the paperwork for finalization can be submitted to the court in Michigan. We don't know how long it'll take for the finalization to be granted, but we're hoping that it'll all be finalized before Gus turns one.

We are gearing up for our first Christmas as a family. The gifts have all been bought and it's sure to be a very special Christmas for everyone! This will be the first time in several years that Cathy's parents won't be coming down to spend the days after Christmas/New Years with us. Cathy is sad about it, but understands. It's hard to be away from family, but it's especially difficult during the holidays. Thankfully we have Gus to focus on, and we'll make sure that his first Christmas is a very special one.

We don't know what 2011 will bring for us, but we are so very thankful for all that 2010 has given us. We started the year with a recent submission of our formal application for adoption. We were waiting patiently (or, not so patiently if we're being honest) to begin our home studies and were so nervous about them. January and February were the months that they took place, and then March was when they were submitted. We were anxious to go and meet with Doris and finally get on the Waiting Families list! Little did we know that just 33 days from the day we did meet with Doris (April 1st, 2010), we'd find out that Gus's birth mother had picked us to raise Gus. We thought we'd have a month to really prepare for him, and it was only a week later that we got the call that his birth mom was in labor. The months from that point are all so special and have been filled with so much joy (and sleeplessness).

We hope you've enjoyed reading Gus's blog each Tuesday and have enjoyed seeing the pictures and videos. We absolutely love sharing them with friends and family and hope that they make everyone smile.

Merry Christmas and we'll see you in 2011!
:)
The Walkers