The Walker Blog

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

Where to start?? Right after Mindy Jo passed, Cathy had the opportunity to help a friend of one of the MOMS Club members. The family had a cat named Hobo and they had to relocate for health purposes. They asked if anyone could take Hobo for a few months until they were able to bring him to their new place. Cathy asked Steve about it and he said sure. We had Hobo with us for just over a week when Hobo's mom called to say that they'd be able to take him sooner than they had hoped! Just when Toebe was getting to love Hobo, it was time for him to go. This left Toebe very sad and he walked around the house crying and looking for Hobo.

Our neighbor Wendy wanted to adopt a puppy from the Wake County SPCA and had told Cathy about it. Cathy went online to the SPCA's website and saw that they had an October special... $20 cat adoptions! So on Wednesday, October 27th we went to the SPCA to see the kitties and fell in love with two. One was named Quincy and the other was Perry Como. We decided to adopt them both, and we renamed them.



Cathy's parents are coming today for a week long visit and then Steve's dad and Sue Ann are coming next Wednesday through Saturday for the holiday. We're very excited to spend time with them and for them to spend time with Gus!!

We'll post again soon! In the meantime, be sure to check Gus's blog every Tuesday for updates and pictures!!!
:)
The Walkers

So it's been over a month since we last posted and so much has happened! In case you didn't know, Gus has his own blog (he's such an over-achiever) and it's updated every Tuesday. You can find the link to his blog on the side of this blog... definitely subscribe so you can follow his growth and development. He's now 20 weeks and has quite the personality.
Gus will light up when he sees his mom. He is, hands-down, a mama's boy. He loves-loves-loves Cathy. He should, she is staying home with him and they spend their days laughing, snuggling, and getting to know each other. Gus is a VERY happy little guy and is always laughing, chatting, and smiling. He likes to be talked to, and will eagerly talk back when he's being engaged in conversation.

A few weeks ago we had dinner at McDonald's (yes... not the healthiest choice, but it was 7pm and we needed to get Gus home for bed) and had salads. Well, we paid for it because we both came down with an EXTREME case of food poisoning. We both were up all night throwing up, and thankfully our neighbor Wendy came over in the morning and took Gus for us so we could sleep. She also ran to CVS and got us some crackers, Pepto and Gatorade. She's an amazing friend!

Two weeks ago we drove up to Indiana to surprise Steve's dad for his 60th surprise birthday. It was a wonderful occasion and it really meant the world to his dad for us to come up. He got to see Gus and he and Sue Ann were both amazed at how big Gus had gotten! It was a quick weekend trip, but we went to the oldest orchard in Indiana, and we enjoyed our time with them. They're planning on coming to see us for Thanksgiving, and Gus will be six months!

Back at the beginning of September, Cathy's parents came for a visit and we went to the beach with them. It was a great visit and they were surprised to see how big Gus had gotten as well. They had not seen us since July 11th, when we left Michigan to come back to NC. The visit with them for Labor Day was amazing and we had a wonderful time with them. They'll also be coming back to NC for Thanksgiving, which should be absolutely amazing to have both of our parents here together! It'll be a very special holiday for us!



Cathy has been asked by Scholastic to stay on as an advisor for another year. It's hard because she's not in a classroom, so she won't have the chance to go to NYC again (the other advisors get to go back to NYC in February), but she's excited to still participate and be as involved as she can be.

Her business has taken on a new set of products just for parents. She's excited to start making items that parents can use (chore charts, calendars, etc.) and can make them year-round. This summer she did a lot of business with teachers, and did more business this summer than last summer. She would have had more business if she had been here in NC during the peak months (June/July).

Steve is still with Burt's Bees and is as happy as ever. He's been adjusting to some changes that have been implemented, but is as eager and excited to go to work each day as he ever has been. He loves what he does, and is so good at it.

Saturday is Cathy (and her twin brother Scott's)'s birthday. She'll be 34!  We'll be going to Outback for dinner, because it's Cathy's favorite place to go! Our friend Jen will be coming with us and it should make for a nice birthday for her. She's so happy to start her 34th year with Gus. She's wanted to be a mom for the longest time, and her birthday will be very special because of having Gus in her life.

The weather here in NC is FINALLY starting to cool off. We're looking forward to the leaves changing colors and the weather to get out of the 90s and 80s and start cooling into the 70s and 60s!

We'll write again soon!