And the reward goes to....

 ELI!  We have a new reward system posted on our hall wall.  If Eli gets 6 smiley faces during the week, he gets to watch a movie of his choice on the weekend.  We've pretty much cut out TV other than that (and NASCAR, of course).  And it is working!  His attitude has been wonderful...Ah, the sweet relief from whining.  How do I know it's working?

This past week has been a blur of running around for our dossier.  On Friday, after receiving a call that there was no school because of icy conditions, Eli and I headed out.  First we went to the chiropractor, then to the credit union to get the last paper notarized, then to the secretary of state, where I'd spent 1.5 hours waiting the day before.  So Eli and I were prepared.  I brought several books, 4 of his favorite cars and food...lots and lots of food.  We got to the sect of state at around 10:30 and were done around noon.  I even got to read to a little girl waiting with her parents.  We had no place to go, so there was no hurry.  Fortunately I got the same woman I had the day before.  After waiting for so long, the last thing you need is a frowny face...this lady had a smile on her face and joked with me, making the wait bearable.  All in all, we were running around from 9am-12:30pm without one single meltdown!  I was so proud of my Eli.

I've gotten everything approved and apostilled, except for our home study addendum.  It had some wording that needed to be changed, but should be in the mail to us by Monday.  Once that's to us and apostilled, it goes to our agency, then Ukraine!  And I can't wait to get it out of our hands.

Feb 21st, Eli and Papa were watching a NASCAR race...and, yes, Eli watched the whole thing.  He was rooting for the M&M car saying "Come on MM car...you can win.  I know you can do it!"  Oh, it was precious.  I left for a little bit and came back to this.  Is this one of the sweetest things you've ever seen, or what?!

 Eli found his goggles and told us he wanted to wear them.  In the middle of winter.  While there was still snow on the ground.  Silly kid!  When we first bought them for him, he was terrified of them.  What a change!

 The snow is really heavy right now because of the warmer temps.  Perfect for two boys to build an awesome snow fort!  At one point, Dave put three 2x4's on top so it had a roof.  It was really decked out...there was talk about adding a second story...

 Last weekend I had the weekend to myself.  It was great!  I didn't sit still very long.  I got a pedi, and had fun playing games until the wee hours of Sat night.  And although I really enjoyed my time along, I was really happy when the boys came home.  Eli LOVES going to Buffalo to visit family (he loves his family in general).  It amazes me that when he misses someone, it's always family, never friends.  And Dave had tickets to the Sabres vs Red Wings game (hockey for the Southern or nonsportsy).  It was a great game and I'm glad he and his brother in law (the Italian cook) were able to go.  (My mother in law bought them as a Christmas gift)

My sister in law, Wendy, bought this sleeping bag for him.  He wanted to sleep in it (and has all week) and now he wants to go camping with Mama, Papa, and Eli.  All of us, because we're a family. Oh, and Jack and kitty, too.  Feel free to go with everyone else, 'cause this Mama doesn't do all that great with the great outdoors!

 Our snowman family :)  Supposedly they have snow hats on.

 These are pictures of Eli's braces.  You can see how much he's grown in two years!  You'll notice that bigger pair are solid all the way up.  That's because he figured out how to manipulate his body to keep toe walking with the smaller pair.  Now, if he toe walks, the top part of the braces dig in to his leg a little.  It has made a HUGE difference.  Now, even without braces, he tries to remember to walk on his heels.

 SCOOBY DOO!!!  I still laugh that he chose Scooby Doo.  The cartoons are too intense for him to watch...