Special dates remembered!

Fall has always been my favorite time of year, but now I have so many more reasons to love it. It was a year ago on the Sept 29th that we had our second visit with our son at the Klintsy baby home. It was a great day for when we left from our visit as we knew in 10 days we would be back to pick up Sean forever. On this day a year ago was our court date and we officially became Sean's parents. This was the beginning of our new lives together. We spent the waiting time touring Moscow. It was our trip of life time!!!

Here is a look back at our day.

Daddy helping Sean get around. Sept 29, 09

We are sure Sean liked his young caregiver, she was sweet girl and made him smile.

Sean must was playing with his has, glad not to be wearing it. Hard to believe it was a year ago we where at the Klintsy baby home.


I loved playing with Sean and making him smile. It was a short visit and it would of been great to see him every day if we could have. So at the end of our visit we said to him we will be back to get you real soon and will be leaving all together as a family.

Durham Fair!

Let the fall fun begin! We ended our vacation week with a great day at the Fair.

Sean loved all the rides he had to do the pirate ship slide twice.

Sean had me laughing on this ride, he was so silly.


This was the favorite ride of the day!

11 months home and our first family vacation!

I am late with this post because this past week was our first family vacation at the Jersey Shore! We celebrated eleven months together at the beach! We had a great cottage right on the beach and perfect weather all week long. It was one of the most relaxing vacations ever! We had no set plans as we just got up every day and did what we wanted. Sean truly enjoyed the beach and the board walk. We were glad Sean adjusted well to his new surroundings. He slept great for his naps and bed time. It must have been the ocean air. Sean warmed up to the ocean a little bit everyday. We had the remnants of Hurricane Igor the first few days we were there and consequently the waves were huge. Swimming was not allowed. By the end of the week we had Sean in the ocean and squealing with delight! It was wonderful being at my home town and at the beach I always went to as a kid. It was peaceful waking up and stepping out on the beach each morning and then listening to the waves crashing on the beach at night. I enjoyed seeing the sun come up each morning and taking our daily walks along the beach. It was also great to see my dad and have my family for dinner. I also got to see my Jersey Girls while being there.

We are looking forward to returning to the beach next year!

Pop Pop, Sean and me.

Sean loved the boat ride at the Point boardwalk!

Sean always feels safe with daddy!

New toys at the beach!

The first day Sean and I both got hit by a wave!

Favorite pic of cutie pie!

First Fall Festival

We went to our first festival of the (unofficial)fall season with our friends Jill & Nick and their little guy Nicholas. The boys seem to like each other so we hope to get them together more often. This was Sean's first fireworks show and he did really well. This past Monday was the anniversary of the phone call for our court date in Russia. I remember being so excited! It is nice to reminisce about these special dates leading up to Sean's first anniversary home. We are about to start our next adventure, The Gaffney's first vacation together! It will be fun to get away as a family.

Sean & Nicholas enjoyed the ride.

Sean looking up at all the lights..

End of summer fun & a great Labor Day weekend!!

Our Labor Day was spent hiking up Sleeping Giant State Park with our neighborhood friends. We had breakfast at the old castle at top of the mountain! This was a lot of fun!

The kids made it all the way...They were so great and always in the front of the pack.

The gang at the top in front of the castle.

It was a great picnic breakfast on a beautiful day! After that climbing work out, we ate egg sandwiches, doughnuts and bagels..."YUM"


At the top of the castle. Sean loved going up and down the ramps.... going up and down... and going up and down!

Dad and Sean at the top.

Sean made it going up to the mountain top in the best seat available!
He tried walking down, but for the most part mom & dad carried him down .... what a work out! We took a much needed nap after that.


We had a nice Labor Day party and one of Patrick's friends gave the kids jeep rides.

Daddy and Jerry shared funny stories with Sean about daddy's 1968 VW Bug. Sean said, "Bug?"


The Gaffney's are proud to support the American economy, lots of adult beverages consumed!
It was great day with family and friends and we did not get to bed until midnight!! We have not stayed up that late since Sean has been home.

Sean getting the hang of hitting the ball. Goldie is the ball return.."Good dog!"


Sean loves going to the park, but he is a different little boy when he is at the park now. He has so much more confidence in himself and runs to get on everything possible. He needs no encouragement and I have a hard time keeping up with him. Hopefully it will add to the calorie burn!



Sean tries the sit and spin!

This was a spectacular day on "The Sound". We took Sean on a tour of the Thimble Islands. He was great in the boat and sat on my lap the entire time.

Sean is very comfortable in the water. He is kicked back with his drink..

Pool days are all done until next season. Sean enjoyed the pool at the club and his kiddie pool at home so much this year. I look forward to next year with Sean getting swimming lesson at the club. This was the best summer as we truly enjoyed every day of it. Sean has come such a long way in a short time. We are looking forward to the fall season and all that it brings. Like apple picking, pumpkin picking, hay rides, Fall Festivals, Halloween and of course Sean's birthday!! Plus we still have our family vacation coming up soon!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful summer!!