Hello, friends and family. Carson and Conner wanted to say a quick hello as we approach the '06 holiday season. We learned from their physician that both boys grew a half inch the last two months, which we figure must have something to do with their very, very healthy appetites!


A bit of hair gel, and now I look like the kid on Jerry MacGuire!

Rare footage of the boys holding hands. And proof that they're still putting toys back in the toy box instead of leaving everything on the floor...

This was a special day for us. Our friends the Parracks met us half way between Lawrence and Kansas City for an official gathering of the "Kras Connection." (For those of you new to the blog, these two boys came from the same orphanage system as Carson and Conner.) We found a great playground in DeSoto with age-appropriate equipment including this four-seater teeter totter. From left to right, Ben, Carson, Chris and Conner. (click on the picture for a closer look) These four boys are inextricably linked by the story of their first two years in Siberia. We hope the Kras Connection can serve as an eight-person support group for many, many years.

Daddy couldn't quite catch this prize winner without messing up the focus. This is a picture of a small but important component of our evening ritual. Let's take a second to describe the routine:

6:00 p.m. is dinnertime. A very happy time for the boys.
6:30 p.m. is bath time. Favorite toys: little plastic Jayhawk cups.
7:00 p.m. is story time. A sippy cup full of milk and Curious George.
7:20 p.m. is toothbrushing and final potty time.

Carson is still in diapers, so when he finishes with toothbrushing, he leaves the bathroom to get Conner’s bedtime monkey and patiently waits for his older brother. This is when we got the above picture of him. Conner gets his monkey, says “thank you Carson,” and all four of us head upstairs to bed singing Twinkle, Twinkle.

Then Mommy and Daddy zone out on the couch for the rest of the night!