Happy Holidays!!

It's been a long time, but I thought I'd write and share our Holiday Card for this year:

Scarlet Stars Christmas

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Hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and a happy new year!!

Disney 2009Now we know how the Griswolds felt

Well, we've been here about a week, so I thought it's about time to update everyone. Trip has been great so far -- weather has been near-perfect!!

We arrived in Florida last Saturday, and checked in to our 'Pirate Room' at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, one of the largest on Disney's property. So, we got settled in, and off to Disney's Hollywood Studios for day 1.

Now, Hollywood Studios was the first park for a very good reason. For months, Alex has been researching new rides and attractions -- basically, ever since we decided to go to Disney, he's been on-line researching. One of the newest attractions is a 4-D ride/game called 'Toy Story Mania.' (It's 4-D because that's better than 3-D!). Anyway, Alex went on Disney's website, YouTube, everywhere he could to see videos, pictures, and reviews of the ride. He couldn't wait to get to Disney to ride this ride.

When we got to the park, we called our friends, the Muscente's, who arrived in Florida a few days earlier. They told us they went on the ride that morning, and loved it. So, naturally, that got Alex even more excited. We entered the park and immediately proceeded to the area where the ride was located (Alex knew since he had already memorized the park maps on the bus!). As we walked down the alley, we could see the new Pixar Animation sign that framed the game. We approached, and could sense Alex's excitement. As we worked our way through the crowd, weaving in and out of the hundreds of people, we arrived at the ride to be greeted by numerous Disney Cast Members (employees), who's sole job was to tell us that the ride was down due to technical difficulties. Alex's face dropped, and all I could think about was Clark Griswold punching the moose at Wally World. But, Alex was a trooper, and we decided to grab some lunch, and try back later. After lunch, we walked back, and the ride just reopened, and we were able to walk right on! So, that made Alex's day -- and, to top it off, it really is a great ride!!

So, we finished off the day at Hollywood Studios, and then did some swimming at our resort's pool. Sunday, we went to Blizzard Beach (water park) with the Muscente's -- it was a perfect day for swimming!! That night, we went to Downtown Disney, and had dinner at a new restaurant called TRex -- picture Rainforest Cafe, but with all dinosaurs. It was pretty cool -- Alex loved it...Hannah - not so much.

Monday we went to Animal Kingdom with the Musente's, then all had dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, and others from the Royal Family -- it was pretty fun! Tuesday we went back to Hollywood Studios where Alex rode Toy Story Mania 3 more times, and we had dinner again with the Musente's at Chef Mickeys, and got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Good food, good friends, and Mickey -- what else could you ask for? Wednesday we went to the Magic Kingdom for the first time, and had a great breakfast in Cinderella's castle, and Hannah really hammed it up with the princesses! She chose to wear her Sleeping Beauty dress, and had a matching doll, complete with her own Sleeping Beauty dress, compliments of our neighbor, Tina. Hannah's new thing for this trip has been her autograph book -- she loves meeting characters and having them sign her book! Thursday we spent at Epcot -- it was also the day we checked out of our Pirate Room, got our rental van, and checked in to our new villa at the Marriott. Now, anyone who knows me knows how much I love Disney, but when it comes to hotels, I don't think many can compare to Marriott. Don't get me wrong, the Pirate Room was nice, but this one-bedroom villa at Marriott's Grande Vista even had Alex saying "hey, can we get one of these??" It's quite luxurious, to say the least!

So, that brings us to Friday, which we spent at Universal. Alex and Hannah got to meet Dora, Madagascar characters, Curious George, Marge Simpson, and some others. It was fun, but not Disney. We've been trying to get Alex to try new things. We asked him if he wanted to go on the new Simpsons ride -- it looked fun -- carnival-type of ride. He said no, so we didn't force him. Later in the day, he changed his mind. So, toward the end of the day, he and I went back to the ride. Neither of us knew what to expect, but it looked fun(ny), from the outside. The line was short, so we went right in. Little did I know that it was a ride simulator -- and a pretty intense one, at that (compare to Star Wars, or the old Back to the Future ride). It was funny, and Alex laughed (a little), but neither of us really liked it that much. I have horrible motion sickness, and Alex doesn't do well with loud noises or sudden movements, so this definitely wasn't the ride for us!! Although, Darese and Hannah both would have loved it! Needless to say, Alex didn't like it, and now is not a big fan of the Simpsons, either (not that he's ever seen the show before, but now he certainly won't watch it!).

So, that's all for now. We're here at the Marriott until Monday, and should be back in Ithaca Monday night, then back to work/school Tuesday. I'll try to upload some photos soon, but check back for other updates. Hope everyone is well!!

Here are some more photos....











Joe, Darese, Alex & Hannah

Heading to Disney!!

Hi everyone - Yes, it's really been a while since we've posted. We're all getting ready to head down to Disney World on Saturday, and it can't come soon enough!! Hopefully, we'll be able to post some pictures, and tell you a little about our trip. We're staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort for some of it, and a Marriott for a few days.

Check back for updates!!

It's been a while!!

Hi everyone -- Yes, it's been quite a while since we've written. Let's see....since February, Alex turned 6, we had Hannah's Christening, Alex finished Kindergarten, we spent Easter in St. Louis, and we took a bunch of vacations this summer. We're all back into the swing of things now, though. Alex started 1st grade; Darese and I are back to work; and Hannah has taken over the house!!

Hannah's Christening was quite nice. We held it at the Ithaca College Chapel, which was beautiful. Aunt Angela flew in from St. Louis and, along with Auntie GiGi and Uncle Pete, Christened Hannah as her Godparents. We were lucky to share the special day with our friends and family.

In April, Auntie GiGi gave Hannah her first haircut. Hannah did great! For Easter, we traveled to St. Louis so that everyone could meet Hannah for the first time. We had a great trip, and really enjoyed spending time with everyone. Alex and Hannah both did great!

We took our annual trip to Hershey Park with our friends, the Muscente's. Darese has started referring to this trip as the kids' "pilgrimage to the motherland" as they are both quite the chocoholics!! I think they get that from Grandma Doskal's side of the family!! We had a wonderful trip, and ate lots of chocolate. In May, we also took a trip to Six Flags Darien Lake. We heard they were closing soon, so we wanted to get one last trip in before it was sold.

In June, I had my 20 year high school reunion...ughh! It wasn't as much fun as I had hoped....most of my classmates still haven't grown up. It's all about drinking still. I swear some of them are still 18. I did get to plan a reunion this year at the Syracuse Zoo for the 20th anniversary of my HS marching band's national championship. That was fun! Most of my friends in HS were from marching band, so even though not everyone showed up, it was great to get in touch with people, and at least catch up with everyone. It certainly brought back a lot of great memories.

In July we traveled to Albany for the annual picnic sponsored by our adoption agency. We were fortunate enough to stay with the Hollister-Pettinger family, one of the families we traveled to China with. It was great to see Jill, Bill, Kailee, and Briana and spend the weekend with them. We even got the chance to go to Six Flags Great Escape with them. The kids all had a great time playing with each other!

We also took trips to Rochester, Seabreeze Park, and the State Fair in Syracuse. The summer was quite busy, but we had a great time!

Alex's first day of school went okay. Hannah has been enjoying going out to the bus stop every day with him and playing with the kids. I think it's just a matter of time before she makes a run for the bus and hops on!

Darese and I have been pretty busy with work. It seems like we just shut down last week, and here we are with a whole new group of students!

The anniversary of Hannah's adoption is coming up on November 7. We're not quite sure what we're going to do yet, but obviously its a very special day for us. Maybe we'll let her pick a place to eat....if we can find a restaurant that serves raisins and oreo cookies!!

Well, that's all for now. I uploaded a bunch of pictures at our shutterfly website (scaffido.shutterfly.com). Here are some other favorites from the past few months. Enjoy, and keep in touch!!

Joe

Greetings!!

Hi again -- it's been a while, and we've all been pretty busy lately, but I thought I'd catch you all up on what's been happening around here. After being home for 3 months, I finally returned to work full time on February 1, only to come down with strep throat 2 days later, and had to miss one of our big programs of the year. At the same time, Hannah came down with RSV, so we're one house you didn't want to be in for a few days. I'm happy to say we're all recovering now...not 100%, but we're getting there....

Alex is back to school, and started up his after-school program when I returned to work last week. That was a difficult transition for him, but he seems to be doing okay now. He was the "Person of the Week" a few weeks ago in his class. Basically, he gets to help out a lot, and one of the days was his "Family Share" day, when he gets to share a family-type-thing with his class. Well, he decided he wanted to share his dad's "talent" of balloon sculpting. So, I brushed up on my balloon animals, and showed 19 kindergarden kids how make balloon animals and hats. So, have you ever tried to sit in front of 19 kindergardeners and try to hold their attention for more than 10 minutes?? Let's just say that I have a new-found respect for kindergarden teachers!!

Hannah is doing well. She's enjoying her 15 minutes of fame. She's been a little celebrity around here lately. It all started (click any of these links to view the actual article) with Cornell wanting to do an article for their faculty/staff paper, Cornell Chronicle, on the new adoption benefits that I was able to take advantage of. Then, two local papers picked up the story, The Ithaca Journal, and The Ithaca Times. Later, Darese was interviewed by Ithaca College's student newspaper, The Ithacan, because there's a new support group that just started on her campus that focuses on adoption issues. Then, just today, there was an article in the Syracuse Post Standard about Cornell's policy, and adoption benefits that some different businesses offer. So, as you can see, Hannah's been busy with her photo and autograph sessions!!

We also had a birthday party to celebrate Hannah's first birthday. The theme?? You guessed it...Princesses!! It was very...pink. Luckily, the weather really cooperated, and many of our family and friends were able to join us. ZiZi Diane has been working on a scrapbook for us since we before we left for China, and she gave it to Hannah for her birthday. It's absolutely beautiful!! It's certainly one of those things that we will treasure for ever!!

So, I think that's about it for now. Below are some more pictures for your enjoyment. We had a family portrait done last month for my mother's birthday of all of our families, so we had a few extra poses with just the kids, and individual families. We hadn't done that in a long time, so it was pretty fun.

Hope everyone is well!!

Joe

Happy New Year!!

Hi everyone -- We hope you all enjoyed your holiday, and are having a great start to the new year! We've had a busy past few weeks, but we're all doing really well, and had wonderful holidays.

We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house again this year. Alex and Hannah enjoyed opening their presents that Santa left at Nonna and Grandpa's house. The highlight of the evening was when Alex opened his Candyland DVD game that he really wanted. Hearing a 5 year old scream 'Oh Yeah!!' is just plain good fun! On the way home from Syracuse, Alex kept an eye on the sky looking for Rudolph's nose.....remember those days??

Christmas was great fun. We all woke up together and went downstairs at the same time. Alex and Hannah dug right in, and the unwrapping began!! Of course, with Hannah, we might as well have given her wrapping paper and empty boxes and she would have been happy! Alex enjoyed his new toys, games, and books, and even showed Hannah how to play with some of her new toys. We enjoyed a quiet day at home, and Darese and I are really thankful for everything we have.

Since Darese and I always have the week off between Christmas and New Year's, we got to spend a lot of time breaking in all of the new toys and games. The Candyland DVD is pretty much burned onto the TV and computer screens by now, and one can only take so much of 'Mr. Mint Says.' We had our neighbors over our house for New Year's Eve. The adults enjoyed a wonderful dinner with filet mignon and crab legs, while the kids feasted on mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. Everyone was happy!!

On New Year's Day, we went up to Syracuse to have dinner with my family, and to celebrate my mother's 60th birthday. Both her's and Hannah's birthdays are on January 3. We had a nice dinner on Hannah's birthday (her favorite....spaghetti), and she had her very own cake, which she rather enjoyed.

Alex has been doing well. It took a while to get back into the swing of things after being out of school for a week. He continues to be a good big brother, and is still enjoying his toys and games that he got from Christmas.

Of course, Hannah got to experience a lot of 'firsts' this year -- she had mom's cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and even tasted some of Nonna's cannolis. She did shy away from the squid salad, though....

Hannah's adoption announcement was in the Syracuse Post Standard on January 1. You can see the announcement here. Also, Cornell was interested in doing a story on our adoption journey for their faculty/staff newspaper. Because we were one of the first families to take advantage of Cornell's new Family Leave Policy, they asked to meet with us to learn a little more about Hannah and our journey to China. A writer and photographer met us at Cornell the day we had the party, and the article was published in the on-line news site on January 3, 2006 (ironically, Hannah's 1st birthday). The article came out great, and includes a few cute photos. You can see the article by clicking here.

We hope you all have a wonderful, prosperous new year!!

















Alex enjoying a good game of 'Grandma Nutt's Musical notes.'












Hannah loved her new purse she got for Christmas.



















Had to get a picture with her Santa hat on.....














Birthday girl digging in to her cake.
















Hannah got a new Princess chair for her birthday.

Greetings, and Happy Holidays!!

Hi everyone --

It's been quite some time since we've written, but with finally getting settled back home, and preparing for the holidays, things have been a bit crazy. Darese returned to work (part time) last Monday, and I'm home with Hannah during the day, enjoying the time off!!

For those of you who are new to this site, Welcome!! Please feel free to read everything and anything, but if you're specifically looking for our journey to China, you may want to follow the links to the right to 'August 2005,' (under the 'Archives' heading) and start reading from the beginning. This blog posts the most recent posts top-to-bottom, so remember to start reading from the bottom of each page. The majority of our trip journal is under 'November 2005.'

Since we've written last (over a month ago now....sorry!!), we've had another baby shower, Darese's birthday, Thanksgiving, decorated our house, and had many visitors.

The baby shower was great!! My friends from my office at Cornell decided that they really wanted to wait until we returned from China with Hannah so that everyone could see her during the party (I guess they see me everyday, so really just didn't care about seeing me!!). Since they knew we really didn't need more toys or clothes, they decided to throw us a 'Diaper Shower.' Ever been to one of these?? Well, needless to say, we are set for diapers and wipes for a while!! My colleagues really went all out this time! There were games (i.e. 'Who got the dirty diaper?' 'Guess that smell!' etc. etc.). They even wrote a Christmas poem for us:

The Night Before Christmas

“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the Chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in the beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And Darese in her Kerchief and Joe in his cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
When from within the house there arose such a clatter,
Joe sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away down the hall, it was hard to tell,
He opened Hannah’s door and yes, there was a smell.
When, what to his wondering eyes should appear,
But a smile on Hannah and a dirty diaper, Oh dear!
He knew it was a big job, a task for two
It wasn’t just number one but it was doo-doo.
More rapid than eagles Joe called to Darese;
Now come here, come here, please make this cease!
So with a giggle, Darese came to the door
And said “Joe, we just changed her, there can’t be any more!”
So who will change her—it’s hard to say
But St Nick expected this dilemma to stay;
As Darese drew in her hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
2 bags of hope he flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
He had one for Darese and one for Joe too
He said this will solve your dilemma: gifts for you.
Joe opened his bag to find all sorts of help
Now he can be on diaper-duty, all by himself!


[at this point, they presented me with a tool belt, complete with rubber gloves, safety glasses, air freshner, tongs, diapers, etc. It
was quite funny!]


But St Nick hasn’t forgot Darese did it first
So he gave her a bag, while Joe started to curse.
[Darese's bag consisted of chocolate cookies, and a remote control]
As she opened her bag a smile she did make
For St. Nick knew she deserved a diaper break.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave Darese hope she had nothing to dread;
And laying his finger aside his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Holidays, Hannah, May HUGGIES hold you tight.”

It was quite fun!! And, I got to keep the tool belt, too!! They decorated very nice, complete with a six-layered diaper cake (that Darese and I really thought was an actual cake!!). They had a beautiful sheet cake made with Hannah's picture on it. We're really fortunate to have such great friends and colleagues, and I truly hope they know how much this meant to us!!

Last Tuesday (12/13) was Darese's birthday -- we had a quiet dinner here at home with nice just the four of us (and two unlucky lobsters). Alex sang Happy Birthday, and did a great job, considering he was flying solo!! He and Hannah really liked the cake!! One of the presents we got for her was a Chocolate Fountain. So, to break it in, we invited over our neighbors last Friday for a chocolate party (I'm sure moms and dads were quite pleased at me for that idea!!). It was really fun, and I highly recommend the fountain for any chocolate lovers. We dipped pretzels, pineapple, bananas, oranges, marshmellows, graham crackers, and even Oreos!! It was quite messy, but worth every sticky face!!

We had a nice Thanksgiving at my parents' house. Most of my family met Hannah for the first time. She did really well, and is doing much better adjusting to people. I think she's really starting to recognize some folks, and takes to people much easier. She's also doing better in our car seat, which is a really nice break!! Originally, she wouldn't sit still in the car seat (of course, she had never been in one until she came here). Alex really helps out by sitting in the back seat with her and entertains her. Now, if we go in the car without Alex, she gets in and turns to his seat and hits it with her hand as if to say "Hey, where's my in flight entertainment??"

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went out to a local farm with our neighbors to cut down our Christmas tree. The place was great, as they provided a hay ride to the woods, and then brought the tree back and tied it for us. They even had a lodge with a fire, hot chocolate, and cookies to rest in.

Alex and Hannah are both doing great together. They enjoy playing with each other, although Alex does need some time by himself every now and then. He still enjoys 'checking in' on her while she's sleeping, and likes helping out with her bath and changing time.

We're all gearing up for the holidays, and looking forward to Santa coming. Alex got to sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Hannah wanted absolutely nothing to do with the old man!! We'll be spending Christmas Eve with my family in Syracuse, and then staying home Christmas day.

I'll try to be better about posting here throughout the holidays. Until then, enjoy the season, and be sure to stay in touch!!

Joe, Darese, Alex, & Hannah

Hannah's Announcement

[click to enlarge]

HOME!! Safe & Sound!!

Well, we made it home, and everyone is doing well!! We're still a little tired, but overall, we're doing pretty well.

We arrived in Ithaca around 3:30 Wednesday afternoon. Surprisingly, all of our flights were on-time, or even a little early. A lot of people have not had good experiences with Northwest Airlines, but I have to say that we were both quite impressed with the trip and NWA. The meals were all actually pretty good (it seems like all we did was eat and drink), service was great, our luggage made it everywhere on time and in one piece, and we made all of the flights on time or early (and no, I'm not getting paid by them to post this!!). On the way back from Tokyo to Detroit, we were able to get bulkhead seats (the front seats in our section of the plane). This allowed us a little more room, and a basinet that hooks to the wall in front of us so that Hannah could sleep a little (see photo above). We weren't able to get a ton of sleep, but we got some, and watched a few movies.

When we arrived in Ithaca, we were happily greeted by our welcoming committee, made up of Alex, my parents, Uncle Pete, and our good friend Jenn who offered to take pictures for us (Thanks, Jenn!!).

We came home to a decorated house, complete with a "Welcome Home Hannah" banner across the front porch. The banner also included hand prints from friends and family, and a paw print from Maggie, our next door pooch. It was very cute, and it really made us feel that much better being home. My colleagues from my office also sent a basket with a huge teddy bear, along with nice gifts for us, Hannah and Alex.

Today (Thursday) we got Alex on the bus, and spent most of the day unpacking. Hannah is doing well, but like us, is still trying to get adjusted to the time change. She slept okay last night, only getting up a few times to eat. Last night, my mother cooked dinner for us, and after dinner, we got the kids ready for bed and had coffee. We put Hannah in her exersaucer (a walker without wheels, to those of you who don't know), and she played for a few minutes, then fell asleep...standing up.

We all greeted Alex when he got off the bus this afternoon, and a few of our neighbors came over to meet Hannah for the first time. It was great seeing everyone, and they are all so good to our family!!

So, Darese and I have started a list of things we REALLY missed while we were in China (besides our family and friends, of course). Things that we take for granted every day, but weren't able to enjoy for the past two weeks. Here it is:

- Real drinks -- like coffee, diet Coke (their Coke Light just wasn't the same). There was a Seattle Coffee in our hotel, and I'm glad to report that a small cappuccino in China still costs more than a gallon of gasoline in the U.S.

- The ability to take a shower without having to worry about getting water in your mouth.

- The ability to brush your teeth without having to use bottled water.

- The ability to go to the water faucet to get a drink of water in the middle of the night (okay, you see where I'm going with this.....)

- We certainly won't miss seeing things-on-a-stick at vendor booths on the streets.

- Food that wasn't taken out of the tank and killed 20 minutes before we ate it.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Our plans are to relax for the next few weeks, and maybe start putting up our Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving. Darese starts back to work part time in mid-December, and I'll start back part time in mid-January, so if all goes well, we'll be able to start Hannah in daycare February 1. We're planning on being at my parents for Thanksgiving, so if anyone will be there, we'll look forward to seeing you there!! Until then, best wishes!!

Joe, Darese, Alex & Hannah