Documents nearly in Russia!!

Since our last post we have finally got our full adoption dossier completed and notarized in Belfast, then sent off to the FCO office in England to be legalized, then back from the FCO 2 days later with word that 8 of our docs couldn't be legalized, then spent a few days tracking down replacement documents, then back to the notary in Belfast, back to the FCO, back to us and then finally out to our agency in America, phew!!

Our agency will spend a couple of days reviewing our dossier before sending it out to Russia. After their workers in Russia have checked it over we have been told to expect a referral in one to three months, back to patiently waiting....

Keep you posted on any fresh developments!

Philip, Amanda & Leah

Its been a while...

Can't believe its been almost two years since our last blog post!!

Leah is now 4 and starts P1 in only a few weeks, she is doing fantastically well and is just a delight, she has the lovely combination of being a 'girly' girl, into her princess dress's, sparkly shoes, bling, dressing in mummys clothes etc as well as running, jumping, climbing as fast and as high as possible with no fear whatsoever! When people said 'the time will fly', 'they grow up so fast', etc you just nod and agree but don't really believe it! I can actually confirm the time DOES fly and they DO grow up at 100mph right before your eyes...

All the pain, blood, sweat, tears and frustrations of our adoption journey are now far enough in the past that we are well on the way to adoption number two. We decided pretty early on our return from Kazakhstan that we would adopt again and after a couple of years on the waiting list and another exhaustive period of assessment we have finally completed all the paperwork from the UK side and our adoption dossier is almost ready to go out to Russia.

We will hopefully get details of a referral in the next month or so and possibly be out in Russia within the next couple of months, its a three trip process this time and we trust it will run a little smoother than our Kazakhstan experience, (we hope)!!

Will keep you posted, in the meantime I better update the blog with a few pics of Leah.

Philip, Amanda & Leah

Leah with Jacob and Charlie

Leah on the log ride at Disney

Leah and Olivia at the Zoo

Anyone still out there?!

Wow, been a long time since my last post!

Not sure is anyone is still out there but I'll give you a wee update anyway!

Leah is now two and a half and is doing great, shes is talking really well, has an absolute obsession with Disney Princesses (Cinderella in particular), has boundless energy and is a load of fun. She is also unbelievably girly, I had hoped for some tom-boy tendencies but she is into dress's, beads, singing and dancing and definitely not football.

Despite her girlyness however she is also a bit of a dare devil, wants to climb everything in sight and she loves me throwing her in the air as high as possible and pushing her around in her car as fast as my legs can carry me, very tiring being a Dad! :)

Anyway... unto the pics, I promise I'll update at Christmas....

Philip, Amanda & Leah

Cheeky Smile


Meeting Cinderella in Florida


Out for a drive with Jacob


Playing with Rosie

Leahs best Cheesy Smile!

Belated Birthday Pics

Ok, ok, I know its a little late! Sorry to all those who have mailed wondering when the promised pics of Leahs birthday would arrive but hopefully they have been worth waiting for!!

Leah is great as ever, sleeping in her own 'big girl' bed now and out of nappies (diapers for our American friends)! She is also becoming very girly, LOVES wearing mummies shoes, necklaces, bracelets, etc. She is also a big Disney fan and has almost worn out our Cinderella DVD, i'm also hearing the 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' themesong in my sleep!!

Anyway enough rambling and unto the pics.

Philip, Amanda & Leah

I am 2

Out with my buggy

First camping trip with mum & dad

Playing with Rosie

Keeping cool

Leah is Two!!

Wow! Its been a long time since our last update, time flys at 100mph when you're having fun.

Our little Leah turned two on the 21st April, it seems like a long time ago now when we met a little 9month old bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. She is continuing to do fantastically well and seems like she is learning 5 new words per day, its getting hard to get a word in edgeways in my house these days! :)

We are having her party on Saturday so look out for a few new party pics in the next week or so.

Be back soon, enjoy the pictures!

Philip, Amanda & Leah

"Paint the picture Leah, not your face!"

Cheeky Leah

Leah out shopping with Jacob

Leah and Charlie making sandcastles in sunny Portstewart

Leah and Phoebe

One Year Anniversary!

One year ago today we first met Leah and all of our lives changed forever! Its hard to believe that it has been that long already, as you can see from the following pics she has changed quite a bit in the last 12 months!

We didn't believe it at the time but its true that looking back now all we can remember are the good times and wonderful moments from our trip to Kazakhstan, all the nasty and stressful ones have thankfully faded away.

Enjoy the 'before and after' pics! ;)

Philip, Amanda & Leah

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First day with Leah.

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Exactly 12 months later!
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Leah Update - January 2009

Happy new year everyone!!


Its hard to believe that in another couple of weeks it will be a year to the day since we first met Leah! Its been an amazing year and watching Leah grow and develop has been wonderful.


She is really into helping out at the moment and loves pulling everything out of cupboards then putting it away neatly again, she also loves cooking in her kitchen and pushing her baby around in her buggy. She also loves 'looking after' her wee cousins, sticking their dummies in their mouths whether they want it or not and also chasing them with wet wipes to clean their faces!!


She has such a lovely, funny personality and keeps us both amused. Apart from when she is teething (11 at the last count) she also sleeps fantastically well, 12 hours a night as well as a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day! We'll enjoy it while it lasts...


Anyway without further ado I'll get to the good stuff, more photos!

Cya in a few months!


Philip, Amanda & Leah




Cheeky face





Not quite awake leah on Christmas morning.





"Why has my new car got no wheels?!?!?"




Yes, I can feed myself!

Awh