A long way

You've come a long way, Pope... A long, long way...

Park!

Pope's adoption was really expensive. Add to that his medical bills and some unexpected bills accrued by the Princess this summer, and, well, we haven't had the extra money to do much of anything. There have been no extra funds to go to the zoo or the amusement park. We don't eat out or go to the movies. One place we do enjoy, because it's FREE, is our local park! Yesterday evening Pope even gave the tire swing a try... He LOVED it!

There is a suspended tire in the "little kids" section of the playground (meant for kids under 6 years old) it's not a swing, but good for climbing and exploring... Pope enjoyed that too!

The next 2 photos are kind of fun... The first was taken in the big tire back in the fall of 2006, after the Princess turned 2 years old.

And here's the same tire, with the Pope, age 3. Funny, isn't it?!

Swim

Pope continues to do well. He loves his little pool, more than just about anything. Fun summer evenings.

A new life

Once again, Pope has a new life. Today he finally got his aphakic glasses. I can not even begin to imagine what it must be like for Pope, to see, really see for the very first time. The optomitrist put the new glasses on Pope and he left them on, left them alone, for the rest of the day. I can not wait to see what life will be like for Pope tomorrow and all his new bright tomorrows...

Baptism

Pope's big day! More photos to follow!

Father Joe sprinkles water on Pope's head as Father Brian holds him over the font.

Pope with his Godfather, Father Brian!

Costs

Took Pope to the optician at Wills today for glasses. The optician said "Do you have insurance? These are going to be really expensive..." I gulped... "No." "Well," he replied, "The lenses are going to be $200... plus $80 for the frames..." I let out a big sigh of relief! I guess when your other kid wears $5500 hearing aids, it all becomes relative! :)

Aphakic

I learned a new word today... Aphakic. It's the word used to describe having no lens in your eye. Pope is aphakic. He'll need special glasses to correct the problem. Our optician, the one who lent us the frames to try, said he can't make them. So we're back to square one... We'll be heading to Wills Eye again tomorrow, to the optical shoppe, to see about glasses for Pope.