Please go read Lori's recent post about this amazing community that we have. When I stop to think about how blessed we are by our online friends - family, really- I am always in awe. Lori's post describes this well and is definitely worth reading!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
I'm Back!
My obsession with the Twilight series books is over. Well, at least until the movie comes out. :)
I really don't have much news - so here are some cute pictures...
E took Micah down the slide
I think he liked it. :)
E's little brother J - wearing his giraffe headband. (We spent some time in the giftshop that day.)
At our EKC event last weekend...
Micah and Zoe.
I sat him down next to her to take a picture and he immediately leaned in for a smooch.
I think Micah might be smitten.
The family who hosted our event recently returned from Ethiopia (with their beautiful daughter). They were kind enough to put on a traditional coffee ceremony for the group! It was wonderful!
I really don't have much news - so here are some cute pictures...
At the zoo a few weeks ago...
E took Micah down the slide
I think he liked it. :)
E's little brother J - wearing his giraffe headband. (We spent some time in the giftshop that day.)At our EKC event last weekend...
Micah and Zoe.I sat him down next to her to take a picture and he immediately leaned in for a smooch.
I think Micah might be smitten.
The family who hosted our event recently returned from Ethiopia (with their beautiful daughter). They were kind enough to put on a traditional coffee ceremony for the group! It was wonderful!We also went to the Festival of Nations over the weekend. I would have pictures, but I gave the camera to George, who is 3, and he decided to take pictures of the people sitting next to us rather than of us. Then my battery died. I found it quite funny to realize he had been taking pictures of random people - I wonder if they thought it was funny? (I didn't notice because I was busy enjoying some yummy Ethiopian food.) But, I did get this one of George before the camera died...
And, if anyone has any book recommendations - please share. I'm going through withdrawal. It's so sad.
And, if anyone has any book recommendations - please share. I'm going through withdrawal. It's so sad. Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Gobledeegook and Some News on our Second Baby
I know I've been a bad blogger lately. I know I'm not commenting on your blogs. I've not taken time to catch up with our friends. I blame Stephenie Meyer and this blog, (which, by the way, is a hilarious blog - you should read it). Anyway, if you haven't figured it out, I've been consumed since I started reading the Twilight Series. It all started with this book...
It should be noted that I do not like scary books or movies (although I once co-wrote a 20 page paper about slasher films - go figure), but since these books are written for a teenage audience, I seem to be handling it okay. Anyway, that is my excuse for being a bad blogger - I've become obsessed with teen lit. Now onto some more meaningful stuff...
MICAH IS HAVING A GROWTH-SPURT!! And, I don't just mean physically - I also mean mentally (if that makes sense). In the past week he has started communicating with signs and with words - like crazy! He always used to sign for "please" but now he is using "more" and "eat." (I promise to get video - especially since my awesome husband got me this for my birthday. Isn't he the best?)
Also, he is now saying the word "yep" when you ask him a question, as in,
Me: "Do you want to go see the dogs?"
Micah: "Yep." or
Me: "Do you want a pretzel?"
Micah: "Yep."
It is quite adorable. BUT, there is more! He has also started to use a sentence!!! Seriously, I thought single words were supposed to come first but lately Micah will point to something and say, "I want that." Okay, yes, it sounds more like, "Iuntdaaat" but it's become pretty obvious that he is indicating his want of something. It is amazing. I love it.
He is also still swiffer-ing like a madman - especially if I get out the vacuum - he goes right to the closet where the swiffer sleeps and points to it saying, "Iuntdaaat."
He got a new Amharic t-shirt today. We got it from this site (go look- you will love them) and it looks adorable on him....
And, finally, some news on his baby sister! Today we went in for our homestudy update with Erin at CHI and our new plan is to have our homestudy submitted to CIS as soon as possible and then hopefully have our dossier ready to go by November. Or December at the latest. (We've sped things up a bit in our timeline since we expect wait times to increase in the near future.) I'm going to start on it now (especially since the update paperwork was very simple) so I think I can have it all ready to go when our 171-H comes. The current wait-time for that in our state is 4-6 weeks. Last time it took 9 days, so we'll see.
So, with wait-times growing we are now going to just say that we hope to be traveling or at least have a referral by Micah's third birthday, which is February 2010. I know that seems hopelessly far away, but I'm trying to prepare for a long wait. Of course, if it happens sooner, you know I won't be complaining! :)
Eeek! I am excited to get our dossier off to Ethiopia!!!
It should be noted that I do not like scary books or movies (although I once co-wrote a 20 page paper about slasher films - go figure), but since these books are written for a teenage audience, I seem to be handling it okay. Anyway, that is my excuse for being a bad blogger - I've become obsessed with teen lit. Now onto some more meaningful stuff...MICAH IS HAVING A GROWTH-SPURT!! And, I don't just mean physically - I also mean mentally (if that makes sense). In the past week he has started communicating with signs and with words - like crazy! He always used to sign for "please" but now he is using "more" and "eat." (I promise to get video - especially since my awesome husband got me this for my birthday. Isn't he the best?)
Also, he is now saying the word "yep" when you ask him a question, as in,
Me: "Do you want to go see the dogs?"
Micah: "Yep." or
Me: "Do you want a pretzel?"
Micah: "Yep."
It is quite adorable. BUT, there is more! He has also started to use a sentence!!! Seriously, I thought single words were supposed to come first but lately Micah will point to something and say, "I want that." Okay, yes, it sounds more like, "Iuntdaaat" but it's become pretty obvious that he is indicating his want of something. It is amazing. I love it.
He is also still swiffer-ing like a madman - especially if I get out the vacuum - he goes right to the closet where the swiffer sleeps and points to it saying, "Iuntdaaat."
He got a new Amharic t-shirt today. We got it from this site (go look- you will love them) and it looks adorable on him....
And, finally, some news on his baby sister! Today we went in for our homestudy update with Erin at CHI and our new plan is to have our homestudy submitted to CIS as soon as possible and then hopefully have our dossier ready to go by November. Or December at the latest. (We've sped things up a bit in our timeline since we expect wait times to increase in the near future.) I'm going to start on it now (especially since the update paperwork was very simple) so I think I can have it all ready to go when our 171-H comes. The current wait-time for that in our state is 4-6 weeks. Last time it took 9 days, so we'll see.
So, with wait-times growing we are now going to just say that we hope to be traveling or at least have a referral by Micah's third birthday, which is February 2010. I know that seems hopelessly far away, but I'm trying to prepare for a long wait. Of course, if it happens sooner, you know I won't be complaining! :)
Eeek! I am excited to get our dossier off to Ethiopia!!!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Micah's New Toy
Yesterday Micah discovered his new favorite toy. I had to pry it from his hands at bedtime, tell him to say night-night to it and then rock him through his sobs. He was very distraught. Here he is in action with his new toy...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Micah Day!
It's Micah Day! (Or Family Day, or Gotcha Day - whatever you want to call it :) One year ago today we met our sweet baby boy. Today we celebrated with gifts in the morning - a TMX Tickle Me Elmo that had us all giggling.
And this afternoon I baked Micah a cake - I even made my own icing (because it was 800 degrees outside and we didn't want to leave the house to go buy some). Then we went to dinner at the Ethiopian restaurant. The owner, Henock, was there tonight and recognized Micah right away. Micah ran into his arms about 4 times and Henock gave him big hugs and kisses each time. I tried to get a picture, but our little wiggle-worm wanted down as soon as Henock picked him up. It was very sweet. (Oh- and I found the camera cord! BU pics coming soon...)
But, he'll eat cake with his hands...
Happy Family
And, of course you know I had to make a little montage for Micah's first Micah Day! Here are some of our favorite pictures from our first year together...
And this afternoon I baked Micah a cake - I even made my own icing (because it was 800 degrees outside and we didn't want to leave the house to go buy some). Then we went to dinner at the Ethiopian restaurant. The owner, Henock, was there tonight and recognized Micah right away. Micah ran into his arms about 4 times and Henock gave him big hugs and kisses each time. I tried to get a picture, but our little wiggle-worm wanted down as soon as Henock picked him up. It was very sweet. (Oh- and I found the camera cord! BU pics coming soon...)Micah loves to eat with a spoon - even Ethiopian food...
But, he'll eat cake with his hands...
Happy Family
And, of course you know I had to make a little montage for Micah's first Micah Day! Here are some of our favorite pictures from our first year together...
Monday, August 4, 2008
BU Memories
I would really love to post some of the adorable pictures of Micah at the Blog Union from this past weekend, but it seems I have left my camera cord in Hermosa Beach. So sad. Especially because Micah absolutely loved his first visit to the ocean - the waves were his favorite. The sand was not my favorite, but when I can finally post pictures, you will see that Micah had a mission to cover his entire body with it.
You can see pictures from the weekend here at Drew & Carey's blog.
Here are some of my favorite memories from this past weekend:
*Dancing with little Abe in my arms after spending some time talking with his mom. That Abe is one sweet boy. And, his mom is pretty great too.
*Seeing Micah's friend Silas again - and knowing that the two boys went and played together with their dads on Friday night. We also had fun walking up the hill to the Hampton Inn (no Beach House for us :) with Amy & Josh each night. Good times.
*Seeing this adorable baby boy and his mama too! (We missed his dad - next year he'll have to come too!)
*Meeting Courtney - the only other fellow CHIer at the Union. Courtney - you had a huge smile on your face all weekend! I was so happy to have met you! I can't wait until next year when you bring your little one to BU 09! (And bring Jason too!)
*Seeing old friends - Pacey & Nathan - and meeting so many new friends. There is just something so easy about being around people who have walked the same path as we have. There is an unspoken understanding there and I love that.
*Finally getting a big (HUGE) bear-hug from Habi. It was one of the best hugs ever.
*Watching Kevin meet all of these people that I've been talking about for a year now (or longer, really). I think I caught him looking at blogs this morning after I walked away from the computer! It was fun to share this weekend with him - and with Micah of course!
So, of course, a HUGE thank you to Drew & Carey for the AMAZING weekend! I really can't put into words how grateful I am for all they did to bring us all together. The bar has been set very high for BU 09 (I'm talking a full-on production crew, shuttles - the works!). I believe Jocelyn & Kerri are taking this on and moving the event to the good ol' Midwest. Just to get you ready, one way to say hello in the Midwest is "Woo-hoo!" but really loud and with emphais on the 'hooo!' So start practicing! :)
(Please do not be offended if you are a Midwesterner - I am one too and I do love it. I do not love that it is a swamp outside and the heat index is 112 degrees, but I do love it, really!)
You can see pictures from the weekend here at Drew & Carey's blog.
Here are some of my favorite memories from this past weekend:
*Dancing with little Abe in my arms after spending some time talking with his mom. That Abe is one sweet boy. And, his mom is pretty great too.
*Seeing Micah's friend Silas again - and knowing that the two boys went and played together with their dads on Friday night. We also had fun walking up the hill to the Hampton Inn (no Beach House for us :) with Amy & Josh each night. Good times.
*Seeing this adorable baby boy and his mama too! (We missed his dad - next year he'll have to come too!)
*Meeting Courtney - the only other fellow CHIer at the Union. Courtney - you had a huge smile on your face all weekend! I was so happy to have met you! I can't wait until next year when you bring your little one to BU 09! (And bring Jason too!)
*Seeing old friends - Pacey & Nathan - and meeting so many new friends. There is just something so easy about being around people who have walked the same path as we have. There is an unspoken understanding there and I love that.
*Finally getting a big (HUGE) bear-hug from Habi. It was one of the best hugs ever.
*Watching Kevin meet all of these people that I've been talking about for a year now (or longer, really). I think I caught him looking at blogs this morning after I walked away from the computer! It was fun to share this weekend with him - and with Micah of course!
So, of course, a HUGE thank you to Drew & Carey for the AMAZING weekend! I really can't put into words how grateful I am for all they did to bring us all together. The bar has been set very high for BU 09 (I'm talking a full-on production crew, shuttles - the works!). I believe Jocelyn & Kerri are taking this on and moving the event to the good ol' Midwest. Just to get you ready, one way to say hello in the Midwest is "Woo-hoo!" but really loud and with emphais on the 'hooo!' So start practicing! :)
(Please do not be offended if you are a Midwesterner - I am one too and I do love it. I do not love that it is a swamp outside and the heat index is 112 degrees, but I do love it, really!)
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