December Update

Well here it is just past the middle of December and I find that I haven't posted in over three weeks...... again! There just seems to be so much going on in our busy lives these days that we so easily get caught up in it. Lord knows the economy is a mess and now is truly not a great time to be in the business of finance. Couple that times two and sometimes you get a household that is honestly exhausted, (mentally) when they get home at night! Even though we try very hard to keep our business lives separate, sometimes it is hard not to let things spill over when you are dealing with so many variables like we are right now. With all of that aside, the one thing that remains a positive and a constant source of joy and appreciation in our lives is MEREDITH!!

She is doing great! She is a running, laughing, cheerful bundle of energy that starts and ends each day with a hug and a smile. We are so blessed to have her in our lives and can't imagine life without her.

I am working on our Christmas cards, (at the rate I am going they may be "New Year's cards"). So please do not feel slighted if you haven't received one yet. I am yearning for home-baked goods, but doubt anything much will come from my kitchen this year, and my Mom is moving to Oregon, so count her out.....Hmmmm. Amazing where all of the time goes!!

The picture was taken last weekend at a potluck we attended for all of the China adopted children in our valley - -aren't they all beautiful? It was wonderful getting together with all of the great families and their children.

I hope you all are doing well and are taking time to enjoy the season.

Blessings to all of you!

Beach Girl

We spent this past week in the Florida Keys. Every year our Board of Directors has a management meeting/retreat at a wonderful resort in Key Largo. This year Meredith was lucky enough to come along and entertain everyone and enjoy the sunshine and sweet life of a Florida beach girl! She was a wonderful traveler (for the most part), and a real trouper when it came to meeting tons of new people, minding her manners at business dinners and keeping the atmosphere down to earth! I think we need to keep her home for a while now so that she doesn't think that it is her job to walk around looking adorable so that everyone ( and I mean, everyone), can tell her how cute she is!!

Anyway, here are some photos from the trip.

Enjoy!

What Happened to October?

I have some photos from last month's events that I have been wanting to post, so I guess I had better get them out here before I update November stuff!

Meredith had her first haircut - really it was just a bang trim, but none the less traumatic as you can see by the pictures!

We really didn't do much of anything for Halloween. The kids all dressed in their costumes at day-care and trekked down to the bank for some treats. They were all SO adorable, and I especially love the picture of my two girls together.

I am so thankful that we have had such a warm and beautiful fall here. It has been so nice to be able to spend time outdoors - that is definitely Meredith's favorite pastime.

Autumn in the Rockies

It would be hard to find a day to top a day like today..... October 18th, 75 degrees with a beautiful blue Colorado sky, blue spruce trees and pines intermixed with the aspen, maple and elms along the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers. Picture perfect for a day in the park!

Daily Life

Have I mentioned how much Meredith loves to go to daycare? Once she is finished eating her breakfast and sees that her lunch has been made and packed in her special lunchbox, there is no turning back.... She is ready! She insists on carrying her own lunch, and jacket - if necessary, and she will go stand by the garage door in the mudroom to wait (impatiently, I might add), for her driver!! Do I dare say that this is reminiscent of the dog waiting to go on a walk?? (OK - I am just kidding - -nobody turn me in). Seriously, if she wasn't so happy to be picked up in the afternoon, Eric and I have agreed that we might have some serious hurt feelings over this whole scenario!

The other pictures were taken with Meredith's jie jie, Lindsay and her Dalmation, Lexie. They were just hanging out (the 3 girls) playing with some blocks! Good stuff on a Sunday afternoon.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon we went to a local farmer's pumpkin patch so that Meredith could pick out a couple of good potential jack-o-lanterns and possibly a nice pie pumpkin. We weren't sure how she might comprehend this whole concept, but it was a beautiful autumn day and we were on our way to an "End of Summer" picnic at our friend's home nearby, so we thought we would stop and give it a try! Needless to say, once she caught on to the idea, she loved it, wanted many more than three pumpkins and wanted Daddy to keep pushing them around the fields in the wheelbarrow! I think we got some great gourds, too....

Updated Photos

Here are some recent photos from our busy life. Meredith has started daycare full-time and really loves the other kids and "Miss Joy" and "Miss Megan"! She comes home happy, exhausted and "wearing" most of the details of her fun-filled day! (They say that is how you can tell she had a really good day - - by how dirty she gets!)

She also spent a week with her grandparents while they were here visiting, she went to her first Rockies Baseball game, visited our adoption agency, travelled to Denver for the weekend, went to a couple of parties, and...Oh, starting walking!!!

Never a dull moment around here!

Meredith is aware of the camera....

It didn't take long for Meredith to become aware of the camera! Now every time I get out the 35mm, she immediately clams up, turns away, or does something goofy with her tongue! The other day I thought she looked particularly cute and so I thought it would be an ideal time to get some shots.....here is her take on how the shoot went.........

As you can see, about one in every seven pictures turns out to be a real winner, but what the heck, I think they are all great and I plan to fill up all of our memory cards! (Besides, you never know when we might need a couple of "bribe" shots about fifteen years from now)!!

Enjoy!

p.s. Meredith was having an exceptional hair day!

............Liz, hurry back!!

Birthdays!!!

We had a couple of birthdays last week. Margo's was on the 5th and her mother's on the 6th. Grammy came out for the week to get to know Meredith and babysit. Margo and I both had to work the full week. That was tough. Last Friday we had a surprise birthday party and all our friends came. Meredith had a great time.

Yes I know I have been slacking,,,,,,,,

I am not sure exactly where the time goes these days. Back when we were waiting to be matched, I am certain that the hands on the clock were drenched in honey, but now the days turn into weeks and the weeks just seem to fly by.

Meredith is growing both physically and emotionally and she is such a great joy to be around! Most of the time she is a bright, happy, quizzical little bundle eagerly awaiting whats in store for each new day. She still loves to eat - especially broccoli, peaches, bananas and chicken, but honestly there aren't too many food options that she turns away!

Rather than babble on, I think I will just post some photos and you can get caught up looking at those!!

Back To Work

This week Eric and I started back to work part-time. Eric will work 3 days this week and I will work 2 and then next week we will switch. After that we are going to rely on some family for day-care fill-in until Meredith can start full-time September 1st. Today was my first day back in my office and it was a little tough, although very comforting to know that Meredith was with Daddy. Right before I left for China, my office was moved to the third floor so when I went to work today I walked into a new office of boxes, new furniture, 4 weeks worth of mail and 869 unopened email messages.....it was a little overwhelming! Needless to say I don't really feel like I accomplished too much and I am dead tired, but it sure was great to come home to that great smile!!

Swimming and Biking, Oh My!

You know how some kids are just born adventurers? They are constantly on the go, anxious to try one new thing after another - no fear? Well, not Meredith! She tends to be on the conservative side (hmmm - perhaps like her Dad)? She doesn't really mind trying new things, but she is very cautious and her tendency is to resist, at least at first. So it was no surprise that she was apprehensive about the pool. She now sort of enjoys the water in her bath as long as you don't get her face or hair wet (yeah, right), and that is the way she felt about the pool. "Thank you very much, this top step is fine and I'll have a great time as long as I can feel the sides and the bottom"! Anyway, she had a good time and the door is open to explore more the next time.

Biking was a little different. She seemed to really enjoy riding in the trailer...until she had to put her helmet on. The chin strap was tight and the back of the helmet pushed her face down! I have to admit she looked pretty miserable by the time we stopped for a break - -it was hot, the helmet had slipped down over her eyes and she had fallen asleep! We'll have to work on that one I guess. It was a good first try and we managed to get about 4.5 miles in on our new stellar bike path. Last year they took out the old railroad tracks and paved an awesome bike trail that now connects all the way from Glenwood Canyon to Aspen. It might be a while before WE make that kind of progress, though!