The Beach

When it comes to weeknights, I am neither ambitious nor spontaneous. But when you live in Rochester, it is the end of September, and you are blessed with 90 degree day...you take advantage of it! So I picked Alex up this afternoon and we headed home for our swimsuits and bottled water and then it was off to the beach. We had a great time splashing around in the water and enjoying this extra bit of summer! Who knew I had it in me to throw caution to the wind like that.

Apple Picking

One of our favorite Fall traditions is picking our own apples. We love to visit Green Acres and of course sample the selection as we fill our bags. Once home, the apples get peeled and a pot of applesauce simmers all day long and the smell of baked apple and cinnamon soon fills the house. This year was no exception, and in addition we added a quick trip to Kelly's for the world's best crumble top apple pie. Oh how I love Fall!!! I hope one day many years from now, the smell of apples will bring Alex back in time and that she remembers these special moments we have shared.

Congrat to Kris and Claudio

After eight...yes eight...years together our friends Kris and Claudio finally tied the knot. Poor Joe looked like he was walking his daughter down death row rather then down the aisle to her new husband! It is not that he doesn't love Claudio, but is a father ever really ready to let his baby girl go. I know Shawn would answer with an emphatic, "No way"!



Unfortunately when you arrive at 2:59 to a 3:00 wedding, it doesn't afford you the best seat in the house, so I wasn't able to get very good pics. But Kris was a beautiful bride and Claudio a dashing and beaming groom. Congratulations to the both of you and may love and hapiness follow you all the days of your lives. That, and good luck with the twins by Christmas thing too!

I was able to at least get a few good shots of my fam...

This is Shawn and I with my sister and brother-in-law (Tim and Kris)


And my mother, Doreen, and Stepfather, Steve


And thanks to our dear friends, Howie and Teri, for taking such superb care of Alex for the night. From all the picture messages we received, it was obvious she had a great time!!!

Headed Out

I'll be away in Richmond, VA for a few days. I have a conference for work and will be traveling. I will secretly, or not so secretly, admit that I am really looking forward to a few days to myself. As much as I love my family it will be nice to get away ALL ALONE. The evenings will be filled with fine dining and on Thursday I'll be treated to a massage and pedicure....all while being "on the clock". I may even squeeze in some time for uninterrupted shopping!

I feel baby news in the air though...so make sure someone calls me if something big comes up!

Hiey Yah

Alex was insistant this Fall on taking karate. You can imagine how surprised we were that she chose Martial Arts over a pretty little pink tu-tu, but once she makes up her mind there is no changing it. So she is now enrolled in Master Kim's Taekwondo. Today was her fourth class and by golly is she ever cute! Though she doesn't understand why she is cursed with the white belt when all she wants is a red belt. But I guess that gives her something to work for. Master Kim is very strict and Alex is learning a great deal of respect and self discipline. I just LOVE this class and think it is so great for her.

Niagara-On-The-Lake

Teri and I spent the day on Sunday at Niagara-On-The-Lake. Shawn was at the Bills game and Alex spent the day with Grammy. Would you believe that it was the first real "Girl's Day" I have had since Alex was born! We had a great time even though the weather was pretty crummy.

We also hit The Galleria Mall on the way home. It was lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (yumm-a-lish) and then off shopping. I was thrilled to find these basket liners at Pottery Barn Kids. Who knew orange gingham would be so hard to find. Needless to say, it works!

9-11

I received the following e-mail from my cousin Ricky's wife. I thought I would share it......

Tomorrow, is September 11. I just wanted each of you to take a moment to think, to think about where you were that day. Think about the horrible pain that came to us all. Think about watching those planes, with Al Queda aboard, hit those towers. Think about the people aboard those planes filled with innocent men, woman, and children. Think about the thousands of people that died in those towers. Think about the heros that died that day trying .

Remember - that is why our soldiers are where they are. That is why. Never forget.

NEVER!

Tomorrow, my angel goes into Kuwait. Tomorrow, is September 11, 2007. He is there defending our freedom along with countless others. They are today's hero's. They remember, they are there, they know. They go to defend our country. They go to protect you and I. They die for us. They DIE to protect this country from the evil of terrorism.

I just wanted to remind each of us about the feelings that we had after that day. Remember the flags, remember the unity. I do, and I remember never feeling more proud to be an American. Each day since then, my pride grew. It continues to grow each day.

I felt compelled to write this. I couldn't help myself. I dislike where this country has gone since that day. Instead of remembering, and continuing to be unified, we grew apart. Our country went back to the way it was before. I feel it is worse though. We are more divided than ever.

I just want everyone of us, at least for one day, forget being this or being that. Let's just be proud to be American's. Let's just be proud of our troops. Let's remember, remember that day.

With sincere pride,
Leann S. Duncan

Please continue to pray for Ricky and all those that love him along with the thousands of other service men and women serving our country.

Gabi Sleeps Over

Today was the day. The day that we have talked about for several years. The day that Howie finally gave in and parted with Gabi for the night. Hooray for us!!!


Note: There were no sleep inducing drugs used in the making of the following pictures.

We're Official!

We had our home visit on 8/21 and I mailed out our profiles on 8/24. I called the agency yesterday to check on our status and it appears we are officially a "waiting family". Although our homestudy has not yet been filed, the rest is just a formality and we are able to be considered for cases now. Wow, we made it!

Now for the hard part....THE WAIT!

A nice ending to a great summer...

Megans 1st Sleepover

Our former neighbor, Megan, had her very first sleepover with us last night. She worked really hard to earn all of her stickers in order to come to Allie's! And boy did they have themselves some fun. The evening was busy with swimming, swimming, and more swimming. Once back home, they enjoyed a Barbie video. Bedtime was a breeze (thank God). And this morning Alex requested to take her guest to Friendley's for breakfast.

Buffalo Bills "Kid Day"

Alex had her first real football experience last night. We went with a group of 31 people to the Buffalo Bills pre-season "Kid Day". Bills performed in true Bills fashion ending in a loss. But we still had a great time.
Alex didn't much like the roaring of the cheers when the Bills did score....so fortunately they didn't do too much of it!

Weekend in Toronto and Canada's Wonderland

We spent the weekend in Toronto and Canada's Wonderland. Also traveling with us were Shawn's sister Amy, her husband Roger and their two children Kaitlin and Trey. Alex had so much fun with her cousins. We will make a mental note though that Bloor on a Friday night is not necessarily the most "kid" friendly area! And the traffic both ways was horrendous...between the border and the QEW, it took over five hours each way. Other than that we had a great time. Alex was so excited to see her hero Scooby Doo. I think she has a crush on Shaggy! She got a boat-load of souveniers, but her favorite thing was little rubber worm she got at the arcade. I can't tell you how many times I had to climb into the back seat on the way home trying to find that stupid worm when she dropped it! And on the way back, we stopped for a quick trip through IKEA (Alex made out pretty well there too) and then a milkshake at The Hershey Factory. I think everyone will sleep well tonight!!!

To see all the photos from this weekend, you can visit my shutterfly album.

Headed to Toronto

We are off to Toronto tomorrow to spend the weekend at Canada's Wonderland. Be back some time on Sunday.

Poor Pepper

Pepper is such a good kitty. She is so loving and forgiving. Cats don't usually tolerate nearly as much as dogs do...but Pepper is a trooper. She let's Alex do pretty much anything to her. The other night while Alex was in bathroom supposedly brushing her teeth, I walked in on Alex giving Pepper a bath. Yes, she had her in the sink and was bathing her...successfully! Pepper wasn't putting up any type of fuss, but just letting Alex lather her with soap under the faucet. She was so very proud! Pepper didn't seem to mind in the least and now we have a cat who smells like wild berry.


Pepper follows Alex everywhere. It's very cute to see them together. Pepper's newest is breaking into Alex's room at night. For the past week I have found her laying on Alex pillow at night and sleeping next to her. So sweet! Pepper is just full of unconditional love.

Bill Update

He had the Heart Cath this afternoon. Turns out he does have several new blockages, but they are not operable. They will do the best they can to treat with medications. This is not the best of news. Quite frankly, I am not sure how much more damage his heart can sustain. But thus far, he continues to defy the odds and keeps on ticking.

These pictures were taken last summer when he went to NYC and Sesame Place with us.

Gabi's Zoo Party

Alex had a great time this afternoon at Gabi's 4th birthday party. It was at the Seneca Park Zoo where the kids enjoyed hearing a story, making a craft and petting some animals. Gabi received some adorable presents and then everyone enjoyed pizza and cake! We were rushed for time and only saw a few animals, but I hear the other kids cooled off by splashing in the stream afterwards.

We later checked in on grandpa who was doing somewhat better. He is still experiencing a great deal of chest pain so they are hoping he is not gearing up for another one. During our visit, Alex kept busy with crafts and doing Daddy's hair.

Today is also the anniversary of my own's father's death. He died in the same hospital in 1995 of cardiac arrest. Brings back a lot of memories :-(

Bill's Sick Again

He's ok, but....

We got a call at 11:15 last night from my mother-in-law that my father-in-law was really sick. She said they were waiting to hear back from the doctor and wanted Shawn to come down. What she really meant was that she had called 911 and was afraid she'd have to start CPR soon and didn't want to do it herself. So Shawn flew down the street and I packed Alex up for another night at Sissy's (poor kid).

Though he has been pretty sick for awhile and quite often they never really determine the cause, this time thry know he DID have another heart attack. Couldn't even guess what number this is by now.

He was stable enough , so Shawn and I came home about 3:30 this morning. They were moving him to ICU this morning if they had any beds. As of 15 minutes ago, they still haven't been able to get his blood suger below 500. So they are contending with that too. That is likely due to the staff infection he still has from a few months back.

Alex has a 10:30 B-day party at the zoo, which we don't dare miss...so I am up and leaving shortly to go get her. I'll update again later...and have b-day pics too!

The Girls' First Pedicures

STAR Picnic

Today we attended the Annual Adoption STAR picnic. It was our fifth year in attendance and it continues to be my favorite agency activity. It is always so amazing to see all of the beautiful families touched by adoption.

As always, I planned Alex's outfit about three weeks ago (a cute but practical GAP sundress). She was all decked out with her matching purse and shoes. Picture perfect! That was...until she announced 1/4 mile before entering the park, "Momma my tummy hurts, I think I'm gonna frow up". And indeed she did, all over herself, the carseat, and my trailblazer. So we spent the next 30 minutes washing out her dress in the sink and cleaning her up. She was fine after that, just a case of car sickness. But the incident left her with only a nightgown to wear. We were already late, which is a total no-no in my book...but fortunately Grandma was with us and offered to rush off to WalMart to buy another dress. God bless that woman! Everyone should have a "Betty"!!!

After the craziness was over, Alex enjoyed playing on the playground the rest of the afternoon. She also thought she was pretty hot stuff when she got her face painted like a "princess".

And here are her two sidekicks, Sean and Gabi.