Fun with Megan and 18lbs!

Darth Vader and his niece Megan...
Leah LOVES the slide at the pool!

Leah is lucky to have such a great big cousin!

Sunday morning snow fun!

Megan came for the weekend which was great since I have a horrid cold... she is a huge help with Leah! I think my cold is a dream come true for Andrew because for most of the weekend I have had laryngitis! So the 3 healthy people in the house have stayed busy in the snow and going across the street to the pool while I have been stuck inside! Megan did get a break from being the "nanny" though and got to go on a snowmobile ride with Andrew and Ty!

In other BIG news Leah had a doctor's app't on Friday and she gained 3/4 of a pound! The most weight she has ever gained in between "weight check" appointments! She also grew a 1/2" and she finally is on the charts (the Indian charts) for height! Not bad considering from the information we have we think she was only 2lbs at birth! Her doctor was really happy with all of her results and says her "curve" is great for growth and that is the most important part!

Busy Week!

They have great toys in the waiting room at the dentist!
Showing the hygentist her teeth!

Hey lady that light is bright!

I think this is the happiest she has been in the snow all winter!

Perhaps she is finally accepting that this is her new reality!!!

Not sure if you can tell but her shirt says FRESHMAN... and her beads were brought home to her by Daddy when he was in New Orleans... she seems to like to accessorize!

This is a neat picture, you can see Jacob (in the front) and Leah clapping for him!

When the varsity team stands in that doorway to watch the end of the JV game Leah loves to wave to Jacob and many of this teammates. They are sweet and wave back to her even though they should be being tough and having their "game face" on!

It has been a busy week already and it is only Wednesday! Monday Leah got to go watch Whitney and Jacob play basketball because they both had home games in the afternoon since it was a holiday. Tuesday was my first day of teaching at the Community college and it was Leah's first time staying at Ashlee and Feleke's house. It went great.. she had a wonderful time and I felt completely comfortable leaving her! Of course, my class is only 70 minutes long, 2x a week! Today we had a storm and Andrew had to leave early for work so Leah and I were on snow removal duty more than we normally are. We had to head out once the storm winded down for Leah to go to her first dentist app't. She was quite a trooper- but scraping the plaque off sort of did her in! This dentist is a pediatric dentist though and it has the coolest waiting room all geared to kids... there are mini TV's above each chair- Dora was on the one we were in. So, they make it a pretty neat experience.

Being a basketball fan is a full time job for Leah... this time we went to see Matt play at Husson University! She must have been his good luck charm- he had a career high!
Leah and Leah... her namesake! Leah is having a baby in May! Hopefully not the same day her brother Matt (above) graduates from college!

The rocking horse, before it became a bucking bronco!

Mom tried a new hairstyle on Leah- 2 barrettes!

Lots of news!

Visiting Anna at the track meet!
Maggie giving me a ride at our own "open gym"!

Giving my friend Lily a ride!

Brent is "dreamy", he has a red convertible!

Hanging with Whitney post game!

What a busy weekend we had... but lots of fun! Friday night Leah went to her first track meet to see her big cousins Austin and Anna. Both are "standouts" at indoor track!

Saturday we went to big cousin Whitney's basketball game, she played awesome and they beat Brewer! Saturday evening Sophie and Sully came over to visit and Leah was wild and crazy and stayed up til 7:08!

Sunday morning a bunch of friends invited us to Dysart's for breakfast and then to the HA gym for our own open gym... ready made fun when one friend is the basketball coach and another friend has triplets! Sunday afternoon we watched the Patriots lose with Papa and Nana. Dad was upset but Mom secretly wants to cheer on the Jets as a former student plays for them!

As you can see from the pictures above Leah is officially, officially ours and a US citizen! She has her own social security card- and the first 3 digits are the same as Mom's! We are so excited to have that all done (especially with tax season around the corner)!

So now that Leah is officially done we have already sent in our initial application for adoption # 2 or adoption # 2 and 3! Like before we will consider a sibling group and like before we will go back to India. Of course this is the VERY beginning and it will be a long time before we are even officially on the waiting list, but the process has begun. Best estimates would be at least 2 years from now before Leah has a sibling!

In other news I am no longer a stay at home Mom! After much deliberation I have decided to take an adjunct faculty job at the local community college. I will only be teaching one section of world history on tues and thurs afternoons but it is a huge change for us. Luckily, Leah will stay with our good friend Feleke, from Ethiopia, and his Mom while I teach which will be great for her. I can't believe how hard it feels thinking of leaving her... even though it is only 3 or 4 hours a week!

Andrew is leaving later today for New Orleans for work for the week. He is dreading being apart from Leah this long, more so than he did when he went to Orlando back this fall. I think the fact that she now runs to the door yelling Daddy when he comes home at night is a big part of it!

Leah is doing great- in the past few weeks she has started using a lot more words which is great, she is also getting better at puzzles and more so than ever loves reading books and pointing to objects in them that she knows. She has been sleeping a crazy amount so we like to think that when we go back to the doctor's again she has grown. Truly one night this week she went to bed at 6pm! She has officially grown 2 foot sizes as we had her measured recently- she was a 2 when we got her and is now a 4! Her foot has improved dramatically, she has a follow up with the orthopedic surgeon in Feb so we will know more then.

Celebrity

Leah met a celebrity today. Rudy Pelletier from the Discovery show, American Loggers! He was very nice and appreciated us being big fans of the show! Andrew never knows the adventures he will hear about when he gets home from work!

Happy New Year

Being silly before bed in my ice fishing pajamas! Leah has been sleeping a lot! 13 hours a night- lets hope it means a growth spurt!
At the Children's museum on New Year's Eve - pointing to India! We had a great New Year's with Lilly, Maggie and Brent and their parents for dinner and ringing in the New Year (at 7pm) at the Children's museum !

Hanging out during the first of many stormy days with Papa... 2010 came in like a Lion!

Playing baseball inside with Dad! He has been on vacation for over a week! Back to work tomorrow!!!

New Years Morning snowshoe... we went by foot, Leah went by sled!