The Weekend

The summer always seems to bring weekends filled with activities. In fact, we realized last night that all but one of our weekends this summer has events already planned whether it be softball, a birthday party or an out-of-town trip. Though we stuck around this weekend, it seemed almost every available moment was filled, and when it wasn't, we felt like we should be doing something. I think I need to practice relaxing...

Friday night we took a drive to a community were interested in living in, enjoyed some Anna's pizza and spent some time at Nonnie's pricing items for the yard sale we had on Saturday morning. We had an early start for the yard sale on Saturday. We arrived at 7:30 (supposed to start at 8am) with people already shopping. The first person arrived at 6:15 - Mechanicsville folks love their yardsales! It was a hot day, but people still came, and we all enjoyed making a bit of money. Geoff played softball ALLLL day - literally. He didn't come pick us up until 10:30 that night. So, we made a trip to Cracker Barrel with Mimi and Granddad for dinner, and I caught up on the last few episodes of Parenthood (love that show!) that Mom had dvred for me. M&M also was able to meet three of her cousins for the first time. My step-brother Drew and family just moved from Ohio to Manassas last week for his next appointment with the Air Force (thanks, Drew!). We are looking forward to having them closer. Below are a few pics of M&M with Kallie.

And Sunday brought more softball, so M&M and I headed to church on our own. Taking M&M to the church nursery is probably near in the future as she's starting to get wriggly staying in one place for an hour and a half. Though it hit 102, we thought we'd venture to the softball field after church to at least say hello, but when we arrived they were wrapping up their last game. No one seemed too disappointed as everyone was eager to get out of the heat. The rest of the day we spent at home playing, napping, reading (I finished a great book called Adopted for Life - if you're considering adoption, you should read it), and starting Rosetta Stone. Geoff speaks Spanish well already, but he really wants to improve his vocab and learn how to conjugate correctly, so this was his Father's Day present. I'm hoping to use it, too, once he's finished, but for now adios amigos (you can see I learned a lot in the 5 years I took it). Have a great week!

New York City

I've been to NYC at least a dozen times in my life - most of those times having been in the last 5 years because my dear friend Faith lives there and because my central office is located in Brooklyn. I love to visit and enjoy being surrounded by the hustle and bustle. My trip this week brought on a whole new sense of respect for those brave New Yorkers that live there all year around. I now view the world through the lense of a mother...and wow, women who raise children in New York should be given medals.

When I take Mary-Michael to my mom's or Charlene's during my work days, I have at least 4 bags, sometimes a playmat and of course, a baby. I have a diaper bag, my purse, my laptop bag, my breast pump and often a cooler with milk and a bag of her cloth diapers. If I wanted to maintain this bag lady standard while in New York I would have to no doubt purchase a triplet stroller - 1 seat for M&M, the other 2 for the bags. The problem with this is that I don't think I could get a triplet stroller in the subway. It's hard enough pushing yourself through the mass of people to get a coveted spot where you can actually hold onto something to avoid tumbling into the people behind you. I can't imagine doing it while pushing an extra wide load. And I hadn't even thought about all the stairs to just get to the subway! I think I'd go broke paying for taxis or wear rollerblades so we could get places.

So, Mary-Michael - one day we will go up there for a girls weekend to visit your Auntie Faith and see all the cool stuff the big city has to offer, but I think we'll make sure you're potty-trained, walking, eating adult food and possibly able to carry your own things. Otherwise, Faith will find us sleeping in Penn Station because Momma didn't have the energy to make it any farther.

Father's Day

We had a sweet and relaxing Father's Day yesterday with a trip to early service at church and then brunch at Starlite Cafe with my Dad and Zach. When we all get together there always seems to be a good combination of serious, deep conversation on life and faith and laughable, good-natured talk on movies, the ridiculous performances in the World Cup when someone is "injured" and the oddities in life. As I've gotten older I've come to admire and respect so much about my dad, particularly lately as he continues to remain positive and God-reaching despite losing his job of 27 years. He is a man aware of his faults but also aware of his strong character and love of people. I know M&M will hear great stories from history and encouragement to pursue her dreams from her Poppy - I am so grateful for that.

And then of course, there is the man I love most who celebrated his first Father's Day. He wanted to relax the rest of the day, so he did just that with only a few moments where he actually left the couch. I knew when I met Geoff and saw him interact with little ones that he was going to be a father completely invested in his children and a daddy who knew how to have fun. From early on we knew we wanted a family that included adopted and biological children, and I think that was one of the things that confirmed for us that we should be together. I hope M&M and our future children will share in their daddy's desire for adventure, willingness to take risk, ability to dream big and super generous heart (I think he would give away our groceries to the family down the street if I let him). Geoff - thank you for being a wonderful husband and father. You have so much to share and give to your baby girl and already I see so much of you in her, which is a beautiful thing...unless she acquires your driving skills - then we're all in trouble.

Rockin and Rollin

Today Mary-Michael rolled over for the first time! We all went to Mathews for the day to visit with Nonnie, Granddad, and much of the rest of the Harder/Appich family. While getting ready for a day by the water M&M decided she was over tummy time and rolled herself on over. She performed her new trick while in front of everyone later that day, too, so we know it wasn't just a fluke. We were so proud...isn't it funny what little things bring you joy once you have a little one in your life? I remember friends that had children before me getting excited about these mini milestones, and I have to admit sometimes I often thought, "Well, that's great, but what's the big deal?" Now I feel silly for thinking that way because I totally get it! Good job baby girl.

Here are some pics from our day by the bay.











Other fun things from this past week:

-birthday celebrations for Uncle Zach and Micah
-pig pickin with the Rose's and other friends
-graduation celebrations
-Momma being able to zip AND button all of her old jeans (even her skinnies!) - this does not mean they all look pretty or that there was no jumping, wriggling, etc.
-visit with the Pierce's and meeting baby Emmett
-house going on the market (more to come on this)

As I reflect on our new life as a family of three, I just feel incredibly blessed and grateful. Thank you darlin and M&M for making my life so wonderful.

Tummy Time is Torture Time

The doc says we have to, so a few times a day Mary-Michael undergoes torturous tummy time. We find it a bit amusing as you can tell by our giggles in the video. We have actually had moments lately where she enjoys tummy time, but they aren't quite as much fun to capture on video because she isn't trying to army crawl off her playmat. I know, we're terrible, so I decided to end the video with some happy moments from our beautiful girl.

You Might be a Virginia Tech Hokie If...

1. Your rehearsal dinner centerpieces were VT balloons, VT pompoms and Hokie birds
2. Your rehearsal dinner cake was decorated with VT colors and topped with a Hokie bird couple
3. The Hokie bird shows up at your wedding



4. At least 1/3 of the wedding guests are VT alumni or current students (including my husband)



5. The bride and groom enter the reception to Metallica's Enter Sandman (VT's football team entrance song)



6. The bride says Frank Beamer when answering the question, "If you could meet anyone in this world, who would it be?"

Congratulations Ryan and Meredith! And thanks to Grandma and Papa George for taking care of our wee one while we celebrated this weekend.


With Charlene, the mother of the groom.

Three Months

Mary-Michael,

Today you are three months old. You are becoming your own little person, and it has been such a treat to watch. You are a very happy baby and are full of smiles and coos. You love to blow bubbles and have started squealing when you really like something. You are reaching and grabbing for things in front of you, and your eyes get really big when you see something that interests you (i.e. flashing lights on your toys). You have discovered your hands, and we often find you sucking on them, chewing on them or just intertwining your fingers. You hate tummy time, but we still do it because we want those neck muscles to get strong. Your head control is pretty good, but your legs are what's really strong. You kick them, slam them on the ground and love to bounce on our lap standing up.

You have started to drool A LOT, so we are wondering if you might start teething! You still love bath time and taking walks in your stroller. You are averaging a 6-7 hour stretch at night, and we are working on a nap schedule. In the last week or so, I think you've had a growth spurt because you have been anxious to eat more often than normal. You're eating about 6-7 ounces at each feeding, so momma is trying hard to keep up.

You are a treasure, and we love you.

Momma

Back to Work

The last 12 weeks off have been more amazing than I could have ever hoped for thanks to the birth of our baby girl, but alas, the moment was bound to arrive...when conference calls would return, my inbox would fill up and my hours were no longer all my own. We made it through the first week. There may have been a few nights when I was in bed by nine and several moments of feeling guilty, but M&M did just fine as I expected she would. She was great for her very wonderful caretakers, which certainly made it easier on me. Here's a quick video of our girl being her happy self.