Mama, Luke, and uncle Zach went to the children's museum with a few other families (mostly Guate-tots) Saturday while daddy was working. He had a good time, although was shy at first. Thank goodness uncle Zach was there to help carry that big boy! Mama got tired out so we came home and took naps. The Lucas and mama's tummy pics are from several days ago. I don't know if I've gotten any bigger since then, but I am progressively more tired. I think I've reached the 'ready to deliver' point.

Happy Valentine's day

We had a fun time getting together with other adoptive families today to celebrate Valentine's day. There were about 20 kids there--about half of the adoptees were from Guat, and the other half were from China. (The host couple has a 2 year old from Guat, and have been waiting on a China adoption for a couple of years.) It was neat to see Luke with other little Guate-tots and to share stories with the other families.

We are down to less than 3 weeks until due date (of course, hoping for a little sooner, as all pregnant women must). Tired, easily winded, moderately stressed--at least the easily winded should get better after the delivery!

Luke is doing great. He has become hooked on Yo Gabba Gabba (crazy show on Noggin if you haven't seen it--uncle Zach is hooked, too), so with his limited TV time, that's a big fave. His dad was proud when he pointed out nearly all the weird characters correctly the other night. He's using a couple more words--he says yes appropriately, and sometimes 'daw' for dog. I just have a feeling he has a ton of words in there he's going to spill out all at once sometime in the next few weeks. He's pretty effective at communicating with the signs we've taught him and with gestures and sounds he's chosen, but it will be nice to have a little more specificity than "mmm, mmmm" and pointing.

Time to update, since I'm not really interested in the SuperBowl! These are a few pics from our 1st Christmas and winter in the SW. Although that summer heat is tough, we sure are glad we don't have to battle icy highways and shovel snow this year.

Luke got the big bear from mama and dad for Christmas and it was love at first sight. He loves to play in the back yard, pouring water, piling rocks, throwing the ball--all fun stuff. I am 35 wks in this pic--soon it'll be a month to go!

We are closing in on 5 weeks remaining until baby girl is due. We are excited to meet her, and I am looking forward to being able to walk at my normal fast pace and not have to wear support stockings every day! However, we are also nervous about the major change this will bring about in our house as we add our 2nd child in the span of 6 months. Luke is doing great, and pats mama's tummy when we talk about baby girl. I'm sure he won't always be terribly excited about the new addition, especially during the first few months, but it will be fun to have them relatively close in age as they get older.

4 months

We've now been home with Luke for 4 months today. It seems like he's been with us for such a long time now, but it really wasn't that long ago that we were still stuck in the long waiting process wondering when our little guy was going to come home. That was such a hard time, and we feel for those who are still waiting.
It was about 70 here today, and he got to play in the sprinkler a little! The back patio is pretty warm right in the sun, so he got a few minutes of splashing outside. Good times:) Baby girl seems to be doing fine. She seems to be very active; I hope that doesn't mean that she won't sleep once she arrives!

We had a good Christmas here, and today we're enjoying a beautiful 75 degree New Year's day. Aaron's brother Jason and his son Anson are visiting for the week, and Anson got to go to baseball camp. The guys hit the trail this morning, and it's been mostly football since then.

We are at 31 weeks tomorrow, so the addition of our new little one is coming right up. I am definitely noticing my joints are more sore and lax, and I am more easily short of breath. No tough trails for me right now, that's for sure!

Happy New Year to all!!