Nigel is Gangsta

In honor of the Braves' final game ever in Richmond, Nigel wore an old-school Braves hat. Doesn't it also look like he flashing a gang sign? Forest Hill, baby!


And then there's this shot. He looks tough. Seriously, I wouldn't mess with this kid if I were you.
- Sarah

What's Your Biggest Post-Child Splurge?

Our family's back down to one income so money's going to be pretty tight. We cut corners where we can, but there are some things we do still splurge on. It's a system of trade offs, I guess. For example, we buy brand name formula because I don't want to risk a tragic switch, but we counter that with Target brand shampoo and homemade baby food.

Probably our biggest splurge at the moment is Seventh Generation Diapers, which are $10.99 for 40 at Babies R Us. We had planned to use a cloth diapering service, but it cost just a little too much. So, my compromise, which turns out to cost almost as much as the service, are these chlorine-free diapers. I really love them.... they don't have that weird perfume smell that Luvs has and they hold in bodily functions really well.

Do you have a splurge you can't give up? - Sarah

Labor Day Weekend Adventures

This Labor Day weekend I used the shiro and berbere powder we bought in Ethiopia to make shiro using this recipe. It was so quick and easy and very tasty.

Some of the ingredients


The final product


Saturday afternoon we met some other folks from the area's Ethiopian adoptive community at a park. Nigel sat in a swing that's obviously (and dangerously) too big for him.


On Sunday we took Nigel to a residential art gallery of sorts


And yesterday Nigel visited the James River for the first time. He got his toes (and his bum) wet.

Nigel's First Photo Shoot

Saturday, an awesome photographer who participates in the Celebrating Adoption program came to shoot our first family photos. Nigel was the star, of course. There are some preliminary shots here on her blog. We'll let you know when the finished product is in. - Sarah

Sitting Up? You Decide.

So Nigel's sitting up now.... sort of. I'm not sure if what he's doing counts, but it's going in the baby book! - Sarah

Green Machine

In a now-former life I covered food news, restaurants and nutritious eating. I'm still totally into it and hope Nigel will enjoy a variety of foods throughout his life. I semi-joked with my pal Nikole that my hope is Nigel's palate will be so diverse that by the time he's 3 he'll be a restaurant reviewer. We're well on our way with today's food introduction: avocado! I didn't have avocado until I met Tim more than 8 years ago, so it's so cool to me that this little guy can experience this tasty treat at such a young age. We have yet to find something he doesn't like, and the avocado was no exception. - Sarah

nigels first piece of mail

He got an invitation to my good friend Jason's wedding on October 11th. unfortunately Nigel will not be able to attend with Sarah and I. He will keep the ladies waiting a little longer for his grand appearance on the wedding scene. but here is a picture to show you what you missing.-tim