A Rainy Afternoon With the Grandparents

Before our long holiday weekend came to a close (boo hoo) we drove out to Tim's dad and stepmom's house for an hour or so. His dad lives in a rural area and has cows, so there was lots for Nigel to look at.

Checking out the cows




Bouncing with grandpa McD (the poor man has had surgery on both knees so I know this was killing him).

We Have Movement

I wouldn't call it proper tot crawling - it's more along the lines of the worm or an Army crawl - but Nigel's moving nonetheless. Does he crawl to his mom or his dad? Nope. The only thing that gets him moving is the lure of the remote control or crinkly newspaper, two things he's not allowed to have. Go figure.

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving:


My awesome son. He's changed my life and opened my eyes.


Nigel's birthfamily and WHFC family in Ethiopia.

My loving and forgiving husband. When I'm sick he tends to me, when I'm down he builds me up. And no matter what, he supports me and loves me unconditionally.


The sane and nontoxic people in our extended family.

The men and women who serve our country.


That my youngest brother will be home for Christmas. I will be forever thankful and grateful when he returns home from his second tour in Iraq following deployment in January.


Old friends.

Blog pals, especially my travel buddies Tiffany, Dan and Petros and the Dorados. And I can always count on Elsa's mommy, P, for some good laughs.

Everyone who supported us and continues to support us through the adoption and re-adoption of Nigel

New friends who are helping me on this motherhood journey.

The Ethiopian father and his two boys at the US Embassy in Ethiopia. They were getting visas for their upcoming trip to Atlanta, GA, I'll never forget what the father told me when he saw me holding Nigel in the sling: "He is good for you." I hear his voice everyday and it helps to calm me when I'm feeling frazzled.

That Tim has a steady job with a good company, and that my unsteady freelancing is OK with him.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. - Sarah, Tim and Nigel

What's Your Baby Drinking?

Mine might be getting a dose of Melamine, according to the WSJ. Freakin' great.....

A Model In Our Midst

With the help of our friend Anneli, Nigel landed his first modeling gig! He posed last week for PoshTots, which you may not have heard of if you're like me and aren't a millionaire. They sell super high-end baby and tot furniture and fixings, including a $47,000 Cinderella carriage. The catalog isn't out yet but below is a preliminary shot (doctored with my rudimentary photo-editing since it's not really for public consumption yet.). But don't worry, I have no intentions of becoming a stage mom... I think this is the extent of his modeling career.

I am getting old

This makes me feel really old. Sarah tells me this all of the time, but this is the confirmation.

'Tis the Season for Commercialism (and good deeds)

Oprah has her favorite things, and so do I. Here are some things I have my eye on this holiday season:

Web cams and Skype, so my family can keep in touch when my youngest brother returns to Iraq this winter.

Check out these T-shirts, which I found care of one of my fave blog pals ever. P, you rock!!!!

Join a CSA.

Make a donation to your favorite charity, such as Comfort Zone Camp.

Greeting cards and paintings from my fave artist.

Sponsor a child in Ethiopia through WHFC.

A new car seat for a gigantic baby. And a new stroller for said ginormous baby.

A new CD player for Nigel's room. The one we have is messed up and will play one CD and then stop instead of moving on to the next one. On the bright side, Nigel just listens to NPR into the night.

Toxin-free wooden toys.

And I'll once again drop a not-so-subtle hint here to Tim about the family tree necklace on this site. To be fair to Tim, we obviously weren't a complete family last year!

What's on your wish list this year? - Sarah