One Year Ago...

One year ago tonight, we were trying to finish up our packing for our trip to Taiwan to pick up Brooke. I can still remember feeling so overwhelmed. I had been sick with a stomach bug all week and now was rushing to pack. We were so excited and nervous. We were excited that we were finally going to meet Brooke. Nervous about the long flight and our first trip out of the country. Tonight I went back and read my blog post while we were in Taiwan. So much fun! So glad I decided to blog. I wish I would continue to blog like I did last year. It is amazing how much you forget about your everyday life. On December 10th, we will have had Brooke home one year!!! It has been an amazing journey. Brooke is now 17 months old. She enjoys playing Andrew's Keyboard when he is playing. Likes to climb on things. Enjoys being tickled, still loves to eat, loves books, music, and dancing. Brooke still sleeps really well (8pm to about 7am, with a two hour nap)!!! Loves for Andrew to chase her around the house. I have learned it is not wise for me to do this. On our last camping trip she was walking toward the road and when I started running after her she started laughing and running. Brooke is still not talking. She says "izzzzz" for I want that and can say tickle tickle. I have started to try to teach her sign language. She has learned "all gone" and can use it! We will have her evaluated next month if her speech doesn't improve. Since it has been so long after my last post.... the rest is from memory or lack of it. Halloween: Brooke went as Minnie Mouse. Andrew as a Ninja. I wanted Andrew to go as Peter Pan or Captain Hook and Brooke to be Tinkerbell, but he said NO! We had to do our family and friend "visiting"/trick or treating a day early due to Bryon was working on Halloween. For Halloween, we went to Andrews school Halloween Celebration. We completed our last post home visit. Somewhat sad that we would not be seeing Kathy again. She is the most wonderful social worker and was so encouraging and helpful. Thanksgiving: For Thanksgiving, we went camping in Destin. For most of our married life, we have spent Thanksgiving at the beach. We love it then. We did not go last year because of our upcoming travel. We were joined by another family the F's. This is the 2nd time they have joined us. We all ate at Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving dinner. The weather was good most of the week. Andrew and Brooke even braved the cold water and played in the ocean. I am so thankful Brooke is a huge fan of the beach. This is our favorite place to be. Of course while there, I had to shop. My best buys were at the Gap and Gymboree outlet. I was really able to get some great deals!! Yesterday I began to get serious about my Christmas shopping. Fortunately for us, we have really downsized the number of people we buy for. This has made the season so much more enjoyable. Also since we don't have to buy for everyone, I can now spend more on gifts for needy families. I usually shop for toy sales all year so we can donate to those who are unable to buy for their children. So much more rewarding than buying gifts for people who really don't need anything else. Andrew also enjoys this. I think it is good for him to try to understand that not everyone has the things he has. Some times Byron thinks I get carried away with the toy sales. One year I bought about 20 black Barbie dolls for about $2 each. LOL Well I guess that's all for now....