We began a blog at http://rossandj.blogspot.com. We will be updating this new blog from now on.

We just posted a video from New Year's Eve - please stop by to check it out!

...have been fulls of wonderful highs and lows. We celebrated Connor's b-day on July 7th and then we spent a wonderful week in California. Unfortunately, Grandma Thompson passed away on Tuesday night, so we are now on our way to PA today to be with family. We will send out pictures and provide another update soon. We hope everyone is well!

It's incredible to watch the new things that Connor learns to do and to remind us that he is growing into an amazing boy. For example, tonight after dinner, he walked UP the slide on the playground, yes...UP the slide standing on his feet! And last night he discovered that he could lie in the bathtub on his back with only his eyes, nose and mouth above water.

This month's Peppertree Press was sent home from day care and on the first page it gave a Happy Birthday shout out to Connor, who turns two on July 8. If we ask Connor how old he is, he responds with a very emphatic "I'm two!" Speaking of two, he is in transition now between the "ones" and "twos" room at school. If we weren't going to be on vacation on July 9th he would officially be in the "twos" room full-time on that day.

According to the Peppertree Press they do Show and Tell in the "twos" room and each week they need to bring in a different item from home. This month the items are:

1. A picture of a dinosaur
2. A book about dinosaurs
3. Something with a number (1-5) on it
4. His favorite toy

Time to start looking through his stack of books to see if we can find a dinosaur book! Didn't show and tell used to start in kindergarten?

For some reason, Dad though of a greeting card tonight that we received shortly after Connor was born. We saved it because we loved what it said. It only took Dad 30 minutes to find it - under all of the artwork from day care and the momentos being saved for compilation into the eventual baby book. Hallmark should received an award of some sorts for this one! Here is what it says:


Someday, he'll be a big-time movie star
or a fifth-grade English teacher.

Someday, he'll marry, have a few kids.
Maybe he won't.

Someday, he'll change the world as we know it.
Or maybe he'll travel,
send postcards from China,
phone you from Paris.

Someday, he's going to be a big, strong man
able to carry you in his arms.

One day, he'll have his own hopes and dreams,
not knowing
that once upon a quiet time,
you closed your eyes
and made a wish
to one day
have him in your life.

We can't believe that February was our last post...how embarrassing. The urge to post is returning, so hopefully we'll start posting more frequently.

We arrived in Vermont late Friday night. Yesterday we went sled riding twice! Connor loved it and now likes to play in the snow and yes, the snow boats are now officially worn it. We went on the sled from the top of the long driveway all the way to the bottom, more times that we can count. A sled ride outing in the morning and again in the afternoon. Connor even got to sit on the snowmobile (pictures only). Today Dad goes skiing and we bum around in Stowe. Wish you all were here!

Pictures as soon as we can get them off the camera...stay tuned!

Connor has had to settle with wearing his big red snow boots around the house, since we haven't seen a single snowflake this winter! Hopefully, on our trip to Vermont in mid-February his boots will see some action.

This day last year, Connor was in the PICU. Thank goodness that this year Connor is a healthy boy. He had his 18 month check up today. He is 34 3/4 inches tall (>95th percentile) and 28 1/4 lbs. (85th percentile). A previously reported height of 36 inches proved to be an honest mistake, the result of a 15 month old who refused to lie still to ensure a proper measurement. Today, after 3 shots, 3 big boy band aids, and not one but two plastic dinosaurs from the nurse, he's a happy, healthy boy.

One of these days real soon we'll post a recap about our holiday adventures, but until then, enjoy this picture of Connor in front of the Christmas tree. It's a family tradition to take pictures of the kids each year in the same chair in front of the tree.

...i was in the shower at our beach house when we receive the call that Connor was being born. This morning I was in the same shower when the bathroom door slammed shut - loudly! The next thing I knew Connor was pulling back the shower curtain with the cutest grin on his face - a mix between "did I scare you?" and "aren't I the cutest kid ever?" Needless to say, the answer to both questions would have been "Yes!"

Ross

We're off to Pittsburgh later tonight because tomorrow is Leaf Day - yippee! Before we leave, I wanted to quickly update everyone on Connor's language abilities. Here's the latest!


SPOKEN WORDS

10. Choo Choo
11. E - I - O (as in Old MacDonald's E-I-E-I-O)
12. Itty Itty (as in "Here Kitty Kitty" - the cats still run from him, though)


SIGNED WORDS

9. Brush Teeth
10. Bath
11. Diaper
12. Movie
13. Dog

Also, if you'd like to see Hallowen pictures, take a peek here:

http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=15opfl6z.2mfzdg1n&x=0&y=exb38l

That's right - Connor is now 15 months old. During his checkup today the pediatrician confirmed what we already knew. Connor is very healthy, development is on schedule, and he continues to grow! He weighs 27 lbs. (75th percentile) and is 33 1/4 inches tall. An increase of 2 lbs. 4 oz. and 1 1/4 inches.

It's time to hang up the growth chart / measuring stick that we bought a year ago with Jason and Grandma JoAnn at the Sugarloaf Arts Festival!

And now...August.

On August 1, we quietly celebrated our 13th anniversary!

The first weekend of the month we made a quick getaway to Rehoboth Beach for some sand, surf, and time at the pool. We enjoyed visiting and spending time with Uncle Tim, Aunties Jean & Kris, and friends Natalie and Pauline. Connor enjoyed going into the ocean with Dad. The big event of the weekend was when a big wave came, Dad held Connor over his head, but the wave swept Dad's glasses off of his head - never to be seen again. While Dad had to go the rest of the day and the trip home without glasses, thankfully he had his backup "Harry Potter" glasses at home to use until replacements could be procured.

The second weekend Dad traveled to Germany for work and was gone for 4 nights - a quick international trip that had been put off long enough. Unfortunately, the trip coincided with the foiled liquid explosive terrorist plot which resulted in canceled flights, last minute airport departure plans, and a very long transfer through London Heathrow both ways. Daddy and Connor survived by themselves just fine. However, everyone was glad Dad came home on the 5th day - especially Dad.

The third weekend we enjoyed having Grandma JoAnn visit for a night. Connor had a great time showing Grandma JoAnn all of his toys. Grandma JoAnn was also a great help picking out Connor's first expensive pair of shoes and his first visit to Stride Rite - what a wonderful store for cutie patootie shoes! The visit was short, but sweet and we look forward to the next.

The fourth weekend we went to visit Great Grandma Martin (aka Mono) who at this point had been in hospice care in her home for some time. It was tough for us all to see her in her weakened state, but at the same time it was a wonderful visit. Mono recognized Connor immediately, reached out to grab his hand, and smiled and Connor played with his toys in the living room. The next day Mono was able to sit up on her own, help mix a cake, walk across the living room with much assistance, and even cracked some jokes that we will always remember. It was tough saying goodbye to her on Sunday, but we feel so fortunate to have had that weekend. It was also wonderful to see how caring Pappy was with Mono and to see the bond that they had together.

Sadly, Mono passed away two days later. We miss her terribly, but know that she is no longer suffering. She really fought hard the last couple of days and we are comforted to know that she is at peace. Mono and Pappy were married for 64 years. How many grand kids and great grand kids are able to say that? Their marriage and relationship with one another is a model for all of us to follow as we raise our families.

The next weekend we spent in Pennsylvania for Mono's visitation and funeral. The funeral was a day we will always remember for Aunt Sue's eulogy at the funeral, the burial in the town where she grew up followed by ice cream at the local general store (Mono and Pappy took us there all the time as we grew up), driving by the farm where she grew up (and the lake nearby where she and Pappy taught us grandkids to fish), and the sounds of her little great grand kids ever present. Just as she would have wanted the day to be. We miss you Mono.

So here’s what we’ve been up to for the last 3 months – starting with July.

We had a wonderful 1st birthday party at our house for Connor on July 8. In attendance were most of our local families and Connor’s birth parents. The theme, like most evenings in our home, was Baby Einstein. We even had a Baby Einstein cake!. Connor had a great time opening presents and eating ice cream, showing less interest in the cake. Following the party we headed to the pool for a refreshing dip. Thanks to everyone who attended – it was great fun!

The following weekend went to Vermont to attend our first FIA (Friends in Adoption; http://wwwfriendsinadoption.org) annual picnic. We were technically eligible to attend last year, but Connor was only a few days old at the time. We had a great time meeting Mary from FIA in person for the first time and getting to see the other wonderful ladies from FIA. We made some new friends in other adoptive parents and had a great time meeting Connor’s “twin.” Connor enjoyed all of the other children and was easily entertained by a dog that someone brought with them and by the marionette show. FIA even had a birthday cake for all the July birthdays! We can’t wait until the next summer’s picnic!

The last weekend in July we traveled to Erie for a Cousin’s Picnic on the shores of Lake Erie. Connor swam in the lake for the second time this summer, played with all the cousins in the sand, and took a nice long nap. After the picnic we went to visit Great Grandma Thompson and had dinner with her. Connor keep us all on our toes running around the assisted living facility getting into things, hunting for the cat, and taking rides on Great Grandma’s walker.

The same weekend of the Cousins’ Picnic was the 20th Annual Mercer Shore Resort. Connor helped Auntie Jean and Dad compete in The Amazing Race competition. Despite being the favorites to win, we didn’t come in first (our actual placement will not be mentioned, partly because we can’t remember but also partly because it was mainly embarrassing). Unlike last year, Connor was running everywhere and we got to compare the size of his feet to the imprints on the family tree in the garage from last year. My how he has grown!

Today Connor learned to sign and to say a form of "thank you." We also inadvertently left off "Amen" to his expanding language lists (thanks to the night-time boy that Aunt Gretchen gave him). Here's the latest:


SPOKEN WORDS

7. Amen
8. Uh Oh
9. Thank You


SIGNED WORDS

8. Thank You

Thanks to the keen eye of Grandma JoAnn, we'd like to amend July 12th entry to say that at his one year checkup, Connor weighted 24 lbs. 12 oz., and NOT 14 lbs. 12 oz. He feels a lot heavier than that now! Next checku is for 15 months in mid-October. Yikes - 15 months!

As you've probably noticed, we haven't posted in about 3 months. We've been so busy! We'll post more about the past 3 months by the end of the week (thus creating a self-imposed deadline that we'll feel inclined to meet), but meanwhile here's a list of Connor's latest communications.

SPOKEN WORDS

1. Dada (Daddy)
2. Da (Dad)
3. Duck
4. Cat
5. Bye Bye
6. Hi


SIGNED WORDS

1. Bye Bye
2. Eat
3. More
4. All Done
5. Milk
6. Banana
7. Hat

There has to be more, but we can't think of them right now.

Today Connor had his one year check up to confirm that he is a very healthy boy. We weighted 14 lbs. 12 ozs. (75th percentile) and is 32 inches tall (> 95th percentile). Also, his head circumference is 47 1/2 cms. whatever that tells us.

He is walking everywhere and getting into everything. The kitchen cabinets are all secure.