Evelyn and Grandpa

Our 10th wedding anniversary, 11-27-09

We try to take a photo together on our anniversary every year. I put them in a small photo album that is reserved just for these special photos. It's fun to look back and see where we were and what we were doing that day. Sometimes a waiter has taken the photo or we've set up the tripod and after many attempts with the self timer, managed to capture a halfway decent photo. This year we were dropping Evelyn off at Grandma and Grandpa Rice's so she could spend the day and have a sleep over. You can tell by the look on Evelyn's face (so tired!) that it was just about nap time!

Brian and I went to lunch at Elizabeth's Chophouse in Marquette. It was a very leisurely meal (read "service was a little slow", but we weren't in a hurry) and everything was quite delish. Then we did a little Christmas shopping for Evelyn. Afterwards, we headed to the movies to see "New Moon"--we were both a little disappointed in the film. We found it over dramatic. It was still nice to sit in the movie theater together. Overall, it was a nice relaxing day together.

Thanksgiving Day

Evelyn raided Grandma Rice's dresser drawer and found the scarf that is tied around her head--it just happened to match her outfit for the day! She reminds me of a little Lucille Ball!

Mmmmm, pop...

Swim lessons!

Evelyn's first pierogi!

Clockwise, from top of plate: stuffed cabbage, mashed potatoes, city chicken, Polish sausage, sauerkraut, pierogi. All delicious!

The Heidelberg Project...

After our visit to the cemetery, we drove through the renowned Heidelberg Project on Detroit's east side. It's interesting to say the least.

Newest teeth...

This photo is from a few weeks ago, but just had to share the latest look at Evelyn's emerging teeth, especially since she rarely lets us have a look! She's had a few fussy days and you can understand why just by taking a look at her gumline. She's got 4 or 5 teeth coming through on the top and 2 more on the bottom!

The two front top teeth are both more visible now (sorry, no photos yet!)
That tooth on the right (Evelyn's right, your left) just poking through, is now visible above the gum line. There's another one coming through on the left side (Evelyn's left, your right!)

Halloween has officially ended...

The jack-o-lantern is EMPTY!

P.S. Thanks Haley for the idea!

November is National Adoption Month

I've been reading lots of blogs lately, and found a great one with great adoption information. Give it a read: http://www.therhouse.blogspot.com/.

We are so grateful to be adoptive parents. Our lives were changed forever and for the better when we adopted Evelyn. We're very grateful for our birthmom, Amber, too!

Breaking into the Halloween candy...

For the few houses we visited on Halloween night, Evelyn still came home with a fair amount of treats. I thought the chips and pretzels were great ideas. Most of the candy will probably end up in the candy dish on my desk at work that the students regularly invade. Better them than us (well, we might indulge in a few pieces!) What was your favorite treat?

Evelyn did not actually eat any of the items she is pictured with--she is much too young for all this junk food! She was very cooperative and put everything back into the pumpkin.

Yummy spaghetti!

Evelyn's favorite meal right now is spaghetti with meat sauce. We try to have it once a week and we usually have enough for leftovers for lunch the next day for all of us, plus extra sauce to put in the freezer for a future meal. I let Evelyn have at it and feed herself tonight and this is proof of how well she did--not too much of a mess, but just enough for some cute pictures!

Halloween 2009

Evelyn's rant...