Back to work, can you tell?

My family leave came to an all-too-soon end just before Thanksgiving, causing the last month to streak past me before I had a chance to catch my breath. Thanksgiving came and went, without any acknowledgment on this blog. But we did celebrate and gave thanks for all our dear children, near and far. Melinda greeted her new country's holiday with gusto - loving every little bit of the Thanksgiving dinner that was put before her. (She ate turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.) Alex, on the other hand, ate cranberry sauce, calling it 'strawberries'. We tried offering him ketchup for his turkey, but he merely licked off the ketchup and left the turkey. This picky eater stuff is a first for me. That boy is always expanding my parenting skills! Now we're gearing up for Christmas and New Year's. We'll have a house full - and I'm looking forward to the mayhem!

Melinda is now 13 months old. In a week she will have been with us for a full 3 months. It's hard to believe it's been such a short time. She's settled in so completely it feels like she's been with us since day one. She is a doll baby! She's sprouted three new teeth in the last couple of weeks (going from 7 to 10) and expanded her vocabulary. She's now saying hi, Mama, Dada, go (which really comes out ga and is usually spoken with the pacifier firmly in place between her teeth and her arm outstretched in the direction she wants to be carried) and hot (which she uses appropriately when standing too close to the oven as I try to remove hot pans while simultaneously keeping her from getting any closer than she already is). Here's a photo taken at exactly 13 months, on Dec. 5th.