July in Review

I cannot believe how quickly summer is going by! We have been making the most of it and enjoying lots of time as a family of 3 and with our extended family and friends. Let me catch you up on what we've been up to ...

Simon and I can usually be found at the Lafayette Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. We have a routine and as you know, Simon loves 'routine.' We go to the Great Harvest stand and get scones. Then we go around to the sidewalk behind the tents and look for an open bench. Simon loves being allowed to get out of the stroller and sit on the bench. He thinks it's hilarious when crumbs from his scone fall on the ground because he knows that the birdies will come and eat the crumbs. And yes, I know the scone is as big as his head but he doesn't eat it all at once ... he kind of grazes on it throughout the day. I really enjoy our Mommy-Son Saturday morning 'dates!'


We've also been able to go up to Mark's sister Jennifer's house a few times for birthday parties and swimming. Simon likes playing with the sidewalk chalk and his cousins. He's had LOTS of cousin time this summer.

Nothing like sharing a blanket picnic with your cousins while having birthday cake and ice cream!

Cousin Danielle turned 16 in July! She's learning to drive and looking forward to her junior year.

Cousin Caitlyn spent a week with us in July. She will be heading off to Manchester College (yay!) in just a few weeks. She got to go with us on a day care field trip to the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fair. Simon loved having her stay here and was quite sad when she had to go home.

Reading books with Caitlyn.

Simon did GREAT with his swimming lessons! He learned to be a better listener with each lesson and completed level 2. Here he is practicing the back float with his teach Omar.

He even received a special certificate on his last night of class! His very first certificate.

And here he is with his new friend from swimming lessons, Roman. We really enjoyed hanging out and talking with Roman's parents each night.

To celebrate the last night of swim lessons, we stopped at Dog and Suds on the way home for a milkshake treat. Simon learned that he likes milkshakes, even though they are cold!

July will also be remembered as bittersweet because it meant it was time for a farwell picnic for our friends Brigitte and Todd and their sons Harrison and Gabriel. Big, deep sigh. Here's the story ... in the summer of 2009, we were waiting for our referral. One Saturday night, we went to campus to try out the new sushi restaurant, Maru. (Always easier to get in when the student's are gone for the summer!) We were tucked back into a corner of the restaurant with one other couple. After awhile, I overheard them sharing names with each other, as if they were making a list for a new son or daughter's name. Mark and I did this often while we were waiting for Simon (and still do!) So I took a chance and struck up a conversation with them. It turns out that they had recently been matched with a birthmother and were hoping to become parents again soon. They had noticed Mark's Africa necklace and we shared our story. We exchanged contact information -- I just had to know how the story ended! And Brigitte was looking for an adoption support group, which I also thought was a great idea. Sometimes it's ok to eavesdrop because this sushi restaurant encounter grew into an awesome friendship! We brought together three other families and the five of us women have met monthly for sharing, friendship and support as we navigate being parents. There are seven children among us and they have a wonderful time playing together. Our children are ours by birth, domestic and intercountry adoption. It has been so wonderful to celebrate as children joined our families. And boy, do we laugh alot together!

Brigitte and Todd have a great opportunity with their jobs to move to Atlanta and they will be leaving next week. Thankfully, Atlanta isn't too far away -- and we have friends in a new vacation destination! We had a picnic a few weeks ago to say good-bye for now. Brigitte already has us planning our first trip to visit her in their new home. : )

Here are the kids eating dinner together ... aren't they a good-looking group?!

And here we are: Laura, Brigitte, Denise, me and Jana. Mark calls us the GLAMorous Ladies of Adoption. (GLAM stands for Greater Lafayette Adoptive Moms)

And here's a photo of Brigitte, Todd, Harrison and Gabriel. You will be missed!! But we will see you soon.

And now, at the end of July, I found myself having gall bladder surgery. I started having problems back in February, though I didn't know until March that it was indeed my gall bladder. I wanted to put off considering surgery until I tried to control things with a few changes in my diet. Mark had just had hernia repair surgery and I was heading into my busy season at work. I was able to avoid ice cream/dairy for a while but when I started feeling better, I would eat it and then regret it. I had two pretty painful attacks in early July -- painful enough that I wanted it out asap. So last week, I had surgery. This is my last day at home before I can return to work. My parents and my sister's family sent me these gorgeous flowers. Thanks, guys!

While I was recovering, it meant that Simon and I had to skip the Farmer's Market on Saturday. But he didn't seem to mind because I let him stay in his jammies all day. : )

So that's our July in review! We've got much to look forward to this month. We've got a day care field trip to the Indy Zoo, a visit from my parents and the countdown is on to Simon's 3rd birthday. He wakes up at least once a week and asks if he's 3 now. It's hard to explain that it's still nearly 2 months away! But I think I'll make a countdown chain that we can use in September. In the meantime, we are going to just keep on enjoying summertime!