Happy New Year 2010!!!

On Thursday afternoon, Miss R woke up long before Henry. She tried to get Henry up from his nap, but he announced that he was going back to sleep. Around 4PM, I roused him out of bed and managed to get both kids out the door. Dropped them off at the grandparents' house so that Jeff and I could go see Sherlock Holmes. We then returned to my parents' house for dinner. The kids had fun at Grammy and Poppy's house. They even gave each other hugs. They (especially Miss R) enjoyed gingerbread and whipped cream for dessert.

As it is New Year's Eve, it is time to ponder the past year's events. It has been a very full year. This time last year, Jeff and I had been accepted for, but not started, fostercare training. Miss R joined our home in April. She has grown so much over the past eight months. We're really proud of her. She has gone from knowing two words to speaking full sentences and singing songs. One thing has remained: she continues to be quite a snuggle bug. She melded into our family the first couple days upon her arrival, which I think is unusual. We believe that she was meant to be with us. Our wish for 2010 is that she'll legally become a part of our family forever.

Henry. Where to begin with Henry? I see from my post this time last year that Henry was speaking 80-90 words or so. We stopped counting several months ago. I'm sure that he knows over a 1,000 words. He constantly amazes us with his grasp of the English language. He absorbs words and phrases like a sponge. Instead of saying "no," he often says "maybe not." Miss R has even picked up the phrase. This time last year, I marveled at how he could identify twelve body parts and make eleven animal sounds upon request. Now, I marvel at how he can answer questions, sometimes relatively abstract, about stories. I love asking him how his day was and what he did.

One questions remains about both our kids. How did we managed to have such loud children? Jeff and I aren't that loud, but my goodness, both Henry and Miss R can be quite loud (Miss R only at home; she's quiet around strangers). They are both a little defiant too. I believe that both kids tried to put me in "TIMEOUT!" a couple times this week.

We wish our friends and family a very Happy New Year 2010!!!