We have a new blog!

Thanks for coming here to visit.   This blog followed our journey to our daughter Indigo and our life back at home with her over the past few years.   Since adopting our son Isaac February 1st of 2010, we maintained a blog for our journey to him.   Now that we're a family of four and living the adventure of having two children, we have switched to a family blog where we can regale (or not) the exploits of both our wonderful children.  Please join us at the new family blog - we welcome and appreciate comments.
http://brookesweissfamily.blogspot.com/

We Survived The Blizzard of '09

Our plans to leave for Myrtle Beach this morning were dashed by over 18 inches of snow. It began to snow around 9:00 p.m. Friday night so we knew that when we awoke it would be a winter wonderland scene. This morning David shoveled the 5 to 6 inches from the driveway and cleared the car. Later in the day another 6 to 8 inches were back on the driveway with more snow still falling (see the pic below with the ruler showing the second round). We took a walk, attempted to make a snowman (this is perfect snow for skiing, but not for making snow balls since it is very powdery and not wet) and then came in for some much needed hot chocolate. We hope that we can leave tomorrow morning... we're keen to see our family and have some r&r in Myrtle Beach.

Check out the video of Indigo wading in the snow!

Leaves Are Falling/Indigo is 2 Wheeling

We have had lots of fun this fall with never ending falling leaves. Indigo loves helping Daddy rake the leaves, but best of all she enjoys jumping in the leaf piles. It was a beautiful fall day and we decided to have Indigo try to ride her bicycle for the first time. We went to the parking lot of a local swim club, and started on a basketball court. She had to learn the knack of pushing the pedals forward rather than back pedaling. But as you see from the video, she did it and had a lot of fun. We were so proud as you can tell from the exhuberant whooping from us. Indigo asked when she can go again and for longer. Watch out Lance Armstrong. :-)

Halloween Festivities & Follies

Halloween festivities have taken place the last two weeks of October! The weekend before the holiday, we went to a Halloween brunch at Rick and Ellen's club. Our two princesses were so lovely and had a wonderful time. Later that same day, we went to Boo at the Zoo (so lucky that the pouring rain stopped just in time). The next day, we participated in our neighborhood Halloween parade, and Indigo went as a fairy! During the week, Mommy baked yummy Halloween cookies and Indigo and her friend Sarah got to decorate them with sprinkles. David and Indigo carved the pumpkins and Indigo chose the design of a witch on a broomstick. For the big event, Ellen, Rick & Sarah joined us for an evening of ghosts, goblins, witches and pumpkins! After dinner, we took the girls trick or treating. I wore shorts since it was so warm and the rain held off except for a brief bit when our umbrellas were unfolded. Indigo and Sarah loved trick or treating, and we often had to tell them to only take a few candies rather than the handfuls when people offered their bowls. We have enough candy to open a store! Indigo is ecstatic about the amount of candy she has. When she gets to choose a piece after dinner she wants to pull it all out and make her decision about which piece she wants to have - tonight the tootsie lollipop won out because it was red which is her favorite color.

First Day of School (08 and 09)

We are so far behind in posting that we could run parallel posts from July 08 until now... Last year, I never posted her first day at school so as both a comparison and for historical purposes I am posting her photo of her first day at school last September 2008 when she went into the two year, two day program and this year, when she entered the three year, three day program. She has absolutely loved school and it has been a wonderful experience. How much she has grown in a year! She went to school this year looking a bit injured - she had a huge gash on her forehead from getting a scratch the night before and a bandaid on each wrist from trying to jump off the swing - in my defense, she was being supervised by another adult (not David) at the time. She loves the big girl swing and can "pump" all by herself. Can't imagine what kind of impression a bandaid on each wrist made!

Fun At The Beach

We had a wonderful week away in MB, South Carolina joined by our friends the Benson family from Wisconsin. We also visited with Clare, Josh, Jacob and Sage, who keeps growing. The weather was perfect the whole week with plenty of sunshine. With loads of sunscreen, we went to the beach nearly everyday and played in granny/grandaddy's neighborhood pool as well. Rides at Broadway at the Beach, feeding the fish and attending a circus show were enjoyed by all.

Weekend in Baltimore

On Saturday we met up with friends at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore to celebrate the b-day of Catherine. Indigo had a blast feeding a girafee, riding with all of us on a camel, watching the penguins being fed and seeing lots of other animals. We saw rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, polar bears and lots more. Instead of driving home, we spent the night at a hotel in Columbia and had a lovely dinner with friends at a Chinese restaurant. After dinner we all had fun in the indoor hotel pool. The next day we went to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and to the Aquarium.