Settling in

I can't believe we have been home for 10 days already! Things are going remarkably well. When Halle walked in our front door she just walked in like she had always lived here. She wasn't at all afraid of Keisha. Keisha is a little jealous but also doing well. She has discovered the treats that Halle leaves in her highchair when she is done eating. The cats don't have it quite as good. Halle likes to pull their tails! Needless to say they have been lying low.

I'm happy to report that we are all pretty much healthy now. Paul still has a cold. Halle is finishing up her antibiotics and I am over my stomach crud, just trying to regain my strength now. We are all also adjusting to the time change. The big kids really had it rough last week. They were getting up between 12-2am, doing homework and then going to a full day of school. It was a good chance to catch up on some of their homework but I'm sure they would have preferred to do it during daylight hours!

The Chosen One is loosing some of her status because of school. I became The Acceptable One the first few days but I too am moving down the list. Paul and Halle are starting to bond nicely now. As I start doing more work Paul has become The Go To Guy. He is enjoying spending time with Halle down the basement. They like to play air hockey together. Our neighbors just gave us a big plastic slide that we have down there now too that Halle plays on. Jacob, while remaining nameless, still gets a huge smile from Halle when he comes into the room, especially when he gets home from school.

Grandma Sue came down for the second time. She has been a great help shopping, cooking and doing a gazillion loads of laundry. She is planning on coming back in December when Paul needs to go back to work and I have a big project coming.

We are starting to get the chance to introduce Halle to our friends/neighbors. After being couped up in the house from sickness and jet lag it is nice to get the chance to see some familiar faces. We took Halle for a walk yesterday. It was cold but the sun was shining and it was nice to be outside. We saw several neighbors. I took Jacob to a volleyball practice and then Halle & I went to visit the Culley's. Halle is doing great with the car seat. I was worried it would be a struggle but she doesn't seem to mind it too much. She even sat in it with no one sitting next to her. I just put the mirror down and we played peek-a-boo on the way home.

Cousin Cassie came down to Columbus to see some friends and stopped over for a visit. Halle warmed up to her very quickly. So much in fact that when she bumped her head she didn't want me or Sami, she wanted Cassie! Aunt Kathy & Uncle Gary also came down to watch the OSU vs. MU game - go BUCKS - and had a nice visit.

I'm sorry to say that we don't have any school basketball games to go to this year. Sami has decided not to play and to focus on soccer instead. She is in a tournament next weekend, yes outdoors! The coach from Kent State is coming to watch her so we are pretty excited about that. It is a showcase for college coaches so I'm hopeful others will be watching too. Kent is high on her list right now because they have their own bathrooms :) Jacob is going to play in the community basketball league this year. He may also be playing on a travel volleyball team. We are trying to work out those details now.