Quick Update!

Dan spent most of last week in NY with Popps. He was here for a short work week, and is en-route now back to NY. Miles and miles and miles he's driven this month! We're looking into having Popps do his rehab here in Maine, which would not only be convenient for us, but also it would allow more family to visit and encourage him during the process. Who knows, maybe he'll fall in love with Maine and stay...I know that's a bit greedy of us, but we'd really love him to be nearby.

Vi is still doing really well at day care. Every day her "daily sheet" says she was happy or silly, and she usually eats and sleeps well there. They do a lot of art projects...finger-painting, marker-scribbling, etc...and I'm accumulating a priceless collection. She learns new signs and songs with hand-gestures all the time, and I have to try hard to keep up!

When Dan returned last week from NY, I gave him the run-down on Vi's development. She had significantly changed in the 4 days he was gone! She now climbs - silent and sneaky, like a ninja. I'm thinking of putting bells on her. She has new signs, so I had to show him all of them. One was for "fish." He stopped me, and asked, "WHEN will I need to know the sign for fish in casual conversation with Vi?!?" The next day, they were at the grocery store, and she started signing "fish." He didn't respond immediately, so she kept signing "FISH FISH FISH FISH FISH" frantically. He finally realized what she was doing, and acknowledged her communication with "Oh! You see a fish over there at the fish counter! Fish!!"

I've been trying to teach her "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes," since she likes pointing to eyes and ears and mouth and nose already. She likes Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and anything with a beat so she can stomp and spin and shake it. They play "I like to move it, move it" every day at day care and the kids, well, mooove it. So super-cute to see all those little rumpuses shaking.

Thanksgiving is coming, in case you didn't know. My brother and his family will be here, so we will have a nice, big family dinner. Mom, Steph and I are splitting most of the cooking, with other little assignments being given to the boys. I think we'll do two small turkeys - one at Mom's and one at my house - to cut down on cooking time and to have more drumsticks. Plus I'm attempting a from-scratch (read: not One-Pie) pumpkin pie, using the pumpkin from our hay ride last month. (Don't remind Dan of how old the pumpkin is. Ha.)

I hope you are all well and cozy and ready for the holiday season. I hope we can all slow down a bit and enjoy the changing season, the time with friends and family, and really enjoy the holidays with some peace and happiness!

-Lindsay