Family, a Gift, a Lonely Dog, a Hated Bath, & Halloween

Family

Tek & Grandma Cheryl

Tek & Great Grandma Vidmar

A Gift

Auntie Amy sent Tek this cool new toy for his first birthday. He loves it!

A Lonely Dog

I haven't showed off my good looking dog, Riley, in a while.
Here is a cute picture of him pouting because Tek gets all the attention.

A Hated Bath

So, apparently, Tek hates baths now. We have no idea why, but he hates them. He is always standing up and trying to get out.

Even toys don't help him enjoy it. He still hates it.

But as soon as he is out and in Mommy's arms, he is great again.

He loves the mirror! (Like the wallpaper? Gotta love renting!)

Halloween

Tek had a party at daycare today. This is apparently his "girlfriend" at daycare. Momma does not approve. He is already promised to Sahra.

Tek and his daycare teacher Ms.Whitney. She is wonderful. We adore her! And she adores Tek.

Daddy and Tek getting ready for Trick or Treaters.

Momma & Tek. I know, I know... an angel is a stretch for me even on Halloween.

Uncle Cody missed Tek's first Halloween. But don't worry, Dad filled in for you. ; )

I usually love Halloween. I was especially excited for this year, being Tek's first and all. But some stuff came up and we got really busy, so it didn't get the attention it deserved. Nonetheless, we dressed Tek up and we handed out candy to a lot of kids not dressed up as anything. Seriously, since when don't you have to dress up for Halloween. I have always been under the impression that if there is no costume there is no candy. But if we would have followed that we would have only handed out 3 pieces of candy. Really, I think we only saw three costumes. So I made the non-costumed children tell me what they were supposed to be. There were an awful lot of rappers this year... as I recall there were an awful lot of rappers last year. What is this world coming to when you can have whatever you like? (Even stacks on deck, patron on ice and we could pop bottles all night.)

One little girl looked at Andy, then me, and then Tek. She asked "Is that your baby?" I responded, "yes." She then ran up to the two older girls nearby and starting whispering. I then said, "we adopted him." She turns around and says "Ohhhhhhhh that's why he is that color!" It was so adorable and so innocent. She then came up really close to him and declared that he is the cutest baby ever!

Life has been strange lately. We have had a few curve balls lately. I think the busyness of our lives has finally caught up with us. I am finally realizing it is time to slow down. I need to enjoy my family more and spend more evenings taking time to appreciate them. I need to spend time with my dog. He is so neglected. Poor Riley! I need to spend time by myself. What kind of mom can I be if I don't take care of myself? I've lost a bit of weight lately. My grandma says I look better, I was getting fat. :) Anyway, when I lose weight its a good sign that I am not taking care of myself. So, I am going to focus on that.

Something I have gotten better about is my list. I've always had a list in my head of things I always wanted to do. As of late I have decided to get more intentional about it. I've written everything down and look at it daily. Its a secret list, I don't share it with everyone. I will tell people about a few things here and there, but I don't reveal all of my list. Probably because I don't want anyone to know all of my hopes and dreams and probably because people would think I am crazy and dream too big. :) Some of the items on my list are small like a hobby I want to start or the amount of books I want to read each month. Other items are bigger like a place I want to visit or a dream I have always had. Anyone that knows me knows that I am always full of ideas, so you can imagine that I am constantly coming up with things to add, but I try to keep it at a reasonable length.

The best thing about the list is the sense of accomplishment I feel when I cross something off of it. It makes me feel in control of my own happiness. I like that feeling. For so long I have played the victim (ask Corey and Andy they used to love to call me that!) its nice to see myself differently than that. What satisfaction you get from intentionally doing things for yourself that make you happy. Of course my family is taken into consideration when choosing items on my list to do, but Andy is pretty cool with letting me do whatever I want. Just as I was pretty cool with him starting a church from scratch. :)

The list has really helped me keep my identity as I have become a mom. Its so easy to just get lost in the fact that you are a mom and your life is now about this little person. My list reminds me that I am still an individual with dreams and ideas. And I want Tek to see me as someone who never stopped pursuing her dreams, just as I never want him to stop pursuing his, (like his dream of saying "mama" and knowing that it means me. )

So, I was wondering what is on your list? You might have something on yours that I might like add to my own.

What we have been up to...

Well, its been busy... as always. I have once again been neglecting this blog. But I've been neglecting the house work, my books, and food shopping, does that make you feel any better? Anyway, let me catch you up on the life of the Savannah Blairs.

D went on her first boat ride in Savannah with our friends from work.
The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The sunset was amazing and there was a full moon.

I had a girl's weekend last weekend. Amanda and I went to visit our friend Liza who recently moved to Williamsburg. We had such a blast. We spent Saturday and Sunday in Charlottesville at UVA for my very first college football game. It was...well... quite the experience. ;)
Man, I miss Liza! :(

A few weeks ago was "Picnic in the Park" in Forsyth Park. We all packed some baskets and spread out to listen to the Orchestra. It was a beautiful night.
I especially enjoyed all of Kris' stories.

Cody is probably going to kill me for this picture... but it makes me laugh every time. Tek was throwing a fit and Uncle Cody was impersonating him. Classic!
Isn't Tek such a Gap model in his little vest?


Tek already loves books. He is captivated by them. He never stops moving now, but if Momma pulls out a book he will sit still for at least 5 minutes!


Tonight we had a Halloween party at a friend's house. Tek was a turtle.
Isn't he the cutest turtle ever?
Thank you Auntie Nicki for helping pick out my costume! (And pants-- Mom is too indecisive.)


On Saturday the Binions were over working on church stuff with Andy. The boys were of course decked out in their OSU gear. The weather has been gorgeous and the sand gnats aren't out yet. So we opened the front door and put the baby gate up. The boys were enthralled!! The were determined to find a way out.
But I made sure they were afraid of getting over that gate! :)

The Blair house needs to slow down a bit. Every night something different. But Andy had to know when he said "I do" that this would be his life! :)

Grandma Cheryl gets here on Tuesday with my Grandma Vidmar. Tek will get to spend some quality time with his Great Grandma! This is her first time to see me in Savannah and I am so excited. They will be here for Halloween and for Tek's birthday party.

Tek's party will be on Saturday. He will turn one on November 4th... can you believe it? He is standing up and cruising along the furniture. Any day now he will take his first step. Maybe if Grandma Cheryl is very lucky she will get to see it. :)

Tek is the most amazing kid. Today I took him for a long walk and he fell asleep. So I plopped down in one of the beautiful Savannah squares with my book. After he woke up he just crawled around the blanket, standing holding on to Mommy, touching the grass (but wouldn't crawl on it), and laughing at everything. He is always so proud of himself when he is standing and lets go of me. He just stands there like he is on top of the world. I love being a mom. I am finally starting to see the attachment develop. He lights up when I enter the room and he is starting to prefer me over others. Today at church Uncle Cody was holding him and he leaned towards Mommy to be held. I should fail to mention that he leaned back to Uncle Cody... except that it was another victory for Mommy because within 5 seconds he wanted Momma again. It warmed my heart! Ahh the victories of an adoptive mom.

The church is going well. We will begin our marketing campaign soon. Work is going very well. For those of you following the news... Wachovia and Wells Fargo will merge. So soon I will be a Wells Fargo employee. Its an exciting change for all of us.

It may be a bit until my next post since family will be in town. I will be back with pictures from Tek's first birthday.

Don't forget to vote! Except Auntie Amy... you can forget. :) Just Kidding!

Dear Auntie Amy...

I loved visiting with you at McDonalds.

I showed you I know how to crawl now... even if its on a table! :)

You showed me how to do a fake smile. :)
(I hear you are a pro.)

You showed me off at the Retirement Party.
You even shared me with others.


I met your boyfriend, Warren. He was fun to play with, I like him.
Mom says I am supposed to say "My name's not Warren!"

I loved walking around Cedar Point with you. Hopefully one day I will get to ride the rides.

And maybe one day you will figure out what your shirt means. :)
(Mom told me to say that one too.)

Auntie Amy, I had so much fun in Ohio with you. I can't wait until Christmas to see you again. Maybe I will be walking by then... then you will have to try to keep up with me!

I just got the new shirt you sent me in the mail the other day.
Don't I look cool! Dad says I can't go there when I am older (OSU only!), but Mom says I can go wherever I want. So we will see. :)

THE WEDDING!!! As Promised...

Andy officiated the ceremony. It was an amazing ceremony.

This is from the rehearsal. Don't you love Kris' Charlie Sheen shirt?? :)

The wedding... I loved being a bridesmaid! And Tek was an awesome ringbearer.

Grandma Cheryl came to Michigan with us and took good care of Tek. It was so nice!

This is a picture of them at the rehearsal.

Tek and Amanda at the Reception

This is a picture of after the ceremony. His new girlfriend, Kris' sister the Jr. Bridesmaid, carried him through the entire ceremony. He fell asleep half way through, he must have been SOOO heavy! But she handled him like a champ!

The Beautiful Bride & Handsome Groom!

Tek at the rehearsal... he should be a baby gap model! :)
Seriously, how did we get this cute of a kid! (Don't you love the cut on the lip, it makes him seem so tough!)

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. Amanda was gorgeous. The entire event was so much fun. I loved being a part of it all. Kris & Amanda mean so much to us. They are part of our Savannah Family. We are truly honored that they let us play such a large role in their big day.

We love you, Kris & Amanda Taylor! (Still so strange!)

Celebrating Meskel

We celebrated Meskel last weekend. Meskel is an Ethiopian holiday that celebrates the finding of the true cross. Its a very interesting holiday, you should wiki it! :) Here are some pictures from our event.  

Wyatt came in his traditional Ethiopian attire. 

(Wyatt is one now! Happy Birthday Wyatt!)

I prepared popcorn on the stove to have with our Ethiopian coffee after dinner. 

The queen had a dream that the smoke from a bonfire would show her where the true cross was, so on Meskel you celebrate around a large bonfire decorated with daisies. We couldn't do a large bonfire, but we bought a fire pit and sat in our back patio. Thankfully it was a cooler evening.

We had a traditional Ethiopian meal. The dora wat made everyone sweat... I have berbere that I brought back from Ethiopia and it is incredibly spicy. I love it! I might do a less spicy recipe next year for those that don't love so much spice. :) We also had tej (honey wine), dabo kolo (thank you Auntie Amanda), mesir wat, injera, and Ethiopian bread. It was VERY tasty!

Dad fed Tek his first real Ethiopian meal. The dora wat was too spicy, but he loved the lentils! 

Here is Tek is his traditional Ethiopian clothing. He was wearing something very similar the first day he was officially ours in Ethiopia. 

Decorating the wood for the bonfire.... do you know how hard it is to find daisies in late September? Much more difficult than I expected.

Ethiopian food is not easy to make and is very time consuming. I spent eight hours cooking on Saturday... but well worth it! 

Auntie Nicki and Auntie Amanda came in their traditional Ethiopian clothing also. I just wish Liza was there with hers! We miss you Liza! 

Attendees: Brad, D, & Wyatt, Cody & Nicki, Kris & Amanda TAYLOR :), and Kevin & Katrine (they are adopting from Ethiopia next year!)

Thank you to all of our Savannah family for celebrating this important day with us. 

I hope our family in Ohio gets to celebrate this special holiday with us in the future. 

Coming soon: Pictures from our trip to Michigan for Kris & Amanda's wedding! Tek was the cutest ringbearer EVER! :) I first must sort through the 1500 pictures taken. (I am not lying... 1500.)