Amost ready

The grandparents are worried about crazy drug cartel kidnappers; I'm worried about packing enough kid equipment and making sure we have everything lined up on the home front while we're gone; Adam's worried about..... well, he's not worried about anything, he shows up on the trips I plan and creates adventures for us (oh, and cleans manaically before we go). Micah's in his crib dreaming of eating sand and how much fun he's going to have escaping from his peapod tent, which arrived today. He's a good sleeper, but has never slept outside of a crib or pack-and-play and I'm afraid he's going to enjoy his freedom too much. But have na-na, will travel. I love it when people at the airport see his passport and marvel at how a toddler has a passport.... little do they know he was born with a passport!

One more day of stress trying to get everything done at work and then at home, and then we're off! Are there any Indian surrogacy babies we can visit on the Pacific coasst of Mexico? Speaking of, I checked in with a new friend in California today... she heard about Micah's story when her husband had some medical treatment with my cousin's husband. We talked on the phone and e-mailed a few times over the summer, and poof, she was off to India and is expecting a baby in May! I feel so happy when I'm able to help someone else achieve their dream of parenthood that they didn't think possible. Can't wait to visit them in SoCal at some point; another notch in my Surrogacy around the world trip!

Another plug for CSN stores

... silly me, I never took advantage of the benefits I received about blogging about the huge online CSN stores. They have stores for everything, including backyard swing sets, This time, I'm planning to check out the Kidco PeaPod Travel Tent -- a much lighter alternative to taking a Pack 'n Play on an airplane with us. Airplane, you ask? Yes, we're getting ready for a family beach vacation in Mexico -- Micah's second trip abroad, not counting his birth -- where we could use it for his sleeping and any potential naps on the beach. We have a few other trips other planned for the next few months, and I think the PeaPod Tent will be useful in our camper over the summer.

Busy boy

I think we're finally out of the winter doldrums here.... poor unreasonable little boy had an ear infection last week which is finally better, and Adam caught Micah's cold and nursed it far longer, as we adults usually do. With everyone finally better, and with the construction project in our house finally wrapped up, we were ready for some fun this weekend. In one tiring day, we took Micah sledding for an hour, and then after his nap, I took Micah and his 5 year old cousin to our Children's museum. I now have the utmost respect for parents of 2 children -- it was an exhausting two hours trying to keep my eyes on two children at once! Later that evening, Micah and Adam kicked it watching the Superbowl together.

Adam's Superbowl party, hangin' with the boys....Micah and his cousin Ben.

Sledding... Micah wasn't too sure he enjoyed it.

Adam trying to catch big air.

Micah's new favorite toy... looks like he's doing some geneology research there.

Micah just hit the 18-month mark. He's still tracking along his growth curve, at about 10th percentile for weight, 40th percentile for height (poor boy has the wrong genes for height.) His eyes are still blue, but with more of a greenish tint, so he'll have no trouble with the girls (or boys...whatever!) Of course, Mommy still thinks he's very smart. He loves trying out new words -- my favorite right now is "hay-co-co" for helicopter -- and every night grabs my hand and insists on "boots," leading me to his room to sit in my lap and read books. He loves any technology, and has learned how to crash computers and pick up any telephone-shaped object to say "hiya" . He loves his daycare, and at the end of the day he loves to go into every empty classroom and say "bye" to everyone. He's still a good eater, saying "apple" to signify that he's hungry (or that he actually wants an apple!) and he'll eat most foods that we eat. He loves to have music playing and to dance with us; to get horseback rides from mommy and daddy; to splash in the bath; and to snuggle up with his "na-na" and pacifier at the end of the day. Other new tricks: learning to wink, asking "peasssss" when he really wants something, sitting in a grown-up chair to eat. We seem to spend most of our time just watching him in amazement and grinning in pride at what a little person he's becoming!