in a nutshell

So this time I'm not going to apologize for the lack of posts or promise to be better going forward. I've meant it every time I said it (or written it, as the case may be), but I am finally accepting reality: it just isn't going to happen and I don't want to make promises I can't keep. I haven't figured out where the time goes, but it goes. Fast.

We still intend to maintain guzo: ethiopia and to keep anyone still interested in reading up on the latest and greatest adventures in the lives of m&r&s&ej (& a zillion fish - remember this?), but the posts may not always come as frequently as they once did.

Anyway...

Since it has been so long, I've mostly got a lot of random thoughts to share. So in no particular order, I present the events, milestones, facts, and thoughts of the past few weeks:

• Simon got his first two teeth! He has been teething since the moment we picked him up and we have been waiting and waiting for that first tooth to break through and finally, we got not just one, but two! And I think the next 1-2 are going to break through any day. Of course, his smile is now cuter than ever (if I don't so say so myself).
• Since beginning maternity leave, I have discovered a whole new world of addictive reality TV (or, as Ryan likes to call it, TV that reduces the number of brain cells you have): John & Kate plus 8, My Fair Wedding, First Class All the Way....
• EJ has been instrumental in teaching Simon to crawl. Simon never really liked tummy time – he almost always wants to be standing - and so I thought that perhaps he would just skip the crawling phase... but then I noticed that he is really, really, really interested in all of EJ's toys (and unfortunately, EJ is also very, very interested in all of Simon's toys). Anyhow, by putting Simon on his tummy with an EJ toy just out of reach, we finally got Simon to crawl. He will do anything to get to an EJ toy.
• Simon is silly. Really, truly silly. And he knows it. It is so amazing to watch this little person develop and to see his personality emerge. Most of the early updates we got from Ethiopia before we met him seemed to indicate that he was a content, but fairly serious, little guy. It is so much fun to find out that that could not be farther from the truth.
• We bought a new apartment. After a three+ year search, we finally did it. Now if only I could decide what color to paint Simon's room.
• Simon is very vocal and enjoys testing out all the new sounds he can make. One of his favorites is growling. I’m pretty sure he is trying to imitate EJ, since he often “growls” at EJ when EJ is growling (which I assure you, in case you are worried about our “vicious” dog, only occurs when EJ is engaged in a game of tug-of-war or fetch). Simon even has a little clawing motion to go with the growling. It’s so cute.
• It's that time of year... check out here and here and here for holiday gifts that do good.

And, of course, no post would be complete without a couple of recent photos...