Halloween Fun

We had lots of fun yesterday for Halloween. Max had a party at school and I took Miranda and we helped out a bit. Poor Mitchell had a fever and a sore throat on Thursday, so he had to stay home and miss his party on Friday. The room mom who hosted his class party brought by a treat bag for him, which I thought was definitely above and beyond!

We went to our friends', The Dohle's, house for chili and trick or treating and had lots of fun. Today we have our Trunk or Treat at church. So much activity!

Matt and the boys and Matt's dad worked hard last week on our pumpkins. Max showing off his pumpkin that he designed.
My favorite pumpkin (created by Matt) on display in the front yard.
Miranda has learned to open the fridge! I may have to go buy a fridge lock!

Great News

Halloween pictures to come, I promise...

More importantly, our friends Jimmy and Emily are bringing their son, Samuel home on Wednesday!! Emily has been in Antigua fostering Samuel since before I went down to pick up Miranda. She was a blessing to me, helping me find a place to stay when the boys and I were in Antigua with Miranda. I'm so excited for them!!! Here's a pic of Samuel. You can also read their blog (The Armstrong Family)--the link is over on the right.

Samuelito, I'm so excited for you that you're coming home!!!

Birthday Fun!

Last week was a long birthday week for Miranda! On her actual birthday (Wednesday) we went to her friend Jayden's house and played. Jayden's mom took some pictures, so when I get those, I'll post some. Wednesday night, the boys and Matt and I celebrated with Miranda. She got a new toy and a few cards from the grandmas and grandpas and great-grandmas.
On Sunday after church, Matt's parents and brother came over for the afternoon. After a nice chili lunch, watching football, and sleeping in the basement, we all did (more) cupcakes for Miranda and then Matt's brother Greg took some pictures for us of Miranda. There are a ton of great pics, but here's just a few:

Playing in the Kitchen

Miranda has figured out that playing in the kitchen is fun! Matt put drawer latches and cabinet latches on everything except the pots and pans and Miranda loves to get into that cabinet. Unfortunately for me, now that she's in the kitchen a lot more, I have to sweep the floor multiple times a day because she'll pick up any tiny bit of food that's left on the floor!

Updates

Hi everyone! Lots going on in the Herndon household. Miranda is walking all over the place and on the move...as you will see by the few pictures I can actually get her to sit still for! I am totally recovered from my kidney stone episode. REALLY hope I never have to go through that again!

Big news is that I got a new job! It is still at the same hospital where I work now, but in a different department. The big news is that it is 2 days a week...no weekends, nights, or holidays!! That's a big change from the ER. I'll totally miss all my friends and the excitement of the ER, but I am really looking forward to the new department and meeting all of my co-workers.

Here's some recent pictures for you all!
Matt and the kids and I went to "the Cupcakery" to celebrate our friend Rachel's birthday. Rachel and Kyle are below. Check out the cupcakes, too...they were very yummy.

The kids enjoying their cupcakes.

Miranda also enjoyed the cupcakes.More big Miranda news...no more bottles! She does great with a sippy cup and has switched to all cups and whole milk.Here's Miranda in our new Ergo baby carrier. I was able to purchase one for 50% off the regular price from a friend on the Guatemala adoption forum on adoption.com. Miranda LOVES being in the carrier and it is helpful when I'm trying to make dinner and she's a little crabby. Today I used it when we went to visit Max's 1st grade class.

Update and pics

Well, this past few weeks has had it's ups and downs! It began last Friday with me (Michele) going to the ER with horrible, terrible, excruciating right back pain. Ended up being...a kidney stone! I had heard that kidney stones were painful, but I never imagined the pain would be that bad. It was seriously as bad as natural childbirth. Seriously. After a bunch of drugs, an overnight stay in the hospital, and two minor procedures with general anesthesia, I am on the mend now!

A friend from work, Shari, is going to Russia in a few weeks to pick up her son, Hughes. Her blog is on the side if you want to check it out. She is going for pick-up on her own and was trying out different baby carriers. She decided on the Ergo and I brought Miranda to the store as her practice baby! Here's a pic of Miranda and Shari. Miranda loved being carried in the Ergo.

Here's a few pics of Miranda and Me playing in her room before I went to the ER! This past week I haven't been doing too much playing on the floor!

She's all over the place!

This past month has shown Miranda climbing, cruising, and even taking up to 7 steps on her own! She REALLY wants to be able to keep up with her big brothers, I think! We have a big bay window in our front room and she's learned to climb up on it and stand at the window. She loves it when the boys or the neighbor kids come over and talk to her through the window. Here are some pics of her at the window I love this next picture because it totally shows Miranda's personality. She is really always smiling and laughing. Her brothers have a lot of fun making her laugh

Thanks Carrianne

On Saturday I received a most thoughtful surprise gift in the mail from my friend Carrianne. I cried when I opened it. I will post a few pictures, but the pictures will NOT do it justice. It is this beautiful necklace with a picture of Miranda on one side and Mitchell and Max on the other. I love it! Carrianne has a photography business and she is expanding into jewelry. She said she should have some information posted soon on her blog (see the link to her blog on the right side of this blog).And here is Miranda and the boys playing with a diaper box. What fun!

The life of a shift worker

I know that there are many of you out there who understand. :)

Computer problems fixed

I started to post on the blog a few weeks ago, but had to stop because our computer ran out of memory! We've finally fixed the problem, so now I can download pictures from our camera again.

Miranda is growing like crazy! At her doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, she weighed 21 lbs. She's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 10th percentile for height! (Which I think is funny because the boys are both in the 90th percentile for height!)

Miranda is pulling up, cruising, and even standing by herself for a few seconds at a time. Here are a few new pics of Miranda to show you how she's grown.

The boys had their first day of school last week. Mitchell is going to a new school for 3rd grade, so they don't ride the bus together anymore. So far, the school year has gone great for both of them.

The weekend before school started we went to Tantara at the Lake of the Ozarks for the MoGuate weekend. There were around 30 families who all have adopted children from Guatemala. It was fun to get to meet all the families. My mom went with me and the kids and the boys had a ton of fun with her while Miranda and I mingled with the families.