Long post but lots of pix!

Update time. First of all, my camera broke (the screen shattered) and since it is out of warranty by a couple months, I'm doing Kodak's service upgrade...send in the camera and they give you 15% off your next one. So the good news is I'll be upgrading from 6.1 mp to 8.2 mp for the same price as fixing my camera. The bad news is that I'm currently back to using my old 2.1 mp camera. So some of these pix may be a little fuzzy if you blow them up but some were taken with my old camera and some are from my family. The worst news is that my old camera only takes 30 sec video clips with no sound...so probably no new videos for a few weeks (sorry Spud and Brendan!).

On to the good stuff. Fall is in full swing, I love this time of year. It is so pretty. I've been trying to take lots of outside pix but do to the aforementioned problem, I won't get as many as I want. The mountains are beautiful right now. It finally got cold. The start of last week was in the upper 80s and today it was well below freezing upon getting up. (Funny, I was looking back through old posts for some info and I said nearly the same thing this time last year about the weather).

Mari had her 18 month checkup on Friday (she will be 19 months this Friday). The big news...SHE GREW 2 INCHES IN 5 WEEKS!!!! That makes a total of 5 inches since we came home in January. She did not gain any weight which is why I can now see her neck! Her growth spurt launched her from about the 10-15 percentile to 35-40 percentile! And her weight is dead on at 50%. Yea!!! Her pants are kind of starting to fit in length. Her capris are looking like capris instead of full-length jeans!

Mari's new favorite activity is coloring. We can color for long periods of time (in toddler time-frames that is 30+ minutes). She does pretty good about changing colors and focusing on one area instead of just randomly scribbling. We even bought crayons desigend for the tub...MAJOR hit.

I can't even begin to tell you how many words she knows...a crazy amount. She is learning to put things away and that is a lot of fun to watch. The potty-training is going good...she still won't tell me when she needs to go but she will usually go if I remember to take her. If not, she wets her diaper...that is during the day. At night, totally different story.

Nights have been rough lately. My pediatrician says that all kids have sleeping glitches about this age because of some big developmental breakthrough. Two weeks of waking up at 4am. Last night she was awake from 9:30pm to almost 11pm. The problem is (one of them anyway) is that she will not wet her diaper at night. She wakes up crying--which is very unlike her--and is dry. I take her to the potty, she pees and then she is supposed to go back to sleep. Not been working out too good on that last part. The problem last night was needing to potty and after I figured that out (an hour later) she peed and went right to sleep. So we need to work on communication...she can say about anything else. Anyone know a good sign for potty? She picks up on sign language really fast.

Major food breakthroughs today. At lunch, Mari left food on her plate and said she was "all done." She has never not finished eating, ever. At supper, she handed me her plate and cup and said "all done." Usually taking the empty bowl or plate away causes hysterics...I have to distract her by getting her out of her booster seat or a cookie or sticking her cup of milk in her hands. She absolutely squealed with delight when I told her I was proud of her. I think she was just tickled to be imitating Mommy because I had just taken my plate to the sink and said "all done." Anyone who has dealt with post-adoptive food issues knows what a major breakthrough this is. Only took 9+ months (the doc at the International Adoption Clinic in September told me it could continue for another year, maybe we will be ahead!).

Well, on to some pix.

Granddad with Madi and Mari...not the most flattering pic but still cute.

SIL Lesa holding our niece Abigail.

Mom and Mari reading...not sure who is reading to who (whom?).

Braids! 6 of them to be exact. They are lasting about 2-3 days at a time and she is being super cooperative. She even fell asleep one night while I was braiding. Takes me about 30 minutes. Makes haircare SO much easier.

Ready for the cold weather, let's go.

This pic was taken by my brother Todd. Pretty good!

Cousins and BFFs. (Juli, kind of reminds me of the two of us).

Me and my girl.

Uncle Chad and Cousin Madi helping finish Mari's picture. Thanks for the "special" drawings you added Chad!
My brothers and my niece Abigail.
Us three kids and our girls. Trying on our Halloween costume.

Our trip to the Pumpkin Fest. Overall, a total bust but Mari did get to BAA at some sheep, she didn't really appreciate when they BAA'ed back at her!

I'm trying to get ready like Mommy does. I'm even using her tote bag. (Yes, that is one of my cats in the background eating on my vanity counter. You try to find a place where the dog can't get to...it's better than the kitchen counter!)
Bathtub crayons. Any bets on how long before she uses real crayons on the tub?
My mom carving pumpkins. We all carved pumpkins at my house Saturday night. A new treat for my mom.
Some of our pumpkins. Mine is the cat, second from the left).
More to come soon, I'm sure. I've been meaning to take pix of all Mari's art projects from school (MamushART Gallery style!) but I'll wait now until I have my new camera.

If you live around me and are interested in getting together for a playgroup. Check out the post below. Some of you will be getting info in the mail this week about it but if you are interested, let me know. I could only send out to those I had addresses for but I welcome anyone.