First Day of School

Well today marked the beginning of a new semester. I am really excited about my Biology class. The professor seems very knowledgeable and engaging. It made me realize that I haven't had a teacher that I have really enjoyed in several years. Of course I am in the honeymoon phase, we will see how much I enjoy school come May.

So Bailey has the weirdest fear of people in beanies. I don't know why but she hates them. If she sees somebody wearing one she cries. We began to suspect something when everytime grandpa was wearing his hat she would cry. Then Jenn brought her to visit me at work and we were talking to someone and everything was fine until he put on his beanie. What finally tipped the scales is when she saw me in one and suddenly got very weepy (I always get greeted with smiles from her). So in a form of aversion therapy I put my beanie on her, which I think looks adorable.

Oh yeah, don't adjust your screens, the lettering is pink, you'll have to ask Lisa Allred about that one. :D

9 Month Update

Bailey had her nine month appointment this week, and she is the picture of health. She weighs in at 20 pounds and 8 ounces (the 75th percentile) and stands a whopping 27 inches tall (the 24th percentile). Lucky for her she is up to date on all her shots so she didn't have to suffer too much.

Finalization

We have had a lot of people ask about how the adoption procedure is going so here is a break down.

We had to wait for six months after placement before the finalization procedures could begin. Finalization takes place in the courts where they officially terminate the birth parents rights and confer them on us. Well, our six month mark came and went last October. The birth father, who had said previously he would have no objection to signing the termination paperwork, has left town and now we don't know where he is. So plan "B" is to terminate his rights in court which is a longer process (which don't get me wrong I agree with but it is frustrating).

We heard back this week finally that they have a court date set...in March! I know it's not that far but we are tired of waiting. As soon as finalization happens we can bless Bailey into the church and take her to the temple to be sealed to us. So wish us well in March, hopefully, nothing else goes wrong.

Like a good neighbor...

It is so good to be part of a functioning community. Jennifer and I bought new windows today, hooray! Our existing windows are single pane aluminum framed from nearly forty years ago so we are excited about upgrading to something a little more energy efficient and hopefully much more comfortable. (Presently we can just feel the cold air coming from the window, it's very uncomfortable).

Anyway, our salesman was taking some pictures of the house and my home teacher spotted him and contacted us to make sure that everything was okay and that there wasn't somebody casing our house. how great to know that our neighbors are watching us even when we might not be home. It's an amazing thing when a neighborhood actually works.

I really hope to reach out to some friends and family that perhaps I haven't spoken to in awhile and so I thought the best place to start would be to tell you about how each of us are doing and what is going on in our lives.

Family

Jennifer and I have been married now for seven and a half years which seems unbelievable. We have our own little condo here in Reno and Jennifer really enjoys doing home improvement projects, I whine about them a little less now. We have adopted the most perfect little girl this past April, her name is Bailey and she completely owns both of us.

Matthew

I currently am employed at The Men's Wearhouse, where I have worked for the past five years. They have been really good to me and in answer to the question that everyone always asks, yes, I have seen George, just a few weeks ago in fact. I am also currently going to college, my major is secondary education and I have a lot longer left than I would care to admit.

I finally arrived at education as a major as the result of my current assignment at church. I teach an early morning seminary class for about fifteen students ranging in age from 14 to 18. There are a lot of days when I want to quit and never look back but then something happens to let you know that at least someone at some point in time appreciates you. Just last week a student approached me after class and thanked me for my teaching, even saying he had contemplated quitting seminary after last year with a different teacher. Teenagers are not always the most tactful but they mean what they say, to receive a spontaneous compliment from one is such a great feeling. I know that public schools have their problems but I feel that is all the more reason for me to go, they need teachers that care.

I have taught seminary for three years now, it requires me to wake up about four o' clock in the morning every weekday so I am pretty groggy most of the time, I wouldn't trade it though for anything.

Jennifer

Jennifer recieved her accounting degree from UNR back in 2006. She is working at Ferrari-Lund, a local real estate office. She does bookkeeping for them as well as just about anything else they need. They have been really good to her, even allowing her to bring Bailey with her to work everyday. Far from being inconvenienced they love her there.

Jennifer not only works and takes care of Bailey but she is also volunteering at church as a counselor in the Relief Society, our women's organization. What's more she is also my cheerleader, frequently offering pick me ups to help me stay focused and successful in school, I could not do it with out her.

Bailey

Bailey as I said earlier is trying out her first words, she also has a fatal attraction to stairs, she loves them. Unfortunately she is still a little unsteady climbing them so we need to keep a sharp lookout for her and spot her whenever she tries to scale the staircase.

Today Bailey has officially said her first word. "Up" It actually sounds more like uP. She really loves the "P" sound for some reason. It is hard to get her to attach the U to the beginning.

New Year, New Blog.

I want to stay in touch with all of you so I thought I'd give blogging a try.

Jenn rang in the new year with a bout of food poisoning which prompted me to make a Wal-Mart run. It struck twelve at the Wal-Mart. Fortunately some of the employees were wearing goofy hats so it still felt like the holidays.