Balancing Act

I may not be walking independently yet, but I sure am making strides. While I may teeter tooter a bit, I like practicing standing by myself, and I like walking with mommy and daddy just holding on to one hand. Crawling is always a faster means of locomotion, but this walking thing just might have some advantages.

The Tunnel

Here I am at one of my favorite parks in Bogota doing one of my favorite things, namely, crawling back in forth through the tunnel. I especially love it when daddy and mommy are at either end playing peek a boo with me. Crawling in these tunnels, climbing the stairs (and nearly giving mommy a heart attack), and trying to get the attention of older kids & dogs at the park are some of my favorite past times.

Does It Get Any Better than This?

All of my cousins showered me with attention all week. I loved being held, swinging in my cousins' laps, going down the slide, practicing walking, and having everyone love on me.

You Talkin' to Me?!

My cousin, Evan, taught me how to get a 'tude. What do you think?

A Sunday Afternoon with Uncle Andrew

Anna, Valerie, & Krista

We are Family

Think arequipe . . . cousins . . . and a great playground and you have the formula for the perfect afternoon together. Here the cousins are at the Alpina store/playground. (The Alpina store is an offshot of one of the largest dairies in Bogota.)

Mommy and Me at Monte Sion

Aunt Karen's and Aunt Susan's Visit

How fun . . . Aunt Karen and Aunt Susan came over and spent an afternoon with us. And Aunt Karen showed me how my stacking/nesting toys work!

The Cousins

We had a wonderful family reunion, August 9th-18th. Both of Ben's sisters and their families came from Viriginia and Israel. Here is Katie gobbling up attention from her cousins, Krista and Anna. Do you notice any resemblances?

Goodbye Grampa and Nana!

There isn't enough room to write about all the adventures we had or all the people we saw on our 3,000 mile trek around the Northeast. We loved seeing so many of you! Our trip culminated with a special visit with Grampa and Nana Leonard in Delmar, NY. There Katie got to show off her four new teeth, her crawling prowess, her "cruise control," and her inquisitive self. We love you and miss you!

Aunt Debbie Visits from down South

My sister, Deborah made a special trip up from Tennessee to visit with us before heading up to a conference. It was so good to spend time with her!

Daddy and Me: Perfect Together

One of the things I loved about the vacation was all the time I got to spend with Daddy. He took me swimming in the deep end of the pool, tossed me up in the air and spun me around, taught me how to pet a dog (ok . .. so I haven't quite mastered the petting instead of pulling fur part), & snuggled me in the mornings. I am going to miss him when he goes back to work!

Reston Zoo

Katie, Valerie and Krista had so much fun feeding the animals at the Reston Zoo in Virginia. Ok, so Katie didn't attempt to give a baby bottle to the animals, but she loved petting them (at least until a billy goat jumped up and scared her).

Celebrating Life

From Massanutten, we headed to Chantilly, VA where we stayed with a good friend of Ma Leonard. We enjoyed spending time with Ben's sister, Karen, her husband, Camilo, and their girls, Krista and Valerie. Amongst a myriad of things we did together, we visited Ma Leonard's gravesite as a remembrance and a celebration of her life.

Goodbye Grandpa and Grandma Shore

Grandma and Grandpa Shore gave me one last snuggle before they headed to the airport to return to Japan. I can't wait for them to visit in December!

Hiking in Massanutten, VA

After spending the night with Carolie and Doug, we were off to Massanutten, VA to stay with my parents and my sister, Elizabeth and her family. We enjoyed hiking several trails on the timeshare's property, as well as swimming and spending time with family.

Enjoying Great Aunt Carolie and Uncle Doug's Farm

After our week in the Poconos, we spend a day with Ben's Aunt Carolie and Uncle Doug in Virginia. We were fortunate enough to be there when his cousin, Jennifer, and her kids were also visiting. Katie loved picking grass and petting the horses.

Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun

Bath time was a whole new ball game. Most nights Katie and Oak bathed together, and they sure had fun!

Yummy Sand

In addition to the pools, this community had a pool with sandy beaches. This was Katie's first encounter with sand, and boy did she have fun! She loved to walk in it barefoot, and to not only play with it, but also eat it. She found that sand does not taste very good!

Snug as Bug

The Poconos were a little cool compared to the rest of our travels, so Daddy provides some body heat for a bath suit clad little girl.

A Swimmin' We Will Go

What fun it was to watch our kids enjoy the water! For Katie, this trip was the first time she had been in real swimming pool, and she couldn't get enough of it. She loved to splash, kick her legs, & hold on to the side and cruise around. Perhaps some swimming lessons will be in her future!

A Shoppin' We Will Go

Shopping was almost a daily event for us while we were in the Poconos. For those of us who flew right in from Bogota, going to Super Walmart was awe inspiring. Now that may sound odd, but when you are used to much smaller stores, less choices, and in many cases, higher prices, going to the store is quite an experience.

We are family . .

How our lives have changed in this last year! Our dear friends, Erin and Gabi, not only have a very active little boy, Noah, but they have a little girl on the way. And our dear friends, Liz and Al, had their little guy, Oak just five weeks before Katie. We so enjoyed watching them play and experience new things together.

Our Colombian Family

Our summer trip to the states began with a wonderful time reuniting with our Colombian family. Our Colombian family comprised of teachers who arrived in Bogota to work at CNG the same year that I did has grown in the past year with the addition of three little munchkins, Noah, Oak, and Katie. All of us had a wonderful time swimming, hiking, playing games, eating, and catching up with each other. We missed having three compadres from our original gang--Joy, Raul, and Andres--but we hope they'll join us for next year's reunion.