It's been a while...

It's been a while since I've updated because we were having computer problems and now we found out that it's not worth fixing. We're trying to figure out what type of laptop we want to buy (and kind of putting it off for a while). In the mean time, I jump on a computer whenever possible.

As for us, Allie is changing EVERY day! I can't believe how big she's getting and how much she's learning! Allie continues to be off the charts as far as her height and weight. We have her 15 month appointment the first week in July and I am looking forward to seeing how much she's grown. At her one year appointment she was 28 lbs 2 oz and was 34 3/4 in long. She is running everywhere now, making my days very busy between running after her and trying to keep the house somewhat clean. She LOVES to read books. She'll take one out, "read" it in her loud voice, then she'll put it down and move on to the next one. It's adorable to watch! She's began talking a lot more lately...her newest words include (all one word in Allie language) "whatsthat", "thereitis", and "pup." If asked she can now find her belly button, nose, ears, and sometimes eyes. When she finds them she exclaims "thereitis"!!! Allie loves to give kisses and hugs to pretty much everyone. At a recent graduation, Allie walked up to this little girl (whom we didn't know) and gave her a big hug and kiss....the little girl proceeded to run crying to her mom! Everyone laughed!

Cory continues to enjoy his job and likes the fact that he can usually get done early during the summer and can spend the rest of the day with Allie and me.

I've decided to move from my fifth grade teaching position to a first grade teaching position next year. I'm excited to begin working with the younger students again. As much as I enjoyed my fifth graders, I think my heart is/will always be with the younger students. Needless to say, it's going to be a big change next year!

As far as Paulzine baby #2 goes....I'm excited to announce that we are finally on "the list" for a child of either gender, between the ages of 0-12 months from Ethiopia!!! The date that we were added to the list was last Friday (June 5, 2009). We've been told that right now, it's taking about 14 months for families to receive their referrals. A referral is when we receive pictures, medical information, and personal information about our child. They did tell us that the referral wait could extend before we get our referral. We are anticipating about a 15-16 month wait for a referral and then about 3 months later we will travel to Ethiopia to meet our newest member of the family. So with that said, we think that baby #2 will join our family in the winter of 2010 or early in 2011!

We hope all is well with all of you and hopefully we'll be able to buy a computer soon and post new pictures of Allie! Take care everyone!