Although we have known for a while, surely none of you are more surprised than we were, trust me. We were shocked when it was confirmed. But it is true - we are expecting a little one! Close your mouths, we are not THAT old, for crying out loud! We cannot
wait to hear the patter of little feet once again on the hardwood floors and we will not mind the middle of the night waking ups at all. Everyone in our family is excited. We talk about it
all the time, you can imagine. This is
such a good thing for our family. We look forward to how everything will once again be different - our daily routines, our travel plans, our cart's contents at the grocery store, everything!
We just loved our first little girl so very much, right from the first instant, it seemed like a good time to have another. We didn't think much about the decision once our minds were made up, and we have never looked back. We talked about names forever and finally came up with one we all agreed on (for the most part, that is; read: no one responded with "I cannot
stand that name," which was good enough for us). The little girl will be named Nicky.
That's right - Zoe will have a little sister soon. November 5th - mark your calendars!! We cannot wait. Steven is out right now buying new leashes and toys and blankets. Nicky is Zoe's younger sister (they have the same parents in Ohio; Steven was randomly looking at Zoe's family's website, saw that a new litter had just been born, and was immediately on the phone with Jo, the kind, generous woman from whom we got Zoe). Zoe was born in February 2011 and Nicky was born in September. So add another name to the list of fabulous relatives born in the fall (i.e. Steven and Laura).
WELL ... did you heart stop for a moment? Were you surprised? Did you see the photo too soon and realize what was going? Isn't she beautiful? We are counting down the days until we get to see Zoe with her little sister and watch them interact. Zoe will be
such a sweet, protective, loving older sister (like Elizabeth is to Michael).
Even more fantastic is the fact that Robin is adopting one of Nicky's brothers, so they will get to grown up together (sort of). We're having a puppy party at Robin's house (with Jo) the day we get to keep the puppies ... one week from today!! Stay tuned for additional photos.
Michael was our superstar soccer player, Elizabeth was our superhero Batgirl. They went trick-or-treating with friends in our neighborhood. Steven and I passed out candy while sitting in the driveway (Zoe kept Steven warm, I had to rely on tea). This was Zoe's first Halloween, and she absolutely loved all the children who pet her. We were expecting hundreds and hundreds of kids, so we bought almost 1000 pieces of candy. Apparently the throngs of children stop going door to door the street just before ours, as our street is slightly off the main road. Oops. My students are beginning to cringe when I walk into class with the Halloween bowl filled with hundreds of leftover pieces. While many people stare at Steven in public because he is so very attractive, on Halloween people were staring at him because they were unnerved by his frightening wig (yes, that is him). 
Elizabeth let me know that it's been two months since I posted something and that is lame. Apparently if you have a blog, you need to blog. So here I am, without any major news, just random tidbits of family information. Michael has had an excellent season of soccer. Last Saturday he played offense and scored 2 of the team's goals as well as 1 assist to his best friend Stephen during their 6-2 win. Sunday he switched to defense, and his team won 2-1. I am thrilled to be able to finally watch him play. Notice his cool-looking shoes, the result of an away game shopping trip after Michael realized he forgot to pack his cleats ... and shin guards.
Steven was excited to finally convince me to get a rain barrel for our yard. Aesthetically it may leave a lot to be desired, but Steven's joy in going green could not be denied.
Elizabeth and Michael each invited 2 friends to spend the day with us at Cave Run Lake; Steven and I invited Mom, who brought great food. The weather could not have been more perfect, and the trip was definitely a highlight of our year. We rented the double decker pontoon with slide that we used last summer with Laura's family. The kids entertained themselves all day, alternating between jumping off the boat (I noticed when we were pulling back in to the marina that the rules clearly stated not to jump off the top deck; enormous oops on that one; see video at the end of each child jumping off the top), playing duck-duck-duck goose [a creative game in 
After heading to the West Coast during June, Elizabeth spent 4 days on the East Coast in July. My high school/college friend Kim Reeder, who lives in California, moderated a tax commissioners' panel at a conference in NYC; the trip coincided with her daughter Ansley's 8th birthday, so Kim told Ansley she could go to NYC with her and invite a friend. E was the very lucky girl Ansley selected. They were quite the busy trio during their days in The Big Apple: they went to a Harry Potter exhibit (E has read all the books and seen all the movies); built a bear at Build a Bear (naturally); shopped at FAO Schwartz (yes, they played music on the huge floor keyboard); attended The Lion King (E's very 
favorite part); toured Times Square; hung out in Battery Park to take in the Statue of Liberty view; enjoyed Tea with Eloise at The Plaza; and of course, got to hear Kim moderate the panel of state tax commissioners during the conference (the girls got a lot of reading done during the panel, but did recall snippets of "tax levy," "property assessment", and "IRS compliance"). Just listing the objective facts of their trip doesn't do justice to just how much fun Elizabeth had during her days with Kim and Ansley. I was thrilled that they stayed with us overnight before their flight as well as for a bit after they returned to 
