Melania - 8 months to 1 year in review

Happy Thanksgiving!

Now that I've been out of the blogging loop for awhile, I see some of you have went to "invite-only" status. I miss you, and I hope you'll invite me to be a part of your blog world if you come back to check out mine! Leave me a comment, or send an email to my work email address canyonferrypt@mt.net. Thanks!

Birthdays, etc.

Internet returns to Canyon Ferry PT

Yes, we have internet access in MT! Unfortunately, for the last several months it involved me sitting in my car at the wi-fi park with a really slow connection and the heater blasting away. Now, I'm sitting at my desk in my warm (nearly finished) office at Canyon Ferry Physical Therapy. I opened last week, and you can check out the article in the Townsend Star when they update their website. I have been busy working in Helena doing home health physical therapy. I like it more than I expected, but can't wait to have enough patients to stay right here at my clinic! Not much has happened at the house because all of my "spare" time has been spent on renovations. Think late into the night and every Saturday. Mishayla's birthday was on 11/21/08. We celebrated with family on Sunday evening. Like most parents, I can't believe she is already a year old. On a sad note, the attorney who assisted with the Ohio portion of the adoption died last week from complications resulting from an automobile accident about 6 months ago. I called to let her know we had moved and to give an update on Mishayla a couple of days after her death. She had also been adopted, and I really appreciated her compassion for Cortney and me through the process. The joy in her voice when she called to tell me the results of the paternity test is something I will probably never forget. As for Mishayla, we won't have much to go on in reconnecting with her birthfamily someday, but if it is meant to happen, I'm sure there will be a way. Mishayla is talking a little bit; she says, "Uh Oh!, Mowwww, Ginger, Hi, Mama and Bah (for bottle)." She crawls, pulls up, cruises, and stands for brief periods. She loves Melania, Sylvester, Ginger, and her stuffed kitty and bear. The stairs are her favorite "toy." Mishayla is generally a happy girl with a big, toothy grin lighting up her face and showing off her dimples. She goes by Mishayla, Shayla, or sometimes, still just Shea. Melania is "almost three." She likes MT, but can't wait "to go to Washington in December." I think she imagines it will be just like it was when we left there in August. Melania loves going to "mommy's work," playing with her cousins, volleyball games, etc. She loves Papa "very bad." Melania is Winnie the Pooh's biggest fan. She plays "Pooh Sticks", lets me know that "Tiggers don't like ice skating (as I'm trying to convince her to walk across a slippery parking lot), and has about memorized all of her Pooh books. We went to a couple of the state volleyball matches this past weekend. The Bulldogs placed #1. So, at least the girls have good examples to watch between the Huskies and the Bulldogs! I have to admit to feeling like a "lonely blogger" as I would follow other blogs during my absence. Prior to this experience, I would often wonder what became of bloggers who appeared to keep current for quite awhile, and then just fell off the bandwagon. Now, I know! So, thanks to you regular bloggers for keeping up. Sometimes when I was feeling overwhelmed, it was nice just to "catch up" with you and enter into your day to day experiences. Hopefully, a few picture slide shows will soon follow this post! Blogger cooperating and all.