October

October was a pretty quiet month. We went on a hiking trip to Clifty Falls, Indiana with the Louisvill Hiking Club.

On Halloween, Melanie went trick-or-treating dressed as Ariel, The Little Mermaid -- complete with the red wig and all.

Melanie making a funny face at an ice cream parlor in the Clifty Falls area.

Melanie looking very cold as we are hiking.

Overlooking the falls.

September

September is always a busy month for us. We start the month off by spending Labor Day weekend hiking in Natural Bridge State Park/Red River Gorge, Kentucky. This year because Grandpa and Grandma were going to be out of the country when we had Melanie's party we celebrated her birthday with them at Natural Bridge. Then we have the Harvest Home Parade/Fair, which is followed by Melanie's birthday. By the time September is over we are ready for a break.

This is the cake for party number one.

Grandpa's birthday is September 6 and Melanie's is September 10 so we celebrated both birthdays at Natural Bridge.

This, I think was Melanie's favorite birthday gift. We found this dress while we were in Gatlinburg. Melanie really wanted us to buy it for her. We told her that we weren't and then we surprised her with it on her birthday.

This is Melanie posing with the cake from birthday party number 2.

August

In August, we took a family vacation to Gatlinburg, TN. There were eight of us and we had a great time. Here are some pictures of that trip.

Melanie posing while hiking.

Melanie, Mommy, and Daddy

Melanie and her cousins

Melanie with her Grandpa and Grandma

July happenings

Wow!! I can't believe how long its been since I've posted on here. I will try to do better in the coming year.

In July, we celebrated the 4th anniversary of the day that Melanie became our daughter. We celebrated with dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Swim lessons

Melanie has been taking swimming lessons for a while now in the indoor pool at the Y. She never seemed very comfortable in the water. This week she started taking lessons in the outdoor pool and what a difference that has made. She seems to be very comfortable in the water and she is having a great time. Here are some pictures of her having fun in the water.

Memorial Day Weekend, 2009

Memorial Day weekend was spent hiking at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana with the Louisville Hiking Club. We all had a great time and the weather was beautiful. Unfortunately, my camera wasn't working right and I didn't get many Melanie pictures. I did get some pictures of the creek we hiked by and some of the flowers. We also got to cross a swinging bridge. Melanie really enjoyed bouncing the swinging bridge.

Grandma's Birthday Party

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Grandma's birthday. We took her out to dinner and then came back for cake and ice cream. We all had a really good time and Melanie was a big help in blowing out the candles. Grandma and Melanie even had fun playing dress up.

May 23 - Four years ago today

May 23, 2005 - I was working as an office manager at a Presbyterian church here in Cincinnati. About 3 pm that afternoon the phone rings. I answer and the voice on the other end Congratulations!! you have been matched with a baby girl. I can't believe that it has already been years since we received that wonderful phone call. Later that day we received her photo. Here is that first picture we received of Melanie and one from each year we have been blessed with this wonderful child.

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2006














2007

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2009

Church programs

These videos were taken at our church the other night. Melanie was the only one from her class so she got to sing with the older kids. I think she did a pretty good job.

Caterpillars are fun to play with

We decided to have lunch outside on the front porch today because it was such a nice day. As we were sitting eating our lunch Melanie found a caterpillar. She had the best time playing with him. She decided he was her best friend. She wanted to put him in a box to keep him and let him turn into a butterfly. I told her she would have to let him stay outside because he wouldn't like living in a box.

A Day at the Zoo

Just a couple of weeks ago Melanie and I went to the zoo. We went there for a class that Melanie had and then we met Grandma and Grandpa. We saw animals and beautiful flowers. Melanie got to feed a giraffe, pet a goat, and she found out that tulips don't smell too good.