We got to spend a really fun weekend with our niece and nephew this weekend. We visited the zoo, ate ice cream for dinner, created a new hit in the studio and had a marathon Monopoly game. It has been interesting in recent weeks to hear the kids in our world reflect on what our new lives will be like with Meadow around. Their minds are mulling it over and out of nowhere, something about her arrival comes out. It seems kids get excited for new parents too! (Or maybe they're just excited to finally get cousins out of us.)

After much anticipation, preparations for our trip to California have finally begun in our home and with our agency. We're starting to see the trickle in of information about what to expect on the legal side and more fun stuff, like what to pack. We've done a lot of Internet searching to learn what people recommend when going to pick up your adopted newborn. And like all of the others before us, we know full well that we're packing too much! :-)

I'd like to see some of you try to narrow down the clothing when you don't know if you're going to be gone for 5 days or a month. Plus, they're just all sooooo cute and fun to play with and imagine her in. We also have three different ways to wrap her up close to us while we travel. And, of course, we have to have musical accompaniment in the form of a little ukulele. The photo above captures most of what she needs, minus some bottles being sterilized and a few diapers. Otherwise, we'll just have to get our bags together and hit the sky.

We're in the two week countdown to our departure. No telling when she'll actually arrive, but we're hoping she waits until we're at least in the state. We're getting there just as fast as we can and we're sending her lots of love beams in T's tummy to just sit tight and keep growing big and strong!