Our big, Big, BIG News!

I'll get right to it - we are moving back to Alabama this summer! It is a little bit of a shock since it is almost a year early, but it is a good opportunity so we are very excited! Todd's last day of work here is July 27th, our movers come July 30th and we will be leaving sometime the week after that, as soon as everything is packed and loaded and the loose ends are tied up. Todd starts his new job - still with Ciba - in McIntosh, Alabama on August 13th. For those who don't know, this is the plant where he used to work before we moved to Germany so we will be living back in the Mobile area (the same area where we used to live). Todd is still working like crazy, maybe even crazier now that he is trying to wrap things up, and we have been hashing out the details of this move for some time so for those of you who I haven't been able to get to on the phone or e-mail very quickly, you can understand now why things are nuttier than they usually are!

We will be back in time for the start of the 2007 Auburn football season which is very exciting for Todd, but even more importantly we will be there for the arrival of our newest family member - David and Joanna are expecting our nephew sometime around September 6th!

In other news, Meredith turns one in just a few days and I can't believe it! She went in for her one-year check-up and another set of vaccinations last week, and she is doing really well. We have been a little concerned for a while because she seems to be small, as compared to other children her age and to the growth charts, etc. She IS small (approximately 5th percentile in height and weight for girls her age and still fits in her 9-month-sized clothes) but the doctor still said this is completely normal and he is not concerned in any way. He asked about the women in our families and I said that the overwhelming majority were short (Lauren and I are the tallest by far and we aren't that tall) so he said it is to be expected that she won't be that big. I pointed out that she has slipped on the growth chart (she was up around the 50th percentile or higher at some points) and he looked at it again, and realized that she had been mischarted by an office technician back in the fall and she was really never as big as we thought in the first place. Her head size is normalizing (only about the 80th - 90th percentile or so) but it still isn't what I would call "small." She also had a blood sugar and cholesterol check and both are normal. He seemed pleased with developmental milestones and even told me that it was normal for her to only have four teeth at one year old (and for the top ones to come in first) so overall we feel very relieved after seeing the doctor - Todd and I have pondered and worried over Meredith's size for some time.

We are having her first birthday party this week (Saturday May 26th) here at home and we have lots of people to celebrate it with - Mimi Reaves got here two weeks ago (Sunday the 6th) and is staying through the 27th of May, and Nana Huff and Aunt Lauren get here this week (Thursday May 24th) and Lauren stays until June 3rd, while Nana stays until June 18th. Once our company leaves we really only have a month until we have to leave so there is lots to get done before we go! The move will be very stressful for a blind dog so soon after my mom leaves, we are shipping Sunny back to live with my parents temporarily so he won't have to deal with the stress of it all - I think people coming in and out to buy our stuff and movers packing will throw him for a loop, not to mention trying to find his way around in temporary housing when he can't see - it will be better for him to be spared all the confusion. He will be very happy following Rosie around anyway!

Sorry no new pictures this time - I literally have no time but I'll update again after her birthday with plenty of pictures!