Settling In

We've been gone a few days from the blog, trying to get settled in and get Merrilee used to her new life in the United States.

The first few days home were rough. After being up 31 hours for the flights home, we all crashed and then slowly transitioned back to US time.

The Saturday morning we arrived home, some of our neighbors came over to meet Merrilee, including Timmy, our little neighbor two doors away. It seems he and Merrilee are already very friendly. Later that night we had dinner at Jessica and Dave's across the street, and Merrilee was introduced to more of the neighbors.

Our good friend Rob Gould came over with his friend, Susan, and daughter Becca, and brought us a casserole of manicotti, salad, bread, etc. We cooked it the next night, and when Merrilee saw it, she really chowed down on the pasta. We think she is going to love little Italy.

Wednesday Beth took Merrilee to the pediatrician. All went well. She needed a chicken pox vaccine and had four shots. The doc gave us some tips to get Merrilee drinking more milk, and she told us we need to fatten her up a little bit. That should be easy. She has a good appetite and we love to eat! This was Merrilee's first meal in her Baltimore high chair...

Acting promptly on the doctor's advice, we took Merrilee to our favorite neighborhood haunt, Matthews 1600 on Frederick Road. Merrilee got a grilled cheese...

but she was having more fun getting to know the owner, Al Parsons. He loves babies, and she took to him right away...

Also we want to give special thanks to Edie Brown for the baby blanket, to the Beauchamps for a wonderful personalized book that Merrilee already loves...to the Sandlers for a terrific Ravens outfit for our baby...and to Jane, Stacey, Barbara and all the terrific people at the Radio-Television News Directors Association for their thoughtful gift. They remembered when we started on this journey, and their support means so much to us.

We'll be posting more and more as the days go by. The journey continues...