And Meredith is so excited to be three. We had a birthday party yesterday, on her birthday itself, with seven little friends, Thomas the Train cake (Mer's request), pizza, a very messy art project making decorated shakers, and generally tons of excited kids running amuck. It was almost as much fun anticipating the party as being there for Mer, which is another sign of her growing ability to plan and imagine to me. She tried very hard to blow up balloons with us, and can almost do it!

Summer was a busy time for all of us. Jen had a great summer at the same law firm, and is pleased to share that she will be starting there as an associate after law school next fall! We spent the week between the firm and school down in Springfield, Missouri, and had a great time swimming, picking tomatoes, and spending time with Jen's parents, brother, and grandparents. Jen has now started back in her third and final year of law school.

We have even bigger news that it is finally time to share: Meredith is going to be a big sister! Yes, that's right, we're expecting again, at the end of March. It's been so fun to tell everyone these last few weeks. No, we don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl, and yes, we look forward to finding out (in about 2 months). Stay tuned!