Moving on....

Well, you all knew the time would come, and come it has. We are going to officially shut down the Countdown to Savannah BLOG site today. We have had such a great time sharing our adoption process with everyone via the BLOG site and have even printed it out for inclusion in the scrapbook we have started for Savannah to show her how she came to be a part of our family. Everyone tells us that Savannah is a very lucky girl, but we think its just the opposite, we are a very lucky couple to have been blessed with such a special daughter.

Okay, before you start crying and telling me how much you are going to miss the great commentary that I bring to the site let me tell you the good news.....we have stated a NEW BLOG called "The Kennedys" to pass along information not only about our daughter, but about everything that is happening in our lives. We hope that you enjoy this new BLOG as much as the old one! Thanks for tuning in, now just turn the page and we begin again!

Sign on to the new BLOG at http://kennedysnc.blogspot.com/

Mike "I always wanted to be a writer" Kennedy

Ill see you on the new BLOG!

http://kennedysnc.blogspot.com/

Momma Im Coming Home

Okay, so maybe a Ozzy Osbourne isn't the best song to quote from, but bare with us here! Tuesday morning we awoke early to see Paul off to his meeting in Washington and to prepare for our long trip home with a good breakfast. Ann Marie, Savannah and I along with Catherine, Gracie and Zoe headed to our corner table at the Cornerstone Bakery to see what we could get the kids to eat. Needless to say Zoe ate everything that she was offered (what a great kid!) and Savannah was more interested in looking at the people as they entered (that's my girl, a people watcher!). After getting our fill of eggs, smoked bacon, Swiss oatmeal and fresh baked blueberry muffins we parted our ways with lots of hugs and promises to get back together very soon!

Back at the hotel, packing was a real chore with the little helper attempting to unpack everything we wanted to put away. Did she not want to leave? Well, after getting in the groove and loading the valet cart we were on our way back to North Carolina! Can you say full load? There is no way that this was all needed for a 4 day trip, but then again we are novices at the family thing so we have room for improvement!

Now to the interesting side note of our trip. On our way to visit Ann Marie's brother in Harrisonburg we decided to stop at The Cracker Barrel for a nice home style meal and to get some Mac'n Cheese for Savannah. All went well and we arrived in Harrisonburg with no problem. I wish I could say as much for our diaper bag! In the bustle of getting Savannah loaded into the van and putting the juice and other items in the cooler, I put the diaper bag down beside the van, and there it stayed! Some 30 miles outside of Washington the next day we discovered the error of my ways and panic set in! After a call to the resturant we found that someone had turned our bag into the hostess and it was waiting there for us on the return trip. You know, it wasn't the Eddie Bauer bag that made us come back for it, it was the John Deere hat inside! Atfer retrieving the bag the Kennedy's were headed home!

Now home, we wanted to thank Mom and Dad for watching the 4 legged grandkids and the seafood dinner on our return, The Marcus's for an absolute blast of a vacation in Washington, and the Bakers for watching out for the house. Now that we have one vacation under our belt its time to plan more! Next summer is a family beach retreat to Nags Head, but waiting in the wings is a trip to Toronto and Buffalo so stay tuned as I am sure flying with a kid is MUCH easier than riding in the van.......right? Till then......

Michael (all of this is going in the van?), Ann Marie (buying shoes on vacation rocks!) and Savannah (did anyone pack my goldfish?) Kennedy

Last day in the Capitol...

Okay, what a fun filled way to spend the last day! Today we all went to breakfast and decided that we would fill our day with something to satisfy everyone! Our first stop of the day was at Nordstroms Rack, a close-out store for the every popular with the ladies, Nordstroms! All I have to say is that Catherine showed great restraint, even with all the great deals that seemed to pop up on each rack! I wish I could say the same for my wife! The last time I saw her she was running up and down the shoe isles and babbling something about 50% off retail! Okay, I exaggerate, but I did leave the store before she checked out just so I would not cry the rest of the day. Hey, at least I got a pair of nice DC Shoes out of the deal!

After splitting up at Nordstroms, Paul, Gracie and I headed to the Air & Space annex at Dulles Airport. The collection at the new building really puts the museum on the mall to shame! It was amazing what we saw! There was an original 707, the Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, as well as the Concorde. To cap it all of it was an amazing site to see the Space Shuttle Enterprise sitting in the building in all its wonder! What a HUGE aircraft! Seeing a lift-off in Florida and watching it on TV does not do justice to her imposing size and majestic beauty when you are standing 10 feet away! We also got to ride in a couple of neat simulators, one for space and one for the history of fighter planes.

The girls and the babies headed back to the hotel for a little shopping and nap time for the babies. Paul and I tried to keep tabs on them via text messages but the last one I got was from Ann Marie saying that the cell phone reception was a bit spotty in Anne Taylor petites and that she would call me later. To this I replied "Oh No!", but the connection was already dead! After the museum and shopping, everyone met back at the hotel in the afternoon for a swim at the pool before dinner. I opted for a quick workout in the gym and then we all showered up for our final night on the town.

Tonight we capped off a great vacation with a wonder Mexican dinner and great sangria and margarita swirls at the Rio Grand Cafe. Wow! What a great drink! After some great dinner conversation on politics and religion (some say you should never talk about those too, but in Washington you just have to ignore the rules!), we stopped on the way back to the hotel to let Gracie feed the geese and ducks in the lagoon that is between our hotel and the pavilion, but it became more of an event for us all! At one point there must have been 200 of those feathered feeding machines under us, and none of them looked undernourished!

Tomorrow we head back to North Carolina and leave our friends the Marcus's who will return to Buffalo later this week. We so enjoyed seeing them and being astounded with how much tiny Zoe had grown! It was a pleasure to finally meet their other daughter Gracie, who we have to admit, is great with the one liners! (Which way is the elevator going Gracie? - inside joke) We have already laid the plans for another get together on a much more grand scale next summer on the Outerbanks of North Carolina. If any of you GD Families happen to ready this, give us a shout if a week at the beach sounds like a good time to you! Thats it for now, so we will sign off once again. Till next time....

Mike (what do you mean its time to get up), Ann Marie (aren't you proud of me for buying on things that are half price?) and Savannah (will someone PLEASE make them stop taking my picture) Kennedy

Taking a trip back in time....

Sunday was a great day with a visit to the mall in Washington and Savannah's first visit to the National Museum of Natural History.

Savannah was very excited about riding the Metro after breakfast and watched in amazement as the homes and trees went flying by the window.

The one thing that really stood out to Ann Marie and I was how much a kid can SLOW YOU DOWN! We remember trips to Washington in our past where we toured the entire series of museums, the monuments, and the memorials! Today it seemed as though we had just enough energy and time to tour ONE museum! Okay, we know, you told us so, but it is moments like this that really drive the point home!

At the museum we toured the dinosaur exhibit first, with Savannah taking her first visit in stride......and ASLEEP! I guess that train ride was a little too much for her! :-) We let her nap while walking around and eventually she came back to life and loved looking at some of the gemstones before we headed down to the Atrium Cafeteria for lunch with the Marcus's and a family that Paul and Catherine had join us from the DC area.

After lunch it was nearing 3:00 pm so we decided to take the kids back to the hotel. The train ride back was just as exciting as Savannah decided to feed everyone on the Metro goldfish and Zoe thought that knocking the Cheerio container from Paul's hands and watching them scatter on the floor of a somewhat crowded train was hilarious (as did we!). After a quick tour of the neighborhood where Paul and Catherine lived near the Metro station (we are now wondering how people afford to live in DC), we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap, pool time for Gracie, and a recharging of the batteries!

Dinner tonight was at Red Rocks and a good time was had by all! The Cosmopolitans, draft beers and incredible roast chicken hit the spot after a long day! It was interesting watching two families work to control three kids in a restaurant that otherwise was filled with business people and upscale Sunday patrons. We could have cared less (must have been the fermented drinks!) and think that we all handled the controlled chaos in style! After dinner we headed to Mini-Moos for some ice-cream and then Ann Marie and Catherine took in a movie (The Devil Wears Prada) while Paul and I took the kids back to the room to retire for the evening. Savannah took a quick bath, polished off 8 ounces of milk and passed out for the evening! Shortly thereafter Dad did the same thing waking up about 30 minutes later feeling refreshed!

Tomorrow is our last full day here in Washington with a planned trip the new Air & Space museum at Dulles Airport for the Dads in the morning. We will post again tomorrow night so be sure to check back in with us.....same Bat Time, same Bat Channel! Till then.....

Michael (how can lunch cost so much?), Ann Marie (remember, you are in Washington, DC!), and Savannah (can I just have goldfish and fruitloops for dinner?) Kennedy

Going on a little trip....

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post a little to show everyone how Savannah does on her first Kennedy Vacation! We have ventured out of North Carolina up to our Nations Capitol to meet up with our friends the Marcus from that little trip to China we took back in April!

We left Raleigh at about 4:00 on Friday for the 5 hour drive up to Harrisonburg, VA to spend the night with Ann Marie's brother Joey and his wife Ann. We arrived around 10:00 after stopping for dinner and I must say that our little girl was a real trooper! That was the longest trip that we have made since returning home from China and she did great! Just a little fussiness (is that a word?) when it started to get dark, but she was otherwise quiet and playful!

After a kick butt breakfast by the French Chef Joel', we headed off for Washington and the comfort of the Marriott hotel for a couple of days of tourist action! Both families arrived at about the same time and in mini-van style! I wish I would have taken a photo of the luggage being offloaded as you would have thought we were unloading a 767 at Dulles Airport! Who knew you need this much stuff for 4 days? I hope we get better at packing before the next trip! After settling in we all spent the day shopping and eating with a little time at the pool. We also took in a reggae band tonight on the waterfront to which Zoe and Savannah really boogied!

Tomorrow we are off to see where the leaders of our country do our bidding and provide us with an invaluable service to which we are all indebted......oh, wait, who am I trying to fool? Tomorrow we are going into Washington to see where the partisan leadership has ground our political system into a group of haves (the politicians) and have nots (the citizens of the United States). Maybe I will flex my Kennedy muscle on Capitol Hill, but on second thought, I think that the Kennedy clan has already paved a bumpy for me too follow so I will just snap some pictures like all the other tourist!

So, till tomorrow......

Mike (Ill never run for office), Ann Marie (did you say there was a shoe store on the mall or at the mall?) and Savannah (do they have any Gold Fish on the menu) Kennedy

Where have the Kennedy's been?

Okay, I know, you are bound to ask the question, as we (or I) have not been stellar in the posting to the BLOG lately, but I do have excuses!

Since returning to work the travel has been nonstop with me being away from home for the last 3 weeks. I have visited North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Iowa and have grown a little weary of hotels, eating out and being without the two greatest additions to my life in the past several years, my wife and my little girl! But enough about me, lets get to whats going on at home!


WALKING! Yes, you heard me right, "Bana" as she is known to friends has taken control of the house! It started with a few tentative steps between Mom and Dad, then with the help of Grandma and Grandpa we have mastered the art of movement! Okay, maybe not mastered, but Little Miss Magic and speed along with anyone one year old that I have seen!

"Bana" is now spending her days at Grandma Maynard's as Ann Marie has returned to work. We like to think that she is teaching Grandma a few things rather than the other way around. She really seems to enjoy spending time there with her grandparents and great-grandma and we enjoy the fact that we get to feel safe about our daughter while we work. Now we have to work Granny and Papa Kennedy into the system and we will be able to take a night out now and then! (Hear that Mom?)

Life around the house is much different than it was before our little trip to China, but Ann Marie and I wouldn't have it any other way. Long days, even longer nights, short naps, lots of laundry, and the occasional vertical poop cannot take away the smile you get when you enter the nursery to find "Bana" sitting up in her crib fresh from a nap smiling at you with the smile only a child can offer. Like someone once told me "the bond between a parent and their child is one that is nurtured in the heart and cannot be broken". Now I know exactly how that feels.

I would like to also take a minute to thank my wife for all she does around the house and for our family. I think she fails to realize how special she is to the two of us and hope that we can repay her somehow in the future. Ann Maries first true Mothers Day we a great day with visits to her parents home and to my parents church in Sanford. It was nice to share this time with our Mothers and to tell them that we now know what all the advice, punishment, rules and associated parental controls were for when we were children.

Well, that's enough for now, I have to go track down Savannah as I hear some rustling in the kitchen that does not sound familiar. I hope this finds everyone well and that you are out enjoying a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with friends and family and taking a minute to remember all of those who served and continue to serve our country and protect the freedoms we hold dear. Thanks guys and gals! Ill try and post again soon, so till then.....

Mike "did I remember to shut the dog food container"
Ann Marie "I think there is a sale at Kohl's"
& Savannah "why is that gate at the bottom of the stairs" Kennedy

Anne (sister in-law), Grandma Maynard, Ann Marie, Savannah and Great Grandma Jaram!
4 Generations!

Giving the Big Bear a Savannah style kiss!

It looks like I have to get a new Ipod for "Little Miss Magic"! The song on the Ipod is "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains, so she is a ROCKER!

Lets Play Mac!

Its time for a Birthday Party!

Okay, I know it has been longer than a week since my last post, in fact, its been much too long for some of you I have been told! There are many things that I have to tell you about in this post so I will get right too it!

First, since our last post the sickness that passed through Savannah then Ann Marie passed on to me and really hit me hard! According to one physician, I was about 24 hours away from an emergency room visit before Ann Marie finally threatened me with physical pain if I did not go to the doctor! After a couple of weeks of suffering, a few missed days of work and more drugs than a San Francisco Giants outfielder (sorry Barry Bonds fans!), I am happy to say that I am doing very well now and back to spending quality time with my two favorite girls!

Savannah has been progressing remarkably in the past few weeks. Vocally she is making so many new sounds and becoming a real copy cat so speaking is not too far away! Now Ann Marie and I have to watch everything we say! She has also improved in the cruising department! Ann Marie in fact has developed a slight curvature of the spine due to the constant laps she is making around the house holding up the two foot tall sprinter (just kidding!). The food arena is changing as well! After a few weeks of Stage 2 food upon return from China, we are now using Stage 3 foods as well as some adult foods cut into small pieces. We made the correlation that she was ready for more solid food when Savannah ate my whole bowl of Italian Wedding Soup at dinner one night! She amazes us every day with her experimentation and cannot wait to see what comes next!

We have made many trips to visit co-workers and family in the weeks since our return and Savannah has adapted very well! She has really taken to her Grandmother, which is a welcome relief since Ann's mom will be our primary form of daycare for the first part of "Little Miss Magic's" life. Savannah has also turned out to be quite the musician! She has already displayed a fondness for my drum set and rocks constantly to the radio. Yes, this is definitely my child!

Yesterday was Savannah's first birthday and today is one year from the day she was found at the hospital in China. We celebrated last night with family and friends and had a grand time with both Chloe and Savannah providing the entertainment! Chloe is really motoring around now and inspired Savannah to pick up her own pace in the walking department! We have spent the entire morning watching a little red fire truck walker make the rounds in the kitchen and family room!

Well, its lunchtime here at the Kennedy Estate and there is now another mouth to feed so I am going to sign off. Thanks for hanging in there with me during the posting drought, and I promise not to make it such a long wait from now on. Till then....

Mike "Does she ever slow down" Kennedy
Ann Marie "Will I ever go back to work" Kennedy
& Savannah "Will you please stop typing and feed me" Kennedy

P.S. Go Canes! Our Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-0 in the opening game of their second round series for the Stanley Cup. What a birthday present for Savannah!

Ready to Mow!

She did a good job!

Relaxing outside at the Birthday Party!

Our friend Marya and her Mom. Marya is expecting a little girl any day now!

Okay Dad, Ill take over the postings from now on.....