Time Flies!

Wow, the past 3 weeks have flown by! It's been a fabulous time of getting to know Elizabeth and getting settled into life... Elizabeth is now crawling and pulling herself up! :) She has made the rounds of various offices, meeting the coworkers of her mom and aunts, and making everyone fall in love with her!! She's a ham (LOVES the camera) and a joy - she seems to like people, especially when they are enthralled with her! She still loves music and enjoys chewing on stuff, as she adds to her inventory of 8 teeth. Chrissie is transitioning beautifully into a busy mom, making the most of opportunities to sleep or do laundry - in fact this afternoon I believe Elizabeth was dropped off at Grammy and Papi's for play time, and so Chrissie could go grocery shopping.. one of the many blessings of having the whole family close by!

We'll try to update the blog with pictures.. we have some great ones - the first Mother's Day with a 4-generation picture needs to get posted, along with the first time on a swing, etc... so much to do, and now there is no time! :)

Baths and Dinner

Tonight Elizabeth discovered the joys of taking a bath! Grammy took her up for her bath tonite and the aunts went too, and for about 10-15 minutes we were thoroughly entertained as Elizabeth kicked and splashed and scooted herself around in the tub having a grand time.. we all laughed so hard our sides hurt! Check out those huge waves she's generated with her kicking! This is one HAPPY and JOYFUL baby! Grammy marveled at the difference in her - just 2 nights ago on Monday when she gave her a bath in the Guatemalan hotel she didn't even splash - tonite she was so animated and excited... how fabulous!


For months whenever our family has gathered around the dinner table and said grace a blessing was offered for Elizabeth... what a joy when grace was said tonite that Elizabeth was here with us, sitting in her highchair at the table!

To quiet the rumors that I've been making this up, here's a picture of Elizabeth with Aunt Jenny - to prove to my friends and coworkers that yes, I really do have a niece! :)

Isn't she wonderful!

HOME!!!!

Yeah! Elizabeth is finally HOME!

An excited Papi, Aunt Ki, Rachel (right) and Aunt Jenny (behind the camera) met up at the airport complete with ballons and gifts... there was confusion over which terminal they were arriving into so the welcoming committee almost didn't make it to greet the travelers, but the Lord was gracious and we made it! How exciting to see Chrissie walking down the ramp holding Elizabeth!

In the confusion we ended up meeting up with a woman who was waiting to receive her 10-month baby girl from Guatemala! We were able to capture video of a new mom holding her baby for the first time!

Papi finally got to hold his first grandchild.. Elizabeth thinks he's fabulous - check out the thumbs up! :)

   I prayed for this child,
  and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him.
               - 1 Sam 1:27

It's late, we're all tired, but soooo thankful for this part of the journey to be over, and for "real" life to get started.. what a blessing! We couldn't be happier! :)

Cuteness Alert!

Oh my goodness, she is SUCH an adorable baby! We just can't stop oohing and aaaahing over the pictures... just wait until she arrives in the US tomorrow!!!

Sarah took this picture this weekend - isn't she a doll?!!? what a cutie! Grammy tells me that once Tia Sarita got the camera out, Elizabeth was "smiling all over the place" - looks like we have another HAM! :)

We aunts "stuck" at home are battling jealousy over the grandmother and other aunt who are spending this week in Guatemala with Elizabeth.. we need to get her in the US so the "Favorite Aunt" competition can officially begin.. although Tia Sarita needs to bow out a bit and give us some room! :)

Grammy and Tia Sarita in Guatemala

Grammy and Tia Sarita arrived in Guatemala yesterday - Chrissie was able to watch their plane land from the hotel. Chrissie and Elizabeth were waiting in the lobby when they arrived... very exciting!

Here you can see Elizabeth meeting Sarah, who was "working it" to get that first smile.. and she was rewarded! :) and in typical family fashion, the whole thing was picked up on video! This is going to be such a photographed baby!


The afternoon was spent sitting by the pool - Elizabeth was content to sit in her Grammy's lap for about a half hour - such a good baby! :)

For dinner they all went to the Sports Bar - noisy enough that if Elizabeth got fussy that it wouldn't bother anyone.. funny thing that Grammy brought up was that Chrissie's first outing as a baby was to a winery, so like mother like daughter! :)

So it looks like Elizabeth has started to embrace her new crazy family.. wait til she gets home and sees the rest of us!

Video!

Ok, here is a video from Guatemala. I had to edit it down a lot to fit on You Tube. We are having fun! If I can edit the 2nd one I will get that uploaded as well. This video was shot on Thursday morning about 15 minutes after Elizabeth woke up. She is in her PJ's and still a little sleepy.

Kisses from Elizabeth

Looks like Elizabeth is waming up!

Chrissie took this picture on Wednesday - she's sitting on the floor (that's her pink shoe on the left) and Elizabeth is sitting in front of her giving her kisses!

Isn't she ADORABLE!?!?!?

Sigh.. I can't wait to hold her.. I just LOVE her!

Update from Guatemala

Hola! Elizabeth and I are getting to know each other, and we think this is going to be great fun! The first day she was not too sure, and each day it is better! Today she found her voice and was signing and babbling. She loves books and toys and music and loves to be out. When we come back to the room she gets fussy! Here's a pic of Elizabeth saying Hola to everyone back home!

Wednesday in Guatemala

Just got off the phone with Chrissie - things are going well - she thinks Elizabeth is starting to like her! :) There was a game of peek-a-boo yesterday and Elizabeth cracked a smile, so things are looking up!

Here's a picture of Elizabeth playing in their hotel room - like Chrissie says, everything goes in her mouth! Apparently Elizabeth loves being out with people - likes to watch them, so they are spending lots of time at the pool and the hotel has a room they have converted into a playroom for the kids - so they spend a good deal of time there... Elizabeth likes to be right near Chrissie when she's in there, so that's fabulous news! :) She also really loves music, any toy with music makes her bob and sway a bit - wow, a baby with some rhythm - how fun!

I asked Chrissie if she feels like a Mom, and she said yes.. she also said she's sleeping well, but that she's tired! She said her arms are tired, and her legs are tired.. guess that goes with the territory!

She's looking forward to Grammy and Tia Sarita's arrival tomorrow... she wisely decided to lay down a bit when we got off the phone, since Elizabeth was still sleeping.. smart mom!

Elizabeth in new shoes

Chrissie is SUCH a good Mommy - she sent us some pictures of Elizabeth! She's about 9.5 months old now, and looking tall (and of course beautiful!)

This is probably within a half hour of Chrissie receiving Elizabeth from the foster mother - for good! Looks like she got a haircut and check out her fancy shiny black shoes! :) But watch out, she's got the eyebrow creased - that's a warning sign for touble ahead! Apparently crying (was way past nap time) was next on the agenda... but once Chrissie realized the crib was on wheels and pushed it back and forth, Elizabeth fell into a peaceful sleep within moments!

I'm sure there will be much more to follow - stay tuned! :)