Our weekned

A few shots from our weekend:

Eliza's Prissy Poof came and we had to try it out... she was not in the mood for a photo session, so we will try again soon.

Baylor was in his first ever Ho-Am Tae Kwon Do Regional Tournament. He got a 3rd place trophy for sparring. I am so proud of him... I hate I missed it because we were afraid it was too much for the younger kids at 2 PM in the afternoon. Brent said it was amazing. He was literally tournament fighting ( with sparring pads) and got to the semi-finals... WHEW that blows my mind.


Callan got to go too... evident ally having a big boy's day caused him to grow a moustache... even if only Fanta Grape drink.


Nommie and Gandie stopped by on their way home from Florida visiting and keeping my newly 1 year old nephew. This was the creation they made from Gandie's father's day gift.


And finally... the pig tails... just make me smile!

Check out the hands

It took 2 tries to capture this (the first time I took it sideways and then could not get it to turn once on the computer)it just makes my day. Of course we think she is just one the smartest kids ever, but look how quickly she is understanding and grasping things ( for those who do not know, her foster family did not speak English at all).

She just makes us smile!!!!

We also had a Dr. visit this week. In a month and a half since her last visit she gained almost a pound. She is up to a whopping 15 pounds 10 ounces (3.2 %) and it 26 inches long... but I think they streched her a little because I was holding her head. ( For you fact lovers out there... my boys all had that weight accomplished at 4 months... and at 9 months they were in order 30, 23 and 21... I am carrying half a child). She is doing great, but we have to make some decisions about her immunizations. Our office does not "recognize" foreign immunizations so we either have to do them all over ( UH.... NO!) or get titers done to see what is in her system which involves a pretty big blood draw. I am going to look into it this week and possibly call the Vandy International Adoption Clinic and see what they think.

Here is the clip... ENJOY!

Mommy Milestones

It seems like it has been forever and a day since I posted, but it was only Sunday... I guess it is because I have freed myself from this ball and chain of a computer screen and I no longer need it to sleep, eat, breathe... you get the picture. In fact, Baylor has spent more time on it than me this week... OH THE JOY OF WEBKINS WORLD! ( If you knowing nothing of that... check it out... it is quiet cool, entertaining and there is a little learning too).

Anyway... we are still doing GRAND! Eliza ( I feel) is attaching well and sees us as mom and dad. She lights up when she sees us and does not seem to have much fear as long as we are around. In fact, we have hit a breakthrough and I can auctually lay her down to sleep while she is still a little awake and she will go on out. ( Where before I was having to hold, rock, bounce until she was open mouth OUT).

She really surprises us... I really do not think her foster family fed her much baby food. That or when she threw up her hand like she does, they just stopped trying. She is all about the big people food and really wants nothing to do with baby food. Last night she grunted and begged for her brothers green beans and mac-n-cheese, so much so that I just said "what the heck" try it. She ate it until I thought she would get sick, watermelon too... thanks to our sweet Sunday School friends for bringing our dinner... it is a true blessing. Since she has now begun to refuse all baby food, tonight I ran to the store to buy some stuff I thought she might eat. I got some of those Pick-Up Pastas... that my boys would never so much as smell... my little petite girl at the WHOLE CONTAINER ( I thought is was good for at least 2 meals). She has me laughing at the way she expresses "more" she holds her hand up and squeezes her fingers in and out... precious... and I am so glad that I figured out what it meant! Not sure what kind of expression this is... maybe giving watermelon a 4 out of 5. Either that or she is speaking "gangsta".



On other milestone news... since we were all adjusting well... we decided to try Silas in his "big boy bed" we have never done the toddler bed before. Both of the bigger boys went to a big bed right at 2 ( due to moving for Baylor and because Callan asked too). We decided it would be best to wait for Silas... but he has been asking. But, since we are adoption poor at the moment, we took advantage of the bed that converts to the toddler bed... which is perfect for him...and he thinks it is PERFECT! Funny enough, I thought he would be up and down all night or during nap... he has not gotten up once and in fact, he still hollers for me when he wakes up... it must be the invisible fence!!??

Father's Day

We enjoyed our first Father's Day as a family of 6. I feel so bad but with just getting home and last week being our first week home, I just have not had the time or courage to get to any store (other than Kroger's) and get him a gift. He said no big deal, but I feel bad and wanted to do something... still working on that something. We made our first trip to church and although we did not sit through worship, Eliza and I walked the hall until she went to sleep. It was a big day, lots of people were excited to finally see her in person.

Tonight we sat in the "keeping room" of our house just listening. The boys were playing (loudly as usual)and we looked over at Eliza who literally had been playing in the floor with a pile of toys for over an hour without a peep. Brent said "Is this really what it is like having a girl, she is just playing so quietly." I do not think that ANY of they boys sat and played anything alone at 9 months of age, let alone that quietly for over an hour... did I do that to them or is it a boy thing. It is really incredible to already see some differences.


A few other shots from the afternoon:

Baylor took a tumble off his bike and he thought the boo boo was photo worthy.


Silas insisting on wearing Baylor TaeKwonDo Sparring gear... he is a hoot when he tries to "HI-YAH"


Callan showing off his muscles and new T-shirt that his Papa and Gran brought back from their trip to Niagra Falls.


And the "sits so pretty-plays so quiet" little Mayan Indian of ours.

BATMAN

We spent Eliza's first week home taking Callan to swim lessons. They were a little more than a 30 minute drive away so we had to stay there under the shade of HUGE trees waiting for his one hour lesson. It was auctually a nice time outdoors, if only Silas had thought so too.
Callan did great ( although he cried all the way there the first day). He loved it and did awesome. The instructor called him Batman all week.We went from not putting our head in the water to this...

AND this is him flying off the board into the pool ( where was that bat cape?)


And... I know most of you come to see pictures of our little Eliza... so here you go, although it is getting harder to capture her... she is all over the place.

18 gifts

It was not my ingenious idea, but I liked it none the less. While in Guatemala, we bought 18 gifts for Eliza. One for each year as her "forever family/ homecoming/ whatever we decide to call it" gift. Right now we do not even know what date that is... is it the day our adoption became final May 7th, when we got her in our arms June 4th, when we had our Embassy Day June 5th, or when she was finally home June 7th... anyway. Here is our list and a photo of it. Nothing is too fancy, just a neat reminder of where she came from and her heritage.



1- dress/ textile hat
2- green frog
3- Noah's ark textile set
4- textile dog backpack
5- coinpurse with Guatemalan money and worry dolls (not pictured)
6- beaded bracelet
7- textile journal (? this one did not make it home with us?)
8- beaded purse
9- worry doll wreath
10- wood box with metal etching of Guatemala (jewelry box)
11- textile headband
12- wooden necklace
13- textile scrunchie/ Guatemala book (not pictured)
14- textile belt
15- Jade cross
16- Quetzel bird key chain
17- large tote bag
18- Textile table runner

( I may still add a few things to the smaller items... and am considering purchasing a hupil- traditional Guatemalan dress shirt- from her town of birth... or a large tapestry or quilt)

LOOK what we just missed...

Kind of makes my stomach hurt. I know it is common there, but I would have freaked out...

GUATEMALA CITY — A powerful earthquake shook Guatemala on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

The quake struck at 1:29 p.m. local time (1929 GMT) and was centered 70 miles southwest of Guatemala City off the Pacific coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It gave a preliminary calculation of magnitude of 6.8.

Some landslides occurred in the southwest province of Escuintla, but there were no reports of injury or damage immediately after the quake, said Benedicto Giron, spokesman for the National Disaster Reduction Center.

But he added that phone service was knocked out in some areas and information was tricking in slowly.

The earthquake may have caused damage due to its location and size, the Geological Survey said.

The quake was felt strongly in neighboring El Salvador, where people ran into the streets in the capital of San Salvador, but the Red Cross there said it had no reports of damage or injury. It was also felt in the Mexican city of Tapachula along the Guatemalan border.


On the home front... today was great. We did a lot of running ( Daddy's office, Swim lessons in Columbia, and Carter's birthday in Cool Springs) She is still getting used to having to be in a car seat ( she did not have one in Guatemala) and she fusses some but with three silly faces looking right at her for entertainment, she is quickly calmed. Tomorrow... I think I might take on a pool outing???