Dinner Talk

A Few Pictures

Happy Birthday Gabi!

We want to wish you a Happy Birthday Gabi! I know you aren't feeling well but who better to take care of you then your mom. We know she is doing a great job and are so happy you are coming home soon.

Doctor's Visit

Unfortunately we had to make a trip to the doctor today and it turns out Ella has an ear infection. I hope this is part of her sleeping problem but only time will tell. We also has bloodwork, a TB test and are being tested for parasites all as a precaution. Poor girl has tiny veins and was poked and prodded for quite a while.

I have to thank Carri for letting me borrow their excersaucer for the next few days while they are out of town. This will buy me some time to look for one. Thank You Carri! I pray you, Hudson and Brad all have safe travels.

I have not seen or heard an update on Gabi or Jeremiah's case so please pray they are making progress so these babies can come home.

Just Me and Ella today

Today was my first day with Ella by myself. Mike went back to work today and I have 3 weeks left before I go back to work. First we stopped by my office and visited for a little while. Then hit 4 consignment stores today looking for a reasonable excersaucer. No such luck for a reasonable one. I haven't figured out where to put Ella when I take a shower so I thought an excersaucer would occupy her for a few minutes. I can't take a shower while she is napping since she sleeps no more than 15-25 minutes. If anyone who lives near us has an excersaucer we can buy or borrow please let me know. Next we had lunch with Sara and Jim. During lunch Jim was constantly wiped Ella's mouth because it bothered him seeing food around it. Ella surprised us all and drank right from a straw. After lunch we went to Babies R Us then headed home for a much needed nap. Ella was such a trooper this was the most she had been out since coming home. Sorry no pictures today.

A sneak peak at our professional pictures

Here is the link to Mayfield Photography to view a few pictures from Friday. I have to warn you we were cheesing in the family photo because Jay (a father of a child Mike use to coach) was trying to make Ella laugh and it made us all laugh. Boo at the bottom of the post is Jim and Sara's dog. I can't wait to see our proofs.

Easter Pictures

Happy Good Friday!

Yes I think we have one of the laziest Boxers

Today we tried eliminating Ella's first nap and here is why. Ella is spending 15-20 minutes crying before falling asleep for 15-20 minutes.(She is doing this for both naps) So our thinking is if we eliminate her first nap she will have a better 2nd nap. We had our first professional pictures taken today and she did take a 5-10 minute nap in the car on the way there. For her 2nd nap she cried for about 15 minutes then took a 15 minute nap before our next door neighbor decided to start his boat in his driveway and she woke up and cried for the next 20 minutes. So we will see if we have better luck over the next few days.

We also walked over and visited some of Mike's long time family friends. A few days ago Janet left us a message that she couldn't wait to get her hands on that baby. It feels good to hear how family and friends have embraced Ella as their own. We enjoyed our visit with the S Family.

Saturday we will be taking Ella to an Easter Egg hunt and we have a friend visiting from Atlanta coming to see her. I will post pictures afterwards.



Have a great weekend.

New Favorite Website

I just wanted to share this website that is new to me. It is called ETSY and is is similar to ebay but mostly handmade items. I have only made one purchase but seen many other things I want to buy. Enjoy!

http://www.etsy.com/

Just enjoying our little girl

Best Friends

Bedhead

Daddy & Ella playing Guitar Hero

Last Friday we applied for Ella's social security card so we are waiting on that. Saturday Ella and I went to a baby shower for a little boy who recently came home from Guatemala. We were also able to meet another family with a little boy from Guatemala. Sunday and Monday we just stayed close to home. Tuesday we had our first post placement visit. For those of you who don't know we have 4 agency visits in the next year now that Ella is home in addition to us sending in 8 parent reports between now and 2011.

A little info about Ella

• She babbles most at meal time and first thing in the morning
• She only takes 2 naps and they are usually 20 to 30 minutes EACH.
• Overall she is a very happy baby
• Ella is very comfortable with us and is not reaching for strangers as much. (This is a good thing)
• If she knows she has a hairbow in she takes it out and she thinks it is funny.

A few pictures

Guess who else is OUT

Jeremiah is out of PGN! We are so happy for their family. They have had a long journey to bringing him home and the end is finally near. Please keep them in your prayers for the final steps to be quick.

Gabi is OUT

That is right Gabi is out of PGN. Today she is being put in Ed and Amanda's arms forever. We are so happy for them. The plan is for Amanda to stay and foster in Antigua until Gabi comes home to the US which should be 4-6 weeks. Please continue to pray for Jeremiah's file to get out of PGN. We hope he is right behind Gabi.

First Haircut

We are having family pictures taken Monday so we decided to go ahead and get Ella's first haircut. The best part of the haircut was it was only a penny. Enjoy the pictures.

UPDATE ABOUT SLEEP

Last night Ella cried when we put her to bed for all of about 5 minutes. Then she cried another 5 minutes around 3:30. Needless to say we had a great night and didn't get up to give her a bottle. She slept until 7:30 and so did we. Thank you Lord!

Catch Up

Again sorry I haven't posted in a while. As expected there has been alot going on around here and some adjusting. We have had wonderful support from our family and friends since being home.

Ella is such a sweet and happy baby. Mike and I are so blessed to be her parents. Despite all the people coming and going Ella is always wearing her smile. She is saying a few words and will even talk in a raspy voice that sounds like a little gremlin.

We had her first Doctor's appointment today and she is in the 5th percentile for her weight and 18th for her height. Overall he is happy with her except he wants to cut the bottles down from 6 to 2 or 3. Over the past few days since being at home we have learned Ella does not know how to fall asleep on her own. So per Doctor's orders we have to start letting her cry it out. Today for her nap she cried for 25 minutes before falling asleep and it was tough. Mike and I have had very little sleep since leaving for Guatemala so we are ready to try anything as hard as it is letting her cry it out.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from the last few days.

Pictures from the Airport

Pictures from our Pick up trip

The blue dress is what Ella wore for her Embassy Appointment. Sorry we don't have many pictures.

We are HOME!!!

We made it home to a very warm welcome at the airport. A BIG thank you to everyone who came to show their support and meet Ella. We are so blessed to have great family and friends who supported us through this adoption. I hope to post pictures tomorrow. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Thank you Carri & Sara for the wonderful decorations
Thank you Jimmi for cutting the grass
Thank you Anne for trimming the monkey grass.

We have Ella's VISA

Last night we met with both of our attorneys and the translator. They brought our final adoption documents that we need to readopt Ella in the US. Also in this packet was additional pictures of our birthmom and some information about her.


This morning we did a little shopping behind the hotel and got Ella a few keepsakes. We spent the rest of the day hanging out the pool (we missed you Amanda, Ed and Gabi). Hector brought us Ella's VISA this afternoon so now we can come home. Ella has been a great baby and lets hope that hold true tomorrow on our flights home.

Please pray we have safe and uneventful travels tomorrow. We appreciate everyone's support and prayers through this process. It has been a long process and we are ready for you all to meet our daughter.

Embassy Appointment is DONE!

We just got back from our Embassy Appointment. The whole thing was very easy and mostly waiting. Tomorrow Hector will pick up our VISA and we will be on our way home Thursday.

Unfortunately Mike is an idiot and forgot our camera cord at home so there will be no pictures on this trip.Where is Amanda when I need her? Ella is wearing the cutest dress (thank you Deidra) and I have to wait to post pictures when I get home.

We Made it Guatemala

We have Ella forever now. Our flights were very bumpy but on time. Ella arrived at 3:30 then we had to go do her final medical exam. Mike and I have been going nonstop since 4 am this morning and tomorrow will be another early morning. We just got the internet working but since it has been a busy day so far we really don't have any pictures to post yet. She does have her 2nd tooth coming in and still the cutess gummy smile you have ever seen. She also has been mostly smiles since we got her.