Christmas = Family and Friends

Above is a picture of me with my brother Eric on Christmas day. We were being silly but I think the picture turned out well!

On Christmas Eve we went to Jason's family's house for a few hours to play, visit, and have lunch. Then in the evening the 3 of us went to church (where Karla sang again) and then we gave Karla one present before we set some milk and cookies out for Santa. She got to open some Princess "feety" pajamas. We thought she'd like those for Christmas morning!

We had a great Christmas morning. For once Jason and I woke up before Karla and we had to wait for her to wake up! That is very unusual! I'm still not clear on whether or not she woke up on her own or if Jason woke her up. :) All of a sudden I heard them both calling me from Karla's room so I went in. Karla was asking Jason "Is it Christmas?" We said yes and then she stood up in her bed and jumped up and down from the head of her bed to the foot of her bed faster than I've ever seen. She was excited!!

Santa brought Karla's gray present and Oso's brown present! We thought she'd want to open one of those first but she didn't. She took her time opening gifts and playing with them. Jason and I enjoyed watching her!

Karla got a microphone...

"Look Oso, this doll was in your brown present"


A few hours later Jason's family came over and we opened more presents. One of Karla's favorite gifts so far seems to be the Animal Planet Treehouse that Tio Kevin picked out for her. Jason and I liked it too because it is something different than Barbie's/polly pockets/dolls. :) We like dolls, etc. but occasionally want to play with something else. :) The treehouse is great. It has all the animals she likes too...crocodile, snake (or serpent as she calls it), lion, tiger, gorilla. AND her dolls can play in it.

After lunch and a cake for Baby Jesus we quickly loaded in the car to head to Ohio to my mom and dad's house. We had some quality grandma and grandpa time and then my brother and his family came over...and we opened more presents! We got to Skype with Brenda and Russ in CA for a little while too. Then things got noisy and wild! Eric and his family got RockBand for Wii so the older girls, Eric and Jason were playing that all evening. Beth, my sister-in-law and I were "cuddling on a chair together" to keep warm and watching Barbie's Island Princess movie with the younger girls, Karla and Audra. I used the opportunity to read a book since I"ve seen the movie a few times. :) So that was a treat! Before I knew it it was almost 10pm and Karla was still going strong! She and Audra played with their new Barbies together, talked, and watched the movie while eating popcorn and drinking orange juice. I still LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing the two of them play together so nicely!!!

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Mammy and Pappy's house to get together with all of my mom's family. Karla rode with Grandma and Grandpa so Jason and I rode alone...it was so quiet in our car. We missed her chattering in the backseat but enjoyed getting to talk to each other for an hour and a half without interruption. :) We had a great time seeing lots of family!! Thank you Mammy and Pappy for all of your hard work and cooking!
Mammy and Pappy with all their grandchildren (minus my sis - Adam is holding a pic of Brenda though!)


Sunday we made it to church and then rested for the remainder of the day. We were worn out!

Today we went out to lunch with our friends Carey, Lola, Diana and Hugo. Diana and Hugo live in Guatemala and have been staying with Rich and Carey for the past week or so. After lunch we all came back to our house. Diana has gone to see Heidy (K's foster mom) in Guatemala since Baby Javier was born. She went with Carey and her family too when they were in Guatemala around Thanksgiving time. Anyway, today they brought a "surprise" for us. It was a video of when they were at Heidy's house. Heidy talked and was holding Javier while Diana translated. Then Jennifer (K's foster sister) talked into the camera while Diana translated. It made me cry. It was so sweet - for such a young girl. Words that mean so much to me and someday, when Karla is old enough to understand, will mean a great deal to her too. Jennifer was talking about missing Karla, how she used to play with Karla, etc. She also said that having a baby brother so far has not been the same as having Karla. Her baby brother doesn't play yet or have any hair to play with. :)

Today was so great seeing our friends again. They were beside themselves with excitement about the snow that fell today too. Jason took Diana and Hugo outside and showed them what a sled was and how to sled ride. They both went down the hill in our backyard once!! Carey and I watched through the window. It was hysterical! I was again reminded of how fortunate we are to have met such wonderful people through Karla's adoption. It makes me emotional - every time I see them!!!!

All the feelings it stirs up makes me 1) want to go to Guatemala again and 2) tell everyone that adoption is AWESOME -- sure it is really scary to think about starting (and going through) but TOTALLY worth it. If I can do it - anyone can!! So if anyone is thinking about it....seriously look into it! We've met so many amazing people and learned so much...and oh yeah, WE HAVE KARLA! :)
(I know...you never thought I'd ever say those 2 things...but I can't help it!)




I have tons of pictures so I'll have to upload to flickr again soon.

Tonight Jason is at a "Guys Game Night" and tomorrow I'm going to see my best friends - my girls from high school!! The fun continues....

Santa!

Karla sat on Santa's lap tonight and told him what she wanted - a gray present. :)

I uploaded a bunch of pictures to flickr today....haven't done that in a while.

Probably won't be blogging for several days so MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

One of Karla's bible memory verses and one of my favorite verses to leave you with before we celebrate Jesus' birth: Every good and perfect gift is from above... James 1:17

Lots going on

*Two Fridays ago Karla had a check-up with her allergist. She is doing so well that we are going to reduce her asthma medication she receives through the nebulizer. We reduced it in July and had to increase again in August. So we'll see how it goes this time. The doctor was very pleased with her progress and didn't feel he needed to see her for another 5 months...I think we were going every 3 months.

After the doctor's appointment I decided to go to the mall. I think Karla has only been in the mall once or twice - and it wasn't recently. I needed to look for a dress to wear to Jason's company Christmas party. Of course the dinner was the next day so I was feeling pressured to find something. For some reason I was dreading going to the mall and trying on dresses. I guess I thought Karla would be restless and not want to stay in her stroller...and i had to try things on... I decided to take the risk. We had the best time! I talked about the mall on the way to the doctor's office. After we saw her doctor she said "mall, now?" She was excited! We got to the mall and she stayed in her stroller without complaint. It was so funny when we walked out of Macy's into the main part of the mall she said incredulously "This is the mall!??" It was hilarious. Then I tried on dresses. She came in the large dressing room with me and I let her out of her stroller. She "helped" me get clothes off the hangers and twirl around in the dresses. The best part was - and something I'm sure not to forget anytime soon - was when I put on the first dress that did NOT look nice on me, Karla looked at me and put her hands on her cheeks and said "Oh Mommy. You are so beautiful! You look like a princess." I told her right then she'd be coming with me to try on clothes from now on! In the end I did find a dress to wear that I was very happy with, we stayed at the mall much longer than I had planned just looking around and picking up a few gifts. Eventually we had to get lunch because I was hungry. I thought Karla would like her usual chicken nuggets but she was so busy watching everyone in the food court she didn't eat anything! Another highlight of the trip for her was the mall security guard. He was standing near where we were in line to buy food and Karla got all excited and said loudly "Mommy! Police man! He is so nice and helps people!" I felt a bit embarrased and wasn't sure what to do. He came right over to her, squatted down and started having a conversation with her. She talked about the "police man" for the rest of the day.

*Jason and I did go to his company dinner and party. It was awesome...maybe becuase I haven't done many fancy things in a long time. We didn't get home till after 10 and we thought Karla might still be awake. BUT she went to bed perfectly for Grammy and PapPap when they asked her too and was sound asleep when we got home. We were a little jealous. :)

*We hosted a playgroup party here last Tuesday with our friends from church.

*Last week Karla went to a friend's house to stay while I took care of a few things. It was the first time she went stayed somewhere without Jason or myself that wasn't with family. I had been feeling stressed about some things and my friend asked me why I didn't just bring Karla to her house to play with her girls while I got some things done. I couldn't think of a good reason why not. So I took her to Sophia and Ava's house. They are in our small group and we see them often but I still felt a little sad leaving her....but she was already busy playing when I left. Jason picked her up about 2 hours later and he said she chattered the whole way home about all the fun she had had. She got to eat pizza with them and play with their Barbie's...so she was happy...and I was mostly destressed when she and Jason came home. :) Everyone benefited.


I've got more to blog about but need to get some housework done. Every week I say I'm going to keep the house more picked up than I did the previous week...it never works!

Here is a teaser of topics to come.... :)

Busy

We're here...just busy. Lots of fun things to blog about when I get a chance. Thought I'd post some pictures for now.

Jason and I got to go to his company's party Saturday night. It was lots of fun! Of course we had to get some pictures of us dressed up...and our favorite pic has our little girl in it too.

Karla helped Daddy put Christmas lights up outside. I stayed in where it was warm and took pictures through the window. :)

Karla LOVED this giant Rudolph we saw on Monday. She even wanted me to take her picture with him.

This morning Karla created her own dress. I just used some pins to secure it in place...she was getting a bit frustrated that it wouldn't stay on her. :) She spent quite a bit of time wearing this over her PJs. I was wearing a blanket tied around my waist as a dress...didn't get a pic of that though. :)

Preparing for Christmas

We have been putting our Christmas tree up in stages as we have had time the past two nights. Karla LOVED pulling out each ornament and was saying "oh, how beautiful, look at this one" every time she pulled one out. Her excitement was pretty contagious.

When she pulled the star for the top of the tree out of the box she said loudly, "Mommy, Daddy, look! A magic wand!" I was laughing too hard to take a picture! Then Daddy announced there aren't any wands/witches/spells at Christmastime! I don't know if she'll remember that or not.

She really liked the holiday stuffed animals I've accumulated over the years and the softer ornaments. Her favorite ornament was the Grinch (of course). Our neighbors have a Grinch in their yard which adds to the fascination. We haven't decided if we'll let her watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" this year or not. When she laid down for her nap this afternoon she asked me if I would sew her a skirt with the Grinch on it! I have made her 4 skirts recently so I guess she thought I could just quickly produce a Grinch skirt as well. May look into it but not sure I will have time...

Ever since Karla saw Santa at the mall (and Dora) she has told anyone who asks that she wants a "gray box" for Christmas. When asked what she wants inside the box she says "a doll for Mommy". This may be a tricky gift.... Then she added today that Oso wants a brown box ("to match his fur") with a little doll inside wearing big shoes. Oh boy. I have no idea where these requests came from! :) At least she is thoughtful...thinking of Oso and me.

Karla proudly helped "build" the tree.

She helped put the star on top of the tree.

She made friends with all the stuffed ornaments/toys.

Fun Monday!

Karla and I had a great day together today. I think maybe she wasn't feeling too well last week either because she was so happy and pleasant all day today (we won't count bedtime though). I guess something was working on us both last week!

We went to Karla's last gym class this morning. It was only 6 weeks long but it was fun. We'll probably try a new class in January. Now that she is 3 there are more choices available at the YMCA...and they are very inexpensive and involve me being with her!

It was fun to see Karla running around, talking loudly, listening to her teacher and even helping clean up. She was comfortable and not sticking right beside me the whole time.

I started cracking up once during our class. During "circle time" we sometimes sing a song called "Shake Your Sillies Out". The first verse is "shake your sillies out" (we all shake our bodies around) and then the next verse is "nod your noddies out". Usually we just nod our head very dramatically. Well, today Karla nodded very big - looked like a bow - and then instead of saying "nod, nod, nod" she said "YOUR HIGHNESS". I started howling. Can you tell how much she is into princesses right now????

Then we went to Chik Fil A with Austin, Chase, and Jen. Karla played in the play-place for quite some time with Austin and another little girl and didn't call to me or want me standing right beside her. It is nice to see her have more confidence and independence...but then hard to believe she's that "old" already!

While in the play-place at Chik Fil A (yes pretty much the only "restaurant" I go to anymore) I heard two girls, probably at least a year older than Karla, playing. One said, "Lets play princesses". The other one said "yeah!". Next thing I know they are saying "Help us. We're stuck in the dungeon!" I chuckled because that is what Karla says A LOT around here. She hasn't seen the Disney movies but she has read some of the books and one of the Barbie movies has a "dungeon" scene. I NEVER say "lets pretend we're in a dungeon" so I was glad to hear it must just be something they latch on to for some reason!

Speaking of dungeons....Karla talks about witches a lot too. I think because they are the only "bad" characters on Dora. Anyway, whenever there is a lull in conversation lately she'll just say "There is a witch in my castle. She real mean." She didn't say this today, thank goodness but she said it MANY times over the previous several days. Karla has told Jason and I that she has a castle "real far away" and that she lives there, we are allowed to live there, as well as good crocodiles and the mean witch. I don't know where she gets this stuff!!

This afternoon we made a craft project together. I should have taken a picture! We made a Santa Claus. It was fun and I was impressed with her willingness to sit at the table and work so hard to glue shapes together and color them. We made two...after the first one she announced she wanted to make more.



I got out some "feet-y" pajamas for Karla. I didn't think she'd like them for some reason...I guess because she seems so much older to me this winter compared to last winter...well, she LOVES them!! The other morning she was wearing them with a hat for some reason. Looked nice and warm though.

Baby Javier

Our friends were in Guatemala last week and got to go see Heidy, Baby Javier and family! They sent me pictures of Javier last night. Not sure how big he is or anything. Carey said he cried the whole time they were there and that he is still requiring medicine. He must have stopped crying for a minute...Here he is! :)

Odds and Ends

*Karla has been using facial expressions and sayings that are cracking me up everyday.

*Went back to the orthopedic doctor for my wrist yesterday and unfortunately I am going to need surgery for a torn ligament. :( Won't be till end of Jan or early Feb.

*Thanksgiving day we had 11 people for dinner - both sets of parents, two Tios and Mammy and Pappy. It went well! Lots of yummy food and lots to be thankful for. I didn't take many pictures for some reason. Too busy I guess. :)

Friday we went to Ohio to see more family. My sister and her husband came home for the long weekend from CA so it was nice to spend some time with them. Saturday the 3 of us came home, took naps, then went to see Tio Ryan to celebrate his birthday with Jason's family.

Sunday morning we went to church and our family got to light the first advent candle. Karla is still talking about being "up on stage". She says she wants to get back on stage and have everyone come up with her.

We were going to have a family portrait taken on Sunday afternoon but decided to cancel. We were all really worn out. Then Jason and I had some little bug that thankfully was only bad for one day....still making us tired though.

This week is going fast..I feel like I'm not keeping up...and it is almost Friday :)

*I'm going to be an AUNT again! :) My (little) sister is going to have a baby in MAY! We are all very excited...I'm just selfishly sad they are in California now. Thank goodness for digital cameras and email! I want to start crocheting baby stuff after the holidays...hope it doesn't take long to recover from surgery! I have another friend having her first baby in May also. :)

*This week I experienced having great difficulty obtaining Karla's asthma medicine for her nebulizer. Basically all generic has been pulled off shelves due to lawsuits between the generic and brand name. It is "only" about $150 more a month (with insurance) to have the brand name. Ha! Then I waited too long to get it so we went a few nights without it which really stressed me out and made me feel guilty. Luckily I called Karla's great doctor, explained the situation and he gave us 2 weeks of samples! We went to pick it up at his office today. We go for Karla's check-up next Friday so I'm hoping we can figure something out then... I think the generic is supposed to come out again on Jan 1. I hope!

*On Thanksgiving evening Karla played her first game of Candy Land. Can you believe it, she won!?! :)


*I'm hoping for a more relaxing next few days....and energy returning would be nice.

Noodles

Jason and I have made homemade noodles for several years now for Thanksgiving. It took us quite a while to perfect but we've got a system down now. We enjoy doing it together. I had originally done it by myself (maybe once) but it was too much cutting for me without help. My grandma gave us a pasta maker a few years ago so now we don't even have to cut them...just roll the dough through the pasta maker.

Today I was making the dough before Jason got home since it takes a couple hours. I had just added more flour to my dough and then left the room for a few minutes. When I came back in the room this is what I found...


Karla had watched me lift the bowl (my dough was under it), add flour and work it into the dough. So she climbed up on the chair spooned flour onto the table and was busy "making noodles." So much for clean clothes...

I hadn't really planned on her being part of the noodle making process. I thought Jason and I would work on it right after she was in bed. But I decided since she had such interest that she should help us this year. I don't think we've ever had so much fun making noodles! Karla LOVED helping. She was jumping up and down because she was so excited to turn the crank on the pasta maker. She stayed focused for the entire project...even reminding me to stay on task when I got a little side-tracked. She knew just how many times to turn the crank before pulling the noodles out. Jason and I really thought she was entertaining. We each had a job and it went smoothly. Of course I pulled out the camera!



Yes, we were all covered in flour when we were done! We are all very excited to eat the noodles tomorrow!

On an unrelated note...How many 3 year olds do you know that will eat (or at least try several bites of) fish, yam and corn for dinner?? That is what Karla ate tonight!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Meet Dora and Wake Up Santa

At a local mall last night they had "meet Dora and help wake up Santa" night. Not sure we'll ever do that again but at least we can say we did something that crazy now.

I don't know that the mall anticipated such a crowd. Anyway, kids could "meet" Dora (who looked a little creepy) and then Dora, Mrs. Claus and the elves woke Santa up so he could get ready for Christmas. They actually rolled Santa out on a bed fast asleep. The kids had to yell and ring jingle bells (and say "here we go Steelers") to wake him up! Jason and Karla had a view from the second floor (I was in line holding our place) during the show. Karla really liked waking up Santa.

There were several times during our wait to meet Dora that Jason and I thought we should just leave because it was pretty ridiculous BUT it was all worth it to see how excited Karla was. I don't think I've ever seen her quite like that before....and yes it brought tears to my eyes. .....maybe part of the reason I had tears in my eyes was because I was so relieved to be out of the line and able to go outside to get cooled off...hmmmm. No, it was REALLY great to know we did something that made her so excited. :)

Do I really get to meet Dora?

Oh my! I can't believe it!!

This is awesome!

It was worth the 2+ hours in line to see the look on Karla's face when she "met" Dora (for all 30 seconds). :)

Karla also really liked the "Long Lady" as she calls her. She was actually a queen. Karla calls her the long lady though. She was really impressed with her.

After nearly 3 hours of standing around/waiting we made it to Santa (the line for him was actually short)! Karla was afraid but we managed a picture. She told us on the way home that she would see him again and not be scared. So maybe we'll go see him again before Christmas.

Party Weekend (part 2)

I left off with Sunday morning. Man, I wish my mom had been here this morning when Karla got up so I could have slept in! :)

Anyway, last Sunday felt like Christmas morning. Mammy and Pappy were here before 9am....so Karla opened her cards and presents. Again, I think I was more excited than she was about the presents, she was very excited about all the attention from Grandma, Mammy, and Pappy though.

People weren't really supposed to bring presents to the party...we had said on the invitation to bring change (pennies, nickels, dimes, etc) to fill up a "treasure chest" to start a bank account for Karla. But, some people brought gifts anyway - which is fine. I just don't want anyone to feel bad if they didn't bring a gift. We just wanted to celebrate with everyone :) I had wanted to do the change rather than gifts because people have been so generous since Karla came home, well, for the past 3 years really. Maybe that is how it is when you have kids...just now thought of that! :)

So Karla got several nice gifts and she spent the morning playing and Jason and I got to talk and watch her play.

Then our company left and the 3 of us took a nap. I think I slept for 2 hours and Karla slept for 2 1/2 hours! It was wonderful! Then we had a nice quiet evening together.

There were probably other things I wanted to mention but now that it has been a week ago...it is harder to remember.



Other highlights from the week:

The three of us went to the Children's Museum on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun. I'm sure we could have spent the entire day there but Karla was exhausted by 1 and fell asleep as soon as we put her in the car. She was almost asleep on Jason's shoulder when we were walking out to the car!

Here is a picture of Karla painting at the museum's studio. For more pictures check the flickr site.


*It has been so sunny out. Karla and I have gone out everyday for at least a little while. We do have some outdoor toys but all she wants to do is RUN. We run down around a cul-de-sac and then around our house a few times. We pretend a witch or the big bad wolf is chasing us. Yes, my neighbors probably have a good laugh but oh well. I do run down the side walk saying "watch out! Here comes the wolf!" or pretending to carry the wolf or some other character Karla imagines. After running we usually swing for a while - I mean Karla swings while I push her "higher and higher". Maybe this is why I'm so tired at night...

*Karla has had what I like to call fantastic tantrums this week. Maybe she knows she is 3 now and decided to stir things up a bit more.

*One day when we were outside she saw the next door neighbor girl outside. She said "Mommy, that is my friend. You stay here." She walked down the sidewalk and made sure I wasn't following her. She didn't want me along when she was talking to her friend!

*I'm having trouble with my wrist still...since February. Finally went to orthopedic doctor this week and am to wear a splint all the time until I go to have an MRI in about 2 weeks. The x-rays were okay except a gap between two bones was slightly larger than expected...which would indicate a problem with a specific ligament.

*We went to church tonight for a spaghetti dinner. We left Oso at church!!!!! Didn't realize it until we got home and we're all tired. Karla's in bed right now and Jason and i are hoping we are not in for the worst night ever. I just didn't think Jason should drive back when we'll be there again in 12 hours. I might be kicking myself in a few hours...I hope not!

Hey....leave me comments! :) I saw that people viewed the party pictures...so I know someone must be reading my ramblings...besides Rachel, Jess and Sara. :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Karla!!

We finally got to celebrate Karla's birthday together, as a family, AT HOME. Jason took today off (actually last Fri through this Wednesday). We stayed home all day except to go to lunch at Chik Fil A. This morning we all got up and Karla opened her presents from Jason and me. I had picked 3 things out for her not knowing Jason had planned to get her something too. So, for the second time this week it felt like Christmas morning! She got 3 Veggie Tale DVDs (Jason is trying to get Karla to like something other than Dora and Barbie), a new pair of "princess shoes" (her other ones broke from so much use), a little Ariel Polly Pocket, and a Snow White doll with horse. We played with her new things all day and watched some Veggie Tales. This evening Grammy and Pap-Pap came over for dinner (leftover tacos from the party) and cake. We had a whole 1/2 sheet cake leftover too! Tomorrow we are going to the Children's Museum as our last "birthday event".

I finished the Steelers skirt pictured above a while ago but just finished the shirt last night while watching the game. I'm glad Karla likes skirts because they are pretty easy to make!

I couldn't pick just one favorite photo from today so here is another little slide show and then a look back at previous years. I think I'm about done comparing this year to last year...we'll see. :)

Two Years Old:

One Year Old:

7 Days Old:

Party Weekend (part 1)

I wanted to blog about the party (weekend). May have to finish later but I'll do what I can now. It all started last Friday. :) Uncle Kevin came home from DC Thursday night just to help out on Friday. So he babysat Karla in the morning while Jason and I ran around getting the food for the party. After Karla's nap the 4 of us went to the church to start setting up. We had to stack chairs and set up tables - a job I was thankful the two guys could do...and not me. :) Then Kevin took us out to dinner - that was a nice treat after a busy day! Karla had a great day because she got lots of "Tio Kevin" time.

Saturday morning the grandparents arrived at our house at 10am and we immediately left for the church to continue with the preparations. Karla and I stayed until after 12:15 and then I brought her home to eat lunch and take a nap. Meanwhile, Jason and his parents and my mom were working hard at the church to prepare the food. I really had NO idea it would take so long. I thought we'd all be able to relax during nap time. Nope. Karla and I got to the church 15 minutes before the party started and the decorations and food were ready and looked great. THANK YOU SO MUCH Grammy, Grandma, Pap-Pap, and Jason!!!! The party wouldn't have been a success without you! These 4 (plus others) were amazing. They helped to refill food, etc. during the party and cleaned up afterwards.

My dad had the important job Saturday night of driving some special guests home. So by the time my mom finished helping clean up, she was too tired to drive herself home to Ohio. So she spent the night at our house. Two of my grandparents spent the night in a hotel nearby so I told them to come over Sunday morning and we'd have Karla open her gifts then - everyone was way too tired Saturday night to open any gifts and we'd already decided we weren't going to get up and go to church the next day. Sunday morning was great! My mom got up with Karla so that Jason and I could sleep some more...of course I was still so wound up I wasn't able to fall back asleep but I think Jason got a few extra z's.

to be continued....

Party!

We had a great, fun party for Karla on Saturday! We had about 78 people including many babies and toddlers. We don't plan to have a huge party like that every year but wanted to do it this year as kind of a birthday party and welcome home party. We didn't have a BIG welcome home party last year because of Karla being in the hospital and us adjusting to being a family of three. So this year we went all out! More details as I have time this week. Here is a link to some pictures. I'll add more sometime this week too. Tomorrow is Karla's actual birthday so I'm off to wrap some gifts!

One Year

Karla's been on U.S. soil for ONE YEAR today. She took her first plane ride, met her grandparents, some friends, and Tio Kevin, Tio Ryan, Tia Brenda and Tio Russ ONE YEAR ago today. Jason and I carried her into her bedroom for the first time and were bursting with joy as she looked around and then said "hola" to each and every stuffed animal on a shelf in her room. We watched her explore the house, taking everything in. We knew things would never be the same...and it was a GOOD feeling.

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More Memories

One year ago today we went to Antigua.


Is it time to get out of this hotel yet???



Okay, back to the year 2009...

*we started a gym class at the YMCA. It is the same one we did several months ago. This time Karla's friend Austin is in our class. It was neat to see how she interacted with the other kids and how well she listened to the teacher compared to last time. Last time she was at my knee the whole time. This time she just kept her eye on me and ran to do what the teacher asked them to do.

*bedtime continues to be a struggle

*Karla went to the dentist for first teeth cleaning. She did a great job and even enjoyed it! I was very proud of her.

*I'm glad to have all these nice memories for the end of October and into November...usually this is my least favorite time of the year. Mainly because it gets cold and dark out and because I usually get sick or just plain don't feel good. Now that I'm not working (and getting allergy shots) I do feel better...so far so good. And now I also have great memories of this time of year and of course...a birthday to celebrate! (yes, I should be getting ready for the party or resting for the party rather than blogging but I can't help myself)

Best and Worst

A year ago today we went to the US Embassy in Guatemala to finish Karla's adoption! Then we said our final good-bye to Karla's foster family at Chuck E Cheese and celebrated Karla's birthday with them. A day with LOTS of emotions. It was one of the most exciting mornings of my life at the Embassy and THE hardest thing I've ever done at Chuck E Cheese. I wish I'd gotten a group photo of all of us at Chuck E Cheese. Just wasn't thinking clearly.

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! We sure did. We carved a pumpkin earlier today and then all 4 of Karla's grandparents came over for trick-or-treating (and help passing out candy). We all had fun! Karla was pretty shy about saying "trick or treat" to people but got braver the more houses we went to. She remembered that she had received a candy eyeball and that is what she wanted to eat when we got home. So she had an eyeball and then almost all of a BIG candy bar. It was sweet because Jason had told Karla that Butterfingers were my favorite candy bars - so that is the one she wanted to eat, after the eyeball of course. She even gave me a few bites - without me asking for them!!






10 days!