New Pictures

(from Baby Maya blog)

New photos on the snapfish site!

Pictures

(from Baby Maya blog)

Ugh! I've tried and tried and can't upload any pictures. I think I need to resize them, but when I try, I get a closeup of a tiny corner of a picture, LOL.

If you don't want to wait until Maya's old enough to help me figure it out, go to snapfish. Enjoy, she's cute as a button!

Love,

Janet

THE PEANUT HAS LANDED

(from Baby Maya blog)


THE PEANUT HAS LANDED :)

We all survived the flights (thankfully before the new security procedures). We got home about 2:00 am on Thursday. Ahhhh........I'd put my feet up, but there's bot tles, and diapers, and dishes, and laundry and oh, LOTS o' baby kissin' to do!

Tuesday

(from Baby Maya blog)

We had another absolutely wonderful day. Sonia came and picked us up, took us to the artisans market where we did some shopping for Guatemalan handmade crafts. There were women weaving cloth, just beautiful, beautiful things. Sonia was delightful! she took us to the best vendors and negotiated down all the prices, but so sweetly that the vendors were giving us free things in addition to our purchases.

Then Sonia took us to an authentic Guatemalan restaurant that was just beautiful - with stunning gardens and fountains (Maya LOVED the fountains). The food was amazing, the waiters were dressed in traditional Guatemalan garb and the music was Guatemalan. We just had a great time. Then we went back to the market for MORE shopping. Sonia dropped us off and then went to the embassy to pick up Maya's visa. Yippppeeee!! All the paperwork is done and she's coming home tomorrow. She spent most of the day in my sling carrier and both baby and mommy just loved being so close all day long.

Then we decided to take Maya for her first swimming adventure. Oh, she just had so much fun. She loved the water, especially with mommy pulling her through the water for a kiss from daddy, then backing up and doing it all again.

We had a pizza for dinner in our room, everyone exhausted from the day and happy to chill out in pajamas.

We're almost packed and trying to squish as much as we can into our suitcases. But we know all that matters is that little bundle that will be riding in mommy's sling.

We leave tomorrow at 11:00 and will be home tomorrow nite about midnight or maybe early, Thursday morning. It'll be good to have our baby home on US soil. We truly loved Guatemala though and I can't wait to come back when Maya is older.

Love to all! See you SOON!

We are Three

(from Baby Maya blog)

It's official! We are three! We went to the embassy today at 7:15 am and were "sworn in". Wayne signed a whole BUNCH of papers and then we were a family. Yippppppeeeeeeee!!! Maya loved seeing all the other babies - oh, BIG FUN.

Then Daddy's girls took a nap cuz mommy was too excited to sleep last nite.

Love to all.

THANK YOU for signing the guestbook - it's so fub, oops, fun, for us to read!

mommy and baby are happy dancin' and even daddy too.

Splish Splash - First Bath

(from Baby Maya blog)

We survived our first bath, lots of splish splash singing and everyone came out clean and smiling!

We also took our FIRST SHOPPING TRIP! We went across the street from the hotel to a small marketplace. There are such beautiful fabrics here and impressive workmanship.

Maya is Mommy's little sunshine. We are definitely having BIG fun!!

Tomorrow is the all important trip to the embassy. Wayne is saying, "Do you know what time it is?" since we have to be up and ready to go by 6:45 am. Good thing Maya is such a good sleeper.

We're getting more and more in tune with baby rhythyms. (If not spelling champs!), we're starting to be able to predict the bottle, diaper, nap cycle. We can even recognize the baby toot that signals the BIG STINKY and has daddy running for the hills. Thank you to all the forum friends who told us about the diaper duck scented bags - Whew!

Maya is having a few fussy minutes, I think she wants to make sure mommy and daddy love her even when she's not miss sunshine and happiness. We're passing her tests with flying colors and the baby smiles come out pretty fast. What an angel.....

Also the forum friends who said that eight month olds like toys with music and lights were SO right. "Mr. Crunchy" the little toy that lights up and plays rock-a-bye baby is a BIG favorite and the "keys" that work as a teething toy are favorites, too.

Well, I think baby needs mommy back....or is that mommy needs baby back? I miss holding her every minute I'm not!

Love to all....three more days and daddy's girls will be home forever.

Maya can't wait to meet you!

(from the Baby Maya blog)

Oh, it's hard to describe how utterly happy we are! Such a sweet, sweet little girl God has given us. We're learning quickly how to care for her, it's so amazing how much we love her.

Maya has so many expressions and she is SO fun. She loves mirrors and smiling at herself. I think she is going to be a girly girl! So far mommy is best at diapers and daddy is best at dressing. Mommy blows rasberries on maya's tummy and makes her giggle while daddy snaps ALL those snaps.

We went to the buffet breakfast and Maya loved the watermelon. The foster mother said she wasn't eating solid foods yet, but she seemed to know exactly what to do with the watermelon, chewing and everything!

She has two little, very sharp teeth. Maya bites almost as good as Brickie!

Not only can Maya sit up, but she can pull herself up in the crib and as long as she holds on to the slats she can walk around!! We're going to be chasing her around (uh oh) in no time!!

Last night, we laid her down in her crib and she was out like a light. She slept until 8:30 this morning. She did turn and turn around, had her head in each corner at some point, slept on her back, on her tummy, on her side, but slept and slept, not a peep. As you can tell, mommy spent lots of time watching her! ohhhhhhhh, this is honestly heaven!

Speaking of excited and clueless parents (wasn't I) we could NOT figure out how to work the elevator! We got in, pushed the button, rode up, and up, and up and up... passed our floor.....then down, and down....passed our floor. Got back to the lobby, pushed our button, rode up and up, and up, and up.....passed our floor......you get the picture! FINALLY, someone told us you have to put your key in to pick a floor!

Love to everyone. Maya can't wait to meet you!

WE ARE IN HEAVEN

(from the Baby Maya blog)

WE ARE IN HEAVEN!! AND WE HAVE AN ANGEL!!!!! SHE IS BEAUTIFUL AND SWEET AND PATIENT WITH A CLUELESS MOMMY AND DADDY. TOOK ABOUT 25 MIN FOR THE FIRST DIAPER, LOL. EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. SHE SLEPT ALL NIGHT. WE'RE IN LOVE!

3 Hours to BABY kissing

(from the Baby Maya blog)

We're here!! We're here!! Great flights, no problems at all. Guatemala is beautiful. We are at the Marriott, everyone is very nice and helpful. Only 3 hours to BABY kissing. We are SO excited and just can't wait to hold Maya. The weather is beautiful, 75 degrees and sunny. It's the rainy season but so far, we're seeing nothing but sunshine.

We're going! We're going!

(from Baby Maya blog)

We're going! We're going! Oh, momma is happy dancin'! Our flight leaves at the crack o'dawn on Friday (the sooner the better!) and we'll be holding Maya by Friday night. Woo-hoo! Dom said we'll be back with hands and hearts full - so true!

The Marriott has email access, so if Maya lets us, we'll be updating our journal.

Thanks SO, SO, SO much to all our friends and family for helping us get this far. We never could have done it without you!!

Happy Birthday, Wayne!