Tooth number 3!

Tooth number 3! Maya's third tooth has broken through. Awwwwww!

We're in Indianapolis, I have some CPE classes. Maya is having BIG fun - as usual. She's started stretching out her arms and then "flopping" on top of us or on any soft surface. Last night she did it on our bed, just over and over, giggling away. Happily, she's learned to stay away from the edges of the bed. It's much less harrowing for us!

We stopped by Connor's Prairie, yesterday. I think that will be more meaningful for her when she's older and in the summer. It's quite cold right now. Yesterday morning there was frost on the car! Brrrrrr!

We think Maya is saying words now, but it's one of those things where we say to each other, "did she say (blank) or are we imagining it?" Yesterday, I was sure she said "bambi". There's some "mmmmmm and noises" that I think is closing on on "mommy" too.

Maya is pretty used to the carseat now. If we don't play music though, or if there are extended commercials, she's not a happy camper. Long stoplights aren't very popular either!

I know I've said it before, but we are SO BLESSED. What an amazing gift God has given us.

Camping

We went camping from Oct 1st until yesterday. Maya had BIG fun! She's a happy camper, for sure.

The weather was nice - even a little warm. When we left Thursday morning (yesterday), ti was chilly, but the rest of the time it was beautiful.

We were at Spring Mill, except for the weekend (we made our reservations at the last minute and the campground was full for the weekend) when we went to Hardy Lake.

Maya LOVED the RV, she could hold onto things and walk around almost everything. Negotiated the steps pretty well, too. She could see us almost all the time which was our favorite part!

Baby girl enjoyed the campfires and even ate outside a few times. I was worried about the bees, so many in the fall, so mostly in the evenings.

We didn't see any skunks (we did smell a few though), but a racoon did make a visit. We hung a birdseed bell outside the rv window, hoping to provide Maya with some "birdie tv" but it didn't entice them.

There were times when it was more like survivor than a vacation - we didn't have water in the beginning - but it all worked out. Camping is an adventure!

One of the most fun days, we met Jeanne and Rupert!!! Up until then, we'd only written ont he internet. After irritating a waiter at Cracker Barrel by staying sooooooo long, we had to break away. Hope to see you again soon!

Heaven on Earth

This afternoon, I dropped off Wayne and Maya at his mom's nursing home and went shopping. I came back to pick them up and Maya was SO happy to see me. She was laughing and kissing me. Ahhhhhhhhh (big sigh) I took a deep breath to smell that special maya baby smell and I thought, I don't know what I've ever done to deserve this angel. I jsut don't want to let go of her. She is SO beautiful that I am just in awe. And everytime someone says "what a happy baby!" (and it's said alot), I am so thankful to have her.

We got a card that says, "I heard that an angel showed up at your house, dressed up in a baby disguise - with soft, dimpled cheeks, irresistable coos, and starlight and hope in her eyes....though she traded her wings for her ten baby toes and her halo is now just a curl, May all her days bring you heaven on earth - your beautiful sweet baby girl." So true! It's heaven on earth.

Nifty Fifty

How nifty? I'm fifty! Because of Maya.....as they say in the song...." I FEEL GOOD, dunnna na"

It was a spectacular birthday. Maya learned to wave! Grandma taught her and they both looked adorable.

Maya gave me the sweetest card, a Winnie the Pooh (of course) balloon and some dark chocolate. What a thoughtful, smart baby we have!

We went to Lucrezia for diner and at the restaurant I did a special signal softly in Maya's ear and she gave me a kiss! Awwwwwww, I'm in love with that baby.

At fifty, I have to say......IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE!

It's day eight for dear, patient, girlfriend Jeanne. Saying prayers for Maddy to be home soon, soon, soon.

Friends

Sunday, the Hobart High School crowd came over for brunch. Wayne outdid himself making the world famous waffles (okay, Carpenter friends and family famous waffles).

We had a wonderful time sharing food and friendship, girl talk in the nursery!

Monday, Wayne had some daddy-daughter time while I went shopping with MY mom. I missed Maya, of course, but it was nice to spend time with mom.

Tuesday, Elaine and Joan stopped by! How good it was to see them! Joan is so good with Maya. It sounds like they are settling into semi-retirement just right.

Maya is busy, busy, exploring her world. She is so bright. Wayne and I are amazed at how blessed we are and thank the Lord everyday for this wonderful gift.

Debbie and Ev called me yesterday! It was so good to talk to them too. They are both doing good. Debbie's daughter Susie is 21 and Ev's niece Kimmy is 40! I can't believe how fast time flies.

(from Baby Maya blog)

Wow, yesterday was an amazing day. I think we fit a whole month of love and joy into one day. It's hard for me to describe the things Maya has brought to our lives. I'm working on an analogy, it involves black and white to color.....dusk to bright sunshine....I'll keep working on it.

Anyway, yesterday morning, I took Maya to see Wayne's mom, Leona, at Fountainview Place. Even though she'd seen Maya before, she held Maya for the first time yesterday. Whoa....it was a Hallmark Channel movie. Maya loved her grandma so much, and the look on Leona's face was so full of delight and love. Maya took her tiny little hands and touched all over Leona's face (mommy didn't even have to say "gently, gently"). Maya played with her ears and stroked her hair. It was so sweet! And all the time, Maya was curious and happy, beaming those high wattage smiles. Just amazing......

Then Leona, Maya and I went to a church service there at Fountainview. Oh, Maya loved it! a woman played the hymns on a piano and Maya danced. She crawled into Leona's lap again and played peek-a-boo with the man behind us. He couldn't talk but he made a sign as if to say, "she's laughing".

Then in the afternoon, our dear friend Pat came over to visit. Pat made the beautiful quilt that is in Maya's room. I just love seeing my friends with Maya. Who knew Pat was good at making funny-babies-laugh-and-laugh noises? And Pat brought Maya her first Starbucks. No silly, we didn't give her coffee! Pat brought her "The Velveteen Rabbit" book and cd (narrated by Meryl Streep, how cool is that?!) Then, I know, I can hardly believe myself that there's more....

Wayne and I went to his high school reunion. And dance the night away. Well, not really, but we did dance one slow dance. His classmates are so nice! We had a great evening. If we had to be away from Maya (ouch!) this was a good reason. We heard lots of fifties music and laughed. I didn't say "oopsie" once! My Mom stayed with Maya while we were out partying. They did very well! Maya didn't stay awake to see Notre Dame win (what-a-day!). Grandma, grandpa and Maya had a great evening. What an angel daughter we have, and such amazing family and friends. Thank you, God, we are truly blessed.

Exhaustion

(from Baby Maya blog)

I haven't been doing a very good job of documenting Maya's first weeks at home. I've been thrilled to have her clean, fed, dressed, and smiling - then falling into bed totally exhausted. How does such a "little bit" manage to wear out two grown adults? LOL!

So here's warning, there's going to be lots of baby details.....reader beware!

Maya's Day

(from Baby Maya blog)

Maya slept late today - 7:30! Usually she's up between six and seven. We give her a bottle IMMEDIATELY, because she wakes up very hungry. Usually we try to both go in and greet her - start her day with smiles and sunshine. then one of us stays and gives her the bottle. She's gotten more and more cuddly every day. In the beginning, she would "maintain her space", but now she cuddles in on my shoulder, she trusts me to hold the bottle, she'll reach to touch my face. Such a sweetheart!

When her bottle's finished, we play in her room for about an hour and then it's time for cereal. Our first cereal was an adventure! There was cereal everywhere.....including in my hair and up her nose! Maya was so adorable. She would grab the cereal off the spoon and try to feed herself. Happily, I found finger foods by Gerber. Now, I give her some of those and that keeps her hands busy. I tell her it's "mommy's job to feed her the cereal". she's very cooperative and meals are much neater now! Only food up the nose occasionally now!

We had green beans for lunch and I found out she loves to have her feet tickled while she eats. I think it surprises her, because she can't see her feet in the high chair and just feels the tickles.

I started opening my mouth wide, when I wanted her to open hers, and for some reason, she found that SO funny. She just laughed and laughed. then I noticed she was laughing even when I wasn't doing it. Hey! Laughing at mommy, shame on her, LOL!

Maya still loves watermelon -we went out to dinner and happily they served watermelon as a garnish on all the plates.

Susan, Terri and Samantha came to visit today! It was so nice to see Susan and hear about Jasmine (Susan's granddaughter from Guatemala). Susan is the kind person that told us about the agency her daughter used, that led us eventually to Maya. Samantha is so beautiful. Maya adores her. Unfortunately, she can get a little too exuberant though. She tried to climb on Samantha and pulled her hair......but Samantha was a good sport about the whole thing. Terri brought us more stuff today - she has just been an angel. Not only support and advice but exersaucer, toys, high chair and CUTE SHOES. Maya and Mommy are so lucky to have such good friends.

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!

Waiting for "Pink"

(from Baby Maya blog)

Well, we found out why we haven't gotten "pink" yet (our appointment with the US Embassy). It's those gol-darn fingerprints, again! The embassy thinks we didn't renew our fingerprint clearance. Ah.....missing paperwork, again! We're doing our best to straighten it out and hoping for pink next week.

We're Parents. We're Scared.

(from Baby Maya blog)

We have a copy of Maya's passport!! How cool is that? It says in black and white, "Carpenter". Woo-hoo!! We're parents. Wow.....we're scared! LOL We have a daughter. Wow! We're TOO EXCITED to sleep. We'll probably never get a good night's sleep again.