Friday Excitement... or Not

We made the funniest discovery yet about Gabriella tonight. My sister used to do this ridiculous thing when she was little. She could stand on the knuckles of her toes and jump up and down. It was painful to watch but also pretty amazing. I mean, dancers do that when they're wearing toe shoes. Paige just did it around the house in bare feet. Well Paige, I've found your kindred spirit. When we pull Gabi up to a stand, she curls her toes under and stands on the knuckles. I lost it when I saw that. I mean who does that? Apparently, Paige and Gabi do! She also loves to use her feet and toes like hands like we used to. She picks things up, hangs her toys on her feet, kicks her legs all over the place when she's excited. She is a MONKEY!

Today was pretty low-key for us. We hung out by the pool with Ella and family and were delighted to see that Ella is feeling a bit better. She definitely isn't 100%, but she's smiling again and able to take her bottles.

I do believe we've gone around the bend with the clothes. I think I counted 4 outfits that Gabi wore today. Is that excessive? But it doesn't really count because we took pics of her in her Christmas dress and in our matching shirts. We got to see Ella is her gorgeous Christmas dress too. The girls are so cute together. I wish we could see what they're like day-to-day with each other at Jackelin's. They like to touch each other when they're sitting near the other. So sweet.

Our other friends, the H.'s, are on their way home to Ohio. They had to leave their beloved Emma behind. But they left knowing that Christmas could be their pickup trip. I don't know how to explain that seeing other people nearing the end of this process gives you hope that there is an actual end. There are days that you feel it will never be over and you'll never stop feeling like she belongs to someone else. We're getting there.

Please keep our friends' cases in your prayers. Ella's case has suffered pretty major setbacks that have been heartbreaking and infuriating. Please pray that the rest of her process goes smoothly and that they'll have her home by her first birthday.