Have Passport, Will Travel

That's what Gabi said right after she took her picture for her very own passport. Usually it takes about 20 minutes total for this process. For us, it took 2 hours. Of course it did. But we didn't care. Gabi was so good and didn't cry even though she was very hungry and tired. We met our other attorney and spoke to him regarding the rest of our process. All is well.

That's all for now. But we have it in print that Gabi is an A!!!!

Birthday Wishes and Friends Arrive

Happy Birthday, Paige! Today is my sister's 36th birthday. She's very old and will probably be committed to a nursing home in the next year or so. She has never gotten due attention (according to her) on her birthday because it always fell on spring break. Well Paige, we're toasting you in Guatemala with a couple of Gallo beers and a smile. We wish we were there to celebrate with you. Gabi blew her Aunt Paige a kiss.

In other news, Christy, Dave, Savannah and Lucy arrived last night. All went well with their travels and they're off gallavanting around GC today. Christy and I coined the phrase "Francy" for friend-aunt. Gabi has already decided that her Francy is wonderful. Gabi has been a bit apprehensive about strangers over the last few days. But she must have known how much Christy has loved her and prayed for her. She went right to her and smiled really big. She also likes her new friend, Lucy. Lucy likes to share her things with Gabi and gave her a kiss at the breakfast table this morning. Is there anything sweeter? Dave and Savannah have a lot of plans for adventures all over Guatemala this week. This is both Savannah's (18) and Lucy's (15 months) first trips out of the U.S. We're delighted that they chose Gabi's birth country as their first international adventure.

In just a little while, we'll head to the immigration office to get Gabi's passport. Don't worry, Robin. I learned my lesson when you forgot your camera. We've got it in the diaper bag. We think it's so cool that we're here for these steps of the process. We are beyond thrilled that Gabi's passport day are happening on her Aunt Paige's birthday.

I'll post more later. Did I mention what GORGEOUS weather we're having? It's about 75 degrees and sunny. It just doesn't get any better than this.

If You Have a New Last Name, Raise Your Hand

Our attorney got Gabi's new birth certificate today. He is going to pick us up tomorrow afternoon to get her passport. Once we have that, we can be submitted to the US Embassy for 2nd DNA authorization.

We are ecstatic! Since Dave, Christy, Savannah and Lucy are on their way to GC right now, we put a locator at the front desk. This tells the front desk where we are in the event someone calls or visits without us knowing ahead of time. When we were finished with dinner, we headed to the Baby Lounge and I called down to change our location. A few minutes later the phone rang and it was our attorney. He does not speak English. It's a struggle to communicate with him, but we always get through it. He said that he will pick us up at 1 p.m. tomorrow. Ed got off the phone and said, "Do you know what this means? We have a birth certificate!" Naturally, we were jumping up and down and celebrating. Gabi joined right in! She thinks it's awesome that she is finally an A!!! We do too! The above is a pic of that moment. Excuse my Asian appearance-- it's really me.

I might die when I see our last name on these very important papers. I welled up when I saw Ella's copy of her passport last month. It's such a big deal that we've come this far!! Woohoo!

New Tricks

Gabi has started waving and can't be stopped. She waves at everyone. It's usually with a straight extended arm just from the wrist and a one-sided shoulder shrug. If she waves at you, she really means it.

Gabi's also quite the accomplished climber. She climbs everything. She's also the best imitator south of the border. She does everything we do. It's hysterical. She's also doing obvious things like following objects that are dropped or disappear. She's clicking her tongue-- which is very funny to watch. But she thinks it's even funnier to watch me do it at the same time.

We are loving all of the cuddling. She WANTS both of us. But at the same time, she is unhappy about strangers entering her space. She doesn't like when the waiter comes to our table or the parents get too close in the baby lounge. It's good to see that her desire to come to us isn't indiscriminate. She actually wants her Mommy and Daddy. We love that!!! What a little cuddlebug we have.

A Different Kind of Wedgie...

Sort of to the side actually...

Video Too!

Nothing Much... But Some Pictures

Check out that Elvis hair

Our girl is ridiculously happy. She's eating well, slept well last night and has taken great naps today. Gabi is a mess. She's chattering, playing and silly all the time. We went swimming again today and she loves it. She was slow to warm up yesterday because the water was so cold. She wasn't too sure about it. But today it was warmer and she stayed in for about 40 minutes. She just loves it. And she got a new bathing suit ensemble from Kyra, Gina and Anna. She was the coolest kid at the pool! Thanks ladies. She's so stinkin' cute, I can't even stand it.

Thanks, Becky, for the adorable outfit that you passed on to Gabi. It fits perfectly! And she was so cute in it.

Jeremiah is OUT too!!!

I just found out that a friend of ours just got out of PGN! Jeremiah has had a very similar timeline to ours and they found out today that he is OUT of PGN after many, many months! We're so excited for them. Jeremiah is 14 months old right now and it will only be about another month before he is home forever. Congrats G.s!!!

New Pics and Video

More News about our Squatty Guat

Gabi is taking her morning nap so I thought I'd post. She woke up happy as a clam this morning. She is dreamy! We opted to try feeding her regular food from the breakfast buffet. She is such a good eater. She feasted on refried beans (breakfast of champions), peaches, banana yogurt, and cheese. She did great! So I'll take advantage of that while I'm here.

She just woke up and we're headed to the pool-- our favorite place. For the record, I am less stressed out than I have been for at least a year. That is a tremendous burden lifted. More later...