Moved to Antigua

We moved to Antigua yesterday with the assistance of Dave and Savannah. We have more stuff than any 2 adults and 2 children should have. But we're set up and that's what matters.

My apartment is awesome!!! It's a tiny studio with a fireplace, small backyard, laundry and fully stocked kitchen. It has pink walls and such charm. I couldn't be happier.

After we got settled in yesterday, Dave, Savannah, Christy, the girls and I all went traipsing around Antigua. It was a lovely Easter afternoon and most of the town was gathered to see the last of this year's processions. We had beautiful weather and we toured a former convent.

This morning, our girls were up at 6. We let them play and eat and then we headed out to the grocery store and around town. It is an overcast day with a bit of drizzle, so we came back early. The girls are down for a nap now and we'll see how that goes. They are on different schedules, so we are trying to sync them up.

I don't have new pictures from yesterday because I forgot my camera. I'll post more later.

Happy Easter and Happy Early Birthday "Labi Sol"!

Happy Easter everyone!!! We had a party for Gabi's birthday yesterday and we ordered a cake and everything. There were several other families that joined us. Unfortunately, instead of the cake saying Happy Birthday Gabi Sol, it said "Labi Sol!" Pretty funny. Gabi wasn't too sure about it anyway, so I don't think it mattered. She had a lot of fun in the end and she looked soooo pretty in her birthday dress.

Here are some pics from the party.

Just Chillin' at the Marriott

Today is Aunt Kristin's birthday! Gabi is blowing you a kiss all the way from Mala-mala. She says she loves you and can't wait to see you again. We wish you happy birthday too! Have a wonderful day with your family.

We had breakfast this morning and then the crew headed to the Handicraft Market. I stayed here because I haven't been able to shake a terrible headache I've had since last night. It must have worked because I feel much better now. Gabi got to spend the morning with her daddy and they had a great time with Francy and family.

Here are a couple of pics from this morning. We are having a birthday party today for Gabi with some of the other families. I'll post pictures from that later.

Good Friday

Thursday in GC

Dave and Savannah went on a climb of the Pacaya volcano and Savannah's shoes melted. They had a great time and said it was incredible seeing and feeling the activity. So cool!

Christy, Ed, Lucy, Gabi and I all hung out at the hotel. Since it's Holy Week, there is a lot going on at the Marriott. I've actually never seen so many people here. I'm so used to it being fairly empty in the morning at breakfast and by the pool. Instead, everything is full. Today there was a DJ and a band by the pool. It was loud and fun, but you can't escape it. Even in your room, you can still hear the music. Lucy and Gabi played in our homemade bullpen. Lucy chased Gabi in the walker and occasionally had her feet run over. These girls are very busy!!!

We missed Madison's birthday party because Gabi wouldn't wake up from her nap. We put her down earlier thinking that she would be up in time and she slept another hour. We finally made it down and the kids played in the lounge and we enjoyed some delicious cake.

Gabi's newest trick is clapping. I've been trying to get her to do this for a couple of months, but she just wouldn't. There was a soccer match between Guatemala and Honduras on TV and the restaurant was very into it. Gabi finally joined in and started clapping. So cute!!!

Gabriella also impressed her visitors with her bedhead this afternoon. She looked ridiculous. She is completely unaware of the affect her hair has on people.

Antigua Trip and Other Happenings

We went to Antigua today and just under the wire, apparently. Since it is Holy Week and Antigua has the largest Easter processional in all of Guatemala, Antigua is overrun with tourists. It is a beautiful town, but there were too many people and that can spoil a beautiful place. According to a local shop owner, what we saw today was nothing.

Fortunately, we had gorgeous weather, the little girls were well behaved and we saw a lot. Before we arrived in Antigua, our driver took us to a nearby town called San Antonio. It's a lovely village that has been there since 1528. Shortly after we arrived and shopped for a bit, we were able to see the townspeople assembling the beautiful flower path for the Easter processional to pass over. They use flowers to create "rugs" on the ground and the float (for lack of a better word), depicting Christ carrying his cross, is carried over it. Music is played as the parade passes through the town and into the local church. It really was beautiful. We felt so lucky to have stumbled upon this processional without really planning it.

Once we arrived in Antigua, we ate lunch and hit the shops. We walked through some boutiques, visited a church, saw a market and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of this lovely town. I marvel at the kindness of the Guatemalan people. They smile and talk to the babies and ask about our journey to Guatemala. They're so warm. And to top it off, I think Savannah really enjoyed our adventure today. It isn't easy to satisfy adults, and 18 year old and toddlers all in one sweep. Apparently, Antigua has it all. I can't wait to get back there on Sunday.

Gabi has not really been appeasing us in the saying "mama, dada" department. But today, on several different occasions she said both of these. And even when she doesn't say it, when one of us says "mama" or "dada" she smiles like she knows what it means.

Finally, we took Gabi down to the baby lounge to expend some energy tonight and there were several families in there. We put her in the jumperoo contraption and she held court. She jumped and twirled and when everyone oohed and aahed, she laughed and did it again. So funny!! She's quite the ham. It's so funny to see what makes her proud. Her balance is getting better every day. She actually stood unassisted for several seconds today. I really think she'll be walking before she gets home. She loves to be on the move!!! Enough chatter... here are some pics.

I'm an Incessant Blogger

I'm sorry I keep breaking up these posts. We're busy with this little person and I try to post when I get a minute. We had a hectic day, so these are just a couple more pics.

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!