Art Projects and Chicken Legs

Today Gabi and I joined some friends for breakfast in town. Then we went shopping and bought young Gabi some new shoes. They are lovely. This afternoon we joined several other families for art projects and Pollo Campero chicken.

We made gratitude drums and Gabi helped by ripping the paper that we put on the sides. Then we decorated them with sayings from magazines that reflected our experience here. The idea is to keep it positive. Ours turned out wonderfully.

We then picnicked on chicken and french fries. Gabi had her first real chicken that wasn't out of a can or jar. I've been afraid to give it to her because she doesn't have any molars but she did fine. But she was not the star of the show. That would be Jessica. Jessica is about a week younger than Gabi and has not a single tooth. But she can eat ANYTHING!!! It's one of the most fascinating baby things I've ever seen. She eats pizza, whole sandwiches, bowls of pasta, whatever. Not a single tooth. She just gums everything to death. And it doesn't require that it's torn into little pieces. She'll bite pizza right off the piece. But the real killer was today. She ate a chicken drumstick!!! I almost wet my pants. Jessica is tiny like Gabi. That drumstick was almost the size of her head. But that didn't stop her.

In other news, the earthquake from yesterday was a 6.1 off the coast of Guatemala. It wasn't just our imaginations. Since I've been here we've had a 4.6, a 4.8 and a 6.1. I think it might be time to go home.

And finally, Gabi has been up to some of her own tricks. She stood by herself several times. She was so proud of herself. She just lights up when she does something great. It's a riot. Humility is not her strong suit. So cute.

EARTHQUAKE!!!

We just had another big earthquake. I don't know how big this one was, but it felt much bigger than the last one. And it lasted much longer. It's so bizarre. I just sat here and made sure nothing could fall on Gabi in her crib. Crazy. I feel oddly brave tonight.

Surprise Visitor and Nana's Last Day

We were on our way to brunch this morning when we got a surprise phone call. Dennis Deters, a friend from Effingham, called and said he was in Antigua and if we had time, he'd love to stop by. Dennis and his son were here on a medical mission for the last week. They were staying in Panajachel, but actually working in Solala, where they performed cataract surgeries for about 12 hours a day. Anyway, he stopped in to say hello and met Gabriella. He is a father of five and was missing his daughter (the baby) and was glad to get some snuggle time with Gabi. Gabi thought he was pretty cool and loved meeting him!

Today is Nana's last full day in Antigua. She leaves for home tomorrow morning. Gabi has LOVED spending this time with her Nana. She thinks she's funny and looks for her every morning when she wakes up. It's adorable. I think Nana thinks she's ok too.

Video of our Cruiser

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Daddy's Coming

Gabi's daddy is returning to Guatemala City on Wednesday. We cannot wait to see him and he can't wait to see his girl again. In just three weeks, she has changed so much.

She has two new teeth, she's eating pb&j and all sorts of other foods, she can high five, she's talking even more than before, and is sillier every minute. She's also cruising with much better balance and skill and can stand for a few seconds with no support. That is, until she realizes she's doing it by herself.

Gabi can swim like a fish and often does. She's such a joyful little person. She laughs at other people and kids, especially. Her curiosity is unrelenting. She is physically strong and ready to take on the world.

WE'RE PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the single happiest post of my life!!! We are on our way home!!! We have Gabi's Embassy appointment for her visa on Friday, April 18th. We will return home on Tuesday, April 22nd. We have to wait until Monday to pick it up, but we couldn't care less.

Gabi was wearing pink today with her friends, Kyra, Monica, Gina and MK!! It worked. You did it!! You guys brought our girl home!!! Thank you, God, for wonderful friends and wonderful news!

I hope you guys have as great a Thursday as we're going to!

Good News from Home

My dad had surgery yesterday to remove some tumors. They will have to be biopsied before we know what's going on. They gave him a dose of chemotherapy as a preventative measure. I was more worried when I heard this. Dad has had several surgeries over the past several months and he's had a couple of bad reactions to antibiotics and other medications. I thought he would feel really lousy after chemo. But I finally heard from Edward this afternoon that he is doing well. His appetite came back, he's home and doesn't seem to have any lasting effects from the chemo. I'm so glad.

So these pictures are for you, Dad.

DNA Arrived!!

Our DNA arrived at the U.S. Embassy today at 3:56 p.m. We hope that we have pink in the very near future. A few other friends have decided to jump on Kyra's bandwagon and wear pink until we have it. Gabi thought she should too.... for a little extra ooomph!