More Family Fun...

Over the last week we've been in Champaign, Effingham, Mt. Vernon and Edward is now in Houston. We had a great time in Effingham with Edward's extended family. We celebrated FIL Bill's birthday and Father's Day. We hung out with Gabi's cousins, Spencer, Griffin, August, Regan and George. August and Regan were the greatest helpers when we left Gabi with a babysitter for the first time. I knew I could trust them to tell me if Gabi had any trouble and to help soothe her if she did. No worries whatsoever!

Gabi also had her 15-month appointment last week before we officially move. She weighs 19 lbs. 9 oz. and is 28 1/8" tall. She is in the 8th and 4th percentiles respectively. The doctor says that she can already see that she will be at least 5 feet. We did high fives in the office. Our little Guate-girl.

Yesterday, Edward drove to Houston and arrived at 1:15 a.m. All is well. The house is in immaculate shape as the previous owners have been taking care of it for us until we could get there. They are amazing people! Izzy the dog is with him. He reports that she is running through the empty rooms checking things out. He'll be tending to domestic duties until we arrive on Wednesday.

In the meantime, Gabi and I are at my parents' house. Paige and Barry came over for Father's Day. Gabi loved playing with them. We were going to go swimming at their house but a storm came through. Last night, Gabi spent the night here with GG, Gran Gran, Brenda and Charlotte. I had a sleepover with my Liza. We watched Army Wives, talked and went to sleep at a reasonable hour (we're old). It was just what we both needed.

I have a lot of pictures to post. When I get to Houston, I promise to catch up on them. They are still all on Edward's computer.

Uncle Barry and Aunt Paige's Fun House

My sister has this great camera that shoots beautiful pictures. She's snapping pics all the time, usually of her various creatures. Here are a few that she took of Gabi at her house tonight. Note the one of Thor's leg with Gabi in the background kissing his foot. She just loved him and he's so gentle she can snuggle him up close and he never even flinches.

Some Pics from the Weekend

Notice how Paige and Gabi are making the same face? What could possibly require that much concentration?

Monday Adventures

Today we headed out to Project CHILD to see my old work buddies. I love these women and I knew they were following the blog and praying for us. So off we went to hang out with the crew minus Cary and Tranae. Unfortunately, they were off doing other things that were more fun than seeing us. It was great to see everyone and I think they got a kick out of Gabi.

We then went to lunch with my sister, Paige, and friend Rita. Gabi is crazier about Paige every time she sees her. Paige lets her explore things and encourages her curiosity. And she's silly.

We headed home for a nap and later went to Paige and Barry's so we could see Uncle Barry. We didn't get to hang out long enough, but at least we had almost 2 hours with them. They have 4 Great Danes and Thor hung out with us for the evening. Gabi kept playing with his enormous feet and kissing him. That was fine with him as long as he didn't have to get off the couch. She liked hanging out with them on their turf. Such cool things at their house.

More pics in a bit.

Big, Big Sunday

Today we had another open house, this time in MTV. Friends from St. Louis area and locally came to meet our girl. We were disappointed that some old friends could not make it because they were sick or out of town. Despite that, other old friends were able to meet our girl. Gabi was, of course, in great spirits and ate all of the attention up! She woke up from her early nap slowly until she saw the crowd in the living room. She immediately turned on the charm. She is a mess!

We started the day with mother/daughter haircuts from Auntie Li and Cousin Emily. Gabi did much better this time. She sat still and cruised around while I had color on my hair. When she wasn't cruising, she was doted on by Emily and Auntie. The kid wants for nothing. Aunt Paige dropped by to see her niece and she was once again appalled at my insistence to cut her hair. If she only knew how out of control it gets. Nevertheless Aunt Paige got lots of attention from Gabi while they shared a beverage and some fruit. Paige is relieved to hear that she has some words, even if it meant that she had to keep asking what they meant. Very cute!

Three Reasons Salt Lake Airport Hates Us

We just returned from Park City, UT with Nana and Papa. We had a great time. Ed went fishing for 2 days with his dad. Jane and I hung out in beautiful Park City. Unfortunately, we did not have great weather. It was cold and rainy most of the time until we left yesterday. Regardless, we had a wonderful, relaxing visit.

Evidence of Salt Lake City airport's sincere distaste for us:

• In 2003, I flew to SLC for Christmas without Ed. He was stationed in Iraq at the time and couldn't come home. We lived in Germany, so the flight was long. I was delayed out of Germany, missed my connection and 15 minutes after boarding the 8 hour flight, I came down with the flu. Needless to say, it was miserable. To add insult to injury, they lost my luggage for 10 days. It had my ski gear, Christmas presents, all my clothes, etc. in it.

On the way to St. Louis to visit my family, Bill (father-in-law) drove me to the airport in a horrible snowstorm. He dropped me off and drove the 1.5-hour (usually 45 minutes) drive back to Park City. Just as he sat down in the comfort of his home and says, "I'm glad I don't have to go out in that again," the phone rings and I'm calling to tell them that my flight in cancelled and I can't fly out until the next day.

• In January 2007, we were again headed back to Illinois and arrived at the airport only to discover that our flight had been cancelled. We wouldn't be able to fly until the next evening. Bill and Jane had to pick us up and take us back to PC again.

• Finally, yesterday, we were scheduled to leave SLC at 2:35 for Chicago. Due to high winds in the Midwest, we were delayed for 3.5 hours. We didn't get into Chi-town until 10 p.m. We did not get to visit my cousins because it was too late. We then drove 2.5 hours to Champaign to pick up our other car and continued driving to Effingham in horrible rain storms. It took forever to get there. We finally arrived at 3 a.m. We woke up this morning and drove to MTV to my parents' house.

We are beyond exhausted. But Gabi is a trooper!!! She did great. She played at SLC, fell asleep right before we got on the plane, woke up 2 hours later, played on the plane and fell asleep once we got in the car to drive home. Her whole world was upside down and she didn't notice.

Gabi was glad to get to GG and Grumps' house so she could see her dog, Izzy. GG and Grumps have a lot of new toys and books and she is very excited. She even has her own patio chair that is just her size.

Tomorrow, we're having another open house for friends in MTV who would like to meet Gabi. We'd like to spend the week hanging out with Aunt Paige, Uncle Barry, Auntie Li and GG and Grumps. We have a lot on our plates. If Ed and I can get a nap, we hope to head to the pool later today.

We didn't take our camera to PC because it was momentarily lost in a box in Champaign. Hopefully, Nana will send some pics from this last week and I'll be able to post.

A Year Ago

A lot of APs do these "year ago" posts. We've had a busy week and I didn't have my computer with me last weekend when we passed a significant milestone in our journey to be parents. On May 25, 2007, I met my daughter, Gabriella, for the very first time. I was alone. Ed did not arrive until the next day. I don't remember being scared or nervous. I remember feeling in awe of that little miracle. Every inch of her was beautiful and lovely. She already had a big personality and even bigger hair. I remember feeling incredibly proud to be her mother as I walked around the hotel.

But one year ago today was the last full day that I had with Gabi on that first trip. I know that I thought that I would be okay to leave her the next day if I just didn't think about it in the meantime. I remember mourning the passing of our sweet Karen who died only a month earlier as I learned more details of her situation. I remember being so grateful that Kristin was there with me. I was tired, in love, sad and humbled all at the same time.

I remember the next day when Kristin and I gave our girls back to Mariela. We cried as we watched them drive away. We laughed at the absurdity as we saw Mariela put Reagan in her lap (no CARSEAT!) and pull away from us. And then we cried. And then we laughed. And I remember thinking that after that week I would never be the same. How far we have come in this year! How blessed we are!

Moving, Moving, Moving...I think We're Homeless

Ed and I are in the marvelous process of moving. We have had movers at the house for 3 days. The loaders came with the big truck today and they had to call a second truck for all of our stuff. This happens almost every time we move. They estimate the amount of stuff that we have. They can't believe how much there is so they underestimate it. Then they have to get more supplies and an additional truck. Poor guys.

Gabi and I have moved over to Kay's for the duration. Thank goodness! I don't know what we would do without this place to lay our heads. Gabi is mastering her other signs. Her "mommy, daddy, water" were all looking pretty similar. Over the last 24 hours, her "daddy" has drastically improved, so has her "mommy." She's such a little smarty.





Sunday, we're headed to Park City to hang out with Nana and Papa. Two vacays in two weeks. Are we spoiled or what? The answer is "YES!" I think Nana and Papa are enjoying their time with Miss Gabriella before we move. We're loving the time with them. When we get back, we'll go to MTV and hang out with GG, Grumps, Aunt Paige, Uncle Barry, Auntie Li and the rest of the crew. We have a pretty full dance card these days.





I'm using Ed's computer which doesn't have all the pictures on it. So here are a few OLD favorites...

I Keep Forgetting... this is for Jan

Jan, you can email me at amanda.austin@gmail.com. Please do!!! I want to hear how the homecoming has been with Tucker et al.

Love,
Amanda

More Weekend Pics

I don't think I've ever seen a sweeter performance than Spencer singing "What a Wonderful World"