Friday catch up ~

Beautiful baby girl :) if you look close
you can see, she finally got her 2 lil bottom teeth in!

I painted letters for the babies room.

I think they came out pretty cute.

Mama sportin her new

support adoption shirt from

Gwen at OATSVILLE TEAM

I love the message :)

Couldnt you just kiss this little face ???

I love my baby :)

Baby girl got a bunch of beautiful

outfits , from Papi's pharmacy team.





This gift comes from my dear amiga Angie :) I wanted a nativity set from Ethiopia , for baby girl...we couldnt find one anywhere. Angie found one online and sent it for Baby girl!!!! It is handmade in Uganda (close enough :) and is perfect. Thank you :) :)

My sweet Boo turned 3 on May 24th ( bad mama I am soooo behind)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE :) I will have a birthday post for her soon.

We are taking the weekend to go away ...first vacation in the RV with baby girl!!!!!!!! I soooooo need a break. We have had a stressful week :(

CONGRATS~ TO ALL THE AGCI FAMILIES THAT PASSED COURT ! SO HAPPY FOR KRISTI...SHE WILL BE BRINGING HOME LUCY LANE AFTER A LONG JOURNEY :)

-

Test results and surprises

Look at this sweet teeny face. This is the face of a baby who is TB free ! AND doesnt need to have any vaccines redone :) I have to tell you, everywhere we go people comment on how close baby girl and I seem. Friends from church last night commented over and over "that sure is your baby!" "you both look so in love " and more lovely comments which are all true. I felt a spark the first few minutes baby girl was in my arms. When she leaned her little forehead on mine and stayed that way for what seemed like forever...I knew this was GOD at work. His plan was for baby girl to be our daughter and for us to be her parents. I was meant to be her Mommy. She knew this the minute we met. We are in love. I feel such joy and overwhelming love for this beautiful 4th child of mine. Pure happiness. I love being a Mommy. And I love that my husband is willing to work so hard , so that I can be home with our lil angel babies :)
Life is good :)


My beautiful princesa :) :)

yes, this baby is this happy ALL the time :) :)

(welllll.....when she isnt shrieking lol)

Boo called me in her room, she had gotten all dressed up and when I walked in she said to me "mama, am I beautiful like a princess?" oh baby...you are :)

ok this next picture needs some explaining. I walked into my kitchen the other morning, to find these clam like things on my kitchen cabinets. gasp! Bug found them in the back of my linen closet. They were from a halloween costume. (Or a brief lapse in judgement which became crystal clear so to the back of the closet they went ..LOL) Who knew little chicken cutlet enhancers would be fun for all ages ???

Your Welcome

Today was a tiring day. I just didnt feel well, headache and crampy, and it was rainy and cold. Weird right for Florida? I was supposed to go to a homeschool book sale with my friend Jess, but just didnt feel up to hangin with a bunch of people I didnt know. Baby girl has been perfecting this SCREAM at the top of her lungs thing...and Bug was very cranky and snappy. Not fun.

I was getting ready to lay down with the babies for quiet time, and Boo was playing on the floor with Baby girl. She runs over to me, out of nowhere, and says ~~~

"Tank you , tank you, mama for getting my baby sista from afica. I love her."

Your welcome, sweetie.Your welcome.
:)

Monday catch up

Well today I took baby girl for her TB test. Yikes. Prayers are welcomed that it turns out to be negative....many people in Ethiopia have been exposed to someone with tb at some point so there is a chance baby girl could show a positive test result. That wouldnt mean she HAD TB. We would have to do further testing. She was a trooper thru the shot, I was so proud. I had her in her baby sling all snuggled,and her dr just quietly gave the shot. It was over before she could react :) then she took a nap :) She is 17 .3 pds now :)

Our cousin Diane with our babies :)

I couldnt find the girls, so I poked my head in the rose petal cottage and there they were playing babies !!! too funny.

I passed by our pond in the front yard today....and to my shock,

there were barbies skinny dipping !! I think the UPS guy had a shock !

oh no. Baby girl is pulling up on everthing already!! I want my baby girl to slow down a bit and be a baby just a bit longer :)

~Oh and did I mention the screaming ? yikes. When baby girl has decided she is done, wants something, or wants another bite of food, she lets out a scream that could shatter glass ! I can not believe this noise comes out of such a sweet tiny baby!!! Seriously LOUD.

~A fellow guatemama and friend Jennifer, has recently found out her beautiful son V, who is 6 has cancer. He has tumors in several locations and is facing a long battle of chemo. Please pray for this sweet family and this strong little boy to have relief from pain and to GOD to heal is little body.

~I added another button on my side bar for Trina. This is a mom who battled cancer 16 yrs ago only to find out it is back just when she found out she was pregnant with her much wanted second child. She is now dealing with the loss of her baby, cancer and a long road of treatments. She has a young son and a husband who is working 2 jobs to hold it together. Please add her to your prayers. If you click on her picture you will see her story and have a chance to enter a really cool raffle to help her family. cancer is just evil.

Hug your babies.

MOTHERS DAY TO 4 !!

MY LITTLE BEAUTY

MY BABY GIRLS :)

GRANDMA AND 4 GRANDKIDS :)

BABY GIRL WAS POOPED.

TOO MANY NEW FACES :)


FIRST FAMILY PHOTO :) :)

MY BOO....AND BABY GIRL MELTING DOWN

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day. Whether you have your babies and kids home or are still waiting and dreaming of them YOU ARE A MOMMY and I hope you celebrated :) I prayed for baby girls birthmom in ethiopia and for Boo's birthmom and her foster mom. These ladies are heros and my heart breaks to think of them on this special day.

Bug is 8 !!

SLEEPY BIRTHDAY GIRL :) :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET GIRL :)
I know this post is late...time just gets away from me lately heehee..it might be the 4 beautiful kiddos I spend my day with :)

My bug was born at a whooping 9.3 #s and 20 inches long . I so wanted to have her naturally after my c-sec with my son but the dr and my hubby talked me out of it , so on May 8th at 8:24 am my beautiful girl was born. She was bigger then they thought and had the cord around her neck 3 times !! What a blessing I didnt go natural. She came out screaming and loud and hasnt settled yet LOL :) She is my busy busy girl who feels everything to the fullest and has never met a stranger :) She can do anything she sets her mind to and is such a blessing to her family. BUG WE LOVE YOU !!!!

POOL PARTY AT GRANMAS HOUSE

BABY GIRL WAS ALL DRESSED UP FOR BUGS

BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST :)

BUG AND BUNNY ARE ALWAYS TOGETHER

Drs. appts, bloodwork, OH MY!

Thank you Aunt Kendra for my rockin dress :)

Its one of mama's favorites.

See her lil boo-boos ?

You would never believe it by looking at this sweet face but...this baby girl was poked 4 times to draw blood while swaddled just an hour ago ..and she didnt like it not.one.bit. Bless her heart she was soaked with sweat and crying so hard she was hiccuping. :( I felt soooooooooooo bad for her. Then Bug had to have her sinuses x-rayed and we were out of there in an hour :)

You need bows? We got bows :)

Lovin on baby girl

Big sissy love

Napping in her moses basket

Trying to chew her way out of the drs office.....or find food. We ran out of bottles..

My son had to go back to the ortho dr again. They insisted after months and months he had to go back one more time to be cleared. He hasnt had a cast on for a couple months. So I made the appt. we arrived early. Then we waited. And waited. And waited...oh, and by we I mean me and 4 kiddos. They finally called us into the appt room after 1 hr and 10 mins. THEN we waited for another 1 1/2 hrs in the tiny hot waiting room. The kids were great...even getting tired and hungry. I was getting ticked! Finally Mr. Dr. strolls in , tells us " Peanut has healed wonderfully, and shouldnt have any problems in the future, but if I need to call, feel free" Before I could stop myself I blurted out-

"your kidding me? Thats it ?"
he turns and sees I am NOT kidding... and mumbles "wow you really got your hands full huh?"

prepare yourself for this one.......

mr dr. says- "are you a foster mother?"

WTH????

"No they are all mine" thru clenched teeth, as I feel my patience slipping away....and I slowly start to walk towards him...

AHHHHH!~

I told him that boo and baby girl were adopted from Guatemala and Ethiopia NOT because I wanted to share with him, but because I am proud of my little girls . I dont think he really got it. He seemed so stunned that Baby girl really came from Ethiopia, a few short weeks ago at that ! and that we (GASP!) actually went there !!!

Boo planning to break free of the drs office after 2 hrs...

Trying to keep Peanut happy amid 3 whining girls and 1 whiny mama :)

Bug just settles in anywhere !! She was fascinated with the bone models. I kept telling her not to touch but after about 1 hr 45 mins...I didnt care anymore.

Peanut not seeing the humor anymore...........

Finally giving in and letting baby girl destroy the contents of my purse, to keep the peace :) we went thru 2 bottles and 1 nap while waiting.. and it resulted in the death of my cellphone. Baby girl sucked on it and it croaked from moisture.

Taking a break out in the car.

Even beautiful all wet :)

FINALLY remembered to make baby girls footprints for the cover of her baby basket !! Look how cute those little feet are !!!

Today was Bugs 8th birthday !!!!! I will do another post with pics tomorrow. I am pooped :) and baby girl will be waking up soon.

ETHIOPIA CONTINUED ..

Remember you can double click on the pics to make them bigger :)

This is a painting I LOVED at the Italian Restaurant our agency takes us to for lunch after our shopping trip. The picture was very expensive and I couldnt see spending that kind of money on a painting....when we were surrounded by so much poverty. It didnt feel right-so I took a picture of it heehee..
I enjoyed the little tomato, and crusty bread appetizer but my pizza was icky. I heard so many families rave about it, but mine was fishy tasting. Yuck. My hubby thinks it may be a different kind of cheese. Whatever, I didnt care for it, so heads up :)

View from our table at the restaurant

Gentleman walking past the restaurant

We got a kick out of this traffic police station....if you have been to Ethiopia and seen how they drive, this is kind of a mute point ;p

Road stands in the city selling produce

Busy road

Mountains in the distance were so cool





Donkeys hanging on the side of the road

Produce stand next to an underpass of the highway.

Tuesday we went back to Hannahs Hope to drop baby girl off with her special mothers while we shopped and went to lunch. You also order your coffee to be picked up while you are at lunch. The coffee is amazing and very affordable. The bags are 2 1/2 #s and $5 or $6 a piece!! We bought a ton :) After shopping we went to the Italian restaurant, which was nice. We saw many tourists there. They have lots of beautiful paintings on the walls for sale but the prices are higher..average was about $250 and up. Tiny paintings were about $80 I love art and wanted to buy one but I thought of all we could do with that money,,,and it didnt feel right to spend it on a picture. Just my feelings. We bought a beautiful picture while shopping of a mama and babe for only $15 :) much better ! oops...baby up. No time to spell check sorry...


edited to add ~ lol i came back and spell checked :) MAN I SUCK SPELLING WHEN IM RUSHING ;0)

Guess who is crawling ?

IT'S ME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


AND I AM QUITE PROUD OF MYSELF :)

BEAUTIFUL SISTERS :)

To celebrate my darling son made home made

cappuccino chocolate mousse :) from scratch. thank

you food network !!

all the goodies and lots of chocolate :)

YUM!!

So much to catch up on ...

the girls love to push babygirl in the doll

stroller :)

Matching highchairs :)

Painting we bought in Ethiopia LOVE it.

Where to start ? Things are going so well with baby girl. Truly.At her drs appt this week she was 16.9 pds and 26 1/2 inches long. My long skinny girl :) She wakes 3 times a night which is ok. I wish she slept thru lol... but she will at some point. Right now I use the time to sneak some kisses in while she sips her bottle :)

Some this and that~

~she has a rattle when she breathes that she has had since Ethiopia...my dr wanted us to use a neubulizer (sp?) but that was a nightmare.....seriously. Talk about un-doing a few weeks worth of awesome bonding in 10 short minutes !! My friend Jess, came over to help and hold baby girl, but she screamed and cried so hard after about 4 mins I WAS DONE. My mommy instinct shouted this was wrong....... She hiccuped herself to sleep and then woke every hr screaming all thru the night. I filled the rx for liquid albeutrol but that hasnt made a difference either. She feels fine , no fever or running nose just the rattling which is worse at times. I am using a humidifier too. Sooo frustrating.

~baby girl has also had a VERY VERY hard time going poop. It is heartbreaking to watch and I feel so helpless to do anything for her. She screams and sweats and really struggles. I hold her against me, and sometimes have to gently push up her legs to help her. This is NOT normal. After some research, and talking with some moms who have used my agency, and getting some helpful feedback from Almaz in Ethiopia via Christy (love her!) I dont think it is simple constipation like my ped suggested. At Hannahs Hope they give the babes flax seed oil each day and the older babes who eat solids get a few teaspoons of ground flax seed each day. It is full of omega 3 and it also keeps things moving smoothly. I think baby girls body was not used to making ANY solid poops, and the pain it caused her was making her NOT want to go and hold back...which made it worse. THEN.....I started to give her rice cereal so I made it worse :(

THE PLAN now is to clean her out, stop the rice cereal, only fruits and veggies, and add flax oil to her bottles and sprinkle ground flax seed on her food. Hoping that will smooth things out and allow her body to heal and for her to forget the pain.

~Baby girl is bonding SO WELL IT IS SURREAL. Truly. BUT.....it was at times tough when I would put her down. She would scream and get soooo mad! Slowly it has gotten better, and now she will play nicely for a few minutes when I have to put her down ;)

~Going from 3 to 4 kiddos has been a breeze. Honestly. By now I have been -there - done that and I just roll with it :) Parents of more then 2 kids know what I am talking about.

~I have another ETHIOPIA post coming , thanks for all the emails :) We loved our time there and I love sharing.