I LOVE my Rainforest Jumparoo!!

My first tooth...

Just came through today! I was so excited to feel that little bottom tooth cut through his gum. He was a bit fussy the past couple days and we were wondering what was going on. Now we know- he was cutting his 1st tooth! :-)

Family Visit # 1

OK, OK, I finally have made the time to post about our wonderful trip home to see our family. It didn't help that we were in a location with NO internet service. We were gone for almost a week and it was so great for all of our family (except Mimi) to meet the little guy. On Thursday, he got to see Grandpa again....it had been almost 7 months! He also got to meet Juanita and Great Nanny, too. It was pure joy for me to see Nathaniel interacting with our family... I have been dreaming about that for a long time. On Friday, he got to meet my sister Molly and Alan. They couldn't let go of the little guy and just adored him. We had a big italian dinner at home while Nate enjoyed his cereal and puffs! He was content just to be sitting with the family at the table.

Over the weekend he got to meet Aunt Joanne and all of Rich's family. On Sunday we had a get together for all of Rich's family and we were thrilled that everybody (17 people!) came from all over New England to meet the little guy. His favorite time of the day: of course, what other than 'opening presents' time! He absolutely loves to open presents. I think we've concluded that it's not so much about the gift itself but more the funny noises the paper makes.

I actually drove up to my family's alone with Nathaniel because Rich had to come later due to work. I was a bit worried because it is a 6 hour drive; I was so proud of him- he rode like a champ and slept the entire trip up other than to gulp down a bottle midway. He is great in the car and we've discovered he loves to go out to dinner. He basically wants to eat everything including the prime rib and potatoes on your plate!

Here are some pics from the weekend. We're headed next week to visit Mimi for a few days and then all of the family will have met the little guy...(although now they will all be coming to visit him down here!) I could really get used to life as a stay at home mom...though challenging at times...it is oh so rewarding!

Cheesecake Factory Fun

Since we were all feeling better this week...we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch! Of course, Nathaniel loves cheesecake- his favorite kind: chocolate mousse! He definetely follows in his mom's footsteps...

Here are some pics from lunch:





We are finally settled in and after 2 weeks of being home, we feel like we have adjusted really well. Nathaniel is developing and blossoming so well. He loves to sit up on his own and can feed himself finger foods like a champ now. He can pull his little body to a stand and can hold himself up for minutes at a time. He loves to laugh and is my little 'actor' as I like to call him....when he wants to be held, he knows just how to act to get what he wants. :-)

We're going to be visiting family and friends over the next couple weeks so my posts will be limited. I promise to post updates and lots of family pics when I can.

Here are some candids of the little guy hanging out in his family room

From Mommy to Monkey....

We've been working on transitioning Nathaniel from hugging Mommy in the bed to hugging Monkey in the crib....looks like it might just work...




Too cute!

All is well...

after a long week with sickness (inlcuding me now!) we are all doing better. Nathaniel had his 1st pediatrician appt. and all went well. He didn't mind it at all and did really well with the doctor poking and prodding him. He is adjusting so well to life at home. He is very comfortable with the dogs and the dogs really like him. Junior thinks it is his duty to protect him....yup, he actually likes to guard the pack-n-play!!

It's amazing how quickly time is going. I am enjoying being at home with Nathaniel and I treasure every second. We have a packed schedule next week so I think we will enjoy a quiet weekend at home...

A little 'under the weather'

So...the whole household has pretty much been sick. First it was the dogs with the flu virus. Ben is almost 100%; Junior spent the night in the hospital and came home in the same condition but has recently started showing he is feeling better- which makes us feel so relieved. Then, early this morning Rich came down with the flu and Nate has something...but he's not terribly sick. I think it's just a mild case of the flu. Thankfully (most in part to the flu shot!) I have not gotten sick and am able to help everyone to get better soon.

On top of all the sickness, the weather here has been terrible. It started yesterday with an inch of snow and then turned into freezing rain and eventually to rain this morning. You gotta love February!

Today we were scheduled to go see the international adoption doctor but once Nate wasn't feeling well, I had to reschedule (motherhood lesson # 1- must be flexible!). Tomorrow, we have his first pediatrician appt. which I am looking forward to. We only have a million questions for the doc!

As you can imagine, Nate and Rich spent most of the morning cuddling in bed...

Our first week home

The first week home is going well except that our little furry creatures are sick. Junior and Ben got sick when they came home on Friday and they have a bad strain of doggy influenza. Junior went to the hospital today because he was very ill (we've been up at night with him). He has to spend the night and we are hopeful he will be able to come home in the morning. Geez, just our luck! You get home and typically the adjustment is with the baby but Nathaniel just acts as though he's been here all his short little life. :-) He's doing so well and he is very playful. His two favorite things at home are his giant giraffe, named Geoffrey, and taking a bath in the big tub with mom or dad. He LOVES to swim and I think he is going to be a natural. As soon as he sees the water in the bathtub he starts to kick his little legs and a big smile comes across his face. Needless to say, he doesn't like it when tubby time is over.

Here are some pics from the house this weekend:

Ummm....did I really move to the Arctic Circle?!



Dinner time is the best time of the day!



Posing for the camera as usual...



Here are some final pics of our last few days in Antigua:

Maria and Nate seeing each other again for the first time in 5 weeks...



Lunch at Cafe Sky...




Dad and Nathaniel at the Artesian's Market in Antigua...



Stay warm- it's about 10 degrees here today; quite the adjustment from life in Guatemala!

There's no place like home....

We're home!

We arrived home last night and the flight and trip home went so smoothly. Nathaniel is a great traveler and he did amazing on the plane. Passing through immigration and customs was very easy, too.

It is so surreal that we are here. It seems like I have already forgotten about the 8.5 months of waiting to bring him home (though I know I never will). Just tonight I was watching him eat his cereal with his dad in his high chair and he was smiling, and playing peek-a-boo with me- as if he has always been here. He loves his exersaucer (as you can see below) and he is mesmerized by the big screen tv!

It was hard to leave beautiful Antigua after a month but being home feels so good. It's really true when they say absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Stay tuned for more adventures at home!

Embassy Day- A Success!

Our embassy appointment today was a success! It was definetely the smoothest part of the entire adoption process. It's so refreshing to know we're completely finished with everything and now we can simply focus on life as a family. :-)

Tonight we celebrated our last night in Guatemala. That's right- we're leaving tomorrow! We changed our flight to leave tomorrow afternoon! Today was bittersweet on many levels. We had a goodbye dinner with Maria and her family. It was truly a wonderful evening. We both were so anxious to see Nathan's response to Maria again. As soon as she held him he began to cry....and about 5 seconds later he smiled and put his arms around her as if to say, "I am so happy to see you again". It was a moment we will never forget; he was so loved by Maria and we couldn't have asked for a better caregiver for our son for the first 7 months of his life.

All dressed up and ready to take on the embassy!



Happy as can be for the big day... (spikey hair and all!)



This time- it's for real- Nate's coming home tomorrow!!

Lake Atitlan Adventure...

We just spent 2 full days visiting Lake Atitlan in Panajachel. We had an awesome time. Lake Atitlan is a gorgeous lake. The views are beautiful and we were able to spend some time learning about the culture and meeting the people who live around the lake. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Antigua. Early Sunday morning the shuttle picked us up and we arrived at the lake around 10am. We checked into our hotel and hung out by the pool and palm trees- the weather was perfect as usual.

From there we headed to lunch overlooking the lake and walked around the city of Panajachel. Most of the people here are indigenous Mayans who speak only Mayan dialects. Later in the day, we headed to Pana Rock (just like Hard Rock!) to watch the superbowl. What a bummer of a bowl! It was a good game but just like our Red Sox passion, we are BIG patriot fans!

Monday was a long day...but well worth it. We got up, had breakfast at the hotel and then met the boat tour operator to leave for the lake. We headed out on the lake to visit 4 villages: San Marcos, San Pedro, San Juan, and Santiago. Wow- they were amazing. We really got a sense of what these villages are like. They are very poor and there is little, if any economy (other than tourism) that exists within these villages. Most of the natives survive on tourism through selling fruit, vegetables, and tortillas. There was some beautiful architecture and the views of the lake from these villages were stunning. Our favorite was San Marcos and San Juan...they were both very quaint little villages with extremely interesting history. While visiting San Juan, school had finished for the day and so we got to meet all the school children...who, of course, were adorable and so happy to see the baby, too. They gathered around Nate in the stroller like they hd never seen a baby before; it was really cute.

We then headed back to Pana and caught the 4pm shuttle back to Antigua. Nate was perfect in the shuttle. The ride is not for the faint of heart and he was such a trooper. If you are afraid of heights or extremely fast driving over bumpy roads through indian villages- this ride may not be for you. But we all did fine and it was a great trip.

Here are some pics from our adventure...

3's a family!!

We're together at last...



Rich arrived safely on Wednesday and we have been having an amazing time. We're exploring Antigua and spending time together as a family.

Nate just LOVES his dad. He went right to him once we met him at the airport and it was like they had never been apart. Thankfully, they never will again!



This weekend we are going to Lake Atitlan to see the lake and the mountains, and so much more. Looking forward to posting pics about our adventure...