The Beauty of Antigua

During our pick-up trip, we stayed in an apartment in Antigua since we had no idea when we would be returning home. So, we had lots of opportunities to explore the beauty of Antigua. It is impossible not to fall instantly in love with this very special place. The sounds, sights, smells, and people are etched in my heart. Here are a few photos from our explorations. These are a mix of photos taken by us, my parents, and Jason's parents. Who's ready to book the next flight out? Enjoy!

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First Family Day!

One year ago, our sweet boy was placed in our arms forever. There really are no adequate words to describe the emotions of that day! Such joy! We were so incredibly happy to finally be together as a family, yet there was also a deep sadness watching Eli's foster family say goodbye knowing Eli was losing everything that was familiar to him and they were losing a son, a brother. At the same time, our hearts were also with Eli's birth mother. The finality of our adoption process was a whirlwind of deep joy and sadness. To say it was overwhelming is an understatement! One year ago marked the beginning of our life as a family of three, but with that beginning also came loss. That is just the reality of adoption and, as adoptive parents, it is so essential that we acknowledge and honor all of its complexities. In that sense, this day for us is not only a huge celebration of our life together as a family, but also an honor to the journey that brought us together, Eli's birth mother, and his foster family.

With that said, we had a lowkey celebration this evening. We spent time playing outside and watched our video from this day last year. Pea was very intrigued by the video and actually sat on my lap watching it for quite awhile. (He rarely sits still for anything!) It's so hard to know if he recognized his foster family, but he certainly was interested! We were so lucky and blessed to share that day with our parents, who joined us for the first week of our trip. They took lots of pictures for us and my dad was the videographer. The pictures and videos are priceless and something our family will treasure always.

We also left for Guatemala not knowing when we would return. We had not received our pink slip, yet, but we just couldn't be away from our pea any longer. We expected to be down there for a month, but it only ended up being 2.5 weeks. We had such a wonderful trip! I am sure this post will be part I over the next few days as I pour over the photos from our trip!

Family Picture April 27, 2008

Family Picture April 27, 2009
My favorite silly fellas!

Daddy attack!!

Me & my pea
My sweet, sweet boy

The Scary Tractor

Pea and I made an unplanned visit to the playground today. We were in the garage deciding which "outside" toy to play with when Jason started the tractor mower. We assumed this would be pretty exciting for the little guy since he loves climbing on the mower and "driving." Well, it didn't go very well! The mower freaked him out a bit and he started crying. So, Pea and I decided to go for a little walk to the playground while Jason mowed the lawn. Pea kept saying, with the most serious look on his face, "scared of tractor." I think he will get over it quickly once daddy takes him for a ride. ;)

On another note, is there some sort of crazy, emotional switch that is activated once our kiddos turn 2??? These days, Pea seems to have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows...and sometimes all at the same time! He has perfected the word "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" and has the most pathetic pout, sticking out his lower lip and teeth while huffing and puffing. He has also mastered the art of whining. Oh, I hate whining! And, he only does it at home! WHY?? He is a perfect angel at the babysitter's and at my parent's house, but he saves all of his best tricks for home!

Super Saturday

Today was such a BEAUTIFUL day!! Mid-70's, blue sky, and nothing on the schedule. What a perfect combo. Even so, we were full of energy and managed to pack our day pretty full.

We started off at our local YMCA. They were having an open house which included FIRETRUCKS! You know we had to check that out. (Never mind we see the firetruck everyday beside our house! hehe!) Pea LOVED it. He literally ran circles around the firetruck. It was great.
Riding shotgun in the firetruck.
Next stop...the ambulance. Then we headed indoors for a little 1:1 basketball.
After lunch, pea decided we needed to go visit the neighbor...AKA the firetruck. We typically walk to the station and he has to look in the window to see the firetruck. Today we were invited inside for our own personal tour. Of course, I did not have my camera! But, he was so excited! He got the firetrucks all to himself. He even helped the firefighter clean the fire truck. Too cute. We are now on a first name basis with our neighbor firefighters!

We also decided to clean out the garage this afternoon and pea found my very old bike helmet. He wore the helmet for a couple hours. And, yes, he was wearing the helmet when we visited the fire station!

Time for a juice box break.

"Driving" daddy's tractor.

And...back to "cleaning" the garage. He enjoyed sweeping the dirt back IN the garage.

Look Who's Two!!

Little Pea turned TWO on Saturday and celebrated his first birthday at home! We had such a great day and it was so special to be sharing this day together as a family. We celebrated with a special breakfast, a visit to the park, and then a family party in the evening. I think pea had a lot of fun!

I tried my hand at a 3D firetruck cake. It was really cute until gravity started taking affect! I just didn't set it right, but it lasted just long enough for us to sing "Happy Birthday!" Pea loved it and that's all that matters! He woke up this morning saying "Firetruck cake gone?"

Cake and "cream."
Our little birthday clown!
Piñata time! Have you noticed a theme, yet? Seriously, I never thought I would be one of those moms that did themes, but...well...it just happens! Pea loved the firetruck piñata. Waiting to do some smashin' with his cousins.

Ready to go.
SMASH!! He did such a great job smashing the piñata. Should I be worried? :)
His new "big" firetruck.
Pea and his cousin playing with his new Little People garage.
Finally, his "cachow" face. Pea just recently discovered the movie Cars.
Happy Birthday, baby! We love you so much!!!

The Next MVP

Take a look, baseball fans...the next MVP!

Walkin' to the plate.
The warm-up
Swing!
It's outta here!!!!!!!!7th inning stretch? How about the 7th inning bubble chase.

One Year Ago...

We received that long awaited call that we had finally been released from PGN. A day I will never forget! All day I had the urge to call PGN, but resisted. Finally, at around 2:30, I broke down and called. I couldn't believe my ears when Francesca (I think that was her name) informed me we had been approved and our file was ready. I asked her several times, "Are you sure? Are you sure?" She was sure. Of course, we had been told this before only for it to be another kickout. But, I was amazingly calm. I called our adoption coordinator and she promised to follow-up with our attorney. I did not expect to hear anything for at least a day. Around 3:00pm, our coordinator called me back and said "There is just one more thing...I am looking at your PGN approval right now." Of course, I instantly burst into tears and, again, kept saying "Are you sure???" It was real this time. By the time I hung up the phone, my office was full! It was incredible! Our baby was finally coming home. Here is my post from last year:

http://journeytoeli.blogspot.com/2008/04/do-you-believe-in-miracles.html

What is this thing, mommy?

The mop made a rare appearance today and it didn't take pea long to figure out what to with it. He immediately picked it up, said "clean," and off he went. I think he has heard me complaining about our nasty, ugly kitchen floor and thought cleaning it would be the solution! (at least the really ugly wallpaper is now gone!)

Doesn't everyone wear snowboots to mop?


And, despite our ugly kitchen floor, we have a potential buyer for our house. It's not even on the market, yet! We're just working on an offer. Fingers crossed.

One of those evenings

Tonight was one of those evenings that started off feeling a bit hectic, but ended perfectly! Hubby had some school work to do so pea and I spent the evening hangin' out together without a care in the world. Aren't those the best?

We started off playing outside. I noticed that our first daffodils bloomed! Spring is near! Of course, it's April and snow is in the forecast for Monday. BOOOOO
Trompin' around the yard acting like a goofball.
Back inside to play trains. He is really starting to get the whole train track thing and putting them together.

Next stop, doodling. Look at my little leftie! He even has his hand curled over! Pea now makes doodling requests of mommy (yes, he is starting to call me mommy instead of mama) and daddy. The most popular requests include a fish, house, and bus. Lucky for me, he thinks my doodles are fabulous!
Lastly, a banana snack before bedtime. Yum!
These are the days and they are going way too fast!