We’ve been back together for over a week and we’re loving it!  Eden and Andy are so happy to be together and follow each other around playing and hugging each other.  We haven’t settled into a routine, but are certainly happy and adjusting.  Eden is still doing a lot of processing.  She talks about riding on the plane and leaving Eldoret saying “Now I live in the US!”.  Andy gets very concerned if Eden and Ben aren’t near by and then needs to know where they are. Ben was able to squeeze in two days of work this week and now he is off for the next couple of weeks to help us all recover from the arrival of Grace (see next post).

We’re all enjoying being a family of 5 and getting into a new “normal”.  We will post more pictures soon, but here are a few from our reunion at the airport.

I am now 36 weeks.  It’s very exciting to be getting so close to my due date and my nesting instincts have set in.  I’ve been very busy washing newborn clothes, rearranging furniture in our bedroom to make room for the cradle and a changing area and buying lots of necessities for Grace and me.  I bought a pack of those itty-bitty newborn diapers and was shocked that they are about the size of my hand.  I really think things have shrunk since Andy was born.  There’s no way he was ever that small!  🙂

I still feel great, although by dinnertime most days my back hurts from carrying Andy around and most days I find I need to catch a nap while Andy sleeps in order to stay awake until bedtime.  We had an ultrasound at my appointment on Monday and it was so much fun to see Grace!  They estimated she weighed 5 lbs 4 oz and all of her organs looked good.  We saw her spiky hair and she was sucking her thumb.  We could see her face pretty clearly and we watched her yawn, which was really cute!

Andy is now 22 months old and becoming more like a 2 year old every day.  He is talking more and asserting himself more.  He is coming up with his own ideas and makes us laugh with the things he remembers.  The other day I was driving to Indy and he started talking about Javan’s car being hot and smokey which was from our trip to Nairobi in October when the van broke down.

Today Andy counted to 10 which shocked me and he has even started singing a couple of songs.  He loves to finish our sentences, such as “Home again, home again….”  Andy has been very happy this week while Uncle Colin is home and the Smiley clan was around.  He’s had lots of attention and lots of boys to rough house with.

Andy LOVED opening presents at Christmas and I have to keep an eye on him because he would really like to open Eden and Ben’s presents which are under the tree.  He was fun to watch because he gets so excited when he starts to open the gift and then gasps when he finally can see what’s inside.  Then he just wants to sit and play with that gift for a while and he needs encouraged to open the next one.  Andy also had fun playing in the snow, as you can see below!

We received word tonight that Eden’s humanitarian parole was granted!  We haven’t made any plans yet (or even talked about it because Ben and Eden are still sleeping!) but we’re excited here and will post updates as we have them.  Praise God for the AWESOME things He is doing!

I’m way overdue for a post on the pregnancy, but better late than never!

I am now 33 1/2 weeks.  Grace is very busy stretching and kicking these days but has settled herself quite uncomfortably on my bladder.  I feel her most often on the bottom left portion of my belly.  She is sitting much lower than Andy did.  (You can see a picture of me at 35 weeks with Andy here).  It’s funny how different this pregnancy has been from Andy’s.  I suppose her being a girl and this being my second pregnancy make the difference.

I can’t believe that I only have 7 weeks left.  The last several weeks have flown by and I know my due date will be here before I know it.  I had an appointment on Monday and everything looked good.  I’ve consistently measured just a little bit smaller than my weeks indicate, but Dr. Lund has told me that I shouldn’t be optimistic about having a smaller baby this time.  I’m still hoping!  I have another appointment next Wednesday before the office is closed for Christmas.