Grace was a wonderful baby in Florida. She slept through the flights to Florida and was very patient about spending so much time in her car seat during our time at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. She didn’t seem bothered by the heat and was able to go on a couple of rides at the Magic Kingdom. Gracie liked to sit by the pool and even got in a couple of times.

There are lots of coos and giggles coming from Grace these days. She gets excited and gasps occasionally and really likes to have “conversations” with us. I’m afraid that we might have another chatter-box on our hands. We were pardoned from our 3 month check-up with the doctor because we’re “experienced” parents so there isn’t a weight update, but Miss Grace is definitely getting heavy and has developed some chunky cheeks, as you can see below.

The new attorney looked over our case and gave us a wonderful suggestion which we are currently pursuing. We’re hoping that in the next couple of weeks we will have more of an update for you and more good news. Please be praying for the process and our team of attorneys that are working so hard on our behalf.

Grace is awake a lot more during the day and smiles often. She looks for Ben when she hears his voice after work and when she saw him walk into the room today at the doctor’s office she gave him a HUGE smile! She loves to sit with Eden and listen to Eden tell her stories and she often “talks” back to Eden.

We had Gracie’s two month checkup today and she weighs 9 lbs, 10 oz and is 22 inches long as of today! She looks so big, but she is almost the exact same size that Andy was at 2 weeks.

Andy is still a sweet boy, but has definitely become more physical and more prone to meltdowns.  I’m holding out hope that these are due to all of the changes over the last month and that Andy will settle down once we find our rhythm.  Otherwise, Andy loves to play with Eden and wrestle with Ben, and always wants to hold Gracie.  He likes to play with his cars and trucks and runs everywhere.  Andy is talking a lot and he has likes to yell, “I did it!” after every accomplishment, no matter how great or small.

Andy is very interested in Gracie and gets very upset every time that she cries.  He loves to hold her and then refuses to give her up to anyone else.  Eden doesn’t seem all that interested in Grace, but she really likes to be the helper and does a great job getting diapers and blankets and paci’s when we need them.

We’ve been blessed by people bringing meals and helping with the kids and are now trying to get into a routine.  We’ve had a lot of changes recently and the big kids have done a great job, although we occasionally see the effects.  Ben and I are hanging in there and running on not much sleep.  It makes us really appreciate having my parents willing hands around because these days we need all the help we can get!    There are a few pictures of Grace below and some others on the ‘photos’ tab.  There’s also a video coming soon!

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 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!

Eden on the Fly540 flight. She LOVED flying “up up up in the air” “like a birdy” and going “up and down up and down” (turbulence). She had a lot of trouble with the concept of the us being above the clouds:
What are those white things Daddy?
Those are clouds Eden.
But they’re down low.
Because we’re flying above the clouds, we’re way up high.
But I’m lookin down, they’re down low.

Eden was a great traveler and I lucked out with her being hyper during the should-be-nap-time instead of a terror. She fell asleep 5 minutes into our car ride home at 4:45.

She started being a three year old while we were laying over in Kisumu. She was trying to figure out why we couldn’t fly straight to Eldoret and every response from me was rebutted with the same statement except “Why…” affixed to it!

Our flights back to the U.S. are scheduled for the 18th of January. That was the only day Delta had available for both my ticket (paid) and Eden’s ticket (mileage award seat) on the same flight in the same class. She did give me the option of the 9th…with Eden riding up in Business Class but me in Coach!

January 18th is a lot later than we wanted to be reunited, but it does allow me time to get things sorted out with the house, van, packing, work, and all of our stuff. Its amazing how many things a woman can collect in a short 8 months in Kenya. You heard me right, none of this is mine.

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!