Our trip to Antigua

I had been trying to post about Shane and Isabella and upload their picture but the blogger doesn't seem to like the picture I had selected. I will take more of Shane and Isabella and see if those work. I tried a different picture and it worked so that's why this post is about Antigua.


An old cathedral we visited

me and Isabella in the driver's van

Me and Isabella in front of a fountain

Ok, these are a few pictures from our trip to Antigua. I have plenty more but they haven't been edited so I will post them later to show more of the city. We hired a driver named Jose and left for Antigua at 8:00. It's about an hour drive which didn't seem like it because we were to busy looking out the window and listening to Jose tell the history of Antigua. He was very knowledgeable and personable. We got there and went to an old Cathedral that is mainly a tourist attraction and not in use anymore. It was very beautiful. We then went to the Jade factory. Guatemalan jade is nothing like Asian jade. It is much more beautiful color wise and much harder. We then looked around the showroom and of course had to buy some stuff. Not that they twisted our arm or anything but it was all so beautiful. We then went to a beautiful hotel (the name escapes me at the moment) and I will post pictures of that after I edit them. There are alot of weddings held there and they are booked up 2 years in advance. When I post the pictures you will see why. It is just so beautiful. Then we went to an authentic Guatemalan restaurant to eat. The menu had English but Jose helped us order. I got rooster (I was skeptical but it was good) and Allen got relenos (I think that's what it was and he enjoyed his too). The tortillas are nothing like you get here. They are thicker and VERY good. We drank lemonade that was carbonated and that was also very good. We then went to another Cathedral that had a service going on. We got to walk thru and watch some of it. It ended up being a first communion service and the children were dressed up almost like brides and grooms. It was so beautiful but we didn't want to invade their privacy by taking pictures. We then went to a park across from a cathedral which is kinda like central park. They had horse drawn carriages, fountains, and benches to sit on. It was very busy with most of the people being locals. We walked around and took pictures and more pictures. Outside that central area, every street looked the same. There were alot of shops but we went to the handicraft market instead to shop. It was HUGE. There were so many booths that it was impossible to see it all. Jose stayed with us some but we also walked around on our own at the market. I would have bought one of everything if I could have. After the market it was time to go back to the hotel. Let me say that this WHOLE day Isabella was sooooo good and never even cried. She slept in the stroller some. The locals never gave us a second look. I guess they are used to seeing Americans and that's how they make their money--off of tourism. We had such a nice time and never felt threatened in any way. Isabella slept the whole way back to the hotel. It was truly a wonderful day with beautiful weather also. We are so glad we went to Antigua. As I said I will post more pictures of the actual city next time so you can see why we loved it.

Just an update

Ok, this is the second day in a row that the blogger won't let me upload a picture of Shane. I don't want to write about him unless you can see a picture with it so it'll have to wait. So in the meantime I'll let you know how Isabella has been doing. Last Monday we went to the doctor to get a check-up to make sure she looks healthy by the doctors here. Of course, she looks great! They didn't have any concerns at all. They wanted to make sure her vaccinations she got in Guatemala took and test for Hepatitis. That meant she had to have blood drawn at the hospital lab. I was not happy about this and totally expected the worse. I was the one getting clammy and faint. She did GREAT! Not even a whimper! She is such a good girl. So this Monday we called and got the test results and most of the vaccinations took, thank god. All she had to have was Hepatitus and pneumococal (sp?). She did cry at those but not for very long because Mommy was giving her lots of hugs and kisses.

As I have told most of you, she is a very good sleeper. But, every since Sat. night, she has gotten up in the middle of the night. I change her diaper, give her a little bottle and she goes back to sleep. This was starting to wear me out. I tried giving her a bath before bed hoping the water would make her pee and she wouldn't wake up with a wet diaper. I tried only baby food before bed so she wouldn't pee. Nothing worked. So last night I tried leaving her night light off thinking that if it was dark, she would go right to sleep. IT WORKED! I put her in bed at 7:30 and didn't hear a peep until 7:00 this morning. So needless to say, we will be sleeping without the night light. I just hope it wasn't a fluke. Anyway, things are still going really good. Today is rainy and gloomy so it's the perfect day to stay inside and not go anywhere.

I'll try again later to upload a picture so you can see Shane with her.

The "other" Daddy

This picture was taken the day after we brought Isabella home. Hunter is sooooo good with little children and they seem to love him. He wants to do everything for her except change dirty diapers! He wants to hold her, carry her, put her in the car seat, put her in bed, wake her up, you name it. They really do look like brother and sister. I didn't really expect my 13 year old to be so paternal. It really is a nice surprise. He's going to make a great father someday (hopefully way down the road!).

Hunter is doing good in school and got invited to join the Beta Club for his grades. We are so proud of him for this. He's also involved in 4-H in which he's in the Dog Club. Basketball season is just around the corner and he will be playing again this year.

Hunter is such a great young man and we are so proud of him in whatever he does!

The most wonderful big brother!

I decided that I would start with Alex because he has been so wonderful and adjusted so well with not being the "baby" anymore. Before we got Isabella, Alex talked about her every day and always asked when we were going to get her. I was really worried how he would actually be when we were all home as a family. He has surprised me how grown up he is for 7 years old. I told him he would ALWAYS be my " baby" boy and that would never change no matter how old he was. He wants to be around Isabella all the time. He helps with feeding, diapers, playing, and changing clothes. He loves to play peek-a-boo with her and have her crawl over him. He can't stand to even hear her wimper. He wants to be the one to get her out of her crib. He is very proud of Isabella and shows her off every chance he gets. I am sooooo proud to be his Mom!

My first real post to our new blog!

This is a picture that was taken once we were home. Isabella has so many different expressions. She smiles ALL the time and that's what people comment about most. It's only been two weeks since we got home from Guatemala and it's already hard to remember our lives without her! She has really been a blessing and her good natured personality has made the adjustment very easy. She always falls asleep in the car and never cries when I take her in places. I think we've only stayed home all day just 2 days. We've got places to go and people to see!

As you can imagine, we've got tons of pictures. I'll post some of Shane, Hunter, and Alex next.

First Post!

Ok. I think I have this blog set up. This is just a test post so I can see what I want to add and change. More to come later!