A Few Christmas Pics

This has been a great Christmas - the best I can remember since I was a kid! I'll post a few pics now, and more later. Naturally, I took about a 1000 :)

Baptism Day

Our little Gage was baptized November 19th, 2006 at the United Methodist Church. It was a wonderful ceremony, and Ryan and I were received as new members at the same time.


Doesn't he look handsome in his white suit?


That's the Pastor on the left and Aunt Elyse (Ryan's sister) on the right. Elyse and Ryan's other sister, Cheri, are Gage's Godmothers/sponsors.



This is Grandma Trudi.

Our Little Pumpkin

Gage was fascinated by all the stuff to see at the Pumpkin Farm. I think he liked the bull best!

We also took him to a Halloween party put on by my employer. His costume was Curious George. He's going to be a giraffe for trick-or-treating.

Hell on Wheels!

He's walking! He started Tuesday night with 3 or 4 steps at a time, and by Friday he was walking across the whole room. He practices every waking moment!

Ice Cream and Pickles

No, I'm not pregnant, I just have some cute pics of (who else?) Gage. Here he is with one of his most favorite things to chew on - a pickle jar lid! Also, here's his first real time eating ice cream - think he liked it?

Meet the Relatives!

Gage met Uncle Jim and Aunt June for the first time just after his first birthday. They brought him so many nice gifts, and he especially loved his animal train. He plays with it all the time! Gage thought Uncle Jim was pretty funny. I told him don't make fun of people's looks (ha ha sorry Uncle Jim)!

A Sesame Street Birthday Party

Well, I'm overwhelmed by trying to post everything that happened from Gage's homecoming until now, so I'm going to continue forward from his first birthday.

We had a party for family a few days after his birthday. Poor thing was so tired, since he had a cold and ear infection. He held up like a trooper though, and you'd never know he was sick as he plowed through his cake!

Sesame Street was the theme, and he loved his presents, especially that blue truck. This boy loves anything with wheels!

Unfortunately, he put out the candle on the cake with his hand instead of blowing on it! But, he was OK - see cake eating picture!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

I can't believe you're 1 already. You've been home 7 months, but the time has just flown by! I skipped a lot of months in this blog, but couldn't let your birthday go by without posting about it. I'll get back to the story soon!

We love you. Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Our Trip Home

Although I enjoyed our time in Guatemala, I was very happy to get on the plane for home. Gage was pretty good on the plane rides, first to Texas, and then on to Milwaukee. He slept quite a bit on the way to Milwaukee, so that made it much easier. My dad met us at the airport, and was the first to meet Gage.





.

The Craft Market

In the afternoon of Valentine's Day, we went to the local craft market. We bought a lot of stuff, naturally, and had some ice cream. At one point, a local woman was watching me with the baby, and I wondered why. Eventually she came over, and said only this, "God Bless You." I've heard some locals don't approve of American adoptions, but clearly this lady was happy that we were taking Gage into our family. Little did she know, that we think we are the lucky ones.

Our Embassy Appointment

Our appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala was on Valentine's Day, 2006. While it should be mostly a formality, with everything prepared ahead of time, it was still a little nerve-wracking. Luckily the agency led us through each step. All we really had to do was have a visa photo taken, answer some simple questions, and sign the visa application. The next day, Ryan went back to the embassy to pick up the completed visa, and that was that. Here's Gage's visa photo. Couldn't get much cuter, could it?

Finally A Family

We got word that the adoption was finalized in PGN the day that Gage turned 4 months old. Then all we needed was a few more things - a new birth certificate, passport, and visa for him. We went shopping that weekend for a crib, and I spent the next 3 weeks buying him clothes. We travelled to Guatemala on Feb. 12, 2006, and became a family on his 5 month birthday. The next day was Valentine's day. What a gift!

The Waiting

The time between visiting Gage and picking him up were the longest months of my life. We had a short process compared to others, but it seemed like eternity. All we had were the pictures and video we took, and some updates from the agency. We loved the pictures they sent, but it was reminder of how he was growing up without us.