Here are some pictures from this week. Lizzy in her favorite- her jump-a-roo. I wish something could get me this excited. Okay...maybe the baby in the toy does :)

Lizzy meeting some new friends and her future best friend Ione Skafish. Both were ready for a nap.

Today marks the end of our first "normal" week home together. Matt is back to work, and Lizzy and I are running errands, taking trips to the library, and visiting friends. Her sleep schedule is much better. And after some advice from her doctor to "let her scream sometimes" I am sleeping much better too, and I am a lot less nervous I am doing the wrong thing. She is still trying to crawl and sit-she hasn't master either yet. But we did have our first time away from each other.

Last night Lizzy was left with Aunt Miranda while I did some tutoring. I didn't think it would be that difficult to leave her, but I almost didn't go at all. In that last couple of days my love for her has gone from ordinary to unbelievable. I am sad sometimes when she is asleep, and I contemplate waking her up so we can spend time together. She is funnier than I imagined, and everyday she gets better at the small skills that I take for granted.

Yesterday, for example, we spent some time playing with a pot and a spoon. It was amazing watching her little hands pick up this spoon that is as long as she is. She thought about each movement, and you could tell that she was improving. She still marvels at her hands, and frequently I just catch her staring at them. But, she stares at EVERYTHING-even people.

I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it will be to go back to work and to be separated from her and to keep everything going here.

I am confident that I will be getting lots of help from at least one person. My mother has been here everyday to see Lizzy, and I am sure that at least one of them is in love.

So...for this week. Lizzy has managed to get some food in her mouth herself, and she LOVES her jump-a-roo. She jumps so much that she shakes the whole toy. We are sure it is going to break soon! The best thing about this toy is her reaction. I think that some drug is in this toy because she absolutely freaks out when she is in it.

Because we are the Kwiatkowski's we like to keep our lives interesting. Matthew has been in the hospital since Monday, so Lizzy and I have spent our first week at home working out the kinks and traveling to Chicago to see Daddy. Matthew has an infected wound on his ankle. We are very luckily that it seems to be clearing up, and we are hoping to have him home tomorrow.

Lizzy is liking her new house. The activity centers are by far her favorite. Whenever I put her in them she looks up at me, smiles, and laughs. I believe she is telling me that this is the best thing ever. She just loves them. I finally figured out some foods that she likes. Peas are not a hit, but sweet potatoes could not be better. She literally grabs the spoon and puts it in her mouth.

Lizzy has also been going to the U of C hospital this week. We saw the international adoption pediatrican this week. He says that Lizzy looks great-which we knew. We are very blessed with a happy baby who can go anywhere (for pretty large amounts of time) and who seems to be interested in the world and the people in it.

Lizzy went to church today. We have decided to have her baptized the Saturday before Easter. This is, of course, a special day in the church, and it will he a high service with incense and everything. It is so nice to continue to take Lizzy to places where everyone is so excited about her. From school to church to the place where we always eat breakfast presents, love, and excitement abound. We think Lizzy Kwiatkowski is quite a lucky girl. She was so good when she was out in the world again today. She seems to only be very angry with me when I clean her face, feed her peas (really any baby food), or put on her coat. All of these things seem to put her in the worst mood where not even my silly dancing can console her. Matt has been laughing at me as I dance and perform for the baby. Today he said I went from a Broadway act to Pee-Wee Herman and finally to Tony the Tiger. I seem to be her second favorite toy after her own toes. These fascinate her for long periods of time, and I wish I could be so entertained. Luckily we have a pretty good time watching her.

Lizzy went to her first basketball game last night. She loved all the action and all of the attention. She was passed around from person to person, and I am constantly amazed at how trusting she is that everything will be fine and that everyone will love her. I am convinced that we have her foster mother to thank for this little gift in her personality. It is just a pleasure just to take her with us everywhere, and the only time she cries in public is when it is feeding time. What a good baby!!!

Matt and I are really getting to know her better too. I think I have her cries down-what means what. And, our schedule is getting more and more locked down. She continues to sleep through the night, and we continue to not sleep through the night because we are thinking about her.

The foster family and us-the Kwiatkowski's!!
Lizzy and her foster mother in the hotel




Yesterday was our first full day at home with Lizzy, and it was fantastic. After 21 hours of travel on Wedsnesday, we had a little trouble going to sleep Weds night/Thursday morning, but our first day together as a family in our home was great. Matt has been worried about the dogs, mostly because his mother and grandmother keep mentioning dog bites :), but Maggie's first act was to go up to Lizzy and lick her face. Both dogs are very curious and concerned when she cries, and I think they will be very protective and love her a lot.

Our trip to Guatemala was interesting and long. The airport was a lesson in chaos, and Latin culture. Instead of taking the bags off the plane immediately, the workers took a little break, and our bags arrived about 45 minutes after landing. Then, without signs or directions, we followed some arrows which led us to a long line of people waiting for something. Luckily one of the people waiting had a Radisson sign, and my high school Spanish was enough to get him to speak English.

Our hotel, one of the nicest in the city, was about the level of a Motel 6 here. Pretty dirty (your socks turned black after a day of being in the room) and dated, but the staff was very helpful. Everyone spoke English, or at least they were patient and kind while I attempted to speak Spanish. After we had been in the hotel for about 30 minutes, the phone rang telling us that our lawyer was here with the baby. We rushed downstairs (I was upset because I was not in the outfit that I wanted to be in to meet the baby) only to see a baby that was not ours. Matt said my face was fantastic (because the baby wasn't very cute). Finally, by looking at the foster mother (not the one in the pictures) we knew for sure that his was not our child, and we went back upstairs.

We were told that the foster mother would come around 5, but that in Guatemala that means 6. Nevertheless, Matt and I were in the lobby (Mom was sick with a cold upstairs) at 5:15 waiting, and Lizzy arrived at 5:25. The entire thing was surreal. She was beautiful, and her foster mother (who brought her husband and children) was very sweet with her and clearly loved her. She told us that every morning she prayed with Lizzy for us and for her health and that she would keep on doing that. She told us that Lizzy is a very special baby (a little demanding-as we now see), and that she would always want to know what happened to her. She asked us to keep in touch through email and letters, and we would really like it if Lizzy saw her again soon.

Our first few days with Lizzy were full of trips to the embassy to get her visas and walks around the safe parts of Guatemala City. The city is beyond beautiful set in a valley surrounded by volcanoes and mountains. The colors there are as vibrant and in any Latin country, and the people could not have been nicer-always telling us what a pretty baby and smiling. I was a little worried about the people because there has been some controversy in the government of Guatemala about the number of international adoptions, but the feeling we got overall was that the people were glad that she is getting a better life. The number of babies leaving was startling though. At the embassy on the day we were there, about 30-40 couples/babies were waiting to get their visas-just on that day! The hotel has one floor just for people who are adopting babies, and there is a culture there to cater to Americans with an Applebee's and Chilis and malls nearby. The main problem that we saw there was that the price of everything was the same as it is here, but that the people make so much less. They have no chance to get ahead, and they have to learn to adapt.

One day, on one of our walks around the hotel, a young girl came up to us peddling a small tapestry to hang up. She knew just enough English to get us to buy something, and as I looked at her face and then the face of my daughter I knew that this girl could be my Lizzy someday.

Well...this post has gone on long enough, but please know that our first several days together have been wonderful. She somehow gets prettier, smarter, and better everyday. She is an excellent baby who is very social. She went out to dinner last night, was GREAT on the planes during our trip home, and tonight she is going to a basketball game at my school. She loves to be active, and she demands to be entertained. She sleeps through the night-yeah, and Matt and I are getting much better at getting her to go to sleep and to nap.