The Kwiatkowski family before the ceremony.
Lizzy with her parents and godparents.
The "crazy-eyed" baby in her playpen...Where is my toy?

A lot has changed in the Kwiatkowski house...Matt and I are both back to work, and Lizzy is now going to daycare. She seems to love it there, but we would both rather quit and stay home with her.

Last weekend, on Easter Saturday, Lizzy was baptized. She looked very pretty in her white dress that her great-grandmother Collins had made for her.

She has started pulling herself up, and we had to lower her crib to prevent falling. She is making a lot of progress walking, and she moves (while being held) on furniture. She also has perfected the wave and No...she waves to EVERYONE (people at restaurants, the grocery). We think she likes the response she gets.

She is just getting so much better at moving herself around. She would be much better I am sure if her parents and grandparents would just put her down :)

Lizzy and I have spent our last couple weeks together home with Daddy. It has been wonderful having Matthew home, and I feel like the time in the beginning of the maternity leave that we lost to hospital time was regained. We have been having a great time, even with Matt working from home, and I am even sadder now to return to work on Weds.

Before Lizzy came home, I really thought that I wouldn't mind going back to work, but I do. I love my job, and I do miss my students, but the thought of days without Lizzy makes me cry. I can't even imagine the sadness I am going to feel soon. She is so wonderful, and she does something new and funny everyday. I am so worried that soon I will miss all her firsts. In the last couple of weeks she has gotten very attached to me (crying when I leave the room), and she has become very scared of strangers. This new development makes me a little happy (I like to be her favorite) and scared about how she will do at daycare and about how I might not be her favorite soon.

We have done lots of fun things recently. Lizzy finally met my aunt and uncle...her first Arzola's. My cousin Bevin also came to visit. She also made her first trip to the Kwiatkowski lake house for a day of fun with her cousins, and she went to the park for the first time. She LOVES the swing. We knew she would. This child is amazing, and she loves to experience new things.

Her new tricks are shaking her head "No", clapping her hands, and basically mimicking anything that we do.

Lizzy and I have spent our last couple weeks together home with Daddy. It has been wonderful having Matthew home, and I feel like the time in the beginning of the maternity leave that we lost to hospital time was regained. We have been having a great time, even with Matt working from home, and I am even sadder now to return to work on Weds.

Before Lizzy came home, I really thought that I wouldn't mind going back to work, but I do. I love my job, and I do miss my students, but the thought of days without Lizzy makes me cry. I can't even imagine the sadness I am going to feel soon. She is so wonderful, and she does something new and funny everyday. I am so worried that soon I will miss all her firsts. In the last couple of weeks she has gotten very attached to me (crying when I leave the room), and she has become very scared of strangers. This new development makes me a little happy (I like to be her favorite) and scared about how she will do at daycare and about how I might not be her favorite soon.

We have done lots of fun things recently. Lizzy finally met my aunt and uncle...her first Arzola's. My cousin Bevin also came to visit. She also made her first trip to the Kwiatkowski lake house for a day of fun with her cousins, and she went to the park for the first time. She LOVES the swing. We knew she would. This child is amazing, and she loves to experience new things.

Her new tricks are shaking her head "No", clapping her hands, and basically mimicking anything that we do.

Lizzy meeting Amy for the first time. I like her shirt :)

Lizzy and her cousin Brooklyn.

Lizzy watching the action of the party.

The birthday boy...Dylan Matthew Kwiatkowski

I think the baby loves me. I have known for awhile that she loved Matthew-she jumps and smiles whenever she sees him, but she does not react this way for me. We are almost never separated, so there is little surprise or jumping required. But today, Lizzy wanted to cuddle more and when she usually doesn't want to-during feeding and playing. I think this might be because Lizzy has just spent a couple of overnights with her grandparents so I could go stay in the hospital with Matt. Everyone has said that she looks for my voice and follows me around the room, but until tonight I did not see any "real" evidence of her attachment to me. I love this baby, and I am glad that finally she can feel it too.



This weekend Lizzy and I celebrated her cousin's birthday. Dylan turned three this year, and Mike and Miranda had a family party for him. As always, it was wonderful to see our family, and Lizzy LOVES her cousins. Mostly she watches them in awe because our house is so boring and doesn't have as much action.



We also got to see my good friend Amy and her husband this weekend. They live in Virginia, and this was their first experience with Lizzy. So took to them right away...how could you not?

This has been an interesting week for us...Matthew is back in the hospital to get ready for his surgery this Weds. We are hoping it is a shorter stay than last time because Lizzy and I are missing him all ready. We also meet some new friends this week. Lizzy finally got to meet Angelina Borowiak after a month of illness in her family, and the meeting went well. Lizzy, like her mother, has a problem with being loud, and she continually screamed "A-da" at Angelina trying to gain a response. Of course, Angelina, like most women, was frightened by this volume:)

Lizzy and I are both trying to work on our inside voices :)

Also, to add insult to injury for poor Angelina, Lizzy is apparently not good at sharing. Angelina had the nerve to grab for Lizzy's favorite toy, and as you can see Lizzy did all she could to get it back.

Here are some pictures from Lizzy's first swim class last week. She LOVED it, and hopefully she loves it again today! Please ignore me in my bathing suit. I am not summer ready-emotionally or physically :)

Lizzy had a party this weekend. Okay...she didn't have a party, but it was a party for her. Matt's mom, Dianne, threw a beautiful party for some of her friends and family to welcome little Lizzy Lee to Valpo. It was held in the same room where we had our wedding and in the same restaurant that Matthew proposed. It has become a special place for us, and it was wonderful to have so many people AGAIN be so excited about our little girl. When you adopt, you hope that your child will be welcomed and loved just like all parents do. We have been so blessed to have so many people love us and be generous to us all through our lives. It was a WONDERFUL party.

The best part, for us at least, was getting to see our niece and nephews. They have been very sick this winter, and as you can see Lizzy loves her cousin Brooklyn who is one month younger, but luckily for us bigger-lots of hand-me-downs!

I am sorry that I haven't written or updated you all in a little bit. Lizzy keeps me rather busy!!

This week Lizzy had her first swim class. She LOVES the water, and she did her kicking motion (her sign that she is excited) almost the entire time. What a natural! Some family came to watch her swim, and shortly before (after I realized that I would be in a swimsuit too) a friend reminded me that maybe I should stop inviting people to the swim class :)

We have been attempting to stay busy. Mostly we hang out with our friends Jenn and Ione Skafish (also on maternity leave), we go on walks, and we clean. I am still amazed at the number of times a week I do laundry, and I am terrified of what this house will look like when I return to work in a couple of weeks :(

Lizzy is still not crawling, but she has perfected her roll and it seems to get her everywhere she wants to go. She stands for long periods of time while holding on to things. And she seems to want to step while standing, but no major movement yet.

She, like her mother, talks constantly. Frequently in resturants she tries to play the game we play at home where she screams and then we scream back. At home it is cute because she laughs, I think at the fact that she can get us to perform for her, but in public I think it might be too much for others! She has started squealling at strangers to get their attention, and when they look she cocks her head to the side and smiles-all ready aware that she is the prettiest girl in the room.

She still loves her activity center and her jump-a-roo, but now that she is more mobile she seems to want to be out of them more than in. This makes my life a little more difficult, but I am sure her mobilty now will seem tame compared with what is coming.

Matthew was recently in the hospital for almost two weeks for his infection in his ankle, and it looks like he will have surgery on the 14th of this month. We are looking forward to it because we all hope this means we will be on the road to healing again. He has had trouble with his ankle for so long, and it would be nice to take walks as a family together.

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.