What I did over my Christmas vacation

The only way to describe my Christmas this year is Half-A**. My presents look like a blind person wrapped them, My Christmas cards are only going out tomorrow. I have allot more to buy. Martha Stewart would slap me if she were here. But I've watched all the holiday show's with Liv, we've spent hours playing in the snow, drank numerous cups of coco in front of the tree, and have taken car rides just to look at lights.
I'd say it's been a great December!!!!!!!!!!!


We went to see "The Princess and The Frog" with Emily

Went to see the living nativity scene

Playing in the snow!!!

Petting the sheep

This girl never met a Christmas display she didn't like!!!!!!!!!!

1st snow

Last week we had our first snow. Liv had heard on the new the day before that it was going to snow and she right away said, "Mommy get my sled out!". Even though it only snowed a few inches, we were out in it for about an hour. This girl can hang in the cold weather!!!!! Me, not so much!!!!

We made a small snowman!!!

Eating the snow!!

Cold but very happy!!!!

Some random cuteness I had to share

I noticed that I had not posted in over a week. I have really let my blog go. The truth is I really don't want to stop posting. I have been at this, although my blog is far from the most interesting thing out there, for over three years. This is more like Liv's baby book than anything else, and I am determined to continue.
This Christmas season with Liv has been so fun. She is really into all the Christmas shows, Rudolph being her favorite. Every car ride is an adventure to see how many Christmas lights she can spot. "Mommy turn down that road I saw allot of lights" she'll squeal from the back seat. Although she doesn't quite get the concept of Santa bring lots of presents, thank God!!!!! I'm really enjoying seeing Christmas through the eyes of a 3 year old!!

So here is some holiday shots from a recent trip to the Christmas Store.

Love this girl to pieces

Thankful

This week I am thankful for one tiny little human being!!! I would not be the person I am without her!!!!

PJ Love!!!

Liv has always loved pajamas. She even went through a time last winter, where she would only wear clothes if she could leave her pajamas on underneath. Hey you pick your battles right.

Last week we were watching "My Fair Wedding" on WE, and my Mom said to Olivia, "Wouldn't you like to wear a pretty sparkling wedding dress like that one day?" Liv answered "No", I was floored, "Why? What are you going to wear when you get married" I prodded. She looked me straight in the face and said "Mommy I'm going to wear jammies to get married". That is defiantly wedding attire Vinay will be happy to pay for!!!


Pretending to sleep on parker.

Cuddling with Parker during movie night. Parker was not to happy about this.

Vaishu Akka sleepover while our traveling hubbies are away.

Liv showing off new PJ's I got super cheap at gymboree!!

Done that!!!! Check!!!!!

In the past week or so we have made a big dent in the adoption paperwork mound. A friend of mine from my Mommy's group is a notary, so we were able to go to her and get allot done!! Thank you Maddie!!!!

It has felt so good to finally check off a few things from the never ending adoption "to do" list that haunts my refrigerator door everyday.



Some people have asked me to elaborate on what exactly is taking so long, and if I have any sort of timeline for this adoption. So here is basically the gist of what is going on.



The Mexico adoption program that we are in is a pilot program. And that means... that it is a new program, so we are one of the first few families to do this.



Right now we are compiling what is called a dossier, a collection of paperwork. Marriage certificates, birth certificates, medical exams reports, financial statements, fingerprints, new passports, the list is long and boring. So things we have control over, others we are at the mercy of the US government. Filing a Visa to bring a foreign child into the country.



We have to have all of these documents together, before we can send it down to Mexico to be translated and then filed with there government. I am hoping to have all this done before Christmas.



After that here is what happens:

1. Dossier is filed in Mexico, should take about 1 month

2. We are approved and placed on a waiting list, once we are on the list we are looking at about 6 months before we receive information/referral of a child.

3. We accept the referral, send down more documents to Mexico

4. Wait for Mexico to prepare child's Visa, and file all paperwork on their end. About 2-4 months.

5. Travel to Mexico. Vinay myself and Olivia will be traveling to Mexico together. We will spend 1 week visiting our new child in the orphanage, than the child will come and live with us in Mexico. Yes we will be living there for about 2 months, Vinay, myself, Olivia, and our new son/daughter, waiting for the final adoption decree and the Visa to be processed. If need be Vinay will travel back and forth to the states for business.

So all in all if I had to pick a time I would say we will be traveling for the final pick up some time next fall.

I'll try to keep everyone updated as things progress. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, we are so lucky to have such wonderful friends!!!

First Halloween parade was full of tears

Liv had her school Halloween parade today and it was full of tears! No not from me.
I went to Liv's preschool to wait outside with the other parents watch as our kids parade past us for the school's fall festival. My Mom was there and Liv's Godmother Kate, we were all so excited, and anxious since I had heard that the students were making their own costumes, and I didn't know what they were going to be dressed as.
Liv's class comes out and as soon as the door opened I saw the saddest little candy corn walking toward me. Liv took one step out the door and started bawling. I felt so bad for her, when she walked by she grabbed my hand. I wanted her to finish the parade so I walked with her. After the parade it was time for the kids to perform the songs they learned, poor Liv just stood there crying, holding her stuffed animal. Guess I won't be signing her up to be in any beauty pageants anytime soon.

As we were getting into the car I asked her for the 5th time why she was crying. She burst back into tears and said "I don't like this costume, I wanted to wear my puppy costume". So there you have it the trials and tribulations of a three year old. And you thought being a kid was easy?

Picture time
My first glimpse of a tear stained "Candy Corn".

Not happy at all!!!!!!!!

Almost over!!!

There is no preforming when you are this upset. All the kids were so cute dressed in their fall costumes.

School update!

Liv and the girls in her class, patiently waiting their turn at the pumpkin patch!!

We are in full swing with school. When we are driving to school Liv will still say, "No Mommy, no go to school", but then I start talking about how all the kids and her teachers are going to miss her if she's not there. She is eager to please so this works.
Once we get into the parking lot, she sees the other kids and is wants to go in. When we get to the class room, she is hesitant to leave me, but I usually give her a kiss on her hand for her to keep while I'm gone and then she is happy to go and play.
When I pick her up it is like she hasn't seen me for a year. She is so excited to see me and usually will say, lets go home. But the fact is she is doing it. It is hard for her but she is separating from me and she is proud of herself for being a big girl and going to school!!
I had conferences today. She said Liv is a quiet girl, who prefers to observe before she jumps into an activity. Liv is also not as clingy to the teachers, I knew she was using them as a pseudo Mommy while at school. So she is getting more independent and coming out of her shell.
All I wanted out of this year was for Liv to learn to separate from me and not be sad about it.
Yipppeee for Liv, Yippeee for me, not that I get much done with my 5 hours a week without her. But Liv is happy and that make me happy!!!!!!!!!!!

More pics of the pumpkin patch
The only smile I could catch on camera.

Posing with the pumpkins

Forever family day, or as we call it "Livapalooza"

October 17 2009

Today!

3 years ago today we carried our baby girl off a plane and into our family forever.

Liv you have made our lives complete. You have truly shown us what love is, and we are so blessed to be your parents. We have a fun filled weekend planned to celebrate all that you have meant to us.

Today we are celebrating all that Olivia has brought into our lives!!!! But we are also remembering all that was left behind in Guatemala. Her Birth Mother, her Foster Mother, and all the children who will never know the love of a family.

Hibernating for the winter.

Ok drug companies and news media you win!!!! I am officially frightened of the up coming cold and flu season!!!



I wish I could put our house in a big plastic bubble for the winter. Like the one at the end of the movie E.T. when the house is overtaken by the government men trying to study E.T. and Elliot. But I can't so what's a Mom to do? We will get our yearly flu shots, but not the H1N1. I have hand sanitizers strategically placed all over the house, in the car, and of course in my purse. We are also all so hopped up on vitamins our urine glows.



Other than that I am at a lose as to how else to protect my family.

So I've decided I'm no longer watching news shows about the flu, no longer reading articles about the flu, or listening to anymore talk radio debating about the flu. I am officially putting my head back in the sand, where at least my neurosis won't make me sick!!!

Missing Summer Already

It's barely even cold here yet, but still I miss Summer. Here are a few pics from this past Summer.


Liv swimming in our friends pool complex. Thanks Bean for letting us use the pool Liv loved it.

One of my favorite pictures of my Mom and Liv. Bean, My Mom loved the pool also!!!

Addie, Liv, and Emily enjoying dessert from our 4th of July party!!!

Liv and her friend Johnny riding scooters in front of the beach house!!!

Invasion of the body snatchers!!!!!!!!!

What a cute and innocent and sweet face.


Can someone tell me where this sweet child has gone. For the last few weeks she has morphed into some type of toddler alien, sent down to push every button I have. She is caught somewhere between a stubborn three year old and a bratty teenager. Please this is not my child, not the child who would do anything I say, answer every sentence with a please or thank you, and cuddle every chance she had. This child is demanding, "Give me that", she snapped as i was fixing her toy. She will yell, "don't laugh at me", if you smile at her and she does not want you to. And God forbid you don't let her choose which apple she is about to eat. Seriously she has been in time out more in these past few weeks than she has in her whole life. So if you see my sweet Liv tell her that I need her beautiful, kind, loving, self back, before I go absolutely raving mad.

PS If this is the terrible threes, I don't think I can survive till her next birthday!!!!

Please grab some cheese to go with this whine!!!!

This post is long over due so please bare with me.

Allot of people know that we are in process doing our second adoption. For this adoption we could not go through Guatemala, where Olivia was born, because adoptions shut down January 1 2008. We chose to go though Mexico this time because we wanted both children to share the same heritage, Mayan, and we might have to spend some time in country at the end of the adoption and it would be easier for Vinay to fly back and forth to the states as needed for work.

Currently we are at the beginning of our paperchase, compiling our documents that will be sent to Mexico. I am happy to report that we have finished our home study. A series of interviews by a social worker, that took all summer to finish. This should have taken a month, but it was slow going with our social worker and things kept cropping up to halt the process.

Let me just say that I feel like I am falling under a mountain of paperwork!!! But you have all day to do this right???? WRONG !!!! Last week I brought Liv with me to go make copies and FedEx something, now Liv is a good kid and she is well behaved, but she's a kid. She had half the Hallmark card display picked apart while I was making copies, and then I almost left my folder of paperwork at the smoothie place next door. Yes my Dossier folder was sitting on a table ready to be thrown out. I can hear all my fellow adoptive Mommas gasping for air as I write this.
So luckily Liv is going to school and I will have 5 hours a week to do paperwork now.

But the paperchase seems so much harder this time. The documents needed are double that of what was needed for Liv's. For Liv's I needed 2 witness statements, this one I need 5 and 2 have to be neighbors. Vinay an I both need psychological evaluations, wasn't that what the homestudy was all about? I also have to write to the FBI and ask them to look at my fingerprint results and OK me to adopt. I didn't even know you could write to them!!!!The list goes on and on.

Today I wasted half a day in Trenton to obtain documents, that I wound up having to mail away for anyway. All because when you call there is never an actual human to speak to.

Ughhhh why do they make it so hard. So many children need good, loving homes, and I have one.

The fact is I felt the same anxiousness and frustration during Liv's adoption. I remember looking at the document checklist, and feeling like I would never be able to finish.

But I did, and I will.

So if you'll excuse me I think I'll go drown my bad attitude in some wine and get back my current checklist and see what I can work on tomorrow.



Today I hung on the fridge both old and new checklists.

Here is Liv's adoption,
Here is the new one, notice how it's 2 pages!!! Sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We don't even call it school!!!!

Many of you will remember that last year I put Liv into a school program for 2 year olds and had to take her out. Yes she would cry, but if it was just crying I would have kept her in. Liv tends to be a nervous child and she has a memory like an elephant, she remembers everything!!!! She would be so nervous that she had to go to school, even on the weekends. First thing in the morning she would look at me with those big eyes filled with fear and ask "School today Mommy?". When I said no, she was relived, when I said yes, and so would begin the crying and pleading for her not to go to school. I also noticed that she had started picking very badly at her cuticles. So I caved and took her out. I just couldn't see my little baby so nervous.

We figured wait a year, and then at 3 she will forget the bad experience and be ready to go. Well not my Liv, if anyone ever asks her "Do you want to go to school" she will always answer. "No school for me, Mommy go bye bye". Last spring I signed her and I up for a Mommy and Me program, at Sand Hill Presbyterian Preschool. I figured if she had me with her for the whole time, when September came she would at least be familiar, and have happy memories from Mommy and Me. We also always called it "Sand Hill" because the word "School" had too many negative connotations.

SO last week when we started school Liv was happy to go, of course she had no idea I would be leaving halfway through the class. She was hesitant at first but then she was excited to play with all the stuff they had out. She went from table to table happily playing, drawing, and painting, with the occasional look up to make sure I was still in the room.
Then came time for the mommies to leave the room and go to sign papers and listen to the director talk. I said " Liv I'm going to go down the hall and have coffee with the other Mom's." "Where?" she asked like I was making it up. "Right down the hall, and I'll be right back." She didn't answer, so I took that as a yes, and said good bye.

It was a long 15 minutes as I sit in that room wondering how Liv was doing. Finally we could go back and pick them up. I walked in and saw Liv's blood shot, puffy, eyes and she was clutching the teachers hand. Liv said "Mommy you were gone too long" and then the crocodile tears started, she also wanted out of that place. We said good bye to the teachers and talked about going on the playground next time.

Since Thursday whenever asked about "Sand Hill", She says that she didn't like it and that "Mommy left me". I try to reminder her of all the fun she had, and the cool things to do.
We'll see what next week holds!!!!!



Only a milkshake and a McDonalds playplace could cheer her up.

This is the attitude look I've been getting lately!!!

Happily showing off her outfit befor school!!

Modeling her new "Pack Pack", as she calls it, the week before!!!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

That's right the Disney characters. Liv can bring her princes and princesses to the table. The Disney obsession has lasted all summer. Actually it's the princes she really has a thing for. Liv is constantly talking about marrying the princes, especially Aladdin. The other day I overheard her playing with the figurines. She said "Jasmine, you no marry Aladdin. Aladdin wants to marry me!!" Is it possible to be boy crazy at three years old?

PS As a modern woman I do worry about what all these fairy tales are doing to her head. I worry about Liv's self image being affected, and don't get me started on the "Happily Ever After" subject. But that's another post!!!!

OctoMom, 35, and a tattoo!!!!!

For a very long time I have wanted a tattoo. When I was younger, I would entertain the idea, but I never really found something that I would want permanently branded onto my skin. So I would forget about it and then every few years I would want one again. For my 30th birthday I wanted Vinay and I to get matching Ohm's. An ohm is an Indian symbol, that means peace and tranquility. Vinay wasn't too keen on the idea. I was too chicken to do it alone. So 30 came and went and still no tattoo.
Here I am approaching my 35 birthday and once again the tattoo bug has bitten and this time I really want to do it. So for a few months I have been thinking about what I want to get. I have always really liked how Angelina Jolie has the geographical coordinates of her children's birth places. Of course hers is to cover up Billy Bob Thorton's name, but still, what a nice tribute to your children. So with the second adoption still very far away. I thought it would be really great to get Liv's birth place coordinates tattooed right above my hip bone. And then when our second child comes home I would get his or her coordinates added to the tattoo. I was very excited because Liv's coordinates even included the # 35, how cool was that. I had it all figured out, I had even started researching writing styles. A good thing to do when you want to be spontaneous for your mid-life crisis, yea right!!!!
Well in my research I found out that the annoying OctoMom, Nadya Suleman, has the same tattoo in her crazy ploy to become/look like Angelina Jolie. Now I have no problem copying Angelia, but the OctoMom, No, I just can't seem to do it.
SO here I am a month away from my 35 birthday, wanting a tattoo, something that would have special meaning and I am out of ideas. So I'm putting this out there and hoping blogland or facebook friends can help me with some thoughts. I don't want another birthday to go by and still not doing this one thing from my bucket list!!!!

When you gotta go, you gotta go

Thank God I know not to battle Jersey shore traffic without the portable potty!!!!!!

Quiz?? Do you dare take it!!!!

So few people really know what it is like to live in a third world country...so here's a little exercise in third world living...it makes me truly feel blessed...how about you???

1. Take out the furniture: leave a few old blankets, a kitchen table, maybe a wooden chair. You've never had a bed, remember?

2. Throw out your clothes. Each person in the family may keep the oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. The head of the family has the only pair of shoes.

3. All kitchen appliances have vanished. Keep a box of matches, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a handful of onions, a dish of dried beans. Rescue those moldy potatoes from the garbage can: those are tonight's meal.

4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, take out the wiring and the lights and everything that runs by electricity.

5. Take away my house and move the family into the tool shed.

6. By now all the other houses in the neighborhood have disappeared; instead there are shanties - for the fortunate ones.

7. Cancel all the newspapers and magazines. Throw out the books. You won't miss them - you are now illiterate. One radio is now left for the whole shantytown.

8. No more postman, fireman, government services. The two- classroom school is 3 miles away, but only 2 of your 7 children attend anyway, and they walk.

9. No hospital, no doctor. The nearest clinic is now 10 miles away with a midwife in charge. You get there by bus or bicycle, if you're lucky enough to have one.

10, Throw out your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, insurance policies. You now have a cash hoard of $5.

11. Get out and start cultivating your three acres. Try hard to raise $300 in cash crops because your landlord wants one-third and your moneylender 10 percent.

12. Find some way for your children to bring in a little extra money so you have something to eat most days. But it won't be enough to keep bodies healthy - so lop off 25 to 30 years of life.

Can you imagine? Unfortunately this a realty for so many living in Guatemala and countries around the world? Can you step up and out of the box to help be the change in the life of these children?

Starting tomorrow night there is an incredible raffle that can make the difference. Check back here http://thejujucrew.blogspot.com/2009/08/got-raffle.html

Bedtime stories

When Liv was a baby, going to bed was no problem. Actually she came home from Guatemala fully trained. You just laid her in the crib, she would whimper for a minute, then she would play happily in her crib until she fell asleep. This was the routine for quite awhile. But somewhere between two and three years old the routine somehow extended itself. Actually now the routine is so long and filled with so many steps that it literally is a song and dance routine.
So here it is, the steps to putting Liv to bed, in case anyone wants to babysit and go through this marathon.
1) Say goodnight to Daddy, if Vinay is home. This is usually the point that Vinay will ask Liv for a kiss and a hug, then pick her up and start a conversation with her. Yes very cute I know, but come on Vinay, I finally got her to stop playing and now you want to distract her, your killing me with this step. This can take anywhere from 2-5 minutes, before I start yelling at the both of them.

2) March up the stairs. I use to carry her up, but now that she's three she insists on walking. My back thanks her for this, but the walk up usually includes a stop to pick up a piece of fuzz, or a run back to say goodnight to daddy, again, or take a seat on the steps to ponder over the days events. This is where the march came in. I start saying "March March March March" and she will usually march right behind me in sync. This can take 1-3 minutes.

3) The potty, wash hands, brush teeth. We go straight to the bathroom, Liv hops on the potty, This will go quick, unless the words, "Mommy poopies coming" are uttered, then I know I'm in there for the next 20 minutes just waiting for NOTHING to come out!!! Wash hands is next in this step and usually Liv will have to wait until all the soap bubbles have gone down the drain. Brushing her teeth can be challenging, but not as challenging as it for her to decide which one out of the 5 toothbrushes to use. Dora, Elmo, Thomas the train, electric Pokemon, or my toothbrush. Decisions decisions!!!! This step takes 5-25 minutes.

4)Put on pajamas. This step is skipped since most days Liv has chosen to wear pajamas all day! 0 Minutes

5)Story time. This was the evil step that started it all. Many moons ago, when I said "bedtime" to Liv she would stop playing, and bring a book to Vinay to read her in the family room. How this got moved to the bedroom and became my job is a mystery I'll never figure out. For a long time we were reading Clifford the Big Red Dog. But since the Disney phase, it is either, The Little Mermaid, or Aladdin. Luckily I have always read her my own personal abridged version, so this is usually not too bad, but if she asks for a Clifford book that I don't know by heart, it can tack on a few extra minutes. Takes 5-8 minutes

6) Pile on the blankets and turn up the music. Liv loves to sleep bundled. This is the shortest of the steps, unless one of her many blankets is missing, or the batteries to her CD player have died. Then it's a hunt for the missing blanket and God forbid if we are out of batteries. An unpredictable step this can take 1-30 minutes

7) Closing the door. This is where the song comes in, sometimes it's a good night song that I just made up one day. Other times it's a version of Ariel's "Part of your world". I have a horrible voice, and by this point I usually can hear Vinay snickering downstairs. About 1 minute since I will only sing one verse!

Seven steps wow I'm exhausted just looking at this. You think it's over don't you. Oh no no no.

On many a night there are numerous calls through the monitor. Vinay sometimes takes over these steps because I just can't handle another walk up those steps.

8) "Mommy a drink" Most nights I let her go to bed with a water bottle, but if it runs out I will get a call.

9) "Mommy eat eat" Now since Liv is a bad eater I will usually make her eat something before bed, but so many nights she will call for a snack, so I will go back up there with crackers or a dry cereal. Yes I bring up room service, such a bad habit. Order up!!!!

10) "Mommy Mommy" This is a call because something fell out of the crib. Oh did I forget to write she still sleeps in a crib.

11) "Mommy go home, go home" This is a call if we are sleeping anywhere but home.

12) "Moooommmmmyyyyy" This call can be anything. The CD stopped working, I can't find my favorite doll under all my junk, I've been playing in here for 5 minutes and I don't want to go to sleep.

On a good night I only get 1 or 2 calls, but on a bad night this can take about 30minutes. Now don't get me wrong I love being able to put Olivia to bed. I remember how badly I longed for that little girl to be asleep here in this home, And I know one day she'll be a teenage going to bed without so much as a "Good night Mom". But if I could just shorten the process by 20-30 minutes I would be a very happy Momma!!!

So there it is in black and white, our bedtime routine, anyone want to sleep over!!!!!!!!!

Tiny Dancer

Trying on her new leotard, who knew target sold dance wear!!!

Cute little ballerina!!!!

Liv's first day of dancing school was last Friday. Liv was very nervous about going. But luckily her friend Emily called her and left her an encouraging message. Liv then felt that she would like to go.

So we went early so that Liv could see the class before her, and she was excited. She didn't even notice when the teacher asked the parents to leave. I stayed right by the window and of course every few minutes she would turn around to look for me.

About 3/4 through the class, she had enough, she came to the door and said through the glass, "Mommy, lets go home" in the saddest little voice. I told her to go back and listen to the teacher and she could come out when class was over. With a pout she went back to her spot, but came back to the door two more times. I felt so bad not letting her come out but I wanted her to make it through the class.

All in all she did good, and is looking forward to tomorrows class.

This is good practice for September.

Liv's list

Today Liv had her 3 year old check up!!!! She looks like such a little lady in this pic.

So here is a Liv's list to celebrate:

Weight-27lb

Height-35inches

Still in the 5th percentile all around!!!!

Liv is:

in love with Aladdin

whining again when she gets frustrated

constantly using the couch as a jungle gym

Liv wants:

to do everything herself

know who sings every song on the radio

ice or ice cream everyday

Liv says:

"Mommy where were you?" if I am anywhere but by her side.

"Home Mommy home!!!" when we are anywhere but home.

"Is it tickle time?" When she wants to be tickled by Daddy.

Impatient already

Things are going at a snails pace already in the adoption. (Isn't that suppose to happen after they get all our money, haha). We sent all the homestudy paperwork in the middle of June and we still have not had our first homestudy visit. Also only one of our references have been contacted. Yes the 4th of July holiday makes things slow up, and yes Mexico is still stalling because of all the earlier problems, swine flu, violence etc... But I'm anxious to start, how can I have lost my patience already!!!! My gut tells me this will be a long process. Sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loving this song

So in love with this song!!! As will every adoptive parent.

Tammy Cochran
"Half a world away"

http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.popupplayer&sindex=-1.0&shuffle=false&amix=false&pmix=false&plid=34439&profid=24934968&friendid=24934968&sseed=0&ptype=3&stime=0&ap=1&rpeat=false

3 years and happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day Vinay. Here is a picture from our visit trip.

3 years ago Miss Olivia was placed in our arms for 5 short wonderful days.
Here is my post from that first day.

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you all know that Vinay, Olivia, and I are doing fine. We made it thru our first 24 hours. Olivia is so beautiful in person, and I can't believe how much in love we are with her already. The first night was rough however she did sleep till 10 AM. I have broken every mommy rule I had for myself, but oh well.

Just for fun I thought I recap the last 24 hours.

6pm Olivia is brought to the hotel, we are given instructions(she sleeps at 9, up at 1, up at 5, bath at 8am)
7pm up in the room with her, Vinay's first words in private w/ her WHATS UUUUUPPPP. What a dork
8pm Olivia wants to eat, OK we feed her but she does not want to burp.
9pm she's suppose to be asleep, she is up crying, Vinay insists I put her down and let her cry it out for 10 min. I only last 3.
10pm she goes to sleep, I also try to sleep but keep checking on her.
11pm Vinay realizes he forgot his contact stuff, too bad is my response.
11:15 Vinay looses a contact in bed, too bad is my response.
1am wakes for bottle, I get up.
4am wakes for bottle, Vinay get up tries to change diaper w/ out glasses.
7am, wakes for bottle, I get up.
8am goes back to sleep till 10am, we completely miss bath time, OH well.

Honestly Vinay is doing great and we are having a blast, spent some hours at the pool, napped and have had fun dressing her up. I'd send pictures but I'm too tired to to figure it out. We hope to send some soon and we will love to share stories when we come home. Thanks to everyone who sent their good wishes for this trip.

Belly laughs

I love Olivia's belly laugh. Here she is cracking herself up when she was playing dress up.

Ch ch ch chia

Vaishu gave me this chia pet grass head for mother day. Since the first day we got it Olivia has wanted to cut it's hair, even when it didn't have any. Yesterday it was long enough to cut. So we got out the kid scissors and Liv had a ball.

Posing with it before the haircut. Don't mind Liv's dirty face, she had just finished lunch.

Cutting it

Loving it.

Giving it a bath

The finished cut. Actually it's hair is even shorter today, Liv insisted on cutting it some more!!