I found a fantastic price on tickets to Guatemala the other day, so before Dave could think about it too much and tell me no, I booked them!! Myself, my mom, my sister Val, Dave and Maria will be traveling to Guatemala in May! I am sooo excited I can hardly stand myself! We leave on Sunday the 13th and return home on Thursday the 17th, so it's a short trip, but I don't care....we're going!! I have been itching to go back almost from the time we touched the ground on December 15th.
I sent an email to the attorney that completed Maria's adoption in the hope that she could get a message to Lidia, Maria's Foster Mother, to let her know we would be there and see if we could meet for dinner. The attorney responded within the hour and said that Lidia would be very excited to see Maria again and that her assistant Karla would be more than happy to get her to the hotel for dinner. I think it's wonderful that they are still willing to do that favor for us...it is another indication of what a great group of people we worked with for Maria's adoption!
I also emailed the tour guide that we used during our first visit to see if he had the dates available and to get his advice on where to go. We will have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to sightsee. There are two definate places I want to go...Lake Atilan and Antigua. We have been to Antigua, but not to Lake Atilan...it is supposed to be spectacular. I believe it is listed as one of the 1,000 places you should visit on earth. It is a beautiful lake surrounded by active volcanoes! Don't tell that to my mom though...she probably won't want to go!



Here's a picture of Lake Atilan I found on the internet. It won't be long and we will be able to post our own!!

Daddy brought cupcakes to Maria's daycare on her birthday and our daycare provider, Judi gave us this cute picture of her with her cupcake today. It seems there is a pattern with Maria and frosting and her face!













We went to a St. Patricks Day party at Judi and Jeff's....here are a few pictures!

I'd rather be LUCKY than GOOD!














Daddy and Maria enjoying the Green Festivities!









Judi Green and Maria. Judi is Maria's Daycare Provider.













One of Maria's many buddies from daycare...Liza. The kids there all love Maria....I'm pretty sure she is getting spoiled!!

Maria's first birthday was on March 29th. I can't believe she is already a year old. She was baptised on Sunday March 25th, so we celebrated both her birthday and her baptism on Sunday. It was a great day!

She looked like such and angel in her baptismal gown.





Maria and her God Parents: Tina Bott and Jeremy Meyer


Maria and the Headlee boys.


Maria and Grandma and Grandpa Sejnoha










Maria and Grandma Richter















Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
And now for the birthday party! As you can tell she really enjoyed her birthday cake!

Happy Easter!!

We went to the mall today to visit the Easter Bunny and Maria did not like him at all! In her defense, he was a little freaky! There wasn't anyone else in line when we first arrived and he wasn't moving a muscle. I had a hard time determining whether he was a real bunny or fake! He must have been sleeping under that big head!


We also went to Scheels and Daddy was able to purchase the bike carrier he has had his eye on. Hopefully he and Maria will be able to put on a lot of miles this Spring and Summer. She seems to like it...after we got home, Dave put her in it and wheeled her around the house and she giggled like crazy!

Maria is gifted! Dave and I laugh and tease each other that Maria is so incredibly smart that we think she is gifted. She is doing so many new things. She's sort of our little command baby. We could spend all night asking her to do something and she would oblige. Some of the things she is currently doing are:

Kissing On Demand: I am a huge culprit of asking her to kiss mama numerous times in a row. She always does it and never complains, so I think I will keep asking until she denies me.

Retrieves Any Object: She is a great fetch player! She will keep herself occupied for hours by bringing the object of the moment (usually a ball, but not always) and one of us throws it across the room, she retrieves it and brings it back, process starts all over.

Trying To Draw: I don't think she has actually laid down any ink herself without assistance, but she's close. She finds a pen and something to write on...usually old junk mail or a magazine and knows how to hold the pen and tries to draw. I know, "Bad Mama" for not having crayons or something in the house that will produce color easier than a pen, but I didn't think we would need any this soon!

Yell At Birds And Dogs: For some reason the dogs next door and any bird that chirps gets yelled at by Maria. It is so hilarious that I sometimes park her by the back door when the dogs are barking just to listen to her give them heck!

She is developing such a little personality that it is fun to just sit and watch her or interact with her. We are having a wonderful time being parents to this little gem that it is hard to fathom our life without her.

Speaking of Gems....she just crawled by me on her way to the toys and she apparently has some stinky gems she needs taken care of right now! Whew...I need to open a window!! Talk to you again soon! Stephanie