I haven't posted in awhile...

So sorry I haven't kept up with the FFFs!! I have no excuse, outside of the fact that I am amazed and blown away that Fridays seem to come so fast-I just can't keep up! YIKES!!

Since I have failed to post pictures and keep up with my blog, I have decided to post a ton of pictures and stories to make up for it! (I am determined to stay up all night, or at least until I get this post done!) Oh, how I wish you could meet and see each and everyone in person-they just melt our hearts- such distinctive personalities!


Last Saturday, we took a trip to see Santa Clause and "have breakfast with him." Well, that didn't work out so well, as Sofia was the only one who would sit on Santa's lap. Caleb actually talked with him, but, no sitting in Santa's lap. Maya flat out refused to get near him. Ha ha! Despite the fact that we got there a little later than we should have-they had games and crafts-we had a pretty good time! We will get there earlier next year!! Remember, we are still learning how to operate as a family with 4 kids-3 of which are 1, 2, & 3!!

Here is Sofia with Santa:

Here is Santa with Mommy and Sofia. Funny story-I scared Santa to death when he thought I was going to sit in his lap! Ha ha!! Poor guy!! Also, I knocked over a reindeer with my toosh! As I stooped beside Santa, one of those dagone deers got too close to me, and he fell! Ha ha!

Since I couldn't get any good pictures at the breakfast, I decided we HAD to stop and try for some pictures with every one so nicely dressed! Of course, it is difficult to get pictures with all of us in the camera with a happy face, plus there was no tripod for the camera to rest on, and for me to jump into the picture.

Here is a picture I took of Bus and the kiddos! Caleb was just not in the mood for photos!! He hates having his picture taken!!

Here is Bus and Caleb! He loves his Daddy!

Here is Maya and Me! We have come a long way-I remember the days in Guatemala.....!!

Maya, who never takes a bad picture!!

Me and the girls!

Me and my honeyBus!

Daddy and his big girl!

Momma and her big girl!

Maya in front of the Christmas tree! I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning!

Here is giggly Sofia-who always has a smile for you!

Ms. Hannah Clause

Maya Clause!

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Here is a funny photo I took the other day when I was using the spotbot! You would have thought that I laid a batch of chocolate chip cookies in the floor! They were amazed and sat and stared at it the whole 5 minutes it took to clean the spot! Sofia could not keep her hands off of it!

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Here is a few photos from Caleb's Mashed potato play time! I was sitting at the desk typing on the computer-imagine that-when I heard way too much giggling and laughing coming from the table! At first, I listened, and after a few more minutes of uproar, I stood to see Caleb plastered in mashed potatoes! HUH????? I think he had been dipping his face into his plate and eating without his fork! They were even in his hair!! YIKES!!

Oops, got caught!!

MMMmmmmm....yummy taters!!

See my hands-no potatoes!! Look closely in his hair for the potatoes!

Super Saturday Shots...

Let me say, I officially Protest the previous post by my dear wife!!

Caleb, we men wil stick together - I got your back!

Love - Your Dad

Caleb with his very MASCULINE Truck
Caleb on his very MANLY Motorcycle (Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!!)

Caleb with ANOTHER truck (Uh, let's see dump truck, construction a very manly career if I may say so!!)

Another Favorite Foto Friday!

Can you believe that it is Friday, again already?! I am sorry I missed last Friday-that was the day after Thanksgiving, right? I must have been sleeping off the turkey! Ha ha! Anyway, I finally stuck the rest of that ol turkey in the freezer for one of those days I have no idea what to make for dinner, and need a quick meal!!

I have so many pictures I need to go through-but who has time? My Christmas tree has been standing naked for almost a week now-we are easing into the ornaments, so that they don't get pulled off! Sofia doesn't even really look at the tree-Maya was so excited to see the tree standing in the corner when she woke the morning after we put it up, and Caleb just sits underneath it and stares up into it! I will try to post some pics of the tree when we get it together!

***FAVORITE FRIDAY FOTO***-

Caleb found one of Hannah's barbies laying in the floor-imagine that? Anyway, he was infatuated with her! He strolled her across the coffee table, which he is not allowed to do with his trains, and talked with her as he went. It was adorable seeing my big little boy do this! His daddy just about fainted, but you know me-I ran for the camera! These might be some good bribe pictures one day!! Ha ha!






I did say he was a boy, and he had to check out what was under those tiny little Barbie clothes! What a stinker!!! :O)



Enjoy your Friday, and first weekend of December!!!

Favorite Foto Friday!!

Wow-it seems like I just posted the video of Sofia walking!! She is getting really good, and walks more now than she crawls!! We are still working on shoes-everytime I put a pair of hard bottomed shoes on her feet, she just sits down, and crawls!! If you have any good shoe suggestions, leave me a comment and let me know!!

So, this week, I charged both of my cameras, and took the kids to the park for one more whirl at some Fall pics! I would love to be able to get a picture of all of them looking at me, with happy faces, all at once! It just doesn't happen! I think Caleb is afraid of a camera-cameraphobic?? Anyway, every time I put him in front of a camera, he cries-which of course sets Sofia off!! UGH!! Then, there is Miss Maya, who is ALWAYS ready for her picture to be taken!! Ha ha! I tell ya, her head is in almost all my shots! I have to take 100 pictures of Caleb to 1 of Maya's, and still just get a blank stare from Caleb! Ha ha!

Here is the picture that tickled me the most-nobody was paying any attention to me, even though I was screaming like a mad woman, to get them to look at me!! It would definately have to be one of my favorites!!

Here is a cute shot of Sofia and Maya! Love the little outfit on Sofia that I got from Sarah's Sophiebug! Caleb was off digging in the mud somewhere, closeby!


Here is a picture of my beauty queen, who never takes a bad picture, and LOVES to have her picture taken!!! My little model!!

Favorite Foto Friday #4-Ok, so it is a video!!

Sofia started walking over a week ago, the day after her birthday! She looks so cute cruising around! She was sick for a few days, with croupe, and it slowed her progress down a bit!(We even had to go to the ER this past Saturday! It was very scary!)

Here she is in one of her Halloween costumes(Strawberry Fairy) playing in the playroom!

Enjoy!!
You may have to push the pause button or play button on the bottom left of the picture to make the video work!

Favorite Foto Friday #3!!

Well, it's finally Friday, free again....Just wanted a little song to stick in your head for the day...maybe some of you don't know that song???....anyway....here is my FFF of Caleb. Why Caleb? Well, we went to a local and very small pumkin farm this past weekend, and I was looking through some pictures that we had stored away on an external hard drive, and there were last years pictures of the same pumkin farm!! My sweet little Caleb was just 14 months old then, and I can't get over how much my little man has grown!! This year, he was tugging his little sister around in a wagon, and running with Hannah and Maya!! I have to say, I don't even think he was walking last year!! This little guy has come such a long way!! He is an absolute joy, and his smile just melts my heart!!


Last year:


This year:


Have a great weekend, and hug those babies!!!!!

Sunday was Sofia's first birthday!!!!

But, we had her birthday party on Saturday! Our theme was an Elmo Fiesta!



We had lots of Mexican foods, and a yummy tres leches cake!!!!!! MMMMMmmmmmm.....



Sofia had a ball, and couldn't understand why everyone was making such a fuss over her!! She was the perfect angel, and shared her toys with her big brother and sisters, who couldn't keep their hands off all of the new toys!! Ha ha!!






She didn't like the little Elmo cake I made for her-she wouldn't even touch it!! Her cousins LOVED the little Elmo cupcakes I made, though!!(Sorry-no pic of the cupcakes-my camera battery died!!!!)



But, the greatest gift is Sofia, and all the smiles she gives to everyone! She is a true light in our life, and for that we are very thankfull! Happy Birthday to our sweet, sweet baby!!!

Favorite Foto Friday #2-Sorry it is late!

Ok, so I am super late with my FFF!! Sorry!! I was out all day, and unable to get to my computer, and should have had it ready last night, but, then I went to bed instead!!

This weeks favorite photo is of Miss Sofia modeling a little papoos!! My inlaws had a Fall Pow Wow, and everyone dressed up with feathers, while the kids wore indian vests-see Sofia's??(My mother in law did a great job on them!) We had a great time, and there are a lot of great pictures-I'll post some more another time!

Favorite Foto Friday #1

Like I said, I am going to try to keep up with my blog a little more-so, here is my first ever "Favorite Foto Friday". I am not sure that I will be good at keeping it up, but, thought I would give it a whirl! Of course, I couldn't decide on one favorite foto, but here are two that I just love!

Here is Sofia, dressed for the season. She looks so cute in the little princess costume she got from her friend Sol Ana, who wore this last year for Halloween!! Happy Halloween from Princess Sofia!!



Here she is after her lunch, Can you tell?! She had squash and peaches, and it was all over her!!! Mmmmmm...it must have been good!

First ever Wacky Wednesday Photo!

Ok, so I probably won't do the whole "Wacky Wednesday" post as often as some, but this picture of Caleb is absolutely priceless! He is wearing Sofia's sun hat, which he put on his own head!! It has little lady bugs all over it, and Caleb just loves it! He is screaming Cheese!! Mind you, when I attempt to put a baseball cap on this little guy's head he screams and cries!! Ha ha!
Enjoy, and I hope it brings a smile to your face!

Took Maya to get her pictures taken, professionally for the first time...

and she wouldn't even look up at the photographer! I couldn't believe it! She was all dressed up in the special dress that I bought for her when we went to the American Embassy in Guatemala. She looks so pretty in the pink dress, and I wanted to take a picture of her in it before she outgrew it! Well, Maya did not like going in to have her picture taken, and I have to say that it was probably the best thing that happened to us that day! I decided to take her to a local park that I like to take pictures in, and the little model in her emerged! She had a ball, and didn't want to leave when we did! I knew it was going to be fine when I took the first picture, and saw it on the screen! Here are some of the pictures that I took, when she said no to Olan Mills!





















Sorry so many, but these were my favorites!! I told you she loves to have her picture taken!!

Looking back on how much my Guatemalan sweeties have changed!

It's hard to believe how much the kids have changed since we received their referals! Not only has their faces and growing bodies changed, but their personalities have changed as well.
Caleb has been home since he was 6 months old, and he turned 2 in August. I can't find one of his referal pictures on this computer, so I will just have to share an early favorite! I have to admit that Caleb has been our biggest challenge. He has always been a bit demanding, and he has been very verbal! (Ok, so he screams and cries-A LOT!!) Thankfully, he is at last growing out of this a bit! He used to scream at people in the store if they looked at him. Now, he smiles and says"Hi" repeatedly until they speak to him. He actually hugged a stranger in the store the other day! She was very friendly-grandmother of many-and we talked casually, while standing in the isles of Walmart. Caleb just loved her!
Instead of screaming madly at the top of his lungs and crying miserably when he wakes in the morning, he sings out "Momma", or "Daddy", and plays in his bed till we get him! He says "Love ya" when he goes to bed, and our hearts burst with joy!
Oh, if only you knew how far this one has come!!(Some of you do!)

Here is his early picture;


Here he is now:



Sofia came home next, at 6 months, and she will be 1 year old at the end of this month! It is hard to believe that Sofia was ever NOT a part of our family! She is so easy going and laid back! She has always been passive, and she would just set back and let the days go by, and let the Caleb, and Maya step all over her! Well, recently, she has let her personality out, and when they are pestering her, she sqeals! I now see that I don't have anything to worry about with her-she is going to take care of herself! She is a very busy baby-ALWAYS into everything! One look your way, and her face lights up! She is very smiley and giggly! Funny one this one! Huggable and oh, so loveable!!

Here she is in her referal picture-the first picture we ever saw of her:


Here she is now:


Now, Miss Maya, has been home the shortest amount of time, but only a month behind Miss Sofia! This little stinker(Ok, she is an angel) has charmed her way right into everyone's hearts! She reminds us the most of Hannah! So full of life, and spirit! Always smiling, ALWAYS talking!! ;o) Oh, she is going to steal a few boys hearts when she is older! She loves to run and play, and LOVES to be outside and play! She is just one happy little gir full of "ugs" (hugs) and kisses!! Her language has started to explode, and every day she comes up to me and says something in English that blows me away! It seems like she has been with us forever, too!

Here is Maya in the first picture we ever saw of her:


Here she is now:


And even though Miss Hannah is not from Guatemala, and has been with us all her life, I didn't want to leave her out. She is a great big sister, who has had to go from being a single child to the oldest of four in just a few short years of her life! She has shown what an amazing spirit and love she has, as she has adjusted wonderfully! Yeah, sure, there are days she is ready to ship them back to Guatemala, but I know she love them! This little chick is full of life, laughter, and silliness! She is 9 going on 16, which of course makes for some fun times around here, as we always remind her of her actual age! LIfe is a trip with Miss Hannah, and we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

Here is my Little Miss Independent:

Made in Guatemala Photoshoot!

I decided to dress Caleb, Maya and Sofia in their shirts they got from our adoption agency and take a picture! The shirts have a picture of a Quetzal, Guatemala's national bird, and a picture of the country of Guatemala. They say "Made in Guatemala" in Spanish! As you can see, they weren't in the mood for a photoshoot!! Oh, well-maybe another day!