One Month Home! (Warning: Contains Lots of Pictures!)

Well, we've made it through our first month home from Ethiopia! And quite well, I should say. Ana Luisa has adjusted very well to life at home. She is eating a lot, crawling all over the place, pulling herself up, and making herself heard. Seriously, this girl is LOUD! And very cute, sweet and cuddly. Juan Pablo is loving being a big brother, and though he sometimes likes to remind us that he misses having our undivided attention whenever he wants it, he is always very sweet and loving with his little sister, and is becoming very helpful around the house. Jeff has been back at work for a few weeks, and though we miss him during the day and are always so happy to see him come home, we are getting out having fun during the day. I am managing to keep the house decently clean and food on the table, and most days the kids even give me about an hour break while their naps overlap to take some time to sit down for a bit and relax (and by relax, I mean fold laundry).

Here is a little bit of what we've been up to:

Most significantly, Ana Luisa was baptized on June 30, by our good friend, Father Gerald. Ana Luisa looked gorgeous in her Abuelo's baptismal gown, and her new head band, which she actually kept on her head for about half of the baptism...
...and we were so blessed to have Ana Luisa's godparents, Mike and Bekah, in town for the baptism as they passed through to visit on the way to their new home in New Mexico.
And Ana Luisa is excited to be a Catholic! But who wouldn't be?
We have all had fun just being together around the house. Sometimes everyone is fully clothed...
...and sometimes not.Juan Pablo loves always having a buddy at the playground...
...especially such a cute, smiley one.
Ana Luisa has really warmed up to Jeff. She even crawls off looking for him when she hears his voice from another room.
Ana Luisa is not quite sure about the bike trailer just yet...
...but she LOVES bathtime. She loves to get on her belly and "swim" in the tub, and her latest feat is pulling herself up to standing at the edge of the tub, then letting go and falling (diving?) back into the water and laughing.
Baths are essential around here, because this little girl is quite messy...
...so much so that in addition to the nightly bath, sometimes we need to do this.
We had fun celebrating Ana Luisa's first Fourth of July in the USA with a parade downtown......and a few days later, the kids were able to join in a Teddy Bear Parade during a children's concert played by the Ann Arbor Civic Band...although by "joined in", I mean that Juan Pablo marched a few steps, then got distracted, and by the time we got to the animal cracker station at the end, we had gone from close to the front of the parade to being the very last ones.
And so that his stuffed lion wouldn't feel left out, Juan Pablo made sure he got some close quality time in the Moby wrap.The concert also inspired the kids to form their own band, The Baby Band. You can catch them in concert most afternoons while mom is trying to cook dinner.Tia Chu joined us for one of our post-Mass dates at Zingerman's for coffee and gelato...
...and after the gelato, Juan Pablo showed off his artistic abilities.
We also enjoyed a great afternoon together at the lake. Ana Luisa loved the water...it was like being in a giant bathtub.
We have had a lot of fun together this past month. We love being out doing fun summer things together, and we love being home, just hanging out and relaxing together too. And of course, there are always plenty of snuggles to go around.