Pictures From the Weekend :oD

I had a mini photo session this weekend. I got a couple of pictures with Anthony but mostly Ananya. We'll try again maybe tomorrow for Anthony's pictures.

I didn't even realize at the time that I caught her making a bubble.

This is Ananya's newest talent. She blows kisses.


My handsome boy in his outfit from India.

As you can tell, he is such a great big brother.

I just love this outfit. I have more in other sizes and colors.

This is her Easter dress. We are alittle late getting pictures taken, but my favorite studio in town closed.



They look like they are having deep thoughts.
We are doing well. All of Ananya's therapies start in the morning. She should be worn out. It will be nice to see what she can accomplish with therapists instructing us how to push her.
I just wanted to share some pictures of how big the kids are getting.

Huge Windstorms!! :o(

Ok. Today we had a huge windstorm on the east coast. We had crazy wind, like almost tornado. The skies were completely clear. We had blue skies and few clouds. Trees are down. We lost shingles off our roof. We meet with the insurance adjuster on Friday. I can't believe it.

On other fronts, Ananya is doing well. Her eating has picked up again. Her sleep schedule is normalizing. She is drinking her milk well before bed. She is picking up new skills. She will blow kisses sometimes. She loves to play "Hands Up!". We are still waiting for her services to start. I don't think that we are losing much though. She is still making progress. Her postures are getting better. She is doing so well with Daddy on the weekends. She is eating an sleeping good without me. I'm so happy. I don't have anything to worry about when I'm gone.

Our puppies are doing well. I started feeding them dog food today. I put food out for mom and went to feed the other dogs. When I turned back around, all 8 puppies were in the dog food. I quickly mixed up their dinner and they ate almost all of it. I hope getting them weaned and finding homes will help mom become healthier. She is just so skinny right now because she is taking such good care of all 8 of them.

The Last Couple Days

On Wednesday, we went to the doctor. Ananya had her big doctor visit with all of her blood work. Now, hopefully its over and done with. Poor Ananya had to get 3 vials of blood drawn (that took 2 sticks), then they stuck her finger. After that we had to get her TB test done. I think those are the worst. She handled it like a pro. She fussed alittle while they were drawing the blood, but quickly was smiling afterwards. She even let the nurse-practitioner hold her afterwards. She is really becoming a sweetheart. She has gained 1lb and 4oz. She is up to 17 lb 71/2oz. Her eating has slowed way down. I just keep trying to shove food in if she if fussing because she is hungry. Mostly I just give her food and see if she swallows it. I took some pictures this week that I think turned out pretty good. I need to hold Anthony down and take his picture. I want to start taking a picture of the every month so that I can see how much they change. I need to go feed my dog. I'll post pictures of her puppies soon. They are too adorable. Anyone want one?

The Kind of Person I Want To Be

Please click this link to watch this video. You have to see it to understand what I'm saying. http://cjcphoto.com/can/

I love the story that is told. I have heard this story from several sources. The video is amazing. Now my opinion.

I want to be like this man. I want to be able to give my children joy, even if it is difficult for me. Now I don't know how many of you have ever run. I work with people who run, bike and do triathlons. It is not easy. The pain and physical scars involved in running a marathon is incredible. I can only imagine how much pain this man went through to push his child for 26.2 miles, not to mention the triathlons.
I want to be the kind of person who will do anything for someone else. I want to give my children joy, but I want to be able to make sacrifices that are extremely difficult to make other people (even those who aren't family) happy. I can only pray and ask God to give me the strength and peace to sacrifice for others. I can only ask for stength and guidance for God. I'm human and not always strong enough to sacrifice what I want.
I have included the lyrics to one of my favorite songs by my FAVORITE band, Nickleback. The song describes how I have started to feel since starting this journey of growing our family. I know God has shown me others needs and given me the strength to help. I am not perfect. I can only try to be strong and pray.
If Everyone Cared
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
And I'm singingAmen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive Singing Amen, I, I'm alive(I'm alive)
And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

Hi All!!

Hi everyone! Well tonight is the night. I'm going back to work. I'm not especially thrilled but I know Ananya will sleep through it and I'll see her in the morning. YEAH!! For once mom will only get the cheerful part. Last night me and Anthony went to the movies. We saw "Meet the Robinsons". It was really good. The storyline was actually about a boy in an orphanage. The movie was 3D and we ended up with some cool glasses as you can see. I was happy to have a day out with my boy. He has been out of school this week. We have been lazy. As you can see I cut my hair. I was able to donate it to "Locks for Love". Its a whole lot shorter now but so much easier to deal with. Pretty soon Ananya's hair will be as long as mine. Her hair is growing so fast. Its so much like Anthony's because it is unruly. Hopefully that will get better as it grows.

She is really starting to gain weight. I can't wait to go back to the doctor to see how much she gained. I'm not sure the weight we got from the nutritionist was the same as the doctors. She definitely feels like she has gained more than 10 ounces. Some of her clothes fit better now. I was hoping to get their Easter Pictures taken this week. I wanted to get family pictures done too. Unfortunately I didn't do it yet. Either I'll take them this afternoon or they will be spring pictures that are taken next week. Well, I have to go take a nap while Ananya is sleeping. Its going to be hard to stay up all night after living like a normal person for 7 weeks.

Have a good weekend. Happy Easter.

Wonderful Weekend :o)

We had a great weekend as we celebrated Anthony's birthday on Friday night. We started the day with a pizza party at school for his class. He had 2 very special guests at his party. His Papaw and Grammy (great-grandmother) made the trip all the way from Pennsylvania to celebrate with us. Anthony had 9 guests at his party and boy did they have a ball. They got lots of tickets, played laser tag 4 times, rode bumper cars, played putt-putt golf and generally ran wild. I was kind of upset (not really) because no one ate any of my cake that I spend 2 hours icing. They just wanted to play. Oh well. Anthony got some cool presents and just generally got to have lots of fun with his friends.

Ananya enjoyed the company too. She got to meet all her brothers classmates. They all just love to talk to her. She got to meet her Grammy and Papaw for the first time. She really likes them. She didn't want Mommy to take her back from her Papaw (we were all shocked). She let some of the parents at the party hold her too. She is doing so well. We had a weekend full of new skills. She started waving some. She will open both of her hands when Grammy asks her and sometimes when Mommy or Daddy ask. She likes to put her arms over her head now too. She wants to crawl so bad. She will move 1 hand and 1 leg and then think real hard about what is next. Then she sits up and looks at what she wants trying to figure out how to get to it. She got a birthday gift from her Papaw too. We found a great wagon at Northern tool that has big wheels that will go good at the beach. She likes to ride in it. Her bumbo seat fits snuggly in it so that she is stable and safely sitting up. We were all sad when Grammy and Papaw had to leave for home this morning. Hopefully we will see them soon. To all our fans in PA, we will definitely be home for Thanksgiving this year. Ananya can meet everyone then.

We continue to have daily struggles with Ananya. Her mood can flip rather quickly and she can't tell us what she needs. She hasn't eaten as well in the last few days as she has since we got home. I'm not sure what is wrong but I'm going to have to include snacks in the schedule now. She was eating so well before that she really didn't have room for food between meals. The nutritionists wants her to have about 1200 calories a day! I may start to monitor her calories for a couple days to see if I'm getting close with her eating less. I'm trying not to stress too much about it. We meet with the therapists this week to get started. I'm hoping to start speech soon because I really need her to start chewing her food.

She is such a doll to have around. I love her so much. I've been blessed with this wonderful family. My children are great. They love each other so much. My husband is a patient and wonderful father. I have loved spending my days and nights home with them. I am going back to work on Friday night. I know they will get along without me (they always have) but I'm a mom and need to feel needed.

I'm following the adoption journeys of others from our agency through their blogs. Several of the families that traveled in 2006 to meet their children are starting the journey again. I'm jealous of them. As much as having Ananya has filled our house and our hearts, it shows me there is room for more. I so want my house full (with this house it won't take much more). I want to watch a big family grow older. This is probably a surprise to my dad who is no doubt reading this. We are both only children. Only God knows what is in store for my family. I can only pray for his blessings and follow his guidance to my children.

Have a wonderful Easter everyone. Don't forget to thank God for all He has blessed you with as we remember what He sacrificed for us.

Happy Belated Birthday to Prasun!! This Indian Angel turned 2 on Friday! I was thinking of you baby!

A Birthday!! :o)

In just a few minutes, my baby turns 9. I'm not quite sure where the time went. I just finished his cake and cupcakes. Its Lightening McQueen. I'll post more pictures of the day and the party later this weekend.

Sorry to be so Glum :o)

I just wanted to post a couple pictures and show everyone how beautiful my princess is. All of the pain I described in my previous post is gone. Now we deal with the day to day reality of finally having Ananya. We are planning Anthony's birthday party on Friday evening. He is going to be 9. I can't believe how time has flown. I'll say it again. Anthony is the greatest big brother. He loves his sister so much. He is always giving her kisses and hugs. He like to hold her and carry her around. He is the greatest. His grades have improved greatly since we got home. It seems that he takes his new responsibilities very seriously. I will post more after the party. We are having company for the weekend as well. Grammy (Ananya's Great-grandma) and Pa-Paw (Ananya's grandfather) are coming to visit for the weekend. We can't wait to see them.

A Look Back At 2006

I feel the need to journal here what has been going through my mind for at least a week. One of my new "blogger friends" did something similar and it gave me the courage to put this in writing.

2006 was "The Year Of The Adoption" for my family. We started in 2005. I never thought during our homestudy (October to January) that we were weeks away from seeing our daughter's picture. I wasn't prepared to start waiting for her. January 23rd 2006 was the day that we saw Ananya's picture. We even decided to keep her orphanage name. We dropped our choice of Alexis quickly. Ananya was our daughter and that was her name. The problem became that our homestudy hadn't been approved yet. We couldn't just sign the papers and wait for the courts. We still had paper gathering to do. Once we finally started, I couldn't seem to get all the papers together to send them. I went to 6 different counties to get documents certified. This is no small task when you work 2 nights during the work week. 2 of the counties were over an hour away. The others were in all different directions. It didn't help that I was overwhelmed by the amount of things I had to gather. I wasn't prepared. It was "baptism by fire". Next time I'll be more prepared. I looked at Ananya's picture everyday and it made it harder to work. So early in the year my mood started to fall.

FINALLY in May we were ready to sign our acceptance papers. The beginning of June we started our wait for the Indian government. I thought we should have her for Christmas. I didn't let my heart get set on a date though. We went on vacation a couple weeks later. It was simply torture for me. I didn't want to do anything without my daughter. It started to get harder to enjoy my son. Looking back I feel terrible. I was so closed off that at times, my precious boy couldn't bring me back out. I was so focused on my daughter. It was unfair. The middle of July we got word that the first part of the process was approved. I couldn't be happier. We should have been able to travel in about 3 months. We should have gotten Ananya in October. I had many days to work past the anger in not having her when I thought we should have. It was not an easy leap to realize that God showed us Ananya when we were to see her and and He gave her to us when we were supposed to hold her. I fought my way through Halloween. I had bought a t-shirt for her. I fought my way through Thanksgiving, we didn't take our normal trip to Pennsylvania because we could be leaving soon. I missed my Dad and my Grammy and my aunt Carol's stuffing balls. I missed my family that day. I'm so used to having Thanksgiving with about 40 people. It was me and Patrick and my friend Teena. It wasn't right. So we continued to live each day hoping for word that we could leave soon. It never came. We got court dates that meant nothing. There came a point when I didn't cry. Those who know me know I'm an emotional person always. Not anymore. I didn't feel. Christmas was coming. I did my shopping. Got Anthony his favorite things. I baked my usual cookies. I hated it. It wasn't right. I didn't have much left in me. I couldn't sleep. At 3 in the morning I would be awake praying that my daughter knew I was coming. That she was getting hugs and kisses. That she wasn't lonely. Somewhere along the way God made the wait alittle easier. He gave me strength to look at my husband and my son and realize they were my gifts as well. In the last year, I have pulled away from them more than I ever care to admit. I spent alot of time sleeping. What else could I do. When I was awake, it was always right there. Breaking my heart alittle more at a time. I stuggled through this with 3 other friends. I could hear my emotions in their voices. I prayed for their children to come home almost more than for us to get Ananya.

Before Christmas, we were finally granted guardianship and only had to wait on passport. I never got the relief I would have expected. I still almost couldn't function on a daily basis. I went to work and did what I absolutely had to. Nothing more. We ran into delays with the passport process too. I finally just had to laugh when the passport office actually caught fire. I think it was the day we had to decide if we would buy our tickets. The freaking office caught on fire. What could I do but laugh. We proceed with plans anyway. Nothing would stop us at that point. Patrick made the decision. I couldn't.

Now we have our daughter. I'm so happy. I love everyday. My children are a gift and I love my family. We have all grown from our trip. Anthony's teacher has seen changes in his work. She said he is doing much better and focusing. I'm still struggling alittle. It wasn't the instant change that I expected. It didn't get better overnight. Mostly I'm still trying to figure out what to do with myself.

As for what I would do differently. That is a hard call. I announced so early that we were doing this. I won't do that again. I wanted to actually hit people by November when they asked questions. Of course some were phrased as "well she's going to be grown (or in college) before you get her" I hated that. To me it was the least sympathetic and most hurtful thing anyone could say. I lived each day for an email. Praying that today would bring news that our case was heard. My personal decisions are going to be kept more of a secret. People will know early if I think they will be supportive. These will most likely be the people who aren't going to ask everytime I see them what is going on. I don't want to defend the process again. It is what it is. India is not full of horrible people who just want to keep my baby away from me. I'm not going to try and explain that nearly as much. I'm going to journal more (sorry to those of you who read regularly). I'm going to enjoy my life as God has made it and anticipate the day when it gets better. My family is a gift and I don't want to take them for granted. I've learned to love each moment. I don't know that anyone can fully understand what I'm saying until you have lived it. I felt like my child was being held hostage. I didn't know for sure if she was sick (rationally I know they would have told me). I didn't know if she was having a bad day. I had to learn to trust God to look after my entire family. I can't control everything. I had to change my view. I had to depend on God for support. He brought me this far. He will finish the journey. He knows the ending.

I wrote this mostly for myself. I needed to let it out. I wrote it partly for someone else. I don't know if they will read it. You said I never talked about the adoption with you. Well here is the reason for so much of what you saw. I don't know that you'll accept it as a reason but there it is anyways. I hope you can see where I've been and how hard it was for me.

Pictures :o)

Hi. We're still around. I'm posting more pictures. Ananya is growing everyday. She is getting stronger and learning new things. We love having her around. We have been to the neurologist. He agrees with our plan. We met with our coordinator from the Childrens Development Center. We are hoping to start therapy in the next week or so. We are scheduled for our formal evaluation on April 18th. We are waiting for the Pediatrician to get back from her honeymoon to schedule our next doctor visit. This next one isn't going to be fun. They have to draw blood.

Ananya has her ears pierced now. She only cried for a minute (literally). She even smiled for the lady that pierced her ears after it was over. The sales clerk then started asking us about ou agency and such. She is looking into adoption.

I can't believe how often just telling our story gets other people thinking. I love to tell others about Ananya, and about Dillon, and about all the children that are waiting. I know that everyone reading this already knows how I feel but I'll say it again. I LOVE ADOPTION!! It has brought us the greatest gift. It has given us incite. We enjoy every day.

Ananya got her own swing for her brothers swing set today. She likes to sit in it and look around with mommy pushing her. She doesn't mind being in the backyard with the dogs barking. She likes the animals. We played with bubbles today. I don't think she paid much attention to them. She likes being on the trampoline. Her favorite game is "bouncy". On the trampoline she can stand with me and bounce.

Well, we have had a long day and I'm going to bed. Here are some pictures from the last week.

The Last Few Days

My 2 wonders actually like each other. And this is what happens when daddy dresses the baby. Her tights are on her head.

Tuesday was a busy day for us. Ananya and Mommy drove to Winston-Salem (about an hour and 15 minutes away) to visit the neurologist. In doing this we missed our initial appointment with the Child Development Center. I still have to reschedule that appointment, but the woman doing the evaluation lives close by and can easily come by on her way home. The neurologist looked at the records and agrees with the treatment plan so we came back home. No new tests ordered. YEAH!! We ran lots of errands on the way home as well.

Ananya has now decided that she doesn't want to go to sleep at night. We do ok at naptime, but at bedtime it is a struggle. The last 3 nights have been terrible. We spend about 2 hours trying to get her to sleep. She is still really attached to me and threw a fit Sunday night when Daddy tried to put her to sleep. We have tried a playpen to give her space and that doesn't work either. Oh well, we just keep going and hope that it changes.

Today, she was all smiles and giggles. She ate all of her breakfast (boy can this girl eat). She woke up from her nap and started giving me kisses. It is so wonderful to wake up to a 2 year old giving you kisses. She has started giving kisses now and will kiss her dolls, but she usually gives them when asked to and not at will. It was wonderful.

Anthony continues to be a great big brother. He is getting ready for his first sleepover birthday party this weekend. I think he is excited. We are also planning his 9th birthday party. We are going the same place we went last year. He really enjoyed laser tag and so we will do it again. We are going to have his party during the week just because the place is less crowded and so his guests can roam more free. I can't believe that my baby is about to turn 9. He is getting so big. I don't know where the time has gone.

Today, a big story in the news is that Angelina Jolie is adopting a son from Vietnam. I normally could careless what Hollywood does but this is close to home. I think alot of Angelina because I believe she spends a portion of her life trying to make the lives of others better. I would love to be able to do only a portion of the mission work that she is able to do. I find it amazing that people think that she is just "shopping" for children, when anyone who I know that adopts children internationally is told what a wonderful thing they are doing. To beat all, most of the news stories are not from the person herself but because people have been asking very personal questions about her life. Most of the interviews that I have read, Angelina talks about her experiences, about the people who still are in need. I know that most of you could care less about this, this story means alot to me. It feels close to home. I defend her actions because we have this one thing in common. Adoption rules my life. I happen to think it is the greatest thing God has put in my heart. The entire experience has grown my family. My son has experienced another culture in the process to get his sister. My eyes are open and I want to help others so much more now. I love all of these children and would love to personally find homes for all of them. Sorry, that is my little soap box. My second time today on it. I posted a comment on the MSN discussion board.

Anyways. The days are speeding by. I want it to slow down so we have more time to enjoy Ananya and Anthony. The journey of parenting is amazing. I enjoy everyday of it.

Our First Family Picture

Here we are together in India.

Pictures :o)

Just the 4 of Us :o)

After 3 weeks, we have settled into a routine (most of the time). We had a really busy week here in the Phillips' household. We started with a visit from our local social worker on Monday morning. She enjoyed finally seeing the baby and we went through all the standard questions. We spent the day with Daddy. I went to the doctor (just a normal checkup as well as my ears have been bothering me since we got back). Ananya had her nap in the waiting room with Daddy while I saw the doctor. On Tuesday, Ananya had her first doctors visit with our pediatrician. She now weighs 16 pounds and 3 ounces. She is 31 1/2 inches tall. This is why all of her cloths don't fit. She wears 18 months in length and 6-9 around the waist. We didn't do anything traumatic yet but boy did she scream. We will go back in a couple of months to get blood drawn and such. Joy, Joy. We got referrals for a child development center and the pediatric neurologist and orthopedist. We will probably see them in the next few months. Wednesday we got all off schedule for no apparent reason. I'm hoping tomorrow will allow us to follow the plan and get back on schedule.

Ananya is doing wonderfully. She still cries for me when she is tired or hungry. She has let a couple of people hold her for a minute or 2 while I'm there. She has started to reach for more of her toys, and moving around more on the rug in the living room. She has started to vocalize more sounds. She has learned how to give kisses (they are the open mouth baby ones). She will pet (slap and pull fur) one of our dogs and one of our cats at times. Peanut (Patrick's little dog) actually just moves closer and lets Ananya poke her in the eye more. Some days it is hard to see progress. Other moments, I can look back and see the things that she is doing now that she wasn't doing 3 weeks ago. It is just incredible to watch.

Anthony has handled the transition well. He finished the last of his school work today that he missed while we were gone. He finished all the tests in like 3 days. He is getting back into the groove of school. He is transitioning into being the most awesome big brother. He just walks up to Ananya and tries to make her smile and he likes to give her random kisses. If she is crying, he first tries to calm her down by stopping what he is doing to play with her. If that doesn't work, he picks her up to bring her to me. He even supports her head while carrying her because he knows she will throw herself backwards if she is really upset. Last night, Anthony laid down on the floor next to Ananya and was telling her how much he loves her. The adoration really goes both ways though. Every night at dinner, Ananya looks over at Anthony and starts hollering at him. She knows already that he will holler right back. Pretty soon everyone at the table is yelling just for fun.

I'm enjoying my time at home. This really is a first for me to just stay home and be Mom. I kind of miss work. I just like having that time where I'm really a grown up. I miss taking care of patients alittle. I love being a nurse. I also know that because I only work at night, I won't miss too much. This time at home though has been good for all of us. I have just realized in the last few days the true extent of the last year on me as a person. I have changed. I was depressed during all this waiting. I really couldn't see it, but before we left it was so hard to just work up a smile. I'm sorry that Anthony had to deal with that. I'm glad that it is over now. I have part of my life back that I never knew that I was missing. The empty space inside me is filled. My family doesn't have a hole in it anymore.

As you can tell, I'm completely caught up in the wonder of this little girl (and her brother). They are amazing. I wake up in the morning and see Ananya sleeping next to me. She is beautiful. Next, I go wake Anthony up (after taking a second to brush my teeth, anyone else forget to shower when they spend all day staring at the baby). I brushed his hair back this morning and realized how big he has gotten. I carried him to bed last week and almost dropped him. He weighs almost 60lbs now. I'm not quite sure where my baby boy went. We will be getting family portraits taken for Easter in the next couple weeks. I'll share those pictures with everyone.

I wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciate all the support, prayers, and gifts we have received in the last year. There are so many people we have leaned on when the journey was its hardest. You all made the wait so bearable.

To those who are waiting, enjoy everyday. I know that seems like a crazy thought. While you are waiting for a referral, you may want the days to speed by. Enjoy life. Once you have your child, it is harder to slow back down and enjoy everyday. Having a 9 year old, I realize how much you should enjoy everyday. You turn around and they are doing word problems. The day will come sooner than you could realize when you can bearly remember these feelings. The love you will feel overcomes all the heartache. This time is wonderful.

I will add more pictures soon, but it is not letting me attach them to this post.

2 Weeks as a Family

Tomorrow marks 2 weeks as a family. We are all doing great. Ananya is adjusting to her home well. We are trying to establish a schedule. Its not going too well. I have to give it more time. Ananya has made so many improvements since coming home. She is now starting to bear weight on her legs when we stand her up. She is starting to play with her toys. She likes to eat. She eats everything I give her and throws a fit if I don’t feed her fast enough when she is hungry. It is amazing to watch her develop everyday. We made a trip to the doctor today. Anthony has pulled a muscle in his leg. It did not seem to be improving and I just wanted to check it out. The doctor gave him permission to be lazy for a couple days and stay off of it.

We have a visit with our social worker on Monday. Ananya has her first doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. We can hopefully start PT, OT and speech therapy soon so that we see many more improvements.

I love my life. I love watching my children play together. I love watching Patrick play with Ananya. I love watching Ananya smile when I walk into the room. She is gorgeous. Her and Anthony together are more than I could have ever dreamt of. Everyone always says that you love your child more than life itself and the love does not diminish when you have more children, but it is multiplied. I never worried about loving Anthony less, but I am still amazed by the feelings that I forgot I had when Anthony was younger. After waiting so long to have another child in our house, I am amazed. Its like starting over again. Sometimes it feels like I’ve never done this before. I will try to be more diligent about posting but at the present moment we are having computer problems. I’ll post more later. I will try to take more pictures and post them as well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ANANYA!!!

Today our baby turned 2. She handled the day very well. We are trying to establish a schedule at home. Anthony is just a great big brother to Ananya. I'm so proud of him. We had some great pictures taken. I've attached a few of them now. We opened birthday and late Christmas presents at Grandmas. We had a Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake that Grandma bought. She didn't really know what to do with it so I stuck her hands in it.

The trip home went well. We didn't rest well on the flights though. We are all happy to be home and eating our normal foods. I'm going to bed now since I got both kids asleep by 8:00. I'll post more tomorrow.

We Will Be Home Tomorrow!!!!

OK. I'm so excited. I've told Anthony several times to go to sleep and here I am on the internet. I CAN'T SLEEP! I just want to leave so we can be back in America (cue the Star Spangled Banner). We leave the hotel between 630 and 645 am. We fly out at 955. The funny thing is that I want home so bad but I want to come back soon. It has been beautiful, starving but beautiful. I was not at all prepared for the dietary needs of Ananya, but most of the things that she needs (or I think that she needs) are at Food Loin. I will miss India. Never have I seen such driving. Its crazy yet fascinating. We had a lazy morning and left the hotel at about 330. We ran by the doctor again because I realized they never gave me Ananya's shot record back. When I realized that I almost threw up with worry. No worry though after a tense minute the lovely lady pulled out the right file and handed me all my paperwork back. We walked through Khan Market for awhile. We ate Indian McDonalds (that was an experience, Anthony got a kids meal and I had to give him my sandwich because his chicken was ground and mixed with curry.) The crispy type chicken sandwich isn't bad though. Remember to order it without lettuce. We bought a few gifts then had the driver drive us literally where ever he thought we should see. He took us to several tombs with beautiful gardens and through some slightly crowded streets. We returned to the shop where I had my shopping spree and picked up the items that were hand made for me (OHHH, AHHH very fancy). Then back to the hotel. I tried on one of my sarees. I'm pretty sure I got the crazy thing on right. Patrick thought it was beautiful. I wore one of my new suits to dinner at the Japanese restraunt in the hotel (Patrick keeps wondering where the shrimp sauce is). Dinner was good and it was the 2nd time we ate in the restraunt. Ananya threw another fit later this evening. She was way over tired because she work up from her nap too early. She had her 2nd bath this morning after a good breakfast at the buffet. She had yogurt, banana, and sugar doughnut. Mommy however didn't get to eat because they started clearing the buffet before I got a plate. The service in the hotel hasn't been great. Anytime we are in the restraunt we have to ask for coffe with our breakfast. I wouldn't stay here (the Nikko) again. The Hindusthan in Kolkata however was so great. The staff was wonderful and so helpful. Anytime we asked for something they brought it right away. The waiters in the restraunt just dolled over Ananya and all of us actually. The courtyard was beautiful to sit in during the day. We fly in the morning and Patrick is excited about that. He just loves Lufthansa airlines now. The service on the way here was excellent. I am so glad that our layovers on the way home are shorter. We may have to run to catch our flight to DC because we only have a 1-hour layover in Munich, but in DC we have 3 hours. That should be enough to recharge our appliances (Nintendo DS and IPOD) with AMERICAN wattage (thank god) and get the baby a decent meal (as well as the rest of us). We have had problems with getting the power converters to work here and so I can't post any pictures tonight as my camera is dead. Our other digital (which I can't download DUH forgot to get a USB cord) is now full thanks to the wonderful hotel driver. We have a total of 4 rolls of film to develop when we get home as well. Well I'm going to try and sleep for a few hours now. My next post will be from the good old USA. YEAH!!!! I can't wait to introduce our new princess to everyone. See you soon.

Our Last Day

This has been one of the greatest trips. Our daughter is amazing. Anthony has been wonderful. He has gotten to see a wonderful country and seen poverty he could never have seen in the US. He has handled it wonderfully. We are all ready to come home though. We want hamburgers at McDonalds and food that isn’t really, really spicy. I personally want people who understand me. Ananya will be happy to be home where she doesn’t have to be in the baby sling so much. She wants to play more. Anthony just wants to go to Grandma’s where he can play. We haven’t seen much of New Delhi except through a car window. I’m too absolutely exhausted to go much of anywhere. Yesterday after we picked up the visa packet, our driver took us to a nice shop. I admit it was rather expensive, but the items are beautiful. I bought myself some gorgeous saris and salvar kemeez. The boutique was more Beverly Hills than we normally do, but they are making all of my sari tops and actually making a few of the outfits. Patrick said it was ok because I don’t normally splurge like that. I know a lot of the things will still be wonderful looking when Ananya is big enough to wear them. One of the scarves is actually a gift for her when she is older. We have one more day to get through. We have to pick up my things at the shop this evening. We have to find something to eat for lunch and dinner. We will be so ready to leave in the morning at probably 6 am to go to the airport. I have to pack all of our stuff again. At least this time I don’t have to worry about having everything with us in case luggage doesn’t make it with us. All I really need is enough formula for the trip and her visa documents. I can’t wait to feel like I’m back in civilization (I just feel like I’m missing everything now because I’m so far away from everyone). Once I have processed the trip I will have some regrets of things that we haven’t done, but I have started to have some system overload and remembered quickly that with Ananya we can’t just continually go everywhere. Anthony too just wants to come back to the hotel and play on the computer. It is 3am and I’m going to try to sleep more. I just haven’t slept well even when I have the chance. I think I just miss having at least 1 dog in bed with me. I can’t wait to talk to everyone and tell you all about my trip. I will try to post pictures later. They will not post right now.
PS Anyone wanting bonus points from me will bring me a large starbucks on Saturday afternoon. They have wonderful coffee here, but I haven’t seen syrups. Anthony wants McDonalds with an unlimited supply of ketchup and all TV in English.

More Pictures :o)

I wanted to post a few more pictures of our grand adventure.