Tidbits

Sorry it's been so long! The last few weeks have been good but hectic. Daniel has been travelling quite a bit for work, so I've been getting a taste of what being a single parent is like - good, but a tad more difficult! Last week was tax time (I work in financial services), we had a new staff member in our office, Daniel was out of town, and Gabby and I had the yucky cold that's going around. It was not an easy week but we survived it. We're still getting over the cold, and now Gabby has a stomach flu that is also apparently going around. She was sleeping when I started this post but now she is awake and throwing up on dad. Poor baby. My parents always said "I wish it were me instead" when I was sick as a kid - now I understand that sentiment completely.

Okay, I'm back, and Gabby is sleeping again. Besides the gunk going around our household, we are all doing really well. She had a well-baby exam last week (her late 9-month/early 12-month appointment). Everything looked great and she appears to be developing right on track. She has grown one inch and gained over three pounds since we first met her! She is in the 75th percentile for height and the 10th percentile for weight - long and lean like mommy!

I can't believe how time has flown. I realized the other day that our first post-placement report is due in Colombia in a little over a month. We scheduled the home visit for next Thursday. Our social worker will come to the house, see how we interact with Gabby, ask us all kinds of questions, and write a report that we will send to our agency in Florida to review, approve, translate, apostille, and send to Colombia. It is due in Colombia on June 1st.

Many of you know that I have been fortunate enough to be able to cut my work down to part-time. I work Monday through Wednesday and have Thursday and Friday to be with Gabby. It is working perfectly because I don't think I could stay home full-time, nor could I be away from Gabby all week. Even better, Daniel is essentially self-employed and has quite a bit of flexibility with his schedule, so he is often able to be home with her one or two days while I'm at work. When we both work, my mom, my sister, or Daniel's mom have her. We are really, really blessed to get to leave her with family when we can't be with her.

Did I mention that I only work part time?!? I love it! We have been doing all sorts of fun things on our days off together - walking the dogs, going to reading group at the library, swimming, getting together with friends for play dates, taking naps... we can't wait for summer and trips to the zoo, park, etc.

We hope everyone is doing well!

Love,
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabby

P.S. These pictures were taken on a field trip to daddy's "office."