GO BENGALS!

and the BEARS won too! A happy day at the Sutton's.

so many blessings!

FYI: the blog site has been working great tonight so I have edited and added a bunch of pics as far back as Tuesday if you want to check them out.

the stats from the dr. 9/20/06
Micaiah weighs 17 lb 14 oz, 10th percentile
height, 28 3/4 inches, 50th percentile
head circumfrence, 17 3/4 inches, 55th percentile

she said, she looks great, healthy. She got more vaccinations and is somewhat behind in several areas, however they anticipate she will catch up quickly. She thinks Micaiah probably has low muscle tone, (which Elijah has as well). We will be taking her to Children's for a 3 hour screening with therapists and doctors in a few weeks. This is part of an initial screening for Micaiah because she was adopted internationally, but also because she has some delays and possibly has low muscle tone. the dr. doesn't think she is allergic to milk anymore, but that most kids grow out of that by one. we decided to keep her on soy formula, we feel like she has enough change as it is, but we have started feeding her cheese and stuff with milk in it. she seems fine.

well, where do I begin? it has been 13 days with our princess and 8 days home. It has been so amazing. definitely overwhelming and difficult at times, but overall just absolutely wonderful. I feel so blessed to have the privaledge to parent our three children and it is so much fun to watch them grow, learn, and interact with each other. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband who has been so patient and supportive. It has been so amazing to parent with my best friend. He has been so patient with me when I am tired, feeling overwhelmed, or just need an extra hour or three to sleep! Peter has been getting up in the middle of the night, as he did with all the kiddos. I got lucky Micaiah slept 6 hours two nights ago, when it was my turn to get up with her!

Here are just a few of her amazing strides she has taken in the past 2 weeks!

*Micaiah was so afraid of Bailey when she came home, now she can't get enough of her, literally. When she hears Bailey bark, she starts her own little bark and looks all over for Bailey.
*When we started walking with Micaiah we were carrying soooo much of her weight, she wanted to move her feet, but we helped her carry her torso and her arms were too weak to just hold onto when she walked, she would have fallen over. Now she is all over the house, we hold onto her hands and off she goes, not floppy at all! She has even pulled herself up a few times and taken a few steps along the table, on her own!
*We had been getting up in the middle of the night several times and picking Micaiah to calm her down, now she is waking up less, sleeping longer stretches, and we almost never have to pick her up, just rub her on the back.
*Micaiah is learning to play with the boys, spend time on her belly, love her daddy (she did not have a foster dad, so we thought this might take some time, but she can't help but love her daddy), she says, "pa" for pache (bottle in Spanish), gets attention when she needs it, she has learned to sit up on a small stool!
*she is just amazing, she is adjusting so well, she is so happy.

so what did we do on this VERY gray and rainy day?

Caleb and I decided to "do" Micaiah's hair, I am not sure you had more fun, me or Caleb?
and of course, he too, wanted to get "dressed up" as he called it
isn't she gorgeous?
Caleb went a little over board, okay, I helped! but it was his idea...
Caleb loved putting all the clips in her hair.

so, how do we fill our days...

Elijah taught Micaiah how to play basketball, she loved it! When Micaiah was in Guatemala her foster mom used to say, "shoo shoo mi mi" as she rocked her. Micaiah loves to rock baby dolls when we say "shoo shoo mi mi". this is the special doll she got from Grandma Sutton. thanks Grandma, she loves it! This is it, the first official bath together, three's a crowd!

three's a crowd, their first bath together! (okay I think I posted this already but I don't want to hit delete and loose all these pics that appear like they are actually going to post, so enjoy it again!
and who do you think she is looking at, her mommy!
Today Micaiah noticed the flowers and butterflies on her bedroom wall, although I think she was disappointed they are 2 dimensional :o)

my wonderful friend shelley taught me how to post my comments under the pics!!! ahhhh, this is much nicer!

the post, finally in ONE piece!

my first day home alone... well, today was day one, just me and three kiddos! We had Bible study this morning, out the door by 9:20, what a challenge! Thank God my wonderful husband helped me out or we would have never made it. especially since Caleb and Elijah woke up at 8:15 and Micaiah woke up at 7:30 took a bottle and fell back to sleep in our bed. WOW, we all must have been exhausted, it felt great to have a slow morning, well, until we woke up of course.
the three Sutton kids all climbed into bed this morning, what a blessing! I love these little ones!

Caleb went to school this afternoon, we all walked him there together Caleb and Elijah got Micaiah a Dora backpack for her birthday, so everyone wore their backpacks and off we went. What a fun time, daddy came home for lunch and to walk Caleb to school. Elijah and I had some great time together playing and reading books before his nap, it was really good to just focus and love on him. He is such a sweetie. Micaiah's first trip to the park. She loved the swing

During supper, we taught Micaiah how to drink out of a sippy! YEAH, she did great and was so excited she got milk out of that dumb hard plastic thing I kept sticking in her mouth :o) It was a good day, now if only I could teach her to sleep! in time we will get there, she has adjusted to us so well otherwise. tomorrow we head to the dr. for her 1 year check up and initial exam. I have lots of questions :o) although we have to be out of the house by 9AM, what was I thinking when I scheduled that appointment (I only have two kids and they are pretty self-sufficient) what a difference a third makes! hanging in there

running in the rain

after supper the back door slammed. a usual sound at our home. except it is raining. the boys are out amidst the rain, having as much fun as two little boys could possibly have. daddy is doing dishes and mommy is sitting on the porch with micaiah, covered under the blankets fast asleep. we come inside, daddy volunteers to bath the boys while I just sit and enjoy my beautiful daughter.

The international gathering of the Suttons and Walatkas.

On Monday our friends from South Bend dropped in for a visit. The Walatkas have five children, twin boys who are 4, a 15 month old little girl, and two two year old boys they have adopted from Etheopia. Needless to say it was a zoo. The kids were all very well behaved and had a great time playing together... parents too. wish we had a better pic. we were having too much fun! It was amazing how much we enjoyed our time together, adults too! Just goes to show you what great parents Keith and Shelley are, how else do you explain 8 kids under 5 and almost no chaos, just pure fun... and only one spill at the lunch table!

Birthday Pics

These pics go with the last post. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Micaiah

Today was a very special day for the Sutton family. Micaiah turned 1. The day began with a feliz cumpleanos from Gramma and Grandpa Sutton. We can't wait for them to meet her face to face - she will be all smiles. Then it was center stage for Micaiah as she met all our friends from Horizon. We could hardly get in the door. Everyone was so excited to finally meet her. Our church family has been so supportive over the past year and more - it was so exciting to finally introduce her to them today.
After church we had some snacks in front of the Bengals game (Who Dey!!!) It was Micaiah's first NFL Sunday. She did great... so did the Bengals. :)
While we watched the game she chased Bailey around the room making little barking noises. After the fearful introduction she has fallen in love with our dog. It's really cute to see her reach for Bailey, sit next to her and give her kisses.
After a short nap we had burgers on the grill and spicy potatos (Caleb's favorite). Caleb and Elijah couln't wait until after dinner to do cake and presents. In fact, Elijah got to open Micaiah's first birthday present; a Dora Backpack from Caleb. Caleb also got her some cool mylar balloons - one of which is an old fart balloon with a funny face and the words "you're how old?!!" He got the same balloon for Grandpa Sutton when he was in the hospital. After presents we let the kids ice their own birthday cupcakes. Micaiah really enjoyed her first taste of chocolate. Compared to Caleb's chocolate bath on his first birthday and Elijah's cake fight, Micaiah was a sparkling saint. The worst it got was personal body painting with white frosting.
Micaiah finished off her special day walking Grandma Tina around the house chasing Bailey.
It was a really fun and memorable day. Thank God for our little girl.

First Family Outing...

For the first time in a year, we actually went somewhere as a family!!! We all got up early, got dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and went to Caleb's soccer game. We told Caleb that he had to play extra hard today for Micaiah and score her a goal. He really played well. He didn't score but came close a few times. There are two older boys on the team that are very fast and strong and tend to steal the ball from everyone - teammates included. Caleb was so happy to have her there watching. The rest of the day was a lazy family day with gramma in the back yard. A few friends stopped by to meet Micaiah and bring us dinner. In the midst of the fun, Micaiah got used to her walker and cruised around the driveway. It was amazing how fast she ran, smiling all the way. We capped off the day with a short movie and popcorn in the basement. Micaiah wasn't too interested in Caleb's pick; "Rescue Heros." She decided to walk around the room instead - holding onto daddy all the way. A few times she chased Bailey. She's gotten used to her already and loves to chase her. And, most exciting, all three kids went to bed at 9:00 and are now asleep!!! (It's 9:30) This adventure has been so fun!

Day One...

Today went PERFECT!!!
Micaiah slept really well last night.
Caleb fed her a bottle and Elijah fed her cherios and puffs.
The kids all played together before lunch and took a short field trip to visit daddy's friends at the office. Everyone agrees, she is the most beautiful baby girl EVER!
Tonight was guys night. Daddy, Caleb, Elijah and our friend Bryan went to the IH - Mariemont football game. We are making sure that they still feel special and get lots of one-on-one time with both mom and dad.
We are completely overwhelmed by God's grace throughout the homecoming process. It has been one miracle after another - from travel, to meals, to sleep and bonding with others - God is so good.

Homecomming

She's home!!!
I don't want to rob Jocelyn of the opportunity to blog the day so I'll just post some pictures.
Enjoy!

I can't sleep!

yes, notice the blog time, it is 5:15, Guatemala time. and today are family will be together for the first time every!!!! Peter and I are so excited we can't sleep, we have been laying in bed giggling with excitement for the last half hour or more. I figured I would you catch up on yesterdays events before setting off to Cincinnati!

yesterday was the best day yet. Micaiah loved daddy every moment and cried twice the entire day. Her cry is very funny. We can be sitting around or hanging out somewhere and all of a sudden her sweet gentle little cry fills the air. Everyone looks at us and says, what happen. Almost always it is much of nothing we hug her hold her and she usually doesn't last too long. I wonder if she remembers Judith at those moment? Well, today she only did that once the entire day. She also cried when I stood up in the very crowded adoption lounge to get my camera 5 steps away. she had everyones attention, again asking, what happened? as soon as I got back to her spot she quit and continued to play again :o) she is so sweet.

so she woke up happy as could be, like she did in Feb. on our first visit. just opens her eyes and looks around waiting for someone to pick her up, whenever. NOw that's my kind of wake up call! :o) We took a bath together and she loved it! she splashed in the water and I kicked her feet a bit. yesterday she was much more nervous about the bath, she seems to be getting used to it. daddy got her dressed and we all went down to enjoy breakfast together. it was a slow relaxing morning, she didn't open her eyes until after 8!

we spent the late morning and early afternoon at the zoo! it was sooooo neat, and less than $5! although getting pooped on was not so neat! A bird got my hair, better me than Micaiah who was in the baby carrier on my front.

during this zoo process we met some really great families I am sure we will keep in contact with once we are home. I met Sally online, through our agency, we quickly found out our cases were almost identical! her baby born just one month earlier, lots of delays due to birthmom, she actually lost her referral, we only nearly did, then when she waited for the call to get a new baby referred to her, her birthmom had followed through and she got her Maddy back. Her PGN wait was not as long, however we got out the same day and had our appointments at the embassy the same day. we have spent a good chunk of time together hear. she also has a 4 year old, married her high school sweetheart, works with children with autism, has a dog named Bailey, and the list goes on! amazing isn't it? so, we spent the day at the zoo with her family and then headed to the artisans market to browse for a bit. Micaiah wanted to walk while we were there, holding onto Peter she took quite a few steps, we videotaped it!

We headed back to the hotel room where Micaiah played in the mirror, walked some more, and when we set her down to play with toys, she chose the book of pictures of our family she has had since birth!!!!! we smiled. When we saw Micaiah the first day, Judith had her give us kisses, she kissed everybody. well since then, when we ask her for a kiss she just shakes her head no, until today. she is giving us kisses just about whenever we ask!

when people approach her she looks at them, then looks up at me and smiles sooooooo big. she lights up the room and steals attention from everyone else, even all the other cute babies in the lounge. (and I am not just saying this because she is my daughter, it's true, ask anyone)

okay, I am not done with the days events, but it's time to get ready to head to the airport!

yipee, we miss Caleb and Elijah sooooooooo much and can't wait to be home. we will try to keep up when we get back!

love you all, thanks for reading and praying and loving on us! sorry no time to post pics, Iwill soon.

Great day #3

Tuesday morning's apointment finalized our adoption. It was such a wonderful feeling to know that Micaiah is officially ours. For the majority of the morning and a bit into the afternoon, Micaiah would only go to Jocelyn. She is already very attached to her. In fact, when Jocelyn left the room at breakfast, Micaiah cried until she returned. I felt a little strange holding my own daughter screaming her head off in public.
After a family nap, we met up with some friends and went shopping at a local market. It was fun to bargain with the vendors. We found some great gifts and souvineers.
After shopping, we invited three other couples out to dinner at one of our favorite Guatemalan resteraunts, Casa Champina. We all stuffed in a cab/van because of the rain. Imagine eight adults, four infants under 1 and a four year-old stuffed in a mini van... then at the same dinner table. They were all perfect angels. Micaiah slept the whole time in the baby carrier.
After dinner the guys hit the sports bar for some cuban cigars and local beer while the generous wives took care of the kids. (Boy are we blessed!) I think the guys needed some time away to be guys... it takes a lot out of a man to carry a pink diaper bag around all day.
While the guys bonded, Jocelyn and Micaiah played in the room, she was fussy, we think her eighth tooth is about to come through. After some Ibuprofen and a bunch of walking around the hotel. Jocelyn finally opted to try cartoons, her foster mom said she loves them. They found Barney, Micaiah lit up and went nuts! She clapped and smiled and giggled and babbled. Jocelyn said it was really funny to watch. She had the same response to Elmo this morning, although not quite as excited as when she saw Barney.
Micaiah slept better last night. She still insisted on cuddling with daddy - but I didn't mind. She woke up a few times but slept until about 8:30 this morning. Today she has been all smiles and laughter. She ate a great breakfast and is playing with some other kids while I'm on the computer. She gets along with others pretty well.
Today we are going to the zoo. It's pretty close and should be fun and interesting. Don't worry Caleb and Elijah, we'll take plenty of pictures. We are going with one of the families we did dinner with last night. We'll post the days events tonight.
Thank you all for your prayers and support while we are away.

It's official

Today at 6:30 a.m. we traveled to the US embasy where we officially finished off the adoption process. We received the formal papers and the official congratulations at 8:40.
Micaiah Jane is now officially a Sutton. I can't believe it's final.

WOW! what a day!

Micaiah has been absolutely amazing! she is adjusting to us soooooo well! Far better than I ever dreamed of considering it has been just 30 hours with our princess. She is a happy, smiling, babbling, content little girl. She gets fussy every once in awhile, but it just seems she is hungry, tired or wants a new diaper (sounds like a baby to me). We are starting to figure her out. We have been speaking to her almost entirely in Spanish, it's still pretty easy at this age. I can handle the language of a one year old :o) We are having lots of fun and just enjoying our time together. She smiles a lot and seems to really enjoy our company. As we went through Antigua today many of the people commented on her, they all seem to love babies. A few asked to hold her. Sometimes as they approached her with their arms open, she just shook her head no! Other times she was okay to be held. today at lunch a women asked to hold her so I could eat and then when she took Micaiah she walked across the room with her. Micaiah started to cry and wanted to come back to us! oh, how exciting that was! only 24 hours after we met her.

we ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant with a marachi band, fountain, tortillas made by hand, beautiful gardens and our sweet little Guatemalan.

today seemed like a taste of heaven, can't wait for tomorrow when she wakes up again!!

oh yeah, Micaiah slept from 10:30-7:45 last night, she woke a few times, just a slight wimper and back to sleep. We never even got out of bed. I think she could have gone to sleep sooner, except she and daddy were playing.

sometimes she seems to want daddy, not mommy and other times she wants mommy and not daddy.

i don't think Peter mentioned we went to the Jade factory today. Learned how they mined, and create jade. It was really neat. Apparently Guatemala is the only place where you can find black jade!

On the ride through the cobblestone streets of Antigua the shaking of the car put Micaiah to sleep if we stayed in the car for more than 10 minutes or so. and....she went in a car seat! I was sooo impressed and excited! I thought that might be a challenge for us as I know she is not used to being strapped down, she did great! yeah!

We also went to a famous family's tienda, Carolina's. they had amazing handmade textiles, there were beautifully woven things to see. At Carolina's they showed us what the traditional traje of a Coban woman would wear. Coban is where Micaiah was born.

It is so fun to see the culture where our little girl was born.

sorry about all the scatter thoughts, I don't want to miss anything.

Amy & Tina- thanks for the updates on the boys, we miss them lots and can't wait for them to meet their little sister and she can't wait to meet them!

A Day in Heaven

Today we visited the ancient capital city of Antigua. It is filled with beautiful old monastaries and churches, coffee plantations, cobblestone streets and little shops. The lush green mountains envelope the city and paint a backdrop that is breathtaking. We visited an old monastary that has been converted into a hotel and museum. We got to walk through the catacombs and secret passages and rooms beneath the chapel.
Besides the scenery, the company was what truly made it heavenly. Micaiah was a perfect angel. She was happy all day. She ate well, napped well and traveled well. It couldn't have been any better. We are having dinner with some new friends from Dayton tonight and will finish off the paperwork at the embasy tomorrow. Then it will be official.
Enjoy the pics!

Little Miss Sunshine

Last night went very well. After nap time, Micaiah took down a good size bottle and a little fruit. After dinner we lounged around the room, played games and read books. She brightened up and didn't fuss much at all for the rest of the night. I, Peter, walked her and sang to her until her beautiful eyes drooped shut and she fell asleep. She slept right through the night without a peep. In fact, as I type, the two most beautiful girls in the world are still lying fast asleep in the other room.
Pray that today starts out and continues as well as last night. Our plan is to visit the ancient capital city of Antigua with some new friends from Dayton. Their little girl Sofie is only 6 months old and already bigger than Micaiah! She is still so tiny.
Enjoy our pics!

we're HERE!!!

We arrived in Guatemala City at about 12:30. Spent some time walking around and Micaiah arrived at 2:30, all smiles.

she smiled at both of us. I waited a long while before even attempting to take her from Judith, (we just found out our foster mom's name is Judith, not Juliet). Judith put her down on the chair and I played with her awhile there. she was happy and all smiles. I reached to pick her up and she reached out to me!!!!!!!! yeah, she did sooooo good the entire time Judith and her two children, Francisco (Micaiah knows him as Paco) and Josselina. And, they had a new baby, they had just received today, a little boy less than a week old. I am sure that will help the family in healing from the loss of Micaiah.

so we got the low down on Micaiah's life and then an hour and a half later it was time to say our good byes. we let Micaiah wave and said, "dice adios" (say goodbye) and off they went. we made it to the elevator and she began to cry looking all over for Judith and waving good bye-to us I am sure. Now, 2 hours and 45 minutes later, she is in Peter's arms and seems to be calming down, at least for the past 2 minutes as I write this. Longer than she has been not crying since we have been with her. yeah Micaiah!!!

we covet your prayers for our little girl as she goes through this very very difficult time.

Needless to say, carryout from the sports bar downstairs was the best we could do for supper tonight. they had awesome black bean soup. I am sure peter will try to post pics when our baby girl is peacefully asleep in bed.

for now she has just fallen asleep in peter's arms, still gasping from the crying.

pobrecita (poor baby)

Jocelyn