Gift Day 2009

Because we are going to Venezuela for Christmas this year we decided to do our gift opening this evening. Also because we are spending quite a bit of money on our trip we decided to give each child two gifts this year. We found two gifts that fit them both perfectly and decided it was a good idea. I had read on another blog the idea of three gifts per child (like Jesus received three gifts from the wisemen) and we thought it was a nice idea.
We wrapped the gifts and Panchito brought them downstairs.

Katrina was thrilled with a basket full of gifts. Samuel, on the other hand, was more interested in the fact that the stairs were not blocked and he continually was escaping to the stairway to try to climb! I didn't take any pictures of that because we are trying to teach him that he should not climb the stairs.
Both of the kids enjoyed opening their gifts. Katrina got a princess magnet activity book that will be perfect for the trip as well as a treasure box filled with princess dresses and all the accessories. Both things that are right up her alley. Samuel got a guitar and a race track with several cars. I am sure at some point these gifts will interest him but for now, he was more excited about getting up the steps!

Here is Katrina in two different outfits. She tried on the Princess Aurora outfit first and had that on for a little while. Then, before I knew it, she took off the top and put on the Snow White skirt as a shirt with the Princess Aurora skirt as a skirt. This is one of her absolute favorite looks. More often than not you will find her at our house with a skirt on as a dress.
Gift day at the Duran home was a "lovely night" according to Katrina. She really enjoyed the gift opening and is enjoying the gifts as I post this. She played with the race track too and she is hopeful that Samuel will play with her and the track in the morning. He is already in bed!

11 months

This picture really captures Samuel's personality. He is a serious little fellow. He laughs a lot too, but we have heard, "He is serious, isn't he?" WAY more often with Samuel than with Katrina.
Either way, we love him mas que nunca...
At 11 months of age he has started to take some steps on his own. He is quite wobbly but he is getting more confident each day.
He eats basically all table food. He is a BIG eater too. For breakfast, usually his biggest meal of the day, he eats a bowl of oatmeal mixed with either yogurt or fruit and a cereal bar and some milk. I wouldn't be surprised if an adult ate less for breakfast!
He loves taking baths with Katrina regularly. They really have fun together. He does like to stand in the tub which makes it tough for me!
The last time I had him at the doctor he weighed in at 23 pounds 4 ounces (sorry for the 28 pound comment in his 10 month post!) and measured 31 inches. He will see the doctor in the morning so I will know for sure how much he weighs and how tall he is.
He is sleeping through the night still but the last few nights have been rough. I am hopeful that after his appointment tomorrow we will have a better idea of what is troubling him. I have two thoughts: ear infection or at least fluid in his ear or the flaring up of his excema which is causing him to itch and scratch and wake himself during the night and have a rougher time sleeping during the day as well.
He says "Papapapapa" but not really to identify Panchito and he says "Mamamama" (although less frequently) but not to identify me.
Samuel, you are such a big boy and we are so thankful that you have been with us in this world for 11 months. They have absolutely flown by and we cannot even believe you will be one year old in a month. We are going to celebrate your first birthday with a big party in Venezuela in about three weeks, so look out!
Te amamos mas que nunca.

Ready or Not?

I am not sure how to answer this question.
In many ways, I am ready.
In other ways, I am not.
But, ready or not we are leaving on Thursday.
Today we spent a few hours in our bedroom (the WHOLE family) going through the suitcases (Samuel and Katrina in ways I would have preferred they NOT go through...) to be sure we have everything packed that we need to have packed. We weighed all three suitcases and we are quite positive all are under the 50 pound limit (50 pounds is not that much, you know?). So, hopefully between now and Thursday I will get all the final things we need in order and we can leave for Minneapolis around 11:30 AM to fly out at 5:00 PM.
We would appreciate your prayers for the travel and all that entails with two young children. I hope to post from Venezuela, but we will see how things go!

Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad
Today the kids wore their "Christmas clothes."
Both Panchito and I really wanted them to wear coordinating outfits and we think it was a good choice. We heard so many comments about their clothing and we just had to share their look with you all!

That Time Again

Every year since we have been living back in the States (2002) we have made hallacas at Christmas. Hallacas are a traditional Venezuelan food eaten at Christmas. We have honed in our skills and have sought out the best places to find the unique ingredients.
Well, because we are going to Venezuela this year and will eat our fair share of Venezuelan- made hallacas, we decided to suprass this tradition and start another one...
Making pan de jamon (ham bread).
Our dear friends, the Sterken's, really enjoy helping us every year when we say we are going to make Venezuelan food as they really enjoy eating Venezuelan food (or at least they say they do!). So, we called them up and invited them over on Friday night for a pan de jamon making night.
Thanks, Dan, Kristy, Abby and Lauren for helping us keep the Venezuelan Christmas food tradition alive!

Playing in a Winter Wonderland

Like I mentioned in another post, it snowed a LOT last night. Katrina has been wanting to go out and play in the snow since it started yesterday. I contemplated taking both of the kids outside to play but it just felt too cold for Samuel (he has had a bad cold for over a week -- besides I could not find my snow boots!). So, I decided that Katrina could go out and play by herself in the front yard and I would keep an eye on her from the front window.
Samuel wanted to go out as well, but he will get his chance this winter, I am sure!
Katrina's favorite part was eating the snow off of her mittens after she came back inside (upper right hand corner picture).

Snowy day creations

It snowed about 10 inches in our area yesterday and during the night and today schools were closed. For some reason, days like these motivate me to cook and bake. Unfortunately, as I opened the refrigerator to take out some butter to soften, I realized I onlyhad one stick of butter for baking. There are very few cookie recipes that I know that only require one stick of butter!
So, I began to think about dinner. I decided I wanted to make cranberry chicken and twice baked potatoes. The cranberry chicken recipe I have is chicken breasts and a can of whole berry cranberries and 1/2 bottle of French dressing and an envelope of French onion soup mix. I usually have all of those things on hand but today I didn't have the French onion soup mix and I wasn't about to run out to the store.
The internet is a marvelous thing... I looked up a recipe for how to many French onion soup mix from scratch, found the ingredients in my pantry and set to it. We are going to have a wonderful dinner this evening.

Wordless Wednesday

Tablefood Toddler

Samuel is basically on 100% tablefoods now and he is enjoying the variety that his mama prepares for him on a daily basis.

Last night he tried an ice cream snow man for the first time (his first time with ice cream too) and was a bit surprised by the chill. Although I could not capture his hilarious expression, these pictures turned out blog-worthy, don't you think?

What a difference a year (or 5) makes

This morning I was chatting with a facebook friend and I got to thinking about how the Lord has provided over the years. This is the time of year for nostalgia, right? So, buckle your seatbelts, we are going for a ride back in time...

Five years ago we were praising the Lord for choosing us to be part of a domestic adoption program. We had been trying for a biological baby for over two years and decided to pursue adoption. We were randomly (we don't really believe that, but that is what the agency claims) selected from over 90 couples to participate in a domestic adoption program in hopes of receiving a baby in 18-24 months from the time we finished all the paperwork and our homestudy.

The very next year, 2005, we were actually expecting Katrina, our first biological daughter. Can you even believe it? As I write this I am still in awe about the difference one short year made. Shortly after we finished all the adoption paperwork and the homestudy, we were "in the book" (the place where biological parents look for potential adoptive parents) and we found out we were pregnant. It was shocking and overwhelmingly exciting.

In 2006 we celebrated this time of year with Katrina, who was 10 months old. It was a joyful season, giving thanks to the Lord for His provision of the wonderful blessing of a child into our lives.

One short year later we were grieving the loss of two babies to miscarriage and unbeknownst to us, we were going to grieve the same loss one more time (February of 2008 we lost our third baby to miscarriage). This was a very trying time for us as we continued to seek the Lord, wondering why He was choosing this path for us to walk down.

Last year, in 2008, we were hopefully expecting our second biological child, Samuel. It was another joyful time, although we were a bit apprehensive about how the duration of the pregnancy would go and if the baby would survive.

This year we are a happy family of four! God has graciously placed the second arrow in our quiver and we are so thrilled.

It is amazing to look back and see what God has done over the years. In the midst of the pain, like the pain we experienced with infertility and then with the miscarriages, it seems like it will never end, that there will never be any joy. Yet, looking back, that has not been the case. How about for you?

"O taste and see that the Lord IS good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

Psalm 34:8