Annie is just so great!

I thought I would take a moment to dote on my Annie.

She is just doing such an amazing job at adjusting into life with the Coles! I am so proud! She pretty much understands everything we say to her, and has been for a while. She even follows intructions, which I'm not even sure Maddie did at that age. She says, "ut oh," and "peek a boo." She also says ma ma, da da and ba ba (for her bottle). She has gained 3 pounds since she came home, which is quite a bit considering she only started out a little over 19 lbs. You can tell she has chunked up. I love it.

We have pretty much moved her from formula to milk and she does great on it.

For those of you who haven't met her yet, she has a super low voice. It is kind of cool and raspy sounding. Sometimes I can't tell if she is whining or laughing because her voice is so low. But, she can hit the high notes when she wants. Like when she is ticked because she doesn't want to take a nap. Holy cow, she can really scream when she wants!

Our three other kiddos get along great with her. Leah and Logan just love to love on her and are so helpful with her! Maddie does pretty good with her also, considering. Annie and Maddie have their moments. Like when they try to steal each others toys, they are both fiesty and will pitch a fit. In hindsight, it is pretty funny. Annie likes to swipe things. Like, she will swipe Maddie's binky even though she has no desire to use one. I really believe she knows it ticked Maddie off. She will swipe it and then stick it in her mouth and smile. Once no one is paying attention, she throws it down. The do have their sweet moments though. Sometimes Maddie will "pet" Annie or feed her her bottle. I have yet to see either be "mean" to one another. I can also tell that Maddie is soothing to Annie. She will settle down when Maddie is around. She also follows Maddie everywhere and often times tries to copy her. I can tell, this is the start of a beautiful thing!

Annie is a pretty friendly gal also. She will high 5 people and wave at them.

Oh one more thing, she twirls her hair when she is tired. I just love that. She especially does it when she is tired and has a bottle. The bottle will be in one hand and the twirling hair in the other. It is quite adorable.

Ok, doting over! I want to add some updated pics since she's been home. But we are having computer issues (again), so it will have to wait.

BTW, no new news on Gideon. I will call next Tues., which will be 2 weeks since the document has been to Guatemala and check on things. We are still planning to travel to Guatemala as a family. The plan is to leave as soon as we have pink (like the next day). There's usually 5 to 8 days between pink and our Embassy appointment, so that will get us there a little early. I am still very much missing my boy, but I am really trying not to focus on the gaping hole, but on the bigger picture, which is us together as a family!

Julie