Two Weeks Ago

Two weeks ago, I met my grand daughter, Daniela for the first time. She still looked battered and bruised, but in my eyes she was perfect. It took another week or so for all the (mustache) bruise to fade away. I'll leave you with just a few pictures and promise that more are on the way.



Daniela was only a week old when I arrived and much to tiny for the airport scene. Her Abuela (Miguel's Mom) watched her, so Ashley could come to the airport with her husband to pick me up. I don't think I spelled Grandma right in Spanish, forgive me I'm in a hurry.




The next day I had a chance to bathe her and dress her. Do you recognize the outfit, Jan and Megan? She looks her best in blue outfits, I do believe.




I have a picture of Meghan (if my memory serves me right) that looks the same as this photo technique. I have no idea how I did it with my Kodak camera, it's just a regular digital. It must have been the lighting of the full morning sun that had this effect.

More amazing pictures to share. I was just warming up at this point. I have been almost exclusively using my Canon Rebel, but didn't want to take another bag on this long trip, I needed something much more portable and I didn't want to worry about a new expensive camera and traveling issues. My old Kodak did a fine job, I'm so happy with the results I was able to achieve with it.

Winding down on the Gramie Tour

Tomorrow will be the last day on the Gramie Tour. Early Wed. morning I will be heading to the airport for the return trip to reality. It will be back to the cold and snow. Back to taking the dog outside to potty and freezing while I wait. I'll be rising early to pack a lunch and get ready for work. No little sweet one to cuddle and rock. I knew it was coming and I'm prepared to deal with it, but sometimes reality stinks.

I will miss chatting with Ashley and getting to know Miguel. I'll miss the warmth of the sun and the view of the mountains. It has been a great two weeks and I feel truly blessed to have been able to make the trip and experience Mexico for the first time. It has been a terrific two weeks of helping with Daniela and sharing this awesome event of becoming a mommy with Ashley.

There is one thing I'm looking forward to. Audra & Rick will be coming to visit and it's been two months since I've seen my daughter, and almost 6 months since I've seen her husband. It is difficult to be away from loved ones during the holidays and I'm thankful I will have my youngest child close by.

So after the rush and hassles of the airport scene I look forward to spending some quality time with my hubby and my/his dog Danan and then the comfort of my own bed. It also helps that my first day back at work is the office party and we are going out to lunch.

Okay enough of that, I have today and tomorrow left here in Guanajuato and I'm going to pack it as full as I can with good times. And speaking of good times, yes I've had a Margarita. It's like going to Maine and not eating lobster; I just couldn't come to Mexico and not have a Margarita. Just one, but man was it good!

Daniela is growing & changing

It's amazing how fast they change. Everyday she looks a little bit different. I have had fun photographing her. Ashley hasn't discouraged me, most of the time if the lighting is decent I don't use a flash, so I won't be accused of blinding the child. This is a picture that Ashley took with her camera, we hope to go down town and put all my pictures on a disk, then I can begin to share them and leave Ashley a copy. In the meantime, I'm going to take more pictures with her camera.

Today we went to the mall and saw several families with tiny babies. Amazingly Danny was the darkest complected, even though the other babies had two Mexican parents. Gramie thought she was the cutest though and the best behaved. Grandma's are like that, yeah they are.

Waking up in Mexico

Waking up in Mexico is not like waking up at home. We are in the mountains and you can hear the city buses whining as they try to climb the steep roads. Besides the buses, taxis, cars and motor bikes are plentiful. Dispersed between the sounds of various motor vehicles are dogs barking. German Shepherds are on roof tops and behind the gates of home owners garages. Dogs roam the streets without collars scrounging for food. I expected them to be roving in bands, but really all I've seen is one here or there. They have all been smaller than my own dog and mind there own business and pay little attention to pedestrians, except to keep their distance.

Occasionally a rooster will crow. A few days ago, a man with a burro carrying heavy side packs came walking down the Panoramica (Ashley's road). It seems strange to have the farm animals right here in the city. Almost no one has any yard to speak of and the houses are not all separate even, you may share a wall with your neighbor.

I was surprised that there was no hot water in the kitchen. I didn't even know that they make dish liquid for use especially in cold water. There is hot water late in the morning, when the pipes have warmed up, but that is the only time. The bathroom however has all the modern conveniences, and I enjoy a long hot shower. Why do they have hot water in the bathrooms and not the kitchen? I like what Ashley has to say about it....it's just a different way of doing things, it's not wrong or bad it's just not the same as we are used to. My daughter, Ashley had told me that very few people have dryers here, they hang their clothes up on the roof tops. I hung my clothes outside for probably the first 15-20 years of being a housewife and I still love the smell of air dried clothing. I've helped Ashley fold the laundry and I must confess I've done my share fair of sniffing them. I don't believe any amount of fabric softener can make them smell any better than the wind the good Lord invented.

I've heard some cool exotic sounding bird calls, when we've been out for a walk, but I haven't been able to locate the bird. We saw some lizards yesterday, small dark colored ones. Ashley said she hasn't seen them before, so they must not be plentiful like I thought they would be.

I look out the window and see mountains as far as I can look in both directions. Houses are lining the streets as they wind up the sides of the mountains. The first day I was here, I watched two men and a dog walk up the mountain. Here and there on the mountain tops you can see large crosses. Some times just one, as is on the mountain I was referring to and sometimes there is two or three in a cluster. Ashley & Miguel showed me the one she & Miguel climbed, she said it was unbelievably hard to get to the top. I think I'll pass this trip.

The cold tile floor greats my feet as I climb out of bed. I brought my own General Foods International coffee with me and make myself a cup in the microwave. Everyone uses bottled water and a street vendor goes by every morning chanting in a loud drawn out voice, "gas" and "agua" (water), so you can buy it from them without a trip to the store. Yes, waking up in Mexico is very different from waking up in Michigan where I will soon be taking the dog out to potty behind the snowbanks and drive the slippery roads to work. I think I'll climb back in bed and dream of spending my winters here in Mexico.

When pictures come

When pictures come....they will be of downtown Guanajuato. I took pictures of Ashley & Miguel in Jardin Union, they turned out great. Poinsettias were everywhere and there is a hugh decorated (very cone shaped) Christmas tree. The street that goes down to the subterranian highway was lined with pots of poinsettias as well. The tunnels are all curved in shape and they are not straight through like the tunnels through the mountains on the way to North Carolina. These have forks in them and you have to choose left or right. It is scary to travel along even at slower speeds because you don't know what's coming up next. We traveled through a four way intersection down there.

I snapped a shot of the Furnicular - which is a car that travels to the top of the mountain where the famous statue called the Pipila is standing. We did not take the trip ourselves with the new baby. We ate downtown at a restuarant called the Turco 7,(Lucky 7). Ashley & I had the Red Chicken Enchiladas, I was suprised to find potatoes and carrotts in them.

There will be pictures posted of the Theatre Juarez with the statues lining the top of the huge theatre and the two lions out front guarding the entry.

It is customary to take the baby to the church and thank God for his blessing on the babies first outing. We went to the San Diego Church. A mass was in session, so I couldn't take photos inside, but I did get a couple from the exterior. Miguel & Ashley feel profoundly blessed to have Daniela arrive healthy and whole. The church was old and very ornate.

I will post again, when I am able. We are going to take the baby for another walk in the sunshine. I think she enjoys it as much as I do.

The Gramie Tour Continues

The Gramie tour began in Maine, back in October.






Where I visited Princess Seri Ava.


She is a rather shy princess, but a sweeter princess could not be found in all the kingdom.




And this guy, who's rumored to be the little brother of Joe & Steve from Blues Clues.

He is adopted, and he was dressed in green stripes when they first brought him for a visit...

just kidding about the green stripes. I couldn't resist. It is possible!



And here I am enjoying my Gramie time.

Thank God the grand kids can point & shoot a camera or there would probably be no pictures of me with them at all.






In November, the tour moved on to North Carolina where I would meet my new grandson, Griffin Sawyer.


He is beyond precious and Gramie had no problems with bonding at all.


Shocker!!















We also had the joy of helping Sydney celebrate her third birthday.


She wanted cupcakes, candles and balloons.


She's a wise little girl; the party was perfect.














It was an awesome sight to see how Sydney has stepped naturally into the role of big sister.











And now it's December and the Gramie tour continues as I getting ready to leave for Mexico to meet the latest addition to our growing family. That would be this little smilie, Daniela Elizabeth.







And where I've been odered to take an insane amount of pictures for the Aunties.

Somehow I don't think that will be a problem.






And when we hit mid December and the Gramie Tour ends, I'll be returning to these two. My hubby, Corky and my faithful...well his faithful dog, Danan. It is aparent with him being retired and spending more time with her, her loyalties have shifted.

I love you Corky, and remember NO DANCING GIRLS while I'm gone.

No Repeat Please!

My daughter, Meghan's post got me to thinking about my past trips to meet the girls, Ava & Sydney when they were born. Michael came to meet us at the airport, he was 16 months old. Check out my daughters post here at Home of the Halls and see the huge sign we had at the airport Welcoming our first grandchild.

The trip to meet Sydney was pretty uneventful, but Ava's was a little nerve racking. When I arrived at the gate they announced that our plane had hit a bird coming in and needed to be inspected before we could fly out. Okay, not good. I want a plane that works...you know stays in the air without difficulty. Twenty minutes or so passed and they made another announcement. The plane passed the inspection, but the bucket truck they were using caught on fire, so there will be a slight delay while they wait for a tow truck to haul it away. True story. I had to call Mike Amos (a friend of Amanda & Derek's) to reach Derek at the hospital to tell him my flight was delayed.

I don't want a repeat of this scenario or anything remotely like it. I'll tell you what I'd like --- I want no delays, no sick people on the plane and a whole can of diet coke. Is that to much to ask?

Tomorrow is the big day. Pray for a safe flight, health and nerves of steel. It will all be worth it when I hold that sweet little baby is my arms.