little models

Yesterday at day's end, the little girls and I had a great time playing and snapping pictures as they tried on some of the newest goodies my friends at jail are making for me.

Introducing our little Casa de Amor Baby Home models!

Little O, age 2, got so into it I couldn't get her out of the clothes at the end...

She has spunk, this one!! Those who know her know what I'm talking about. ;-)

Oh, SO much help....

This dress is also for three year old...

Baby A, age 13 months, thought she wanted to wear a hat, but then decided "nah..."

This dress for a 3 or 4 year old didn't fit O so well, although she still loved trying it on!

Oh those eyes....

My three oldest girls at the Baby Home!

OH, so much fun!

M. N. (19 months) getting into the act! She mainly loved the head wear.

Our two cuties...but my, how mischievous! ;-)

(As my Dad would say, "Too much cuteness, just TOO MUCH cuteness...")

J., 3 1/2, also got into the act, putting on multiple ponchos at once at one point!

I can mail any of these little outfits for $14 + shipping & handling (approximately $10 to North America), and each of the hats for $4 + S & H.

I have hats for ages 1 and up.

The ponchos and dresses are mainly for ages 2-4 and I'll pick up a dress for a one year old this weekend, but that's Bolivian sizing... For children from other countries, I think the sizes are anywhere from 6 or 8 months up to 2 or maybe 3 years!

We can also make anything custom (your size, color, etc.), just let us know!

Beware...

...of this baby!!

(Shh....Mr. Dracula is actually a sweetheart!!)

It's a Boy!

Our seventh boy in a row has just arrived!

We have said no to any new babies since baby S last month, but as I mentioned in the very last post, baby A was suddenly whisked off to Casa de Amor III on Friday and they don't plan to give him back! :) I had already had the secret thought that this meant we could probably take in another baby, and we didn't have to wait long - just till Monday!

First picture, mere seconds after landing in my arms. :) He was born on March 7.

Baby P (another Bible name) came from the countryside several hours away. We don't have much information about him yet, but what we do know is he was living in very poor surroundings with his 75 year old grandfather and deaf/mute mother. On Friday, child protection authorities took him to the hospital and he was diagnosed with severe hypothermia.

He arrived quite dirty and as Tia Tomaza and I bathed him, we discovered a bad diaper rash and other rashes on his tiny body.

CUTE!!! He's already stolen all of our hearts...

I weighed him and he's only gained 100 grams from his birth weight (2.8 kilos to 2.9 kilos - a little over 6 pounds), according to the immunization card we have.

Sweet baby... Think I need to go check on him! :)

(Today is my sister Sarah's birthday! It will be easy to remember this baby's arrival date.)

Danish Invasion...

Last week we had our annual visit from the Alterna team from Denmark. This year, we gathered at Casa de Amor II, our home with the most space.

And boy, did we need it!

We were around EIGHTY people! That was one FULL HOUSE.

(And you should have seen us squeezing them into 3 cars to arrive. Cochabamba was having yet more blockade trouble this day, so their bus driver was not able to come with their big bus and Casa de Amor provided back-up transportation instead!)

We offered to prepare and serve lunch to everyone with their budgeted amount. We ate over 80 pounds (36 kilos) of potatoes, 9 chickens, and massive amounts of salad!

After helping prepare the mashed potatoes, I began serving up plate after plate to the line of hungry people, and it went on, and on, and on.....

...But it takes a while to get 45+ adults served up, not to mention 33 babies and children fed!

(And some had tackled mowing our huge yard that morning.)

As usual, their program was a big hit! It's always neat to watch how they get their message across with almost no vocabulary.

Full house!!

Baby A was a side-show - she has never been big on strangers, much less those who look very different from her dear tias, but this day she went from crying and trying to get away to bouncing along on her diapered bottom and clapping and smiling away during the program!

Good times!

Another side story is that this day, the Mitchells (house parents of Casa de Amor III) fell in love with baby boy A from the Baby Home...and took him home! And they haven't given him back yet. ;-)

Little O turns 2!

The cutest little girl EVER turned TWO last week....

Shamelessly stole this picture from volunteer Chelsey's facebook album... :)

Chelsey getting little O ready for an evening afternoon out on the town

This one LOVES to eat... (and loves cell phones)

Yep, I heard she ate that entire ice cream cone all by herself!

The birthday girl's cake, made by Tia Carmen, our psychologist

With Tia Adelaida

Thanks, volunteer Johanna, for sharing your flower clip with O!

Candy with cake, what could be better?!

Some of the party guests :)

...And one tired out birthday girl!!

Two years of triplets

Today marks two years to the day that everything changed at the Baby Home with the arrival of...

TRIPLETS!!!

We never ever thought to be blessed with newborn abandoned triplets.

I can't believe how tiny they were back then...

And so, in honor of the day, I'm reposting "Triplet Top Ten" from last year, below!

As the triplets near two milestones (their first birthday and returning to their mother), we are running around with preparations here at Casa de Amor.

Today, which just so happens to be the two year anniversary of their much-heralded arrival, I assembled all of the pictures of or with the triplets. Can you guess how many there are?

641!!!!!
And that's even before their first birthday next week, which by all appearances will be the social event of the year for Casa de Amor.

Even with so many pictures, here are ten that immediately came to mind as my favs from this absolutely unique experience:

March 11, 2010, my first picture with all three, newly at "home"
It TOTALLY hadn't sunk in yet...not even during that same night, taking the first night shift. Alone!

St. Patrick's Day 2010
Photography, dresses, design all by volunteer Elena Boisvert

Easter 2010
Flower crowns from volunteer Savannah, dresses borrowed from baby Fabiana

April 2010, first park outing!
with three proud {slightly sleep deprived} mommas

May 2010, Baby Burritos
(All I've gotta say is: Praise the Lord for Miracle Blankets!!! My night shifts didn't begin till I'd located all three.)

May 2010, barely able to juggle all three at once
Picture by Melissa Dickey, professional photographer visiting from Texas


July 2010, Happy US Independence Day!
And we thought they were getting so big and chubby in July, ha!

September 2010


September 2010
Right in the thick of the "chewing on the shirt" phase. Obviously!

September 2010


November 2010, Live Nativity Scene!
Never seen more adorable wisemen babies!!

That's 11, you say? Aw, who's counting.

And a few runners-up...

(There are 641 pictures, after all!!)

FEEDING TIME!!!
Gotta say that when all three pipe up, it's dangerous for the ear drums!

{Both from volunteer Savannah when the babies were three months old}

Christmas 2010
Definitely goofy!

The biggest blessing we've had in raising these babies: the V family, successful business owners in Bolivia. Their daughter, on the right, is the triplet's madrina (godmother).

So till the birthday bash pictures, that's it!!