Gracie been here for ONE year!!!

On the 18th of October one year ago, I came back to the US with Grace for the very first time. This was the first time she met her mommy and her brothers. Many thing have happened over the last year. When we first got her she could not run and sometimes had some trouble with walking. Now she is running, jumping, hopping, riding a bike and much much more. She will say just about anything and even attempt to sing. (Key word ATTEMPT)

More recently she has started in Gymnastics. She is doing very well with that as long as she gets to take the class with Tyler. Her and Tyler have become very very close. Many times the two of them are inseperable, almost like twins. Kindof like a love/hate thing. Andrew and Logan do a very good job of looking after her. The TEAM is doing well! Here are a couple of recent pics of her for everyone to look at.

Team Gilbert

PS Someone lost there 2 front teeth!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we decided to go to the pumpkin patch. After much time spent deliberating over which pumkin patch to go to, we decided to pick the one with the most stuff for the least amount of money. With a family of 6, admittance fees can add up quickly.

The kids all had alot of fun petting the animals, playing in the corn box(kinda like a sand box but corn), hiking through the pumpkins and going through the corn field maze. The favorite thing for all of them was the animals. Out of the entire adventure there was only one casualty and that was Grace getting bitten by the miniature horse on her leg. I guess he was hungry. The bite really wasn't bad, it didn't leave a mark.

Here are some pictures of the event to share with everyone.

Thank You,
TEAM GILBERT

RE-ADOPTION DAY

THE HEARING DAY TO RE-ADOPT GRACE

August 1, 2007

Many many months ago we went to the county attornies office to file to re-adopt Grace in the US in order to get the her a US birth certificate. That will make life much easier in the future. Also I guess it is a good idea to have the adoption be official in the US. There is something about that word that sounds like we need to do it "OFFICIAL", Yeah I think we should do it. As we got up early this morning, knowing that we had plenty of time to get ready and get to the courthouse with the 6 of us and the 4+ of my brother and his family. Yeah!! uhhhh!! We had an "ON TIME" departure. Running at the speed of light and driving even faster we managed to make it there on time. All this with a gas stop since I forgot to get gas last night. We swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and that is what we did. What is your address, when were you born, when was you wedding... and so on... BLAH...BLAH...BLAH...We the court find you to be fit parents to Grace Anna-Joy Gilbert. Also to remember the event we made a "guest book" for all of the attendees. We had everyone sign a 3 picture mat and then added 3 pictures from today and put it in its frame. If any of you come to visit we will show it to you. Here are some of the Legal and Illegal (We were not supposed to take pictures inside the courthouse) pictures from the event of the day.

A Video of Grace

March 16, 2007
Here is a little video of grace. Logan and andrew had a field day at school today. We were able to go and watch and get a few good pictures and videos. Andrews class came out first. They had four different stations set up. Airport mad dash - Pack the suitcase and run with to the end of the field and back. Potato sack race. Carry water on your head in a cup race. A big wheel race, and a tug-of-war. Now remember all of the above names are the technical terms for the events. We would have taken more pictures but of course the camera batteries died. Well please enjoy the pictures and the video and we will be back soon with more updates.

It's March Now, Do You Know Where We Have Been?

Sorry about the delay in the updates

March 15, 2007

Well I guess it has been a while since the last update and we have recieved a few complaints about the "Out of Datedness" of our site. So to the delight of all of you faithful followers here is the new. Grace it doing very well. She has molded into our family unit as if she was always here and we feel as if she has always been here as well. Her and Tyler are best friends and arch enemies all in one happy yet dramatic package. They are always having to do things together but neither of them want to share the toys they are playing with. In January we moved into our new house and in the transition we had a few issues with Grace reverting to some of her younger ways. We ended up having quite a few potty accidents and one night at the dinner table she decided to make a chocolate sundae in her pants. (Fun Fun Fun) Some of the issues I think began when we were starting to move some of the house over to the new house and all of her stuff was still at the old house. I think she thought we were going to leave her or something. I don't know where she got that idea. Now that her new room is decorated she is adjusting well. When we first got Grace, she did not know how run, ride bikes or scooters. After spending alot of time with her brothers all of these activities have become a regular occurance. She is also doing alot of talking even though you can't understand some of it but she understands most of what we say. Here are some new pictures for everyone to look at. Also check back later this weekend, we will be adding some video of Grace to the site.

Fun With Water

What Happens When You Are Not Looking?

March 17, 2007

Have you ever wondered what happens when you leave you children alone to take care of simple tasks such as the washing of hands. Speaking of washing hand, something like that happened today. Well, for a little background on the topic, every so often we will have Grace go into the bathroom to wash her hands in order to entertain her for a few minutes.

Tonight when we did that, I realized that she had been gone for awhile and decided to see what happens when she thinks that no one is looking.

Please enjoy the video and take note of the elevation of her pajama bottoms.

Back Home Sorry about the delay

November 1, 2006

Hello all! Sorry it has taken so long to get an update from after the trip. After coming back we ended up spending a couple of days in the LA area because Grace picked up some sort of virus. Our original plan was to leave for home the day after returning from China and after a short jet-lag nap we noticed that Gracie had random itchy red spots all over her body and her lips and hands were very swollen and red. At that point we didn’t know what was going on so we went straight to the ER. That’s where they told us about the allergic reaction either to the virus or ibuprofen. So the next day (Friday) we were able to head for home. The first thing we got to experience in the US was the introduction to car seats. That was fun. If you know what I mean by fun. Once we found the car, and loaded everything it was time to strap her in. As you can see from the picture, Grace was not happy and she cried for quite some time until she fell asleep. Then it was quiet for a little bit until she had rested enough to start to cry again. Initially the first night back Grace was already adjusting to being with Mommy. Sitting with mommy playing, laughing and everything. That night her virus really hit her and all she wanted was daddy. That wasn’t good when we really only had the weekend to adjust to having Mommy only Monday to Thursday. On Friday when we were starting to head for home Grace really started to open up to Tory. With Grace only wanting me, I was starting to get upset that it was going to be hard to have her connect and become close with Tory. When they were laughing and playing together in the car I started to cry because it made me soooooo happy to see them becoming closer. Throughout that first weekend each day became better and better. By the time Sunday dame around Tory was doing more with her than I was. Speaking of Sunday, we went to a place called the Fear Farm (during the day so it wasn’t scary) and Grace really started to feel comfortable as a part of our family because she started to walk around on her own and go off away from Mommy and Daddy with her brothers and not be scared or worried. I think the transition went quite well. We'll write more soon.