BIG NEWS!!

We would like to announce the arrival of two new additions to our family! Rocío Estefania and Maria Esther

A little over a year and a half ago Isaac and I applied for adoption out of the orphanage in Ecuador that we had been spending time at. We knew the process would take about that much time, but we figured it would be perfect timing to finish our nursing programs (which we haven´t done due to our adventures in Panama). In December we recived the long awaited news that the adoption was final. And it came with the surprise that we had been assigned two girls rather than one!

Rocio and Maria grew up together (all two and a half years of their lives) and behave in the orphanage like real sisters. The comittee were convinced that they would do better together than apart. We have known them both for almost two years and are excited to welcome them into our home.

Rocío 3 years old
Rocio just turned three. She is very quiet, unless she is thirsty. She likes to always have a glass of something in her hands and is not okay if she doesn´t. I think it may actually be related to a medical condition. She is very sweet and affectionate with mom or dad and some adults but doesnt really like other kids to touch her. She puts up with Maria´s hugs and kisses but doesn´t really like them or reciprocte them. She likes her space. She plays well with Maria, she has an adorable smile and laugh.

We are happy that our family is growing and that we have been blessed with three beautiful daughters. We are exhausted, and we hope they will start to play nice, but really, what a blessing!

We are still in Panama waiting on paperwork so that Ariana can leave the country. Hopefully we can go home soon.

Maria 2 1/2

Maria is two and a half and is soooo sweet (unless someone has something she wants of course). She has a sweet smile and gives the best hugs and kisses. In fact she is always kissing. My hands, knees, feet, every mirror we pass (reminds my of my sister DeAnna actually). Her favorite words are "mio" - mine, and "no" of course I imagine those are the famouse words of every two year old. She is very affectionate and protective of "Chio" - the nickname she gave to Rocio, and shakes her finger and says "no papá!" to Isaac everytime he is playing rough with Rocio. She stands between Rocio and Ariana everytime Ariana gets close, because Ariana is prone to pinch, claw, bite and pull hair. We are working on that....

Ariana 15 months

Ariana is trying to figure out what happened. We had to leave her in Panama with Isaac´s mom and family for the six week culmination of everything in Ecuador. Then we came home and dropped two dominating sisters on her. She seems very insecure right now and, like I mentioned above, is very physical with the other girls. She wants to be held all the time, I think to mark her territory, and they all get jealous and possessive over my lap. Our first day back from Ecuador, Isaac knelt down and held out is arms to see Ariana walk, yes she started walking while we were gone - sad, and he said "Ariana, walk to Papá" and Maria ran over and yelled "NO! MIO PAPÁ". It all began there...We are hoping they will start to love each other soon. Maria has begun to give Ariana hugs and kisses when she can avoid Ariana´s hands, so most of them come from behind. Ariana has started grabbing Rocio in bear hugs from behind, but for Rocio that is as disturbing as biting her. Any suggestions?

Bathtime - they all love bath time and want to be IN the water but we don´t have a bathtub, so they rotate buckets. Thankfully we have the pool, they spend hours out there but it is always chaos when we make them get out. At least they all agree on that.

The new and improved Yanguez family

Iguana Park

On our way home from our six week stay in Ecuador, we got stuck for the weekend in Guayaquil, Ecuador. There is a park there called the Iguana park that has literally hundreds of Iguanas. They are all tame and will climb right up on your lap if you have food. Even the squirrels will climb on you and eat from your hands. This park is right in the middle of the city.

Maria loved the iguanas. She was a little hesitant at first, but then would pet any one of them that got close enough. She would call them dogs though, so maybe she didnt realize what she was petting.

Rocio was nervous the whole time and would stay stuck to either my leg or Isaac´s. She was clinging to Isaac at one point and Isaac had some crackers in his hand. An iguana decided to get to the crackers and climbed right up the front of Rocio to get there. Is it bad that I took a picture (see below) before running to help her? Her face, neck and hands were all scratched up. Poor Chio.