The Beaty Families

My sister-in-law Amy had a great idea for a Christmas gift for the Beaty grandparents this year! She arranged to have a photographer friend take pictures of our families together when we were together in September.

Luke & Amy Beaty & 3 sons

Jake & Jennifer Beaty & 3 sons, daughter, and just starting to show

 

Jake and I only recently got copies of the pictures (after they were given, since they were a gift...), which is why I'm just now posting them. Sophia was so much smaller! This was the day before she turned 11 months.

I remember it being a bit of a challenging time getting any good pictures, with six energetic boys, an un-napped baby, and cooler temperatures than we Bolivians are used to, so I'm pretty impressed at how cute they turned out!  

 Six princes (or soldiers, as my boys like to call themselves) and a princess :)

 The girls

 Everyone loves playing with Sophia!

 

This was only a few days after the cousins met for the first time
but they really hit it off with each other!

So much fun!

 Michael could barely wait to get in the water, even as cold as it was

Our Guest and the Guest Room

My Mom got to come this week for a brief 4 day, 4 night visit! She was our "delivery lady" bearing home school books, supplements, and clothes for everyone! 

 

On our balcony

She was able to spend one-on-one time with all three boys during outings, and Sophia really took to her.

It was so nice to have a real guestroom and bathroom for her to not waste time in transportation to and from a guesthouse or hotel. We had our work cut out for us beforehand, but with everyone's help, we transformed the room and I LOVE the results!

Our "everything" room before...

 

...and after, all ready! 

 

 

A couple more improvements

Now that it's all set, we're ready for more guests! (Relatives, hint, hint....)

Since it's set up so nicely now and isn't used for much except clothes drying during rainy season, we've decided this would be a great baby birthing room when that time comes. :)


A few more pictures from Nana's visit!

 

Waiting outside her door after her arrival (I think Sophia is signing "food")

 

And there's grandma, bearing cookies, of course!

Sophia is giving brother Michael a run for his money for the title of "cookie monster"!!

 Mom and I had fun re-organizing all of Sophia's clothes and the new that she brought (for both babies) into various bins, well-labeled for easy retrieval.

Trying on her new walking shoes! She loves them. 

The first couple of days, this was a common look Sophia would give Nana, studying her like "Um...who are you again??"

 Practicing with Daddy!

 Dinner with Elena and crew: her mother (also visiting), 12 day old twins, and our favorite midwife Katrina (from New Zealand)! Sophia was very curious about the babies and Michael loved holding one for a while.