It's Official!

We are leaving for Guatemala on Wednesday morning to pick up Maria!! I cannot WAIT to see that precious baby! I have had no photos or updates on her medical appointments since OCTOBER, and that update was actually from a September appointment. She weighed 15 pounds in September at 6 months old. That's how much Maya weighed at 9 months old when we picked her up. And so I have absolutely no idea how much she weighs, or what size clothes or shoes she will need. Is she crawling? Walking? Teething? Does she use formula, or regular milk? Real food, baby food, or just formula? aaaaaagggghhhh!

Luckily, we'll be staying at the same hotel we stayed at last time, so I already know how well-stocked their hotel store is. I can find almost anything I need in there, so I'll just pack the minimum basics and then buy whatever else I need there. There is also a small market within a couple of blocks of the hotel, which we used last time, and we can find more baby food there if need be. The hotel is extremely accomodating to new parents there, and we can also call or stop by the restaurant and they will prepare anything we ask. We found out Maya was eating pureed veggies already at 9 months old, so we asked them to send us a bowl of that, and they delivered it very quickly.

Did I mention how excited I am?!

Oh, we did decide to leave Maya at home. It's killing me, and I even bought her some of her usual snacks to take to Gran's house. Gran, I am certain, will have quite a stockpile of Maya's favorite snacks already, but I can't help it. It eases my guilt in leaving her to send some of her favs with her. And I bought her a new DVD today to take to Gran's also ... The Aristocats. I wanted Jungle Book II, but couldn't find it at Sam's today, and since she still loves cats, I thought she would enjoy this too. Again, easing my own guilt and sadness over leaving her for 8 whole days!

We had not planned to be away from her for that long, but our embassy appointment is on Friday, and we can't pick up her visa until Tuesday since Monday is a holiday. So we'll use the extra time to just bond with our new little girl, sightsee, and maybe shop an extra time or two.

Did I mention my excitement yet?

I've already reserved the place for Maria's birthday party / aka "meet the family" party. I've already emailed out pre-invitations to let everyone know the date and time. Now I just need to decide on the theme, and for some reason, it's quite a difficult decision for me. I can't decide between Dora, zoo/barnyard animals, butterflies, lady bug, Elmo / Sesame Street, etc, etc, etc. This is one of my favorite part about being a mom ... I get to plan birthday parties!! I remember a few birthday parties for me growing up, and I'm sure I had more than I can remember, but my birthday is a week before Christmas, so every birthday gets mixed up in the holidays. I do have friends that are sweet enough to make sure my birthday celebration is kept separate from our Christmas gathering, but I still cannot ever remember later whether a new item was received for my birthday or for Christmas.

But I digress. I can't wait to visit Antigua again, and to shop the markets around Guatemala City. And since we'll be there a little longer this time, maybe visit the zoo and some other sights within the city. We didn't explore too much last time we were there. I enjoyed our trip to Antigua very much, and we made some great friends while there, though. Maybe it's just that the anticipation is not so stressful this time since I actually know what to expect! I am so looking forward to this trip! We'll be home the next week Wednesday, flying in around 4:00 p.m. I know it's bad timing for anyone hoping to meet us at the airport, but it was either 4:00 p.m. or 11:30 p.m.! And Maya is the only one that MUST be there, and of course I wouldn't want her out late at night. So this might actually be good to have a small crowd there this time, to give Maya some extra time alone with Maria.

We are taking my laptop this time, so hopefully I can find a few moments to spare to post some new pictures of us. Hm, just realized I might need to find a new name for my blog here. It's not all about Maya anymore, and I wonder how she will manage having to share the spotlight? She is a precious girl, and the light of my life, but I am the first to admit she's incredibly spoiled (and not just by me!) I hope my girls become forever friends along life's path, but I know there will be quite a bit of jealousy on Maya's part at first. I hope she knows we wanted to do this for her as much as for us. I always felt like I was missing something in life by not having a sister. So as soon as Eric finally agreed to adopting our first daughter, I started working on planting the seeds for our second daughter. It didn't take him long to agree.

In just a few weeks we'll be able to have portraits made of my girls together!! I'm dying to buy matching outfits, but I have to make myself wait until I find out what size this new baby girl is. Oh, ok ... I'll admit I have taken a chance and bought a couple of matching pink sweaters, hoping they can wear them for a sort of Valentine-theme picture, even though it will be taken after V-Day, of course.

Well, off to pick out clothes and shoes in several different sizes for Maria!