The saga of Maria, Part II

February 15:
We got up bright and early to make our appointment on time. Hector picked us up in the hotel lobby at 6:50, and we had to be at the embassy by 7:15. Completely uneventful at the embassy ... Maria was quite unimpressed with the importance of her big day! The best news of the day, other then making Maria an official immigrant, was that she was now used to her new mommy and daddy and managed quite a few smiles for us. The medicines and lotions she now had seemed to make her feel 100% better, and she decided she likes us pretty well. She is just an absolute doll, and starts smiling all the time.

Maria's homecoming, Part I

Feb. 12:
So I told my cousin that I could absolutely get packed early this time, since of course I know what I'm doing the 2nd time around, and will get plenty of sleep before getting up early to fly to Guatemala. HAH! I decide I absolutely MUST see Maya before leaving her for 8 whole days, so I leave work and go home and pack Maya's clothes and snacks and head to Gran's house. I stay there long enough to give her a bath and put her to bed, but she wants Gran to lay down with her. So I sneak out and head home to, ahem, START packing things for Maria and myself. On the way home, Eric calls and asks if we have a second diaper bag to take to for Maria. Um... no ... hadn't even thought about it yet. So off to Target I go.

While there, I also decide to get a couple more outfits for Maria, as I still have no clue what size she wears, but am betting on 12 months. And since we're taking my laptop, I also stock up on a large bag that can double as a purse and a laptop carrier (complete with laptop sleeve). So another $100 later, I head home at 10:00 and start packing. Luckily, I DID have most of my things stacked and ready to pack, just had to organize Maria's things and fit it all in as few suitcases as I could. We ended up wtih 4 suitcases, and 3 carryon items. geez. And I thought I packed light....

Feb 13:
So around 1:30 a.m., I do finally head to bed and manage to get about 1 1/2 hours of sleep before getting up at 3:00 a.m. to head to the airport around 5:00. We leave home about 15 minutes late, and within a couple of miles from the house I remember I forgot to take my extra stash of cash, which I had saved to buy some jade jewelry for my girls (well, ok, and for mama!) So back home we go and then finally get to the airport and start checking baggage. The flight was uneventful, and we get to our hotel room about 1/2 hour before the att'y and his assistant/interpreter call and say they are downstairs with Maria! yay!!! I'm finally, finally, finally about to get my baby girl!! I am just as nervous at this point as I was when getting Maya.

So we rush downstairs and I honestly didn't have time to get emotional like I did last time. They had me that adorable baby girl, who is crying quite earnestly, and they tell me she is in "desperate need of a diaper change." So I rush upstairs and change her and come back down. Then they ask for our packet of paperwork that we need to take to the embassy. Back upstairs I go, Maria in tow. By this time, Maria is not only still crying, she is sweating profusely. Seems they dressed her in an outfit I sent to her in a package the Conley's brought with them in December, and the little fleece top is sweltering hot in GC weather. Her little face is drenched with sweat and she's quite red from the heat and the crying. We finally finish with the att'y and are able to stop by the gift shop and pick up some formula for her. Once we get back to our room we are finally able to take some of those darned hot clothes off of her! But she continues to cry, and cry, and cry. By that evening we are really worried that she might have a fever and be sick, as she will not eat much and will not stop crying and seems to still be quite hot. We head to the baby lounge and find someone with an ear thermometer, and her temperature is normal. So we decide to wait until the next day, when we will take her to the Guatemalan doctor anyway for her medical release that needs to go to the embassy with us.

Maria slept sporadically throughout the night, and continued to sweat! But she was one of the two cutest baby girls I had ever seen, and we were so completely in love with her already. I just wanted to cry with her and do SOMETHING to ease her misery!!

Feb 14:
Daddy needed some sleep after the long night, so after breakfast, he went back to bed and Maria and I left to window shop and go to the baby lounge. While downstairs, I thought daddy needed to buy "his girls" a little something for Valentine's Day, so we stopped at the jade store in the hotel and bought matching jade heart pendants for the girls and a larger one for mommy! We'll just show daddy later how generous he was to all his girls....

In the baby lounge, Maria is finally calm for the first time since we got her, and we discover her love of Gerber Puffs! I let her eat as much as she wanted, as she had had very little to eat by this point.

We later go to get her photos taken for the visa, and we go to the doctor to get her medical release. He was an extremely nice man, and took plenty of time with us to answer our questions. He convinced us that we did NOT need to have her immunizations redone in the states, with the exception of the M,M,R one, as she had gotten it too young in GC. He also helped us figure out that our new baby had a probable milk allergy, which explained the severe rash she had, along with some strange looking poops. He also prescribed a low-steroid creme to tackle her severe eczema. We stopped by the Pharmacia Americana on the way back to the hotel and picked up the prescripion cream, along with some soy formula. Within 24 hours, we had a new baby on our hands, and we had gotten several smiles out of her by then. From then on, she continued to improve and had nothing but smiles for us. I know she missed her foster mother, whose name was Maria, coincidentally. But oh, happy day!! Eric was able to make her smile quite often, and she really seemed to like him, so he was much more at ease than he was the first time we were there!

To be continued .. mommy is sleepy!

Happy 1st Birthday, Maria!

Wow, I simply cannot believe how fast time is flying by! I wanted to come and update about our Guatemala trip, all the sights, all the details, all the new friends we made. But now it's Maria's first birthday already and I just cannot keep up with all that is going on in our lives, much less stop to write about it! sigh.

Maria is an absolute doll! She is simply a happy, smiley baby. She loves to watch her big sister, and lights up anytime Maya is in the room. She and Maya appear to be complete opposites, and I just love watching their little personalities develop. Maya is a 100% on-the-go, never stop, early riser, too busy to stop and eat, non-stop LOUD talker. Maria is laid back, quiet, slow eater, and likes to sleep late like daddy. I've already pictured Maya and I hitting the early morning sales on Black Friday while Maria and daddy sleep in.

Maya has adapted amazingly well, and adores her little sister. She is reveling in her big sister role, I think. She has her moments of jealousy, but overall handles it very well. Oh, I MUST mention Maya's newest funny! Before we left, we taught Maya to say Maria's name and where she is from. She is very adept at telling people very matter-of-factly, "She's from Guatemala." So after we got home, we started explaining that Maya is also from Guatemala. She seemed surprised at first, but started answering "Guatemala" whenever we asked where she is from. Fast forward to last week Sunday, when daddy took Maya to Monkey Joe's for some one-on-one father-daughter time. Maya LOVES Monkey Joe's, which is really why we decided to host Maria's first birthday party at a local bounce house. Maya has a great time, as usual, at Monkey Joe's. For some reason, after her trip there, this is how our conversations about national origins now go:

mommy: What is your sister's name?
Maya: Her name is Maria. (pronouced "rhea"...hehehe)
mommy: Where is she from?
Maya: She's from Guatemala
mommy: Where is Maya from?
Maya: I'm from Monkey Joe's

My girl is hilarious!

Since Maria's party is next Sunday, we didn't really do much today. We were going to go out for lunch (just Maria, me and Omi), but I had to finish a spreadsheet for work, and so we didn't make it out in time before Maria's nap. Then we were going to meet daddy and Maya for supper somewhere, but then daddy had to work late at the last minute. So I picked up Maya and we just came home and had mac & cheese for supper, and I made icing for the cupcakes I was going to freeze and use for the party on Sunday. We each had a cupcake, and wore our Elmo party hats, and sang Happy Birthday to Maria. I have a GREAT picture that emphasizes the differences in eating habits of my girls .... which I hope I can find time to download and share tomorrow. Maya just wanted to decorate her cupcake, and she ate most of the icing off of it, but only took about 3 or 4 small bites of the actual cupcake. Maria devoured her cupcake!! It was so cute ... she smooshed it to pieces, like I thought she would, but she also ate as much as she could get in her mouth!

They're absolutely adorable ... and I love both of those girls to pieces!

She's ours!!!

Oh, wow. I can't believe we are finally here!

We arrived Wednesday, and checked in about 1:45 p.m. They brought Maria to us about 2:30. I didn't have time to get all teary-eyed like I did when I got Maya, as the minute our facilitator handed her to me, he said she is in desperate need of a diaper change, so I grab her and go back upstairs to take care of that. The minute I get back downstairs, he asks for our paperwork packet, which of course is in the room, so back upstairs I go. All this time, Eric is the one who is getting the details on her eating and sleeping habits... kind of scary, huh? But he did well with it.

I have LOTS more to post, but I'm off to play with my baby now!

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!

I'm leaving ... on a jet plane ....

Yep, we'll be getting our PINK any day now! Well, any day next week, hopefully. Our 2nd dna test was done last Friday, so now we just wait for our appointment date! Woohoo! My best guess would put us in Guatemala City in mid-February.

We're still debating on whether or not to take Maya with us. My heart says yes, yes, she MUST go with us. No way could I survive a whole week without my little Punkin'. But then my brain says "are you completely freakin' NUTS?!" You want to take a screaming, tantrum-throwing toddler on the plane to a country where you don't speak the language, where she looks more like the average citizen than you, and where she's bound to continue her habit of running from you at the worst times?! And to top it off, you want to take TWO of them on the plane ride home? What the H are you thinking?!?!"

heart: Sigh. I still stress over being an hour late coming home from work and missing that extra hour of time that could have been spent with my baby. How can I leave her for a week?!?!

brain: But we need bonding time with Maria, and it's not fair to Maria to bring along a 2 year old that will demand mommy's every waking moment. Maria deserves mommy's full attention, and this is probably the only chance she has to get it.

ARGHGHGHGH!!! I'm almost to the point of letting fate decide ... when it comes time to make reservations, if we can get a suite or even 2 adjoining rooms, where Maya and Maria can have individual attention from at least one parent at a time, then maybe we can handle taking her with us. If that's not possible, then maybe fate is telling me she should stay home. I try to delude myself into thinking we want to take her for her sake, but it's so obviously a ruse .... I want to take her for MY sake! She'll never even remember the time apart if she stays, or the trip if she goes.

I made the mistake of asking her tonight, "do you want to go with Mommy and Daddy to Guatemala, or do you want to stay with Gran?" Silly mommy ... what 2 year old wouldn't pick GRAN when she knows she can have her way all the time at Gran's house?! Doesn't Gran always have the BEST snacks around at all times?! Heck, I want to stay at Gran's, too, and be spoiled completely rotten, and have my every whim catered to!! When can I get some Gran time, hmmmm? I really do adore my MIL... and I'm not exaggerating when I say she would coddle me just as much as she would Maya if I stayed with her a week.

I've already asked a few people if they would be interested in going with us, then I would have a babysitter to help watch Maya, but no luck so far. Oh well, still a few more weeks to decide. I'll think about it tomorrow......

Guess what started today?!

Scene: in the bathtub.
mommy: "stand up, Maya, so we can wash your behind."
maya: "BUT WHY?"
mommy: "because it's stinky."
maya: "BUT WHY?"
mommy: "because you've had a few stinkies today and we need to clean it."
maya: "BUT WHY?"
mommy: "maya, we need to wash your bottom. stand up, please."
maya "BUT WHY?"
mommy: "BECAUSE I SAID SO!"

sigh. Let the good "why's" roll.

Two and a half really is a fun age, though. Maya is like a sponge, and just seems to absorb everything around her (including the few, uh, not so nice words mommy MIGHT have let slip.)

The other thing I thought was really cute was:
mommy: "Maya, your hairband is sooo cute!"
maya: "I like it."
maya: "not really. hehehe."

She really does not like things in her hair. She will keep the little elastic bands I use for ponytails, but removes all clips and bows and headbands and anything else I have tried. I think she would take the elastic bands out too, but she hasn't figured out how to do that without hurting her head.

She's growing up too fast!!! How do I slow it down?! Oh, and she's learned the art of little white lies already. I must admit I loved the stage before she learned how to lie. I could just ask her "Maya, do you have a stinky diaper?" And she would look at me and nod. Now I ask her the same question, and she's figured out to say no..... even if the true answer is yes.

Maya definitely has the make believe thing down, too. She likes to pretend she's a bee stinging us to make us cry. And tonight I told her to look sad and she made the cutest little frown EVER! It was absolutely adorable, so we had to go show daddy. I have got to get a picture of it, and of course will post it whenever I do. I foresee a Tony award in her future....

The Christmas that almost wasn't.....

Since I've been in a bah-humbug mood all season, I had yet to wrap the first gift when my family showed up on Christmas Eve for our celebration. My mother lives in C, along with my brother and his family, and C is about 1 1/2 hours from my house. My mother's house, in particular, is about 1 hour 40 minutes or so from my house. We invited mom to stay with us the week of Christmas as we certainly didn't want her to be alone this year. So after supper, I tell my brother I need a few minutes to wrap some gifts before we start the gift exchange. They tend to Maya while I disappear upstairs for about 15 minutes. I came back downstairs and tell my mom that I cannot find Maya's gift from her, and I wanted Maya to open it while my family was here. I looked several more times that evening and really get worried, as there are two other Santa gifts that I got along with the gift from my mom. I had other things at home to give her, but these were 3 of her main items, and I was to the point of tears when I still couldn't find them around 8:00 that evening. I even left to see if I could find ANY store still open that late. Walgreen's was the ONLY store open, and they were packed, and all the toys were quite picked over, so no luck there. So I go home and try to make do with the pitiful offering of stocking stuffers and a few other measly gifts for Maya, all while fighting the tears.

Finally, around 10:00, it hits me ... I remember where the gifts are. I bought them when in C visiting mom earlier in the month, and I remembered putting them in HER closet to hide them from Maya. Oy! I call my brother, who is back home by this time and ask him to ride out to mom's house (only about 3 miles for him) and see if they are still in her closet. Sure enough, there they are! So I tell Frank I am on my way down, as I cannot STAND not getting them for Maya to have Christmas morning.

My nephew meets me in CL, which is about 40 minutes from mom's, so it saves me a good amount of time. But I still do not get back home until 1:00 a.m. Chrismtas morning with the gifts. I put them out and head on to bed, a happy Mama! I do realize that Christmas is not all about the gifts, and that Maya would not have had a clue if they had not been found, and she would still have been ecstatic to have the few other things we had for her. So this trip was really more for me than for her. But I truly would have been devastated. Christmas was saved .....

This gift was not in Columbia, so we still had her big item at home. But I wasn't about to go outside at 6:30 a.m. when Maya woke up to find this Santa gift ... we waited until E's mom was able to come by, and she "found" it outside from Santa!



And this face was definitely worth the drive to pick up the Cabbage Patch doll!


These are from Christmas Eve with my family.

...for Sarah

Ok, Sarah, your Christmas is now complete! Here's the lastest pictures we received of our darling Maria, who should be coming home in January, 2008! I believe these were taken in September at 6 months old.





And here's a recent one of Maya. This is the picture we used in our Christmas cards this year:



I'm trying hard to get out of the 'bah, humbug' spirit I've been in this month. I think it's getting better. I know I'm excited that my mom will be coming tomorrow to stay with us for a week or so. She was supposed to come yesterday, but she got sick and had a fever and didn't want to expose Maya to anything. But the fever is gone and she just has the cold symptoms left, so I insisted she come stay here anyway so we can keep an eye on her and make sure she is taken care of. We've all battled a recurrring bug that has been floating around our house since Thanksgiving, and have all just completed our rounds with antibiotics, so I think we're safe from mom's bug.

I am excited about Omi (my mom) and Gran (E's mom) both being here Christmas morning to see Maya and her Santa toys. Gran drove over last year on Christmas morning, and I'm sure she'll do the same this year. I have waited a long, long time to be a mom, and I cannot wait to see my little girl's face light up when she gets up on Christmas morning! I will make my usual Chrismtas morning casserole and have the coffee pot brewing. Then we'll all hang out in our jammies until almost noon, when it will be time to get ready to go visit E's family for our Christmas celebration with them. My family will all be coming up to my house tomorrow to celebrate with us and mom. So I think I'm starting to get over my doldrums for the moment.

We wish you all peace, love, and joy this holiday season, and here's to an awesome 2008!

Maria is coming home soon!

We got a call Saturday from our agency, and Maria should be coming home in January! woohoo! Maya is finally going to be a big sister!!!

We got out of PGN on Friday, which is actually about a week earlier than I had predicted. We were kicked out around Oct 18 and resubmitted the next day, but I was sure it would take at least another 8 weeks before we got out. I'm so glad to say it ain't so!

We still have to wait for the reissued birth certificate, the 2nd dna test and results, and our appointment date to appear at the US embassy in Guatemala, but at least an end is finally in sight! So Maria will be 10 months old when we bring her home. Maya was 9 months old, and I must say, it is a wonderful age.

I was just telling E tonight that it's hard to remember Maya being so small when we got her. She was running around the living room between daddy and the orange and her toys and mommy. Everyone is so surprised at how well she speaks now. She will talk up a storm if you have time to listen, so we make time!

We went to see Omi Saturday and took Maya to see the Christmas lights at the zoo. Traffic was horrendous, and while I'm on the subject, let me just express my complete displeasure with the extremely rude, boorish and completely inane drivers who think it is perfectly ok for some of us to sit in traffic over 1/2 an hour to take a certain zoo exit while they zoom up the left lane and weasel their way into the front of the traffic line. I wish I could remember the NC license tag number I tried to memorize ... the one that so rudely pushed his way into line even though we were trying not to let him in. I'm all for being curteous and letting people get in front of me, but I'm not exaggerating when I say we were in traffic for more than 1/2an hour to go about 1/2 a mile. But it was worth every second of the traffic agony to see the big smile on Maya's face when she saw the elephants!

One of her favorite movies is Jungle Book, and we practice our marching with the elephant military patrol. She also still loves Garfield and Cinderella. I heard from a little birdie that she will be getting Cinderella III from some of her favorite relatives who happen to live in Nebraska.

We went to a neighborhood Christmas party last night. It was at our friend's house, and their whole neighborhood has a Luminary Night each year on the 2nd Sunday in December. It gets larger each year, and we have so much fun taking a hay ride around the neighborhood, eating snacks at host houses, and meeting with our friends each year. Maya is still afraid of Santa, who she calls "Ho Ho". She will be chattering away and if you ask her if she wants to go see Ho Ho, she'll freeze up and say "No!" very quickly. I hope she gets over her fear soon .. I can't wait to get pictures of her in Santa's lap!

E, Maya and I all wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bye, Papa

Maya's Papa: May 13, 1922 - November 1, 2007

Let me tell you a little about my dad. He loved, loved, LOVED his family. And his grandchildren could do no wrong. Some of my favorite memories of him include impromptu trips to Mr. Smith's for a banana split, sitting around listening to him talk with any of his siblings about their growing up years (there were 12 chilren in all), playing cribbage with him (and catching him cheat!), dad taking me shopping for clothes when he got an unexpected rebate or insurance dividend, and going swimming at the local military base.

Dad was the organized one in the family. Mom and I haven't a clue how to do that. Lucikly for my brother, who handles most of dad's paperwork, dad had a folder for everything and a place for every folder. Whoever gets to take care of me and my mom will not be so lucky. You'll have to search every kitchen drawer, every nook and cranny, to find the important papers we never get around to filing. I wish I had inherited that organization gene, but alas, I didn't.

Dad was proud to be a veteran, and he was very proud to have served in two wars, WWII and the Korean War. He wasn't happy with the state of today's military. He thought the soldiers had lost their respect for military rank, and for serving in general. But he was so proud to have been a part of it when he was. He met my mom in Germany, and looking through his files I found a picture that he had labeled as the day he had to leave mom and come home. They were not married yet, and they couldn't get the paperwork processed in time for her to come with him. He came home in August, 1959, and she wasn't able to come here until late October of that year. His note under the picture said it was the longest 2 months of his life. They celebrated their 48th anniversary on October 26, and I'm so glad he made it past that point.

I asked my mom what it was about him that attracted her to him. Rumor had it she wouldn't give any of the German men the time of day, much less the American soldiers coming through. She replied that all of the other men always kidded around too much, always acted immature, and always wanted something. But dad would always talk about his family, and his mother, and how she had raised 12 children and 2 of her many grandchildren. He talked about sending money home to his family (instead of gambling and drinking it away as so many others did). And she told me something I had never heard before ... they had actually broken up for a little while, because he said he needed to go home and help his mother for a little while, as she was getting remarried to an older friend of dad's and he needed to be there to help them. She said she wasn't sad about it, because she had a feeling that he would come back. He did. So it impressed her that he took such good care of his family, even to the point of helping his sisters who had married alcoholics and often didn't have food to feed the many children they had. I heard from my cousin at the funeral how dad would come visit them one day, and if they didn't have any food in the refrigerator, dad would always be back the next day with groceries. And how much he and his siblings would look forward to seeing that car pull up in their driveway. not just because he knew it would mean food on the table the next day, but just to know someone loved them and cared about them. I remember dad telling me how, when this particular cousin's mother would be having another baby, dad would go pick up all the kids, bring them home and make sure they all had baths and something to eat until their mother came back home.

Also at the funeral, I heard one of his longest and closest friends speak about the prisoners of war that dad was around. He said many of the soldiers would not treat the prisoners (or the locals) very well, but dad was always respectful of them, and treated them with dignity.

We sure do miss you, daddy. But I know you're in a better place now, and for the first time in all the years I knew you, you have no pain at all now. Rest in peace, dad.

My dad

I know it's been a while since my last post, but it's been a difficult month. My dad, who is 85 years old, and who has been married to my mom for 48 years as of yesterday (Oct. 26), was admitted to hospice last week and will not be with us much longer. I'm so glad he made it through that anniversary for mom's sake. The hospice staff were so very sweet ... they had a cake and ice cream for him and mom, and they took pictures of them in his room.

It's very difficult to even type, as he's in such pain that I tell everyone that it would be easier to let him go than see him in such agony. But now in hospice, they are controlling his pain much better than they did in the hospital, so he's comfortable now. But he's also mostly sleeping now, too, and you cannot understnad what he says when he does try to talk. Today he slept through our entire visit, and his blood pressure is dropping, so we know it will be soon.

The saddest part to me is that he will never get to meet my little Maria. He absolutely adores children, and his grandchildren can do no wrong. One of the funniest things I can think of about him is, he was a very strict father. Ex-military, by-the-book, and a 'do as I say, not as I did' kind of dad. And he was stricter on me than on my brothers, because I'm a girl, and I was the baby. Ok, so not to the funny part yet ... his grandchildren can run through his house screaming at the top of their lungs, and he would sit back and say "that's just music to my ears!" My brother eloquently pointed out that it most certainly was NOT music when we did it! But thst's my dad.

Mom and I had to go through the bank box looking for his will, and we checked out all the things he had in there. He had some pennies in there ... one from 1900 and one from 1906. I didn't realize they were United States currency, as I had never seen that type before, until I read the writing on them. Pretty cool. And the only other penny he had in there was from ....... 1964. Guess what year I was born? Yep. So I WAS the favorite, right?!?!? Right!?!? Ha!

Dad was strict, but he was pretty cool sometimes. He was always good for a banana split at Mr. Smith's ice cream shop. And he loved to take us swimming at the military base where he retired from, and where he still worked civil service. He loved his family more than anything. I took Maya to see Omi today and she mentioned "Papa" more than once. I guess she was wondering where you were. I'll have to find some old pictures later to post so my children will know who Papa was and how much he loved them.

We love you, dad, and we will miss you.

Please help bring them home!

I am asking for your help to bring home the 5,000 Guatemalan orphans currently in process to be adopted by US parents.

Edited to remove personal commentary, as it just takes up time and space when you could be reading the linked site instead....

http://www.5000orphans.com/

ETA: The DOS has revised their statement and added verbiage saying they have asked that the current in-process cases be grandfathered in to the new "law" and be allowed to finish. While we would be thankful for that, it does nothing for the babies being born right now that will not have any other option to remain with the birthmother. The majority of adoption agencies have shut their doors to Guatemala for the time being, and it is unknown if or when they will be allowed to reopen. It breaks my heart to know that the Guatemalan government is not prepared at this point to step up to the plate and help care for their own. I look at my first daughter's laughing eyes and smiling face and cry when I think about what 'could have been' if she had remained in Guatemala. And it makes me very sad to think there is even a slight chance that we might not be able to bring home our second daughter at all.

2K

No, 2K is NOT a distance that I run. I don't even walk 2K if I can help it.

Maya started the new 2K program at a local church. She loves it! I cried. And Gran cried when I told her about it a few months ago. Gran kept Maya for us on Mon, Wed and Fri, and a friend kept her on Tues & Thurs. But the friend lives pretty far away, and we've had a couple of problems in the past (with another sitter) and had to scramble at the last minute for daycare. Once I had to stay home on LWOP as I didn't have any leave time left, but Maya was sick. Soooo, Gran is the one who actually looked into the church program for us, but she intended it to be a Tues/Thurs program only. I had already told E that I would prefer to just pay for 5 days and then just have the option to drop her off on MWF if Gran or Poppi is sick. But when it came time to enroll (we were number 23 on the waiting list when we signed up months ago), they had eliminated the TTh program and had begun a new 2K program. So Gran cried when I told her it was now 5 days. She knows she can still have Maya anytime she wants, but this does give us a sense of security if we need to keep her there. But Gran wants Maya to have that time with the other children, and to not miss out on whatever little projects they have going on.

And then it came time for her first day. We had visited the week before when they had the open house for parents, and Maya played in her room and met her teachers. Maya adjusts extremely well to most situations, so I knew she would be fine. But I wasn't . It was one of those "below the head" reactions. 'Below the head' means it doesn't involve my brain or my common sense. Those two told me she would do wonderful here, and that she would love meeting new children. But 'below the head', I was anxious and nervous and I just hated leaving her there that first day. Who knew I would turn into this quivering mass of emotions the minute I became a mommy? E and I walked Maya to her room that morning, and she looked around a little. Then when she realized we were leaving her there, she started crying. So we said goodbye to her and left (as they instructed us the children tend to recover faster if we don't prolong the goodbye.) That was one of the hardest things I have ever done. EVER. I was crying before we rounded the first corner. Then we had to stop by the director's office and paid our first month's bill, and turned in Maya's updated immunization form. I'm still crying the whole time I'm writing out the check. The director (and the rest of the staff, too) are all very sweet, and she kept telling me Maya will be fine, and she will have a good time. I KNEW all that! But I couldn't help the tears anyway. My baby is growing up so fast. Oh, and yes, she is just fine there, and she's made some new friends, and she is having a great time.

We got PA!!

We got US Preapproval (PA) today!! On to PGN!
This is Maria, Maya's little sister. I haven't posted her picture yet because it makes me nervous to do so. The adoption isn't final until her birthmother signs off one last time after we exit PGN (which we hope will only take the average 8 weeks to complete). But I'm very excited about getting PA! One step closer....

Isn't she a cutie? Everyone says she looks like Maya, but I don't see any resemblance at all. Other than they are both drop dead gorgeous, of course! :-)

I am worried about the current status of US adoptions in Guatemala right now. The atmosphere seems to be deteriorating daily with regards to anti-American sentiment. Rumors abound about the reasons behind American's adopting from Guatemala, plus the Hague treaty issues, plus the push by UNICEF to keep Guatemalan babies in Guatemala, regardless of their government's inability to care for these children. Yes, I think adoption processes could be greatly improved in Guatemala, and yes, I think there should be more controls over the lawyer's roles in adoptions, and yes, I think the government should do far more to assist the 75% of their population wayyy below poverty level. But dammit, NOT at the expense of the children who will die or suffer malnutrition or abuse because their gov't does not assume responsibility for them!! So, with all the current hullabaloo, I think it would be best if Maya stays home. I will NOT endanger her life, even for the opportunity to get to know her little sister before facing the big crowd at home. Hopefully things will improve after their elections in September, but if not, Maya will have to stay with Gran. I hope she understands one day.

Rant over, for the moment. I don't want to hijack my own thread with negativity. PA takes an average of 60 days now (up from 30 days when we adopted Maya), and today was either day 60 or 61 for us. An adoption forum that I joined had a bunch of people announcing PA today, and I was feeling quite left out. So I checked email one more time (have been checking daily for a couple of weeks now) and there it was! I'm so excited. I still have hopes of bringing Maria home this year, hopefully late November or December, so we can combine my 6 weeks of maternity leave with holiday leave. Otherwise I won't have any leave time at all over the holidays and will have more LWOP time. But, of course, I would fly to get her tomorrow if they would let me!

Oh, and E has 'officially' agreed on Maria B- (his mother's maiden name) for her name! I'm excited about that too! Maya's middle name is my maiden name, so I loved the idea of using a grandmother's maiden name for Maria's middle name. Her first name is for my mother (one of her many middle names), so it was only fair to use something from her other grandmother, aka "Gran".

I have really got to get started on Maya's big girl room so we can modify the nursery for Maria. Maybe this weekend .... I think this announcement is a great incentive for me to get started!

I'm soooo happy!!!

Un-named

Don't know what to call this one. Just general ramblings of an old lady, who is sick of bringing work home from the office, from missing lunch because of work, and who can no longer retire in 10 short years because she left the state retirement system to work closer to home, but doesn't seem to be home much more than when she commuted 3 hours a day. Sigh. I really don't hate my job, but I'm just annoyed at all the computer problems we've had at work, which really slows down the productivity, so I end up working longer and harder but not getting as much accomplished. So here I sit at 11:10 p.m., updating the blog because now my HOME laptop keeps kicking me out of excel. Sigh again. I guess it's not in the cards for me to actually finish the Medicaid reimbursement analysis I started oh-so-long-ago. I would eat something, but I ate a whole bag of almond m&ms already today. Not good for the old diet, huh?

Speaking of un-named, Eric agreed to my favorite choice for Maria's name! But again, we must remember that E will change his mind at the drop of a hat, no matter what he has committed to in the past. So we'll see if it lasts. He has agreed to it 2 other times, but changed his mind. We had sort of agreed on Anna Maria, but that just seems so bland compared to Maya's unique name ... Maya R-(my maiden name). Paired with our really common last name, poor Maria would probably be one of 100 of them in our state alone. So, I suggested again the Maria B-(Eric's mother's maiden name), which I really love and which his mother seems to love also. He mentioned tonight that he was ok with it. Don't know what changed his mind this time, but we'll see how long it lasts. I wouldn't rush out and get anything monogrammed with MBL on it just yet.

Let me see if I can find some cute pictures of Maya to post. bwahahahaha! I can ALWAYS find cute pictures of Maya to post!




Guess who figured out her tricycle/scooter thing?! Her feet still don't reach the pedals, but she learned how to 'walk' it up the small hill then lift her feet and just ride! She laughed and laughed and laughed. I just love that little grin she gets when she figures something out. Needless to say, this will require even more "outside" time than before. She sooo loves the outdoors, and I'm happy that she prefers that over watching tv inside, but I am just not an outdoorsy gal myself. I think I'm allergic to outside. Five minutes near the grass and I'm sneezing. Or if it's too hot, I'll sneeze. But I'll brave it to be able to get pictures like this! I just love that little kid of mine. She makes days like today worth it all ......

Her first "car date"!

Somehow I thought this would come much, much later in life, like when she's 20! But we were visiting friends last weekend and they have a 3 year old son. He's a real cutie, and he has one of those motorized jeeps. So he took Maya for a ride in their yard! It was the cutest thing EVER! Ok, so his mom actually had to run over and turn the steering wheel for him whenever he needed to turn, but he was pushing the pedal all by himself. They would be heading across the lawn and I would just watch them go, and Maya would yell "bye, mommy, bye!" And I imagined that same scene picturing her as a teenager. Oy! My heart ached, and she's only TWO!

But it was adorable enough for me to post the picture against my 'no other children' rule. Oh well, I might as well toss that rule ... I'm not sticking to it very well.

Oh, and this picture is a recreation of the actual event. The little boy really was driving Maya around, and she was just as happy as can be in the passenger seat. I mentioned "I wish we had taken pictures of that" several times, and so his dad finally got his camera and we went back outside. But this time Maya jumped in the driver's seat. I just can't get over how cute these kids were!!

Birthday parties galore!

Hmmm, what to do, what to do? Work on the spreadsheet I brought home from work, or update the blog? Work, or blog? hehehehe.... not much of a decision huh?

My problem comes, though, in trying to select pictures to post. I try not to include other children in my pictures here, as I wouldn't want someone posting Maya's pictures without me knowing it, but it's kind of hard to find a picture at a child's birthday party without other children in it! I'll have to break my own rule and post this one anyway.... this captures my baby's personality to a 'T'!




Yes, she does that backward fall into the pool all the time. And she usually precedes it with a "Watch! Mommy! Watch!" She's absolutely fearless when it comes to water. Which terrifies me with the big swimming pool right outside. Eric is supposed to get a lock for the pool gate, as she does know how to open doors now. And we have GOT to get her signed up for swimming lessons ASAP!

She also loves to face the water and sort of dive into the little pool face first. Either way, she always comes up laughing and smiling. The first time she did both stunts, she just about gave her old mom a heart attack!

Two years old. Have I mentioned she's TWO YEARS OLD now? I know I'm being repetitive when I say I just can't believe it. But truly, I can't believe it! I look at her now and see a young girl emerging. She has all but lost the baby-Maya look. Occasionally we'll see the open mouth, wide-eyed stare we knew and loved so well in all her pre-placement pictures. And oh, the memories that come rushing back. I'll just say that 2 years have never gone by that fast before in my entire 42 years. Wait ... I take it back. The first 9 months of those 2 years positively dragged and I thought I would die from the anticipation ... all we had were pictures of her those first 9 months. It was the moment we held her that time seemed to incrementally speed up, at approximately 10:15 a.m. on May 1, 2006, in the lobby of the Marriott hotel in Guatemala City. Whoever coined the phrase "time flies when you're having fun!" certainly knew what he was talking about!

Anyway, on to the birthday parties!

We had 13 people attend her birthday party at my parent's house on July 15th.
We had 31 people attend her birthday party at home on July 28th, and 21 people attended the party at home on July 29th. That little girl is very much loved by a lot of people! Only 3 people invited couldn't make it Saturday, and 17 couldn't make it Sunday (those 17 were only 2 families, however!) The parties at home were swimming parties, and we set up Maya's little shark pool beside the big pool. We had several children there around Maya's age, and they all seemed to enjoy both pools. But having the little pool was nice, so that they could get in and out as they pleased without an adult freaking out if they got near it (as we tend to do around the big pool). Both parties at home were 2:30 - 4:30, but of course family and friends hung out until close to (some even after) 6:00. Some people brought gifts, of course, even though I added "no gifts" to the invitations. I certainly understand wanting to bring presents, but honestly, her toy-cup overrunneth! Now mommy has to do a major clean out of toys this coming weekend. It's such a difficult thing to balance .. you want them to have it all, but not be greedy or selfish. You want them to always be happy, but to be humble. You want them to enjoy childhood, but not be a brat. You want them to be healthy, but to enjoy cake and ice cream and cookies and ... well, you get the idea.

All of her parties were "Nemo"-themed. I don't understand the facination with fish, but she's hooked! (pun intended...) My best toy-investments ever were 1) her $15 Target clearance-priced orange cat-chair, which she dearly loves and kisses so much that it's little nose and mouth are constantly brown instead of off-white; and 2) her $15 Belk cheap-plastic fish screen (shaped like a plasma tv, but quite simplistic) that she loves to turn on in the mornings. We count "1-2-3!", and then she yells "Wake up, fishies!" And then, as if by magic (or a very good mommy), the light comes on and the fishies start 'swimming' across the screen. I can't tell you the wondrous joy I get from watching her little face light up from those two items. She has other favorite toys, of course, like the meowing cat that Auntie Lisa gave her, and her teddy bear that she wakes up to each morning in her crib, and any bag that has ever been given to her. She loves bags. And her newest birthday gifts, of which her favorite seem to be the fold-out Dora couch, the little veterinary shop with the 6 doors that lock and unlock with color-coded keys (given to her by a coworker of mine), and the little pet shop parlor with the tiny hair dryer that really makes noise (given to her by a friend of mine and her 3 girls, who watch Maya on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

I could go on and on ... and I think I did! But I have enjoyed seeing my daughter have such a wonderful time with her very large, loving family and her friends. And I look forward to the day when we can finally bring her little sister home. These kids are my life now, and I wouldn't trade it for all the riches in the world. Being a part of their lives is something I will treasure for as long as I live, and I hope they come to know that one day.

It's official. She's TWO!

Our first picture:


July 26,2006



Maya turns 2:




Happy birthday, sweet Maya! I can't believe you're already 2! Mama and daddy love you, sweet baby girl!

Tagged!

I've been tagged! And I didn't even know it until much later!! Freaky, huh? LOL!

So, today's post will be all about me. Here's what I have been "tagged" to do (by Sarah, who is mom to Lily, one of the two cutest baby girls that have ever come out of Guatemala!)

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged, and to read your blog.

#1. I am the 'indecisive' queen. I hate making decisions. Just tell me what you want to do, where you want to go, what you want to eat. It will not be rude. It will help me out GREATLY if you make the decision for me. Honestly. I mean it!

#2. I'd really love to lose about a gazillion pounds. But I'd be happy with 30.

#3. Even though I am adament about taking Maya back to Guatemala with us when we go pick up Maria, I'm scared. I'm worried we'll lose her somehow, or that she'll pitch a fit in public in front of people who might not like us being there to start with, or that E will be miserable because of how much work it will be to care for two in a foreign country. ButI desperately want her to be there with us. I cannot imagine meeting Maria without Maya being with us. She's part of me now, and I just can't leave her behind.

#4. I wish I could be a stay at home mom and teach, play with, hang out with, and just LOVE my babies all day. But alas, it's not gonna happen. I must work. Sometimes I resent my job because I have to be there. I actually enjoy the work, but I would much rather be home with Maya, and soon Maria. It scares me sometimes when I realize how little control I have over their lives while they are being watched by others. I know without a doubt they are receiving excellent care, but I still wish it could be ME that provides it. I guess I'll just hope for grandbabies to watch one day, while MY babies go to work. Or even better, if they happen to be stay-at-home moms and I can just be there and enjoy all of them!

#5. Sigh. I'm a shopaholic. I admit it. I love to shop.

#6. I'm VERY excited about having Maya's birthday parties this weekend, but I'm disappointed in myself for admitting I can't do two birthday cakes and work. So I ordered them today at a local grocery store. I promised myself I would make ALL of Maya's birthday cakes. I mean, it's the reason why I took those cake decorating classes in the first place, right? Even way before I even thought about having kids! But I didn't even make it through 2 years. Now, to make myself feel better, I'll go look at the pictures below of ALL the wonderful cakes and cupcakes I made for her 1st birthday party last year! I can be pretty unforgiving with myself if I feel I haven't lived up to my standards!

#7. Peanut M&Ms and Almond Joys are my all-time FAVORITE candy. I will admit I hide food from E occasionally. I vowed to love, honor and cherish for the rest of my life. I said NOTHING about sharing my chocolate!

#8. I will never, ever regret adopting my two babies at this age, but if I had the chance to erase 10 years of my life, I would do it, provided I could end up in this same place with these exact two baby girls. I always swore I would never wait as long as my parents did to have children. But guess what? I'm 4 years older than my mother was when I was born. When I received all of the immigration paperwork back that we had submitted in Houston, I found out that Maya's maternal birth-grandmother is only about 5 years older than me. But on the positive side, it's much more common these days to find older parents like myself. When we first visited our adoption agency, we were not the oldest potential parents there!

And a bonus one ....
#9. I have been lucky in my choice of friends. I have awesome friends. One left over from high school, some from my first job in state government almost 20 years ago, some from newer jobs along the way, some from church. I am blessed by my friends. Some I don't even speak with on a regular basis, as life is busy for us all, but I know without a doubt that I can call any of them in a pinch and they would drop everything to come help me. I love them all! I pray that Maya and Maria will be so lucky. I know friends can lead you down good or bad paths, and I hope they will have the ability to discern which is the correct path for them. Now, having said that, I'll have to admit that I don't know a single person personally who has a blog!! So I can't exactly forward the 'tag' I received! Oh well, maybe one of them will start one and I can then pass this along.....

As Maya says ... night, night!