Blog has moved

I switched my blog account to a different email, so the new URL is this.

http://jilldaronguatadopt.blogspot.com/

Vacation Bible School

I know, I know - I've been a total slacker about posting here. Heck, I still owe birthday party pictures from January. I'll try to get those posted soon.

However, tonight I wanted to post about Adan's first vacation bible school program. I was one proud mommy! He danced and sang and had a great time. We just happened to pick seats that ended up being in just a perfect spot to see him. It's nice that he's still one of the little ones, so he was right in the front.

We took several video clips, so I picked a couple to share.

Adan's going to be a big brother!

So, since I will officially be in my 2nd trimester tomorrow, I decided to go ahead and post our good news. That's right, I am pregnant! Its been a nervewracking several weeks since we found out, but one of the nice parts of having a rotten fertility history is that you get all kinds of ultrasounds and appointments. So far, everything has been great, so I am feeling very good (nervous, but good!). I've been tracking my pregnancy journey on a different blog, but was pretty shy about sharing the address with anyone until we made it safely to this point. However now that we're here, if you would like to follow along, the address is http://jillspregnancy.blogspot.com/.

Adan knows there is a baby in mommy's tummy, but I'm not sure he really understands what that means. At first he kept looking under my shirt trying to find it, and now, he has decided he has a baby in his tummy, too. I guess we'll be going through this together! He has consistently told us that he wants a baby sister, so Daron for sure doesn't think he understands!! I think he just knows how cool us girls can be.

In other news, we are now down to 10 days left before Adan's 3rd birthday! Can you believe it??? It just blows my mind to think he has been a part of our lives for nearly 3 years now. It has just flown by. I'll be sure to post some pictures from the birthday parties we'll be having over the next couple weeks.

Two Years Ago

Today is November 29th, the two year anniversary of the day we met Adan in person for the first time. Its hard to believe how fast the time has gone by. We now have a very high energy nearly 3 year old running us ragged!

Daron and I were just reminiscing this morning about that day two years ago. We arrived in Guatemala City a little late. Originally we were supposed to arrive between 12 and 1pm and Adan would be brought to the hotel at 3pm. We didn't arrive until more like 1:30 or so and immediately called the in country agency representative. They told us they would be there around 4pm, so we had a couple hours to freshen up, eat, and go crazy with excitement. In the end they didn't arrive until closer to 5pm, but the wait was totally worth it. Here are some of the pictures from that first day.








As you can see on the foster family's faces, this was not as happy a day for them. They had to say good-bye to the little boy they had cared for for the first 10 1/2 months of his life. One of the up sides to our spending the next 7 weeks in Guatemala, though, was that we were able to have them visit us a few times before we left for the United States. We also still send them pictures by email, so they can see how he is growing and changing. Here are a few recent pictures, so you can also see the changes.





Adan told us this morning he wanted pizza, so pizza it is today! We're going to go to a local pizza buffet and then spend some time playing with one of his cousins. It should be a nice day. He's napping now so he'll have plenty of energy!

I'm a horrible blogger!

Its been such a long time since I've blogged that I don't even know where to begin! First of all, Adan is doing great! Of course he is two (three in January), so we definitely have our "challenging" moments, but for the most part we just have a lot of fun. So, lets see, what's new since I last wrote? Well, he's now potty trained (yeah!!) and he's speaking sentences. He still isn't terribly easy to understand at times, but his speech has improved so much in the last several months that I know its just a matter of time.

Halloween was very exciting. Adan loves pirates, so we knew right away that was what he was going to be. He was a little apprehensive to approach the first house, and it didn't help that they had a motion activated noise maker that made him a little nervous. But after he figured out that they give you candy just for showing up, he was ready for more. We trick or treated with his cousin for the 2nd year in a row, which was fun. My mom and dad also decided to come see the little pirate in action, so it was a family affair.

As I said, he is nearly three, so he's very much exploring his independence these days. We've learned to be very careful about doing something without his permission, such as, say, cut something up that is on his plate or something equally offensive!

He still loves his books and now he's very much into anything with an engine. In fact, he has suggested to me on more than one occasion that possibly he should drive the car. I just say, "sure, in about 14 years". Trucks, trains, airplanes, and all other modes of transportation are very popular toys these days.

Well, I don't know if anyone is checking this thing any more, but if you are, thanks for checking in on us! I'll try to post every now and then. On Nov. 29th we will be celebrating the two year anniversary of arriving in Guatemala and meeting our beautiful boy for the very first time! I will leave you with this recent video of Adan dancing and singing in his pajamas last weekend.

Happy Birthday, Adan!

One year ago today, we celebrated Adan's first birthday with the new friends we had met in Antigua. At the same time we were preparing for his birthday festivities, we were packing our things to head back to Guatemala City one last time before departing for the US with our son. In some ways, it is hard to believe that was only a year ago and in other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. I've posted some pictures both from that day and the next when we celebrated with Adan's foster family in Guatemala City and said our last good-byes. While I wish our families could have been present to help us celebrate, I will always treasure the experience of celebrating in his native country with the family who nurtured and cared for him during his first 10 1/2 months of life. I look forward to sharing that experience with Adan someday. We still remain in email contact with his foster family, and the other night they even started a chat with me while I was logged into my email. I hope that I am able to successfully instill in Adan what a special part they played in his life.

Jumping forward to this year, my how Adan has changed. He walks (well, runs) and talks and keeps us on our toes! Perhaps we've begun to see some of the 'terrible twos' we've all heard about, and I won't deny those bouts are challenging and sometimes frustrating. But I also think this is a time of such amazing changes in his comprehension and development. I will have to make sure to remember that each time we're having one of the more challenging moments!

To celebrate his birthday this year, we first traveled to my parents house for a birthday party with my side of the family. Adan had a great time opening his many gifts and playing with some of this cousins. We had a pinata, and although it didn't work quite the way we anticipated, I think the kids still enjoyed it. I hope they enjoyed the loot that poured out when we finally broke into it. I was probably a party pooper mom by filling it with cars and balls and other toys rather than candy, but I tried (and hopefully succeeded) to find things they would enjoy.

Today, Daron and I took the day off to spend it with him. We hung out in the morning and had our last post-placement social worker visit, and then we invited my mother in law over for lunch. Following a nap, we went to a local butterfly house. Adan loved looking at the fish in the pond (Grandpa has fish at his house which they always take time to watch), and when he finally started noticing the butterflies he enjoyed them too. Afterward, we met my sister in law and her kids at a local pizza buffet. They stopped over to our house for awhile afterward to help Adan break in the new play area we set up for Adan in our unfinished basement. Needless to say, bedtime was a snap tonight! He was exhausted.

This upcoming weekend we will get together with Daron's side of the family. One of my friends believes whole-heartedly in celebrating not just your birthDAY, but your birthWEEK. I would definitely say we have that covered!

I've posted some pictures both from last year and this year. Thanks for checking in with us!

Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe that a year ago, we were celebrating our first Christmas with Adan in Guatemala. I still remember sitting on the breakfast patio at the B&B next to our apartment, using their wireless internet to web cam with our families. It was almost hot outside and we had greenery and flowers all around us. It was beautiful and a very special day for our new little family.

But this year was even better, because we actually have been able to celebrate with our families in person. We went to Christmas Eve service last night and as soon as the first verse of 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' started, tears started streaming down my face. I can't express what it means to have Adan here with us at this special time of year.

Okay, so the fun stuff now. Adan got the hang of opening presents pretty quickly. He did poop out toward the end, so I ended up opening the remainder of his gifts while he played with some of the toys he had received. You wouldn't blame him for pooping out if you saw how many gifts he got!!! I told Daron this morning that we better go house shopping because we aren't going to fit here with all his new things. And his birthday is quickly approaching on Jan. 15th! Where will it all go?

I've attached some photos from the celebrations we've had. I also included a picture of us on the patio from which we called home last year. You'll notice there is a slight difference in the weather. Finally, I also included a picture of Adan from Christmas morning last year, so you can see how he's changed.