We're here!

Today has been absolutely fantastic. The foster family didn't arrive until about 5pm (we had to change the appt to 4pm because our flight was a little late, and from what we've heard Guatemalans don't place high priority on time schedules, so the foster family was late). So far, he has had no difficulty adjusting to us at all. Not even any tears (at least not from him) when they handed him over to us.

Since then, we've had all kinds of fun playing and he even put on quite a few smiles when we talked with my parents by webcam. They had a ball watching him. We hope to talk with one of Daron's sisters by webcam tomorrow.

The only time there were any tears at all was when it was getting close to his bedtime and his last bottle of the day and it took his new mommy a while to figure out what she was doing. He really didn't have the patience for that. Once I finally had it made, daddy fed him his bottle and held him until he fell asleep a little before 8pm. It was so sweet to see them together. We were worried about the crib situation since he slept with the foster mother, but he had no issues. He woke up once, but didn't cry, just looked around. I put a chair next to the crib and sat there next to him and played some Baby Einstein orchestral songs, and he was back out very shortly.

The last we heard, we are still in PGN. Unfortunately, this means that we will most likely be here several weeks. Not that I'm not excited to see this country, but I'm very anxious to get Adan home. The one advantage to staying here a little longer, is that we will have a lot of bonding time before a whole new change of scenery for him. We are in Guatemala City today and tomorrow, and then Friday we'll head to Antigua for most of the rest of our time here. We have heard from so many people that it is an absolutely wonderful town in which to foster a child. Plus we will be in the heart of where much of the history of Adan's country occurred.

I will keep you updated!

Baby Room update

Here are some pictures of Adan's room. The picture in the back corner was painted by my grandma. I know it's hard to see, but it's a little girl and boy standing together. If you click on the picture, it will display larger.

We're hoping to get new measurements this week, but I spoke to the foster mother last night who let us know that he weighed in at 17 lbs. He apparently had chicken pox a few weeks ago, but is fine now. I don't think it was a very severe case, so hopefully he didn't have it too miserable. He laughed a little for us, but was otherwise pretty quiet on the phone.

We told her last night that we will be arriving on the 29th. She told us she was happy and content because she knows we'll take good care of him.

Another shower and other news!

I tell you what, Adan is going to be the best dressed little guy out there! My mom's two sisters threw a shower in my home state this weekend. They spent so much time and put together the cutest decorations. It was another wonderful day spent with family and friends. In a little twist to the traditional shower games, they had trivia questions for me. Each time I answered a question correctly, I could open a gift. Luckily, I was allowed to ask two people for help with each question. With everyone's help, we got nearly every question correct!

Adan received tons of clothes, a hand-knitted hat, a couple more blankets, some toys, and more books. My grandma handpainted a picture for Adan's room. Its so cute! We also received essentials such as an ear thermometer, a baby monitor and a portable baby seat (I hadn't seen one of those before, but it looks very handy). My friend's son made Adan a pillow in home ec class, and also made sure to set Adan up with some Thomas the Train dishes and utensils. Thomas was a favorite of his when he was young, so it was fun to see him pass the torch on to Adan. We also received the musical mobile and clothes hamper that match the barnyard theme in Adan's room. I need to finish putting the room together and then I'll post a picture. With some gift cards we received, we bought more essentials such as crib sheets, bottles, and much more. (I tell you what, Daron and I really feel like fish out of water in the baby department!) I'm sure there are other gifts that I'm failing to mention, but just know that everything means so much to us. I can't wait to actually put these items to use!

Now, to the next big news. After our kick out of PGN, Daron and I had some discussions and decided we are tired of waiting to meet our little boy in person. Therefore, the last week of November, we are going to Guatemala whether or not Adan can come home yet. Then, I will be staying in Guatemala until he can come home. Because we are the adopting parents, we are allowed to foster Adan in country, so he'll be with us the whole time. Daron will stay there for a week and a half, and my dad will join me the next week. We have had others offer to come keep me company if the wait becomes very extended, but hopefully we'll be heading home instead. I will most likely stay in an apartment in Antigua if it looks like I'll be there for several weeks. When we finally have our visa appointment (which is the very last step to bringing our little boy home), Daron will fly back down and travel back with us.

I will have internet access in Guatemala, so if I end up living there a few weeks, I'll keep you updated on how things are going from there. We're finally nearing the end of this journey and are about to embark on the next lifelong one of parenthood!