Christmas is coming . . .

I'm wanting to get a good picture of Olivia for our Christmas cards, so we've been doing photo shoots at home. It's been rough though since Olivia throws a huge fit everytime I put a hat on her head! I did get lucky with a couple though, here they are:

Just Pictures Today

olivia's new shades



bath time couldn't come soon enough!

Houdini

Excited about Obama!

Okay, so this post is not about Olivia, but I am just so excited that our new president is Barak Obama. He won by 4%. I have been a strong supporter of Obama since I first heard of him. I just watched McCain's speech and was touched it. I'm very glad that he pledged his support to Obama and our country. I think he went out honorably.
Now it is time to move forward and make this a better country. I hope that everyone can follow McCain's lead by supporting our new president and banding together to make America great.
Congratulations to Barak Obama!

Halloween

So it's been a few days since Halloween. I'm running a little behind.
For Olivia's first Halloween she dressed as a sunflower. When I got off work we went back in to show off to my co-workers. Then we went to FTIA to the Halloween open house. We couldn't get candy (not old enough yet), but we visited with Amanda and Kathy and other FTIA parents. Olivia played with a little baby boy from Guatemala who is a few months older than her. She chased him around the room.
After FTIA we came back home to pick up sissy and daddy and headed to Boonville. My mom works at Buehler's so we stopped there first. Then went to Aunt Glenda's, then to Uncle Danny and Joann's, and finally to Susie and Dennis's. It was a long night for all of us and a lot of driving. I think everyone liked seeing her, but I think I'll be glad when we can just walk the neighborhood to collect candy and call it a night.
By the time we got home Olivia was in melt-down-mode. It was the only picture I got from the night, so here it is:

A friend of mine sent this to me recently. I really love it, thought I would share.


Two Women. One Child. Two kinds of Love...

Once there were two women
Who never knew each other.
One you do not remember,
The other you call mother.
Two different lives shaped to make you one.
One became your guiding star,
The other became your sun.
The first one gave you life
And the second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love,
The second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality,
The other gave you a name.
One gave you a talent,
The other gave you aim.
One gave you emotions,
The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile,
The other dried your tears.
One sought for you a home
That she could not provide,
The other prayed for a child
And her hope was not denied.
And now you ask me through your tears,
The age-old question unanswered
Through the years…
Heredity or environment…
Which are you a product of?
Neither, my darling. Neither.
Just two different kinds of love.
- author unknown

We're sick

Well, Olivia and I both woke up sick this morning. I had noticed she's been sneezing a little the last couple days. Now it's full-blown. She has a faucet for a nose and my throat hurts.
We've had a rough week. This past Saturday my Uncle Terry passed away. He had been fighting cancer for a very long time. I will miss him so so much. I am very glad that Olivia and I were able to visit him a couple of times in the last couple months and I got lots of pictures of them together.
Tuesday and Wendesday I spent everyday either at work or the funeral home. Tuesday was Olivia's first day at daycare. Wednesday was her one-year-old doctor's visit. So much going on, why wonder we're sick.
Olivia's first day at daycare went just fine. Daddy got the pleasure of dropping her off. It made him feel pretty guilty, but they said she never shed a tear for us. She really likes playing with older kids and she knows at least one of them that go there, so she will be fine.
Her doctor's visit went well. She is pretty advanced for a Guatemalan baby her age and she is pefectly healthy. Olivia is now 18 pounds and 28" long. We still have to finish her shots though since we were pressed for time that day. Her doctor said I should expect more temper tantrums now. He says this as she's screaming because I'm trying to put her clothes back on. I'm like, "you have to be kidding me!" More fits!? Yea, not a big surprise - she throws fits over everything. She is my little drama queen! I guess he isn't aware of the Guatatemper!

1 YEAR OLD!!!

Well, my baby girl is a year old today. She has been home for 2 months yesterday. Olivia fits right in with the rest of our family. She is loud, messy, and demanding! Her third tooth just broke thru in the last couple days. Now she has a full tooth on the bottom and a new one on bottom as well as a new one on top.
Olivia is still sleeping well, except for a few interuptions because of those darn teeth. She eats like crazy. Of course, she seems to be a meat and potatoes kid which figures since I don't eat red meat.
We had Olivia's birthday party last Saturday at Roca Bar. She didn't seem overwhelmed at all. She really enjoyed having people circled around her! Some of the family that hadn't gotten to see her yet were there. She showed everyone how well she's walking and how she jabbers.
She got a lot of cute outfits and lots of toys. She didn't know what to play with first!
Today, after nap, we're going out to use her gift cards and to pick out a gift from momma and daddy.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!

Almost a year old :(

I can't beleive my baby is going to be a year old soon! We are planning to have a party at Roca Bar next weekend. She will turn one on the 9th and I go back to work on the 15th. Not looking forward to going back to work.

11 months old

Olivia turned 11 months old this past Tuesday. She is making progress in leaps and bounds - too fast in my opinion! She is now not only walking, but trying to run. She runs about 4 steps, falls, and gets up and does it again. I feel like I spend all day hovering over her because she's into everything. About a week or so ago her first tooth finally broke through. So far it's the only one.
Olivia's favorite word right now is "dog". Everything is dog, but when she sees Macie, who is now apparently her dog, she gets sooo excited. Macie and Olivia play together, share food, and hang out together. For those of you who don't know, Macie is a two-year-old white german shephard.
I weighed Olivia on our home scales recently and she was up to about 18 pounds. She eats like crazy! I don't know where it all goes - she's still pretty small. She is still in 6-9 month clothes!
Well, it's nap time and someone is very cranky!

Movin' right along

Well, I quit counting steps when Olivia got up to 25 at one time. She's moving faster and faster and getting into a lot. Her favorite thing is to find tiny pieces of stuff on the floor and stick it in her mouth. I usually get to her in time, but there have been a few times that I've had to go in there and dig stuff out.
I have her sleeping about 12 hours every night and she sleeps straight thru! Then she takes two naps that last about an hour. The later nap tends to be hard to get in just because we are often out running errands. I've learned to get as much done out of the house between 11:00 and 2:00 as possible.
There have been slightly less fits being thrown now that she's getting more sleep and settling in. And she is eating really well. Olivia takes 3-4 feedings of formula a day. In the afternoons she uses a sippy cup instead of a bottle. She eats finger foods really well. She'll try just about anything and likes an assortment of foods in one sitting. She likes fish, green beans, peas, olives, corn, bread.
I'm trying to think of ideas for Olivia's first birthday party. Since not everyone has seen her I want to invite as many people as possible. I'd like to find a building that would be inexpensive (or free) in Newburgh. I'm thinking for about 40 people.

On to the fun stuff

Okay, so for now I'm skipping all of the stuff about the pick-up trip. On to the present . . .
Olivia took her first steps alone two days ago! Yesterday she was taking 6-7 steps at a time. She crawls, stands really well on her own and now is starting to walk!
Yesterday I gave her a baby fork and put some fruit on it and she was using the fork to eat the fruit! Can you believe what a big girl she is?!
Today was her first doctor's appointment since she's been home. He said she is doing great. She is 16 pounds (so tiny - still in size 6-9 month clothes), but is developing really well. She's already had most of her vaccines. She has a couple teeth coming in on the bottom, but none have poked thru yet.
Olivia is very smart and clever. She figures things out quickly. I think we're going to have our hands full!
The only problem we've had so far is her temper. She has the worst temper of any baby I've ever seen. When she gets mad (and it happens easilly) she screams and screams, bangs her fists and throws things, kicks her feet, pulls her hair, scratches herself with her nails. It's quite a site! It was really stressing me out at first, but I'm learning to shrug it off. The more we shrug it off the less fits she throws. And, of course, it gets worse when she's tired. If she's doing this now, at 10 months, I hate to see her at 2!
On the bright side, Olivia is sleeping thru the night now - has been for the last 4 or 5 nights. Naps are a little harder, but I'm learning tricks to get them in.
The doctor wants me to start getting her away from the bottle a little now. Olivia hasn't accepted a sippy cup - she prefers straws. So, I will keep working on the sippy cups and went ahead and bought a couple kids cups that have straws. Thru the whole store she was trying to suck on the straw thru the package.
Well, lots to do. I actually got her to bed at 8:00 tonight. She gets up every morning at 7:00.

We're home!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our flight landed at 10 pm last night. We are sooo glad to be home - especially with Olivia! She is wonderful!! I will write all the details (and there is plenty) soon, but it's very late and I should be getting to bed.

Only about 12 more hours!!!!!!!!!!!

We have only about 12 more hours before we meet our baby girl!!! About 6 hours before the plane leaves Evansville. And 3 1/2 hours before we have to leave for the airport. I was going to try to go to bed around 8:00 tonight, obviously that worked out for me (it's midnight!). Surprisingly, it didn't work out for Ken either. He usually gets to bed long before I do. I didn't get to sleep until about 4 am this morning. It's been like that for about 3 weeks now. I get a few short hours of sleep each night and then go go go all day. I guess I'll be ready now for when we bring Olivia home!

Reservations made - now must sleep

I have just finished finalizing our reservations for our flights and hotel. We are leaving Monday and returning on Friday. And we will be staying at the Crowne Plaza. It seems nice and it was even cheaper than where we were going to originally stay. Now just wish us luck on getting in to the Embassy while we're there!

This should be interesting . . .

Okay. So, as of the end of the day Thursday I still have not heard from the US Embassy. That makes it a week that I've been e-mailing trying to get a new visa appointment date. Kathy, our coordinator even sent one on our behalf.
Well, my friend Misty gave me the phone number for the Embassy and enouraged me to give them a call and try that route. And, of course, neither my home or cell phone would allow me to dial internationally. So, Misty - being the wonderful friend she is - knew she would be able to get through with her phone so she called them for me. It was 4:30 our time and the Embassy said they were closed for the day and that they will only accept phone calls for appointment changes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I cannot wait until Tuesday! Will not!!
So, I talked to Kathy and she and Amanda suggested that we go ahead and fly down to Guatemala and demand an appointment! Well, sort of. They suggested we print off the tons of e-mails I've sent and send them with Andrea (the in-country coordinator) on Monday when she goes to the Embassy. Then we work on getting them to work us in in the following couple of days.
To do this we probably need to fly out on Sunday and stay until Friday. I have to work out all of the details tomorrow. I also talked to someone at Senator Lugar's office today (the woman who helped me get Ken's passport quickly - which we got today!) and she is going to try calling the Embassy tomorrow herself to see if it gets us anywhere. What the heck, right?
Velocity Tours is standing by for my word on the details of the plan. And poor Alfredo (who will hopefully be translating for us and taking us on a tour) has to change plans again because of all of this crazy mess. Hopefully he'll still be willing to work with us - I hear good things about him and his wife.
So, wish me luck. Tomorrow will probably be a long day!

Now Beyond Antsy!

It's almost 11 at night on Wednesday and I still have not heard from the US Embassy! I know they don't do visa appointments on Thursdays, so I don't know if there is even a chance I will hear from them tomorrow.

So, not quite yet . . .

We were due to fly out to Guatemala last Saturday morning. However, on Thursday night I discovered Ken's passport was missing. The only place I took it was Staples to make copies for the trip (the Sunday before) and I am sure I put both of them back in the envelope I had them in. Anyway, Friday morning I called Staples and they didn't have it, then I went to Staples to look for myself - didn't find it. Ken and I tore the house apart and my car looking for it - no sign of his passport (mine was in the envelope). So, we had to go to the post office to apply for an emergency re-issue of his passport ($200 total). And I had to move our flights and hotel ($300). And have been working on getting the US Embassy to move our visa appointment to next Monday. I've e-mailed twice and have heard nothing so far. I can't finalize the flights and hotel until I get a new appointment. I'm starting to get a little antsy.
The only bright side to this is that we were able to go to our family baby shower and I've had more time to get the nursery and house ready.

Less than 72 hours!

Well, looks like we will be flying out at 6:00 Saturday morning now. We had to make sure that if anything went wrong we would not get there too late for our appoitment. We will be arriving in Guatemala around noon. We will be staying in Guat. until Friday and will be back late that night. While there we will meet up with my friend Michelle and her family who have the same appointment time/date that we do. I hope to take a tour to Antigua while we're there as well.
I still can't beleive that in less than four full days I will be holding our daughter!

WE HAVE PINK!!!

We got our e-mail this evening from the Embassy with our appointment date. It is set for Monday, July 28 at 7:15 am. We will probably be flying out early Sunday morning and getting back late Friday night. I cannot believe we will actually be holding our baby girl in less than a week! I already have Olivia packed and I have myself about half-way packed.
I am not going to be able to sleep or think all week!

Baby Shower #1

2nd DNA test is on its way

I was just informed that the results of Olivia's second DNA test is being sent out today to the US Embassy. That means we will get our appointment date next week and should be out of here the week after!

The Last Stages

I was told today that on 7-10 Olivia had her last DNA test done as well as her final medical exam. They said it usually takes 7-10 business days to get the results and then just a couple more before the US Embassy issues a visa date.

Embassy

Our cordinator told me today that we were submitted to Embassy today. She said we should be traveling in 3 weeks! It still all seems so unreal.
I don't know if we will still be in the states for our baby showers, but that's okay - I'll need stuff when we get home! :)
I'm still freaking out about making the travel arrangements and stuff. I hope it all goes smoother than I think it will.

Unbelievable News!!!

I just found out that Olivia's new birth certificate is complete! It was expected to not be done for a few more weeks, but I saw it - it has our names on it and everything! Our cordinator said she expects to hear about Olivia's passport next week. Looks like we will be traveling this month!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have so much to do, I'm kind of freaking out. Paperwork, her room, baby showers, travel arrangements, clean the house, Rachel's birthday, work, etc., etc. . . .

Another Roadblock :(

Last night I got home after 9:00 from work and checked my e-mail. I had one from my cordinator at FTIA titled "Guatemala City Birth Certificate." My heart started beating faster and I'm thinking "Seriously, that was super fast." Then I opened it and saw that it was bad news instead. I had been told when we got the call that Guatemala City would not be going through RENAP like a lot of areas of Guatemala are. Now it turns out that they are. From what I can tell by the information in the e-mail, it will probably be atleast the end of August when we get the birth certificate. So, I guess it could be closer to Olivia's birthday in October when we bring her home. I had not allowed myself to get too emotional through this process, but when we found out we were out of PGN I finally let myself feel something. I've been beyond excited. I guess that was bad, because now I'm feeling a huge let down.

She's officially ours!

I got word today that last Tuesday the birth mom signed the final adoption decree making Olivia officially ours. So, now we are waiting on Olivia's new birth certificate. It could be a couple of weeks.

Baby Showers

I can't believe we are finally far enough along to have baby showers! My friend Ginger is throwing one for me on July 19 and my family is throwing one on July 26. We don't know where yet for either. I have registered at tons of places (I've had plenty of time). It has given me something to do that has to do with the baby. There is a list of the places at the end of my blog page.
I know everyone is going to want to see Olivia when we get her home. My plan though is to just stay home for about a week before taking her out to see people. Then I plan on having a big 1st birthday party for her and everyone will be able to see her then. It will only be 1 to 2 months after we get home. I'm still jumping for joy that we are going to have her home by her 1st birthday. I had resigned myself to the thought that she would be older.

We're Out! We're Out!!!!

We got the call today that PGN has approved our case! That means we should be bringing Olivia home in the next 6 to 8 weeks!!!! We are actually going to have her home for her 1st birthday. I have so much to get done now. We really weren't expecting to get out for a while with the way things have been going there. I'll post as all of the little things get done that have to happen before we can bring her home.

PGN getting closer . . . maybe

We were told this week that last week PGN interviewed our birth mother. And we were informed that the interviews done last week that included our attorney went well and were signed off on. So, I take that to mean that we have had our interview and the birth mom signed off on it and that is one less thing for me to worry about. I had been getting worried by the day because of things I have heard about the interviews. I know that part of the interview (which includes our attorney, our birth mother, Olivia and her foster mother and some people from PGN) is that the birth mother is supposed to hold the baby during the interview. I cannot even imagine how hard that would be for the birth mother.
We heard from FTIA today that PGN has released a few cases. They really don't know anymore than that. They said most of the cases that were released where KO'd with previos (changes needed), but they are not sure if any of those cases are with FTIA. So, we still wait for news . . .
I'm looking for new measurements for April any day now. I haven't sent the 6-9 month clothes yet, so hopefully she won't be grown out of them before they get there. I also have not called our foster mom yet. I need to find a good international phone card to call Guatemala.

The days drag on . . .

So, everyday that goes by since we found out about the PGN shutdown it all sinks in a little more. I think I have just been numb for the last several days, but the more people who ask about the adoption, the more I realize what it all really means. If the investigations in PGN take as long as FTIA expects them to we will likely not be able to pick up Olivia until the end of the year. I can say for certain that, at this point, it will be no earlier than September. Olivia just turned 7 months on May 9. Last night I went through the clothes I had recently bought that are size 6-9 months so that I can send them on over. I'm still holding on to some hope and keeping the clothes that are 12 month size. Olivia should be just starting to wear the 6-9 month sizes going by her latest measurements. I guess I should also be revising my registries. I have registerd at tons of places just to keep myself busy.

PGN Pain

We found out today that not only the main guy at PGN was replaced, but so was everyone else that worked there. PGN is saying that there will be a hold on cases for a month while they investigate current cases before things start back up again. However, according to FTIA we should not expect to hear anything about our case for atleast two to three months since there will be all new people learning a new job and they have about 3,000 cases to review. We have been in PGN for 51 days and may now be on hold for several months. There are a few things that help me not to be too upset: 1. we are in there with 3,000 other people and 2. there are people in our group who have been waiting in PGN since the beginning of December who now have a longer wait while their babies celebrate their first birthdays.
So, I am upset about the what is going on, but I will find a way to deal with it. I guess I will go ahead and send the 6-9 month size clothes I had bought to Olivia's foster mom and keep sending pictures of us. And I will remind myself that Olivia was blessed with a wonderful foster mom. I still have not called Eva, our foster mom, but plan to very soon. It is much overdue.
On the bright side, we did get new pictures of Olivia. She is 6 months old in the pictures. Olivia will be 7 months old on May 9.

The latest on our PGN status

We were told Tuesday that FTIA got word on Monday that we have been resubmitted to PGN. However, they are seeing cases go in, but none come out. Their theory right now is that PGN is still not reviewing or signing off on cases though.
We should be getting new pictures at some point this week. Probably Friday.

Measurements

October: 6 days old
48 cm long; 7lb,8oz
November: 1 month, 21 days old
54 cm long; 10lb, 4oz
December: 2 months, 21 days old
56 cm long; 11lb, 4oz
January: 3 months, 21 days old
56 cm long; 12lb, 6oz
February: 4 months, 21 days old
58 cm long; 13lb, 14 oz
March: 5 months, 21 days old
61 cm long; 15lb, 4 oz
April: none
May: about 7 months old
64 cm long; 16lb, 8 oz

PGN closed - April 28

We just found out yesterday that PGN is closed. We know this is because they are working on replacing Barrios, the guy over PGN. This will hopefully make things a lot quicker and more efficient when they are done, but we don't know how long it will take. It could be closed for only a couple days, could be a couple months or more. Olivia turns 7 months old in just over a week. We really want to get her home as young as possible. At this point it will likely be at least July when we are able to go get her and bring her home. We had been submitted to PGN on 3/17 and were kicked out on 4/17 because PGN wanted a new copy of the birth mother's birth certificate. We were due to be resubmitted last Friday, but I haven't gotten word that we were resubmitted, so I guess it will be after PGN reopens.

Timeline

Here is our timeline so far:

2/14/07 - application to FTIA
10/9/07 - Aura born
11/1/07 - referral of Aura
11/26/07 - DNA authorization
12/27/07 - enter Family Court
2/5/08 - DNA results - it's a match
3/12/08 - Pre Approval from US Embassy received
3/17/08 - exit Family Courty
3/17/08 - enter PGN
4/17/08 - Kicked out of PGN
4/28/08 - resubmitted to PGN
4/28/08 - PGN closed for investigations
5/23/08 - BMI in PGN
6/16/08 - OUT of PGN!
6/17/08 - Adoption Decree Signed - She's ours!

Aura Suhey Molina Castillo

On November 1, 2007 we got the referral for Aura Suhey. She was six days old in the pictures we got. Her birthday is October 9. She was a beautiful baby with lots of dark hair. Ken and I decided to rename her Olivia and keep Aura as her middle name.
Shortly after we accepted her referral Guatemalan adoptions were cut off.
We were lucky that her referral pictures included a picture of her birth mom and her foster mom holding her. We will treasure it for years to come and I know she will also. Olivia's foster mom is great. She has a husband and three teenage boys, so she keeps Olivia dressed pretty girly.