Westin Day 3

Today was football day (or I guess it was yesterday now). Natalie slept from 9:30 to 9:30 and we almost missed breakfast. We then pretty much hung out and watched football all day with everyone. She is such a giggly baby and all the "big" kids can really make her belly laugh! Good thing, with 2 older brothers! We've got a lot of that on video so not a huge amount of pictures. I'll have to try and figure out how to upload the video clips. David looks like a lobster because he did not heed the instructions of no sitting in direct sunlight while on antibiotics. He fell asleep behind a palm at the pool but the sun moved of course, thus lobster face.

GO PANTHERS!


COULDN'T QUITE MAKE IT THRU THE GAME...


LAUGHING AT HOW FUNNY DADDY LOOKS AS A LOBSTER.


"E" AND "A"


LOBBY XMAS TREE WITH A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE - WE THOUGHT NATALIE MADE A GOOD ORNAMENT!


ELEVATOR BUNNY EARS


NOT ANOTHER OUTFIT (THIS ONE TO NAP IN)!


LOBSTER DADDY DRINKING SCOTCH OUT OF THE BABY BOTTLE CAP - SHEESH!

Westin Day 2

Today we just hung out with everyone and their darling babies by the pool then in the family room. We bleached down all the toys in there before playing hoping no one will go home sick. No famous Westin couch pics but we are having fun taking pics anyway and Natalie sat in her first walker and first exersaucer (which she loved)!

Natalie likes her rice cereal today which is day #2 for her...so we are glad not to have to fight her on that. David and his gang of dads ventured out to the grocery store for supplies and he took a pic of the huge Xmas tree in Guat City. We are already getting nightly fireworks so can only imagine what New Year's Eve will be like....can't wait!

Westin Day 1

Today is Day 1 with Natalie (well, it's after midnight so "today" actually meant Friday). We arrived last night and did a little shopping and then picked her up today at 10am. We've met many FTCrs down here - some new ones as well as some "old" ones! Also, we have been in PGN 7 weeks today (4 weeks since starting over after the previo).

Natalie has definitely grown in height since I saw her 4 weeks ago - and her face has thinned out some. She is sitting on her own for about a minute before she topples over - she can pull herself to a sit while sitting in her stroller. She also will stand with help - she is so strong! I can't believe she is getting big so fast....she is a sweet and happy baby.

I know blah blah just show us some pictures!















Here is my friend and fellow FTCr "E" and her baby "A" - who LOVES to play with straws!

5 Month Doctor Visit

Natalie went to the doctor on December 26 for her 5 month check-up. Here is what Dr. M has to say...

Today I had the opportunity to review little Maria Jose, she is now five
months old and has been, the lady who cares for her tells me, doing well in
the time since she was seen one month ago here in my office, she shows a
steady growth and her development also appears to be progressing well, she
will listen attentively when spoken to and also likes to listen to music,
will vocalize her laughter and continues to makes vocal noises of her own,
will cry to let her feelings known and also if disrupted, shows good control
her neck muscles and will keep the head straight in the midline when pulled
to the sitting position as well as raising her head clear form the bed when
on her stomach where she will also try to roll over, she attempt to grab
things that nearby and will put them in her mouth, actually she puts
everything into her mouth. I am told that he takes well her diet and
formula and is also receiving her ordered vitamin supplement. Both her
physical and neurological exam appear, besides a small insect bite on the
left side of her nose, within normal limits today, there are no further
abnormalities upon examination, her weight today is 15 lbs 1 oz, length of
56.4 cms (22 in) and head circumference of 39.7 cms.

Surprise Visit!

Natalie had a surprise visit on Nov. 28. We just received pictures. She takes a bath at 11am, goes to bed at 8pm and wakes at 6am. Not bad!

Look at those chubby cheeks and long eyelashes! We can't wait to hold her on Dec. 28!!

Guatemalan Congress Passed Adoption Law

The Guatemalan Congress passed the 3rd reading of it's adoption law today. It is NOT the law we were hoping for unfortunately. The good news is that it does contain a "grandfather" clause for in process cases. That is assuming Guatemala can set up an agency to register all the in process cases 30 days after the effective date of Dec 31. Who knows how that will go. The bad news is that this law is not good for the future of guatemalan adoptions. Though I'm thankful that it looks like - eventually - Natalie will make it home, I'm horribly sad for all the babies who will never make it when this law goes into effect and makes everything fall apart.

Our agency is analyzing the new law now and will let us know the details as soon as they have them - which will probably take a day or two.

PREVIO

A very bad day. We received a previo (kick out) on Nov. 29 and just found out today. PGN asked for a clarification of a multi-page document and that's all we know. Apparently it was "clarified" and we were put back in on Nov. 30. We have to go back to the bottom of the pile so we just lost 3 weeks. So sad.

November Social Visit Pics...

These were taken on November 15. She looks like the cute little butterball that she is! Our agency won't be doing December social visit pics for security reasons, but we're ok with that (especially since we will be visiting for New Year's!!).

3 Weeks in PGN...

and I still cringe every time the phone rings - so QUIT calling me! :) So far no bad news from our agency, but since we are supposed to expect at least one previo, we are just waiting and waiting so we can get it over with! The longer we're in the harder it will be to take. :(

Guatemala's Congress read and passed a new Ortega Law the day before yesterday, then they had the 2nd reading which passed yesterday. It takes 3 readings to be final. We've been waiting on pins and needles to find out the details, but of course there aren't any coming. It's rumored there is a grandfather clause, but we don't know what it says and this Law is NOT good for Guatemalan adoptions. Apparently the US is pressuring to keep the date Dec 31 instead of of April like Guat seems to want it to be. Grrrr. We thought the 3rd and final reading would be today so at least it all could be resolved and we'd know what we are dealing with, but NOOOOOOOOO, the congressional session ends tomorrow so now we'll have to wait until they call an emergency session sometime in December.

My patience is wearing very thin. It's bad enough we have to fight the Guatemalan government, but to have to fight the US government is such a disappointment.

Thus a new Call to Action has been advised and I'm off to talk to Senators once again.

4 MONTH DOCTOR VISIT

Natalie went to the doctor today for her 4 month check-up! She is doing well - her weight is in the 51%!! Her height is about 21.5 inches. She is basically a cute bowling ball!

Here is what Dr. M says:

This afternoon I have just finished examining little Maria Jose who is now 4 months old and has been, I am told, doing well in the time since her last medical assessment, both her growth and development appear to be progressing well, she is alert shows interest in what goes on around her, will interact, turns to sound and makes many cooing noises of her own, both to respond and also to call attention to herself, she also smiles socially and will also laugh out loud and also vocalize her eagerness and pleasure, will also cry to let her discomfort be known. I'm also told that she takes well her formula and is also receiving her ordered vitamin supplement. Upon evaluation today I found her in good health with no obvious physical or neurological abnormalities her weight is 13 lbs 13 oz, length of 53.7 cms and head circumference of 38.4 cms.

Last Day with Natalie

Today was the day we had to give her back. It's sad and emotional and I worried how Nathan would feel since he is sensitive and a worrier and had so much fun playing and getting to know her. We meet the FM and I give back a sound asleep baby girl and we kiss her good-bye. We are literally not 2 feet away from her (thank God FM doesn't speak English) when Nathan turns around and in a 6yo loud voice says "well now that she is given back it's time to go to the pool!" Ahhhh, to be 6 again.

I took all the Christmas pics today and since I don't know which ones I'm using on the Christmas card I'm not going to post any yet, sorry! We flew out the next morning and Nathan didn't want to leave. I think he really had a great time playing with all the babies and he was a real hit with the toddler set! See you on New Year's Eve baby girl. I hope we arrive with news that we are OUT of PGN!

Here are a random few:

The First Thanksgiving!

Natalie's first Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. We played at the pool, played with brother, watched the Cowboys game, and then had a private dinner with the other families from our agency. The Westin put on a big Thanksgiving buffet. Nathan stood up and told everyone he would not eat turkey out of principle because it gobbles. Tell that to the Turkey lunchables he eats every week. Go figure. ANYWAY, we had so much fun meeting all the other families and the itty bitty babies that were there for POA (power of attorney). There were also a bunch of PGN OUTS for some of the families - now that is something to be thankful for! Today marks 2 weeks since we've entered PGN and so far no previos!

Happy First Thanksgiving baby girl!