Carmensita really is that amazing!!!

And she really is this cute...

And this beautiful...
Yup - that's right - we're home from visiting our little Carmen - or as her foster family refers to her - Carmensita.

As my wife just told her father - she has me totally wrapped around her little finger. CJ is the sweetest little girl in the world. Her smile lights up a room, but she's a little stubborn with her laughs. Actually, many of her smiles are little smirks that sometimes develop in to full blown smiles and sometimes do not. She loves to be held, and hugged, and kissed. She's not at all bothered by noisiness and in fact prefers that you go ahead and be loud! She likes to eat about every 3 hours and will tell you with all her might when she's hungry.


We flew down last Sunday afternoon from Philly via Miami, with a fairly uneventful flight. It's 2 2.5 hour flights that way, with a 2.5 hour layover in Miami (not the most pleasant airport in the world). Even with smooth travels, we were weary, and anxious for the next day to come. We traveled with Carmen's Tia S - who really helped with advise, a little Spanish, and of course - videos and snapshots.

The plan:

1. Meet Carmen, her foster mommy - N and translator - O, at 10AM Monday in the hotel lobby.
2. Spend Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with her
3. N will come back to hotel mid-day Thursday to take her home
4. We spend the next day and a half as tourists - possibly visiting Antigua (a beautiful colonial town about an hour from Guatemala City.
5. Then we head home Saturday

Reality in Guatemala:

1. We awake Monday morning, brimming with anticipation, but expecting Carmen to be a little late as we were warned might be the case.
2. The phone doesn't ring until 10:45, but it's not O.
3. We call O at 11:30, and leave him a message.
4. The phone proceeds to ring 3 more times, including a call from O telling us they will arrive around 2:30 with the baby.
5. The phone rings around 2:35 - it's O in the lobby with Carmen and N.
6. We head downstairs, Carmen is placed in our arms and we review all kinds of info. B shows up just as N and O are about to leave so we get to meet her as well.
7. O unexpectedly tells us that N and B will meet us in the lobby of the hotel at 5PM Friday!!!
8. We spend the week with Carmen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. We head down to the lobby at 4:55, N walks in at 5:00.
10. B finally shows up around 5:50, after having been called by N.
11. We travel back to the US, slightly down in the dumps, but confident because N is so awesome.

There you have it - our week in a nutshell. But it was so much more than that. It was so much more than diapers (yes - she peed during one of my diaper changes), bottles, drool, zerberts, and naps.

But, then again, that's exactly what it was about. It was about getting to know our Carmensita. And we learn about her through her play, how she eats, and how she laughs and cries. Right now she expresses who she is through these things.

Will she remember us? Not really sure. We made an audio tape of us playing, singing, and talking to her, which N was looking forward to playing for her. This might help in that regard. We're pretty sure she missed her Momma N, as she has known only her foster family since day 10 of her life. What an amazing family she has in Guatemala.
She loves to play with her hands and suck on her fingers and wrists. She hiccups quite a bit and yawns regularly - we have both on video. She has smooth brown skin and a complexion that looks great in yellow, blue, and green. She has beautiful deep brown, expressive eyes - I can see my reflection in them - literally.

As you can see above, her hands and fingers seem a little large, but her feet are a bit on the small side.


As luck would have it, we received a new set of pictures, a medical report, and a case update while we were there with her. She's 16 lbs now at 4 months old - very healthy. We're still waiting on Pre-Approval from the US Embassy, but the case has entered PGN - the Guatemala attorney general's office that handles adoption cases. They will review the file, and tell our lawyer what items must be fixed. We know for sure the Pre-Approval must be there, but some lawyers will submit knowing this so they can find the other potential problems and fix them quickly. Not sure yet if this will speed up our case in the end game, but it may give us more certainty a little further down the road.

It was an amazing week. Totally amazing. She's a wonderful little girl who is developing her own personality right now. Her family right now in Guatemala loves her to pieces. We were are at piece knowing she is so loved- this helped us a great deal as we watched her leave us.

We will be back. Soon I pray.

I've got tons more pics (as does Tia S), so I'll share more soon. We've also got hours and hours of video (again thanks mostly to Tia), which I'll share as well. Not sure exactly how I'll accomplish this yet.

I must end this post with the cutest picture in the history of photography. You've seen all kinds of cute pictures in your day right? Babies, puppies, kittens, babies with puppies, kittens with puppies. All of them are cute.

But not like this. I present to you: CJ lounging the pool with one of her trademark smirks.

Wishful hearing and a variety of ponderances

***EDIT - LINKS FIXED***
ooops, sorry :(

Lately, I've been rather introspective about this adoption and my baby girl. Thinking a lot about what she will really be like. Are the pictures below any indication of her personality? Did she just smile in these pictures, or did she laugh out loud? What does her laugh even sound like? Between meetings and putting out fires (figuratively) - that's really what I've been thinking about all day.

I have the pictures, particularly the latest round totally memorized, but will I even recognize her when I meet her later this month? Will she recognize me when we return for the pick up trip after having spent 4 days with her some months prior?

No updates to provide on the case, but the countdown to the next step continues. We might not actually have major news until early Sept as that will put us through the normal time frame for this step in the process (waiting for Pre-Approval). Also, a step has been added at the end. The US Embassy now requires a follow-up DNA test to ensure a match to very early in the process. While I don't like the additional cost and extra 1-2 weeks wait at the end, I support this step anyway. It's important that this process be as ethical as possible.

I might be broaching an unwritten blog rule by including 3 subjects in one post, but I've got one more item to note. The blog-roll has grown and I wanted to make a special point to invite you to visit these folks. Some were mentioned in my tag post, but now they are officially linked in! Each and every one of these bloggers has something worthwhile to say. As I keep telling ya'll, I don't personally blog about certain topics - at least at this point. But I do think and talk about all kinds of adoption issues, and these folks offer a great deal of insight, to me at least.

The Road to Uzbekistan - some fine folks who hope to bring home their daughter some time soon!

Waiting for Anthony - who just got new pictures of their adorable son, and post some truly inspirational thoughts regularly.

Uzbek Ubet - might be the funniest mom around these days. Trust me, you have to check that blog out.

Keeping On - who's girls really are gorgeous. A multi-racial family from whom we can learn a lot.

From the Mind of a Bmom - mom to Cory who really has a great outlook on life with her experiences in an open adoption.

Stupid stuff I think- oh yes, I've got the guts to link in Petunia - somewhat outspoken, never dull, and almost always right - almost.

My Best Laid Plans - great title - a blog I just recently found, which seems to spark a lot of deep thoughts for me.

Our Guatemalan Adoption - not the most original title, but a new family family just about to bring home their son. For some reason, I sense we have somethings in common with these folks.

Last but not least - our "neighbors" and new friends chronicle their Wild Ride to bringing home Toby.

That's it for now. Enjoy the required reading!

Tag, I'm it!!!

I've been tugged! Thanks to the wonderful and witty Melissa (not the M who sleeps next to me)- who's in the process of adopting from Uzbekistan, I've got to come up with some clever answer now!

Here it goes....

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago:
Working for an Automation/Systems Integrator in suburban Philly
Moving into my first post-college apartment
Gaining weight (half of it’s gone now)
Spending too much money (all of that’s gone now!)
Working on my Matchbox collection (not so much these days)

5 Snacks I Enjoy:
Potato Chips
Fresh Roasted Peanuts
Moravian Sugar Cake
Doritos (just about any flavor)
Chewy candy (Swedish fish, nibs, gummy bears)

5 TV Shows I've Seen Every Episode Of:
--Seinfeld (still the funniest show ever- although The Office is catching up)
--Who’s the Boss? (you shouldn’t have to ask why)
--Gilligan’s Island (hilarious, but not for the reasons intended)
--Sledge Hammer (oh how I miss that show)
--Heroes (yah, I know big deal it’s only 1 season so far)

5 Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire:
--Invest and find a way to keep it from Uncle Sam
--Support a variety of ministries that shall remain nameless
--Build a home up in the mountains
--Build a home on the Outer Banks
--Quit working a regular job (anyone who says they would keep working is lying!)

5 Bad Habits:
--Procrastinating
--Caffeine
--Wasting time browsing news/sports/adoption sites instead of getting some exercise
--Over-analyzing all decisions
--Potato Chips

5 Things I Like To Do:
--Spend time with my friends and family
--Disc Golf (don’t call it Frisbee golf!!!)
--Geography (GIS, maps, political, archaeological, etc)
--Cook
--Dream about bringing Carmen home

5 Things I Would Never Wear Again:
--My high school basketball uniform (particularly the shorts)
--Silk shirts
--Long Hair (at least not as long as it once was)
--Necklaces
--Combat boots (don’t ask)

5 Favorite Toys:
--My laptop
--My pickup truck (yup, I’m a bit redneck – gotta have that truck)
--My Mantis Tiller (most reliable piece of equipment I own)
--My electric knife (carves a fine turkey, roast, bread, etc)
--My blackberry (me = stereotypical blackberry addict)

5 Things I Can't Stand:
--Madonna
--Mushrooms
--Waiting
--Lying
--Ink on my hands

Phew - that wasn't so bad. So, now who to tag?

Let's go with Lisa, Mike, Sean, Jonathan & Matthew - growing their family with a little girl from Uzbekistan (yay - the news is out!!!)

And how 'bout our new friends Tammy, John, Delicia, Meghan, & Courtney who are preparing to bring home Anthony, running very close to us in time-line. These folks are a really neat family - and yes - I never thought I'd say that about anyone from New England (hehe).

I've got to include a different Tammy and Sean from my home state of PA, who just recently brought home Sweet Elena(If she isn't' cute, then I don't know what cute is). Don't worry if it takes you a little while to get to it, I'm sure you've been busy!

How 'bout another new friends, Andrea and Dave, who are blessed to be adopting the quadro-dimpled and amazing little Kylie America.

Ah, I guess I should include the Melissa who actually does sleep next to me. The red head doesn't post as often as me, but when she does it's quite thoughtful.

Have fun!