The little man's 3rd birthday party

What a day we had yesterday! The critterboy had his birthday party at Mickey D's with a neighborhood friend and two school friends, along with G-ma and G-pa. It was a great time! This was his first party held anywhere other than home. If you know me well, you know that for the first two birthdays I had every detail planned out months in advance, all the way down to sketches of the cake design and the table lay out. Lame, I know, but I can't apologize--it's just the way I am! Needless to say, this year has been a bit different. Not knowing when we might travel to pick up la princesa has put a crimp in my "let's plan it all!" style. We decided to do the party at McD's last Saturday--one week in advance. And you know what? It was fine. Absolutely fine. Add to that not having to clean the house both before and after the party, saving money on decorations and pricey pre-planned cakes and I'm one happy mama! Seriously, who'd a thunk it??!!

Back to the party--I had been thinking about a VeggieTales party for the little guy for awhile, but since he is a HUGE hockey fan (I think he's going to be a goalie someday--that or a centerman--he likes to control the puck!) he insisted on a hockey party. Now, again, for those of you who know me, you know that my first thought was "Note to self: mommy can only pick the first two parties, so make them what you want them.", but I decided to look for some matchy matchy hockey decorations for the big event. Then I decided ahh, who cares, he's going to be 3 and no one cares what the party is. I settled for some multi-sport Dollar Tree napkins and black plates (pucks!). Then I started to think about the cake. Sorry kid, no more cakes planned months in advance! Last Sunday we got on Ebay and ordered a goalie figurine to put on top of the cake. Then on Thursday, yes, only 2 days before the party, I remembered to actually order the cake. Get this--you can get a perfectly awesome and delicious, made just the way you want it cake (a huge 1/2 sheet at that!) at Sam's for only $15.00. Geez, if I'd have cared so little the last 2 years we could have saved a bundle! hee hee

He LOVES to sing Happy Birthday, but loves even more to be the one blowing out the candles. He got all three on one breath! Great job buddy!

Everything was great--no stress for anyone, which is a blessing for all. Lots of adorable pics and memories of his first "friend" party.

Now comes the after party . . . at the party the critterboy consumed a piece of cake (a corner that he had stuck his finger in before the party, and all he ate was the icing--yikes!), his happy meal, 2 miniature Hershey bars, 2 dum dum suckers, and some sprite. Yeah, no nap was happening at our house! We gave up trying. Aunt L and Uncle C came over later in the afternoon and played and played and played. We had a blast, and the little man wore them out! He was still going strong though. He finally succombed to the sleepy and fell asleep after being awake for 13 hours. Just look at this little party animal, so sweet and quiet and amazing.

If I haven't already said it, it was a great day. We were all in good moods, even the little prince, all day. And we've decided that parties at McD's are the BEST and we'll probably do it every year. Although I admit I'm already planning next years party at Chuck E Cheese . . . I wonder what he'll pick for the theme?! Stay tuned for a sappy post on Tuesday, the day our little man entered the world and changed so many lives.

Happy 6 months bebita!

Wow, how time has flown. Our sweet little girl is 6 months old today! Feliz cumpleanos mi amor! Many people have asked me if we're sad that she's not home yet. Of course I'd rather have her here with us, and would love have had her here all along, but unfortunately she has to be in Guatemala for another week or so. Fortunately for us, though, she will be home very soon and we had prepared ourselves for a much longer wait. We are so incredibly blessed!

Yesterday we got a photo update from our agency, the first one in more than two months. Here is our sweet princesa. Isn't she a sight to behold?! It's hard to believe that very soon we'll be kissing those little cheeks again!

La princesa's DNA sample got to the Embassy yesterday afternoon, so now we're officially waiting for the "pink slip" to tell us when we will have our appointment. We're getting so anxious to be able to make the arrangements for the trip of a lifetime for our family, but I'm holding onto the patience I have learned from this process and will wait a few more days. Not more than that, ya hear me USE?? A few days. I wore pink today and will wear pink everyday until we get that coveted email from the embassy. I've even got some of my co-workers on board wearing pink! hee hee

Hopefully my next post will be announcing our trip and the date that we will officially, in person, become the family of four we have been in our hearts for many months. Abrazos y besos princesa!

Happy Mother's Day!

I know it's really a few more hours until it's officially Mother's Day, but this mama's gonna be busy tomorrow. My guys are taking me to the zoo (my idea--it's free for mom's tomorrow, and the little man is still free for oh, say, about 8 more days, so the 3 of us are going to get in for a total of $7.00! yeehaw! My kind of fun!), then we're coming home to force the critterboy to take a nap, then it's off to meet Aunt L, Uncle C, and Grandma/Grandpa somewhere for an early dinner. Sheesh! I'm tired already!

This will be my 3rd Mother's Day. The little man was born just 5 days after Mom's Day 2005. Here's a pic of me in all my preggo glory (30 weeks) from that day 3 years ago:

Little did I know how much my life would change before another week went by! This year I'm merely weeks away from being a mom of two, and I've never felt more blessed in all my life.

This year I have a new appreciation for moms of all kinds. I'm thankful for all the moms I know for helping me to become who I am today.

1. My mom - for giving me life
2. La princesa's birth mom - for giving us the opportunity to complete our family and for trusting us to raise the little angel she gave birth to. What an amazing woman! I pray that she continues to find peace in her decision and knows in her heart how much we love that baby girl.
3. La princesa's foster mom - for treating her as if she was her own child, doting on her and teaching her how to love and be loved. We are forever greatful for this wonderful mom.
4. All my "mom" friends - for being a shoulder to cry on, always there to celebrate the little successes of parenting and to pick me up when I'm having an "I'm a bad mom" day. Sharing the struggles and triumphs of life with these girls has kept me sane. You know who you are, and you rock!

I truly have things in perspective now--this is what life is all about. Now all I have to do is be the kind of mom every kid wants to have, set a good example for moms-to-be and juggle that with everything else life throws at me. I know now more than ever that I can do it. Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Baby shower pics and little man's new bed

As promised, here are a few pics from my baby shower at work. I've pretty much got everything where it goes and the last few outfits are in the dryer even as we speak!

My wonderful co-workers and me - thanks ladies!

The awesome cake that matches the nursery decor

The gazillion gift bags and packages - we're so blessed!

All of the big stuff we didn't carry inside

Today my beloved brought in his latest amazing work of art: little man's bookcase headboard. It turned out wonderfully perfect. The man's got skillz! hee hee Here are some pics of the work of art, with and without the critterboy.

The covered wagon lamp on top was made by daddy-o's late aunt Joy many years ago. It was in his room when he lived at home, and it's been in various rooms of our house since we got married almost 12 years ago. I hope you love it buddy! Daddy-o also wrote a sweet note on the back of the headboard so the critterboy will always know it was made with love. What great guys I have!

The latest happenings

La princesa's 2nd DNA sample arrived at the lab today. Yippee! This means that we should have our Embassy appointment date in the next week to 10 days, and if things go well, we should be able to go pick her up in about 2 1/2 weeks or so. I'm still thinking either the 23rd or 27th for our Embassy appointment. Keep praying for me to have patience.

In other Guatemala adoption news, they have temporarily suspended adoptions that are in process to further "investigate" (read: delay) the cases. Even those that were approved but the files not yet picked up by the attorneys are being held. Please note--this does not affect our adoption! It saddens me for those families who are waiting for their children to come home. Tomorrow, 5/9/08, is being designated as a day of prayer for the children of Guatemala, and the families who are stuck in emotional and financial limbo from this latest mess. Please take a moment tomorrow, or preferably every day, to say a special prayer that God look after the babies, children, and people of that beautiful country. With attorneys no longer taking adoption cases, many birth mothers who cannot provide for their children are literally throwing them away. Abortion rates are on the rise. This must stop, and the only thing to do is pray. Alot.

In happier news, my wonderful co-workers had a baby shower for us today. I haven't loaded pics on the computer yet, but holy moly we got lots of stuff. I told DH that he needs to build an addition to the house, tonight if possible, to hold it all! :) The wonderful employees I work with make everyday an adventure, and I'm so thankful and grateful for each and every one of them. Since I am in human resources, I have had the opportunity to get to know just about all 250 of them, and I consider them all friends. What a wonderful blessing!

The little man has an appointment next week with an ear nose and throat specialist to discuss having his tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. I'm dreading it, since I never wanted my little guy to ever have another IV or surgery (EVER!), but he needs to be healthy, and well, he's just not. He's been sick every 2-3 weeks for the last few months and enough is enough. He deserves to feel good and we deserve to have a happy go-lucky little man. The up-side is that hopefully we can do it while I'm on leave with la princesa so I can be home with him during his recovery. Anybody have a favorite popsicle I should get for him? hee hee The critter is such a sweet little thing. Last night he said, "Mommy, come lay wif me", so I dropped what I was doing and layed down with him. And fell asleep myself. Before we fell asleep, we said our "God blesses" where we ask God to bless the people in our lives. He extended the blessing to the door, the lights, the windmill (ceiling fan), the sky, etc. The way he says it is so cute too--"Wawd bwess . . ." I could just kiss him to pieces! He asks about his baby sister every day, so I hope he's ready for her!

Stay tuned for more updates as we get more information!

We're ORANGE!!

Okay, again this is an Guatemala adoption lingo thing. The piece of paper that provides authorization from the US Embassy to do the 2nd DNA test is ORANGE. Well, the email of the document isn't orange, but from what I hear, the actual paper is, so when a family is issued "ORANGE", it's a good, good thing!

Sometime between last Monday and this Monday, la princesa's new birth certificate listing us as her parents was issued from the city of her birth in Guatemala. After that, her Guatemalan passport was issued. Finally, the DNA authorization was given. We don't know if the test has actually been performed or if it will be later this week, but either way, it means that we are about +/- 3 weeks from having our baby girl with us forever. What a great birthday present for Matthew, and what a great feeling for all of us.

We're taking guesses about when our Embassy appointment will be. I'm thinking either 5/23 or 5/27. Any guesses?

We're OUT!!!!

We got the call today that we are out of PGN! I've been praying like crazy that our day would come soon, and I know that all of you have been too. Our prayers were answered! Our baby girl is coming home!

To make things even better, we found out that her birthmom has signed her fourth and final consent for the adoption, and her new birth certificate listing us as her parents has been requested. We're hoping to have the birth certificate by the end of the week, then they will get her passport and request authorization from the US Embassy in Guatemala to do the 2nd DNA test. This is to make sure that she is the same baby we started with, which she is! After that it will be a couple of weeks until we get notice of our "PINK SLIP" which will tell us when our embassy appointment is. We have been told that it will likely be around four weeks from now, maybe less, maybe more when we will have her in our arms forever. It's surreal. And scary. Holy moly two kids??!! Who'da thunk it??!!

Please say a prayer for la princesa's foster mom. By now she knows that she only has a few weeks left with our sweet girl and I'm sure she is sad. She is an absolute angel on earth to foster these babies (la princesa is her 10th!) and give them a wonderful home. She shows her love as if she was hers forever, and for that we are so thankful. Please pray that she finds peace in knowing that our baby girl will be so loved. Also pray that the new adoption process that is coming soon will allow her to continue to foster other babies in the future. This is her only source of income, and more importantly, it wouldn't be fair to deprive a child of the loving home she provides. She will always be part of our family, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Another prayer request: Please pray that all of the families who are in process right now get good news soon. God is good, and we thank him for all we have.

Stay tuned for more updates!