Paula's Christening - what an angel!

Long time, no see. Sorry we haven't updated this in a while. Tonight we're finally taking the time to upload photos and catch everyone up on what Paula has been up to.

On October 19th, Paula was Baptised at Our Lady of the Valley Church. It had special meaning to me (Jennie) as that was the church where I was baptised as a baby. Paula was very good during the ceremony, except for refusing to wear her hat (and it was adorable the brief moment she had it on!) and also for wanting to eat Father John's book (he thought she wanted to hold it, but we all knew better than that!) Father John really made everyone feel welcome, especially the children. He invited all of the children up to the Baptismal font to get a closer view, and all of the children went to watch (with the adults standing nearby watching also!) When the water was poured on Paula, she didn't cry...she only made a movement to go "plop-plop" in the water...just like she does in the bathtub!

I'm going to post some of the photos from Paula's special day, but have a request. If anyone took any photos, could you please email them to me (or let me borrow the negatives so I can make a set). Thanks :)

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Our Pumpkin Princess

Here are some photos of a recent trip to a farm near my Aunt Marie's house. Mom, Aunt Marie, Paula and myself stopped there to get some beautiful mums a few weeks ago and couldn't resist capturing Paula on film! Paula actually kept her barettes in her hair all day and was intrigued by the different flowers and plants and enjoyed the pumpkins too! In one photo, you'll notice Paula holding a flower in her hand...compliments of Aunt Marie's visit to a nearby mum. She smiled at the flower and then giggled at us! The final "car seat" photo, shows Paula holding some straw in her hand (and mouth!) Paula likes to put things in her mouth, and we guessed correctly that by the end of the day that she would somehow get a piece of straw to "chew on!"

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Meeting the Godparents!

Paula has now met both of her Godparents and loves each of them! She hopes that they stop by to visit her often, as Aunt Kristen likes to cuddle her and Uncle Jim enjoys making her giggle.

Here are two pictures of Paula with her Aunt Kristen. The first one was taken the first week that Paula was home. Aunt Kristen was feeding her lunch in that photo and Paula is wearing her "I Love My Aunt" bib in the photo. For those that don't know, that is Paula's Grandma (Jennie's Mom), holding Paula while Kristen feeds her. The next photo was taken last week, when Kristen came by to visit Paula and her Mommy. Paula is wearing one of the outfits that Aunt Kristen gave her in that photo. Paula loves the outfit and looks adorable in it and Mommy loves the outfit too, because it is easy to change her when she wears it! Paula is so comfortable with Kristen that she fell asleep on her shoulder in the middle of Kristen's visit.





Here's a photo of Paula with her Godfather, Uncle Jim and the Dolly that he gave Paula. She loves her dolly and gave it a hug the minute she received it and she sleeps with her Dolly every night. Paula also was able to see Uncle Jim on Sunday when he came to pick up her Daddy to go to the Jets Game. Mommy didn't have her camera ready that morning, but will get more pictures of Paula and Uncle Jim soon!

Bath Time Changes

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It's been a little over 2 weeks since we brought our little doll home from Guatemala and we both think she is adjusting very nicely. She has even made improvements on the areas that she wasn't doing well in. Something she disliked until recently was bath time. She really HATED this and would scream bloody murder whenever it was time for her bath. All she had to do was hear the faucet turn on, and she would begin crying hysterically.

As of last week, she's finally happy in the bathtub. It took some time, but I think she finally realizes that she is safe and that she can have fun in the bath. My mom has taught her to splash "Paula, do Plop Plop" and now she really enjoys getting all of us wet! She loves her rubber duckies (yes she has more than 1!), loves it when we sing to her while in the tub, and loves her blue hippo too!

The first 2 photos I've included are taken when we visited Paula back in February, when she was almost 3 1/2 months old. The next two were taken during our Pick Up trip a few weeks ago and then the next few are at my moms house, wearing her ducky towel that Nanny bought for Paula, still not happy that she had to take a bath, and then the rest are of Paula playing in the tub. There are two photos I love...the one where she's "saying" wash my back (her Grandma is doing that) and the other one where she's letting us know it's time to wash her hair!

Well it's late and I better shut the computer off now and get some sleep. I'll try and post more often to our blog, but please forgive me if i don't have a chance to post as often as I did in the past.

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Welcome Home

Paula's first airplane ride went nicely. She had her apple juice while the plane took off and fell asleep before her bottle was finished. She woke up a while later, smiling, but needing to be changed. We had a grumpy seatmate in the aisle who wouldn't change seats so that we wouldn't have to climb over him so much, so we made sure the next time we needed a bathroom (not even an hour later...we usually never use the bathroom on planes!) we climbed over him again! This time, a couple a row ahead of us, offered to switch so we could have the aisle and middle seat. They felt bad that we had to climb over someone with a baby in our arms.

The rest of the flight went smoothly, and when it was time to land, Paula fell asleep again!

Once we landed, we changed Paula into her coming home outfit, which she is wearing in the photos. We went through customs, and then picked up our luggage and were greeted by both sets of Parents. Paula rode home with her mommy and Grandma and Grandpa (Jennie's side) because they had a car seat, and Paul rode home with the luggage and his parents. Paula didn't know if she liked her car seat, as they did not have them in Guatemala, but by the end of the ride, she was almost sure she liked it.

Mom and Dad had picked up some subs from our local Italian Deli for snacks (and our dinner) when we landed. Boy were they good and it felt great to eat an American meal again! We all enjoyed Paula's first night in her new home!

Our Day in Antigua with FTIA friends

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Let us start by saying, if anyone is planning a trip to Antigua, do not hesitate to give Alfredo and Claudia a call. If you need their contact info, just ask us for it. They are the best! We toured all day with fellow FTIAers, Beth and her sweet baby Stefani (along with Beth's parents Marv and Alice) and Terri and her little girl, Amelia. We had a great time and are so glad that we found the time to make a trip to Antigua! Little Paula was so good on the trip to Antigua. She babbled and giggled the whole trip there and back. We had a great day and met new friends along the way also.

Gotcha Day!!!

Hi all!

Well we're a day late posting this, but it's been a very busy few days and we're usually too tired to do much but enjoy Paula and then go to bed fairly early at the end of the night. I'm staying up a little late to get our news posted, since tomorrow we will be spending the day in Antigua and then we need to pack to come home and I'm not sure if we will have time to post.

Our day started out at 5am taking showers and getting the three of us ready for Gotcha Day! That's the day that we go to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City and sign many forms, answer questions about our adoption process, and then sit around waiting. Our appointment was scheduled for 7:15, but we didn't get out until almost 11:30. After a long wait, our name was called to come to another window and then we had to take an oath that everything we have said about the adoption and about us is true, we had to answer a few more questions, and then are told that we can leave and come back on Thursday after 3:30 to pick up our daughter's Passport and Visa.

We shared a fun Gotcha Day dinner with a couple from Pennsylvania and their baby boy and then took photos together. After dinner, it was upstairs to get in touch with home, and then it was time for bed.

More photos will be posted in the days to come, but for now, enjoy the ones I've included.

Finally in our arms forever-we're not letting her go!

Monday Update (a few days late!)

Monday at noon, Rafael and Vilma, along with her son Leonardo and Rafael's son Diego, brought Paula to the hotel for our pick-up trip. We enjoyed a visit in our hotel room, which was more private than the lobby. We asked many questions about our daughter's schedule, which Rafael translated for us and talked for a while.

After walking everyone downstairs and watching them go, we went back to our room, where we fixed her lunch, as she was telling us it was time to eat! She enjoys eating anything...she is not a picky eater at all so far! Her first meal with us was Gerber Baby Apples (Manzana) and then she wanted her bottle! She's a hungry girl!

She napped after lunch, as it was a busy morning for her. Then we took a walk and showed her off! Dinner that night was right in the hotel, room service, as by dinnertime, she was a little fussy.

All in all, she's adjusting to us very well.

We're here, safe and sound

Hi all,

After a long day, we are finally relaxing at our hotel and getting ready to turn in early (our day began at 3am to get ready for our flight, which left at 7:45am.) Once we finally arrived in Guatemala, we checked in to our hotel. The hotel is close to the action in town and clean, so we're happy. Especially when we almost didn't get a room, as most hotels we checked did not have any vacancies.

We walked to the supermarket today and picked up some things we know that Paula will need (and a few things that we felt we would like to have in our hotel room, such as soda and water.) We also did some exploring and had a really nice dinner at a local steak house. We each had steak, wonderful sides (plaintains, fried plaintain chips, and rice and beans, garlic bread, and some great toppings for the steak). It was REALLY delicious! We also ordered dessert to go and brought it back to the hotel for later on...had a taste of it before putting it away...Tres Leches Cake...yummo!

It's a small world...we already ran into someone from our agency on the flight to Guatemala...their appointment is Tuesday morning and ours is Wednesday.

Well I'm going to sign off now, as I'm falling asleep as I'm typing this...I'm so excited knowing that tomorrow Paula will be ours and we won't have to leave her at the end of our week...this time she can come home with us!

I'll write more tomorrow :)

We're Tickled PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received the shock of my life yesterday when I checked my email (I
happened to be on the phone w/our adoption coordinator asking a question about paperwork and started the conversation with "I'm not calling about PINK, no word on that yet" and before hanging up happened to check for new messages and there was our PINK message.)

I then called my husband to tell him, but was so hysterical that he couldn't
understand what I was saying. He thought something had happened to me, which made him upset. I finally was able to tell him that nothing was wrong, that everything was very good. That OUR DAUGHTER WAS COMING HOME!!!!

Next was a call to my mom and then telling my boss and everyone at work.

The original plan for the evening was to get the border up in the baby's room. My Aunt Marie and my friend Dawn were in charge of that. Learning that Paula would be home VERY soon made it very important to get the room done ASAP and the two of them worked like dogs to get it done.

It turned into a "Border Hanging Party" and we had a Champagne Toast and then Mom's Homemade Chili for dinner with Peach Pie ala mode for dessert! Yummo - a great way to celebrate the news! My parents were there, along with Dawn and Aunt Marie. We all can't wait until she comes home to us forever!

While the border was being worked on, Paul and I booked our flight and then our hotel. We had a little scare when we realized there weren't vacancies in any of our Top 5 Hotel Choices. But we found one that seems to be nice and we are hoping for a good pick-up trip!

Oh, and for those who are wondering what "PINK" means or if someone having a boy "gets blue", Pink is when the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala gives us an appointment to come to Guatemala and bring our daughter home. We will be interviewed on Wednesday August 13th and get to pick up her papers on the 14th. The reason they call this step "pink" is because of the slip of paper that it is issued on (although we get it through email.) Also, adopting a boy does not mean you "get blue"...you still get PINK :)

Well that's enough for now...I need to get off this computer and pack!

Even Closer Yet

Jennie and I just found out today that our 2nd DNA arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, today, Mon Aug 4 2008 at 4:06PM. This is the final step and we are just waiting for our pink sheet, which will come to us through email, and then we can go to Guatemala to pick up Paula. Jennie and I, and our families, are very excited that little Paula will be home soon...FOREVER!!!!!

Please, keep praying for us that we receive a speedy pink, which we have been told should come sometime this week.

Thank You, everyone, for your support through our process!

It's getting closer!!!!

After not checking our email since Saturday afternoon, I was surprised to find an email from our adoption coordinator at our agency when I checked our email tonight. Last night, at almost 7pm, we heard that Paula's DNA results have been sent back to the Embassy in Guatemala. They should arrive Monday at 6pm, but the Embassy will already be closed, which means that by Tuesday, hopefully they will have the results, which means that by the end of the week or the beginning of next week, we should have our Embassy Appt and will need to make our plans to travel.

I can't believe it's almost over...Paula is almost home!!! Forever!

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!!!!

Happy Early Halloween - We Are ORANGE!

Oh Happy Day, or should I say night...

Paul called me tonight when I was out with my mom and aunt for our weekly girls night out, with the news that we got ORANGE! We're all so excited about the news, including the waiter where we were eating!

We also learned that our birth certificate was picked up sometime before this and that our passport was completed yesterday. The U.S. Embassy approval came today (orange)and 2nd DNA is hoped to be done on Thursday (keeping our fingers crossed!)

There's still so much to be done before Paula comes home. We better get moving!

Keep checking for more news as we learn it.

Final Adoption Decree Signed - It Is Official!!!

It was another good day in our journey to bring Paula home. We received an email today, letting us know that the Birth Mother signed the Final Adoption Decree! Paula now has our last name and she's OURS!!!


The news has even made Paula smile in the photo below. She seems to be saying "Watch Out -I'm coming home Mommy and Daddy!"

Our Independence Day -WE'RE OUT!!!

After all the praying, crying, complaining, and doubts, we learned today that Paula is finally OUT of PGN!!! We got the phone call today at 12:30, from Kathy, our coordinator. What a way to enjoy a holiday weekend. We were told that she was released from PGN on July 4th...our baby got her independence on Independence Day! Wooo Hooo!

Paul and I spent the rest of the day on cloud 9! I was with my Mom and Dad when the call came and we immediately went out to order the crib and nursery furniture. I called a few people and Paul called to tell his parents and we're all doing the Happy Baby Dance and are realizing how quickly things can change when you least expect it!

For those wondering, the next step is having the Final Adoption Decree signed, and once that is done, a new birth certificate will be made, naming Paul and I as her parents. That will take around 2 weeks. Then comes the DNA authorization and after that it's time to pick our sweetie up! All of this will take approximately 6-8 weeks.

Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter!

Turning a Day of Prayer into a Weekly event

It is a very stressful time right now. There are so many rumors that are going around about adoptions in Guatemala and how in-process adoptions are being treated by PGN during the audit they are conducting that we don't know who/what to believe.

We would like to thank all of those who participated in last Tuesday's "Day of Prayer" and also those who have continued to pray for Paula and the other babies who are waiting to come home to their families. We would also like to thank you for all of the prayers, thoughts, hugs, and support that you have given us during this process. It has been helpful and comforting knowing that we have you in our lives!

Paul and I have decided to turn our day of prayer, which was on Tuesday, May 13th into an ongoing Tuesday night prayer. We would love it if you would join us in praying for a quick homecoming and a change in attitude from the Guatemalan government.

Here are the details:

When: Tuesday Nights from Tuesday May 20 until further notice
When: 9pm New Jersey (EST) time (which is 7pm in Guatemala)
Where: Wherever you happen to be at the time
Who: All religions are welcome to join us in prayer...we appreciate everyone’s prayers!

Thank you everyone in advance for your prayers and if you would like to pass our request on to others, we would appreciate it.

Day of Prayer to bring Guatemalan babies home!

Hi all! It's been decided by many of the adoptive parents in my agency to form a Day of Prayer where we can all pray at the same time for our babies to come home quickly. We figure that by praying at the same time, we may begin to feel some sort of peace. I know that I won't feel peaceful until Paula comes home to us for good, but I also figure the prayers can't hurt.

If anyone would like to join in our day of prayer, we are planning on praying on Tuesday May 13th, at 7PM Guatemalan time, which is 9PM New Jersey (EST) time. Please join us in praying for our daughter's homecoming and all the other babies that are stuck in the "big black HOLD" that is called PGN! (see previous posts for comments about the black hold!)

Thank you in advance for your prayers and thank you to all who have listened to my worries and have tried to calm my tears and my fears!

Please Pray Paula Comes Home Soon!

Hi everyone. By now you may have heard me complaining about the "shutdown" of PGN and how worried Paul and I are. We're hopeful that things will reopen soon, but until they do, please say a prayer that the Guatemalan government completes their investigation of adoptions and reopens PGN's doors so that cases can be released (or resubmitted if a PREVIO has been received.) Right now instead of calling PGN the black hole, it's being referred to as the "Black Hold!" AGH, just let us out...we want our daughter home with us!

6 Months Old And Ready For My 1st Crawl

Here I Am - My First Try at Crawling around a little. I did not get hurt so I must have done ok.

Look Into My Eyes

Look everyone - I am looking at you! I can't wait to see everyone in person! Mommy and Daddy keep telling me it will be real soon.

My First Easter

Here I am in my Easter dress that Grandma bought me. It had pretty pearls on it and was pink. It had a matching sweater, but I was too hot to wear it!

Getting Ready For Spring

Look at me! I am all ready for the warm weather with this outfit that Mommy and Daddy brought with them for me when they visited in February.

Don't you agree, I'm just the cutest!

WooHoo-PGN has let us in!

Hi all! We got the best news yesterday. PGN has let us in as of 3/14/08! It takes around 4-12 weeks to be let out of PGN and move on to the next step.

PGN is similar to our Attorney General's office. Now that we are in PGN, our case will be assigned to a staff attorney who is responsible for reviewing the file. He/She will determine if everything we had to do to complete our adoption has been done up until this point. This is where they check to see if we "dotted our I's and crossed our T's" and if we didn't, we could get a kick-out...but don't worry, if that happens, it's something that can get fixed. They will be checking to make sure that all the seals that were required for the paperwork have been done and that any stamps required from Family Court are included with/on the documents.

Well that's all for now.

Hey PGN, open those doors and let us in!

We got the best email today! We found out that we have received Pre-Approval (PA) from the United States Embassy! That means that we are one step closer to bringing Paula home...hoorah!

Pre-Approval is a big deal, because without it, you cannot enter PGN (otherwise known as Procuraduria General de la Nacion.) Now you know why everyone calls it PGN! PA happens after a CIS officer reviews all of our paperwork that our attorney has submitted and decides that everything is in order. For this to happen, the baby and birth mother have to have their DNA taken (a painless procedure from what we are told) and it has to be sent to the US Embassy in Guatemala. From the day the DNA results are received at the embassy, our "countdown" to PA (also known as "Birth Mother's Consent before the U.S. Embassy" or Pre-Approval) begins! It took us 37 days to get PA--the average used to be 60 days, but we noticed it has been getting to be a short wait (thank goodness!)

We also found out last Friday (March 7th) that we are officially out of Family Court as of March 6th! With both of these done, hopefully we should be in PGN soon!

Well that's all the news for now. Keep us and Paula in your prayers and hope the rest of our process goes smoothly!

Our Last Day With Paula

It was very sad giving Paula back to her Foster Mother on our last day in Guatemala, but we refused to say "goodbye". Instead we said "Mommy and Daddy love you and are coming back for you real soon!"

A few people have wondered if it was a good idea to visit, knowing we would be sad to leave her, but we are very happy that we did visit and that we got to experience everything that we did. Each day we had with her was precious and our memories will keep us going until we can bring her home with us forever!

Mommy Stop Changing My Clothes!

Here 's Paula in her PJ's

Paula's Third Valentine Outfit

Paula is trying to help mommy decide what she wants to order at the Italian restaurant they went to for dinner.

Paula fell asleep before the bread and appetizer came.

Our Little Angel

Valentine Outfit Number 2

Aren't I adorable!
Mommy and Me enjoying the pool. I like chewing on my fingers and even though mommy and daddy bought teethers for me, you would never know it!


Paul, Jennie trying to get Paula to smile, and Paula

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from Jennie, Paul, and Paula who are sitting in the Family Room at the Westin in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

This is my Grandma's Valentine Outfit-this was outfit #1 on Valentine's Day!

Tired, But Happy Family

This photo was taken of Paul, Paula and I in the hotel lobby. That's the Guatemalan flag we're standing next to.

Mama's turn to feed Paula

There's no better feeling than holding your baby while you feed her! I have to say though that I can understand the desire >not< to want their bottles...man that formula stinks! But she's healthy, so it must be good for her :) Our foster mother has said she drinks 5 oz every 3 hours until her bedtime at 9pm and then at 3am she drinks another 5 oz of formula. So far the 3am feedings aren't bad...it's just another chance for us to hold her and realize how lucky we are to have her!

Daddy Feeding Me For the First Time

Here I Am with my Daddy getting my first bottle,boy it was yummy!!!!!

My Favorite Toy

This is my Favorite Toy when i am crying and being cranky. See how good it works - I am a happy camper here.

Family Time at the Westin

Those are two photos taken of us the first day with our daughter Paula. It was taken in the Family Room at the Westin. If you notice the rattle in Paul's hand, it's a Chime Rattle that Paula's grandma gave to us to use to entertain Paula with. Thank goodness for that rattle, as it distracts Paula while she is being changed!

Our First Day With Our Daughter

Here's the group who came to bring Paula to us. From Left to Right we have Andrea, our in-country coordinator, her son Diego, our Foster Mother Vilma and her son Leonardo, Jennie and Paul holding Paula. It was a great drop-off and we are lucky to have Vilma in our lives.

Greetings from Guatemala

Hi everyone! It is day 5 in Guatemala and day 4 with our daughter. The transition between our wonderful Foster Mother Vilma and us went beautifully. We wish we had asked how she liked to be fed, but that was the only thing we didn't think to ask. Vilma, Andrea (from FTIA) and her husband Rafael met us in the lobby on Sunday morning to help us with the transition. It's a good thing, since Vilma does not speak English and we speak little to no Spanish (un poco.)

We are enjoying our visit to our daughter, Paula, in Guatemala. We are staying at the Westin Camino Real and are very glad we chose that hotel! They have a family room on the"family floor" which allows us to socialize, while the babies/toddlers play. That room has been a blessing for us first time parents! Paul and I both have talked to the various moms and dads and have been given advice and helpful hints.

Paula is an angel, even when she cries. She is teething and at 3 1/2 months has her first tooth! We can't believe we have been lucky enough to experience this milestone. She also took a while to drink her formula. We learned through trial and error that she drinks her formula while on her back with us holding the bottle for her. She also burps like a truck driver!

That's our report for today. We'll write more as time permits (she really likes to be held, which makes it hard to get online.)

TTYL,
Jennie and Paul

We're Finally Blogging

Hi all!

For those that don't know us, we are Jennie and Paul and we live in New Jersey. We are in the middle of adopting our daughter from Guatemala. It is a long and frustrating process, but once we bring Paula home, it will be worth it.

After months of thinking about creating a blog, here we are, trying to think about what we want to say. Monday our daughter will be 3 months old. We wish we could have her home to celebrate, but knowing we will visit her next month and knowing how much we have to do before we go, will make the time go by quicker.

We plan to post photos and our progress reports here. Wish us luck!

Love,
Jennie and Paul