Catch up

So sorry...it has just been busy but I want to catch up on where I left off. The rest of our stay in Guatemala was wonderful, somewhat boring, but wonderful. It was just so great to be with our son and not have to stress about when we would have to go to the lobby to give him back to Yoli. He was ours!!!

We met the most amazing people there and had a wonderful time with them. Joey made lots of Guat baby friends and I want to give a big shout out to Isabella, Jonathan, Gabrielle, Lois and Julia!!! He and Isabella were especially chummy:) On our last night there we all met in the Marriott baby lounge (yes, such a thing exists) and had a pizza party. Food never tasted so good and we were all in great spirits because we were leaving soon.

On Monday afternoon for the first time the gravity of completing this process finally hit me. We were waiting in the lobby for our facilitator to bring us our Visa (allowing Joey into the country) and were sitting with two wonderful woman that we had met and little Isabella. When I saw them receive Isabella's visa I started to cry and when handed Joey's I completely lost it! Finally our long road is over and I could not believe that we were finally taking this little boy with us. How blessed!

I have to admit I was very anxious about the flight home to Philly. It is almost seven hours from Guat. and Joey has only been a car a handful of times never mind a plane! He was AWESOME!!!! The first flight from Guat. to Houston was only 25% full and mostly adoptive parents so he played on that flight and the next one to Philly he slept. What a champ!!!! We had an amazing home-coming, my mom and sister Kelly did such a wonderful job decorating our house and my sister Katie and her man Chris had this unbelievable sign made. The first thing we saw when we rounded the corner of our neighborhood was "WELCOME HOME JOEY" . on a gigantic banner hanging on the front of the house. It was so surreal to finally be arriving home.

The last week has been a whirlwind really, but everyone seems to be adjusting well. Joey is such a good and happy baby. He is walking so well now and starting to eat some solid foods. He just smiles and laughs and loves to play with his big sister, Sarah. He is even taking naps, which I have never experienced before since Sarah has not napped since she was a tiny infant. Today we got to walk around to our neighbors homes since it is Halloween and introduce the new addition to our family on JBL. It was emotional for all of us since these wonderful people have been so supportive of us and been eagerly awaiting this little mans arrival too.

So as I write my little boy is up in his crib (so much for co-sleeping, seems to prefer the crib) sleeping peacefully. So I am off to bed to get some much needed sleep in preparation for tomorrow, getting two kids up and out by 8:30! Wish me luck. Hope you enjoyed the pics!

Love,

Lee Anne

alittle giggle

so I thought that I would give you all alittle run down of how our morning went. We were told by our facilitator that we needed to be in the lobby by 7:30am ready to go, so we had a wake up call set for 6am. At 6am I got up and went into the shower and when I got out started to wake "Sleeping Beauty" (ie. Joey). Note to self, he is not a morning person! To say that he was pissed would be an enormous understatement. He was irate and covered in poop so a bath was in order. John started filling the tub and I put Joey in, but he was is such a tizzy that he projectile vomitted into the bath water! OMG, I just wanted to die at this point it was 6:30! I decided that he would just have to get a shower with one of us so while John was cleaning the puke out of the shower (which clogs ever so easily) Joey peed ALL OVER ME. Guess who ended up getting another shower. He basically screamed for an hour until he was dressed and chugging bottle number two. Poor John had approximately 10 minutes to get showered, shaved, dressed, make two bottles for the morning and meet me in the hotel restaruant. We ate an omelet at record pace and made it to the lobby at 7:29am where Karla (our facilitator) was waiting.

The ride over to the US embassy was uneventful until I realized that I in my haste to leave the hotel room I forgot our tax returns. Karla was sympathetic and told me that it should not be a problem and that if it was she would come back and get them. Thank God the embassy officials never asked for them. The embassy is a rather ugly utilitarian building in Guatemala city, not at all the regal white building with handsome marines guarding the front door that I envisioned at all. So that was alittle disappointing, but everyone there was SO nice and the waiting area was actually fun because we got to meet a ton of adoptive moms and dads from all over the country and everyone there is in a REALLY great mood.

The actual interview process is two parts, the first part is to validate and approve the I600A immigration paperwork. For this part we were led into a small closet (literally) where we were asked our names and if we had visited Joey before. The gentleman examined our passports, smiled and told us we were done. I could not believe it, we hardly said anything. The second interview takes place at a teller window (like the bank). We had to raise our right hand and take an oath that all of the information in our documents was true to the best of our knowledge. Then the woman smiled and said "Congratulations, you are all set, your visa will be ready on Monday". It took everything in me not to bawl...it felt like a million tons were lifted off of me. And with that we are done! John and I feel so blessed to have been able to complete this process and bring our son home, it has been one crazy and hellish ride, but totally worth it. So guys what do you think, you up for another one??

Just kidding :)

Some much awaited pics!

Hi everyone, this morning was our embassy appointment and I am thrilled to announce that we are officially done!! Joey is all ours! The best birthday present ever! Here are some pics. from our trip so far. Note the Boston Red Sox T-shirt "little Papi" :) And Steph, love the Ergo carrier, thank you so much!

PURE BLISS!!!

What a day! I am in heaven! Joey is amazing! We arrived this morning and met with Karla and Yoli in the lobby at 3:30pm. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen watching Yoli leave this baby that she loves like her own. She has been such a blessing to us and Joey and we will forever be grateful to her. The goodbye took almost two hours, but we really did not want to rush her and it was clear that Joey had some stranger anxiety so we all took our time. When it was time for her to go, she kissed him, told him she loved him and left with her family. John and I were left in the baby lounge with Joey unsure of how he would react to her departure. What a champ! He had a few moments of tears, but other than that has been a HAPPY and SMILING little boy!!!!

He is walking, actually he is practically running :) but he still loves to hold a hand for reassurance. He says a few words in spanish like hola, gracias, adios and get this...HE SAYS GOAL (I think someone has been watching a lot of soccer). Needless to say our friend Ivan now has alittle buddy to watch soccer with! He even pumps his arm in the air when he says it. John and I just crack up laughing.

So tomorrow morning is our appointment at the embassy so i am off to bed! I will post pics tomorrow when we get back to the hotel.
Love a very happy mommy,
lee anne

I am ready...I think

So tomorrow morning at 3am we are outta here! My MIL (mother in law) arrived tonight and we went over Sarahs routine. Sarah was practically kicking me out the door, she is so excited for us to get her brother and finally bring him home!!! The bags are packed and I think I have everything. I will post pics and an update when we get him! Please keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well.

Getting ready

So most of you who know me well know that I am extremely organized and that I love situations like this...planning, packing, ect. Yah, well not this time. I am a complete mess. I feel like I walk around in circles all day and night making lists and looking for post it notes! We leave tomorrow night at 3am for the airport and Joey will be brought to the hotel later that day. We cannot wait, I just cannot believe this is really over! Thank God!!!

PINK IS MY FAVORITE COLOR

Finally we are PINK and Joey is coming home! Our appointment is Oct.26th (my bday) and we will be home the following week! Finally that little man is all ours. We will post pics from Guat of course!!!!!! Thank you all for your well wishes today and support.
Love,
lee anne

The Jeopardy theme music

SO... I am just waiting and waiting and waiting!


The lab told the agency on Friday that the results should be heading back to Guatemala on Monday, but I do not have confirmation that has actually happened. I guess what annoys me is that almost every single person I know has a different lab than we do processing our results and that lab has an email dedicated to answering adoptive parents questions. My lab...nada!!!

So...we sit and wait and have the Jeopardy theme music playing in our heads!

The second DNA

I wanted to update you all on where we stand as of today. Joey's second DNA sample was done on Monday. I called the lab on Wed. and they refused to speak to me and stated that they will only speak to an agency rep. Luckily my agency agreed to call and the lab informed them that the sample had NOT arrived! Today my agency called again and thankfully it is at the lab and being processed as we speak! YIPEE, WE ARE SO CLOSE TO BEING DONE!!!!

SURPRISE!!!!

I have to start off by saying that I am incredibly spoiled, I have the most WONDERFUL friends. I am not easy to surprise, just ask John, but today my friends here in NJ got me good by throwing me a baby shower. I want to give a huge shout out to Kristine who planned the entire shin-dig and even managed to keep it from me (an amazing feat if you know Kristine)!

You all have NO idea how much I appreciate your never ending support! These poor women have sufferred through my endless tirades about my agency, attorney's, DNA, PGN, previos and pink! Without you all I would no doubt be heavily sedated by now. This process has been long and bumpy, but you all have listened to me when I ranted, hugged me when I cried, cheered when I had good news and for that I am eternally grateful!

With much love and thanks,
Lee Anne

ORANGE...my new favorite color

Well, it has really been a banner week in Guatemala. Monday we found out about the birth certificate, Tuesday his passport was done and today we received our orange slip from the US embassy. Just to refresh...the orange slip is the embassy's authorization to conduct the second DNA test. SO...tomorrow I hope to find out more about when it is going to be done and how long it takes. I will keep you posted, of course!

What a beautiful sight!

Today we received word from our agency that the new birth certificate has been completed and picked up. Joey is officially Joseph Gustavo C****!!!! Oh, does it feel good to write that!! They are going to take him tomorrow to get his passport done and then on Wednesday they are going to submit the necessary paperwork to the US embassy for the "orange" slip. We are almost there. Probably another 3-4 weeks! LOVE IT...LOVE IT...LOVE IT!!!!!