Last Day :(

Today is our last day here as we will fly home tomorrow. Samuel will be with us overnight and then his foster mom will pick him up at 9 AM tomorrow. We got to talk to the foster mom again today (she was in the hotel with one of her other foster babies visiting another potential family). She is very kind- she was so excited to see Samuel. She said the house was sad without him. She also gave us some pictures of Samuel in her house and of him as a tiny baby.

Today Samuel and I hung out while Jimmy went to Antigua to check things out. We have a great tour guide contact for any of our adopting friends who will be in country. The last two pictures are from this morning... Jimmy doesn't know I'm posting the one of him sleeping :). I just thought it was cute!

We are so sad to have to give up Samuel tomorrow, but I know the next time we see him, he'll be ours permanently! That's all from here- Happy New Year!

Friday Fun

A few more pictures to share! It's been another fun day with Samuel. Tomorrow Jimmy is going to go to Antigua to check things out for a bit. We can't both go without giving up Samuel, so Jimmy's going without me. Today one of the people who works for Samuel's lawyer came by to get foot and handprints for some of his paperwork for PGN (their DFS/court system). It was exciting to see even the initial paperwork with his name and ours on the same paper! Not much else to report- we're tired of eating out, but enjoying every minute with Samuel. There is a video below... I am sacrificing my dignity to post it because I sound like such a dork, but it's Sammy "live"- this is for you, Mom!

Christmas in Missouri

Just a few fun pics from our Christmas in St. Louis and our Christmas in KC. We have a new nephew who we met this past weekend in St. Louis. He is precious and we're excited that he and Samuel are close in age! The second to last pic is the cutest Christmas present- cammo shoes for Samuel! (Thanks, Blair!)

Jimmy's First Post

This is Jimmy...


Well we decided not to go to the doctor. We spoke with several people and basically decided his flat head will most likely correct itself. We spoke with our adoption dirctor and she is going to make sure he is being held more and not fed with a bottle propped up in his crib. She comes down and checks on the children being fostered frequently and this is something she checks. Apparently the Guatemalans typically just swaddle them and probably let them lay down more than Americans do. I was happy to hear heads continue to mold until approx 3 years old ...so there is nothing to worry about...apparently I am being an overprotective parent.


We are venturing out a little more. We went to the pool yesterday. Samuel was not a big fan - he quickly started shivering when we put his legs in the baby pool. So I swam and Mommy and Samuel hung out. Samuel slept like a champ last night - something like 7 hours...so that was very nice. We are also excited to report that I bought some way too expensive sissors at a hair saloon in the mall and we cut his wanna be mullet/rat tail. It isn't the best hair cut but it looks much better to me. I can't wait to take him to the good ole boys at the Duncan and 7 barber shop.

Today we went to the upscale mall - and it is by far much nicer. Emily has quite the maternal protective bent. It is true we stick out quite a bit, but the Guatemalans in general are very nice and don't seem to be judgemental or rude about adoption - which is the sense you could get by reading all the negative stories about Americans adopting in Guatemala in the news lately.


Samuel also seems to be alergic to something in the hotel...we haven't figured out what it is yet. He sneezes and his right eye gets goopy. So we got some eye drops at the pharmacy and we hope that helps.

We are still debating if we are going to Antigua...to see where Emily might come and take care of Samuel. We really don't want to give Samuel up - he is so sweet and fun to be around. I might just go so I can check it out so I can have more peace of mind about where Emily might go. There is a bell man who taxis people on the side and can take me to Antigua to show me around - he grew up in Orange County, California and speaks great english - so that is a blessing. Here is where Emily is thinking of staying: http://www.casabella112.com/


Most of the pictures above are in our room, but the second from the bottom is in Chillis for lunch today - Emily was soo excited to have found a Chillis. The last one is at our hotel pool...we hopefully will go back today and maybe Emily can layout since it is 70 and sunny here.

Anways - enough for me. Thanks for everyone's kind words and support!

Smiling Sammy

Samuel is just over four months old. Here are some pictures we took last night and this morning. The one in the towell is just after giving him a bath for the first time. We also learned during his bath that he has a little curl to his hair. After the pictures we realized that the funny look on his face was due to the fact that he was peeing all over the towell! The one in the red outfit is the cute Christmas outfit from Dona- thanks! The other two we included because you can see his sweet smile. He is quite smiley and we're enjoying seeing who can make him smile more. I'm winning so far (Jimmy might disagree!). Mom- note the outfit in the smiley pictures- it's the one you got for him!

This trip has already been a bit tougher because I just don't want to leave him. I told Jimmy that we can't come back to visit again unless I get to stay (or we're bringing him home!). We know Samuel is much better off with this foster mom than in an orphanage, so we thank the Lord for that! We are a bit concerned about his head- it is pretty flat. We expressed our concern to the staff down here and it looks like we might go see a doctor tomorrow. The foster mom said it was normal and would correct itself as he gets older. As first time parents, we're probably being overprotective, but it will be nice to know a doctor has checked him out. I'm hoping we can see how much he weighs. He is filling out his 3-6 month size clothes nicely.

We just got back from lunch at the mall attached to the hotel. Samuel slept the whole time in the baby sling (thanks, Carmen!). Being the only white, blond person in the mall is sort of awkward. Carrying a baby makes me stick out even more- like I have a sign on my head that says "I'm adopting!" Jimmy says not to worry, but due to all the mixed opinions in the press about adopting in Guatemala, I can't help but feel a bit uneasy.

Our big plans for the afternoon include hopefully taking advantage of the pool and maybe venturing to the more upscale mall across the street. We are enjoying not having an agenda and just hanging out with Samuel. Still can't believe this is all really happening and that one day he'll be home! God continues to amaze us with His provision, timing and blessing through this whole experience. That's all from here!

Feliz Navidad de Guatemala

We made it to Guatemala safely and are happily settled in to the hotel! Hope this finds you all enjoying your Christmas evening! After starting early (we got up at 3:15) we left KCI late due to de-icing. We almost missed our connecting flight in Atlanta, but after running through the airport looking ridiculous, we made it! It is gorgeous here in Guatemala- 70s and clear skies! Samuel joined us just about an hour after we checked in. He is still cute and has grown. He has some serious hair- a bit like Elvis- it hasn't been cut at all yet and it's a bit out of control. Samuel hasn't fussed at all yet so we are excited. I was nervous that he would start having more separation anxiety at this point. We have big plans of giving him a bath tonight and that's about it! I have to say that getting to hold him today is the best Christmas present ever! We'll post some pictures tomorrow. Merry Christmas!

Pictures from October

Cuddle time with Dad

This is my favorite :)!

This is the first hour Samuel was "ours".

I'm calling my mom to tell her the news!

More Pictures

Hope this finds you doing well and staying warm in this icky weather! I'm enjoying a snow day here in KC! I thought I'd post some more pictures to share. Samuel is two months old in these pictures. As of today he's now 3 1/2 months old. We are headed to Guatemala on Christmas morning to visit him, so we will post more pictures then.

We don't have any new news to report on our paperwork. We are waiting on approval from USCIS which will go to our agency. We hope that approval will be granted in the next two weeks. Then everything will be done "stateside" and things can proceed in Guatemala.

We'll be in St. Louis briefly before Christmas to see Jimmy's fam, then celebrate Christmas Eve with the Beyer's here before we head out of town. We'll post more from Guatemala :)!