5000 Orphans Initiative

Hello Friends and Family;

As many of you know, there were several scares during our process that adoptions might shut down from Guatemala. Well, for the families in process right now, the possibility has become a reality.

It is very true that the adoption system in Guatemala needs an overhaul to reduce abuses. That said, there are over 5000 children in process that may get left behind as the program closes to 'revamp.' It may take years for the system to be set up again, if at all. Although the US State Department has responded (late but better than never) to encourage the Guatemalan government to finish pipeline cases, the Guatemalan government has issued a formal statement that cases in process will NOT be grandfathered in under the current system.

Right now, waiting children are supported, placed, and processed by private entities. There is no social service system in Guatemala to support these children period, if the current system is dismantled.

These children need our help.

A family that has been matched with a baby and is mid process, has put together a website with information about what you can do. If you have a sec, please check it out, and perhaps sign a petition or contact your local representatives. www.5000orphans.com

Thanks for reading.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Julian turned 1 today. I can barely believe it.
Here is a photo of our little love at 1 day old, and just shy of a year.


Our current not so newsy news.

We're super busy as my parents and sister and brother in law are in town as my sis also has a birthday this weekend (fret not, Jon's parents will be coming in a few weeks.)

The little man is cutting his top middle teeth as well as the ones 2 over. They are sharp sharp sharp! Steph is here too and Julian grabbed her finger, pulled it into his mouth, chomped down, and drew blood. She yelped, and Julian promptly started crying.

Today Mom took me to 2 used baby clothing stores. We (she) bought everything that was cute, not too worn, and his size. Baby clothing bonanza. Gracias abuelita!

A good friend of my family sent Julian a musical old Macdonald Tractor. He loves it beyond beyond. He couldn't get enough of it.

We are forgoing a birthday party for Julian as things have just been too overwhelming and hectic. Sunday we'll have a few friends over for a bagel brunch and an apple crisp with a candle. As grains seem to be difficult for the mini one, cake, sadly, is not on the docket.

All is well!

The move went smoothly (woo hoo!)
Lots to do but stress level is way down.
It is beautiful. I'll post photos soon.


Tio Doug visited for a few days and Julian is in LOVE with him.


This is Faith and Julian. Faith's mom is Julian's breast milk donor.
We kind of feel like they have a special bond!
Just for the record, he is 4 months older than she is.




We went to Nala's first birthday party...wish I could post a photo of Nala and not just the cake but she was just waking from a nap about an hour and a half into the party, just as we were leaving.

By the way, mama Christy made this cake herself. I was very, very impressed!


And the boys are having a ball.

Stay tuned for an amazing small world story next post.
I'm exhausted from the move and Jon is making me get off the computer and go to bed. :)

Night!

Moving day Friday

So I go to the new clinic today and it is a flipping madhouse. People pouring concrete outside, putting in lights, installing cabinets, sawing, poking, prodding, you name it. I cannot fathom that I will be in there by Friday but they keep saying "it's a go". Mike, my landlord and #1 advocate is out of town and thus unable to crack the proverbial whip, so I'll believe it when I see it. We'll have a temporary generator as the power isn't hooked up yet and they "hope" the phone lines will be in. The movers are all ready to roll so everyone send good vibes, please.





We have an update on Jon's job too. What we decided not to post over the last few weeks that Jon's work was not really sure part time would work for them after all. So he's been through another round of meetings and negotiation and we (ok, Jon) got the green light today. Clap clap clap! (We clap now when we're happy...) He'll start back 2 mornings a week in October, I will be home with the baby on those days. Also during October, we'll get Julian transitioned into his bilingual daycare. By November Jon will be 25 hours a week at work. At that point, I'll be home 2 mornings with Julian, we'll have him 2 days in daycare. Now we're looking for a nanny for Monday mornings. Anyone looking for some work?

What else...let's see...we had our first babysitter last Friday. Thanks Ada! Julian waved goodbye to us and didn't get distressed for about an hour. I must admit it was a little hard to leave in the first place, even though we really needed a date night. He was fine in the end, and we're happy that he noticed we were gone. We were also very happy that Julian waited to fill his diaper to capacity until we returned. So is Ada, I imagine.

The last few days Julian has his first runny/snotty nose. Jon has been chasing him around with a tissue and he's still in fine spirits (Julian, that is...well, Jon too.)

The only not so fab news is that we tried to introduce rice to the baby. He has not had it as we were told by our foster mom he was allergic. Sure enough he broke out in a rash all over his face and his ears. How we will avoid rice should be interesting...but if anyone can manage it, we can.

Jon's brother Doug comes in for the weekend again before he heads out to Central and South America for another few months (sabbatical, etc.) My folks and my sis and hubby come out next weekend for Julian's birthday and Sharon's birthday. Then Jon's folks come out the weekend of the 15th. Another busy month as I get settled into my new office, we get Julian into daycare and Jon back to work.

2008? Time to slow down.

Love,
Us.


Check out Julian palming that bottle...you should see him with a basketball!


Contrary to popular belief, Jon and Eddie Munster do not share a hairdresser.


His ears are NOT this big, it is the hoody pushing them forward. Really. No, really.







Julian loves his kitty soooo much. Can you believe she puts up with this?

Beer, Breast Milk, and Hemp Beverage, Oh My!

Well, it's been a busy week, again, so I haven't had time to post.

Please feel free to sign up for email updates (to the right) if you want to be notified when I do update the blog. No guarantees right now re: frequency as "the move" is coming right up.

So, updates.
1. We got an address for the clinic and it is looking "likely" I'll get in on time. Please think good thoughts. (Sept 21st is when we want to get in there.)

2. We were accepted into the home day care we were hoping for. The day care is bilingual, hypo-allergenic, no yucky chemmies, outdoor and indoor space, 5 kids, and one remarkable, sweet, smart and competent mom running the place. Can you hear my sigh of relief?

3. Julian is getting 2 upper teeth...not the middle ones though. This is going to look, um, interesting if they really do come in in this order. I've resigned myself to the fact that we're looking at extensive orthodonture regardless of what order he cuts his teeth. Along with the new teeth has come long strings of slimy saliva all over everything in our house. We particularly like that suddenly he's into kissing us with a big, open mouth. Mmmm, yum.

4. I got a surprise visit from Stephanie for her birthday. Steph lives in Cave Junction, is my closest friend from college, and I don't see her enough. So when she decided to swing by since she was driving to Salem to get her new car, I was thrilled. Julian adores her.

That's the week, folks.
Baby is great, as are we, even with the stress load.
Thanks for checking in.



He was sooo excited for some reason to be looking out the window. I vote for overtired.


Julian cuddling with his Daddy. Please note, Jon's hair is wet, not greasy.


He loves the hoody.


For some reason he has taken to carrying socks around in his mouth. Good thing there aren't too many at his disposal.


Hmmm, I was hoping you'd be able to see the giant bump/egg on his forehead in this photo. The best we can imagine is that he hit his head on the wall while he was sleeping. Yes, the kid who will wake up if you barely touch him in his sleep cracked his head on the wall hard enough to get a lump that protruded about half an inch from his forehead without waking up. Go figure.


I am pleased to say these are not the colors we will be painting the new office. I actually told the architect and the landlord I thought the main paint color was the color of "butt flesh." Good thing they both agreed.

That said, anyone out there selling one of those filters that goes between your brain and your mouth? I'm in the market...


Music with Steph and Julian. I wish you could see his sitting dancing wiggle. Still trying to figure out how to get videos up here from i-Movie. Can't seem to get them into a format that will work. Any Mac bloggers out there that can help me??!!


And finally, re: the title of my post, an artistic photo by jon.

Daddy's drink, baby's drink, and Mommy's drink. We have our roles and we're sticking to them.

Over the top busy...

I'm working on getting ready for my big office move at the end of the month. The details are endless...choosing finishes, making sure the colors are right, deciding which phone company, internet service, fax machine, etc etc. The inevitable "oopsies" that seem to go down every day so far are manageable but driving me batty. For instance, the architect somehow didn't inform the builder that the lead time for my cork flooring is 8 weeks, so they gave me 2 new cork options. I gave them a third option- find something temporary and get me my damn cork.

The best one though is I got an email yesterday, I am serious, that the city cut the building an address that already belongs to someone else. Yes, it took them a year to figure this out. As I am not usually a procrastinator (my dad's voice is too alive in my head for that) I was thrilled to realize I had not actually placed my order for cards, stationary, brochures etc. yet. We'll only need to reorder a few address stamps and start over on some notifications. I can live with that. Now if someone will just get me an address so I can print a postcard to notify my patients that we're moving. Sigh.

As for Julian (oh, were you here to read about Julian?)

He continues to do great. He's cruising all over the place, even with flat hands on the wall. Maybe he'll be walking by the time my folks take a break from unpacking their new house to visit for the weekend. Maybe.

We are also neck deep in trying to secure daycare for Julian when Jon goes back to work in November. Jon will be back about 25 hours a week for the near future (many thanks to his bosses for making this work) so Julian can continue to bond and attach to us fully. What no one told me is that for the better day care centers you actually have to get on a waiting list up to a year before you want to get in. Uh, what?

I was visiting one center where there were pregnant women just beginning to show, that were vying for wait list spots. One particular day care was lovely, with bilingual (spanish/english) classrooms, no plastic toys, and very holistic care. The catch is that it is about 45 min from my office if there is any traffic at all. Oh, right, and the year long wait list. Anyway, they call the kids "friends" instead of children, and they narrate what the children are doing constantly..."you are touching sally's head", "you have a wet diaper","you just poked mikey in the eye with a fork" etc etc. I was telling Lori, whose daughter will go there in the fall, that they don't distract the kids, excuse me, friends, when they are changing diapers because they want them to experience all of their feelings about having their diapers changed. Lori and I agree, more power to them, but in my house,if my baby doesn't want his diaper changed and a singing turtle will keep him happy...well then, a singing turtle it is.

So, we're on the waiting list there, but in the mean time, we stumbled upon a post on urbanmamas.com (a local group) of an in home day care with one opening. 5 kids, 2 belonging to the overseeing mommy, and 3 other friends, excuse me, kids. The family is bilingual and the kids half mexican. The mom is super down to earth, the house is clean, no chemicals, and there is a big yard. We both really liked it and we're trying to decide if it is "the one." Not that beggars can be choosers...



We went to the mountain house this weekend, the house that Jon designed for our friends Rob and Jen. We had a great time, even though it took us about 5 hours to get packed and out of the house.


He loves gnawing on baby carrots.



The backpack (thank you Heather!) worked out for about 30 minutes.

And last but not least, since I've had a few requests, there is a new feature on our blog (to the right near the top of the page) where you can sign up for an email to be sent to you when we update. Please note, posting will slow down a bit due to being, well, over the top busy.

A question for my readers.

Do you think maybe this baby's mom talks on the phone too much?
So much for working at home...