Sneak Peek...

we got some new photos from the guatemala coordinator at our agency. she visited with a number of the babies last week while she was down for a conference.

i am going to try not to nibble on those little cheeks when i see him on friday...but i can't promise.





love,
sam and jon

Just checking in...

We have no new news except for a flurry of concern about the whole Guatemala adoption program coming to a halt (at least temporarily.) Very political, and if you're interested I am happy to forward more info. It should not affect adoptions currently in process, but we do hope that changes can be made in the program so that concerns about possible unethical adoptions are fully and completely addressed.

We do feel completely comfortable with the assurance that our baby has been relinquished voluntarily by his birth mother. For those curious, there is DNA testing done on the baby and birth mother to make sure he is actually hers, the birth mother is interviewed extensively by a social worker and it is made clear to her that she is not required to continue with the process if she chooses not to. The birth mother is required to sign off on the adoption 4 different times, with the last time after we exit PGN.

That all said, I guess we do have some new news. Updated medical. See side bar for new measurements. FYI Guatemalan babies tend to be much smaller than American babies...and we know that Julian's birth mother is 4'9" and his birth father is 5'2". Studies do show that when these children grow up in the US they tend to be at least a few inches taller on average. The malnutrition rate for kids in Guatemala is reported to be at 47%. The likelihood is that in actuality it is higher than that.

We leave to visit again in less than a week. Hoping to post photos from there.

-Sam and Jon

Today is a little better than yesterday.

The sadness of hearing about our previo is settling down as we brace for the next round of waiting. We are comforted with the knowledge that Julian is in very good care with his foster family. He is loved, and loved well.

Here is our monthly photo update from the lawyer!







Ah, there's the smile...
Only 15 days until we'll get to see that smile in person.

Previo...back in line.

We just got word that a document in our file had to be redone (i.e. we had a 'previo' or 'knockout'.) We are not sure of the date of the knock out, but we do know that the file was resubmitted on the 9th of February. Unfortunately, the way the system works is that we now start back at the beginning of the line to be reviewed. They don't look for all problems at once, but bounce the thing each time there is a problem and the whole package is resubmitted.

So what does that mean practically? At this point, that means that we could get another previo at any time, and if we don't, and things go smoothly, we will hear in 6-10 weeks that we will be able to get the baby a month or so from that notice. The upshot is that we have no idea how long it will be from here.

The other news is political, and just rumor at this point, but it looks as if the VP of Guatemala is going to make an announcement/decree that the adoption procedures should be made more stringent than they currently are (I know, hard to comprehend...) We have no idea how that will affect adoptions already in process. That said, we are being told that it shouldn't be a problem for us. We'll know more soon...

No New News.

Just wanted to update that we have no new news, we're just patiently (ahem...) waiting to hear from PGN. Rumor has it that things are stretching out and taking longer than they had been, so we're trying to not have too many expectations. We are, however, starting to get the house ready-ish.

And obviously no new baby pictures, but I had to post this photo of Edge, her tongue got stuck somehow, and she was wandering around the house like this. Don't tell her I put this up, she'd be mad.



We'll post any news if we get it, and more photos of Julian will be up the first week of March at the latest.

Love,
Sam and Jon

Process update and potential timeline.

We found out that while we were in Guatemala our case was submitted to PGN, the organization in Guatemala that has to approve all adoptions. When we first put in our application PGN was taking about a month for folks to get processed (unless there was a paperwork problem or 'previo' in which case it would get bounced out for corrections then put back in line again.) Of late however, PGN is tending to take 8-10 weeks on average- with some cases, due to previos or simply unknown reasons, taking much much longer. This is where it starts to get tough for a 'ducks-in-a-row' type of person (hmmm......)

Once we are approved by PGN, the whole case goes back to the American Embassy for final approval. This last step will take about a month. We will be waiting for a 'pink slip', the final notice that he will be ours.

So the upshot is that we have no idea when Julian will come home. Best case scenario probably beginning of April. Beyond that it could be anything.

That said, we have had some folks ask if we are 100% assured that Julian will come home with us, and the answer unfortunately, is no. It would be very unlikely that something would interrupt the process at this time, but it can happen. We are thinking positively though as the closer we get to bringing him home, the better off we are.

We are planning on another visit the first week in March, and if we hear any news before then we'll post, otherwise we'll be posting when we see the babe again.

-Sam and Jon

One more day.

It is almost impossible to believe that we will be leaving tomorrow. The week has just flown. The baby is doing great. There are now 4 or 5 other families visiting with their babies at the hotel which makes all of this a bit easier.


Julian's happy place, on Daddy's shoulder.


Kathryn got these Osh Kosh jammies for Julian. He's already almost too big for them.



At breakfast today Julian sat facing forward without fussing for the first time (with us, anyway.)



Happy baby.


There may be time for one more post, but we're not sure. If not, we'll keep updating intermittantly from home.

Thanks for checking in. We can feel everyone's support all the way from here.

Love,
Sam, Jon, and Julian