Pre-approved for the visa!

We got additional good news last week: the case had received pre-approval for the U.S. visa! A great step forward! Kati  from COTW had previously told me that during pre-approval, they look for anything that might be a stumbling block for PGN (Guatemalan attorney general) review, so to make it through visa pre-approval is a good sign for PGN review. So our case is now in PGN and no telling how long it will take to make it through. I’ve read on the message boards that it can be anywhere from three weeks to a couple months, so I sure hope it is closer to three weeks! It has been fun to read the message boards lately – a few families have written that have just returned with their babies. They are so deliriously happy that it brings tears to my eyes. Others are still somewhere in the waiting process.

I just heard from a colleague of mine from Minneapolis (she and her husband are also adopting a baby boy from Guatemala) that they just received the beloved pink slip from the U.S. Embassy, and can travel to pick up their baby! Tomorrow will be her last day of work, then they’ll fly down on Monday. How totally excited they must be to be just a few days away from seeing their little boy. I am so happy for them, and can’t wait to be in their shoes myself!

I visited with one of the possible pediatricians last week. She seemed very nice and competent, and the office seemed well-run, colorful, and kid-friendly. I’ve got an appointment with a different doctor in a couple weeks, and then I’ll have to pick one for you! I go in your bedroom at least once a day, dreaming about you sleeping in your crib or playing with your toys. I am so looking forward to having you in your forever home. There are so many people here, family and friends, that are so anxious to see you (most especially me and daddy!), but we know that you are in very good and loving hands with your foster mother. If you were smiling that much to the doctor who was going to give you shots, then you must be happy and secure. It is great comfort to me to know that.

Photos and an update of our three month old!

The note from Kati at COTW said this:

"I was emailing the attorney about your case (for any updates) and not only did he say that your case is indeed out of family court (just waiting for preapproval now), but your baby apparently just saw the doctor this morning, so I have some pictures to send you with the good news! Congratulations, we're one step closer.  Enjoy the pictures, and I'll be in touch soon."

Here's the note from the doctor:

"I hope this report finds you well.  This morning I had the opportunity to examine this little one who is now 3 months old and has been, the caregiver, shares with me, doing really well in the time since he was seen for the last time one month ago, he is aware of his surroundings and will interact with what goes on around him, will turn to the sound of voices and is quite vocal himself making cooing noises of his own both in response andalso to call attention to himself, smile socially now and is eager to show his feelings of pleasure. He now shows voluntary control of his arms and legs and will alternate opening and shutting his hands as well as kicks and pushes with his feet. The caregiver tells me that this little one takes well his formula and is also receiving his ordered vitamin supplement. Upon evaluation today I found him in good health with a normal physical andneurological exam, his weight is 13 lbs 9 oz, length of 56.1 cms and head circumference of 40.2 cms. He received today his following dose of Polio vaccine. Please find some pictures attached."

Wow!!!  How much you have grown and progressed, gaining 1 lb and 12 oz and growing another 0.4 inches in length and 0.8 inches in head circumference, all in the last month.  And you are able to do so much more than at your previous visit to the doctor.  I would so love to be able to see your smiles and hear your coos in person!  I am very happy to hear that the case has made it out of Family Court.  Just a few more steps to go, though I understand from reading on the Yahoo message board that some of these can still take a long time.  So…we just keep doing what we can to prepare and to help the wait pass.

Getting ready for our baby

We have been working hard around the house getting ready for your arrival.  We painted your bedroom a very nice “Utterly Blue” color on the walls, with white trim.  We have your crib, which we got from Babkie, and bedding which used to belong to your cousin Jillian, but is now yours.  We sure hope you like moon and stars! We have had two baby showers so far, one hosted by our friends the Kims in June, and one hosted by your Aunt Jojo and Aunt Mia that we just had on Saturday.  Both were wonderful, and people have been so generous in getting gifts for you.  Everyone loved so see your pictures and your video.

The shower this past weekend was especially funny – you know how funny your Aunts can be.  They cooked Guatemalan food and decorated Aunt Jojo’s house for a fiesta.  Everyone loved the food, because Aunt Mia is an excellent cook.  Then we played games.  The first game required the contestants to match the English and Spanish names for various baby items.  Your cousin Mary Ann won even though she has never studied Spanish.  “I’m very competitive,” she said, and it is clear she is part of our family since we all love to compete in games.  The second game and the most hysterical required the ladies, who had been divided into two teams, to compete in an adoption game.  Two people from each team were selected to be Angela and Jerry.  Your cousin Judy played Angela, and your cousin Beth played Jerry on one of the teams, and Nana played Angela and Aunt Vera played Jerry on the other team.  The game was played out on the driveway at Aunt Jojo’s house.  The first step of the game required “Angela and Jerry” to fill out an adoption application.  They had to write:  “I really want a baby” and sign their names.  Then various friends and family members of “Angela and Jerry” had to write out references.  Next “Angela and Jerry” had to clean the house for the home study.  This required them to pick up a few items from the driveway and put them in a basket along with the application and the references.  Next they had to “jump through hoops” by stepping through a hoola-hoop.  They had to endure the wait by sitting in a chair for ten seconds (our wait has been a lot longer than that!!).  There was a group photo, and then it was time for them to travel to Guatemala.  “Jerry” had to pull “Angela” in a wagon decorated with a sign Air Guatemala down the length of the driveway.  Waiting in Guatemala was “baby Mario,” a doll baby.  Then “Jerry” had to pull “Angela and baby Mario” in the wagon all the way back to the top of the driveway while “Angela” changed the baby and sang a lullaby.  Your cousins Judy and Beth won, but the race was very close since both teams were very competitive.  It was so hysterical!

We have received lots of toys and clothes and other baby items for you, and are so looking forward to using them with you. I am also reading a couple baby books and learning about what you are probably able to do week by week.  It is exciting to hear about, though also a bit sad, since we would like to see you making all this progress ourselves.  But we know that you will be our son forever and ever and ever, so waiting a little bit longer is what we’ll have to do.  I know it will be well worth the wait! I also have made appointments with a couple different pediatricians to check them out and see which might make the best match for us.  They both come very highly recommended, but it will be good to meet them in person.

Oh, and Spanish class!  Your daddy and I are enrolled in a Spanish class and are learning a lot!  We have two more classes to go, out of  total of eight. I definitely want to sign up for the next session, which will begin in early September.  I’ll have to make sure to study a lot on my own in August in between the two sessions. I also have recently joined COTW’s listserv on Yahoo and have been looking at some of the messages other ladies have been leaving.  There are lots of other families out there who are waiting on their babies, and many more who have their babies already.  I haven’t written a message yet, but am learning from others’ experiences.

Still more news of our baby

You can understand why we were so very excited in April to finally hear that you had been born!  Your grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends were also very excited to hear about you and to see your first photos.  Everybody wanted to know how soon you would be home with us, but there were several more steps that needed to be accomplished in Guatemala before that could happen.

At this point, our dossier has been presented to the family court by the attorney in Guatemala acting on our behalf, Maria del Rosario.  DNA work has been completed.  We are waiting for the case to make it out of family court and are also waiting for pre-approval for your visa from the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala.  Once those things have been completed, the case then goes to PGN (the Guatemala attorney general) for approval.  Once the case is out of PGN, then the birth mother signs off again, the deed is registered at Civil Registry, a new birth certificate is issued, and a passport is issued.  The final step is we get a pink slip from the U.S. Embassy, and then we are free to travel to pick you up!!


In addition to the set of photos we received at the time of your placement when you were almost a week old, we also received a set in May (about 5 weeks old) and in June (about 9 weeks old).  We also received a three-minute video that Rudy took during a visit later in May.  The May 17th note from Dr Monteil, which came with the photos, said:

"This morning I had the opportunity to review this little one.  He is now aged 1 month and has been, I am told, doing really well in the time since he was seen for the first time one month ago.  He is gradually spending more and more time awake and starts to notice his surroundings, will listen when spoken to and quiet his cry, he shows active, symmetrical, reflex movements of both arms and legs and also when on his stomach will briefly lift his chin from the bed.  The caregiver shares with me that this little one takes well his formula but is not receiving his ordered vitamin supplement as they have not been provided to the caregiver.  Upon exam today I found him in good health with no obvious physical or  neurological abnormalities, his weight is 9 lbs 1 oz, length of 49.9 cms and head circumference of 36.1 cms.  He received today his first dose of Hepatitis B vaccine.  Please find his pictures attached."

We had to chuckle at the part about you taking your formula well – gaining 3 pounds in a month – you certainly are taking your formula well!!  We didn’t get a note with the video, though there were some more photos taken at that same time, which we got.  The next communication was written by Dr. Monteil on June 18th in which he said:

"This morning I have just finished seeing this little one who has now reached two months of age and has been, the caregiver shares with me, doing well in the time since he was seen for the last time one month ago.  He shows a steady growth, and his development appears to be progressing well.  He is alert and notices his surroundings, he enjoys being talked to and will listen attentively making some initial cooing noises of his own as well as smiling in response.  He shows active, symmetrical, mainly reflex movements of both arms and legs and will also move his head from side to side. When on his stomach he is able to lift, briefly, his face from the bed. I am told that he takes well his formula and is also receiving his ordered vitamin supplement. Upon exam today he appears in good health with no obvious physical or neurological abnormalities.  His weight is 11 lbs 13 oz, length of 54.9 cms and head circumference of 38 cms. He received today his second dose of Hepatitis B and first dose of DPT and HiB. Please find some pictures attached."

 That is the most recent information that we have about you at present, though I expect we should get some more photos any day now.  Can't wait to see them.  Can't wait to see the real thing!

Some history

Let me back up a little bit and tell how we got to be working with COTW.  Daddy and I had been talking about adoption for a while, but were feeling completely overwhelmed with all the possibilities:  domestic, international, foster care, independent, infant, older child, etc.  We got a good suggestion to read the Adoption Handbook, which helped us understand what each type of adoption was like, and then we decided we would talk to various people that we knew that had been through various types of adoption, and this helped us very much to know what would be the right fit for us.  We also met with a social worker Maureen from Catholic Charities, who would be the one to help us with the home study.  She helped us narrow down the possibilities even more.  Of course, we prayed a lot during this to help us understand God’s will for our family.  We ultimately realized that adopting from Guatemala was the right decision for us.  We checked out a few adoption agencies, and realized that working with COTW would be best for us, and in October 2004, we signed a contract with Catholic Charities for our home study and with COTW to be the adoption agency. From then on out, we had a lot of paperwork to take care of, for the home study and also for COTW.  We had short questionnaires, long questionnaires, autobiographies, family references, friend references, financial analyses, medical analyses, criminal record checks, child abuse checks  – it seemed like everyone wanted to know everything we had ever done or ever wanted to do.  Plus everything had to be signed, then notarized properly, and then authenticated.  Authentication is the process whereby the Secretary of State's office signs off that the notary is legitimate and that the notarization was done properly.  We had some difficulties getting other people to act as quickly as we wanted them to, and the amount of work was daunting, but we knew that you were at the end of the road and that we had to do all these things before you could join our family, so we were going to do it!!! We attended our first COTW party, the Halloween party, in October at Purina Farms.  It was wonderful to see so many happy families, and so many adorable kids in completely adorable Halloween costumes!  We also attended the COTW Christmas party, which was also wonderful.  By this time, we had already met another family that had used COTW and was home with their sweet little girl, so we were able to spend more time with them at the Christmas party.  We also met several other very nice families and heard parts of their stories, and it was great to receive support from them already.  Rudy Rivera, the head of COTW, had arranged to bring four Guatemalan senators to the party, so they were also impressed by the obvious love shared with the children and how much the children were truly members of the families. The senators, I’m sure, will be wonderful good-will ambassadors for COTW when back in Guatemala. From there on out, it was just waiting on the placement.  A couple forms had to be re-done due to some minor errors.  Everything in the file has to be absolutely perfect or it could be kicked out of the process and sent back, causing more delays.  So, we had the forms re-done. Then, more wait. 

To my sweet Mario, my first post

Hi sweetie! This is mommy! Some day, probably when you are much older, you may want to read this to hear about all the details of how you came to be a member of our family. Though you have probably heard bits and pieces of this story over and over again, still you may prefer to learn how the whole thing took place and how you became our son.


Tuesday April 19, 2005, was the day Daddy and I first heard about you! I will never forget that day, ever! We had just been up in Michigan visiting Aunt Mia, Uncle Lou, Jake, and Elsie for Elsie’s 3rd birthday, and we had just returned to St. Louis the night before (Monday). We didn’t check email that night, instead just unpacking and heading to bed. It was not until the next day, April 19th, that I checked voice mail and learned there was a message from Carol at our adoption agency, Children of the World. Her message said that she had emailed us and was trying to reach us, and that we should call her right away. Our son had been born!! As you can imagine, I was completely excited! I called Daddy to share the news and checked email, and sure enough there was a message from Carol. And not just a message: photos!! Here’s what the message from Carol said, and also the attached note from the doctor in Guatemala.


 "Your son has been born. He is healthy, and here are some pictures. Call me after you have had a chance to look at the pictures. This is also the doctor's report stating he is in good health."


 "Hello.  This little one was born on 04/12 at a private health centre here in the city. The reported birth weight was 6 lbs 2 oz. Upon evaluation today I found this little one in good health with no abnormalities upon exam; his weight is 6 lbs, length of 44.1 cms, and head circumference of 33.2c sm. His lab results are still pending. Please find his pictures attached."

 Of course, when I saw your photos, I thought we had the most beautiful little baby in the whole wide world! So completely precious!!!! We loved you right from the first instant of hearing you were born! Of course, we loved the idea of you well before you were born, but now we knew that this precious little boy in the photo would be our son! Your daddy and I were so excited, and I called Carol right away to say that we accepted the referral. I’m sure I had tears of joy in my eyes when I talked to her. The first order of business was to sign, certify, and authenticate (how we knew those terms well!) a power of attorney for the attorney in Guatemala to act on our behalf in the various court proceedings in Guatemala involved with the adoption. Carol sent me the power of attorney by email that afternoon, I emailed it to Daddy, and then drove out there for both of us to sign it. Then immediately we had it notarized, then I drove downtown to the Secretary of State’s office to have it authenticated and then dropped it off at the COTW office in Clayton. I was overjoyed that I could get all that done in one afternoon: home to Daddy's office to Clayton to downtown St. Louis and back to Clayton before 5:00. Everybody was so nice to me along the way, including one lady who helped me with change on the street for the parking meter. There was also a Cardinals baseball game that night, so traffic was very heavy. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get back to Clayton that night, but it all worked out fine. I wanted to get the completed paperwork back to COTW that night, since Carol was leaving the very next day for Guatemala and could take the paperwork with her, and I was happy to make that happen. We had been waiting for you to be born for so long, that I wanted everything from then on out to go as quickly as possible so that you could come home with us very soon. And if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, April 19th was also the day the Pope Benedict XVI was elected! I said to your Daddy when he got home from work: “We got a Papa and a baby all in one day!!” When the bells were ringing in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, I felt like in addition to celebrating Pope Benedict’s election, they were also celebrating that Mario was going to be an Anderson!!