Wockin' on the Waterbed

Serena and her 3 children came for a 5-day visit this week. It was great to see them all and for such a nice long visit, and we were all sad to see them leave at 2:30 this morning. Here are some pics of what happened when they discovered Grandma and Grandpa's waterbed...


Estuardo says "Wow, I never realized this bed was so much fun!!!"

Time with Serena and the grandbabies!!

Ava is a Mommy's Girl! 9 months old
Elijah and Estuardo are having lots of fun together!! 4 years old
And Isabella is our Little Princess. 2 years old

MMMMM, PURPLE!!!

Nothing beats a purple popsicle on a hot day...

Bye-bye 'Stuard the Electrician, Hello Joe the Plumber

WOW, look at my girl!!!

Four months old already!!!

She's got Mayan eyes!
14 pounds of cuteness...
My Guatemalan princess
And FINALLY the beautiful SMILE!!!!!!!!!

Meet 'Stuard the Electrician!

BABIES!!!

Welcome to the Baby House! Jelly Bean gifted us with two gorgeous kittens in May...

This is "Minky", black and white fuzzball.
And this is "Stinky", who looks to be a curly-haired kitten like her father "Felix".

On Memorial Day, Nuggy gave us these adorable puppies! Charlie is the proud papa...

This is "Bubba", our baby boy, with Kory.
Here's Kory again, with our little merle girl, who is the only one with two blue eyes.
And finally, our little "half-and-half" female, cute with her black ear and tippy tail. "Bubba" looks on...

ESTUARDO STEPS OUT!!!!!!!

My sweet baby boy took his first two steps today!!! He has been very cautious about this whole walking thing so far. But he finally got brave...of course he did it while Mom was at work :o( but we will celebrate tomorrow when I get home. No stopping him now!

Last minute update...

I just heard from the director of our agency that we have been in PGN since June 25!!! One week down...hurry home, Onnolee!

Waiting for news, but here's the latest pics of Onnolee!!

Here's little Miss Serious...I still have yet to see her break out in a big wide grin. Wait till she gets HERE!
Well...almost...thinking about smiling...
At Onnolee's 3 month check-up she weighed 13 1/2 pounds. That's double her birthweight already!
Now we are still waiting to hear whether or not we have entered the PGN. We should know something this week, I hope! Meantime, I have plugged in the sewing machine and I am thinking pink, and lavendar, and peach, and yellow and...

PA and on the way...to PGN!

Life has been pretty hectic and stressful and I haven't had much time to think about posting. I finally got pics downloaded onto the laptop, and since I haven't posted even any pics from our trip to Guatemala last month, I figured I'd better get on and get busy.
The latest update is that last Monday we were granted preapproval for Onnolee's visa. This means that our case can move on to the next and biggest step, PGN. The record for our agency is 3 days in PGN, but it usually takes between 6 and 12 weeks. When we are out of PGN, Onnolee's birthmother will sign the adoption papers and she will officially be ours. 2 to 3 weeks after that we will be given a date for our appointment at the embassy and we can go pick her up!
Meanwhile, here in New Mexico it is very HOT!!! We are seeing why the previous owners of this house were so anxious to sell it... it has no air conditioning, just fans. Up until the past week or two it hasn't been too bad, but now that the temperature is creeping up to 100, it's definitely HOT around here. I am headed out tomorrow to buy some more fans!
Work has been stressful too. We just moved into the newly built "Pavilion" and now are a part of the main UNM Hospital, and we have been super busy and I have been very stressed as a result. Plus I am under pressure to work lots of overtime to save up money for the adoption, so more stress. I have been SO tired at home!
So...here are a few pics from our trip to Guatemala last month. Estuardo and I had a real blast! He was so cute with the baby! I think he will be a good big brother, as will the other kids who anxiously await her arrival... Living out of a suitcase!!!
MY sister!!!
Chilling by the pool in our new Guatemalan hats
Pretty Onnolee!
Back at home, soaking the feet in the cat's water dish...

2-month update!

Here's Onnolee's 2-month update photo. She's now 11 pounds 10 ounces and 22 1/4 inces long!!!
Estuardo and I did get to go visit her last week and we all had a blast once Mama figured out how to juggle 2 wee ones. Estuardo did great with her, about as wonderful as any one-year-old could be expected to behave. I tried out the twin stroller, and he had to be in it whenever he saw me putting her in it. Whenever someone would come up to talk to us, his little arm would go right across her chest as if to say "That's MY baby!" I will put some pics up as soon as I find some free time.
I also found out that we exited Family Court last week. Now we wait for the US Embassy to preapprove Onnolee's visa so we can enter the infamous PGN, one of the final, and most unpredictable, stages of her adoption process. Hopefully she will be home sometime this summer.

Estuardo turns 1...April 22, 2007

Happy First Birthday, My Little Man!!!
Estuardo was very excited on his first birthday!
But just a little camera shy...
Opening lots of presents with the help of big bubba Kory!
And a beautiful birthday afghan sent to him from his Grandma in Utah!

IT'S A MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!

DNA is 99.99% a MATCH!!!!!!!!!
Onnolee, Mama's coming to visit!!!

They done did the DNA!!!!!!!!

I found out today that Onnolee's DNA testing has already been completed and is at Labcorp being processed!!!!!!! That's over a week ahead of the anticipated time! YAYYYY!!!!!!!!! That means I will be able to visit sooner than I thought.
Also, her 1 month 10 day measurements were 9 pounds 12 ounces (!!!!!!!) and 20.5 inches tall. She has grown a bunch and looks wonderful. The pics they sent were in an Acrobat file so I don't know how to post them. But fostermom is doing an awesome job with her. I can't wait to kiss her chubby little cheeks!!!!!!! What a wonderful day!!!!!!

April 27

We found out today that Onnolee's birthmother interview with the social worker in Family Court is scheduled for April 27. That is also probably the day that DNA testing will be done. Definitely not as soon as I had hoped, but at least we have a day and it is next week! That means visit trip will probably be towards the end of May. I can't wait to meet Onnolee!!!!!!

DNA is ON THE WAY!!!!!!!

We found out Thursday that the Embassy has authorized the DNA test for Onnolee. Hopefully some time in the next week or two Onnolee and her birthmother will have their DNA tested to make sure it is a match. Then Mama will be able to go visit!!! I can hardly wait to meet her!
We think our case was also submitted to Family Court on Thursday, so it is finally moving. I hope to receive some new measurements soon so I know how big she is getting. I already bought some Pampers and bottles for the trip... We also applied for a passport for Estuardo so he can go with me. Should be an interesting adventure having two little ones for a weekend on my own...

Home Sweet Home...

We closed on our house today!!! Wahoo!!!

Frustrating...

Well, our lender tells us we may have an answer...tomorrow. Same thing they have been telling us the past several weeks...GRRRR!!!!! It is getting harder to be patient. Stew was actually much calmer today for some reason, but I will take it as a good sign.
And no word on DNA, so now we drag on until at least next week, as government offices are now officially closed for the holidays.
Looks like both the baby and the house have become tests in patience.

New Pics of Onnolee!!!! (1 month old)

Here is Onnolee with her fostermom Maritza. I can't wait to be able to go and meet the both of them! Before we are allowed to visit, they need to do the DNA test to make sure that Onnolee's birthmom's DNA matches hers.
Onnolee appears to be growing some serious cheeks!!!
"Okay, guys, so when are you going to do my DNA test? Mama is going crazy waiting!!!"