What the.......

Well, no Katerine news to report, but the pics show what our yard looked like this morning In Bellevue. In LATE March. I don't think anyone is getting an early spring this year.

We left Bellevue at 5 last night to go to the Springsteen concert DT Seattle (which was awesome, BTW) and came back at midnight to 3-4 inches of snow on the gound. None falling. There was absolutely no snow in Seattle, and it wasn't till we crossed the bridge back to Bellevue that we started to see snow.

Waiting.....

More happy baby pics. I hope she laughs like this all the way home on the plane.

From 8/21/07- the early days
From 10/21/07- getting bigger

No updates. I'm posting some pics of Kat that you haven't seen yet. We should be down to 4-6 weeks now. Or less? I've been updating the baby registry on amazon.com, shopping at Target (we have to take stuff with us for any eventuality- all sorts of baby drugs, all feeding implements (is that what they're called?)). The only things we don't need to take with us are diapers and formula, as they will take us shopping there for those items. I think we will only be there 5 days or so. Sunday- Thursday, I think.

Once we get there, they will take us out on three (extremely well guarded) trips: the store for diapers/formula, the American Embassy for our appointment with the Embassy folks (I think that Kat also will see a Dr. on that trip) and to the Guatemalan craft market, which will be a great place to stock up on all things Mayan for Kat for the future.

Our progress: the crib is set up, I ordered & received a high tech/high end jogging stroller from REI. I really plan to run with her and we're signing up for a July half-marathon, so Kat may do her first half soon. I started buying diapers, finally, now that I have some idea what size she'll be when we get her. Can't buy formula yet- have to see what the Dr. says about what to put her on (and what she's on already). I've bought clothes in lots on eBay, so we have a vast array of baby clothes (and sizes). I researched car seats, but haven't yet bought them. I suppose it's time, especially since we want to take them to a car seat check to make sure they're correctly installed, since we are clueless.

We have just two more full weekends left, we assume. John flies in on Friday 4/11, we're checking out Seattle and maybe going to listen to the Dalai Lama on Saturday, on Sunday at some ungodly hour, we will head to Whidbey Island (about 2 hrs away) I'm running the 1/2 marathon and John's running the whole (has been training hard in the snow in BUF-CRAZY). Dan will be doing the 1/2 if he's not working that day. A few days of recovery/work then on the 15th, we all head to Whistler to ski for four days and return on 4/20. I'm hopeful that we'll then head to GC that night, but who knows (though if we're going, we will know before we leave for Whistler).

Though we could head to GC sooner. Who knows? I'll post any info here once I get it.

Very Happy Baby Pics

Be sure to read the previous post for the scoop on Kat's planned emigration in early May.

BIG NEWS

Well the agency called today and said that we're out of PGN (the court system). So much for the average of 10-12 weeks, we cleared it in 4!! They said that since we were among the first to hit the courts after the law changes, there was no one ahead of us.

So, the current projected timeframe to travel to pick her up is about the first or second week of May!!! Holy crap!!! I was beyond any expectation that she'd come home in May, so this is indeed amazing news. It's all very rough timeframe-wise and subject to change, in either direction.

The next steps if, you're curious, as I understand them are:
The attorney will get her birth mom's fourth and final sign off on the adoption, then will get a new birth certificate with her new last name (Cassidy....for now). These events could take a few days, or a few weeks. Then they will get her a Guatemalan passport, which takes a few days. Documents will have to be translated and returned to the Embassy, that's about 3 weeks, then the Embassy will issue the order for the 2nd DNA test (to make sure she is the same baby who was tested along with her mom back when all of this started) and once the hard copy of the DNA test gets back to the Embassy, they issue a pink slip, which means that we have an appointment with them 10-14 days in the future and then we'll practically be on our way! Holy crap!!!

We have to do some shopping (can you say Amazon.com and Target.com?) !! At this rate, we may practically go from Whistler to Guatemala City. Cool!

When I hear more, I will post it so y'all will know what's happening and how soon we expect to wrench Kat from the nearly tropical climate that she's used to and bring her to the Pacific NorthWest. At least she'll see summer first.

No actual news, more Pictures

2/29/08

2/29/08

From 12-28-08

Well, the agency called today and said that we actually entered PGN (the court system) on 2/14. Traditionally this has taken 8-12 weeks. But of course, there may be new roadblocks due to the new system. Or maybe there will be fewer cases and it'll be sooner. We don't know. Then they have to get a new birth certificate, a Guatemalan passport, translate our file, do embassy stuff, and that is estimated to take 4-8 weeks after getting out of PGN. SO...as usual, we don't really know anything definitive. It's looking like late June? But could be sooner or later. Stay tuned.

No News, but some new pictures

No new medical info.....I expect some shortly. I'm not sure that the poor kid will ever be dressed this cute once we get a hold of her..... shoes? She's not going to wear shoes!

Our Visit to Meet Kat

Well, we were scheduled to travel to Guatemala City on 2/28-3/3. The agency called us this week and said there was a problem with the hotel- there was a golf tournament and they didn't have rooms for visiting adopting parents. So, they are giving us 2 free nights at the hotel when we do go in lieu of the cancellation charges on our tickets.We admit to being a little relieved, as I was on the Department of State's travel advisory site and GC seems to be of questionable safety.

At this point, we are planning on not visiting and just doing the pick up trip. Which means she will NOT be a US citizen when we land, but we have to re-adopt her here anyway.Still no word on when that pick up trip will be. We are hoping that will happen in May, but who knows. Here are some new Kat pictures. She is about 5.5 months. Weight is 16 pounds 13 ounces and she is 64 centimeters long.

2/23/08 Post

We have absolutely nothing new to report on anything. However, I have some Kat pics, that while not really new, many of you haven't seen. So I will post some.

I was in Denver last weekend to help Jill celebrate her 40th and to meet her twin boys. They were very cute, but everyone was sick most of the weekend and when I left, Jill and one of the boys had 101 temps (I was at 97.7- apparently the control). Jill said she was up to 105 degrees later in the week and then diagnosed with strep. So far so good for me...... and whomever gets the blood that I donated on Friday morning.

New Pictures..Nothing Else New

That's it, we have some new pics, but no new medical info and no news on when we'll be heading to GC to pick her up.

Our Upcoming Visit to Meet Kat

Well, we don't know anything new, but we probably know some things about the process that our friends and families might be wondering about. As you can see I have posted some more pics. They are not new, I'm hoping to get some new photos soon.

We booked our flights to Guatemala City for 2/28 (through Houston Ugh) and the agency told us that we should try to arrive during daylight hours....hmmmm. They will have people meet us and I have been led to believe that they always have two vehicles transporting the adoptive parents....I wonder what is in the second one?

We arrive Thursday night (after dark- yikes) and on Friday morning, the foster mother will bring her to the hotel to drop her off. She will return on Monday AM to take Kat back. So we will have her for three days and nights and then will hand her back over to her foster mom (whose name I hope to learn before we go). I suspect that will suck. But hopefully it won't be too long before we make another trip, our final trip.

The adoption agency has their own well-equipped suite in the hotel and they encourage us to hang out in there with the baby. They strongly discourage us hanging out in the lobby and are adamant that we don't leave the hotel- definitely not with the baby. I'm not sure that all Guatemalans are big fans of the influx of Americans showing up and adopting their babies. I think they have a valid point....there is minor internal conflict on this issue.

So we'll be sequestered in the hotel with poor little Kat, but I guess it will be good for all of us to get to know each other. And from what I've read, and the fact that Guatemala City is on the top ten list of the world's most dangerous cities, I'm not too keen on exploring. It will, however, be great to meet other families who are adopting and share the experience with other folks.

I have been spending too much money on Amazon and eBay. Today I received bilingual versions of "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Conceited Little Rat". Actually, I was supposed to have 3 different books, but once I looked at them to tell you what I had, I realized that I had 2 copies of "The Ugly Duckling"..... DOUGH!!! I guess I'll leave one with the foster mom? Or another family down there.

Introduction

Hi all,

This is our new blog to introduce you to our new baby, Katerine. Unfortunately she is not yet living with us, she is still in her home country in Central America (which borders Mexico, Belize, San Salvadore and Honduras).

We will be visiting her in late February and will finally get to meet her. I will post plenty of pictures, don't worry.

She was born this past August (at 5lbs, 7oz, 18.35"- pretty much the norm for her home country) and has been with a foster mother while the legalities are settled.

We are hopeful that we can bring her home in May or June, but have no real idea. I'm sure it's at least three months from now, we don't know if it will be more. Her/our case is just beginning in the court system (and one of the first grandfathered under new laws), so.... we just don't know.

We are very excited about this new chapter in our lives and have no real idea what to expect. But she's new to this stuff too, so she probably doesn't have high expectations. That's good.

We're hopeful that she'll be here by June, so one of us can enjoy the summer off on family leave while getting to know Kat.

That is the scoop from here. I will keep you posted and post lots of pictures.

I'm not trying to be evasive in this post, but I'm pretty sure that we're not supposed to be posting her info all over online until she comes home, but how else are you going to meet her?