Garage Sale Finds

We went to a neighborhood garage sale Saturday and had some great finds. Here are pictures of all the baby/kid stuff we bought. We have been looking at buying this same jumperoo (1st picture). It is $80 new. We spent $31 total on everything.

Making Baby Food

A few days ago I (Shannon) started making some baby food for the babies when they come home. I think that they waited until Hannah was 6 months old to start her on food and I do not think that Noah has started yet. (He will be 6 months on May 16th.) Making the baby food will be much cheaper, allow me to know for sure what they are eating, and give them a bigger variety of foods. I started with bananas and avocados. These are supposed to be good first foods. I just peeled them and mashed them with a fork and then added some water to make them thinner and smoother. I then spooned them into ice cube trays, froze them, and then popped them out into freezer bags. They are now frozen in serving sizes and should be good for 3 months. I used 4 bananas and 4 avocados. I got 54 cubes. This is probably the same amount of food as about 22 jars of 1st baby food. I paid about $2.65 for the bananas and avocados. Baby food costs about .40-.50 cents a jar for 1st foods. I think it was well worth the savings. I might do sweet potatoes and squash next. A great web site I found about making your own baby food is http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ .

Pictures of Hannah and Noah

We just received some new pictures of both Hannah and Noah taken yesterday. Here they are:

Noah's second DNA test

Noah had his second DNA test today. The test is performed to make sure that he is the same baby that was tested at the beginning of the adoption process and that he has not been swapped out for a different baby. (Obviously Noah has not been swapped, but it is done to keep corrupt agencies from swapping babies.) Guatemala should have sent the sample to a US lab today and when they receive the result they send it to the US Embassy in Guatemala. The US Embassy then will send us an email (known as a "pink slip") with our Embassy appointment time on it. We should get our pink slip in about 2-4 weeks. At that time we will probably have about 1 week until our appointment. It is getting close now! Here are some pictures of Noah today getting his DNA test done.

Here is Noah at his first DNA test on December 12th:

Hannah is not happy :(

There have been some hopefully slight delays with Hannah's case. Last week the head of PGN was let go. In the short term this will mean some delays as a new person takes his place, but it should be better for the long term of PGN. Once again we were in just the wrong place at just the wrong time. Hannah's case was almost at the top of the list to get out of PGN so instead of getting out we will have to wait until things settle down again. There was a meeting with PGN today and the new director is hopeful that cases will be exiting PGN again next week, but our agency feels like that may be a little optimistic. We recently got some pictures of Hannah from a surprise visit on April 15th. She looks sad that she is stuck in PGN.

Noah's New Birth Certificate

We received an email today with Noah's new birth certificate. It has the first name that was given to him in Guatemala and his last name that is now officially Hedges. He seems to be moving through the steps very quickly. Our best guess would be that he would be ready for pickup in about 4 weeks, but there are still several things that could affect it. This is very exciting and we will be so glad to have him home, but it looks like we may not be able to bring Hannah home at the same time. We will still just need to wait and see.

Noah's making progress

Noah's case is moving right along! His birth mother signed off for the last time and the adoption decree was registered on April 16th. We're assuming that we're now waiting on his new birth certificate. That means that were on step 6 on the list below (Post PGN Steps). Here are pictures from his 5 month doctor check-up on April 18th. He weighed 17lbs 10oz. The doctor says he's a "bright little lad" and he seems to be doing well. We're so anxious to get him home!

Noah's happy to be out of PGN!

Here's Noah's latest surprise visit pics. He looks like a happy boy!

Post PGN Steps

Here are the steps that will be taking place over the next several weeks so that Noah can come home:

1. Attorney picks up the file from PGN
2. Attorney arranges the birth mother to come and sign (same week usually)
3. The Final Escritura (final adoption deed) is drafted
4. The Final Escritura is dropped off to be registered in the general archives
5. The Final Escritura is ready and picked up (48 business hours later)
6. The new birth certificate is requested from the civil registry where your child was born
7. The new birth certificate is ready and picked up (varies greatly – two days to three weeks)
8. Baby is taken for new passport
9. The new birth certificate and the entire adoption file of documents are sent for translation from Spanish to English
10. After translation, the final file is submitted to the Embassy for pink slip and the lawyer is given a second DNA authorization slip and an authorization for the Embassy doctor exam.
11. The child is taken to the Guatemala lab for a second DNA test. The Guatemala lab sends samples that same day to the US lab. The Embassy medical exam is also done on this day.
12. When the Embassy receives the results from the lab in the U.S. indicating a match with the first DNA test, it issues the pink slip (probably about 2-4 weeks after the second test).
13. Pink slip is emailed to parents - embassy appointment day and time will be printed on the slip.
14. You come for Embassy interview appointment (M, T, W, or Fri, currently one to two weeks after pink)
15. Next business day – Visa is ready (3:00 pm M-Th; 11:00 am Fri.)
16. Next Day – you can fly home

Noah is OUT of PGN!!!!

We got a call this afternoon that Noah is out of PGN! We are very excited! That is a great milestone to be past. Now we are hoping that Hannah gets out of PGN soon and that we will be able to pick them up together. There are still several things that still need to happen in Guatemala before Noah is ready to come home. We will post a summary of those steps later, but it will probably take 4-8 weeks.

Hannah had a Surprise Visit

We got some pictures from a surprise visit of Hannah and her foster mother done on March 25th. You can really see her teeth in some of these pictures. The report also said that Hannah is eating cereal and vegetables.

Basket Liners

Shannon has finished making some basket liners to go on the changing table in Hannah's room. Here are some pictures!

Here is the bedding that everything Shannon has been making is supposed to match:


And here is Joel while I was trying to take the pictures:

Hannah has Teeth

We have noticed in our latest pictures that it looks like Hannah has at least two bottom teeth!

Guatacuties!

We just received some pictures of both Hannah and Noah. The pictures were taken on April 1st. Enjoy the Guatacuties!

Hannah is six months old

Yesterday Hannah turned 6 months old. She is growing up without us. We wish that she was here so that we could celebrate her life with her. She went to the doctor yesterday for her 6 month check up. She is weighing in at 14 lb 15 oz. The doctor's report said that she has mastered rolling over to either side, that she is trying hard to sit up, responds to the sound of her name, continues to smile socially, and is very vocal by making cooing and some babbling noises. Here are some pictures from her appointment yesterday along with some pictures from her first 6 months.

6 months:




5 months:


4 months:


3 months:


2 months:


1 month:


2 1/2 weeks (our visit):



1 day:

Pictures of Noah

We have recently received two updates of Noah with pictures. The first was a surprise visit at his foster mother's house on March 11th. The second was his 4 month doctor's check up on March 18th. He was up to 16 lb 3 oz. The doctor's report says that Noah is quite vocal, laughs out loud, and is developing well. Here are the pictures.

Surprise visit on March 11th:




Doctor's visit on March 18th: