No real news. Just waiting.
We have to get a Power of Attorney registered in Guatemala for the attorney to work on our behalf in the Guatemalan court system. Before we can send it down there it has to be "authenticated" here by the Consulate of Guatemala. Their office is in Houston.
We sent the POA to Houston last Thursday just as they were announcing the shut down of mail into the Houston due to Hurricane Rita. This was followed by the evacuation of the 3 million people who live in Houston - which pretty much left nobody at the Consulate I am sure. So I imagine that my POA is sitting somewhere, just a waitin'. Maybe I will get it back next week - if it's not lost by now.
Not all our news is bad though. We got surprise pictures last week! And a report! Our agency has 2 staff that live in Guatemala - one is a driver and one visits the babies monthly, takes pictures, and writes a report for the adoptive parents. We got our first report last week - I totally was not expecting one so soon!
There were several pictures. Some of them were very, very cute! She has changed a lot already. A couple of them she is being held by and interacting with her foster mom! It is easy to see that the fm cares for her and I'll bet she is being very well taken care of. It is such a relief to know this. Also, the fm is a retired nurse so she must be medically educated enough to be a fantastic caregiver. The fm also has 3 grown children and 3 grand-children that live in the US, so most likely she is aware of the opportunities that this baby will have and hopefully is telling her good stories!
The foster mom is also fostering this little girl's cousin! I even got a picture of her and her cousin laying next to each other. He is very cute. I would love to be able to find out who is adopting him so we can keep in touch. It would be incredible for the cousins to be able to know each other here in the US.
The report said that she is responsive to sound and light, that she has discovered her hands and like to suck them, and she kicks her arms & legs. She also has not been sick since she was born. (You go girl! Let's try and make it another 10 years or so without being sick, ok?)
She had her 1 month doctor appointment last Friday. I have already emailed the agency to see when the next report is! Impatient? Yes! Their staff member will now visit around the 1st of the month so her report can include information from the doctor.
For now - the baby will be known as frijolito. It means little bean. It is a nickname from her foster mom. So for now.....she is frijolito.
YAY! Sounds like she is a healthy, growing little bean!! That is so wonderful that you are getting these updates. It will help you bond with her now until you have her there with you.
Don't you just LOVE paperwork?? :P
Posted by: Tammy | September 27, 2005 at 11:53 AM
So glad to hear such absolutely delightful news.
Frijolito - adorable.
Posted by: April | September 27, 2005 at 02:27 PM
So happy you got some news!
Posted by: Michelle | September 27, 2005 at 08:24 PM
Cool! And frijolito is just the cutest name ever - it's hilarious.
Posted by: Mary-Mia | September 27, 2005 at 09:34 PM
Girl! Where's my pictures??? I love the nickname. We don't get a "report" just a medical update and 1 picture. I'm jealous :)
I hope they find the POA quickly and get it right back to you.
Posted by: Julie | September 28, 2005 at 08:03 AM
Just so you know, mail is running just fine in Houston now. My friend mailed me a package from Austin on Monday and it showed up the next day. Good luck with the POA!
Posted by: Melissa (melliemoo) | September 28, 2005 at 09:03 AM
Oh! Karen! This is wonderful! How sweet, frijolito!
I'm going to start listening to my spanish tapes now, you've inspired me! We sent our I-600A in last Saturday and almost have all our documents for dossier but still need to authenticate them all, ugh. I'm so far away, but should use this time to learn spanish.
Good luck getting your POA out of Houston REALLY SOON!
Posted by: ericalil | September 28, 2005 at 09:20 AM