All these toys can make you tired!

Mia playing with her new gifts

Mia and Zeke

The Trip Home

We arrived at the Guatemala City airport early Thursday morning. Our flight left on time and Mia was a trooper. She was pretty good until we started to land and then she screamed for at least 20 minutes. The same thing happened on our flight from Houston to Minneapolis. We arrived in Minneapolis at 6:00pm. I was so anxious to get home. It has been almost three months since I left. I couldn't believe all the surprises Dennis had for Mia and me. Her room was completely finished. Dennis' sister Molly came to help and I was overwhelmed by all of the work and special touches they made for us. Mia adjusted pretty well the first evening. She slept in her own crib (a very big deal for us) and didn't cry. Dennis and I unpacked and had a glass of wine to celebrate. We both are still in awe of this new little life. It was the best feeling to go to sleep listening to her baby monitor. We both have waited so long for this.

Sleeping on the plane

The plane ride home

The Embassy

I moved to Guatemala City on Monday and Dennis arrived just in time to go with us to Mia's passport appointment and to her final embassy visit with the doctor. We had our interview on Tuesday morning and everything went really well. We spent most of the morning at the U.S. embassy. We went back to the hotel and had lunch with our friend Edwin and then just spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the hotel. Mia's birth mom had lunch with us on Wednesday and it was great to see her again. Mia really loved playing with her. She is a wonderful woman and made an incredible sacrifice in her life to make sure Mia had a good life. Mia kept taking her earrings out, so when she said good-bye to Mia, she gave her the earrings to keep. It was really touching for us to know that Mia will have this part of her birth mom when she is older and have pictures of the day.

More of Mia and Saundra

Mia and her birth mom

Mia McGrath

The afternoon of our interview.

The morning of our embassy interview

Mia's last appointment at the embassy doctor

Good-bye Antigua

Sorry that I haven´t posted in some time. I moved to a hotel in Guatemala City yesterday and it has been a little crazy. Dennis arrived just in time to go with the lawyer to get Mia´s passport, go to the final embassy doctor visit, and to pick up the pink slip (this allows you to have your embassy interview the next day)
We were running around all day and Mia wasn´t very happy. This morning we had our embassy interview and received the final stamp of approval. We will pick up Mia´s visa tomorrow and fly out on Thursday as scheduled. I´ll post pictures from our big day when we return to Minneapolis. We can´t wait for everyone to meet Mia.

A Wonderful Update...

It looks like our papers were put into the Embassy yesterday. This means we are pretty certain to be coming home on Thursday. I´ve actually booked the tickets and will keep my fingers crossed that it all works out. Dennis is coming in on Monday and we will head off to the passport office for Mia´s big day as a new McGrath.

Congrats to Brad and Melissa and Brian and Julie this weekend. Both of our nephews are getting married and having a reception...we couldn´t be happier for them.

I can´t tell you how excited I am. I´m so homesick and miss everyone so much!

I´ll keep you updated

Hola Grandpa!

Hola Grandpa,

I just saw a picture of you for the first time. Aunt Steph sent a few photos from your birthday party. I can´t wait to meet you and I´m very happy you are feeling better. I know that it hasn´t been easy for you lately with your chemo treatments, but I will give you a big hug to make things better as soon as I get to St. Louis.

Love, Mia

24th?

If all goes well...
It looks like we will be traveling on the 24th of August! We will know for sure this Thursday, but the agency is pretty certain it will be the day. Dennis will need to arrive next Saturday to prepare for the embassy appointments. I can´t believe that we may be home in less than two weeks with the little pickle.

P.S. Mia said thank you aunt Heidi for blah blah-bubba bubba. She is hoping he will eat Oliver before she returns :)

functional bubba

bubba is cute, he has this loop in the back that holds his tail in place, it's very handy! even heidi didn't know about his tail-storage capabilities.

i just know that mia is going to love her blahblah... stay tuned for her personal thank you to heidi...

meet bubba...

this is "bubba" his real name is blahblah... he is a sampling of the many gifts that mia has piling up here at home from all her friends and relatives... bubba was a gift from our dear friend heidi.

subtle hints...

how many days have i stood at this station and not looked up? every day i buy a coffee at the starbucks on nicollet mall next to the crate and barrell. this morning i did look up and to my astonishment there was this photo silently hanging before me... a view of agua volcano towering above central park in lovely antigua... it made me pause and wonder about my daughter mia, my wife laurie and all the people who live in antigua... and again the world reveals to me how truly large and small it is all at once... jack handy

home sweet home…

i can hardly contain my excitement about the news of mia's birth certificate. tonight is a beautiful warm summer night in minneapolis the kind of night that has me really missing you and mia... very soon you will both be here with me and we can enjoy our home together.

it has been a wonderful summer. even though i am so far away from you and mia, 2005 has truly been amazing for all of us, it has been filled with life changing events -- this is the summer we became a family. soon mia will meet olliver and zeke… i can hardly wait to explore everything that lies ahead with you both.

love papa

Mia and friends 

Good News from Antigua

We received news that Mia´s new birth certificate was completed yesterday. We´re hoping to be home over the next couple of weeks. We need to apply for her visa and have the final embassy appointment and then we are off to Minneapolis. I can´t wait.

Mia went out with a few friends to celebrate!

In time for Lucia´s

Hola,
Today is August 10th and we still have not received our Guatemala birth certificate. We aren´t able to apply for the visa without the birth certificate. Initially, we thought we would have it on the 5th, but haven´t heard anything. It gets a little hard watching all the other babies go home. On the 20th, I will have been here for 2 months. I really thought I would be home by the end of July. Now, it looks like we won´t be home until the end of August. I´m really glad that I decided to come here when I did. Mia has changed so much over the last couple of months. She is now sleeping through the night. I still wake up every couple of hours and feel her stomach to make sure she is breathing. I´m not sure when that will stop (maybe when she is 18). It is bittersweet for me because I know how much Dennis would enjoy seeing her grow through these stages. We call him every morning and give raspberries on the phone. That is Mia´s new way of communicating. We miss you all!

My goal is to be home in time for a glass of Lucia´s sangria before it is taken off the menu. Keep your fingers crossed.

A Big Hug

Hello Daddy,
Here is a big hug for you! I just learned to stand up. It is much better than sitting around all the time (especially, when I fall over and Mommy doesn´t see me right away)

Do you like it? I did it myself. 

Mia´s workout equipment

Mia´s bath fashion

Julie (Lily is in the pack) and Donna (both from St. Louis)

Margie and Lucita. Margie is moving back to Milwaukee from Colorado. We´ve planned to meet in Chicago since Mia and Lucita have become cute little friends.

Martha and Jonathan 

Our neighbors (Yvonne and Tom Foley) They travel to Antigua every year to teach. They are wonderful.

A light at the end of the tunnel?

We heard from our agency today that they are estimating our birth certificate to be completed on Friday and then we have about two weeks after that to travel home. Based on this timeline, it will put us around the 3rd week of August. There are many things that can still cause administrative delays, but I´m continuing to remain optimistic. I can´t wait to go home and start our life as a family. Fall is my favorite season and I´m excited to experience Minneapolis with Mia and Dennis during (what I consider to be) the most beautiful time of the year. Dennis has done an amazing job of keeping things together in Minneapolis. He said he has several surprises for Mia and me. I´m hoping one is not a missing Oliver.

Mia is doing great. She screams and laughs and tries to utter a few sounds when I talk to her. Every morning she wakes up by blowing bubbles and making very strange sounds. We had to call her daddy a few times so he could experience how funny it is at 4 am. She also loves throwing EVERYTHING off the table. She is at the stage where she is grabbing anything in her reach. I just noticed tooth #2 popping through.

Things are very relaxed in this beautiful little place. I´ve included a few random pictures. We have the best neighbors. They have pretty much adopted Mia and make wonderful vegetarian meals for us. I miss everyone and can´t wait to see you. It has been so nice to receive all of your kind messages.

Hello Daddy,

I wanted to show you my new tooth. Mommy said you wanted to see it. I'm hoping there will be more to come. I heard that I'm probably going to get a whole bunch. This is the first one and I'm being very careful with it.

P.S. Mommy has a weak stomach so my nose doesn't get as much attention as it should. Please disregard anything you may see growing out of my nostrils.

Love and miss you, Mia.

Daddy's little girl sprouts a tooth

Mia's first tooth (may need to enlarge)

Irish whiskey, a plate of spaghetti, and a warm tostada

Today the agency called to tell me that the birth mother has signed off for the final time. After your file is approved, they require one last signature from the birth mother before they can apply for a new birth certificate. We were submitted into the civil registry (birth certificate department) of Guatemala City and will wait for a week or two until Mia is officially a McGrath. Mia and I celebrated with a shot of Irish Whiskey (dad), a plate of Spaghetti (mom), and a warm tostada (Mia).

Seriously, there are many milestones during this process, but this was one that I was really looking forward to having completed. Dennis and I can handle any administrative delays that may come our way, now that we know she is legally ours.

This is Mia's first experience in the baby swing at Hotel Antigua. 

Martha, Steve and baby Jonathan have arrived in Antigua. Martha and Steve are from Minneapolis and fostering Jonathan as well. We're having a great time together and Mia loves her new friend. We've told them all about the fun they will have walking Lake Harriet when we all get back to Minneapolis. 

Sharing a day in the life

Yesterday was one of those days that I am reminded of how amazing this experience has been for me. It was a beautiful sunny day in Antigua. I gathered Mia in the carrier and walked to Café Condessa for my morning coffee. We walk by the prison every morning and over the last couple of days, I noticed a half-smile from the guard on the roof holding a very large machine gun. For the first time, he actually asked me the name of my baby. It made me smile. Ruth, the street vendor, was walking on the other side of the street. She said hello and asked when my husband would be returning because she has a nice gift he can buy me and she will give him a very special price. The waitresses at Café Condessa hold Mia while I look at a few used books in the front area of the restaurant. Mia and I then do our usual walk through central park and stop to look at the fountain. She loves when the water splashes. She clenches her fists and kicks her legs whenever we get close to the water. I´m certain she was a fish in her past life. On our way back, we stop at Dona Luisa for a scone and a loaf of banana bread. Mia is beginning to fall asleep and I´m excited to start the new book I just bought. We walk back to the apartment and Mia’s little friends are sitting on a blanket in the middle of the grass. I stop and chat for a minute and then bring Mia inside for her nap. I start reading and Mia sleeps. After a few chapters, I feel a tug on my ponytail. It is her way of telling me she is awake and ready for her bottle. It always makes me laugh. I’m trying to take it all in and remember how fortunate I am to be doing this with her.
When I decided to foster I was a little worried (okay, a lot worried) about what it would be like to spend time in Guatemala. Most people would agree that this is a pretty big leap for me. I thought about not only living in a new environment, but being a first time mother pretty late in the game. Dennis and I talked at length about what this would mean for both of us, but I now realize that we didn´t even begin to understand. The biggest gift I have been given during this time (other than my beautiful daughter) is an appreciation for her culture that I can share through a first hand account, tons of pictures, journals and relationships that we have made together on our daily walks. I remember when Dennis first said that I should look into fostering in Guatemala. It seemed so out of reach and impossible. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I don’t remember ever being this happy…

Mia is half a year old on friday...

i'll be traveling on friday, so i have to post this early... happy 1/2 birthday my little pickle i can't wait to show you around your room and play with you at home here in minneapolis.

To Daddy...

I was just thinking about you and wanted you to know that I remember all the things we did when you were here. You are the best!

P.S. Can you make sure my crib sheets are at least 300 thread count? I have very sensitive skin.

Love and Miss You...Mia

When you fed me cereal 

When you made me laugh 

When you read to me 

When I fell asleep 

When you fed me at the rice and beans place 

When we went shopping for Mom´s ring

We are approved!

Dennis and I received word from our lawyer today that we are out of PGN. We need to apply for the birth certificate and we will be on our way home. This is the best news I could have received on this rainy day in Antigua. I´m thrilled because the hard part is over for us. I´ll keep you all updated on the progress. We couldn´t be happier.

More soon