Pictures

I will post a host of pictures as soon as I clean my hard drive off this weekend. I can not fit anymore on my computer at this point. I have a bunch and will also try to get a you tube video or two posted as well. This daddy stuff is time demanding - rather be playing and bonding with James and Mommy than typing. I will get it together soon!

Wednesday April 15, 2008 (Nice day to travel – hot and humid)

Today is travel day! Off to breakfast and then back into the room to gather our bags and head to the airport. From all of the horror stories about not being late, we are going to make sure we are early enough to make the flight out of Guatemala. We departed the airport at 8:30a shuttle. While waiting for the shuttle, I noticed that there was a fair amount of police and what looked like National Guard and secret serviceman standing within the confines of the Marriott Hotel. It was a little nerving, but we learned that the Vice President of Guatemala was at the Marriott for a visit.

Arrived at the airport at 9:15a. The line at the Delta ticket counter only had three other people. The ticket counter did not open until 9:45a. We talked to people as we waited and James took a nap. After processing his ticket, it was off to the customs / immigration / security line. On the way, there is a security area to pay a $3 / person exit fee. Arrived at the security / immigration line and found that the line was nearly empty. It was less that 10 minutes to clear and we were at the terminal waiting on the plane. We arrived three hours early for the flight anticipating issues, and were delighted to not have one.

James, Uncle Tim and Daddy played and explored the new airport terminal and watched the ground crews load planes and prepare flights for departure. The time went by relatively quickly and the airport filled up the same way. When it was time to board we were able to enter in the beginning of the line as we were flying first class. We seated and stowed our carry on items and then I prepared a bottle for James to enjoy as we climbed altitude. Was hoping it would help him clear his ears so he wasn’t screaming the whole way home. He did not have any issues and shortly after arriving at cruising altitude he fell asleep. The flight from Guatemala to Atlanta was smooth – 3.5 hrs. James slept 2 of them and we played, had a bottle and Daddy changed him in the bathroom. The flight attendant showed me a great trick that helped with the changing. They have a service panel in the bathroom that made a great table.

Another bottle on the descent and a nice landing in Atlanta gave us a good start towards the second flight. We followed the crowd to customs and again to the special area for James paperwork to be processed – we were the first to arrive and it only took 30 minutes to get all cleared and have our bags transferred to the next flight. We had 2 hours to wait until the next flight which Uncle Tim and Daddy used to relax and get some dinner. James had a nice ride on a train and tour of the Atlanta airport. We called home, and then took a chair to wait. James had a big time diaper accident that Daddy had to take care of. While in the men’s room James discovered the mirror and talked to it and at one point kissed him self.

While at the terminal waiting for the next flight, we met some nice folks heading to Rochester. First Class on this flight was only half full, so James got the Royal treatment and his own seat to sleep on after take off. Again, just like a trooper, James slept half way home. It was 11:30pm when we landed in Rochester. All of us had a long day of travel and we were tired. When we headed down the escalator to get our bags we were greeted by Mommy, Nana, Papa, Uncle Keith and Aunt Amy. Everyone was so happy to see us all home safe and sound. Daddy introduced James to Mommy and the rest of the group. He was very excited to meet everyone. We picked up our bags and traveled home were Mommy and Aunt Amy played with James until he was too tired to stand.

It was a very exciting day of travel and everyone was so happy to see us arrive! Welcome Home James – Mommy and Daddy Love You!!!

Tuesday April 14, 2008 (80 deg Sunny – daddy has a sunburn :o(

Well it is the final full day of our journey. It was an excellent day. Everyone up at 6:30a (well Daddy up at 5:30a) and the day was off. Feed Baby James, change and dress. Daddy and Uncle Tim shower and we are off to the breakfast buffet. Some Papaya juice for James and a full breakfast spread for Uncle Tim and I. Finish breakfast and it is up to the room for a quick change.

Meet Henry in the lobby at 8:30a for the trip to Antigua. 45 minute ride where James fell asleep halfway in. We had a full day of stops –

1. coffee plant – fresh grown and roasted coffee without all of the “filler” we put into coffee in the States. We learned about the whole thing and then taste tested the coffee. It was excellent! Purchased a little and have a card if we like we can order through the website.
2. The Big Cross (can not remember Spanish name) – It is on a hill that overlooks all of Antigua. It was an excellent view and a bit of a history lesson from Henry! A few picks and off to the next stop.
3. Church (again, can not remember the Spanish name) – Oldest church in Antigua and the only structure that remained in tact during the largest earthquake the country has survived. 1776, and another large one in 1973. Pillar of strength is what this church represents. It was surreal inside and is still used today. There was a large wooden cross that every year at Easter is removed from the church and carried from one end of town to the other. It is large enough that 100 people can carry it. It is passed to another hundred after 50 ft. That continues as it travels through town.
4. Jade factory – Jade is a large export for Guatemala and this is the factory where it is turned into jewelry and other items. Many kinds and some real nice pieces. The Jade is harvested easiest after an earthquake as it rises up from underground. Again with the Spanish names – There is a town that experiences earthquakes on a frequent basis where the mine is. Interesting process and excellent people in the factory.
5. The public market – not the best scene for Daddy or Uncle Tim. You really have to be a good haggler to make it the best experience, but we managed to do ok and we did get some things for James as he grows. It is like any public market – many vendors and they all want your money. We did not get beat up too bad.
6. Central Square – The center of town and a park setting with fountains. It was lunch time and all the kids where out of school for an hour. All dressed in uniform and all ages.

Antigua was a real nice town with many people and many tourists. It has cobblestone streets, shops, places to visit. Excellent views of the two volcanoes and many mountain ranges. Beautiful! Baby James had a big day. Little sleep, little food and a diaper change in a Henry’s car backseat. He was so tired he fell asleep in Uncle Tim’s arms while Daddy was shopping in the market.

Well…it was 2p and we needed to get to the Hotel to freshen up and go pickup the Visa for our return home. Uncle Tim watched James while Daddy went with Brian to the US Embassy. Daddy returned by 4p with Visa in hand – a showing of the passport and it was all over.

Dinner, packing a nice talk with Mommy and it is 12a. I am going to bed as it will be a very long day tomorrow. We can not wait to see Mommy, Aunt Amy and any other crazy folks who come to the airport. We will call when we get to Atlanta around 6:30p tomorrow eve!

Luv and miss everyone.

Monday April 14, 2008 (75 deg Sunny)

Embassy Day!!! Up at 5a, shower, and make a bottle. Wake Uncle Tim at 5:30a, shower and prepare for our breakfast and that of young James. 6a wake James and feed him, change him and put on his pressed outfit for the days event. Eat breakfast, grab the diaper bag, paperwork and stroller and head down to meet Brian.

Brian is walking in as we are walking into the lobby. Jump in Brian’s car and head to the Embassy. We had to stop at the picture place for James to get his visa pictures. It was an interesting little picture studio. Would never had found it if we had to navigate on our own. Park the car, get our picture taken, and walk about 2 blocks to the Embassy. As we approached, we noticed about 100 people waiting for the Embassy to open. It seems all were waiting for visas to travel to the US.

Two interviews, both 4-5 minutes. Total Embassy time was 2 ½ hours. Not bad. It was a couple questions about our plans after the adoption that was the subject of interview number one. Because James had a tilted sleep schedule, he had fallen asleep in my arms a few minutes before the firs interview. It was awesome, except it was difficult to sign my name etc with him sleeping. They asked if we planned to complete the adoption process in the states (re-adopt), if we had any other children, if the information we provided previously was correct, etc. It was quick. Then we waited for interview number two. An oath to promise to take care of James complete with my right hand raised high. I was asked a couple more questions about our intentions, what we will call James when he is in America, a couple signatures and it was all over and we were walking back to the car. They did ask if Michelle had visited the baby previously and if she was not able to make it. It was a fairly simple process. I did not feel stress about any of the questions. I did not feel like they put me on the spot where I wasn’t sure what questions to answer.

Once at the hotel it was the same cycle, change / feed / play sleep. Uncle Tim and I wanted to let everyone know that we made it back to the hotel and share the experience, but we couldn’t get our computer on the internet. It turns out it was a bad modem, but it took 2 hours to get to that point. Our cell phones seem to work for receiving calls if we are outdoors, but we can not find the proper method behind placing a call to the states on them. While changing James to prepare to go to lunch, I removed his diaper, bent down to get the new one and he had started his own pool with a private invite. Unfortunately he was on my bed. He was on the changing pad, but the bed is not perfectly level, so it went all over. Bath, new sheets, clean clothes, a cry or two and we were off to Lunch! We went to the downstairs lunch restaurant, and had the buffet – Great spread that included fresh made to order sushi – after my allergic reaction to what I had eaten the day before, I have slowed down on the experimentation of new foods. James had some steamed carrots and rice. Doesn’t seem that he can manage a spoon for long durations. He is ok with a few mouthfuls, then he starts to turn his head away and bat the spoon with his hand. Could be a new daddy thing – lol.

A trip to the business center to see who might know how to place an international call from a Verizon cell phone and then we went to the front desk to get an additional can of formula to bring home so that we can slowly switch James to our brand formula.

We had a technical person arrive at the room to fix the internet connection. So we wanted to get some play time with James and have some time for Uncle Tim to catch up with his life. The days and time go by fast. It is a hustle from wake to sleep with talking to people, eating, feeding, changing, playing and then trying to catch a rest. I was dog tired from the past few days. We fed James and he went to sleep. Uncle Tim wanted to catch up with everything, so he said that he would stand guard so I could take a nap. First of the trip and it made a big difference!

Almost the last crisis of the day was when James had gotten up. He needed a change, and then we played. Shortly into playing he began to make what I call the poopy face. It is a fairly recognizable event and it was followed by a poopy smell.

We called Mommy and had a nice chat and it was time to eat again. Some eats, some play a changing and we were still bright eyed. It was shaping to be another night like last night was, he wanted to stay up all night. The only difference was I had a nap as well, so it was easier to handle. I believe that lying down with him, gently rubbing his tummy or back and having him close soothes him. As soon as I did that, he went right to sleep. He was asleep by 10:30p, and so was Uncle Tim. We are getting up at 6:30a, to go to Antigua tomorrow. It is about 45 minutes from here.

As we were talking with Mommy, an earthquake started to shake the building. It was a 6.1 magnitude earthquake with its center 45 miles south-southeast of Escuintla. It lasted about a minute and this building was like standing on the boat when a wave went by. It didn’t shake so bad that the pictures fell, or glass broke. It was a gentle shake back and forth. It was a bit scary, but it was over fast and no one here seemed to be running out of the building. All remained calm, the power was never lost, it was just an experience to add to the trip.

We can pickup the Visa at 3:30p tomorrow afternoon.

Sunday April 13, 2008 (70 deg rainy)

It is now 5:30a and little James is still sleeping. I have prepared a bottle for him. The sun is coming up. We look to play and bond all day today – want to see if I can get him in the pool this afternoon. Nice facilities here at the Marriott.

James woke about 6a while Daddy was in the shower. I changed his diaper, gave him a bottle, played for a couple hours while talking to Mommy on the Skype internet video phone. Then James went to sleep again – he went down about 9a it is currently 9:23a we will see how long a nap lasts. Then it is off to find Uncle Tim and Daddy some breakfast. Our young James slept until approx. 10:30a. Well rested, Tim, James and Daddy went to see if we could make the breakfast buffet. We missed it, as it turns out although we managed to have a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, juice and coffee. Baby James had some papaya, watermelon, pineapple juice, orange juice, scrambled eggs and a little piece of a mashed up muffin.

As we were all fed, we decided to try to head to the Pharmacia – It is around the corner next to the McDonalds. It was Sunday and closed. A young Guatemalan woman had stopped us on our way back and told us were we can go and were to avoid.

After that trip we came back to the room to feed / change James and check in to what was happening around town. I decided that I would try going to the baby room on the third floor for James to see other children and for him the play with some other toys. There wasn’t really anyone in the room at that time – must be out and about around town. Played for a little bit and went to the room to catch up with Uncle Tim.

It was time for James to eat and take another nap, which is what happened and Uncle Tim joined him. I prepared for Monday’s Embassy Appointment and had a little down time. I have been busy keeping up with James. He has been a joy!! He is a very happy young man. It was almost 6p when the boys awoke and it was time for Uncle Tim and Dad to eat and James to be changed and it is again play time.

More toys, laughs, giggles, talking, crawling and hugs & kisses. We are really missing Mommy – mostly me as James has not yet had the pleasure of meeting his mommy. He does seem to recognize her when she is on the video phone saying hello. Uncle Tim is doing a great job of stand in parent, he has been very helpful.

Figuring that tomorrow was a big day, we tried to get James to sleep around 9p. That was not going to happen – he was ready for action, too much sleep yesterday during the day. It was 12:30a before he finally fell asleep. I was exhausted!

Saturday April 13, 2008 (80 deg, humid sunny)

Depart Rochester International Airport: 6:15am – Big crowds as people are traveling for spring break. Arrived approx 4:30am flight left almost on time. Couple of passenger issues with overcrowded flights delayed us.

Arrived Atlanta International approx 9am. Arrived gate B had to take the tram to gate E. Met Uncle Tim. Departed on time – arrived in Guatemala City approx. 12 noon their time. Filled out immigration paperwork. Presented to immigration, no problems – grabbed luggage and took the shuttle to the Marriott. Helpers at the airport loaded our bags - $4 tip. Met one American at the airport, said her husband was living in Zona 5 as they felt their child’s foster mother was doing a poor job.

Arrive Marriott and get room #424. Take bags up and headed to Champions sports bar for lunch – we returned to the room so Uncle Tim could take a nap and I could wrap gifts and prepare for the arrival of our little boy.

Ordered a crib, it was delivered. I ironed some clothes for Tim, myself and James. We are prepared for the embassy on Monday.

Approx 5p Guat time, Brian called and I went down stairs to escort them to our room. Tim had gotten Mommy and Aunt Amy on the Skype internet video phone and had the video camera running when we entered the room. While on the elevator ride to the room, James smiled at me for the first time – words can not describe how I felt at that moment!

The interview went well; Maria (FM) was upset giving James up. Understandable – she has raised him to this point. Brian checked paper work and feels we are all set for Monday. We asked some interview questions and Brian and Maria left. The total time was only about an hour.

Then…the real fun began – Daddy played with James for about an hour, while Uncle Tim ordered us dinner and tried to get the Knighthawkes lacrosse game on the internet. James had started a bottle when Maria was here; he finished after a bit of playtime.

Daddy changed his diaper and clothes (into pajamas). James played for another ½ hr to hour and started showing signs of sleep. I placed him in the bed and rubbed his tummy and he went down within 15 minutes. He was down by 8:30p

Dinner arrived for us just after James fell asleep. Dinner was good – room services rocks! Long day of travel etc. I woke a few times during the night being a nervous Daddy. I had placed James in the crib after he went to sleep – he didn’t move. He is a very sound sleeper.

Back Home

Well...It has been two weeks home today and things are going great. James seems to be adjusting very well. He loves his new room, Mommy and Daddy, the two kitty's and especially the doggie.

I am going to post the journal I kept while on the trip - it is a synopsis of what transpired from the trip. It was an excellent trip and was filled with many memories. I am sorry to all who follow the blog, I never knew what work this Daddy gig really is. Thank you for all your support and a speedy home for all whom are still waiting!!!

Hello from Guatemala!

Well, the day has finally come where I was able to hold our little boy in person. What a great day! The travel yesterday was not too bad, little rough getting out of Atlanta due to storms, but in the end we made it here safe and enjoyed our first night of bonding with young James.

It is Sunday and local time is 9a. Young James is asleep and so is Uncle Tim - haha. The day couldn't have been better yesterday. We arrived about 1p local time. Checked into the Marriott, grabbed an excellent lunch at the Champion Sports Restaurant/Bar in the hotel. then prepared for meeting James. The Foster Mother (Maria) and Brian our lawyers assistant arrived around 5p.

He is adorable!!! He smiled at me on the ride in the elevator to our room for an emotional farewell from Maria. She was heartbroken and after just a few short hours with James I understand why - What a great little man.

Maria and Brian were gone after an hour and Dad was on the job. An hour and a half of Playing and a bottle, diaper change and what I thought would be a nap that turned out to be bed time for the whole night! Couldn't have been better.

He woke around 6a. A quick change, bottle for breakfast, some time talking to Mommy and a little play time and he is down again. If he maintains this course of excellent behavior, he is gonna make Dad look like a superhero.

I will try to write about our daily experiences as we go. Tomorrow will be an early morning - need to be in the hotel lobby @ 6:30a for our embassy appointment. Hope it doesn't take to long.

Hope everyone back home is doing well. Cant wait to see everyone!

Pink!!!!!! Is a Wonderful Color

Finally Pink has arrived - it actually arrived Monday (4/7/08) this week, but I have been busy making arrangements for the trip! I am leaving on Saturday (4/12/08) morning and will return Wednesday (4/16/08) with Baby James! I will have time to add some real details from the hotel in Guatemala.

I hope to report more Guatemala.

Cmon Pink

Well...It has been a few days since the USE has received our 2nd DNA results. We are hoping to get an email this afternoon with a date of travel. Praying for this email to get that part behind us and focus on the trip itself. Looks as if most are getting only one (1) week to prepare and travel. Only time will tell at tis point, but it will not be much longer until we have Baby James home!