Picture of the Day #2

Napping is so wonderful, particularly when you have a beautiful baby boy curled up against you. And it took exactly one hour to figure out that when the baby sleeps, the parents should sleep too. We took full advantage of that every chance we got while we were visiting.

Here's to many more naps with Mateo in the future...peaceful dreams to each of you in the meantime!!

Love, Sarah

Picture of the Day #1

So this is one of my favorite pictures which show Mateo's development. He can do tummy time now, and his eyes always feel like he is looking directly into your soul. The stuffed dog, named Trevor, is a gift from a dear friend at work, Barb Jensen. Matt slept with Trevor for about 3 weeks prior to our departure so Mateo would have something that smelled like him. It's amazing how much we feel like Mateo recognizes us, something for which we are very grateful. And by the way, for those of you who are tracking the process, we got our results from the DNA test and it was a match, so we are proceeding to the next step (getting the US Embassy to say the adoption can proceed). Here's hoping this picture makes you smile as much as it does me!

Love, Sarah

It's a small world...

Hi friends & family,

I am back safely from our most recent visit to see our son, Mateo. He is so precious and we had the most incredible time getting to bond with him. It was an interesting trip where we got to spend a lot more time with Mateo, and we were constantly amazed at how small the world is.

Small world example #1: One of the flight attendants on our plane from Atalanta to Guatemala City was one of the flight attendants on the last trip home from Guatemala City.

Small world example #2: The taxi driver who picked us up from the airport, Ernesto, is the taxi driver who took us to the airport the last time and watched over our bags so that we could shop at the artisan's market before we left.

Small world example #3: We met a couple at La Casa Grande (the hotel where we always stay) who were there to pick up their 8 month old son, whom they have named Terrence. Turns out that Jessica & Kevin (the adoptive parents) live in Milwaukie Oregon...a mere 20 minutes up the road from us. We took a picture of the two boys on their first meeting, hoping they will get to know each other as they grow.

Small world example #4: The taxi driver who took us to the Marriott on Saturday evening so we could get the photos from the digital camera onto CD for me to bring home was the same cab driver who picked us up from the airport the last time.

Small world example #5: I met a woman in the Atlanta airport whom I was sure I had seen in the Guatemalan airport on my departure. Turns out, sure enough, she sat behind me on the plane from Guatemala to Atlanta and then flew with me all the way to Portland. She was there visiting her daughter who is married to a native Guatemalan.

As you can see, we are always so amazed by the connections that exist in the world. Our time with Mateo was magnificent. As usual, he was happy, and healthy, and even a bit chubby! We were with him on his four month birthday (Saturday, April 15) and we were very pleased to see how much he had developed.

Matt will be the first to tell you that he is visually tracking past the mid-line, that he is actively using his hands to grab things, and he kicks better than any infant I have ever seen (of course, the scientific objectivity may be lacking here, but that doesn't really matter!!)

Best of all, Mateo really seems to know us, and to enjoy spending time with us. We were able to observe other parents who were there this past weekend to pick up their children, some meeting them for the first time. It's very clear to us that these children are bewildered at best, scared at worst, about who these people are. I believe in my heart, it is absolutely the best decision for us to visit him often until we can bring him home.

Guess that's all for now. I'll keep you updated on Matt's progress at language school, and any news from the process prior to my next trip down (on May 11). In the meantime, I will try to post a picture a day for your viewing pleasure (we have a couple hundred to choose from!!)

Hope all is well and that you enjoyed a blessed Easter!! Much love from Oregon, Sarah (Matt & Mateo send their love from Guatemala)

The next steps...

So, as most of you know we are in the midst of preparing for another trip to Guatemala. We have been working like crazy on house projects to finish prior to leaving. Most recently, we have painted Mateo's nursery and we are going crib shopping on Saturday. Thanks to our friends Greg & Angela Murphy, Megan Sprauer, and Frank Petrik for helping us get this accomplished. We will post pictures as soon as it is complete.

We leave in less than a week on the red-eye next Tuesday night, for the marathon journey. We expect that Filomena will bring Mateo to the hotel about 4PM on Wednesday so we can begin our time with him. We should get to have him until Saturday evening--so there will be many opportunities for pictures and video!

Matt will put me on a plane on Easter Sunday to head back home to work, and then he will board a bus to Quetzaltenango to go to language immersion school. It's a great deal with basically 5 hours of one-on-one instruction, plus planned cultural and social activities. He even plans to spend one week in a village for school where no one speaks English. He should learn alot (and of course, I will miss him immensely!!).

We also heard from our agency that the paperwork to request the DNA test has been processed. This means the DNA test can be scheduled now, and that is the next step in getting our adoption petition through both governments.

Check back soon as I will post pictures upon my return. As always love from all of us, Sarah, Matt & Mateo

We are so lucky that we get a regular update from our lawyer with pictures of Mateo William. These newest pictures arrived today from our agency. Filomena, the foster mom, is holding Mateo (and she clearly has been feeding him tons as he's getting a bit chubby!!) The middle picture features the blanket that our friend Julie Brown made. I slept with that blanket every night for two weeks prior to our last visit so it would smell like me. (Matt's did the same with another Julie Brown original). The shirt he is sporting was a present from "Aunt" Shannon Kelley from our first shopping trip.

We also learned that our dossier was submitted to Guatemala Family Court on Monday (it took this long to be translated). In addition, our attourney is preparing the necessary documentation for the US Embassy (for the DNA test).

We bought airplane tickets for our next trip this week. We fly out on the red eye on April 11th (just before Easter) for a 4 day visit. I'll come home on Easter Sunday and Matt will go to a language school for immersion Spanish lessons in Quetzaltenango (northwest of Guatemala City). I'll return to Guatemala City on May 11th for another visit (over Mother's Day Weekend) and then Matt & I will come home.

So that's the latest in Mateo's journey to our family...keep checking back for the latest & greatest.