DNA done

The first steps in this process are having a POA, power of attorney signed. Since we cant be there, we have to give an attorney legal permission to act on our behalf during the process. Ours arrived in Guatemala on 8/22 and usually takes about 21 days to get translated and officially registered.
Next step is DNA. They require the birthmom to prove by DNA from a mouth swap that she is indeed the actual birth mother for that child. (At the end of the process we will need to do another DNA test but on baby only. To prove that baby that is leaving the country with us is in fact the same baby.).
Here she is, actually awake a bit again!

1 month old medical

Nora was a month old on Sunday and today she had her 1 month checkup. Doctor says shes is "doing really well in the time since her first visit", "she starts to notice her surroundings, will quiet her cry if spoken to, shows active, symmetrical movements of both arms and legs and when on her stomach will lift her chin briefly from the bed". She is taking her formula and vitamin supplement well. She is up to 6lbs 1oz (gained a lb in 2 weeks), and 18.5 inches long.
Pictures of course. We are SO lucky with our agency to get regular photos. In upcoming months it will probably not be this often but will be at least once a month. We love watching her grow in photos at least since we cant be there!
Seems she likes to sleep just like mommy. :)

3 weeks old

While on vacation we got new photos of Nora at 3 weeks old. Shes wearing clothes and a bow provided by the foster mom. She did get the bags of items we sent down this day so in the next photos she may be wearing an outfit we bought her. :)
Shes waving hello and signing I love you. So very sweet.

Vacation

We had a nice time on our vacation to Gatlinburg. We all survived the 12 hr drive each way and the heat wave. We did lots of swimming in the pool and some hiking. The boys enjoyed the aquarium there too. Evan our little fish has learned to swim underwater and Ryan is doing much better with his doggie paddle. Of course we have tons of photos but heres just a few.

Surprise visit pic

Our agency does whats called suprise visits. They have a foster mom manager who randomly shows up at any time of day or night to check on the homes and babies. We get photos and daily routine updates. We know Nora gets a bath each night at 6pm and goes to bed at 8pm. She gets up every 2 hrs to eat and is taking a forumla called Enfamil Prematures.

Heres a picture. I love how her arms are in the photo. Looks like a litte diva in the making. :)

Watermela has a real name!

So combining 3 names in baby's history. Aura, Angela, Hidolina. And a name we just liked.
Watermela will be Nora Angelina.
Watermela was a nickname Ryan picked out while we were early in the process. "Watermela" he said, "a watermelon from Guatemala". We didnt know what name we were going to use so calling her Watermela vs. "she" or "her" was more fun.

Meet Watermela!

We finally got to see her face and will be able to give her a real name (which hasnt been decided yet 100%).
Monday I had a feeling it would be very soon that we would get the call. Tuesday I woke up knowing it was THE day. Mothers intuition I guess. I was physically ill. Nausea, belly and back aches, couldnt get comfy. Almost like labor. :)
At 930pm on Tuesday 8/7 we got the call from our agency. Both Jim and I rushing to the phone seeing FTC (our agency) on caller ID. Picking up at the same time leaving neither of us able to hear for a minute or so (our phones are weird and you can not conference on the 2 we picked up).

She was born July 26th approx 1 month early weighing 5lbs and 17 inches long. Shes looking very healthy though and alert. Our 2 boys were born early so no surprise our daughter was too. We got lots of photos but heres just a few of her at 8 days old.

Soon

I have a feeling we will get the call very soon. Im starting to jump everytime the phone rings. Soon we will be able to see our daughters face for the first time!