Dominic's Sweet Adventures

Winter 2011-2012

2012-01-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

We have been having a lot of fun even with the holidays being over. We visited Mima and Pipa in NC the week after Christmas and had a lot of fun with the Colligan cousins. It was chilly but the beach was still fun to visit, and the New Year's Eve party was a blast!

Dominic, you are doing so well at T-ball and have told me and Daddy that you love the sport. You sure are handsome in your cap! You talked me into buying you some toys when we went shopping for Ryan's birthday, and you sure do make the train conductor uniform look amazing!!! You were playing in your Thomas the Train tent and whispering into your walkie talkie "looking for Big Foot" - you LOVE to watch that show with Daddy. We are excited for a fun spring with vacation and time with loved ones. You also had fun wearing your cowboy PJS to school for "Pajama Day" - OLOJ sure is a fun school!

Happy Holidays!!!

2011-12-14T18:30:00.001-08:00

Holiday Season 2011!!!

2011-12-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

We have been having all kinds of fun this holiday season! From All Saints Day, Trunk or Treat, Thanksgiving feast and family dinner, to Polar Express train ride and Christmas program at school. We are so blessed and so happy, the days are flying by! Enjoy these photos - more to come. :)

STUDENT OF THE MONTH!!!

2011-10-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

Dan and I have always believed we are so incredibly blessed to parent the little angel that Dominic is... so you can only imagine our pride, gratitude and amazement at his most recent accomplishment of being named Student of the MONTH for his class at Our Lady of Joy! Mom and Dad attended the Courtyard Prayer with us where he was honored with a certificate, special prize and photo with the principal. WE ARE PROUD OF OUR MUNCHKIN!!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-23T16:42:00.001-07:00

We have been having a good time kicking off the holiday season. Last weekend we went to McDonald's Ranch to visit their pumpkin patch and partake in fun activities like steer roping (with fake steer), sack races, hay maze, petting zoo and cooling off with shaved ice. My Mom and Dad joined us and that made the day extra fun. We are excited for the annual Trunk or Treat party at Domi's school this Friday, and then a Halloween party on Saturday night at one of his classmate's house. We have also had four birthday parties this month - too much fun! Looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas, my pledge is to be present in the season and enjoy my many blessings!

Friends and Notes

2011-09-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some great photos of Dominic with his large circle of friends from school and life. My wish for him is to always have close amigas/amigos near him to have fun and offer one another support.

I also want to capture some thoughts for Dominic to read himself one day...

You are having a lot of fun at school this year and have really stepped up with show and tell each week! It started with the letter L and you took in some play lettuce. You remembered all your clues and had a super day! The following week you took in your stuffed turtle named Mint for the letter T. Next came feathers for the letter F, and this past week Nani helped you with your clues for an envelope to represent the letter E. Daddy was in NC all week visiting Mima and Pipa, and we sure missed him! Next week is the letter H and you want to take in a hotel, we will have to see how that goes!

You really loved showing off for Nani and Popee at Grandparent's Day , and you all had a BLAST!

Happy Fall!

2011-09-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

Back to school already! Domi is at OLOJ for his third year and is already in Pre-K, time flies! He was awarded "Star Student of the Week" last week and we were so proud of him! We made a poster about everything he loves to do, and he took worry dolls to share with the class to talk about where his is from - Escuintla, Guatemala.

We are getting in the Halloween spirit and made this haunted house - very fun!

Summer Fun!

2011-07-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

The last few months have flown by as always.

Dominic played soccer again and enjoyed himself.
We traveled to CO in May for my niece's high school graduation and enjoyed visiting with my sister's family.
We treated my Dad and Dan to a steak dinner at Flemings for Father's Day.
Domi started ice skating lessons - so cute!
We just returned from a visit to NC to visit my in-laws and dear friend Nikki and her family. Now Dominic can say he has been to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans!
Other assorted fun shots!
Enjoy!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

2011-04-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

We took Dominic to our favorite photo studio for his birthday and Easter pictures. As always, he is a very photogenic ham! It is hard to pick just a few shots to share so we always buy the CD with all the shots. ;)

Sadly, Dan and I continue to age and Dan now needs glasses to read. We all went to the eye glass store to pick out frames for him and Domi was acting wild, so the receptionist gave him some crazy glasses to play with. What can I say, my son was born to pose! Enjoy!!! :)

Dominic's Fantastic 4th Birthday Celebration!

2011-03-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe my babycakes is 4 already! His birthday was on March 17th, he is a St. Patty's day baby. We celebrated with a week long vacation in Florida and went to Hollywood Studios, Disneyworld and Animal Kingdom. We all had a BLAST!

Here are a few photos from the plane, Dan slept while Domi watched movies and I read.

We arrived at the hotel around 7 p.m. on Monday night and after we quickly unpacked we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner and some shopping. We tried to eat at TRex but the wait was way too long, so we found a healthy salad/sandwich place and had a light dinner. We also did a little shopping, bought our tickets to the parks and grabbed the show schedules so we could plan our week.

With the 3 hour time difference we slept in every day. We decided to go to Hollywood Studios on Tuesday and Dan waited in line for the Toy Story ride while Dominic and I walked around and ate lunch. We all LOVED that ride! Dominic also LOVED the 3D Muppet movie and laughed out loud several times. You never know what will tickle a child's fancy. We all really enjoyed the Little Mermaid show - such talent! We ended our fun day with an amazing Fantasia show at night featuring our favorite mouse - MICKEY! Here is a photo of Domi with his amazing light show Mickey Ears - he HAD to have them!

Wednesday we had breakfast with Chef Mickey and his friends at the contemporary resort. The characters danced to a celebration song while the waitress brought a cake to Dominic and everyone in the restaurant waved their napkins in the air to wish Domi a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It was so wonderful to see Domi's excitement and joy when Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy all came by one at a time to take pictures with him. The waitress gave him a birthday button and all day long people wished him a Happy Birthday - it was very sweet!

After breakfast we headed straight to the Magic Kingdom for a very full and fun day and night. We had to start with the train ride to Frontier Land and caught the Country Bear Jamboree show - they STILL have that! It was very sweet to remember when I saw it as a kid too. From there we moved on to Fantasy Land and started our long list of rides. Some very kind strangers gave us their fast passes to the Winnie the Pooh ride so we enjoyed that shortcut. We then went on Peter Pan, Small World, Snow White, Dumbo, Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear and saw the Monsters, Inc. show - very funny! Of course we stayed for the super fantastic fireworks show and electric light parade - so heart warming to see Domi's face ignite with wonder and excitement! It was so precious too because Domi said to Dan "this parade is for my birthday?!?!?" - we told him "yes it is!". :) We left with a $15 Mickey Mouse balloon with blinking lights...

On Thursday morning the hotel (Orlando World Center Marriott) brought balloons and chocolates to our room for Domi's birthday - such a nice touch! After breakfast we went to the Animal Kingdom park. We were all tired by then - my feet hurt, Domi rode in the stroller most of the day and Dan's back bothered him. We soldiered on and enjoyed the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch and Dominic insisted I take a picture of the poop from the goats in the petting zoo - I find his boyish humor both appalling and hilarious! We also saw two amazing shows - The Lion King and Finding Nemo. These shows are Broadway caliber and I LOVE musicals - I was in heaven! :) We also took the safari and roamed among wild animals - very exciting and beautiful. Domi also got a temporary tattoo of Mickey and of course more souvenirs! He chose a stuffed hippo (I still don't get it...) and Dori.

This day (Thursday) was his actual birthday so we celebrated again at the hotel with another piece of cake and singing. :)

We just loved every moment of our trip and we will definitely go back soon!

On Monday we took cupcakes, worry dolls and a Guatemala book to Domi's class to celebrate his birthday with his classmates. We are also having a family party on Saturday to celebrate his, my Mom's and nephew Patrick's birthdays too - lots of celebrations, but that is what life is all about! :)

Party, Party, Party!

2011-02-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we attended a friend's birthday party at the Arizona Country Club, it was very fun and Dominic had a great time. The weather was nice and Ed Chee the balloon artist was there. Domi was thrilled with his meticulously assembled Batman balloon souvenir! Here he is riding the barrel wagon.

Dan's parents came for a visit on Friday and will be with us until Thursday morning. We took advantage of their visit to celebrate our pooches 6th birthdays! My parents joined us for the celebration and I set a beautiful table if I say so myself. :)

We had to try a different pet bakery this year because Three Dog Bakery closed its doors during the recession. Bosco's Biscuits in Carefree did a pretty nice job although they use regular cake frosting and I don't like the idea of my fur babies eating sugar. Anyway, they loved the cake and there was plenty left over for them to eat all week long.

We were treated to dinner at our favorite restaurant The White Chocolate Grill. Great food, ambiance and trendy decor.

Fun Visit with Chicago Based Cousins

2011-01-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

Dan's brother Joe came to visit with his family over the weekend. They live in Lake Forest, IL and were thrilled with our gorgeous weather. They stayed with his wife's aunt in Mesa so we met them at Jump and Shout and we all had a great time. The girls are twins and so sweet. They love dogs and are jeaolous that Dominic has three, they really enjoyed meeting them. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-12-30T19:49:00.003-08:00

Dominic's class had a Christmas Party on December 17th and I wisely took the day off to join in the fun. I laughed a lot that day, 3 year old children can be so bossy but also so adorable! I appreciate my lamb more than ever, he is so well behaved, is an excellent eater and doesn't complain about wearing his school uniform! ;)

Here is a picture of our pooches, Brody, Katie and Alfie, they had a great Christmas!

And of course, some pictures of our cherub for our Christmas cards - he really is so photogenic and handsome! :)

Here are some pictures of Christmas morning, Dominic was so excited to see what Santa brought him! I was excited for our Christmas morning tradition of eating orange glazed sweet rolls - mmmmmm, the whole house smelled heavenly! We also made some adorable reindeer cupcakes, I thought they turned out so cute!

It has been raining and very cold here in Scottsdale, AZ lately. It actually snowed today! Here is a picture of our back yard and you can just make out the snowflakes. Very unusual for us to see the snow in the desert but it was a nice change. :)

Busy and Fun Holiday Season!

2010-12-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been running at 100 mph having fun and enjoying the holiday season! On Friday we went to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park to see the Christmas lights, it was a lot of fun and my parents joined us too. On Saturday I shopped during the day, then we met two local families with little ones from Guatemala for a tasty and fun Central American themed meal at Mi Comida, it was not too far from my parents house so they once again joined the fun. Afterward, we ran errands to get ready for Dominic's Christmas program at school this morning. Dominic performed great and we (me, Dan, my parents) were all so proud of him. After the show, we came home to enjoy Asparagus, Potato and Onion frittata that I made last night - delicious! On top of all of this we are wrapping up our dossier for Dominic's baby sister from Ethiopia. I look forward to my upcoming time off between Christmas and New Year for some much needed rest! :) Until then, we are soaking up the holiday Christmas spirit!

The Christmas Season is Officially Kicked Off!

2010-11-28T20:46:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful weekend on our trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express train! Dominic was just so enchanted with visiting Santa before we got on the train (he sat on his lap alone this year!), watching the train pull into the station and chanting "Santa, Santa, Santa" at the top of his lungs as Santa boarded our coach. Mom and Dad were troopers and braved the below freezing temperatures. I bought Dad and Dan warm hats and mom dubbed them "Russian spies" - hilarious! We all enjoyed wearing our Christmas PJs and getting in the mood of the season. Enjoy these pics!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-18T22:44:00.000-08:00

A few pictures from Domi's school Thanksgiving feast. I was unable to attend but Dan and my parents enjoyed themselves immensely. Dan said Domi ate A LOT and then ran like the wind with all the kiddos. Enjoy! :)

Fall is Speeding By!

2010-11-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

We have had so much fun the last few weekends! On October 29 we attended Trunk or Treat at Dominic's pre-school. All the families parked in the church parking lot, decorated their cars and passed out treats to the little ones. My Mom and Dad joined us this year and we had a great time. We took a picnic dinner with cheese, crackers, sandwiches and cupcakes. I also took a few small bottles of white wine that me and Mom enjoyed! ;)

The following day our dear friends the Rygiel family hosted a Pumpkin Carving party. Donna is Martha Stewart of the Southwest and had the CUTEST decorations that she made by hand! She inspires me! Because of the messy work carving, the kids wore regular play clothes but were still cute as can be.

Last weekend we hosted our 2nd Anniversary Forever Day party to celebrate the completion of Dominic's adoption. It's hard to believe two short years ago we were in Guatemala finalizing the process - time flies! We celebrated at the recreation room of a local park in our neighborhood and had Baja Fresh cater the meal. It was a wonderful day and Dan, Domi and I wore matching t-shirts featuring Guatemala worry dolls and the message "Don't worry, be HAPPY!". :)

The following day we attended another friend's birthday party and had a great time. The party had a "Be messy" theme and all kinds of fun stuff like crazy string, painting and tie dye t-shirts. Their back yard is large and every square foot was filled with fun, we had a great time.

Thanksgiving is in just a few weeks - I cannot believe it! It is very cute now because we are getting all kinds of catalogs in the mail and Dominic LOVES to look through them to start building his list for Santa Claus. Tonight he fell asleep looking through the latest one and probably dreaming of even more Thomas the Train stuff. :)

Our Little Angel! :)

2010-11-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Dominic's school celebrated All Saints Day and dressed up in homemade pillow case "saint" outfits. As if that wasn't enough to make for a special day, Dominic also won an award for "Good Listening" that was presented at the Courtyard Prayer. He was given a beautiful rosary made of green and plastic beads. Dan said he was beaming with pride, I know I am! :)

Golf!

2010-10-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

Dominic started golf lessons yesterday and we were very impressed with the program! We signed up through National Youth Sports, the same organization where he played soccer in the spring. They had an excellent set up and the instructor was terrific. There were about seven students aged 3 to 7 years old, I am pretty sure Dominic was the youngest. He really liked it and showed some natural ability. Enjoy these photos!

Good Times in the Fall!

2010-10-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Enjoy these pictures of our little pookie. The ones in the green shirt are from Free Dress day at school. It was also Grandparents Day and Dominic was thrilled to have my Dad there with him.

We just had Halloween pictures taken at Portrait Innovations and our little guy really worked the camera!

Today we went to MacDonald Farm to visit their Pumpkin Patch. We took a hay ride and enjoyed the day. Domi and his cousin Joey each picked a nice pumpkin. Happy fall!

Fall is Here!

2010-09-26T14:34:00.001-07:00

Maybe not the weather, but definitely with school starting up and all the great fall activities we enjoy. So many parties, get togethers and of course, holidays! In October we have 3 parties to attend - one to celebrate our friends domestic adoption of a baby boy, one for other friends twin girls 5th birthday, and a third to celebrate Halloween. We are also planning on spending time with one of Dominic's Guatemala girlfriends and her awesome Mom.

In November, we will have a party to celebrate our 2 year Forever Day anniversary. So amazing that much time has gone by! We also host Thanksgiving for about 15 - 20 people and we are continuing our tradition of visiting Santa Claus on the Polar Express Grand Canyon Railway. Really good times ahead!

Here are a few pictures of Dominic's 1st day of school at Our Lady of Joy. He went to this school last year but is now attending 3 days/week for 4 hours/day. He loves it and was thrilled one of his besties was around this year too. They were too busy to look at the camera...

School Starts Monday!

2010-08-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, Domi is back to school on Monday at Our Lady of Joy. He will be going three days a week. Where did summer go?

He had a great time at Spanish Immersion Camp at the International School of Arizona and had a very cute performance on the last day where he danced and sang his little heart out. He learned all about Central America and GUATEMALA - hooray!

The first week of August we went on vacation. Dan's side of the family had a reunion at a family cottage on Coldwater Lake in Michigan. We flew in and out of Chicago and had a good time, Domi enjoyed playing with all his little Colligan cousins. He continues to take weekly swim lessons and loves the water - pool, lake, bath, whatever the source. He also thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the American Airlines Admirals Club while we waited for our flight to leave at O'Hare Airport. They had free snacks, a jumbo sized TV showing Sponge Bob and major jumbo sized blocks. Three cheers for benefits of having a Platinum American Express!

We are looking forward to a fun and exciting fall! Domi will start golf lessons, continue swimming and we plan to host our annual Halloween/Forever Day party in October. We also are looking forward to cooler weather!

Spanish Immersion Camp

2010-07-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Dominic started a 3 week Spanish Immersion Camp at the International School of Arizona today. He had a great time and did not want to leave! We are excited to see how he handles school 5 days a week, last year he went 2 days a week at Our Lady of Joy (OLOJ) and next year he will do 3 days a week. We are also anxious for his end of camp performance - we will video and take lots of pictures! OLE!

Our Royal Highness!

2010-06-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and flying by! Last weekend we were invited to a special birthday party and asked to dress in Princess/King attire so I couldn't help myself... I marched over to Party City to find a costume for our little Royal Highness. Have you ever seen a more handsome King? He really could do a toothpaste commercial! :)

At first he said "No Mommy" when I told him to put on the hat, but I cajoled him into it and then he did not want to take it off! He especially loved the cape and flung it around like a super hero. We had a great time and were once again reminded how blessed we are with such a special son. Enjoy these photos and Happy Summer!

Prepping for Summer

2010-05-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready for summer. Domi finished school at OLOJ last week and has his last speech therapy session on Monday, he also finished his soccer season on Saturday. We hosted a team party on Saturday at La Mirada park and had a super fun time with cake, pizza and a soccer ball pinata. We are taking the summer off from outdoor sports, but Domi will continue his weekly swim lessons at AquaSafe, and will take T-ball, basketball and soccer lessons at the Itty Bitty Ball program at our YMCA. He will also be going to Spanish immersion camp at the International School of Arizona. We are excited because his 3 week session will focus on Central America including Guatemala, and he will be instructed exclusively in Spanish! It seems like a great school and we are anxious because camp runs Monday through Friday. He is only used to school Tuesday and Thursday. In the fall, he will attend OLOJ 3 days a week - he is growing up so fast!

I will be working in San Diego most of the summer so we will spend several long weekends there, and in August we are heading to Coldwater, MI for a family reunion on Dan's side of the family. We have already had a lot of company, but expect more this summer. It will be a fun and busy season for us, we are ready!

Spring, Glorious Spring!

2010-05-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of company recently. My sister Monica and her family (from CO) came for a visit in early April, then Dan's brother Sean (from MO) came to visit with his family over Easter, and finally Dan's uncle and his wife (from NC) visited with us last evening. In between all the company we hosted Easter brunch for 19 people and went on vacation to San Diego. We enjoyed Legoland, Sea World, the Zoo and beach. Domi had never been seen the ocean before and he loved running from the waves on the shore. We are having fun as always and looking forward to summer!

Domi is also growing A LOT! As of April 5 (3 yo check-up), he was 36 3/4" tall (30th percentile) and 31.6 pounds (45th percentile). We have the dark and handsome parts nailed, just working on the "tall" part! ;) Domi is still taking weekly swim lessons, plays soccer, goes to pre-school and also has speech therapy. Over the summer he will swim and we are looking at a Spanish immersion camp at the International School in July. He is an angel and such a joy for us - we are blessed!

Fun Spring Times!

2010-03-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

The weather has been really glorious here in Scottsdale and we have had some fun times outdoors. Domi's school, Our Lady of Joy held their annual Spring Fling party a few weeks ago and had a snow slide, games with fun prizes (including live goldfish!), pizza and a cake walk. We had a great time and my parents joined in on the fun.

This past weekend was Domi's first soccer game. He did a great job and pretty much just jogged around with the rest of the little kids. It was a fun and spirited game! Aren't the kids so precious in their uniforms? My parents, three of my sisters and my nephew joined us and we celebrated afterwards with brunch at The Good Egg. Then that afternoon I took Domi to a birthday party in Chandler. We had a very full, happy and fun weekend!

Domi Starts Soccer!

2010-03-17T21:25:00.001-07:00

Today was Domi's birthday, he is now officially 3 years old! So hard to believe, time goes by so quickly.

He started soccer today and had his first practice. I was surprised at how shy he was for the first half hour and made me hold his hand through the warm-up and drills. For the second half of practice I made Dan take over because it was kind of hot and I wasn't dressed for a workout! Dan was able to get him to loosen up and Domi finally had some fun. I think he will do really well this season. My parents joined us to cheer him on and he loved all the attention.

Afterward, we went to Los Olivos for a birthday dinner. Domi loves chicken and cheese quesadillas. He had a great birthday!

Fun Birthday Weekend!

2010-03-15T22:29:00.001-07:00

We had a BLAST this weekend celebrating Domi's 3rd birthday party. On Saturday we had family over for a "make your own nachos" party and celebrated Dominic, my Mom and our three dogs (Brody, Alfie and Katie) birthdays. The weather was glorious and we ate outside - super nice to spend time with family.

On Sunday, we hosted 50 people at Skateland Chandler for a private party. We had the whole skating rink to ourselves and the kids rode their wagons, trikes, bikes and ride-ons. We had pizza and cake for lunch - everyone had a GREAT time!

Finally, here are some photos from Dominic's latest photo session for his 3rd birthday and Easter. Enjoy!

Spring!

2010-03-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe I failed to post an update in February... oh well, we have been having fun. The last weekend in February we went to Atlanta, I had to be there for a conference and Dan and Domi joined me for a long weekend. We saw Dan's parents, brother, aunt and cousins, visited the Georgia Aquarium, visited with some old friends and did some shopping. It went TOO fast and we had so much fun! We bought an airplane safety harness for Domi so he was safe but the flight was long (almost 4 hours) and he got squirmy and grouchy. He also LOVED to use the bathroom on the airplane, so many little nooks engineered for tight quarters, it was a toddler explorer's wonderland. LOL!

Domi joined the National Youth sports soccer team and his first game is March 27. We are excited, he is a very coordinated little guy. He continues with weekly swim lessons and is doing so well, hard to believe he has been in those weekly lessons non-stop since the first week he came home in November 2008! He loves it and we see no reason to stop.

This weekend we have 2 birthday parties planned for our little angel. Saturday is a joint birthday party for my Mom, our pooches and Dominic at our house, and Sunday is a party just for Dominic at Skateland USA. The kiddies will ride their own "wheels" - trikes, wagons, ride-ons, whatever they have. It should be FUN! I CANNOT believe he is turning 3!!! He is just a sweet little bunny that blesses us every day with his charm, love and sense of humor! Happy Birthday to our darling little sweetheart! :)

Pajama Day at School!

2010-01-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

How cute are these angels? Today was pajama day at Domi's pre-school and it was the perfect day for it too, we are having some very nasty weather. We are ready for sunshine, especially the dogs and Domi!

Catching Up...

2010-01-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

I am a little behind on posting, so here are some updates, stories and pictures to get caught up.

In mid-December Dominic performed in his school's Christmas program. His class (called Early Birds) did motions to a unique version of "Jingle Bells". Here he is shaking his bell, he is on the left end. He did a great job and we were so proud of him, he really is turning into such a big boy so quickly! We had a few accidents in our family that were quite stressful. A week before Christmas we took our three dogs to PetSmart for a regular grooming routine. They go in for grooming every 6-8 weeks, so this was no big deal. At least it wasn't supposed to be...

About an hour after Dan dropped them off they called to tell us Katie had been nicked and as a precaution they were taking her to their vet in the store. I was not happy and decided to go in and see her as I was sure she would be frightened. On my way out the door they called back and said they needed to put her under anesthesia to administer stitches! I was stunned and really anxious, obviously this was more than a "nick". I raced to the store and called our regular vet at Pima North Animal Hospital to consult with her too.

Once I got there I fell apart, Katie was a mess! She was shampooed with half her hair cut and half long, shivering and the wound was open and oozing. She was so helpless! I insisted that we take her to our regular vet who has put her under for dental cleanings every year, and PetSmart agreed to cover the cost of her care. Well, she had to have internal and external stitches and was put in a body stocking and Elizabethan collar. She was miserable and we had to take her back in twice because she pulled the stitches. Brody and Alfie were confused why they couldn't be near her and we were all stressed out! Thankfully she is fine now and once she healed we had her groomed at our vet, which we will do from now on. Here she is handling the situation like the dignified princess that she is!

OK, so we got over that mess and then on December 23 (Christmas Eve Eve), I was out shopping at Whole Foods when Dan called me and told me Dominic ran into the ottoman in his room and his eye was swollen shut. I kind of didn't believe it was really that bad because Dan is a very cautious person. So, I continued shopping and got home about an hour later.

Well, you think I fell apart over Katie, I became hysterical over Dominic! He looked like Rocky after a bad fight. He had scrapes under his right eye and it was completely swollen shut! Apparently Dan was trying to put him to bed and Domi resisted. So Dan made a game of it, saying "I'm gonna get you" and Domi took off running full steam ahead. When he got to his room he turned around to see how close Dan was and tripped and fell head first into the corner of the ottoman. We consulted with our pediatrician and agreed to ice the eye and monitor it over the next few days. We did take him in a few days later because he had also ruptured blood vessels in his eye and it was really red. Very scary but Domi was never in real pain and has since healed up perfectly. Here is a picture of his shiner. He too handled his injury with dignity and grace, and did not slow down for one minute!

My sister Diana and her family hosted a party on Christmas Eve, this has been a tradition for years. Here is a picture of Domi enjoying Santa's visit. Needless to say, Christmas morning at our house was lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng. Dan and I both have 4 siblings and the presents just kept coming. The very first present Domi saw was his new kitchen from my sister Letti, fully assembled and ready to go. It was hard to keep him moving and opening the other gifts. We started our own traditions last year and enjoyed orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast and roast turkey and vegetables for dinner. It was a relaxing and fun day.

My Mom is spending some time in Colorado with my sister Letti so we are spending more time with my Dad. Last weekend we went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, my Dad had never been there and really enjoyed his meal. Domi loves Popo and we had a nice meal on the patio.

Finally, one of Domi's Guatemala girlfriends had a birthday party this past Saturday at a fun park in Surprise. He had a BLAST and it was so great to see our friends with their angels from Guatemala. CR, Ellie and Lucas all went to celebrate with Xochitl. We had a lot of fun and Domi enjoyed the pinata. Afterward, we went to visit my Dad and took him out to eat again, this time at Olive Garden. It is becoming a fun Saturday tradition that we all enjoy. :) My Mom will be back soon, so she will join us too. This recession had really made us value our family and friends, they are what matter the most!

Dominic is Going to Be a Big Brother!

2009-12-30T11:48:00.000-08:00

Check out our BIG NEWS at http://dotofmydreams.blogspot.com/!

The Chi-Chis Have Something to Say!

2009-12-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Holiday Season!!!

2009-12-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, time has been flying by and we have been swamped as usual! We hosted a great Halloween/Forever Day party at our house and had a blast with our friends. The custom cake by Arizona Cake Dreams (azcakedreams.com) stole the show! It featured a Guatemala blanket topped with 3-dimensional masks and the Guatemala flag. She also made worry dolls and a banner that said "Happy Forever Day Dominic". GORGEOUS AND DELICIOUS!!

We attended a Thanksgiving Feast at Domi's school and his teacher snapped this photo, this may be the CUTEST pilgrim in the history of the USA! :) That weekend we took the Grand Canyon Railway to the Polar Express! We rented the movie and watched it the week of our trip so Domi knew what to expect. He loves to play with trains, grab pieces of paper and say "Ticket Polar Express blew away!", he remembers the scene where the ticket has a journey of its own. He had a wonderful time and it was precious to see his eyes so wide with joy at the train approaching, and getting the bell from Santa.

We hosted my family for Thanksgiving, 11 people came over and we had a nice lunch. Yup, my family has always served at lunch, so the tradition continues. We went to Zoo Lights last week and loved the SRP light show set to Christmas music, so much fun! We will go to the Railroad Park soon and hopefully snow tubing in northern AZ soon too.

On Sunday Domi had his very 1st swim meet, it was so precious! He swam in Lane 1 and got a medal he was so proud of. :) My parents came and brought my nephew Joey, so we celebrated at Red Robin afterwards. Then we went Christmas shopping and let Domi pick a live Christmas tree just for his room (we have a large artificial tree in our living room). He is loving Christmas and really starting to understand who Santa is and how it all works, so much fun!

Here is the cover of our Christmas Card this year! ;) Happy Holidays everyone!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

We have 3 parties to go to! One at Domi's swim school Aqua Safe, one at his regular school Our Lady of Joy and we are hosting a BIG party at our house on Saturday. Busy and fun times! Enjoy!

Fun Fall Memories

2009-10-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we visited Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, AZ (www.schnepffarms.com/). It was about an hour away from our house and the weather was very nice so we enjoyed the drive with the moon roof open. Overall we had a pretty good time, there was a lot of deferred maintenance on the farm property so we are sure they are suffering from the recession like everyone else. Domi and I had our faces painted, we had a pretty good lunch at their restaurant, we rode the bumble bee rides, played on farm equipment, had a short hay ride and rode the train. It was a great way to kick off fall!

Several weeks ago we joined our friends for an Open House at the local My Gym franchise. Although Domi loves Elmo, he was not real happy to meet him. He did however love playing in all the apparatus, especially the ball bin.

Finally, here is a hilarious picture showing our little guy being naughty. He got the baby powder and went to town in his play room and the main hallway. The house smelled fresh, but it was a big mess to clean up!

New Teeth and Special Visitors at School

2009-10-02T08:18:00.001-07:00

Domi came home from Guatemala with cavities on the front and back of his four top front teeth. We took him first to his pediatrician, then a pediatric dentist within a week of arriving home. His dentist (Dr. Julie Anfinson from Scottsdale Affiliated Pediatric Dentistry - so WONDERFUL!) advised us to get crowns on the teeth and to wait until he weighed about 30 pounds to better handle the medications they would administer. So, for the last year he has been to see her every 6-8 weeks for fluoride treatments and the cavities never progressed, but you could see them on his teeth, they looked like a brown line in the middle of those teeth.

So, on Tuesday he had the crowns put on and they look great! He was devastatingly handsome before, but now he is ***movie star*** material!

He did great during the procedure and has been just fine since then. I was out of town on a business trip so Dan handled this one on his own, but I made him call A LOT with updates. :)

On Thursday, Dan and I managed to hang out at school with Domi for a little while because the local fire station came by with a fire truck and ambulance for the children to see. Domi did not want to try handling the water hose, but did enjoy scrambling around the inside of the truck and ambulance. He also LOVED the souvenir hat and pencil they gave him. Aren't the children so precious in their uniforms?

Fun Family Times

2009-09-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we were out grocery shopping and Domi insisted on getting a balloon. I am not exaggerating when I say he gets 4 - 5 balloons a week, he LOVES them! Anyway, he got all tuckered out and used this balloon as a pillow of sorts. So funny!

On Friday night we went to a pizza party at Domi's pre-school (our church) and he had a blast. He loves playing with older kids. On Saturday night the fun continued and we went to Desert Ridge (large outdoor shopping and recreation center). We did some shopping, ate some dinner and listened to some great music. They have these great fountains that Domi liked a lot.

Today we celebrated Ellie's 3rd birthday. She is our friend Amy's daughter. Ellie is a little doll and her party was at Rio Vista Community Park in Peoria. We live on the other side of town in Scottsdale, so we had never been there but we had a great time! They had water fountains, a duck pond and huge playground. Domi enjoyed the very pretty girls at the party. :) What a super way to end the weekend.

1st Day of Pre-school!!!

2009-09-02T14:01:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's September already and it's been over a month since I have posted. What can I say? Life is busy, busy, busy!

Dominic is doing so well and Dan and I took the plunge and put our cherub in pre-school at Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church where we are parishioners. We really struggled with our decision because he is not quite 2 1/2 yet, he wasn't potty trained as of August 1 and he has not even been home with us a full year. However, he reminds us each day in his own way that he is ready to take on some new challenges. :)

So, we spent most of August working on potty training (DONE!), touring the school and just preparing ourselves for this BIG change. I must say, when the school Director told me he had to wear a uniform, tears sprang to my eyes! I just wasn't ready to accept that our baby was no longer a baby!

He started yesterday and will go each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. I arranged to work from home so I could be there for his 1st day. I was emotional but managed not to cry in front of him. I was very surprised that he marched into his classroom and immediately started playing and exploring, seemingly not caring if Dan and I were there or not. "Is he seriously dismissing us?" I asked myself, and the answer was "yes". He hugged and kissed us good-bye and didn't miss a beat. We waited in the director's office for about 15 minutes with TONS of other parents looking at the video stream from his classroom, but we never could really see him.

Dan and I went off to breakfast and then home to try and focus on work (as if!). I kept asking Dan to check his cell phone (1st point of contact in an emergency), and he kept reassuring me that no one had called. We decided to stop at the store to get him a Sponge Bob balloon to reward him for a great 1st day on our way to pick him up. We didn't know what to expect. Would his face be tear stained? Would he be in his back-up clothes because of an accident? Would he be stressed?

Imagine our PRIDE, RELIEF AND SINCERE JOY when we found him all smiles, relaxed and in his school uniform. I think he was more excited to see the balloon than he was to see us! The cherry on the sundae was when his teacher asked him for a good-bye hug and he got confused and hugged 2 little girls instead! He is so handsome and sweet, and I think he is already aware of both those facts. ;)

His teacher sent me an e-mail later that day and wrote "Dominic is an angel". Ah yes, I thought to myself, indeed he is. :)

Happy, happy day!

2009-07-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

We completed the readoption process for Dominic today. He will now have a US birth certificate and social security card with the name we chose for him. My parents joined us for the court appointment and we celebrated at The White Chocolate Grill afterward for a very nice lunch! Dominic was rambunctious during the court session and we tried to hold him but he was so fidgety the judge said it would be alright if we put him down. Well, he took full advantage of that freedom and ran, skipped, climbed, talked and sang his heart out. Thankfully everyone was charmed by him and I was secretly pleased his happiness was evident. We are lucky, lucky people!

Here are some pictures from the day along with pictures from his most recent photo shoot, this child is a ham! :)

Cousin Danny's Birthday

2009-07-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago my nephew (and Godson) Danny turned 13 and we went to his house to celebrate. Notice the balloons in each of Dominic's hands, he is obsessed with "boons".

My sister has tracked both of her son's growth over the years and decided to measure Dominic too - he is already 34" tall! He was around 32 1/2" when he came home in November. He eats A LOT but may I say is a lean hunka munka! :) Enjoy!

More Summer Fun

2009-07-20T19:46:00.001-07:00

Dominic is growing so fast and his speech is improving every day. His latest obsession is basketball and it's so cute because he says "ballbasket" instead of basketball. I was trying to correct him so I said "ball, basketball" and he repeated it like one long word "ballbasketball". So funny!

I am back to work and happy to be able to shop for non-necessities like toys for the little pookie. Here he is after a GREAT shopping day at Toys-R-Us, he got a push lawn mower (noisy!), new basketball hoop and new balls.

Whenever we go grocery shopping we must go to Fry's because of their little people car/shopping cart combo. Here he is enjoying the ride!

On Thursday we have our court date to complete our readoption for Dominic. We are excited and will definitely post more later this week. Of course he got a new outfit to celebrate this HUGE occasion and we took him to a photography studio to get some great shots. Be patient! ;)

Summertime Fun!

2009-06-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

As usual, time is going by so quickly. I am still searching for my next career opportunity and loving the extra time I am spending with Dominic. He is such an incredible child and both Dan and I feel so blessed and happy that he is home with us. He is doing so well and is a very happy child.

We also feel blessed to have so many wonderful friends with children (many adopted abroad) that we socialize with on a regular basis. This past weekend, five families got together in Overgaard, AZ at the cabin of one of family. We had a very nice time and the weather was terrific most of the time. On Saturday we went to a lake for a picnic, it suddenly got very cold and then started pouring rain! Thankfully we had just finished eating lunch and we quickly gathered up our children and picnic stuff and headed back to the cabin. In the evening the weather cleared up and we had a bonfire and made smores. Yummers! Dominic had a blast and played and wrestled with our friend's 7 year old son. They were the only boys and had a ball together! Domi slept well Saturday night and napped the whole way home on Sunday (2.5 hours). Here are a few pictures from our super cool weekend at the cabin! :)

Parties, Easter & Vacation

2009-04-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy as usual. We had 3 parties for Dominic's birthday plus he had a special breakfast that he was supposed to eat in bed but opted for his high chair. We treated him to dinner at Red Robin where he was thrilled to hold a "boon" (balloon) the whole night AND he ate a birthday sundae. He eats like a teenager and has the energy of five! LOL!

About a week after that we went to visit my sister and her family for a week in Colorado Springs, CO. They had a t-ball post and ball and you can tell he is a natural at bat! We had a wonderful visit and it was just I needed to get away from the search for a new career opportunity.

Our wonderful play group is filled with so many amazing families. The Baer family hosted an Easter party at the railroad park and all the kids had a blast!

The day before Easter we went to celebrate at Ava's birthday party. She is one of his girlfriends and such a beauty!

We hosted an Easter party for our family and Domi just loved the attention. On my side of the family we always make cascarones for Easter. Cascarones are made by cracking eggs open at just one end and emptying them for use, then washing them and letting them dry. Then you decorate and fill with colorful confetti. You cover the hole with glue and some tissue paper. They are a lot of work, but a lot of fun when you "crack" them on each other's heads and out comes all this beautiful confetti. Domi liked cracking more than getting them cracked on his head!

Look Who's Turning 2!

2009-03-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

Time is going by so quickly and Dominic will be 2 on Tuesday (St. Patrick's Day). He is just the light in our eyes and we love him so much. He is doing very well and has attached to us so deeply. He also belongs to a weekly play group, and is thriving in his music and swim classes each week. He speaks a lot of gibberish but we always understand what he wants. He can say about 15-20 words, some in Spanish and some in English, and even some in unique Domi speech. His vocabulary includes:

Mama
Agua
Shoe
Deedo Off! (yelling at one of the dogs)
Dominic (his name pronounced like hominy)
Two (his soon to be age)
More (as in second serving of food!)
Done
Ethan (playmate)
Nana (Grandma)
Uh-oh
No
Ah (yes)
etc.

We started celebrating his birthday last week with his play group. We had an Elmo themed pizza party at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park and we had a BALL! My parents and sister Toree joined us, so we were a happy and large group. Here are some pictures from that party.

My Mom's 70th birthday was March 6th so on Saturday we went on a boat ride on Canyon Lake to celebrate. It was so relaxing, the scenery was breathtaking and the weather was perfect!

Today we celebrated again with family. It was a joint party for my Mom and Domi and we had a Western theme. Domi was the sheriff and I made "Wanted" posters for all my family, and decorated with cowboy hats, bandannas, mini-horses and red-checked tableware. It was another gorgeous day and the bar-b-cue was yummy. All in all, we had a MOST WONDERFUL week! :)

On Tuesday (his actual birthday), he will get breakfast in bed and we will treat him to dinner at one of his favorite places, Red Robin, mmmmm. :)

Our Little Heart Breaker...

2009-02-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

OK, I know every Mother believes her child hung the moon (well, Domi hung the moon, sun and starts, heh, heh, heh), but no one can deny my little babycakes has a way with the ladies, see below... ;)

His girlfriend count is up to 3! In no particular order: Ellie, Amber and Ava. I love this kid! :)

Playing Around and Super Zoo Day!

2009-02-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

Domi loves to lay in bed in the guest room and act like Daddy... meaning grab the remote, get comfy and stare at the TV while Mommy is watching TV in the family room. It is hilarious!

Today we met friends at the zoo, we were late so we only got to spend a little time with them, but we got some great shots anyway. What can I say? Domi has LOTS of girlfriends. ;) Enjoy!

Catching Up on Fun Times!

2009-02-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, time is going by so quickly, I can't believe it is already mid-February 2009. We have been having lots of fun with friends and family. One of my goals in 2009 is to host 10 parties, and we already have done 2! I made this a goal because now more than ever I know that what makes life so full and rich is relationships with other people, sharing fun times and creating life long memories. ;)

On January 31 we celebrated our pooches birthdays. Brody turned 4 on December 26, Alfie turned 4 on February 4 and Katie will be 4 on February 23. This year only my parents were able to join us, but we still had a lot of fun! I love the shot of Domi with my Dad on the couch, how special. :)

Here is a cute picture of Domi riding on Daddy's shoulders. I let his hair grow out thinking the curls he had from his baby days would come back, but they never did, he just ended up looking like he was wearing a helmet made of thick black hair! LOL! We cut his hair shortly after these photos.

Our 2nd party of the year was our 1st Annual Children's Valentine's Day party, the theme was "Let Me Call You Sweetheart". Our menu included:

Love Me Tender Chicken Nuggets
Be Sweet Potato Fries
Show Passion Fruit Salad
Sweet on You Onion Dip
Cupid's Delight Mini-cupcakes

We had 50 guests and over 20 families join us for a super fun party. It was really lovely to see so many adoptive families with children from China and Guatemala. We had a BLAST! Thank God for my parents, they spent the night on Friday and helped out tremendously with all the preparation and set-up. They just LOVE having a new grandson. :) The highlight for me was when we had the kids hit the pinata outside. I could not find a Valentine's themed pinata, so I bought Elmo since he is red and made him a heart shaped necklace to wear. What a BLAST it is to be a parent!

Play Room is Open for Business! :)

2009-01-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of Domi's play room. Decorated exclusively by Mommy and Daddy, with help from Aunt Toree. Believe me it HURT me and Dan both to give up our office space, but we managed to move my desk into the spare bedroom and his into our master. All is well!

This room was decorated with so much love! My sister Toree and I decorated Dominic's initials with a decoupage technique and used heavy duty glue to adhere them to the top of his toy box. We loved the way it came out and so far he has not pulled them off. I hand painted the mirrors and Dan drilled the wall mount hardware. For the framed art, I painstakingly hand cut characters from fabric I had (from the many, many 100 good wishes quilt exchanges I have done) and taped them to pretty scrapbook paper. Dan and I measured and put up the wall stickers together.

The furniture, frames and mirrors are from Ikea. The alphabet and number wall stickers are from a great on-line company called MyGrowingChild.com. We have a lot of fun in that room and it helps a lot to have a home for his ever growing toy collection. ;)

Yikes! 3 weeks since last post!

2009-01-22T12:44:00.001-08:00

I don't have a GREAT excuse, but I'll offer two anyway:

Our video camera went missing... we gave Dominic our office so he could have a play room separate from his bedroom. We had a lot of junk to sort through and Dan finally found it last night under a stack of legal sized papers... relief! The play room is WIP, I will post photos when it is complete.

I went back to work on January 5. I have been working from home so that's a HUGE blessing, but still very busy nonetheless.

So, Domi continues to THRIVE. He goes to music and swim lessons each week. He and Dan are in a routine where they meet every Wednesday for a play date at the Railroad park, and once a week they go to the Phoenix Children's museum, and once a week they try something new. Last week they checked out Bounce U, and this week they went to the zoo (we had only been at night for Zoo Lights).

Dominic is very funny and usually is very easy going. Dan and I pray before every meal and Dominic imitates us, it is hilarious! He furrows his brow and clasps his hands together and mumbles quietly. So adorable! He babbles A LOT and can make some short sentences like "deedo off" - basically ordering the dogs off his high chair (yes, he can be bossy and a tattletale with them!), and he loves to scream "mama" even when he is in my arms. He also loves to scream "NO" when he doesn't want to stop playing for a diaper change. We laugh but also are using the time out technique, it works well.

Here are some photos from play time in the guest bedroom last night and from the zoo (thanks to Michele for sending these). I love the photo where it looks like he and Brody are having a pow wow... no doubt making plans to get in trouble. :)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

As usual, we have been so very busy having fun. We are so blessed to have many friends and family to spend fun times with! On the eve of Christmas Eve we went to the Railroad Park at night to see the lights - so worth the 1.5 hour wait! Dominic loved it!

On Christmas Eve, my family all got together (4 sisters and their families plus my parents) for a wonderful lunch, Christmas mass, family skits and gift exchange. You can see him banging on my brother-in-law's baby grand piano below and singing Christmas tumes. ;) Dominic was EXHAUSTED when we got home but still stayed up an hour past bedtime. He is the 7th grandchild for my parents and the youngest by 11 years, so OF COURSE EVERYONE paid a ton of attention to him! The photo below shows him with all his cousins on my side of the family. :) On Christmas morning we started a new tradition of having sticky cinnamon buns for breakfast and stayed in our jammies all day. Domi bounced from toy to toy and had a BLAST!

On Sunday, the 28th Dominic was baptized and it was such an emotional day for me. I DREAMED of the day and in JANUARY 2008 I picked his outfit, almost one year ago! I was so overcome with emotion and wanted to be present every moment, so I catered the formal dinner from AJ's and hired a server. It was worth every penny, we all enjoyed ourselves immensely (16 family members) and I LOVED using our fine china, the occasion warranted the HUGE celebration we produced. My sister Monica was in town from Colorado and is Domi's Godmother. Dan's brother Sean is his Godfather but could not make it to town, he is the father of 3 little ones and lives near Kansas City. I will remember that day so fondly my whole life!

Yesterday we met our dear friends the Call family for a play date at the Railroad park, and then went to our other dear friends the Renner family's house for New year's dinner. What a SUPER DAY! Today we met the Whitney family at their house for a play date with their son Ethan, who is also from Guatemala and 5 months older than Dominic. We are just having so much fun and LOVE socializing with all our friends, new and old. Domi is a BLESSING, we LOVE HIM!!! Here's to an AMAZING 2009! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

2008-12-26T15:03:00.001-08:00

Must Share!

2008-12-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

I know I am biased because Dominic is my baby, but is he so amazingly handsome or what???? We went to a dear friend's Christmas party on Sunday, that's where the first two photos are from. As you can see, he was at it again flirting with the little ladies! ;)

Here he is just before bedtime tonight... playing on diaper boxes! Everything I heard about kids and toys is so true! They love boxes more than toys. LOL!

Super Week!

2008-12-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

Dan's parents came for a visit from North Carolina and we all really had a nice time. They arrived on Monday afternoon and after an early dinner, I treated them to a Christmas show called "Star of Wonder" at a local church. Dan's mom wasn't feeling well so she stayed behind. The show was AMAZING - complete with live animals including donkey, camel, tiger, elephant, zebra and dogs. There was great music, an amazing light show and tons of flying angels (real ladies on high wires!). Dominic LOVED it and even clapped to the music.

On Tuesday we went to the Phoenix Children's Museum and just had a complete blast! We bought an annual membership because we were there for almost 3 hours and could have stayed even longer, Dominic just played his little heart out! It is an inspirational place that shows how a lot of imagination and a little elbow grease can go a long, long way.

Wednesday was music class and Dan's mom came with me. Domi is getting more confident with other children and learning about rhythm. No class for the next 2 weeks so I am singing to Domi a lot at home, and playing all kinds of music for him to enjoy. We also spent time outside in our backyard, it had been raining the last few days so it was great to get outside. You can see Domi and his grandparents enjoying our yard. Domi enjoyed picking citrus from the trees, peeling some and throwing the peels in the yard. I guess the birds had a feast after we went inside.

Thursday we took my in-laws to the airport and played and chilled at home. It was nice to have a down day!

Friday was another great swim lesson. Domi and all the other swimmers got a medal that he was so proud of! You can see from this photo that he was all tuckered out after class. I took the foggy pictures before I joined Dan and Domi in the pool - they keep it so warm in there the lens fogged up!

Today Dan took Domi to play at the mall in the morning, and then I took Domi out to run errands in the afternoon. I took him to Red Robin for dinner as a treat because he behaved so well while I shopped and they give all kids a balloon. He LOVES balloons and thought it was so funny to let it go at our house. We have VERY high ceilings and I had to have him stand on my shoulders just to get the balloon when he let go. We also relaxed tonight and he watched the Charlie Brown show in my lap before bedtime. I just LOVE my baby, I am SO BLESSED!

Pictures from the Guatemala Families Christmas Party

2008-12-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

Here are some great photos from the party we went to last Saturday. We had a blast and all the children were just gorgeous! One little girl had her eye on Dominic and you can see from the photo where they are embracing, he had reciprocal feelings. They also kissed several times! AYAYYAAY - it is starting already... my little Casanova. ;) Enjoy!

Weekly Highlights

2008-12-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

I will be brief because we have company coming tomorrow and have lots to do to get ready... Dan's parents are coming for a short visit to meet their newest grandchild. :)

Another super week - the usual activities plus:

A visit to the Science Museum - very fun and Domi sat through a 45 minute show at the planetarium! We were surprised he didn't fuss, he really liked looking at the stars!
Family party at Grandma Vela's house - my sister Letti is in town from Evergreen, CO
Friend party with other families that have children from Guatemala - SO MUCH FUN! I will post photos soon
MILESTONE AT SWIMMING - Domi JUMPED in the pool! He is doing very well and really starting to look forward to swim lessons as much as I do! :)

Thanksgiving Photos

2008-12-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

Just got these from my sister, enjoy! The turkey headband is from Pottery Barn Kids, I took it with me last year when I visited Domi in Guatemala. I will make him wear it every Thanksgiving until his head is too big to fit (which means never because I have one too that I wear!). ;)

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

2008-12-07T09:46:00.000-08:00

We had another busy and fun week. On Sunday we went to my parents house for a visit and some fun play time. On Monday we went to Gymboree for open play. Domi had a great time but got carried away and ran way too fast. He lost his footing between the gym mat and carpet, fell down and got a bloody nose. Poor little baby cakes. One of the workers there told me to use ice to get the blood stain out of our shirts, and it worked! Later that day we went to the portrait studio for family Christmas pictures and pictures of Dominic in his baptism outfit (to be baptized on December 28). I will post those AFTER I share with family. :)

On Tuesday we went back to Gymboree to try their toddler gym class. Domi liked it and really enjoyed the parachute play. Wednesday was music class at Gymboree and then we went to our friend's house to decorate Christmas cookies. Here are some photos below. Dan and I also stayed up late decorating the house, Domi woke up to our lit up Christmas tree and loved it!

On Thursday we did some shopping and Friday we had swim class. I must say I love swimming with Domi. The water feels so good and he was the only child in class this week, so we had a lot of fun. Yesterday Domi took a long nap after heavy play in the morning with Dad, and we went to Target in the evening. Domi did NOT want to go to sleep and it took me from 7:45 to 10:15 p.m. to get him down. Mommy learned - no more 3 hour naps! ;) He usually goes down from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. but does not nap consistently. We are working on it. Overall, we are filled with such joy and know how blessed we are to have this little angel in our lives. :)

More Pics of Domi!

2008-11-30T07:35:00.001-08:00

More shots of Domi - we went to a friend's party to celebrate their referral for a baby girl from China (Michele G. took these great shots!). Also, a shot of Domi on his 1st carousel ride. ENJOY!

Time is Flying! We are Having FUN!

2008-11-29T19:44:00.000-08:00

We are just really enjoying our new life with Dominic. Don't get me wrong, it can be exhausting, confusing and frustrating at times, but it is so much fun and so gratifying. He is just a remarkable little child with a big heart and easy smile.

We had a BIG week this week. On Sunday we went to a local park called McCormick-Stillman park that has tons of play and picnic areas, a carousel and train ride. Our friends the Renners invited us and they brought their 4 year old daughter who was adopted from China. The weather was awesome and Domi loved the carousel, so we rode two times! :)

On Monday the pediatric dentist gave us some disappointing news. Domi has cavities on his top 4 front teeth on both sides of each tooth. One tooth even has potential nerve damage! Aye-yi-yi! When he approaches 2 (in March) we will do another x-ray and schedule time for him to get crowns. I didn't even know what crowns were when the dentist described them, I have been blessed with very healthy teeth (grew up in AZ where they put fluoride in the drinking water). Anyway, they will file down his teeth and put on plastic crowns that will fall out with the baby teeth they are attached to. I asked the dentist since he will have to be have anesthesia if she would work with our pediatrician in case we decide to get him circumcised to have both procedures done at the same time. She agreed to help us, we aer waiting to hear from our pediatrician. In the scheme of things, I won't fret over his teeth, we are blessed with an otherwise very healthy baby. He also had to give blood this week (performing titers to check on immunization levels) and he didn't even cry. He is brave and strong.

We also tried a Gymboree music class which he LOVED, so we signed him up for a weekly class. He will also try the Gymboree gym class and may be in that one too if he likes it. I don't want to over schedule him, he already has swimming every Friday, but I do want him to be exposed to many things and interact with his peers.

On Tuesday we met a bunch of our friends from Families with Children from China (FCC) at the Phoenix Zoo for Zoo Lights. The zoo does an amazing job with light displays and Domi loved it. The zoo also had a carousel ride so of course we went on that too! We bought this photo but our scanner is down, so this will have to do for now.

On Wednesday we met the same group of friends at a local mall for play time, lunch and yet another carousel ride! It was a very fun outing.

Thursday was a special Thanksgiving with family. My sister hosted and asked if I would like to lead the prayer, so I decided on the fly to quote one of my favorite songs, of course I was sobbing because I am SO BLESSED to have Domi home for the holidays.

"I believe in the sun, even when it isn't shining.

I believe in love, even when there's no one there.

I believe that nothing is impossible.

I believe that nothing is impossible, and that all things

are possible through God".

Friday was Domi's second swimming lesson and both Dan and I got in with him this time. He cried at first but eventually relaxed and did a little back floating. He also went under water many times, and by then end of class was getting rings from under water. He makes me so proud! :)

Today we ran errands and Dan took him to the local park. We are tuckered out, but tomorrow starts a new week and we will be right at it again! :) My life is so sweet and I am so fortunate for my many blessings.

"I've been everywhere man, I've been everywhere..."

2008-11-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

That's Domi singing about his new life in the USA. We have hit the ground running and have taken him everywhere, including:

Cousin Joey's soccer game
Cousin Danny's swim meet
Party for friends Donna and Joe to celebrate their referral for Lauren (China adoption)
Grocery store (2 times)
Target
Little Gym trial class
Aqua Safe Swim School (he starts lessons on Friday)
Local park (daily)
Pediatrician
Pediatric Dentist
Shopping Mall
Paradise Bakery (2 times)

It's hard to believe we have only been home 1 week! We are having a BALL with him and feel so blessed every single day. He is a very happy and social little boy. He talks and sings a lot, and he is very affectionate. Not a day goes by that he doesn't grab me tight in his arms and kiss me. I melt like butter. :) Here are some photos of our trip home and activities since we have returned home. Enjoy!

Outfits #1 and #2 on travel day... :)

Fun at the soccer game and playroom at the mall.

Domi LOVES taking baths and this super cool bubble machine! I think he will enjoy his swimming lessons a lot!

WE ARE HOME!!!

2008-11-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

Domi was an ANGEL on the flights. We used miles to get there but because we had to change the return we had to buy our return seats and opted for 1st class. It was a good choice as we had more room and the stewards/stewardesses were so helpful. From Guatemala to DFW Domi ate, had a poo diaper (NOT FUN TO CHANGE ON A PLANE!!!) and then slept over 2 hours! We spent a long time at immigration and had little time to catch our connecting flight to Phoenix. We grabbed sandwiches at Subway and Domi ate, drank, played with stickers (thank you Jenni T. for the tip!) and flirted with the steward and stewardess. After we landed in Phoenix a lady in 1st class said to me "your son is so well behaved". I was so thrilled to hear "your son" and of course praise for him! :)

By all accounts, Domi is THRIVING and adjusting so well. All of our visits and the past 19 days we spent with him in Guatemala have really paid off. My parents, younger sister and her boyfriend met us at the airport. My folks have been staying at our house taking care of the pooches while we were away. It felt SO GOOD to come home! My Mom made an awesome pot roast dinner that we gobbled down - we MISSED home cooking so much! They are staying with us a few more days too to help us get settled. Domi LOVES Grandma and Grandpa so much already.

He also LOVES the dogs, but they are just contemplating him now. I know his foster family had a dog but I didn't think he would be so comfortable with them because they bark and jump. He has yet to cry once and in fact chases them around! Brody loves him and licks him a lot, Katie runs under the bed and poor sweet Alfie got slapped by Domi last night but of course just moved away. I am SO PROUD of my sweet dogs, I wasn't sure how they would behave, but they are angels. :) I am also SO PROUD of my sweet baby boy, he is so brave and adorable with them - he was meant to be in our family. I will post photos soon. My dad and Dan took Domi to the park and I am sorting through mail, e-mail, phone calls, etc. while I can - will post pictures soon.

Special Day

2008-11-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Today is Dan´s birthday and a day we will never forget. Today our visa was approved to bring Dominic home. We are feeling so many diffferent things... exhaustion, relief, joy, curiosity and immense gratitude.

I am thankful not only for my beloved son, but also for my husband. There were so many times over the last 18 months that I just wasn´t myself and cried with despair and fear and Dan always said ¨We are going to get him, just be patient¨. Sometimes I would respond to him in anger, but he never wavered from his belief that this day would come, and I see now that he helped carry me through the stormy ride we have been on.

We arrived at the US Embassy at 6:55 am for our 7:15 am appointment and were among the first families shown into the waiting room. There were about 20 families there for adoption visa appointments. Dominic was up until almost midnight last night playing and singing and we had to get up so early, but he was pretty well behaved. He ate lots of snacks, drank his milk, flirted with all the females and tried to grab other kid´s toys. He also made Dan chase him around the room.

When they called our name I cheered out loud and was so overcome with emotion. Is this realy happening I asked myself? YES, YES, YES, it hapened and we are DONE with the adoption and can now focus on our true goal, to be the best parents we can be for our love bunny, Dominic Xavier.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, Children of All Ages...

2008-11-05T12:13:00.000-08:00

No, the circus isn´t in town but we are and we´re heading to the Embassy on Monday morning! WE ARE COMING HOME NEXT THURSDAY WITH OUR CHERUB!!! There are no words to describe our joy and relief. We are so grateful to God for His generous care and many blessing for us, especially our friends and families. THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE!!! :)

Update and More Adventures

2008-11-04T14:25:00.000-08:00

The DNA results are at the US Embassy in Guatemala right now! HOORAY!!! We should get notice of our appointment tomorrow or Thursday, although the actual appointment probably won´t be until next Monday. Oh well, what´s another few days when we are so near the end?

We are venturing out more on foot. We went to the Westin hotel on Sunday and enjoyed the jacuzzi and pool. Yesterday we went to the mall and today we went to the Marriott to swim and relax. We are also going to move to the Marriott on Friday. We will enjoy their amenities for sure, although we will miss the very lovely people here at La Casa Grande. We are blessed and more relaxed than we have been since we started this whole prcoess. :)

Domi Stories...

2008-11-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

We are having a ball and Dominic seems completely relaxed and comfortable with us now. He has SO MUCH ENERGY, it is a bit shocking at times. He is also a little dare devil, he likes to JUMP from the bottom step to the floor (gives Mommy a heart attack every time), he uses the suitcase full of his toys as a surf board of sorts, he throws just about any toy he can hold, he runs VERY fast through the hotel hallways that are cement/tile floors, he climbs in and out of his stroller and almost has the safety seat belt figured out (yikes!). He is an excellent eater and likes cantelope, pineapple, grapes, mango, watermelon, broccoli, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, potatoes, chicken, cheese, ham, eggs, beans and LOVES milk. He also likes birds a lot, outdoor water fountains and he likes dogs (I am THANKFUL for that as he has 3 little ones waiting for him at home).

We had a fun day in Antigua yesterday. It is a 500 plus year old city about 45 minutes from Guatemala City where we are staying. The architecture is incredible and original, no restoration has been done. We visited a jade museum, historical buildings, outdoor botanical park/garden and a Catholic church where we prayed and offered thanks for our many blessings. Domi was an angel in the car, but was up until 10 p.m. burning off his energy for the day. We may go to Escuintla next week where Domi was born. They have a private beacjh there and it is supposed to be warm, so I think he will love the water. I think it would be wonderful for him to see pictures of his hometown and even the hospital where he was born.

We are so blessed and loving every minute of getting to know our child, he is a patient and loving teacher for us as we are first time parents. More updates to come. We did hear from the lab on Friday afternoon and they may release the 2nd DNA results to the US Embassy on Monday, so if that happens we may get our Visa appointment next week and be home by November 7. Please pray this all comes together for us as we are very anxious to get home!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has posted a message, we appreciate the support! Also, if I missed you on the photo distribution, please post your e-mail address and I will copy you.

Doing GREAT!

2008-10-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

Domi slept great last night and woke up but didn´t cry. He also finally had a BM (I´ll spare you the details...) and is eating A LOT! He is so self sufficient and can feed himself and hold his own drinks. He has a lot of energy but also naps a lot in our arms - we fight over who gets to hold him. :) He is overall very calm with us and I am so grateful for all the visits we made over the last 18 months. Lucky number 7 as this is my 7th visit and I get to leave with my baby!!!

The lab has the DNA sample! We are so pleased. I also e-mailed the US Embassy in Guatemala to let them know that we are in the country and would like the earliest available appointment once they have the results. Please pray this happens next week so we can be home by November 7.

I think we are going to sight see a little bit, maybe go to Antigua on Friday. Domi is legally our son and I have his passport (super handsome photo, his hair was longer but has since been cut). I can´t wait to take Halloween photos too, I am using a disposable camera because I couldn´t get the battery and charger repaired or replaced here. :( I am working on it - be patient and I´ll post photos when I can.

P.S. Domi cries when Dan walks away - I am jealous...

Excellent Day - Great Update to Share...

2008-10-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

The foster family brought Dominic to us this morning around 10:30a.m. and he smiled when he saw us, we were THRILLED! He is so precious, handsome as ever and has grown a lot! They were very upset during our visit, but we planned it so Dan walked away with Domi before they left. Domi cried very hard for about 20 minutes but let us hold him and comfort him. He then fell asleep for about an hour and a half and has been great since then.

We took him to get his required exit medical exam today and he was so well behaved, I was amazed! I was also SHOCKED that he sat in our driver´s car seat, I don´t think he has ever been in a car seat in his life but he loved it and was so calm. He was pretty funny when we took his Visa photos today, he was kind ofwhiny until the camera was on him then he snapped into Mr. Congeniality and gave a good grin. ;)

He refused dinner but drank a ton of whole milk and really warmed up tonight during playtime. Dan and I were both shocked at how mobile, strong and smart he is. He can walk up stairs alone with one foot on each step, he can throw and kick a soccer ball, he can place colored rings on a stand in order (biggest to smallest) and he has all his toys figured out already. He also talks a lot, we aren´t sure what he is saying but he knows what he wants and points until we get it right. :) We were surprised to hear he goes to sleep whenever he wants and was up until midnight last night playing at his foster family´s house! He is already asleep now, he may be up in the night to party...

The charger on our video camera appears to be broken so we will get a new battery or I guess buy a new camera - we simply CANNOT miss these photo opps!

P.S. The 2nd DNA sample is still NOT at the lab, but should be there tomorrow. We are tracking via Fed Ex.

We are en route to Guatemala!

2008-10-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

We are in Dallas on a layover, hanging out in the Admirals Club. We will see Dominic tomorrow and I know it will be very emotional for his beloved foster Mom Ruth and her family to say good-bye. I feel sad thinking it about too. How can we ever thank them sufficiently for raising our son for the last 19 months? They have been the ONLY ray of light in this journey and I pray they know how much their presence in our lives means to us, not just now but always.

We heard from our agency that Dominic was taken in for the 2nd DNA test on Wednesday. Of course we are skeptical because we have been led to believe this happened before when it didn't. I want to hear from the lab that they have the sample before I believe it! If we don't hear from them by Tuesday then we are taking Domi in ourselves and proceeding with Operation Bring Our Cherub Home (OBOCH). ;)

My darling parents are at our house watching the pooches. Our battery was dead on our video camera so I wasn't able to take their picture in their Halloween costumes. I will do that FOR SURE when we get back and have Domi in his costume too. We brought his with us along with special Halloween pajamas, so we will have great pics even though we will miss trick-or-treating this year.

I have so many emotions and feelings inside me right now... anxiety, fear, joy, relief, curiosity and amazement at the last 2 1/2 years that we have spent working on both the China and Guatemala adoptions. Sometimes I wonder if May 2006 was the last time I felt untainted if not mildly naive certainty and optimism that these adoptions would go as smooth as butta (butter with a Bostonian accent). I am just scarred now and definitely not as trusting as I used to be. All of the intense pain we have been through (hardest experience of my LIFE 10 times over!) has taken a toll.

However, I am a stronger person now than I have ever been. I have more clarity about what I want my life to look like, and most importantly, I know I will never take one moment of Motherhood for granted. It is the dream, the prize, the experience I have yearned for and it starts full-time tomorrow. I am ready, I am ready, I am READY! :)

Shopping Cart Cover

2008-10-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

I saw this neat company, KozyPal Shopping Cart Covers (http://www.kozypalcartcovers.com/) on my friend Donna's blog and thought it was awesome! I ordered this cover for Dominic, so he will be comfy and snuggly in shopping carts, park swings, restaurant high chairs, etc. Hope he loves it, I do and so does Dan, he helped me pick the fabric. :) We are both VERY EXCITED - we are going to have an actual child in the crib and not just a giant stuffed pony!!!!

WE LEAVE ON SATURDAY!!!

2008-10-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we have decided to go to Guatemala and work hard to complete the adoption as quickly as possible. We have been misled by our agency and unfortunately they have lost our trust, we just have to finish this on our own.

Contrary to what we were told, Dominic has not yet been taken in for the second DNA test, so we will take him ourselves on Monday. The results should be back at the US Embassy by the end of the week, and we will request our exit appointment ASAP. Our goal is to be home by November 7.

This is not the finish that I had in mind, but we have waited long enough, been patient long enough, and quite honestly sacrificed the joy of living long enough to not complete this adoption ASAP. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We will send updates and pictures as much as possible. When we come home, we will have our angel! Step aside, we are on our way!

This picture shows how I feel now! :)

Progress... New Projections...

2008-10-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

Dominic was taken in for the second DNA test this morning. It will take about 7 - 10 days for the lab to get the sample, test it and return the results to the US Embassy in Guatemala. Once they get the results, they will notify of us our appointment within 7 - 10 days, and the actual appointment is 7 - 10 days after that. So, we are looking really tight for a return to the US by Halloween, but certainly by the first week of November! I can handle that!

By the way, Dan insisted that Dominic be a TIGER for Halloween, so here is his costume... should look ADORABLE against his beautiful dark skin. :) And YES, he will wear this costume even if we are in Guatemala!

HAPPY UPDATE!!!!

2008-10-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

Just heard from our agency - we go the new passport and the embassy approved our request for the 2nd DNA test. I am sending all the paperwork to the lab with payment overnight and the test should happen this week for sure. After the results are received around 7 days later, we should receive notice for our embassy appointment. He will be here by Halloween!!!!!

Surprise, surprise - Another Delay...

2008-10-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

Just heard from our agency, when Domi's passport was presented to the embassy to schedule his second DNA test, his passport was rejected. There was a formatting error that they wouldn't accept, so now we are waiting for a new corrected passport.

Dan and I are going to sit down this weekend and discuss heading down to Guatemala anyway to see if we can move things along by being there. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. My faith in God is the only thing that is carrying me through these challenging times. As Dan always says, "We're going to get him, just be patient".

Clarification...

2008-09-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

I was mistaken about part of our remaining timeline... the 2nd DNA test is Tuesday, then about 10 days after that we will get notification of our US Embassy appointment, then another 10 days after that we will have the actual appointment. So, so, so that means we will probably be in Guatemala for our pick up trip the week of October 19.

I am a little disappointed, BUT my goodness, we are so CLOSE that NOTHING can bring me down from the cloud I am on walking on!

2nd DNA Test Scheduled for Tuesday!

2008-09-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well, after the DNA is taken it is usually about 10-11 calendar days before we get our appointment with the US Embassy in Guatemala, that's the final step! I am seriously thinking we will be in Guatemala the week of October 5 (my birthday!) to pick up Dominic. I CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE ON THE HOME STRETCH!!!!

Halloween Costume Poll!

2008-09-24T16:49:00.001-07:00

Online Surveys & Market Research

WE GOT THE BC!!!!

2008-09-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Just heard from my agency, we got the Birth Certificate yesterday!!! We should be able to bring Dominic home within 3 weeks! The next step is to get the second DNA test done (Dominic only) and then wait for our appointment with the US Embassy. I am stunned and cautious because of everything that has happened, but we truly are on to US steps now!!!! CELEBRATE WITH ME PEEPS!!! :)

18 Months Old Today

2008-09-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but my baby is 18 months old today! I do feel blessed that I have been able to spend time with him over the past 15 months. I have so many pictures that show how he has grown (A LOT!) and I just can't wait to have him home and never miss another moment of his sweet life.

The Chi-chis Are the BEST!!!

2008-09-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

We have come to the realization that our pooches are so amazing, but have a few behavioral issues that need to be addressed before we bring Dominic home. So, we had a private session with a trainer at PetsMart yesterday. I was so PROUD of all of them, they were so charming and eager to please us, and the trainer said she had NO concerns about them being around Domi. She said they were calm and gentle. :)

She gave us great suggestions to address their jumping, occasional marking, and reinforcing Katie's house training. I am so relieved because I want us all to be one happy family and I am hopeful Domi will learn to love our Chi-chis as much as we do!

Disappointing News...

2008-08-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

It is with a very heavy heart that I must share the latest update we received today from our agency. We have been told it will be at LEAST another 20 working days before we receive Dominic's new birth certificate. This is so unexpected as we have already been waiting over 9 weeks. It is very difficult to feel so close only to face delay after delay.

There is no good explanation for why this is happening, we are certainly not the only family in this position and indeed are further along than many others. Once we have that birth certificate, I am contemplating going to Guatemala to travel with our agency coordinator to complete Domi's second DNA test and final paperwork. It really should be just a few more weeks after receiving the BC that we are able to bring him home. We miss him so!

Holiday after holiday has passed with the prayer he would be here... Christmas 2007, his first birthday March 2008, Fourth of July 2008... now we are praying he is home by Halloween. Please keep our prayer with yours.

Back to Shopping.... Bittersweet...

2008-08-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

UGH! It's been over 9 weeks and still no birth certificate! We are pretty fed up and sad, but there is nothing we can do but be patient, so we are doing our best...

I had a BALL last weekend visiting my friends in Winston-Salem, NC and Atlanta, GA. It really lifted my spirits and brought back the good ol' days when I was a single lady in Atlanta. I had a good time! ;)

Now that I am back home, I have turned to shopping to keep my spirits up and prepare to bring Domi home. Here are the latest treasures I bought... FYI, Pottery Barn kids is having a tremendous SALE!!!! :)

Domi's Mommy :)

2008-08-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

I was just practicing how I will introduce myself to teachers, fellow parents, etc. Of course I will first say my name and then say "Domi's Mommy". How cute is that?

I miss my cherub - we have been waiting 8 weeks for his birth certificate. I have a feeling we will get it this week! I want him home at least a month before Halloween so we can take advantage of all the great seasonal stuff we need to do... apple and pumpkin picking, hay rides, Halloween parties, trick or treating as often and as many places as possible, and of course many, many photo ops in Halloween costumes (I am thinking he may need 2 costumes!).

Fall is my very favorite time of year. I like crock pot cooking and hope Domi like my homemade chili. It will be beautiful in Arizona in the fall, we'll have so much fun!

I am ready, Dan is ready, the pooches are not so ready... we are working with them but they are so cute when they're naughty. I know, I know, we have made them little self-entitled monsters so how will our children be raised? SPOILED!!!! So what???? :) I want my baby home!!!!

Update, Shower and Nursery

2008-08-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

First of all, here is a brief update on our case. Our agency contacted us last Friday and asked us to immediately send a notarized copy of the first page of our passports. We submitted copies during the dossier process, but apparently this is a new requirement in order to get Dominic's birth certificate with our name on it. We hustled to our bank to get the notarized copies, and then hustled to FedEx to send them directly to Guatemala. We received confirmation they were received by our agency coordinator yesterday. We are hanging in there and hope we get the BC this week!

Secondly, on July 27 my Mom and two of my sisters that live nearby (Toree and Diana) hosted a baby shower for me at my house. It was SO MUCH FUN! :) Here are some pictures from the party. They MADE me wear the tiara that says "New Mom" - I loved it! :) We received so many thoughtful presents and felt very loved that day!!!

Finally, here a few nursery pictures... more to follow later in the week. My Mom made the bedspread hanging on the crib, seat cushion cover for the yellow chair and the pillows - so special! :) Enjoy!

Still Waiting for Birth Certificate...

2008-07-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

I am trying not to be glum, but come on already! We passed the most important milestone by getting out of PGN and that was 4 long weeks ago. We are waiting for Domi's new birth certificate from Escuintla where he was born. I am READY to bring him home!!!!

On a super happy and fun note, his nursery is almost finished... just waiting on one final addition and then I will post pictures. May I just say... it is a masterpiece! :)

Updates from Visit Trip #6

2008-07-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, the week has flown by and we are tired. We finally got home late Tuesday night and I have worked a lot of hours since early Wednesday morning. Just a super busy time at work. Dan is already out of town again for a family reunion in North Carolina. I just couldn't make it this year, I am saving all my vacation for when we bring Dominic home.

We had a nice visit but I was surprised that our little cherub has a bit of an attitude already! He was teething and had constipation for a few days, and of course he is almost 17 months old and was missing his foster family, but he still showed signs of becoming a strong willed child. Here's what I mean:

Not interested in Mommy at all, clung to Daddy like a life preserver in the ocean. Once when I took him from Dan so he could have a break, Domi actually kicked me with both feet. I couldn't help but giggle, but I felt sad too because of everything he was going through.
Can walk like a pro, so steady, but simply insisted on being carried or pushed in the stroller at all times.
Refused to sit in a high chair for any meals. We had to feed him in our laps. At one point Dan held him and walked with him while I trailed behind hand feeding him lunch. It was hilarious and I swear Domi had a little smirk on his face too! :)

I am not at all alarmed by any of this, I love being a Mommy and actually see humor in this behavior. I know we have a long road to get him home and adjusted, but I have confidence he will adjust easily. It took him a few days but he does remember us and can completely relax with us too. All of the visits we have made will pay off, I just know it.

As for status on our case, we are waiting for a fresh birth certificate to be granted from Escuintla, the state where he was born. We should have it within the next 1 - 2 weeks. After that his passport will be issued with our family name and he will have a 2nd DNA test done. Once the test results are received we will get our appointment scheduled with the US Embassy in Guatemala for the FINAL step. I kind of can't believe it, I am actually going to be a Mom every day for the rest of my life. I have felt like I was leading a split life for so long now...

This year has been so painful and sad. There were many times I did not believe we would actually bring him home. I broke down in church many times. I just said to my Dad this week, "I haven't been myself for the last year" and he said "I know you haven't". I just pray and vow to be the very best mother I can be to Dominic every day of my life. He is a GIFT from God that I will cherish above all else.

Please continue to pray for the many, many families still struggling to bring their babies home. I will post our status as I get more news.

DOMINIC IS COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

I got the call today... Dominic is legally our child!!! :) Our case has been approved and released by PGN (Guatemala Court). We should be able to bring him home within 4 - 6 weeks! The last two steps are for a second DNA test to be complete with just Dominic and for the US Embassy to schedule our Visa appointment. No problem!

Words cannot describe how I feel. I am in Pasadena, CA in executive meetings with my boss and everything is going in one ear and out the other!!! Dan and I are so happy and so blessed. Many, many thanks to our friends and family for supporting us through this incredibly long and difficult journey. There were times I didn't believe the adoption would complete, but he is coming home! More to follow as we learn details...

CANNOT STAY AWAY!!!

2008-06-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

We are heading back to GC for our 6th visit from July 4 - 8. I am EXCITED!!! I miss my baby so much... You just know I already have tons of outfits for the lovey. :)

HAPPY NEWS! HAPPY NEWS! HAPPY NEWS!

2008-06-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here bawling my eyes out with relief, we just learned Dominic's birth mother interview is DONE and went fine. Our agency did not tell us it had been rescheduled so we have really been suffering. Our prayer is that our case goes through the rest of the Guatemala court process smoothly with no more curve balls, and we are able to bring him home soon. We could not make this journey without the love and support from our friends and family, and for that we are so thankful and truly blessed.

I have already decided that Dominic is going to be spoiled rotten and that's just the way it is going to be! :)

This Just In...

2008-06-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for your follow-up messages. We just learned this afternoon that the interview did NOT take place. Dominic's birth mom could not get time from work to go to the interview. Our agency said the attorneys have banned together and filed an "amapro"which is some kind of legal action to STOP these interviews from happening. So, our interview will either be canceled or rescheduled. I am exhausted with anxiety about our case. I will update you again when we know more.

No Word Yet

2008-05-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I reached out to my agency late yesterday afternoon to see if there was any news, and unfortunately they didn't have an update for us. This could mean anything including:

The interview didn't happen for whatever reason
The interview happened without incident
The interview happened and there were issues

I am surprisingly calm, I believe we will be OK. Hopefully I will have good news to share soon.

Update on Our Case

2008-05-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

I just received an e-mail that our son's birth mother interview is scheduled for this Friday. I am already a nervous wreck anticipating how things will go. I am also relieved that we now know when the interview will happen. Deep down inside I actually believe we are going to be OK and the interview will go without incident, I pray this will be true.

Domi's Pets are Waiting Too...

2008-05-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

I had the camera out today taking pictures of my gifts from my Winter Blossoms Secret Pal and looked who decided to strike a pose... They also started a line of questioning about you know who... they are ready for their new playmate! Patience my furry cherubs, patience! ;)

One Year Referral Anniversary

2008-05-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

On May 24, 2007 we accepted the referral for our precious baby son. It is hard to believe that a year has passed and we have only spent five weeks with him. We are numb with worry and concern about not only when, but if, we will be able to bring him home. We treasure the time we have spent with him and pray it is only the beginning.

The new interview with his birth mother has not yet happened, and while many have reported their child's interview went fine, others are reporting strange and tragic news about their adoptions being annulled. It is so difficult to know who and what to believe. Your continued good thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated. We will post status as we know it. I am trying to stay positive and will celebrate this anniversary as I cling to hope we will bring our son home one day soon.

Please Pray for Us

2008-05-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

Recently we learned that the rules have once again changed. Now Guatemala wants to do yet another interview with the birth mothers before they sign off on any case. There are several risks with this new change:

They possibly will be unable to find our son's birth mother
Our son's birth mother may change her mind then and there and decide to keep him
The Guatemalan officials conducting the interview may not be satisfied with the answers they get and cancel or further delay our case

There are approximately 2,500 families like us who are heart broken and really just broken period, waiting to bring our angels home. Please keep us all in your prayers.

Maui was Great!

2008-05-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

We had a nice time in Maui - it is unbelievably beautiful and so laid back. I did manage to relax (huge for me, especially lately) but never stopped thinking about Dominic. I really hoped we would get some good news while we were away, but no luck. We are hanging in there. For now, these photos from our vacation will have to do until we have more to share of our adorable son. :)

Hawaiian Dreams...

2008-04-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we leave tomorrow for a vacation to Maui. I have to share that I really deliberated over taking this trip. I contemplated if I should I save more of my vacation days for when Dominic comes home. I questioned if we should use this time for yet another visit to see our son.

Dan was all for this vacation from the start, but I have been a reluctant participant. The only reason I finally agreed is because I have to admit I need a break from everything... work, the wait for our children, our real estate ventures, etc. I need to refocus on healthy living and appreciating what I have instead of taking my life for granted. I have really sunk into a dark place and I need to just relax and really commit to being present in my life.

I also feel a sparkle of excitement when I think about the matching Hawaiian outfits I am going to buy for me and Dominic. :) Pretty pitiful when all I can think about is shopping when I am going to Hawaii! LOL! Aloha!

Terrible Experience Today

2008-04-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

I had a TERRIBLE experience today! My agency sent me an e-mail with no words on the subject line, just a ";)"(winky smiley face) and no message, just an attachment. Well, I opened the attachment and it was a scanned image from PGN with Dominic's birth name, my name and a box next to "Adopcion" checked. I started screaming and crying and was SO EXCITED because we were out of PGN! I tried to call to confirm but our agency didn't answer so I left a message. Dan was away so I called my parents and we were all crying with joy! I don't know what made my Mom ask but she said "Are you sure?". So, while I was on the phone I sent our agency a quick e-mail to confirm and they immediately responded and said "No, you are not of PGN. This is just receipt that you are in PGN". UUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!! I started bawling all over again but with tears of frustration and disappointment. It was just so horrific! I really believed we were out of PGN and I started mentally making a list of what we needed to do... I just can't shake the sadness I have been feeling for months. It's awful.

Planning the Welcome Home Party

2008-03-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Dan and I can't help ourselves and are already starting to think about the blow out party we will have once Dominic is home. I wanted to open this special wine we have and he said "No, that's for Dominic's party". I had to smile.

I want to share my new favorite thing to eat - very, very delicious and healthy! We will definitely serve this at the party. :)

Egyptian Cucumber Salad

1 Cucumber thinly sliced
1 Container Grape Tomatoes
About 2 Tablespoons Fresh Dill Finely Chopped
About 1/2 Cup Feta Cheese
1/2 Red Onion thinly sliced into rings, then half the rings

Dressing
About 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
About 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all salad ingredients (except feta cheese) in a large bowl. Prepare dressing in small pouring cup. Drizzle dressing over salad and gently shake the bowl (don't use tongs as it will squash the vegetables). Garnish with the feta cheese and ENJOY! :)