On the Bicycle Again

If anyone is still out there reading we really are starting the adoption back up:) We finally had our homestudy update appointment this week. I forgot how much paperwork is involved, but we are ready to get going on it! We have to update our state clearances, FBI Clearances, DCFS docs, etc. so that our homestudy can be sent to INS for our extension. Nothing like cutting it close!!! Hopefully we can move quickly on everything:)

And next - the dossier prep!! I think we are hoping to submit shortly after the first of the year. Our big concern is making sure there is enough of an age gap between Beckett and his sibling, so we are moving at a bit slower pace this time around. But we are hoping to travel fall of next year, but we shall see! As we all know, nothing is ever what you think it will be when it comes to international adoption!! Just roll with the punches, right?

It is all very exciting for our family and we are looking forward the journey!! I think Beckett will love Kaz:)

Blog Name Change

We have decided to change the name of our blog since we are going to leave it up to fate when we get to Kaz on whether or not we adopt a brother or sister for Beckett:) Plus, I am not sure you can gender specify anymore for Kaz anyway:) It will be a nice surprise for all of us!

If we do wind up adopting a little boy, Vaughn will still be the name because we love it so much!! If we adopt a little girl, well, that still has to be decided...we can't agree on a girls name:)

Have a great one!

Back in the Swing of things

I have no idea if anyone even still looks at this blog, but in case there is anyone out there still checking, Jamie and I are starting our adoption process back up this month. So, hopefully within the next year Beckett will have either a little brother or sister:) Hopefully starting the process back up will be just like riding a bike - easy (ok, well, it is never easy) and familiar!

We hope everyone had a blessed Easter! Best wishes to all!

Bittersweet

First off, I need to apologize for taking so long to update. Jamie and I have not been around that much on the weekends and the weekdays have left me little time to blog!

I was going to announce this privately, but seeing how I have taken so long for that, I am just going to announce it publicly.

It is with a bittersweet voice that I write this: Jamie and I are putting our Kaz adoption on hold at the moment. As many of you readers know, Jamie and I started this process almost a year ago. In that time, we have endured some rough patches and were frustrated, but not downtrodden.

Well, here is where it got a bit interesting for us. On March 12th, we found out something we thought was impossible had happened. We found out that I was pregnant!! Imagine our shock and surprise!! We were told a while ago that this was all but impossible for us. So, this was, to say the least, very unexpected but a very welcome surprise. I still have days where I don't believe it (except for my ever expanding belly as proof)!!

But while being excited about the new Baby M, I cried for my son who is still waiting for us in Kaz. I just have to believe that everything happens for a reason, and that for some reason, this year was not the year to meet our son in Kaz.

After much talking, Jamie and I decided that it would be very difficult for us to adopt this year, so we talked with our agency and the adoption is on hold. We were excited to find out that we had a year to start the process back up again:) So, for now, the adoption is on hold, but certainly not forgotten. Jamie and I still plan to adopt from Kaz as we know in our hearts this is something we want to do, and are hoping to join the ranks of Kaz adoptive parents in 2009/2010:)

I just wanted to thank all of you who have read this blog, posted such wonderful and positive comments, and have supported us through everything. It has meant the world to us. This is such a wonderful community of parents & friends, and we look forward to sharing this journey again with you in the future.

This site will remain up and public, but I will be suspending posts until we start the Kaz process again. In the meantime, we will be creating a private blog for following the pregnancy. If you would like an invite to the new blog, please let me know in the comments section, or email me personally.

Thank you again for all the support! I wish everyone well in their upcoming journeys, their bonding periods, and their return home. I will still be reading and following up on everyone:) Best wishes!!

Time to Privatize

Hi Fellow Bloggers, family and friends! I know we have not blogged in a while, but I wanted to let you know that we have not fallen off the face of the Earth and I have been keeping up on all of my fellow bloggers in the adoption world:)

This past month and half has been very trying and full of surprises for me and Jamie. Due to personal reasons, Jamie and I have decided to take our blog private. If you would like an invitation, please leave your email address in the comments section, or email me personally.

I hope all is well with everyone in the adoption blogging world:) And a special shout out to Matt and Suzanne who are in Ust right now bonding with their children - I am thinking about you everyday and pray that all continues to go well:)

Trials, Tribulations, and a Nursery

So, I know I have been out of the blogging sphere for a little while now...but I am back:) Let's just say this last month has been a bit hectic on the personal front and a bit disheartening on the adoption front. Just when you think you are making progress with the adoption process...bam! You get derailed.

We were about to start redoing our dossier paperwork again when I heard the news that the DC Embassy (who experienced a staff change) might not accept new dossiers until the new staff was trained. I immediately sent an email to our great caseworker and she suggested we not sign or notarize any of our paperwork until at least March. I was waiting to hear from her to see if we can start prepping paperwork this week or if we should still wait when we got another piece of news.

A fellow PAP (she is awesome!!) who is about a week behind us in the process called CIS here in IL to see about the I 171-H status and she was told that they are only on dossiers submitted the second week of January. We submitted to CIS the first week of February. As of Friday it looks like we are looking at another 3-5 weeks before CIS approval comes in. If that is the case, then we are holding off on paperwork until mid-March. Of course this means that dossier submission likely won't take place until April, and then it will be about 6 months from that point. Looks like we might not be hitting Kaz until Sept/Oct. A bit frustrating to say the least. Now I know this process is full of ups and downs, but between our experience with our first agency and then feeling like we were making progress, and now being at a standstill again, I am just frustrated. I know though in the end everything will work out the way it is supposed to, but I reserve the right to be angry at the moment anyway:)

On a better note, we have made significant progress with Vaughn's room, and we are really excited! It is a bit tough since we will not have our little guy for a while, but it gives us some time to finish the nursery. The pictures above the crib are vintage baseball posters that Jamie has had since he was a kid (his mom got them for him and they were a limited edition). We are pretty excited about how it is all coming together and are looking forward to finishing it. Here are a few in progress pictures:

Even with all the ups and downs of the past month, I have had a great month personally. We went to IA to see our very good friends and their daughter, then we put Vaughn's room together with my parents, I went to Bon Jovi with our really good friend Ted, I got to hang with my two beautiful nieces this week, and this weekend I had a girls' weekend with one of my oldest friends, and I went for coffee today with a friend who I have not seen in about 3 months. So all in all - a great month even with setbacks:) Here is an adorable picture of my day with my nieces while we were at "The Bean" in Chicago:

Here is hoping for some good news in early March from our good friends CIS!!! Like they say, you never know....

Calling All Rock Stars!

So, anyone who knows Jamie and I really well, knows that we love classic rock. Led Zeppelin is our favorite band and we had been trying to figure out how to incorporate our favorite rock bands into our little guy's life. Recognizing that many of the bands do not have lyrics that are appropriate for little ones, this was a challenge. Until recently. I was at Pottery Barn Kids and saw a CD that changed everything!

It was the songs of Coldplay made into instrumental lullabies for babies:) How cool is that? So, of course I bought it and, let me tell you, it is awesome! Great for the little guy to fall alseep to or just listen to in the car. I went on their website yesterday, and they have some really great bands that they have converted to lullabies. For those of you who love rock, or are looking for something different, this site is for you:

http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/web/page.asp

We wound up buying Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Tool, and No Doubt (one of my favs) for the little guy! We can't wait for the CDs to get here so we can listen to them! We have an ongoing list of others that we would like to buy, and they are coming out with some new ones, so check back often.

My very good friend Jill sent me the link to this website after I forwarded her the Rockabye one (we have very similar tastes in music and all things baby!). It is way cool, and we are definitely going to buy this as well for our budding rocker musician (my fervent hope is that Vaughn plays guitar or drums)! I'm just happy that someone has thought to create a cd and dvd like this. Check it out:

http://www.thatbabydvd.com/

Last but not least, another cool website for rock lovers like us, or those who have an appreciation for vintage inspired clothing, is for a store here in Chicago called Stinky Pants. Great rock T-shirts and cool onesies for babies and older. A bit on the expensive side, but I think some of them are worth it for sure (like "My Aunt is a Hottie". Vaughn will have 3 Aunts who are hotties so this is appropriate)!! This is also thanks to Jill who bought a very cool Guns 'N Roses T-shirt for our good friend's little boy:

http://www.stinky-pants.com/

That is all for my web knowledge today:) I just wanted to share a cool few sites with everyone. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Best wishes for those who are in country, about to travel (Amy!!!), waiting, and paperchasing! As they say, good things come to those who wait! I am happy that the wait is over for many of my fellow bloggers:) Happy travels soon to many of you - we can't wait to join you in the ranks!

PS - I bought Vaughn his first offcial outfit from Mom & Dad:) We can only hope that the size (6-12 months) will fit him! Here it is: