December 10, 2007

Hello! Well I had hoped to write more and sooner but I just haven't had a lot of time. Maya is so much fun and is just as adorable as her pictures. I got to Guatemala the evening of December 4th and they brought Maya to me about 11:00am on the 5th. Her foster mother and a representative of my Attorneys office came to the hotel with Maya. Her foster mother is very sweet and loves Maya a lot. I could tell it was hard for her foster mother to leave her but she was very sweet and said she could tell that Maya knew me from my pictures and felt comfortable with me so she was sure she would be happy with me. The first day Maya did NOT want me to put her down for anything! She fell asleep twice in my arms and the second I tried to lay her down she would wake up. As long as I was holding her she would sleep. So I held her for about 10 hours straight with the exception of about 30 seconds where she cried while I went to the bathroom. I was nervous for the evening not knowing how we woud sleep since I couldn't put her down but she managed to lay next to me and slept really well. Thursday we spent a lot of time in the room because the hotel was out of strollers and she is really heavy (19.8 pounds as of the 3rd). But we had a lot of fun playing together. We were able to get a stroller on Friday morning and we had fun exploring the hotel for a couple hours. She LOVES the stroller and so do I. It was a life saver! When not strolling we play in the room. She can roll over but she was not sitting up or bearing weight on her legs but both of these have gotten better the longer I am here (we do baby exercises). I have learned that babies are held A LOT here so they do not crawl and walk as early as in America. But she is a good roller and I am sure she will catch up fast when she is home with me. She is already sitting up better and pulling up (when you hold her hands) and she has started to bear weight on her legs a little. She is a great eater too. I don't think I have given her anything she hasn't liked; however, I don't think the applesauce liked her. She pretty much drinks formula, eats baby oatmeal, and baby food bananas. We gave her peaches today and we got a nice big yucky overflowing diaper late morning. :-) My mom got here late Friday night and has spent the weekend with us. She leaves in the morning (Tuesday) but Maya has had a lot of fun with her. Yesterday they played in the bath tub together and Maya loved the water. I had given her a bath in the baby bath on Thursday night and she did not like that at all but the bath tub she definately likes!
I have met a lot of couples here that have come to visit or pick up there children and everyone is just so nice. The first couple I met was kind enough to give me some baby food for Maya since the foster mother had only brought formula. They were also kind enough to help me give Maya her first bath. Maya and I were able to eat a few meals with another couple (and we got their stroller when they where going home). Another couple gave us all there extra bottled water when they left. It is fun talking to others and hearing where they are in the process. I found out on Friday that I am BACK IN PGN as of the 5th. So please pray it will go fast. Once I exit PGN, I will have about 6-8 weeks before coming to pick her up.
Maya is napping now so I am going to go and get cleaned up while mom can still watch her for me. Take care and please keep us in your prayers. Mom leaves in the morning and Maya goes back to her foster mother on Friday. I come home on Saturday.
Sleep tight Maya, mommy loves you!