These are pictures of Collin with his foster father Miguel. He and his brother, sister and father came to the US to see Gonzalo(his brother) be ordaned as a priest.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
New York Pictures
These are pictures of Collin with his foster father Miguel. He and his brother, sister and father came to the US to see Gonzalo(his brother) be ordaned as a priest.
One Year Ago Today-Happy Blogoversary
I thought it would be fun to re-post our very first blog entry. It absolutely amazes me how different our life is today than it was one year ago. Reading this post again brings back all of the excitement, sadness, happiness,anxiety, uncertainty and every other adjective I can think of that we were feeling at that time. I always tried to tell myself that the day will come when this will all be a distant memory and life will be back to normal. WELL HERE WE ARE!!!
We are back from our trip to New York which I will post about later, but what an experience. This process has brought so many wonderful people into our lives that otherwise we may have never known. Who would have ever thought that we would travel to Guatemala to bring home a baby from half way across the world? Who would have thought that we would create lifelong bonds with people with whom we share absolutely nothing in common other than an overwhelming love for a little child? We don't even speak the same language! And in some strange way we don't need to. It is so very obvious that Collin touched his foster family just as he has touched us and that he will forever be a part of their lives and their family. I hope that someday he understands the love they have for him and the special bond that they share. That child is truley a gift to so many people!
So, here is our very first post,the beginning of this journey that is constantly evolving. I can only say that I am thrilled that the wait is over and he is home forever. I can't wait to see what the future holds for little Collin Jeffrey Wilson!!
This blogging thing is all new to me but I find lately I need to do as much as possible to keep my mind occupied. We have just returned home from Guatemala where we met our son for the first time. Words really cannot describe the feelings and emotions we encountered on this trip. I am not exaggerating when I call it a "life changing experience". It was truly the trip of a lifetime and if I could go back tomorrow I would!
We were so excited to meet our son and to finally be able to hold him in our arms. Wyatt actually did most of the holding but I managed to muscle him away a few times. We looked at this trip as an adventure. We had no idea what to expect in Guatemala. Neither of us has ever been in a "3rd World Country" before. I have of course researched it to death but you never really know until you get there.
We left Columbus on May 29th and flew to Tampa and then Fort Lauderdale. Our flights were all full and of course Wyatt had the window seat so I was thrown to the wolves and had to deal with God knows what in the aisle seat. I hate talking to people on airplanes! I don't know why but once a conversation starts there is no easy way to get out of it, and then you are stuck for hours trying to politely ignore the person next to you. Don't bump an elbow or try to go to the bathroom because the whole vicious cycle starts over again.
A nice woman sat down next to me and didn't seem too obnoxious so I breathed a sigh of relief. Just let me read my People magazine in peace. Wyatt then decided that he needed the details of the next flight, which I had not memorized, so I had to pull out the Bible, I mean the notebook. She took one look at the notebook and asked if we were adopting. Only another (well-organized, detail oriented, anal retentive) adoptive mother knows "THE NOTEBOOK" when she sees it. Amy and I talked the whole way to Tampa-it was the fastest flight ever! She lives in Dublin and is adopting from Vietnam. She was headed to Florida on business. It was really nice to talk to someone who understood exactly what we were going through and understood the excitement of meeting our baby for the first time. She was nice enough to take our picture at the airport to document the start of our trip.
Our first real adventure was checking in for our international flight with Spirit Airline in Fort Lauderdale. I felt like I was already in Guatemala. When they said low cost airline I didn't think they meant no air conditioning! We had 4 huge checked suitcases all carefully weighed to come in just under the 50 lb. limit, a stroller, and each of us had 2 carry-on bags. It took 2 carts to carry everything. We had to pick up our bags, load them on a cart, unload them on a bus, change terminals, unload them off the bus and back onto a cart and fight through a crowded ticketing area to get in line and wait for what seemed like hours. When we finally made it up to the counter, someone must have sqeezed an extra pair of shoes in one of the suitcases because we were a couple of pounds over. So we proceeded to unpack and repack so that all were under the weight requirement.
The ticket agent wanted to charge us $25 for the stroller because there was no baby in it which just about sent me over the edge. I had called to verify that the stroller was free and even printed the policy off their website. He didn't care! He had me so flustered that I walked away and left my notebook and wallet at the counter. When I went back to look for them, they were gone and the guy was nowhere to be found! Wyatt had just made fun of me earlier for splitting my money up and putting it in several different places. He said I would forget where I put it and lose it. I say it's better to lose it in little amounts than to lose it all. I seem to remember losing my wallet in an airport before and having it returned to me minus $500. Thanks a lot! Well, the agent returned with my stuff and what do you know, the measly $100 was still there.
We boarded our flight and headed to Guatemala City. That airport would be the next challenge. We had read about how the airport was so crowded with people that you could barely move and not to go outside the doors of the airport until you actually saw your shuttle pull up and definitely don't let anyone take your bags for you except the guys in the blue shirts...or was it white?
We got off the plane not knowing if we were going to hit a dirt floor or have people grabbing at us and little kids dressed in rags trying to sell Chicklets, or maybe we would see Mama Rosa with a sign that said "Collin" waiting to welcome us with a village of people in traditional dress and not a word of English.
Well, we were pleasantly surprised when the airport looked just like any other airport and it wasn't any more crowded than average. We made our way to customs and waited in line. While in line we started talking to Rebecca who was coming to visit her son Owen. They are from Missouri and are currently in PGN. That once again helped the time pass. She was going to Antigua as well so we agreed to try to meet while we were there. She said the pool at our hotel is a hot spot for adoptive parents so we were bound to run in to each other.
We made it to baggage claim and collected our bags and began the journey to the unknown-outside the airport. We asked Rebecca if she knew where the shuttles were but she said her driver always meets her inside and takes her straight to the car. I hope we are not in trouble!!Okay, remember don't let anyone take your bags and don't go outside.
It seemed there was only one hallway so we just went with the flow. Before we knew it we were OUTSIDE and 2 guys took our carts with our bags!! Were they blue shirts or white shirts? Who can tell they are half way across the parking lot dodging cars and they didn't appear to be going the same direction. I saw a lady with a Marriott sign and I think she said go with them!?! I figured they must be okay, but it seemed like they were leading us to a dark alley. Wyatt and I debated whether to stay together or each keep track of one cart. We chose the latter ( I wasn't going to lose Collin's goodies) and luckily we ended up at the same spot...the Marriott shuttle...clear in the back under an overpass. Wyatt was nearly molested by a woman wanting him to buy Chicklets but we managed to make it on the bus in one piece and so did our bags. Once on the bus we breathed a collective sigh of relief. Off to the Marriott.
As we drove the 5 minute drive to the Marriott I rehearsed my few words of Spanish I had managed to learn from a set of Pimsleur CD's I had been listening to in the car for the last month or so. Buenos noches, habla englais? They would probably have no idea that I wasn't a native. But if they didn't habla englais I was in big trouble! We walked up to the counter and they said "good evening and welcome to the Marriott" What fun is that?
We got settled in our room and headed down to check out the hotel. We went to Champions, the sports bar in the hotel and checked out our first Guatemalan beer, Gallo. Not bad. As excited as I was to meet Collin, I was glad to have this night to relax and get ready for the next day. When we got back to our room (with a few GALLOs to go) we had a message that Mama Rosa would be there with Collin at 9am. We were expecting noon or one! We were much closer to seeing him for the first time than we had expected. So much for relaxing!
The next morning we got up and had breakfast and waited for Collin to arrive. Before we knew it 9am had arrived. We decided against taking the video camera because neither of us wanted to be the designated videographer. We both wanted to get our hands on that baby-forget the video, it will be in our heads. We did take the camera in hopes of taking pictures with Mama Rosa and her family.
Just as we sat down in the lobby we saw our Collin come through the door. I knew Rosa's face because she was the woman in the picture with Collin's birth mom on the day she took him to the attorney's office. We had been told she was a friend that brought the mother to the city. I gave her a big hug and she handed him to me. He was dressed in about 300 layers of clothes and was hot and sweaty. Right at that moment, the rest of the world disappeared. There he was, in person, this picture we had all fallen in love with was an actual human being and I was holding him.
I had often contemplated what it would be like to see him for the first time. I had read books about bonding and attachment and expected that it may not be love at first sight for him or for us. I knew I would be crushed if he cried and was upset to leave Rosa and come with us but I was prepared. What I was not prepared for was the immediate knowledge that this was my child. He was the one that was supposed to come to us, there were no doubts. It was an immediate feeling of completeness. How did this perfect little boy half a world away find us? And how is it possible to immediately feel like this child is a part of you? I don't know and I don't care, I just know he is. The best part was when I looked at Wyatt, I saw the same thing. I had to hand him over and let dad enjoy his moment.
Not one picture was taken but the memories in my head will never fade. I see many years of continuing the Collins tradition on birthdays of Mom and Dad telling the story of labor, birth, Army Hospitals and missing fireworks. Collin's story may not involve labor or delivery but it is quite an adventure and I only hope that I will be able to articulate to him someday the enormous amount of excitement and joy he brought to our hearts when he came through the door of that hotel.
And so our adventure began...
up to the room we went. We laid him on the bed and checked him out. We showed him every toy we brought. He became very fond of the bee teether. He never cried or fussed, he would just giggle and laugh and kick his feet. It became apparent very quickly that he appreciated his dad's humor (which scares many kids-and adults). He laughed at everything Wyatt did. He kicked his feet constantly and grunted and groaned like he was trying to talk to us (or poop). I made his first bottle and Wyatt fed him then they took a nap together. I'm sure there will be many more of those. Thanks to Brylie and Kahlen, Wyatt has learned that if he lays on the couch with the baby, I can't make him do anything!
We spent the next few hours checking out the hotel and waiting for this perfect little angel to become a screaming maniac. It didn't happen. We were actually beginning to wonder if he knew how to cry.
Our driver came at 2pm to take us to Antigua. He was very nice and spoke English. He told us a lot about the country and we saw a little of the city on the way out. I was glad to leave Guatemala City and was even more relieved that we were not staying there the whole week. It is not recommended that you venture far from the hotel in GC (short for Guatemala City, not Grove City...haha). Wyatt and I both like to get out and about and sitting at the Marriott all week would have gotten really old, really fast. Plus,I wanted to see and learn about the culture while we were there so that we could tell Collin about his birth country when he gets older. The city was pretty much like any city but there were some really poor areas. Driving there is like playing chicken. No one stops they all just fit in where they can. People run across the streets in front of cars, they climb on top of the buses while they are moving and people drive their kids on the handlebars of motorcycles and scooters-WITH NO HELMETS. The accident investigator in me was going CRAZY but hey, we didn't have all that fancy safety equipment growing up and we lived!
Our driver explained that the buses are called "chicken buses" because you may be sitting next to a chicken or a pig on the bus, you just never know. I had been fascinated by the Guatemalan COTA bus system. I watched from the balcony of our room as brightly colored school buses flew down the street honking the horn and a guy would hang out the front door and yell at people on the street. If the people started to run and chase the bus it would slow down-not stop- and they could jump on. Sometimes the guy in the door would jump out and grab stuff from people and throw it in top of the bus. Then as the bus drove off he would climb a ladder up the back and walk on top of the bus and arrange the baggage. I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken buses. Wyatt wanted to ride one but I said NO WAY! Maybe COTA could actually make some money if they operated like that.
Antigua was a very quaint old historical town. It was actually the original capital of Guatemala until it was nearly destroyed by an earthquake many years ago. We arrived at our hotel, the Porta Hotel Antigua, and it was beautiful. Everything is open air. Their are no windows just open hallways that were lit with candles in the evening and lush tropical gardens. There were beautiful fountains and birds everywhere. There was a heated pool, a restaurant and a playground. Our room was very nice. It had french doors that opened to a private patio surrounded by tropical plants. It was a great place to just chill out and relax.
We decided to head out soon after we arrived but didn't realize that it got dark there at about 5:30pm. We got very lost and I didn't think we would ever find our hotel. Eventually, we made it back. We weren't really sure how safe it was there so it was a little nerve racking-but a great adventure! We enjoyed our first night with Collin. We found out that he could cry but if you stick a bottle in his mouth he is very happy and goes right back to sleep.
The next day we got up bright and early-I think about 6am! We fed Collin and then Wyatt had a little chat with him about how we were good while he ate his breakfast and we hoped that he would do the same. The hotel breakfast was great. They had a big buffet every morning with lots of fruit and every kind of fresh squeezed juice imaginable. They had an omelet station and some Guatemalan staples-black beans and fried plantains-YUM! They also had homemade fruit jam everyday in different flavors. The coffee was amazing. We ate so much at breakfast everyday that we rarely ate lunch. Collin stuck to his end of the deal and behaved. He had the attention of all of the wait staff and was quite popular.
We spent our days walking around Antigua checking out the sights. We did a lot of shopping. They have tons of nice shops and markets. There are also people on the streets selling stuff. Some of them carry their stuff in a basket on top of their heads. We were prime targets for the ladies. They talk to you and then remember your name and God help you if they see you again because they chase you down yelling"Heather, Wyatt, you buy pretty things, I give you special price". Walking into the markets sort of reminded me of when you go in the toy store and there is some type of toy that says something when you press its hand and you press all 50 of them and they are all talking at the same time but you can't really understand any of them. You feel bad but you have to start ignoring them or they rope you in forever. My favorite was "don't worry lady, you husband pay". Wyatt loved negotiating the prices so I would just pile up the stuff I wanted and let him go to town. It was a challenge trying to figure out what you were really paying in dollars. The Guatemalan money is the Quetzel which was worth about 7.5 US dollars. Math is not my strongest subject so a nice number like 5 or 10 would have been much easier but I think we had it down by the time we left.
Our days were very relaxed and unscheduled. I was starting to think that this baby stuff wasn't so difficult until we told friends we would meet them for lunch at 2pm. When we had to be somewhere at an actual scheduled time it changed my outlook a bit. Now I know what they mean by "baby time".
We met lots of other adopting families there. It seemed everywhere you went you saw white people walking with their Guatemalan babies. Needless to say we aren't too hard to spot. It was as if we all just automatically knew each other and would say hello or stop and chat for a while. Antigua is very popular for adopting parents because it is safer and cheaper than the city. Some people are lucky enough to be able to live in Guatemala and foster their children during the adoption process and Antigua is where a lot of them stay. I can understand why. It is a very relaxing place with very simple living. Of course, everything is simple when you aren't at home! It really makes you realize the excess and extravagance that we live with and expect in America.
We didn't make it through the entire week without a little drama! Collin had started being unusually fussy. Since we didn't know him that well we didn't know if it was just him or if something was wrong. We thought he felt hot so I went to the pharmacy 4-5 blocks away to get a thermometer. All they had was the forehead strip or a rectal one. I took the forehead strip. Since we were just getting to know each other I didn't want his first memories to be me shoving a stick up his butt! I rushed back to the room and the strip said 102 but it said it may be off a degree so it could have been 103. All we knew was he felt burning hot! We didn't know what to do. Luckily we had the doctors phone number but it was a Sunday and I wasn't sure if they would answer the phone, let alone speak English. We called our in country coordinator and she contacted the doctor who said he would call us. We waited and waited and no call. We called again and finally he called back. I thought he was going to ask us to bring him to the city which would cost us $100 but he said that he would come to Antigua after 6pm. He said he would call and let us know what time. 6 o'clock came and went and no word, so we called again. He was on his way. Now it is 9 o'clock (we called at noon) and once again he was on his way. Finally at 9:30pm he arrived at our room. It seemed clear that Collin recognized the doctor as someone he didn't care for very much-boy am I glad I didn't get that rectal thermometer!!! He said that Collin had an ear infection and prescribed him an antibiotic and pain medicine. The best part was at 10pm the front desk called the pharmacy and they delivered the scripts right to our room and the doctor didn't charge us a dime! What service! Luckily, Collin seemed better the next day other than one incident. We fed and dressed him and headed to breakfast. I was carrying him when all of the sudden he pukes straight down my shirt. He must have puked 6 times before we could get back to the room. It had gone down my shirt, pants, onto the floor and we left a trail all the way to the room. So we had to get ready all over again but he did seem to feel much better after that and mom passed her first test.
Before we knew it our week had come to an end and it was time to pack up and head back to the city. The minute we walked out the door of our room-the place that had been our home away from home for the last week-the reality set in. It was almost time to give Collin back to Mama Rosa and for us to leave and go home without him. Our driver picked us up at about noon and was nice enough to take us to the Hyper Piaz (Guatemalan Walmart) to try to find an Exersaucer to send home with Mama Rosa. Collin loved the activity gym we took and it was amazing how much his motor skills improved in a matter of days. We didn't find what we were looking for but something close enough. We went back to the Marriott and waited for the dreaded 5pm to arrive.
Collin slept through most of the afternoon so it wasn't really quality time. Rosa was supposed to bring her family and we were going to have dinner although I didn't think I could eat. Our in country coordinator was nice enough to come and translate. Mama Rosa brought her husband, her daughter, her grandaughter and her one of her 2 sons. They were obviously very happy to see Collin and I let her have him for a few minutes. Her grand-daughter ran up and gave us big hugs and said thank you for the candy. She loved Wyatt and was all over him the whole time. She went on and on in Spanish and we just acted like we knew what she was saying. She ate a piece of cake and an ice cream sundae for dinner. I'm sure it will be very hard for her when Collin leaves. Her mom is pregnant and when they ask her if she wants a brother or a sister she says she already has a brother. She loves playing with him and they told us that she dances and sings for him at home and he laughs and loves it.
The coordinator could only stay for an hour so we had about an hour until the foster family's cab arrived. That was a bit of an ackward situation since we didn't understand eachother. We took them up to our room and loaded up all of the things we brought for Collin. I ended up feeling really bad because all 6 of them crammed into one little cab (about as big as a Toyota Corolla)and all of the stuff we sent wouldn't fit in the truck so they had to hold Collin's new toy on their laps in the back. We told them we would pay for a second cab but they refused and said they were fine.
The one thing that I realized while we were with them was that even though we are very different and live very different lives, their family reminded me of mine. They all joked around with eachother and seemed very close. It made it a little easier to let them take him back because I thought if he has to be with someone that isn't us I am glad it is a family like that. There is no doubt in my mind that they love him very much and that when we come back to take him home, they will be the blubbering idiots in the hotel lobby and we will be the ones consoling them and telling them that we promise we will take good care of him and not to worry.
We loaded them up in the cab and kissed Collin goodbye for now. He started to cry which secretly made me happy because I want him to miss us and remember us but I don't want him to be sad. We made our way back up to the room and had our own sad moment. What do you do when you are sad and depressed? Go to the bar! We drowned our sorrows in alcohol and then got packed and ready to go. We had to be on the shuttle bus at 4:30am!
The flight home was excruciatingly long. We had a 6 hour layover in Fort Lauderdale whick is a complete dump of an airport! No nice people sitting next to me, just a couple of globe trotting college guys trying REALLY hard to pick up the flight attendant. I feel your pain sister!! All I wanted was to get home and check my e-mail to see if we had pre-approval. That would have made the pain of leaving ease a bit but no such luck.
My brain has been mush since we have been home. Collin consumes every thought of everyday but none of it compares to actually getting to see him and spend quality bonding time with him. Unfortunately, now we know what we are missing!
We are back from our trip to New York which I will post about later, but what an experience. This process has brought so many wonderful people into our lives that otherwise we may have never known. Who would have ever thought that we would travel to Guatemala to bring home a baby from half way across the world? Who would have thought that we would create lifelong bonds with people with whom we share absolutely nothing in common other than an overwhelming love for a little child? We don't even speak the same language! And in some strange way we don't need to. It is so very obvious that Collin touched his foster family just as he has touched us and that he will forever be a part of their lives and their family. I hope that someday he understands the love they have for him and the special bond that they share. That child is truley a gift to so many people!
So, here is our very first post,the beginning of this journey that is constantly evolving. I can only say that I am thrilled that the wait is over and he is home forever. I can't wait to see what the future holds for little Collin Jeffrey Wilson!!
This blogging thing is all new to me but I find lately I need to do as much as possible to keep my mind occupied. We have just returned home from Guatemala where we met our son for the first time. Words really cannot describe the feelings and emotions we encountered on this trip. I am not exaggerating when I call it a "life changing experience". It was truly the trip of a lifetime and if I could go back tomorrow I would!
We were so excited to meet our son and to finally be able to hold him in our arms. Wyatt actually did most of the holding but I managed to muscle him away a few times. We looked at this trip as an adventure. We had no idea what to expect in Guatemala. Neither of us has ever been in a "3rd World Country" before. I have of course researched it to death but you never really know until you get there.
We left Columbus on May 29th and flew to Tampa and then Fort Lauderdale. Our flights were all full and of course Wyatt had the window seat so I was thrown to the wolves and had to deal with God knows what in the aisle seat. I hate talking to people on airplanes! I don't know why but once a conversation starts there is no easy way to get out of it, and then you are stuck for hours trying to politely ignore the person next to you. Don't bump an elbow or try to go to the bathroom because the whole vicious cycle starts over again.
A nice woman sat down next to me and didn't seem too obnoxious so I breathed a sigh of relief. Just let me read my People magazine in peace. Wyatt then decided that he needed the details of the next flight, which I had not memorized, so I had to pull out the Bible, I mean the notebook. She took one look at the notebook and asked if we were adopting. Only another (well-organized, detail oriented, anal retentive) adoptive mother knows "THE NOTEBOOK" when she sees it. Amy and I talked the whole way to Tampa-it was the fastest flight ever! She lives in Dublin and is adopting from Vietnam. She was headed to Florida on business. It was really nice to talk to someone who understood exactly what we were going through and understood the excitement of meeting our baby for the first time. She was nice enough to take our picture at the airport to document the start of our trip.
Our first real adventure was checking in for our international flight with Spirit Airline in Fort Lauderdale. I felt like I was already in Guatemala. When they said low cost airline I didn't think they meant no air conditioning! We had 4 huge checked suitcases all carefully weighed to come in just under the 50 lb. limit, a stroller, and each of us had 2 carry-on bags. It took 2 carts to carry everything. We had to pick up our bags, load them on a cart, unload them on a bus, change terminals, unload them off the bus and back onto a cart and fight through a crowded ticketing area to get in line and wait for what seemed like hours. When we finally made it up to the counter, someone must have sqeezed an extra pair of shoes in one of the suitcases because we were a couple of pounds over. So we proceeded to unpack and repack so that all were under the weight requirement.
The ticket agent wanted to charge us $25 for the stroller because there was no baby in it which just about sent me over the edge. I had called to verify that the stroller was free and even printed the policy off their website. He didn't care! He had me so flustered that I walked away and left my notebook and wallet at the counter. When I went back to look for them, they were gone and the guy was nowhere to be found! Wyatt had just made fun of me earlier for splitting my money up and putting it in several different places. He said I would forget where I put it and lose it. I say it's better to lose it in little amounts than to lose it all. I seem to remember losing my wallet in an airport before and having it returned to me minus $500. Thanks a lot! Well, the agent returned with my stuff and what do you know, the measly $100 was still there.
We boarded our flight and headed to Guatemala City. That airport would be the next challenge. We had read about how the airport was so crowded with people that you could barely move and not to go outside the doors of the airport until you actually saw your shuttle pull up and definitely don't let anyone take your bags for you except the guys in the blue shirts...or was it white?
We got off the plane not knowing if we were going to hit a dirt floor or have people grabbing at us and little kids dressed in rags trying to sell Chicklets, or maybe we would see Mama Rosa with a sign that said "Collin" waiting to welcome us with a village of people in traditional dress and not a word of English.
Well, we were pleasantly surprised when the airport looked just like any other airport and it wasn't any more crowded than average. We made our way to customs and waited in line. While in line we started talking to Rebecca who was coming to visit her son Owen. They are from Missouri and are currently in PGN. That once again helped the time pass. She was going to Antigua as well so we agreed to try to meet while we were there. She said the pool at our hotel is a hot spot for adoptive parents so we were bound to run in to each other.
We made it to baggage claim and collected our bags and began the journey to the unknown-outside the airport. We asked Rebecca if she knew where the shuttles were but she said her driver always meets her inside and takes her straight to the car. I hope we are not in trouble!!Okay, remember don't let anyone take your bags and don't go outside.
It seemed there was only one hallway so we just went with the flow. Before we knew it we were OUTSIDE and 2 guys took our carts with our bags!! Were they blue shirts or white shirts? Who can tell they are half way across the parking lot dodging cars and they didn't appear to be going the same direction. I saw a lady with a Marriott sign and I think she said go with them!?! I figured they must be okay, but it seemed like they were leading us to a dark alley. Wyatt and I debated whether to stay together or each keep track of one cart. We chose the latter ( I wasn't going to lose Collin's goodies) and luckily we ended up at the same spot...the Marriott shuttle...clear in the back under an overpass. Wyatt was nearly molested by a woman wanting him to buy Chicklets but we managed to make it on the bus in one piece and so did our bags. Once on the bus we breathed a collective sigh of relief. Off to the Marriott.
As we drove the 5 minute drive to the Marriott I rehearsed my few words of Spanish I had managed to learn from a set of Pimsleur CD's I had been listening to in the car for the last month or so. Buenos noches, habla englais? They would probably have no idea that I wasn't a native. But if they didn't habla englais I was in big trouble! We walked up to the counter and they said "good evening and welcome to the Marriott" What fun is that?
We got settled in our room and headed down to check out the hotel. We went to Champions, the sports bar in the hotel and checked out our first Guatemalan beer, Gallo. Not bad. As excited as I was to meet Collin, I was glad to have this night to relax and get ready for the next day. When we got back to our room (with a few GALLOs to go) we had a message that Mama Rosa would be there with Collin at 9am. We were expecting noon or one! We were much closer to seeing him for the first time than we had expected. So much for relaxing!
The next morning we got up and had breakfast and waited for Collin to arrive. Before we knew it 9am had arrived. We decided against taking the video camera because neither of us wanted to be the designated videographer. We both wanted to get our hands on that baby-forget the video, it will be in our heads. We did take the camera in hopes of taking pictures with Mama Rosa and her family.
Just as we sat down in the lobby we saw our Collin come through the door. I knew Rosa's face because she was the woman in the picture with Collin's birth mom on the day she took him to the attorney's office. We had been told she was a friend that brought the mother to the city. I gave her a big hug and she handed him to me. He was dressed in about 300 layers of clothes and was hot and sweaty. Right at that moment, the rest of the world disappeared. There he was, in person, this picture we had all fallen in love with was an actual human being and I was holding him.
I had often contemplated what it would be like to see him for the first time. I had read books about bonding and attachment and expected that it may not be love at first sight for him or for us. I knew I would be crushed if he cried and was upset to leave Rosa and come with us but I was prepared. What I was not prepared for was the immediate knowledge that this was my child. He was the one that was supposed to come to us, there were no doubts. It was an immediate feeling of completeness. How did this perfect little boy half a world away find us? And how is it possible to immediately feel like this child is a part of you? I don't know and I don't care, I just know he is. The best part was when I looked at Wyatt, I saw the same thing. I had to hand him over and let dad enjoy his moment.
Not one picture was taken but the memories in my head will never fade. I see many years of continuing the Collins tradition on birthdays of Mom and Dad telling the story of labor, birth, Army Hospitals and missing fireworks. Collin's story may not involve labor or delivery but it is quite an adventure and I only hope that I will be able to articulate to him someday the enormous amount of excitement and joy he brought to our hearts when he came through the door of that hotel.
And so our adventure began...
up to the room we went. We laid him on the bed and checked him out. We showed him every toy we brought. He became very fond of the bee teether. He never cried or fussed, he would just giggle and laugh and kick his feet. It became apparent very quickly that he appreciated his dad's humor (which scares many kids-and adults). He laughed at everything Wyatt did. He kicked his feet constantly and grunted and groaned like he was trying to talk to us (or poop). I made his first bottle and Wyatt fed him then they took a nap together. I'm sure there will be many more of those. Thanks to Brylie and Kahlen, Wyatt has learned that if he lays on the couch with the baby, I can't make him do anything!
We spent the next few hours checking out the hotel and waiting for this perfect little angel to become a screaming maniac. It didn't happen. We were actually beginning to wonder if he knew how to cry.
Our driver came at 2pm to take us to Antigua. He was very nice and spoke English. He told us a lot about the country and we saw a little of the city on the way out. I was glad to leave Guatemala City and was even more relieved that we were not staying there the whole week. It is not recommended that you venture far from the hotel in GC (short for Guatemala City, not Grove City...haha). Wyatt and I both like to get out and about and sitting at the Marriott all week would have gotten really old, really fast. Plus,I wanted to see and learn about the culture while we were there so that we could tell Collin about his birth country when he gets older. The city was pretty much like any city but there were some really poor areas. Driving there is like playing chicken. No one stops they all just fit in where they can. People run across the streets in front of cars, they climb on top of the buses while they are moving and people drive their kids on the handlebars of motorcycles and scooters-WITH NO HELMETS. The accident investigator in me was going CRAZY but hey, we didn't have all that fancy safety equipment growing up and we lived!
Our driver explained that the buses are called "chicken buses" because you may be sitting next to a chicken or a pig on the bus, you just never know. I had been fascinated by the Guatemalan COTA bus system. I watched from the balcony of our room as brightly colored school buses flew down the street honking the horn and a guy would hang out the front door and yell at people on the street. If the people started to run and chase the bus it would slow down-not stop- and they could jump on. Sometimes the guy in the door would jump out and grab stuff from people and throw it in top of the bus. Then as the bus drove off he would climb a ladder up the back and walk on top of the bus and arrange the baggage. I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken buses. Wyatt wanted to ride one but I said NO WAY! Maybe COTA could actually make some money if they operated like that.
Antigua was a very quaint old historical town. It was actually the original capital of Guatemala until it was nearly destroyed by an earthquake many years ago. We arrived at our hotel, the Porta Hotel Antigua, and it was beautiful. Everything is open air. Their are no windows just open hallways that were lit with candles in the evening and lush tropical gardens. There were beautiful fountains and birds everywhere. There was a heated pool, a restaurant and a playground. Our room was very nice. It had french doors that opened to a private patio surrounded by tropical plants. It was a great place to just chill out and relax.
We decided to head out soon after we arrived but didn't realize that it got dark there at about 5:30pm. We got very lost and I didn't think we would ever find our hotel. Eventually, we made it back. We weren't really sure how safe it was there so it was a little nerve racking-but a great adventure! We enjoyed our first night with Collin. We found out that he could cry but if you stick a bottle in his mouth he is very happy and goes right back to sleep.
The next day we got up bright and early-I think about 6am! We fed Collin and then Wyatt had a little chat with him about how we were good while he ate his breakfast and we hoped that he would do the same. The hotel breakfast was great. They had a big buffet every morning with lots of fruit and every kind of fresh squeezed juice imaginable. They had an omelet station and some Guatemalan staples-black beans and fried plantains-YUM! They also had homemade fruit jam everyday in different flavors. The coffee was amazing. We ate so much at breakfast everyday that we rarely ate lunch. Collin stuck to his end of the deal and behaved. He had the attention of all of the wait staff and was quite popular.
We spent our days walking around Antigua checking out the sights. We did a lot of shopping. They have tons of nice shops and markets. There are also people on the streets selling stuff. Some of them carry their stuff in a basket on top of their heads. We were prime targets for the ladies. They talk to you and then remember your name and God help you if they see you again because they chase you down yelling"Heather, Wyatt, you buy pretty things, I give you special price". Walking into the markets sort of reminded me of when you go in the toy store and there is some type of toy that says something when you press its hand and you press all 50 of them and they are all talking at the same time but you can't really understand any of them. You feel bad but you have to start ignoring them or they rope you in forever. My favorite was "don't worry lady, you husband pay". Wyatt loved negotiating the prices so I would just pile up the stuff I wanted and let him go to town. It was a challenge trying to figure out what you were really paying in dollars. The Guatemalan money is the Quetzel which was worth about 7.5 US dollars. Math is not my strongest subject so a nice number like 5 or 10 would have been much easier but I think we had it down by the time we left.
Our days were very relaxed and unscheduled. I was starting to think that this baby stuff wasn't so difficult until we told friends we would meet them for lunch at 2pm. When we had to be somewhere at an actual scheduled time it changed my outlook a bit. Now I know what they mean by "baby time".
We met lots of other adopting families there. It seemed everywhere you went you saw white people walking with their Guatemalan babies. Needless to say we aren't too hard to spot. It was as if we all just automatically knew each other and would say hello or stop and chat for a while. Antigua is very popular for adopting parents because it is safer and cheaper than the city. Some people are lucky enough to be able to live in Guatemala and foster their children during the adoption process and Antigua is where a lot of them stay. I can understand why. It is a very relaxing place with very simple living. Of course, everything is simple when you aren't at home! It really makes you realize the excess and extravagance that we live with and expect in America.
We didn't make it through the entire week without a little drama! Collin had started being unusually fussy. Since we didn't know him that well we didn't know if it was just him or if something was wrong. We thought he felt hot so I went to the pharmacy 4-5 blocks away to get a thermometer. All they had was the forehead strip or a rectal one. I took the forehead strip. Since we were just getting to know each other I didn't want his first memories to be me shoving a stick up his butt! I rushed back to the room and the strip said 102 but it said it may be off a degree so it could have been 103. All we knew was he felt burning hot! We didn't know what to do. Luckily we had the doctors phone number but it was a Sunday and I wasn't sure if they would answer the phone, let alone speak English. We called our in country coordinator and she contacted the doctor who said he would call us. We waited and waited and no call. We called again and finally he called back. I thought he was going to ask us to bring him to the city which would cost us $100 but he said that he would come to Antigua after 6pm. He said he would call and let us know what time. 6 o'clock came and went and no word, so we called again. He was on his way. Now it is 9 o'clock (we called at noon) and once again he was on his way. Finally at 9:30pm he arrived at our room. It seemed clear that Collin recognized the doctor as someone he didn't care for very much-boy am I glad I didn't get that rectal thermometer!!! He said that Collin had an ear infection and prescribed him an antibiotic and pain medicine. The best part was at 10pm the front desk called the pharmacy and they delivered the scripts right to our room and the doctor didn't charge us a dime! What service! Luckily, Collin seemed better the next day other than one incident. We fed and dressed him and headed to breakfast. I was carrying him when all of the sudden he pukes straight down my shirt. He must have puked 6 times before we could get back to the room. It had gone down my shirt, pants, onto the floor and we left a trail all the way to the room. So we had to get ready all over again but he did seem to feel much better after that and mom passed her first test.
Before we knew it our week had come to an end and it was time to pack up and head back to the city. The minute we walked out the door of our room-the place that had been our home away from home for the last week-the reality set in. It was almost time to give Collin back to Mama Rosa and for us to leave and go home without him. Our driver picked us up at about noon and was nice enough to take us to the Hyper Piaz (Guatemalan Walmart) to try to find an Exersaucer to send home with Mama Rosa. Collin loved the activity gym we took and it was amazing how much his motor skills improved in a matter of days. We didn't find what we were looking for but something close enough. We went back to the Marriott and waited for the dreaded 5pm to arrive.
Collin slept through most of the afternoon so it wasn't really quality time. Rosa was supposed to bring her family and we were going to have dinner although I didn't think I could eat. Our in country coordinator was nice enough to come and translate. Mama Rosa brought her husband, her daughter, her grandaughter and her one of her 2 sons. They were obviously very happy to see Collin and I let her have him for a few minutes. Her grand-daughter ran up and gave us big hugs and said thank you for the candy. She loved Wyatt and was all over him the whole time. She went on and on in Spanish and we just acted like we knew what she was saying. She ate a piece of cake and an ice cream sundae for dinner. I'm sure it will be very hard for her when Collin leaves. Her mom is pregnant and when they ask her if she wants a brother or a sister she says she already has a brother. She loves playing with him and they told us that she dances and sings for him at home and he laughs and loves it.
The coordinator could only stay for an hour so we had about an hour until the foster family's cab arrived. That was a bit of an ackward situation since we didn't understand eachother. We took them up to our room and loaded up all of the things we brought for Collin. I ended up feeling really bad because all 6 of them crammed into one little cab (about as big as a Toyota Corolla)and all of the stuff we sent wouldn't fit in the truck so they had to hold Collin's new toy on their laps in the back. We told them we would pay for a second cab but they refused and said they were fine.
The one thing that I realized while we were with them was that even though we are very different and live very different lives, their family reminded me of mine. They all joked around with eachother and seemed very close. It made it a little easier to let them take him back because I thought if he has to be with someone that isn't us I am glad it is a family like that. There is no doubt in my mind that they love him very much and that when we come back to take him home, they will be the blubbering idiots in the hotel lobby and we will be the ones consoling them and telling them that we promise we will take good care of him and not to worry.
We loaded them up in the cab and kissed Collin goodbye for now. He started to cry which secretly made me happy because I want him to miss us and remember us but I don't want him to be sad. We made our way back up to the room and had our own sad moment. What do you do when you are sad and depressed? Go to the bar! We drowned our sorrows in alcohol and then got packed and ready to go. We had to be on the shuttle bus at 4:30am!
The flight home was excruciatingly long. We had a 6 hour layover in Fort Lauderdale whick is a complete dump of an airport! No nice people sitting next to me, just a couple of globe trotting college guys trying REALLY hard to pick up the flight attendant. I feel your pain sister!! All I wanted was to get home and check my e-mail to see if we had pre-approval. That would have made the pain of leaving ease a bit but no such luck.
My brain has been mush since we have been home. Collin consumes every thought of everyday but none of it compares to actually getting to see him and spend quality bonding time with him. Unfortunately, now we know what we are missing!
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