More sickness......

Hannah woke up with a fever on Monday and has had one ever since. I took her to the doctor and they ruled out strep throat and ear infections. Just a virus with a cold. Yesterday Dillon woke up with a fever and the start of a cold. So today we are going back to the doctor with Dillon to be told probably the same thing we were told with Hannah. They both have a cough, Hannah's coughing much more often but I worry about croup with Dillon. It is that type of cough. Hannah seems fine, I'm just treating the fever. We went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning and to run a bunch of errands as well. Dillon had to stay home with Darr (he has Thursdays off). I told the hygienist she could skip Hannah due to the cough but she said her son has the same thing. So we got the dentist done. The eye doctor (and the pediatrician) today. The girls have this amazing power to destroy glasses. I have no idea how their lenses got so CRACKED! These glasses are 2 months old and they both needed all new lenses. The eye dr. has never seen anything like it. The girls are really not that rough. I'm questioning the lenses??? Darr has the camera for something at school , so I don't have any new pictures-sorry!

Complete Adoption Timeline-This is "Why is it taking so long?"

Updated timeline
Here is an updated timeline. Again it may make no sense to those not going through the process, however many adopting families read adoption blogs and like to see timelines.

4/25/06-signed with Adoptions from the Heart

5/2/06-I-600A filed

5/23/06-Federal Fingerprints

6/30/06-Homestudy hand delivered to Albany INS

7/12/06-I-171 issued

7/14/06-Dossier sent to Guat. Consulate NYC via courier

7/17/06-referral received

7/18/06-referral accepted after review by Dr. Aronson

7/19/06-dossier received back after authentication

7/28/06-POA signed and dossier hand delivered to lawyer

7/27-7/29/06-trip to sign POA in Guatemala

8/9/06-Hired Adoption Supervisors

8/?/06-attorney lost I 171-H

9/10/06-new I 171-H to attorney, delay in translation of documents

9/19/06-POA registered

9/27/06-Enter Family Court

10/10/06-Social Worker interview canceled, bio mom can't make it

11/7/06-Social Worker interview and DNA completed

11/13/06-DNA 99.9% match

11/19-25/06-1st visit trip

11/24/06-out of Family Court

12/8/06-Preapproval issued by US Embassy

1/9/07-Enter PGN

1/30/07-Assigned reviewer

2/1/07-6 previos (mistakes) so they claim, reviewer fired, bio mom needs to be re interviewed

3/20/07-bio mom interview-can't make it

3/28/07-bio mom interview-can't make it

4/20/07-bio mom interview-can't make it

5/7/07-bio mom interview completed

5/25/07-back to PGN (2nd time submitted)

6/6/07-kicked out of PGN

6/22/07-back to PGN (3rd time submitted)

7/6/07-kicked out of PGN

7/18-24/07-second visit trip

7/24?/07-lawyers have had enough of PGN, enter Judicial Review

9/7/07-Judge reinterviews bio mom

9/19?/07-Judge rules in our favor, PGN has 3 days to appeal

9/19/07-Informed we are now going to the appeals court

10/9/07-Informed PGN missed the 3 day appeal opportunity, adoption is completed!

10/25?/07-Birth mom gives final signature

10/26/07-Documents to civil registry

11/19/07-Guatemala City birth certificate issued

11/22/07-Passport issued

11/26/07-Translation of documents completed

11/28/07-Second DNA authorization

11/30/07-DNA sample taken so we were told-lawyers screwed up again

12/4/07-DNA actually taken

12/10/07-DNA results

12/11/07-DNA results at the US embassy in Guatemala. At this point there were MAJOR screw ups with the I-72 that had been issued. Someone was lying-the lawyers or the US embassy??

1/7/08-Pink, with the help of Senators and others.

1/11/08-Embassy appointment

1/14/08-Pick up Visa

1/15/08-HOME

2/15/08-Received in the mail Dillon's Certificate of Citizenship

Happy Valentine's Day

Sorry, a day late. Here is Hannah making a Valentine's Day cake while Chloe was at Brownies. Dillon still only eats fruit. He won't even try cake!! What is wrong with this boy??? Someday he will realize what he is missing.

Another snowday

Well, the girls are having another snowday. I think the ice maybe more of a problem then the snow. Last Friday I took the kids to get their pictures taken. Surprisingly it went well. We did the group picture first, then Dillon alone, then the girls. Saturday we went to Chuck E. Cheese with Darr's sister and niece who is 5. The kids all seemed to enjoy it. It was too busy to let Dillon loose, but he did well. Sunday we went to my parents to celebrate my father's birthday. All of their grandchildren were there. McKenna 11, Chloe 8, Hannah 5, Mattison 3, Dillon 19 months, Reagan 15 months and another girl (Kennedy) due in April. We are working on Dillon's "social skills". He takes things away from Reagan which he must stop because Reagan weighs more than him and probably always will. Someday I would like to get a picture of all of them. I took one last year and it came out great. Maybe after baby Kennedy is here.
I will get some pictures posted soon.

Darr exploded

At 2 a.m. Darr exploded. I mean it. He jumped out of bed and threw up all over our bedroom, hall and bathroom. I have never seen anything like it and hope to never again. Chloe threw up at 4 a.m., so another day off for her. Maybe she can go to school tomorrow if the snowstorm isn't too bad. She is fine now and really has been all day (I said this last night also). I am just hoping Hannah and Dillon don't come down with this. Darr is still sick. Good thing he doesn't have school (college to be a Registered Nurse) tomorrow!

Our trip to the ER

Early Monday morning Chloe woke up with a really bad headache so she stayed home from school, which put Hannah into a complete rage. Hannah went off to school really mad and crying. Thanks to Bob the bus driver and Aunt Holly, Hannah made it into school. Chloe on the other hand didn't do as well. Her headache just kept getting worse and worse. I took her to the pediatrician yesterday afternoon and he was VERY concerned. She had a fever along with the headache. He sent us to the Glens Falls ER (he mentioned Albany Med, but I wasn't sure I could find my way without Darr). We went home and got Darr, my mother stayed with Hannah and Dillon and off to the ER we went. The pediatrician thought that a CT scan and a spinal tap would be done to check for meningitis or a brain bleed or infection. When we saw the ER doctor he said none of that would be necessary-thank God! Apparently their is a virus going around that our Ped. hasn't seen yet. The ER dr. had seen many kids in the last week with this-headache, fever, cough and it is just a virus. Treatment is tylenol and ibuprofen to control the fever. He did a strep test, chest x-ray and an urinalysis and all came back negative. Chloe is staying home today,but is 100% better. Hopefully Hannah and Dillon don't get this!