Time for an update

I finally have time to sit down for a few minutes to update you. Karla is taking a nap right now.

I just talked to Pablo for the 3rd or 4th time today. He and the attorney are dragging their feet. Anyway, he said the attorney's assistant will drop off Karla's passport and paperwork for her DNA test. The passport is important for me because I don't currently have any legal papers stating she is my daughter. I've been asking for it since Monday, just to be safe. The DNA paperwork will have to be faxed to LabCorp in the US so our credit card can be billed and then the confirmation slip will be sent back to Guatemala - I hope I can have it sent to me at the hotel. As soon as we have the confirmation slip we can take Karla for her DNA test. Tomorrow might be too soon to send the faxes and go get the DNA done but I hope Friday we can get the DNA taken. Then, while we are waiting for the DNA test results to be processed I will take Karla to the US Embassy doctor and to get required pictures taken. Then we just wait for the Embassy to tell us when our appointment is.

Karla is doing so well! She smiles a lot and is saying so much more than last time I saw her. When I saw her Monday I couldn't believe how tall she had gotten! I am a little concerned that most of the clothes I brought for her might be too small. We will definitely have to have Jason bring us some more PJs for her. They were pretty snug last night. I hope the other pair I brought for her are a better fit.

Karla slept ALL night! I woke up frequently just to look at her and make sure she was still there....that I wasn't dreaming.

She took a bath for me this morning!! She has screamed everytime we've been here during her bath. Today she played around in the water while I washed her. Her daddy is going to be proud of her! I was concerned about how I would bathe her b/c it was a 2 person job before....she was so slippery and mad when we did it. Today she was fine. I used the little baby tub b/c I wasn't sure how it was going to go.

She is getting along with Lola. I think it is good there is another girl her age here to distract her. So far Karla has said:
Mommy
Lola
Tia (aunt in Spanish) when referring to Carey (I didn't teach her that, but I'm not correcting her either. :)
Daddy - while on Skype last night with Jason
baby
vamos ("go" in spanish)
pacha (bottle in spanish)
gracios (thank you in spanish)
she "roars" like a lion
mas (more in spanish)
ma (mine)

She is drinking from a sippy cup and with a straw - something she wasn't doing 5 months ago.

She has eaten for me - something she didn't do on the first day of both of our visit trips. This morning for breakfast she ate fried plaintains (her favorite this morning), strawberries, apple pieces, some black beans, and some other fruit that I can't remember right now.

She has been asleep for over an hour. When she wakes up we'll have lunch. I'm kind of hoping it is soon because I'm hungry. :)

It was so nice yesterday when the foster family brought Karla to the hotel. Carey, Lola, and some other great friends, Diana, Jorge, Marlin and baby Richard were with me while I waited for Karla to arrive. That is always so stressful - waiting for her to arrive. Diana called Heidy to see why they weren't at the hotel yet. Turns out their taxi had a flat tire and that is why they were running late. Then when Karla came I just enjoyed Karla while Diana took lots of pictures and translated for me and Heidy. Diana took pictures from the hotel lobby all the way up to our room which I thought was great.

It was SO hard for Heidy to say goodbye to Karla. I couldn't watch as they left because I started crying for them. I know how difficult it is to leave Karla!! They are probably going to come here on Friday to hang out at the pool. I saw on the weather that it is supposed to rain the next few days though.

Karla is waking up. Please pray for her. She has been congested since Monday. Seems like everytime I see her she is congested....allergies maybe? They definitely run in the family. :) Anyway, she wakes up coughing pretty hard. I don't know if I should take her to the doctor or not. She doesn't have a fever (I brought a thermometer this time).

Gotta go...