Cooler weather and still waiting

Well I survived the heat over the weekend. Spent a lot of time in the pool and I have the sunburn to prove it! Spoke to birth mom and she is doing well. Says she is tired and ready (SO ready) to deliver but no real movement or changes. We will go to the OB on this Thursday, and see what's happening. I am trying to keep busy. The hardest part is being away from my partner and our son. We Skyped last night and that made it better. That's it for today. Hope to be on here soon blogging about our new son!

Like watching a pot boil

VERY HOT WEATHER IS FORECAST FOR THE NORTH AND EAST BAY VALLEYS TODAY. AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM 100 TO 107. This is today's forecast per weather.com. I am trying to pass time the best I can awaiting the birth of our son. I am staying at a friend's lovely home with a beautiful pool. I will definitely spend some time in the water today, but then what? It's too hot to go for a bike ride or hike. Hmmm, let's see. Delivery rooms in hospitals are air conditioned. Why don't we have a baby today!!!

Baby boy number two is coming!

In March of this year, we received a call from our facilitator that there was a birth mom who was interested in meeting us. We quickly flew to California and met her. We knew instantly that it would be a good match, and fortunately so did she. So here it is, June 2009, and I am back in California awaiting the birth of our second son.

We decided that since I am a professor who has summers off, I would be the logical one to come back and wait. Migdiel is back in Wisconsin with Maximo. This has been a very hard week, and baby isn't officially due for 2 more weeks! The reason I came early is that the birth mother looks like she might deliver a few weeks early, but of course, who knows!

Maximo is born

Maximo was born in January 2005, but did not come home to us until January 2006, just a few days shy of his first birthday. Our life with him has been pure joy. He is an exceptionally bright, loving, and energetic young boy. He truly is the light of our lives.

Early in 2008, we re-examined living in the Bay Area, and knew that adopting a second child might heavily influence where we could afford to live. After completing grad school, we decided to begin the process of adopting baby number two. Guatemala was no longer an option since the U.S./Guatemala adoption process has been shut down. We signed with an adoption facilitator in northern California, but shortly thereafter we moved to Madison, Wisconsin to be closer to my (Steve's) family. We both took positions at the University of Wisconsin.

Our story

As long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a dad. After ending a 17 year relationship 6 years ago, I began to really focus on this dream. My previous partner was adamant he did not want children, and so finding myself single I was at a significant cross road in my life. Would I attempt parenthood as a single gay male, or would I risk entering a new relationship with someone who might not want children?

About one year later (in 2004), I decided to begin the adoption process. I signed up with an agency in the San Francisco Bay area and began the emotional roller coaster known as international adoption. Within 2 months I had received a referral for a beautiful baby boy from Guatemala. I was dating someone then, but it quickly became evident that he was neither interested nor capable of becoming a parent. I ended that relationship and set my sights on becoming a single father. However as fate often does, I met Migdiel. I joked with him on our second date that I was "7 months pregnant" because I knew I was reaching the end of the adoption process.

It is amazing how quickly Migdiel signed on. He became excited at the prospect of becoming a dad. And true to my predictions, we brought our baby boy, Maximo home 2 months later.