The Amazing Amaya (Part 2 of 3)

Did you miss The Amazing Amaya Part 1? Follow the link to check it out!

On November 7^th, 2016 we arrived at the Cradle a half an hour early to talk with our counselor before our first match meeting with your birth parents.

Actually, we showed up in Evanston 2 hours before our meeting, because we didn’t want there to be any chance that we would be late for that meeting.

There were rules for this meeting – ones that the Cradle had given us to study.

We had read them over and over again - we wanted to make sure we followed them. One of the rules was to use language that made it clear that E & S were still deciding on a parenting plan for their child. We were supposed to use phrases like "if you choose to place your child with us" rather than "When you place your child with us" because the birth parents were still deciding, and would still be deciding on the final plan until 3 days after you were born, which is the earliest they could sign the papers.

During our chat with our counselor, Kathy, we talked about all sorts of things. She steered clear of actually talking about the adoption, as we realized she was really just trying to calm our nerves. The only time we really even broached the subject was when she reminded us that E & S are not like most couples who come to the cradle - they were "high functioning" in that they were well educated, had career goals, and had done a lot of research including a well-thought out plan for their baby.

She also told us that they were easy-going and easy to get along with.

Finally, it was 5pm and we were brought up to a room to meet with E & S. We had pizza - with a special gluten-free pizza for E since she has celiac.

When we met them we immediately started joking around with them - they were so easy to get along with. They have a similar sense of humor as we do, and they are so warm and it was clear that they care very much about their baby.

They broke the rules. They talked about you being our, your mommy and papi's child, like it was a given. They had clearly read our adoption profile book multiple times - they quoted things from it about how we knocked over our wedding cake and how our dog Sweets is awful at running..

Tummy mommy said that she actually picked us from The Cradle website originally and that she had requested to see our full profile - which is unusual, as typically The Cradle is the one who pulls 5 profiles for the birth parents to look through. She had clearly put a lot of time and effort into searching for your forever home. She said that when she saw our profile online she was thought "Thank goodness, there are cool people on here who have a lot of fun."

During our meeting we talked about so many things - it's hard to remember. We got to know them and they got to know a little more about us. 

Some things that popped up:

Your tummy mommy has a family dog named Quigley. Papi immediately jumped on that and asked where the name came from. As it turns out, E's father attended Quigley High School Seminary - the same school papi went to. It was a super small school - when the school was operating, only bout 50 boys graduated each year. The coincidence was uncanny!

According to E, S hardly ever sleeps. S has a corporate job, loves to travel - he has been all over the world. He also likes to play sports with his friends and is almost always on some team that is currently in season. He is also a real estate agent, and does that on the side. On top of it all, he is the sort of ringmaster that keeps their group of friends actively hanging out together. This group has been friends since high school, and it sounds just like the show "Friends." Nearly everyone in the group has dated/broken up with one another at some point in time and they are still all a tight-knit group. Also, S really likes Italian food.

S felt that he could not tell his parents about the pregnancy, as they would all but force them to parent you - which he felt was not best for you. He wants the best for you. He did tell his siblings about you.

E is dedicated to her manager job at a store, and is passionate about cultural dancing. In fact, she was still working on the floor at her job and teaching dancing until November 7th, just 12 days before your due date! So she was very healthy and had a relatively easy pregnancy. She is also a talented seamstress and has been making dancing costumes for years.

When she found out she was pregnant, on St. Patty's day, she decided to move back in with her parents during the final part of the pregnancy. Her parents, your birth grandparents, were very supportive of E's decision to give you the best she could - which for her, was placing you for adoption. E wanted us to meet her parents at our next meeting.

E says that while she doesn't make it to church every Sunday, she prays the rosary all the time because it helps her remember that there is something bigger than herself. She said it has also helped her through some hard times in life. She said that ever since she found out she was pregnant, she felt that she was having this baby for someone else. That this was a child for a family who could not have biological children of their own.

Her parents struggled with infertility for 7 years before having E. On top of it, E was an ectopic pregnancy - it's truly a miracle that she made it. For those reasons, her parents gave her the middle name "Hope." E asked if we might consider that as a middle name for you - and we gladly did! And there were so many things leading up to this that made Hope just the absolute perfect middle name for you - especially your story. Not to mention the fact that the night before we found out your birth parents chose us, we had prayed the St. Jude chaplet – the patron saint of hope!

They asked if we had thought about your name at all - and of course, me being me, I had thought about it a ton. But as soon as E said "Hope" I knew it was the perfect middle name. Your first name is in honor of Cpl Daniel Amaya, who was papi's squad leader who was killed in battle. That moment changed papi in so many ways - a lot of what makes papi so dedicated to his faith and to his family revolves around that experience.

Amaya Hope was the perfect name for you.

We scheduled our next match meeting for November 14th at 4pm. At that meeting, we would discuss the arrangements for the hospital. We would talk about whether we would be at the hospital when you were born, how/when we would take you home, and all the logistics. We would also meet E's parents.

However, you had a different plan...

Read on to Part 3...