My young nephews

Two of my nephews are under two years of age.  I love watching them develop as they discover new things that they can do.  I think about my little one in Bulgaria and wonder what milestones he/she is  reaching.  I get some comfort from the fact that although I will miss some of my own child's develpmental stage, at least I can experience them through my two nephews.

Recently, John (1yr 2 months) passed on his walker to Daniel (9 months).  I'm not sure if it was voluntary on John's part.  He was looking at Daniel as if to say 'what's that boy doing in my walker?' but just a few minutes later he was happily pushing Daniel around the kitchen in the walker - much to Daniels delight.

John is attempting to walk now.  He's holding on to furniture but then every now and then he'll let go for a few minutes.  The other day he realised he was standing on his own and looked round to see who was watching him.  When he saw his mum and his granny he raised his hands above his head as if in celebration of his achievement.  Sooo cute.

Daniel is sitting up on his own now and getting steadier every day.  This allows him to play with his musical toys and ball.  Last week I called in to see him and I had my hair tied back (very unusual for me).  It was amusing seeing Daniels bewildered expression when he realised that he recognised the voice but couldn't figure out why it didn't match the face he was used to.  Eventually he realised it was me.

I hope that my little one will be joining our family this year - he/she should be around the same age as these two little boys and I look forward to watching them grow up together.

ADDITIONAL FEES

I haven't updated this blog in a while.  Mostly, I suppose, because not much has been happening - I'm at the waiting stage hoping for a referral soon.  So I've just been waiting and waiting - not much to write about there!

I keep an eye on the MOJ weekly updates to keep my spirits up and I have been cheered to see an increase in referrals recently.

According to my calculations, in 2010 there were around 340 referrals made from Bulgaria but in 2011 there were just over 400.  Hopefully this means the wait is decreasing for all us PAP's.  Just as I was spurred on by this good news we got news of increased fees as we now have to use an Irish Agency as well as the Bulgarian Agency to be Hague Compliant.


Ireland ratified the Hague Convention by the enactment of the Adoption Act 2010 on 1st November 2010.  A new agency was set up to deal with our Adoptions from Bulgaria and it now seems that our costs will be double what we had previously been quoted.  I am outraged by this as we have done all the paper work etc ourselves so far and the only thing left will be the flow of documentation back and forth from Bulgaria in relation to our referral, and the acceptance of that referral . 

I am feeling totally disheartened at this point.  Adoption is supposed to be in the interest of the Children and I cannot see how such substantially increased fees can be justified or how they are in the interest of the Child.

I don't mean to moan but just needed to vent my frustration.