7

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Another referral has been issued, which pops us up yet another spot on the unofficial list.

This is happening at warp speed, considering what we had imagined. My guess is that because the courts have reopened, cases are being heard and this may have caused a little dam to have opened. This is purely hypothetical, but seems feasible, no?

A few have mentioned 'a Christmas baby'. That is a near impossible scenario, but something to address so everyone is in the loop on our remaining steps in the process.

• get The Call, aka The Referral: the phone call from our caseworker stating they have matched a baby boy with our family (that's what we are #7 in line for)
• receive pix & medical records of referred infant and forward to international adoption specialist to guide and advise us with decision and (most certainly) accept the referral...yay!!!
• wait for our court date in Ethiopia (approx 1-2 months from accepting referral)
• once we pass court (not uncommon to have multiple court attempts) we'll receive a travel date from our agency (2-3 weeks from passing court)

So what does all this mean? It means we must GET BUSY. So much to do.

Yes, the stroller. If anyone has any suggestions for a one-handed operational model, please forward your info. We don't have a car and have no plans of getting one, considering where we live a car tends to be more of a pain in the neck than it does a luxury. This stroller will be our car and taken very seriously when making this purchase. Any city mom out there who has shlepped up & down the train stations and in & out of the subways with baby in one arm and stroller in the other, knows what I'm talking about.

I've been doing loads of research on this and keep coming back to the Inglesina. They even have a clip on YouTube, demonstrating the one-hand function. At first, I was prepared to plunk down the ridiculous dollars needed for a Bugaboo. Thinking, if a manufacturer is asking this much for a stroller, it MUST do everything I need. That was a hot minute of insanity and when I came back to my senses, I found the lovely Zippy Inglesina. Turns out the Bugaboo isn't that fabulous in the one-hand collapsing function. It is a beautiful stroller, just not for us.

So, the requirements for a commuter baby's wheels? One hand function and all terrain build (for city sidewalks, potholes), lightweight with loads of storage.

We are open to suggestions.

Thanks all! And a huge congratulations to everyone receiving their referrals. Our thoughts go out for a peaceful final wait. Come on court dates!!!