Dias en Colombia! Weeks Three & Four with Laura

Last Night in Bogota!

Amazing night with all of the kids who are in the process of being adopted in Colombia.  They are going home to Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota and France!  We received the approval from the embassy on Thursday and are set to fly home on Friday! Woo Hoo!  Hard to believe our time in Colombia is at it’s end.  It’s been such a blessing. We have gotten to know Laura; her sounds, her moods, her needs.  We’ve gotten to know each other as parents of a little one and us as a family unit.  We are so blessed to have Laura in our lives.  She is such a gift – and know we are homeward bound to share her with the rest of you!!

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:27

February 24, 2011 – 8,000 feet above Sea Level and Headaches to Boot

So…sweet Laurita was up almost all of last night.  She woke at midnight and didn’t really ever settle again.  Poor thing.  Jim and I traded off rocking her and walking her around.  I can’t tell if she is confused because we are in a new place, the altitude is getting to her or perhaps she has caught a virus from one of the kids here.  Something has been going around the house.

We don’t have a rocking chair here so we both got amazing bicep and back workouts last night. As tired as I was, I was thankful Jim is a good sport and honestly, a warm partner.  He is a lot warmer and cozier than I am, so if I had to pick my arms and chest or his…I know where I’d be enfolded.  Thankfully Jim’s back is feeling better.  Unfortunately, Laura doesn’t always want cozy.  Perhaps I should be happy she wants me?  I am, but with a splitting headache and the house next to the hotel throwing a crazy party last night with the music thump thump thumping…I was voting for the daddy arms.

Another little boy (Alton) is also 10 months old and just adopted.  His mama has been getting him to eat by himself in the last few days.  I’ve been trying to get Laura to eat with her own fingers from the high chair – to no avail.  She squeezes all of the food.  Potatoes and watermelon mushes are pretty gross.  Especially when she then loves me with them and then loves on her own hair.  Fabulous!    Thankfully little Lauren and Athena are always close by to get her back to her smiley happy self and distract her from whatever madness she is up to.

seriously mama...what do you expect me to do with this stuff?!!

This picture says it all…especially since she was going on no sleep!

Jim and I took Laura for a stroll through the area of Bogota where we are today.  We both had killer headaches so we stopped at Juan Valdez for cafe con leche.  The coffee was superb, the headaches subsided but mine was back pretty quickly.  I think it’s the altitude.  So, there’s really only a few things to do with a baby and a splitting headache…so of course I made Jim take us on a walk through a beautiful park with amazing flowers and fauna!  I dropped Jim back at the hotel and proceeded to explore Bogota for another hour and change as Laura was napping in her stroller and there was NO way I was stopping and risking her waking up.  We got as close to the mountains as possible…I think they have to be another 3000 feet up.  Amazing considering we are so high already!

After lunch and what Jim officially calls the diaper explosion up the back, we drew straws for who would have to go to the embassy.  He lost – so I am sitting here typing and waiting for Laurita to wake from her nap (1 hour and 45 minutes…and still counting)!  Little did I know we were about to have a massive thunderstorm.  So…um…I think cerveza or aguardiente is in order…as they are at the Embassy…and you all now know that the Embassy is outdoors.  I do believe my husband’s straw was short and he will be a bit malos enojado!  Sorry honey!  You should have taken Laura, naptime and the bath!  Here’s hoping that you at least come back with the right paperwork and her passport so we can leave tomorrow.  Love u tons!!

February 23, 2011

Embassy trip was completed today – we thought we’d be in for a quick visit since we are still under the I600 process.  Boy were we wrong.  We got there about 10 am this morning and were the first adoptive family in the queue.  Interestingly…we were the last adoptive family to finish.  Not only did we wait 3 1/2 years in the Colombian Queue for our nina preciosa but we obviously needed to wait until the other families were done too.  Has anyone ever hears of the queuing system???!!!

The embassy (our American government at it’s finest mind you) couldn’t figure out the old form since they are now using the I800.  Hmfp.  Argh.  @)(%@_!*U%!!!!   We waited 2 1/2 hours and finally were called to the window for a signature.  We were told to expect many questions and not to be nervous.  A signature, a payment and a congratulations later we were on our merry way. Unbelievabale!!  Laura was fine, thankfully.  We on the other hand…her very mature and patient parents were nothing of the sort.  We were annoyed as all get out with our government.  Oh, did we mention you wait outside in this giant courtyard?  Yes, you are on American soil in Colombia, but it’s outside.  The Lord was obviously paving our way because it was overcast and mild temperatures.  I could not imagine if it had been raining.  I only saw one mosquito, which of course bit me, but only one.

This has been an amazing journey where we have interacted with so many people and processes.  Okay, perhaps unfair for me to put the inept adjective in that last sentence, but soooo true!  Thank the Lord that Laura is who she is – our daughter – and the fuming, foot stomping, temper tantrums slowly subside.  It’s amusing when Laura actually laughs at us.  At one moment she pulled off her socks and shoes and chucked them down the sidewalk.  As Jim was stomping back and telling her she needed to keep them on…she was laughing and giggling at her daddy.  She gave him the eyes…and it was all sorted out.  Thank the Lord for children.  Thank you Laura!!

We finally made it back to the hotel, Laura took a great 1 1/2 hour nap (yay!!) and then we headed out with three other adoptive families to this great Colombian shop for a bit of a spending spree and fresh air.  Laura played with all of these musical instruments and picked out this great dolly to bring home.  She shook the maracas as we then took a wee detour for a bottle of vino at some grocery store called Pampona and made it back in time for dinner. Thankfully, the socks stayed on as the temperatures in Bogota were dropping quickly.

I discovered something amazing about Laura today. Not only is she simpatica and muy serea and muy feliz, she is also wicked smart! She actually has whole conversations with me and expects me to completely understand her.  Between the spanish and the english we are trying to converse in, Jim is convinced she is speaking Francais.  Oh my.

Another day down.  Two to go!  Woo hoo!

We’ve Made it to Bogota! 4 days til we come back to the States!!!

• Shoving our luggage into the taxi this morning and arriving at the Cali airport…check
• Remembering to pack everything…check
• Remembering to include the taxi fare in the hotel bill…oops
• Checking into flight with overweight luggage and paying the same price as the fare for the stupid luggage…check
• Finding our driver and new attorney at Bogota airport after calling back to Cali to speak with Trudy and waiting around 15 minutes…check
• Arriving at new hotel – Precioso Paris – and having a great lunch…check
• Trying to get Laura to nap in a new place…no checko
• Going to the Doctor for official embassy medical report and having a good medical checkup…maybe (heart murmur heard)
• Driving back from downtown Bogota in rush hour traffic and making LA traffic look easy…check
• Having dinner with the five other adoptive families staying here…check
• Laurita making fast friends with two amazing ninas (Athena and Lauren – both Colombiana children adopted a few years ago whose parents are both back collecting their newest Colombian family members on this trip)…check
• Giving Laura a bath in a new tub and getting her to sleep in a crib for the first time…check (I think on the sleeping part…jury is still out)
• Surviving our first night in Bogota???!!

Alright, so besides all of the things that went right and wrong today (like my child never sleeping for more than 15 minutes at a time…poor nina), I saw something very sad on the sidewalk today.  While we were waiting for the driver to collect us at the doctor’s office, there was an indigineous mama across the street with her three children (all under 8 years old or so) and she had to have been 8 months pregnant.  They were all barefoot and the littlest girl (maybe 2 or 3) was having a temper tantrum and was laying down face first on the sidewalk and screaming.  A woman gave her other little sister some money.  My attorney and I watched as the mama finally came to get the little girl.  Being sooo pregnant I had no idea what she was about to do.  She grabbed her nina, put her on her back, tied her in with a giant swaddle cloth (which I thought was pretty ingenious), until she then back handed her about 4 times which just made the situation so much worse.  We could hear the little one screaming all the way down the street as they walked away.  My attorney said that ICBF does intervene in situations like this and removes the children from the parents custody as they are not well cared for.  It was heartbreaking.  That woman and her children are in my prayers tonight.

A trip to the Zoo and Cristo Rey!

What a fabulous day today was!  No rain – yay!  Juan Pablo and his girlfriend took us to the zoo and then to the top of a mountain where Christo Rey blesses the city.  The zoo was fantastic.  I am convinced that Laura liked the pigs the best, perhaps the turtles were a close second…and of course the butterfly exhibit.  The biggest difference from American zoos is that many of the animals are simply walking around…and you can buy cerveza!

Our driver took us to the top of Christo Rey.  A windy twindy road that overlooks Cali.  It’s about 1500 ft above sea level.  It’s an amazing view of the city!  I also tried the ceviche de mango with fresh squeezed lime and salt. Excelente!

Tomorrow Laura officially becomes ours.  She’s been ours since Feb 2 in our hearts, but now it will be official and I can start breathing again!!!  YAY!

Sopa, A Walk and Desayuno Fruita!

Had to capture a picture of Laura eating her sopa favorita!  The chef Margarita comes out each morning to say buenas dias and chats Laura up.  I, of course, asked Margarita for her recipe.  She told me in espanol her ingredients and then said she adds a lot of love which is her secret ingredient!  Hmpf.

Laura also has an amiga favorita, Keyde.  Jim wants to bring Keyde back to the states with us.  She is fabulous with Laura, brings her the high-chair, her soup and does this crazy scrunchy face that Laura tries to mimic.  Too cute!

Each day we go for our stroll and yesterday we finally understood why we don’t see anyone walking on the sidewalks.  Each street section is separated by these great garden pathway s.  They’re fabulous for strolling, not so great for strolling with un coche.  We discovered another walking pathway and this family of animals from afar.  They kind of look like squirrels, but upon closer inspection – more like a rat.  Any ideas?

Oh…and the post would not be complete without my favorite breakfast fruit that is called something I can not remember – not a guayaba but something like a guardita.  My husband described it as something I won’t post here…let’s just say that it tastes a lot better than it looks!

Bird Watching

Laura and I went out for a stroll this morning and discovered some beautiful birds. 

I also discovered a new street to walk down that takes us to a fabulous place called Waffles and Crepes.  I know where we are headed later this week for sweets!!!  Ironically, Laura doesn’t sleep when I take her on a walk.  Fascinating!  She talks to me and looks up at me through the peep hole.  It is too funny.  Each time Jim and I walk her together she sleeps at least 45 minutes of our walk.  Must be our voices that comfort her?  Well, we discovered all sorts of things on our walk today and Laura was watching me as I was checking out everyone’s gardens.  The plant life here is outstanding.  The gardeners all use machetes (no power tools for them).  And for those of you in my life who know I love flowers…here’s a picture I couldn’t believe!! Yes, growing from a tree!!!

Anyhow, good thing I think Laura’s wanting to keep me company is cute…because she took a whopping 35 minute nap at lunchtime in her crib and then did the cry hold your breath thing (without any tears).  I was seriously wondering if the water the waiter gave me for her bottle was bad (we’ve been SOOOO lucky so far) and I was a horrific mother for making her bottle with it.  I was absolutely convinced she was having a mild seizure.  Okay, so perhaps a small panic attack, but?!!!  I probably didn’t help the situation much as I was just rocking her and staring at her like she was going to pass out at any moment.  I think my eyes were six times there regular size and my heart may have been skipping beats.  I did contemplate that I was overreacting, that nothing like this has ever happened before and slowly logic did return to my brain.  Too bad it took 3 minutes to do so.  When I finally saw my husband later, he very nicely reminded me that when kids cry they take a while to settle down.  Hmmm…this was crying madness since there were no tears.  Well. Hmpf.

A swimsuit and 80 degree temperatures later we were fine.  No seizures.  2 pts for the husband.  Maybe even three!!  Thankfully the sun was shining today (first time we’ve seen it in a week) and the pool brought my happy baby back.  Who knows what tonight will bring as we’ve now had a bath, 1/2 a jar of chicken and vegetables and now she is sleeping.  My bet is she’s up by 6:30.  Jim thinks she will sleep to tomorrow.  Any gamblers out there!!!???

Happy Valentines Day Honey!! You are going down!!!  And I didn’t even have to blog about the poopie diaper explosion!!

We’ve moved again!! Change of Scenery Needed!

So…our adventures continue!  We visited the South of Cali to see what it was like in comparison (the Radisson caters to adoptions) and see what life outside of the business district was like.  It’s very different than the north!  It is much more residential (everyone lives down here).  Right outside of the hotel doors are a super market, a Pepe Ganga and shops and shops and shops.  Thus, we’ve moved!  The Unicentro is a giant outdoor mall similar to Chipi Chape.  We’re in a gorgeous apartment, full living room, bathroom, dining room, kitchen, etc.  It’s perfect for us!  I can walk Laura around the unicentro and not worry.  The other parents are around with their children and everyone is so nice.  Yay!!

That is…until I became a single parent this morning.  Jim’s back gave out.  Yes.  OUT.  To say Dios Mio is an understatement.  So here’s the scene…3  large suitcases, 1 computer bag, a stroller, a diaper bag and two bags of groceries.  Plus Laura.  Plus Jim. Laura was a super helper.  She knew (she really did!) that her daddy was out for the count.  He went for a bag of laundry and the next thing I knew he was prone.  I packed our gear, went to breakfast, Jim settled the bill, got us a van and eventually…off we went to the South.

I knew it was the right move as soon as Laura saw la piscina.  There was another nina swimming with her mama.  Daniella – a hermosa 3 yr old, immediately offered her floaty giraffe to Laura.  We walked right into the pool – had to be 80 degrees.  Yay again!!  Laura swam for an hour and then had pears.  She loves everything except apples so far.  She literally spits them out and makes this horrific face each time I try.  It’s like she is saying, “seriously?!!  these are muy malo mama!!!”  Well…Amanda for Apples, Laura for Pears!!  Jim eventually settled although he never was able to hold Laura or pick her up today.  He did lay on the floor today next to her to play…by 6 pm, she was ready for her playmate to be back.  She kept looking at me and then looking at her daddy.  She wondered where he went. We’ve decided that mama is everything care (food, diapers, love, sleep) and daddy is a big playmate.  Okay by me.  I get my moments with the teddy voice and they work for us!!

We are settled into our new abode, dinner served in the room and Laura fast asleep in her new pack n play.  Picture uploads tomorrow!