Week 3 photos

About 40 pics - lots of happy baby and her big brother. View them here.

Week 4 - Part 2

Isabella update
Not only can our girl put away a 6 oz bottle in about 2.5 minutes, we have discovered that she loves to feed herself. She loves anything she can pick up and shove into her mouth. It seems like she hadn’t had much chance to feed herself previously, and her dexterity has improved markedly in a week. In the past week she has fed herself: potatoes, yuca, bananas, avocado, watermelon, baby rice crackers, baby “puffs.” She really likes pandeyuca (bread made from tapioca flour and cheese) for her 11:00am snack. The girl definitely has the idea of social eating – if we’re eating, she thinks she should be putting something in her mouth too. As for regular baby foods (like pureed food in a jar), she’s tried carrots (made by Grandma Dawn), apples, pears, peaches, mango, guava, prunes, and rice cereal. All baby foods here in Colombia, including cereals, have added sugar, and the only vegetables I can find are imports from the US. I figure she should have the “exotic” flavors now since we won’t be able to get them the same at home. She does think the unsweetened rice cereal from the US is pretty boring.

I think I’ve said before that Isabella is a very active baby. She was already sitting independently when we got her, and she is just getting stronger every day. She was able to rotate herself on her tummy and while sitting, and to scoot backward from these positions as well. On Sunday 10/24, she figured out how to get herself from a sitting position to almost on her front, with one leg under her. By the end of the week, she has figured out how to get herself fully onto her front – with both legs out straight. The only problem is that she knows she wants to be moving around in a forward direction, she just can’t yet figure out how to make that happen. Watch out world – it’s just a matter of time before she’s crawling!

La Doctora
On Monday, la Doctora, the pediatrician who makes house/hotel calls (we met her with Esteban) came to see Isabella. Isabella needs some immunizations and we needed the doctor to see her first. The doctor walked into the apartment, looked at me, and said, “I know you.” She remembered me from when Esteban was a baby! She looked at Isabella’s health record, examined her, and pronounced her healthy and strong. Always things a parent likes to hear! She said she would have to check on how we get the immunizations done and would call later to let us know.

The Rest of the Week

On Tuesday, we went to lunch at the Halifax for empanadas – and they were great! We had a nice visit with the staff, and met some of the new families. Esteban enjoyed a little play time in the play room. We miss the Halifax community!

On Wednesday, we tried to go to Divercity at the SantaFe mall on the north side of Bogotá. Translated from their brochure: “Divercity is an amusement park where boys and girls between 3 and 13 years pretend to be adults in more than 45 attractions while learning the concepts of how a city. Divercity is a realistic replica of all that exists in a city.” Kids can pretend to be many different professions. On Wednesday, they were full up with school groups and told us to come back on Thursday. I think I was more disappointed than Esteban that we couldn’t get in. We went back on Thursday and he and I went in while Grandma Dawn and Isabella strolled in the mall. It was pretty great! It still had lots of kids inside, and all the attractions had lines. Esteban was pretty overwhelmed and overstimulated (I was too!) by the noise and everything to look at. Mostly we walked around and looked at the attractions, sat in the “park” and watched the fountain while eating popcorn, and played in the ball pit. I think it would be really great for 7 or 8 year olds – really a bit much for my just-3 year old. Esteban was so overstimulated that it took the rest of the day for him to calm down.

On Friday we went to get Isabella her immunization (it turned out to just be one shot) at a clinic in Usaquen, then headed to La Candelaria (the historic part of downtown Bogota) to meet another friend of a friend. The clinic was quite efficient - we only waited about 15 minutes and were seen in an immunization clinic. We met our new friend at his apartment in La Candelaria and he took us to see some of the historic places nearby and then to lunch and a few more sights. Esteban had a great time chasing pidgeons in the plaza, and we all got a workout from walking up the hills on the way back to his apartment.

Random thoughts
* I miss church! I haven’t been to a service since we left home, and I really miss it. The church bells ring here every day (3 masses on weekdays, 5 on Saturday, and 6 on Sunday) and remind me that I’m missing worship and quiet time. Maybe we'll make it to an All Saints service this weekend.
* I need a laminated prayer card for the shower – it’s the only time I have to be alone, quiet and reflect!
* Routine is good for everyone! the kids need predictable meals and naps, and so do I!
* I’m really feeling the isolation of being here for nearly a month! I feel done with the adventure and ready to go home – or at least to re-connect with friends.

Process update
I found out on Tuesday that our case has been approved by the court (meaning that the petition was correct and complete) and sent to the Defender of Minors for final approval of our papers from their perspective. I think the Defender of Minors makes sure all the papers relating to the legal custody and rights of the child are in order. As of Friday 10/29 there is no word about the current status, i.e., whether it’s still at the Defender of Minors or has been sent back to the court. Monday 11/1 is a holiday (All Saints Day), so Tuesday 11/2 will be the soonest we could hear any news. Of course, I’ll keep you posted!

Week 4 - Part 1

Q. What do you get when you combine a week of continual challenges of parenting 2 busy children with inconsistent Internet access?
A. A whole week of no blog posts!

So, here I sit at 3:00pm on Saturday, still not sure if the Internet will cooperate to post this, but taking advantage of good nap times to write a week’s worth of updates. The Internet has been sporadic this week. The TelMex tech came yesterday to fix it, and it’s mostly better. At least the phone to the US is working again! I’ll start with last weekend and make my way to the present.

Because both kids are well-rested, our best pics usually are first thing in the morning – before anyone is dressed!


Esteban is a great big brother
Esteban is growing into his role as a big brother! He loves Isabella and is (usually) very careful around her. He gives her random kisses, brings her toys to distract her and cheer her, reads his favorite books to her, entertains her when she’s getting her diaper changed. When he takes things away from her (like his toys and books), he says, “That’s not for you, Missy” in a very sweet voice. He has even been known to give her a little caress on the cheek – while passing her on the way to be mad at me.

He only calls the fire department (on a pretend phone) about once a week to take Isabella (or me, or Grandma Dawn) away.



Week 2 photos
After much wrangling with the Internet, photos from week 2 are finally posted here. There are about 85 because it was a very busy week with ICBF, Esteban’s birthday, grandparents and several day trips. Working on Week 3 now.


Last Weekend
Last weekend was really fun! On Saturday afternoon we went with a friend of a friend to her house “in the country.” She and her family live in Bogotá and have a house about 40km north of the city in Sopó. We went for lunch, Colombian style, which means that she picked us up a little after noon and we arrived at about 1:00pm. We sat outside and munched on empanadas (some of the best I’ve ever had!), enjoying the sun and visiting and watching Esteban play in the sandbox. About 2:00pm, after her kids (ages 9-15) had all arrived from their various lessons in the city that morning, we had ajiaco (delicious Colombian soup with potatoes and chicken) and obleas (think of very thin wafer cookies, about the size of a medium tortilla, with heavy caramel sauce spread in the middle – so yummy!).


There were more blocks than Esteban could fathom, and he built and destroyed several castles after lunch. Then we went outside, visited the horses and cows, and then rolled down the hill. By then the kids were about to melt down from lack of naps, so we headed home (around 4:15). It was a delightful way to spend an afternoon – gracious, interesting people, good food and a beautiful setting that was quiet and away from the city.

On Sunday, we walked for Ciclovia. We got a late start, and headed for Park 93 – about 40 long blocks. It was a healthy walk! We got to the park in time to play a little before it started to rain. We took refuge in the Juan Valdez coffee shop until the shower ended, and then played a little more at the (now empty) park. As we were heading toward a main street to get a taxi home, we ran into a delightful couple who are now staying at the Halifax who have 7 month old twin girls. So cute! It started to pour just as we hailed a taxi.

The Rainy Season
We’re finding that most days now start out not raining – not always sunny, though sometimes it is, but not raining – and then the rain starts by about 1:00pm and continues intermittently through the evening and sometimes overnight. We are trying to get out and about in the morning to take advantage of non-rainy times to go to the park, etc. As I understand it, October is the rainiest, and we should gradually see more sun and less rain as we get into November.


It has taken me all day to get this uploaded - between Internet issues with the attachments and expected child/life interruptions.

Week 1 pictures

Finally! I got about 45 photos from the first week uploaded. Click HERE.

Julien's adventure at home

Julien has had quite an adventure at home. He arrived home to all the house systems (heat, hot water) set for vacation - and promptly turned everything back on. He awoke Wednesday morning to find that the overflow valve on the hot water heater had broken or stuck open - and the basement had 2" of water in it! He spent his one re-adjustment day dealing with that crisis! Luckily, it was a sunny day and many things could get put outside in the sun to dry. Many boxes of papers (which I'd been meaning to go through, really) got wet and may not be salvageable. Oh well, who needs those class notes from undergrad anyway?

We have a court assignment!

Getting your court assignment is the next big step in the adoption process. There are 22 adoption courts in Bogota. Different courts process adoptions at a different speed, depending on the attitude of the judge about international adoptions. We got assigned Court 14. According to Helena, it's "better than average, a bit faster." We have no idea what that will mean for us, but are optimistic that things will move along promptly.

We found out our court assignment on Wednesday, but I'm not sure when it was actually assigned. The person at CRAN who can tell us was out at the end of last week, and Monday was a holiday here (Columbus Day). At this point, it just feels good to know the paperwork is in the system!

It's been quite a week

When we last left you...we were heading into Sunday and a trip to the flea market.

We did go to Usaquen on Sunday. It took Grandma Dawn and I almost 90 minutes to walk from the new apartment to Usaquen. The new place is far enough north that we had to walk south to the Cyclovia route, and then across Calle 116. We met Julien and Grandma Ana at the square in Usaquen. They took a taxi and arrived well before we did - they even had time to catch part of mass at the church on the square. It was so late by the time we were all assembled that we had an early lunch before starting our shopping. We enjoyed the flea market. It's filled with hundreds of stalls of artisans and vendors selling everything from lunch to jewelry to textiles and toys. Even if you don't buy anything, it's worth the trip. We had never been there in the afternoon, so I don't know if this happens every week, but we saw a music/dance group who performed in the market. Neither of our kids liked them at first - too loud, guy in scary costume - then Esteban decided he liked the ladies in the pretty dresses :)

Monday, Julien's last day with us, we walked to Unicentro (a big mall) to finish our last bit of souvenir shopping for Julien and Ana to take home. And we finally got our empanadas for lunch! While we were there, it started to pour rain, so we took taxis back to the apartment.

Julien's and Ana's taxi came for them at 6:00am on Tuesday. We were very sad to see them go. It's been so fun having 2 abuelas here! And we miss Julien very much. It's a good thing we have a Vonage phone here in the apartment (free calls to the US), and good wireless Internet for Skype! We spent Tuesday having a relaxing day of regular meals and naps and playing in the park - trying for a "normal" schedule for all of us. Julien called Tuesday evening to say they arrived home safely, and with all their luggage!

Wednesday and Thursday have melded into a blur. Some firsts from those days:

• We discovered that Isabella really likes feeding herself. She has just about mastered getting baby "puffs" into her mouth on the first try. She likes feeding herself so much that she doesn't like to open her mouth for the spoon.
• Isabella also likes to feed herself pandeyuca (bread made from yuca aka cassava and cheese) and french fries.
• There is a sandbox in the park across the street, which required us to get some sand toys for Esteban to play with.
• Esteban has gone pee in the big potty (standing up!) twice! We've been talking about potty training for months, and relaxed all efforts when we knew we were coming to Colombia soon - so this is a big step!
• Sabeth has realized that she may never get anything done (like blogging or watching her DVDs) in the evening if Esteban refuses to go to sleep before 10pm!

It's Friday - we had another low key, low stress day. We've been in the apartment a whole week. It's cold in the apartment! Most homes in Colombia (or at least in Bogota) don't have any kind of heat - and this one is no exception. It's been near 50 at night and only in the mid 60s in the daytime. The apartment doesn't have many outside windows and so we don't get much warming effect from the sun. Good thing the kids have warm pjs and the beds have nice thick blankets on them!

Salt Cathedral

We spent Friday getting settled in, and today we took a day trip to the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirá. North of the city, the trip took about 2 hours to get there because we took the scenic route and had a very safe (meaning, slow) driver. The Salt Cathedral, the newest version of which opened in 1995, is an old salt mine. You walk into the mine and down, to see the stations of the cross and several sanctuaries that are all underground. It's an amazing and beautiful creation. The kids both slept in the stroller for most of the time we were in the mine. Esteban had been really excited to go in a cave and fell asleep soon after declaring it "Really Cool!" After the walk down into the mine and back up, we went to lunch and headed home to our new digs.

It's amazing to see how both kids are adjusting every day. Esteban is already calmer here at the apartment, with his own toys and own space to play in. That doesn't mean he isn't having tantrums about other things, but he is calmer and eating better. Isabella is connecting more with us all the time, though we discovered that she doesn't like to go to sleep alone. We think she probably shared a room with other babies in her foster home. Since we were all together in the hotel room, we didn't notice it before.

Tomorrow we're hoping to get out and walk again for Cyclovia (when they close the streets to autos on Sunday) and go to the flea market at Usaquen with Grandmas Dawn and Ana. Then, we hope to go to lunch at the Halifax, where they may be having empanadas!

We moved to an apartment

On Friday (that was yesterday, wasn't it?), we moved to the apartment where we will stay for the remainder of our time in Bogota. It's a bit further north in the city, and the improvement in air quality from the area around the hotel was noticeable! It's 2 bedrooms, with an office that also has a decent sofabed, 2 bathrooms, free internet and wireless, and free phone calls. It also has a maid who comes 6 days a week to cook, clean, grocery shop and do the laundry - and she's included in the price. Milena, the maid, also loves children and is great with both Esteban and Isabella. The apartment is in a nice neighborhood, and has a park right out front. There is a line of shops on the other side of the park, where we can find just about anything we need - even a $5 box of wine that is reasonably drinkable. We will miss the comforts, staff, and comraderie of the Halifax, and plan to return to visit regularly.

Coffee Plantation Trip

Wednesday was Grandpa Julien's last day with us, and to celebrate we took a wonderful day trip to Hacienda Coloma Coffee Plantation. It took about three hours to get there from Bogota (1.5 hours was in Bogota traffic). We headed south out of Bogota and saw a different side to Bogota than we had previously witnessed. We passed through some very poor and crowded parts of the city. Soon afterwards we passed into rural Colombia, where you can see all levels of housing and people often graze their cows and goats next to the road. We stopped along the way for a late morning refreshment of typical Colombian food - arepas filled with cheese, grilled chorizo, potatoes, and coffee (of course). This photo is outside the restaurant.

Our trip took us up about 200 meters over a mountain pass, and then down into a valley and up again to Fusagasugá (the town where Hacienda Coloma is located). At one point we crossed the Rio Bogota - one of the most polluted rivers in the world - it was black in color, and smelled awful! It was much warmer down at 1700 meters elevation. We were the only guests at the plantation when we visited. We spent about 45 minutes being shown around by Jorge Rico, our driver/guide for the day. We saw the plantation house and grounds, the coffee grove, the harvesting, drying, roasting and grinding processes. The beans are harvested twice a year, and since this isn't harvest season, we didn't see the plantation in full action. Esteban had a great time with a stick and a baby orange he found - as only a 3 year old can! Isabella was too hot and complained loudly. We tasted oranges fresh off a tree, coffee beans fresh picked from the plant, and some amazing coffee and coffee liqueur produced on location.

After the coffee plantation tour, we had a delicious lunch at a nearby restaurant. Esteban discovered that he loves fresh arepas (small corn meal cakes) grilled and buttered.

After lunch Jorge took us to the fruit market in Fusagasugá. It was a great chance to see so many different kinds of fruits and vegetables - all being sold by the people who grew them. Colombia has more than 200 different kinds of fruit that grow here, so we were able to ask about some of the unfamilar ones.

After dinner back at the hotel we said goodbye to Grandpa Julien, whose taxi came to take him to the airport at 6:00am on Thursday.

Esteban's Birthday and ICBF visit #1

Esteban turned 3 on Monday! We celebrated with a long visit at the park on a very sunny afternoon, and dinner with Julien's parents, who arrived in Bogota over the weekend. We went to dinner at a local chain called Crepes and Waffles, where Esteban got 2 desserts! Isabella had a grand time at dinner being sociable with her grandparents. We are so excited to get to celebrate Esteban's birth in the city of his birth.

Tuesday morning we had our Integration Interview with ICBF (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar), the child welfare agency. The meeting was to determine if Isabella was integrating into our family well and if we would be a good match with her. At 8:50am, we were trying to get ourselves all clean, dressed, and presentable looking when Sabeth's mom showed up (she flew in on Monday night). Grandma Dawn saved the morning! She was able to entertain the kids while we got ourselves the rest of the way dressed and the bags packed. Our taxi arrived at 9:00am and we were off to the meeting. Helena, our representative, warned us to be ready to wait when we got there, so we took plenty of snacks and things to entertain the kids. As we were waiting in the hall, another family joined us - and they recognized Isabella! Their son had been in the same foster home with her and they had photos of Isabella and he together. Our lawyer arrived, and we were called into the meeting room with the Defender of Minors. She asked several questions about how we were adjusting to Isabella, her needs and health, and how Esteban was adjusting. After about 10 minutes of questions and answers, she said she was officially signing responsibility for Isabella over to us. We all signed the papers. Then she talked to Esteban about how he is responsible for being Isabella's big brother, and she had him put his fingerprint on the documents as well.

We came back to the hotel and went to lunch with all the grandparents to celebrate! At 3:30pm the hotel hosted a birthday party for Esteban and another little girl who turned 4 on Tuesday. They each had their own cake, and everyone from the hotel came and sang Happy Birthday (in English, Swedish, Finnish, and Spanish - all the languages currently present in guests and staff). The cakes were delicious! Thanks to all who emailed and posted birthday wishes for Esteban.

And here' s the video of Isabella I promised - it's only about 45 seconds because that's all Google will upload :)

Another sunny day

We have been so blessed with sunny days! We are well aware that it's the rainy season and sun is a rare occurrence right now. Today was beautiful - and made more so by the minimal traffic in Bogota on Sundays. Every Sunday, Bogota closes miles of roads for Cyclovia. Cyclovia promotes cycling and other outdoor exercise by closing many streets from 7am - 2pm. We joined the people and walked! We went to Usaquen to the flea market, which is filled with wares from local artists. I know we'll be going back there and will describe it in more detail later. Since it took an hour to get there (that's a long walk at 8600 ft elevation!), we took a taxi back to the hotel. Isabella was hungry when we got in the taxi so she ate while we were in the taxi. Something about the bottle or being in the taxi didn't agree with her, and as soon as we got back to the room, she vomited all over me. Not spit up - full on projectile vomit. It was inside my bra. I wish we'd grabbed the camera and taken a picture - it was that memorable. She went down for a nap and I took a shower!

One of the great things about sunny days here is that clothes on the line dry really quickly. The hotel has washers for guests to use, but no dryers, so all clean laundry is line dried. The lines are sheltered from the rain, but things dry quickest on sunny days.

When Isabella woke up she was hungry, and Esteban wanted to help feed her. He held her on his lap and helped me hold the bottle. It was such a beautiful late afternoon that we walked to the park that is a few blocks away to visit the playground. We were amazed at how many people were there! The playground was mobbed!

Once again, the kids were asleep by 7:30 (Isabella) and 8:20 (Esteban) so we can hope for a decent night's sleep for all of us.

I was going to post a short video of our girl in action but it's 3 MB larger than Google allows, so I'll have to shoot a slightly shorter one tomorrow.

Days 4 and 5 (ups and downs)

Bogota showed us its beauty the last few days. Thursday and Friday were sunny and hot (or at least warm). You could see the mountains (the air quality was much better too) and thousands of beautiful Colombians were out and about. Today (Saturday) has returned to rain and it has cooled down - actually quite comfortable. The last two days of sun have allowed us to visit several parks. Esteban has tested all the play grounds within a mile of us with only one head bump. Isabella enjoyed the warm weather and watching her big brother. She likes being toasty warm wrapped up in sweaters and blankets even when it is 70 degrees out!

The last two days have had some ups and downs. We are still figuring out how to get into a routine with Isabella. Night one she didn't sleep, night two she slept 10 hours until 6am, night three she was up at 4:30am which then woke up Esteban. So she, he and Julien wandered the hotel for 2 hours until breakfast was ready. We watched the sun come up and the hotel staff wake up. Sabeth was lucky and got an extra hour of sleep. We also haven't figured out isabella's nap routine yet. Yesterday she napped three times for about an hour each. This morning she napped for three hours straight. The routine has also been tough on Esteban. There have been lots of changes for him, a new big brother, a new location (the first two days he kept telling us he wanted to return to Massachusettes), food he doesn't recognize, and a thrown off nap and sleep routine. He has had several temper tantrums that surely were heard in Cartegena! Sabeth and Julien have also been a bit frayed with lack of sleep.

So... today we took a much needed lazy day. After breakfast we all took naps (except for Esteban who let us sleep for almost two hours - he did not sharpie anything just stuck his stickers to the carpet) and have been playing in the room with no major trips or distractions.

The ups have been much more pronounced. Isabella showed us her giggle yesterday. She has this great baby laugh that is infectious. She is expecially ticklish under her arms. She is also very social and gives excited vocalizations when she meets new people. She also loves to be held and played with. Her favorite is to be held upside down. She is also enamored with her brother and smiles when he is playing near her.

Esteban has been great with his little sister. He helps bring her toys, sings to her and has even helped feed her. He is quiet when she is sleeping and tells us when she wakes up. He also loves to hold her. (he did want to return her the other day but seems to be over that now). He is going to be a great big brother!

We are starting to gell as a family and look forward to the next week and a half to keep bonding before Julien goes back to Boston and to work.

Days 2 and 3

We’re getting to know Isabella, and she is getting to know us.
Our first night together was a little rough. Understandably, Isabella was scared with new people in a new bed and place. None of us slept much that first night. As a result, Day 2 was a little bleary. We got out for a walk to the park after breakfast. As we were leaving the park the clouds started to rumble, and everyone who was outside was dashing for cover. We had about a 15 minute walk back to the hotel, and it was pouring rain by the time we got back. We all needed to put on dry clothes and get warmed up when we got back. After lunch the children and Julien all napped, while the heavens opened for more rain.

The hotel offered us a room in the main building yesterday (we had been in a courtyard room), so while everyone else napped I moved us to our new digs. The main building is warmer, the room is bigger, and it has more windows. Esteban even has a twin bed instead of a crib. (I think he was a bit insulted by being put in a crib.)

Yesterday afternoon we had a chance to visit with some friends who are also here adopting their second child. We met briefly when we both here adopting our first babies 2 years ago, and it’s a wonderful coincidence that we are here again at the same time. They have their sentencia (final adoption decree) and were scheduled to fly home to the US today, so our overlapping time here is really short. It was great to see them and to introduce all our children to one another.

Bedtme last night was less chaotic – and we all went to bed by 9:00pm. Isabella slept from 8pm to 6am, though I am of no illusion that 10 hours will become her norm any time soon. And she woke up hungry! The rest of us slept better, too, and we woke up to a beautiful sunny day!

Apparently it’s been about 2 weeks since there was a sunny day (it IS the rainy season) and everyone was out and about today. Our friends who were supposed to fly home today called this morning to say their flight had been cancelled and they are leaving tomorrow instead. So we met them at the Chico Park and had a great time visiting more and the almost-3-year-olds got to feed the ducks and play on the playground while the littler ones napped. We said our final, final good-byes and wish them a speedy and safe trip home tomorrow.

At one point this afternoon, Esteban called the fire department (on his play phone) and asked for the professional movers to come take Isabella away. Obviously, we are all still adjusting ☺

Isabella is relaxing with us. Julien got her giggling tonight, and she’s been much freer with her smiles today. I found out she has ticklish feet. She loves watching Esteban, and wants to take whatever he has in his hand (especially when they’re side by side in the stroller). She’s an active little girl, and she always wants to be moving. She had a great time in her bath tonight splashing with her hands.

We’re still having some technological challenges (my computer’s older wireless adapter doesn’t like the brand new wireless network here in the hotel) so we’re hoping we’ll get that all fixed tomorrow.

Gotcha Day

It’s been an amazing, wonderful and exciting day. At 8:45am this morning our driver picked us up and drove us about 40 minutes to CRAN. CRAN, our adoption house, is located in Bogota, up on the side of the mountain in a less dense part of the city. Because it has been raining so much here, the hillsides and pastures around it were so green. Julien and I were both nervous—different than with Esteban’s Gotcha Day, but nervous all the same. Our nerves must have been showing because Esteban had a really hard time getting ready this morning.

We arrived at CRAN and were taken into the office building. To get to the office building, we walked down about 100 stairs and past lots of children who were playing. Many of the kids greeted us with “Buenas Dias.” We met with the adoptions director to sign the most basic paperwork, and then with Isabella’s foster mother to learn about her habits, likes and dislikes. Our biggest surprise of the day was to find out that Isabella and Esteban had the same foster mother! We were so delighted to see her – and she was amazed to see Esteban so big. She gave us all the details on Isabella and we made sure to take a picture with her and Esteban. We feel so blessed to know that both our children had such good care with her.

Then we went back to the family room and waited. Esteban was feeling shy and didn’t want to go by himself to help get Isabella, so he stayed with us. We didn’t wait long for them to bring Isabella to us. She came right to us and was very fascinated by Esteban, who took a few minutes to warm up to her. We had about 20 minutes in the family room getting acquainted, and then we all got back in the taxi to come back to the hotel.

Isabella looks a bit startled in this picture. She´s had a lot of new things happening today and was getting tired. We´re hoping for many smiles in days to come!

At the hotel we were greeted with much excitement by staff and by other families. Since this hotel specializes in hosting adopting families, they have a special delight in meeting new children. The rest of the day has been filled with trips to the grocery store for formula and diapers, naps, meals and now bedtime.

It’s good to be in a familiar place (the Halifax Hotel), especially since we arrived later than we planned. It helps to know where to find the grocery store, and to know how wonderful and supportive the hotel staff is.

Throughout the day Esteban has gradually gotten more excited about Isabella. He is loving entertaining her, and helping with her. He was reading one of his favorite books to her at bedtime tonight.

Now I have to post this so Julien can get to the daddy duty of washing bottles!

Getting adjusted

We spent a rainy afternoon being a little lazy and napping. When Esteban woke up from his nap, we went to buy Julien enough clothes to make it through tomorrow. While Julien went to get his pants hemmed, Esteban and I visited Park 93. When we all got back to the hotel, we found Helena, our guide for the adoption process, waiting to meet with us. We worked with Helena in 2008 and are delighted to do so again. As she will do many times in the coming weeks, she walked us through what to expect for tomorrow and reminded us what to bring with us. Now we just have to eat a good dinner and get a good night’s sleep. I’m feeling pretty nervous now that we’re here and we know our ride will pick us up at 8:45am tomorrow.

[after dinner]
Julien was able to find out from the airline that they think his bag will arrive in Bogota early tomorrow.

We made it!

I wanted to post this at about 1230pm today, but between exhaustion and some technological challenges it didn´t happen then.

Only 23 hours after we left home, we arrived at our hotel in Bogota – at about 7:00 this morning. Nothing like full overnight flights with a cranky and excited almost-3-year-old to make you feel like the worst parent on the plane because your child is just crying inexplicably and won’t stop.

To top it off, somewhere in the changing airlines, one suitcase didn’t make it all the way here with us. In the grand scheme of things, only 1 of 5 isn’t bad for the kind of travel day we had yesterday – but it’s the one with Julien’s clothes and my dress for the presentation tomorrow, Julien’s razor, and my toiletry kit. If it can’t be located in the next two hours, Julien will be off to find some new clothes for tomorrow. Luckily, I packed another dress in a different bag.

Mix lack of sleep with less oxygen (Bogota is at about 8500 feet altitude) and we are really looking forward to lunch and a nap. Esteban is already out – he fell asleep on the way to our favorite park. We took a little stroll around the neighborhood, remembering places we went last time we were here. Now we’re just waiting for lunch, which is served at the fashionable hour of 1:00pm.

Travel Chaos

We're finally boarding a plane! 10 hours at the airport today - read on..

We started this morning with the greatest hopes for smooth travel and easy connections. Our ride picked us up on time (Thanks, D!), we checked our perfectly packed bags (exactly 50 lbs each) without a hitch, and arrived at our gate with plenty of time to get our seats changed so we would all be sitting together (instead of in 3 completely different rows). Esteban and Julien went off to buy some bottled waters, and by the time they came back to the gate area 10 minutes later all had changed! Our plane was being maintenance and needed a part that wouldn’t be available for HOURS! Needless to say, we would miss our connection to Bogota.

Once again, Delta agents have overdone themselves to help us figure out the best way to get where we need to go. After almost two hours of waiting (first in line and then with a ticketing agent), we finally are re-booked to fly on a different airline to a different hub this evening, to take a red-eye flight to Bogota that arrives at 5:00am! At least we are getting there! If the Patriots weren’t playing in Miami for Monday Night Football this week, our re-booking would have been much easier – but every flight south out of Boston is booked this afternoon and evening.

So, thanks to Delta’s hospitality, we are passing a couple of hours in the airport Hilton in Boston before we go back to the airport to FINALLY board the first leg of our flights. Hopefully, this is the biggest, first and last hitch in our Colombia adventure this time around!

Packing and off soon

Its 7:30pm and we are almost packed. We leave the house at 8am tomorrow morning and will arrive in Bogota at 8:45pm. Just 2.5 days until we get Isabella!