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.