So today was our little ones 16 month birthday. We are so happy to have her with us finally! When we originally learned about Amaya Fernanda she was only 11 months old. In some ways Fernanda is a 16 month old, but in other ways she is a little bit behind her peers. We have seen her develop in areas in the short time we have been together (like climbing up on everything) so we can only imagine her growth once we get home. We did not do anything special today to celebrate her day, but we will make it up to her next month ;)
One BIG gift she (and us) received today was her amended birth certificate. Our attorney went out to Soacha this afternoon and picked up the copies for us. It was too late to make it to the passport office today so we are heading out to Calle 100 tomorrow to complete this process. Colombia recently converted to the digital style passport like the U.S. so it now takes 2 days for processing (as opposed to same day with the old style). It still beats the wait time for the U.S. passport!
We took Fernanda to the pediatrician today to solve the diarrhea mystery and it still remains unsolved. They checked her for intestinal parasites and that came back negative. The pediatrician mentioned that it could be a response to the antibiotic they gave her for her ear infection. They prescribed probiotics for her stomach and then we will talk again with the pediatrician tomorrow to see what else she thinks it might be. Fernanda has not lost weight at all since we took her in a couple of weeks ago, so that was a good sign. She is well hydrated and her appetite has not decreased any. She also hasn't been throwing up so the doctor ruled out food allergies. We'll have to wait until tomorrow, if not it will be something we will have to see our pediatrician about as soon as we get to the U.S. We're just trying to get it under control for the flight, because when it's bad it is TERRIBLE and it requires a complete outfit change and a bath...I know TMI right!
We did have one major breakthrough today with Amaya Fernanda and her dad. We were at McDonald's today and I was ordering lunch. I had Amaya Fernanda in the carrier and she raised her hands for Mark to pick her up and take her to sit down at the table my mom was sitting at. This is a huge first for her and her dad. She initiated the action which makes it even bigger.
Little Alejandra is feeling a little homesick these days. She doesn't say she is homesick but her actions tell us how she is feeling. She usually loves to be outside but today and yesterday she has wanted to just stay inside. We, of course, make her go with us to the park and for special big sister trips. I think she is going through a lot of changes right now with where we are and her new baby sister. It is all completely understandable. She is out of her routine and she misses school and gymnastics class. Tonight she wanted to sleep with her nana. We keep telling her soon we will be back home in San Marcos and perhaps this is causing her more stress than what we thought it would. This parenting thing is tough stuff :D.
Hasta Manana!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Day 22: Sentencia!
Of course the big news of the day is SENTENCIA! We spent the morning indoors and just as we were getting ready to go to the fruit and vegetable store we heard the phone ringing. Mark and I were already out the front door but we paused and waited. My aunt called us back in and it was Lucia! We knew this could only be GREAT news! Our amazing attorney Oscar got us through in record speed and our Sentencia was issued late Friday.
We were picked up at 1:00 and took the drive down to Soacha. Thankfully the nana's are here and they stayed back with the girls. We arrived at the family court and after reviewing the information we noticed that Mark's passport number was incorrect. 1 hour later it was corrected and we were able to race over the registrar's office to get the amended birth certificate. When we arrived at the registrar's office there was a sign that said "No services today!" Apparently there was an election this passed weekend and the registrar's staff had worked over the weekend so they took today off from assisting the public. Well, our superhero attorney Oscar wasn't having it. He knocked and knocked on the door until the security came and opened the door. The guard said there was no one available. But, that still wasn't enough for Oscar so we drove to another office building and we waited in the car while Oscar worked some kind of magic. We got a call 5 minutes later to drive back to the registrar's office because someone would be helping us today. So off we went and we were called into the registrar where we were able to sign the amended birth certificate showing our daughter's name "A.F.A.A." and showing US as her parents! Oscar always throws in a little something special and he gave us her original birth certificate complete with footprints on the back. We weren't able to take the new birth certificate with us because the person authorized to notarize the documents was not in today. But, we were assured that tomorrow it would be taken care and delivered to Bogota.
We drove back home in the height of Bogota traffic. We had not been out this late so we were taken by surprise by the massive amounts of traffic on the highway and streets. It was definitely something to take in and part of the experience ;D. It took us close to 2 hours to get back home, but we were greeted by two smiley girls happy to have been with the nana's and see their parents. Our friend Myriam (the lady who makes the dresses) was here delivering some of the items that were done and they are SO gorgeous! So that was a little bonus on top of an already amazing day!
So up next....we wait for the birth certificate so that we can go to the passport office and get Amaya Fernanda's colombian passport. Then we have to take her to the embassy doctor and go to the U.S. Embassy to get the visa issued. The Colombian passport takes 2 days to issue and the visa is usually next day. Monday is a holiday here in Colombia so it looks like we may be travelling back home on June 8 or 9. We are all paid up here at our apartment until then so that works out for us!
Hasta Manana!
'
We were picked up at 1:00 and took the drive down to Soacha. Thankfully the nana's are here and they stayed back with the girls. We arrived at the family court and after reviewing the information we noticed that Mark's passport number was incorrect. 1 hour later it was corrected and we were able to race over the registrar's office to get the amended birth certificate. When we arrived at the registrar's office there was a sign that said "No services today!" Apparently there was an election this passed weekend and the registrar's staff had worked over the weekend so they took today off from assisting the public. Well, our superhero attorney Oscar wasn't having it. He knocked and knocked on the door until the security came and opened the door. The guard said there was no one available. But, that still wasn't enough for Oscar so we drove to another office building and we waited in the car while Oscar worked some kind of magic. We got a call 5 minutes later to drive back to the registrar's office because someone would be helping us today. So off we went and we were called into the registrar where we were able to sign the amended birth certificate showing our daughter's name "A.F.A.A." and showing US as her parents! Oscar always throws in a little something special and he gave us her original birth certificate complete with footprints on the back. We weren't able to take the new birth certificate with us because the person authorized to notarize the documents was not in today. But, we were assured that tomorrow it would be taken care and delivered to Bogota.
We drove back home in the height of Bogota traffic. We had not been out this late so we were taken by surprise by the massive amounts of traffic on the highway and streets. It was definitely something to take in and part of the experience ;D. It took us close to 2 hours to get back home, but we were greeted by two smiley girls happy to have been with the nana's and see their parents. Our friend Myriam (the lady who makes the dresses) was here delivering some of the items that were done and they are SO gorgeous! So that was a little bonus on top of an already amazing day!
So up next....we wait for the birth certificate so that we can go to the passport office and get Amaya Fernanda's colombian passport. Then we have to take her to the embassy doctor and go to the U.S. Embassy to get the visa issued. The Colombian passport takes 2 days to issue and the visa is usually next day. Monday is a holiday here in Colombia so it looks like we may be travelling back home on June 8 or 9. We are all paid up here at our apartment until then so that works out for us!
Hasta Manana!
'
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Day 21: El Corral
Amaya Fernanda slept again last night. She woke up a couple of times crying but she quickly put herself back to sleep. We all woke up around 8:00 a.m. and the nana's greeted us with a nice breakfast. We got ourselves all ready for the day to head out to Santa Fe. The nana's left first because they were going to try to go to the cemetary again. They were not successful in locating their father or brother and it was pouring rain on them. They donated their flowers to another family that was there visiting their loved one.
We met the nana's at around 11:30 at Santa Fe. Mark, the girls, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to charge a cell phone for next week so that we can go out and sightsee and not miss any important calls. But, the cell phone we are borrowing has an outdated SIM card and in order to reactivate it we need to pay. Of course, we didn't realize this until after we had already paid to add minutes to the phone....GRRRR! We tried to get our money back but our plea fell on deaf ears. We ended up getting a new SIM card and we should be in business tomorrow. Just a little FYI you can only call cell phone from another cell phone unless you have some special service installed on your home phone. The phone we have here in the apartment does not allow us to make calls to a cell phone. So, sometimes we can't get a hold of our agency representative, which is why we decided to get a cell phone.
After the cell phone crisis ;) we decided to treat ourselves to an El Corral burger. This burger is NO joke! It is SO good! Mark had been craving one since we got here and his wish finally came true. He finally had a smile on his face after eating his burger. After lunch Amaya Fernanda fell asleep in the baby carrier while we shopped for our groceries at Carrefur. We took a taxi back home and we were able to hit the park with the girls in the afternoon/evening. It was a teeny bit muddy but the girls needed to get rid of some energy, so we braved the mud ;). Fernanda had a great time learning how to blow bubbles and Alejandra had a blast on the swings.
The nana's got dinner all ready for us tonight. We found a favorite little chicken place called "La Chispita Roja" that delivers so we've been eating that quite often! We played in the living room for a bit with the girls and then they both were pretty tired. Fernanda fell asleep pretty quickly after her bath time. Alejandra stayed up a little while longer watching Gnomeo and Juliet and snacking on a yogurt. Tia Nana was snacking on a fruit nicknamed "mocos de carbonero" and Alejandra kept looking at her and saying "ewww....yuck." She really thought Tia Nana was eating mocos...LOL!
Tomorrow we don't have much scheduled for the day. We're hoping to connect with another family that is passing through Bogota on their way back home to USA. They are here just finishing up the last process of the adoption.
Hasta pronto....
We met the nana's at around 11:30 at Santa Fe. Mark, the girls, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to charge a cell phone for next week so that we can go out and sightsee and not miss any important calls. But, the cell phone we are borrowing has an outdated SIM card and in order to reactivate it we need to pay. Of course, we didn't realize this until after we had already paid to add minutes to the phone....GRRRR! We tried to get our money back but our plea fell on deaf ears. We ended up getting a new SIM card and we should be in business tomorrow. Just a little FYI you can only call cell phone from another cell phone unless you have some special service installed on your home phone. The phone we have here in the apartment does not allow us to make calls to a cell phone. So, sometimes we can't get a hold of our agency representative, which is why we decided to get a cell phone.
After the cell phone crisis ;) we decided to treat ourselves to an El Corral burger. This burger is NO joke! It is SO good! Mark had been craving one since we got here and his wish finally came true. He finally had a smile on his face after eating his burger. After lunch Amaya Fernanda fell asleep in the baby carrier while we shopped for our groceries at Carrefur. We took a taxi back home and we were able to hit the park with the girls in the afternoon/evening. It was a teeny bit muddy but the girls needed to get rid of some energy, so we braved the mud ;). Fernanda had a great time learning how to blow bubbles and Alejandra had a blast on the swings.
The nana's got dinner all ready for us tonight. We found a favorite little chicken place called "La Chispita Roja" that delivers so we've been eating that quite often! We played in the living room for a bit with the girls and then they both were pretty tired. Fernanda fell asleep pretty quickly after her bath time. Alejandra stayed up a little while longer watching Gnomeo and Juliet and snacking on a yogurt. Tia Nana was snacking on a fruit nicknamed "mocos de carbonero" and Alejandra kept looking at her and saying "ewww....yuck." She really thought Tia Nana was eating mocos...LOL!
Tomorrow we don't have much scheduled for the day. We're hoping to connect with another family that is passing through Bogota on their way back home to USA. They are here just finishing up the last process of the adoption.
Hasta pronto....
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Day 20: Jewelry and Futbol
Amaya Fernanda slept the entire night...YEAH! There is definitely a trend here! She cried a little when we walked into her room but after a little "peek-a-boo" she was smiling. We got ourselves all dressed up and ready to go out despite the heavy rainfall outside. By the time we were ready to go Amaya Fernanda had cried at least 4 times for no apparent reason AND the rainfall had slowed to a drizzle. Our taxis came and off we went to downtown Bogota to pick up our girls emerald stud earrings and find Colombian soccer jerseys.
Our taxi driver took us on quite an adventure, we went through some interesting parts of Bogota were we saw many "working" ladies ;). Mark looked at me at one point and said "are you sure you got the address right?" I reassured him and then pointed to the jewelry store once we got there. The earrings were gorgeous and the girls will love them when they get older. For now, we will safely store them away for them. Then we headed down to calle septima so we could take a "septimazo" as my aunt and mom call it. We were on the hunt for authenticate Colombian Jerseys for a few family members. We ended up at the Adistore and found the most beautiful soccer jerseys!
It was lunchtime so we decide to get back into a taxi and head back home. We got into our taxi and gave the taxi driver our address (if you don't know Bogota runs on a carrera and calle grid system) and he asked us how to get there. We gave him specific instructions and he said okay. But, he decided to go his own way and I swear he took every street in Bogota that was under construction. It took us 1 hour to get back home (it only took us 20 minutes to get there originally) and we all decided to cram into a taxi so we were all about ready to boil over by the time we got home. We sucked in so much fumes from idoling that our throats were all raw. Lesson learned....be insistent with the taxi driver!
We finally ate lunch and I tried to get Amaya Fernanda down to take a nap but she just wasn't having it. It was an interesting couple of hours as she threw a tantrum everytime I dared move from the spot I was sitting in. But, at around 5:00 she finally turned it around and started laughing and playing with us. She had a nice dinner and bathtime. Then, she was off to sleep without any crying at all again...WOOHOO!
Tomorrow we are headed to Centro Commercial Santa Fe to do a little shopping for Mark and grocery shopping for the home. In the afternoon, we are hoping our sweater/dress lady can come by and bring us all of our beautiful purchases!
Hasta Manana!
Our taxi driver took us on quite an adventure, we went through some interesting parts of Bogota were we saw many "working" ladies ;). Mark looked at me at one point and said "are you sure you got the address right?" I reassured him and then pointed to the jewelry store once we got there. The earrings were gorgeous and the girls will love them when they get older. For now, we will safely store them away for them. Then we headed down to calle septima so we could take a "septimazo" as my aunt and mom call it. We were on the hunt for authenticate Colombian Jerseys for a few family members. We ended up at the Adistore and found the most beautiful soccer jerseys!
It was lunchtime so we decide to get back into a taxi and head back home. We got into our taxi and gave the taxi driver our address (if you don't know Bogota runs on a carrera and calle grid system) and he asked us how to get there. We gave him specific instructions and he said okay. But, he decided to go his own way and I swear he took every street in Bogota that was under construction. It took us 1 hour to get back home (it only took us 20 minutes to get there originally) and we all decided to cram into a taxi so we were all about ready to boil over by the time we got home. We sucked in so much fumes from idoling that our throats were all raw. Lesson learned....be insistent with the taxi driver!
We finally ate lunch and I tried to get Amaya Fernanda down to take a nap but she just wasn't having it. It was an interesting couple of hours as she threw a tantrum everytime I dared move from the spot I was sitting in. But, at around 5:00 she finally turned it around and started laughing and playing with us. She had a nice dinner and bathtime. Then, she was off to sleep without any crying at all again...WOOHOO!
Tomorrow we are headed to Centro Commercial Santa Fe to do a little shopping for Mark and grocery shopping for the home. In the afternoon, we are hoping our sweater/dress lady can come by and bring us all of our beautiful purchases!
Hasta Manana!
Day 19: Guatavita
Fernanda slept well the whole night last night...YEAH! She even woke up with a smile this morning. We headed out to Guatavita this morning and it was really nice weather all day long. Guatavita was pretty dead. I think we were the only family there when we went. We ate at a really good restaurant in the little town square. Then Fernanda had a massive accident in her diaper. We had to completely strip her down and change her. We are a little concerned because she has only had diarrhea (TMI) since we got her. We thought it was the milk, but we cut it out and still no change. We're thinking she may have intestinal parasites so we're taking her to the pediatrician on Monday.
After the excitement of the morning we went to Jardines Del Recuerdo. We got to Jardines Del Recuerdo and we were able to quickly find were my grandmother's ashes are stored. We have to inquire about how to restore the plaque because a couple of her letters were missing. We tried to find my grandfather and uncle's tombstone but after 30 minutes we gave up. My mom and aunt are going to try and go up next week to try and find it again.
We got home at around 5:00 and both girls were pretty tired. We gave them dinner and then Fernanda went to sleep at around 7:00 without any crying at all. She just asked for her little pink ant stuffed animal, she turned sideways, hugged it, and fell asleep.
Until tomorrow!
After the excitement of the morning we went to Jardines Del Recuerdo. We got to Jardines Del Recuerdo and we were able to quickly find were my grandmother's ashes are stored. We have to inquire about how to restore the plaque because a couple of her letters were missing. We tried to find my grandfather and uncle's tombstone but after 30 minutes we gave up. My mom and aunt are going to try and go up next week to try and find it again.
We got home at around 5:00 and both girls were pretty tired. We gave them dinner and then Fernanda went to sleep at around 7:00 without any crying at all. She just asked for her little pink ant stuffed animal, she turned sideways, hugged it, and fell asleep.
Until tomorrow!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day 18: DiverCity -Take 2
Yeah! Amaya Fernanda slept through the night again AND woke up with a smile! We woke up around 7:30 a.m. and were getting ready to take a walk down to the mall Bulevar Niza. But, then a pretty bad rainfall started and so that kept us in this morning. Amaya Fernanda is becoming more and more independent she played ball with her sister, nana, and dad in the living room while I got some time to catch up on reading on my Kindle :).
We gave Amaya Fernanda lunch at 11:45 and then we put her down to nap in her crib. She cried a little while (like 3 minutes) and then she slept until 2:30! She woke up again with a huge smile and ready to play! She is definitely become more secure and attached with us. She's realizing that we won't dissapear when she takes a nap. Actually today we celebrate 2 weeks together and we are amazed at the progress we have all made together as a family.
Mark, Alejandra, and I got picked up at 3:00 by Tatiana and her daughter Sofi. We headed to Santa Fe mall to take our two little cuties to DiverCity. The girls had a blast together, they are only about 4 months apart in age. They were newscasters, veterinarians, astronauts, models and firefighters. We got the most adorable video of Alejandra being the fashion reporter for Caracol T.V. News. The girls both decided to spend money on a trip on Avianca Airlines and also at the beauty shop. The two girls ended their day with a "cajita feliz" from McDonalds, not a peep could be heard from the back seat of the car as Tatiana drove us home.
We were hesitant to leave Amaya Fernanda at first, but it was such a great treat for Alejandra. Amaya Fernanda had a GREAT time at home with the Nana's. She cried for about 2 minutes when we initially left but then after that she was all BIG smiles and laughs! When we got home she was happily eating dinner at the table with her Nana's and she gave us big smiles and laughs as well. We are SO grateful to have the nana's here with us!
Tomorrow we are off to visit Guatavita and then stop by the cemetary where my grandmother, grandfather, and uncle were laid to rest. It will be a visit with mixed emotions for our Nana's tomorrow as they think back to all of the wonderful memories they have of being with their mother, father, and brother in Colombia.
Until tomorrow...
We gave Amaya Fernanda lunch at 11:45 and then we put her down to nap in her crib. She cried a little while (like 3 minutes) and then she slept until 2:30! She woke up again with a huge smile and ready to play! She is definitely become more secure and attached with us. She's realizing that we won't dissapear when she takes a nap. Actually today we celebrate 2 weeks together and we are amazed at the progress we have all made together as a family.
Mark, Alejandra, and I got picked up at 3:00 by Tatiana and her daughter Sofi. We headed to Santa Fe mall to take our two little cuties to DiverCity. The girls had a blast together, they are only about 4 months apart in age. They were newscasters, veterinarians, astronauts, models and firefighters. We got the most adorable video of Alejandra being the fashion reporter for Caracol T.V. News. The girls both decided to spend money on a trip on Avianca Airlines and also at the beauty shop. The two girls ended their day with a "cajita feliz" from McDonalds, not a peep could be heard from the back seat of the car as Tatiana drove us home.
We were hesitant to leave Amaya Fernanda at first, but it was such a great treat for Alejandra. Amaya Fernanda had a GREAT time at home with the Nana's. She cried for about 2 minutes when we initially left but then after that she was all BIG smiles and laughs! When we got home she was happily eating dinner at the table with her Nana's and she gave us big smiles and laughs as well. We are SO grateful to have the nana's here with us!
Tomorrow we are off to visit Guatavita and then stop by the cemetary where my grandmother, grandfather, and uncle were laid to rest. It will be a visit with mixed emotions for our Nana's tomorrow as they think back to all of the wonderful memories they have of being with their mother, father, and brother in Colombia.
Until tomorrow...
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day 17: Scratching our heads ;/
After a very restful night for Amaya Fernanda we woke up around 8:00 a.m. ready to head out to Jaime Duque. We got all packed up and headed out the door for a about a 45 minute ride to the park. It was the most perfect day to be at the amusement park. The weather was perfect and it was practically empty. Every ride was walk up and ride so Alejandra was in heaven! Amaya Fernanda went on a few rides as well. While we were walking the park I looked down at Amaya Fernanda's head and notice four little scabs on the top of her head. I wondered what they were from so I called my mom over and when we started looking we saw a little piojo moving around. My mom grabbed it off of her head and then we started looking around her head.....uh oh LICE!
We finished up our day at the park after lunch and when we got home we went to the pharmacy and got the lice medication for her. We combed it through and found a few more on her hair. I decided to do the same with Alejandra as a preventative, but I didn't see any in her hair. We washed all the linens in her room, the stroller, towels, stuffed animals, jackets, pajamas...you name it! We have no idea where Fernanda picked up lice. It is way too late to think that she got it from her foster family, so we're thinking she got it from the blanket we placed in her crib last night. We think we caught it early and that they are all gone. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we won the battle with lice :)
Tomorrow we are heading off to DiverCity again with a friend of the family and their little daughter. The two nana's have said to leave Fernanda behind and just take Alejandra to spend some special time with us. We're going to try it out and see if it works. Today was definitely a better day in terms of bonding and Fernanda gaining some independence. The fact that our apartment is one story now helps immensely with her exploration because she knows she will always be able to come and find me.
Until tomorrow!
We finished up our day at the park after lunch and when we got home we went to the pharmacy and got the lice medication for her. We combed it through and found a few more on her hair. I decided to do the same with Alejandra as a preventative, but I didn't see any in her hair. We washed all the linens in her room, the stroller, towels, stuffed animals, jackets, pajamas...you name it! We have no idea where Fernanda picked up lice. It is way too late to think that she got it from her foster family, so we're thinking she got it from the blanket we placed in her crib last night. We think we caught it early and that they are all gone. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we won the battle with lice :)
Tomorrow we are heading off to DiverCity again with a friend of the family and their little daughter. The two nana's have said to leave Fernanda behind and just take Alejandra to spend some special time with us. We're going to try it out and see if it works. Today was definitely a better day in terms of bonding and Fernanda gaining some independence. The fact that our apartment is one story now helps immensely with her exploration because she knows she will always be able to come and find me.
Until tomorrow!
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