Well we had some success last night. Daniel only woke up twice. Yippee!!!!!!!!! The staff at Las Palmas is so nice. We were talking about Daniel's sleeping issues. They recommended a home remedy of Apple water. Apparently they use apple water to help people sleep. So we tried it. It seems to work. This might be his nightly drink.
We found another park. Seriously you can find a park on every corner. Daniel played and spotted birds. When he sees a dog he will say "WowWow" for the bark. That is very Colombian. Too cute.
We also decided to shorten Daniel's nap. He was not happy.Boy does he have a huge lip pout. He just wanted to sleep. Gary & I actually couldn't help but find it funny . We are such Meany Parents. We won and Daniel reluctantly woke up. We walked 20 minutes to the mall. What an adventure. The traffic is crazy. Close to the mall it was like playing chicken with cabs,buses and cars. We made it without any problems. After killing some timeat the mall, we headed back via cab because it was starting to drizzle.
Tonight Daniel had another round of the apple drink before bed. He went to sleep in 10 minutes. This is huge!! We will see what the night brings. Tomorrow , the hotel's General Manager Juan Carlos is taking us to the Country Club. We hope the weather permits. When Juan Carlos first mentioned "going to the club" I thought he was talking about a Club as in Nightclub. I was thinking how can we take a toddler to the club. Do they do that in Colombia. Then my brief moment of craziness and sleep deprivation went away and I was on the same page as everyone else.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Very Sweet Monday
Yummy!! Lots of sweet firsts treats happened today. After breakfast we packed up and headed to a nice little park. Daniel played and played . We then went to Dunkin Donuts. They have an playground which is nice and perfect size for him. Daniel had his first little chocolate doughnut and some juice. Have I mentioned that Daniel loves to eat. After playing and running off the sugar high we went back to the hotel. Daniel has such a hard time sleeping. We figured we would just wear him out today. That is our plan
After Daniel's little nap, we went back to Unicentro to go to Exito,which is similar to Target and stopped by Crepes and Waffles for a ice cream treat . YUMMY!!!!!! It was actually a frozen yogurt. So good!!
When we returned to the hotel another family just checked in. They are from Denmark. Really nice couple.They are traveling tomorrow to meet their son. Sounds so familiar. I know how excited they must feel.
Well the verdict is still out on if our mission of wearing Daniel out worked. Please God let it work. If not off to plan B.
After Daniel's little nap, we went back to Unicentro to go to Exito,which is similar to Target and stopped by Crepes and Waffles for a ice cream treat . YUMMY!!!!!! It was actually a frozen yogurt. So good!!
When we returned to the hotel another family just checked in. They are from Denmark. Really nice couple.They are traveling tomorrow to meet their son. Sounds so familiar. I know how excited they must feel.
Well the verdict is still out on if our mission of wearing Daniel out worked. Please God let it work. If not off to plan B.
 |
Watch out the next huge Colombian Artist just like Botero    It looks like an average size donut but it is the munchkin . They also use dark chocolate.  |
 |
I love sugar!!!!WEEEEEEE!!!! Quick snap shot of the mall from the cab. |
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Unicentro
Daniel loves phones. He loves them so much that he will walk around with the hotels phone. Our goal for the day was to get him a toy cell phone. So we headed out to Unicentro,a very nice and big mall. Our plan was to walk over because on Sundays part of the avenue in front of the mall is closed to vehicles and people walk and ride their bicycles .I believe it is called Cyclovia. Well the sky looked like it was going to rain so we took a cab to the mall. Wow it was busy. They even had a Mass service being held in the mall when we walked in. We went to Papa Ganga on the recomendation of the staff at the hotel. This store was packed. You would think it was going out of business or something. However it is not. We hit the jackpot and found our phone for Daniel. He is going to love it. We then headed to another store to purchase a little hat and scarf for Daniel. Poor little guy I know I am sorry it does not match your outfit/sweaters. After walking the mall we headed back via cab to the hotel. Overall, it was a nice day.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Our first Saturday Back in Bogota
Saturday was a relaxing day. We wanted to make sure that Daniel was nice and warm considering he is just getting over being sick. We had lots of laundry to do . However we ventured out to run a few essential shopping for Daniel at Pomona,which is a grocery store on the corner similar to Harris Teeter or Publix. We then strolled around the neighborhood getting acquainted with our surroundings and hanging out at the parks. Of course, Daniel loves the stroller.
 |
Friday, August 27, 2010
Integration Meeting & Back to Bogota
So last night was rough! We figured Daniel would not wake up until late. Nope , it was 6am and our little ray of sunshine was up and ready for the day. As if last night did not happen. So we started the day. Our usual breakfast and then played in the room until close to the time for the meeting.
Jaime and Silvia , our Gladney family Coordinator and translators arrived with Graciella, our attorney. We were so excited to see familiar faces. This is one huge step closer to getting home. They called the ICBF personnel and the meeting was going to be held at the hotel. We were nervous about the meeting. Unsure about what to expect but it was like a huge get together. The minor defender, social worker and psychologists do a great job of making you feel at home. Again you can tell they truly care for the children under their protection.They commented on how the meetings can be stressful on the child because sometimes they think they are going to take them away again. They gave us the big ok. This is huge because now our documents enter the court system in Girardot. We now wait on the judge for our Sentencia/adoption decree.
Before the meeting Silvia and Graciella took a cab to Flandes to get a copy of Daniel's birth certificate. Unfortunately the office was closed. We need his old birth certificate in order to apply for the new birth certificate with our names as Mom and Dad. We all headed out to the Notary but they were closed also. So we returned to the hotel to get lunch and check out. Silvia, Jaime and Graciella went out for lunch with the ladies from ICBF. We will get back together at 1:30 and head to the notary.
Silvia took us to the notary . We stood in line for the doors to open. A lady on a moped drove up , opened the door and then a huge amount of people arrived to get in line Where did they come from? Thank goodness Silvia was there. She is a women on a mission and in charge. We are just here for the ride. Everything was done. Now we are going back to Bogota.
Usually it takes 3 hrs to get to Bogota. We ran into some TERRIBLE traffic. Our 3 hr drive took close to 6 hrs. This was Daniel's first ride in the car seat with us. He did not like the seat at first so it made us wonder if he has been in one before. Maybe not because we saw several children riding motorcycles . The kids ride the motorcycle sandwiched in between the 2 adults, balanced and riding along perfectly. Daniel did sleep for a few hours . Thank goodness because as it got closer to dinner,bathtime and bedtime Daniel became very restless.
We arrived back to Las Palmas around 8pm. They are so nice here. Always with a warm welcome. They even saved us some dinner. Thank goodness because we were HUNGRY. We did meet another family from Denmark they adopted a girl 18 yrs ago and returned for a visit. That is really neat.
The weather in Bogota is cold . We made sure Daniel was nice and warm. We tucked him into his crib unsure if he would react to the new environment. He did his normal waking up in the night . We were just glad it was not a repeat of last night. I have noticed that we crash to sleep nightly. It is sort of funny.
Jaime and Silvia , our Gladney family Coordinator and translators arrived with Graciella, our attorney. We were so excited to see familiar faces. This is one huge step closer to getting home. They called the ICBF personnel and the meeting was going to be held at the hotel. We were nervous about the meeting. Unsure about what to expect but it was like a huge get together. The minor defender, social worker and psychologists do a great job of making you feel at home. Again you can tell they truly care for the children under their protection.They commented on how the meetings can be stressful on the child because sometimes they think they are going to take them away again. They gave us the big ok. This is huge because now our documents enter the court system in Girardot. We now wait on the judge for our Sentencia/adoption decree.
Before the meeting Silvia and Graciella took a cab to Flandes to get a copy of Daniel's birth certificate. Unfortunately the office was closed. We need his old birth certificate in order to apply for the new birth certificate with our names as Mom and Dad. We all headed out to the Notary but they were closed also. So we returned to the hotel to get lunch and check out. Silvia, Jaime and Graciella went out for lunch with the ladies from ICBF. We will get back together at 1:30 and head to the notary.
Silvia took us to the notary . We stood in line for the doors to open. A lady on a moped drove up , opened the door and then a huge amount of people arrived to get in line Where did they come from? Thank goodness Silvia was there. She is a women on a mission and in charge. We are just here for the ride. Everything was done. Now we are going back to Bogota.
Usually it takes 3 hrs to get to Bogota. We ran into some TERRIBLE traffic. Our 3 hr drive took close to 6 hrs. This was Daniel's first ride in the car seat with us. He did not like the seat at first so it made us wonder if he has been in one before. Maybe not because we saw several children riding motorcycles . The kids ride the motorcycle sandwiched in between the 2 adults, balanced and riding along perfectly. Daniel did sleep for a few hours . Thank goodness because as it got closer to dinner,bathtime and bedtime Daniel became very restless.
We arrived back to Las Palmas around 8pm. They are so nice here. Always with a warm welcome. They even saved us some dinner. Thank goodness because we were HUNGRY. We did meet another family from Denmark they adopted a girl 18 yrs ago and returned for a visit. That is really neat.
The weather in Bogota is cold . We made sure Daniel was nice and warm. We tucked him into his crib unsure if he would react to the new environment. He did his normal waking up in the night . We were just glad it was not a repeat of last night. I have noticed that we crash to sleep nightly. It is sort of funny.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Update from Girardot
Well we are still in Girardot. Enjoying every minute with our little guy. Today is Daniel's last full day in Girardot before we head to Bogota tomorrow. We have our intergration meeting on Friday morning. This meeting is with the minor defender, psychologists and social worker. The main topic will be about our bonding process with Daniel.
Today we enjoyed the day. We wandered around the hotel. Watched alot of birds. Went swimming. The amazing part is that on our first night here we went to dinner. It was a mess. What were we thinking. Daniel was not adjusted to us and sick. Well we started eating at the restaurant once Daniel was feeling better. Tonight I noticed a huge difference from our first meal.
Daniel is a curious little boy. They were hanging lighting in the restaurant/ bamboo hut and he was curious about the work. However even with that distraction everything went smoothly. I believe our waiter , who waited on us through the week and that crazy first dinner, even noticed a difference.
He loves to dance. Any music with a beat he is happy and dancing.
It was then bedtime for Daniel. He fell asleep very quickly. I started to pack . We then enjoyed the cool breeze from our "Presidential Suite". We both were thinking the same thing that it does not feel as if Daniel has only been with us for 6 days. We feel as though we have been together forever. We love you Daniel!
Well it was getting pretty late. The hotel was busy again. A bus dropped off lots of guests. Our heads hit the pillow and Daniel decided to wake up. He would not go to sleep. It was not until 3am that he decided to fall back to sleep. We were thinking " Great, all three of us are sleep deprived and we have our integration meeting tomorrow" . Sleep deprivation can lead to some crazy stuff. We figured Daniel would not wake up at all friday morning. Our little Girardot schedule is ruined.
Today we enjoyed the day. We wandered around the hotel. Watched alot of birds. Went swimming. The amazing part is that on our first night here we went to dinner. It was a mess. What were we thinking. Daniel was not adjusted to us and sick. Well we started eating at the restaurant once Daniel was feeling better. Tonight I noticed a huge difference from our first meal.
Daniel is a curious little boy. They were hanging lighting in the restaurant/ bamboo hut and he was curious about the work. However even with that distraction everything went smoothly. I believe our waiter , who waited on us through the week and that crazy first dinner, even noticed a difference.
He loves to dance. Any music with a beat he is happy and dancing.
It was then bedtime for Daniel. He fell asleep very quickly. I started to pack . We then enjoyed the cool breeze from our "Presidential Suite". We both were thinking the same thing that it does not feel as if Daniel has only been with us for 6 days. We feel as though we have been together forever. We love you Daniel!
Well it was getting pretty late. The hotel was busy again. A bus dropped off lots of guests. Our heads hit the pillow and Daniel decided to wake up. He would not go to sleep. It was not until 3am that he decided to fall back to sleep. We were thinking " Great, all three of us are sleep deprived and we have our integration meeting tomorrow" . Sleep deprivation can lead to some crazy stuff. We figured Daniel would not wake up at all friday morning. Our little Girardot schedule is ruined.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Recap
Monday Aug 23
Today started out with the usual routine. Daniel still has his little cough and runny nose. However, I really think he is getting better. Today was the same routine of 7 am wake up,breakfast, wander around hotel grounds,snack, play, lunch ,nap and then the day took a different route. Apparently the resident Meany complained again about Daniel crying. He will cry when he wakes up. So after his nap he was crying and the complaint happened. Well this time I some how became bilingual enough to explain that he is a baby and he will cry. As much as the other guests do not want to hear a baby crying, we do not want to deal with the daily complaints. We asked the staff hotel to please move us away from anyone else so we don't disturb the other guests. They were very understanding. So Thanks Mr. Meany because of you we are moving to a larger room . Not the Presidential Suite but close enough (Yes They have a Presidential Suite ). The rest of the day we were dealing with packing up, unpacking and keeping Daniel's normal stuff routine.
Tuesday August 24
Daniel walked around with Mommy in his baby carrier. He likes it. We had a good time at the pool today. Daniel really likes the water. He is not afraid of anything. He makes me more nervous . Mirjam , Wim and their girls were at the pool. We had a nice time. (By the way they are from Holland not Denmark as in my other post. I was confused with the other family we meet in Bogota.Sorry, I think I am losing brain cells already.. Silly American Parents!) After lunch Daniel had his nap and boy he was out for a long time. We had to wake him in fear that he would not sleep that night. Sweet little boy was TIRED!
We also discovered that Daniel loves baseball caps. He loves kicking around a balloon and screams "Goal". Daniel's vocabulary list is Mama, Papa, Goal, No, tetero or baat (bottle), PioPio (bird).
Gary is such a proud Daddy because he always comments on Daniel's sports skills. It is too cute. Daniel also loves to dance. Any music playing he will start with his dancing moves. He rolls his hands like he is channeling John Travolta from 70s Saturday night fever. Oh yes, this works wonders with the ladies. Everyone was commenting on how cute he is dancing. Such a smart boy. Our little babe magnet.
Our night was very very rough. I managed to run a fever of 102 degrees.I guess I had a fever all day but just thought it I did not feel good at all. Daniel was up every 3 hrs . He would wake up look around and cry until you picked him up.That translates to no sleep for Gary because I did not want to make Daniel sick . Don't worry we are not spoiling him we are reassuring him. So many changes for Daniel to deal with. We hope & pray that time will heal all wounds.
Wednesday Aug 25
Today Daniel went to the pool twice. He loves water. This time I managed to get some cute pictures of Daniel and Daddy. I was feeling better in the afternoon. We have walked up and down every inch of the hotel several times. Daniel will locate any bird . He has a great eye. Gary even located a sloth . This sloth makes lots of noise at night. So we were off as a family of three to snap a picture of this crazy loud sloth.
Our Dutch friends dropped by to give us their great news that they are headed back to Bogota tomorrow for the signing of the adoption decree. Yippee!!!! Congratulations de Wit family! We are very excited for you and your girls! We can't thank you enough for your kindness and great adoption parenting tips. Your experience and willingness to share mean alot to us :) Adios! Veilig reist naar huis.
Today started out with the usual routine. Daniel still has his little cough and runny nose. However, I really think he is getting better. Today was the same routine of 7 am wake up,breakfast, wander around hotel grounds,snack, play, lunch ,nap and then the day took a different route. Apparently the resident Meany complained again about Daniel crying. He will cry when he wakes up. So after his nap he was crying and the complaint happened. Well this time I some how became bilingual enough to explain that he is a baby and he will cry. As much as the other guests do not want to hear a baby crying, we do not want to deal with the daily complaints. We asked the staff hotel to please move us away from anyone else so we don't disturb the other guests. They were very understanding. So Thanks Mr. Meany because of you we are moving to a larger room . Not the Presidential Suite but close enough (Yes They have a Presidential Suite ). The rest of the day we were dealing with packing up, unpacking and keeping Daniel's normal stuff routine.
Tuesday August 24
Daniel walked around with Mommy in his baby carrier. He likes it. We had a good time at the pool today. Daniel really likes the water. He is not afraid of anything. He makes me more nervous . Mirjam , Wim and their girls were at the pool. We had a nice time. (By the way they are from Holland not Denmark as in my other post. I was confused with the other family we meet in Bogota.Sorry, I think I am losing brain cells already.. Silly American Parents!) After lunch Daniel had his nap and boy he was out for a long time. We had to wake him in fear that he would not sleep that night. Sweet little boy was TIRED!
We also discovered that Daniel loves baseball caps. He loves kicking around a balloon and screams "Goal". Daniel's vocabulary list is Mama, Papa, Goal, No, tetero or baat (bottle), PioPio (bird).
Gary is such a proud Daddy because he always comments on Daniel's sports skills. It is too cute. Daniel also loves to dance. Any music playing he will start with his dancing moves. He rolls his hands like he is channeling John Travolta from 70s Saturday night fever. Oh yes, this works wonders with the ladies. Everyone was commenting on how cute he is dancing. Such a smart boy. Our little babe magnet.
Our night was very very rough. I managed to run a fever of 102 degrees.I guess I had a fever all day but just thought it I did not feel good at all. Daniel was up every 3 hrs . He would wake up look around and cry until you picked him up.That translates to no sleep for Gary because I did not want to make Daniel sick . Don't worry we are not spoiling him we are reassuring him. So many changes for Daniel to deal with. We hope & pray that time will heal all wounds.
Wednesday Aug 25
Today Daniel went to the pool twice. He loves water. This time I managed to get some cute pictures of Daniel and Daddy. I was feeling better in the afternoon. We have walked up and down every inch of the hotel several times. Daniel will locate any bird . He has a great eye. Gary even located a sloth . This sloth makes lots of noise at night. So we were off as a family of three to snap a picture of this crazy loud sloth.
Our Dutch friends dropped by to give us their great news that they are headed back to Bogota tomorrow for the signing of the adoption decree. Yippee!!!! Congratulations de Wit family! We are very excited for you and your girls! We can't thank you enough for your kindness and great adoption parenting tips. Your experience and willingness to share mean alot to us :) Adios! Veilig reist naar huis.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Sunday
Still no internet access! Today was full of highs and lows. Thank goodness the highs outweighed the lows. The morning started out again with the normal routine . Daniel will wake up early just to play in his crib and go back to sleep. This morning Gary let me sleep alittle and he ventured out to order breakfast. Of course, he had the order in Spanish on a piece of paper. It worked. I am sure the wait staff appreciated it.
We then headed off to the playground. We played with bubbles ( thanks Debbie) then here comes the low....as Daniel was on the slide he fell at the bottom and hit his head. He is fine. Tough little boy. However he has his first booboo with us. Gary calls him "Scarface". Poor baby. Of course , we needed alittle ice to place on his head. That was like a game of charades. I know how to ask for ice but with my spanish accent no one understands until I start with the hand gestures. UGH!
We had our usual lunch on the balcony of our room. Going to the restaurant is not an option. We attempted that the first night for dinner. What a mess! Lots of stares. Well alot of people stare at us in general. I am getting use to it. Oh well! We prefer our meals on the balcony. We are all trying to learn about each other. Mr. Independent loves to feed himself and wear most of it. Thank Goodness I packed one bib. (Melissa if you are reading this..I will take you up on your bib offer. If plastic & big the better!)
We did meet a lovely family . They are adopting as well. Actually they are on their third adoption. All three beautiful girls. How nice! Mirjam and Wim are tuly kind and nice. They are in the same boat just waiting to go home . They were in Bogota but traveled to Girardot for a change in scenery. It is nice to have someone to chat with. We can't wait for Daniel to feel better so he can go to the pool. He is not ready. He still has no fever but still has a cough and runny nose.
Today we changed our first Daniel dirty diapers. Gary was the lucky recipient of the first one. I thought he was going to gag. I admit I was chuckling on the inside as I helped him out. But karma is something else because the next diaper was also a huge dirty diaper and boy did it stink. I thought I was going to barf! Very different from the diapers I change at work.
We found out today that Daniel loves birds. Another Davis Birdwatcher. He will spot them and start make this sound "PioPio" and flap his little arms like wings. It is very cute. But it doesn't matter where or what we are doing...He will spot the birds.
Daniel also started saying "PaPa" to Gary! Absolutely adorable! He did say "Apple " once when playing with a First Words Book. ( Thanks Jodi) That only happened once but it is a beginning. Daniel is very smart. He knows what he wants and when he wants it. He is very easy to figure out. Today he was hanging out alot in the Baby Bjorn with me. He really likes it. It is nice to be able to carry him around and still have hands free.
Bedtime was ROUGH tonight. Lots of crying. We even had someone have the nerve to complain about the crying. Big Meany! The staff dropped by just to report the complaint but understood that it was bedtime & a toddler. Plus it was very early so go figure the complaints . The music and laughter was louder than Daniel's crying. Oh well. Eventually he did fall asleep.
Nora called to check in on us today. It is always nice to hear a familiar voice. It helps to reassure us that we are not here alone. (Not that we feel that way) It is just really nice.
Well we wish we had wifi to share all of this with you day by day. However hopefully when we return to Bogota we can get back online.
We then headed off to the playground. We played with bubbles ( thanks Debbie) then here comes the low....as Daniel was on the slide he fell at the bottom and hit his head. He is fine. Tough little boy. However he has his first booboo with us. Gary calls him "Scarface". Poor baby. Of course , we needed alittle ice to place on his head. That was like a game of charades. I know how to ask for ice but with my spanish accent no one understands until I start with the hand gestures. UGH!
We had our usual lunch on the balcony of our room. Going to the restaurant is not an option. We attempted that the first night for dinner. What a mess! Lots of stares. Well alot of people stare at us in general. I am getting use to it. Oh well! We prefer our meals on the balcony. We are all trying to learn about each other. Mr. Independent loves to feed himself and wear most of it. Thank Goodness I packed one bib. (Melissa if you are reading this..I will take you up on your bib offer. If plastic & big the better!)
We did meet a lovely family . They are adopting as well. Actually they are on their third adoption. All three beautiful girls. How nice! Mirjam and Wim are tuly kind and nice. They are in the same boat just waiting to go home . They were in Bogota but traveled to Girardot for a change in scenery. It is nice to have someone to chat with. We can't wait for Daniel to feel better so he can go to the pool. He is not ready. He still has no fever but still has a cough and runny nose.
Today we changed our first Daniel dirty diapers. Gary was the lucky recipient of the first one. I thought he was going to gag. I admit I was chuckling on the inside as I helped him out. But karma is something else because the next diaper was also a huge dirty diaper and boy did it stink. I thought I was going to barf! Very different from the diapers I change at work.
We found out today that Daniel loves birds. Another Davis Birdwatcher. He will spot them and start make this sound "PioPio" and flap his little arms like wings. It is very cute. But it doesn't matter where or what we are doing...He will spot the birds.
Daniel also started saying "PaPa" to Gary! Absolutely adorable! He did say "Apple " once when playing with a First Words Book. ( Thanks Jodi) That only happened once but it is a beginning. Daniel is very smart. He knows what he wants and when he wants it. He is very easy to figure out. Today he was hanging out alot in the Baby Bjorn with me. He really likes it. It is nice to be able to carry him around and still have hands free.
Bedtime was ROUGH tonight. Lots of crying. We even had someone have the nerve to complain about the crying. Big Meany! The staff dropped by just to report the complaint but understood that it was bedtime & a toddler. Plus it was very early so go figure the complaints . The music and laughter was louder than Daniel's crying. Oh well. Eventually he did fall asleep.
Nora called to check in on us today. It is always nice to hear a familiar voice. It helps to reassure us that we are not here alone. (Not that we feel that way) It is just really nice.
Well we wish we had wifi to share all of this with you day by day. However hopefully when we return to Bogota we can get back online.
Daily Snap shots
 |
| " Look at my BooBoo" |
|
| "Yes, look at me again...." He is so cute! |
 |
| Daniel vs the playground |
 |
Daniel is a HUGE Daddy's Boy! Daddy vs Daniel and Elmo   He loves that photo album that we sent in his care package. Everyone did such a great job preparing him for us. Thanks! He is constantly saying Mama and Papa. We love it! |
Saturday, August 21, 2010
What a day!
Today has been a really good day ...so far! Our morning started around 3am. Daniel's routine has consisted of a 3am bottle. Yes, bottle. He loves that bottle or as he says it "tetero". Then he was awake by 8am. Luckily I was awake before and ventured down with my spanish to order our Americano Desayuno/ American Breakfast. I think he woke up to the smell of eggs in the room. He was so sweet just sat on my lap for hugs and kisses before breakfast. He has a big appetite. He had eggs,fruit ,bread and orange juice. Gary even managed to get him to drink out of a real glass. Then he was awake and was ready to play. We played played and played. We played upstairs in the room. Hotel rooms are not great for child safety. We need to childproof our house some more. We received a call from Carmen Cecilia from ICBF. She is so sweet. She wanted to check on us & make sure Daniel was feeling ok with no fever. Again she extended her hand to help in the event of an emergency. Everyone is really taking care of us.
We then went to the playground at the hotel. Daniel loved the slide. It is nice that the hotel has this playground area.However it is slightly dirty. We did spend several hours there. Daniel is going to get along great with Grandpa Davis. They both always step on ants. Daniel was on the stomping path. Watch out ants.
We did manage to get Daniel to say bottle. Thanks the the Beach Boys song beat of "Barbara Ann". Ours was " BABABABA BOTTLE". Daniel loves music and songs . He gets the sweetest smile on his face when he laughs.
Another thing is that Daniel loves yogurt. He will go crazy for it. He loves to feed himself which is super messy! However he requires two spoons. Both hands are ready to shovel in the food. After more playing and lunch , it was nap time. Boy can he sleep. He likes to have his back scratched in order to fall asleep ..just like Daddy.
SIlvia called to check up on us which was nice. However Daniel was crying big time in the background. Did he plan that ?Was he saying "Silvis Help me". Really he wanted to eat. This is hard to time perfectly with the restaurant. Hopefully things will be better on a schedule once we are home. Anyway Silvia and Jaime are picking us up on Friday. Friday is our Integration Meeting with the Minor Defender of ICBF. They will talk with us regarding the bonding process. The meeting is going to be held at the hotel, probably pool side. After the meeting we are going to check out and head to back to Bogota. Then the wait begins, we will wait for the judge to sign our adoption decree.
Well about our hotel. It is busy. Music playing until 4-5 am. People having a good time. Lots of honeymooners/couples. The only thing about the crowded hotel is that we are having problems with our wifi ...not able to connect. I try several times a day . Plus the hotel has power outages. This only effects us at night because we can't run the air conditioner. Doctors and ICBF orders. They even had the hotel turn off the main ac for the room when we checked in. Needless to say we are MELTING!!!!!!!! However when the power goes out so do the elevators. Gary saw people get stuck in the elevator. The staff was swiftly on the job trying to assist. The staff here is really attentive.
Tonight was the night for tears. Daniel was extremely tired and restless. You can tell he does not feel great at times. It took him a while to fall asleep. Luckily Gary had the touch. Daniel is such a wild little sleeper. Every time I peek at him he is pointed in a different direction . I am really tired. I wonder if I will be able to sleep with all of the music playing. I hear club techno, spanish music and all kind of English pop music like UB40 and the Red hot Chili Peppers. Remember we are at Party Central.
Daniel's favorite words are Mama ( he will point at pictures of me and say Mama and go to me when Gary asks "where is mama"), tetero (bottle), now bottle and a whole lot of stuff we don't understand . Does Rosetta Stone have some software for Toddler Language? It even sounded like he said Daniel today. He had a huge grin on his face when he said it. We are working on Daddy! He knows Daddy because he runs to Gary when you ask "Where is Daddy". He is so quick to learn and eager.
Well can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring. I will try again to get online and post some pictures.
We then went to the playground at the hotel. Daniel loved the slide. It is nice that the hotel has this playground area.However it is slightly dirty. We did spend several hours there. Daniel is going to get along great with Grandpa Davis. They both always step on ants. Daniel was on the stomping path. Watch out ants.
We did manage to get Daniel to say bottle. Thanks the the Beach Boys song beat of "Barbara Ann". Ours was " BABABABA BOTTLE". Daniel loves music and songs . He gets the sweetest smile on his face when he laughs.
Another thing is that Daniel loves yogurt. He will go crazy for it. He loves to feed himself which is super messy! However he requires two spoons. Both hands are ready to shovel in the food. After more playing and lunch , it was nap time. Boy can he sleep. He likes to have his back scratched in order to fall asleep ..just like Daddy.
SIlvia called to check up on us which was nice. However Daniel was crying big time in the background. Did he plan that ?Was he saying "Silvis Help me". Really he wanted to eat. This is hard to time perfectly with the restaurant. Hopefully things will be better on a schedule once we are home. Anyway Silvia and Jaime are picking us up on Friday. Friday is our Integration Meeting with the Minor Defender of ICBF. They will talk with us regarding the bonding process. The meeting is going to be held at the hotel, probably pool side. After the meeting we are going to check out and head to back to Bogota. Then the wait begins, we will wait for the judge to sign our adoption decree.
Well about our hotel. It is busy. Music playing until 4-5 am. People having a good time. Lots of honeymooners/couples. The only thing about the crowded hotel is that we are having problems with our wifi ...not able to connect. I try several times a day . Plus the hotel has power outages. This only effects us at night because we can't run the air conditioner. Doctors and ICBF orders. They even had the hotel turn off the main ac for the room when we checked in. Needless to say we are MELTING!!!!!!!! However when the power goes out so do the elevators. Gary saw people get stuck in the elevator. The staff was swiftly on the job trying to assist. The staff here is really attentive.
Tonight was the night for tears. Daniel was extremely tired and restless. You can tell he does not feel great at times. It took him a while to fall asleep. Luckily Gary had the touch. Daniel is such a wild little sleeper. Every time I peek at him he is pointed in a different direction . I am really tired. I wonder if I will be able to sleep with all of the music playing. I hear club techno, spanish music and all kind of English pop music like UB40 and the Red hot Chili Peppers. Remember we are at Party Central.
Daniel's favorite words are Mama ( he will point at pictures of me and say Mama and go to me when Gary asks "where is mama"), tetero (bottle), now bottle and a whole lot of stuff we don't understand . Does Rosetta Stone have some software for Toddler Language? It even sounded like he said Daniel today. He had a huge grin on his face when he said it. We are working on Daddy! He knows Daddy because he runs to Gary when you ask "Where is Daddy". He is so quick to learn and eager.
Well can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring. I will try again to get online and post some pictures.
Saturday Pics
 |
| This is the balcony that Elmo landed on after Daniel tossed him over ! So I was off to the front desk with my Spanish English Dictionary to ask for the red doll! Then all of the sudden here comes a sweet little boy bringing him to the desk. What a relief! Elmo is saved. |
 |
| " Boy do I love yogurt" |
Our view from our room!
 |
| The Colombian Flag. |
Our view from our Balcony on Saturday Night!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Our First Family Day Pictures
 |
Daniel placed in our arms forever  Poor Baby is sick! He has a fever in the pictures!  |
 |
| Headed to dinner....That was an experience! |
 |
| "Hey Everyone..This is my Daddy" |
 |
| Bedtime! He sleeps like an angel! |
Encuentro Day!!!
August 20th will be a day we will never forget. This day will hold a special place in our hearts. It is the wonderful day that our son was placed in our arms. We love you Daniel!
The day started out early . We were being picked up by Jaime and Silvia to head 3 hrs by car to Girardot. However we first picked up Graciella, our attorney. She is a very sweet woman. We drove through Bogota to the Girardot which is still in the same state/department of Cundinamarca. The drive through Bogota was full of people and cars/buses/motorcycles. After we passed the southern part of Bogota the ride was full of windy roads through the countryside. Several cows , horses and goats near the street grazing. What I noticed the most was the climate getting warmer, warmer and then HOT! Here are some pics of the scenery
The day started out early . We were being picked up by Jaime and Silvia to head 3 hrs by car to Girardot. However we first picked up Graciella, our attorney. She is a very sweet woman. We drove through Bogota to the Girardot which is still in the same state/department of Cundinamarca. The drive through Bogota was full of people and cars/buses/motorcycles. After we passed the southern part of Bogota the ride was full of windy roads through the countryside. Several cows , horses and goats near the street grazing. What I noticed the most was the climate getting warmer, warmer and then HOT! Here are some pics of the scenery
We arrived to Girardot . We are staying at the Hotel Tocarema. Girardot seems like a smaller city that is very busy and HOT. Gary lovingly refers to Girardot as HOTardot. Several nice hotels with beautiful flowers were along the way. We were checked into our new home away from home. It is a hotel that has a huge gate around the perimeters with security. Inside is like paradise. Beautiful birds of paradise flowers and open area with the pool as the center .
 |
| The Gringos aka The Americans. This was on our room key. Too Funny! |
We were now off to Bienstar to get Daniel. We arrived slightly early and so we stopped next door for some fresh orange juice and empanadas. I had the orange juice which was very sweet and refreshing. Gary loved his empanada. I was to excited to eat. We entered the ICBF building where we had the pleasure to meet several nice and professional women. You can tell that they care for the children that they protect under ICBF. The social worker was going to leave to go get Daniel..only a 10 minute drive. Then the discussion turned to preparing for the presentation. Silvia went with the ladies to get balloons, cake and soda. Gary and I stayed behind with our attorney and our little Elmo doll for Daniel. We conducted some formal processes with passports,interviews and then all of the sudden Daniel arrived. He is a beautiful little boy. He looks like Gary with his buzz cut hair . We were given information about his daily routine. Daniel's foster mother also sent a photo album with several baby pictures plus a beautiful letter which Jaime translated for us. We also found out the Daniel is sick with a virus/"gripe". He went to the hospital yesterday and was almost admitted. They sent him home on some medications . They reviewed the medications with us . He was burning with a fever during the presentation.(note those eyes). The doctor also recommended no Air Conditioner or fans. This will be interesting considering it is HOT HOT HOT! However we will do anything to see Daniel feel better.
Well here are the pictures sometimes they speak louder than words. Some during the presentation, settling in the room, going to eat dinner and sleepytime. I better run and get some rest! I will post tomorrow night after the little one gets to sleep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
