Bonding and Exploring

Wednesday:

Today was a beautiful day in Bogota.  It is about 65-70 degrees almost every day for a high.  It is a bit cooler in the mornings and evenings so dressing in layers is the best way to go. 

Baby A is an amazing sleeper.  She loves her bottles and is trying new foods such as banana, carrots, and pears.  She went to bed around 8:45 and slept until about 3 am and had a bottle and then went back to sleep until around 7:45.  I hope this routine continues!! :-)

We got ready and went down for breakfast.  Isaac is really enjoying being able to order anything he wants for breakfast as waffles are always on the menu!!  The 2 girls who work here are so awesome.  They both speak Spanish and they love to talk with Isaac.  Their names are Valeria and Juanita.  Juanita is an amazing cook and Valeria cleans and helps out with whatever we need.  We told Juanita that we are very excited to try some traditional Colombian food.  She also wants to find a time to teach us to make empanadas.  Valeria also has an 11 year old daughter Camilla that Isaac has been hanging out with a bit. 

We spent time just hanging around the hotel and learning about our girl.  She is very happy when she is fed and has slept.  She is VERY active and is always kicking her legs and moving her arms.    She has been taking an hour nap in the mornings and then 1-2 hours in the afternoon.  She gets really mad when it is time to eat or she sees you preparing her bottle.  After she eats it is more smiles and giggles.   There is a courtyard here that has swings so we spent some time playing outside and swinging.  We got some video of baby A in the swing.  So precious! 

We ate lunch here at the hotel of fish and fresh pineapple and then went with the owner of our hotel to the notary to have some papers notarized that we have to carry with us at all times that states that it is legal for baby A to be in our custody.   After the notary we went to the grocery store to buy some snacks and some diapers and just walked slowly up and down all the aisles.  It has been so good for Isaac to use his Spanish and also learn about converting US dollars in to pesos.  There are about 2,000 pesos in a US dollar.  Isaac is a numbers guy so it is fun for him to figure out how much things cost.  We bought a few snacks that are made here in Colombia and some interesting fruit.   We are looking forward to trying many new fruits.  

We spent the evening back at the hotel.  It gets dark around 6pm.  We had spaghetti for dinner and then it was time for a bath.  It was suggested to bring a blow up tub as the hotel does not have tubs.  I am so glad I did.  Baby A loves her bath kicking and splashing!! So funny to watch.  We were able to watch some of the Olympics and even found the Timberwolves game on ESPN but in Spanish!  It has been a great day once again.  Isaac has been so sweet wanting to hold baby A, help with her bath, give her a bottle, and play with her.  It has been so fun to watch!!  

Thursday:

This morning Isaac once again had a made to order breakfast!!  Cecilia arranged a driver to come and pick us up to take us back to the private casa as baby A needed vaccinations.  They have healthcare staff that come to the private casa on certain days and today was the day they could do it. We gave her some Tylenol prior and were off at 9:30am.  I forget how long it takes to get ready with a baby how much stuff we need!!  

The nurses were so sweet and it was so reassuring to see the kids getting excellent medical attention.  We were told by other families that the care is excellent but it was so nice to see.  I was able to tell them that I also work as a nurse and they asked all about where I work.  We did not have a translator but we managed with the help of Isaac.  He truly has been amazing!!  We were in and out in 10 minutes and we were able to hug her primary caregiver again.   We will be going for a tour in a week or 2.

Once back at the hotel she took a nap and the boys went to a near by park to throw the football around.   We are told that Bogota has many parks so we are looking forward to exploring them!

After nap we decided to go out for a walk and get a bit familiar with our new surroundings.  We loaded up baby A in the front pack and headed off to lunch.  We ate a pizza place called Archies which was wonderful and comes highly recommended.  Isaac was asked if he wanted to make his own pizza by a sweet girl name Luisa and she brought him upstairs and had him put on a chef’s outfit.  She was so impressed with his Spanish!  I can tell it can be a bit stressful at times when he does not understand the accent or they speak too fast so we have learned to tell people he is learning.  People have been amazing at slowing down and speaking simply to him.  The manager came over and asked if he could practice his English with us.  It was so fun!! After lunch Luisa brought him a gelato chocolate carmel sundae.  People are so friendly with kids here.   We will definitely be going back!!   

After lunch we walked around and familiarized ourselves with where some of the restaurants are and went to a few stores.  I can not believe how expensive baby clothes are here.  It was so nice to get out and enjoy the weather.  We came home as she was getting tired and with having shots I wanted to make sure that she got a good nap in.  She slept for almost 3 hours.  It rained some this afternoon so Isaac and I spent some time looking at old pictures and video and then we all took an afternoon siesta. 

We had a few families arrive at the hotel tonight from France and Italy.  We all had dinner together but they also speak Spanish also so it is hard to get to know them but we are trying!! One family has a little girl who is 7 and was constantly talking to Isaac in Spanish.  She is absolutely adorable. 

We are doing really well and are enjoying our sweet addition to our family.  We have also enjoyed some one on one time with Isaac.  I know this is a big adjustment for him to be in another country, using his Spanish, tasting new foods, and having a baby around.  He is doing absolutely amazing and it brings tears to my eyes to see him wanting to help and be a part.  He is going to be such a good big brother.  

Below are some pictures of where we are staying!  More to come!! :-)