Facts about our sweet kiddos!!

Monday morning came quickly and Isaac decided that it would be best to end the vacation with one last swim in the pool.  We had room service delivered to our balcony and he was in the pool by 8:45am!  Diego came to pick us up around 10:30.  He told us that his wife and girls required him to stop and get some fresh arepas on the way home.  See the pictures at end of post...they were simply amazing.  Freshly made and very cheap.  The ones we had were stuffed with cheese.  One of the best parts about going to Anapoima was the journey there and back.  I can not get over the beauty of the countryside.  Once back at the hotel we all took a nap.  Amazing how the sun can zap your energy!

Today was a low key day catching up with school and homework and Wednesday we are planning on going to the town of Zipaquira to visit the salt cathedral.  We have been told by many that it is a must see!! We are going to have Freddy take us there.  Freddy has been a driver for many of our friends and he tells us he knows all the best places!  We are really looking forward to meeting him!!
This evening an American family arrived to finish up their process.  They are from New Orleans and have adopted 3 boys ages 15,12 and 7.  Isaac spent the entire evening playing with them and using both Spanish and English.  It was so nice to visit with their parents!! They will be here for a week or 2 so we are excited for Isaac to have someone to play with and for us to have adult conversation!! There is also an Italian family who arrived who are adopting an 8 year old little girl.  We are excited to meet her also!!

Before I post pictures I thought I would tell you a few things about our sweet girl!

She LOVES her brother.  I think he gets the most smiles and giggles out of her!!
She is using her hands A LOT and is clearing the table when given a chance!  This is HUGE progress for her.
She is doing really well with solid food.  She is eating banana, avocado, mango, carrots, squash, pears, apples, and rice cereal
She sucks her thumb and pointer finger to go to sleep
She is rolling all over the place, back to front, front to back
She loves sitting and is almost doing this independently...again HUGE progress for her
She gets REALLY mad and REALLY crabby when she is tired or hungry!  :-) If these 2 things are met she is really smiley and content.
She wakes up still once or twice in the night
She has discovered shaking her head no and grunting...so funny and she can be so loud!
She LOVES water of any sort, pool or bath!!
She is learning that when she cries she gets scooped up and comforted so going to sleep is becoming more of a challenge.  She doesn't want to miss out on anything!
She loves going for walks and being outside.  She just takes it all in.
She still has reflux and spits up fairly frequently so you will find her sporting the latest fashion in bibs quite often.  You may also find us with rainbow colored streaks on our outfit for the day! :-)
She goes to bed around 8, awake around 12 or 1, again around 4 and then up at 7:30.  She has slept until 7:30 without waking at 4.  We are hoping this pattern continues. :-)
If she sees you making the bottle it is all over!! :-)
She is constantly moving her legs or arms...she gets so excited and it is funny to watch.
She loves being naked or only in a diaper.  The minute you start dressing her you hear about it! :-)
Her hair is growing!!
She loves all her toys and loves chewing on a a spoon at dinner!
She is constantly gnawing on things.  Maybe teeth coming soon?

I can not wait for you all to meet her!!!

Thought I would also post a few things about our sweet boy!

He loves his kindle..LOL..you can find him reading or playing games a lot!
He has been doing really well with his school work...can be a bit of a challenge to do more if he takes a day off but he is doing better than I expected!
He really misses his friends and his grandparents.  We have not heard him say anything about wanting to go home yet though!
He loves teasing Juanita and Valeria and Tulio ...hiding and popping out at them scaring them!!
He loves almost everything Juanita makes for him and is very willing to try new foods!
He loves figuring out the $ here.  He wants to bring pesos back for his class.
He is a huge helper and is always willing to go and grab things we need.  He loves to feed his sister, hold her and entertain her!  When she is crabby he always seems to have a fix!
He LOVES to swing...here at the hotel or at the park.
He is an AMAZING translator!!
He worries sometimes that people are staring at him and his blond hair.  You may find him with his hood up in public places at times.  I tell him they think he is "muy guapo"  meaning handsome!  :-)
He loves the weather here and LOVED being in the pool this past weekend!
He will NEVER turn down a date to the local ice cream shop!! :-)
He keeps himself busy with legos, books, umbrella forts, stuffed animals, writing a journal, playing outside and movies!  He is also loving all the family time we are having!!
I continue to be so proud of him and all the adjustments he is making.  I am so glad that he is the age he is and will be able to remember this experience!!
He thanks God every night for being in Colombia and for the fun he is having and for his sister.  Melt my heart!!

Isaac and A-
I sit here with tears in my eyes giving praise to God that you are my children.  I have waited so long for the day where I could hold you BOTH in my lap.  I thank God for this amazing blessing and responsibility he has given your dad and I.  I promise to love you both unconditionally all the days of my life and will look to God to help me guide you.  A, you are such a blessing to us and we are so thankful you are finally here with us.  All the waiting and paperwork is so worth the blessing of having you with us.  You are a beautiful little girl and we LOVE you so much.   Isaac, you are an amazing big brother.  I am so proud of the boy that you have become and love your HUGE heart.  You will always be my favorite boy in the whole world!  I love you bud!! I promise to pray daily for you both as you grow up to love Jesus and other people.  Thank you for the blessing you both are to me.  Thank you for the joy you bring.  God loves you both more than I ever could.  Thanking him for your presence in my life!!

Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from Him.  Psalm 127:3  NLT

Pictures for you:

One of many signs on the road.  Many turns and a lot of patience when you get stuck behind very slow trucks!!

Many many tropical flowers for sale

A quick shot of the countryside.  It was very cloudy!

Freshly made arepas!! The buses would stop and purchase these in containers for all the people riding!  This family was very sweet!!  They were so proud and let me take pictures!  I wish I could bring some back for all of you!! 

The beginning process of making the arepas.  First bowl is corn and the second is the cheese filling.

Diego found this little dog lying underneath the warm stove!

Tropical wilderness!  It felt as if we were in the rainforest at times!  This trip reminded us of the road to Hana in Maui if you have ever been.  Winding roads and constantly changing beautiful landscape.  

Buenos Noches!!!