Laura's Progress

We had a pretty uneventful day. We took a walk to the mall and had lunch at McDonald's. We got caught in a rainstorm coming home, but fortunately for Laura, we had the stroller cover so she stayed nice and dry! We were supposed to go out tonight to see the Christmas lights at Parque 93, but another storm rolled in and we thought it better to stay home. So instead of writing about our great Colombian adventures...I thought I would talk a little bit about Laura's progress sinc we got her last Monday. She is adjusting very well to having us as parents. The first week I think she spent most of it trying to figure out exactly who we were!! This week, we feel like she definitely recognizes us and responds to us. We thought last week she was a somber little girl. This week we have been getting lots of smiles, giggles, and laughs! When we lean over her crib in the mornings to get her out, we get a smile that just brightens our day. She is also making developmental progress. When we received her last week, she couldn't really sit up at all on her own. She also had a really hard time holding up her head during tummy time. The most noticable thing, though, was her lack of leg strength. It seemed like she was never held up and required to put weight on her legs. This week she has much better balance when she is sitting and can even sit on her own for a few seconds at a time. Tummy time is getting much better and she can even play a little bit with her head up. Her legs are getting stronger every day. We try to have her push against our hands when she is laying down and try to have her stand in our laps while we are playing. We have looked all over the city for a jumper or exersaucer to try to develop leg strength, but it doesn't seem like those are imported here. Oh well, we will keep working with her as best as we can until we get back to the states! If you have any other questions or want us to blog about a particular aspect of Colombia or adoption, just let us know! Also...I spent a lot of time before we became parents talking about how I wouldn't have a messy eater. The last picture just proves you can't control everything!!

Day at Hacienda La Margarita

We took a little road trip to the outskirts of the city for an afternoon of good food, a horse show and a little bull fighting. We took about a 30-minute cab ride with Eric and Sara and their family. They have been wanting us to check out Hacienda La Margarita with them for the past week. We learned it's a great place for a little family entertainment. We had lunch -- Stephanie and I had some great steaks --and then enjoyed watching a group of riders show off their skills. Horses pranced and maneuvered up and down a pathway with tables on both sides. The show only stopped a couple times to allow for a guy with a pooper scooper to clean up the path. For a Wednesday afternoon it was pretty packed. After the show was over, the audience could have their pictures taken with the horses. We of course had to get a shot of Laura with a horse. She didn't seem all that impressed, but she and her friend, Karina (Eric and Sara's daughter, who was adopted from the same orphanage) had a great time hanging out. After the horse show, everyone left their tables to go outside and watch a little bull fighting. Anyone who wanted to participate could walk into the ring with the bull. All that separated them from the wrath of the bull was a thin red and yellow cape. Most quickly learned that bull fighting isn't as easy as it looks. Fortunately for them, the bulls weren't that big and their horns were filed down. Men and women alike were thrown and slammed to the dirt. The most surprising moment was when two women -- one wearing stiletto heels -- entered the ring. The one wearing the heels was knocked hard to the ground twice, but got up both times smiling and laughing. No one was injured and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. At one point a man approached me with cape in hand and wanted to know if I wanted to give it a try. Though it looked like a lot of fun to get tackled by a bull, I decided to pass. It's probably one of the wisest decisions I've made in a while.

A Little Bit of Everything...

Today is a bit of a hodge-podge blog day...we are trying really hard to get Laura on a schedule so for now, she is kind of dictating how our day goes. As you can see, we are making some progress with the pacifier. It stays in her mouth about 10 seconds before she takes it out and plays with it...better than before when she would scream when it went in her mouth!! We have also learned that there isn't anything Laura doesn't like to eat. And let me tell you -- she is an eating machine!! Sleeping isn't as good as it was. It seems like now she knows what she is missing so she really fights falling asleep. Also, she wakes up a lot between midnight at 4:00am -- but she sleeps great between 8 and midnight and 4am and 7am. Our outing for the day was to Parque 93 (for some reason they number their parks around here instead of naming them). It was in a very nice part of town with lots of restaurants surrounding the park. They had the park all decorated for Navidad (Christmas) and we are looking forward to going back sometime after dark to see everything lit up! We had a good lunch at La Hamburgaseria (Shawn had a meatball sandwich and I had a chicken cesar salad). It was a long walk to the park - about 35 minutes each way- and Laura was ready for a nap when we got home. It started sprinkling on the way home so we were able to break out the rain cover for the stroller. We thought it was hilarious and it looked like Laura was heading to outer space! Shawn also took a picture of our dinner tonight. We had a very traditional Colombian meal starting with a soup (we weren't sure what kind tonight), a vegetable (tomato), starch (potato), meat (chicken), juice (we aren't sure about that either) and pudding for dessert. I didn't eat much tonight, but Shawn really liked it! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the pictures!!

A Little Christmas

Today was a really good day. We tried harder to keep Laura on a schedule and we had a much, much happier baby. We also spent a lot of time out and about...and that always makes Shawn and me much, much happier! We have switched our meal plan here at the hotel to only include breakfast and lunch or dinner (instead of all 3 meals) so we can go out and get a little variety. Today, we opted for El Corral. We had heard this place had great hamburgers and fries -- very American-like. And for people who have been eating a lot of Colombian hotel food - today's lunch was great!! I tried to order my hamburgesa con queso y salsa de tomate (hambuger with cheese and ketchup only) but I ended up with mayonaise, mustard, and every vegetable imaginable. For those who know me and know how picky I am, you will be very surprised to know I ate the hamburger anyway...and loved every bite!! We also went to a store today and bought a small Christmas tree and some lights (all for about 6 US dollars!). I have always been a white-light girl...but our only choice here in Colombia was colorful lights...and once we pluged them in we learned that they also flash!! We strung some popcorn and made ornaments out of construction paper all while watching a DVD of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Laura sat in her bouncy chair alternating between watching the movie and watching us like we were crazy!! It will always be a great memory.

We talked to our agency representative today and she said there is no news on the adoption front. Right now we are waiting for the first judge to approve our petition. Technically, he or she has 10 business days to sign, but we are hoping they move faster to try to get us home for Christmas. There are still 3 more steps after this first judge, so that is a lot to get done in the 2 weeks we have before the courts close. Just keep praying that things move smoothly and we don't have any problems along the way.