Bogota 2010 Day 1

Pictures to come -- just a brief overview of our day . . .

We went to bed at 8:30 last night and slept til almsot 7:30 this morning. Wendy got up a few times in the night, asking for more blankets, to use the bathroom, and then, playing her best card, announcing at 2 a.m. that she was up and didn't want to sleep anymore. Desperate for more sleep myself, I let her "rest" in our bed until about 5 a.m. -- she actually went back to sleep and so did we, and we put her back in bed to sleep some more until we all got up. Fer is a good sleeper, so she slept right through the night.

The girls played with their dolls until breakfast and then showered and got ready for church. We walked down to the church past the nice grocery store Pomona, and arrived around 10:45, hoping for an 11:00 mass, but it turned out we were about 15 minutes late for the children's mass which had started at 10:30. We didn't miss much though, and the girls were pretty engaged by the puppet show they had instead of a sermon, and kid-friendly music as well. On our way back we went to Pomona and bought food for lunch as well as some other necessities and then came back to the hotel. It was a gorgeous day, high 60s and sunny (sorry New Yorkers!), so we ate outside on the patio.

After lunch we somehow fell into a game where the girls were our "bebes" -- a first. I tended to Wendy and Chris to Fer, and we were carrying them around, giving them bottles, feeding them, singing to them. It seemed very deep in some way that they would want to play this game with us, perhaps looking for some of the connection and comfort that they likely didn't get enough of when they were actually babies?? It's the first time I've sung to them. Wendy liked it more than Fer, who was playing at being a bit of a cranky baby. :)

After the baby game I dozed for a bit while Chris wrote some thank-you notes with the girls -- today to Tia Amy and Tia Christine for the Xmas clothes, which they were very excited to wear today! Amy's cute jackets have actually been doing double-duty as doll carriers -- the girls like to wrap up their dolls in them and carry them around.

When I woke up we got out their schoolbooks and did about an hour of schoolwork, mainly math and reading, and then Chris napped while they played with their dolls. Before dinner, they got on their skates and did some more skating on the patio, which we set up with chairs in a circle so they could move around with some available support. They both really showed improvement just from yesterday. Wendy loves to play so she was doing these dramatic dance moves and kicks (which I tried to stay far away from because a rollerblade kick in the shins would really hurt!) while Fer figured out how to get from chair to chair by gliding and starting to really skate a bit.

During dinner the girls enjoyed a "gaseosa" -- apple soda -- in wine glasses while we had a little white wine. We clicked and toasted, which was fun! After dinner of beef and French fries (I will say I preferred last night's chicken and roasted potatoes), we watched a little news and then put on some Kitty. While they watched their videos, I did some yoga from a magazine article that promised immediate results of relaxation. Not quite sure it's working yet . . . :)

The girls are both really observant and have excellent memories, especially Fer. Tonight we were looking at the hotel's guest book, which has pictures and notes from adoptive families who have stayed here. She recognized a child from San Mauricio and could tell us a whole story about a time when she and Wendy had met his adoptive parents at some sort of "encuentro" -- maybe an activity for the kids that the parents attended? And then, at dinner, she was telling us that our old car had a licence plate for all 3 of us -- C for Chris and Cathy, W for Wendy and F for Fer. She was exactly right -- the plate did start with CWF. I knew that but had not made the connection with the initials! Lots of times she has talked about things she remembers or places she has been, and for those of you who know my foggy memory of events and poor visual sense, it's pretty amazing to hear her exact descriptions of what we did or saw!

Our lawyer Jorge Ivan came by tonight -- seems really nice. He invited us to come for lunch tomorrow at his apartment. Apparently he has a pool so the girls will enjoy the chance to swim! Other than that it is a holiday here so much will be closed, but on Tuesday Manuela will go to ICBF to get our process started, and the girls will also start camp.

THe girls are reluctantly in bed so I will post a few pics tomorrow when I can get to the camera cord. Hope all is well back in the USA -- I was saying to Chris today that although it is beautiful here, it will be really great to get back home.