Sunday, Feb 28, 2010 -- Settling In

The days since we got home (5 now?) have gone by fast. The girls are doing great. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday at home alternately unpacking and relaxing. We enjoyed time with the dogs, went swimming, and had afternoon "cines" -- videos that the girls watch lying on the couch eating popcorn and snuggled under a cover. I view it as English language practice, so hey.

Thursday was totally insane. Chris went to Houston for a work conference, so I was alone with the girls and off to see the international adoption pediatrician to the stars. The weather was horrible -- wet, slushy, snowy rain. We got there at 8:15 and were there for 4 hours!! Overall she was very thorough and helpful, and after a bit of a snappish start when Fer was refusing to come into the exam room to get her blood drawn (she finally did, screaming and crying throughout, which was hard), very personable and nice with the girls. Wendy was a trooper throughout the blood draw, cried a bit at the start and then sat there totally calmly and quietly, and when it was time for her vaccines, she gave a kind of primal scream at each one -- not crying or upset, just fierce. It was a great moment!

After the pediatrician, we had to go get a chest X-ray (unexpected), and then we were fortunate to be able to spend 2 hours with Liz and Leah who live across the street from the hospital. THEN we went down to Beth Israel hospital to start the girls' educational evaluation with a psychologist there. All in the horrible weather, but all in cabs -- the cab fairy smiled on us and we were able to catch cabs quickly every time. We got home, and just when I thought it was time to relax, Wendy asked about the dogs and I realized we had to go out again in the snow to take them for a walk!!

Friday morning the snow was bad enough that the NYC public schools were closed, but not so bad that we didn't get ourselves back down to Beth Israel for our second appointment! Then we went over to Gigi and Grandad's new apartment, which is lovely (the girls declared themselves ready to move in and live there!), and had lunch and some playtime, and then they were kind enough to drive us home.

Saturday was a lovely "dia libre" (free day) as Fer called it. We did some errands, cooked for the open house that we had today, went swimming, watched another movie, and generally relaxed. Chris got home around 8:30, and the girls were so happy to see him. They were worried about his plane, and kept asking if it had fallen from the sky! I tried to reassure them, but his cell had died so we didn't hear from him all day, so I didn't have up to date info for them.





This morning we went to church and went out for breakfast. Then, we came back and got ready for our open house. We wanted to celebrate our return and see the friends that we have missed so much for the past 2 months! It was really fun to see everyone and we had a great time. Thank you to all for the presents that you brought! We are so grateful for your generosity.

Here are some pics from the party!















This was taken after the party -- the girls enjoy Kitty snuggled under their new soft covers:



And finally, one of my new faves: the girls borrow Mark's Hagrid costume:



People have been asking if I'm going to keep updating the blog. Yes, definitely, but probably not at quite the same pace . . . I think I will try for at least once a week and hopefully a bit more. So keep checking, if you are interested!

Feb 24, 2010 -- Re-entry, Pics updated

Today went well -- lots of unpacking and organizing, and Mom and Dad came over in the late afternoon to stay with the girls while I went for a much-needed haircut. The girls were in bed by 8:30 and tomorrow we have a big day of appointments. Pray for us that any bloodwork or shots are not too totally stressful for them . . .

I also updated pics from the last 5 or 6 days, so those entries are now complete.

Feb 23, 2010 -- HOME!!

We had a busy final day yesterday -- lots of packing and organizing! I went with Manuela in the afternoon to get the girls' visas and passports from the American embassy, and then when I came back they had a little party at Zuetana to say good-bye to us and also celebrate Tomas's sentencia which was signed yesterday as well.

Some pics of us at the party:







And everything happened that needed to at the airport -- the only problem was that either from something I ate or from stress, I got really sick as we were waiting to leave Bogota. I almost fainted on the security line to go to the gate and then threw up twice in the lounge, lovely. The Avianca staff called a doctor and wanted me to get checked out. The girls were more disgusted than freaked out -- probably it didn't occur to them as it did to me that they might not let me get on the plane if they thought I was too ill. Fortunately I had a window of feeling better while I was speaking with the doctor before the next wave hit, and then when we finally made it onto the plane (they were an hour late boarding us) I was able to sleep some and woke up feeling OK. The girls fell asleep before we took off and slept for 4 hours, so they were in pretty good shape for customs and immigration when we arrived. Aside from the bout of illness, overall everything went very smoothly, largely thanks to Manuela who had everything very well organized and who went with us to the airport in Bogota to help us get checked in.

And once we got our bags and came out, Papi was there! Below, pics of us at the airport, taken in the same spot where we first met the girls last summer.




Today was very low-key. It was very rainy and cold, so the girls just relaxed on the couch, watched a movie and some TV, and took a nap in the afternoon. We also went swimming, played with slinkies in the stairwell, ran some races in the hallway outside our apartment, and had a "rico" taco dinner with the girls acting as sous-chefs to chop the tomatoes and lettuce, which they really enjoyed doing. They seem comfortable and happy overall, which is wonderful. We have lots of unpacking and organizing to do, and we have to gear up for our various appointments in the next few weeks -- doctors visits, etc. Now they are in bed and I need to do the same!

February 21 2010 -- last entry from Bogota!

We had a great last day out in Bogota today. We went to the children's Mass at Cristo Rey this morning, then out for lunch and a field trip to the old part of the city and the Gold Museum with Manuel, Esperanza and Tomas, and then to Monique's apartment to make arepas together and watch a movie with her and Sebastian. Pics to come!

The girls seem ready to leave tomorrow night -- Fer especially has said several times "yo quiero ir" (I want to go). They are particularly excited about seeing the dogs again, as am I. We saw pics of both dogs racing around in the snow on Vivian and Magali's website for capipets (www.capipets.com).

Tomorrow will be a busy day of errands and organizing. Manuela and I will go in the afternoon to pick up the visas. And then, after dinner, we head to the airport. So my next blog entry will be from home!

UPDATE: Pics of our last full day!
Inside Cristo Rey:



Sightseeing in the old part of the City:







At lunch:




The girls with Esperanza, Tomas and Laura at the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum)



About to cook the arepas a la Monique!

Feb 20 2010 Bogota

We had a good day today -- the girls woke up early but went out to the living room for about 30 minutes while I dozed some more. After breakfast we got ready, and then Monique came to pick us up to go to a park with her and Sebastian and meet up with a friend of hers and her twins. The park was very nice, but unfortunately the weather yesterday and today has been apparently the classic Bogota weather -- cold, grey, rainy/drizzling. So we were in and out of the "casita" (little play house) to stay out of the drizzle. We are really lucky for the unseasonably warm and sunny days that we have enjoyed for most of our time here because it would not have been fun to live through this weather every day!







Monique and I then decided to take Fer and Wendy and Sebastian to the 12:15 showing of Toy Story 3D at Unicentro -- it was good but we realized about 10 minutes into it that it wasn't the third installment, but a 3D version of the first one! Which both of us saw when it came out, but still it was fun. The kids, of course, enjoyed their mais and gaseosa. :)

When we got back it was raining in earnest so I let the girls watch a little TV snuggled under the blanket on the bed. Fer fell asleep and Wendy dozed a bit. Laura came for another English class around 4:30, after which dinner, shower, books, Kitty and bed! One day down, 2 to go. The girls were asking at breakfast how many days were left . . . not many!!

Feb 19 2010 Bogota -- Visas/U.S. Embassy

We had a relaxing day yesterday -- I took Fer and Wendy to Divercity again and while they played I enjoyed a novel for the first time in awhile. Divercity is actually quite relaxing for adults as each room takes 10-20 minutes so while the kids are engaged in the activities, their adult companion can hang out nearby. After Divercity the girls had an English class, and then we had dinner with Adriana again. It was so lovely to see her and she is wonderful with the girls.




Today we woke up bright and early and sadly, no hot water! I couldn't face a cold shower so I did my best to clean up before we headed out at 7:30 to get the conformity letter from ICBF National, submit our visa applications at the U.S. Embassy, and then pick up the copies of the girls' files from Regional.

The conformity letter was ready, which was great, and we got to the embassy around 9:30. We then waited more than 2 hours! We could see our files though the windows, and apparently there was some question, or they just wanted to exhaustively go through them for whatever reason, because the woman at Window 3 was going over and over and over the documents. Finally she called us forward, asked us a few questions, and then told us to come back Monday at 3:30. I will say the Colombians did a better job for us in NYC -- they had the visas ready in 3 hours!

I then decided to change our flights to Monday night because I am just so ready to leave. So we stopped by the Avianca office and they were able to make the change with no problem. The girls and I are on the 11 p.m. flight on Monday night!! I know it will be a tough entry, but hopefully we will get through immigration relatively quickly and then just sleep when we get home.

When we got back from the Embassy we had hot water again, so I had a blissful shower before we all went to lunch with Monique and Andres and Sebastian at Archie's. The kids got to make their own pizzas, always a hit!





When we got back, another 15 minutes of fame -- our second TV interview, this time for a local Bogota channel. I have a sense now of what it must be like to be on a reality show, because not only did they want to interview us, they also followed us around the hotel as we staged some playtime with the kids, and then they wanted to come into our room to watch us pack!! Very strange to have a camera recording our every move as we're trying to organize Chris's suitcase and the toys and clothes he took back for me and the girls as well.

Chris left at 8:30 to catch the night flight for NYC -- he will get in tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we will go to a park in the morning with Monique and Sebastian and then to the movies in the afternoon. The girls will have an English class when we get back, and that will be our day, pretty much. Sunday is set as well with Mass, a day trip with Esperanza, Manuel and Tomas, and dinner again with Monique and Sebastian. And then Monday we pack, get our visas and leave!

Tonight Fer said to me, "Yo quiero ir!" (I want to go!) When I asked her where, she said "A los estados unidos!" (To the United States!) My feelings exactly.

Feb 17, 2010 -- 2 steps closer!

Today we left the hotel early to get to the Colombia passport office for Wendy and Fer's new passports. It took almost 2 hours, between waiting to pay, waiting to be seen, waiting for the passports, and then waiting again for them to fix the mistake of putting the wrong girl's photo in each passport!! Both girls needed to sign and for the passports, they both put their first names only. But then Fer wanted to put her new last name for the legal document showing the change, so she signed that one Fernanda Weeks! We found that significant -- and lovely.

Update 2/13/2013: As I received my ashes this Ash Wednesday morning, I was remembering that the day we went for the passports in Bogota was also Ash Wednesday, and in the middle of all the waiting and paperwork, a priest came to offer ashes. Many of those, both waiters and workers, lined up to receive and then we all went back to our business.

After the passports, we went to ICBF to ask for a full copy of the girls' file. It turned out, however, that the 5 files were actually a mix of information about all the children, so we had to go through to find the pages that had to do with Wendy or Fer. We were glad that there was nothing new to us in the files regarding the girls' history -- we have heard of families finding out stressful or surprising facts about their children's background that they had not been aware of before seeing the full file. Manuela carefully went through and marked all the pages, and the copies should be ready tomorrow when we go back to get the letter that we need for the girls' visas.

After a little down time at the hotel, it was then time for the doctor's visit -- the U.S. embassy also requires a doctor's report in order to issue the visas. The girls knew they might need vaccines, so they were prepared. It turned out that Fer needed two, and Wendy one. Wendy took it like a trooper, just a little crying. And after a brief repeat of the earrings scenario (backing away, running into the bathroom, and twisting around to avoid the needle), Fer also got her two shots. The doctor was very nice and did a full report for us as well as gave us a report on the children's vaccination history, such as we have, so we are ready with that step as well.

Tomorrow will be somewhat free of appointments -- we just have to go back to ICBF in the afternoon to get the letter that we need signed for the visas, and also pick up the girls' files. Friday we go to the embassy to submit the visa application and then -- AGAIN! -- we are going to be interviewed for television, this time for a story about ICBF and older child adoption. And Friday night Chris will go home! And then it's just 3 more days here for me, and I follow with the girls! We are all really ready. Wendy keeps saying, "It's time to go home! It's time to go home!" It's a line from a children's book that she likes where the mother is telling the daughter they need to leave the playground, but it seems very appropriate to our situation as well!

Feb 16 Bogota -- New Birth Certificates

We continued our paperwork journey today with a trip with our lawyer Jorge Ivan out to the civil registration center in Usme, where the girls birth certificates were registered. The next step in the process is to officially change their last names to ours. It was quite a drive from Zuetana -- maybe 45 minutes -- at the very edge of the city. The area seemed quite poor and crowded, and the civil registration center was not that busy as far as how many people were waiting, but everything moved very slowly. There were probably 3 couples there with very new babies, wanting to get birth certificates and officially register their children. Chris and I were both imagining how the girls' parents must have done that for them 8 and 10 years ago, sitting for hours and waiting with a tiny baby for the paperwork to get done.

The girls were impressively patient throughout -- and it did take awhile, nearly 3 hours. At one point we thought we would only be able to get Wendy's certificate today and have to go back for Fer's because there was a problem with the computer, but fortunately they got it back up and running and we left with the needed 6 official copies of the new certificates.

So the girls are now officially Wendy Dayanna and Ludys Fernanda Weeks Lankenau (following the Colombia custom of 2 last names, the first the father's and the second the mother's). They were not very pleased at the idea of losing their Asprilla, which we totally understood, and we heard some grumbling about our last names being "feo" (ugly) compared to "bonito" Asprilla. But it's the law here to make the change in this way, and also their psychologist and Manuela strongly felt that having the new last name is important symbolism for them of joining a new family.

Here are some pics of Chris signing the documents to change the birth certificates and of the area nearby. True to patriarchal culture, my signature was not needed!