Ken Goes to the Aquarium

Mami's in Cali, Papi's in Charge!

I'm out in Oakland right now visiting Christine and Matt and Jack. So no, not the Cali in Colombia, I'm in the Cali in our very own U.S. of A. It has been wonderful to have a mini-vacation, and thanks so much to Papi who is holding down the fort at home with the girls and to all reports doing a wonderful job and having a great time! The girls threatened before I left that they would be throwing all their clothes on the floor, staying up all night, eating cake for dinner, etc. because I guess the idea of Papi being in charge meant Party Time to them, but unless they're all keeping the secret very well, so far it has been routines as usual and a good time had by all.

Last night I had the great pleasure of meeting Julei, who has submitted a Letter of Intent to adopt Hugo and Leidy. She lives quite near to Oakland and had me and Christine over for dinner, along with her sister and her friend Laura who is in process to adopt Maria, who was hosted with Leidy this past summer. It was so great to meet all of them, and as Julei and I said to each other, it feels like we will be in-laws! I think she will be a fabulous sister-in-law -- we had a really good time together. Below, some pics of all of us:

Mamas and Aunts (me and Julei in the middle):



Julei and me with her dog:



With Laura, who is adopting Maria:



And, with Wendy's Ken doll, whom she insisted I bring with me, for reasons unknown. :)

Belated -- Wendy's Birthday Celebration Continued

So the last 2 weeks have been a bit crazy. While it's wonderful to be back at work -- I love the people I work with and it is so rewarding to work with the kids at our school -- it has been challenging to balance everything with every minute of the day spoken for! And then some. So everything is fine, o worried blog-readers, it's just that there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging.

I'm going to do a few posts today to catch up. First, quite belated, Wendy's birthday celebration! Mom and Dad, Aunty B and Uncle L, Renee and Alli all joined us for tea the weekend before last to wish her a happy birthday. Pics below:

Happy Birthday Wendy!

It was Wendy's 8th birthday today! She had a really good day -- she started the day with opening her present from Fer (which Fer bought in strict secrecy with Chris on Sunday and which Wendy within a few hours was referring to as "the dog that Fer bought for me," so much for the secret) and her present from Tia Christine and Tio Matt. Christine thoughtfully sent a Kitty doll for Fer as well, which she loved and insisted on taking to school today.







Wendy took cupcakes to school for a party at lunch and her teacher apparently also left the class "paquetes" (chips) to enjoy. This evening we opened presents as soon as Chris came home -- and we never made it out for dinner as she wanted to play with her new presents! So we had dinner at home, followed by birthday cake. Below some pics:












Also, just in time for Wendy's birthday, the Gosa family gifted us with their outgrown DVDs -- 86 in all, 5 boxes full! The girls were thrilled and can't wait for more "cines!"

Saturday, March 13 - another good week!

I understand now why I've read so many adoption blogs that are exhaustively and daily updated from Colombia, and then fall into a silence upon return that is broken only every few months, or never. Family life is very busy!! In Colombia, we had a lot of down time, some of which I used for blogging. Now, our days seem fully packed, and I haven't even been back to work yet (I return on Monday).

But, to report on the girls. They have been in their new school almost 2 weeks, and have made a great adjustment so far. They are eager to go to school every day, up and ready in the mornings, and from what I can tell at drop off and pick up, the other kids are friendly and welcoming. Fer's teacher seems to love her and really appreciates her good behavior and her work ethic. Wendy's teacher has good reports for Wendy's work as well, and she is tutoring both of them after school in reading, and then helping Fer with some of the homework.

This past week we logged in some more time at doctors' offices -- eye doctor, hearing test, and more psycho-educational testing. All is fine except that Wendy will probably need a procedure done on her left eye to correct that it wanders slightly. So we are starting to research that and think about timing, but it won't be until June at the earliest.

And, this coming Tuesday is Wendy's 8th birthday! This morning we ordered her cakes from Baskin Robbins -- we are going to celebrate on the actual day with dinner out and ice cream cake at home. She'll also bring cupcakes in to school for her class. Then next Sunday we will have a party with the "abuelitos", Wendy's choice -- Gigi and Grandad, Aunty Barbara and Uncle Larry, and Renee and Alli will join us for tea and another ice cream cake. It's a little soon for a full-out kids' party, I think, though at some point I'm sure we'll be doing that.

Today Chris took the girls to another appointment with their psychologist for the eduational evaluation, and I braved the really bad weather to head to Target for some birthday present shopping -- and lo, a message from the Universe, Barbie's Glam House was on sale, as was Pet Potty Training Barbie, a Barbie that comes with 4 wee-weeing dogs! Perfect for Wendy as the dogs are her first love. So we're looking forward to giving her that, along with a few other smaller things. And, following Lankenau tradition, Fer will also receive a few gifts as the birthday girl's sister and so as not to sow terrible sisterly jealousy (I can tell you from experience that it doesn't always work, but it seems good to try). Hopefully I'll be able to do a few updates with pictures in the next week or so.

So all is well here for La Familia Weeks Lankenau (the girls' legal last name, which I find I rather like). For anyone still reading, hope all is well with you too!

A Great Weekend!

March 1, 2010 - First Day of School!!

The girls had their first day of school today and it couldn't have gone better! They were both very shy and nervous this morning, but gave me a smile as they went off with their classes, which sustained me throughout the day. When I saw them again at 2:30, they were in great shape! Fer couldn't stop talking about her "amigos" in her classroom who had been so friendly and even bought her a "paquete" -- a bag of chips -- at lunch. She pronounced the school "chevere" (cool) and before we went down to swim said to me, "Ay, yo quiero ir a colegio ya!" (Oh, I want to go to school already!) Her teacher was very impressed by her behavior and her work ethic. Wendy was not so bubbly though she did show me her desk and the desks of her amigos nearby, and her teacher also had a good report for her, saying that she had followed the material very well today. Fer stayed after school with Wendy's teacher to work on homework, and Wendy and I waited and got her homework done as well. When we came home, Fer wanted to get to work immediately on the last page of HW that remained, and after that we went for a swim before dinner, playtime with Papi, Kitty and bed! They went to bed at 7:50 -- they were both tired.

Some pics from today (aren't they cute, if I do say so myself!!):