The latest pics and vids

Our little guy is busy!

Esteban is taking his first morning nap (he takes two right now), Grandma Dawn is off to her Colombian cooking class, and Momma Sabeth has a few moments to share the promised pictures on Snapfish:
http://www1.snapfish.com/shareereg/p=486301206933342682/l=358236077/g=3203364/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB/pns/share/p=486301206933342682/l=358236077/g=3203364/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

And a few recent videos. None of these are more than 90 seconds because they are taken with my regular digital camera.

Esteban rolling over (front to back)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7361311154243153563&pr=goog-sl

Chatty Esteban--giggles, squeals, and 'talking'
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6554901068597883975&pr=goog-sl

Happy Esteban, v. 2--a brief look into his developing personality--this one is sideways on the screen
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7631495946018728259&pr=goog-sl

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Busy weekend

I am writing this in the midst of a huge thunder/lightning/rain storm, in which we narrowly escaped being caught. For the second day in a row, the morning has been decently nice and there has been a torrential downpour in the afternoon. I shouldn't be too surprised--it IS the rainy season!

It's never too soon to start reading!

We've had a busy weekend. Yesterday we went to Monserrate, a peak overlooking Bogota that has a church on top. The church contains a statue of the Fallen Christ, to which many miracles are attributed. Monserrate is a national pilgrimage site in Colombia--about 20,000 people visit it every Sunday. So, it was good to go on Saturday when it was not as crowded. You get up to the top of the mountain by taking a train up a VERY steep track, and then you come down by funicular. After Monserrate, we ate lunch in a very typical Colombian parilla (grill) restaurant where we were served huge plates of very tasty grilled meat. So good!

We're at Monserrate, elevation 3100m (~10,200 ft)

The sightseeing wasn't actually the highlight yesterday. The most exciting thing that happened was that Esteban rolled over! Before breakfast, even. He rolled from his front to his back. He still hasn't quite figured out how to go the other way, but I'm sure it's coming soon. The photo documentation, along with pics from Monserrate and our Sunday adventure are on Snapfish, which is being typically uncooperative when I want to post a link. I'll put the photo link on tomorrow.

With Grandma Dawn at our break for 'elevensies.'

Today (Sunday) we headed out, walking, for the flea market in Usaquen. It's about 30 blocks north of us, and the walk there took about an hour. Fortunately, on Sundays Bogota closes many main roads to auto traffic and opens them for pedestrians and bicycles. Known as Cyclovia, we really enjoy walking on Sundays because of the reduced pollution. The flea market is a wonderful place to get artisan crafts, and we didn't leave empty-handed.

Other big news is that my brothers Peter and Patrick are coming to join/help me in Bogota in mid-April. Yep, both of them at the same time! I'm really looking forward to seeing them, hanging out with Esteban, and showing them some of Bogota--a city I'm coming to really love.

3 weeks and counting

I can hardly believe we've had Esteban for 3 weeks as of yesterday. It's amazing how much he's grown and changed, and continues to develop every day. Life is settling into a good routine of naps and bottles, bath and bedtime.

Yesterday we returned to La Candelaria with Grandma Dawn, and visited the Gold Museum (about pre-Columbian civilizations' gold use--fascinating) and the Botero Collection (Fernando Botero is a living Colombian painter and sculptor whose chubby figures are unmistakable).

Jody and I taking a bottle break with the babies while at the Botero museum. Esteban has an internal timer that requires a bottle at 11:00am precisely! No waiting for Mommy to finish looking at the paintings!

In the courtyard at the Botero.

The requisite happy Esteban photo of the day.

It was a beautiful day, and we walked a lot. We ended our day out with a fabulous lunch in a little restaurant on a beautiful courtyard (at right).

We find that our days out are best ended before afternoon naptime--making morning adventures most important. A difficult schedule for this mommy whose best time of day is NOT morning!

Thanks to all of you who have emailed and posted comments to the blog. It's so great to hear from you. I am definitely missing home, and it's nice to know you're thinking of us, too.

Esteban has a killer kick!

This is what happens when the baby leans into the camera just as you take the picture. I guess he wanted a closer look at it.

Here’s a video my mom took of Esteban kicking the soccer ball. If we don’t have it documented on film, no one will believe that our son had a killer kick when he was 5 months old! This video was last week - he's even stronger at standing up this week.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1672389903010208560&pr=goog-sl

More recent photos of Esteban, more from Easter, and some of the Hotel Halifax, are on Snapfish:

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=418251206492785792/l=358147533/g=3203364/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Happy Easter

(written Sunday afternoon)

Easter in Bogota turned out to be great! There are 5 families at the Halifax right now—2 from the US, 2 from the Netherlands, and 1 from Norway. At Saturday breakfast we had some informal conversations about our respective Easter traditions, and made some plans to celebrate accordingly.

Mom, Esteban and I went to church at the Episcopal cathedral this morning. It was very nice, and not as long as last week. Esteban was a real trouper—he very intently watched the Dean preach his sermon, and slept through about half of the service. We saw a brief liturgical dance done to traditional Colombian music, and we sang a few familiar tunes.

While we were at church, other families painted eggs. Since all the eggs here are brown, they literally used paints to decorate boiled eggs. Others colored Easter pictures. Someone blew up and hung up balloons. Other people went out and got fresh flowers. Someone found chocolate Easter eggs with prizes in them for the kids and they had an Easter egg hunt. The Halifax staff had planned a special BBQ lunch in the courtyard.

When we came home from church, there was already a fiesta starting in the sunny courtyard. Festive music was playing. The staff came out and joined us all for lunch—and the food was great! BBQ marinated beef, potatoes, grilled sweet plantains, luscious avocado and tomato salad, guacamole to put on whatever you wanted, with sangria, and fresh fruit in juice for dessert. I’m almost hungry again just talking about it! It was a really nice party.

Lunch is the more formal meal here in Colombia, so dinner will be less fancy. As we talked about Easter traditions, it became clear that family being together is an universal value for this holiday. So, for dinner tonight, we asked to all sit at one big table instead of the 4 separate tables we usually occupy. Our family in Colombia will be gathered together.

Julien celebrated Easter in Rhode Island with his parents, and we hope they had a grand celebration. We spoke with them briefly last night.

Not to make those of you in colder climes jealous, but we’ve been enjoying a run of nice weather. Sunny days, with highs in the mid60s to low 70s, sometimes a breeze, the occasional late afternoon thunderstorm (brief ones), and nights about 50 degrees. The Colombians think it’s kind of cold right now—they are all wearing jackets and sweaters. It is supposed to get a little more rainy this week, with the high temperatures climbing a few degrees at the same time.

More photos and video to come - probably tomorrow - as soon as Snapfish is cooperating again.

7 kilos!

Some people were leaving the Halifax today and the scale was out in the hall to weigh their luggage. I took advantage of it and weighed myself with and without Esteban. Never mind what I weigh, but the difference was 7 kilos! Just two weeks ago Esteban weighed 6 kilos. Now, the scale may not have been the most precise, but that's a 2lb gain in 2 weeks! And just tonight we went to put pajamas on him that were too short. Obviously, I am marvelling at how fast he's growing.

And it's not just his physical size--he's stronger every day. Standing up more (while holding onto hands), sitting up more steadily and pulling himself from reclining to sitting. He still can't fully roll over or sit himself up, but those milestones can't be too far away. He's just amazing. And so curious and interested in the world. We can almost see his brain sponging up new information. What with the growing and learning, it's no surprise that he's sleeping 10 hours/night. Last night, it was all the way through.

We talked to Julien tonight via Skype. The Internet is a truly amazing thing! Our camera resolution wasn't great, but we were able to see and talk with each other in real time. Esteban was a little confused, and also fascinated. We all miss Julien! We hope to Skype my Dad in Seattle, and my brother Samuel, my Uncle David and Grandma (the last three all in Australia) in the next few days.

Bogota is amazingly quiet today, and probably will be so through Monday, for the Easter weekend. There was almost no traffic on the streets today (so the pollution wasn't too bad) and the sidewalks were deserted. They really mean it when they say it's a holiday here! The parks, on the other hand, were filled with families and dogs. Many people travel to be with family for the Easter holidays.

I've posted new photos to Snapfish. They include photos from the last few days--Julien's last day/night in Colombia, Grandma Dawn's first days with us, and our visit to CRAN (the adoption agency here). http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=967201206048356789/l=358053449/g=3203364/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Esteban seems bigger

We decided to measure Esteban this morning to see if he really is bigger than two weeks ago. And we have proof--he grew an inch! We thought he wasn't fitting in the bathtub anymore! And those chins are a little chubbier, too.

He is also developing his baby laugh. You know, the kind that start in their toes and are totally contagious. He laughs when we shake our hair in his face, or when Sabeth nibbles on his neck.

His personality seems to be starting to appear as well. He's very curious, and loves to explore the entire hotel. He gets bored with spending too long in our room (who wouldn't? it's 10' x 10'). He is also very demanding--especially when he thinks it's time to eat!

All the women love Esteban--his big brown eyes and coy smile will undoubtedly break many hearts for years to come.

On Sunday we went to San Pablo Episcopal Cathedral here in Bogota and celebrated Palm Sunday with no fewer than three bishops! The bishop of Colombia and the bishop of Connecticut (a sister diocese) led the service, and a retired bishop of Colombia was in the congregation. Esteban loved the red vestments of Bishop Duque (Colombia) and managed to spit up right in front of him just before the service started (fortunately missing the silk vestments). The music was fabulous and live. The service was very long. Esteban, Sabeth and her mom will be going back to the cathedral for Easter services.

Today, Monday, we went back to CRAN for an informational visit and tour. Before the tour we received the final information about the adoption and learned our court assignment (Court 19). We are told that Court 19 is neither slow nor fast, just average speed in terms of how fast it processes adoptions. We expect the process to take another 4-5 weeks (especially since the courts are closed all this week for Holy Week). The tour of CRAN was informative and we are glad to know that there is such good service for children in need here in Colombia. You can find out more about this amazing agency at their website (English version) http://www.cran.org.co/default.asp?chapter=2

We spent this evening packing Julien's bags for his early morning departure back to Massachusetts tomorrow. Dawn (Sabeth's mom) arrived at the Halifax this afternoon, so she kept Esteban entertained while we packed. Julien is very sad that he will be away from his family. Sabeth is also very sad that he's leaving--he's a great dad and he really adores Esteban. And we know Esteban will miss him, too. Big thanks to Dawn for being here to help Sabeth for the next three weeks.

The process begins...

Yesterday we had our interview with the Defender of Minors at 7:30am. Now, it's true that Esteban usually wakes up (the first time) at about 5:30am, but that doesn't mean we want to get up then! In any case, we managed to get ourselves, up and presentably dressed, to be picked up at 7am for our appointment. The Defender of Minors is like a guardian ad litem and she had to give her okay for our lawyer to submit our application to adopt Esteban to the court. We met our lawyer just as we arrived at the office, and he had all our paperwork with him (He enjoyed that he and Esteban shared Francis in their names). We all went in to meet with the Defender. She talked to Esteban, asked Julien and I a few easy questions (as well as discussing Cuban politics and Castro with Julien)--like what do we do for work, and how are we liking being parents--and then signed off on the papers. Hallelujah! Our lawyer said he'd get the papers to the court yesterday, and hopefully by Monday we'll know which judge we've been assigned. (Knowing which judge may help us know how long we'll be here, since some judges have a reputation for being faster than others.)

We're so glad to have made some new friends here in Colombia. Paul and Jody Sanford and their 3-year-old Owen added baby Sara to their family on the same day and through the same agency as we did. It's been great to be able to share our first days together. Since we're going through these processes at the same time, we go to many appointments together. And since we enjoy each others' company, we also have been doing lots of walks and exploring and expeditions together.

After our early appointment, we went on an all-day trip to Guatavita, a lake where the indigenous people (The Muiscas) made many gold sacrifices (Pre Spanish Conquest). There is a great visitor's center there, and the area is being restored to its natural habitat. Esteban loved the hike! It was about a 90-minute trip each way, but broken up by several stops going and coming back, so we were gone from about 10am-6pm. It was a long day of riding in the car!

Esteban had his first cereal this morning--and he chowed down like a champ!



















Here's another video of our little guy playing with Sabeth:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2376049675484579935&hl=en

And here are some pics from the last few days. They include a photo when my mom came to visit us on Monday evening, and our friends the Sanfords.
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=196141205531016777/l=357967268/g=3203364/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

We're starting to think ahead to Julien's departure on Tuesday, and we're all a little sad. We will miss each other!

5 months old today

Esteban was born 5 months ago today! Happy day, mi hijo.

If you’ve looked at our photos, you’ve probably noticed that Esteban has a great smile. He also makes some very funny and expressive faces, from confused to very serious to extremely angry when we put saline spray in his nose (for congestion). His little voice is very sweet, and he vocalizes more and more every day. We’re just starting to hear his giggle, and it’s contagious! To round out that set of observations about him, he also has one heck of a wail when he’s hungry. We’ve taken a couple of great morning trips the past few days, with our friends the Sanfords. On Sunday we went to a wonderful flea market that happens every Sunday in the Usaquén section of Bogotá. We walked around, looked at the booths, and smelled the food for several hours. Julien was very disappointed that Sabeth wouldn’t let him eat any food from the street vendors. Esteban got a great puppet and some new shoes.

Monday we hired a driver (who toured us in a bright green 1973 Dodge Dart, see photo in Snapfish) and went to La Candelaria, the historic downtown of Bogotá. It was founded in the 1530s by the Spanish. It is almost 500 feet higher in elevation than our hotel, which is at about 8000 feet. The presidential palace, parliament, congress, supreme court and Simon Bolivar square are all in La Candelaria. Esteban especially liked the pigeons we fed in Bolivar Square. We finished our tour with a really great lunch of traditional Colombian food. We also learned that we should always have an extra set of clothes for Esteban in case of a diaper explosion.

Being the rainy season, it rains almost every afternoon here. Sabeth has learned that if she hasn’t taken the laundry down from the (covered) clothesline before the rain, it absorbs so much moisture it has to hang another day before it’s totally dry. We took Esteban out just before dinner for a quick walk to the grocery store, and he seemed to really like the sprinkles and the breeze. We bet he’ll like Seattle!

Speaking of Seattle, Esteban’s Grandma Dawn (Sabeth’s mom) joined us for dinner last night. She is taking a week long Spanish language course before joining Sabeth at the Halifax after Julien leaves. She was VERY excited to meet her first grandchild—and proclaimed that it was about time that she’s no longer the shortest member of the family.

We've discovered Juan Valdez Cafe (the local equivalent of Starbucks) has FREE WiFi. This might become our new favorite hang out. And it's right across the street from a great park!

We’ll write again after our appointment with the Defender of Minors on Thursday. This appointment will officially begin our Colombian legal process.

Latest pics

We just can't get enough of our little guy!

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=49381205032237172/l=357889230/g=3203364/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

We're learning about each other

The last two days have been wonderful bonding time with Esteban. Every day we seem to grow closer. He smiles at us when he wakes up and melts our hearts with his cute baby voice. He is a strong boy and has already given Julien a fat lip with a head butt. He also knows what he wants and when he wants it. If at night we don't go from bath to clothes to bottle in quick succession, we (and the rest of the hotel) hear about it. He loves to play with us. He loves bath time, getting his diaper changed and being naked - he's a boy!

Yesterday we had a visit from Doctora Clemencia, the pediatrician who makes hotel calls. We asked to see her, more for us than for Esteban. Esteban did have some congestion and a mild rash, but her visit was really for us first time parents. She was very reassuring. She read all his medical history, assured us that a little saline nose spray would alleviate his congestion (and it has), and confirmed that he's a healthy, strong baby. According to his exit documents from CRAN, he's 13 lbs and 24 inches. We swear his cheeks are chubbier since Wednesday!

This morning we had a great long walk to a beautiful park. Bogota seems to have many parks and many pedestrian walks. Almost every park we've seen has a playground. On our walk today, Esteban really was fascinated with the water features, the light on the plants and trees, and watching other children.

As we expected, this process has many appointments in the first few weeks. Yesterday we went to the notary, which was just a few blocks away. We actually have no idea what documents we had notarized because Helena led us through it like lost children. Thank goodness for Helena! On the 13th (Thu) we see the Defender of Minors. This appointment begins our official legal adoption process here in Colombia. Then, on the 17th, we get a more thorough tour of CRAN since the last time we were there we were very preoccupied with getting our baby E. Then we wait and wait and wait to hear from the Colombian court for our Sentencia (final decree). That waiting could be 4 or 6 weeks, or (hopefully not) more.

One last note about a cultural difference we've noticed. In Colombia babies are dressed very warmly. So warm that they sweat. We get looks when we take Esteban out of the hotel not wearing a jacket AND blanket even though it's 70 degrees outside.

We have more pictures--because we take them constantly--and will be adding to Snapfish soon. The link to our Snapfish album is a couple of posts back.

And now for (hopefully) another decent nights' sleep. Esteban slept 8 hours last night--we hope this trend continues:-)

Video

Google Video and I had a wrestling match and, with much uncharacteristic patience, I won! I took this with my digital camera, so the quality isn't as clear as it could be.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6727423275913015040

A longer post is coming tonight.

Photo album

I don't know if this link will work. If it does, it should take you to our Snapfish album.

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=14661204854031570/l=357865810/g=3203364/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

PS - on Thursday

Neither the video nor the slideshow are working for me at the moment. I'll keep trying, so check back soon.

First days with Esteban

Our apologies for not posting yesterday--we were so tired by the time Esteban went to sleep last night that we couldn't focus our brains. Not that today is much better, having slept only 4 hours on our first night as parents, but at least it's naptime now!

Going back to yesterday morning...

We were so nervous we could hardly eat breakfast. Helena picked us up and took us to CRAN at 8:30am. We arrived and met Ximena, the founder of CRAN and adoption coordinator. She guided us through signing a few necessary forms, and then had us meet with the foster mother. The foster mother, Gladys, told us about Esteban's routine and gave us a picture book to give to him when he's older. Finally, we were presented with Esteban and spent about 30 minutes alone with him. Words are really not adequate to describe our joy and relief. All the anxiety of the last few weeks disappeared when we held him. He is a wonderful, beautiful little boy!

We then took the 40 minute cab ride back to the Halifax--Esteban slept in Sabeth's arms the whole way. The other guests (all adoptive parents themselves) and the staff at the Halifax welcomed us back with many congratulations. They even decorated our room door!

Esteban and we are still getting used to each other. Even with the outline from Gladys, we are still learning Esteban's routine. Julien changed his first diaper, and will gladly share poop stories privately. Julien also gave him his first bath--something Esteban loved. We somehow missed his afternoon nap yesterday, and that made for a difficult evening.

And today...

Esteban woke up at 4am, ate, and went back to sleep for two more hours (thankfully! since we weren't ready to be up at 4!). The Google video on the sidebar was after Esteban's breakfast.

After our breakfast, we took the stroller out for its maiden voyage. Esteban slept for 90 minutes of our two hour exploration of the neighborhood. Our hotel is in a neighborhood with many professional buildings, restaurants, and several parks with play areas. Bogota is a city of 7-10 million (depending on whom you ask), and we think it feels very European.

The remainder of our day, so far, has been pretty uneventful as we try to re-establish Esteban's routine of bottles and naps and exercise. We hope we'll all sleep better tonight!

The Halifax is providing a wonderful community for us as we find our way through our first days of being parents. Both guests and staff are helpful, and the other guests really do know what it's like. We can't sign off without mentioning how great the food is here at the Halifax, too--lots of fresh fruit, traditional Colombian dishes, and great coffee!

We were able to borrow a cell phone. It's number and the Halifax info are now posted somewhere to the right. Also, check out our slideshow--we'll add to it regularly.

Day 1 in Colombia

We arrived in Bogota late last night - around midnight. After an uneventful trip through Customs and Immigration, we were met by a very helpful driver who brought us to the Hotel Halifax. It was about a 20 minute drive from the airport to the hotel, and our driver gave Julien a running narrative on the city (in Spanish).

We met up with Paul and Jody and their 3 year old Owen on our flight from Atlanta to Bogota. They are also adopting from CRAN, the agency we are working with here in Colombia. It was great to have some comraderie in our anxiety.

This morning we met with Doña Helena, who will be our guide through the paperwork and processes here in Colombia. She is a fountain of knowledge, and very experienced. Meeting with her answered the latest round of questions and calmed a few of our butterflies.

The Halifax is a hotel which caters to adoptive families, with many amenities like a playground and baby beds, and family-style meals. There are probably 15 families here, from the US (Milwaukee, WI; Bozeman, MT), Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands. There was a party after dinner tonight for some families who have received their Sentencia (the final adoption decree) and it was great to see the families and their children dancing and having fun.

Our presentation (when we receive Esteban) is tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Wooo hooo!!! We are marvelling at our last hours as a family of two! In our next blog, we will be a family of three, and hopefully attaching photos and videos.

We will be borrowing a cellphone to use while we are here, and will let you know how to reach us in one of our next blogs. We will have sporadic email availability--once or twice a week.

Wheeeeee.....

We're Leaving!

We finished packing last night at around midnight. I think we are one pound under the limit! It's 8:45am and our friend Joanne is coming to take us to the airport at 10:00am. We are so excited and nervous that even Julien is cleaning the house... Again!

Our Flight leaves Boston Logan at 1:25pm. We have a 45 minute layover in Atlanta and arrive in Bogota at 9:45pm. We found out the other day that another family, the Sanfords from Montana, are adopting a little girl from the same agency in Colombia at the same time we are. They will be on the same flight to Bogota, one row in front of us!

We are so excited to be with our son. We and Esteban have been blessed by your support and prayers. Thank you. We will hopefully have new pictures posted on Wednesday evening, of us and Esteban together!