Hi all! Just another quick update... We are in Bogota! We were able to get Gabriela's birth certificate yesterday morning in Yolombó and make it back to Medellín in time to get her passport. We made it literally with only minutes left before the passport office closed! I don't know if it is because Gabby is cute or because Daniel is cute, but the lady at the passport office expedited everything for us and we were in and out in under an hour.
Today Gabriela took her first airplane trip. It was only 30 minutes long but it still counts! She did very well and didn't seem nearly as worried as her mother! We arrived in Bogota around 1:00 and Gabby saw the embassy doctor at 3:00. He was really nice and Gabby was very good. He said we will have our hands full when Gabby is two because she is a little busybody! He also said that everything looks great, and we have the document we needed from him in order to apply for her visa. We will do that Monday morning and hopefully have her visa by Wednesday at the latest. We'll keep you posted when we know what day we're coming home, but we think it will be either Thursday or Friday.
Sorry not to post photos... I'm not sure if we'll be able to before we head home, but we'll make up for it when we get there!
Love,
Leslie, Daniel, & Gabriela
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
An update...
Hi all!
This morning we received our updated sentencia - yay! It is officially official - Gabby is stuck with us for life - and we have the document to prove it! It came sooner than we expected and we were pleasantly suprised. As soon as we found out we began making plans to drive to Yolombo to get Gabriela's new birth certificate. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive each way but her new birth certificate has to be issued there since that is where her birth was originally registered. We started dreaming of possibly getting to Bogota and getting everything done by the end of the week. Until, that is, we learned that the notary in Yolombo is closed today... and tomorrow. So, Thursday we will head to Yolombo for the birth certificate and Friday we will get Gabby's passport, after which we can head to Bogota. We are hoping we can head home next Thursday or Friday.
Gabriela is doing really well. We thought she was coming down with a cold and then a couple of days ago I noticed two new teeth coming in! We kept thinking she was due for a few more, but we hadn't seen any sign of them. Then, this morning, I noticed a THIRD one coming in! Three at once! They are not all in a row so she is going to look like a little pirate. Needless to say, she has NOT been an especially happy camper, but she's doing better today.
Anyway, we are heading in to the home stretch. Thanks for the thoughts, comments, e-mails, and phone calls.
Love,
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
This morning we received our updated sentencia - yay! It is officially official - Gabby is stuck with us for life - and we have the document to prove it! It came sooner than we expected and we were pleasantly suprised. As soon as we found out we began making plans to drive to Yolombo to get Gabriela's new birth certificate. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive each way but her new birth certificate has to be issued there since that is where her birth was originally registered. We started dreaming of possibly getting to Bogota and getting everything done by the end of the week. Until, that is, we learned that the notary in Yolombo is closed today... and tomorrow. So, Thursday we will head to Yolombo for the birth certificate and Friday we will get Gabby's passport, after which we can head to Bogota. We are hoping we can head home next Thursday or Friday.
Gabriela is doing really well. We thought she was coming down with a cold and then a couple of days ago I noticed two new teeth coming in! We kept thinking she was due for a few more, but we hadn't seen any sign of them. Then, this morning, I noticed a THIRD one coming in! Three at once! They are not all in a row so she is going to look like a little pirate. Needless to say, she has NOT been an especially happy camper, but she's doing better today.
Anyway, we are heading in to the home stretch. Thanks for the thoughts, comments, e-mails, and phone calls.
Love,
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
Monday, February 18, 2008
We hit a snag...
Well, our sentencia did not go as planned on Friday afternoon. My passport number was off by ONE digit in the court document, clearly a typo, and even though I was there and had my passport with me, we could not proceed. The court has to fix the document, which could take up to a week. We are hoping it will be done sooner, but the only thing they could say for sure was that it should be ready sometime this week. We are obviously very frustrated, but it really is just a minor hiccup in the grand scheme. As I understand it, our sentencia has been signed, it just needs to be amended before we can proceed. Because it has been signed, Gabby is officially stuck with us, which is the most important part and the reason we are here! Please keep your fingers crossed that things will move quickly and we will update when we know more.
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
Friday, February 15, 2008
GREAT NEWS!
We just found out that our sentencia has been scheduled... for 2:30 TODAY! Please keep your fingers crossed that it goes smoothly and that we don't have any snags. If things go well, it looks like we may be home on the 25th after all!
Dining out with a 9-month-old...
I just thought I'd share what we've learned about peacefully dining out with a 9-month-old: it's not possible.
I can't tell you how many times I've rolled my eyes at the parents of a screaming child and said "they need to control their kid!" Well, the other day while dining at a relatively nice restaurant, somewhere between Gabriela shrieking, flailing her arms, grunting like a pig, banging her spoon on the table, blowing a "raspberry" with a mouth full of food, and spilling Daniel's glass of water in his lap, I turned to him and said "Okay, okay, I take it all back!"
Anyway, here is a photo of her looking perfectly angelic at some point during the mayhem that was our lunch.
I can't tell you how many times I've rolled my eyes at the parents of a screaming child and said "they need to control their kid!" Well, the other day while dining at a relatively nice restaurant, somewhere between Gabriela shrieking, flailing her arms, grunting like a pig, banging her spoon on the table, blowing a "raspberry" with a mouth full of food, and spilling Daniel's glass of water in his lap, I turned to him and said "Okay, okay, I take it all back!"
Anyway, here is a photo of her looking perfectly angelic at some point during the mayhem that was our lunch.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
A quick update...
Hi all!
We don´t have time to upload photos but just wanted to say a quick hello!
We are having a great time in Medellín but are ready to come home and get Gabriela settled in. Unfortunately, it doesn´t look like that will happen as soon as we had hoped. I guess the post of the Defender of the Family, who is appointed by ICBF to review everything that goes through the courts, just changed hands. It sounds like there was about a week where nothing got reviewed or signed. Our file got to his office on February 5th but he didn´t review it until the 12th. He has approved it but is waiting to sign it until our sentencia (court date) has been scheduled. As of today, our sentencia has not yet been scheduled. It will most likely be scheduled for sometime early next week (at least that is what we´re hoping). We were planning to fly home from Bogota next Sunday, thinking that 2 1/2 weeks in the courts would be enough and would allow us a full week in Bogota. Now it looks like we will not have sentencia until at least early next week, which I don´t think gives us enough time to get everything done in Bogota. That means we will most likely have to change our return flight, which will not be cheap! We are a little bit frustrated but there isn´t anything we can do, so we are just trying to enjoy our time here.
On a more positive note, Gabriela is doing great and continues to let more and more of her personality show. She is a little clown and she makes us laugh a hundred times a day. We think she may be fighting off a minor cold but it doesn´t seem like anything serious and she´s still eating and sleeping.
Today we visited Yolombó, which is the town Gabriela was born in. We both said after we left that we are glad she won´t grow up there - even though it´s likely that she would have had a very happy life there, there really isn´t much opportunity. We took some photos that we look forward to sharing with her someday.
We´ll try to post soon and will definitely let you know when we receive our sentencia and head to Bogota. Please cross your fingers that that will happen soon!
Love,
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
We don´t have time to upload photos but just wanted to say a quick hello!
We are having a great time in Medellín but are ready to come home and get Gabriela settled in. Unfortunately, it doesn´t look like that will happen as soon as we had hoped. I guess the post of the Defender of the Family, who is appointed by ICBF to review everything that goes through the courts, just changed hands. It sounds like there was about a week where nothing got reviewed or signed. Our file got to his office on February 5th but he didn´t review it until the 12th. He has approved it but is waiting to sign it until our sentencia (court date) has been scheduled. As of today, our sentencia has not yet been scheduled. It will most likely be scheduled for sometime early next week (at least that is what we´re hoping). We were planning to fly home from Bogota next Sunday, thinking that 2 1/2 weeks in the courts would be enough and would allow us a full week in Bogota. Now it looks like we will not have sentencia until at least early next week, which I don´t think gives us enough time to get everything done in Bogota. That means we will most likely have to change our return flight, which will not be cheap! We are a little bit frustrated but there isn´t anything we can do, so we are just trying to enjoy our time here.
On a more positive note, Gabriela is doing great and continues to let more and more of her personality show. She is a little clown and she makes us laugh a hundred times a day. We think she may be fighting off a minor cold but it doesn´t seem like anything serious and she´s still eating and sleeping.
Today we visited Yolombó, which is the town Gabriela was born in. We both said after we left that we are glad she won´t grow up there - even though it´s likely that she would have had a very happy life there, there really isn´t much opportunity. We took some photos that we look forward to sharing with her someday.
We´ll try to post soon and will definitely let you know when we receive our sentencia and head to Bogota. Please cross your fingers that that will happen soon!
Love,
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Wrapping up week three...
Hi all!
Well, we are wrapping up another busy but good week here in Medellin! Actually, it was our quietest week so far. We had places to go and people to see nearly every day, but we were actually home for at least one of Gabriela's naps each day! On the topic of naps, Gabby really doesn't like to take them! She falls asleep in her stroller or car seat easily, but it's a battle to get her to take a nap in her crib. We feel like we've got a pretty good handle on everything else, though.
The highlight of our week was a trip to the zoo on Friday. The zoo here is NOT like zoos in the U.S. The animals are in corral-type pens or chain-link enclosures and you can come within an arm's length of many of them! I believe the tigers were the only animals that had a second fence around their enclosure! Gabby especially liked the monkeys, which really is not surprising, since we have said many a time that they switched our little girl for a "miquita." She talks a LOT and sometimes sounds surprisingly like a little monkey! She also seemed to like the birds.
We are waiting to here when we will receive our "sentencia," which will allow us to head to Bogota for Gabby's visa and then home. Our paperwork has been in the courts for a week and two days, and average is two to three weeks. We will keep everyone posted and are very much hoping to come home on our original return date of February 25th. We are having a great time but want to get Gabriela home and settled in.
Our best to everyone at home!
Daniel, Leslie, and Gabriela
Well, we are wrapping up another busy but good week here in Medellin! Actually, it was our quietest week so far. We had places to go and people to see nearly every day, but we were actually home for at least one of Gabriela's naps each day! On the topic of naps, Gabby really doesn't like to take them! She falls asleep in her stroller or car seat easily, but it's a battle to get her to take a nap in her crib. We feel like we've got a pretty good handle on everything else, though.
The highlight of our week was a trip to the zoo on Friday. The zoo here is NOT like zoos in the U.S. The animals are in corral-type pens or chain-link enclosures and you can come within an arm's length of many of them! I believe the tigers were the only animals that had a second fence around their enclosure! Gabby especially liked the monkeys, which really is not surprising, since we have said many a time that they switched our little girl for a "miquita." She talks a LOT and sometimes sounds surprisingly like a little monkey! She also seemed to like the birds.
We are waiting to here when we will receive our "sentencia," which will allow us to head to Bogota for Gabby's visa and then home. Our paperwork has been in the courts for a week and two days, and average is two to three weeks. We will keep everyone posted and are very much hoping to come home on our original return date of February 25th. We are having a great time but want to get Gabriela home and settled in.
Our best to everyone at home!
Daniel, Leslie, and Gabriela
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Alive and well!
Finally, a chance to post!
We are alive and well and have been having a lot of fun. Daniels cousin Andres and his girlfriend Cathy are visiting right now from Panama and we have been very busy with them. Saturday night we went to a very cool bar up in the hills of Medellín where we sat outside listening to live music, drinking rum, and eating delicious food. Daniels aunt and uncle stayed at the apartment with Gabby and like all parents, we were terribly worried about leaving our baby with a "babysitter" for the first time. We put her to bed before we left and she slept through the whole thing, so she never even knew we had left!
Yesterday we went to La Piedra del Peñol, which is giant rock coming out of the top of a mountain. It has a staircase up one side and you can climb to the top if you are so inclined. The staircase is 649 steps up a very narrow and steep staircase. Daniel, Gabriela, and I were brave enough to tackle it and the view from the top is amazing. It was the first "hike" of many for Gabriela and she did great.
We think that Gabriela is continuing to adapt very well. We had a rough spell of a couple of days late last week but we think she was not feeling too well. She is back to her beautiful, smiling self now.
Oh, last week Gabby added "MAMA" to her vocabulary! She has said "DADA" and "PAPA" from the beginning, but "MAMA" was new! She said it right as I walked away so we think she was actually referring to me! It was very exciting.
We will try to update soon and add photos. Until then, rest assured that Gabby continues to be adorable!
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
P.S. We REALLY appreciate the comments, e-mails, and phone calls!
We are alive and well and have been having a lot of fun. Daniels cousin Andres and his girlfriend Cathy are visiting right now from Panama and we have been very busy with them. Saturday night we went to a very cool bar up in the hills of Medellín where we sat outside listening to live music, drinking rum, and eating delicious food. Daniels aunt and uncle stayed at the apartment with Gabby and like all parents, we were terribly worried about leaving our baby with a "babysitter" for the first time. We put her to bed before we left and she slept through the whole thing, so she never even knew we had left!
Yesterday we went to La Piedra del Peñol, which is giant rock coming out of the top of a mountain. It has a staircase up one side and you can climb to the top if you are so inclined. The staircase is 649 steps up a very narrow and steep staircase. Daniel, Gabriela, and I were brave enough to tackle it and the view from the top is amazing. It was the first "hike" of many for Gabriela and she did great.
We think that Gabriela is continuing to adapt very well. We had a rough spell of a couple of days late last week but we think she was not feeling too well. She is back to her beautiful, smiling self now.
Oh, last week Gabby added "MAMA" to her vocabulary! She has said "DADA" and "PAPA" from the beginning, but "MAMA" was new! She said it right as I walked away so we think she was actually referring to me! It was very exciting.
We will try to update soon and add photos. Until then, rest assured that Gabby continues to be adorable!
Leslie, Daniel, and Gabriela
P.S. We REALLY appreciate the comments, e-mails, and phone calls!
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