Moving Day #2!

We are moving to our 3rd apartment today!  We have enjoyed our current apartment as we really like the location and love having the grocery store next door and being between both malls.  We are only moving across the street and down a few buildings so will only have ~1 block extra to walk to all of our regular hang outs.  Also, our new apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms so will be much more accomodating when my parents visit in a week.  Gustavo is excited to have a pool again and will also have a playground and some open green space to play.  The weather seems to be changing here as we have had quite a few very sunny days with rain only in the evening and/or early morning.  I have a feeling we'll be able to spend a lot of time hanging out by the pool and playing outside.  There are also walking paths right behind our building.

It is amazing that we have been here 7 weeks already and our on our 3rd apartment.  We are lucky to have found such nice apartments that are so close to everything so we don't have to rely on taxis on a daily basis.  We are also fortunate that the apartments are very inexpensive.  We are paying less for 11 weeks in all of our apartments than what we would have paid for 1 month at the hotel that most families stay at.  We have missed out on the social aspects of staying on our own but have now made some friends from Denmark that we enjoy spending time with.  I do enjoy being able to cook our own meals so that when we go out a few times a week, it's a nice treat for all of us.  We eat a lot of ham sandwiches for lunch since other deli meats are very expensive.  At least Tavo and I both love ham and cheese sandwiches!

So, we received some good news this morning.  Our attorney called from the court and the judge has finally started working on our case.  She said the judge will start looking at all of our documents, the documents from Casa de Maria and ICBF.  After she's looked through everything, she'll involve the Procolor (sp?) in the process.  There is no estimate on how long any of this will take.  Our new Danish friends have been here 2 weeks longer than us and every time they think their case is done, the judge and/or procolor asks for more paperwork.  Much of the paperwork they are asking for are documents that have never been needed or asked for before so it's been very frustrating for them.  I am assuming we'll be dealing with the same stuff but hopefully our attorney has been keeping up with their attorney and has been submitting some of these same documents.  So, now we wait but should at least get more updates on a weekly basis.

I still need to finish the blog post on the last part of Sanaya's visit but will do that later today or tomorrow.  Last week after Sanaya left, it was pretty lonely around here.  It is so great to have company but it was difficult to say good bye.  It was so nice to have an extra set of hands to help with the kids and help when we were out and about.  The grocery store is always a pain because I have the stroller to push as well as carry or push all of the groceries.  We end up going to the grocery store almost daily because everything we buy needs to fit in the stroller.  When Sanaya was here, we were able to stock up a little more.

On Monday, we decided to just have an apartment day.  Tuesday, we were headed to Santa Fe to play at Happy City but Gustavo decided he would rather go to the large bookstore (Panamericana).  We found books for both David and Gustavo and read some books there.  Then we headed to Santa Fe for ice-cream cones and Crepes and Waffles.  Wednesday, we decided to check out one of the apartments another family had emailed me about.  The apartment was located behind Santa Fe.  To get to the apartment, we had to walk up a huge hill in addition to the other hills and ramps we normally walk on to get to the mall.  Gustavo asked to take many breaks.  It would have been convenient for going to Santa Fe but to go to Oviedo mall or the grocery store, Carulla, it would have been quite the hike, especially with a stroller full of groceries.  I am glad we have chosen a different apartment.  Afterwards, we walked all around the mall and headed to Oviedo.  I bought tickets and tokens this time because Gustavo wanted to go on some of the motorized little rides.  David even went on a few rides with him.  As we were leaving, I discovered an awesome massage chair that cost me 60 cents for 4 minutes!  Wow, I can't wait to go back there again.  What a deal!

Thursday, we headed back to Oviedo, played at the park and had more ice-cream.  Then on Friday, we went apartment shopping with Lilliana.  After seeing the 1st apartment, I decided that it was almost perfect so we didn't even look any other apartments.  The other apartments that we were going to see did not have a pool or playground and we really need a place to just hang out without having to run to a mall every day for entertainment.  There are also supposed to be a lot of kids so hopefully Gustavo can make some friends, even with the language barrier:)  Afterwards, Lilliana said she would take us to El Tesoro mall.  We used to hang out there when Sohrab was here but haven't been there since he left.  This mall has the amusement park in the middle of the mall.  The park was open so Lilliana took David with her shopping and Gustavo and I were able to go on rides together.  We decided to stay at the mall and took a taxi home when we were done.  We were going to get ice-cream but as we were walking through the food court at 3:30, Gustavo says "or we could just eat here".  I asked what he wanted to eat and he said McDonalds.  Besides ice-cream treats, we have only eaten at McDonalds once to decided to let him have a special treat..  It was kids' day here so they were giving out balloons and he was excited to get the toy in his happy meal. I also caved and decided to eat there.  I had a Big Mac which was ok but the condiment bar was really good.  After adding extra pickles and jalapenos, the Big Mac was pretty tasty!  So, by 4PM we were already done with dinner.  I had to exchange a bunch of money to pay for our new apartment so did that and then we headed home.  It was scary carrying so much money but was happy to get home and get it in the safe.

Saturday was a great day as we met our new friends (Danish family) at Santa Fe.  We had a nice lunch at Crepes and Waffles.  They have been here 9 weeks and have never eaten at Crepes and Waffles so I was happy to introduce them to the experience.  I struggle so much here with communication but have actually been doing a lot better and understand a lot more than I did 7 weeks ago.  I feel bad for Rikke and Thomas as they know English but no Spanish so really struggle to communicate.  I was able to help them order and with some other things throughout the day.  We headed to Happy City afterwards and the boys had a blast playing games and playing the jumper and play structures.  We left the mall ~4:30 and hope to meet up again this week!  It was so nice to have other people to talk to again!

Sunday is my favorite day in Medellin!!  I am so grateful that we always have great weather on Sundays as it is so nice to go walking on the closed street and be among so many people also out enjoying the weather.  It reminds me of the lakes in Minneapolis where everyone is out walking, running, biking, walking their dogs, rollerblading, etc.  This was the 2nd week that I was able to join the Zumba class at Santa Fe.  The classes are all outside and free!  I wish they had classes like this more days a week.  After Zumba, we headed down the street one direction to get our yummy fruit cup.  We were able to get the same one we got last week which is a cup full of cut up fruit and juices, with some yummy cream and a cookie for a straw.  For all of this, we paid $1 and it is so good!  Afterwards, we headed back the other direction towards Juan Veldez coffee shop.  Gustavo always gets an ice-cream treat from the Postobon guys and then we hang out at the coffee shop while I enjoy my latest coffee treat, Granizald (I think that's how it is spelled.  It's a iced coffee drink with ice-cream I think, very yummy and very popular).  Then we continue walking a ways more, turn around and head home.  We were out for 3 hours!  I thought I could get David to take a nap but he was being stubborn so after relaxing a bit, we headed out again.  We went to Hard Rock Cafe for a really late lunch/early dinner.  They had advertised activities for kids and also kids eat free on Sundays.  We had a great table outside and hung out for 2 hours.  Our waiter spoke English which was so nice.  It was nice to listen to the music and just relax.  The kids' play area was a joke but Gustavo had fun there anyways and also enjoyed jumping around our huge table and couches.  We ended the meal with the kid's dessert which was a brownie with ice-cream and whipped cream.  I thought we were going to share it but Gustavo liked it so much, he ate it all.  So, I got a quick bite dessert of creme brulee, yum!!

I'll post more about Sanaya's visit later as well as a ton of pictures.  Just wanted to catch up from last week and share some of our good news.  We hope the good news keeps coming!!

1st Half of Sanaya's Visit (April 16-23)

Sanaya arrived ~9:30PM on April 16th.  Gustavo stayed up to see her.  Sohrab sent a bunch of presents for Gustavo as well as new clothes for David and Gustavo.  Sanaya had to wait until the morning to meet David.

Tuesday April 17
In the morning, David met Sanaya and had a fun time playing with her.  It was so nice to have an extra set of hands around.  At lunch time, we took at taxi to the Metro station (new station for us, Aquacatala).  Then, we headed to Parque Explora which Gustavo was very excited to go back to.  We had a quick lunch and headed in to the park for some fun.

 I took this picture to show the school uniforms that all students wear.

 David loves Gustavo's old Elmo shirt!

 Fun in the play area!

 Gustavo loved this "spinning tube".  

It was hard to walk through as it really felt like you were spinning.  

We were so dizzy afterwards!

 Hard to tell but this is the "crooked room".  

Loving their new matching jammies!  Thanks, Great-Aunt Sandy and family!

Wednesday April 18

This was a day of recovery!  We went to Santa Fe to introduce Sanaya to the wonderful world of Crepes and Waffles.  Then, Tavo played at Happy City and we ended the afternoon with a grocery store run.  I think this was the evening that I tried to stretch the box of CARS Mac and Cheese Sohrab sent down and I added frozen corn and spaghetti.  YUCK!  Another kitchen flop.  Before Sanaya arrived, I had a mashed potatoes disaster because I had no utensils to actually mash the potatoes.  I put them in the blender, big mistake, and they turned out gummy.  Another YUCK!  At least we had a good meal and ice-cream at Crepes and Waffles!

 Not sure which one this was.  Asked for Snow man so we could have the yummy caramel ice cream.  Ended up with chocolate instead, still yummy!

Clapping with Sanaya!

Thursday April 19

We planned to jump in the metro after David's morning nap to take the cable car up the mountain.  Once up the 1st cable car, we decided to ride the 2nd cable up to Parque Arvi.  When we went there with Sohrab, we were given any direction so once there, we walked around for awhile but had no idea how much stuff there was to do.  This time, there was a guide that spoke English at the info station and she told us there are 2 different big parks to choose from and gave us all of the info on pricing, activities, etc.  We chose to go to Nucleo Comfama because she described a ton of kid's activities and once you pay the entrance fee, everything is included.  We had to take a bus there and had quite the experience trying to explain to the bus driver where we wanted to go.  We eventually made it there and were able to talk to a few other guides that spoke English.  There were a lot of different kid's play areas that Gustavo really enjoyed.  We also saw a 4D movie, Robin Hood.  The movie was fun and it was nice that there was no talking so we could all enjoy it.  We did get wet a few times :)  We also went to a craft station where Sanaya and Gustavo made some cute "pencil holders" and decorated them with colored orange peels.  

While doing the craft, we could see the sky turning dark so we headed to the restaurant to try to stay dry.  It started pouring and we were able to eventually hop on the train that we thought would take us back to the park entrance.  We made it back to the entrance but didn't get off in time so we ended up touring the park on the train with another group.  We were able to see all of the adventure courses that are included in the park such as zip lining, rope courses, etc.  I think my dad would have fun doing this and I might even partake if we come back with them in a few weeks :)  We finally made it back to the entrance but still needed to take the bus back to the main entrance, walk to the metro cable, get on 2 different cable cars and then get on the metro train.  It was already 4:30 so  we knew we would be riding the metro during rush hour.  It was so crazy!  The train cars were packed full of people and it was difficult to get on the trains and off the trains.  I was so happy when we finally made it back to our station and to the taxi.  Next time we go to Parque Arvi, we'll skip morning nap and go right away in the morning to avoid late afternoon rush hour.  There was still a lot to see at the park that I hope to see next time. 

 Cool Tree slide

 Waiting to go into 4D movie theater

 Craft Time!

 Finished products.  Sanaya did a great job!

Tried to capture some of the adventure courses from the train through the rain.

Here's the 1st half of Sanaya's visit.  I'll post the rest later as the boys are ready for lunch!

2nd Week without the Hubby (April 9-16)

This week was a much better week as our guide, Lilliana, spent 2 days with us so it wasn't so lonely.

Monday April 9
Lilliana called on Sunday to tell us she would take us to the zoo on Monday.  We've already been to the zoo once but were up for anything that would take us away from the malls.  On the way to the zoo, it started raining so Lilliana took us to a new mall (Punta Clava) instead because there is a farm for kids in the mall.  The farm didn't open until noon so we had some time for shopping and there was a ball pit and play structure for Gustavo to play in while we waited.  The farm was pretty neat.  We paid ~$8 and Gustavo was given a cute finger puppet to keep, a huge container of carrots and a baby bottle to feed the animals.  He also rode a horse and was able to play in the bounce house and ball pit as long as he wanted.  Lilliana took care of David so I could go with Gustavo to feed the animals.  One of the younger goats kept escaping and was running around jumping on us (just like Abbey used to) to try to get the carrots.  Every time someone would put him back in the pen, he'd jump out again.  The goat scared David so Lilliana sat with him away from the animals.  There were goats, sheep, cows, horses, donkeys, llamas, chickens, rabbits, and all kinds of birds as well as some fish.  Afterwards, we ate at the mall and had typical Colombian food (rice, beans, plantains, arepas, and meat).  It was so good and also very inexpensive.  It is great that Lilliana enjoys being with David and Gustavo.  She always has gum for Tavo and coins to get something from the machines.  It was so nice to be able to talk to someone else!

Tuesday April 10
We had no plans as we thought we may need to go with the other lawyer to sign a power of attorney form.  We ended up going to Oviedo so Tavo could play.  Before the park could open, it rained so we went to Mimos for a yummy ice-cream treat and then walked around the mall before heading home.

 Look, One hand!!

Wednesday April 11
Again, Lilliana picked us up to go to the zoo but again it was raining.  We ended up back at Punta Clava to go to the farm again.  While waiting for the farm to open, Gustavo made some friends at the play structure in the mall.  We thought maybe we could skip the farm but the other boys were going to the farm and Gustavo was so excited to play with his new friends so we couldn't disappoint him.  He had a blast running with his new friends.  He wasn't very interested in feeding the animals this time so I was busy getting rid of the carrots and finding some animals to drink the milk.  The pigs loved drinking the milk from the baby bottle.  I got some cute pictures of all of the pig snouts lined up waiting for their turn as I went up and down the line of pigs.  There was only one pushy pig :)  Lilliana said she would ask the school her sons go to, which is an English Immersion school with all of the teachers from the US, if we could bring Gustavo to their school a few days a week.  She left a message for the principal but hasn't heard anything yet.  Wouldn't that be funny to see him going to school with the big kids in Colombia?

Thursday April 12
It was a rainy day again (seems to always rain Thursdays).  After the rain stopped for a bit, we headed to McDonalds in the afternoon for ice-cream.  Lilliana had suggested going to McDonalds ~3PM so maybe we would run into some kids for Gustavo to play with.  The only kids that came were high school kids and they took over the entire upstairs.  Gustavo played for a bit and even David crawled around for awhile.

Friday April 13
We went to Oviedo for a cheap lunch.  Two pieces of pizza and a pop for ~$4.  The food court was packed so it was nice to be in the midst of a lot of people.  Then, we walked around and found a Lego store.  The Legos are extremely expensive here.  Gustavo enjoyed building for awhile and I found a Ninja Spinner for ~$12 that we bought.  Gustavo jumped on the trampoline a few times and went in the play structure and then we ran home before the rain hit.

Saturday April 14
We saved our special treat for this day and went to Crepes and Waffles at Santa Fe for lunch.  I had a yummy crepe with tomatoes and goat cheese and it came with a mixed green salad.  We have been so salad deprived here that is was a nice treat!  Then, we headed to Happy City.  Our attorney met us there to talk and Gustavo had a blast playing.

 Tin Tin!

Toy Story bouncer

Sunday April 15
What a great day!  One side of the major road (Poblado Ave.) in front of our building is closed on Sunday mornings.  It seems that it is closed for miles in each direction.  Everyone is out and about on Sundays walking, running, rollerblading and biking.  As we were walking, we heard music and found an outdoor Zumba class that is free to everyone to join in.  We are definitely going to do this next Sunday.  There are a few vendors set up selling huge cups of cut-up fruit and freshly squeeze juice.  We spent ~3 hours walking and enjoying fruit, coffee and ice-cream.

 Yummy fruit cup on our walk!

Finally, sleeping.  

Was so interested in seeing all of the people that he wasn't interested in his morning nap.

Lazy Sunday afternoon,  ice cream and Uno on the balcony during the rain.

 David likes the balcony too!

Had to head inside for our Uno game as it was too windy and wet outside :)

Monday April 16
Yeah, Sanaya arrives late tonight!  We also took at taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel to meet another adoptive family, Rikke and Thomas, for lunch.  They are adopting a baby boy, Sofus, that just turned 1 year old and also have a son, William, that is 1 year younger than Gustavo.  They are from Denmark and have been here 2 weeks longer than us.  They are the only other family adopting from Casa de Maria but have a different guide and different attorney.  It was another rainy day but we had a nice (but very expensive) lunch at the hotel and the boys had fun playing together.  I also met a few other families there.  One of families is from the US but the father is going home and the mother will be going to Bogota to stay with family until things start moving again.  Another family just arrived from MN and are adopting 2 older children.  It was so nice to talk to the other families and we hope to get together next week with Rikke and Thomas and their children.  We think Sofus and David were most likely in the same room together at the orphanage.

9:30PM, Sanaya arrives!  It was fun watching her unpack and see all of the goodies Sohrab sent with her.  Gustavo loved opening his presents!  We are so excited to get moving again and see our favorite Medellin sites again!

All in all, it was a much better week for us than the previous week.  We are making our way around and still frequenting one of the grocery stores almost every day.  Gustavo still enjoys grocery shopping so it's something "fun" to do to get us out and about.

More to come on our adventures with Sanaya...