Joyce's Birthday and Botanical Gardens

The weeks are moving so quickly here in Colombia.

On Thursday, we celebrated Joyce's birthday. Eric really worked hard with Diego and Jeferson to teach them to say "Happy Birthday Mommy!" They really preferred "Feliz Complianos" as it was more familiar for them to say. They even sang the birthday song to mommy in Spanish. It was very cute. On her birthday, part of her gift was to have a manicure and also to have her hair highlighted. These services are so inexpensive here. The manicure was $3 US dollars, and the highlights, haircut, and style were a total of $30 US dollars. For lunch we went to Crepes and Waffles with Jose and his father and sister. This was Joyce's choice, as she was really craving Waffles. They really don't have waffles here in Colombia. In the evening, we had a small get together and celebrated with appetizers and a delicious strawberry cheesecake. Joyce was in heaven.

At Crepes and Waffles, they have a menu in English.

Jeferson enjoying his ice cream.

Mommy is hoping Diego will share some of his ice cream!


The whole group at Crepes and Waffles.

After a relaxing day on Thursday, we had a very challenging day with the boys on Friday. Neither one really wanted to listen to us, so instead of going to the pool for the afternoon, we stayed in the room, and the only option the boys had was to play with their cars or to color. They were very disappointed with no pool, and no television. Mommy spent the afternoon stressing to them the importance of obeying mommy and papi. We think they got the point, as today, they were much better behaved.

Today, (Saturday) we went swimming in the morning, and then in the afternoon, we went to a botanical garden. It was more like a very large forest, with many wildflowers, and walkways. It was fantastic. The flowers were gorgeous.

After the gardens, we went to a mall here in Bucaramanga. They have some really nice malls here.

As of Friday, we have not heard anything definite on the strikes. We have heard rumors, that the president of Colombia, has threatened that if they do not return to work, they will not get paid. People tend to think that this will force them back to work. However, the government is not giving in to paying them more salary, so we are not sure how stubborn they will be. We are hoping they will return to work before the strike goes on any longer.

We are planning a very long day on Sunday to a national park in Colombia, so I need to get some sleep for tomorrow.

Chow

Joyce, Eric, Diego and Jeferson

Another day at the Pool!!

Today, we are starting week 7 in Colombia, and still, no word yet on the court strikes, so we won't mention any more about that.

Today was just a usual day here. It is nice to have a routine for the boys everyday, but I have to say that I am getting sort of bored with the pool everyday. Yes, for those of you who know how much I love sun and water, that is probably surprising to you. The boys say they don't want to go to the pool in the afternoon, but once they get there they have a great time. They are very well behaved at the pool, so that is great for us.

Diego relaxing in the adult pool.

Jeferson with "elefante"

Another boy, Sebastian, same age as Diego, who was adopted from Bucaramanga. His parents are from Germany. They are staying at the same hotel, and Jose invited them to his pool for the day. The boys get along great.

Diego and Jeferson are both becoming good swimmers. It started out where they were hesitant to go under water, but you should see them now. Diego is becoming a fish in the children's pool, but still a bit hesitant in the adult pool. He only feels secure when someone is holding on to him. That is OK, because then we don't have to worry about him jumping in the pool on his own. Jeferson loves the water, but only as long as he is holding onto someone. In the children's pool, he will go under water, but is always holding onto your hand. He directs you to sit on the edge of the pool, so he can hold onto you. We are trying to teach them as much about swimming as we can, and we don't want them to have any fear of water, since both Eric and Joyce love to be in water. We have taught them to blow bubbles, kick, doggie paddle, and we are now showing them how to dive. They are a long way from diving though. Diego chickens out at the last minute, and has done a few belly flops in the process. Jeferson just likes to jump in feet first, and is always sure that mommy is close enough to catch him.

Check out those bug eyes!

The boys were much better today than yesterday. Eric has taught them to say that Papi is Boss, Mami is boss, Diego is not the boss, and Jeferson is not the boss. As for Jose, he has been named the supervisor by Papi!!! We don't really think they know what that means quite yet, but they will learn. We are trying to use more english with them, so they get used to hearing some words. Today at the pool, I said "cuidado" to Diego, and Jeferson immediately said "careful Diego" which is what the word means. I have used this word repeatedly with them, and today was the first day that Jeferson actually made the connection. We are starting to see some progress. YES!!!!

Bedtime is still difficult with the boys. We are beginning to think that we may need to put them in separate bedrooms, as neither one likes to go to sleep, and being in the same room, they continue to play and talk with each other rather than sleep. We know----- this is normal for children. The good thing, is that once they are sleeping, they are out for the entire night, and usually sleep until around 7 or 8 AM. At bedtime, they love to look at the photo albums that we prepared for them with all of their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We think it gives them a sense of security. Below, each of them fell asleep while looking at the photos.

Buenos Noches!!

Joyce, Eric, Jeferson and Diego

Bucharamanga Fair

On Sunday, we visited the Bucharamanga Fair. It was very much like a fair that you would find in Wisconsin. However, there were no amusement rides. There were the usual animals, and exhibitions of vendors selling their products. We also watched how they made sugarcane, by squeezing the bamboo until all the juices were out. It was very fascinating.

Amigos!!! Us with Jose's parents, Lilliana and Jaime at the fair.

As with all fairs that we are used to, there were many, many people, so we really had to keep a hold of the boys. They of course wanted to touch everything. We also enjoyed some of the foods that they had there. However, for Joyce, no corndogs, to be found. They also didnt have all the fried foods on a stick. And NO Deepfried cheesecurds!!!! Of course, chicken pizza and chicken were popular foods, as was a favorite for Jose, rice that is cooked inside of a pig! We did try it and it was fantastic. The pork was very tender, and the rice had great flavor.

Diego playing with a balloon. It lasted for about 10 minutes, before it escaped his hand, and drifted away!!!

We picked up a Colombian hat for both Eric and Diego. The boys loved all the music that played throughout the fair grounds, and were dancing and singing to the music. Again, the Colombian pride was displayed everywhere, as many people wore the traditional Colombian hat, as well as many people also wore an accessory that resembles a winter scarf, with some type of Colombian decor. The people sure live up to their saying--- Colombia is Passion! We really need to pick up a few CDs of Colombian Music, to enjoy when we return to the US. Below is a picture of Diego showing off in his new hat.

In the evening, Jose took us to a casino here in Bucaramanga. We found the casino very small, however, even though the $$ were in pesos, most of the machines were the same -- and in English-- as you would find in Wisconsin. Eric was very lucky to win some money on one of the games. This is good as it looks like we will need it for our hotel stay, since the courts are still on strike.

The update that we heard this morning, regarding the courts, is that they did not reach any agreement, and the judges will be talking again on Tuesday and Wednesday. We are praying that they will reach an agreement, as this is now the 3rd week that our adoption process has not moved in the courts. We heard today that there are 100 couples in Colombia right now that are in the adoption process, and are waiting.

Today, since the pools were closed for maintenance, we just hung around the hotel in the morning. While Eric worked in the morning, Joyce entertained the boys with puzzles, books, blocks, bubbles, and also gave them each a new legos car kit. Boy those car kits for 5 yr olds are tough! The boys asked mami to help, and she really struggled. She is still wondering why they put sooo many extra pieces in the box. Also, she doesnt think that the picture included in the box, is the right picture of how the car is supposed to look. The boys cars each look different!!! She just told the boys that it is OK to have the extra pieces. NOTE: dont let Joyce assemble the boys bikes!! In the afternoon we went to the mall. Other than some drinks and snacks, we didnt buy anything. Oh of course we did enjoy some ice cream at a place called "Popsys", it was very good. Diego tried his Strawberry ice cream, and then exclaimed "ohhhhh Delicioso!!!!" I guess he liked it. Other than the ice cream, I dont think the boys really wanted to be there, as they did not behave at all. I think they did everything opposite of what we asked of them. NO it was not because of the language barrier. They fully understood that we wanted them to be good.

Tonight, papi had them cleaning up the room. It was great. There was an awful lot of pointing, and English words, for papi to get his point across to the boys. It took awhile but they got it cleaned up. They really are good helpers. They love to wash dishes, so I hope they enjoy it as much once we are back home.

Tomorrow, we are back on our usual routine of the pool everyday. We will have the best tans of anyone in Wisconsin in October!!

Adios!

Eric Joyce Diego and Jeferson