The Zoo Crew and Much Ado

Last night we were all up watching a Baby Einstein video in Spanish so we got the kids to bed a little later. The girls slept well but Andres woke up at 5 am screaming. Papi carried him and walked to calm him, we changed his diaper and gave him a bottle (guzzled the whole thing!) and then he went back to sleep. We all slept in until 8:20 am.

We got everyone bathed & dressed and then we ate breakfast. We are SO thankful because all Mami & Papi were getting for breakfast was pan/bread - basically dry french bread with some jam or butter while the kids were getting this succulent cereal with bananas and eggs too. Mami decided to ask if we could have an egg also and so we got an egg yesterday AND today! We felt like we were eating a gourmet meal! Andres ate well this morning and at lunch and dinner too! He doesn't let us feed him much (has to be his own idea) but he's been eating better.

So after breakfast we loaded in the car and got dropped off at the Cali Zoo. On the way there, our driver/host said we'd be picked up at noon (it was 10:30!) and I requested more time so we negotiated to be picked up at 1:00 instead. We came prepared with some snacks and water and were very happy with how our time at the zoo with just the 5 of us went! It was terribly hot and Mami & Papi are inexperienced but we didn't have any problems! Our only potential mishap was that Anji waited to tell us that she had to "chi chi" until she was dancing around! We had no idea where the bathroom was or where we were in the zoo so we had to act quick! We ran out of the butterfly house & with Papi's quick map reading skills, we got to the bathroom in time! Phew! The children loved the zoo & so did we! We plan on returning as we only covered 1/2 of it and we have plenty of time here in Cali :)

One really neat thing is that we ran into the family that we had seen at ICBF who are adopting a 7-8 year old girl - their appointment to meet her was right before ours and they came out as we were going in. It was incredible to see each other there in the fish house - we couldn't believe we were both there at the same time! They are from Italy. It was really cool! Hey, maybe we'll see them again! I should have asked where they were staying...

We returned to our temporary casa and ate lunch and laid the kids down for a brief nap because it was late. Only Claudia and Andres really slept today. I couldn't sleep because I had an awful stomachache (but am feeling much better thankfully. They made me hot celery juice to help my stomach :) We had a rougher afternoon because it was really hot/sticky & the kids were tired too. Each kid melted down today at least once today and we had our 1st cases of sibling rivalry, lack of sharing, hitting and disobedience. Claudia hit Anji, Andres hit Mami, and the girls were trying to yank/wrestle a little plastic chair out of each other's hands - lots of crying, pouting, etc. Karl keeps reminding me that these rougher times are good opportunities for bonding.

Anyway, I was feeling stir-crazy with all this going on and it was good to get out of the house to go to the pharmacy to get a Rx for anti-parasites for the kids. The host's family member is a pediatrician and said that this Rx was the best available for eliminating intestinal parasites of all kinds in kids. In addition, we were dropping off a neice and the rip-roaring drive was like an hour each way (we had NO idea it would take so long!) As the dark approached, the city really livened up! At one stoplight, a guy was juggling 3 huge swords and another guy was eating & blowing fire! We couldn't believe it. People will do almost anything for money here - including stepping into intersections to "direct traffic" when the traffic lights are out and then solicit money for this "service!" It takes a really brave person to stand in the middle of the road here. Our round-trip ride was one of the most lively yet and Mami hung onto Andres with all her might to keep his head from whipping around. (We are cracking up as we relive these adventures!)

We came back and ate dinner. Andres giggled a lot - he really loves peek-a-boo, especially when he does it! It is really cute. Then the kids started running around yelling "loco" and I joined in chasing them with tickles - it was a blast - even Andres loved it! It was really the first time he played/interacted with the girls and Mami too! Another highlight was attempting to introduce Andres to brushing his teeth. He loved it! We giggled together and I look forward to our next toothbrushing endeavor! Each of the kids went down pretty easily tonight so I guess we wore them out! J

Again, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers - they mean so much to us. We both see how God has paved the way for us, making it smooth. We are so thankful!!! K