the Carmen Elizabeth conversation

It hasn't snowed a single flurry, but Santa, dear, we're in a hurry

2011-12-18T21:34:00.001-05:00

OK, we've had a few flurries, but they melt right away, and we are over 30" below normal for this time of year. I theorize that the lack of snow has kept us in the holiday spirit all season. For example, on work and preschool days, we are not stuck in slow-moving traffic due to snow, afraid of the car getting rear-ended, getting sick of Christmas music for that extra 30 minutes of going nowhere. Instead, the cars move right along to get us home as a family for the evening.

It was strange, however, to get our tree on such a "warm" day. No snowpants, no hats. The place was very crowded. Carmen saw a friend from school on the wagon as we rode back to the barn with our tree. They giggled at each other across the bales of straw. And when we got off the wagon, they both ran to climb the hill of straw and slide down the slide.

Our theatrical event this season was Carmen's first play — "Annie," staring Cousin Brayden as the butler. Carmen was so excited to have her ticket, see Brayden on stage, and enjoy the production from our, Cousin Cami, and Uncle Jeff's laps. She caught the fever, wanting to be on-stage and doing lots of dancing in the bathroom and hallways before we drove home.

Later that week, we visited Santa at the mall. At first, Carmen didn't even want to be in line. But we watched several other kids tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas, and eventually, Carmen did the same. (For the record, she asked for the blue Doodle Bear, a dolly to put in a doll house, and a doll house. In that order.) And for being so brave, she got to get a new purse — a blue, sparkly number that constantly gets compliments.

Handing down traditions, Steve shared his childhood Rodney the Reindeer beanie with Carmen as we trimmed the tree.

Our museum had a members' night, complete with goodies, carols, Frosty, and an old-fashioned Santa. Carmen loved being there at night, and running around, having the chance to use a lot of the fun things without having to wait her turn. As usual, we ended the visit with a ride on the carousel.

The next day, she and I wrapped up our shopping. We took some money from her piggy bank, and bought a Grinch ornament for Daddy she'd seen on a previous visit to the mall. As we took a cookie break, I asked if she was up for going to Target. (She looked tired.) She assured me she could manage a trip to Target. So off we went...and off to sleep she fell in the cart.

That night, before meeting friends for dinner, Carmen gave Daddy the ornament she'd bought that day. Then after some whispering between the two of them, I was presented with an ornament, too! I love my "Mom" ornament...Steve said Carmen picked it out (even though he was directing her towards a different one), and it is a mug of cocoa, one of her favorite treats.

So Christmas preparations continue at our house...cookies, wrapping, and decorations courtesy of our own Clark W. Griswold. Now, we just need a little snow :) (A little...we have a lot of driving to do!)

Thankful for Fall

2011-11-30T22:15:00.000-05:00

Carmen's preschool began the year with a unit on seasons. So we've enjoyed doing many fall things.

We discovered an apple farm en route to the cabin. We stopped one day to get apples and cider, and were excited to see they were having pony rides!

It's been cold, but nice and sunny, so we've enjoyed being outside. We've taken trips to the playground, and have gone on photo shoots on the trail.

Carmen is spending more and more time in the kitchen. She loves to help cook and set the table.

As is the tradition, everyone came to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. Grandma and Papa W., Mimi and Poppy, and Oma joined us for a delicious dinner and day of family time!

We had a lot of activities Thanksgiving weekend, including a pig roast at a house with lots of cool toys. Next up: winter and Christmas!

Spooky! (And Sweet)

2011-10-31T22:39:00.006-04:00

This year's word-of-the-holiday was "spooky." From jack-o-lanterns to costumes to leafless trees, Halloween was spoooooky.

When Daddy got home from a week away for work, we started our Halloween activities with a morning trick-or-treating at the zoo with Auntie Crazy's family. (No, that's not them below :)

Uncle Toad went with us, too. We saw all the animals, and the kids got candy and toys in their bags. When we were done, we went to our favorite BBQ joint for lunch. On the way there, Carmen would have a piece of candy, then say, "Just ONE more!"

That week at dance and tumbling class, students could wear costumes.

The weekend before Halloween, Carmen wasn't feeling great, so she supervised the carving of pumpkins from under the Colombian flag blanket Grandma crocheted for her.

Finally, the big day arrived! I woke Carmen up for preschool, telling her it was Halloween. She said, "Is it Halloween dark?" I told her it would be dark after dinner and we could finally go trick-or-treating in the dark like we'd been talking about for weeks.

We started out on our street. Carmen would say, "Let's go to that house. I will ring the doorbell, say, 'Trick or treat!' and they will put candy in my bag."

The people handing out candy would exclaim how beautiful a butterfly Carmen was. Carmen would thank them for the candy, then say, "Let's go to that house. I will ring the doorbell, say, 'Trick or treat!' and they will put candy in my bag."

We hit so many houses in our neighborhood that we barely had any of our own trick-or-treaters once we got home. Steve taught Carmen how to spread the candy out on the table and admire the evening's work. And he told her which ones were Mommy and Daddy's favorites. On the way home that night, Carmen said, "It was so nice of those people to give me candy!" And she has been a great sharer.

Three October

2011-10-29T08:24:00.003-04:00

When people ask Carmen how old she is, she says, "Three [in] October!" We had a fun party on her third birthday. In attendance were her parents, grandparents, great-grandma Oma, Auntie and Uncle, the three cousins, and two friends from preschool. The theme was "Bubble Guppies," one of Carmen's favorite shows, but with no merchandise out yet, we got creative with water colors and bubble shapes. (And Daddy made his que rico empanadas.)

There were lots of gifts to open. Carmen got through all but ours and Grandma and Papa W's, and then she just went upstairs. I followed her up, and she said, "I need a little rest." But the party wasn't over! So I got the OK from Grandma and Papa to hold their gifts til later, and all the kids went out to the play set.

After we saw the last car off, we shot some hoops, and then Carmen napped for three hours!

The two kids from preschool were invited by request. They've been in the same class for years. A few days after the party, we had the fall parent-teacher conference with one of Carmen's teachers. Besides being told that Carmen is bright, articulate and charming (happy to gloat about that :), we were also told the names of the kids she primarily plays with. While we know who these kids are, they weren't who'd been requested to be at the party. We looked at each other, then told the teacher about the party. She said, "No, she really doesn't play with them too often, but I can see how that would be a good match!" Having visited at lunchtime in previous years, I do know she used to play with these two kids a lot. And she talks about them all the time on the way home. So it's good to know Carmen has many friends.

Happy birthday, Chica Bonita!

Sweet Pete

2011-10-16T20:57:00.002-04:00

On October 3, Daddy took Pete to the vet one last time.

Pete was born the same month we were married. When our black-and-white cat was put down, we filled out the paperwork to adopt a greyhound, reading on the adoption web site that it could take several weeks before there would be an opportunity to meet any dogs. Just a couple days later, they called and said a black-and-white dog was unexpectedly included in the latest transport from the track, and that they had no one prepared to take him. And, his nickname was the name we'd been saving for a son.

We adopted Pete (Meteor Blast) through our local retired racing greyhound group when he was four, and we changed his nickname to Pete. He'd been a champion racer who had broken his leg, putting him into the adoption program. He was a gentle giant...strangers were intimidated as we'd hold him back by the collar at the front door or on a walk. But what they didn't know is that he just wanted them to pet him.

Pete was extremely quiet. He barked, no joke, maybe once a month, and it was always outside at squirrels. One day, Carmen tripped over his bed, and he was startled and barked. She was so frightened, not knowing what that noise was that came out of him! We explained that he was barking like the other dogs we know, but the crying and look on her face showed she didn't believe us that Pete could bark.

It took Pete many years to get used to kids; they just have too much energy right at face-level. And when we first brought Carmen home, Pete was not used to sharing the attention. Visitors would arrive to meet Carmen, and Pete would squeeze between them and us, making sure he got the attention he was used to. Eventually, Pete understood Carmen was pretty cool, and he would even give her a kiss as he walked by.

Pete's passing was our first time discussing death with Carmen. I told her Pete had died and gone to Heaven to live with Jesus and wouldn't be coming back. When Steve got home from the vet's office, Carmen had had time to digest this new knowledge and said, "Daddy, Daddy, Pete's at church."

Here are some more-recent photos, as well as a video of Pete "jogging" in the back yard.

Rooing.

They told us this breed sleeps a lot, and they weren't kidding!

Bath time was the best time, often tipping over from relaxation.

A rare couch photo.

Watching the game.

"Tolerating" Baby Cousin Addy.

Christmases.

Another rare couch photo.

The artist formerly known as Prince watching his Super Bowl halftime show.

When Pete first met Lulu, he stuck his head in the armpit of the greyhound adoption rep. It was a year before he would not leave the room when she entered. Over time, he gave in and they became friends.

No body fat for insulation called for coats...

...and, sometimes, sweaters...

...and, often, complete hibernation.

Fun at the park.

Birthdays.

This photo was taken right before we went to Colombia.

Video from March 2006:

Feliz Cumpleaños, er, Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag

2011-10-02T19:28:00.005-04:00

We had an Oktoberfest for Oma's 84th birthday!

We had bierkäse,

music that spurred Oma to polka in the kitchen,

rindergulasch/goulash/stroganoff, bratwurst and sauerkraut,

family,

steins,

biscuit-tortenboden,

and gifts! Carmen chose this plant at the farmers' market that morning because Oma loves to care for plants in her gardens. Happy birthday, Oma!

Summer Summary 2011

2011-09-24T21:32:00.174-04:00

We had a great summer, full of fun activities and a lot of growth. Carmen ends the summer with teachers telling us she has advanced verbal skills, and being called "Little Miss Manners" by many of our friends. With growth comes some frustration, but each stage seems to only last a week or so. All-in-all, great summer!

Enjoying dinner on the patio at Donnelly's; June

Meeting all the new kittens at the cousins' house; June

Looking up to Cousin Addy; June

Father's Day dinner on the Donnelly's patio; June

Hair finally long enough for pigtails; June

Wrecking Grandma and Papa's living room with the girl cousins; June

Fun with the Tios in Chicago; July

Watering Grandma's flowers with Trunk the Watrering Can; July

Enjoying the lake; July

Happy that bounce houses are cushiony at the FANA picnic; July

Spending a super-hot morning at the zoo; July

Playing piano with Grandma; July

Watching for windmills on the way to the cabin; August

Picking blueberries at the patch near the cabin that have been in pancakes nearly every Friday since; August

Watching the mother and baby frogs at our BBQ for some local FANA families; August

Picking a peck of peppers in Daddy's garden; August

Coloring, watching Laurie Berkner videos on Uncle Toad's phone, and having fun waiting for dinner on Donnelly's patio; August

Having a plum break at the Public Market while Daddy steps inside the busy building to buy chorizo; August

Riding the new bike in PJs; August

Getting rained-out at a game with Daddy and Papa; August

Climbing with Elena at Bogota Blast Tres; August

Having fun with Jessica at Bogota Blast Tres; August

Enjoying the zoo with Lucas and Valentina; August

Fun in the princess tent with Finn; September

Taking a break from Mimi and Poppy's Labor Day picnic at the cabin to snuggle with their dog, Lucy and Purple Bear (aka Chinchilla); September

Performing the Loco (pronounced, logo) Dance in shoes from Auntie Tina; September

Doing exercises while on a trail walk; September

Making cowboy cookies with Daddy; September

Enjoying candy from the owner of the fruit and pumpkin stand on the way to the cabin; September

Giving Papa the hat we bought on our way back from Chicago at Daddy and Papa's combined birthday party; September

Loving the new tumbling and creative movement class at the new dance studio; September

Getting ready for fall!

We Love This Guy

2011-09-12T20:55:00.001-04:00

Steve found a book about Luis Soriano's program, Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia, on amazon.com a while back. We've read it a million times, given it as gifts many times over, and are now enjoying the newest book about him. Waiting for the Biblioburro had mentioned this CNN video in the back pages. As fortunate as we are, it's hard to imagine there are places in the world with no books. What an amazing man he is to dedicate his life to this problem.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/02/25/cnnheroes.soriano/index.html

Bogota Blast Tres: Fun Amid Natural Disasters

2011-09-04T21:18:00.026-04:00

Bogota Blast Tres went, let's just say, not as planned!

Part 1: From Earthquake to Hurricane

The week started off with an earthquake in our destination, Washington D.C. Elena's family lives there, and that was where we were all headed. But their house was fine, so we continued as planned. To break up our drive, we'd planned to spend Thursday night at Dan and Helen's house. We arrived with no problems and were greeted with hugs from Valentina, Lucas, Dan and Helen. We promptly went to a playground to burn off some energy before dinner.

In Dan's line of work, he has to be very tuned in to the weather, so we were watching hurricane Irene's movement up the coast to see if we could still make it to D.C. We ordered pizza, goofed off a little, and went to bed knowing we'd have to check the weather in the morning.

We got up Friday morning and decided it was safe to proceed to D.C. So we piled the kids and the luggage into two cars, grabbed some great NJ bagel sandwiches and coffees, and started the second half of our drive. Other than the constant hurricane reminders on the radio (and signs such as the one at the top), we were excited to get to the home of the third family in our annual reunion. We arrived outside D.C. and turned down a curvy, tree-lined neighborhood full of brick houses from the 1940s. Mr. Mark, Jessica and Elena were waiting for us to meet their newest family member, Lilliana! They recently finalized her domestic adoption. Lila is a smiling cutie!

After we scarfed some yummy pupusas, we went to their neighborhood playground where the kids played hard in the heat.

Back at the house, the kids were quick to make a huge mess of the recently renovated toy room. And by "recently," I mean that the guys were still cleaning up out back. All five kids did a great job of playing together and sharing. I believe only the harmonica had to be hidden the rest of the weekend.

After the kids went to bed, the parents enjoyed adult goodies such as really old bourbon and derby pie made by our hosts, the Kentucky natives. (Just the pie was made by them.)

Besides getting caught up, we talked about our Saturday activity options. The original plan was for everyone to walk around D.C. and enjoy a picnic on the mall while not spending any time inside. Then we'd go home for naps where Elena's teachers would later arrive to babysit the kids while the parents returned to D.C. for a swanky, adult dinner out.

Saturday morning, we woke up to forecasts that were discouraging travel, especially as the day went on. So we decided to jump on the train to D.C. early and see what we could before Irene hit full-strength. The trains were empty which made our group with strollers very happy. One by one, the babysitters called and canceled. We emerged from the train station across the mall from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The mall was empty except for a kickball league and a few tourists and joggers here and there. You could feel the storm brewing as we walked through the mist to get inside the museum.

The exhibits were great for all ages: dinosaurs, fish, and animals from around the world. We obviously didn't pack a picnic, and we knew we shouldn't venture out to find a restaurant, so we ate in the museum's cafe which was surprisingly very good!

When we were done there, it was starting to rain and it was time to decide: go home, or go for it. We decided to go for it. The Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum sounded interesting, and was only a couple blocks away. The wind and rain were picking up, and it was pretty much every man and baby for himself by the time we met up at the door.

This next museum was pretty cool. It was a little old for the chicas and chico, but there were lots of buttons to push and noises and lights, so on that level it was cool for them, too. Oh, and there was an escalator, so that's all you really need when you're two.

We rode the empty trains back to the station, got our backs wet loading the kids into their car seats, and stopped for hot coffees. At this point, the kids were asleep, so our car and the NJ car stopped at a Latin market where Steve and Dan shopped and Helen and I relaxed in the cars with the sleeping kids, watching people run through the rain from their cars to the stores. Steve bought chorizo from five different countries, as well as the potatoes he's been searching for so he can make ajiaco.

We got back to Jessica and Mr. Mark's house where napping and playing continued, and we gave in to Irene and decided on takeout.

Carmen's been wanting to learn Puff the Magic Dragon, so with the sounds of the rain and the weather report in the background, Mark got out his guitar and gave us a concert. Carmen brought the appropriate concert binoculars for seeing from the back of the room.

With the kids asleep and our bellies full of Chinese food (since the Indian place was closed) and more derby pie, we decided to call it a night. Jessica got each family a candle and matches just in case, and we went to our bedroom in the basement. Carmen was snoring on her princess mattress on the floor. We turned on the fan, and fell asleep in bed. It must have been the heat resulting from the fan shutting off that caused us to wake up in the pitch black at 3am (so read the cell phone). Steve tried to light the candle over and over, but the humidity of the basement had apparently made the matches damp. Finally, he was able to light the candle, and walked around the bedroom, laundry room and storage parts of the basement to see if there was water. There was not, so, relieved, Steve blew out the candle...in another room! He had made his way back to the bed when Carmen woke up screaming because she couldn't see anything. (I'm telling you, it was dark!) He was able to get another match to light the candle, and we decided to go up to the living room. Steve carried pillows, the candle and crying Carmen. I carried pillows and Carmen's mattress, which got me wedged between the basement doorway, baby gate and kitchen doorway. We made it to the living room floor where we tried to get Carmen to quiet down and go back to sleep between us on the floor. In the background, Jessica and baby Lilliana were dashing through the room to the porch where Mr. Mark was sleeping. Steve fell back to sleep. I was having trouble, but was finally asleep when Carmen said, "Momma, I want to tell you a story." She was sitting on her pillow, knees bent up, elbows on knees and fists under chin. She proceeded to tell me "The Three Little Bears," which was actually the three little pigs. It went on and on, and in my half asleep state, I got annoyed that she wasn't saying, "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff..." and I had to add it. Talking didn't help my inability to get back to sleep.

I was starting to wake up when I heard Steve saying to Jessica, "I'm going out to find us coffee. You don't want Dan here without coffee, do you?" He returned about 30 minutes later, McDonald's in hand, reporting on the power outages and messy roads.

Once the sun was up, we got the girls ready for Couch Photo 2011. This year's outfit: Colombian soccer uniforms before they outgrow them and pigtails. As I got Carmen dressed and told her we were taking a photo, she started getting upset and didn't want to have her picture taken. There was no getting the socks on. While we waited and hoped Carmen would cheer up, Elena and Valentina posed for (the most adorable ever!) pictures.

OK, let's go for it and add Carmen.

Having no luck whatsoever, the parents of multiple kids introduced us to a great tool: bribing with treats!

Oh, well. I think what's important about Couch Photo is the memories it makes. (And some year, the memory will be that we caught the best photo ever!) Once that was done, we got packed up and said our goodbyes. We wanted to spend more time with Mr. Mark, Jessica, Elena and Lilliana, but we didn't know what the drive would be like following Irene up the coast, so we wanted to allow plenty of time.

Part 2: We have to skip the shore. No, we can go to the shore. No, we'd better skip the shore.

As a continuation of our vacation, we'd planned to go with Dan and Helen to their family's beach house at the Jersey shore. We left D.C. knowing we had a couple hours of driving before we needed to make up our minds. The area where the house is had been evacuated, but was reopened. Would we run into traffic? Would there be flooding or power? The weather outside D.C. was fine, and we had easy travels as two of very few cars on the multi-lane highways. As we got closer to NJ, rain started and we were noticing high water levels in the rivers. We stopped at a rest stop where the wind was again picking up. We decided we only wanted to go to the beach if we could enjoy the sun and the non-blowing sand, and so we decided to go back to Dan and Helen's house and just do some fun things around town.

We were very close to our exit when the traffic suddenly stopped. They were making all four lanes exit. Dan tried to navigate his way through a few small towns to get us home, but it seemed like almost every street was blocked. We finally made it to their house to find that their entire neighborhood was out of power. Dan hooked up his generator, and he and Steve went out to get essentials (milk, salami, hard cheeses, etc.). We had dinner and baths by candlelight, and hit the sheets.

Carmen had been sounding chesty and coughing since we'd left D.C., and while sleeping between us on the pullout sofa, she coughed so much that she threw up. So when the generator came back on in the morning, we hooked up the washing machine and cleaned all that had gotten hit. But Carmen seemed fine, so after a walk to see fallen trees, we went to the zoo.

It's Alpha! (Or is it Beto?)

We took a break for snacks where Carmen discovered salami, and the three kids played Cinderella and cleaned up the joint.

Valentina and Lucas' Nonna and PopPop had power over in CT, so we drove across the Tappan Zee Bridge where the kids stayed in and the adults went out.

[Hey, Uncle Jeff, this is your kind of picture. I did not crop out person number five who will henceforth be known as CT Bob.]

The kids had pizza and got ice cream and watched "Snow White." Carmen loved the entire evening, and liked to talk about how she slipped and skinned her knee. On the way back to NJ, Carmen started coughing, causing her to again throw up. So all night long with no power, if she started to cough, click-click! the flashlight would shine on her face. But she made it through the night just fine.

Part 3: What Else Could Go Wrong?

Tuesday morning, it was time to head home. We thought we'd go to one more playground.

Just before we left, Carmen face-planted on the turf, scraping her nose and filling her teeth with grit. We got her cleaned up and drove to a neighboring town for a Colombian lunch.

Steve's chorizos from five different countries didn't survive their stay in the cooler during power outage, so we went to another Latin market where he bought chorizo from six countries. We said our goodbyes and left our NJ friends.

When we go in the car, I used a wipe on the knee Carmen skinned at Nonna's house. It was as if I'd removed her souvenir, and she was not happy about it. A few miles later, Carmen looked very sad in her car seat. I asked, "Do you miss our friends?" And she cried, answering, "I want my boo boo back!" The crying eventually ended in napping. We had a great ride home with easy traffic and Carmen taking a long nap. Faithful Reader may remember our last drive home from NJ which featured a blizzard. Well, just as I was thinking, what did we do to deserve such a good ride home, Carmen projectile vomited all over herself and the car seat. We pulled over to clean everything up. We'd packed a new beach towel for the beach trip that didn't happen, so that was still clean and used to cover the car seat for the ride home.

Part 4: Just When You Think the Vacation With Murphy Has Ended

After a couple quick days at work, it was time to welcome some old friends to our home for the weekend. We'd planned to make pizzas Friday night, then go to the market on Saturday morning and spend the day cooking. They'd also been traveling for family events near Irene. I told them about Carmen's episode in the car, and they said, "Our two-year-old has never thrown up." Jinx! He threw up in the night. The next morning they needed to do laundry, and our washing machine broke while full of pukey laundry. The mom later got sick, but the dad never did. And we never did. So that weekend of socializing turned into a weekend of laying low and sanitizing the house. And Steve tried to cook one of his new chorizos, which was rotten.

Part 5: Epilogue

We now crave a touristy trip to D.C., and a few days of relaxing on a beach. And the delivery of our new washer couldn't be coordinated for two weeks. So when that arrives, there will be no time for tours or beaches as we will be knee-deep in two weeks' worth of laundry!

Aside from all the mishaps, we did enjoy seeing our Bogota Buddies and meeting the newest member of our extended family! We are very fortunate to have these special people in our lives. And with everything you go through in Bogota, it's only fitting that you go through something like this Bogota Blast Tres together.

My First Movie

2011-07-23T20:48:00.002-04:00

Hola, amigos! Today I went to my first movie! We went to the theater and saw "Winnie the Pooh." We ate popcorn and candy. I loved Daddy's favorite Junior Mints. The movie was on a big [sweeping arms] TV [movie screen] and they knock-knock on Christopher Robin's door, but he wasn't home! It was funny and I laughed a lot.

What time is it? It's FANA weekend time!

2011-07-22T10:18:00.003-04:00

This year's FANA weekend was a lot of fun. Carmen is really enjoying parties, and is starting to get a lot of concepts.

Sunday, we drove to the new picnic location. It's an even further drive for us, but a big improvement as our local FANA group grows and grows. We had lunch with some friends, tried to win some raffle baskets, and worked a shift at one of the little bounce houses.

But Carmen preferred the older kids' bounce house. With all the slides and walls and tunnels, it was easy to lose track of her in there. But I finally saw her at the top of a slide where she was holding her own against a couple older boys. One kept asking, "How old are you?" and wouldn't let her pass. I finally yelled, "Let her by!" and she slid down the slide. The boy yelled, "How old is he?" (Once again, someone thinks Chica Bonita is a boy.) I answered, "SHE is 2." "That's a girl?" He yelled? Carmen turned around, looked him in the eye, and said, "I'm a girl!" Then she was off for more running and bouncing and fun.

At the end of the picnic, after the handing out of scholarships and awards, came the highly anticipated referral. (Referrals have been slim since the laws have changed, so it was great to witness one.) They had a giant picture of a beautiful baby girl, and her new parents went up to the front of the group to be with FANA's founder, Mercedes. Carmen asked, "Who is that baby?" I answered, "She's at FANA, and they are her new parents." As she played with my brush, pretending to put makeup on us, Carmen said, "She's in Colombia waiting for her mommy and daddy!" You got it, Chica Bonita.

The next day was the golf tournament. Steve, another FANA dad, and two of Steve's friends formed a team. One of the friends' wives and I drove out later in the day to work a set-up shift, then changed for dinner. Before dinner is a silent and live auction of generous donations by people and businesses. Papa donated a lot of his photographs, Grandma crocheted a crib-size Colombian flag blanket, and our friend Laurie made a table runner (available here as fundraisers for her own adoption). At dinner, a photo montage of FANA kids and their families played on the screens. The tear-jerker of the night was when a recently adopted teenage girl told her adoption story. Even she couldn't get through it, and an adult had to read it for her. It was a very fun event.

Carmen and I had the rest of the week off. It was miserably hot, so we spent a lot of time indoors, watching a lot of Carmen's new favorite show, Bubble Guppies. It's full of catchy tunes, like, "What time is it, it's time for lunch...it's lunchtime. Hey, what's for lunch?"

Chicago, Chicago, What a Wonderful Town (giggle)

2011-07-16T22:17:00.304-04:00

This July, we drove to Chicago to visit the Tios. Carmen and I got home at noon, and piled into the car which Steve had outfitted very well for travel. (I wonder if he learned that in the Boy Scouts?)

A few hours in, we got stuck in construction for over an hour. Carmen chose this time to ask to use the potty. Once we got a few more miles behind us, we decided to stop at Cracker Barrel for dinner. When we used to live near a Cracker Barrel, it was our go-to place Saturday morning after over-imbibing the night before. So this was our first family dinner experience there, and it turned out to be the perfect choice. During dinner, Carmen said she needed to use the potty. This was going to be our first public potty experience. And if you know me, you know I don't like public rest rooms. But I took a deep breath and got us up from the table, knowing it was the best thing to do. The entire walk to the bathroom, I kept saying, "In a public bathroom, we don't touch anything." As we walked through the store, I repeated, "We don't touch anything," and a woman touching a quilt spun around. "Oh!" she said, "I thought you were yelling at me." "Nope, just reviewing the rules for public bathrooms," I responded, pointing at Carmen. When we got back to the table, Carmen announced, "I didn't touch anything, and I washed my hands!" The couple next to us laughed. And my blood pressure began to return to normal.

Dinner complete and princess sticker book purchased, we continued on to Sandusky, Ohio to spend the night. (We didn't stay here or here, but right here.) This was Carmen's first time in a hotel! In her 2.7 years, she's flown internationally and lived in/visited/driven through seven states, but she's never stayed in an actual hotel. She loved the huge bed, and requested to take a baño.

Friday morning we continued our trip, arriving on Lakeshore Boulevard around lunchtime. Traffic was slow which gave Carmen a chance to point out landmarks from the Good Night Chicago book the Tios gave her at our last visit two years ago: "Look at the tall buildings! Look at the Ferris wheel!" We got through the traffic, passed the beach, and entered a neighborhood. A couple turns, and we were on the quiet, tree-lined street where the Tios' new condo is. Their neighbor was gone, so we got to use his parking space! We unloaded the car, got out the stroller, and set out on-foot to find some Mediterranean food for lunch.

For dinner, we were excited to go to our first Whole Foods where Steve bought ingredients for a yummy dinner in. Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at a favorite place from our last visit.

Then we got ready for the main attraction of the trip — Shedd Aquarium. Carmen wore her new shark flip flops. When we arrived, we were stunned by the long line of people waiting in the sun to get in. But then we spotted the wheel chair and stroller entrance, and we were in in a matter of minutes. Phew!

Our admission included tickets to some shows, the first of which was the Dora and Diego 4D experience. We had to hurry. First, we got lost on an elevator. Next, we carried the stroller down a flight of stairs and got in line only to discover it was for a different show. So Paul went right to the counter and they said we could enter, even though the signs said no late admittance. We grabbed some glasses, entered the dark and noisy theater, and quickly found some seats. The seats started to rumble, which made Carmen say, "Nooooo!" And then we got sprayed with water, which caused Carmen to scream like she hasn't screamed in well over a year. As fast as we'd filed in, we filed out! About 30 minutes later, after some failed attempts at distraction with fish, a new crab hair clip, and then a snack of raisins, Carmen finally started to come around.

The aquarium was packed and noisy and we were getting hungry, so we decided to leave for lunch and return later for the dolphin show. As we crossed over into the city streets, we had to pass a crazy man on a corner who was yelling. Usually, you just keep walking and you get away. But this man started to follow us, yelling obscenities for a couple blocks. We finally escaped, found a delicious Mexican restaurant, and discovered Carmen had fallen asleep for a nap in the stroller.

We could have enjoyed food and drink for the rest of the day, but we had tickets to the dolphin show. We practically had to jog to get back in time, and stood in our sweat as we were too late for seats. Carmen had not believed Steve that dolphins jump, so this was a very enlightening show. She loved it.

Our last sight of the day was the jelly fish exhibit. Again, too crowded, but quite amazing nonetheless. We finished our stay at the aquarium with a jelly fish cookie snack.

We got cleaned up for dinner, and walked to a very nice place. But travel, the busy aquarium and the heat had caught up with me. So to top off the night, I got stuck sitting in the air flow of bathroom deodorizer. And Steve was on potty duty as Carmen continued to promise she would go in yet another public bathroom. (She didn't.) Other than that, the food and drink were great.

On the walk home, Carmen asked to hold Uncle Dave's hand :)

Sunday morning was supposed to include one last planned event — breakfast at a Colombian place Steve had visited with David and Paul on a work trip to Chicago. Thinking back to our time in Colombia, we remembered they are not as concerned about punctuality as Americans. And when we arrived at the place an hour after it was supposed to be open, it still wasn't open. (This had happened on Steve's initial visit as well.) We were hungry and in need of caffeine, so Paul suggested another place a few blocks down. That was completely closed. So we finally ended up back in their neighborhood at a place we could have walked to. We had delicious southern breakfasts, and headed back to the condo to pack up, say our goodbyes, and get back on the road.

Mid-afternoon, we decided to stop at Notre Dame campus. Steve had always wanted to see the campus, and Carmen needed a break. Here is the crazy Baby Monkey burning some energy in the bookstore.

Up to this point, Carmen had been a great traveler. But then everything happened at once: the DVD battery died, it was dinnertime, and we were in the middle of Ohio where every exit led to no where. The rear tire that had just passed inspection was whirring louder and louder. At one point in all the screaming and crying, Steve was yelling that he would throw the DVD player out the window, and believing him, I had to talk him out of it. We finally found an exit built for travelers, got checked into a (Carmen's second) hotel, and found an Applebee's with a wonderful waitress who helped us all recover from the absolute meltdown that had occurred about an hour before.

Back at the hotel, there was more jumping on the big bed and a baño. The next morning, we had the worst in-hotel breakfast ever, and then continued our drive home. We decided that if we ever drive to Chicago again, our stay needs to be longer than our time in the car!

Carmen was very excited to tell her teachers and classmates about her trip to the aquarium. But at the end of the day when I picked her up, one teacher told me Carmen was excited to report she'd taken a baño in the hotel!

4 Days for the 4th

2011-07-04T21:08:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday, America! We celebrated with four days of family fun.

We started our weekend with a bon fire at another FANA family's home. We'd been there many times, but always at night or in the winter or during rain, so this was the first time we got to enjoy their huge back yard.

Saturday, we drove to the cabin to spend the day with Mimi and Poppy where Steve delivered the chairs he'd made them for Christmas. The night before, our FANA friend had given Carmen a toy that lit up and spun. It later broke, so Carmen declared it was a microphone, and sang us songs all the way to the cabin.

Carmen and her cousin had fun walking in the woods. Here they are with Oma (their great-grandma) in the background.

Even Pete went with us.

After lunch, Carmen attended a graduation party with MandP, so Steve and I hit one of the nearby wineries. When we got back, we watched a documentary on how Pablo Escobar got drug money into Colombian soccer, and all of the ramifications. (I don't know if there are more shows about him now, or if we just notice them now, but there seems to be something about Escobar or drugs or other negative aspects of Colombia on TV quite frequently. We're glad we know about the great aspects.) Then we cooked dinner, had a quick bonfire, and headed home. But before we left, we tried to get a good shot of Carmen by the sign MandP had made for what's been named, "Burro Stream," based on our love of the book Biblioburro. Here are just a few of the shots.

On Sunday, we had to deliver our merchandise donations to another FANA family's home. The donations by Grandma, Papa and our friend Laurie were for the upcoming annual FANA fundraising golf tournament and silent auction. (See future post.) After the drop-off, Steve surprised us with an impromptu picnic in the park! So Carmen and I played while Steve grilled hot dogs, and then Carmen and Steve played while I relaxed and stared off into the sky.

Monday was the 4th, which meant it was time for our town's great parade! We arrived too late to get a shady spot on the tree-lined street, so we sat next to a short, stubby tree that had half of its leaves dying. Our attempt at shade failed and we roasted. So, Carmen used the pool when we got home, followed by a little golf with Daddy while he smoked a turkey.

We'd hoped to attend some fireworks this year. Since Carmen is not into loud noises, we watched some online and practiced covering our ears. But that didn't work either, so we watched them on PBS :)

End of Short Spring 'Eleven

2011-06-18T15:44:00.002-04:00

Winter 2010-2011 was so long that our spring was very short. The final time it snowed, the weather man said we'd had some amount of snow for the past six months. After the snow ended, the rains set in, causing professional and amateur farmers alike to have to wait to plant their crops and gardens. Near the end of Baby Macko's visit, it finally became relatively (no pun intended) hot, and we knew summer was right around the corner.

The evening Macko's family left, we went to our favorite ice cream spot by the water.

Last year, Carmen always got the free, tiny vanilla cone. This year, she asked for (what they consider) a small dish of strawberry. Here is a somewhat messy video illustrating how much she liked it:

Next came Memorial Day weekend, starting with pizzas on Friday night.

Saturday, we attended a picnic at one of our food friends' homes. Carmen's nap started about 5 minutes before we arrived, so she came around on the chaise while we settled in. Eventually, she became her normal social self.

Sunday, we tried to have our new tradition of clams and other delights on the deck, but the rain drove us inside. We were able to get back outside a little later and swing while listening to the frogs in the swamp behind our property.

Monday morning was the big parade! Our town has two parades a year, this one being the smaller of the two. We sat across from our church, waved to a lot of our church friends across the street, and enjoyed bands and fire trucks and scouts and little-leaguers.

Then to celebrate the hot sunshine, we got out the sprinkler and little pool!

A couple Fridays later brought Carmen's last dance class til fall. Families were invited to watch the class, which really kept Carmen from participating. She did do some of the ballet segment with Mommy, and Mommy had to try to stay out of parents' videos which were probably headed for youtube. The grande finale of class was the dancers individually running and leaping over their dance bags. Carmen was the first to go, and when everyone applauded, she got a little freaked out and ran back to Mommy's lap.

And then we officially wrapped up spring by welcoming the first radishes in the garden!

Macko Visits!

2011-05-25T20:58:00.007-04:00

Hola, amigos! Baby Macko and his parents visited this month. We had a lot of fun! Faithful Reader may remember that we visited them in FL last year when Macko was just a few months old. Now, he's a year older and the same size as me.

Mommy's cousin, her husband and Baby Macko arrived late on Tuesday night. Daddy picked them up at the airport, and I stayed awake until a couple minutes before they arrived. But when they walked in, I woke right up and tried to show Macko every single one of my toys. By 1am, I was so tired and crying so hard that I couldn't go to sleep. So Mommy and Daddy said that, since it was a special night, I could sleep with them. As I snuggled into their bed, I looked up at Mommy and gave her a huge, thankful smile! [Editor's note: It was more of a haha-I-made-it-into-your-bed smile.]

The next morning, they were still here! We spent the day getting settled. Darren and I did some sidewalk chalk. And for dinner: empanadas!

Thursday, we started with a big breakfast. Then Carla had a conference call and Mommy had to teach dance, so I went shopping with Macko and our dads. One place we stopped was my favorite bakery. When we got home, Mimi, Poppy, Oma and The Arkansans appeared! It was my Great Aunt Tina and her family. (Daddy and I had met them at the airport several hours before Macko arrived.) I was having a lot of fun playing with Claire when Mommy got home from the airport with Uncle Dave.

We had a lot of people at our house! Then I napped. When I woke up, we went to Donnelly's for dinner (where I shared my sweet potato fries with Macko) and then jumped in puddles by the canal.

The next morning, the dads went to Mimi and Poppy's house to start BBQing some ribs for us and the Arkansans. The moms and Macko and me had breakfast and then went to Grandma and Papa's house for lunch. Carla calls Grandma "Aunt" and Mommy calls her "Mom." I sort of get it...I at least know we all belong together. Anyway...after that, Macko and I napped on the way to Mimi and Poppy's house.

I had a lot of fun playing with all my relatives. My favorite was saying what Oma taught me a while ago: "Uh-oh, spaghettio!"

Next up: the zoo! It was really hot, but the animals were cool. I really liked the rhinos, seals and orangutan.

Before Cousin Brayden's birthday party, we took our three visitors to see the cabin.

Then we went to the party!

Their last day here, we took them to the museum. Mommy made us see everything! I was starving, and Macko fell asleep!

Then we went out to lunch (where I shared my mac 'n cheese with Macko), and home for fun on my swing set.

The next day, we took them to the airport. Daddy had to work, so we squeezed everyone into one car. When Mommy and I got home and were eating lunch, I asked, "Where's Macko?"

My Mother's Day

2011-05-08T16:32:00.064-04:00

Even though this is Carmen's blog, I want to write this entry about my day.

Mother's Day Weekend 2011 began Friday with Carmen's dance class. Since it had warmed up, Carmen wore a lighter-weight leotard and skirt handed down from her cousins. She was anxious to show it off to her classmates, and participated a lot more in class. She looked beautiful.

Saturday night, we went to Auntie Crazy's house for dinner with her family. The food was delish and the company was a blast. Carmen wanted her to sing a song, and when AC wouldn't stop talking and sing, Carmen ordered, "Focus!" And when AC said dessert was served, Carmen flew in from the living room and jumped over an empty chair Dukes-of-Hazzard style.

Sunday morning, I was in the kitchen when Carmen carried in a gift bag ("...with two hands!"). It was full of items from Juan Valdez, and my first card from Carmen with her signature! Steve admitted he thought the cups and saucers were going to be full-size, haha. Carmen helped break them in at breakfast. (That's just an expression...none were broken.)

After church, the original plan had been for Steve and my dad to go to a baseball game while Carmen, Mom and I shopped. But Dad wasn't feeling well, so they didn't visit and Carmen and I joined Steve at the game. It ended up being an awesome afternoon! The weather was finally warming up, so Carmen and I bared our ankles while Steve went all-out in shorts. We first stopped at the gift shop where Carmen chose a (yikes!) pink cow bell. We talked about how you only ring the cow bell when the crowd is cheering, and, luckily, she understood. Even though we only had two tickets and were told our section was sold-out (toddlers can sit on your lap), the people next to us didn't show up, so we each had a seat. Carmen had been saying all winter that she was going to get a hot dog at a baseball game. So the first trip to the food stands were cold beers for us and a hot dog for her. Carmen was a great spectator, and we made it to the seventh-inning stretch to sing one of her favorite songs (with back-up by the lady in front of us).

So when I started writing this, I thought it was going to be more about me. But it turns out it's still all about Carmen. Which is the greatest thing ever in my life. Every day, I think about how lucky and thankful I am that other people made it possible for Carmen to be my daughter. Thank you for My Mother's Day :)

Hop, Hop, Hop!

2011-04-29T22:15:00.039-04:00

Easter 2011 was busy! And Carmen spent most of it hopping around, singing, "Here comes Peter Cottontail..."

Monday, Carmen and Mommy attended a Holy Week service with Mommy's confirmation friend in faith, the teenager we met the day her family told us all about FANA. She was very good keeping Carmen reeled in during the service, which featured photographs from a church member's recent trip to Jerusalem.

Decoration preparations took place the next night when Carmen officially dyed her first Easter eggs.

Thursday night, we had dinner at Donnelly's to keep the house clean for the dog-sitter who arrived Friday.

Friday morning, we packed up and headed to the family cabin. Carmen and Mommy read some books on the bed up in the loft, where Mommy said Daddy would probably bump his head on the sloping ceiling in the middle of the night. Carmen thought that would be very funny. After lunch, we did some raking, and then Carmen asked to ride the Gator! Previously, she'd been petrified of it. The three of us strapped in and climbed up the hills through the trees and along the creek.

Friday night, we went to Cousin Addy's house for her fifth birthday party. Carmen loves all her cousins, but is currently infatuated with Addy, following her around and imitating everything she does.

When the party drew to a close, we drove back through the pitch-black countryside to the cabin. Daddy put wood on the fire, and we all went to bed. Around 2am, we all woke up roasting! And roasting for Carmen results in an uncontrollable crying fit. So to try to snap her out of it, Daddy repeatedly hit his head on the ceiling, which helped a little, but didn't produce and laughter. But when Mimi, Poppy and Oma arrived the next morning for breakfast, Carmen told them all about it and how funny it was.

Here are some Colombian-grown flowers Daddy and Carmen found at the store. (Daddy is very good at buying things for Mommy, and teaching Carmen to carry them into the house, yelling, "Surprise!")

Fast-forward to Easter morning. Daddy was having no luck waking up Carmen, until he said, "I wonder if the Easter Bunny left anything for you?" "I'm awake!" she answered, and headed downstairs. The Easter Bunny had visited, and left a basket full of candy, sidewalk chalk, a bath toy and princess band-aids! He also hid some eggs in the living room, which were fun to find.

To church, Carmen wore one of her handed-down, Colombian-made dresses. Adorable. She and Daddy went up to the altar for the children's message, which was about the biblical reason we color eggs. At the end, the pastor offered to give each child a plastic egg. But Carmen decided she didn't want to be in the mob getting their eggs, so Daddy said to wait back til they were done. Just then, a blue (Carmen's favorite color) egg bounced out of the mob and landed at Carmen's feet!

Easter afternoon, our families arrived for the traditional Easter egg hunt and meal. Carmen had so much fun with her cousins, especially Addy. After dinner, we celebrated Grandma's birthday.

The candy rule has been if you eat your dinner, you can have a piece or bite of Easter candy. This has worked great. Carmen even checks our plates and tells us how much we have left to eat before we can have some candy. But one night, we didn't realize dinner was ending at 8pm, which made it impossible for Carmen to wind down for bed. Thank goodness for the crash that eventually follows the sugar high!

I Found Spring!

2011-04-15T15:06:00.000-04:00

Oh, Spri-ing, Where are You?

2011-04-10T15:24:00.002-04:00

Spring keeps teasing us this year. Faithful Reader will remember the great time we had outside the day Valentina and Co. arrived. But then it snowed and iced just a couple days later, taking Mommy and Carmen almost three times the normal amount of time to get home at the end of the day. Luckily, it wasn't a scream-fest like the day it happened when Carmen was one.

We've done lots of things to will spring.

Carmen and Mommy took a nice drive to visit Grandma and Papa, saw some wild turkeys, and had lunch where the family has gone for decades. We ran into some relatives from Daddy's side of the family there, too. (They are not the aforementioned wild turkeys.)

Carmen and Daddy made some flower cookies. Guess which cookie marked the end of Carmen's participation.

Carmen wore one her flowered Colombian-made hand-me-downs to church (which got rave reviews), and then tried waving her magic wand in the back yard. We had to take this photo fast because it was so cold outside without coats.

Later that day, Carmen bundled up and played a little soccer.

Daddy and Carmen hoped shorts and the start of baseball would move spring along.

But the next day it snowed. Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes. It was these strange mini snowballs that sort of exploded as they hit the ground.

So this weekend, we went to Mimi and Poppy's cabin for lunch, and what did we see up in the hills? Snow! But it was still nice enough to be outside. All afternoon, Carmen told us, "I said, 'STOP, Mom and Dad," when we had been driving the four-wheeler. And, Carmen saw her first snake.

They say it will be 75 this week. Perhaps, like in recent years, we're skipping right over spring and starting summer. We have lots of fun summer plans lined up, so that's fine with us!

Sing Three Little Pigs, as told by Carmen

2011-04-01T21:56:00.001-04:00

"Once upon a time, there was Mama Bear, Carmen Bear, three brothers, and Big Bad Wolf. And I'll puff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in. Whooooooooooooooooooooo. Do it again! The. End."

Ringing in Spring with V & Co.

2011-03-21T21:56:00.009-04:00

Valentina's family paid an impromptu visit this weekend! Here's the weekend in pictures and video.

Dan, Helen, Valentina and Lucas arrived Friday afternoon. Since it was one of the nicest days of the year so far, we went straight to the back yard.

Then we played nicely inside while Steve and Dan made pizzas. Carmen and Valentina made their own pizzas with the help of their dads.

What was in that pizza? Poor old Pete the Greyhound...this was only the first night and he was already stranded on his bed.

Saturday morning, Laura had to attend a CPR class at the community center, so everyone else walked to the community center to play on the playground. Dan and Helen found Laura's classroom window, and pretended to be choking outside...goofballs!

For lunch, Dan finally got his garbage plate!

And in an effort to get them to move here, we took them on a tour of our awesome grocery store where the girls got to "drive" the cart with only a few toddlers-in-close-quarters incidences.

For dinner, a little Cuban food with Colombian beer. And for the second night in a row, the parents had early birthday cake for Helen after the kids went to bed.

But before the kids went to bed, we skyped with Elena's parents. We'd hoped to see Elena and baby sister Lilliana, but we'll have to wait for Bogota Blast Tres to see them in person.

Sunday, we had a huge breakfast, then spent some time outside before our friends had to hit the road.

We had so much fun with our friends, and cannot wait for Bogota Blast Tres when all the Bogota Buddies are together again!

Baile! Baile!

2011-03-20T14:50:00.001-04:00

Carmen just wrapped up her first session of dance class. In the next-to-last week, she participated in ~90% of the class. Most weeks, she just did part of the ballet section, and sat on Mommy's lap during the tap. But every week, the highlights were changing from tap shoes to ballet slippers, and getting stamps on both hands at the end of class.

However, at home, Carmen can't stop dancing!

She doesn't care if she's the only one!

Mr. Potato Head has Teeth

2011-02-20T22:10:00.052-05:00

While this winter's huge storms have somehow missed us (knock on wood), we have still had more than our average amount of snow. Here, Carmen and Daddy shovel the driveway. Carmen's shovel is the one on the left, and she would carry handfuls of snow over to it.

Here's Carmen's outdoor snow angel. Recently, I found myself saying, "Stop flopping around the kitchen floor." She responded, "Wait — I'm making a snow angel."

Here are some photos from a fun outing a few Saturdays ago.

When we came inside, we warmed up with some cocoa. Carmen was loving her special mug, and when she stopped drinking to say something, we got ready to hear about snow or sledding or sliding down snow "volcanoes" or the neighbor kids she wanted nothing to do with. But, instead, she said, "Mr. Potato Head has teeth," and then went back to drinking her cocoa.

Here we see Carmen's snowman! After he was built, she wanted to trudge back to the play set. She did not enjoy sliding into the snow, and has repeatedly told us this since. But she did love getting in some rock-rocks before heading back inside.

Domingo

2011-02-15T21:07:00.005-05:00

Here's a description of where we used to walk to (uphill) every Sunday in Bogota: Usequen! Look closely at the photo...the wall is colorful and the woman is happy, but did you notice the constantine wire at the top? :)

http://colombiareports.com/travel-in-colombia/bogota/14383-usaquen-bogotas-little-town-in-the-city.html

Twins from Another Time?

2011-02-07T19:57:00.005-05:00

Our food friend, Anne, has been telling us that we need to see her baby pictures. Ever since Carmen got her curls, Anne keeps saying that's what she used to look like. Well, take a look at this!

Here's Anne around two years old. The likeness is amazing!

Below, Anne meets Carmen at a cooking group night shortly after we returned from Colombia almost two years ago.

We were recently at a birthday party for someone in the cooking group, and a guest who didn't know anyone else thought Steve and Anne were Carmen's parents! Anne said she used to also make the same expressions Carmen makes, and if that's any indication, we're in for big trouble. Anne is Native American, and said, "Of course her people crossed the land-bridge many centuries before my Pacific Northwest people, but clearly we come from the same stock."

Family Day — Second Anniversary

2011-02-02T21:15:00.059-05:00

This year's Family Day (1/27) wasn't as heartwarming as you'd picture. Steve was halfway through a two-week, out-of-town work stint. I took the day off to get some things done, and so dropped Carmen off at day care for the afternoon. The next day, as Carmen and I were reading books and getting calmed down for her afternoon nap, a delivery van arrived with a huge fruit bouquet and a princess balloon! The excitement undid all the calming-down, and we called Daddy to thank him.

This is the first time Carmen has been visually upset that her Daddy was away for work. The first few days, she refused to talk to him on the phone. Then one evening, about an hour after one of those phone calls where she'd actually run away from the phone yelling, she was whining non-stop. I finally scooped her up, and she put her head on my shoulder, which is a little unusual (unless we're kitchen dancing :) I asked if she missed Daddy. She said, "Yeah." And we both shed a little tear.

The next few days were filled with activities, including playing with a Colombian friend at a church meeting in a fellow FANA family's home. Eventually, Carmen would say, "Daddy's workin', workin, workin'!" and would talk to him him on the phone. Then she found her toy phone and started "calling" Daddy and saying, "See you on weekend!" The day he returned was snowy, and she "called" and said, "Hello, Daddy. Drive carefully. Snowing down, down, down. There's snow on it. Better get out of here!"

After a day of playing with the princess balloon, she began constantly handing it to me and saying, "Here ya go, Mama! Have it. It's for you. [sometimes adding] Happy birthday!"
So, this year's Family Day taught us some lessons:

Steve was sorry to be away, but he had to go to support our family.

I went crazy being a "single," working parent, but held it together at home for our family.

And Carmen gained a better understanding of family by knowing her Daddy was away but would return for her, and by being nice to her Mommy.

"Get the balloon, please, Mommy?"

While Daddy's Away...

2011-01-31T20:50:00.002-05:00

Here are some things Carmen did while passing the time til Daddy came home.

began dance class (see previous post)

had fun with cousins at Auntie Tina's birthday dinner

played in the snow with cousins

got out her drums and played along with "The Muppet Show"

Carmen's First Dance Class

2011-01-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

I have been patiently awaiting the day Carmen can take dance class, and was delighted to discover the place around the corner offered a class for two- and three-year-olds. Her tap shoes and ballet slippers arrived on Thursday. Friday morning, we put on her leotard and tights, and then layered on warm sweats, a coat, mittens, a hat and boots, and went to class. It was absolutely freezing that morning, and we ran through the strong zero-degree wind in the parking lot to get to the building.

We walked through the halls til we spotted a whole group of moms getting their toddlers out of their winter coats and boots, and adding delicate little ballet skirts to their leotards and tights. I had bought Carmen's Halloween costume with the idea that it would get reused, and so I had Carmen step into her big, pouffy tutu, and we entered the room.

The teacher and her 20-something assistant had the girls form a circle, join hands, and begin tapping their feet. Carmen kept checking for me out in the hall, and I would wave, and she'd look back to the teacher. But as soon as the assistant closed the door, Carmen's siren (as a teacher once coined it) turned on as she stormed the door. So, I was allowed to go into the room, and join one other mother and daughter against the wall. Eventually, all the mothers had to be let back in the room, but we were told it would only be allowed this week.

Halfway through the tap portion, the teacher allowed the mother-daughter teams to join the circle. Carmen still didn't want to be in the circle, so she and I did the moves off to the side. And by "moves," I mean Carmen would jump, and then fall repeatedly as her tap shoes slipped on the tile floor.

Next, it was time to change out of tap shoes and into ballet slippers for the ballet segment. This part of the class included some stretches and then pretending, which is when Carmen finally dove in. First, they pretended to be in the forest picking berries and putting them in a basket. (Working in the garden with Daddy prepared her for these moves.) Next, they put on pretend tiaras and walked like a princess. (The tiaras from Valentina prepared her for these moves.) But Carmen was more of a modern dancer for this part (just like Mommy :)

After a few more fun moves, it was time to bow. The teacher told the girls to grab the edges of their little skirts, tuck one foot behind the others, and gently bend their knees. Carmen grabbed the front of her tutu, lifting it high, and then squatted to the ground. Close enough for the first bow.

When class ended, Carmen came over to me and asked, "Do it again?" Then all the girls got stamps on their hands. We were layering all the warm clothes back on in the hall when I asked Carmen if she wanted to say good-bye to her teacher. "Yes!" So we went back into the room, walked up to the teacher, and Carmen said, "Bye-bye!!!" She is (OK, we are) very excited to go again this Friday.

Second class update: Carmen again sat on my lap during the tap segment, but jumped right up and participated (physically and vocally) in the ballet segment. So is she shy at first, or does she not like tap? Only time will tell. And, she asked to say goodbye to the teacher again. We also ran into a classmate in the grocery store afterwards, which both girls enjoyed.

Silly Ben

2011-01-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

Carmen's teacher reported that Carmen was laughing hysterically at everything her classmate, Ben, had done one day. (Carmen and Ben have been in the same class since they were infants.) I asked if Ben was funny, and Carmen smiled and answered, "Ben is silly!" What was Ben doing that was so funny, I asked. "Eating snow. Funny in Caterpillar House. Ben is silly!" She talked about Ben all night.

The next morning, as we approached the garage door to head out, Carmen's face lit up and she said, "Ben is silly!" She then talked about him the entire time we were in the car. I asked what she was going to do with Ben that day. "Snow angels!" A little later, she said she was going to sing him the Snoopy song, "Do do do dododo doodoo, do dodo doo..." I then realized Carmen had been quiet for quite some time. I looked in the back seat, and she had a blanket on her face. I asked her what she was doing. "Going to show Ben!" I laughed and explained she wasn't going to walk around with a blanket on her face because she wouldn't be able to see. So she left the blanket in the car.

When we got to her room, she started looking for Ben. (He doesn't arrive as early as we do.) "Where Ben go? Where Ben go?" Anticipating the usual mini upset that happens when I leave, I stood at the door saying bye. Carmen jumped up on the bench by the window, gave me a quick "Bye, Mama," over her shoulder, and then looked out the window saying, "Watch for Ben."

Now when we leave in the afternoon, she calls to him, "Bye, Ben," and no matter what Ben is doing, he yells back, "Bye!"

Magic From the Hand

2011-01-13T21:03:00.003-05:00

Carmen's Papa W., a retired science professor, will be happy to know Carmen has been doing a little experimenting of her own. Her findings:

Light beams from the Dora projector night light shine brightest when the kitchen light is off.
Water goes everywhere very quickly when you open the Aquadoodle pen, even though Mommy has said repeatedly not to open it.
Snow sticks to boots, and requires hitting boots together or stomping to get it to fall off.
Hitting Daddy with the "Dora stick" causes reactions: Daddy makes a loud noise which then causes Carmen to laugh.
Rarely drawn shades that are closed to keep the heat in does not cause travel through space or time..."It's the same room."
No matter how hard you hit the container of playdough on the table, the suction does not permit it to fall out.
Frosting, while yummy, is sticky.
Magnets do not stick to Pete the Greyhound.

It's a Party!

2011-01-02T22:03:00.001-05:00

We three got to spend many days together this vacation. It was great. We started New Year's Eve weekend Thursday with a trip to the museum. As expected at vacation time, it was packed. I think the slow days are much more enjoyable for the parents, but the kids love it no matter what.

After we got our fill of the museum, we had lunch at a BBQ place Steve had been wanting me to try. The food was great, and Carmen couldn't have behaved better. We will be going back!

Friday took us to the family cabin for lunch and a walk in the snowy woods. Tio David happened to call while we were there, so Carmen wished him a Happy New Year. Before we left, there was an odor in the cabin that we thought was sewage or a dead animal. We periodically smelled it on the way home, and wondered if our coats had absorbed it. But when we got home --- holy crap (yeah, that was intended) --- we discovered it was Carmen's diaper! We called Mimi and Poppy laughing, and they reported they'd been unable to locate the source of the odor after we left. (Carmen, if you are reading this in a few years, don't hate me, haha.)

Our traditional cooking-club New Year's Eve dinner is post-poned this year, so the three of us celebrated at home. Steve's menu started with Mexican-style muscles, followed by linguine with seafood for the main course. Carmen had linguine and carrots, but was focused on her fancy milk glass. She had a couple glasses of milk, and then we switched to water. She wanted nothing to do with her food, so Steve taught her how to slurp linguine. This was so fun, that even the fancy glass was eventually given linguine to slurp. Things got so silly that Carmen slammed her glass down on the table breaking it, then threw up a lot of the liquid she'd been drinking. It was officially a party! We wrapped up the evening with some late-night kitchen dancing to cumbia music.

The next morning, Carmen welcomed the new year with broccoli for breakfast. By request. And she and Steve ended the great vacation with a Cowboys win!

Where's Juan?

2010-12-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

After a busy Christmas day of lots of horse-play, very little napping and nighttime sleep disrupted by travel, Carmen ended up in our bed around 4am. An hour or two of standing, talking, kicking, etc., finally ended, and we all completed the night's sleep. Around 8am, I was the first to get up. I looked down at Carmen who was laying perpendicular to Steve. She lifted her crazy-haired head off my pillow, and looking at me with one squinty eye, said, "Make coffee!"

Carmen's Christmas Blog 2010

2010-12-28T21:55:00.001-05:00

Hola, amigos! I had a fun Christmas this year! I think I'm starting to understand traditions. The week before Christmas was a little confusing because I was told we were getting ready for baby Jesus' birthday, yet we were singing "Happy Birthday" to Mommy and my FANA friend Michelle. I've learned that if I whisper in church, I get to stay with Mommy and Daddy and don't have to go to the nursery. But I'm unable to whisper, "Baby Jesus!" and he is everywhere lately.

We were all home on Christmas Eve day, so we had a fancy belated birthday breakfast for Mommy. We also finally lit the middle candle in the advent wreath. (I'd been asking to light that one all month!)

After breakfast, we went sledding on the trail. It was cold!!!

Another tradition I got to experience this year was the box of homemade cookies our friend Julie leaves on our porch. I found I love peppermint patties. I also discovered caffeine. For my Christmas Eve lunch dessert, I had a chocolate-covered chocolate cookie. I tried to take a nap, but woke up 15 minutes later yelling, "I woke up!" I then spent the next two hours talking, running laps in the house, tipping over the ottoman....When I finally got to sleep, Mommy and Daddy had to wake me up in time for church. There, I really enjoyed the candles and music.

When we got home, Santa had left presents under our tree and in our stockings!!! We opened presents and enjoyed our second annual Snack Night. I got some toys and PJs, and my first pets -- fish! (Well, I got the fish tank, and then Daddy and I later bought three fish and a toy "ocopus.")

Christmas morning, we got up early and drove to Grandma and Papa's house for Christmas with them and my Auntie, Uncle and cousins. After breakfast, I got toys and diapers, and got to pet my cousins' three kittens that Santa had brought them.

Next, we went to Mimi and Poppy's house to open gifts with them and Oma. I was excited to show Oma my pretty dress! Oma gave me a princess tent, and I enjoyed having visitors. I missed my Tios, but they should be home next year.

For dinner, we all went back to Grandma and Papa's house for ham, pasta and pies. A couple days later, Great Aunt Margitta and Cris visited for dinner and gifts at Mimi and Poppy's house. I had a lot of fun this Christmas with my loving family!

Navidad Preparados

2010-12-16T21:06:00.001-05:00

Ready to get a tree!

Bagged a good one!

My first hot cocoa. Mmmm.

And the cookies were good, too. Chomp, chomp, chomp.

Helping Daddy hang ornaments.

Our Colombian "tiffia," as Carmen calls it, hangs on the tree.

Making a traditional cookie from Daddy's family.

Helping Mommy make chocolate-dipped pretzels.

Very Verbal

2010-12-15T22:23:00.002-05:00

At Carmen's recent well visit, the doctor asked if she knows at least 20 words. I chuckled and said yes. (She must know over 100, I thought to myself.) She had one of the office's books on her lap, and he asked her where the flowers were. "Right there," she pointed. "And there's a table, a window..." and she named the rest of the items in the drawing. She then talked non-stop through the remainder of the appointment, including a phrase we practice at home, "The doctor helps you," as he started the actual exam. At the end of the appointment, he went over his usual list of things we need to do at home, like reading books to her because it will help her future learning. As he said this, Carmen (book in-hand) was at the door saying, "Go look at the fish [tank in the waiting room], Mama?" As the doctor finally left the room, he smiled and said, "She's very verbal for her age."

Here are some recent verbalizations:

Carmen was assigning family member names to an illustration in a book. "Where's Uncle Paul?" I asked. Carmen answered, "Hiding in the bushes."

While in the car, we say, "Lights," and point at Christmas lights. Carmen says, "Look! Christmas lights! Wow! Cool! Awesome! Find more lights!"

"Frosty the SnowMAHN."

Remembering the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD, Carmen spontaneously says, "Snoopy so silly! Making dinner...making toast...making butter...lots of popcorn. Silly Snoopy." She then smiles, drops her head, and shakes it side-to-side.

Wanting to see Santa in the back yard, she starts every morning with, "Look at Santa." We look out her window. "Look out bathroom window." We look out the bathroom window. "He's sleeping." And at night, we look again and she wishes, "Good night, Santa! Sweet dreams!"

Joy

2010-12-12T21:13:00.001-05:00

And Even More Snow

2010-12-07T22:30:00.003-05:00

Here's Poor Old Pete taking a very quick trip outside Tuesday morning. As Faithful Reader can see, we didn't get the outdoor furniture inside in time. We also didn't take down Carmen's swings and slide.

"Look at the snow on the slide."

"Snow on da slide. Weeeeee!"

...We know what we're needing, and we don't want to waste more time...

2010-12-06T17:31:00.043-05:00

...We need some Bogota Buddy time!

This weekend, we had a fabulous time visiting Valentina's family and touring New York City. We arrived at Dan, Helen, Valentina and Lucas' home on Friday to a delicious spread of sandwiches, salads, and Aguila beer. As we approached their house, we were all getting very excited, and Carmen said she would give Valentina a big hug. Carmen became shy at the door, but Valentina practically jumped out of Helen's arms to give Carmen a big hug. After that, the three kids were off and playing.

After lunch, we headed to the city, making great time through easy traffic. Dan explained that it was bad luck to comment on good traffic, so we didn't say a word. Carmen had not napped during our five-hour trip, but took a snooze on the way into the city. Valentina thought that looked like a good idea and joined her. We had to wake the girls up after we parked, and Carmen didn't say a peep for the longest time. "Where are we?!?" she must have been thinking as we strolled along through the huge crowds of people, all in town to see the Christmas decorations in spite of the freezing cold temperatures. First stop was Times Square.

We made our way over to FAO Schwarz. Carmen and Valentina may have been in cahoots to sneak some toys out of there.

We got all the toys put back on the shelves and the kids back in their strollers and set off to find Juan Valdez. And just like in Bogota, we had to carry the strollers up the stairs into the cafe.

Warmed up an re-energized, we made our way to Rockefeller Center to see the huge tree. Along the way, we viewed Sak's Fifth Avenue's windows, and watched the bubble show projected onto the building. Then we turned into Rockefeller Center which was mobbed with couples and families standing together, smiling, while someone took their picture with the tree in the background. We had high hopes of coming out of there with a great Christmas card photo. Luckily, we have many other great photos from throughout the year.

Frozen and tried and hungry, we hightailed it many, many blocks back to the parking garage. We realized we were hours overdue for dinner, and picked up some pizzas on the way home. The kids were great troupers. We're not sure how Carmen still managed to wake up at 6am the next morning.

Saturday, Valentina and Lucas' Nonna, Cousie and Titsie came over to babysit so the adults could go back to the city. They brought delicious cookies and numerous gifts for the kids, and had a great afternoon and evening. The four adults drove back to the city. Unfortunately, Helen was coming down with a migraine, so she went home to sleep while the three of us did a lot more walking. We started out with a relaxing toddy near Madison Square Park, then continued on to Union Square Market. On the way there, Dan asked if we tend to run into people we know when we're out of town. Other then at airports, we usually don't. However, as we entered the market, we immediately saw a booth for a winery from our hometown, and chatted with the owner.

After shopping, we grabbed a slice, then walked through Little Italy. Helen called and said she had recovered and would meet us for dinner, so we grabbed a cab, and met her at Becco for a very fun, yummy dinner. (We all got the pasta sampler.) It was so relaxing to dine with what feels like friends we've had much longer than just two short years. On the way home, we stopped at Carnegie Deli for cheesecake to take home to our babysitters.

Sunday morning, the kids got in a lot of play time. And Carmen and Lucas got in some kissing time! See the progression here: the approach by Lucas, the shy reaction by Carmen, the lean-in, and the kiss. We look forward to showing them these pictures when they are twelve years old.

After this summer's Bogota Blast Dos, we planned to visit our Bogota Buddies to see the Christmas sites in NYC. Unfortunately at the time, Elena's family was unable to attend. But in the wacky world of adoption, they ended up in the middle of finalizing their domestic adoption, and wouldn't have been able to attend anyway. So over Sunday breakfast, we gave them a call on speaker phone. There was a lot going on in the background, as they'd just arrived home a day or two before. The report was that everyone is doing great, and Elena is already a very helpful big sister.

On the way home, we all went to lunch in a nearby town at a Colombian restaurant. The food was so good, and the staff was happy to allow (or, kindly tolerated) the kids running around and looking at all the Christmas decorations. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, and sadly watched our great Bogota Buddies drive away.

We headed out for our five-hour return trip. Luckily, Carmen eventually napped for 3.5 hours because we ran into a snow storm that increased our trip by two additional hours. We were relying in our GPS to get us around some reported accidents, and ended up on back roads out in the sticks that weren't plowed and pretty dangerous. We eventually made it back to the thruway where the plows had not yet been out, and cars were in the ditch every couple miles. We obviously had a guardian angel who kept Carmen quietly sleeping and kept us on the road. The next morning, our yard looked like this:

Peace

2010-12-05T23:18:00.004-05:00

Hope

2010-11-28T19:49:00.001-05:00

Time to be Thankful

2010-11-28T17:15:00.003-05:00

We should always be thankful for what we have, all year 'round. But since the official holiday just passed, here is what we are currently thankful for:

Carmen's ability to accessorize. Her current mainstays are the sparkle shoes paired with the Dunkin' Donuts book bag.

Having family in our home to celebrate Thanksgiving. In attendance were Uncle David, Uncle Paul, Fergie puppy, Oma, Mimi, Poppy, Grandma and Pappa. We had lots of quality family time, book reading and delicious eats. After everyone went home, we relaxed while Carmen discovered the hilarity of Snoopy preparing Thanksgiving dinner. "More Snoopy! More Snoopy!" (How did we ever survive without rewindable TV?)

Even more family time. While Steve and his dad hunted and then spent time with the rest of the N family at the new cabin, Carmen and I spent some time at the W family home. Then Oma made us schnitzel. Carmen made Oma very happy by sitting nicely at the table and saying, "Yummy, yummy," while devouring an entire piece.

Incorporating Colombian foods into our celebrations. Uncle Paul's birthday was a week ago, so while he was in town we celebrated with patacones for appetizers and a big pot of ajiaco. Wrapping up the meal was Paul's favorite dessert: red velvet cake.

Planning for Christmas. Steve is so excited that Carmen shares his love of Christmas decorations. We also skyped with Valentina's parents to plan our upcoming trip to see the tree at Rockefeller Center.

New babies. This weekend, we met Steve's cousin's fourth child, Rosabel! And across the miles, we toasted the domestic adoption of Elena's family's newest member, Lilliana!

Faithful Readers. We are thankful that you share our joys of being a family. Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Fotos

2010-11-14T14:21:00.002-05:00

on the playground at a work picnic

note the Cookie Monson s'ippers

always loving to play Grandma's piano

first pumpkin cookies with 'prinkles

pump'ins!

getting ready for the singing chicken show

taking a break from rake-rake

Knowledge Explosion

2010-11-14T12:44:00.000-05:00

An interesting thing has happened since Carmen turned two less than a month ago. The steady expression of brain development we've seen in Carmen since (our) day one has ended...she is suddenly boiling over with what has apparently been simmering in her brain all this time.

No longer is she simply repeating what we've said, but she's expressing herself without being prompted.

Two weeks ago, she was at the doctor for her finger. Ever since then, she's been pointing it and saying, "Feels better! Feels better, Mommy. Doctor said so."

Last week, we went to a hafla and had to restrain her from joining the soloists on the dance floor. When we got home and were silently climbing the stairs, she looked at me and said, "Had fun at party! Dance, dance dance!"

This week, she was sick in the night, and when I took her out of her crib, she said, "My tummy hurts." And as we left our friend's driveway after an afternoon of shopping, she said, "That was fun!"

The endless reading of books morning, noon and night is showing its benefit. Carmen will now pick up a book (that we may not have even read in a while) and will recite (we like to call it "read" :) the first few pages. And she sings along with CDs, new and old. We wish we knew more Spanish because the words we do use are now part of her vocabulary.

I don't know if this is the typical progression of development...all I took interest in retaining from Psychology 101 was the topic of nature vs nurture with adoptees and twins, and that didn't include a timeline. But I can say that Carmen amazes us every day in whatever she does.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-03T22:13:00.000-04:00

...says Carmen about everything to do with Halloween. "Happy Halloween skeleton." "Happy Halloween book." "Happy Halloween picture." And "Pumpkins!!!" Pumpkins are by far the highlight of this two-year-old's Halloween. She can spot 'em a mile away.

We had a long, fun Halloween weekend this year. Friday, we went to the costume party at the museum, followed by a visit to Daddy's work. (By the way, we are now Mommy and Daddy instead of Mama and Dada.)

Saturday, we headed west to attend the FANA Halloween party. This year, it was at a mini carnival of sorts with rides and games. After having lunch in our group's building, we took a walk outside to check out the grounds. We walked up to the petting zoo where we saw a big Tom turkey, and we said, "Look Carmen, that's a turkey." She replied, "Daddy cook." Next, the group went to a barn to see a show of singing chicken puppets. We were up in the bleachers at the start of the show. "I see chickens," Carmen was yelling. Focused on the show, she wanted her coat off. She was clapping after every song. Then she was doing what I've taught her to be the concert clap, clapping over her head. When she could no longer contain her enthusiasm, she climbed down the bleachers and danced up to the stage. Jump! Jump! Carmen was dancing and jumping and having a blast. At the end of the show, the woman asked if anyone was having a birthday. So I pointed at Carmen, and she had the group sing. Carmen climbed up onto the stage and took it all in. As we left the barn, the photographer told me, "The Carmen show was better than the chicken show!"

Sunday, Carmen did her first trick-or-treating, including Uncle Toad and Auntie Crazy's houses. The prop of her "badadina" costume was some silk orange roses, and when people would answer the door, she would hand them the roses. Once the rain and snow started, we called it quits and handed out candy at home. And once that was done, we sat down and enjoyed some candy. "More cahn-dy," Carmen asked...for a few days.

I'm Two!

2010-10-25T22:01:00.003-04:00

We had quite the family fiesta for Carmen's second birthday. Some out-of-state relatives (two of whom Carmen had not yet met) said a while ago they'd be in town, so we'd planned a houseful of family for Carmen's second birthday party.

Unca Deave (f.k.a. Tio David) arrived Friday from Chicago, and stayed with us through Monday. As soon as Carmen realized that the guy in the picture she likes to carry around was the guy who was actually in our kitchen, she was hooked. Unca Deave was the best at reciting "Five Little Pumpkins," and reading any and every book. Just ask her; she'll tell you.

Friday night, Mimi and Poppy came up to see David and have dinner, and we continued the party prep. Saturday, our morning was jam-packed with remaining party prep until our guests began arriving at 11:30am. Guests were our FANA friends the MacWs, and then relatives from both sides. Papa and Grandma W., and Auntie, Uncle and cousins were from Mommy's side. From Daddy's side were Mimi and Poppy, Oma, Unca Deave, a great aunt and cousin from Oklahoma, and a great uncle and aunt and cousin and second cousin.

We had savory snacks (including empanadas con aji) and a gorgeous cake made to match the butterfly theme (or, buttabye, as Carmen says). Carmen wore a gorgeous pink and green dress that had been handed down from her Bogota Buddy, Valentina.

When it came time to open gifts, all the kids jumped in to help. Carmen had fun being in the middle of all the kids and boxes and torn paper and gift bags and new toys and books and adorable clothes. It was funny to see the kids excitedly open the gifts they'd brought. Carmen would go from this box to that bag, taking part in each gift. When a big box came in at the end, all the kids helped get it open, and Carmen snatched the instructions off the top, yelled, "Yay!!!" and walked away, leaving the work to the rest of the kids. (Maybe that was her plan all along?!) We got Carmen a keyboard and drum as she has been strongly drawn to these two instruments over the past year.

Keeping my perfect record, I again forgot to hand out the favors as our guests left. Mimi and Poppy stayed after the party so that Steve, David and I could go out for sushi dinner. When we got home, we had some brews and the leftover chocolate fudge cake with a homemade raspberry jam center.

Sunday morning, we headed south to view the cabin Steve's parents are buying. We could tell Carmen is going to love tromping through the leaves and discovering all the aspects of nature one can only find in the woods. Next, we went to their house for rouladen. When family is in town, Oma loves cooking her big, traditional meals. While that was cooking, Unca Deave had a break from favorite-relative-ism while Carmen had a fun time singing and reading with her Great Aunt Karen.

Monday, Daddy had to go back to work, so Carmen and I took Unca Deave to the airport. As we dropped him off, Carmen told him, "I yuv you," and then fell right to sleep.

Recuerdos

2010-10-13T22:09:00.003-04:00

One of our FANA family friends is finally wrapping up their adoption in their tenth week in Bogota. As they approached Elena's family's record, we started reminiscing about our time at Betty's Place with Elena's and Valentina's families. As current families continue the tradition of blogging about their Colombian adoptions and passing the time in Bogota, we admitted that each new blog is still exciting and fun to follow. If you were to compare them, they all cover the same subjects: flying to Bogota, arriving at their residence, Presentation Day anticipation, the life-changing Green Room experience, the ride "home" for the first feeding, the trips to the stores for supplies, venturing out into the neighborhood to pass the time, hiring the babysitter to go on day-trips, periods of frustration (we veterans know how to read between the lines to catch that), the overwhelming relief of sentencia and all the steps that involves, the posting of flight times for the trip home, and then a brief pause until the at-home updates. But each family's blog is infused with their personal reactions to all those subjects, and I think that's part of what's so intriguing...seeing what you experienced through someone else's eyes, feeling like you are there comparing your experiences on one of the long couches at Betty's or at a café table outside Juan Valdez.

What's funny is what doesn't make it to the blogs. And yet, we families probably all experienced these same things as well. Like the man with no legs who was always begging for money in the median near the grocery store. Or the sadness in the eyes of the children who rode on their family's horse-drawn cart collecting recyclables while we were in a cab being driven to a night of food and drink. Or the fear you felt as you withdrew pesos from the ATM. Or being called gringo bastardos. Or food service workers flashing you the speak-the-language look as you try to use your 10-word foreign language vocabulary to simply order and pay for a milkshake.

Or the security guards at the front of each store who would silently help you get your strollers up the stairs. Or the women in the grocery store who would go ga-ga over your bundled-up baby and want to know "Niña o niño?" Or all the people who, in our case, would tell us what older woman in their family was also named Carmen. Or the times that you cried and the instant family you'd formed in the residence was there for you. (I remember one night near the end of our stay, I had to take Carmen and my dinner to our room because Carmen was all out of table manners and I was out of patience. A minute later, there was a knock on the door, and Edna came in carrying the glass of wine I'd been unable to carry up the stairs.)

You know when you go on vacation, and you show your pictures around to your friends and family, but you have to add, "The pictures just don't do the place justice. You have to go to get it." That's exactly what the adoption process is like -- friends and family are extremely excited and supportive, but you have to go through it to get it. So when we attend the upcoming FANA Halloween party with 100 families we only know from FANA events, and when we visit Valentina's family in their home this December (part of our instant family), it's all those unbloggedabout, unspoken memories that allow us to look each other in the eye and smile, knowing we share the same experience of a lifetime.

Carmen's Food Blog - Eighth Edition

2010-09-29T20:41:00.006-04:00

Hola, amigos! I recently attended one of my parents' cooking club nights. Dada made wonton soup from scratch, so he let me cut up the leftover pasta to take for my dinner. I took my favorite veggie book, and a lot of my friends took turns reading it to me over and over and over. I finally fell asleep just before dessert, which I bet I would have loved!

The next day, it was clean-out-the-freezer day, so we ate the empanadas that had been building up from each time a batch was made.

Dada had to go to Chicago for work a couple weeks ago, and he found a Colombian empanada and coffee shop. Lucky!!!

Happy Birthday Cake, Dada!...and other funny phrases

2010-09-25T10:06:00.003-04:00

We celebrated Steve's birthday with something that's become very rare -- dinner at Donnelly's! Carmen's been reading a Dora book about birthdays, and there's a big birthday cake at the end. So, when she saw Dada's birthday cake, she was yelling, "Birthday cake! Birthday cake!" It became too late on the actual day for Carmen to have cake, so the next night, she had a delicious piece of chocolate cake. And for the next couple days, she kept asking, "More birthday cake, peeeaaase." Unfortunately, it was gone, as we may have enjoyed enormous pieces after Carmen's bedtime for two nights. And now when Carmen asks to hear and sing the birthday song, she requests, "More "Happy Birthday Cake, Dada."

Also to celebrate, Steve and I went to Canada, something we used to do on a regular basis. We strolled around, hit some wineries, and had a delicious dinner. And Carmen had her first sleepover sans parents at Mimi and Poppy's house, which reportedly went very well.

In addition to the birthday song, Carmen's current favorite tunes include, ABCs, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, the original Mickey Mouse Club theme song, and Hop Up, Jump In from "Handy Manny."

Carmen's vocabulary is pretty large, and she is getting good at forming complete sentences.

Mama: Does Lulu [the cat] have eyes?
Carmen, screaming into Lulu's face: U-U, do you have eyes?!? Yes! Two!

Dada: How many ears does Pete [the dog] have?
Carmen: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7! Seven!!!

And here's something I would have never predicted I'd ever say: Do not bite the car bumper!

Labor Day Laze

2010-09-08T23:20:00.001-04:00

We had a few non-lazy things to do this Labor Day weekend, but did manage to fit in a lot of relaxing fun. Carmen and I had Thursday off, but we went to my office for retirement cake for a coworker. The gathering was in the lobby, but we had to walk around the building since Carmen kept pointing at the elevator and loudly saying, "Going up!" She was a little nervous in the crowd of people, but as soon as the speeches were over and I said she could have cake, she jumped out of my arms and made a beeline through the crowd to get her cake. A few minutes later, she said, "More cake!" and we got a second piece. My coworker gave Carmen his retirement balloon, and she played with it all weekend (including getting it caught in the ceiling fan, to which she said, "Uh oh -- faaaaaan!").

Friday night, we had dinner at our friends' house where we met Michelle, their daughter they just brought home from FANA. Michelle, her big brother and Carmen loved dancing and playing the drums.

Saturday, instead of the market, we went to our local diner for breakfast. Steve made Thai for dinner, and we watched a movie.

Sunday, we traveled south of where Mimi and Poppy live for a picnic at our high school friend's cottage. They have two daughters who took great care of Carmen, sharing their Dora DVD and bouncing in the bounce house. But the highlight was Carmen's first boat ride! When we got back, Carmen climbed the stairs up the lake's bank and announced to the crowd, "Blah blah blah blah fun boat!"

After the picnic, we grabbed some ice cream with Mimi, Poppy and Oma. Or should I say, Carmen shared her drippy ice cream with Poppy.

Monday, we scored free tickets to the local baseball team's final game of the season. Carmen held up Steve's empty beer cup and ordered, "More beer!" We could overhear the people behind us commenting on how good Carmen was being. Even though fall weather made the weekend damp, dark and cool, we had a great Labor Day 2010 weekend!

Hooray for Hand-Me-Downs

2010-09-02T20:37:00.004-04:00

Hand-me-downs are great! Just when Carmen begins to outgrow her current size in clothing, the hand-me-down fairy pays us a visit. Most recently, Carmen received multiple bags of clothes and shoes from her two female cousins. Mid-summer, she received a box in the mail from Valentina (see photo...that's not a hat, Sweetie!). And at the start of the summer, Emma (also from Colombia) gave Carmen a bunch of dresses that have been passed around FANA families. These were all made by Miriam (the dressmaker that visits the residence in Bogota) who also made Carmen's baptism dress. These dresses are larger, so we get to look forward to them. I wonder who will get them next?

Chip, Bubble, Squeak!

2010-08-25T22:06:00.000-04:00

This weekend, we traveled to Massachusetts to visit family and friends. There were no special events going on, it was just a chance to see a lot of people. So we loaded up the car, and headed off to Laura's Cousin Laura's home. Faithful Reader will remember this is where we stayed for last year's MA trip. They have a great in-law apartment, and Cousin Laura had filled it with toys, books and puzzles she'd not yet been able to part with over the past 12 years. One was a Little People town that played songs, which Carmen activated on morning #1 at 5am.

On our first evening, a bunch of relatives came over for dinner, swimming and visiting. Ages ranged from 80-year-old Uncle to 22-month-old Carmen. When we first arrived, Carmen immediately took to Cousin Laura's husband, and spent the rest of the evening looking for him, then squealing with delight when she'd catch his attention. After a full day of travel with no naps, Carmen fell right to sleep around 8pm. Wanting nothing to do with her pack-n-play, yet too young for her own mattress, Carmen slept with us. It ended up being not too bad for a few nights. Aside from the kicking, being hit in the face with Purple Bear, and the pile drives at 6:30am, sleeping like that gives you the chance to get close-up looks at your daughter when she's sleeping peacefully.

The next morning, we were enjoying some cereal and cartoons in our private wing. I was using a Kellogg's bowl that had pictures of Snap, Crackle and Pop. "What's that?" Carmen asked. I answered, "Snap, Crackle and Pop." She studied the bowl, and then said, "Chip, Bubble, Squeak!" It was too cute to correct, and we made her say it over and over. Shortly after breakfast, we headed in the direction of Boston to see a bunch of friends. When we visited MA last year, we all left and our friend's water immediately broke and she had her first baby. So, it was high time to meet him! Our friends who visited us in June were also there. We had a great lunch, then walked to a playground at a park with a pond, and returned for birthday cupcakes for the (somewhat) new mom. Our visit ended way too quickly; we really wish these friends still lived nearby.

Cousin Laura, her husband and several family members had tickets to a Red Sox game that night, so we stayed at home with the boys, ordered pizza, and watched the game. Carmen discovered Cheez-Its, and Steve taught her to look through the hole in the middle. Cheez-Its are a Sunshine product, and the two cousins Lauras' grandpa was a Sunshine salesman, so we all support the brand.

There was a crucifix hanging over our bed. Being protestant, we seldom see this image. Carmen was looking up at it, and asked, "Who's that?" I answered, "It's Jesus." "Hi, Jesus!" Carmen said. "Hi, Jesus, I'm Carmen!" I told her, "He knows." So later, during a diaper change, Carmen said, "Hi, Jesus! Doing a diaper." Out of language-development habit, I repeated, "Doing a diaper." Carmen looked at me, tilted her head, and said, "He knows."

The next day was supposed to be our pool day, but we woke up to rain and cold temperatures. If the leaves weren't still green, you would have sworn it was a rainy, October Sunday. We had wanted to make dinner for our hosts, so Carmen stayed at home while we went grocery shopping. They read books, had a big lunch, and a little snooze. When we returned, we prepared dinner with Steve giving a cooking demo. Steve made scrod en papillote, risotto and broccoli, and I made peach crisp. Following dinner, we descended to the game room where Carmen discovered drums. As she played the drums, she sang the ABCs. Will we need to get a piano and drum kit?

"Morning, Jesus!" Carmen said on our last morning. (At this point, I was starting to wonder if she was seeing more than a crucifix!) We had had a great weekend! We packed up, said our good-byes, and had an enjoyable drive home.

Mid-summer Mugs

2010-08-18T21:31:00.001-04:00

Here are some photos taken this July and August.

Where's Carmen? Here I am!

Raspberries, or, "babies," from the garden.

Cherry "to-MAY-toes."

Playing the keyboard at the play museum. I was pushing on the deep, low notes, which sounded scary and made me cry, but I couldn't bring myself to stop pushing.

Reading with my buddy, Caroline, at our bon fire.

Enjoying my first marshmallow and a book with Dada at our bon fire.

Pete borrowed my Dora ball.

I dropped my bear, so I snuggled with my computer.

My beautiful dress from my Tios.