Monday Funday

Today was a busy, but fun day.  We started off the day by going grocery shopping.  We were out of just about everything grocery wise.  Today was a Catholic holiday and so the streets and market weren't as busy as usual.  Diego did really well at the store, he seems to be calming down a lot.  He hasn't attempted to bite me in a few days and his tantrums are fewer and far between.  After our shopping trip, we spent some time playing in the courtyard.  We headed to the mall with Sarah and Majo for some lunch at the food court and then some shopping.  Their food court is slightly different than those in the states.  We had an interesting lunch.  I had the churrasco, it was a huge slab of beef still sizzling on a metal serving dish, a pile of french fries, a piece of fried plantain and a pile of hot mashed avocado and some kind of salsa.  It was good, but not quite what I expected.  Diego ate really well and then we headed to Tres Elephantes for some diapers and wipes and a birthday gift.  Diego was starting to lose it and was being grouchy.  I picked him up and he snuggled up and fell right to sleep.  I guess that was the problem.  We stopped on our way out of the mall for some ice cream, it was really good.  We sat in the park next to the mall and ate while the kids slept in their strollers.
  Our neighbors down stairs are adopting a little girl named Sophia, she is absolutely beautiful.  Today is her first birthday and we were invited to her birthday party.  We found some little squeaky block's for her gift.  When we returned home, the courtyard was decorated with streamers and signs with the Disney character, Princess Sophia.  Claudia, who is the manager of our hotel had a man come and play traditional Colombian music on his harp.  It was really neat.  The kids had a ball playing with balloons and running around.  They had pizza and cake.  Sophie is allergic to wheat and so they had a gluten free cake made, so I could even have some cake.  We sang "Happy Birthday" in English, Spanish, Italian and French while Sophie's grandparents watched over Skype.  It was a fun party and some fun memories were made.  The party ended and we came upstairs to talk to the kids.  I am enjoying my time here, but I really look forward to talking with my kids every day.  I have one more week and then I will be heading home.  We fed Diego a simple dinner and now Ben is trying to get him to sleep.  He seems to be fighting it tonight.  Tomorrow is our Integration meeting.  We will meet with our lawyer and with the child psychologist tomorrow to discuss how things are going.  If all goes well, then our papers will be filed with the court and the official adoption process will begin.  We also have an appointment with the U.S. embassy medical office for Diego to have a Tuberculosis test.  Thursday he will have his test read and then his medical exam.  Things are moving along well, we are praying for things to move through quickly so that Ben and Diego can come home soon.

I love watching the butterflies

The market where we do most of our shopping

The Birthday Girl