Starting Solid Food

Andres turned 6 months old on Saturday, September 26th. As his birthday gift, we decided to start him on some papaya, per the pediatrician here in Cali. He LOVED it, though it was mostly all over his face and nose. Soooooooo cute!

Andres' Colombian Passport

Tuesday, September 29, 2009: We received Andres' new birth certificate with his new name (Andres Sebastian Yannucci Galindez). With his new birth certificate, we were were able to apply for his Colombian passport. We only waited a little while in the passport office to receive it. So, we are now finished with all the documentation here in Cali, Colombia. We went out to luch with our lawyer and my aunt to celebrate the finalization of the adoption. We still can't believe how fast and smooth everything went.

All we have left to do now is to travel to Bogota, Colombia, to go the American Embassy doctor for a check up, and then to the Embassy office to apply for Andres' visa to travel to the U.S.A. We aren't too far from coming home!

Received the Sentencia

Today, we received the "sentencia," finalizing the legal process for the adoption. I can't believe how fast it came. Usually, it takes 10-15 days to receive. I went to sign it today, at 5 PM. Yeah!

Tomorrow, we receive Andres' birth certificate with his new name: Andres Sebastian Yannucci Galindez. After that, we are able to go get his Colombian passport. He was very well behaved today, as we got his passport photos done.

After receiving his passport, we are able to go to Bogota, to get his American visa to travel to the states. We should be home soon!

First Visit with Pediatrician

We took Andres to the pediatrician at 10:00 AM, for his first visit. We thought it would be good to have a check up. He is doing really well, and the doctor has suggested we start him on some fruit compote for breakfast. I am excited to try feeding him something in addition to his soy milk formula bottle. Something tells me he is going to have a great appetite for fruits and veggies.

His measurements today were:

Height: 26"

Weight: 15 lbs. 10 oz.

Head Size: 44 cm

Andres' New Name

Our lawyer, Gertrudis, explained how names are given to children here in Colombia. Every child has 2 last names (father's last name and mother's maiden name). Therefore, our idea of naming him as follows: Andres Galindez Yannucci, is not going to work. It has to be reversed.

His name has to have Doug's last name first and my maiden name second. Since the lawyer has to present the case at the court with the correct name, we decided that his Colombian name would be: Andres Sebastian Yannucci Galindez.

We have added his middle name to be Sebastian, which is a name that Doug and I have loved for a very long time. Once we get to the states, we will decide what to do about the last names. I am sure the Galindez will be dropped. Darn!!!

The Legal Process Begins

Tuesday, September 21, 2009: Our lawyer, Gertrudis, presented our case at the court. There were 11 judges, and she awaited to see which judge was assigned to our case. After waiting, she found out that the 11th judge was the one assigned. She has worked with this judge in the past, and says that she is very good and pretty fast with the process. We still don't know how long it will be for our "sentencia," but she said it should be anywhere between 10-15 days.

Interview at ICBF

Monday, September 21, 2009: We had our interview at El Instituto de Bienestar Familiar at 2:00 PM. It went really well. The purpose of this visit is to observe how we are all getting along as a family after a week of adopting Andres. They were very impressed with Doug's ability with Andres and how much time he spends with him. Andres already seems to recognize that we are his parents. It is beautiful to see how after just one week, he recognizes his mother and father. This visit also starts the legal adoption process. We also met our lawyer who is a wonderful lady.

Miscommunication at the DAS

Friday, September 18, 2009: Today was a pretty stressful day with about 5 trips to the DAS (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad), since 2 days ago, in order to figure out how to extend our visas. I have never been so frustrated with the lack of miscommunication. Every time we show up at the DAS office, we get a different person that gives us different information. At the end of it all, we found out that the extension of our visa has to be done in Bogota at the Ministerio de Relaciones Extranjeras. Now we have to take an extra trip to Bogota next week, just to get our visa extension. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Andres is doing really well. We LOVE him so much, and he loves to be hugged and kissed. We still can't believe how lucky we are to have him in our lives as our son.

Our First Night with Andres

We had a wonderful night with Andres last night. He woke up at 12:15 AM, crying for his bottle. As soon as we gave it to him he was happy and gained energy. Andres proceeded to stay up for a little while to play with us in bed. He wasn't close to going to bed. Ha, ha.

He ended up falling asleep and we put him in the crib. At about 3:30 PM, he cried quickly, and went back to sleep. At 6:00 AM, I heard him in the crib, making cute little noises, just playing and entertaining himself. I went over to see him, and he gave me the biggest smile. It made my day! I then went to make his bottle, and he drank most of it.

Andres seems to be a very happy and playful baby. His smile makes us all so happy. My family here in Colombia is really enjoying his presence. He is going to be SPOILED! Oh, oh.

The Big Day - La Presentacion

Monday, September 14, 2009: Today, was such a special day. This morning, at 8:30 AM, we met our baby boy, Andres! It was such a special moment filled with lots of emotions. We experienced such happiness and peace.

Agatha, the director of Chiquitines, seen in this picture, was so special. We are honored to have her trust in us as parents to Andres.

Andres is just beautiful! He has big brown eyes that shine with long eyelashes. His lips are adorable. His temparement is amazing. He has a calmness to him but is also very active. The moment he was presented to us, he looke right at us, knowing we would be his MOMMY and DADDY.

Flying to Cali, Colombia

Sunday, September 13, 2009: Today, we fly to Cali, Colombia. My family will greet us there. One more day for us to see little Andres. We pick him up on Monday, September 14, at 8:30 AM. I am sure we won´t get much sleep tonight, from being excited and nervous.

Arrived in Bogota, Colombia

Saturday, September 12, 2009: We arrived in Bogota, Colombia at 9:15 pM. We are staying with my aunt and cousins. We haven´t seen each other since my sister´s wedding in Cartagena in 2005. My cousin, Andres Felipe, is also my godson, so I am really happy to be here with him before picking up our baby boy, Andres, on Monday morning.

Information about Colombia

Here we are, 2 days away from traveling to Colombia, and 4 days away from picking up our baby boy, Andres. This week has been filled with running errands, packing, working, worrying, laughing, praying, meditating, practicing yoga, and so many things. We still don't know how we are going to pack it all in just a few suitcases.

In order to relax a little, I thought I would take the time to give some information about Colombia so that you can all learn about this beautiful country in South America. We received this information from our agency in our travel notes.

Capital: Bogota is the third highest capital in South America after La Paz and Quito. It is located on a mountain-rimmed plateau known as the Sabana de Bogota high in the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes Mountains.

Religion: The official religion is Roman Catholic. In fact, Andres will be baptized on December 20, 2009, at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Worthington. Godmother: Doug's sister, Daniele Yannucci and Godfather: My brother, Jonathan Galindez.

National Tree: Wax Palm Tree

National Flower: Orchid

Race: Mestizo (Indians and Spaniards), Mulato (Black and Spaniards), Zambo (Black and Indian)

Typical Colombian Food: Ajiaco, which is a potato soup with chicken, sweet corn, avocado, cream, and a special herb called guasca. Sancocho, which is a meat and vegetable soup. Arepa, which is sort of a cornmeal pancake.

Family: Family life is very important for people in Colombia. All members' opinions are always taken into consideration for family matters. The elderly people's advice is always listened to, and they are well respected. The older parents live with their children or close by. The father is the head of the household.

Women: Love to dress up! Women wait for the man who is in the group to pull out a chair for them, open the door, help to get her coat on, etc.

Men: They dress elegantly and fashionably! They are eloquent and charming. Men like to flirt with women and it is common that men compliment women, even if they do not know each other.

Children: Most of the Colombian children attend school, where they get education, entertainment, and games. They respect adults and older people. The common salute is to say Good morning, Good afternoon, Good evening, or Good night.

Worrying like a MOM already

Tuesday, September 8, 2009: What a rollercoaster experience this morning. I received a call from our agency telling us that they had just received news about Andres being sick. Of course, our agency starts out by saying "Don't panic, but..." The first thing i did was panic. They told us he was just diagnosed with scarlet fever. I couldn't believe this was happening at this time. All I could think of was how fast could I get to Colombia to be with our baby boy.

I immediately called the pediatrician here at the International Adoption Clinic at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He thought it was very strange to have a 5-month old with scarlet fever. He said that is something found in 5 year olds not 5 months old. He asked me to confirm some other tests with the orphanage, and an email went out to them with my questions.

After a few hours, I got another email, saying that he in fact did NOT have scarlet fever. They apologized for alarming us, and that what Andres has is a respiratory infection with a rash, and it looked like scarlet fever, but was NOT. Whew! Of course, having him with a respiratory infection doesn't make me feel too good either, but he is on antibiotics and doing well.

Please pray for our little boy to be nursed back to health soon. We plan to give him the best medicine when we get him - LOTS OF LOVE!

Travel Clearance

Yeah!!! I just got a call from our agency representative at 6:30 PM, tonight. We have received clearance to travel to Colombia to pick our baby boy. Our presentation date (the day we pick up Andres) is Monday, September 14th, 8:30 AM.

We need to be in Cali, Colombia, on Sunday, September 13th. Can't wait!

Baby Shower - August 30, 2009

My mother and father hosted a family baby shower for us in Miami, FL. It was wonderful to continue celebrating our journey with our family. Everyone is really looking forward to welcoming Andres to our family and can't wait to meet him.

We had an array of sushi and chinese appetizers at our shower.

Baby Shower - August 29, 2009

My friend, Kristin, hosted a lovely baby shower for me at her home in Coral Gables, FL. She is an interior decorator, so you could imagine the lovely decorations and delicious food she had prepared for us that day. There were only 12 of us in total, and it was just perfect! She even had a vegan chocolate cake especially made by Whole Foods. Delicious!

Thank you, again and again, for hosting such an amazing baby shower for me to celebrate with family and friends.

Not Traveling Yet

We have been in touch with our agency representative almost every day. At this point, we are waiting to hear when we can travel. Last we heard, the orphanage wants us to go pick up Andres on Monday, September 14th. We are waiting to get more of a confirmation so that we can book our flights to travel the weekend of the 12th.

Waiting is getting harder and harder, but spending time with family and friends this past weekend in Miami really helped to keep us staying positive and patient.