Random Updates

So just some random updates with a few pictures thrown in for good measure!

Monday:
As Lindsey and I will soon be the only two volunteers here, we've had to combine school pick-ups so we're both not picking up every day… which we're sure would get old really fast. Monday was my day to pick up the 4 girls! It's a bit of a race to pick everyone up on time. Oriana and Jhosi get dismissed at 4:30pm. They're at the same school as Shyrlen who gets out at 5:30pm. Rather than take them home in between, we hung out at school. There's a little playground right outside the pre-school and kindergarten classrooms so they played there for the hour… It was a bit interesting as Jhosi is blind and this school (and especially the playground) is really not equipped for blind students. But we managed and she was able to play, too. At 5:30pm, Shyrlen's class was dismissed, and we hurried to Ana Maria's school to pick her up at 5:45pm. Luckily Shyrlen's class was dismissed on time today, so we were only a few minutes late picking Ana up… However, most days she's dismissed about 10 minutes late making it impossible to pick Ana up on time. After everyone was picked up, we headed back to their house. 

How precious does our little pre-schooler look in her new uniform?!

Tuesday:
K. moved to the boys' house! We knew he'd move over at some point as he turns 3 next month, but we expected to have a bit more notice in order to transition him (we found out that afternoon that he'd be leaving). He has done FABULOUS! We're sure he'll grow up a lot with the big boys and his speech is sure to improve as well!

Wednesday:

I received my one year temporary residency visa! I probably should've done a post on this as another visa update, but I didn't have time. My lawyer and I went to submit the paperwork for my carnet which is a Bolivian ID card. We have to go back next week to pick up the actual carnet. Sorry but no pictures!

Thursday:

R. finally got her cast off! When she got home, S. kept telling us "R. got her bone removed!" It really sounds funnier in Spanish because the word for "bone" sounds very similar to the word for "cast." R.'s arm was filthy and covered in dead skin so we let her wash her arm off in a bucket of water while we bathed the babies.

After bathtime, V. looked too cute in her outfit and finally clean hair (her hair gets disgustingly dirty during every meal and bottle)! It just so happened that baby C. had a bow in her hair that matched V.'s outfit perfectly (it had little elephants on it!), so she lended it to V. for a few pictures.

After Baby C.'s bath, she also looked too cute all fresh and clean! She also got to wear her little black shoes that finally fit. They matched perfectly, and she was pretty excited about it!

After Baby A.'s bath, Lindsey decided to give him his first haircut! He had these long, stringy strands of hair that really looked awful. His hair looks so much better now!

Friday:

Linnea and I went to La Cancha (huge, outdoor market) this afternoon so she could finish up souvenir shopping. I generally don't care for La Cancha (crowded, dirty, don't know my way around, etc.) but decided to tag along to pick up a few baby things. We ended up wandering all around to sections I hadn't been to before, and it ended up being my favorite La Cancha trip yet. Wandering around with no place to go and without a time limit is the way to go! After we finished, we went out for dinner and had milanesas de pollo. They were very yummy! She's been caring for Baby D., so of course he joined us. He's gotten SO much bigger! 

Speaking of Baby D., we have a health update! As you may have read in earlier posts, he has a heart murmur and several congenital heart defects (a Ventricular Septal Defect and a Patent Foramen Ovale). We were told he would need heart surgery between 6 months and 1 year of age… the closer to 6 months old the better. We were also told he'd need to weigh 6 kilos before they could operate. Well, after much growing (he's not quite 6 kilos but getting there!), we've been given a surgery date! He'll be admitted to the hospital at 8am on May 7th, and the operation will take place on May 9th. Pray that he stays healthy during this next week and a half so he can have the surgery, and that the surgery and recovery go smoothly for him! For a more in-depth health update, you can read Casa de Amor's blog here.