R.I.P., Little Bird

While the Boohers have been enjoying a relaxing week away, I have been going over to check on their house (I promise we fed the cat and birds too even if you may think otherwise from this post!). This afternoon, A. and I arrived to their house to find that one of their birds had passed away. I couldn't just leave it in the cage, so we dug a hole and had a funeral for it in the backyard. I would imagine that this is the first experience of death that A. has had, and she had a lot of questions. She wanted to help dig the hole, and she helped fill it again after we put the bird in it. For the rest of the evening, in a very sad voice, she kept asking if "her" bird had died and why. We talked about how when people and animals are old, we die and if we believe in Jesus, we get to go live in Heaven with Him. That seemed to satisfy for her now. 

We're so sorry for your loss, Booher family! 

 Digging the grave

"Should I smile, tía?"

R.I.P., Little Bird

Moment of silence during our funeral

Felicidades, Tía Yovana!

Tía Yovana has been on maternity leave for the past month (in Bolivia, maternity leave is 45 days before the birth and another 45 days after), and three weeks ago, she gave birth to her little BOY. For those of you who know her, you know that she had been told the baby was a girl so it was quite a surprise for everyone! She always referred to the baby as "la gota" ("the drop") but when I saw her today she laughed and said she now says "el goto."

We all put in money for a baby gift, so this morning I went by Yovana's house to drop it off and meet her baby! Baby Jadiel is doing great and just too sweet! I think his poor parents didn't quite know what to do with him when he was born (although between them they already have 3 sons) as they were completely in the mindset of finally having their much-wanted daughter, but all are very in love with him now! She says he's been an easy baby and her niece (the little girl in the picture) says that her new cousin "just sleeps all the time!" 

I'd been told he was a big baby, and it's true! He is much bigger and way more alert than most 3 week olds. Just look at that face… He looks much older than only three weeks!

Yovana is hoping to bring him for a visit sometime soon. The other tías can't wait to meet him!

A.'s Big Day, Part 2

You may remember this post back in January about A. meeting his adoptive parents or this one a few weeks later when he left with them. What I didn't blog about was when he was returned to us just a week and a half later. Although there had been some concerns during the visits with his adoptive parents, things seemed to improve and they assured us they were happy to adopt him when the time came for them to leave. At home, it seems that things really didn't improve and they decided to disrupt the adoption. As much as we hated to see it happen, we were happy to have him back with us and looked forward to him being reassigned to a new family.

We heard a few weeks ago that A. had been reassigned to an adoptive mom and that she would be coming soon to meet him. Days turned into weeks, and today she was finally granted permission to meet him! We met with her before she was allowed to meet him, and she was so excited! She said she's looked at his picture a hundred times a day and her whole family has anxiously been waiting for their first meeting. She then asked us if she couldn't just go ahead and take him home! A. is going to be absolutely spoiled rotten by her and all of his new family! Something tells me he won't mind a bit :)

She spent a little bit of time with him this morning before his nap and said she'll be back this afternoon. She must visit him for ten days before being given another court hearing that will give her permission to take him home. He warmed up to her almost immediately (not exactly how it went during the first go-round), and she told us that she is sure A. is meant to be her son… We think so too!

The Many Faces of N.

Since yesterday's post was about L, I decided today to write about his sister, N. She spends most of her days asleep but last night I was able to take some cute (and creepy… look at that first one! haha) pictures of her while awake!

L.'s First Haircut

Ever since L. and N. arrived on Monday, I've been planning on taking L. to get a haircut. This morning, Rudi and Carla Booher stopped by the baby house for a visit, and Carla agreed to cut L.'s hair. Poor L. was really NOT happy about having his hair cut! He didn't want to sit still and moved so much. It looks really cute though! 

Bolivians have all sorts of traditions associated with the first hair cut, and we were told that we must do them because we are sure he'd never had his hair cut before. Most of them have to do with money (paying certain amounts for the amount of hair) and others I didn't really understand. 

I can't decide if I think L.'s new haircut makes him look older or younger. Most of the time it seems like the kids look older after their haircuts, but he still kind of has a baby face and almost looks younger now to me. Whatever the case, he's just so adorable!

Before:

During:

After:

Thank you so much, Carla, for helping us out with his haircut!

Adios, N.!

When I arrived to Casa de Amor in May 2013, N. was just 9 months old. In the nearly two years that I've been here, she's the only one of the original baby home kids who I've lived with this entire time (siblings Samuel and Adriana were also here but lived with the Boohers for awhile before coming back to the Baby House). There are several kids who were here when I arrived who now live at House 2, but she's the only one who has stayed at the Baby Home. 

Behavior-wise, she's also been one of the most difficult kids for me to handle, too. She LOVES to go out with me but struggles a lot while out. Outings are usually just too much for her to handle. She can be doing well but after about two hours, it becomes too hard and she falls apart. There have been so many times I've taken her out and she's had one of her classic tantrums and when we returned home I vowed never to take her out again. Then, inevitably, a few days later she sees me leaving the house, begs to go along, and I let her go with me. There's just something about her that makes me want to try again and again and again with her until outings become bearable for us. She's definitely been my little project when it comes to teaching the kids how to behave in public! When I think back on my time here with her, I always think of what it's been like to take her out, and overall how much progress she really has made in being comfortable with new experiences and new people. 

N. is the perfect example of a child who so badly needs a family. She demands much more attention than we usually can give her, and as you have probably guessed by now, she is very much a drama queen! When we heard she had been assigned a family, so many people commented on how different the house will be without her… and it will be. Her mom has come every day for the past week to get to know her and seeing how well she's done in such a short time (especially the past couple days!) proves what we all expected- she's going to make a great daughter! N. left with her mom this afternoon, and we already miss her. The kids have also noticed her absence and have asked for her several times. We're all looking forward to seeing her when they come back for another court hearing in a month!

Najy… Te vamos a extrañar muchisimo! Extraño tus abrazos tan fuertes y yo creo que en el futuro voy a extrañar tus gritos también… Por ahora me gusta la tranquilidad de la casa ;) La diferencia aquí sin tí es grande… Venga a visitarnos pronto!

Bienvenidos, L. y N.!

With so many children soon leaving in adoption, we have been able to accept several new children to the Baby Home! We received a call about this brother and sister on Friday, but when they never arrived, I assumed they weren't coming. We were all pretty excited to see them this afternoon! L. is 1 year 1 month old and his little sister, N., is 2 months old. She was born premature and had a twin who passed away. Their family is unable to care for them so they were brought to us. It's looking like they will stay for now and hopefully one day leave in adoption!

Meet L.!

Those eyes!

Meet baby sister N.!

So cute!

Hanging out while I get stuff ready for a bath

This boy is a chunk! He is SO heavy! 

 I recruited A. to help me with N. while I bathed her brother. She loves to sing all the songs she learns at Horita Feliz and gave N. a private concert!

Fresh and clean

I looked down while changing N. and found A. rubbing lotion onto L.'s face.

 Such a pretty boy!

R. isn't our only little baby anymore! Although N. (right) is two weeks older, R. seems much older and there's quite a size difference too. 

Still small enough to share the crib!

Church

Looking too cute before church!