What We've Been Up To!

M. and S. dressed in their Christmas best for church!

The girls were invited to sing at church one Sunday morning. They did a great job!

Someone donated these treat bags right before Christmas. While bathing the big kids one afternoon, we went back in the playroom and found them enjoying their treats… without permission!

Savannah brought all of the big boys these shirts with capes. I just happened to have one in 9 month size as well so Baby D. got to wear one too!

 L. found this hat in the playroom one day and wore it the rest of the afternoon!

 BATMAN!

 Santa Claus and his elf look strangely similar to Baby B. and Rocio :)

 N. and D. ready for church!

 Still little enough to share the swing!

 He asked for the pigtails!

Watching a little Pocahontas before bed!

S. begged me for a picture of her and her little brother L. "to hang on the wall beside her bed"… How could I say no?!

We might have used the stickers Savannah brought for the kids as our tape to wrap their gifts... 

Not sure what she's doing here but she sure looks cute!

I spy a baby in the laundry pile!

 M. loves these pink, princess pjs and he looked oh so fashionable with his pink purse as well!

 Is there room at the inn?

 Combing out her lice before sending her back to House 3 just to get it again!

Sometimes kids punish themselves for getting down for their highchairs!

Just getting ready to visit my new house with my new parents!

A.'s Big Day!

I know Mamá Lindsey is dying for these, so here you go :)

We found out yesterday that A. has been assigned adoptive parents and they would be coming to meet him this morning! We knew his paperwork had been finished for a couple months now and that he could be assigned any day, but it still came as a surprise. Of course we were happy but I was nervous too… just hoping that it would all work out. 

We shouldn't have worried though because they're going to be GREAT parents! He's their first child, and his dad was so excited to see him that he almost started crying when A. was brought down the stairs to meet them! A. generally loves extra attention but it was almost like he understood what a big moment it was. He acted shy and just had a nervous look on his face. It didn't take long for him to warm up to them though!

His father is talkative and friendly and LOVES A. already! He was constantly talking to him, playing with him, holding him, walking with him, etc. He was also pretty helpful with the other kids, and we already know he'll make a great dad! 

His mother is much more reserved and quiet. She was much more motherly to A., feeding him and rocking him to sleep, than his dad and it was sweet to watch. She seems to understand Spanish but only speaks Quechua. They live out of the city but not too far out, and she sells potatoes.

Both admitted they wanted to adopt a little girl, but they are so happy with A. that it really doesn't matter anymore! When the tías asked his dad which child he would choose among all of them if he had free choice, he said "The truth is, I really would only want A.!" He then went on to say that he thinks they would be happy to take all of the other children together, but if they had to only choose one, he thinks they would still want A.

We're not sure how many days they must come to visit but we're hoping everything moves smoothly, and they will be able to take him home sometime in the next couple weeks. It definitely won't be the same around here without him!

What a difference a year makes!

Sometimes when children are adopted, their new parents bring them back frequently to visit the babies and tías they left behind. With other children, they leave with their new parents and we never see them again. That was the case when C. was adopted back in October 2013. 

She had been brought to the home when she was about three months old and was adopted when she was about fourteen months old. While here, she was always a frail and sickly baby. She had some heart problems and seemed to never get rid of a cold. Developmentally, she was behind as well. Casa de Amor worked hard to have her adoption paperwork completed quickly so she could be assigned a family. We hoped that her health would improve with the loving, one-on-one care a family could provide. 

We were SO happy when an adoptive family saw her file and wanted to adopt her! It all happened rather quickly as one morning we were told her new parents would be coming to meet her, and then that very same morning, they were allowed to take her home. They brought her back to visit just one week after taking her and the difference was already unbelievable. She was so happy and overall looked like she was doing much better after just a week! Then we never saw her again.

We often talk about her and wonder how she's doing. The tías and I have asked Rosa (CDA's administrator and social worker) to call her parents and ask if they can bring her by or at least get an update on her. 

This afternoon, we were surprised by a knock on the gate as we weren't expecting anyone (especially with no one being here for the weekend). It was C. and her parents! They had brought some jello and juice to the children. As people do that from time to time, I didn't think anything of it. Then her dad said "She lived here," so I asked for her name, thinking that I had to have known her. After they said her name, I realized immediately who she was and told them I hadn't even recognized her! After hearing her name and looking at her face, she really does look the same. She's just SO big! She was talking and playing and just seemed to be doing so well. I never expected that huge of a difference! Although brief, it was a great visit with her!

The first picture was taken in October 2013, and the bottom picture was taken this afternoon.

A fun few days!

We've been without internet for the past almost week at the baby home, so sorry for the lack of posts! Tuesday night, all of the kids (big kids and babies) went to the tías' homes for a bit of a break. The babies will return on Monday morning and the big kids on morning of the 8th. Sarah, Daniel, and I are staying at the baby home with some big kids and some babies. We've been having lots of fun on our mini-vacay!

 B. and E. have (for the most part) been playing really well together!

 The "twins" looking too cute in their new clothes from Tía Lindsey! Can you believe the baby on the left is nearly two full months older than the baby on the right?!

The babies looked so sweet cuddled up together for their nap!

Time for lunch! We're eating all of our meals outside because we're too lazy to clean up the dining room ;)

 E. loves watermelon!

Now time for dinner! IMBA sent us free chicken, rice, and french fries for New Years and it was yummy!

 R. was so sticky after eating her watermelon!

 Danyelle came over to spend New Years Eve with us! Tomorrow she'll take J. (pictured above) and R. back to her house to stay for a few days. 

It's a Bolivian tradition to eat twelve grapes and make twelve wishes at midnight on New Years Eve.  

At midnight, we went up to the third floor balcony to watch the fireworks. I couldn't ever get a good picture of it, but there were lots of them!

E. was scared of the fireworks and stayed up late with us… 12:45am bedtime, anyone?

 So stylish.

 Panettone is a popular bread to eat for Christmas/New Years. We had three uneaten ones at the baby house so that was breakfast on New Years morning. Most of them seem to have little pieces of fruit in it but this one had chocolate chips.

 Baby B. has been so happy with all of the extra attention!

 R. playing in her "train car"… She later filled the back of it with balls and pretended to be the conductor!

 B. is so fast on the motos!

Baby L.M. and Baby B. both had really bad diaper rashes so we let them sit in the sun for awhile to help clear it up…

 Why E. decided to take his clothes off before his nap is a mystery to all of us!

 Then he did it again!

 S. pretending to be a baby!

Baby C. loves her "iPhone"!

 We enjoyed a Mexican dinner tonight! Quesadillas for the little kids and fajitas for us… It was delicious!

Baby C. likes to hang out in the kitchen with us while we're cooking/cleaning. Tonight she crawled into the fruit stand and got stuck!

That's all of our fun so far! Tomorrow we're planning on spending the day at the boys' house and who knows where we'll be on Sunday…