A Day in the Life

No two days are ever the same here which always keeps things interesting! I realized that I took quite a few pictures today, so I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into what I did today!

My day started out at 6am when she decided to wake up. She never did go back to sleep and entertained herself by talking and playing with our mosquito net… which meant that I never went back to sleep either! Also, can I just point out how she's basically a big girl now?! She holds her own bottle!

Tía Serafina and I took Baby A. and Baby C. to the doctor for hip x-rays. Not surprisingly, both peed on the table in the middle of the x-rays. Other than that little mishap, everything (as expected) was great!

When we made it back home, we enjoyed a little playtime outside! 

The swings are everyone's favorite! 

 So happy to see a smile on her sweet face! She was having so much fun riding this tricycle around the house!

Her little brother has been happier, too!

Unfortunately, M. didn't have one of the preferred motos but he made the best of it with his little car!

I've said it before, but the tías love the motos as much as the kids love them… but possibly a bit more!

Although she's a bit more of a defensive driver than the others, she got into a few wrecks on her moto!  

Los pequeños enjoying the beautiful weather… There's a reason they call Cochabamba the "City of Eternal Spring"!

It's exhausting being hugged and kissed and loved on all day long by all of your adoring fans… She should know!

Right before lunch, we said goodbye to F.! She moved into Casa 4 with the Booher family. I know she's going to make AMAZING progress with them! Her two "mommies" (Tía Ely and Tía Nilda) were very sad to see her go though! 

We switched things up a bit and had a picnic lunch outside! Well, if you can call sitting in your high-chair outside a picnic!

After dinner, it was play-time upstairs until bed-time! Please ignore their crazy hair… :)

Photo Update

Now that I'm back at Casa de Amor, it really feels like I never left. I'm still getting to know all of our new kids, but that will come in time. These past four days have flown by, and I know this year will, too!

It's late and I should probably go to bed soon so I'm just posting some random pictures of the past few days. My roommate, Lindsey, left tonight, and both of the babies are sleeping upstairs (Baby C. will still sleep in my room sometimes but not every night like before) so tonight is the first night since about August that I'm totally alone in my room. It's kind of different!

Saturday night, I had two little roommates! I (obviously) wanted Baby C. to sleep in my room, but that meant that F. was alone in their room. She's a great sleeper during the night, too, so I brought her down. They came down at about 10:30pm and were still sleeping at 7:30am when I woke up! 

This might just be one of my all-time favorite pictures! 4 kids all looking ADORABLE and SMILING… That RARELY happens! Going to church is one of our big outings of the week, and we have kind of a "go big or go home" attitude about it. With a house full of kids who all like to go out, why just bring one kid when there are 13? Also, I'd like to point out that all 4 were really well-behaved the whole time we were out! The older three very happily went to the nursery during the service, and Baby C. sat quietly with me in church. 

Another favorite picture!

Baby F. was SO happy this morning! She kept smiling but I never could get a big smile on camera.

Los pequeños in their natural states ;) 

Baby C. (top left)- Tranquila and happy

Baby A. (bottom)- Crying and not so happy

Baby F. (right)- Sleeping 

L. is the younger brother (10 months old) of our new sibling set at the baby home. He has had a really rough time since arriving (missing his mom) but we know it'll pass and happier days are ahead! 

 Las princesas! They were pretending that the ring was a crown!

V. wanted to be a princess, too! The ring was around her ponytail, and she couldn't figure out why it wouldn't fall off when she leaned her head back. 

 K. is pretty reserved and likes to play alone most of the time. Today, I looked out my bedroom window and found him wandering around the yard. When I went outside to take a picture, he was talking to himself and playing alone, but I never could understand what he was saying.

Lindsey and Baby A. before heading to the airport! 

Baby C. and I before heading to the airport with Lindsey! 

Lindsey, Baby A., Lauren, me, Baby C., and Emily. Lindsey, Lauren, and Emily all headed back to the States tonight. Lindsey has been here for 6 months, and she's going back for a brief visit before coming back in March. Lauren has been here for 6 months also, helping out at the Boohers' house with their Casa de Amor babies. Emily Booher (of the Booher family/Casa 4) is going back to Oregon for a few weeks to visit family and friends.

The Glamorous Life

Most of the pictures I post are of all of the fun things we do with the kids… Things like playtime at home or trips to the park. However, I don't usually post pictures of all of the "behind the scenes" types of chores that happen every day. Chores such as hand-washing cloth diapers, general upkeep of the house, cooking for a small army, and the constant laundry aren't always the most fun but must be done to keep our day-to-day life running smoothly. 

Today we had a different kind of chore, and it wasn't such a fun one either. While at church, I noticed that S., our new 3 year old, had what looked like a bug in her hair. I'm sure you know what's coming next, but upon further inspection, I found lice… or "piojos" as we call them here! Fortunately, we don't get lice too much at the baby home, but with the recent arrivals of several new kids, it was kind of inevitable. So rather than stay out for a bit after church, we decided to come straight home to start the de-licing process! Fun stuff, I can assure you. Hopefully we removed all of the eggs, but we get to do the whole treatment again next week as another precaution. 

Back in Cochabamba!

I made it back to Cochabamba at about 9am yesterday morning, and these first two days have already flown by! Lindsey (baby home volunteer and my roommate) and her baby A., Baby C., and Tía Luz (girls' house tía who drives the trufi) came to the airport to pick me up. I didn't expect to see Tía Luz, so that was a fun surprise! I wish I could say Baby C. was thrilled to see me (as I was to see her!), but she was tired and not so happy. We'll go along with Tía Silvia's idea that she was crying because she was so emotional over the fact that her mother finally returned!

We went straight to the baby house where I ended up staying the rest of the day. It was so much fun being back with the tías, reuniting with some of our "old" kids, and meeting all the newbies! With several adoptions and then the arrival of new babies/kids, it almost feels like a different place! 

Today (Saturday) was just as fun! The other group of baby home tías worked today, and I was really excited to see them. Lindsey leaves on Tuesday, so we had a kind of ice cream/farewell/volunteer social for her this afternoon. Then I had a chance to go to the girls' house! One of my favorite baby home tías, Tía Rosi, is now working at the girls' house, and as sad as I am for her to not be at our house anymore, it's going to make going over to the girls' house even more fun! Two of the girls, A.M. and O., came over to the baby home yesterday for a couple hours so I'd already seen them, but it sure was great to see all of the other girls, too! I ended up staying way longer than planned, but we were having too much fun for me to leave!

Baby C. has grown so much in the 6 weeks I've been gone! She's gained almost 3 pounds and she's at least a few inches taller. Her sweet face still looks the same though!

Baby C. and Baby A. (Lindsey's baby)… Although C. is a lot bigger than she was when I left, she still looks the same. Baby A. is a lot bigger and looks like a completely different baby!

One of the newbies, S.! I asked her to smile and then said "show me some teeth!" She really followed that last part! She and her 10 month old brother were brought to us just a few days ago. She's very smart and talkative, and we know she's really missing her family. It's looking like they'll stay for 3-4 months, and we're happy they're here for now!

 1.5 year old V. came the week I left. She was pretty somber and was having a rough transition when I left, but she's much happier now!

Love O.'s cheesy smile!

Love love love Tía Silvia! She made a very yummy chicken lunch yesterday (in my honor, I'm told!), and then threatened to put more eggs and flour in my hair as a "Welcome home!" gift to me. She said that this time she'd also soak me with the water hose outside when I wasn't expecting it. So far, she hasn't followed through with this threat, but I wouldn't put it past her!

O. used to talk about "her E." ALL THE TIME. She's not as obsessed with him as she used to be, but it's still fun to watch them when they are together. 

Another newbie! C. (or maybe K.?) came right around Christmas after she was taken from her mother. She seems to have settled in well. Unlike most Bolivians, she knew just what to do when the camera was pointed at her!

 V. is now eleven months old and crawling! I affectionately referred to her as the "Baby Blob" for the longest time because wherever you sat her down was where she stayed. We just couldn't figure out how to motivate her to try to crawl or even move for that matter! She crawled over to me this morning, and I had to do a double take to see if it was actually her!

My other baby, M.! I wasn't sure how she'd react to me coming back, but she was much happier about it than Baby C. was! I'd been told she had found a replacement for me (one of the other tías) while I was gone, but this afternoon, she kept calling me "Mamá." One of the tías asked her who her real mama is, and she immediately looked at me and said "Mamá!" It was too cute!

Kaley, Baby C. and I at Globos!

Linnea, Lindsey, and Baby A. are on the left side. Johanna, Baby C. and I are on the right. Kaley was taking the picture.

 Outfit change #6 (out of 7 today)… Although I'd like to think it's because she just loves all of her new clothes and wants to try them all on, it's really because she hasn't been feeling so well. While eating ice cream, she also decided that one outfit change for me today just wasn't going to cut it. I was puked and pooped on in a matter of about 5 minutes. I think she was punishing me for leaving her!

"Tía Hannah, I'm just going to wear your shoes the rest of the day!" Also, how do you like that "pintaboca" (lipstick) all over her face and shirt?! 

Looks like A.M. also had a bit of fun with the lipstick!

The girls LOVE practicing piano! 

C. arrived to the girls' house right before I left. We really didn't have a chance to get to know each other, but as soon as I walked through the door at the girls' house, she came over to hug me and said "We missed you sooooo much!"  She couldn't remember my name for the rest of the afternoon though, so I'm not sure I made too much of an impression on her!

I think she thought if she was reading, she could get out of doing her chores. It didn't work!

Every item of clothing C. folded, J. promptly unfolded it. If you know J., I'm sure you wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that! 

Mamá S. is at it again! I don't know how many times I heard, "Did you know that if I just do …, the baby will stop crying?!" 

Tía Yovana, Tía Nilda, and I! My 2014 resolution is to get the tías to smile willingly when we take pictures! I'm not sure how successful I'll be...

I'm off!

Today is the big day! I'm leaving this morning and will arrive in Cochabamba tomorrow morning. Needless to say, I'm VERY excited to see everyone again! A few of our kids were adopted while I was gone, and we received a few new ones, as well. I'm excited to see the tías again and can't wait to see the babies (especially "my" baby, C.)! I know they'll have changed so much in 6 weeks!

No real updates on the visa just yet… I've left detailed instructions on what and where to mail documents for each step of the process for my mom. I talked to the lawyer I'll be using, and I'm looking forward to meeting with her in person sometime next week. 

My next post will be from Cochabamba! It should have LOTS of pictures :)

*For those of you who haven't read my blog yet, feel free to follow along! You can click "Join this Site" under the "Followers" link on the right hand side. If you're a Facebook friend, updates automatically post to my Facebook timeline.

Visa Update #4

Click here for visa update #1, here for visa update #2, and here for visa update #3.

My fingerprints were submitted exactly a month ago today. I really thought the background check would arrive today (fingerprints submitted exactly a month ago and today is 21 business days… the length of the wait for a background check on the LA State Police website), but it did not arrive. Apparently the system in Louisiana is overloaded with background check requests, and they're really behind. Although they received my fingerprints December 10th, they weren't put into the system until the 18th, and then the offices were closed for several days for both Christmas and New Years. It's frustrating knowing that each day more that I wait pushes every other step one day further behind. 

I'm writing all of these updates mainly for myself but also for anyone else who may be going through this process. It's hard to find up-to-date info on how to go about getting an Objeto Determinado Visa to Bolivia, and the info. that I have found is sometimes difficult to understand (maybe because I'm unfamiliar with the whole process or maybe because a lot of it is in Spanish). So, if you're going through this process right now, this is the info I have as it pertains to Objeto Determinado Visas at the end of 2013/beginning of 2014. I don't know how long it will be the most up-to-date, but it's what I've learned so far…

(Sorry if the following repeats anything else I've written… I'm sure some of it does, but like I said, I want to keep a record of everything!)

When you receive the visa sticker in your passport, it's valid for 90 days. That means you have 90 days to enter Bolivia before needing to apply for another visa. Once you enter Bolivia, you then have 30 days to submit the paperwork with Migración to begin the process for 1 year of temporary residency. Like I've said before, I'll be using a lawyer to help me with this process, and many others use a lawyer, as well. 

I'd read online that if you don't bring all your paperwork with you and need more than the 30 days to get it submitted, you can request a 30 day extension to the original 30 days. You can request two 30 day extensions (for 90 days total). However, this is NO LONGER allowed. Thirty day extensions are no longer granted. Instead, you pay a $3 fine for every day you are there past the 30 days that you haven't submitted your paperwork. Once you submit the first documents, the fine is stopped (you still have to pay for the days, but the days after that aren't fined). 

I know that if I were to stay home and wait for all my paperwork, it could take several more months. To get the actual sticker in my passport for the visa, I had to send in a photocopy of my airline tickets or itinerary. When I sent in the paperwork, I sent in a possible itinerary because I hadn't purchased plane tickets yet. It wasn't a problem at all, and I received the visa. It's recommended that if you are going to buy the plane tickets, buy them for at least 2 months out to give yourself enough time to get everything finished. In my case, had I bought them 2 months out, I still wouldn't have had enough time to finish the documents. So, I'll be buying my tickets and going on to Bolivia (I'll have been home for about a month and a half), and my mom will finish the documents for me (sending them to each place for authentication) and then mail them to Bolivia. 

This is getting long, but there is also a little good news to all of this! I've been doing a LOT of research on what will be expected of me once I'm working on the 1 year temporary residency paperwork. I'll have the lawyer to help, but I want to have a copy of everything I need, as well. The website for Migración in Bolivia is www.migracion.gob.bo. It's all in Spanish, but it's been pretty helpful. On the homepage, click on "Trámites" and then "Para Extranjeros."  Then it's "Por Nacionalidad," and you choose your nationality from the drop-down list. It'll take you to a page about the different visas, and you'll look under "Trámites que Puede Realizar." We need the information for the "Residencia Temporal de 1 Año" (#4 in the first list under the section's title). It'll list all of the prerequisites and steps needed to get the temporary residency. If you don't speak Spanish, some of it may be difficult to understand, but with a little help from an online translator, I have a pretty good understanding of the requirements. It's definitely a relief to have found this information. I hope it'll help you, too!

Getting Ready

Still no background check, but hopefully soon! I was told it could take anywhere from 15-28 business days, and 15 days was this past Friday. The website for the Louisiana State Police says it's an average of 21 days which would be a week from today. If it doesn't arrive by then, I'll be calling!

Even though I still don't have a plane ticket, I know I'll be leaving soon. I've been doing some shopping for the babies, and one of my bags that I'll be taking back is full of stuff for them! We're going to have the best dressed babies in all of Cochabamba!

Although it looks like a disaster, it really is very organized! The clothes are sorted into piles by size.

Lots of socks (for everyone) and tights (for the babies) 

Hair accessories… I made most of the hair bows!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

I hope everyone has had a happy and safe new year! I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the changes 2014 are sure to bring! As of today, I can say that I'll be back in Bolivia THIS MONTH!

As far as my paperwork goes, there are still no updates. However, I was able to Skype with Lindsey (my roommate at the baby home), Baby C., and the girls tonight! (Thank you so much to Kaley for letting us use her computer!) The girls were excited to be having a pijamada (sleepover) tonight and seemed a bit crazy! It was the first time I have talked to them since I left, so I was really excited to hear from them. Lindsey gave me lots of updates on the baby home, and I can't wait to get back! Several new kids have arrived so it will be fun to meet them. Baby C. looked HUGE (she'll be 4 months old on Saturday) and was so happy! Although I was concerned about her transition to the care of the tías, everyone has told me she has done great. It is such a relief to know she had a smooth transition. Lindsey held her up in front of the camera while we talked, and I could tell that she recognized my voice! It took her just a second to start smiling so big whenever I talked to her… I was sure that after nearly a month, she wouldn't remember me, but it seemed like she does! I CANNOT wait to see them in just a few short weeks!

I know the quality isn't so good, but it is a cell phone picture of my computer screen during our chat. I can't get over how cute she is!