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Friday, June 10, 2005 3:10 PM CDT Hello! It has been more than 7 months since our last update...hmmm...what could be keeping us so busy?! Alex is now 2 years old, which seems so hard to believe. Didn't we just come home with him?
He is an active bundle of energy and such a joy in our lives. He loves to go outside and run. If we covered as much ground at the same pace he did in a day, man, would we be in great shape! He loves the park and enjoys playing with other kids. Daddy recently bought a trailer to hitch to the back of his bike, and Alex seemed to enjoy his new "limo" ride (though he hates the helmet). He goes to the zoo often, and although he can identify many of the animals, he mostly just likes being outside. We have a summer pool pass and hope to get Alex in the water as much as possible. He loved being in the wading pool with his cousin Kailey recently, so I think he will really have fun this summer.
Alex is quite the smart little guy too. He mastered the alphabet and counting around 17 months of age, and since then, can now count up to 20 (as well as to 10 in Spanish). He knows his shapes, colors, and so much more (some of it also in Spanish). He is really into Thomas the Tank Engine. For his birthday party, we had a Thomas theme and he was in heaven! His most recent favorite book seems to be "Go, Dog. Go". He tries to recite the whole thing while sitting in his car seat during long rides. He has memorized most of his books by now.
He also enjoys music - singing and dancing to it. His dance moves rival those of Daddy's - the 2 of them can put on quite a show! In the car, we pretty much listen to his CD's. If anyone needs a refresher on "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Baa Baa Black Sheep", et al., we can help! He startled us the other day by singing the entire last verse of "The Rose" by Bette Midler. Mommy has been singing that one to him for months, as a bedtime ritual (don't ask me why), and apparently, he has paid attention!
It is amazing how much Alex does pay attention and how much he stores in his enormous memory. We are fascinated everyday by his new words - especially now that he is speaking in small sentences. We are definitely at a stage where we have to watch what we say and how we say it, lest those things get repeated back to us, or worse, go spoken in public! On a recent shopping trip, out of the blue, Alex started saying in a loud, stern voice: "Do NOT throw that...Do NOT throw that!". It was obvious HE'S heard that a few times before. It made me realize what a beast I can sound like too - yikes!
Alex has his first wedding gig this weekend. He will be the ring bearer in the wedding of Mommy's friend, Monique. Mommy has given her friend many chances to back out, since she knows that Alex will not likely walk quietly (or in a straight line) down the aisle, but Monique is insistent that it will make things fun. We can't wait to see how that goes! The pictures will be cute anyway!
Although Alex doesn't look too much different than he did at 18 months, he has definitely lost all his baby fat. He looks like a little boy instead of baby. Time goes much too fast, so we are doing our best to enjoy each moment as it happens.
We hope all our family and friends are well. Call, email or visit us anytime.
Shila, Andy & Alex
Sunday, October 24, 2004 10:18 PM CDT He is counting fairly well now. We start with "1" and he says: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10. (Ten, Ten, Ten, Ten!!!! - with excitement). He used to skip over 7 and end with 8,9,10. But in the last week he has forgotten 9 and learned 7. It is as if he only has room for 8 numbers in his little brain. His alphabet skills are coming along pretty well, also, thanks to his spider alphabet book and a video tape on loan from a friend. He can sing along with the alphabet song and he is getting pretty good at identifying the letters when we present them to him in a random order. However, he seems to have a preference for M and O. He uses those letters if he can't identify a particular letter.
He knows his animal sounds very well now. We name an animal and he makes the noise. In his repertoire: cow (moo), dog (oof oof), cat (meow), horse (naaay), duck (kack), monkey (eek eek), pig (onk), goat (naaa).
Teeth count: 8 on the bottom and 6 on the top. Now we are brushing his teeth every night. He likes to bite mom's finger while she is brushing with the finger-brush. Then we blow bubbles into the bathtub as a reward. "Bubbles!!!" - he shouts.
He has very good manners - when we sneeze, he says "Bless you". In fact, he even says this after someone coughs. And just to show us who has the best manners, he tried to teach us a lesson today. Shila and I were driving and talking to each other and Alex sneezed a couple times. Apparently he was peeved that we didn't say anything to him, and he said "Bless you" to himself. We felt a little embarrassed to be taught manners by a 17 month old boy, but we learned our lesson: always pay attention to him.
We are still swimming every Tuesday at the park district pool. Last week we were almost getting his face underwater without getting water in his mouth. He still doesn't like to float on his back.
He is doing pretty well at the Hokey Pokey with Elmo. He is doing better with "head, shoulders, knees and toes", but seems to skip from "Head" straight to "Toes".
He was very successful at riding the hobby horse at class yesterday. Today he stayed with the child care center at church. He didn't complain because we snuck away without him noticing. When we returned, however, he suddenly realized that we had abandoned him and started to cry.
Tuesday, September 7, 2004 5:11 PM CDT We have now been home for 1 year with Alexander, and it has been an amazing time. When we think back on our journey to bring him into our lives, it truly is a miracle. One year ago, Alex was on the verge of rolling over from back to tummy....today, he is hard pressed to not roll US over as he runs around his "kingdom". One year ago, Alex mainly cooed and gurgled...today, he babbles in "baby tongues" and has several words in his vocabulary. One year ago, his diet consisted of 28 oz of formula a day...today, Alex is our own human garbage disposal -- he pretty much eats anything we feed him (alas, unless it's spicy). A little over one year ago, we were a dual income, movie-going, fine-restaurant-dining kinda couple...today, we are a one-income, Wiggles-watching, eat-in kinda family. And it's all good.
Alex is a happy toddler who loves to be chased and play peek-a-boo. He has a little bit of an edge to him sometimes when he's frustrated, but is mostly a mellow, intense little fellow. He likes to watch and play with other children--especially if they are willing to entertain him. Whenever he's handed a new object, he shakes it first, bangs it on the table next, and then tastes it (EVERYTHING still goes into his mouth!), before he makes a decision about whether it's worth hanging on to or not. He likes to "dance" (bop up and down) to music, and has mastered the kazoo and maracas - well on his way to being a one-man band. His first song that he is learning to sing is "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". He also spells his name ("eck" for "x").
Alex is definitely a water baby. He still loves his baths and has fun in swimming pools and water parks. We recently took a vacation with friends to Emerald Isle on the Outer Banks of NC (we were spared by the hurricanes and actually had great weather). Alex was at first quite intimidated and unhappy about the Ocean, but by the 3rd day, was wading in with help, and by the end of the week, running into the water up to his knees. He had so much fun with our friends' kids, Ryan & Kelsey. Kelsey, who is 4, in particular, knew how to make Alex belly laugh -they had a mutual admiration club going on.
Alex is a pretty good sleeper. He still takes one to two naps a day and generally falls asleep for the night by 9pm. We've been trying to wean him from his pacifier, and are generally able to get him to sleep without one...however, if he doesn't have it with him, he is up like clockwork at 5am crying for it. We still have a ways to go with that... We love to go into his room to check on him before we go to bed, because we always seem to find him in interesting positions. Ahh, the flexibility of babies!
It's easy to see that Alex is the center of our universe. We are so grateful for the gifts he brings us everyday, and for all our friends and family who are there to share our joy. We will try to do better at keeping this site updated. Be sure to check out the photoaccess link below - we have finally updated our picture gallery!
Thursday, August 19, 2004 6:20 PM CDT Today is the first anniversary of Gotcha Day - where has the time gone? Alex is a little boy now. He is walking (and often running) very well now - it hard to keep up with him. He can walk all around the neighborhood and the field in back of our house without getting tired. He is starting to make meaningful words. He can say "Wa" and point at his water cup. He also can say something like "Dog" when he see a dog. And of course, he says "Ka" when he sees a ceiling fan - we can't figure that one out. He has six teeth - the four on the bottom center and two on the upper center. He also has three more coming in next to where his eyeteeth would be. He just had his 15 month check up and he is 33 inches tall and weighs 24.5 pounds, putting him in the 90th and 50th percentiles, respectively.
This morning we all watched the video of our first day together, explaining the whole story to Alex. He was fairly attentive until he realized that this was cutting into his breakfast time. Then we gave him some milk for a little breakfast-in-bed to celebrate the occasion.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 9:49 PM CDT Well, we spoke too soon about his upper teeth. The two middle upper teeth just showed up last night. We performed his first tooth and gum cleansing with the finger utensil and cream and then could see the two teeth. Big juicy steaks, here we come!!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 9:49 PM CDT Well, we spoke too soon about his upper teeth. The two middle upper teeth just showed up last night. We performed his first tooth and gum cleansing with the finger utensil and cream and then could see the two teeth. Big juicy steaks, here we come!!!
Sunday, July 25, 2004 9:33 PM CDT He is walking, and running, pretty well now. He can run all over the house and reach things that we were hoping he wouldn't reach for awhile - like the pictures on the tables and the alarm clock on the nightstand.
His swimming class is going well. He is getting comfortable and is able to kick for a long time when we float him on his back. He enjoys looking at the flags hanging from the ceiling in the pool building. Mommy finally got in the pool with Alex last week. She enjoyed playing with her little pool toy.
He is getting two more teeth on the bottom, next to his well-defined existing two teeth on the bottom. But he doesn't have anything yet coming in on the top, so his chewing in not very effective. This is especially apparent when we feed him something like chicken stew. He will easily swallow the noodles and vegetables, but he ends up with cheeks full of chicken chunks. Then at some opportune moment, such as in the pool, one hour later, he will decide to expel the chicken chunks.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 8:43 AM CDT Yesterday we took him to an indoor public pool in Schaumburg for the "toddler swim class". It involved baby songs and dancing in the pool. Mommy documented the event with the camcorder and camera. He was very intense during the half-hour session - not crying, but not laughing. Just looking and things and taking it all in. It was probably overwhelming for him because it was very noisy because of all the kids and it was a very large auditorium. Also, the water was colder than that in the pool in Colombia, and he was shivering when we first brought him in.
He is standing with more confidence. He likes to stand against a pillow and then when we say "let go" he will let go and stand for up to 15 seconds before gracefully collapsing onto the floor. He gets really giggly when he is standing. He is getting proficient with the toy walker and can cover most of the upstairs portion of the house.
He is eating mostly adult food now. He likes grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch with a side order of corn. Dinner is usually macaroni and cheese with green beans.
He likes to point at things. Usually we can't tell if he is pointing at anything in particular, but we play along and tell him what he is pointing at. He is much more ruidoso (noisy) at restaurants, so our days of eating out are probably coming to an end.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 8:40 AM CDT We just passed his first birthday and he is getting big and talkative. We had a beautiful day for his birthday party and spent a lot of the time on the deck outside.
Alex is very confident with pulling himself up against and table and he's been "furniture cruising" between the couch and the table.
He had a little accident just before his birthday. A picture frame fell on him and gave him some scratches on his face. They were bleeding for a while, but he was more upset with us putting band-aids on his face than he was with the incident. He quickly forgot about it, and thankfully, the injuries were minor.
We just started him on level 3 Gerber food and with whole milk in his bottle instead of formula. He has been complaining about the new food, but he loves the milk. But only from the bottle - he doesn't like it from a sippy cup.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 8:24 AM CDT Mom and Alex went to "Reel Moms" at the local movie theater yesterday to see "13 going on 30". This is an activity on Tuesday mornings where parents can bring their babies and watch a certain movie, in the company of lots of other noisy babies. All of the baby stroller are lined up beneath the movie screen and the lights are not fully turned off. Alex sat on mom's lap and enjoyed the movie, and so did mom.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 8:37 AM CDT He is getting much more mobile every day. His crawling is very fast now and he never needs to perform the "army crawl" anymore. His latest trick is pulling himself up to a standing position against a low table. He first performed this a couple weeks ago and has done it a few times since. Last night he opened a clothes drawer in our bedroom and pulled himself up to see what was inside. Then he transferred himself to the bed while staying in the standing position.
Saturday, April 10, 2004 11:18 PM CDT Alex has been a sick little guy this past week. He had croup starting on Monday and is finally getting back to normal. The poor little guy was wheezing like a little gremlin, couldn't sleep for a couple nights, and was eating barely anything for a couple days. Thankfully, he is getting back to normal with his sleep and his eating is regular again. And on Thursday, at Ajji and Ajja's house, he pulled himself up to a standing position for the first time ever.
The McClains spent the week with us and just left for home yesterday afternoon. Alex had lots of fun with Ryan and Kelsey, especially when he was able to chase them around the house in his walker. And he really laughed at Kelsey when she was hitting herself in her face to entertain him. We will all be spending a week together in August in North Carolina - we can't wait!
Sunday, April 4, 2004 2:25 PM CDT Back on March 26 Alex made the momentous step of actually saying "Mama". We are not sure what he meant by this, but Mommy is very happy to have him saying something other that "DaDa" all the time.
Last week he started responding to the question "How big are you? Are you Soooo Biiig?". He is putting his arms above his head in response to this question.
This weekend the McClains have been staying with us and Ryan and Kelsey are having lots of fun keeping Alex entertained. Last night Alex had his first chick in his crib when Kelsey joined him. Alex kept checking his hair in the mirror and making sure that he didn't have "bottle-breath".
Sunday, April 4, 2004 2:24 PM CDT More and more, he appears to understand some of the things we are trying to communicate to him. He now claps his hands when we ask him to do so-without having to do it ourselves first to show him! He also claps when we say "good job!", "good boy!" or start singing the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song. He understands when we ask him to "turn the page" when we're reading, and to flip the light switch when we ask him to turn on or off the light. It is so much fun to see that he is processing this information! He still enjoys a good game of peek-a-boo as well as hide-and-seek in the mirrors.
His vocabulary is still limited to a lot of "dadada's" and other babbling with consonants, but he seems to have a lot to say! He has a loud guttural yell (which we think means "hey, YOU-I'm talking to YOU!") when he wants to be heard, so he certainly knows how to get his point across! He made his first little girl cry a couple weeks ago, when he used his yell to get her attention. In general, Alex seems to be intrigued by other little people and will watch them intently.
Alex's crawling has become faster and more "sophisticated" over the last several weeks. Though he still tends to pull himself with his arms along the ground, he has been incorporating more hands-and-knees crawling and rocking into his daily regimen. He can now push himself up into a sitting position if he is on his back or tummy, and vice versa. He also pulls himself up on his knees by holding onto low furniture or his crib rails. Sadly, we had to drop his mattress to the lower level to accommodate his new skills!
Alex has always enjoyed books; now, he is enjoying some of the more interactive ones (touch and feel, crinkly sounds, etc.). He also understands the concept of throwing a ball back and forth with us (it doesn't always go in the right direction or far enough, but he gets it!). He likes playing with his toys, and still enjoys running around in his walker.
Wednesday, March 3, 2004 9:22 PM CST Monday was a big day for Alex in terms of major motor skills. He made his first transition from laying to sitting. It was in the presence of little Camille from down the street - guys will do anything to impress the ladies. His crawling is getting more mature, he is getting up on his knees properly now.
He also had a second bottom tooth appear. He is eating Cheerios fairly well and he is washing it down with water from his sippy cup.
Saturday, February 28, 2004 2:51 PM CST Thursday was a big day for the little guy. After months of poking and probing around his gums by mommy, Alex's first tooth has appeared! It is the bottom left one. So now we think he is ready for a big juicy steak.
He also received his Social Security Number in the mail - so he is an official member of American society.
He went to Pompeii for lunch and made a mess of the place. There was a wake of broken glass and utensils behind them as they left. The wait staff was probably glad to see him go.
He is eating very confidently with the spoon lately. We are feeding him solid food three times a day and he has not yet slowed down on the formula intake. He gets oatmeal and formula for breakfast, vegetable/fruit/formula for lunch, cereal/formula for dinner and another bottle for his good night snack. His belly get really firm after a long day of eating.
Monday, February 23, 2004 10:08 AM CST Alex and mom went for a portrait (the third try) on Thursday. He is smiley right up until the moment that he is placed on the stage. Then he freezes and will not smile for the camera. Luckily we have video of him smiling, otherwise people would think he is a grouch.
He had his 9 month checkup on Friday and he now weighs 20 pounds, 4 ounces and measures 28.5 inches with head size in the 50th percentile. The doctor recommended getting him on more solids, so Alex had a few "firsts" this weekend. He had his first two-course meal on Friday - an elegant arrangement of carrots followed by bananas.
On Sunday evening he had his first Cheerios. He gave his typically "sour lemon" face and then just left the Cheerio on his tongue for a few minutes. He also had his first attempt at the sippy cup, but there wasn't much sipping going on.
On Saturday we went to Ajay's 1st birthday party and Alex had a caricature drawn. Then he had his first trip to Devon Ave., where we had dinner with the Allishaw's. Alex enjoyed looking at Kamil, their two-year old boy.
Monday, February 9, 2004 6:46 PM CST The New Year has started off with a bang! Alex continues to be the most amazing child! He is making many new sounds, the most prominent being “dadadada”. You can imagine how pleased Daddy is with this! He has also had a few “gagaga’s”, “yayaya’s”, but alas, no “mamama’s”.
He is very comfortable around others and loves attention. He gets very vocal during visits with his grandparents and aunts—screaming and laughing in glee, as he enjoys all their loving and doting. As he watches others he will often tilt his head from side to side, to everyone’s utter delight. He seems to like watching other babies in our playgroup and on playdates. Although babies do not interact with each other too much at this age, he is sure to hold on tight to his pacifier or toy if another baby is trying to get it away from him. I guess the “sharing lessons” have to start early!
Alex is also getting better at “follow the leader”. He claps his hands (and with better connection recently!) when we do, and when we’re laying on our backs, he will follow the same leg kicking or leg crossing movements as his mommy and daddy. He really gets mirrors now too. We have fun standing behind him when he’s facing the mirror: we will wave or play hide and seek as he faces the mirror, and after he smiles and laughs, he will turn around to look at us directly…then back to the mirror. We could do this all day.
Alex received his SECOND haircut in the middle of January. He sat through it like a trooper—no complaints, tears, and minimal fidgeting. He is generally like that—such a good little baby. His whining and crying still seem to be reserved for when he is hungry or tired. He has had a couple incidents where his teething has bothered him, but even those times have been easily managed.
It has been an adventurous month of eating! We have added vegetables (green beans, carrots, potatoes, etc.) to his diet, and he likes it all! In his first few sessions, he didn’t care too much for the green stuff (he would deliberately spit/spray it out of his mouth), but now, he actually opens wide when he is being fed! He LOVES fruits – apples, pears, bananas—yummy!! Those early days of his refusal to accept solid foods seem like a distant memory. We try to give him solids twice a day at this point. He continues to take in 32 oz. of formula each day. We thought he’d back off a little, but he is just an enthusiastic eater!
Alex’s most exciting trick this month has been his “wounded soldier crawl”. He will drag himself along the floor on his tummy, using his arms to pull him forward. He typically will only do this if his binky (pacifier) is waiting for him at the other end. He is getting a little stronger each day, and can pull himself farther and farther. He sometimes uses his knees to push off or to rock back and forth, but mostly, he uses his arms and upper body to get places. He also can roll from one end of a room to the other, and very quickly!
He still enjoys his walker: he can go in reverse for many steps, and also loves to take several running steps and then glide. He likes to chase Daddy around, and has no fear of leaving the main room to explore all the bedrooms on his own. Boy, are we in trouble when he learns to walk!
His teeth haven’t come in yet, so we are anxiously waiting! He still enjoys his baths and usually falls asleep right after them. His napping has become somewhat more regular—he gets about 3-4 hours of napping in during the daytime. He sleeps throught the night for about 10 hours, and only gets up on occasion—usually because of a wet diaper or a bad dream. In the morning, he will play in his crib until we come in to get him, and he always greets us with a smile! What a way for us to start every day! Need we say more? We are head over heels in love!
Tuesday, December 23, 2003 10:36 PM CST What's new with Alex during these cold December days?
THE MANY NEW LOOKS OF ALEX:
Eating his bottom lip, which we affectionately call"flat face"
"Fish Face" (Blue Steel, or sucking something really sour)
"Dry mouth" (or "Monkey Face") - licking his gums with his tongue (mouth closed)
HIS LATEST TRICKS:
Shaking his head (eskimo kisses with mom). We believe that humans evolved into a shaking head equating to "no" from the first cave-mom that tried to clean the nose of the first cave-baby. The baby's head instinctively shakes back and forth to get away from the kleenex (or whatever they used back then).
When he's on his tummy, he pushes himself very high on his arms. He surprised his mommy and daddy one morning in his crib when he had his head above the top of the crib. We were completely shocked because we thought he had pulled himself up into a sitting or standing position!
Clapping his hands--though he doesn't do it on demand, Alex has been clapping his hands together randomly--especially when he's in a good mood
Flipping his light switch off -- he figured out how to pull the switch down, but can't seem to flip it up yet to turn it on. He may be gun shy to try, because every time he turned it off, mommy and daddy clapped for him, and in the process, may have scared him!
Sitting up like a big boy! He hasn't learned to get himself into sitting position yet, but if he is placed that way, he can sit for hours! He has lately been rocking back and forth in place while sitting down.
Getting LOUDER! He has many new sounds in his repertoire, which mostly make him sound like an 80-year old man trying to clear his sinuses
Integrating with indefinite integrals around constant contoured surfaces. Haha - just checking to see if anyone is actually reading this. The first one to point out they are reading this in our guestbook wins a prize.
FOOD AND DRINK:
He is sucking those bottles down as always (and holding them by himself), but now has rice cereal in his diet as well. He didn't care for it very much in the beginning, but now enjoys it as long as it's laced with apple juice. We are slowly introducing other soft foods into his diet, as his teeth haven't broken through yet. (We're getting close, as all the drooling and fists in mouth can attest to)
DOCTOR'S REPORT:
Although he will be weighed again at the end of the year, he is now at least a whopping 20-pounder! Mommy can feel it in her back, arms and legs! The doctor continues to proclaim Alex to be healthy and perfect. We couldn't agree more!
That's about it for now. We will try to get more pictures into the Photoaccess Gallery soon. We wish all of you the very happiest of holidays, and a bright, prosperous 2004!
Andy, Shila and Alexander
Saturday, December 13, 2003 2:49 PM CST Back on November 30th, we became the proud owners of a brand new minivan! Shila had been resisting for many months, but she suddenly realized that she required "alternative transportation" as she likes to say (she can't say "minivan" yet).
It's a nice black minivan with two tone paint that will make her look very cool when dropping the kids off for school or for soccer practice. She is officially a soccer mom as of this month.
Sunday, November 23, 2003 10:48 PM CST Alex was in the car quite a bit this weekend. On Saturday we travelled 1 hour south to the Lemont temple to have a special puja for him. His grandparents had his horoscope analyzed, it turns out that Saturn was not quite happy with something. So we had this (3+ hour) puja to eliminate the obstacles from Saturn (performed on Saturday because that is Saturn's day). We like to call it the "Smokey Puja", however, because it took place in the room with the fire pit that had an improperly working chimney. So the room was filled with smoke, and because it was fairly chilly outside, we couldn't open the windows very much. But luckily the smoke wasn't as bad near the floor, which is where we spent most of the time. Did we mention that is was over 3 hours long? But the little guy was quite a trooper and didn't complain at all, so we think Saturn was happy.
After the puja we travelled 1 hour north of Schaumburg for a birthday party for Kamil, the son of our friends Al and Laura. We got to watch "Finding Nemo" on a huge TV.
Then on Sunday, we went down to meet the Garvens family (and the Koch's and Stymie's) at the Rainforest Cafe in the city. It was raining pretty heavily most of the day, so we feel we received a good rainfores experience. Also, the kids enjoyed the huge aquariums in the restaurant and they had fun looking for their favorite fish from "Finding Nemo". Nope, we couldn't find Nemo anywhere in there.
We finished off our travels on Sunday with a visit to the Groos family so we could see little Robbie Groos in person. We was very sleepy and very cute. Alex can't wait to camp with him in the future.
And then back home. Phew!!! What a weekend! But he still wasn't finished. Alex had many spoonfuls of "real" food with his silver spoon. Mom made the rice cereal with apple juice and he was enjoying it, somewhat. At least he wasn't crying. But he was giving a new face that we hadn't seen before. It was the look of someone who just ate something really sour. Tomorrow we will try the rice cereal again, but with the formula.
Thursday, November 20, 2003 7:43 AM CST Sunday (Nov 16) marked Alex's 1/2 birthday. We celebrated by introducing him to "solid" food for the first time. We brought out a nice heaping bowlful of rice cereal with 1/2 a candle in it. Daddy was in charge of the recipe for this first feeding. He made it extra thick (a double rice recipe) so that the little guy could properly enjoy it. It didn't work, though. Approximately 1 rice cereal molecule was consumed and the rest went down his bib. Alex was in tears after about 5 minutes of this spectacle, which included various "choo choo" songs to help the food go down. Maybe he doesn't like being straped into the new high chair?
We've tried the feeding routine for the past several days with a thinner mixture of cereal. It is basically formula with a "whiff" of rice cereal in the vicinity. He still breaks down into tears every time. Last night we tried feeding him straight formula with the spoon and the same thing happened. We guess he just likes his bottle routine the best.
On Wednesday (Nov 19), mom took him for his first portraits at the photo studio. Mom had to wait for about two hours and Alex wasn't in a smily mood, so we were disappointed.
Friday, November 7, 2003 9:35 PM CST Today Alex had lunch with Paula and the two girls. They couldn't stop hugging the little guy. Maybe they were impressed by his ability to sit in a high chair at McDonalds all by himself. It was his first experience in a high chair - he is such a big boy!
He successfully removed a blanket from his face. We have been testing him to prevent suffucation by giving him a regular "emergency drill". Today he finally passed the test.
He has also been using his strong stomach muscles to lift himself up from a laying position on his back. We first noticed this new talent when he would pull himself toward his bottle.
Thursday, November 6, 2003 12:50 AM CST Tuesday was the first haircut for our little mop top baby. We think they took off about 2 pounds of hair and left him with about 4 pounds. He looks very cute, of course, but we miss the frazzled look that he gets after a nap. But we needed to do it eventually, especially with his 6 month photo session coming up next week.
Wednesday morning he slept in until 9(!) and let mommy sleep in a little bit. He had some trouble sleeping at around 3 in morning. He was having another little baby nightmare. He has been having these episodes ever since we got him, but last night was the longest one. It is so heartbreaking to see him cry in his sleep like that.
Monday, November 3, 2003 8:53 AM CST Alex's new trick this past week has been to reach for, and grab, his toes. We had been helping him with this trick for many weeks, but now he can do it himself. What a boy! Next up, get the toes in the mouth! It's amazing what we encourage kids to do when they are young.
Yesterday was a big day for kids. We had a surprise visit from the Kunde's and their three boys. Then we babysat for JR and Jenn's boys, Christopher and Lance. Alex enjoyed the craziness and he didn't even get hurt during all of the rough-housing. Then Safia came over with little Nyah from Colombia - Alex's future wife(?). The had plenty of playtime on the floor, and they held hands a few times as they shared the same toys. I think they are made for each other.
He had a hearing screening last Monday, but the results were inconclusive - he was too squirmy. His testing today was much better - he was asleep. He passed in both ears, so we are relieved to "hear" that news.
Monday, October 27, 2003 9:02 PM CST Alex has been rolling over from back to front very consistently starting this week. It is always over his left shoulder. His previous roll-overs have been from front to back, but we have not seen this maneuver is many weeks.
On Saturday Alex was the star of a 100-person party in Lombard at The Viceroy of India restaurant. He was passed around like a hot potato, but he maintained his happy baby personality all afternoon. He even skipped his nap so that he could meet everyone that came up to him. Then, in the evening, as mommy unwrapped all of his loot, he showed his overwhelming joy by screaming as loud as he has ever done.
October 12, 2003
Alex met the kids and wives of Andy's longtime friends - Steve, Tony, Kevin and Stymie. Then on Sunday Mommy and Daddy dragged the little guy for his first trip to the Goebbert's pumpkin patch. He was a good sport as he was placed in numerous awkward position amongst the piles of pumpkins, all in the name of getting cute pictures the us parents can enjoy. (It's all about us, isn't it?)
October 7, 2003
We started the "re-adoption" process today by traveling to the Daley center in Chicago with our lawyer, Denise Patton. After arriving in the adoption courtroom, we travelled to the "summons" room, where Alex was served with papers. The sheriff insisted on having him be the first person to touch the papers. Initially I thought he was kidding, but he insisted. As it turned out, the papers that he was served with made it sound as if we were suing him: "Summons: To the defendant, Alexander Khan, you are summoned and required to file and answer to the complaint in the case... If you fail to do so, a judgement by default may be entered against you for the relief asked in the complaint". We hoped that our lawyer could properly defend him in this case, but she quickly explained that she represented us in this case. Alex would be defending himself. So we proceeded into the courtroom and the lawyer presented our case before the judge. The judge pondered the case and ruled in our favor. We won!! And Alex lost, apparently. He didn't seem to mind. The bailiff gave us lollipops and the case was closed.
October 2, 2003
Thursday October 2 was a big day for Alex. He had his "naming ceremony" at the temple in Lemont. He got all dressed up in his little Indian outfit and looked very adorable, as usual. He was very well behaved during the two hour ceremony and seemed to enjoy all of the activity taking place - the tossing of flower petals and rice, the pouring of water, the waving of fire, etc. The ceremony was concluded with everyone whispering his full name into his right ear: "Alexander Santiago Keshava Khan". It was almost like were programming him with his new name.
Wednesday, October 8, 2003 1:44 PM CDT This has been our first full month home with Alexander, and we are relishing every minute with him!
During his 1st month at home, Alex has been able to spend time with all of his grandparents, his aunties (Shila’s sisters), his neighbors, and a steady line of our friends and their children. He even visited Shila’s workplace, and although he was handled by at least 20 of his adoring fans there, managed to smile and coo through it all.
He has been described by nearly everyone as a very good baby with an extremely pleasant disposition. Others, besides us, have been witness to his smiling, laughing, cooing and gurgling.
Alex has recently found his voice and will break into little screams (which we find completely amusing in the comfort of our home…but perhaps wouldn’t be as funny in a quiet restaurant!) The sounds he makes now are similar to when we were in Colombia, but a little more deliberate. He does seem to be trying to communicate with us through his gurgling and eye contact…alas, we don’t know WHAT it is he wants to tell us, but we are impressed, nonetheless! He also has seemed to develop an attention-getting cry (we call it his “fake crying”) when he wants help with putting his pacifier in his mouth or when he wants to be picked up. His “fake crying” can usually be curbed by singing or talking to him, or by picking him up.
He enjoys being held and played with, but can be equally content when on his play mat or bouncy chair. He lets us know his preferences in his own ways!
Our 1st visit to the doctor was on September 9th. Dr. Poulos referred to Alex more than once as “perfect”. Based on the records, many tests she would normally do (or re-do) were deemed unnecessary. She indicated that she wouldn’t need to see him again until the end of October. Shila’s dad, who is also a pediatrician, checked Alex out quite thoroughly, and came to the same conclusion as Dr. Poulos—that his grandson is perfect!
Alex had a short cold for a couple of days after arriving in the US, but got through it pretty quickly. We didn’t know just how strong he can be until we tried to use nasal spray-- he does NOT enjoy having saline solution sprayed into his nose! The only other health “issue” was some mild constipation. Once we figured out a formula that works for him, this is no longer a problem. We have a "Diaper Genie" that can attest to that fact! When will the garbage strike be over???
Alex is now taking in about 6 ½ to 8 ounces of formula every 4 hours, and is almost sleeping through the night. He usually falls asleep around 9:30PM or 10PM, and has lately been getting up around 6AM or 7AM for his bottle. His napping schedule is still a little erratic, but he does manage to usually get one long nap and 2 or 3 short naps in each day.
We are entertained and delighted each day by Alex’s new “tricks”. He likes to look at his hands as he draws them toward his mouth (generally, anything he can get his hands on goes into his mouth!) Although he doesn’t grab his feet by himself, he will hold onto to them when we place them in his hands. When he is being dressed or having his diaper changed, he likes to stretch and lock his knees (making it a little hard to dress him!)
Alex is also much stronger on his tummy, and can hold himself up for fairly long amounts of time. On a slick surface, he can rotate 360 degrees on his tummy (and leave a perfect circle of drool in his wake!). He has rolled over from tummy to back once…we are anxiously awaiting repeat performances! He is very strong on his legs and likes being held in a standing position. He has good eye contact and will follow objects as they move around him. He has a strong grip, so those with long hair or dangly earrings…beware! He bats at objects on his play mat and laughs when he does so. He likes to snuggle with mommy and daddy when he is tired.
Alex, in general, is a very happy baby and is good with everyone. All in all, he is very healthy and appears to be developing normally. We feel very blessed to have such an angel in our home.
Thanks to those of you that are calling, emailing and visiting...Alex is enjoying the attention and we love hearing from all of you. Hope this finds each of you happy and healthy
Shila & Andy
Monday, September 22, 2003 4:03 PM CDT Alex had a fun-filled weekend. On Saturday he went to Fox River Grove, his father's home town, and partied at a river-side picnic for several hours at the bingo tent. He didn't win anything but he received lots of attention from Grandma Sharon's friends, who were dying to meet him.
Then in the evening he received a visit from his Murthy grandparents and Aunties. His ajii and ajaa were much more awake for this visit (their first visit with Alex was about 1 hour after landing from their flight from India). And Alex was especially happy and talkative all day.
Now that Alex has been here for 2 weeks, he really seems to have adjusted to life in the US. He enjoys his rides in the stroller around the neighborhood and loves to shop! Well...at least he seems content to ride around in shopping carts! He went on his first visit to "the Mecca" (Babies R Us) last week, and picked out a lot of fun outfits for himself. He has also enjoyed meeting a steady stream of visitors and continues to be a real charmer. Last week, Mommy took him to her workplace at Levy Home Entertainment, and he was an absolute angel as he was admired by all of Shila's co-workers. He promises to be back for another visit soon!
We have updated the photoaccess.com site with pictures from the Bogota portion of our trip and with pictures of Alex since his arrival at his new Schaumburg home. Enjoy!!!
Friday, September 19, 2003 9:15 AM CDT Alex made his first front to back rollover last night. Actually, it is not his first time. But it was the first time in North America and the first time since Auntie Colleen magically got him to do it.
He also was succesful in rotating 360 degress while laying on his tummy. Granted, he was on an exercise mat, but it was a great accomplishment, nevertheless. He left a perfect "drool circle" after completing the rotation and just to document how fast he was turning, the drool had not yet dried up when he reached the starting point. Now that is fast!
Thursday, September 11, 2003 7:32 AM CDT Tuesday was the first visit to the pediatrician for Alex and he passed with flying colors. The doctor was very impressed with the records that we had received from Chiquitines and said many times that he is "perfect" - but we already knew that....
The ride to the doctor's office marked the first car ride in the US for him, also. After riding without seat belts and a baby seat in the midst of the crazy driving of Cali, it seemed like overkill to have him strapped into the baby seat for the ride through the residential part of Schaumburg. It is funny how safety regulators are so much different between countries...
Anyway, yesterday (Wednesday) was Mommy's first day home with Alex as a solo mom. It went well--no major traumas or tantrums! Daddy received many calls from Alex during the day because he missed his old man. Daddy even received a voice mail from Alex demonstrating his laughing and gurgling--that one may be a keeper!
Mommy and Alex were both very happy to see Daddy when he came home. Now that we are getting settled in, we would love to hear from you!
Monday, September 8, 2003 9:47 AM CDT Phew!!!
We are we? Bogota? Miami? Chicago?
Our heads our still spinning, but we are safe and sound at home in Schaumburg. The travel was fairly uneventful on Saturday but it was a LONG day. We started at 8AM and landed in Chicago around 10PM. Alex was good most of the day, but he started getting a little tired of all this traveling by the end of the day.
Alex was surprised to be greeted at O'Hare on Saturday night by his grandma Sharon, great-grandma Ruthie, aunt Roberta, and great-aunt Kathy. Once he managed all the excitement of meeting his family, Alex surprised us all with his first bout of projectile vomiting. Hopefully this is not how he REALLY feels about Chicago! Unfortunately, this kind of set up his mood for the next 18 hours.
He then got to meet Auntie Marianne, who picked us up from the airport and drove us home. In addition to the surprise greeting at the airport by family, we were suprised by signs, balloons and ribbons on our house (and blue ribbons tied on trees all the way down the block) to welcome little Alex...what nice neighbors we have (thank you Aunt Frannie for leading the welcome home effort!)
On Sunday, once Alex got past his crankiness (new sights, sounds and smells, oh my!), he got to spend quality time with his Grandma Sharon, and his aunts, Aparna & Lalitha. I think we are all in agreement that he might be the cutest baby on the planet. In the evening, Alex got to meet "the Z's", (Larry, Janet and superheroes Mike, Joey and Tony) as well as Fran, Rob, and future girlfriend Camille (although Camille was more interested in Alex's pacifier than him, we think!)
We are all still getting settled into our new home. More updates to come...
Friday, September 5, 2003 6:15 PM CDT We are almost done!!!
We arrived last night (Thursday) in Bogota and settled in at La Fontana Hotel. Our hotel is more of an apartment - it has two full bathrooms (one for girls and one for boys, I suppose) two bedrooms, a kitchen and a large living room. Unfortunately it is fairly cold in Bogota, and also in our hotel room, which does not have heat or air conditioning. It was very surprising to arrive in Bogota and realize that the average temperature is about 70 degrees during the day. We had been living in upper 80 degrees in Cali and figured that all of Colombia was the same. We have kept Alex wrapped from head to toe in a couple of blankets because we do not have any spring clothing for him at the moment.
We visited the doctor with our adoption agency coorindator, Maria. The doctor gave our boy the big thumbs up! (Not literally, though. It was not that much of a thorough exam.) Alex enjoyed his naked time with the doctor and did not give the doctor any special "boy surprises" during his weighing, measuring, and various other inspections. What a good boy! We think that he knew that his visa was hinging on his good examination.
Then in the evening we met up with Alex´s auntie Colleen, who was kind enough to make the long trip to Bogota just for Alex - or so we told him. She gave the little guy a hand made quilt and other cute stuff. For his thanks, Alex performed his very first front-to-back rollover on her hotel bed! He performed this spectacular feat without a spotter and without a net. Auntie Colleen is very proud to be the initiator of this difficult maneuver.
Today (Friday) we went to the US Embassy in Bogota near the airport. They confiscated my camera at the entry, but luckily I got it back. I should have learned my lesson in Cali when then almost took my camera when we were getting his passport in the government building. Anyway, the procedure went better than expected because they processed the visa application in 1 hour, instead of the usual 5 hours. We think Alex´s winning smile made the difference. So now we have the whole bundle of paperwork completed and he (and us) is free come back home anytime now.
We just got back from some power shopping in downtown Bogota at a mega-art store. We bought lots of stuff for Alex and he enjoyed trying on his little Colombia vest and leather shoes. He enjoyed the shopping as much as us.
In general, mommy and daddy Khan are completely excited at the moment. Daddy Khan is feeling light headed. This may because of the excitement of the prospect of coming home, the lack of sleep, or the 8000ft altitude with the thin air. Mommy Khan is not feeling any different - she is a tough traveler...
Our flight leaves Bogota at 12:30 on American Airlines flight 916, arriving in Miami at 5PM Eastern Time. Then the flight into O´Hare will be American Airlines flight 1477, arriving at 9:24PM Central Time at terminal 3.
We probably will not have another update on this webpage until we are home. Wish us luck with customs in Miami and with our first mid-air diapers changes. Let´s hope they are nice ones!!!
See you all soon in the good ol´ USA...
Wednesday, September 3, 2003 10:35 PM CDT We got Alex´s passport today and everything is "go" for our trip to Bogota tomorrow.
We have been saying goodbye to all of our waiter friends in the restaurant of the hotel - we know the dozen or so of them more than anyone else in town! Unfortunately most of them speak English about as well as we speak Spanish, so we about the only things we have been saying to each other for the past two weeks has been:
1) Alex is sleeping (está durmiendo)
2) Alex is very happy (está muy feliz)
3) The check please (la cuenta por favor)
So we don´t feel that we know them very well after all of this time.
We have also been saying goodbye to the various guests that have been staying for an extended period with us. These are families that are relocating to the city and currently looking for a house.
Well, it´s getting late and Shila is currently packing. She won´t let me be involved in this portion of the travel, but I better get back up there and supervise. Talk to you soon from Bogota...
Tuesday, September 2, 2003 2:16 PM CDT It´s official!!! We are officially Alex´s parents as of noon today. We signed the sentencia at the courthouse in downtown Cali, which finalizes the adoption. Things are really moving fast now. Trudy and Shila are currently driving to Palmira to get Alex´s name changed in the district registry and Trudy will get his Colombian passport tomorrow. We will then be on a plane to Bogota Thursday morning(see you soon, Colleen). We will then visit the US doctor on Thursday afternoon for Alex´s checkup and then get his visa on Friday morning at the US embassy. At that point we are free to come home. It looks like our original return flight to Chicago will be the flight that we will actually use. We should be arriving into O´Hare on Saturday evening. We were starting to think that the process was going to drag on a little longer, but now we are completely excited and stressed about getting packed and ready for Alex´s first plane ride Thursday morning.
The flight into O´Hare on Saturday evening will be American Airlines flight 1477, arriving at 9:24PM at terminal 3.
Sunday, August 31, 2003 10:13 PM CDT Sunday was a big day for travelling and sightseeing. We started out the day with a 2 hour driving tour of Cali, as arranged by the hotel. The driver was a nice guy, but we picked the wrong day to see the city - most everything was closed except for the churches. There are many churches and we visited several of them in the downtown area. The oldest one dates back to 1536 (the year the Cali was founded) and was having a wedding ceremony today. We also got to see the famous statue in Cali which I call "The Dude Pointing in no Particular Direction". I was later told that this was the explorer Sebastian de Belalcazar pointing to the Pacific Ocean, which is where the Spanish conquerors came from. Alex was able to handle the increasing hot weather as the tour came to an end around noontime.
We all went for a swim and this got Alex pretty tired but very happy. He was very talkative for the rest of the day.
Trudy then picked us up at 3PM (along with her aunt Ana "Tiana") for a trip to Palmira, the city where Alex was born. It took about 45 minutes of driving through sugar cane fields before we came to the grand entrance of the city - a giant palm-tree lined roadway into the city. Approaching Palmira, we are able to see the Central mountain range of Colombia in the distance - a beautiful sight in the distance.
We were able to find the hospital in which he was born by asking some local residents. After taking several pictures outside, we ventured inside. The security guard told us to leave the cameras in the car and we obeyed. It was a nice, open-air, structure. We are always pleasantly surprised by buildings and restaurants in tropical areas. Having walls that are not solid and having overhangs instead of solid roofs always reminds us that the weather is very predictable and nice. Anyway, the hospital was nice and clean. We walked around for awhile and for some reason worried that we would see the birth mother of Alex - as if she spends all of her time there.
Then Trudy, the little troublemaker, wanted us to get a picture of Alex in the hospital of his birth. She went out to the car in order to sneak in the camera past the guard. Alas, she failed. She was instantly caught because the guard saw the big bulge in her pocket, despite the distraction of the baby bottle that she provided in her hand. Thankfully the guard didn´t confiscate the camera and we all had a good laugh for the rest of the day.
We then proceeded into the heart of Palmira, a city that is much larger than I expected. There was a large town square, a very large cathedral, and endless number of stores (most of which were unfortunately closed on the day of our visit). The five of us took a 30 minute horse and carriage ride (they call them Victorias) around town and enjoyed the narrow streets with two story buildings overlooking them. Then, to satisfy Trudy´s insatiable sweet tooth, we found a sweet shop that she remembers from many years ago. We navigated the streets (with Trudy especially watching for motorcycles) and wandered around for awhile.
Afterward, at the giant cathedral in the town square we stumbled upon a grand event. There was a line of about 100 priests and about a dozen bishops from around South America. They were convening some sort of conference and we were treated to a rousing display of singing and music.
We ended our long day by enjoying the nightime view of Cali as we drove back from Palmira. I really enjoy the lights of the city neighborhoods as they extend up into the mountain range west of Cali. Ironically, the neighborhood in this area (called Siloe) are the very poorest and dangerous barrios in Cali. In the USA it seemed like the homes in the hills are the richer areas. Go figure...
Saturday, August 30, 2003 6:29 PM CDT Yesterday (Friday) marked Alex´s 16th week birthday. I assume that all of the birthday presents are in the mail?
The day was fairly uneventful. We did a little shopping at our favorite shopping mall Unicentro (it is only our favorite because it is across the street). Trudy, the attorney, has informed us the court process is going well. The paperwork has been signed by the first couple of people in the process - the "so-in-so" (I can´t remember the name) and the "defensor". The defensor is a public attorney that works for ICBF (Colombia´s equivalent of Illinois´ DCFS). Now the paperwork goes for someone else´s signature. After that, Trudy goes to Alex´s birth town and changes his name in the public register. Trudy thinks that things are looking good for the adoption to be finalized in the middle of this coming week. Once that happens we go to Bogota, where we will stay for just 2 or 3 days. We are hoping to meet our friend Colleen, who will just happen to be in Bogota for a few days of business starting next week.
Alex has been consistently getting up around 3 or 4 in the morning for his bottle but last night was our first fairly rough night. He couldn´t get back to sleep very well after his bottle and was tossing and turning until 7, when he finally got up for good. This morning he was a little bit of a "crabby-Pampers" and wouldn´t smile at his dearest mother or father. In fact, he seemingly avoided Mommy´s eye contact for many minutes and made a casual look towards her for a few seconds and then turned away. We believe that mommy was actually snubbed by her darling baby during this episode. We think he apologized later but we do not yet have the official translation of his gurgling. Also, he is comfortably resting in mommy´s arms as daddy types this message. So everything seems back under control.
Mommy had a little pampering this morning (Saturday 8/30) at the health spa. She had an hour massage and a two hour facial. She is feeling quite relaxed right now and is looking more pretty than ever.
We had an intense 2 hour session with a Spanish professor (Manuel) this afternoon. He has taught language at a bilingual school in Colombia for dozens of years and had a professional training setup in his home. Shila was glazed over, but Andy actually continued to improve his skills and will continue on Monday, whereas Shila will dropout of the crash course. Alex also showed his dissatification for the session by making an extra smelly poopy in the guy´s house.
That sums it up for the day. We hope you are all enjoying your long weekend. Have a safe and happy Labor Day.
Thursday, August 28, 2003 9:19 PM CDT Dad is learning to drink the great Colombia coffee (hand picked by Juan Valdez himself I believe). Maybe this is why he is having trouble taking naps with young Alex. And in general we are eating way too much at the gourmet restaurant in the hotel. It's included in the room price, so can you blame us? I just hope that the airline doesn't weigh us, in addition to our luggage. We might have to take a cargo plane back home....
Alex is learning to operate his little feet and can kick the guard rail on his stroller very well. He also seems to be taking an affinity to his little stuffed elephant that we purchased for him on Day 0, the day before we met him. We like to called in Ganesha-ita, the protector. Also, based on the Spanish word for elephant, we have named him Harry, so that he can be called Harry Elephante.
We had a nice afternoon with our lawyer, Trudy. We bought her lunch because of all of her help beyond the her normal legal duties. It was a place called "Cali Viejo" and, like usual, was an outdoor style place that seemed like a country club and specialized in Cali cuisine. We had "lulada", which is made from the lulo fruit (unique to Colombia I think) and tastes like Kiwi fruit. Tia Trudy had a big dish of tongue and we made plenty of jokes such as "do you want to taste my tongue?", etc.
We then went for a passport picture of our new little traveller. He looked very handsome and gordo.
Then we visited the Hogar Materno, the mother´s home where the expectant women stay while they are entered in the Chiquitines program. Mostly women from outside the immediate Cali area stay there because it is too difficult for them to travel for their regular medical checkups and counseling sessions. We received a little tour from the social worker Diana that runs the center and that had given the social history on Tuesday of the birth parents of Alex. It was a two story place with about 4 or 5 large bedrooms, a kitchen, a TV/social room and a large sunny gathering area downstairs. It was in this area that we were suddenly in the midst of a question and answer session with all twenty or so of the current residents. It was the largest number of pregnant women that we have ever seen and we were suddenly very nervous about what to say and what not to say. Most of them seemed to be fairly well along into their pregnancies and we were not sure how many were at ease with their decisions, or whether they were still trying to decide whether to give up their babies for adoption.
They asked questions such as:
"Do you consider Alex your own?"
"How long did it take to connect with him?"
"Do men in the US abandon their pregnant wives?"
"What do you do for a living?"
"Did you specify a race?"
"Did you exclude children with handicaps?" (From a girl that was nearly blind and couldn't take care of a third child)
And there was some question from a girl that had just given birth two days ago and was very distraught. We can't even remember what her question was but we felt so sorry for her and had no idea what to say. "Congratulations", a typical response to a new mother, seemed far from appropriate under the circumstances.
Luckily for us, none of them spoke English. While we think our responses were probably sensitive and helpful, we felt better knowing that any inappropriate or wrongly phrased responses could be properly filtered by Trudy and Diana during translation to Spanish.
We told them about our long journey to have a baby. We also told them about the long process of interviews and background checks that are performed on a prospective adoptive couple in order to help assure them that, if they decide to give up their baby, the baby will have a good home.
All in all, today was another emotional day.
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 7:22 PM CDT Let´s see. We have had lots of things happen since our Monday morning update. Alex is learning where his feet are by trying to kick the little toy on the guardrail of his stroller. A future punter for the Bears? Today, he finally got his pacifier into his mouth (as opposed to his nose, eyes, or ears!)--something he has been trying to do since we met him! It remains to be seen if this was a one time feat!
We finished off Monday with a trip to the Pension Stein, a European "Residencia" that was our other choice for lodging while down here. We met the owner, Enrique, a Swiss gentleman that has been living in this country for 30 years and has been running the Pension for 20-some years. He was great! We were anxious to see the place because there are usually several adoptive families staying there at any given time. We had been corresponding with a couple from Maryland that had just left for Bogota on Sunday, but we wanted to see the place anyway and hopefully meet other couples. We met a couple from Norway that was finalizing their 3rd adoption from Chiquitines and had their 13 week old baby with them. He was born on May 29, so we think that he may have been a "crib-mate" of Alex. He was much smaller than our big little guy, who has been called "gordito" by many people lately. (Should he be on a diet already?)
On Tuesday, we returned to Chiquitines for Alex´s one week reunion! The real purpose of our visit was to meet with the Program Coordinator of the Birthmothers' program, Diana. With Directora, Agatha, translating, Diana discussed the program that Chiquitines provides for birthmoms who may be considering alternatives to parenting their babies. It is an excellent program that is exceptionally well run. Following the general explanation, we then received detailed information on Alex's birthfamily and history. Out of respect for his birthfamily, and for Alex's privacy, we will not be sharing the details of that meeting, but can divulge that he has a family / history of which he can be very proud. We would ask that you keep any details that any of you may have been given prior to this time, confidential, again, out of respect for Alex and his birthfamily. We were absolutely overwhelmed and impressed by the amount of information we were able to secure. Following our meeting, we received a tour of the adoption home, which has been in this new location for almost 2 years. It is a lovely facility with many caring staff members. We saw a few other infants while we were there. I tried to see if I could take one of the little girls home as a "2 for 1" deal (no dice!)
Yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon when we were back from Chiquitines, I witnessed Alex's first bout of actual laughing! Not just the big smiles and gurgles we've been getting all week, but actual belly laughing! I thought it was a fluke at first, but when he continued to laugh, every time I would repeat his full name to him, I had to try to get it on video, since Andy was missing it (off on yet another run to the grocery/drug store). Sadly, the moment was over. Alex does NOT perform for the camera! He did continue, however, to smile and coo the remainder of the day.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trudy picked us up and took us to some excellent arts & crafts shops in Cali, where I spent entirely too much money! We then took Alex to the medical clinic to get his next round of immunizations. I was prepared for the baby to have a complete meltdown. In a continued day of surprises, Alex whimpered for about 5 seconds, and when we was flipped back over on his back, he actually smiled...proving once again, that he is handling most things better than mommy!
...And, if I've still managed to keep your interest up to this point, this brings us to Wednesday. One of the hotel staff, Joey, took us to the Cali zoo today. It was a very nice zoo, and the weather was very pleasant. Alex slept through most of it, except for when we was surrounded by local school children on a field trip, who thought HE was an excellent attraction (mommy and daddy couldn't agree more!). Later in the afternoon, Andy took the baby into the pool for the 3rd time, and again, Alex seemed to like it (or at least didn't show any signs of hating it!).
Alex continues to be such a joy and is truly a gift from God. He has new surprises for us each day and we are just so thankful for every smile!
Hope this finds each of you happy and healthy. Thank you for the continued emails and journal entries. Can't wait to be home soon!
Monday, August 25, 2003 8:54 AM CDT Here are the three things that we learned over the weekend:
1) Never wake a comfortably sleeping baby just to provide something silly like dinner.
2) Always wait until the little guy is finished pooping before changing the diaper. Otherwise you may witness the inspiration for the Play-Doh factory!
3) Cool air plus naked baby = Fountain of Youth and wet mom.
Alex was a pretty cranky yesterday (Sunday), in spite of our best baby-entertaining skills. We were calling him Dr. Jekll and Mr. Hyde because he would move between very happy baby to very unhappy baby in a matter of seconds. His second session of swimming didn't thrill him as much as Saturday's session. It was a little more cool and there was more shade in the pool. We will need to visit the pool in the morning to avoid this problem in the future.
This morning, Monday, Alex is in a much better mood. Ironic, huh? We will need to explain to him that Mondays are the proper day to be crabby - not the weekends!
Sorry about the lack of pictures from yesterday. We didn´t get any cute stuff of him because he was so crabby. There may be more later today. Stay tuned....
PS - here´s a message typed by Alex:
,mioimkm,ldksikl asokd shjewuerj8ueum8wnlk,..
We think this roughly translates as "I would rather have my fingers in my mouth than on the keyboard. Can I go now please?"
Saturday, August 23, 2003 10:09 PM CDT Hello everyone!
Alex made it through his first full workweek and was excited about his first weekend with his new family. He started off a little crabby this morning, but we quickly resolved the problem by taking him for his first swimming adventure in the big pool (of which we have a perfect view from our window on the 6th floor). After a little concern about this big expanse of water, he quickly became accustomed to it and really loved it after a few minutes. We have lots of video and some pictures loaded into the photo gallery. He looks especially cute because he is wearing sunglasses (given by Shila's friend from work, Maureen). Daddy encouraged him to suck in his gut when women walked nearby, because this always seems to help get the chicks. He drew a lot of attention from the women so we think this speaks for itself.
We had a leisurly lunch and chatted with Ron from Houston near the bar. We met him last night and he is best described as a swinger-dude. He has a wife and daughter in Colombia that he visits every 2 months but he seems to spend most of his time at the hotel bar near the pool, rather than with his local family.
...Back to the Khan family. The swimming adventure put Alex in a great mood for the rest of the day. He has been all smiles and has been trying to talk to anyone that gives him attention.
Trudy picked us up at the hotel at 4PM and took us shopping in the northern part of Cali (we are staying in the extreme southern part of the city). We went to an arts and crafts place (where Shila managed to find lots of treasures!) and then to an outdoor mall called ChipeChape. We don't know what that means, but everyone here talks about it. It had some boutique-like shops and some carnival rides in the middle of the mall.
When we got back, we gave Alex his nightly bath & bottle, and he continued to stay in his playful, jovial mood. We have a hard time taking our eyes off of him, because we don't want to miss a thing!
Tonight's dining experience absolutely proved how awful Shila's command of Spanish might be. Andy at least manages to get us through on his elementary knowledge. Our server tonight was a gentleman we had not yet met (by now, most all the staff knows us and knows Alex). At some point, he was trying to say something about Alex in his broken English (which apparently, is as bad as Shila's Spanish). Shila was convinced that he was calling Alex and egghead, and Andy then translated this back to the waiter as "huevos cabeza??". The waiter was actually trying to say "angel". We are still laughing over this. At least we know he wasn't dissing our son!
We are feeling very blessed to have such a happy, healthy baby and thank all of you for your wonderful thoughts and wishes. We love reading the guestbook entries and emails--it brings us a little closer to home.
We hope this finds all of you well. We miss our families and friends very much and can't wait to share all this joy live and up close. Until then, please stay in touch...
Friday, August 22, 2003 10:30 PM CDT Hi everyone. Sorry we didn´t have an update yesterday - we had a stressful day because of some paperwork problems. But it was resolved by this morning thanks to the hard work of our adoption coordinator from The Cradle (Thanks, Christine!! We owe you big time!!) Also, the computer center was being renovated with new furniture.
Yesterday started out well, with some basic baby maintenance. All three of us are getting pretty comfortable with each other and Alex is training us pretty well. We ventured out across the street to Unicentro, a large outdoor shopping mall, and did some window shopping and had lunch. (On a side note, we still can't get used to all of these zeros in the prices for everything. Right now I have a bunch of paper currency of denomination 20,000 in my pocket. It feels like I should go to Vegas, but then I realize that the 20,000 pesos is about $8. That wouldn´t even get me to the table at Caesars Palace, but I digress....)
We then met our attorney Trudy at the hotel for our meeting with the Colombian government´s adoption "review panel". It was a quick meeting to see if the baby is suitably adjusted and that we are not axe-murders or anything like that. It seemed mostly a formality after being approved by our adoption home and her having already reviewed the copy of our home study. She didn´t really ask any questions and quickly gave the big "thumbs up" to us - allowing the procedure to continue. Phew!However, she did notice a discrepancy between the name on my birth certificate and the name on my passport, and told us that the Colombian court system wouldn´t allow this to proceed without proper explanation from the US authorities. We had included this explanation with our Illinois home study, but it was overlooked in the processing of our dossier for Colombia. However, after a barrage of phone calls and faxes between Colombia, Illinois, and Massachusetts, it appears that the problem will be resolved without any delay in the processing. It was just lucky that the problem was caught soon enough. We will have to keep our fingers crossed that this works out okay.
Today (Friday) was a fairly relaxing day. We had no appointments and we were finally able to get some well needed exercise in the health club downstairs before lunch. We have been eating gourmet meals every day and we are probably putting on weight faster than Alex. Speaking of the gourmet meals, the wait-staff in the dining room is very friendly and they love to dote on Alex, but they don´t seem to understand that babies sometimes need sleep. Pretty much every waiter, especially the guy we call "Red Coat", will always shake the stroller until he wakes up. Shila is thinking about getting a cattle prod to keep them away from the stroller.
Also speaking of meals, we had an unexpected surprise to be front and center for a beauty/bikini contest around the pool at our hotel during dinner tonight. Our usual table in the dining room overlooks the pool area and we were treated to the hip-hugging, halter-top wearing strutting of Cali´s finest. The women would strut all the way around the pool in front of the 200 or so people. Shila was shaking her head during the spectacle, but I was respecting the importance of athletic competition in our host country. Because it was taking place around OUR pool, I was considering making a scene. Something like getting out my best thong bathing suit and swimming a few laps in the middle of everything. Alex had fallen asleep, so daddy took it upon himself to carefully watch everyting. This way, daddy can explain in the morning everything that he had missed. Daddy thinks Alex will appreciate this.
There are more pictures on the photoaccess.com site, so click to your heart´s content until you get bored of looking at all of them. Thanks to everyone who is signing the guest book. We are really enjoying hearing from everyone, it makes our day to see all of the message from everyone.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003 10:21 PM CDT ¡The first poopie! It was smelly, but it was the cutest one we have ever seen. We neglected to take a picture of it, but we have taken a picture of just about everything else, such as the first feeding, the first bath, the first "tummy time", the first stroller ride outside, the first nap... I think you get the picture.
Today was our first full day as parents and everything went very well. Shila spent our first night just looking at him all night - we are very sure that he got a lot more sleep that she did. The first middle-of-the-night feeding went very well. We have the bottle problem from yesterday all worked out.
Our attorney "Tia Trudy" (Aunt Trudy) took us for a little shopping trip to the outdoor mall across the street called Unicentro. It was Alex's first trip outside the hotel and he was a trooper. He is a brave little guy considering that he had never left the adoption home until yesterday and went to a strange hotel with two new people that he had never seen before.
Anyway, mommy and Tia Trudy went directly to a jewelry shop and daddy and Alex had a little guy talk near the entrance. Daddy explained that women don't necessarily prefer jewelry and that by the time he is old enough to get married, it will probably be a custom to have a man give the girl a big screen TV instead of an engagement ring (we had just passed a Sony store). He seemed to understand this. I told him not to tell his mommie this little secret - I hope she doesn't read this.
After shopping we returned to the hotel and had some lunch (after Alex's lunch of course). He was having a good time flirting with the (female) hotel manager and the lunch waitress - what a good boy! He has been very "talkative" for most of today, with lots of cooing and gurgling.
Signing out for today...
Also, there are new pictures uploaded on the photoaccess.com site. Click the link below to see the latest.
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 8:58 PM CDT What an unbelievable morning! Our attorney, Trudy, (who is a
fabulous woman!) picked us up before 10am, and drove us to
Chiquitines. When we arrived, we were taken to the office of the
Directora (Agatha). We spent a couple of minutes speaking to her,
and then she left the room to bring the baby in. Ivan, one of the
assistants, took our camcorder, and Agatha had our camera. A few
minutes later, they came back in, along with the doctor (Ana)and
another director (Amparo) and paraded the baby into the room. As
soon as he came in, I absolutely broke down in tears - he is more
beautiful in person than in his pictures. After a couple minutes of
pictures and video, they left us alone with the baby for about 15
minutes. We are so grateful that during that time, he was all smiles
and coos! He has terrific eye contact and a sunny personality.
We were able to get his routine information and medical background
from Ana, and during that time, Alex fell asleep in my arms (and
melted my heart)
Once we came back to the hotel, it was already close to feeding time,
so we had to act fast -- we requested boiled water from the bellhop,
and had to do a quick sterilization of bottles and nipples....only to
find out that after 15 minutes of attempts, he hated the platex
nipples. While I calmed him down, Andy made a quick run to the store
and came back with a different style bottle (which again, we had to
sterilize).... but even though Alex fussed a little during the time
he was waiting, he was a good sport. We are happy to report that the
new bottle worked!
We changed our first diaper (uneventful!) and put him in the stroller
so we could feed OURSELVES. It took us 1/2 an hour to figure out
what we needed in the diaper bag before we went all the way
downstairs!! What a guy--when our meals were served, he fell asleep!
What luck for us!
At present, Andy has run back out to the store while I type this, and
Alex is being a complete angel! I will admit though, that this entry
is taking me three times as long to type, since Im typing with 1
finger and holding him in my other arm. On that note, I am going to
sign off! I hope this finds everyone well and happy! More
later.
Monday, August 18, 2003 6:46 PM CDT Our first full day in Cali and our last day as DINKS. We are getting more nervous and excited every minute...
We spent the day with Pablo Ramirez, the sales manager for the hotel, and his wife and 2 year old daughter. We went to Ginebra, a little town about 30 miles away from Cali and had lunch at a little resort restaurant with lots of little rides for kids. Things like horse rides, the ball cage like you would see at McDonalds, and a couple of trampolines. The trampolines seem to be popular down here, there was a couple of them in the stripmall attached to the hotel. Maybe the kids all grow up to be acrobats or something.
We returned at about 5PM and went to the local baby store to buy a travel stroller and I got my practice at baby strolling. I did not get into an accident in the two blocks from the store, so I think I am ready for this parenting thing.
Well, time to hit the pool and have some drinks... This could be our last chance for a while... Stay tuned for updates from our BIG DAY tomorrow.
Sunday, August 17, 2003 10:08 PM CDT Estamos aqui!!
We are safe and sound in the hotel in Cali - the hotel Pacifico Royale. It was a long day, but not too bad, certainly easier than going to India. It took about two and a half hours to go from Chicago to Miami. We met up with Jeff & Terri Heñley in the Miami airport and had a late lunch at a Cuban restaurant. Very big portions and lots of meat...
Then the flight from Miami to Cali took about 4 hours. We flew directly over Cuba and the sky was very clear until just when we went over the coastline and got into Cuban airspace. Then it was incredibly cloudy and we couldn´t see anything down there. It´s almost like they planned it that way to keep us from seeing what´s going on down there. Did we have that same problem during the missile crisis in 1962? Anyway, the same phenomenon occured over another big island south of Cuba, so I guess there must be a natural reason. We flew over the Panama canal but couldn´t see it because it was getting too dark at the time. The flight got pretty bumpy as we crossed the western most mountain range in Colombia. There was lots of lightning but no rain.
The hotel is very nice, even by US standards. I have access to an internet terminal in the hotel and it doesn't look like there are too many people in the hotel today, so I probably won't have to fight with too many people.
The manager of the hotel will take us out to lunch with his wife and daughter tomorrow and then show us around town. It´s getting late and I think I will head back to the room to help unpack. Or maybe if I keep typing she will finish before I get back. This computer keyboard has a much different layout than that in the US. For example, I have this ñ and this ¿ and this ° and I cant find the apostrophe or quotes. Plus, the menus for Windows say stuff like Archiveo and Edicion - its almost like they are in a foreign language. Weird.
Monday, August 4, 2003 10:11 PM CDT We are on cloud nine! Last Tuesday, July 29th, we finally got "the call" at about 2:30 in the afternoon. Erica called me at work and said "this is the call you've been waiting for..."! I immediately conferenced Andy in, and we learned that we had been matched with a baby boy. Santiago Martinez Gallegos was born on May 16th, 2003, so he was a little over 10 weeks old at referral. After receiving some preliminary info from Erica, she emailed us 4 pictures of Santiago taken at 2 weeks of age, along with a 1.5 page medical summary.
Obviously, neither Andy or I could continue to work, so we decided to meet at home to absorb the news and celebrate. It just so happened that we had 2 interviews set up with pediatricians for that afternoon, so in addition to emailing records to 2 doctors specializing in reviewing adoptive records, we were able to get 2 additional opinions. All opinions were a "thumbs up" on Santiago, that he is a healthy baby showing signs of normal development...
On Wednesday, we received 4 more pictures of the baby, taken more recently. Santiago had doubled his weight from 6 to 12 pounds between pictures - it was quite a difference! He is an absolutely gorgeous baby with a headful of black hair, and huge brown eyes. He looks very intense and thoughtful in his pictures...we fell in love!
And so... less than 48 hours later, on Thursday morning, we formally accepted our referral. We booked our flight on Friday and will be leaving on Sunday, August 17th for Cali. We are now finishing up projects at work and home, in preparation for our trip. We are unbelievably excited that, by mid-September, we will be back with a beautiful, healthy baby boy...our dreams are finally coming true!
Thursday, July 10, 2003 7:37 AM CDT We are number two!!! We received the surprising call from Erica last week (July 2) that there were two referrals to Wide Horizons from Colombia. We moved up two notches in mid April and then nothing until now. This process is really stop and start.
Thursday, June 19, 2003 8:43 AM CDT We just received the glider yesterday. Everything is in place except the wall paper, and the baby.
Thursday, May 29, 2003 8:47 PM CDT On Friday, May 23rd, I was given a surprise baby shower by some of my
friends from work. I was invited to Rhonda's home, under the guise of dinner and playing cards--when I arrived at her place,she led me into the kitchen and was pouring me a glass of wine, when, all of a sudden, I heard "quacking" in the dining room. Completely puzzled, I walked in, and lo and behold, everyone was standing around the dining table, which had been completely decked out in duck decor (or should I say ducked out in duckor?). From framed pictures of ducks, to plushies, to duck shaped candy, to a beautifully duck-orated cake, the setting was unbelievable. And the gifts! The girls really went all out. Their generosity was overwhelming and unbelievably touching. This was our first shower, and we really were given so much great stuff. When Andy and I brought all the stuff into the nursery, things really started to feel more "real". I can't wait for us to go back through all of it, piece by piece, and enjoy this time before the baby arrives to just anticipate how it's going to be. Over and out for now.
Friday, May 23, 2003 9:30 PM CDT We received the crib last week and it is finally assembled. Lots of screws... It actually came into the store a couple of weeks ago, but we were unable to get it until last Sunday. Today we got a message that our dresser is ready for delivery. The baby's room is getting full now!
Monday, April 14, 2003 10:27 PM CDT What a weekend! We attended the CAFFA (Chicago area families for adoption) and found out that we moved to number 5 in line. Then we called Marta (our program coordinator) and found that another couple has dropped out - making us number 4 in line. Things are moving fast now! It's time to sign up for the baby care class.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003 9:49 PM CST We just found out that we are number 6 in line for the referral from Wide Horizons. We started at number 8 in mid November and moved to position 7 at the end of January. We finally feel like we are making progress!!!
We have bought only one or two more ducks in the past two weeks since our last journal entry. We have just decided on the furniture for the baby's room and we will order it soon.
Monday, March 10, 2003 9:21 PM CST ...
Monday, March 10, 2003 9:21 PM CST We just got two more ducks today. A washduck and a picture frame duck. This brings our total to 27 ducks.
Saturday, March 8, 2003 6:31 AM CST I just setup this journal for Shila and myself
Saturday, March 8, 2003 6:27 AM CST This page has just been created. Please check back for additional updates.
Click here to go back to the main page.
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