Thursday September 30.
Today was the big day. We went to the orphanage at 9:00 a.m. and picked up our daughter for the final time. It was a very sad moment for the orphange mother and the children. We can tell that they loved our daughter very much and she will be greatly missed by them. The children all gave their final hugs and kisses and the orphanage mother couldn't help but to cry. It was, in a small way, a very strange moment for us. It's hard to be happy when you know that someone else is heart broken. How is it that one mother can be rejoicing in gaining a child while another mother is crushed. We can relate though. After being foster parents we realize that it is no easy task to raise children and then give them away. We tried to comfort the orphanage mom the best we could. I'm not sure that it helped much but we did try. We promised to send pictures frequently and hopefully we can visit again within the next few years. On the other hand, our daughter was happy and seemed to be very oblivious as to what was going on around her.
After leaving the orphange we signed some final papers and then headed back to Juliaca where we would catch our plane to Lima. Lilyanna did so good with everything! She had no problems with the plane ride at all. She played the entire time and seemed to enjoy her daddy very much. I am one of those not so fortunate souls that gets motion sickness when flying which means that child entertainment was totally up to dad. And I must say, Henry is a pro when it comes to making children smile and laugh. I not only married a man who is an amazing husband but he is also an amazing dad too! Once we got back to Lima we gathered our luggage (yay, it was all there), made it back to where we will be staying for the next few weeks, took a shower, read a book, and then we all crashed. It was a good day!
Friday, October 1st.
Today was a more relaxed day. Which is good, because we needed it! We all woke up with sore throats and not feeling our best so rest was on the agenda. We did have to sign a few papers and introduce our daughter to SNA here in Lima. It went well and everyone was impressed that Lilyanna was so cheerful. We spent the rest of the day running a few errands and just relaxing and enjoying our daughter. Lilyanna is adjusting quite well. Nap time and bedtime is not problem at all, thankfully! She has had some feeding challenges but we're working through them slowly. The orphanage was so poor that all that they could afford to give her was watered down evaporated milk. She would receive watered down soup one time a day along with the milk and that was it! Because of this she has had problems with constipation her entire life so far. We are being careful about how quickly we make changes so we're limiting ourself to one big change at a time. The milk was the first to go! We've been introducing solid foods along with juices and formula. She's doing fairly well, a little fussy at times but she'll adjust quickly. I can tell already that she's not going to be a pickly eater. She pretty much eats whatever we give her. This makes momma very happy!
Saturday, October, 2.
Today I stayed back at the house with Lilyanna because we're both not feeling the best :( Lilyanna was very fussy this morning and is taking an extra long nap right now. She is teething (8 teeth coming in at the same time...that's gotta hurt), has a cold, probably a sore throat too, and is trying to adjust to everything all at the same time. Poor baby! She officially threw her first tantrum this morning...tons of fun! One thing that we observed at the orphanage is that anytime Lilyanna would start to cry or fuss then they would just give her a bottle of evaporated milk. Not good! The orphange mother was doing the best she could but some days she would end up giving Lilyanna a bottle every two hours. What that means is that mommy and daddy are in the process of teaching her that just because she throws a fit it doesn't mean that she's going to receive a bottle or whatever else it is that she wants at that moment :) We worked thru it this morning and she layed down for her nap as a happy baby. One good way to look at it is that atleast she feel comfortable enough around us to express her feelings ;) She is learning fast so I know she'll work thru this quickly too.
Sunday, October 3.
Another lazy day in Lima :) We're still all trying to get well and recover from our colds. It's really gloomy and cold here today so it's a perfect day to drink warm teas and snuggle under blankets. Tomorrow Lilyanna has a doctor's appointment so hopefully she'll be feeling better as well.
I posted a few more pictures for you to enjoy. The wifi is really bad today and wouldn't upload very many pictures. I'll try again soon. Hugs!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
