Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Our first day out in Medellin


Jonathan's ready for his first day out in the sun!
As promised, here is our group Court Pic from yesterday. Our attorney, Angela Maria is here holding Jonathan. She's so very sweet! God truly blessed us with her!




Here are the boy "explorers" at the park.



Josh LOVED the science exhibits...


















Jonathan poses for a quick smile at Mommy.












































YAY! We were finally able to leave the hotel and go on an outing as a family today! This afternoon Gloria picked us up and dropped us off at the Medellin aquarium and "parque explorador" (explorer park). It was so fun! We took both strollers (thank you Jen and Johnny!) and of course, both boys and off we went to see the beautiful building. The entrance cost $16,000 pesos which is like $8 for each of us (but they didn't charge Josh, even though the kids pay per height... so I thought that was nice of them. As you all know our 4 year old is about as tall as a 6 year old.) The aquarium was very nice and well kept. We weren't allowed to take any pictures with flash so, we really didn't take many at all. We saw eels, "little nemos and dories", stingrays, lion fish, etc. much of the same that we would see back home. There were some funky looking eelish things that I didn't recognize which were kind of cool. They also had an exhibit with amphibians: all sorts of little frogs (like the ones I see on Go Diego Go... hee hee), turtles, snakes (ugh) and lizards. I'm telling you... if ever any of my boys come and tell me they want a snake as a pet...I think I'll die. They freak me out. Seriously.

Josh loved the exhibit and little Jonathan... was so very sweet. We went during his afternoon nap time (which was the time Gloria could take us) so, I was anxious to see how he would handle it. The kid was all eyes! He didn't dose off, not once... he wanted to see everything. Sweet boy. Kelly... you're right, he really does LOVE seeing everything. When I stop to think of it, he never stepped foot outside Casa de M until now... everything is so new to him. It's like going to Disney for the first time, you can't get enough and you don't want it to end. He didn't even sleep in the car on the way back to the hotel.. he wants to look outside and see all of the cars, motorcycles, busy streets.

We had a nice lunch on the second story of the aquarium building, overlooking Medellin. The location was in the valley of the city so it's surrounded by mountains. Gorgeous. After living in Miami for so long, I truly appreciate mountains. They're gorgeous, and they scream God's handiwork... when you look up at the vast mountains peaking in the clouds you can't help but see our Lord's creativity and awesome power. I picture heaven full of mountains and gorgeous waterfalls :)

At the end of our journey, we went to a section of the building called the Explorer park. It's really cool, especially for those of you who love science. I, unfortunately, not being one of those, can still appreciate it. The park is full of exhibits with science gadgets... you know centrifical forces, gravity, yada, yada. But Frank and Josh being science buffs loved it! We toured this area for awhile. A group of school kids were on a field trip while we were there and we ended up talking to some of them. They're so curious! When they heard Josh speaking English they immediately asked us where we were from... when we said the U.S. they were plesantly surprised... they thought we were from Spain. But they loved Jonathan... all the girls were coming to look at him and googling over him. It was cute.

Gloria picked us up after that... and drove us back to the hotel. Tonight we decided to go eat at the hotel restaurant instead of ordering "House Service" as Josh calls it. I'm so glad! You can only eat so much House Service... it was a great day.

Tomorrow another Gladney family arrives here in Medellin... I'm really excited to meet them! The little boy they are adopting from Casa de M slept in the crib next to Jonathan so, I'm sure he'll be happy to see a familar face. We can't wait to meet them and hang out with the Uribe family.

Let's see what else can I give you an update on? Josh continues to be very good... sometimes he can get a little rough with Jonathan but overall, he loves him very much. Josh loves to be "woken up" by Jonathan in the mornings and Jonathan starts to giggle and laugh when he sees him. It's so cute.

We didn't go to the pool today because it was late by the time we arrived back at the hotel, but I did tell Josh I'd try to take him tomorrow. I'm regretting that I only packed us each one swimsuit. I'm sure the people around the hotel must be like... hey lady, don't have many swimming wardrobe choices huh? But hey, I figure... it's ok. They weren't there when I had to pack our suitcases under the 50 lb limit! :0) Gladly, our day tomorrow includes SHOPPING! Oh, how I've missed shopping... let's see what goodies we can find.

Again, thank you all so very much for your comments and your prayers... please keep them coming. We love you all and are so very thankful you love us enough to check to see how things are going. I enjoy sharing this experience so much. You bless us! xo

8 comments:

  1. Jonathan's laugh is so contagious....May God always fill his soul with joy and laughter. May Josh continue to invent safe ways to make him laugh. PRECIOSOS!!! love ya, Pamela

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  2. There you go making me cry again! Seeing your pictures, reading what you have written and then watching the videos all leave me in tears for some reason. It is just such a sweet sweet thing to be a witness to your family's blessings unfolding. God has blessed you every step of the way and I am so thankful to hear laughter. It is the BEST! Your adventures together look like so much fun. I love you all. I have to sign off now so I can go and watch your videos again! Praying for each one of you now!

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  3. We are getting on the plane to Medellín in a few minutes and are excited to meet our son tomorrow! We hope to meet up with you guys soon... we will have 5 boys between our two families! What a party!

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  4. I LOVE THE FACT THAT HE LAUGHS SO HARD HE FELL OVER. SO CUTE.

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  5. I wait all day to come home and read you blog. Our family is truly, truly blessed. I love that Jonathan laughs so easily and that it is Josh making him laugh. What a wonderful big brother. Our love to you and Frank. Jo

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  6. I was laughing along with Joshua & Jonathan. Let me know how was the shopping.

    God Bless our beautiful family. xoxoxoxo

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  7. I LOVE all the videos!!! It's so amazing, once you hear Jonathan's laugh you can hear it through all the pictures!!!

    It's such a blessing that you all have this time together... I can't believe how big Josh looks, he fits perfectly into the big brother role.

    I love you all! I miss you and I can't wait to see you soon! XOXOX

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  8. Thank you all so much for your sweet posts!
    Pam: You are such a great friend, I love ya. Just think... someday you'll have beautiful grandbabies just like these!
    Moops: We miss you.. Josh said he misses our church and I do too! I keep thinking of skit ideas... :)
    Natalie: I can't wait to meet you too! I'm praying for a great gotcha day tomorrow. Boys Party for sure!
    Maria: Yeah, that was pretty funny. Miss you guys. smooches to Jeremy.
    Jo: Thanks so much for following along with us. I know you guys share in this with us because adoption's touched your hearts so closely... tell Gwen, Meredith and Jakey their cousins can't wait to see them!
    Ma and Pop: No shopping today. :( But we'll do lots when you get here! :)
    Mel Mel: It's true, Jonathan's laugh is contagious.. the funny thing is his cry sounds the same so there are times we're like... is he crying or laughing? HA! miss you sweetie pie!

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