One month together!

Well, this past weekend we celebrated one month of being together as a family of 4. What can I say about this month? It has been both absolutely wonderful and overwhelming. Being the mom of 2 is definitely more than twice the work of having one. Olivia has had quite a hard time with the addition . . . although she is now getting better (THANK GOD) . . . bringing a 3 year old into the family is definitely not the same as bringing home an infant. Giancarlo, fortunately, is adapting very well, he sleeps and eats well and is a happy, lovable little boy. It is exciting to see things through his eyes knowing he is seeing and experiencing so many new things. We are still getting to know each other . . . . overall things are going better than I thought they would but I wind up absolutely exhausted every night.

As we took Oli to school the other morning I looked at the rearview mirror and saw two beautiful faces looking back at me. That moment I was filled with joy, it was then that it hit me we are a family of 4. Life is good!

Here are some pictures of our last few days in Colombia before coming home.  I figured these are the things Giancarlo is thinking at the moment of the pictures:

At the zoo in Medellin . . "OLI GET YOUR *&%^& hands off of me!"


"This is the Colombian way to eat a hot dog"



"Celebrating with the ever popular sentencia cake and Juanita at Hotel Paris"


"This cake is BUONA! "


"Saying goodbye with the Hotel Paris staff ( they are SOOO nice!)"

"Homecoming photo of my new family. . MY FAVORITE! "

"Now what do I do?"

"Swimming with my big sister!"

We will be going to Disney World this weekend to be with some very dear and special families who have also adopted their children from Colombia.   This is the 5th year we are getting together and I cannot wait to be with them again!

Hogar Dulce Hogar (Home Sweet Home)

The De Vita Family version 4.0 arrived home to Miami International Airport late last night.  When we got home we were met with ballons, "It's a Boy" and "Welcome Home" banners and dear family and friends.  The kids (Oli, GC, Kiki and Frankie) ran around playing until late . . .  it was so nice to see them doing that, and it was incredible how well they got along, as though they had been together for a long time.  It was a beautiful sight and felt so blessed and happy to be home with the most important people all around me. 

It's good to be home!

sentencia!

Well the big news is that we signed sentencia today!  We could not be happier and if all goes to plan hope to be going home on Saturday.  I am in utter shock everything has happened so fast, at 3 pm yesterday we were in Medellin taking it easy not knowing anything and this morning we were in Bogota signing our paperwork which allows us to officially be with Giancarlo forever.  Tomorrow a few more errands and Thursday hopefully request his visa to enter the US which we will pick up Fri . . . .and off we go. . . . HOME SWEET HOME!

Day 9

Our second Satruday together has come and gone. . .I just commented to Anthony how today has been a good day, tantrum free and no big issues among the kids.  Oli is even getting better about sharing the stroller since Anthony had the brainstorm of offering to buy her either a stroller or her her first American Girl Doll.  She chose the doll but the deal is she has to wait until we get back to Miami!  (Thanks goodness for that bc since we have been here I think she broke the 50lb mark and carrying her is back breaking.)

Things are good here, the only complaint is the weather is pretty crummy, lots of fog, clouds and rain unfortunately which puts a damper on any plans we make outside. Now that Nonno is leaving tomorrow we will concentrate more on doing kid things.  Tomorrow we hope to go to the zoo. 

Giancarlo's first time eating ice cream with us. . . he LOVED it! 

Another solution to the 2 kids - one stroller problem . . .stack 'em up!

We are still pooling it every morning as long as its not raining.  LOVE this picture of my little girl.

Giancarlo being a HAM! 

Sibling love.  . .it does not get better than this!

We plan to be here in Medellin one more week and then head back to Bogota Oct 3rd.  My mom will come the 4th and Anthony will leave the 5th, since we have our big Miami Fundraising Dinner for our CF family foundation on Oct 7th.  It is sure to be a great event and I am very sorry to be missing it!

ONE WEEK!

Wow, has it only been a week since we have been a family of four?  It definitely seems longer yet 7 days ago we were not even together with Giancarlo yet.  Things are going well, he's a good napper, which gives me a little rest in the middle of the day to get things organized while Oli watches TV in Nonno's room next door.

We have been going swimming every morning and I am amazed at the progress this little boy is making in the pool.  He is already kicking his feet and moving his hands while wearing the swim vest I brought him from Miami.  He's also a daredevil and loves to jump right into the pool (as long as I am there to receive him!).  He loves it and asks about going several times a day.  After the pool we come back upstairs, give the kids a bath and I put him to bed.  In the afternoons we have been going out and visiting different places.  The weather has not been fantastic (lots of fog in the AM and scattered rain), but we have managed.

GC and I are getting in the groove of things, the tantrums are fewer and less severe.  I am figuring out he can often be distracted and he is more willing to come to me and help me calm him down.  He calls me tia, tia mami, mami tia and sometimes even mami alone, but not often spontaneously yet.  I have noticed he has a very high voice volume (I imagine it was the only way for him to have been heard over all the other kids at the orphanage) so we have to work on that. . . it seems he's shouting the whole time. . .lol.

Sorry about not posting pictures again, the camera is acting up, hope to get it resolved soon.  Hugs to all,

Day 5

We arrived in Medellin late last night after a short flight from Bogota.  The meeting with the Defender of Minors was long but went very well.   Of course you hope the kids behave at a time like that . . . Giancarlo arrived fast asleep at the office but woke up and began crying shortly thereafter while we were waiting for the attorney to send us in.  Unfortunately, even my backup plan, the LOLLIPOP, did not stop his tears or crying.  Then, Nonno (Anthony's father who is traveling with us) came to the rescue, scooped him up in his arms and Giancarlo proceeded to stop crying (mind you he did not stop when Anthony or I did the same thing).  So KUDOS to Nonno for saving the day!

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days:

On the way to Panaca ( a HUGE petting zoo)

Oli milking a cow!  She did a great job! 

 Oli trying to make her little brother smile . . . .lol

Giancarlo excited about finally getting on his "aballo"

Hotel  La Fontana. . .I have this same picture with Oli from 5 years ago!

Carlitos laughing with papi

Oli with Maresa, her friend from Hotel Paris (I found them in the bathroom with wet hair mixed with

 hand soap half an hour before we had to go meet the Defender of Minors).  Gee . . .I wonder whose idea that was!?!?!?

This one I just love because he looks SO darn CUTE!

The only part of Medellin we have seen so far is the hotel but it is BEAUTIFUL, and everyone is so kind and polite they make you feel like royalty.  This morning we took the kids to the pool after breakfast.  Oli of course was happy to be in a great big pool but I was wondering how GC would react.  I am not even sure if he has ever seen a pool before or gone swimming.  Let me tell you . . .  the smiles and whoops of joy this little guy gave me were worth the 3 1/2 years of waiting we had.  He was so happy . . . . 

Nonno, Oli, Papi and GC. . . why am I never in the picture?. . . OH that's right because I am always the one who takes them! 

Tell me that smile isnt priceless!!

Another favorite!

Hope you are all well! 

Day 3

Hi everyone, first of all I need to apologize bc I will not be posting any pictures tonight.  This is bc the camera is in the room (who know where) and if I have to go search for it AND  the &%^%$^ cable that constantly seems to dissappear,  I would probably convince myself to go straight to bed, so instead I am going to stay right here, blog for a bit and then go get some much needed sleep. 
What can I say about the past 2 days?  They have been filled with great moments and difficult ones.  The kids are getting along, Oli tries to help but sometimes her "helping" makes things harder.  Fortunately they are both good sleepers and the nonstop pooping has subsided (thanks to a home visit by a Dr and some medicine).  Giancarlo is a happy little boy but he has had a few tantrums and those have been trying.  We dont know what can set him off,  sometimes its something silly like being told not to do something but he winds up on the floor screaming and crying for up to half an hour.  He had his worse one today, he kicks, cries and screams and gets all stiff and does not want to be held or touched.  I just sit near him and let him get it all out and ask him if he is ready for me to help him every few minutes and eventually he says yes and holds out his little arms and then he just lays his head on my shoulder and puts his arms around my neck.  It just breaks my heart, knowing he has had so many changes in his short life, knowing he feels lost and confused and cannot express how he feels. I just hold him for a long time and keep telling him everything will be fine that we love his so much and that we will always be there for him.
 I am being flexible with him in many ways, for instance he insisted on bringing a piece of toast into the room after dinner tonight and I said he could.  He then proceeded to hold on to the toast for dear life and even wanted to take in to the shower. I convinced him to leave it on his bed, thinking he would forget about it but the first thing he said when we got back was "pan?".  I gave it back to him and we proceeded to read 3 books with crumbs falling everywhere between us.  He then wanted to sleep with it but agreed to let me put it on a shelf as long as he could have it in the morning.  So there is sits  . . . a piece of cold, smushed toast right next to his favorite car.  I know we need to establish trust and if that happens by having a few crumbs in bed or by having that toast sitting there that, so be it!
Tomorrow we have our meeting wih the Defender of Minors and them we are off to Medellin for almost 2 weeks of R & R (however much R & R you can get with 2 young kids).  SO looking forward to  it!