A New Routine: Staying Home

November is the month of Thanksgiving and there is hardly anything we're more thankful for right now than the opportunity for Claudia to stay home with Daniel.

During the past 18 months, Daniel has morphed from a baby into a full blown toddler. It goes without saying, but time goes by so fast. In fact, the other day even Daniel made a comment to that affect. While trailing behind Claudia at the zoo, he told her in his child-like voice, "Mommy, I'm tired. My legs hurt. I'm old."

And while the little guy isn't quite as old as he may feel, we want to make sure Claudia is able to enjoy the few years he has before he goes to school by staying home with him.

So the morning rush of diaper changes, throwing on clothes and stuffing something, anything, into our mouths before jumping in the car to go to day care has been replaced with a much more sane routine. Daniel still wakes up early, but now he has a little more time to enjoy the morning.

Claudia is still trying to figure out their routine a little bit, but she's doing an amazing job. She's already found a few story-time activities at the local libraries and zoo. They've done crafts together and played with Play-do.

But the highlight of every day and the best part about being home with Daniel is easy for her to identify.

"It's his talking," she says while grinning. "He says some funny things every day."

I have an idea of what she means. When we went to the beach with him for a week in June, both of us were surprised by how much he could do and say. We felt a little guilty that we didn't know he could do so much. It made us realize how much we were missing because he was in day care and we were at work.

We had a great experience with Susan Gray School for the first year-and-a-half. The staff there was exceptional and Daniel made quite a few friends with kids and staff. If you're in the Nashville-area and looking for a day care, then they are worth considering.

But for us, it comes down to being content with what we have and making sure our little guy doesn't feel too old too soon.

Little D Screams for Ice Cream

While driving home from picking Daniel up at day care, Abuela needed to make a quick stop at Sam's Club to grab a couple of items.

Daniel, who has overnight turned into the backseat navigator despite having never driven a car in his life, immediately picked up on the deviation in routine route home.

"Abu, donde vamos," he asked and she replied, "to Sam's Club."

"Porque," quizzed Daniel; to which she explained there were some things she needed to buy. Then Daniel asked, "Abu, ice cream. Danielito ice cream."

Abuela said she would need to call mommy and ask for permission. 

At two, Daniel has begun to master the basic foundations of language and communication. It's really very fun to witness. But what came next was a surprise.

"Abu, no mommy. No habla Mommy. Solo Danielito ice cream," he said; which basically means don't tell Mommy that you bought me ice cream.

Really? (to borrow a Seinfeld phrase)

At two years old he has already mastered to a certain level manipulation, and now deceit. What type of child are we raising? Where have we gone wrong? Is this a natural-born skill that has just now begun to show itself, or is this new-found-talent something he picked up from school friends?

Of course, I ask all of the above a little tongue in cheek. We know we're raising him okay and these are the stories we don't ever want to forget.

God bless,

For The Love of a Dog

Moments before embarking on a four-hour-drive to visit family, Claudia narrowly averted a crisis.

"Can you get Wow-Wow, please," she shouted to me from the car.

Without thinking a second thought, I disappeared inside the house and began a quick search in all of the usual places. Inside Daniel's toy work bench. Inside the "trunk" of his tricycle. Upstairs in his room. Den. Kitchen. Our bedroom. Okay, now I'm running out of places Wow-Wow could be.

A sickening feeling entered my mind. I recalled the last time I saw his treasured stuffed dog. It was a few hours earlier in Dick's Sporting Goods right after Daniel had ducked under some merchandise to disappear for a few solitary moments to go poop.

After discovering Daniel's dirty diaper we jetted off to the house and left "man's best friend" behind. I quickly accepted this to be the case. Thankfully, we had replaced Wow-Wow with Wow-Wow 2 only a few weeks earlier and still had the original tucked away in a closet.

I grabbed the original Wow-Wow, who smelled like a real dog; which was the reason it had been replaced in the first place. But, it would do for the weekend during an emergency.

I called Claudia while she was en route to family to let her know I had returned to Dick's Sporting Goods, but no one had turned in Wow-Wow. So, I had already ordered another one from Amazon.com and would have it in a couple of days.

Crisis totally averted. Whew!

We've all been children at some point which means odds are good that we've all had a treasured stuffed animal. For Daniel, it's Wow-Wow.

He has developed a great attachment to the stuffed animal. He plays with it all of the time. His daycare has noted that he sleeps during nap time about an hour longer on the days when Wow-Wow is with him. Wow-Wow eats. Wow-Wow barks and licks your face. In Daniel's world the little doll does just about everything a real dog can do.

Which is why we jump through so many hoops as parents to make sure we don't lose Wow-Wow.

Of course, we still feel more than a little silly after Claudia noticed at her sister's house that Wow-Wow was laying on the bed, and Wow-Wow 2 was snuggled in Daniel's arms. Averted crisis. Well, it never really was one to begin with.

Meet Me in St. Louis: A Family Reunion of a Different Sort

Summer 2012 has been a time for us as a family to enjoy some great American past-times including cook-outs, swimming pool, beach vacation and family reunions.

We recently attended the Children's Hope International Family Reunion in St. Louis to celebrate 20 years of helping adoptive parents and children meet. Families from around the country who have been touched by this wonderful organization traveled to the Gateway City for a weekend of fun and fellowship.

Dwight Gantt, who founded CHI, spoke about God's plan and reflected on His hand's influence on his life. Specifically, Gantt talked about how the hundreds of families who have adopted through CHI have been positively impacted by the events that eventually led to the organization's founding. From humble beginnings assisting one family adopt from China, CHI has helped thousands of families adopt from China, Russia, Colombia, Ethiopia and others.

Daniel had a great experience traveling with us. After a few road trips, he has begun to enjoy the adventure a little more.

We visited the St. Louis Zoo for the first time. It is a wonderful zoo that is offered to the public for free. Thanks to donations from generous individuals and companies, patrons can see a lot of different animals. The highlight of our visit was watching a couple of baby elephants swim for apples and a rhinoceros grunt and huff around to beat the 105 degree heat.

We also enjoyed some live music underneath the St. Louis Arch while the sun set. Daniel loves music and had a blast watching the people and saying, "Yee Haw," at the end of songs.

We met a few families during our trip; including a couple who had adopted two sisters from Colombia. It was really special to meet them and make some more connections with families with Colombian-born children.

By the end of the trip, we realized how much fun we had during the past couple of days. More importantly, we realized we were part of a much larger adoptive family through Children's Hope International. We can't wait to go back next year.

Mano, Sleep and Things that Go Squeak

With an ever-so-slight withdrawal of my hand, I had accomplished something I hadn't done in literally  months.

Daniel was asleep in his crib and I had been the primary parent involved. Every single night for as long as I can remember, the bedtime routine involved Claudia putting Daniel to bed. For whatever reason, I wasn't quite the same in Daniel's mind.

On this particular evening, however, Claudia was out with some friends and the evening routine was left in my hands.

It began with Daniel drinking a bottle while snuggled on the couch with me and watching a T.V. show. As time went on, it became obvious Daniel was becoming drowsy and ready for bed.

"Ready to go to sleep, buddy," I asked.

"Yes," he said and nodded for extra emphasis.

I pulled him up in my arms. We said, "Night-Night," to our dogs, the living room, kitchen and stairs. I laid him in the crib and he rolled up in the blanket. I thought it was going to be that easy for a brief moment.

As he noticed I was leaving, he whipped around, threw off the blanket, bolted up on his feet and cried for me to come back; which I of course did. As soon as I was hanging over his crib, he was laying down again and reaching for my hand.

"Mano," he asked. I reached out and let his miniature fingers curl around my hand and watched him doze to sleep again. After a few attempts, he finally let me withdraw my hand completely. He was sound asleep.

That's when I turned around and realized why God made our bodies make popping noises, creaky floors and things that go squeak. It's to give him a little laugh every night when parents try their best to slink out of their children's rooms soundlessly.

While my back was turned and I was leaning over Daniel's crib, his room had transformed into a virtual mine field of potential sound-making booby-traps. I can only imagine, God smiles down every now and then at our plight as parents.

I gingerly took my first step and heard my knee pop. I prayed the floor wouldn't make a noise, but of course it did.

CREEEEAAAKK.

I slowly put increasing pressure on the carpet; my mouth contorted as I silently prayed for God's intervention. "Help me be silent, Lord, and please, please don't let Claudia come home right now" I prayed. If she did arrive at this time, the dogs would certainly create enough racket that Daniel would wake.

Daniel rolled over. I twisted my neck to look back at the crib while minimizing my body's movement.  The coast was still clear. Daniel remained laying down. Now time to make sure I didn't bump a toy that makes noise.

Finally I reached the door, which of course, during the day opens and shuts silently. But at night, the noise the door makes as the bottom rubs across the carpet is like a child's nails scratching a chalkboard.

I continued my prayer even though the goal was so tantalizingly close. I took nothing for granted. Then with the swiftness of a ninja, I opened the door enough to slide out and shut the door behind me.

Mission accomplished. Good night.

Raising a Colombian in the USA

Daniel looked down at his plate, grabbed a fistful of arepa and stuffed it into his mouth; but getting him to consume other aspects of his Colombian culture are more challenging.

Gotcha Day is ten months behind us and a lot has changed. First and foremost, Daniel is a full blown toddler. He runs. He plays. He talks. His personality shines more brightly each day and the pace of his learning has increased ten fold.

As adoptive parents, it's important to us for Daniel to remain connected to his birth country Colombia. We didn't change his name. We speak Spanish at the house. We attended Novenas during Christmas. We cook arepas and arroz con pollo. We listen to Colombian music and translate English books into Spanish while reading to him before bed time.

We're not abnormal. Many parents of Internationally adopted children do the same type of things. Why? It's because a child's native country is a part of him or her and should be celebrated and encouraged rather than to pretend otherwise. When we've explained our desire for Daniel to speak Spanish, for example, we've had more than one person make comments as though we're in denial of the enevitble and I feel as though I have to defend or explain our rationale. Sometimes it's unspoken and other times it's said out right, "well, he needs to speak English too."

The opposite is true. We want him to be bilingual, but Daniel is exposed to English so much that he is already displaying a preference toward it and could lose Spanish completely if we weren't on constant vigil. Here's a great example of a frequent exchange he and I have.

"Up," he exclaims to me with his arms outstretched.

"No entiendo," I reply.

"Arriba," he says, and I pick him up.

So despite the fact Claudia is from Colombia, we have begun to realize how difficult it will be for us to raise a Colombian in the United States. We admit, on the other hand, that we are blessed to be able to speak with him in his native language at all since many parents of adopted children don't have that resource.

I'm not admitting defeat, only acknowledging the challenge. Our culture has some great aspects, but so does Colombia and we want Daniel to have the best of both worlds.

Looking Back And Forward at the Midway Point

Standing over Daniel's crib, it occured to me that he is only a couple of weeks from being 20 months old.

There isn't much particularly special about that milestone for most kids. It's the equivalent to turning 22 years old - nothing special.

That's not the case for Daniel however. At 20 months he will have spent exactly half of his life with his foster mother and half his life with us, and each day going forward his time in Colombia will become a smaller and smaller percentage of his total life. With his time in Colombia quickly fading into the distance of the past, we enevietably ask ourselves, "what will he remember from Colombia?"

"Do you think if his foster mother walked into the room that he would recognize her,"asked Claudia.

I pause and reply, "it is hard to say. He is shy with strangers but warms up quickly to them."

"Do you think he remembers Colombia," she asks.

"I don't think so. Not at this point," I reply. "But we will go back to visit every couple of years. You still have family and friends who we can visit and we will take him to see places that were part of the adoption process like where we picked up his Colombian passport."

We try to maintain his Colombian heritage in the house. We participated in a couple of Novenas during the days leading up to Christmas. We play Colombian nursury music and we speak Spanish at home. We do what we can.

But the reality is he will only have photos and video to remember his days living in Colombia. Looking forward, he will have so many more opportunities than he would have probably had in Colombia. That's what is so exciting about thinking of his future.

Standing over his crib, Claudia and I watch him pull the blanket over his face and say, "night night."

He is completely happy. As I watch him fade off to sleep, I can't help but smile at the thought of watching him grow up. There are so many things I want to do with him when he gets older that he can't do yet like going for a hike or camping. Of course, I don't lose sight of enjoying Daniel's 20th month and all the other months between now and our first camping trip.

Creating Margin with a Child

With all of life's daily activities and obligations pulling us, often times in different directions, it is hard to take time to slow down and relax.

Every day is go-time when Daniel wakes up until he goes to sleep. I often recall our interview with his nutritionist just before we met him. She described Daniel as active, and then as if to emphasize just how active, she made hand gestures as though a child were climbing up over her shoulder and around her neck. Yeah, that active.

During the fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas times, we were either traveling, committed to some sort of activity or had family in town. The next thing we knew, we were spit out into 2012 and nearly through with January before we caught our breathes.

Which brings me to the point of this blog post. We are going to try making a more conscious effort to create margin in our schedules to relax, slow down and enjoy not doing anything.

It's a Biblical principle. God rested after probably the most productive week in history. Christ began his ministry with 40 days alone in the desert and frequently pulled back from the crowds to pray either alone or with his closest disciples.

And so, we want to follow our Lord's example as best we can.

What are the benefits of creating margin? For one, it will permit us to rest; the value of which shouldn't be under estimated. Secondly, we'll be able to spend more focused time with Daniel at one of the most crucial times of his development. Instead of filling our schedules with fluff, we intend to be deliberate in our interactions with him.

God has blessed us beyond our imaginations with placing Daniel into our lives. He is our answered prayer and it seems incredibly short-sighted to let life's distractions prevent us from being intentional with how we raise our son. At least on the weekends, for starters, no more frivolous Facebook, work email, twitter, etc competing with play time with Daniel.

For example, on Friday I left work early to pick Daniel up from day care. We visited a park on the way home. The weather felt like spring time instead of the typical freezing January temperatures. We walked on the dirt path until we came to a small wooden bridge that crossed a babbling creek.

There Daniel plopped himself down on the bridge with his legs pointing straight ahead. He loved watching the water. I noticed a bunch of pebbles by the foot of the bridge and gave one to Daniel to see if he would throw it into the creek.

Surprisingly, he didn't know what to do; so I took a rock and tossed it into the creek. Splash! Daniel grinned. I gave him another rock and he mimics my motion. The only problem was he didn't release the rock. So I repeated the example. Again, he mimics me but holds on to the rock. The third time I lead his hand and flick the rock out of it and watch it sail through the air and land into the water. 

Yeah! At this point, he understands how to throw the rock into the water. I hand him rocks one-by-one and he throws them into the water. We repeat this for a few minutes before continuing down the trail. 

The fact I actually taught him how to throw a rock into the creek really struck me. That's a skill, if you want to call it that, he will use the rest of his life. In fact, he'll improve on it and one day be able to skip the rock across the water. 

We never would have gone to the park if we hadn't created the time to do so. I would have missed out on that moment for who knows how long. How many other awesome moments and life lessons are just waiting to be experienced and learned?

I don't know, but we're going to make the time to find out. I promise.

Our 1st Family Vacation

Daniel knew something was special every time mommy exclaimed, "Nos vamos a vacaciones!"

On short notice, we decided to take advantage of the fact  Claudia would be off on Martin Luther King's day and go on a long weekend vacation to Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg, TN. We rented a cabin, packed the SUV and headed out on the three and a half hour drive.

Periodically we'd chant, "Nos vamos a vacaciones!" Daniel would smile from ear to ear and clap his hands.

If you've never been to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, then you are missing one of the country's great treasures. Nestled at the foothills of the Smokey Mountains, this area has a lot of Southern charm mixed in with Vegas-style show business. Instead of the a King's Arthur Court and buffet, there is a lumber jack duel show. Instead of the Blue Man Group, there is the Hatfield & McCoy's Family Feud and buffet. With almost 9 million tourist visiting each year, this area has a lot to offer families.

At about nine p.m. we opened the door to the cabin. Daniel acted as though he was in heaven. It was wonderful to see his excitement. He could barely contain himself. With a huge smile, he clapped his hands and yelled, "Yeaaaa!"

He saw the couch, and yelled again. He went into the bathroom and saw the jacuzzi tub and yelled again. He pulled us by the hand to show us his discovery. "Pool," he exclaimed.

Despite the holidays only being a few weeks ago, we needed a break after a hectic start to 2012. It was also our first vacation as a family. We've taken a few road trips to visit family, but nothing by ourselves.

On Saturday we took Daniel to Ripley's Believe It Or Not Aquarium in Gatlinburg. At first he was a little nervous because of all the people and the large building. He clung to my arm tightly, but after a few minutes he warmed up to all of the sea critters.

We've discovered Daniel really enjoys animals. I guess that makes him a normal boy. Seeing all of the different fish, jellies and sting rays was a lot of fun for him. We had fun just watching him. He especially enjoyed the penguins' exhibit.

By the time we left, it was late afternoon. Within five minutes of being outside, Daniel was asleep in the stroller. We, however, were starving and grabbed a quick lunch at the nearby Mellow Mushroom.

The next morning we ate breakfast at one of the many pancake house restaurants in the area. It was your traditional Southern cooking complete with fruit topped pancakes, omelets and grits. While eating we noticed there was a Rainforest Zoo close by. Since we came without an agenda, we thought it'd be a great place to take Daniel.

Once again, Daniel was surrounded by a variety of exotic animals. This time it was lizards, frogs, parrots, poisonous snakes and a couple of porcupines.

He would waddle his way from one window display to another. Standing on his toes, he'd peer inside and enthusiastically wave to the animals. During the afternoon animal show, he touched a snake, toad, lizard and a couple of other things.

That afternoon we took a long nap. Daniel in his pack-n-go, and Claudia and I on the couch. It was a great afternoon.

The most popular activity for the 9 million tourist is shopping. That's not something we enjoy doing frequently. So, like the amateur shoppers we were, we headed to the Tanger Five Oaks Outlet Mall around 5 p.m. without realizing it was Sunday and stores closed at 6 p.m.

We strolled through The Children's Place for a few minutes and then one other store before calling it quits. Tanger Five Oaks is Tennessee's most successful mall in terms of annual sales and we were there for less than one hour.

Each night we watched a Toy Story movie with Daniel before putting him to bed. When it was just Claudia and I, we watched a couple of episodes of El Cartel de Los Sapos season two. It's a Colombian-based show about a drug cartel and one of my favorite series.

When dawn came on Monday it was hard to believe the trip was essentially over. We packed, ate and headed back to Nashville. The trip will go down as one of my favorite vacations so far. No plan. No stress. Lot's of time with my family uninterrupted. Perfect.

Finally...Our Gotcha Day Video

How Quickly They Learn

As Abuelita settled into her car, Daniel looked on from the doorway.

"Bye-bye, ya'll,"said Daniel while waving his small hand back and forth.

Claudia and I did a double take and prompted him to say bye-bye again just to make sure we heard correctly the first time.

We did.

Our Colombian-born son who has been in the United States for only six months has already begun picking up true southern dialect. In his own child-like way, Daniel was definitely trying to say the Southern-most of Southern words: Ya'll.

For the past few weeks it has been impressive to notice everything Daniel is picking up cognitively. He has masted walking and continues making great strides eating independently. Now, his mental energies are focused on his vocabulary and communication skills.

Claudia will ask him to repeat several random words and he makes the cutest effort to repeat a lot of them. He is at a great stage where communicating with him is becoming easier, and even if he isn't getting the pronunciation correctly it is very cute to witness this learning process.

We are also now even more acutely aware of the challenge we face in raising Daniel to be bi-lingual. Claudia and her family are native Spanish speakers and I'm getting better with time. But the deluge of English Daniel hears daily either on television, radio or during day care overwhelms the few hours a day he hears Claudia and I speak Spanish.

Furthermore, my Spanish isn't perfect so I'm certain to be only adding to the confusion he must be experiencing while trying to learn both languages correctly. At least, I pray, I'm not permanently damaging his speaking skills.

People ask how everything is going with Daniel and many times I don't know where to begin. Parenthood has been one of the most immeasurably, wonderfully unexpected joys in our lives! Most of the time, I can only describe it as awesome.

Watching this little person become more aware of his environment and world is a great experience. You get to re-live life again through your child's eyes. Sticks, rocks and specks of dust are all just as new to him as a clear blue sky.

The next time you see our son, he may just have a Southern drawl to go with that, "Ya'll."

God bless,

Daniel Learning to Sign

With a quick, repetitive hand gestures, Daniel indicates he is hungry and ready to eat dinner.

During dinner, Daniel signs that he'd like more of a helping of pasta or fruit.

After only two months in day care, Daniel is learning sign language as a way to communicate when he needs basic needs met. It's something we tried teaching in Colombia, but were not very successful. I guess it's because we were overwhelmed with so many other things Daniel was trying to teach us at the same time!

Daniel is a quick learner and especially when food is involved. 

Shortly after I drop Daniel off at day care, the children enjoy a morning snack. Most mornings with backpack and jacket still on, Daniel begins gesturing for food as soon as he walks into the room.

His teachers look at him and say, "Yes Daniel, we know you want to eat."

I take his jacket off and watch him head toward the sink to wash his hands with the teacher. He waves good-bye, and off I go to work.

Claudia and I are so happy Daniel is learning to communicate with us more. He can tell us when he wants to drink or eat and a few other things.

I wish we could say that we taught him to sign and therefore were some sort of parental geniuses; but we can't. We pass all of those kudos to his day care teachers.

Restaurants, Races and Rendezvous

Let's go have dinner at Pei Wei, Applebee's or our favorite Mexican Restaurant dive.

It sounds like such a great idea at the time. All the ingredients to a good time are there. We're hungry. There's a restaurant offering to satisfy a particular craving we have. And so, we go inside.

But after a few visits to the restaurants, we have realized there is a pattern.

The waiter comes. We order. We wait. Daniel is entertained by something or another. Food comes. Daniel becomes bored. The race is on!

It's stressful eating when a child is screaming and forcing you to split your attention between meal, conversation and child. We end up shoveling food into our mouths, gulp the drink and bolt out the door as quickly as possible.

How can you enjoy the atmosphere when your child is decorating it with the entree? Makes you wonder, right?

We resigned ourselves to the fact that restaurants won't be a part of our lives for the next couple of years... at least not with Daniel.

While at work the other day, Claudia sent me a text.

"Are you available for lunch," she asked.

"Sure," I said.

"It's a date and without Daniel," she responded.

What a great idea! We could have our weekday rendezvous sneaking off to enjoy a lunch together at one of our favorite restaurants each week. My wife, in case you didn't know already, is brilliant!

This is a great solution to a seemingly silly problem, but in reality it is extremely important for us to maintain our relationship with each other. We rarely have time to enjoy an uninterrupted hour together now. So these lunches give us a chance to go on our "date" and continue the romance that made our relationship and friendship so great before parenthood.

So Claudia and I can continue enjoying our conversations at meal times, albeit during lunch; and Daniel can decorate our kitchen with his meal while we eat dinner together instead of destroying the decor in a restaurant.

Balance has been restored in the universe and life is good.

Independence Is a Messy Transition

Daniel appeared like a little man sitting in his miniature chair at the table and taking fist-fulls of fruit and shoving it into his mouth while surrounded by his new friends at day care.

One of the things Daniel's day care begins teaching all of the children upon arrival is how to become more independent. He has only been attending for about a week and already he wants to be more like the 18 month old children in his class.

"I'm losing my baby," Claudia exclaimed at one moment. 

Yeah, Daniel is starting to do a few more new things and we're realizing progress can be messy. It's cute to watch him be a little man eating at his miniature chair and table in day care. Frankly, we don't have to clean up the mess on the floor afterwards. At home, it's a different story.

Daniel is starting to use a spoon. By that, I mean he holds it in one hand while shoveling food into his mouth with the other. He pauses and looks at you. A grin creeps across his face. He knows how to use the spoon but prefers the feeling of soft banana squishing in his fist while eating.

Before day care, we would spoon feed Daniel the majority of his food. He would eat pieces of fruit by hand, but that was about all. Now he is eating by hand pasta, vegetables, fruit and whatever else we give him. Some days are cleaner than others.

In other developments, Daniel is starting to finally gain enough confidence to walk by himself - even if he is making it into a game.

He crawls out of his bedroom and into the nearby bathroom out of view. Then, he'll burst into the doorway and waddle his way toward you with a huge grin, laughing and arms pointed toward the ceiling. 

He totally knows what he is doing.

We receive daily reports from day care and they say he is starting to cruise around a lot more. That's definitely a welcome change for the staff, if not for Claudia and I who love to tote him around like an accessory. 

One day I observed him in his class room and everyone was standing in a line to go outside. Daniel was the last child in line. It was hard to see him because he was sitting down. The teachers opened the door and children walked outside. 

"Wait a minute. Let's see if he'll crawl outside, " one teacher said to another.

Daniel began crawling out the door, but about the time he got to the doorway he noticed something fascinating on the ground. 

I could see him pick it up in his hand and pull it close to his face to inspect the object of curiosity. The teacher, still holding the door patiently, just tilted her head to one side. The other teacher finally picked him up and took him outside.

Maybe Daniel's transition from baby to toddler won't be messy on all fronts. Some changes will be welcome, like sleeping the entire night; and others will make us remember with fondness when he was just a little bit more dependent on us, like when we're cleaning our kitchen floor after every meal.

Daddy Duty & Daycare

The words "Tata" frequently echo throughout the house and each time I swell with pride.

I never tire of hearing that infantile pronunciation of Da-da Daniel says. For the past three weeks, I've enjoyed working double duty between taking care of my son and answering phone calls, showing property and trying to negotiate real estate deals. It's been a tough juggling act at times and I'm thankful to everyone's patience - especially Daniel's.

But between the calls and various interruptions, there's a bond that's formed between us. I don't have the same routine as my wife when she took care of Daniel for two months. I didn't have the luxury of being completely away from work. But I ended up with my routine and Daniel is still alive. That equals success in my book.

Our bond is apparent in his smile and the way he laughs when we play. But it didn't come easily. The first week was really difficult for both of us. The second week felt like I had been doing this gig forever. But before I knew it, my time with Daniel at the house was coming to an end.

Our "new normal" begins next week. That's when Claudia and I will return to work full-time and Daniel will go to day care. Claudia and I haven't been full-time at work at the same time since May 21. We've attempted to transition Daniel by taking him to the day care a few times, but unfortunately he was sick last week and we've only taken him for half a day so far. September 15 will be his first full day.

Did I mention the reason for the half day?

No. Oh, well, okay. Allow me to explain. The day care is highly rated. The best there can be supposedly. It has an observation room where parents can stop by and watch their children unnoticed. Claudia and I visited the observation room around noon that day.

It was nap time and all of the children were sleeping - except Daniel. He was laying on his cot underneath our window. We could only see his tiny legs and bare feet. But we could hear him!  He was wailing. His toes would curl as he exerted all his effort into his crying. We knew, as only parents can, that he was really stressed - not just crying.

So, we decided to interrupt the nap and take him home. While they said he had only been crying for the past 15 minutes during nap time, his voice was gone. Never in my life did I imagine I would have felt the way I did. I was eager to take him home, comfort him and play with him. Claudia was in tears.

Parenthood really makes you see the world differently. Being an adopted parent means you always have another dimension to consider. Was he crying because he felt abandoned or because he just didn't want to take a nap? Did he think we would never come back? Those type of thoughts run through your mind.

I really hope Daniel enjoys daycare, makes plenty of friends and gets to experience things he wouldn't otherwise be able to at home. That's my hope, anyway. We'll see what our new normal looks like next week.

Situational Spanish for Parents

I've learned a lot of Spanish after being married for seven years to my wonderful Colombian wife, but my vocabulary has increased dramatically since Gotcha Day.

During lunch with some friends today, it struck me there is an entirely new host of words and phrases a parent uses daily. I'd like to share a few of my most commonly used words and phrases in case you find yourself the parent of a Spanish-speaking toddler.

Ven aca. = Come here.
No hagas eso. = Don't do that.
No jales mi pelo. = Don't pull my hair.
Déjalo. = Let it go.
Tu pañal esta mojado. = Your diaper is wet.
Tu pañal esta sucio. = Your diaper is dirty.
Necesito cambiar tu pañal. = I need to change your diaper.
Quieto! = Be still! (usually said with emphasis.)
Donde esta la pañalera? = Where is the diaper bag?
Te amo. = I love you.
Me amas? = Do you love me?
Cochino. = Nasty.
Estamos tarde. = We're late.
Quieres un tete? = Do you want a bottle?
Parate. = Stand up.
Camina. = Walk.
Muy bien. = Very good.
No pongas tu comida en el piso, por favor. = Don't put your food on the floor, please.
No lo toques. = Don't touch that.
No grites por favor. = Don't scream please.
Pacito. = soft (usually when he is petting the dogs).
Dame mis gafas. = Give me my glasses back.
Dulce sueños. = Sweet dreams.

I hope you find these words and phrases to be helpful to you.

All the best,

Saying Good-bye to Dog Days of Summer

The summer has flown by faster than most in recent years and Daniel has played a large role in making that happen.

The sunset arrives earlier every day and the 100 degree summer days with 100 percent humidity has finally begun to give way to slightly cooler temperatures - albeit in the high 80's and mid-90's.

Since arriving home with Daniel, we have spent a lot of time trying to establish a routine. It's been difficult because we are required to be home for 90 days. Claudia has been home for 60 days but returned to work last week. I'm picking up the last 30 days. So, we're still a month away from what will be our "new normal."

We've also made a couple of weekend trips to Memphis to introduce Daniel to family and friends. By now, he has met the majority of our immediate families and close friends with a few exceptions.

It was particularly special to introduce him to one of my family's friends for three generations, Mrs. Blaine. She was one of my grandmother's closest friends and they would talk daily. She was also our neighbor for several years in Memphis, which was when I developed a close relationship with her that continues today. She's 93 years young and a joy to be around. When she met Daniel, she quickly assumed the title of grandmother, and that's exactly how we wanted it to be.

It was also special to see my brother Derek playing the piano and watching Daniel sway back and forth while listening to the slow melody. Daniel loves music and dancing. Our theory is it's something he inherited in his Latin blood.

Developmentally, Daniel is progressing very quickly. No, he still isn't walking independently yet . But he does walk very well when we hold his hand or if we coax him to walk back-and-forth between us. He says a variety of  words including; tata (for daddy), mama, tete (bottle), aqua, Amen, gracias, wow-wow (doggies), up (mimicking a trick we do with our Cocker Spaniel), bye-bye  and a few others. He is standing up on his own without holding on to anything and taking steps toward us. He eats very well and loves fresh fruit (Mango, Watermelon, Strawberries and Banana) and Mommy-made soups.

It's amazing how quickly a child picks up the skill of manipulation. For example, Claudia scolds him to stop spitting Mango out of his mouth and throwing it to the floor. His reaction is to blow her a kiss. Her heart melts a little bit and then they start laughing and smiling toward each other.

He blows a lot of kisses.

He also has an active imagination. He was playing house with my sisters during one of our Memphis visits. They would spoon feed him and he'd open his mouth, pretend to take a mouthful of some unseen food and then say, "Yum."

Also, I'll make the sound of a mosquito buzzing around his head; then with my fingers pretend to catch it like Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid. With the invisible mosquito pinched between index finger and thumb, I'll act like I'm going to feed it to Daniel. Like a good sport, he leans forward and opens his mouth. Once the mosquito is inside, he'll say, "Yum."

He is adjusting so well that we can not help but thank God for all he has given us. Many people say because of his age, he will not realize certain things or remember all of these changes so early in his childhood.

That is true in a specific sense, but he will still be influenced by his past generally speaking. And at some point, whether in five years or 20, Daniel will likely ask us questions that unfortunately we won't have sufficient answers.

Even today, we don't take for granted how well he is adjusting. We are aware there are children who don't react as well and the transition takes longer and has more struggles than what we've experienced.

For now, we'll enjoy the last days of summer together as a forever family.

First Post Adoption Home Visit: Check!

Despite successfully navigating through the adoption process in Bogota in June, we are required to have several post adoption home visits until 2013.

Our first home visit was last week with our social worker, Kim, from Nashville-based Miriam's Promise. Even though we need to go through this, it's a lot easier because we're using the same social worker who did our home study.

Kim arrived on time at 9 a.m. We sat down in the living room with Daniel. He was very active, laughing and showing off for our guest. Of course he had no idea who was Kim. She opened her folder and began asking a variety of questions related to our routine and how well we were adjusting.

Claudia did the majority of the talking. In fact, she talked a lot more than I had expected. It was awesome to hear her describe our experience with the glow of new motherhood shining from her smile. While Claudia was talking, Daniel was crawling on the floor and playing with his various toys. He laughed in the background and would occasionally turn to Kim with a huge smile.

"Is he always this happy," she asked. "Oh, yes," we both replied.

By 11 a.m. Kim had asked all of her questions. I had put Daniel in his crib for his morning nap and he was sound asleep. Before Kim could leave, Claudia and I insisted on showing pictures of our trip that was on my Ipad and gave her a quick tour of Daniel's bedroom.

After we said our good-bye's and closed the front door, Claudia and I let out a collective sigh. We had passed. Well, it's not really a "pass or fail" situation but you can't help but think you are being evaluated.

On another note, Daniel had his first pediatrician visit. The doctor, who has several internationally adopted children as patients, said Daniel was current on shots and completely healthy. We're also beginning the process to finalize our adoption in Tennessee so he will have a Tennessee birth certificate.

Slowly but surely, we are almost finished.

Week Three: Half Infant and Half Toddler

While we slowly return to our new normal, it seems each day Daniel either learns a new word, sound, gesture or movement.

It is hard to believe we have been home three weeks. Time has a funny way of going fast. Claudia has enjoyed staying home with Daniel. I've returned to work and am finally starting to get caught up with our various projects and potential new business.

Daniel is getting into his routine. We've transitioned him into his bedroom during the nights, albeit reluctantly on my part. He slept the entire night yesterday and we are hoping this will become a trend.

His abuela delivered his crib bumper she made for him today. It looks great in the room and matches the existing color scheme.

Now on to more fun things! Daniel is on the verge of walking. It stumbled his first couple of steps quasi-unassisted yesterday. Claudia and I sat a few feet a part and let him lurch himself into our waiting arms. Without us there to catch him, he surely would have face planted into the carpet. Whether we want him to or not, Daniel is growing.

I like to describe him as half infant and half toddler. He enjoys being cuddled and treated like an infant, but at times he exerts his independence and is extremely curious about everything. It's a wonderful age.

The other day Claudia and Daniel were down stairs. Claudia went into the kitchen, which joins our living room, for a minute. Daniel took his moment of solitude combined with freedom to explore one of our potted plants. By the time Claudia saw him there was dirt all over the floor. The first indication something else was awry was when she noticed a little bit of dirt on Daniel's lip. When she opened his mouth it was full of, you guessed it, dirt!

She quickly opened his mouth and finger swiped as much dirt out as possible. Daniel was a little startled. They sat there looking at each other for a moment and then started laughing.

Our dogs are learning to adjust having an infant in the house. Daniel enjoys the dogs and now everything that moves is a "wow-wow." Cows. Horses. People walking in the distance. They are all doggies to Daniel.

Occasionally Missy (our nine-year-old cocker spaniel) or Pebbles (our adopted Pomeranian) will growl at Daniel to tell him he is getting into their space. Daniel, sitting up on the floor in only his onesie, looks at them for a minute and growls back at them. We die laughing.

Daniel still hasn't gotten used to the sweltering heat yet, but the good news is none of the natives have either. As with much of the country, Nashville has been consistently in the mid-90s with high humidity making outside really feel like 100+ degrees. Step outside for a few minutes and it feels like you're taking a shower in your sweat.

Car trips aren't nearly as fun as the destinations for Daniel. It is an understatement to say he hates being in his car seat by himself. With someone sitting in the backseat with him it is a lot better experience. Otherwise, he is wailing from start to stop.

It makes trips to Gymboree during the week bittersweet for Claudia. He really enjoys interacting with the other children, but going and coming is very traumatic for him in the car seat. Still, Claudia has watched him play peek-a-boo with the teacher and crawl-sprint toward the surprise toy box at the end of class. I can't wait to see him during one of the classes.

And so, each day we enjoy watching our son do what little one-year-old children do. He's exploring, learning and talking a lot. Everything is new to him. Whether it's a summer breeze and flowers or a trip to the grocery store and Gymboree. Basically, it's awesome.

Visiting Vanderbilt Children's Hospital

After returning to the United States, one of the first items on our agenda was visiting Vanderbilt Children Hospital International Adoption Clinic.

 We visited the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital International Adoption Clinic to run a battery of tests on Daniel. The clinic's name says it all and specializes in evaluating medical documents from other countries and specific testing for children from other countries once they arrive stateside.

Of course Daniel did exceptionally well! We are so thankful to be blessed with a wonderful, friendly, healthy child.

Now we are beginning our search for a pediatrician. A few have been highly recommended by friends or family and we'll likely visit them.

Each day we are getting back into a routine and our "new normal."


Claudia is getting used to being home and has done a wonderful job managing to establish Daniel's routine. He is very comfortable in the house. He really enjoys Missy and Pebbles; and they are doing great with him too.

The heat, however, is really hard for Daniel. He is accustomed to fifties and overcast days. Nashville has been like a soup with mid-nineties and very high humidity. Within minutes, Daniel is drenched with sweat. Until he gets acclimated to the temperature here, we aren't taking him out very much.

I returned to work this week. It has been difficult leaving Daniel and Mommy at the house, but the reaction Daniel makes when I walk through the door in the afternoon warms my heart. He becomes so happy. He smiles and laughs until I can pick him up.

Daniel met Ezra last weekend. Ezra is one of our closest friends son and is about a month older than Daniel. Everyone had a great time watching the two of them interact. Little did they know the pressure and scrutiny they are under to become fast, best friends!

This weekend we have Claudia's sister Ana Maria and her husband and kids coming to visit. We can't wait to see them.