Friday

Today we had good intentions of going to the Children’s Museum but by the time we decided to go, Kerry looked it up on the internet and determined it closed from noon to 2 so we decided it was to close to closing time to go in the morning. We decided to go after naps to the afternoon session instead so we called a taxi and went shopping instead. We went to a store called Alkosto which turned out to be just like Sam’s Club. It is always an adventure to go shopping here. Shopping for the usual staples like snacks and juice really allows you to be exposed to normal people and to experience the culture here. You learn what is expensive (like milk), what is given a lot of shelf space compared to home (like dry milk), and what they do differently (like displaying their eggs in a regular isle and not in the refrigerated section). Shopping also allows you to deal with their money. The exchange rate is about $1 to 2,000 pesos so the bills here are all in 1,000’s. Therefore, we carry around 50,000 peso bills (about $25), 20,000 peso bills (about $10), etc. Plus, when you withdraw money from an ATM, it tells you your balance in pesos so we are pesos millionaires! Kerry and I determined we should frame that ATM receipt since it will probably be the only time our balance has more than one comma separator in it.

After we got back, we had some lunch at the hotel and laid down for naps. However, naps were a lot longer than we expected and we had to wake sleeping kids so by the time they got up, we determined we wouldn’t have enough time at the museum before it closed at 5. So instead we walked to yet another new park and let the kids run. The nice thing about staying here for so long is that we don’t feel pressured to do all the site seeing things right away or cram them together which is good since the boys wouldn’t be to willing to let us do that so we have plenty of time to find the parks around and do leisurely shopping.

Now that we have had Kariana for over 10 days, I have been reflecting on the process. I know in the long run that Kariana is definitely better off with us but I really feel for the babies during the transition. Having two biological children that I knew from birth, it has been doubly strange to me that from her perspective, one day, out of the blue, we were thrust into her young life and all other caregivers she has ever known are never to be seen again. From our perspective, we were given her feeding and sleeping schedule and the meds she was on. That was it. No where were we told what size of bottle nipple she took (luckily, we brought more than one size with us, experimented with them and figured out she liked a #2 the best). No where did it tell us how she soothed herself (finally figured out she sucks on cloth although at first we just thought she put everything in her mouth). No where did it tell us how she likes to sleep (we bundled her tight like they teach you in the hospital but only because that is what our boys liked and we had never put a baby to bed any other way). I guess that is why they say babies are so resilient. It is hard to believe they don’t just totally freak out at all the changes that occur to them literally within a few hours. From our perspective, she has become an integral part of our family just like she has always been there instead of joining it 10 days ago. The boys adore her and love fetching clean diapers or talking to her to make her smile. It is as if our family had been waiting with bated breath (which it had) until she made us complete. Now that she is with us, we can move on as a family of 5, never looking back. I can’t image my life without her in it and I love knowing she needed us as much as we needed her.

Just some thoughts on a Friday night,
The Melcher’s