A visit from an old friend--part 2

I am having technical difficulties; this blog entry is a continuation of the previous one regarding our visit with Christina. You can see more pictures in my February/March facebook album. On a connected note, we love having visitors, so if you are in need of a vacation, keep Colombia (and us) in mind! :-)

A Visitor from Afar . . .

At the end of March, we enjoyed a visit from my dear friend (and former student), Christina. How sweet it was to reconnect and to share our lives with each other. During her week with us, we took trips up Monserrate, a Catholic church/stations of the cross, that sits on a mountain top overlooking the city of Bogota. We also spent time in La Candelaria, a colonial section of Bogota that is home to a number of musuems, theaters, and of course, the Presidential Palace. We trekked outside of the city to Sopo, home of the Alpina factory (yummy sweet treats) and some spectacular views, as well as to Chia, a small town outside of Bogota. We loved having her visit, and Katie still waves "bye bye" to each airplane she sees, saying "Atina (aka Christina) bye bye airplane friend sad." Here are some photos from our week together. The majority of them were taken by Christina.

Katie and Emily--March

OK, so it is my fault for not blogging more frequently and then feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of condensing two months into a blog entry. But with two little girls with divergent sleep schedules, I have had difficulty finding the time and energy to write. Enough said . . . so what is new around here? Katie is a pre-school dropout. Shocking, eh?! Actually, she loved going to pre-school, but we didn't love all the colds and viruses she brought home and shared with her sister and me, so we pulled her out. Now momma is weaving pre-school activities into our day to day adventures. Katie loves painting, gluing, coloring, reading, and singing. I love to listen to her "read" her books to her sister and her bear. She remember key words from the pages and weaves them into her re-telling, culminating her reading with a dramatic "the end!" She also entertains Emily with her song medleys; her favorite "medley" is Baa Baa Black Sleep, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and The Muffin Man. Absolutely precious!

Emily loves watching whatever her sister is doing. Katie can make Emily laugh out loud and squeal with delight. I love watching the two of them together. In terms of new things, Emily now is sitting up really well without support. She loves to grab at and manipulate books, crinkly things, balls (rolling a ball back and forth with her sister is a favorite activity), and anything with a fun texture. When she is distressed, she makes a sound like "mama," but I don't think she really knows what she is saying yet. This week, Emily got her first two bottom teeth. That explained a lot of fussiness and sleepless nights! While it is still too early to determine what Emily's personality is like I would have to say that she is quite an observer who loves being in the thick of things.