Hodson's Colombian Adoption Journey

This blog will document our journey in beginning our family through a Parent-Initiated Adoption from ICBF in Colombia. We will mark the stages and key events along the way as well as blog frequently from Colombia after we receive the call of our lives.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Time Flys When You're With Gabriela!

Well it's been a fast and fun couple of months since our last time we posted here on the blog and I just thought I'd catch it up a bit. On March 1st we celebrated Gabriela's first birthday with our family & friends and had a terrific time and Gabriela got to enjoy her first cake.

The past few months Gabriela has been blossoming so much it has been amazing to watch and enjoy. We had a great visit at my mother's cabin for just before Easter with Monica's sister and nieces. At the end of the visit, Gabriela took her first couple steps without holding anything during Easter Sunday mass! After that, she started easing it in to it taking a few more steps each day but after about a week or so she was hustling all over the house, sidewalk, and anywhere else she could.

She doing so well overall and is talking more with a mix of both English & Spanish and Monica and I are now also trying to teach her a little baby sign language too. She has developed a full blown obsession with the "Itsybitsy Spider" which we have certainly had fun with singing along with her. She says "hi" & "bye" in English still; but loves to point in the air looking for an "avion", or ask for a drink of "agua" and much more.

Gabriela was baptized yesterday, in a small gathering at our church along with two other little ones. The entire family came together again and celebrated this beautiful day. As you can see by the photo below, Gabriela was absolutely beautiful in her gown but at the end of the ceremony she wanted to back to the holy water to play & splash.

Well, as I used to say in Bogota; "it's getting late" so I'm going to call it a night. Enjoy some photos of Gabriela from the last couple of months. These photos include her brilliant smile, fun with birthday cake, walking in the grass with her "Gran-Mare", playing with her friend at a mall play area (this one is new to us), and of course one of Miss Gabriela Sophia in her baptism gown with her beautiful mami.






5 Comments:

  • At 11:03 PM, May 08, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yipppeee...new pics!!! What a pretty little girl :) Glad to see everyone is doing well.

     
  • At 3:56 PM, May 11, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    John & Monica,

    She is so dang cute! She also looks so much like her mother. Congratulations! Happy to see the new pics. It just may inspire me to throw on some new ones.
    Melinda

     
  • At 1:49 PM, May 14, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hello Hodsons,
    Happy Belated Mothers day Monica! I'm so glad to see you all are doing well. Keep up on the blog so the rest of us (who are too lazy to drive out to the boonies) can keep up :)

    Take care,
    Linda

     
  • At 10:11 AM, September 12, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Dear John and Monica,

    I stumbled upon your blog and have found it very informative. I Congratulate you on your adoption of beautiful Gabriela. She is truly lovely! I am curious about your speedy success with parent initiated adoption. I assume it's similar to private? My question is, do you know if other couples who went through the same process received their referral so quickly? My agency is estimating 12 months for a child under 1 year. We've just finished our dossier it's making its way to Colombia for translation which they estimate will take 4 weeks. Also, i would love to know if you would be willing to share the contact details for your attorney and anyone else you may recommend to make our adoption a success. We've been somewhat disappointed in our agency choice. Many thanks and I wish you all much happiness!

    Lana

     
  • At 1:30 PM, September 21, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I just want to say... that I am half columbian, I would love to adopt a columbian baby. Your process just seemed to work out perfectly...even though there were a few bumpy stages. I thank you for putting this up...It really gave me a great insight.

    Congrats!!!

    Kelly
    Lawrenceburg, IN

     

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