Our 2nd Monday in Bogota

Time sure flies when you have a new baby to take care of. It hardly seems like we have been gone a week already. Today was a cold and rainy day in Bogota. This morning we had to go to Colombia's version of a notary. It was a little strange because we had to leave Athena with a babysitter at the hotel (babies are not allowed in the notaries office). The staff member who watched her said she did great while we were gone. After we got back to the hotel we had some lunch while Athena slept. Later on in the afternoon we went to the other Zuetana location for a fiesta with a band that played traditional Colombian music. Tommorrow should be a fairly laid back day, but Wednesday and Thursday are jammed packed with things to do.

Love,

The Zuges

Things we've done and learned

Hola,

Its been an exciting couple of days in Bogota. On Thursday night the wonderful staff at Zuetana had a welcome fiesta for Athena, it was a lot of fun. Athena got to try frosting and she loved it. Besides the party we have been very busy learning each other's routines. Athena goes to bed at about 9:30 everynight after a bottle and a fresh diaper. She normally sleeps until about 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning! After breakfast she takes a nap (usually with Dad while Mom showers) and then has another breakfast bottle. Then its time for a bath, she hasn't decided whether she likes the bath or not. In the late mornings and afternoons we go for walks around Bogota. Today we are going to take or first family trip to the park. Here are some new pictures to look at.

Love to all,

John, Nicole and Athena

A busy day in Bogota

What a fun and busy day in Bogota. We started the day by taking a nap after breakfast. After our little snooze we went on our 1st family walk around the neighborhood with the activity coordinator Carmen. When we got back Carmen invited us to a fruit tasting of native Colombian fruits. We were joined by Mateo another guest here at the hotel. During the tasting we brought out chocolate covered cranbarries from Wisconsin for everyone to try, they loved them. After lunch Athena met a playmate when we had coffee with our new friends Peter, Nicole and their beutiful baby boy Anthony. Well, its time for a bottle and a fresh diaper so we better get going.

Love,

John, Nicole and Athena

Say hello to little Athena

Hello to all our friends and family. The 3 of us are back to our hotel room for the 1st time together. The presentation went very well. Athena was a little cranky at first because they woke her up from a nap for the presentaion, but once we got a bottle in her she cheered right up. After she was fed and burped, she was all smiles:) Athena really liked her 1st ride in a car, she loves looking out the window at all the people in Bogota.

Everyone who has seen her so far is amazed at her head of hair:) The orphanage director even told us that they trimmed her hair this morning! The hotel is great. As soon as we got back they helped us to order her formula to be delivered from a nearby store and showed us how to heat water for her bottles and the procedure for having them sterilize the bottles here for us.

Here are some of our first family pictures. I'm sure the next few days will be an adventure until we all figure each other out!

Enjoy:)

Love,

Nic, John and Athena

Hola de Bogota!

Hello everyone:)
We've arrived with no problems. We got to OHare a few hours early because we were planning on running into traffic and didn't, but we would much rather be early than late so it worked out great:) A special thank you to Dee, our fantastic driver!

After our two flights and an exciting late night ride through the city with our driver Hanibal , we arrived at our hotel at about 11:00 last night. Cecilia,the adoption coordinator just called to tell us that the presentation of Athena is scheduled for 11:30 tomorrow morning. She is stopping by around 12:00 today to meet us and fill us in on all of the info.

We know everyone is excited to see pictures, (especially pics of Athena) so we'll be getting those to you soon. We just got the internet hooked up and are still figuring things out.

Love,
Nic, John & Athena

Travel dates have been made.

Just a quick update for everyone. We have finalized our travel dates. We will be flying to Bogota on the 9th of April. We leave Chicago at 11:00 am and will arrive in Bogota about 9 pm that night. We have a short lay over in Houston. As it stands right now we will have all day Tuesday April 1oth to get settled in at Hotel Zuetana and the presentation of Athena will take place on the 11th.

We also wanted to take some time to say thank you for all the great support from our family and friends. Being able to share this experience with all of you has made it that much more exciting for us.

John, Nic and Athena

ITS A GIRL!!!!

With great excitement, we announce the arrival of our daughter Athena Lucille Zuge. Born on December 17th, 2006 in Bogota Colombia. We will be traveling to unite with her within 2-3 weeks:) Check back for updates on our travel itinerary and throughout our trip.
Love,
Nic, John and Athena