We Dare to Dream

I haven’t felt this nervous since the day I left Minneapolis and flew to a new life in Mexico. Wait a second. There was the whole checking-into-the-hospital-to-have-a-baby incident. So I guess this would come in as the bronze medalist for nervous days in my life.


Pablo and I entered the wonderful world of the US Visa process six years ago when we naively purchased airline tickets to spend Christmas 2002 with my family. November 22, 2002 – a day of infamy . . . the day a rude awakening awaited us and set us on a journey that still hasn’t ended. A quick entrance to the consular offices, an even quicker denial and then a grueling four-hour bus ride back from Mexico City, heartbroken and crying our eyes out, pondering, not understanding why we had been denied a visitor’s visa.

Since then, I haven’t spent Christmas with my family in five years. Five Years! And every year we deck the halls with less holly, feel just a little less jolly and . . . ok, now I’m being dramatic!

Now we almost laugh at ourselves for thinking it could have been so easy. Now, six years later, we have been hardened, allowed ourselves to become a tad bitter and certainly don’t let ourselves get excited. Not excited and barely hopeful. The disappointment is just too harsh.

But today . . . today, we dare to dream.

Tomorrow, after a string of appointments and coincidental connections (and we’re pretty sure some extra help from above), we have been granted a personal interview with the Visa Chief at the American Embassy in Guadalajara. We know this is progress . . . I am allowed to enter through the door this time; I’ve never actually been allowed inside the building while Pablo was being searched, sorted, shuffled, and then escorted to a bank-teller type window to be issued a quick and painless (for them), painful (for us) “NO.” Tomorrow morning at 10 am, we are meeting with the big guy, the head hancho, the one who can grant or deny our 2008 wish for a Christmas in Wisconsin.

We have packed our papers – anything and everything that pertains to our life here in Mexico.



Bank statements from three accounts, health insurance, vehicle, land and home ownership, birth certificates, passports, my visa, marriage certificate, taxes, business license, car insurance, paypal statements, client finance reports and receipts, personal photographs, applications forms, deposit slips . . . and much more, hoping and praying that tomorrow is our day. It has to be, because for the first time in years, we have allowed ourselves to become hopeful.

We dare to dream . . . of a White Christmas, church with my family on the 24th, eating mom’s cookie selection (which for some reason is allowed for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the holidays), bundling Sophia in warm winter clothes and seeing (for the first time) her cheeks all red and chilled from the cold, introducing my grandparents to my husband after almost eight years of being together.

We dare to dream . . .

Maripositas! (Spanish for Butterflies!)

Lorena, Sophia's nanny, is a BIG fan of butterflies - she makes crazy butterflies with her hands and fingers and flies them around in front of Sophia chanting "maripositas, maripositas, maripositas." She takes Sophia for walks in the park looking for butterflies. She even got a pedicure yesterday with butterflies painted on her big toe. I think I'm making my point here.

Yesterday, I dressed Sophia just for Lorena. Isn't she sweet in her Mariposita sweater?!

The Half-Birthday Girl!

Yep - it sounds cliche, but HOW time has flown! Pablo and I spent this morning watching the clock, reminiscing about the morning that we were surprised by Sophia's arrival and how much our baby has grown since then! Today Sophia turned 6 months and celebrated her 1/2 birthday... (and no, I do not plan to celebrate every half birthday throughout her life, but the first one seems somewhat of a landmark!) In honor of her 1/2 birthday, we made 1/2 cookie sandwiches - yummy yummy! While Soph got to manhandle them with her now-very-grabby hands, she did not get to taste-test! That was left to all the rest of us!

She's a Shopper!

Pablo, Michelle and I made a stop at Walmart on Sunday to pick up some groceries. We were exhausted from Saturday's wedding, but Sophia cheered us all up as she sat up like a big girl in the shopping cart!!! Adorable! Her tongue is also making frequent appearances lately - it is out of her mouth more often than in!


And yes, you may find it odd, but since May 12th we all carry our cameras absolutely everywhere - including Walmart!

Yummy!

Don't you just want to squeeze, kiss and eat these cheeks?


Joe does!

10 Reasons I Adore Sophia

Our lives have certainly changed since May 12th - beyond what we ever expected. And despite sleepless nights and occasional baby meltdowns, we couldn't love our girlie more! The ten reasons I adore Sophia today:

10. She sleeps with a green dragon.


9. One minute she is a serious thinker - pondering the world . . .


8. And the next minute, she is chewing on her foot.


7. She helps out with household chores.


6. She is already a fashion icon - opting for trendy Care Bear tanks and belted pants rather than "babyish" onesies!


5. She sits . . .


4. And then topples over.


3. Despite her room full of educational and musical toys, she chews on a plastic spoon at every opportunity.


2. She adopted her beauty from her mom and her facial expressions from her dad.


1. She has as many tummy rolls as her mom.

Halloween Accomplished!

Alright . . . so we only got two of the three Halloween costumes on Soph! Thursday was just too hot and humid to dress her in a long-sleeved "Daddy's Little Devil" outfit, so we'll just save it for another day. She seems to act a bit devilish every now and then, so I'm sure we'll find a day that is appropriate!

Last night for Halloween, Sophia dressed as a little skeleton! After a long day without much sleep, she finally slept in the car on the way to the Malecon (boardwalk) for trick or treating baby style.


The first 15 minutes of the night Pablo wandered ahead of us with a sleeping Soph while Michelle and I basically googood and gagad over cute little kids dressed up and took pictures!





Then finally Sophia decided to join us with open eyes! She clung to her little Halloween pumpkin basket (thanks Michelle!) and trick or treated with glazed-over eyes and frequent yawns! She was a troooper though! She stayed out late and collected her fair share of treats!




Once Sophia was worn out, we wandered to the adult treats - Pablo, Michelle and I did our own trick or treating (only we didn't dress up and we had to pay for our treats!)




Our Mexico Halloween experience was actually much more than we imagined it would be! There were dozens of kids trick or treating on the boardwalk and a handful of really nice Americans handing out candy to the hopeful youngsters! And while not wanting to appear ungrateful, seriously . . . have these people not heard of Kit Kat bars or the like? We will most likely regift Sophia's Halloween candy to kids in our neighborhood! Not likely that mom and dad will be fighting over these goods!


But here's our 2009 Halloween Plea to family and friends! The saddest moment of our night was during the walk back to the car when I realized that we have booked a wedding for October 31, 2009! Aaaah! So I went through all the options in my head and decided that since we cannot miss the wedding, I will simply insist that an American grandma/grandpa/aunt/uncle/cousin/friend visit us at Halloween next year to take Sophia trick or treating! She'll be toddling, adorable and ready to celebrate! Who wants first dibs?