A decade later

Wow,  its been over a decade since I last posted an update. Recently, I heard from someone who was researching adoption from Colombia and referred to our site. It brought back many wonderful adoption memories. Sofia is now14, and remains the joy of our life.  She is now 4’11, 105 lbs, and an 8th grader. Sofia is kind, soft spoken, and quite an athlete. She is an A student, loves playing softball and has an adventurous spirit. We thank God and the wonderful people of Colombia for choosing us to be her parents.

Here are a few pictures to see how she’s grown. ❤️

Farewell 2010

Happy Holidays to all our family and friends!

Thought I would provide you with our first update for the year. Joe has adjusted well in school and is enjoying all his independence. He has studied hard and survived finals week. It is so nice to have him home for the holidays, bags of dirty laundry and all! Mike got his learners permit and now attends driving school. Oh mi dios. :) And believe it or not, little Miss Sofia turned 4 on Thanksgiving day.

Take my picture mommy
I got this

Let's buy this pumpkin!Aarrgh Matey!Miss Kristina & Miss Amanda

We have enjoyed a wonderful fall with lots of fun parties. We celebrated Sofia's birthday a little early with a Halloween Costume Party bash. The kids got their faces painted, enjoyed a hayride, picked and painted pumpkins, rode the Fun Slide, whacked the piñata, and ate yummy smores and cupcakes at the campfire. It was a great day! Sofia also enjoyed going apple picking with her friends and trick-or-treating as a kitty cat.

Yay, a princess cake!

My big girl friends

My little friends

Still competitive

Say cheese everyoneMartha as Buzz Lightyear

Trick or Treat

One of our favorite gifts that Sofia received for her birthday was an Elf on a Shelf. It is the best invention EVER. It is a cute little elf that Sofia named, "Simon." It comes with a book that explains how this little elf watches over the children and reports both good and bad behavior to Santa each night. After a few reminders that, "Simon is watching," Sofia declared him public enemy #1. We found poor Simon hidden underneath the sofa. Sweet little Sofia had taped his mouth shut. She is some problem solver huh?

Simon has been rescued
Little Miss show off

Sofia had been telling us for weeks all the things that she was going to ask Santa to bring her. A Barbie Power Wheels car, roller skates, clothes from Build-a-Bear, and the movie, Toy Story 3. Over and over, she repeated the list. When we went to visit the big guy himself, poor Sofe choked. She told him she wanted pajamas. It reminded me of Ralphie from the Christmas Story. At first she was upset with herself but, we corrected the glitch by writing Santa a letter. Luckily, Sofia was was able to mail it straight to the North Pole. We stopped to sip a little hot chocolate and admire Macy's beautiful tree. The fairies sprinkled us with magic dust and we made a few wishes before calling it a day.

Santa, can you bring me.......... pajamas??

Santa's mountain has a slide

Our holidays were very enjoyable. It will be hard to go back to work after a two week break. Sofia experienced a couple new "firsts" since my last update. She went to her first children's theater presentation to see Jack and the Beanstalk. We also learned she really loves bumper bowling, especially their stylish rental shoes. We are now preparing to settle in for a long, cold winter season. Hopefully, we will make time to have fun in the snow.

Yah, Vizquel #11!!Sporting some new spirit wear

Yipee, my car!!!!!!!

Let's ride Bitty

Here's to a joyous, healthy, prosperous new year to all!

Christmas 2o1o

Peggi XXOO

We're Off to School

Hola friends and family!

Big big things have been happening in the Calderaro household these past few months. First and foremost, we are super proud of Joe who graduated Summa Cum Laude from high school. We moved him into his college dorm and it really hit me, he will be leaving home forever. It sure happened fast. It seems like just yesterday he was graduating from preschool and in the blink of an eye, he's graduated high school. The house will seem so empty without him. I don't like to think about not seeing that smile or hearing, "morning mom" every day. I'm certain Mike and Sofia will also miss Joe terribly. Poor Sofe. It makes me so sad to think that she will have no recollection of her early years with Joe.

Surprisingly, Joe really wanted to live on campus. It makes me uneasy because these dorms are so small and SO HOT. There is NO air conditioning. On the ride home, I dwelled about all these changes. I admit it, I cried for the first 50 miles of the trip home. Ed tried to reassure me with logic, saying he can't stay home forever. He said Joe will meet new friends from other states and possibly, other countries. I was also reminded that he can come home any weekend he chooses. I know it is silly but, the only thing that made me feel better was Joe telling me how great the cafeteria food is. Being that I am truly the worst cook in the world, I jokingly asked him if it is better than my cooking. He chuckled and said, "sorry mom, it is so much better, it has flavor." I'm so glad to know at least he won't starve.

Preschool graduation June of 1997

High School graduation June of 2010

Bye Bye Joe Joe, give me a kiss.

Woe is me, I miss you already.

My friends find it comical that we are sending one off to college while our youngest is beginning preschool. Looks like retirement will not be in our immediate future :) Yes, little Miss Sofia has joined the class of 2025. Sofia told me the night before school that she changed her mind, she decided she was still too "yiddle" to go. The next morning, just before school, Sofe told me she couldn't go because she was too sick. I told her that I didn't think she was sick. She added a fake cough and said, "see, I sick." Pretty good for a three year old huh? Sofia was very apprehensive when we got there. She liked meeting everyone and checking out the toys. However, she began wailing when she realized I was going to leave. Truly heartbreaking. She clung to my neck every morning and screamed bloody murder when they took her from me. This went on for two whole weeks. Through past experience I learned that staying around will not remedy the situation. The teachers said the other girls just wait for her to finish her meltdown so she can come and play with them.

First day of Preschool June of 2010

Happy 4th of July!Not too high now.

Fun at the County fair

Me ha! Giddy up Fred.

Get your arms up daddy!

Where is my bucket?

We really enjoyed our summer together. We went to carnivals, parades, zoos, beaches, picnics, baseball games and water parks. The boys visited Baltimore, Washington DC, New York and Boston. They ate their way through the East Coast visiting many restaurants featured on the show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."

Yankee Stadium, New York

Citi Field, New York

Camden Yards, Baltimore
National Park, Washington DC
Fenway Park, Boston

We also got to play catch up with our dear friends the Hollis Family when they came to visit the Windy City. They were lifesavers during my long stay in Colombia. Although two years have passed, it didn't take long at all for Sofia to reconnect with her "bestest" friend, Emi. Sofe loved hanging with all the kids but, there is a special bond between those two girls. It was great fun catching up with their wonderful mami, Beth. During our visit together, we checked out the Shedd Aquarium and ate some delicious deep dish pizza at Geno's. I was shocked to see how much the kids have grown. The best part of the visit was that there was no longer that language barrier. We got to see Jessica and Joaquin's great little personalities first hand. The visit was too short but, we will certainly get together again. It is a Midwest connection!

Nate, Emi, Jessica

Sofia & JoaquinPenguin TrainingEmi's new hairstyle looks beautiful!

Well there are just a couple more weeks of summer left. Shortly, Sofe will be picking out her Halloween costume. Thanks for checking in on us. We are so grateful for our friends and family.