Thursday, June 9, 2011

She's an American Girl



Officially.

On Monday we took our first trip as a family of three.  We went to the US Embassy in Athens and "declared" Maria as an American.  It was a special day!!!!

Besides becoming an American citizen, Maria also took her first ride on a plane, a trolley, a tram, a taxi, and a bus!  Whew! 

And she did AMAZING!!!!  We woke her up at 5am for our 7am flight, and we got back home about 8:30pm.  She cried ONCE all day, and that was about 4pm when she was (we all were) hot and exhausted.  I gave her a paci and she crashed for about 40 minutes and was happy as a clam again.

Maria was in heaven all day looking around at everything, and it was her DREAM DAY COME TRUE....she was held ALL DAY.  That is all she wants...to be in our arms....and she was not put down all day long.

 So, to recap our day.....


As I said, we got an early early start


Daddy and Maria are relaxing, waiting to board our plane.  Christos was pretty jealous with Maria all day.  He kept saying (which is true) that I hold her all day every day, and that was his day.  So, for the most part, he had her ALL day.  


Some people were still waking up on the plane, but I felt pretty good.  One good thing about the lack of sleep I have had in the last several months is that it did not phase me AT ALL to get up at 4:30am to catch a plane.  I felt totally normal. 



So, away we went on our first family adventure. 


Once in Athens, we took a taxi to the embassy.  The metro system was on strike all day (surprise surprise) and so the traffic was pretty bad.  That was okay, Maria was totally entertained.  There was so much to see around her...


...and there is always Daddy with his funny games to play....

 
 

Eventually, as always, the car started to make her sleepy,


So she came to Mama for a little snooze before her big debut at the embassy.


And Mama could not have been happier to be out and about, breathing new air, with her man and her baby!!

So, we went to the US Embassy and took care of all we had to take care of.  You have to turn cameras, phones, etc. over to security at the front of the embassy, so we have no pictures of her big moment, but it happened.  Basically, Maria became an American.  Hooray!  

She was born in Greece, so she automatically got her Greek citizenship.  Since I am American, she automatically qualifies to be an American, but the citizenship is not acquired automatically.  There is some paperwork that must be done and documents that must be gathered.  Then, we all have to appear at the embassy in person and swear and sign documents.  We went ahead and got her passport and social security card all at the same time as well.  It all ran rather smoothly, and everyone there was super friendly.  They even let us use one of their official "interview" rooms as a diaper/ wardrobe changing room.  Having a baby certainly softens hearts and opens doors.

It was so much more relaxed being there this time around.  The last two times we were there we were sweating bullets praying that Christos would be granted his visa to travel to the US (he was the second time around.)

Our visit was also much more relaxed than that of those around us.  In the three and a half hours we were there, we watched person after person come in with stories of their passport being stolen.  I hate that that is what they will remember from their time abroad!

So, with a brand new American citizen in our arms (and a pretty darn cute one at that!) we hit the town.  We had about 6 hours to waste in Athens before our flight, and we managed to make a day of it.


We decided to hit the beach and relax little rather than fight the crowds around the Acropolis.  And, we decided that we would walk/ take the tram rather than a taxi to save the cash.  After a quick stop for fluids, we were on our way.  And here is where I have to say it was H O T in Athens, y'all....


We started out with Maria in the Baby Bjorn, but we were so afraid she was going to overheat, and she probably would have, so we just carried her in our arms.



And we were still a scared she was gonna overheat between the heat of the day and the warmth of carrying her in our arms.  But she seemed unphased.


She also seemed unphased by her country's Parliament building.  I am not sure what y'all are all seeing on your news channels, but the building pictured above is the Greek Parliament, and that is where all main the protests in Greece are taking place.  In fact, literally the day before this picture was taken there was a crowd of over 500,000 people gathered in the exact spot Christos and Maria are standing above.  I was a bit nervous about all that, but despite some big banners and a few people scattered around peacefully protesting, it was calm.  Thank goodness for that!

We then hopped on a tram and headed out to the beach.  There was a lot of good people watching on the tram for Maria..



....and of course everyone enjoyed watching her as well.




If you know me and my germaphobe ways, you can only imagine, between having my baby amongst throngs of people and on public transportation, how many times I had to take a deep breath and let..it..go.  I really think that I did pretty okay with all of that. 

 

One interesting thing I watched on the tram was this...in Greece, whenever people pass a church they cross themselves (as in make the sign of the cross across their chest.)  On that particular tram ride, we passed several churches, and every single lady on the tram would cross themself...all in unison.  All these different ladies, all strangers, from all walks of life, would make the exact same movement at the exact same time.  It was as if they had practiced it.  I loved watching that.


So, we made our way out to the beach, and we had our first meal ever as just our family of three...and it was a wonderful meal...on the beach...and it was a happy happy occasion.



See those plates in front of me in the picture below?  I ate everything over Maria's head, and, between the plate and my mouth, I anointed her (aka dripped on her head) with just enough olive oil that her hair sported the "wet look" for the rest of the day.  How European of her!  And, she also smelled faintly of octopus for the rest of the day.  


The couple at the table next to us was from North Carolina of all places.  And, what did they do?  There was an old beggar-lady who was selling little flowers wrapped in aluminum foil, and, as I said, it was a scorching hot day.  The couple from North Carolina ordered a large cold bottle of water and had it sent over to where she was resting in the shade.  Always happy to see that Southern hospitality and grace in action.  (And I was a bit ashamed that I had never thought about doing the same thing.)  


The couple also graciously agreed to take a family picture, but this was exactly when Maria had had enough and had her 4pm phase.  Anyway, it still captures a happy day and a happy lunch for our little family.  And, yes, Christos took his shirt off at lunch...it was hot, y'all, and we were at the beach :)  
 


We thanked the couple and reminded them to watch their passports!!  And we were on our way!

All in all, the day could really have not have been any easier and I am so thankful for that!!!  So, that was our Athens adventure.  It was a happy day all around!!!!

3 comments:

  1. LOVE MY TWO AMERICAN GIRLS - and their Greek guy, too!! Miss ya'll bunches and love you more and more!!! XOXOX

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  2. Two Yankee Doodle Dandies and One Greek God (aka as a Dandy Daddy!) Enjoyed skyping with our pretty girls. Much love, Nana XOXOXO

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  3. Hi Haley!
    What a fun post! I have so enjoyed reading your blog. Maria is such a doll and it's so interesting to see your view of Greece. All through college I always heard Brandi talk about "Tennessee Haley" so it's been great to read about you and your adorable family!
    Blessings,
    Keightley

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