Big Birthday Month

We've been pretty busy this month celebrating everyone's birthday. Thomas turned 1 on the 5th, then Lilian turned 3 on the 27th. We were able to have little parties for both of them. We did a luncheon for Thomas's party with a Costa Rican theme (being that he is Costa Rican, after all!). I made a traditional party dish from Costa Rica called Arroz con Pollo (Rice with Chicken).

Of course the kids had a great time playing (in the wagon, especially--it was a very novel item for everyone!)

And, we can't forget the cake. I made a yellow cake with a whipped topping in the shape of a Costa Rican flag with a number one. (It was a lot of fun for me!) We used strawberries and mulberries to make the stripes and outlines.

(The number one was made of cake, too.)

Then, for Lilian's party, she's been telling me that she wanted a Pink Princess Party. So, we started her birthday off with pink princess oatmeal--only way to start the day!

For her party, we invited a few of her little friends over. They all started by making their own princess crowns.

Even Thomas tried to get in on the crown-making action!

Then we had finger foods and drinks. I was so proud of the nationals! We had raw veges with Ranch dip, fruit with a cream cheese dip, deviled eggs, and banana bread. They tried everything! The nationals here eat meat, starch, and foods made from corn meal--that's about it! So, they were great sports to try our spread. I realized how big of a stretch it was for everyone when I heard a few of the moms talking about how they had never had raw broccoli before...

And, for the princess party, we brought down the castle. They all took turns playing the evil witches and princesses. It was great fun to watch!

And, Thomas even found a little friend to play with. He kept trying to sit in her lap and play with her hair.

And, Lilian and I made ice cream cake rolls (with pink ice cream, of coarse)!

So, all in all, I think the kids had a blast! And, although I had a good time too, I'm glad now that I can rest a little!

Thomas Turns ONE!

As hard as it is to believe, Thomas was born a year ago today! In his short one year, he's already lived in 2 countries and 3 different houses and started learning 3 languages. He's been perfecting his walking for 2 1/2 months already and is on a mission to climb everything in the house. So, in honor of Thomas, we made this video to say Happy Birthday. (Don't worry--everything in this video was supervised, although I can't say that about the first few times I found him on top of things!)



Please pray for Thomas today on his birthday. He has had a fever and some sort of sinus problem for a day and a half. The fever broke last night, but he's having trouble sleeping. Pray he can get some rest and that he will continue to improve.

Tigers and Tererere

Although we are pretty far from home, we still remember to wear our purple and gold on gameday to support our tigers. (We're still waiting for our internet to be fast enough to at least watch a game or two.) But, even if we don't get to see one this season, we'll at least look the part!

The game face (Watch out! Justin's been working with her on her tackling!):

Also, we've started drinking our Terere more often since it has finally started to warm up. Here is Lilian drinking with us one day.

And, Thomas loves his terere too! So, when we won't share with him, he gets his sister's kitchen toys and pretends. Pretty odd sight for a little American/Costa Rican baby, but probably not too uncommon around here!

School Time

We recently searched our little town for a preschool for Lilian so that she could have more exposure to the language. However, they don't have anything here until kindergarden age. So, Lili and I started having school in the morning while Thomas was sleeping. We're learning our shapes, colors, number, and letters and working on our writing and coloring skills. We've only been at it for a few weeks, but it's amazing how much she is learning and retaining. Here, I told her to practice tracing her letters while I set up a letter game for her to play. I thought that she'd just scribble around, but she really traced them. I was so proud to see what resembled letters on her white board that I took a picture! (Thanks for the awesome whiteboard, Meme and PawPooh!)

She's so big!!

As for Thomas, he's running around and climbing anything he can. He loves dancing and being chased. Here is a little of our nightly entertainment.

More Steps

Lilian drug out some boxes from our move and started building a house. Well I (Justin) couldn't sit back and watch, so we have the masterpiece you see here. The kid's played in them for hours. Also, Thomas is taking on to this walking thing. I think the cold tile floors are encouraging him.

Thomas's First Steps

So, he finally did it! Thomas has been standing up on his own for quite some time now and he finally took his first real steps yesterday. (Now, lets see how long it takes him to really start walking!)

Trip Home

We made a trip home for a wedding. The kids had a great time and it was great to experience summer while we are in winter. The Crawfish was so good!!!

Finding a new house

We all went last week to find a new apartment in our "permanent" city (for the next 2 years, for sure). We stayed in a hotel down there that had a neat little patio and outside area.

Here's the life-size chess set. Lilian liked the "horsies."

There was even a little playground for the kids.

Here's Lilian with Tio Ryan. He is a Journeyman with the board and will be working with our team for the next year and a half. The kids love playing with him and we love having a break every now and again!

And, after everything, we did find a nice little apartment for us. It looks like we'll be moving sometime next week. We'll keep you posted on when we get there.

He's gone too far!

Tuesday night, Thomas decided to crawl over to the closet and pull himself to a standing position. He's done something like this in the past, but it's been more like climbing over something or pulling himself up on his knees. But, this was a genuine "pull-up"!

I thought, surely this is a fluke. He just happened to get his weight balanced well enough to get to his feet. It can't happen again. A 5-month-old doesn't just stand up. Well, today, he proved me wrong. A 5-month-old can just stand up. And, this time with one hand. (I promise no one did anything to help him!)

This growing-up thing is going way too fast. Thomas needs to take a break for a bit, I think!

Thomas is Crawling!

Thomas started crawling this weekend. Seem to soon to you? It is! He's only 5 months. I definitely wasn't ready for this! We were able to get a little on video. 

Baby food already?

That's right! We started Thomas on baby cereal this weekend. And, actually this picture is a little misleading. He ate all of it, sucked on the spoon when I put it in his mouth, and seemed to cry because he wanted more! 

Lilian was also so excited that Thomas was eating cereal, she wanted to celebrate with a "coffee" party. So, everyone was served their fair share of coffee with plenty of milk and sugar!

What we've been up to...

Thomas is getting...well, I guess still is...big. He's scooting around everywhere right now. He pulls his knees underneath him and pushes all over his blankets and crib. He also is still smiling at everyone.

He's getting better at sitting, but isn't quite strong enough to hold himself up.

He's a pretty wild sleeper, too. I found him like this one morning. Somehow during the middle of the night he worked one arm out of the top of his sleeper, got the other one stuck inside, flipped the whole thing around, and wrapped a blanket around his head... I'm still trying to figure this one out...

And, of course, he loves to play with his sister! Here she is stickering him.

I was able to catch a little laughing on video while Lilian was outside with her daddy one day.

And, of course, Lilian is as cute as ever! Here she is during a "tour" of downtown Asuncion.

For those of you who saw my facebook status, these are the shorts. One day after tutoring, I came home to find our babysitter had put a pair of Thomas's shorts (that were too small for him) on Lilian. Look how perfect they fit her!

Thanks to her cousin Laney, we also have some ballet clothes to play in. She enjoys doing barre exercises.

...If I can keep her still enough, that is...

Here is a video of Lilian singing (something) and dancing with two little princesses made from playdoh. She is pretty dramatic at times. She would sing a few lines and then want to see herself--to make improvements in her performance, I'm sure! (Sorry for the no clothes--In Lilian's new phrase: "It's hot out there!")

Prayer Retreat

Mommy and daddy went to a prayer retreat this week at a retreat center here in Asuncion. While we were there, we had a lot of fun playing!

There was a fun playground where Lilian loved to play.

There were huge trees to climb.

There was also a swimming pool to enjoy. Even Thomas got to play in it!

Here are some pictures of the kids.

How did you spend your Christmas.  We spent ours eating watermelon, jumping on the tram paling with a water hose, and just trying to stay cool. 

Paraguay

We leave for Paraguay today.  Please pray for Thomas and Lilian as they make the transition.

Some Pics

Lilian loves here little brother so much.  It's hard to keep her off of him. 

Lilian being cute.

He smiles so much.

He is a chunk.  

Thomas Talks

Thomas has learned that he has to work really hard to get attention when his sister is around. Here he is practicing his sweet baby noises!