Bar Barakah

After an evening at ACA for Family Adventure Night, Brandon and I put Bailey to bed in her playpen at the school’s apartments (thanks Gretchen!) and hailed a taxi to a hotel a few blocks away.  Ariel, one of my current students, and Brandon’s former student, had turned 13 during the week and his family was hosing a Bar Barakah celebration for him (his sister turned 15 last year and we attended her quince, too).  It was a beautiful night full of blessings and honor being bestowed on Ariel. 

As the invitation explained, the Bar Barakah is the Christian take on the Bar Mitzvah celebrated by Jewish boys at the age of 13.  It’s a coming of age ceremony and also a time to bless the young man and dedicate him to the Lord as he enters manhood. 

The dinner was hosted on an outdoor patio next to the hotel’s pool.  It was a perfect evening temperature wise and Brandon and I enjoyed getting to practice our Spanish.  We sat with some parents of students and the pastors of the church Ariel’s family attended.  They were extremely patient with us and the pastors (who are bilingual) helped us out a lot. 

Ariel and his family 

After dinner, Ariel sat with his parents at a front table as his father explained the significance of the night and expressed his love for his son. It was beautiful.  His mother and sister also spoke words of blessing over his life, as did his small group leader from church and the pastor.  As a gift from his parents, Ariel was given a ring with an emblem of a lion on it (Ariel means “lion of God”), that he sported proudly for the rest of the evening.  

It was funny, though, that Ariel, after a ceremony ushering him into manhood, ran off to play hide-and-seek with his friends.  Definitely made me laugh.  

Family Adventure Night

Three days after the fashion show at ASA, ACA (where I’m teaching part-time this year) hosted the second-annual Family Adventure Night.  What a different event!  Just like last year, each grade level was partnered with another to create a carnival type booth featuring games and prizes. 

The booths shared half of the soccer field with a cantina and tables for the adults. The other half of the field was reserved for parking.

 The food was delicious (burgers with fried eggs, skewers of chicken and beef, sopa paraguaya, and deserts galore) and a student band provided the entertainment for the night.

By the end of the event, most of the students were drenched head-to-toe because of the 6th/12th grade booth that sold water balloons.  They did, however, issue a warning at school to the students that there would be water games and to bring a change of clothes, or at least a towel.  Most (okay, some) listened.

The water balloon booth also hosted a "jail" - the mini-goal to the left in the picture. During the night, the seniors convinced/bribed/coerced teachers to spend a few minutes inside while students took aim.  No, I did not participate. Yes, I used being pregnant as a cop out. Thank you, peanut! :)

Fashion Show

Last week Brandon took me to the first big event of the year at his new school, American School of Asuncion (ASA).  The 10^th grade class – as a fundraiser for class events – hosted a fashion show.  The students, from pre-kinder through high school, modeled clothes, shoes and handbags from various local stores. 

The show was held on one of the school’s outdoor basketball courts, but you never would have known.  The bleachers along three sides of the court were draped in fitted black fabric, which completely erased the sporting event vibe.  The stage was a legitimate catwalk extending from the fourth sideline (baskets had been removed) towards the half court line.  Folding chairs atop an enormous red carped filled the court and were “reserved” for the administrators and parents willing to pay the 100,000 Guarani ($25); we stayed in the bleachers, content with out 30,000 Guarani ($7.50) seats.  I was jealous, however, to see that the adults in the rich seats were served complimentary soft drinks, finger foods and desserts throughout the show (catered by the food court of a local mall).

Here are some pictures from the night and the various clothing lines featured.  

Tommy Hilfiger 

Mimo & Co - a local children's brand featuring the CUTEST elementary kids!

AdmitOne - athletic clothing

Nike - Brandon's favorite part of the night

Morena Rosa - more of a "mom" brand, the first model out on the catwalk was a mom. I thought it was kind of odd, but shrugged, thinking that the whole line would feature the trophy wives that weren't content to live vicariously through their kids.  But no, she was the only mom, the rest of the line was modeled by high school girls . . . not quite sure about that one.  

Josephine B. - had a Forever 21 feel to it

Levi's

  

After the show, we treated ourselves to ice cream (just one of the vendors selling food at the event) and called it a night.  It was a very different event from anything we’d seen at Asuncion Christian Academy (ACA) last year, but it was a fun night and we enjoyed getting out of the house for a few hours.

Sixteen Month Update

Clothing Size: Anything from 6 months to 2T.  Some of her pajamas are 6 months and most of her skirts are, too.  The rest of her clothes are in the 12-18 month range, with a few specialty tops (her “Big Sister” and Dodger’s t-shirts) at the 2T mark. As the weather has started to heat up, I’ve pulled out a few 18 month summer clothes Abue and Grandpa Trevino brought, and the tops fit fine. The shorts and skirts will have to wait.

Shoe Size: Her size 4’s fit her perfectly (this week) but she has a pair of 5’s that stay on her feet, too.  Her imitation pink crocks are her go-to shoes, although Daddy prefers she wears her white Nike tennies.

Teeth: Her front eight teeth (four on top, four on bottom) are all the way in and chomping away.  Her top two molars have started to break the skin, though they haven’t popped all the way through.  The bottom molars are still pushing up through the gums; swollen, but no actual tooth yet.

Food:  She eats anything and everything, especially breads!  Her eyes light up for bananas, cheese, beets and crackers, too.  Brandon and I have started eating vegetable pasta so that I don’t feel as bad feeding the pasta to Bailey, too.  At dinnertime, she eats what we eat 99% of the time.  Even if we’re having Mexican food, I’ll spoon out some meat pre-seasoned and put together a “burrito bowl” with rice, beans, meat and cheese, for her to pick through while we eat enchiladas or tacos. 

            Fruits: bananas, peaches, apples, pears, pineapple, nectarine, mango, papaya

            Vegetables: carrots, peas, zucchini, pumpkin, green beans, beets, lima beans

Dairy: milk, yogurt, cheese (cheddar, queso de sandwich, mozzarella, and a block cheese that’s similar to cheddar that we grate up for tacos and such)

Meats/Protein: eggs, chicken, various cuts of beef, ground beef, pork (though, if there’s a fruit or vegetable around, she’ll ignore the meat and stick to the produce)

Starches/Grains: rice, vegetable pasta, whole-wheat bread, tortillas

Other: chipa, breads, corn & potatoes in moderation

Gross Motor Skills: She’s a master at walking (most days) and is now trying to run; it’s more like a speed walk, but she waddles when she does it so it’s super cute.  She loves to dance and will do squat after squat after squat to the rhythm (roughly) of the music; drop it like it’s hot, Bailey!  She’s also started to spin in circles and is getting pretty good and going up and down ramps.  She is not confident about stairs that are “normal” sized (or larger) but will scale solo any “steps” less than 3 inches or so in height.  Her newest fetish is walking on her toes.  Mid-stride, she’ll push up on her tippy-toes and take a few ballerina steps before plopping down and walking normally again.  With Brandon’s coaching, Bailey is kicking and throwing soccer balls and tennis balls all the time.  While she prefers to throw the soccer ball and kick the tennis ball, we are just happy that she’s started actually throwing “la pelota” forward; for a while she just held it over her head and dropped it behind her back (squealing in delight as it bounced around behind her).

Fine Motor Skills: “Finger foods” reign at each meal as she pinches individual peas, grabs handfuls of scrambled eggs and switches seamlessly from one hand to the other.  She’s started showing interest in forks and spoons and will occasionally self-feed herself cereal in the mornings (using both hands interchangeably).  Grandma is shipping us some toddler forks so we can start practicing with those, too.  During play time she’s getting good at turning individual pages of her books – as opposed to flipping from cover to cover in one fell swoop.  She hasn’t mastered it yet, but she’s getting better at placing her blocks in the puzzle holes in the sides/tops of several shape identification toys she has.  She’s also getting pretty good at placing the oversized puzzle pieces in their correct location on her farm puzzle.  Mommy’s iPod touch is one of her favorite toys and she loves “pushing” the buttons, re-organizing the icons, and browsing pictures of herself that I’ve loaded on there. 

Cognitive Development:  Bailey’s a GREAT listener (most of the time) and seems to understand most of what we talk about.  At least she acts like it, anyway.  In the past few weeks she’s begun to pretend, too, which is fun to watch.  She pinches imaginary “pixie dust” from her toys and brings it to me to share.  She’ll also tip back just about any toy that remotely resembles a cup to “drink” whatever is inside.  Everything is a phone (including the bottle of infant Tylenol) and if you say “hello?” and she doesn’t have anything handy, she’ll hold her fist up to her ear to “talk”.

Body Parts: nose, belly button, tongue, ears and ojitos (“little eyes” in Spanish)

Verbal Language: She hasn’t developed a huge vocabulary yet, but there are a few key things that she says semi-regularly:

§  Mama

§  Dada

§  Shus (“shoes” but it sounds like a hissing snake)

§  Chow/bye (Paraguayans hear chow, Americans hear bye; whatever it is, it’s a farewell of her own creation)

§  Doup (what she scolds Nala with; a combination of stop/down/no/don’t)

§  Ssss (“Si”)

§  Shhh (shushing the dog when Nala barks outside, complete with her finger held up to her lips)

Sign-Language:

§  More

§  All done

§  Please

§  Milk (supposed to look like you’re milking a cow; she just kind of waves both hands up and down without squeezing her hands together)

§  Help (supposed to be one hand giving a thumbs up placed on the other palm and then brought upward from belly level to chest; she just puts two fists together from belly to chest)

§  Cup (this one is our newest word, still a work in progress)

§  Blowing kisses (not really a sign, I know, but I don’t know where else to put it)

§  Waving goodbye/hello (again, not a sign, but you get the idea)

Sleeping Patterns: She is still taking two naps a day and sleeping 10 ½ hours at night.  She’s up at 7:00 A.M. then down for nap number 1 around 9:30.  Depending on the day (and if her teeth hurt), her morning nap is anywhere from 2-3 hours.  It’s usually longest on Monday (after only getting one nap on Sunday because of church) and then slowly works its way down to 2 hours by Thursday or so.  She’s up for another 2 ½ hours before taking an afternoon nap, usually 2 hours long.   Bedtime is 8:30 (earlier if she shows signs of crankiness earlier) and she goes down without a peep.  (Insert promo for Babywise here!)  She still sucks her thumb to self-sooth before bedtime (and we still have to occasionally remind her during the day that she can’t have her thumb if she’s not sleepy), but she’s started using it less and less to self-sooth when she falls or trips or is hurt.   

 

I think that about covers it.  If I missed anything, or mis-categorized something, I apologize. J

It's Official

Bailey's going to be a big sister, and NO I'm not talking about the dog this time. We're pregnant!

As of this week I'm 12 weeks along, with a tentative due date of March 21st. A few weeks ago I had some spotting that completely freaked me out (I didn't have any with Bailey) and so a friend took me to urgent care to get things checked out. They did blood work - to confirm that I really was pregnant - and followed up with an ultrasound. At that point, the baby wasn't moving any, but it's heartbeat was strong. The doctor recommended taking progesterone to help replenish the part of the placenta that had shed itself and put me on 10 days of bed rest. At that point, I knew we wouldn't be able to keep the pregnancy a secret for too much longer. After all, who calls their boss and lets them know: "hey, I'm sick and I know I'm going to stay that way for the next ten days, thanks!"

(Baby at 10 weeks)

During the week of bed rest - while I was going stir-crazy in the house - we tracked down our parents and siblings on Skype to let them know the good news. The following week I let my students know what was going on and, as staff asked me how I was feeling (after a week of being "sick" *cough*cough*), I let them know the truth of everything.

(Baby at 11 weeks)

Last week I went back to urgent care for a follow up ultrasound to see if the placenta had been rebuilt, or was at least getting that way. I had had some more bleeding that same morning, but the ultrasound was again all good news with the little booger wiggling around, kicking it's legs and shaking it's fists. The doctor recommended more rest, though I'm not confined to the bed anymore. Just no strenuous workouts or heavy lifting for a while.

(The high-tech pregnancy test! Yes, it's really just a strip of paper.)

And here the answers to some FAQ's:

- Morning sickness? Not so much anymore. It's more like night sickness. Most evenings around 6PM when I'm starting to cook dinner, I start to feel "off". The best way I've been able to describe it is that I feel full, hungry, and about to throw up, all at the same time.

-Fatigue? Of course. Even before the week of bed rest I would nap every afternoon with Bailey and still sleep soundly through the night. I think the week of bed rest, though, got me in a routine of laziness that I'm trying to break (while still trying to take it easy, per the doc's orders).

-Christmas? Yes, we're still coming back for Christmas. We might not be able to stay as late into January/February as we'd like because my doctor wants me back eight weeks before the due date, but we're still negotiating that detail.

-Boy or Girl? We'll find out in October (I think). And, just like last time, Brandon is hoping for a boy and I'd like another girl. After all, we have all the girl stuff! We wouldn't have to buy more clothes or toys or anything; I'm just being practical! :)

-Planned? Not exactly. We weren't "trying" to have another, but when your only form of birth control is breast feeding, pregnancy is a likely outcome!

-Work? I will finish out the semester teaching part-time, but won't go back in February. I'd have to go on maternity leave just a few weeks into the semester (and don't want to go back to work after the baby is born) so it doesn't make sense for me to start the new term only to have a new teacher step in and have to make the transition mid-semester. It'll be a smoother break to end things at the end of the term.

The Wheels on the Bus...

Taking the bus to and from work daily ensures at least one good bus story a week, sometimes more. Usually they have to do with buses that didn't stop to pick us up, or ultra crowded "colectivos" that were standing-room only. Here are some of MY (Stacy's) stories from the past few weeks using Asuncion's public transportation system.

As I've shared before, the bus line that is closest to our house (route 18) is also the most inconsistent. So my routine is to walk up to it's route, then walk along the road (towards school) towards another main street that has more frequent - and more crowded - buses. The only story here is that Murphy's Law holds true south of the equator, too. The days I'm running late, I end up walking the 15+ blocks to catch bus #2. The days I'm on time...the preferred bus is there within a few minutes. But God was faithful on a handful of rainy mornings that we had; I was able to catch the bus without walking too far, and without getting too wet.

One day, I rode the bus with only my toes actually ON the bus. There were so many people on the bus that I literally couldn't get my whole foot on the bottom step. My bag was slung over my shoulder and I was holding onto two handlebars on the outside of the doorway. Thankfully I only had to hold that position for a few minutes as the bus started to clear out and I realized that there were several open seats on the bus! I didn't see any glaring reasons why I shouldn't sit down next to the man in the other seat - it looked like he bathed regularly and held down a decent job. Who knows why everyone else wanted to stand instead. Overrated! (P.S. Brandon already yelled at me for even getting on the bus in the first place. I've been instructed to wait for the next bus if I ever come across one as crowded as that again.)

A few days later, I never actually made it onto the bus. But I felt completely safe. You see, there was a man on the second step with me, whose laptop/briefcase bag was pressed up against my hip, holding me in place. AND there were TWO grown men on the first step below us who would have been first to go if we hit an unexpectedly large pot-hole. This bus never quite cleared out, so when it got close to school, I leaned over to the driver and said "aqui, por favor!" and he stopped the bus.

The drivers on the bus are fairly consistent and one in particular who learned my stop quickly, at least for one day. It had to have only been the third time on his bus, and I was standing near the front door of the bus while we putzed through town. As we neared the school and I began to shift my weight to move towards the door, he craned his neck and asked, "aca, verdad?" (here, right?) Yep, tried not to freak out about the bus driver/stalker that morning.

One of the highlights of the trip to school is the grandma/granddaughter duo that boards the bus a few blocks before I get off. She might actually be the mother, but she's considerable older and a bit unstable on her feet, so I prefer to think of her as the abuela. The girl is always dressed in her school uniform - bright red - with black shoes and Dora the Explorer backpack. What cracks me up about these two is how "helpful" the grandma tries to be as they board the bus. She clutches the girls hand, guiding her down the aisle toward an open seat, all the while struggling to keep her own balance. I can't help but think that the little girl would be better off without the "help". Oh well.

Bailey's Little Sister

No, we're not announcing anything! I'm talking about our dog, Nala, who is several months younger than Bailey.

But I swear they have a sister-ly relationship.

When Bailey and I are playing outside (okay, when Bailey's playing outside and I'm playing commentator, with a running narration of everything she's doing, feigning overwhelming interest in each and every leaf she puts in my hand) the two of them have a genuine love-hate relationship. Usually - I'd say more than half the time - they co-exist in the yard without bothering each other. Bailey is content to play with her bucket and shovel while Nala lies in the dirt a few yards away.

But every once in a while one of them gets brave and makes their way over to the other. More often than not, it's Bailey headed over to Nala with a shovel full of dirt that she dumps on Nala's paws. Or she crawls over to give Nala a friendly pat on the head, or a back rub.

And then there's Nala.

That girl's a straight bully! When she's had enough of Bailey's antics, or is feeling neglected (despite daily walks or runs) she gets up in Bailey's face and doesn't give her an inch. If Bailey's sitting on a step, she'll come over and lie on her feet. If Bailey's headed toward something, Nala steps in her way, dancing forward and backward as Bailey tries to go around her. In fact, the other day Bailey was sitting in the dirt, minding her own business, and Nala came over and SAT on her. She plopped her booty on Bailey's lap and just looked over at me as Bailey started crying. Sheesh!

But we love our girls and our afternoon/weekend play times together!