As I sit here drinking my tea while Josiah sleeps and this baby girl kicks in my belly, I realize that this is what contentment must feel like. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with this feeling I can't quite even describe. It's some great mix of joy and peace and excitement and love and happiness. Sometimes when I pray I just have to remain quiet because I know God knows exactly what this feeling is.
No, life isn't perfect by any means, there are still a lot of things that need to come together after moving to the USofA, but slowly things fall into plac and I trust that the last pieces of the puzzle will all fit together soon too. We have faced challenges and obstacles and overcome so many things already, I know that whatever comes our way we can work our way through it as well.
We have been blessed beyond counting and there are so many things ahead of us that it's hard to imagine that it will actually be better than it is right now!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Content.ment.
To the river
We had some extra time the other day and as it was beautiful and sunny, we headed to the river. Josiah showed once again, what a big kid he's becoming by getting down to play in the sand and water. Although he didn't like the sand stuck to his hands (he's a very clean boy!) he did love walking the trails and throwing sticks. It was such a nice time with the 3 of us to be outside and enjoy the sunny Spring days we are getting!
Gymnast superstar, kind of
Josiah tried his hand at gymnastics for a month and, well, we're just going to wait a bit longer until we try again. He did really well for about 1/4 of the class but otherwise wanted to run and jump and play on everything that the class wasn't supposed to. I mean really, he's 17 months, we weren't expecting him to be doing backflips and a floor routine! I am proud (as is he) of his somersaults! I'll find him waiting with his head on the floor for me to flip him over, that's how much he loves them!
Baby time
It's old news by now, but we are officially announcing our pregancy! We waited until 20 weeks this time because, well, we don't really have a good reason why! Anyhow, she is perfect as can be and yes, she is a she...we are having a girl! Josiah hears about his little sister, but has no idea what is coming his way! It's exciting knowing that it's a girl, but boy are we in trouble when it comes to shopping! I'm trying to wait until it gets a bit closer, but I might have already started buying her a few things! We are so excited about all that is ahead as we become a family of 4!
Easter Day
Easter Day we started out by opening Josiah's Easter basket. He thought that was a such a good idea, he put things back in to be able to pull it out again. We then went to church and celebrated the real reason for Easter amongst our church family.
In the afternoon we headed over to my grandparents house where we had another photo session, lots of food, and and Easter egg hunt. My grandma fills the eggs with money, so Josiah liked shaking each egg when he found it. He got a little sad when he shook one that had cash and it didn't rattle, but he'll figure that joy out eventually!
Yardwork
There are a lot of things to love about being in our own house, but one of the best is being able to work outside. We just got our very first lawnmower and it's surprisingly fun to be out in the yard mowing and weeding and dreaming about all the great things we're going to do and plant. Josiah helps us a lot by playing in his sandbox the whole time...a job he also loves!
Little hoopster
Josiah is obsessed with basketball. He will wake up from a nap saying "ba-ball" without even fully opening his eyes yet. Ariel takes him out and they dribble and dunk and jump and play all afternoon and Josiah still gets sad when it's time to come in. When we're on a walk, he'll shout "ba ball" and I have to look for awhile to actually see he's spotted a basketball hoop. He certainly has an eye for it! He loves basketball inside as well, anything that involves bouncing the ball while running around with him! He is so much fun, I just can't say it enough!
Snow days
March weather was so crazy. One day beautiful and sunny, the next cold and snowy. Josiah loved being outside, whatever the weather! He learned how to master snow walking and when we were done with playing in the snow, we gave him a snowball to play with inside!
Coffee time
My mom makes coffee every morning and Josiah LOVES to watch the machine, especially the milk frothing part. So now the spoiled boy thinks he needs his "coffee" everytime we're there and mom is making it. Really it's just a cup of foam, but he'd love it if we threw in some coffee too!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Spanglish
I often don't know what I'm doing in motherhood. I do a lot of things by trial and error and in the end find a way to make it work. Sleeping for example. I never knew sleep would be such an issue. Josiah is an amazing sleeper now, but it took a LOT of trial and error to find a way to make that work.
So now this kid is learning to talk which is great fun. It seems like he comes out with a new word every few days. The thing is, he lives in a bilingual family and has not just one, but two languages coming at him. I thought he'd be a late talker because of that, but he's right on target. A few weeks ago he threw out "tractor" and it is now his favorite word. I dunno...we don't even talk about tractors, but whatever, he likes to say "tractor".
So back to being bilingual. I read some books and websites about how to do it. I was going to speak English, Ariel speak Spanish. It was going to be so great for him to learn. Oh well, that was before we put it into practice. So we all speak a big mix of Spanglish around here, including Josiah. He says words in both languages and can understand everything in Spanish and English. I caught myself tonight saying "Tell the agua bye bye" (getting out of the tub). How do I expect him to get it straight if I speak this mess of both languages? I guess he'll figure it out sometime, or let's just hope his teachers know some Spanish too!
Monday, March 05, 2012
Catching up
My lack of blogging is a result of my lack of time. If all the blogs I've written in my head were posted, this blog would be full. But after a trip to the DR and changing my work schedule, I find myself finally with some time to blog. Working night shift is a funny thing...I never quite feel "normal" or on any sort of schedule. I've changed my days around a little and am finally feeling more sane and in control of myself...clearly a good thing!
Our trip back to the DR was so good. It was interesting, fantastic, and a little heartbreaking all at the same time. We have been in the States now for a year and it has been a year of multiple ups and downs as we both adjust to what it means to live in America. Being in the DR again and seeing it through eyes that had been away was hard in a lot of ways. The great part is that life continues as it was...the hard part is that life continues as it was. I was encouraged to see "my" kids at school and how well they are all doing. The progress in construction as director/dad Alberto lives his heart by loving the kids dearly and helping them progress. We did endless visits with family and friends and managed to have a little down time at the beach and pool, enough to get a bit of a sunburn and remember that we were on vacation!
Ariel and I celebrated 3 years of marriage. I constantly find myself saying how quickly times has gone, but really, 3 years??!! We celebrated right back where it all started, at Sea Horse Ranch. A place where we went on our first date, where Ariel proposed, where we planned our wedding on Sunday afternoons overlooking the ocean and drinking cafe, and where we ultimately got married.
Our little superstar rocked every part of flying! It was a huge trip for him, but he did so well. He is the joy of all joys is my life and fills every part of my heart. He is a walker for sure now and is talking up a storm. He is saying words in English and Spanish which is exciting to see how the little sponge of a baby has soaked in all we are saying. His favorite word is ball, but he recently added tractor to his list.
So my blogging will hopfully be more frequent now, as my sanity returns and life gets a little more back to normal.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Our new chair
Ariel and I were excited to stumble upon an estate sale the other day. We wandered through the house of some unknown, imagining all the things we suddenly needed. We ended up buying more than we expected, of which involved an oversized chair an ottoman. So then we had to get it home.
We have a Honda CRV which does not accomodate 2 adults, a baby and his carseat, as well as said chair and ottoman. But I knew my dad's truck was sitting in driveway unused (they were on vacation). But something in my got a little scared about using this new truck to pick up our chair.
So I had a moment of "get real" and remembered what was once my Dominican life. Not only did I drive our gua-gua (van) through the sugar cane fields over dirt roads followed by crossing through (not over, through) a river, I did it pregnant.
And I drove a manual shift safari truck down the bumpiest road ever thought of.
So yah, I hopped in my dad' sbrand new automatic Dodge Ram, drove down the pristine roads of Persimmon Country Club, and picked up my chair. What a wimp America makes me turn into sometimes!!
Trick or Treat
We had a little monkey this year for Halloween. He did so well putting his outfit on and trick or treating. That is, as much trick or treating as an 11 month old does, which is about 4 houses. We went to visit family in the afternoon, then met up with Jenny and Justin to trick or treat with their family. Josiah got a few candies for his mom and dad and did a good job of looking cute.
Pumpkin woes
Funny how you get in your mind what something will be like and then it turns out totally different. I imagined pumpkin carving to be such a fun activity with Josiah and in the end, he hated it, went to bed, and we carved the pumpkins. Oh well, here's hoping for next year!
Sunday morning
What a blessing and joy it is to have Josiah. I never knew babies were so fun. I thought newborns were my favorite, but I was wrong. Turns out, each new stage is my favorite. I lament a bit the stage left behind, but fall in love with all the new and exciting things the next stage brings. His laugh is fully contagious, I smile just thinking about it! He is a little sponge and copycat all at the same time which means he is learning like crazy. He loves music and anything that makes music, dancing, playing hiding games, riding on my back, and cheese. Such an amazing little boy!
Saturday Market
One of the great things about being close to Portland is being able to go to many of the activities that are going on. We headed out to Saturday market and walked through endless stalls of things we'd never buy for sale, had great food, and enjoyed being together! Josiah got to see a marionette which he LOVED and also like riding MAX (light rail). It's so amazing to have this boy and even better than I ever imagined!
Fall
We went for a walk through Persimmon to see the amazing colors of the trees and ended up having a photo shoot as well! It's so beautiful this time of year, the oranges and reds and yellows. Makes for a great backdrop for photos and nice to look at driving around.
Pumpkin hunt
Out at Liepold's Farm for the great pumpkin find. Josiah found a good pumpkin and we had fun walking around and then lunch out. It's so fun having a baby!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
