And He's Off... (video)

As many of you who are friends with us on facebook already know, Cruz started walking!  He is proud of his new accomplishment (and we are too).  I hoped that he would walk before his birthday and he did- with one day to spare.  Here is a short video of him earlier today-

and what was he walking to?  a screwdriver and a flashlight.  haha  Whatever works. 

Tomorrow is his big day.  I am happy and sad all at the same time.  He is such a big boy now.  I miss my baby!

Fun Foto Friday

Here are a few photos from our week-

Cruz loves eating watermelon.  He makes such a mess, gets more on him and the floor than in his mouth, but it is fun for him so we let him go.  We usually only give him small cut up pieces of fruit and not the whole slice, but this day we let him try it out. 

He is such a climber!  We used to worry about him climbing on the bottom shelves but this week he has started climbing to the second one.  One of us has to keep an eye on him at all times.  Most of our shelves are bare these days as we have had to move everything off of them to keep him from pulling it all in the floor.  It seems easier to "remove the distraction" than to make an issue of it.

Each afternoon he has either spent time in his pool or we have rinsed him off in our pila.  The heat has been hard on him. (the inside of the pila is not as filthy as the outside looks)

Three afternoons this week our neighbors have visited with a pet to show Cruz.  One afternoon they brought a bird and two days they brought their rabbit.  He loves animals.

Here is a short video of him in his pool.  He has started wanting to put his face in the water.

Do You Hear What I Hear

Cruz loves to stand at our screen doors and look outside.  When we won't take him out I guess this is his next best thing.  We have a lot of animals that run loose around here.  If he hears any little sound he will go as fast as he can to the door to look out.  He's like having a little security guard, haha.  When the neighbor kids come to visit they will usually stand at our gate and say "buenas" (their short version for good afternoon)  and when he hears that he really goes nuts.  He knows that means a lot of stimulation is on the way.  I took a few photos of him playing at the door earlier this week watching some pigs root around out in our yard.  We don't normally have pigs running around but lately we have had two.  I am not sure if our landlord bought them or if they just wandered over here on their own.  For whatever reason, Cruz likes to watch them.

This is him making his lion/ bear sound.  He growls all the time and makes this face.  It is too funny!

Mother's Day 2011- Part 2

I posted earlier in the week about my American Mother's Day celebration.  Here in Guatemala we celebrate Mother's Day on May 10.  So that means that unless May 10 falls on a Sunday, we get to celebrate twice.  How nice is that!  This post is about how I spent my Guatemala Mother's Day.

The day started really, really early.  Here it is tradition to start shooting fireworks before the crack of dawn.  They started around our house about midnight.  People drive around in vehicles playing very loud music, giving "shout outs" and Mother's Day wishes through a megaphone, and shooting fireworks in your yard.  It seemed as though they circled our block at least a dozen times.  It was constant until about 3:30 and then it got quiet for an hour or so.  Around 5:00 they started back up for another round.  We were exhausted!  If most mom's around here are like me the one thing they would love most for Mother's Day is some rest.  This is not a very good "gift" for mom's in my opinion, lol, but he locals love it.

Surprisingly, Cruz slept  through most of the celebration.  We were thankful for that.  He decided it was time to start our day around 6:30 (a little earlier than normal).  We had french toast for breakfast and I ate mine on our special plate.  I have a feeling that this plate is going to be one of my most prized possessions in the years to come.

We then packed up, loaded the car, and drove north.  Our first stop was Pizza Hut for lunch.  It was my choice.  I could eat  pizza every day.   After eating we walked over to the local grocery store to buy some snacks and bottled water and then headed around the back side of Lake Itza for the night. 

 We spent some time walking along the lake,

 swinging in the hammocks,

playing in the water,

and just relaxing!  It was a wonderful afternoon.

We had a nice dinner and then enjoyed the evening getting to take a bubble bath and sleeping under A/C.  I felt pampered, haha.

The next morning we walked back down to the lake to help feed the turtles and fish.  That was a lot of fun.  Below are a few photos of us on the walk down.

We stood on the back of this big boat and watched the turtles swim in.  There were a lot of them in all sizes. 

The hotel worker brought this bag of left over bread and that is what we fed them. 

David and Cruz on the pier 

Me and my baby boy

It was a great way to celebrate.  I had a blast!  I told David that next year I would like to do the same thing except maybe stay the night on Mother's Day Eve and skip some of the local festivities.  ;-)

Ready to Cruise

I think we are going to adopt the phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" haha.  That is how we feel on most outings these days.  Cruz is getting more and more curious and less and less wanting to sit still for any amount of time.  It is getting harder and harder to take him out to villages, church services, or anywhere.  I have been sad to see him grow up, but I must say we are both ready for him to start walking.  He is taking a few steps, and walks well while holding our hand, but hasn't mastered walking solo just yet.  We are ready for him to quit crawling around on dirty, nasty floors.  We are ready for his hands not to be quite so filthy when he puts them in his mouth.  We are just ready for him to walk.  I know it will be harder to keep up with him, but it seems like it might be a little easier while we are out working.  We'll see.

Back to the taking a village thing, we are so grateful when the locals offer to hold Cruz a few minutes during church, while we are visiting, and especially while we are eating.  Just a five minute break can make all the difference sometimes.  I don't think I could make it through a Sunday without them.  I am glad that he is so friendly and will go to anyone.  That makes it nice too. 

We had a lot of help this past weekend while in Poptun.  Most everyone took turns holding him and walking him around.  He loves the be with the locals!  The older boys seemed to like playing with him most of all.  On several occastions I found one of them playing with him on some form or transportation.  He got to sit on a bicycle, in a truck, climb on the hood of a truck, sit in a tuk tuk (taxi), and sit on a motocycle.  He was in little boy heaven.  Here are a few photos of him from the weekend-

This is a tuk tuk.  It is a very common type of taxi here in Guatemala.

I love this one.  It is as if he was looking at that little boy and saying, "does my mama know you are letting me do this" haha

These on the motorcycle were taken Sunday during the baptismal service.  Several older boys held Cruz so David could help with the service and I could take pictures.  They enjoyed entertaining him.

He is getting to be such a big boy.

Meeting the Greenwoods

One of the greatest blessings about our time on the mission field has been the opportunity to work alongside seasoned, experienced missionaries who have helped mentor us and not only teach us about the K'ekchi' and their culture, but also how to be good missionaries.   We have enjoyed having Jim and Carol McGriff, Wendall and Jane Parker, and Fran Eachus to teach us and help us.   Our time here would not have been as successful had these precious people not been in our lives! 

Last week while at the conference in Coban we got the honor of meeting another retired K'ekchi' Baptist missionary couple- Dick and Lahoma Greenwood.  You can't go anywhere among the K'ekchi' that they don't ask about this couple.  They were one of the first ones to work with the K'ekchi' and really laid the foundation for others like ourselves to come behind them.  It was a blessing to get to visit with them.  We just wish that we would have had more time.  We enjoyed the few stories he shared with us, but could have sat for hours/ days and just listened to him share.  They are a sweet couple, and we are now glad to say that we know them!

David, Cruz, me, Mrs. Lahoma, and Bro. Dick

I love this picture!

Our Anniversary

Because of a conference that we were attending all last week we spent our anniversary in Coban.  It just so happened that the only day that wasn't scheduled was Wednesday (our anniversary) because that was the day that all of the nationals went to visit and stay overnight in the K'ekchi' villages.  So, here is how we spent our day-

Most of the morning was spent at our mission apartment.  Once we got Cruz down for his morning nap my friend Glynis came and watched him while David and I walked next door to Casa de Acuna for a late breakfast.  It was only the second time since Cruz's birth that we have had a meal alone.  I wish I could say we just loved it (and we did) but it was weird.  I just felt like something was missing.  We did enjoy a leisure time of eating, drinking coffee, and talking.  There were also several moments of just sitting still in silence which was nice as well. 

When the waiter brought our ticket we asked him to take our photo.  Let me just add that we lived next door to this restarurant for 2.5 years and visited it often.  Most all of the staff know us well.  After he took our picture I told him that it was our anniversary.  A few minutes later he came back with this dessert (lemon cheesecake) and another waiter and they sang to us.  It was really the highlight of my day.  I loved it!  I don't think this is something they normally do so I felt very special.

We returned to the same restaurant for lunch with some wonderful people.  We had a great time eating and laughing around the table.  We were joined by David and Glynis Miller, Miss Fran, and Dick and Lahoma Greenwood.  What a great bunch to spend your day with!

Later that afternoon we took some family photos.  It is my tradition to take our photo on our anniversary.  This year was the first to add another little face to that photo. 

 I took photos of both of us with Cruz but failed to get a photo by ourselves.   

That evening for dinner we decided to do something fun for Cruz.  We had already eaten two adult meals that day so we headed to the local McDonald's to play.  Now before you start saying "ooh yuck, McDonald's" let me just say that when you no longer have McDonald's close by, you start to miss it.  haha 

The McDonald's in Coban has a small area for smaller kids to play.  We have taken Cruz a few times and he always enjoys it. 

 How could we resist this photo?

After eating we walked next door to the local mall and joined the Miller's again for ice cream and fellowship.  We let Cruz ride on one of the rides they have there. 

We were not able to do a getaway this year on our original day but plan to make up for it later this month.  We will combine our anniversary with a BIG birthday that is coming and take a little family overnight trip.  I am really looking forward to that!  All in all we did have a fun, relaxing day.  It was great to get to share it with friends.

Ouch!

We have been spending a few days in Coban this week.  Our first night here while exploring the place from top to bottom Cruz fell and gashed his eye.  He hit the side of a wood shelf.  My heart stopped beating for a second as I looked to see if he was okay.  He only bled a small amount, cried for a short time, and was then back down and at it again.  There is not much that slows him down these days.  I was expecting a big black eye the next morning, but it never changed colors.  We have kept a bandaid and some neosporin on it and it has improved greatly.  I am not sure my heart is going to be able to withstand such an active little boy. 

 from the looks of the photo below you can tell it hurt his mama a lot more than it hurt him

On another note, in addition to falling and cutting his eye, he has not been well lately.  He has been having diarrhea for several days now.  We have been in touch with our pediatrician's office in Guatemala City, and have had two stools tested at a lab in Coban.  Neither of the tests really showed anything, but the doctor put him on antibiotics yesterday.  Please pray that he will get better soon.  He has not slept well (not that he was sleeping good to begin with).  Tuesday night the longest he slept at one time was two hours.  It was a long, hard night for all of us.  We could all use some rest! 

A little funny to share was that the first lab we visited to find out about having his stool tested they sent us home with a glass Heinz baby food jar to collect it in.  When David returned to the car and showed it to me I literally laughed out loud.  We thought it was hilarious.  I cannot believe I failed to get a photo of that!
Thanks for praying!

11 Month Update

Our sweet boy turns 11 months old today! 

I find myself constantly reminiscing about this time last year, what we were doing, how big I was, how close it was to his arrival, and how excited we both were to meet him.  We cannot believe he is about to turn one year old. 

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO?

*   He weighs between 21 and 22 pounds

*   His eyes are blue/gray and his hair is light brown

*   He wears size 3 diapers, size 12 month clothes, and size 4 shoe

*   He still only has six teeth- four on top and two on bottom.  He has not cut any new ones in three months.

*   He is very active these days.  He is crawling everywhere, climbing on everything, and walking behind

     anything that he can push around.  He is not walking solo yet, but walks holding our hand.  He loves to

     push things.  He is climbing into chairs, out of his walker, and on top of whatever he can pull himself up

     on.  He has started climbing stairs.  He loves to play on the couch and has learned to turn around and go down backwards.  This is after a few headfirst incidents.  I think he learned that lesson the hard way.

*   He has had many bruises and scrapes.  Just yesterday he got his first cut.  He fell onto a wood shelf and

     gashed his eye open.  He cried for just a bit, and was soon back going again.  It hurt mama a lot more

     than it hurt him.

*   He loves to tear things up.  He enjoys playing with magazines and papers and tearing them into pieces.  It

     makes a huge mess but he really enjoys it.  The hard part is keeping the paper out of his mouth.

*   He is obsessed with shoes.  He puts every pair of shoes he finds in his mouth.  We have to constantly

     keep our shoes and his put away.

*   He has really taken an interest in books lately.  He likes you to read to him, and he likes to turn the pages.

     He will get a book and play with it for a long time.

*   He has a red and yellow plastic car that we got from a cereal box while in the States that is his favorite

     thing these days.  He hangs it out of his mouth and carries it around with him all day long.  

*   He likes to sleep with his feet propped up on something.

*   He is now eating a mixture of homemade baby food, jar baby food, and table food.  He is still nursing
     four times a day.  I have started using formula to mix with his food, and am no longer pumping milk. 
     That is as close to weaning as I have gotten.  My plan was to wean him by his first birthday.  We will see
     this month how that goes. 
*   We moved him to a stage 2 sippie cup. 
*   New foods he has tried this month are rice, yogurt, brocolli, pancakes, fried plantains, and biscuits.  He
     loves fruit smoothies made with yogurt.  He enjoys finger foods/ feeding himself.  His favorites these days
     are toast, cheese, Gerber yogurt melts, english peas, and any fruit. 

*   He is not a fan of bibs these days and will always tear it off before his meal is done.  He is a messy eater!

*   He likes to play with things that velcro. 

*   He is trying hard to talk.  He makes all kinds of sounds and noises.  We like to joke about what we
     think he is saying and what it sounds like he says.
*   He is such an entertainer.  He likes to do things to make us laugh and anytime we laugh he cackles with
     us like he knows what is going on.  He smiles and laughs a lot.
*   He has become a very scheduled daytime sleeper, but his night routine is different each night.  He still
     wakes up at least once during the night and the time varies.  He takes a morning and afternoon nap at
     nine and one.
*   He loves being outside, playing in water, listening to music, and getting dirty.
*   He is very much a mama's baby these days.  He has never been clingy until the last few weeks.
*   He has lost all of his baby fat, and is no longer our chubby baby.  He looks more and more like a little
     boy.

He is a true joy, and makes life so much sweeter!  We thank God often for this precious gift he has given us, and pray everyday for wisdom to raise him.  Parenting is the hardest job we have ever had, yet the most fulfilling.  

Happy 11 Month Birthday Baby Boy!

Let the celebrations begin!

WATCH ME GROW-