nanciancena

Well...Nanciancena (a.k.a. Nani) and I were talking and she has let me off the hook to make a Paraguayan dish for Christmas as she will make one. She was going to make pan dulce de Navidad but it would take too long to knead the dough so now she's going to make another sweet bread called budin. We'll see how this turns out!

And this is a simple update as I found a website that describes Christmas in Paraguay - http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omchristmas2/christmas.htm. I copied and pasted this segment on Paraguay in case you're interested: "Christmas in Paraguay is celebrated in a deeply religious way. The main focus of the season is the pesebre or nativity scene which is found in both the home and in churches. December is the summer season in South America, and there is a profusion of flowers growing everywhere at this time of year. Churches and homes are decorated in bright colors to match the flowers. On Christmas Eve, church bells beckon the people to church at midnight for La Misa Del Gallo or the Mass of the Rooster. The Christmas feasting begins when family and friends return home from Mass. On January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, it is the Three Kings who bring gifts for the children of Paraguay. On the night before Epiphany, children set out their shoes with letters to the kings."

In this entry are some pictures I stole from Nani's archive....enjoy!

The Turducken and the first brotherly kiss

I'm so happy that I got a picture of the kids first brotherly kiss. Eban was so sweet as Jackson was a tad fussy and he went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I was simply swelling with pride as it was such a tender moment. I can't wait to see more of them...

I received a phone call from Ellen Sweets this morning at 6:45am instructing me to take the Turducken out of the freezer and put it into the fridge. This little act tells me that Christmas is right around the corner! If anyone doesn't know what a Turducken is, click on the word "link" in this sentence and it will explain it to you.

Well, we have received numerous shipments in the past 24 hours to our house. Seamus has gone crazy with every doorbell ring and therefore Eban runs to the door with the big mastiff who guards us with a vengeance. Last night, we had a guy come to the door around 7pm to sell us water...no business card, no web address, no professional clothes, and just a tad sketchy. He even kindly asked me for our phone number and I dryly said no. Times like that, I'm happy to have Seamus peering through my legs while growling to let these solicitors know that they are unwelcome. If it's kids selling cookies or pies, I promptly tell Seamus to sit and be quiet which he obliges to.

Last night, we received a huge box of goodies from Chicago and we opened it to remove the wrapped gifts within the box and then Eban went nuts with the bubble wrap. He loved it so much and then we colored all over the box. It was hours of free entertainment. I'm sure Grammy Swooz, Uncle Steve, and Anna had no idea that the bubble wrap and the box were great gifts too!!

Anyway, this morning I opened another box which came and it was the little table which Grandpa Morgan got for Eban for Christmas. I painstakingly put it together. It took awhile and once it was done, Eban loved sitting there. Nani put Jackson at the table with Eban and they giggled together. It was so darn cute. I'm a bit miffed that the photos I took are blurry but maybe it was because I was laughing so hard...oh well. I loved seeing Jackson have a huge grin while looking at his big brother!

Maybe this gift will be the one that doesn't get wrapped...as it's so helpful to have him sit at the table and be happy...he gets agitated quickly in his high chair.

Today, I need to research Paraguayan and Polish Christmas recipes as I want to include traditional meals for the guests who are with us from other countries. I hope to get creative and make something to reflect Nani's and Anna's cultures, but we'll see. I'm having difficulty finding easy recipes. All of them are so detailed and I'm not that good with the time it will take to create those dishes as I have two kids to tend to as well...we'll see how this works out...

It's the busy time of year!

Boy...to say I've been busy is an understatement! I just issued over 150 Christmas cards (it took me a couple of days), bought and wrapped holiday gifts, played with the boys, played with my dog, learned more about Nani, and made several dozen cookies. So I'm sorry I haven't adequately updated this site as I've heard some grumbles via the telephone from agitated family members!

Last weekend, we hosted a get together of the Boulder-area au pairs and we had seven girls show up. We had a cookie exchange, but all the girls brought store bought cookies. It was nice to have a plethora of girls here from various countries which included Paraguay, Sweden and Holland. I loved hearing about the different cultures! When one of the girl's host mothers picked her up she came in and asked me how old Jackson was. I told her 10 weeks and her chin nearly hit the floor. She said her 5 month old was smalled than my 10 week old in an exasperated manner. I calmly told her that I made big babies and politely smiled...as I didn't know what the proper response should be. And speaking of proper responses - I went to Kangaroo Kingdom again this past weekend with a friend and her son and while we were eating pizza, some man came up to her son and starting pinching his chin, petting his head, and rubbing under his chin. I was staring in disbelief as this man touched my friend's son all over the place and hoped he had clean hands (at the least). After he left, we had a good conversation about boundaries and kids with Nani as she wanted to know if this was a cultural norm for the United States.

Jackson is finally rounding the corner from being a fussy baby to a normal baby. He was so talkative at all hours and so upset that it was hard to hear him so uncomfortable all the time. He is now enjoying his little life by smiling and cooing most hours. I'm breathing a big sigh of relief with this change!

Eban has been a fun little tyke as his vocabulary increases every day and his palate is expanding. I love how he organizes his food to eat it...check out the pics.

Practicing Christmas

Well, this weekend we practiced "Christmas" by the tree with Eban. I know that young kids open their gifts fast and then throw them to the side and then want to open the next one. I would like Eban not to have this quality, so that's why I wanted to practice. I wrapped a Hawaiian lei and a watering can (that he had) so we could practice being appreciative and saying thank you via sign language. Well, it was a success. He was very excited with the process of opening something up and oohed and ahhed with each "gift." I am hopeful that he will be thankful on Christmas...

And the tree - we have already had three ornament casualties because Eban loves playing with them so much. I hope to decrease the amount of ornaments that break by placing them higher on the tree therefore we will have a lopsided-decorated tree this year. It reminds me of the year that Sadie was a kitten and we had to do the same thing as she loved to destroy and kill the ornaments as well. He has his favorite ornaments already...he loves a little guitar that my mom gave us years ago to symbolize the hummer and strummer in my life and he loves the three little bears ornaments that I grew up with as a kid. It's neat to see him "take" to certain ornaments.

This weekend was filled with a bunch of "firsts" for Eban - He was able to put his snow suit on and go outside in the deep snow - he waddled around just like Ralphie from the movie A Christmas Story; He was able to shovel the driveway with daddy (not a big help, but cute); He added the word "cocoa" to his repetoire; He ate half a real sandwich; He now puckers for kisses on command; and he ate his first pickle! He also clobbered himself on his chin when he took a hard fall on the dining room window ledge. He now has another lovely scar on his face. He's a tough little bugger. Jackson had one "first" this weekend...I heard him giggle repeatedly for about two minutes. Then he went back to being fussy and sleeping. It was worth the two minutes to see him enjoy his little life. I'm looking forward to more bursts of giggles in the future!!

Seamus has been a good big boy with the little boys. He has loved all the snow and romps outside with every chance...but then he wants back in as he gets too cold - he's our little sally. I love the picture of him outside with an icicle of drool hanging from his mouth. It's a tad blurry but you get the picture.

Nani has been sharing with me the differences between Christmas in the States and Christmas in Paraguay. She is very excited to have her first stocking this year...although our stockings are hung on the staircase because I know Eban would tear down the stockings if they were on the fireplace. She also said she has never had presents under a tree. In Paraguay, they receive presents from the three wise men on January 6th. The men give the presents to the kids in the middle of the night next to their shoes which are at the base of their beds. They open their gifts in the room when they wake up so this will be her first Christmas with presents under a tree. In Paraguay, they eat a large meal on Christmas and receive chocolate too. I couldn't understand why January 6th is important in Paraguay but I will do research on that later so I can educate myself of that South American tradition.

I have a ton of videos for you this week. Eban has been very bossy with Nani and his "tent". Check out both videos of him telling her what to do. Nani is so sweet and listens to him...and you can see a video of Eban being very motherly to Jackson. It's very sweet to watch him interact with his little brother. I really thought Eban would be more of a little terror with him, and I'm glad I was completely off-base about that. And the last video is Eban giving me a kiss...I love the fact that you can hear him make a "hmmmm" noise as he dives in for a kiss!!!

Santa in 2007

Well, we paid a visit to Santa yesterday and Eban sat on his lap, but stared at him most of the time. I'm sure he was thinking who the heck is this guy. I think Santa thought that Eban could talk as he kept asking him what he wanted for Christmas and I had to explain to Santa that he's not talking yet.

The only time Eban looked at the camera was when they squeaked an Elmo doll. I felt like they were taking pictures of dogs when that happened.

Jackson was stimulated throughout the whole thing and slept like a champ. Nani also got to sit next to Santa for her first time as in Paraguay they write letters...

Yesterday, I got a tree and attempted to put it up with the help of Nani. I also started decorating for the season...I'll take pictures later.

No news yet on results of my test from last week. Since it was the holiday, they said they are behind a week, so they hope to let me know what the outcome is by next week. Delightful, huh!?

"Mine"

Well, Eban used the word "mine" today as he grabbed a ball away from a little girl at Kangaroo Kingdom...one of my new favorite kid places. It's in Lafayette, Colorado and it's a toddler haven with plush everything and slides and blocks and music! Nani, Jack, Eban and I went there and for 8 dollars (well worth the expense), we stayed for two and a half hours while Eban ran around and played. It stimulated him and then when other kids came in, he was able to interact with them as well. He is also giving kisses now which I love. He tries to lean in and give Jackson kisses and Seamus but sometimes he stops a foot away and makes the "kiss" sound. He has given me a couple and I can't wait until they are more plentiful!

Jackson has been up and down for 9 weeks now. He sleeps two nights in a row and gets up at three hour intervals and then the next three nights, he is up every two hours and fussy in between them. The doctor said he could have acid reflux so we have an appointment with a new pediatrician on December 13th to hopefully figure things out. I hate to leave our current pediatrician as I love her but the commute down to Denver each doctor's visit isn't easy with two babies.

Last night, I put on a dress (thank goodness it fit) and went to the Mircosoft Holiday Party. It was nice to finally meet Ryan's fellow co-workers - I even was able to meet his friends who play math games at work. Too bad Ryan doesn't participate in that activity but I visualize it to be like that scene in the movie Good Will Hunting. :)

I've been learning a lot about Paraguay and the similarities and differences between our two countries. Nani finds it very interesting that we don't iron everything. They iron every day in Paraguay...even underwear. Another tidbit is that she also loves to see women in their sweat pants at the grocery store or the mall...she said that would never happen in Paraguay. I hope to one day visit her in her country.

The last two pictures were shot from one of our upstairs windows. The sunrises are really pretty and from one window you can see Pikes Peak and the other you can see the towers at Denver International Airport. Note the mountain on the right side of the one pic...one day, you can see this like me if you are up at the crack of dawn like I am.

And in one of the attached videos, you can see a brief glimpse of a half a smile from Jackson while the boys are laying in the aqua gym - his first on video.

More, Please and Thank You

Eban is getting so good at signing...it's incredible. He is always signing "more" and "please" and we occasionally get a thank you.

I got all the signs on video if you click the footage below...he really wanted apples after school today and he was running to the fridge to pick each apple out of a baggie.

Well, he got rave reviews on his dance skills again on his report card today. They said he was a dancing machine! Ahhh, we're such proud parents.

We also brought up a little baby structure (see picture) for Jack today. It's a colorful little play yard that the babies can lay under and be stimulated by the hanging plush items and the wild colors. Well, Eban loved sharing it with Jack and got under it with Jack and hung out for about an hour. And speaking of sharing, Eban is not good at this just yet. When Nani dropped him off at school, he grabbed three toys and other kids went to get them and he looked at all of them and said no while jerking the toys to the side.

When his friend Hayden came over the other day, Eban was just as good with "not sharing" that we stuck him in his "Jail" cell so he wouldn't yank toys out of Hayden's hands. And here's another interesting behavior Eban did when Hayden was over...he crawled. Eban hasn't crawled since he started walking 4 months ago and when Hayden showed up (he's almost 11 months), he resorted to crawling all over with Hayden. It was sometimes a race around the kitchen...check out the action shot! Anyway - It was sweet and since Hayden left, I haven't seen Eban crawl again.

This weekend, we are watching Jackson as we switched his formula to soy in hopes it will reduce his fussy behavior. We are also hoping it will help his cold which he's had for roughly three weeks. We'll see, but we are keeping our fingers crossed.

We can't rule out cancer

"We can't rule out cancer" were the exact words I heard yesterday at my doctor's appointment.

Yes, it's definitely unexpected. I went into my OB/GYN and this time I didn't bring the little jockey as the last time was too memorable. Well, this trip was just as memorable as my doctor came into my room and said she just got back from vacation and just saw the results of my pap smear from two weeks ago. She apologized and said it was quite irregular and that the lab ran more tests from the sample and it ruled out a ton of diseases but it couldn't rule out cancer.

She said she'd like to do a biopsy immediately but would be happy to re-schedule if I wanted Ryan there. I told her there was no time like the present, so we went into the other room for the procedure.

It's hard to share what was going through my head. Cancer? And my mom just had this type of cancer earlier in the year...what were the odds?

Well, they took four samples of my cervix and the procedure was less than fun. Each time they took a mini-M&M size piece of my cervix it felt like a sharp cramp. I kept pinching my shoulders so I would concentrate on anything else than what was happening. Anyway, the doctor told me she'd have results in about a week so she'd call me then.

Ahhh...now the wait. This is the bad part as one wants to immediately know what the outcome is.

Anyway...came home to play with Eban and rock Jackson. Eban is mimicking now so I have to be careful of what words come from my mouth. Eban also loves to sing and as you can see from one of the pictures, he is belting out some random tune that he created...those are the best songs ever!

Bath Fun and Cookies!

This weekend, Ryan and I recovered from being sick so I have nothing to report unless you want to hear about the woes of stomach issues?? I doubt that so I'll report what little there is to talk about...

Jackson is great for Nani, but terrible for me. He only slept two hours for me last night. My goodness, this lack of sleep thing does nothing for my looks or my morning personality...unless I have two LARGE cups of coffee! Anyway, I'm happy he is soothed by her but a tad jealous. More importantly, I'm happy he's happy, but I'd like to have "the touch" that Nani has as well as the grandmas. Eban is great with Jackson. He is very intrigued with him and wants to hug him or tackle him. You never know which so you have to keep a constant eye on him when he's near Jack.

In fact, last week, Dennis, our godson, pet Jackson on the head and over ran Eban and shoved Dennis. Little Dennis cried and got up, but Eban was very protective which I didn't think a 17 month old would be.

School is going great for Eban. Miss Brittney and Miss Emily love Eban and he gets great daily report cards. There are always comments about his swanky dance moves! I have no clue who he gets that from!?!

Today, we made Christmas cookies. That was a tiny adventure as we just completed the cutting and baking and decorating when Eban grabbed the parchment paper and was about to fling it when Nani and I were frantically holding down the paper so the cookies wouldn't fly all over the place. This was a fun game to Eban so he pulled harder and laughed harder. It was hard not to laugh...we eventually won with one cookie casualty. I'm sure Seamus was happy about that!