Yesterday was Paola's semi-1st day of a new Mother's Day Out program called Mornings with Jesus at St. Paul's.  She will just be going 2 days a week for half-days, but it still seems like a big step.  We had the open house yesterday morning, and she did really well sitting at the table and profoundly taking in everything that was going on.  I think it helped that we had talked about going to school, read stories about a girl's 1st day at school (she carries the book around everywhere now), and she knows a couple of the other kids in her class.  When we got home, she commented that she wanted her teachers, Ms. Margaret and Ms. Angela to come visit us at our house. Still whenvever we talk about school, her first question is whether I will pick her up.  I imagine she will have a bit of a harder time on Monday which will be her 1st day on her own there, but I am sure she will adjust soon. 
11:00:53 PM  #  

We got back a few days ago from a great visit in Little Rock and seeing the Abuelos and Bisabuelos.  Paola thoroughly enjoyed the visit and getting  experience so many new things and so much love from her family.  In addition to the experiences noted in the previous post, the natural setting of the house allowed her to see a turtle up close, a nest with newborn birds waiting for their mom to feed them, and tons of squirrels running around.  She got to swim everyday becoming more comfortable with the water each time; visited the Museum of Discovery; and went to Barnes and Noble storytime with Baya and the Bisabuelo.  She also got to visit Abuelo's office with her brother.  She got to see her heartbeat on the ultrasound courtesy of Debbie and BoBo taught her how to use a microscope.  Also I have to note that amazingly (to anyone who knows Paola's usual refusal to go to be easily), almost every night she was so tired she went to sleep by herself quickly without getting out of bed and taking out every toy available. (Naptimes/quiet times were another story since after each one it looked like a tornado had hit the room.)

Kobe also obviously had a wonderful time.  He so enjoyed having constant attention from someone at all times.  He spent half the day "roughhousing" with the bisabuelos and abuelos and the house was always filled with his precious laughter.  You could just see him seeking out everyone's faces to see if he could engage them.  He also started sitting up much better during the time there.  We were also able to take him out to the pool twice.  Although he initially cried out when he got in and felt the cooler water, he soon was having a great time.  He followed Paola's lead and kept on splashing though he never figured out that was why he kept getting water in his face.  He also loved being pulled on his tummy with my hands helping him kick.  He would break out in laughter until he ended up with a mouthful of water.

By the end of the trip, Paola was starting to miss home a bit and started asking longingly for her Daddy and Austin.  Of course once on the plane, she wanted to see Baya again (BoBo generously accompanied on the plane to Austin and flew back the same day). For the first couple of days, Paola seemed to feel like she had to go through all her toys at home again - as if we might be leaving for somewhere else anyday again.  She is really enjoying watching the videotapes of our visit in LR though and laughs at the silly things we caught her doing. 

Today it was also obvious that Kobe missed having the larger family around.  Usually with strangers it takes him a little while to allow them to hold him.  If they try, he will pout and little tears will come out of his eyes.  But today when we visited Marcus' office he kept reaching out to every coworker that approached him.  He immediately went to the women dying to hold him and there wasn't a hint of hesitation or tears  He so enjoyed having so much attention and smiles doted on him again!

I also had a wonderful time in Little Rock.  Of course I got pampered immensely with free babysitting, a pool, sleeping in, and great food.  And more importantly I got to spend some - but never enough- time with my grandparents.  In our family tradition, I really enjoyed staying up late talking about the day's activities and the kid's antics.  It was wonderful to see them trying to connect with their great-grandchildren whether it was my grandfather braving the heat to accompany Paola to the zoo, museum, and bookstore, or my grandmother setting all aside to sit on the couch holding "su muchachito" Kobe as he acted as if he were  a prince on a throne.  It was also a really nice treat that one night Daddy and I were able to go out to eat a wonderful meal on our own and talk about such varied things as his new venture and reality shows.  Thanks to Mami who was a great host doing a great job of taking care of everyone from taking Kobe after his morning feeding so I could sleep to setting up projects for Paola to do from picnics, collage, water colors and finger paints. Honestly it was a bit of a shock for me when Kobe woke up early the first morning back and I had no one to hand him off to after he ate.  (Ok Marcus did get up and take him, but that was also because a scorpion in our bed had bitten me the night before, and the medicine I took knocked me out).

It is nice to be home, but we loved every minute of our trip!

12:00:25 AM  #  

We are having a great time at the Abuelos house in Little Rock. We came about a week ago to visit and have since been enjoying being at Bobo and Baya's house -especially since the Bisabuelos Hugo and Elsy made a special trip from Guatemala to be here too. Last Saturday, the Abuelos graciously hosted a lovely sip and see for their friends and neighbors to come meet Kobe and see Paola.  All had a good time with the wonderful food and company. Kobe napped for the first half of the party, but once awake did really well with all the new faces. Paola did very well in meeting all the new people as well and was very polite.
 
Swim Lessons
The first week in Little Rock, Paola took some private swim lessons. Mami took the lessons with Paola (though Baya was the pinch hitter the first day), and it was a great experience. Of course the first few days, Paola was hesitant to do the activites during class, but Krystle, the teacher, did a lot to help make her comfortable - such as bringing a pink bunny water toy that Paola would talk about every night before going to bed.  AFter each class, Paola would always play "swim class" making it clear that she knew what the teacher was instructing, and it more of an issue of feeling comfortable enough to do them in class when asked to. It seemed like we were making some progress when half-way through the week, it was pouring rain so we had to go to the YMCA for a class one day.  In the new environment with lots of new distractions, Paola was hesitant to do much of anything. So it was a big surprise when the next class at the house, she just let loose and went off kicking by herself  with a float ring!  She was so proud of herself and so excited. Since then there has been no stopping her with her float ring though now the challenge is to remind her that she can't step off the stairs without it since a few times she has decided to test her ability to swim without any help. It has been such a neat experience watching her discover her abilities and learning how to get comfortable with new experiences in the pool.  I love seeing her eyes light up when she accomplishes something new and is just so proud of herself. She is an amazing little girl.
 
Zoo
I had vowed that we wouldn't go to the zoo again this year since last year it was so miserably hot, but gave in when my dad reminded us that the LR zoo has camel rides. Paola has been talking about wanting to go to Egypt to ride a camel ever since Tia MAria gave her a Hello Kitty book about different cities around the world.
 
So today despite the 90 degree weather, Paola, Kobe, Bobo, Baya, Bisabuelo Hugo,and I ventured out to the Little Rock Zoo. Though we sweated up a storm it was worth it to see Paola enjoy seeing all the animals that she usually only sees in picture books or videos.  We saw elephants, bears - mostly sleeping, lions, monkeys, flamingos, giant turtles, peacocks, and giraffes. There was also a display where Paola was able to touch a giraffe's skin, tail, and skull bone which she though was pretty cool.  And of course she got to ride the camel! She didn't even think twice when Bobo asked if she wanted to ride with him, and they were such a cute sight being lead around on the camel.  Later she said the camel was both soft and hard - Bobo concurred that he would not have wanted to sit on that camel much longer than the 5 minute ride.  Another of Paola's favorite activities at the zoo was the traditional train ride with the abuelos at zoo; she could hardly wait for it to start, and smile throughout the ride. Surprisingly Kobe seemed to have a pretty good time too as he enjoyed the zoo from the vantage point of riding in the Baby Bjorn with BoBo.  His favorite part of the zoo seemed to be passing through the misters set up all around the zoo to cool off guests.
 
--Alex
6:39:47 PM  #  

8:29:04 PM  #  

"Pretend I'm super Grover; pretend your the elephant"  Paola to Baya as she is being bathed 6/16/03
3:10:00 PM  #