Guess What We Did...

Guess what we did this week.

Or, rather, guess what Grace did this week!

After her six month check up, on Tuesday, October 18th, where she got her two shots and found out she had dropped from the 25th percentile to the 10th in weight (she's a lean mean fighting machine. The doctor is not worried, but if it doesn't improve then we'll switch to formula in a couple of weeks,) we headed to a local mall for dinner at Chili's and some grocery shopping.

And then, the highlight of the night.....

Grace got her ears pierced!!

Six months is very young, but I got mine done as a baby and I am so thankful that my parents got it done before I had a concept of pain, or, you know, memory of pain!

Also, the local girls get their ears pierced usually earlier than six months so it is not uncommon here at all.

Here we are, getting instructions from the doctor (a Dr. in a pharmacy performs the ear piercing here,)
They brought us back into a little room, marked her ears, then had several other women who work at the pharmacy check the positioning of the marks.

I held Grace while Ian took pictures. Here one of the worker ladies is distracting Grace while the first ear is pierced...
And then the second!
And here, is a strange lady, not an employee of the pharmacy, who oohed and ahhed over our bald headed, blue eyed, white skinned baby...
And then Grace was promptly returned to my arms and she stopped crying.
All of the pharmacy employees doted on Grace and said "And now, she is a GIRL!"

ha!
The upkeep is so simple. Twice a day I wipe her ears with a alcohol swab and turn the earrings clockwise and counter clockwise. So easy!
Sweet baby girl! We're so grateful that we got to share this experience with her!

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Guess What We Did...

A View From the Top

We spent an evening at a local park,
Visiting with friends,
Chatting to locals,
And enjoying the scenery of endless desert skies reaching down to touch the dusty sand-swept ground.
"Rugged," doesn't do it justice.

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A View From the Top

Low Key {and rain in the desert}

I know, two posts in one day.

Watch out world.

But sometimes, when you have an amazing day, you just need to share it, if only to encourage someone else in the throes of a horrible day.

Ian and I had an unofficial date night today.

And all because our power turned off!

Our area of our little tiny city seems to have rolling black outs frequently, so when the power shut off, right as I was in the middle of shredding chicken in the food processor, we loaded Grace into her carseat for naptime and set out on a drive (with our car's air conditioning.)

We drove around our little city, exploring a few areas that we had never set foot in.

We sang along to "Sweet Home Alabama," "Island in the Sun," and a plethora of The Postal Service songs.

We watched as a dust storm rolled in, with wisps of sand streaking across the roads.

We stopped and picked up one of our favorite Middle Eastern desserts, basboosa.

And then, miracle of all miracles, it started to rain.

RAIN!

In the DESERT!

Grace has never driven in the rain.
Or seen it.
Or touched it.

She stirred from her nap and was momentarily frightened until our gleeful chatter lulled her back to sleep.

We talked and talked and talked, and finally returned home to feed, bathe, and put Grace down for the night.

Then we went for a nighttime stroll in our neighborhood, with a dust cleared sky and a mountain of fire in the background.

And, even though the temperatures were only in the seventies, we shivered as we walked along and thought of the months to come.

Because Winter, in the desert, is like Spring in the rest of the world.

Growth.
Renewal.
Refreshment.

And all of this was rung in with a walk in the desert with my husband.

Like I said, it was a good night.

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Low Key {and rain in the desert}

Happy Six Months, Grace!

This is 10 days late but we had to wait for the weekend after she turned 6 months to take her pictures!

Height: 25.2 inches
Weight: 13.4 pounds
Head: 16.5 inches

Clothes: At five and a half months, I changed all of Grace's clothes out, not because she had outgrown her 0-3 months, but because she was 5 and a half months old and still wearing 0-3 months! I was worried that she was going to grow all of a sudden and jump right over her 3-6 month sized clothes! Stupid, I know, but I was also ready for something new!

Food: Grace nurses every three hours from 7 am until 7 pm, and dropped her dreamfeed at the beginning of her 5th month! I pump at night so that she can have her 10 am feed at daycare. We send 4 tablespoons of rice cereal to school, and she eats 4 tablespoons at night before her bath.

Sleep: Grace is completely deswaddled and around September 7th, began sleeping through the night, 7pm until 7 am! I think dropping her dream feed has let her sleep more solidly, and longer!

She doesn't really nap at daycare, for the entire five hours that she is there (sometimes she'll get in a couple 10 minute cat naps, because they don't know how to put her down without letting her fall asleep with a bottle,) but she comes home and sleeps for 2 hours, wakes up for an hour, and then sleeps for another hour.

Activity: Grace learned to sit up, unpropped, this month on September 21st. She will play by herself on the floor, reaches for people, and she finally learned how to roll over from her back to her tummy.

Personality: Grace is an observer, she loves to look around her environment. She is a very happy content baby but likes to be held/played with all of the time when she is awake. She became very Mommy attached this month, sometimes not even liking it when Ian holds her. She shrieks very loudly but is not yet making any syllable like sounds.

Miscellaneous:

*Grace makes a piercingly sharp shrieking noise, and we affectionately call her our little Naz'Gul, which is the black riders from Lord of the Rings.

Except, she isn't the harbinger of death.

*She has really fallen into her bedtime routine. She gets so excited when we start it because she knows sleep is near. At 6, we begin feeding her cereal, followed immediately after by a bath, lotion, and footie pajamas (a must for her!) Then she nurses and I lay her down in her crib awake. I pop in her pacifier and hand her her "deal" blankets, two little burp rags that she holds onto. She rolls over onto her side and is immediately asleep!

Grace, my beautiful baby girl. Every day your personality becomes bigger and bigger. Your smile lights up our lives and you bring so much joy into our lives. I pray every day that God will keep your "heart beating, lungs breathing, and mind functioning through the night" so that you can face another day with your sweet adventurous spirit.

Love,
Your Momma

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Happy Six Months, Grace!

Life Marches On

Life Marches On
Or is it Time Marches on?

I'm not really sure, because both seem right.

I've been struggling lately.

With homesickness, fatigue, language overload, policy changes, our apartment flooding, financial responsibility, death of a family member, miscommunications with loved ones so far away, and have I mentioned the fatigue?

I am not complaining, even if it sounds like it.

It just is what it is.

There have been some mighty victories in my life lately.

I've come to terms with several things that was giving me great anxiety. I've had a chance to talk with some of my family members and some of my close friends. I started accountability with a friend and it has been so relieving to have someone to open up to.

I've had some great time out in the community, talking with locals. I've become more comfortable on this side of the world.

Life marches on.

Despite my absence from the blogging world, Ian still had his 25th birthday, Grace turned 6 months, we had a lovely weekend away, our apartment flooded, we had our first round of language tests for the semester, and Ian went on his first business trip since Grace was born.

Life marches on.

Whether I blog about it or not.

One day, I will find the energy to remember these last couple of weeks and share about them, but for now, I breathe in the sweet scent of my baby's clean head, snuggle close to my husband, and try not to fall asleep on my homework.

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Life Marches On

700

It's official. I've hit 700 posts. 702 actually.

And to be even more specific, this post will make 703.

703 times I have logged on and written about our lives.

3 and a half years in the making and we've hit 700! I'm a little amazed.

And if 700 posts have taught me anything, it is that a post on nothing but the amount of posts you have written is not really a good post.

So, moving on.

We've taken the weekend off and are on a little retreat/getaway for Ian's 25th birthday with some friends of ours.

We have big plans of eating, shopping, and, you know, being around actual civilization.

We got word from Ian's company that our car will be taken away come January, for financial reasons. bleh.

Did I mention that Ian turns 25 this weekend? And that Grace turns 6 months? And that we are starting her on solid foods? Time sure does fly!

We've been watching the first season of Community, and we've really enjoyed it. It is different, but funny! As soon as you accept that it is not a different version of The Office, it is great!

I'm off to enjoy my weekend! I hope you do too!!

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700

21, 22, 23, 24

(I L-O-V-E this picture...it might be one of my all time favorites!)



Look who is sitting up all by herself!

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21, 22, 23, 24