Celebrating Joel Anthony

Where do eight years go? Seems like they disappear in a flash......

Today we are celebrating Joel's 8th birthday. He is quite the fellow already.

This year he's grown to a height of 4'7" (140 cm) and weighs 65lb (29.5 kg)
He's lost another two teeth for a total of 8
Joel washes the dishes on his own
He is able to ride a horse by himself
In swimming lessons this year, he learned how to do the back stroke
Joel learned cursive writing
He loves to dance to pop music
Joel asked Jesus to come into his heart and be his friend!
He finished grade 1 with flying colours
This year made best friends in his class at school
Had his hair cut into a faux hawk, just like Puck
Most memorable moment for Joel, trip to Sucre to see the Dinosaur park
Started piano lessons and can play songs with two hands
Joel is starting to catch the attention of girls....
Joel is turning into quite the comedian
And just a few weeks ago, welcomed his third little sister

For lunch we had werinicki and farmer sausage, tonight we're going to go for pizza and tomorrow Joel is having friends over for a birthday party.

It's been a good year with Joel. He's really grown into quite the guy. Joel continues to be a very sensitive child, which is very heart warming since he's very attentive to other peoples' needs. Like his mother, he wears his emotions on his sleeve! But hey, he keeps it real and there's no trying to figure him out. He's learned to continue to feel deeply, but express himself with a little less drama.

We've had some great conversations with Joel and he loves to visit , especially in the evening. It has been touching for us to have other adults say they really enjoy talking with Joel and that he's a joy to interact with.

I don't want him to grow up too fast. Sigh....but we love the person that he's continuing to evolve into. Each day brings new experiences for him, he has new insights and thoughts. He's a real joy to have in our family. As people call him now, El Principe de la Casa, we are honoured that God gave us the privilege of being Joel's parents.

Happy Birthday Joel! We love you so much!

What I'm Pondering....

Salvation is a gift, but Holiness is a pursuit.

When Asha was Three Weeks....

I was thinking today, looking at Elena and how small she looks compared to Asha. She is so tall and so big already. I remember when she was really itsy bitsy. I love the fact that I started blogging when Asha was just a few weeks old. I just watched this heartwarming video and am thankful for this type means to preserve memories.

When Asha was exactly Elena's age, we were packing up and moving across the continent. From the moment that Asha was born, we were in packing mode. I remember being so tired from all the sorting, cleaning, and packing and that was before giving birth! We were kind of crazy, I think. Who moves when their baby is 21 days old?

But you know, I'm thankful that we aren't moving this week and when we do move from this place, it'll be a much smaller scale in terms of stuff. Distance, well, there's no comparison there. Emotions attached to said move, well, that might be something else...

Yeah, we were crazy to move in 2007 way south, but you know, it was totally worth it. I wouldn't have traded moving to Fresno for the world. I don't think Asha minded being transported across the border before she was a month. Maybe that's why she's such a free-spirited adventurous child. That's what she was born into.

It's been another move since then even farther south. Maybe even crazier than going to Fresno some might say. I wonder what about our life right now is impacting lil' Elena? What is she going to be like considering what she was born into?

We're Famous!

Check out this link to see a pretty hot mama and her sweet oldest daughter. We're at the bottom, and while you're there you can discover how awesome these baby carriers are. Seriously, they saved Kezia from Joel's 2 year old grasp and allowed me to mop floors at the same time.

www.peapodcreations.ca

Elena's First Two Weeks

After Elena's birth it seemed like life got pretty busy. On Sunday, we had a number of special visitors come and see her and bring a meal. It was nice to have a restful day at home before all the crazy.

There were a number of things that we needed to do for Elena's paperwork and shots etc. and so on Monday, we had to take her to the clinic to get her tuberculosis shot. Here in Bolivia since TB is still quite a high risk, they immunize babies right after birth. She'll have a little dimple on her arm, just like Carl and I have. After explaining to the nurse a number of times that we only have one last name and she was born at home, we finally were able to move on to the next stop. The prefectura, where you pick up the official forms to register the birth of your baby.

Tuesday we needed to take her for a blood test to measure her bilirubin levels. Our pediatrician wanted to make sure that the levels weren't high. Let me tell you, it was pretty traumatizing to hold down your two day old baby for them to draw blood from her arm. The nurse was visibly shaken afterward too. And poor Elena!

Wednesday evening the pediatrician came to visit and checked over the bilirubin results. He was quite surprised that they were so high, and so he said that she would need to go in for phototherapy. The clinic that we would be able to get into that hour may or may not have a room for me to stay there with her. The thought of admitting her into a clinic all by herself was just too upsetting, so we asked him, since we were going to see my doctor, if she could also look at Elena and give us her opinion of what to do. Off we headed to Dra. Vidal's office. She filled out the forms from the prefectura, looked over me, and then looked over Elena. Dra. Vidal recommended that we take her for another blood test to see if her levels might have dropped in the 36 hours from the last test. She called our pediatrician and gave her opinion and within 10 minutes we were on our way for another blood test. This time, I cried as well as Elena. We came home by 9:30 p.m and waited up until 11 when the results would be ready. Praise God that they went down and our pediatrician said she wouldn't have to go in, just that in 2 days we should check her levels again. Boy, we were tired that night.

Thursday, we slept in and I had a shower before noon. That afternoon we went to a notary public office to have them fill out the form for a birth certificate. Carl had tried 5 different offices with no luck of finding anyone with the forms. Apparently the government hasn't issued enough forms and so notary public offices can't fill out birth certificate applications. How frustrating! But thankfully, Carl came across a very friendly lady in one office who knew of another one that had a few forms. We picked her up, drove to the other office, waited for them to come, went in and explained 5 times how it was that we only had one last name, explained that our daughter has three given names, not two like every other Bolivian child, re-explained the whole last name thing, rewrote Elena's full name, went back home to get our marriage certificate (so that Elena could have the "legitimate" checked off on her birth certificate) and then dropped the nice lady back off at her office.

Oh, and between all this, Carl was running around to numerous textbook suppliers looking for all the books that Joel and Kezia needed for school.

Friday was back at the lab for another blood test. Carl took the baby because I just couldn't handle it. A vial of blood from the inside of one's arm is almost enough to make me burst into tears and vomit at the same time.

Saturday we received the results and they were back up. ?? How is that possible? After a number of phone calls with Dra. Toni and her consulting other doctors and our pediatrician coming over to see the baby, we came across a possible cause of why her bilirubin levels would spike. We figured that Elena was suffering from breast milk jaundice, which means there is something in my milk that is preventing the bilirubin to be rid from the body. So, we took her off breast milk for 48 hours to see if that would help. Well, Elena was celebrating one week, so I dressed her up and took a bunch of cute pictures of her. It was a beautiful distraction from all the crazy.

Sunday, we took Elena to church for the first time and she slept for the entire service. Everyone was admiring her and giving us well-wishes. I hadn't been to church in 2 months and I had really missed being with my church family.

Monday afternoon we went back to breastfeeding no problem and we took Elena for her 4th blood test. Carl took her in and I waited outside but I could still hear her screaming. She started the moment they tied her arm; she knew exactly what was happening. A few hours later, we picked up the results and Hallelujah! the levels had dropped drastically. That evening she puked all over Carl and pooped all over his hand, reminding us of the normal happenings of a newborn.

Tuesday, no word on the birth certificate. We need that for citizenship papers and a passport and a Carnet identity card. Considering everything is going to take forever and a day, this pace makes me nervous.

Wednesday was catch up day for sleeping. I ate cabbage the day before....what a night.

Thursday, the highlights of the day were going to the schools to show her off to school friends. Joel, Kezia, and Asha were all just thrilled out of their minds to have Elena come. Oh, and Elena had hiccups only 4 times that day. It's a daily occurrence where she sounds like a mouse and gets SO frustrated, but usually drops off to sleep afterward since she's so tired out.

Friday Elena and I took Joel, Kezia, and Asha to school by taxi in the cuddly wrap. She also had her first bath in the little tub which she seemed to enjoy. And that day was pretty special in that she made eye contact with me and gave a little smile. That was heart warming.

On her two week birthday, Elena celebrated by puking a river in our bed, being up for hours during the night, and then sleeping most of the day. Sigh....but Joel and Kezia changed her diaper and she wasn't even bothered by all the leg twisting and pulling. The life of a fourth child!

Well, enjoy the pictures of her first 14 days.....

Sugar Shortage

Since it was a very dry spring, there has been a drastic decrease in sugar cane production. Over the last few months, we have had a hard time finding sugar in the stores. It has increased in price by 50% and that means many people can't afford to buy it anymore. We certainly have changed how we cook and bake to make sure that we aren't using an excess amount of sugar.

Lately there have been big trucks that stop in neighbourhoods and sell the white gold. A few days ago, one stopped right in front of the office, so all the MCCers raced outside to get in line. You have to be quick if you hope to get any!

The Start of a New School Year

On the 1st of February, our three big kids headed back to school. They were all very excited, especially Joel and Asha who were sporting new backpacks. Kezia and I had gone the week before Elena was born to buy new shoes, jeans, shorts, and backpacks.

Joel is starting Grade 2 and his classmates are pretty much all the same from last year. His teacher is Prof. Claudia and his other teacher, Prof. Cristina, was from his grade 1 class last year. He was a bit nervous starting the first day on account of all the change, but he came home very happy on his first day. "We presented ourselves, had lots of Math, and did lots of English too." Joel is looking forward to learning the multiplication tables and writing stories.

Kezia is now on the big kid side (kinder and pre-kinder have their own entrance and class area) and started grade 1. Her classmates have changed a bit, but she is happy that some of her friends are still in her class. Kezia's teacher is new and her name is Prof. Karina. Last year, Kezia didn't really like gym class, but this year, she came home beaming, "Educacion Fisica is actually fun this year!". Kezia is looking forward to reading and writing more and of course, Art class.

Asha is still at her guarderia, but has moved from the "little baby class", as she would call it, to the pre-kinder big girl class. Her teacher is Tia Andrea and Asha says she's very nice.

All the schools had the parents buy all the materials for the year. Not just the regular supplies like notebooks and glue, but all the textbooks and folders as well. Carl spent the most part of last week running around to different textbook supply stores, hoping to find the books he needed. It's a big change from last year, where we just paid a fee and the textbooks were provided. Then, once you purchase the books, you need to cover them all in thick paper. Asha's school was particular and she needed orange paper with white polka dots. Kezia's class wasn't specific, so Carl got this cool purple wall-paper feeling paper to cover about a dozen books. Joel has green, but he has yet to bring his books home to have covered.

I love the beginning of the school year, with all the new supplies and the new backpack and routine. I think it'll be a good year, a short year for our kids, since we will be moving come winter here, summer in the northern hemisphere. Here's to a great school year!