Progress Report

I feel like there's been a lot going on.  I certainly feel like we've been busy, even without jobs.  :)  The last few days especially have been pretty exciting.  Davie and I both have an appointment tomorrow at Migracion regarding our residency applications.  I'm not 100% sure what's going to happen at the appointment, but I know it's (1) a very good thing to have and (2) a big next step in finalizing our residency and getting us official-official here.  Very exciting stuff!

Eduardo is doing so well in school.  This week has been parent-teacher conferences at his school.  I actually ended up deciding not to have a conference with Eduardo's teachers.  I really struggled with that decision, as of course I want to talk about Eduardo and hear how he is doing, but the conferences were optional for students who had a conference in November and, because I'm volunteering at the school, I see his main teacher quite a bit already and I feel like she and I touch base on how he is doing and discuss any concerns (not that there are many of those) and talk about things we can do at home, etc., etc., a fair amount, so I really didn't feel like there would be a lot for us to talk about if we did have a conference.  He also comes home and talks about school A LOT, so I can tell he is learning and I can certainly tell a huge difference in his English ability and in his math skills.  He's kind of a little math genius it seems.  :)  However, even though we didn't do an official conference, his main teacher did show me some of his work on Monday, just so I could see how far he has really come. 

He has a journal he has been writing in since school started, and the difference between August and now is AMAZING.  In the beginning, he would write one or two short sentences and his teacher had to correct almost every word.  Now he writes whole pages with only one or two corrections PER PAGE.  He also was given a math assessment with problems for end of 1st grade, beginning of 2nd; end of 2nd grade, beginning of 3rd; and end of 3rd grade, beginning of 4th.  He got all of the end of 1st - beginning of 3rd grade problems right and only missed a few of the problems for the beginning of 4th grade!  So he's basically a grade ahead in math.  One of the things I really love about this school is that they are able to customize the curriculum for each student, based on what they need, so he is able to continue to be challenged in math and isn't being held back any.  It's just really so amazing how awesome he is doing and how far he has come in such a short time.  I've always known Davie was smart, even if he didn't end up getting the education to nurture it.  It's so exciting to see that Davie passed that on to Eduardo, in addition to his good looks.  :)  I told Davie he makes super smart, super cute kids! 

Mom and Mike come Friday and we are all SO EXCITED to have visitors and get to see them.  Eduardo talks about it every day, it's really cute.  :)  We're in cleaning / getting ready mode, big time!  Then, Monday we are taking the bus from San Jose to Managua to visit with Davie's mom and some of his family until next Friday.  It's Spring Break / Holy Week here - with all of the Catholics here, Holy Week is a HUGE deal.  Everyone takes the whole week off.  I'm looking forward to having Davie's mom meet Kaylynn, although I'm not so excited about the bus ride.  :)  Kaylynn these days seems to like car rides though - she LOVES going places now - so hopefully she'll do okay.  And there will be stops and things, we can get out and move around.  Keep your fingers crossed it goes ok!

If you can't tell by all of the exclamation points and capital letters and smiley faces, it's been a very good day and things seem to be looking up in our neck of the woods.  We're getting a very nice tax refund and hopefully soon I'll be able to start job searching in earnest.  A job is the only thing really missing at this point.  I'm feeling more settled here and more at peace with our situation.  Now to find an awesome job and life will be pretty darn great!

Six months already!

How did you already get to be six months baby girl?? After today you'll be closer to your first birthday than to the day you were born. That makes me a little sad. But I have so loved watching you grow and learn and I'm excited to see where you end up next month!

We've had a big month. You've started exploring foods, we went to two beaches and a national park and you've added even more tricks to your repertoire. You can put your pacifier in your mouth yourself. You can sit up all by yourself for a short amount of time. So now you aren't as happy playing on your back anymore. Laying down is so last month! 😄

Jaco beach

Carara National Park

Playa Agujas

Green bell pepper

Onion

Cucumber

Orange bell pepper

Coconut

You are such a little ham and you love to smile and play with everyone you see. Everyone comments about how happy you are and one of my biggest wishes for you is that you are able to hold on to that happiness as you grow. I love seeing your smile and hearing your laugh. 

Hamming it up at Carara National Park

You love swinging in the hammock. 

So happy!

Your face lights up when you see Daddy or Brother. It makes me so happy to see how much you love them. 

You concentrate so hard when you are playing now. Everything is new and full of wonder and there's so much you want to learn. 

You've gotten so big! I still can't believe it. 

Resolución firma

Which means.......my residency application has been approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I checked the status this afternoon, as I've been doing every day for the past few months :), and the status was updated. Needless to say, we're pretty darn excited. Davie's application is still in progress, but, like he said, right now mine is more important so I can start working!

The next step, as I understand it, is to get an appointment to get my cedula, which is the ID card / SS# equivalent. I'll have to get my picture taken at some point too. I recently heard that if I haven't heard anything within 15 days, I can go to immigration and they'll make my appointment at that time. However, I'll have Davie call the lawyer Monday, so hopefully I'll have an appointment sooner than that. 

At this point I'm thinking I'll have my residency within a month and then the job search can really start in earnest! It feels a little unreal, considering it's been 10 months and part of me had thought it would never actually happen. :) It's so exciting though to think we'll finally be residents soon!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! Here are some pictures before I go. :)

Kaylynn likes the hammock!

Eduardo's school had a party this afternoon for Dr. Seuss's birthday. Here's a long view so you can see the awesome backyard / view the school has for the kids to play in. Eduardo is in the middle of this shot. 

And here's the close up view. Eduardo looks a little confused. :)

Mom fail

We bought a beach umbrella to keep Kaylynn and I out of the sun while at the beach. We used it today and I was so sure all would be well as long as she and I stayed in the shade. Except, NOT. The only thing I can think is that the umbrella kept out the light but not the UV rays. I am BURNT. Worse than I have possibly ever been burnt. And poor Kaylynn got some sun too, although thankfully nothing close to what I ended up with. Her face is a little red, a strip on her upper back and her shoulders. I feel like the worst mom ever. Even Eduardo ended up with some sun on his face, despite the fact he and Davie put on sunscreen at least three times. I can deal with my being burnt, but I don't like that the kids got sun too! 

So we've all lathered up with aquaphor and hopefully we'll feel better in the morning. :( And next beach trip, Davie and I decided I'll be putting sunscreen on before we even leave the house. :P At some point I have to learn, right? 

But we did have fun!

Davie and Eduardo were also smart and used long sleeves, even in the water, which helped them a lot, I think. I told Davie I need a full body suit next time!

She was checking it ALL out! And see how we are very clearly completely in the shade?????

She at least was very happy, both at the beach and after we got home. 

Blessed

I'm so lucky to have my family.

Eduardo telling me about his comic this morning.  He's so smart!

Eduardo walking on eggs for a school project.

Tents in the backyard with friends are the best things ever!

Yes Mommy, of course I'm cute!

Davie sent me this picture while I was volunteering at the school one morning.  I love that they have fun together!

Rollercoaster

Even though the job search has been so disappointing and even though I know that it's highly unlikely that potential jobs I hear about will actually go anywhere, I can't help but get SO EXCITED when I hear about a new opportunity that would be doing something I enjoy (i.e., Financial Reporting).  So even though it's a long shot that they'll want someone who will work remotely at least 50% of the time, I'm throwing my hat in the ring anyway and I'll be excited about the possibility.  At least until I hear they aren't interested.  :) 

I hope everyone has a good weekend.  Stay safe all of you with snow on the roads where you are!  Eduardo and Davie are currently in the pool.  :)  It's HOT here!

Five months

What a fun month it's been, watching you grow! You've definitely left the newborn stage behind and you are changing so quickly!! It's hard to keep up! This month you started really playing with toys, reaching for everything and rolling over!!! I don't think I've ever been as proud of someone as I was of you the morning I found you had rolled over in your crib during the night. I was overflowing! I can only imagine that my pride in you will continue to grow as you do. 

You have so much fun with your daddy!! The two of you are doing really well together while I'm volunteering at Eduardo's school. I miss you so much though while I'm gone!!

You grab everything now - and pulling hair has become a new favorite! It's hard to change your diaper now because you are always rolling around, twisting yourself up, and not letting me do what I need to do. I have a feeling that won't be getting better anytime soon. :)

I LOVE how happy you are!! You are almost always laughing and smiling. You fuss very little and only if you are tired and/or hungry. It's so fun to go get you from your crib - you see me and your whole face lights up with a big smile. 

Makes me a very happy momma to find this waiting for me!

You've gotten soooo big! I can't get over it. And it seems like you get bigger every day. We go to the doctor Friday for your five month check up - I can't wait to find out how much you weigh now! I love your leg chub too. :) 

You don't mind tummy time so much anymore, although you do get frustrated sometimes as you still have a hard time rolling from your stomach to your back and when you are done on your stomach, you are done! :) You've gotten so much stronger though! (And as you can see in the last picture, your eyes still haven't quite gotten to the same color yet!)

I'm so lucky to be your mom!!