I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Hello once again from Paraguay. The weeks are getting more and more busy it seems but perhaps that is because Christmas is just around the corner.

On Monday afternoon Annie texted Kiersten saying she wouldn't be able to come in on Tuesday. Ok, that's fine. So on Tuesday the girls had the whole day to do things together. They went to Parque de la Salud for a run and some time on the playground. Mackenzie loved it! Around 3pm Annie showed up and she looked a little nervous and somehow Kiersten knew what was coming. Annie had applied and interviewed for a job working in her field of study and they wanted her to start the next day so she was coming to quit. Kiersten was (and is) very happy for her. What a great opportunity for this young and ambitious college gal. It just leaves K in the lurch. We've come to rely on Annie for more than just caring for Mackenzie a few hours a day. She was teaching her Spanish and M was gaining an important relationship with another trusted adult. Now S&K need to decide if they will hire a new nanny, go without or register Mackenzie for day-care. Decisions, decisions.

The only one at the playground.

She got equal playing time on all the equipment.

"What's under here?"

She was in heaven with all the space to run free.

With Annie gone, Kiersten now needed to find someone to watch Mackenzie on Wednesday during her 11 o'clock Spanish lesson. She asked the older Embassy sister in our Ward if she might be available and she jumped at the chance to watch a surrogate grand-baby. When Kiersten got home, K&M went across the street to our little playground. Remember how she wanted to find a way to fix it up and make it nice. Well, someone already has. There is new equipment and the old benches got a paint job. It looks great! Scott got home early and took Mackenzie for a swim while Kiersten made dinner. That little girl loves the water.

New slide, tetter-totters and swings! The jungle gym just got a paint job.

The slide was really steep so this is how M played with it.
It was her favorite.

Thursday was a lazy but productive day. The girls made a trip to the grocery store and got caught in the worst traffic we've seen here to date. The roads were completely gridlocked! After their one errand, they wove their way home and vowed not to leave the house again that day. Kiersten prepped a few different batches of cookies and played with Mackenzie. Scott got home early again and we all went swimming. The water is finally the perfect temperature. Much later that evening we stayed up to watch the much anticipated Psych the Movie that aired only on USA Network on TV. It has been 3 years since the gang was all together and it was fantastic and wonderfully funny. Loved it.

Eating some fake Kraft cheese and a cookie. Gross.

Friday was a Paraguayan Holiday, Virgin of Caacupe. It is one of the biggest religious holidays of the year. Many places were closed including the bigger park across the street. We usually hear traffic when we wake up but not this morning. It was as quiet and light as a Sunday morning. We decided to take this opportunity with the lighter traffic to really explore Paraguay. We took a drive out of the city and came to a very large bridge. On the other side of that bridge was the Chaco. The Chaco is basically everything outside of the city. It's beautiful. Trees and open spaces and freedom. There was a toll at the end of the bridge and with a very cranky toddler we turned around and made our way back home. It was a great adventure nonetheless.

Trying on Mommy's hat during our adventure.

Crossing the river the first time.

And coming back again. Off in the distance there is the Asuncion skyline. We drove pretty far away, no?

Later that night, Kiersten took part in a Ladies Night with a few other Embassy moms. It was wonderful to relax and chat with women in similar situations and build relationships with them. We hope this happens again soon.

Saturday was the most busy Saturday we've ever had. Kiersten helped to chaperone a Stake Primary activity which was a trip to downtown Asuncion to visit a few historical spots. All the kids (probably 50) and the adults (20?) got on a colectivo (bus) and we headed down. It was a hot day but very interesting. The kids were bored, hot and tired after the first stop and we had two more to go. It was a long morning which ended an hour later than they originally said. 

Yes, this really is the bus she rode.

First stop: the Independence House.

The harp is a common symbol in Paraguay. 

And the crowded Primary bus.

During that time, Scott also took Mackenzie into downtown Asuncion to walk along the Costanera (coast) which is a beautiful and breezy stretch along the Paraguay River. When we all got home we got ready to go to the Embassy to swim with a few other families. 

Hanging out at the coast with Daddy.

First ones to arrive, first to leave the pool.

We had to cut this party short since we needed to be back at the church for a choir rehearsal because that night was the Light the World concert. It was a much bigger deal than we originally thought. There was a stage with a mega sound system and light boards and a full orchestra. So many people came. We were the first musical number and Kiersten, being the pianist, had her name announced which was a little surprising. The choir sounded great! and then we left to get a quick McDonald's dinner and get the baby to bed.

She was in her element. Wide open spaces and tons of people!

We were there early so she had lots of time to run.

Mackenzie devoured her 4 chicken nuggets and juice.

Church on Sunday was better than the previous weeks and it was Mackenzie's first official Nursery. She turned 18 months on Sunday. She did not do well. Kiersten stayed with her the first hour and then Scott was with her the second hour. Any time any one left the room (kid, teacher, etc.) she cried. Kiersten was in charge of the music for Sharing Time because the Primary is supposed to sing Away in a Manger at the Ward Christmas Party that no one told us about until Saturday. Ok! She prepped word strips and made a game out of learning it and it went really well. All the kids were engaged and mostly participating. They were so much better behaved than in previous weeks. It felt like a "normal" Sharing Time, with half music, half lesson. We are going to try to implement this pattern in the New Year.

Heard this choir during our family walk.

And now to Monday which is always a super busy day. The girls ran errands in the morning then prepped dinner and played. Mackenzie is getting increasingly clingy and whiney but we noticed the other day that two molars have cut through her gums! Ouch! So she was probably cutting 4 teeth at once. So glad we don't remember being a baby. We had the sisters missionaries over for dinner again and this is Hermana Bulgier's last P-Day so we made her a farewell pumpkin pie as it is her favorite.

We got a lot of packages today too. Mackenzie climbed up there by herself.

Misadventures in Baking:

• We succeeded in making cookie dough this week. One of the doughs we made was for Russian Tea Cakes which we'd never made before and boy are they easy and delicious. No eggs so we may or may not have eaten a lot of raw dough.

  

  Russian Tea Cakes covered in powdered sugar.

  
  

  

  Also known as Snowballs.

Quirks of Paraguay:

• Mangos, parts 3 & 4. With so many mango trees around it is a very common sight to see abandoned mangos on the ground, some fresh, some rotting or rotted, some just gnawed pits. And we learned about mango rash this week. The juice from mangos can cause rashes and swelling if exposed and unwashed on the skin. We heard of an Embassy guy who got a bad case of it this week. No fun.

  

  All those yellow balls are fallen mangos.

  
  

  

  And all those crushed yellow spots are smashed mangos
  and pits.

The Mackenzie Update:

• She is 18 months old! She is running everywhere, dancing, head bobbing and squatting to music, giggling, laughing and learning with us everyday. She loves books and reading them alone or with us. She is a fan of Daniel Tiger and waves to all the people in the show. She loves to wave to anyone if they are looking at her or not. She is very smart; she knows who momma, dadda and baby are in her family. She is learning Spanish at an incredible rate. We love this little bundle of joy more and more with each passing day!

  

  Dancing with Daddy to some Christmas music.

• This week we really started listening to her babbles. She is trying so hard to communicate and is basically stringing together sentences. Scott took the yellow car to work one day and when she looked out the window and didn't see it she said, "Dadda?" Kiersten said, "Daddy took the yellow car to work." She then repeated this sentence over and over again. Same inflection every time.
• She will now "jump" into the pool. It's really more of a sit and slide off the edge but she has no fear!

  

  She won't use this in the pool. She wants to be independent.

• She can go up and down the stairs by herself. It makes Kiersten nervous so she doesn't let her do it often... she needs to learn to let go! (Kiersten, not Mackenzie.)
• Mackenzie is helping more and more around the house, mostly because S&K realize they need to teach her about responsibility. We started to help her learn to pick up her toys and put them away before bed time. Today she also helped Kiersten with the laundry by putting the socks into the dryer. She loves helping and being involved!

Thanks for reading about our week. We hope everyone is well! See you all next week!