School has begun in Asuncion

Hello everyone! It's August and down here that means its still winter. Yes! Most of July was nice and crisp, like the perfect Fall weather. We enjoyed sweaters, comfy socks, hot cocoa and blankets and so far August is looking the same. We realize last winter was uncommonly warm because it was only cool for about a week but this year its been for several weeks. We are not complaining! So if anyone is sick of their hot summer, come and visit us now while the weather is good.

We had another busy and productive week. Two big things happened this week, the most notable of which was Mackenzie started preschool on August 1 (Wednesday). Her school is called Small Seeds Preschool (yes in English) and they are a bilingual school. It's essentially a daycare but they have some structure and so far both Mackenzie and parents are enjoying this new step. The drop off on Wednesday was perfect. She went in and was very warmly welcomed by all the teachers. On Thursday Kiersten made the mistake of saying good-bye right at the door and that inhibited Mackenzie from wanting to go in and play so she stuck around for 30 minutes before she could safely sneak away. Then Friday they said good-bye in the car and the drop off went much better. They play and paint, have an exercise routine on Thursdays and doing "cooking" on Friday. She brought home a gourmet sandwich she made. So far she hasn't wanted to leave school when we come to get her so we guess that's a good sign. The only negative we see from this big change in her life is her sleep routine is getting thrown off. Naps are shorter than expected and bed time usually involves her crying or screaming for some period of time before falling asleep and then waking up earlier than normal. We hope this smooths out soon.

All ready for her first day with her backpack and Peppa Pig lunchbox.

The other big thing that happened was Scott received word from the doctors in DC that he has been approved to accompany Kiersten and Mackenzie back to the States in October to get them settled for the birth of the baby. Since Kiersten's pregnancy is high risk (due to the placenta previa) and has been directed by her doctors not to lift Mackenzie it was becoming obvious she'd need some help traveling back with M alone so Scott got permission to be a "non-medical attendant" on their flight home. Our tickets are booked for October 3-4! One thing checked off our before-baby-is-born-list and it feels good.

Playing at the Embassy with her 'Peppa', her new pride and joy.

She's a cuddler... sometimes.

Other events of this week include playing at the Embassy playground almost every afternoon and coming home with Daddy afterwards, simple dinners and lots of rest for Kiersten. Then on Saturday we were ready for an adventure! After a very long and untimely morning nap from Mackenzie we went into downtown Asuncion and walked around some of the parks and artisan street stalls and actually purchased some things! We are slowly building our foreign collection of knick-knacks and it's so cool. Then we took a little drive along the Costanera which if you'll remember is a nice "beach" walk that has now been extended a few more miles and the road is so smooth. After our drive we went to the mall to get Mackenzie some snow appropriate boots. We ordered some on Amazon but who knows if they'll show up before our trip to the mountains of Chile on August 15 so these are a backup in case they don't show in time. We grabbed a very Paraguayan dinner at Casa Rica and had dinner and a movie at home. Rice and empanadas. It was a great day.

Aren't they cute?

A beautiful set of salad tongs and a shallow bowl made out of the famous Paraguayan wood.

Look closely, it's a Nativity scene. This was by the artisan street stalls.

Enjoying her dinner and a movie in her chair.

Sunday was actually quite relaxing. After church we were invited to an open house of a baby blessing for one of the American families here. The blessing was during Sacrament Meeting in English! So nice. So we ate lunch there and Mackenzie ran herself ragged then only slept for an hour and a half at home. Grr! See what we mean about her new sleeping habits? Scott had a Stake meeting but then that was it for the day. No choir. We love choir and all but sometimes it's nice to take a break.

Projects:

• Kiersten has been doing a lot of crocheting this week which is the perfect bedrest activity. She finished an afgan she started months ago and it's beautiful. It took about 9 skeins of bulky yarn and many hours of work but it's warm and totally worth the work.
  
• Other crochet projects include making slippers and a lion hat for Mackenzie and a headband for the new baby. Maybe this next kid won't mind getting her hair out of her face....
  

Quirks of Paraguay:

• Spicy foods. At the open house on Sunday we brought some tortilla chips that were labeled "spice flavor". We thought nothing of it and neither did anyone else except the locals that were invited. They found the chips very hot and spicy. I guess Paraguayan food is more bland than we thought.
• This telephone pole. So many wires!
  
• Wire work. When people are working on the wires on poles above the street they have a ladder and one single little cone right next to the base of the ladder for their protection. Like that's really gonna warn an oncoming vehicle!

The Mackenzie Update:

• About her pacifier, she now has a name for it. 'Bear-bear'. Weird name you say? One of her pacifiers has two koala bears on it and that's what she started calling it one day and the name stuck. It's better than 'Binky'. I hate that name!
• Happy, Sad. These are two emotions that she is pretty good at identifying. She'll frown and say "I'm sad" or smile and say "Happy!" If we are reading a book or watching something she'll determine the emotions of the characters by their facial expressions. She is getting pretty good at reading people.
• Awake. Sometimes when going to bed she'll say, "I'm awake" and we try to help her understand than she's awake now but she's tired or needs to rest. When we come to get her in the mornings or after naps she'll also announce, "I'm awake". Last night was a new one when she sat screaming in her crib after we put her down and Scott went to check on her and asked what was wrong, she said, "I'm sad." This kid.
• Photography by Mackenzie. She has learned how to access the camera app on our phones and if we leave it lying around she'll take it and start taking pictures of everything! She loves it.

  

  Some of them aren't bad like this one of Daddy.

  
  

  

  But most of them look like this. Or the floor. Or black.

• Battle scars of preschool. When she was picked up on Friday, Mackenzie had a new scratch on her cheek. Kiersten was told she had an accident with a friend on the playground. M didn't seem bothered by it and K didn't make a fuss. School is making her tougher.

This coming week we'll be preparing for our trip to Santiago and finish planning flights for Scott's return for the birth of baby #2. We are just racking up the United miles this year! Have a great week!