Has it only been one week?

I'm sure every new mother of two has asked this question. It has been a long, challenging and growing week for all of us but mostly Kiersten as she has worked to navigate how to handle a high-energy toddler and adorable baby plus continue to unpack and organize the house and all that being a house wife entails.

A quick craft I threw together during naps.
A message board for the kitchen which is currently showcasing some of our Christmas cards.

Monday and Tuesday were the hardest days mostly because the girls were still figuring out the 2 hour time difference between Asuncion and VA. By Wednesday they both went to bed before 9! Miracle of miracles! Wednesday we also had some people over for dinner from the Embassy who are without their wives who currently are back in the States on vacations. It was a terrific dinner and a fun game afterwards.

We went to the Embassy for asado lunch on Tuesday with Daddy then played at the park afterwards.

Scott and I won! Ok you can only have one winner and it was Scott.

Thursday was momentous because it was Finley's first night (almost) sleeping through the night! She went to bed around 7:30 then at 10:30 we gave her a dream feed (like what we used to do when Mackenzie was a baby) and anytime she fussed in the night, Kiersten gave her the pacifier and went back to bed. By 5:45 she finally really cried out so K fed her and she then slept in until a little after 8! Sadly this hasn't been the same every night. But it's a terrific start!

Friday was the best day of the work week for both because the day ended early and our pool got fixed! We went out to dinner at Johnny Rockets for burgers to "celebrate". No, not really. Kiersten just wanted to get out of the house and really wanted a burger.

All dressed up and ready to go out!

Her new love, hot dogs.

Saturday we had a family over from church to go swimming and we had a great time but no one more than Mackenzie. She was so excited to go in the pool that she ran around jumping and exclaiming, "Pool! Go in pool!" She swam and played hard then had the best nap of the week. Other than that, it was a pretty relaxing Saturday.

We thought we'd get her in the pool too but...

She just napped outside instead.

Kiersten trying out her new Christmas present to make the pool into a "treadmill".

Sunday was a mad dash to get out the door for church. Scott was at his bi-monthly Stake Meeting so Kiersten got all the girls (including herself) ready for church and out the door on time. After two weeks of 2 hour church our conclusion is thus: we like it but we still don't understand everything that is said so one less hour of not understanding lessons is good with us. We did a little nursery friendly Come, Follow Me lesson for Mackenzie then FaceTimed with grandparents.

And here are some pictures of the new and improved kid's play area/ workout space quincho!

Mackenzie loves it as you can see.

And today...? Everyday I start the day off with patience and love but somewhere during the day I lose it all. It doesn't help that today was the day we decided to really start potty training M with real underwear and everything. One accident in so not so bad but the nap is becoming a struggle. Finley has also been extra fussy today. All of these emotions are probably due to the fact that over the weekend some regular chores pile up until Mom can't stand the mess on Monday and tries desperately to wash all the clothes, fold them, put them away, do dishes, mop floors and still play with the girls resulting in nothing really getting done properly. Sorry for the venting. It's just a part of life but we really do need clean clothes and dishes... and food.

And Mom wants to exercise! Seeing these two "play" together is so sweet though.

Quirks of Paraguay:
Remember this segment?

• Some things we forgot about while we were in the States for so many months:
• Fireworks, no matter the time of day.
• Driving. Blinker, no blinker, no left turns, bad traffic, motorcycles riding up the lines during a stop light and street vendors. And their sheer lack of parking in between parking lines.

  

  This is exceptionally bad.

• No restaurants being open until our girls are in bed. This isn't really a problem since we are really focusing on saving money this year except for when you really want a good burger and your only option other than McDonald's and Burger King is Johnny Rockets.

The Mackenzie Update:

• When we tell her we are going somewhere, she'll ask, "Baby sister coming too?" We hope it's because she likes her and wants us to remember to bring her and not because she's wondering if maybe she doesn't have to join the group.

  

  She insisted on wearing this. Its size 0-3 months.

• Finally going to sleep at her "normal" bedtime. Sleeping in the "big bed" i.e. not the crib is still an ongoing learning process.

The Finley Report:

• As mentioned above, "sleeping through the night". If she were in a different room maybe we'd really count it but since we can hear her fussing then we don't. Her longest stretch so far without eating at night was close to 6 hours.
• Smiling and cooing! We mentioned it this week but she has really gotten good at it this week. And at demanding our attention.

  

  And we finally have a picture to prove it!

• She took a real bath in the baby bath tub this week and really enjoyed it. Looks like we've got another fish on our hands!

  

  A modest bath photo.

• Her daily routine is starting to become more predictable too. She's not sleeping all day long anymore and now takes 3-4 40-ish minute naps during the day.
• She eats every 2 hours, almost exactly, during the day.
• She's starting to hold her head up really well and for long stretches of time.

The saying goes, "The days are long but the weeks are short". 'Round here it's been long days and a long week but they aren't little forever so we are trying our best to savor each moment with our babies. See you next week!