I have never mentioned it here, but driving here is an experience for itself. People don't respect any rules, nobody stops at stop signs, traffic lights, etc. It seems that the driver that is fastest usually prevails. Fortunately so far, we have been doing o.k. while driving even though there were some situations where we could have easily been in an accident.
Some friends of ours had a very serious accident this weekend. They were planning to travel for the weekend with other friends and driving with two cars around Venezuela with some other friends.A driver was overtaking another car and coming up on their lane. Our other friends who had been the first car were able to drive off the highway, but the car ended up hitting our friend's car frontally. They have very serious injuries and will have to be flown out of the country. Fortunately their children are o.k. My mind slips back and forth to them. They had asked us to join them on their trip, but for various reasons we had decided to stay behind. That could so easily have been us. I thank God today that they are alive and pray that they will recover soon from their injuries.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
A giant genius in training
I know that you are probably wondering whether I have dropped from the side of the planet. I haven't, still alive and kicking. But incredibly busy. I have organized a big party last week for my job for about 300 people with three different show acts. Quite some work. But it turned out - after many ups and downs - a very successful event.
We also had been back in the US for two weeks to spend some quality time with family and shopping. We had a good time and bought lots of stuff that we either can't get here or can get here, but what is way too expensive. Lilli had a great time playing with her cousins and seeing all her relatives. We also had to take her to the doctor because her skin was breaking out. It turns out she has eczema, so we need to be careful with soap and use lots of moisturizing lotion.
Yesterday I finally took Lilli to her 15 month-check-up. A little late at nearly 17 month, but better late then never, right? The doctor was very impressed with her as always. She is now 89 centimeters long - that is about 35 inches - and therefore has even grown out of the European growth chart that he uses. For Venezuelans she is a giant which they like to comment on whenever they find out her age. She weighs now 11.6 kilograms which is 25.57 pounds. For her height she is about 50 percentile for weight. Lilli has a vocabulary of about 80-90 words in three languages and is constantly learning new words. I can't even keep up with writing them down. The doctor said that an average kid that age has about 6-10 words in one language. But of course, we also think that our kid is a genius - like all parents. She is very sweet at this age and I really love it. Sometimes I look at baby pictures of her and wonder whether she ever looked that way... She also has nearly stopped all the hitting - putting her consequently in time-out seems to have done the trick.
In January Lilli will attend daycare for the first time. It will be good for her to interact more with other kids. On our family planning front, we would love to adopt again. But unfortunately, we just can't afford it at this point. But we would love to give Lilli a sibling. My dh still wants five children. I think I would be o.k. with 2 or three right now.
I took these pictures at a recent trip with friends somewhere in the jungle of Venezuela. We were supposed to climb to a swimming hole at a water fall. Little did we know that the friendly guide wanted us to climb up the waterfall (dh with Lilli in the backpack). The waterfall was about 60 feet high and it was very scary experience. But we were very proud after making it. It turned out that the "swimming" hole was perfect for Lilli, but a little bit too little for us.
We also had been back in the US for two weeks to spend some quality time with family and shopping. We had a good time and bought lots of stuff that we either can't get here or can get here, but what is way too expensive. Lilli had a great time playing with her cousins and seeing all her relatives. We also had to take her to the doctor because her skin was breaking out. It turns out she has eczema, so we need to be careful with soap and use lots of moisturizing lotion.
Yesterday I finally took Lilli to her 15 month-check-up. A little late at nearly 17 month, but better late then never, right? The doctor was very impressed with her as always. She is now 89 centimeters long - that is about 35 inches - and therefore has even grown out of the European growth chart that he uses. For Venezuelans she is a giant which they like to comment on whenever they find out her age. She weighs now 11.6 kilograms which is 25.57 pounds. For her height she is about 50 percentile for weight. Lilli has a vocabulary of about 80-90 words in three languages and is constantly learning new words. I can't even keep up with writing them down. The doctor said that an average kid that age has about 6-10 words in one language. But of course, we also think that our kid is a genius - like all parents. She is very sweet at this age and I really love it. Sometimes I look at baby pictures of her and wonder whether she ever looked that way... She also has nearly stopped all the hitting - putting her consequently in time-out seems to have done the trick.
In January Lilli will attend daycare for the first time. It will be good for her to interact more with other kids. On our family planning front, we would love to adopt again. But unfortunately, we just can't afford it at this point. But we would love to give Lilli a sibling. My dh still wants five children. I think I would be o.k. with 2 or three right now.
I took these pictures at a recent trip with friends somewhere in the jungle of Venezuela. We were supposed to climb to a swimming hole at a water fall. Little did we know that the friendly guide wanted us to climb up the waterfall (dh with Lilli in the backpack). The waterfall was about 60 feet high and it was very scary experience. But we were very proud after making it. It turned out that the "swimming" hole was perfect for Lilli, but a little bit too little for us.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
If I could stop the time...
Today was a holiday and I was really looking forward to spending some time as a family. Little did I know that my husband had different plans. He wanted to play golf. I usually try to support him doing sports (his two soccer games a week, his basketball game once a week (even though he doesn't go every week) and golf once in a while), but today I was kind of bummed that I was a golf widow and by myself with Lilli all morning long.
I wanted to look at a daycare with a friend and her husband and had thought it might be nice for him to come along as well. After all this is OUR daughter and we have to make a decision together on which daycare she will attend. I really liked this daycare and even though it is logistically a little challenging (Caracas traffic is among the worst in the world), I think that she will start there in January. I really liked the teacher-student ration and that they have something like a concept of what they are doing. I know Lilli will love the interaction with other children. She is such a smart little girl. Her vocabulary has been skyrocketing. She is using about 60-70 words currently. She needs more outside input. It is an English speaking daycare, but two of the teachers speak only Spanish.
Starting daycare will be with mixed emotions. While I think it is the right thing to do for Lilli, I am aware that this is also the beginning of a journey of independence for her. First it's daycare, then kindergarden, then school, then she moves out, gets married, has children. Once this whole train is moving, there is no stopping it.
When I was having my confirmation in church (I was 13 I think) my Mom wrote this poem about my childhood. She wrote that often when I was little she just wanted to stop the time. Now I know what she meant by this all to well. There are so many precious moments that I want to treasure in my memory for the rest of my life. Lilli's smile and happy self, her toddling around, there are so many pictures that I have in front of me. But then, when I look at pictures of Lilli as a newborn, I can barely imagine that this is the same baby. She looks so different now. I can't even imagine that she was this little once. When I am holding babies of friends and they are the age that Lilli was just a couple of months ago, I can't stop myself from comparing them with her. Lilli has always had an incredible muscle tone. Compared to her many babies now feel like bags of flour. I wonder how it will be once we have a second baby. Will I do the same and compare every developmental milestone? I am also wondering whether we can get so lucky again. I mean, we got the perfect baby. Easygoing, friendly, healthy, no problems in terms of sleeping, feeding or allergies. How can any other baby measure up to that? Aren't we challenging our destiny to try again/adopt again? Can we love another baby like her?
Back to today: Around 1 p.m. dh finally came home from his golf game. It is weird to me how he just assumes that I will take care of Lilli when he wants to play sports. It seems like for men like him it is so normal that their wives will take care of the children when they are not available or have something else to do. Maybe because he doesn't spend a lot of time with her anyway because he is working. I don't really mind watching Lilli, but it would be nice, if he could at least ask me whether I have something else going on. Sometimes I would enjoy some time just for myself. But I have to admit that I am spoiled because on the days where I don't work, I can the maid/nanny let take care of Lilli. And the nanny is great. She is here every day now (our apartment is really big and three days a week she takes care of Lilli while I am at work in the mornings). Lilli loves her. I love her. But I don't want her to take care of Lilli every day. Because I also enjoy taking care of her. But sometimes Moms and children just need a break.
Even though I was upset when he came home, we managed to get along in the afternoon and spent a nice afternoon at our pool and a great dinner at a Sushi place close by. Now Dh is again playing soccer and I am just catching up on all my blogs.
I wanted to look at a daycare with a friend and her husband and had thought it might be nice for him to come along as well. After all this is OUR daughter and we have to make a decision together on which daycare she will attend. I really liked this daycare and even though it is logistically a little challenging (Caracas traffic is among the worst in the world), I think that she will start there in January. I really liked the teacher-student ration and that they have something like a concept of what they are doing. I know Lilli will love the interaction with other children. She is such a smart little girl. Her vocabulary has been skyrocketing. She is using about 60-70 words currently. She needs more outside input. It is an English speaking daycare, but two of the teachers speak only Spanish.
Starting daycare will be with mixed emotions. While I think it is the right thing to do for Lilli, I am aware that this is also the beginning of a journey of independence for her. First it's daycare, then kindergarden, then school, then she moves out, gets married, has children. Once this whole train is moving, there is no stopping it.
When I was having my confirmation in church (I was 13 I think) my Mom wrote this poem about my childhood. She wrote that often when I was little she just wanted to stop the time. Now I know what she meant by this all to well. There are so many precious moments that I want to treasure in my memory for the rest of my life. Lilli's smile and happy self, her toddling around, there are so many pictures that I have in front of me. But then, when I look at pictures of Lilli as a newborn, I can barely imagine that this is the same baby. She looks so different now. I can't even imagine that she was this little once. When I am holding babies of friends and they are the age that Lilli was just a couple of months ago, I can't stop myself from comparing them with her. Lilli has always had an incredible muscle tone. Compared to her many babies now feel like bags of flour. I wonder how it will be once we have a second baby. Will I do the same and compare every developmental milestone? I am also wondering whether we can get so lucky again. I mean, we got the perfect baby. Easygoing, friendly, healthy, no problems in terms of sleeping, feeding or allergies. How can any other baby measure up to that? Aren't we challenging our destiny to try again/adopt again? Can we love another baby like her?
Back to today: Around 1 p.m. dh finally came home from his golf game. It is weird to me how he just assumes that I will take care of Lilli when he wants to play sports. It seems like for men like him it is so normal that their wives will take care of the children when they are not available or have something else to do. Maybe because he doesn't spend a lot of time with her anyway because he is working. I don't really mind watching Lilli, but it would be nice, if he could at least ask me whether I have something else going on. Sometimes I would enjoy some time just for myself. But I have to admit that I am spoiled because on the days where I don't work, I can the maid/nanny let take care of Lilli. And the nanny is great. She is here every day now (our apartment is really big and three days a week she takes care of Lilli while I am at work in the mornings). Lilli loves her. I love her. But I don't want her to take care of Lilli every day. Because I also enjoy taking care of her. But sometimes Moms and children just need a break.
Even though I was upset when he came home, we managed to get along in the afternoon and spent a nice afternoon at our pool and a great dinner at a Sushi place close by. Now Dh is again playing soccer and I am just catching up on all my blogs.
Monday, November 2, 2009
A big sigh of relieve
was breathed in the doctor's office today. So this is the 6th doctor looking at it, who was pretty sure that it is not Lupus. He thinks it is a scar caused by birth. I am not quite sure about that since we only noticed it a couple of months ago, but I am very relieved at least that it is not Lupus. The doctor took a picture of her ear and will post it on his homepage accessible for dermatologists worldwide to take a look at it. We will also do a blood test to be sure that her blood is o.k.
I am just grateful that for now she is safe and healthy. I can't stop worrying about her. Somehow since we suffered from infertility I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop. But today I am happy. I had a wonderful friend accompany me to the appointment. I didn't want to go alone since it was on the other side of town. I wanted a second person with me in case things didn't go so well. Dh is on a business trip to the beautiful La Isla Margarita. At least we had a driver take us there. The appointment was at 5 p.m. and rush-hour traffic in Caracas seems to be the worst. It took us only 30 minutes to get there, but one hour to come back home.
I am just grateful that for now she is safe and healthy. I can't stop worrying about her. Somehow since we suffered from infertility I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop. But today I am happy. I had a wonderful friend accompany me to the appointment. I didn't want to go alone since it was on the other side of town. I wanted a second person with me in case things didn't go so well. Dh is on a business trip to the beautiful La Isla Margarita. At least we had a driver take us there. The appointment was at 5 p.m. and rush-hour traffic in Caracas seems to be the worst. It took us only 30 minutes to get there, but one hour to come back home.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sick baby
Lilli is already 15 months old. We have a new trick for the mornings. When Lilli wakes up around 6:30 a.m. hubby gets her bottle and puts some toys in her crib. That way she continues to play by herself until sometimes 9:00 a.m. on the week-ends. Really nice!!!
This week was a bad week for her. On Monday night she had a little run-in with her friend A. He is three years old and the most polite and nicest little boy you can think of. If Lilli is on a bout of independence (which she is a lot these days), I usually just ask A. to take Lilli's hand and she willingly gives him her hand (which she refuse to do with me). It is the cutest thing to see them toddle along together. They also like to hug and kiss each other. But on Monday night they had an accident, a full-blown collision. A.'s teeth got Lilli's eyebrow. It didn't look bad at first, but then I saw the blood. Her whole eye was swollen for two days. But this seems to be fine now.
Otherwise Lilli is sick these days. Poor little puppy. If you wouldn't know her you wouldn't notice. She is nearly her usual self. But yesterday at the Halloween party you could see she wasn't quite healthy. We went trick or treating inside dh's office building as we needed a safe place to do this here. Lilli was a little pumpkin fairy. She didn't want to be in her costume in the first place and was screaming bloody murder. When we finally managed to put it on, she seemed fine. So off we went with the other kids here. But Lilli didn't want to walk by herself, she wanted to be held all the time. After a couple of doors, we made it to the doctor's office (which happens to be in the same building). Lilli didn't like the doctor's prodding and looking at her. We needed four people to hold her down when he wanted to look in her ears. She was not a happy camper. Screaming as loud as she could. The doctor thought her lungs are doing great. But when he looked in her mouth, he could see that her tonsils were enlarged and with white stuff on it. So he assumed it is strep throat. Therefore we are on antibiotics now. Needless to say that we didn't do any more trick or treating and hope the other kids are fine. Sorry!
We also went this week to see another dermatologist. The fifth doctor to look at the lesions in her ears. This doctor wants another opinion as well, but she thinks it might be a kind of skin lupus. It sounded very scary when she said that she didn't like what she saw. We are going to see another doctor on Monday for this. I am trying not to worry, but it is very hard not to. I just want my baby to be healthy.
Another issue we are currently facing is the "hitting the Mommy or the Nanny" thing. It started a couple of months back in July, but she did it only occasionally. Now she is doing it all the time. Whenever she doesn't like something, she says "No!" and starts hitting. I have started putting her in time-out. Surprisingly she stays there 95% of the time. Most of the time she doesn't seem to mind at all sitting there for a minute. She is just chilling and waits for me to pick her up and give her a hug. I don't think she takes me seriously. Do you guys have any tips how to get her to stop hitting? I really would appreciate some advice.
This week was a bad week for her. On Monday night she had a little run-in with her friend A. He is three years old and the most polite and nicest little boy you can think of. If Lilli is on a bout of independence (which she is a lot these days), I usually just ask A. to take Lilli's hand and she willingly gives him her hand (which she refuse to do with me). It is the cutest thing to see them toddle along together. They also like to hug and kiss each other. But on Monday night they had an accident, a full-blown collision. A.'s teeth got Lilli's eyebrow. It didn't look bad at first, but then I saw the blood. Her whole eye was swollen for two days. But this seems to be fine now.
Otherwise Lilli is sick these days. Poor little puppy. If you wouldn't know her you wouldn't notice. She is nearly her usual self. But yesterday at the Halloween party you could see she wasn't quite healthy. We went trick or treating inside dh's office building as we needed a safe place to do this here. Lilli was a little pumpkin fairy. She didn't want to be in her costume in the first place and was screaming bloody murder. When we finally managed to put it on, she seemed fine. So off we went with the other kids here. But Lilli didn't want to walk by herself, she wanted to be held all the time. After a couple of doors, we made it to the doctor's office (which happens to be in the same building). Lilli didn't like the doctor's prodding and looking at her. We needed four people to hold her down when he wanted to look in her ears. She was not a happy camper. Screaming as loud as she could. The doctor thought her lungs are doing great. But when he looked in her mouth, he could see that her tonsils were enlarged and with white stuff on it. So he assumed it is strep throat. Therefore we are on antibiotics now. Needless to say that we didn't do any more trick or treating and hope the other kids are fine. Sorry!
We also went this week to see another dermatologist. The fifth doctor to look at the lesions in her ears. This doctor wants another opinion as well, but she thinks it might be a kind of skin lupus. It sounded very scary when she said that she didn't like what she saw. We are going to see another doctor on Monday for this. I am trying not to worry, but it is very hard not to. I just want my baby to be healthy.
Another issue we are currently facing is the "hitting the Mommy or the Nanny" thing. It started a couple of months back in July, but she did it only occasionally. Now she is doing it all the time. Whenever she doesn't like something, she says "No!" and starts hitting. I have started putting her in time-out. Surprisingly she stays there 95% of the time. Most of the time she doesn't seem to mind at all sitting there for a minute. She is just chilling and waits for me to pick her up and give her a hug. I don't think she takes me seriously. Do you guys have any tips how to get her to stop hitting? I really would appreciate some advice.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Potty and Anniversary!
I am a very proud mommy today: Lilli has used the potty for the first time and peed in it. I had bought a potty a couple of weeks ago and had her just sit on it from time to time. This morning I had a lot of time and was reading to hear while she was sitting. And then - she peed!
I can't believe that she is already turning 15 months on Saturday. She is getting really sassy at time. She has started hitting me when I tell her "No" to something or she doesn't get her way. Any ideas on how to deal with this? I bought the 1-2-3 magic book and will start taking her to time-outs when she does it. She currently doesn't hit her dad, just me. It's very frustrating at times...
Tomorrow is our fifth wedding anniversary. Five years ago everything seemed so easy. We were going to get married, move to the U.S., and start a family right away. Then came the move, my dad's stroke, a crappy job, infertility, endometriosis, two surgeries, three IVFs, two miscarriages, my MIL's breast cancer, and my dad's lung cancer before we could actually realize that dream. And then my dad died.
The last five years have been the most difficult in my live and in a way the best because I have the man I love on my side to go through life with me. He is a fantastic husband and a great father. I don't know how I could have handled any of those things without him. I love him more than the day we got married, because he has been there for me all along the way.
I can't believe that she is already turning 15 months on Saturday. She is getting really sassy at time. She has started hitting me when I tell her "No" to something or she doesn't get her way. Any ideas on how to deal with this? I bought the 1-2-3 magic book and will start taking her to time-outs when she does it. She currently doesn't hit her dad, just me. It's very frustrating at times...
Tomorrow is our fifth wedding anniversary. Five years ago everything seemed so easy. We were going to get married, move to the U.S., and start a family right away. Then came the move, my dad's stroke, a crappy job, infertility, endometriosis, two surgeries, three IVFs, two miscarriages, my MIL's breast cancer, and my dad's lung cancer before we could actually realize that dream. And then my dad died.
The last five years have been the most difficult in my live and in a way the best because I have the man I love on my side to go through life with me. He is a fantastic husband and a great father. I don't know how I could have handled any of those things without him. I love him more than the day we got married, because he has been there for me all along the way.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Mammmiiii!!!!!
This is what I hear about 1000 times a day. When I answer the little lady, she just continues to say it. I love to hear it, but sometimes I wonder why she is saying it so often. Speaking of speaking: Lilli has now a vocabulary of about 45-50 words. It is impressive to see how easy she is picking up all three languages. She is using the language in which the word seems easiest for her: aqua, keys, prost (cheers), pee-boo (peckaboo), pita (pizza), pasta (works in all three languages), to just name a few...
I feel so blessed to have this beautiful and incredibly smart girl. There is not a day where I don't think about her birthmother. I am wondering what she is doing, how she is. I hope that one day our little girl will have a chance to meet this amazing woman that has given her life and us the biggest present of our lives.
We went to the dermatologist on Wednesday. For quite some time now Lilli has some lesions in her ears. We don't know when it actually started, but it has been a couple of months at least. It doesn't look bad or anything and doesn't seem to be malignant, but it comes and goes which is weird. It doesn't seem to bother her either. But we don't know what it is. Well, the dermatologist who by the way was the third doctor that looked at this, didn't know either. She asked her colleague, who didn't have a clue either. The only way to find out would be a biopsy, but that would mean general anesthesia. And there is no way we are doing this if it isn't necessary. We now have a recommendation for yet another doctor and I'll try to schedule something with her next week.
I feel so blessed to have this beautiful and incredibly smart girl. There is not a day where I don't think about her birthmother. I am wondering what she is doing, how she is. I hope that one day our little girl will have a chance to meet this amazing woman that has given her life and us the biggest present of our lives.
We went to the dermatologist on Wednesday. For quite some time now Lilli has some lesions in her ears. We don't know when it actually started, but it has been a couple of months at least. It doesn't look bad or anything and doesn't seem to be malignant, but it comes and goes which is weird. It doesn't seem to bother her either. But we don't know what it is. Well, the dermatologist who by the way was the third doctor that looked at this, didn't know either. She asked her colleague, who didn't have a clue either. The only way to find out would be a biopsy, but that would mean general anesthesia. And there is no way we are doing this if it isn't necessary. We now have a recommendation for yet another doctor and I'll try to schedule something with her next week.
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