1 - Wish

There is always more than one wish.

There is always the deep prayer for health and safety and joy mixed with generosity and kindness, grace and wisdom.

There is always the highest hope for profound love and enlivening passion.

There is always the desire for unflinching courage that never needs to be tested, for confident silliness and stubborn faith.

But my one wish for you on this day - the last day of your very fist year - is that your magnetic charm which calls so many people to you may always bring people together but never bring them only to you. That your infectious smile and endearing eyes be gifts that inspire and uplift, an offering out rather than a reeling in. May you enjoy the attention you garner but never need it; love and appreciate the ways people care for you and multiply it for all those around you.

You have been a wish fulfilled in this year dear one, but don't fear, I will keep wishing with you.

2 - New Skills

Though she may say four words, Peanut understands many more, and it is incredibly cool to see her catch on to something new.

For a while we have tried to guide the Nutter as she was getting down off of the sofa, the bed, the ceiling (oh wait, no, that was me...), and our phrase is always "colita primero" or "bottom first." For whatever reason, while we were in Bogotá, it seemed the message finally sunk in. I don't know if it was because we slept in a bed that was very low to the ground so that the whole getting down from the bed process did not seem quite so daunting, or if it was just time. Whatever the case, "colita primero" is now where it is at. As noted in the photo, she will start to slide her colita over to the edge of the bed when she is still dead center. It is a helpful give away at the moment when we are still getting used to the fact that our daughter has a mind of her own and even though we just put her up on the bed, down may look a lot better.

And, though we don't have a photo of it, the second phrase she has learned is "a la boca" - to your mouth! Magically this is one we only have to pull out when there is actual food in front of her. Other times things pop right into her mouth without having to ask or remind even once... Peanut is still not master of the spoon, so it is kind of funny to yell "a la boca"  when she has a spoon in her hand because it goes very quickly to her face...just not always to her mouth. The ants, let me tell you, are equally pleased.

3 - Toys

 

We all know that little kids play with things that we might normally not see as toys. Keys are a favorite, and spatula + pot = happiness for most. Peanut is no exception to that rule, and with just a few "actual toys" on hand, we have seen many things become toys that we did not originally foresee. As you have seen from previous photos, sometimes the home printer/fax machine gets on the play list, but mostly there are things that just never seemed that interesting to us until Peanut got a hold of them...

  

1. Collapsible laundry basket.

Full disclosure - the tag above noting that "this is not a toy" comes specifically from this laundry basket. Thing is, Peanut can't read yet...suckers.

2. Egg separator.

To be honest, this seems closer to a toy than a really usable item to me anyway. It came with the set of measuring cups we bought, and the picture on the front of it is the only reason I even knew what it was. I tried to use it a couple of times as Peanut was just starting to eat eggs since she was supposed to only have the yolks for a while, but every time the whole durn egg would just slip through and I would wind up eating it myself...again. 

Thus, it became the perfect compliment to bath time. After all, if you have a cup that holds water and one that doesn't, surely that has to spark some thought as to why that is, and that is one heck of a lot more than that egg separator was doing for me before.

3. Rosary.

 Yeah, so technically this might be a big no-no. I am going to have to rely on my Catholic buddies out there to tell me whether we need to keep this on the super down-low or what. 

The thing is, we would not even have a rosary if it were not for some nuns in the airport. You see, Peanut is what you call "magnetic." Perhaps it is the blinding white skin; could be the wispy blonde/red/huh? hair; possibly related to the scrunchy faced smile she throws out at those she passes - whatever the case, people come talk to her. As we waited in line to go from Barranquilla to Bogotá two weeks ago there was a bevy of nuns (are they a bevy? they seem like a bevy...) all there to send off a compatriot on our flight. Two young nuns began to "chat" with Peanut and asked if they could put this rosary around her neck. "Sure!" I said, but when we got up to go and I tried to return it to them they said it was for her to keep. So we took a photo of Peanut with her nuns to send to them when we got back, and we just hope the other photo isn't somehow problematically blasphemous. 

4 - Words

Peanut talks a lot. Every day she looks out our window and jabbers and waves (sometimes to people, sometimes to buses, sometimes to dogs, sometimes to the city itself). Sometimes she speaks with great forcefulness such that while I have no idea what she is trying to say, I am clear that she believes very strongly in what she is telling me. Language acquisition is always a bit of a tough thing to chart, but I think it can be even more challenging initially for kids in a bilingual environment. We talk to Peanut most of the time in Spanish, but we talk to each other most of the time in English. Others in Barranquilla talk to her in Spanish, but everyone on the computer (yeah for skype!) talks to her in English. It is bound to be a little confusing.

Still, we have sussed out four words that we think she says pretty clearly and regularly. 

1. Mama

Now, this would warm my heart a little more if the word Mama referred only to me. However it seems to refer to photographs of any sort (regardless of whether I am in them), and it is a general filler word in between other currently indeterminable phrases. Funnier yet is that it often gets put fairly close together with a word that sounds  a lot like Mamie, so then it comes out Mama Mamie. As if the kid had another Mama...(or as if I would let her get away with calling me Mamie). 

Still, when I get a Mama that is clearly about me - well, there ain't nothin' better.

 

2. Papa

This has some eerie similarities to the usage of Mama. Not that she gets us confused; Papa definitely refers to Richard, but it can be other bright, shiny objects as well. 

For a while Papa seemed to get thrown out in fits of irritation, but that has subsided. I am sure it will return at age 13, but that is for another time. In the here and now we will pretty much take it any way it comes. 

3. Baby // Bebé

This is clearly for another baby. The way Peanut says it is actually sort of a cross between baby (English) and bebé (Spanish). I can't quite explain it to you, so I will let you see it in action. The first book is from Tía Shannan and has lots of good words in it. The second one is from Tía Laura and Tía Jess and is called Global Babies. Peanut loves it because it is chock full of babies (of course). She opens it up, points to a picture, says "beby" and then gives the baby a kiss. Love it.

4. Gato

Okay, this may be a word she actually has, or it may not be. 

Gato is the word for cat in Spanish, and as I mentioned two days ago, Peanut became encantada with Carlotto the Cat while in Bogotá. (Hey, that sounds like a children's book...) Every time she saw him she would squeal with delight, and if we said, "¿Dónde está el gato?" ("Where is the cat?") then she would look toward either of his two favorite spots with eyes wide and hopeful. Since then we have heard a lot of things that sound like "ato", so we have basically just decided she is saying gato and chalking up word number four!

5 - Party Preview

You may remember that I was fretting here earlier about first birthday parties and all the hoopla surrounding them. Let me be clear that if it were up to Richard and me alone, we would have a small cake, invite the neighbors, sing, and voila - first birthday. However, much as we might like to think so, it is not all up to us.

Peanut is very much a child of the community here, and as early as six months Doris was asking me what I was planning for Peanut's cumpleaños. At the time, I laughed (choked?) and said that I had not even considered it given that it was double her lifetime away, but Doris was in earnest. She began making suggestions and contacting others so they would be ready when the time came.

Well it has come.

The 5 for today are photos of the 5 different hand-made (not by me) invitations that each child (all 30ish of them!) will receive. We have either a zoo theme, or a farm theme, depending on your point of view. Whatever we have, we do not have a Disney theme which, in this context, I consider to be a rousing victory.

Each part individually cut from foam and pasted together. Oh yes friends, this is an EVENT.

Along with these animals will be an balloon archway consisting of animal faces as well as stand-alone balloon animals. There will be a banner with Nora's photo, a styrofoam fence (farm-leaning...) plus, of course, palm trees. I believe I heard something about face-painting, a sing-along, individually made foam animal visors as party favors, and I am sure I am missing something. If you can think of it, it is probably happening. 

The thing is, I am doing fairly little all in all. This party is much like the gift of my wedding. After a week of rain and last minute changes to make an outdoor, backyard gathering into an indoor, fellowship hall celebration, my family and friends transformed a concrete slab room into a sacred space. It was the greatest gift one could receive - all that work with no one even really telling you how much work it was. Peanut's birthday has been a cause taken on by a variety of people that jumped in and said, "You know, I would love to do invitations." "I have a decorating business and I want to do this, this, and this for Peanut if that is okay." "Of course you can use the church, it will be such fun." So while I am sure that next week will be a little more stressful than normal, it may only be as hard as getting a little cake, inviting the neighbors and singing a song. And I can do that. 

Now tell me, you can't wait to see the photos next week can you? :)

Oh, and in case you didn't see the announcement for Peanut's baptism and birthday, here it is. You are all invited!

6 - Cities in 6 Months...Twice!

Peanut is actually quite the traveler. Besides going to Urabá and Brazil in utero, she has kept up her busy schedule out of the womb as well.

1. On her first monthday she headed to an ordination service in Cartagena.

Outdoor beach restaurants will put a girl right to sleep

2. Month two it was off to Medellín for her first church conference.

Nametag and all

 3/4. Month three and part of four introduced Peanut to international flight and the joy of customs as we went home to North Carolina and Texas to allow her to greet more of the family in person. 

White Christmas and Maxine to boot! Nothing better.

Hanging out in Texas with the cousins. Like people do.

5. Month five was Bogotá.We hung out with the Walker-Wilson family and the Colombia Mission Network. 

Two great tastes that went great together!

A little confused by all this outerwear, but happy!

6. Six months found us back in Barranquilla and here we stayed for a while (thank God), until we got to July.

Kickin' it for Carnaval de los Niños

And then we decided to do it all over again, sort of:

1. In July we went back to the States for the Big Tent Event with the Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. For four days we lived it up with Presbyterians from all over the place, and Peanut got a taste of what it is to stay with Abuelita Kit. I think she could get used to it...

What, this stole and necklace? I was just getting ready to give them back...

2. It is but a short jaunt from Indianapolis to Chicagoland, so we headed north to talk with folks in Chicago Presbytery about what we are doing in Colombia. Peanut, as always, stole the show. It was a gift to stay with loved ones in the city and out!

Requisite Bean Photo

3. Chicago is close to New York (okay, no it isn't), so Brooklyn was home for about 6 days. Nothing better than workin' for the Lord and hanging with your buddies at the same time. 

Seriously could no one have told Jesse and me we needed to wipe our faces?

4. New York is in fact close to New Jersey (the parts we were visiting at least), so next it was to the Jersey Shore. And yes, we did see filming and may even appear in an episode walking through an amusement park...you just never know.

Mmmmm...Sandy Hook tastes good

5. Though sad to leave, it was good to get back home...until last week when we headed off to Bogotá again! This time we stayed with Doña Flor and Carlotto the cat. He became a great focus of attention.

Stop laughing people. It is called layering.

6. And finally we are back again in Barranquilla. I think when you are away for long enough you get to count home as another travel stop. And it works for the whole theme I have going on, so it's in. Welcome home baby girl, welcome home.

All right, back to work. Clothing optional.

One More Week

There is only one more week of Peanut-the-less-than-one-year-old. It is astounding to me that she can already be turning one and also hard to remember when she wasn't in our lives. I don't know how those two things can be true, but they are.

So, in honor of this special time, I am going to try to post something each day of this last week of Peanut's first year with us. Today it will be 7 great photos you have never seen before (probably...well, on this blog at least).  It hardly seems fair to limit it to 7, but since we have 1,567 photos of her (yes, literally) then to do otherwise would mean I would be here all night.

Last week in Bogota

A break for fun times in Chicago in July during mission interpretation

I don't know what she saw, but I think she liked it... June 2011

I don't know what she saw, but I don't think she liked it... May 2011

Obligatory naked photo - March 2011

I mean, who wouldn't love this face? February 2011

As her shirt says, Miracles do happen...look at her. Week 5

Perhaps a sign of the sweet, happy girl she has become. Week 1

Okay, so if you counted that is more than 7, but I still narrowed out 1, 558 other photos. I'm calling it a success. As has been Peanut's first year. Thanks for keeping up with us everybody. We have always, and will always, need it.

Piscina y Playa

With all the notes up about the first days of school, I thought we'd post a little our our summer fun!

We hit pools on our patio and in a fancy hotel here in Barranquilla as well as beaches in Puerto Colombia and New Jersey... What a summer!

Ever Just Had THAT Kind of Day?

In case you have, we just wanted to be in solidarity.

Catching Up Will Have to Wait

Seriously, if I try to make sure I go in order and tell you all about the wonderful trip we had to the United States and show you those pictures with meaningful stories before I begin to show you some of the new stuff going on around here then...well, nothing will ever go up on this blog. I will want it to. I will think of the things I should say as I tear around picking stuff up after Peanut has taken it out again for the 143rd time, but when it comes time to sit and do it I will opt to eat or sleep or something like that.

So, to get something to her adoring fans and push the demon of orderliness behind me, I present the following:

It is never to early to start reviewing your flash cards.

Think it might be time for those cabinet locks?

  

If I give this back to you, can I please stay in here?

I Pity the Fool

We couldn't get her to keep the gold chain on...

And she does not quite have the tan...

 

But we would pick her any day for our A-Team.

¡Feliz Día Papá!

In honor of Father's Day (better late than never, right?), or Día del Padre aquí en Colombia, Peanut proffers praise photographically (why, oh why does that "p" have to sound like an "f"?)...

Pictures of Papi and Peanut: 

Presenting a panorama of precious parenting practically pouring with passion and pizazz. Please pause to partake of the picture parade para a particularly precious person, pastor and parent we call Papi.
 

¡Feliz Día Papá! from Richard Williams on Vimeo.

Cumpleaños Craziness

Last week Peanut was invited to her first ever Colombian birthday party.

Okay...technically that is not true. She was invited to Papi's birthday party first, which he shared with two Colombians who were born on the same day, but since she went to bed before anyone really showed up I am not sure that counts. Plus, his party did not have a jump house...nor live Disney characters...nor boy/girl cupcakes with individual flags in each one for each guest...nor a snack bar with redeemable "coupons"...nor, hold on a minute, I am getting faint again.

You see, last week was a first birthday party - as in a party for a little girl turning one year old. I remain very grateful for having been invited, but the whole experience just about gave me hives. How to explain...

Evidently 1 year birthdays are a big thing here. Quinceñeras (for those turning 15) are bigger still, but, I am told, any other year you can just share some cake with family but the first year and the 15th you have to do more. I am not clear about whether this cause for celebration stems from the fact that making it to one year most likely means you are really going to stick around, or if it has no such serious underpinnings. What I do know is that I am clearly in over my head and may have to hide about four months from now.

The party began at 4:30pm and there were easily 60 people there of all ages. The theme was Mickey and Minnie mouse, with all the girls getting Minnie invitations and all the boys Mickey ones. There were Minnie ears (as modeled by Peanut above) and Mickey ears. There were Minnie party favors, and Micky ones; blue and pink cupcakes; even the ribbon on the aforementioned snack bar items was gender coded.  There must have been 100 balloons in varying arrangements of flowers and festive flair - all pink and white, it was a girl's birthday after all.

We knew we were at the right house because when we drove by there were a ton of people in chairs in the street (see over my shoulder), safe from passing traffic because they were shielded by a lane-wide blow up jumpy castle (sadly not available in pink). Music was at def-con 5, and it was turned down only to do party games with kids that included turns for girls and boys (separately) to dance for the crowd for prizes. If you are picturing silly jumping little beans, you have not been to a child's birthday party recently enough...at least not around here. Eight-year-olds were moving their hips and shaking their butts to songs that I do not want played at my own party. It was nothing that hasn't been put up on YouTube or discussed ad nauseum about the "All the Single Ladies" dance recital number, but it felt different to face it with my daughter in my arms. One day that sweet face is going to look around and think that jumping and moving any which way is not okay anymore because the girls beside her are all running their hands down their sides and pouting their lips, and so help me I will cry that day.

Besides the fact that all this makes me throw up in my mouth a little, I simply do not have the energy to do all that I saw. Nor is it the way I want to spend the money we have, especially on a day she is not even going to remember. The party was a great success. I remain grateful for being included. I am just not sure what to do come September.

You Oughta Be in Pictures

Sometimes it is just odd having a Peanut here in Colombia. I wrote about this a bit on our other blog, but I cannot possibly express to you the amount of attention we get. People in Crepes and Waffles know Peanut by name as do the ladies at the park corner who sell cellular phone minutes. I try to remember to oooh and ahhh over other kids just as much, but sometimes I am honestly just trying to keep my head down and keep going because it can all be overwhelming.

One fun (albeit still bizarre) result of the fact that everyone is encantada with Peanut is that she has recently starred in her first music video. Oh yes, you read that right.

 

Peanut, star struck.

It was nothing super professional - a school endeavor for a communications major who happens to also have a great singing voice and chose to put that all to use in her final project. She is a member of the church we attend, and she pitched the idea to us saying, "I just want the perfect looking baby. You know, one that looks just like a doll...like Peanut!" Had we not known her, I'm not sure what we would have said/done, but because we did know her, we decided to go along with it. Plus she promised she would get us a DVD copy of the video when it was done so we can have it as a keepsake. Of course we can share it with you all, our adoring fans. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that we were in it too? Well, someone has to hold the cutest kid on the block, right?

Sometimes you just gotta ham it up between takes

And the Nutter was a champ. She was up well past her bedtime, but she kept it together for the camera, and she got us the heck out of there way before anyone else. Way to go kid.

I'm done people. That's a rap.

Who's that Girl?

Before Peanut was born, Tía Laura gave us a mirror for the crib. Because we never actually got a crib and instead Peanut basically sleeps in a pack-n-play, there was never a way to attach the mirror for her to entertain herself. As a result, the mirror comes and goes which in some ways makes it that much more exciting to play with.

It used to be that Peanut would look at the baby in the mirror, talk to her, and more often than not lean over and kiss her.

Now, she has taken to looking at me in the mirror. She gets down low enough, or angles weirdly enough so that she can see me in the reflection and then she gets a huge grin on her face. I am not sure if it is because of seeing me, or because she is so darn proud of herself for figuring that out. And I'm not sure I care to. :)

I seeeeeeeee yooooouuuuuu!

Happy Mother's Day

Yes, I know it is late, but hey...I wasn't writing blog posts on Mother's Day! I just wanted to include this as a sort of "final installment" to the barriga pictures of long ago. Same outfit, same room, same Peanut...just easier to see this go around.

Love you Nutter!

Come on Baby, Do the Locomotion

I have heard that some children sit quietly. Legend has it that there are children who sit in your lap and snuggle. I evidently did not order that model.

Peanut is a woman on the go. Even if she is not actually moving from one place to another, she is moving her hands or kicking her feet, or making her chair bounce, or something. If she is taking a bottle, she is swinging her legs at the same time. If she is on our bed she is examining the thread count and seeing if our sheets are scratch and sniff. And now that she can throw things down on the floor? Let's just say that Jillian Michaels and her workout routine "The Shred" have nothing on Peanut's dedication to rebuilding my abs.

Come on Pooh, there's always room for one more!

A few months back we bought the Nutter a caminador so she could "walk off" some of that energy. It took her about 6 seconds to figure it out, and though it started a little jerkily, pretty soon she could maneuver herself through the space between our trunk and our couch, get under the dining table, and even do a wicked ninja spin move I think you have to see to believe. (Why do you never have the camera when you need it??) She has loved the mobility and the freedom to go where she wants to go without having to rely on those dreadfully slow padres to figure out where she wants to be. Of course two months later I just read that the American Association of Pediatrics does not recommend walkers. Actually, to be more accurate, in bold type and italics it said, "the AAP strongly urges parents not to use baby walkers." Oops. Too late now. In theory these walkers actively rob your child of her will to walk. My thoughts on that at the moment? Praise.be.to.God.

In reality the following video does not do justice to her moves, but it has other fine qualities I think you will appreciate...

Caminador from Richard Williams on Vimeo.

Tag to the front, like all the cool kids do.

Then, when our friend Joann Lee came down with a delegation earlier this year she brought Peanut a Jenny Jump-Up (yes, they do now make them gender specific...as with everything it seems). The bad news is that we have no door frames. The good news is that Papi is an engineer and rigged up something that I am sure is also not approved by the AAP, but it works and we like it. (Remind of all this very kindly please when I am fretting later that Peanut takes our rules more like guidelines...). The funniest thing about the Jenny Jump-Up has been to see the various ways Peanut makes use of it. She prefers to sit in it backwards so she can grab and eat the tag. She uses it as a way to practice her ice-skating moves since we don't have much ice on hand around here. She does the standard jumping, but she also does this sort of jump/walk forward thing that quite honestly makes me think of the contraption Dolly, Jane and Lily put on Dabney Coleman in the movie "9 to 5". Unfortunately every video I have gets posted sideways...have to figure out how to change that.

And finally (for now), Peanut is officially crawling. She started out with ranitas (little froggies) - forceful hops in which she would push off with her legs and then throw her arms back landing, essentially, on her chest and face. We tended to keep her on the bed in that stage (for fairly obvious reasons), but that girl could make some serious progress in fairly short order. It took her a while to figure out how to move her arms along with her legs (rather than just getting them the heck out of the way), but now she has it mastered. What I love is that if I go to the kitchen to get something, and she is not interested in being alone in the living room (there is a peek through so I can see her...no hyperventilating please...), she does not cry but rather shuffles her way around the corner to come see me. Think you can get rid of me that easily mom? I don't think so...

So now we are on to full-out exploring, pulling up, and generally upping the workout intensity. Maybe we'll snuggle next year. :)