Go Ahead, Give Me Your Best Caption

Hanging Out

Please don't call child services.

No really.

 I'm right there.

I swear. 

 Laughing my *** off...

Blocks

So sometimes it is just fun to see one game play out, with lots of photos, right?

¡¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS!!

Happy Day Baby Light-Light

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.

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.

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. :)

Our Superhero(ine)

She is growing so fast. It is cliché I guess, but it is still true. I remember when we got clothes for 6 and 9 month olds and they seemed sooooo big. I knew she would get to wear them, but that day seemed far away.

Except it came, like a few weeks ago.

I was putting some clothes away in Richard's closet (which happens to be in Nora's room...just come visit, you'll see), and I glanced over to the left at the couple of Nora outfits we have hanging up in there. First, I just chuckled. It is pretty funny to see big boy clothes crowded over to make some room for pretty little white dresses and...what is that to the far left??

 Yes, you see it. It is spotted. Perhaps one would say cow-like.

That outfit is one of the sassiest things Peanut received when she was born, but it seemed HUMONGOUS! The tag on it said "0-6 months." Now I ask you, who in the world thinks that is a sizing that makes sense? At any rate, I hung it up knowing that it would be forever until we could wear that spunky thing. 

And then I saw it. And it had been 6 months. And I thought, "Oh CR*P! We have to put that thing on TODAY! What if it is (cue shivers down spine) already too small?!?

So we hopped to it. We had nowhere in particular to go that day, but by gum we were going to put that outfit on. And (wiping sweat from brow), it fit. Sort of. That is to say that when Peanut is wearing one of her non-disposable wonders, the pants are a little too small...or tight...or something. Handily that is just the style here in Colombia, so we didn't even have to worry about that little hitch. We even got out the cutie patootie socks that go with this thing. They look like Mary Janes, but they are socks, and they have a whopping white flower on them with a rhinestone in the center. My girl was going full-on Costeña I tell you. Yes, a tug here, a cram there and into this sassafras she went...

And when I got worried that the pants might actually cut off her circulation, or at least interfere with digestion, I decided that they could be repurposed...

Cute, right?

Even better though, is that when I sent one of these photos to my friend Sarah, she wrote back and pointed out that with the camera angle just so and with the bows on Peanut's shoulder, she looks like she might be wearing a cape - a la superhero(ine). We all know from The Incredibles that capes are not wise, but hey...sometimes you have to just run with it.

So the question is, what is her superhero(ine) name? Sarah's first proposal harkens back to Peanut's Texas roots combined with the fact that she is already living overseas on a religious visa. Her suggestion? The Righteous Wrangler. Niiiiiice.

We can't determine her comic book identity with only one suggestion though, so we need your help. Fire away friends...fire away.

Mmmmm....Solids...

I keep thinking I am going to find time to really get some good posts up for you. I imagine having a post up every other day, or at least once a week. And then the water goes out unexpectedly (today), Peanut sleeps for a total of 20 daytime minutes (yesterday), or who knows what the heck else. Then I start to feel badly and avoid the blog. Or I have so many thoughts backed up that I need to call a plumber because I can't figure out where to start unplugging them.

So, in my desire to at least get SOMETHING to you all. I present...solids. They made their way into our lives a few weeks ago, and nothing has been the same. Cereal, carrots, bananas, auyama (a squash), guayava (a fruit), and next...avocado. It's a wild and crazy world down here.

 

So I gnaw on this big plastic thing, right?

Ohhh, I gnaw on this little plastic thing...

Hey, that ain't half bad!

What? What's wrong?

 

 

 

 

To appropriately address this solids thing, I do still need to note two things:

1. When the doctor suggested we start solids it was at her 5 month appointment when he informed me we were now to give her soup instead of her mid-day milk. 

"Soup?" I said incredulously. 

(Not to mention, "Soup?", like "What the heck do you mean by that, and how do I make it?").

"You know," he said (as I internally rolled my eyes), "you take some carrots, squash, chicken, other stuff but I am pretty sure I just zoned out at that point, and you liquify it and give it to her. You know, soup."

Yeah, so that didn't happen. Just too much of a cultural leap for me I am afraid. I really buy into the whole testing foods out one at a time to figure out if there is an allergic reaction kind of thing. I'm clear that 44 million people here are doing just fine jumping into soup. It's not them; it's me. I can accept that.

2. I am now making my own baby food. They don't really have jars of baby food down here except fruits (which seem like about the easiest thing to make from scratch), so I have now been pureeing food and freezing it in ice cube containers for later use. This may not seem like a big deal to many of you (because you did this, because it can't be that hard Mamie, or whatever), but I want you to stop for one moment and remember how much I like to cook even for myself. 

Yeah. 

Especially for those of you who lived with me during college, I know you are in awe right now. Thank you.

Taking Things into Her Own Hands

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Ay Yay Yay

Seriously? You people have had to wait since December 3rd to see a post on this site? That is just sad. Pitiful really. I could put lots of excuses up here - good ones even - but that would probably take more time than just pictures, and that is what you want, right?

So here you go. A few pictures to get me back on the wagon. You're gonna love 'em.

PS. I spent two days trying to get this with music and coolio stuff. After the 179th attempt, and a host of words I am not interested in Nora using just yet, I have ceded my vision for at least having a freaking post. Geesh.

Marvelous Medellín

I mentioned in my last post that we had been in Medellín.  For those of you who do not know, Richard and I are in love with Medellín.  It is just lovely, nestled in a valley with mountains all around.  The temperature there is basically always in the 60s and 70s, and it is lush and green.  There are lots of great parks, a light rail system public transit with gondolas that take you up the mountain sides, a beautiful (and free) botanical garden, and public art everywhere.  Okay so it also has some gangs and violence problems, but hey...who doesn't? 

Anyway, we all traveled to Medellín last week for a gathering between Winnebago Presbytery (Wisconsin) and Urabá Presbytery (Colombia).  I got a little over-zealous and packed a completely unnecessary piece of long underwear, but I did get to wear long sleeves; it was quite a treat.  We pulled out the 4 things we have with long sleeves for Peanut plus the completely snazzy hat that Diane knitted for us, and we took off.  

Peanut was the absolute star of the meeting with everyone passing her around and offering to hold her.  The Winnebagans brought her a Green Bay Packers rattle (see above photo) and promised to come back and visit her.  The folks from Urabá were thrilled to meet her since they had "met" her when I was there and 6 months pregnant.  Photos abounded.  In fact, few of the photos that follow were taken by our camera...

As Peanut was sicky, we got caught in the clash of even more competing parenting advice:

- the fresh air will do her good!

- cover her up, the breeze will make her sick!

- don't wrap her up so tight, she doesn't like it!

- keep her wrapped tight, they like it!

- you should not keep her in that Bjorn all the time - try different positions!

- keep her upright in the Bjorn, she seems most comfortable that way!

- etc...and yes, they all did end in exclamation points!

At any rate, she is doing better now and has had her initial taste of air travel.  Cartagena in month 1, Medellín in month 2, the United States in month 3...gracious whatever will we do next?  :)

Planes...

Trains...

Trams...

and Gondolas?!