Wordless Wednesday~ Naptime with V.

Feliz Cumple, F.!

"Habi," as we affectionately refer to Baby F. (the toddlers don't pronounce her name correctly leading to our nickname for her), turns one year old today! We're celebrating with a party in a couple weeks, so today will be rather low-key. With five babies all turning one within about a month of each other, she starts our chain of first birthdays!

A Day of Birthdays!

Today has been a really busy day… We celebrated two birthdays!

This morning, we went to House 3 to celebrate J.'s 11th birthday! Her actual birthday is September 1st, but thanks to some very generous people, we celebrated a little early with a Frozen-themed party. It was just what she wanted, and she had a great time!

There were two clowns that kept the kids entertained with silly games and lots of dancing. They had salteñas for lunch and a big cake, too! Unfortunately we left before the cake was served, but it looked yummy! There was also a piñata filled with lots of candy. 

We're not sure we'll be able to top this party on J.'s real birthday, but we'll do our best :)

Then, we headed to Pairumani to celebrate Lindsey's birthday with the other volunteers and some of the tías! We ate chicharrón and went to the park in Pairumani so the kids could play. We had a great time, and the afternoon passed much too quickly!

Before heading home, I stopped at La Cancha to buy a few more things for Baby C.'s birthday party on September 4th. Her party preparations are nearly done, and I can't wait for the big day! 

Feliz Cumpleaños, Tía Anita!

Today is Tía Anita's birthday! Unfortunately, the picture below is the only one I have as my camera battery died before the party began and I had to leave early due to a night shift at the baby home. 

The girls were really excited to celebrate Tía Anita's birthday! Abi loves dressing up as a clown for the girls' birthdays, and I finally remembered to bring the clown wig and facepaint I brought back with me… Unfortunately, I left before she dressed up so I don't have pictures. Danyelle made a cake, and before dinner, we went out and bought charque (fried, jerky-like llama meat) for Tía Anita and the girls for dinner. 

I'd say based on that smile, the party was a success!

Preparing for the Twins

As many of you know, we're expecting newborn twin boys any day now (so hoping it's the beginning of this week!). In preparation, we decided to practice with a set of girl twins and a set of boy twins ;)

Twins!

So they aren't officially ours yet as they're still in the hospital, but we're getting twins! Rosa (CDA Administrator/Social Worker), Maria (in charge of the kids' health), and I went to the hospital today to visit them! 

They were born premature and are 18 days old. I think both are about 3 pounds (so tiny!), and both have feeding tubes. Othe than that, they're doing well. For being so small, they look good! Due to some circumstances out of our control, we're not yet sure when they will come home to us. I'm hoping that it's soon!

Meet baby M. and baby P.!

Weekend Pictures

Just some pictures of our weekend…

 We've had a group from Holland visiting us for the past 2 weeks. They've been busy with a lot of work projects in the homes. Saturday morning they stopped by the three houses to say goodbye to the kids. 

 Our group headed to Horita Feliz!

 J. asked me if she could play with Baby C. on the seesaw for her first time… C. LOVED it!

 Initially R. didn't want to play on the playground, but after a few minutes, she pointed to the swings and said she wanted to play.

 SOOOOO happy to see this girl! S. is doing great at House 3, although she did ask me several times if I would take her back to the baby house with me. When I told her she had to stay at her house, she suggested I just spend the night at her house and "we could share her bed!" 

 E. thought it was more fun to stand in the middle of the seesaw!

 S. lived next door to Horita Feliz when he lived with the Boohers, and it was interesting to see his reaction to being back at Horita Feliz (he hasn't been since moving back to the baby house). After a few minutes, he warmed up to it all and did great!

 Can you guess which of these three has been trained since birth to smile for the camera?!

 We stopped for buñuelos before church!

 I think M. was still stuffed from breakfast… He almost always requests more, but his half of a buñuelo was enough.

 I should've known our outing was going too well… Right after this picture was taken she choked on her pizza crust and puked all over herself and the floor.

Eating her favorite meal :)

S.'s Move to House 3

S. has been living at the baby house with her little brother, Leonardo, since they arrived back in January. At already 3.5 years old, she was getting big to still be at the baby house. It was finally decided that she would move in with the big girls after her 4th birthday. 

S. and I have been visiting the girls' house several times recently in an attempt to make the transition easier. When we talked about her upcoming move while at the baby house, she was very excited. However, when we talk about it while at House 3, it's a whole other story… She just shakes her head no and says she isn't going to move.

She's known for several days that after celebrating her birthday, she would be going to the girls' house. All day today, she was very excited about it and knew she would be leaving before dinner. She was totally fine saying goodbye to the tías and other kids and even leaving the house. When we got to House 3, she was pretty quiet but was happy to see her new bed and help organize her clothes in the dresser. 

When the girls arrived home from school, they were VERY excited to hear that S. would be staying with them instead of leaving with me! By that time, S. didn't share those feelings at all. She stayed close by me and really didn't want to play with the girls. It didn't help that they were really getting in her face and trying to play with her baby doll (she brought her stuffed cat and baby doll birthday presents with her). I left when they started eating, and she was in tears when I left and not wanting to eat.

I so hope she has a good night. It'll definitely be at transition for her going from being the oldest at the baby house to the youngest at the girls' house. Not to mention getting to know all of the girls and many new tías! She'll do great and this move really will be wonderful for her. It certainly won't be the same at the baby house without her though!

 Saying good-bye to the baby house…

 And hello to the girls' house!

 Hanging out on her new bed!

O. (left) will be sharing a room and many of her things with S. It'll be a bit of a transition for her, too!

 Mamá S. got right to work making sure S. was happy!

 I can't wait to see how much she grows up while living at House 3!

 S. waiting to eat her dinner… She's going to love that there isn't as much soup on the menu! haha She isn't a huge fan of soup and always eats it SO slowly!

The girls (minus Jhosi who was sick in bed) and Tía Anita!

Feliz Cumpleaños, N. and S.! Part 2

The birthday festivities continued after dinner!

 That would be the face of a birthday girl who thinks she may not get to open the piñata because she hasn't finished dinner.

 The kids LOVE balloons!

Tía Yovana held the piñata up for the kids.

 All sorts of goodies fell out!

She begged and begged for a piñata, and it did not disappoint! She was picking up candy and toys faster than anyone else.

N. stashed her candy in her skirt, too!

S. really liked these tiny jello treats!

Even Baby C. collected a toy!

 Such a cheesy smile!

 Time to open presents!

N. and S. with some of their gifts.

 S. loves glasses and didn't take off her new sunglasses for the rest of the night!

Opening up another present!

 It's a baby doll!

Her last request was a sleepover with me. She wanted to watch a movie, and chose Buscando a Nemo (Finding Nemo)!

 She also wanted to paint her nails… She is such a girly girl!

I told her we were going to wait to open up her baby doll tomorrow, but she kept telling me that we needed to open it up before she went to sleep because her baby was crying for milk. How could I say no to that?!