Hey ya'll!
Just a few quick updates. School is keeping me crazy busy. Going on week for and it feels like school started yesterday. I love it though.
I have 5 history classes and am teaching a child development class. It's right up my alley, right? It's tiring but enjoyable too. Model United Nations is another thing I've gotten involved in. The event is in about 6 weeks and my Fridays (normally free days) will be consumed by MUN.
Brooke had a hard time with drop offs at first but is getting better. She was the crier and now only cries for a few minutes. Luckily, breaks in between classes mean that I get to go visit her. I cherish this opportunity and I know the other mamas do too.
Robert is enjoying teaching high school English Literature. It keeps him busy and he seems to get the kids talking. Some of our curriculum overlaps so we find students talking about what they did in "Mr. Robert's" class or "Ms. Natalie's" class. So that's good, right?
I am writing this super quick. Hopefully pictures to follow. Sorry!
Hope you're doing well.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Monday, August 26, 2019
School, Smchool
Just writing a quick update for everyone. Today is the first day of school! Writing this first thing in the morning. Sorry for any lack of clarity.
My class sizes are continuing to grow due to some last minute enrollments. My largest class, as of yesterday, was up to 21 students. My smallest is 12. Brooke will be coming with us. Yes, us. Robert was offered a part time high school English teaching job. I am full time.
The school has a nursery but we are free to have B in our classrooms too. She has one sleeping mat in the nursery and one cot in my main room (although I do switch between classrooms due to the topic being middle school vs high school, and class size).
B does have a friend that is 6 weeks older than her and another that is 7 months younger. It's great that she'll be able to grow with some friends. We're all looking forward to that.
No pictures this time but I do plan on getting a few "first day of school" pictures of B.
She is walking everywhere now and loves climbing stairs. She also loves putting shoes and socks on her feet. Yesterday we underwent 4 foot style changes including wearing a pair of flip flops that are finally too small for her (sad!), socks, and two pairs of shoes. It is super cute and funny. Kind of makes me curious if she's going to have a thing for shoes as she gets older?
Life is good otherwise. Hope everyone is doing well!
My class sizes are continuing to grow due to some last minute enrollments. My largest class, as of yesterday, was up to 21 students. My smallest is 12. Brooke will be coming with us. Yes, us. Robert was offered a part time high school English teaching job. I am full time.
The school has a nursery but we are free to have B in our classrooms too. She has one sleeping mat in the nursery and one cot in my main room (although I do switch between classrooms due to the topic being middle school vs high school, and class size).
B does have a friend that is 6 weeks older than her and another that is 7 months younger. It's great that she'll be able to grow with some friends. We're all looking forward to that.
No pictures this time but I do plan on getting a few "first day of school" pictures of B.
She is walking everywhere now and loves climbing stairs. She also loves putting shoes and socks on her feet. Yesterday we underwent 4 foot style changes including wearing a pair of flip flops that are finally too small for her (sad!), socks, and two pairs of shoes. It is super cute and funny. Kind of makes me curious if she's going to have a thing for shoes as she gets older?
Life is good otherwise. Hope everyone is doing well!
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Being AWOL for Months
I've had intentions of writing a post for some time. I just keep forgetting. Here is a quick update (no pictures) of what's going on.
We went back to the US about a month ago for a 2 week trip. It was kept very low key in order to not overwhelm B and ourselves. Nothing personal. Those that I didn't tell (99.9% of you) will understand. We enjoyed our time with both sides of the family. B got to meet her aunts and uncles, cousins, and got to be reintroduced to her grandparents. She is a great traveler and had a great time...even when it was 114* in Arizona. Yuk!
I've been up in arms reading a history book. I will be working as a middle school and high school social studies teacher for this upcoming year. Yes, both levels...the perks of being part of a relatively small school. The classes are taught in English but students come from all over the world!
I've been enjoying my time as a mom and a wife. I see the quotes that say stuff like "nobody ever regretted spending more time with family." While I've been on a little hiatus on social media, that is one quote that rings true for me. No regrets so far. Honestly, I've even put down my camera phone, just trying to enjoy the moment. You know how nice it is? Try it!
Anyway, that's what's been up, in a nutshell. Posts will try to be more frequent (twice a month) but don't expect too many photos. All is good here. How are you all doing?
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Crawling, Teething, and Carnival...oh my!
Who dropped the bomb? This lady, right here. There was a draft in progress about how the Pope came to visit. He was here about 4 weeks ago. Relevant still? Maybe. Has more happened since then? Yep!
We survived the Pope and World Youth Day (WYD). Most of the traffic in the area was due to people escaping Panama City. Estimates originally stated that there were only 200,000 pilgrims from the event. The number then ended up being closer to 1 million based off reports. Despite what we thought, traffic in the area was calm. Stores in the morning were more empty than normal. Thank you Pope for small grocery store lines!
Brooke has started eating solids. She goes crazy over broccoli and is not a fan of avocado. She seems pretty indifferent about everything else Our small dog has realized hanging around her high chair during meals has its advantages. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
Brooke is now an expert with crawling. Tummy time has lost its relevance, unless she's sleeping on her tummy (which she does from time to time). Her favorite thing to try to get into now is the dogs' water dish. Mommy and Daddy are now jungle gyms as she has began the art of climbing. Getting on her knees is becoming easier for her each day. I am not sure I can stand watching how wobbly she is without getting a little anxiety, although I know it is all part of the process.
Brooke also has 6 teeth! Of the 6 she has, 4 have came through within a week and a half of each other. Zombie mommy mode has been in full effect. It is nothing compared to what Brooke went though. Poor thing. Cold wash cloths for the win!
We are heading into the weekend for Carnival (people in the US may know it better as Mardi Gras). Things are about to get crazy around here. It is chaotic and loud, yet at the same time, it is Panamanian culture in a very pure sense. It's a time to let go and relax. Some aspects of it are not super family friendly, while others are fun and simple. It just depends on where you go and what you do. We'll be staying in for the most part since traffic gets CRAA-HAZ-AY during this time.
I am sure there is more but I am going to call it good for now just because I want to get this published. My new goal is monthly posts....gotta start somewhere, right? Hope you're all doing well.
We survived the Pope and World Youth Day (WYD). Most of the traffic in the area was due to people escaping Panama City. Estimates originally stated that there were only 200,000 pilgrims from the event. The number then ended up being closer to 1 million based off reports. Despite what we thought, traffic in the area was calm. Stores in the morning were more empty than normal. Thank you Pope for small grocery store lines!
Brooke has started eating solids. She goes crazy over broccoli and is not a fan of avocado. She seems pretty indifferent about everything else Our small dog has realized hanging around her high chair during meals has its advantages. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
Brooke is now an expert with crawling. Tummy time has lost its relevance, unless she's sleeping on her tummy (which she does from time to time). Her favorite thing to try to get into now is the dogs' water dish. Mommy and Daddy are now jungle gyms as she has began the art of climbing. Getting on her knees is becoming easier for her each day. I am not sure I can stand watching how wobbly she is without getting a little anxiety, although I know it is all part of the process.
Brooke also has 6 teeth! Of the 6 she has, 4 have came through within a week and a half of each other. Zombie mommy mode has been in full effect. It is nothing compared to what Brooke went though. Poor thing. Cold wash cloths for the win!
We are heading into the weekend for Carnival (people in the US may know it better as Mardi Gras). Things are about to get crazy around here. It is chaotic and loud, yet at the same time, it is Panamanian culture in a very pure sense. It's a time to let go and relax. Some aspects of it are not super family friendly, while others are fun and simple. It just depends on where you go and what you do. We'll be staying in for the most part since traffic gets CRAA-HAZ-AY during this time.
I am sure there is more but I am going to call it good for now just because I want to get this published. My new goal is monthly posts....gotta start somewhere, right? Hope you're all doing well.
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Another Well Intentioned Blog Draft Written...
...two three weeks ago. But alas, so much has happened that I felt strange to post how our Christmas went. Crazy how busy life gets when you've really got one (and a little one to care for). My goal of writing a post every 2 weeks is going to shambles, but for good reason! This is a long post. You've been warned.
Our Christmas was a particularly memorable one. How could it not be? It is our first Christmas as a family of three! Brooke was uncharacteristically fussy. That usually means a developmental leap is about to happen. Sure enough! She got her first tooth. Needless to say, she wasn't in a very happy mood so pictures and video chatting got put on the back burner. The day was all about making Brooke comfortable.
New Years was an event too. Neighbors bought a muñeco* in the form of Batman and burned it. Music was very loud, especially after midnight. Sleeping was not an option. Brooke had a very restless night, and therefore, I did too. Turns out tooth #2 was making an appearance. She now has her two bottom teeth. Exciting stuff!
We are now gearing up for the Pope making a visit later this month. It is rumored that over 1 million visitors are going to be arriving over the next couple of weeks in order to see him. Panama's population last year was right around 4 million. While a lot of people are hoping to see the Pope, Robert and I will not be one of them. Call us crazy, but that kind of traffic jam with adults is not fun. Add an infant and you're talking crazy talk.
Brooke is now 6 months old. She is sitting up unassisted and without having to use her hands to support herself. Sometimes she falls over, but it's usually to reach for a toy and not due to lack of balance. We were waiting for this to happen since we have the green light from her pediatrician to start feeding her fruits and veggies. Woohoo!
The building had a booster seat/high chair that has been floating around for people's visiting grand babies. Somebody had it and thought Brooke could use it. Talk about perfect timing! It was missing straps to secure to the chair. We bought straps that are used to secure surf boards to car roof tops to solve that problem. She takes a lot of interest in our food. Now she gets to see what the hype is!
So far she's only had bananas. She does not seem to be quite sure about what to think of them. Brooke will take a bite, make an "ugh" face, gum the banana, and then smile. Not too much gets spit out and she is eating more and more each day. It is all about exploring at this point, so she's right on track.
Brooke is slowly becoming more mobile too. She isn't crawling. However, she is rolling and inch worming her way around. She was off the rug shortly after this picture was taken. Time to really start baby proofing the house. Maybe we can stay ahead of what she finds...maybe??
That is about all for now. I feel like I have typed this sentence several times with this blog and more updates keep happening or something changes. Time to wrap up this post before I have to change it to "Brooke is now driving." Haha! Hope you're all doing well.
*Muñecos (aka Judas Dolls) that are a tradition specific to this area. They are paper mâché dolls that can be of anyone. They symbolize things that people want to get rid of or give well wishes to with the upcoming year. Muñecos are burned at midnight and may be filled with fireworks. Popular choices for who these resemble vary from year to year, but politicians are always a classic. This year Miss Panama, the first indigenous woman to get the title, was a popular one
Our Christmas was a particularly memorable one. How could it not be? It is our first Christmas as a family of three! Brooke was uncharacteristically fussy. That usually means a developmental leap is about to happen. Sure enough! She got her first tooth. Needless to say, she wasn't in a very happy mood so pictures and video chatting got put on the back burner. The day was all about making Brooke comfortable.
New Years was an event too. Neighbors bought a muñeco* in the form of Batman and burned it. Music was very loud, especially after midnight. Sleeping was not an option. Brooke had a very restless night, and therefore, I did too. Turns out tooth #2 was making an appearance. She now has her two bottom teeth. Exciting stuff!
We are now gearing up for the Pope making a visit later this month. It is rumored that over 1 million visitors are going to be arriving over the next couple of weeks in order to see him. Panama's population last year was right around 4 million. While a lot of people are hoping to see the Pope, Robert and I will not be one of them. Call us crazy, but that kind of traffic jam with adults is not fun. Add an infant and you're talking crazy talk.
Brooke is now 6 months old. She is sitting up unassisted and without having to use her hands to support herself. Sometimes she falls over, but it's usually to reach for a toy and not due to lack of balance. We were waiting for this to happen since we have the green light from her pediatrician to start feeding her fruits and veggies. Woohoo!
The building had a booster seat/high chair that has been floating around for people's visiting grand babies. Somebody had it and thought Brooke could use it. Talk about perfect timing! It was missing straps to secure to the chair. We bought straps that are used to secure surf boards to car roof tops to solve that problem. She takes a lot of interest in our food. Now she gets to see what the hype is!
So far she's only had bananas. She does not seem to be quite sure about what to think of them. Brooke will take a bite, make an "ugh" face, gum the banana, and then smile. Not too much gets spit out and she is eating more and more each day. It is all about exploring at this point, so she's right on track.
Brooke is slowly becoming more mobile too. She isn't crawling. However, she is rolling and inch worming her way around. She was off the rug shortly after this picture was taken. Time to really start baby proofing the house. Maybe we can stay ahead of what she finds...maybe??
That is about all for now. I feel like I have typed this sentence several times with this blog and more updates keep happening or something changes. Time to wrap up this post before I have to change it to "Brooke is now driving." Haha! Hope you're all doing well.
*Muñecos (aka Judas Dolls) that are a tradition specific to this area. They are paper mâché dolls that can be of anyone. They symbolize things that people want to get rid of or give well wishes to with the upcoming year. Muñecos are burned at midnight and may be filled with fireworks. Popular choices for who these resemble vary from year to year, but politicians are always a classic. This year Miss Panama, the first indigenous woman to get the title, was a popular one
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