Adiós, B'e na, Goodbye...for now

Blogger has informed me that
this blog has used up its size allotment. 

I need to figure out whether and where to start a new one.

 I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, we wish you 

a happy transformation to a new era!
(in the Maya calendar)
i.e.
Utzlaj oxlajuj b'aktun!

Bye for now!

Happiness to Uncle Snuggly

Happy birthday,

Uncle Will!

a.k.a.

Uncle Snuggly
Uncle Wiggly

Uncle Drrrrrril

half of Uncle Wade

the-uncle-who's-part-grownup-and-part-kid

Squeezie Squeezie Wonder

Skin Man

Wildabeest

Big Ben

Big Spencer

SWD

We love you

by any name!

Milestones 2012

This year, C:

• turned 6
• received a special blessing at a Mayan ceremony on her birthday
• lost her first tooth, lost two front teeth, got new ones to replace them, and gained two molars
• read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (in English and Spanish)
• passed levels 2 ("Floating") and 3 ("Survival") in swimming and is now in level 4 ("Crawl Stroke") 
• started ballet lessons and performed on stage in a performance of Giselle
• earned a yellow belt in karate
• won her first trophy
• stopped using training wheels on her bike
• graduated from kindergarten  
• developed some mean muscles
• perfected her rooster call
• changed her favorite color (from purple to turquoise)

In 2012, K:

• stopped nursing
• stopped wearing diapers
• stopped taking naps
• turned 3 
• celebrated a joint birthday party with her Abuelito (Grandfather) who turned 70
• started swimming lessons, passed level 1 ("Bubbles") and is now in level 2 ("Floating")
• developed her ability to share - and the enjoyment she gets out of it
• "wrote" her first word with magnet letters: "Tato" ("Dad")
• tried out school by going to 2 "vacation courses"
• started understanding jokes in K'iche' 
• changed her favorite color (from orange to turquoise)

Together, they:

• mourned the loss of a godmother (Tina) and two cats (our own Cresh and our neighbor's cat Nieve)
• met their 1st first-cousin on the Durbin side - their 8th first-cousin overall!
• worked out an involved system of sharing that uses odd/even days to determine who has first dibs for various special things 
• invented a sweet game where they hold hands, yell "Sisters Forever!" and fall backwards 

In addition to these listed items, there are of course all the intangibles... the excitement they feel when a friend shows up... their yells as they rush towards Tato when he comes home from work... the freedom of their dance moves... the wonder and joy on their faces when they notice a bug or flower or sunset... their developing gratitude and generosity... their open, shining hearts... their love for one another, for life, for the world...  

Dancing family

Giving thanks

a shortened version of a thank-you declaration 

C and K did earlier in the day

1

Happy birthday, Spencer!

The life of a 1-year-old is awesome.

You get to walk and talk and explore

but you still get hugged and carried a lot!

We can't wait to see you in a little over a month!

We love you!

 

Strong

This girl has muscles!

Stars or dirt

K has had quite a bit of experience with death during her short lifetime: two of her great-grandmothers, her dad's cousin, and our cat have all died. 

Once in Santa María, when K saw a rooster who had died of natural causes, she said, "I wouldn't want to be like him."


Comments made by Kayalá as the Day of the Dead (Nov 2) approached:
  
 
K: How long will we live?

Me: I don't know. Maybe until we're 90.

K: And then we die?

Me: Yes.

K: Poor us.

---------------

K: When we die, maybe we turn into someone else, maybe we turn into an animal, maybe we turn into a star, maybe we turn into dirt.  

Dancing girl

C has been taking ballet lessons since March. The ballet studio is about 6 blocks from our house (a major plus) and is run by a lovely woman and her two dancing 20-something daughters. This past weekend, after much rehearsing, the students performed "Giselle." It was clear that they had worked incredibly hard to put the show together. C's role was as a "campesina rosada" - a pink-clad country girl (there were blue-clad ones, too).   C was excited to perform on stage. She said, "Maybe someday if I have a kid, she'll ask me if I was ever on stage, and I will say, 'yes!'"

All ready! 

(Incredibly, I did her hair and makeup myself. Didn't think i had it in me!)

With friends before the performance:

On stage!

A short video clip. C is the 2nd girl from the front on stage right 

(house left, or the left for the person viewing the video):

Our graduate!

C officially graduated from kindergarten today!

The graduating class - all 3 of them - Omar, Chely, and Donato:

 Singing the school song:

C won medals for Reading, Karate, English, Friendship, and Behavior.

Excited!

Pyjama Day

at C's school

4

Our local park hosted a celebration on Children's Day (Oct 1st) with a talent show, a concert by the city youth chorus, and free snacks. The children were given toy wands. K turned hers into a number 4:

She likes numbers.

Yaya

Yellow belt

Belt-changing ceremony in C's karate class. She has moved up to yellow belt!

 (she's in the middle of the middle row)

Felicidades

Happy birthday, Claudia!!

Your first birthday as a mom!

 

Thanks for being a smart, generous, creative,
and all-around great

tía y cuñada! 

It's not chocolate...

...it's beans!! 

yummy black beans from Santa María Tzejá

 cooked, blended, and ready to be made into refried beans

Meeting a new cousin

We recently got to meet our new nephew/cousin Spencer!

He's a sweet, sturdy, easy-going 9-month-old who loves wheels and cheerios and backpack rides and big kids!

Big Spencer/Uncle Will/Uncle Wiggly/Uncle Snuggly with his nieces and nephew:

K felt a bit displaced, as she is no longer the baby in the group or the youngest grandchild. She eventually realized, though, that it's fun to be old enough to somersault across the grass and tell stories rather than just crawl and babble.

C, as an older sister who'd already experienced the baby-displacement blues when K was born, loved playing with Spencer. She'd call his name in a sweet, sing-song voice that made him smile every single time.

 

50th Delegation

C, K, and I recently traveled to Santa María
with a group from Needham, MA.
In fact, it was the 50th delegation
from Needham to visit Santa María!

Over 25 years, the partnership between these two communities 

has deepened through friendship, respect, and mutual support.

I didn't bring a camera, but here are some photos taken by delegation member Jess, who's a femme feminist!

Books books books

This kid loves to read.

We Love Tina

A post in honor of Chely's godmother Tina

Tina embodies sweetness.

"SweeTina," my mom calls her.

She has given so generously

to the people of Guatemala

and to the partnership between 

Needham and Santa María. 

She has poured out solidarity, understanding, 

friendship, and love.

 We honor you, Tina,

today and always.

Thank you for your lively spirit -

your open smile -

your loving heart -

your precious self.

 

We love you.

Googolplex of love

Chely, on how much she loves her dad (Tato): 

"I love Tato so much that I can't even say.
Just like you can never count up to a googolplex,
I can never tell you how much I love Tato."

K Tries School

The school year here runs from January to October, with a mid-year break lasting a week or two in June.  The school that C attends twice a week held a special "vacation course" of fun activities during the break period, and the principal invited us to send K as well.  We thought it would be a good way for her to try out preschool in a relaxed, fun way alongside her big sister.  The school sent the list of activities, and the kids chose which days they wanted to attend (& when we didn't have other activities planned, like hanging out with our friends visiting from afar).  They picked a chocolate-making day and a fishing-prizes day.

K was excited, but a bit nervous, too.  Luckily she had her older sister to hold her hand and guide her!

The following photos at school are courtesy of the principal: