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):