13 Months and 3 weeks

Ok so I am really slow at posting updates these days but now Isabel is sleeping and hopefully I can get everyone caught up on all that has gone on over the last few months. First and foremost let me give you some statistics on Isabel. At her 12 month visit she was in the 25% for weight and the 75% for heighth and the doctor said she was very healthy so what an answered prayer. As this was our first visit to the doctor here in the states we struggled with what doctor to see and although we sure miss Dr. Castro from Uruguay the doctor Isabel saw here was very nice and Isabel didn't have a problem going right to her. Which honestly didn't surprise us. She is usually very good about going to just about whatever person wants to take her and play with her. Now she might have to study them a bit but after that observation period she is good to go. As a baby that is great because I sure don't want her to be clingy to us but as she gets older I will definintely have to have the talks about strangers for sure. But for now no need to rush into that conversation.

Fede is staying home with Isabel during the week and honestly I think he is enjoying every minute of it and I know she is enjoying him as he is always playing with her. She has now mastered walking and really tends to run just about everywhere she goes. She loves eating off of our plates and if we are eating a sandwich doesn't want us to break her off a piece but rather let her bite into the sandwich herself. Her favorite foods are bread, spaghetti, peaches, yogurt and just about anything sweet. Fortunately she is really a pretty good eater. She is also starting to carry on converstations by herself which are just adorable. The words that she constantly says and we can make sense of are:
mama
dada
hi
bye
coco (that is our pet bird)
ga...not sure what this means other than hey mom and dad give me your attention I want something
The rest of the words we can't really make much sense of but she sure knows how to communicate to us. We have also seen her understanding Spanish as well as English which is so exciting. When we say "Hola" to her in Spanish she will turn around and say "Hi" back to us. The same way with "Chau" and "Bye" So needless to say somewhere in that brain of hers she is sorting through the Spanish and English.

Her favorite things to do are to play outside and just run picking up leaves, flowers, dirt, rocks, whatever she can find but now that it is getting colder that unfortunately doesn't happen as often as she would like. So while she is inside she loves playing chase with her daddy, dancing to music on the tv, and hiding things. It is amazing the things she hides and where she hides them. We are always finding fun surprises when we open a new drawer or cabinet. The one thing she hides really well are her pacifiers...there are still many that we haven't been able to find.

So in summary all here is well and for new shots of Isabel checkout her website as I just uploaded quite a few new pictures a week ago. www.isabelann.shutterfly.com

11.5 Months

Wow it sure has been a wild ride from 9 months until now. Since my last post we have moved from Uruguay back to Arkansas, I have started teaching and Fede has been staying with Isabel. And I couldn't brag more in what a little champ Isabel has been with all of the changes. As a matter of fact she has grown and developed so much. 1 week after we arrived in Arkansas she began crawling. I guess she was just needing the space to really get moving. And wow did that change our lives. Unpacking boxes became a little more difficult with her crawling around everywhere and discovering all the new exciting things she had to explore in the new house. She has really enjoyed having a big yard to play in and loves all the horses and dog that are in our backyard. She is now standing up all by herself, taking about 8 steps before dropping to crawl and has 4 teeth with two more on the way. As her first birthday is quickly approaching I am amazed at how fast it has gone and at how she truly has grown and changed over such a short time. Thank You Jesus for such a lovely blessing! New pictures are posted on her website at http://www.isabelann.shutterfly.com/ which show an overview of our little girl the past few months and below I have highlighted just a few. Thanks to you all for your prayers and help as we have dealt with such a big move.




She loves just playing with the leaves and grass in the yard. Easy entertainment :)

After her bath it is always a game to run out of the bathroom naked and see if we can catch her to get her dressed and ready for bed.

She loves the new running stroller. Much more comfortable to take a nap and just chill while mommy and daddy are trying to exercise.

Thank goodness Zaya is an easy going dog. Isabel just loves her.

This is the view from our back porch. Priceless and so peaceful. What a blessing.

Isabel Pulling Up to Eat Her Snacks

9 Months

Well yesterday was our last visit with Isabel's pediatrician here in Uruguay. I don't think it really hit me until now as I sit down to write this post that she will not see her favorite and only doctor again until the next time we are visiting here in Uruguay. And I must say she has truly been spoiled. Dr. Castro freely gave us his cell phone number before Isabel was born and has welcomed our calls with questions at any time. Now that we are leaving he has even given us his email address to send any questions or doubts to and has even welcomed our calls for any emergency type questions. Wow how I am going to miss this! Here she is getting her last checkup with him:

Fortunately in her checkup everything was good. What a reassurance for us as we leave the country and won't have another checkup until her 1 year checkup which will be with a new doctor. Her stats were: weight: 7.880 kilos (17.37 lbs) length: 69.5 cm (27.36 inches)

This month she has really started doing a lot of new things too. Her second tooth on the bottom cam through fortunately like the first one without any fever or major fussiness. (Oh what I would give for them to all come in like that :) She waves and claps and loves to dance. Here is a clip of her doing all three:

She also loves walking in her walker. She still isn't crawling but sure can definitely move herself by scooting on her belly and her bottom. She also has tons of desire to walk so as you can imagine when she is not in her walker my day is filled with walking around holding a 9 month old as she tries to walk. Lots of back aches but well worth it when you see that huge grin on her face filled with excitement!

All in all, the best update to provide is that we have been blessed with a healthy and vibrant little girl. Thank you God for such a blessing!

USA Here We Come

Well as some of you may or may not know Fede, Isabel and I have made the BIG decision to move back to the good ol' USA. This was a decision that has truly been difficult but one that we have been praying about for quite some time when God made it crystal clear in March of this year.

I am not so sure how many of you know the history behind our thoughts to move back but God has always made it clear to us as to what we should do. When I went to the states in March as a surprise visit I had arranged to stop by John Brown University(JBU) and talk with the professors about any job openings they might have heard of in the area. Upon my arrival, there had actually been a position as a faculty member open up at the university itself which is always something I had said I would love to do but never knew if the chance would come about. To make a long story short, I did some interviewing and talking with JBU while I was in the states and then finished up the interviews from Uruguay at which point they offered me a full time faculty position teaching accounting classes. Right then and there, Fede and I knew it was God telling us HE had a plan all worked out for our move back to the states to go smoothly and that now was the time. So I of course accepted the job and we are now getting things packed and ready to go.

At this point there is still not a definite date behind when we will be back but it will for sure be before July 9 as that is when my first class starts. Originally Fede and I had thought of traveling to Europe but things got really complicated with the scheduling and Fede never felt in his gut that it was the right thing to do. So for now we have a ticket on hold that leaves MVD on June 17 and arrives into Arkansas on June 18.

Yes that is only a few weeks away and surprisingly enough I am really pretty calm about it all. We have started doing some packing but there are still many things to be done: turning off phones, internet, electricity, closing bank accounts, etc etc but all will get done in due time and I am really trying to not stress about it. I honestly think the thought of us leaving really hasn't sunk in yet. When I stop to think about it I get kind of sad. On one hand I am excited as I am returning to my home country and know that in mine and Fede's heart we both feel that the USA is the best place for us now; while on the other hand it is kind of sad as MVD has been our home for the first 5 years of our married life and it has so many memories. All of that being said though I do appreicate your prayers as goodbyes are never easy. We are hoping however that this won't be that hard as we are going to do our best to come back in December to meet our new niece, Guillermina, that will be born in October.

8 Months

Well fortnately here in Uruguay we continue having monthly checkups through the first year marker. So needless to say Isabel went in for her 8 month checkup and the doctor said everything looked good. She weighed 7.59 kilos (16.7 lbs) and was 68 cm (26.8 inches) long.
As far as milestones she finally got her first tooth. Thanks to God she really didn't suffer with the first one too much. She had a bit of a runny nose and actually slept more than normal but really didn't suffer much fever which was awesome. She has her second tooth coming in now as I write so let's hope that it comes through just as easily.
She still isn't crawling and doesn't show much desire as she just scoots on her belly and turns circles in her belly but when we get her up on her knees and hands she does rock back and forth a bit. Maybe someday soon, but to be honest right now it is much better since our apartment is so small and if she were to crawl she would be in everything that she shouldn't be into.
She got a new walker from Fede's mom and she loves it. We have to keep it at her house since our house is so small but when we are over there and she gets to play in it she loves it. She is all over the place too. She has really figured out how to get herself going. Now she just needs to figure out how to move herself when she hits something and gets stuck :)
Fortunately though all is great and she is growing healthy and strong which is what is most important. If you look at her website (www.isabelann.shutterfly.com) you will see that she is definitely healthy. She loves to eat and is sure getting some chubby cheeks and legs from it :)

7 Months

Well after retruning from Uruguay we had our 7 month birthday and checkup with the doctor. Isabel is sure growing and weighed in at 7.38 kilos (16.27 lbs) and 67.5 cm ( 26.6 inches). She is rolling from her back to her belly like crazy yet has only gone from her belly to her back a few times. Probably because she knows that if she screams enough I will come do it for her :) She is learning to drink from her bottle all by herself, is eating all kinds of solid foods with which some of her favorites are pears, zapallito, zapallo and ciruelas. I believe we are also about to get our first tooth. She is running a bit of a fever, a bit fussy and has a little bump in her gums so let's hope this doesn't last too many days. Other than that not much else here to report. Just that Isabel is growing healthy and strong and we are thankful each and every day for such a blessing from God.