A myriad of thoughts

Listening to the older moms
My baby finally slept through the night! Well, one little peep at about 4 am which required a pacifier search, but that was it. All this week, I have been working with her on not waking up every 3 hours or so and eating more during the day. Thanks Baby Whisperer! Yes, you have probably heard of Dog Whisperer, well there is a Baby Whisperer, too. So, just a little more patience on my part instead of running to make a bottle at 1 am, 3 am, etc. and learning on her part. Yeah!

To all those new theories that say feeding your baby solids doesn't help her sleep longer...pooey. It helped Elisa tremendously. She's now eating cereal twice a day and really likes it. I say the tried and true tricks of moms long ago are worth trying. My baby was a tummy sleeper for the first 5 months -- something not recommended. And falls to sleep with a blanket -- another "no, no" now, but she loves it. I just know I have a happy baby.



First Christmas
We spent Christmas eve with my dad and then Christmas day with my mom. Elisa was great with all the attention. I think my favorite part was Grandma Cindi singing to her and the girls. Those are some of my favorite memories as a child. Thanks to my mom, music was an important part of my life.

Hola y Felicidades!
I want to say hi and Happy New Year to my friends and "family" in El Salvador! It was such a blessing to talk to Ninette (the angel that God sent to teach with me the second half of my first year in ES and who introduced me to my Salvadoran mom, Ana Cristina) the other night. I miss all of you and wish I could be in ES with you all to celebrate the new year. I did hint to my mom and her fiance about moving to Central America, they just smiled at me. I told them, if you all will move, then we will. I know they think I'm crazy, but if they could just eat a few pupusas, experience not having to really worry much about the weather (okay, a few tropical storms once in a while) and life without the heating or air conditioning bills....mmmm.

Biblical Motherhood
I am reading the book, "Finding your Purpose as a Mom." It is awesome. It talks about starting with saying, "Yes" to God, letting him work in you from where you are, and building and finishing the jobs you have set to do. The key -- finishing. I will tell you more later. But I've just begun reading and it has provided me with the Bible reading and inspiration that I have needed lately.

Brrr....

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I know this has been unbelievably warm for December, but Wil and I both are wanting tropical weather. I really miss being outside more and for Wil, the 24th (the real day of celebration in El Salvador) is full of dancing and fireworks. Hopefully someday we'll be able to go back to ES for a winterbreak. I know he probably wishes his wife didn't have 2 left feet!

On the baby front, Elisa is doing great. Her and Wil have such a special relationship. Whenever he comes home, she is all smiles for him. Completely different than 6 months ago when that was her colicky time. She is trying to learn to sit up and I am ready for New Year's Day when she can start to eat cereal. She's still not sleeping through the night, but after eating when she wakes up, she puts herself back to sleep, so I can't complain at all. If she has her special Grandma blanket, her binky and music, she's set.

No big plans for shopping this week. I just have a few little things to get and I'm done. I have no desire to fight the crowds and get out in this cold. I am finishing up my swimming/aerobic classes this week which I will really miss, but I am ready for maybe this spring when I can take Elisa to agua tot lessons which can begin when they are 6 months. :)

Life passing us by...

I feel like December is passing by so quickly. The picture above is from Sunday night when we were at Wil's work Christmas party and Elisa spent the evening with Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Tammy and the girls. (Grandma came by for a surprise visit!)

Life's just been wonderful. I have no specific events to write about (guess that's why I haven't posted much lately). Elisa and I have been spending more time indoors due to the cold weather (which I am not a fan of at all).

Her latest developments are: trying to sit up on her own, reaching for toys, giggling, giggling, giggling and rolling over. In fact, our little baby almost slept through the night last night except that she accidentally rolled over and opps...woke up so surprised like "what just happened?" She has been learning to grab toys, hair, etc., so I am sure in no time at all she is going to be moving all around.

This past week we went to Pleasant Valley Baptist's Christmas tree pageant where Grandma Cindi was up in the tree this year. Elisa absolutely loved the lights and made not a peep during the entire performance. I think she is definitely going to be musically talented as she loves music.

Language Teaching
Wil's still teaching Spanish at church and we've been asked by a dear family friend to teach English and Spanish at a business here in KC, that was one of the things we enjoyed doing as a couple in El Salvador. Wil taught at several businesses, but we both had the chance to teach English next door to each other at a telecommunications business. So, this opportunity that will hopefully begin next year will be a great start for us. I have really missed teaching Hispanics since I left El Salvador!