Her Father's Daughter

One day last week I dropped Amelia off at preschool amid a goopy glopy project that would be most preschoolers nirvana. We put Amelia's smock on and she dove right in with her classmates (who were already covered). When I picked her up I asked her to tell me about what she did at school I only got her usual generic response "have fun, kids." I asked her if she got really messy, and she said "yes." Then she continued "all cleaned up." When asked if it was fun getting messy or if it was more fun getting clean she replied "clean." She doesn't get it from me.

Two heads are indeed better than one

I’ve had a glimpse of single parenthood for the last two weeks, and I will be the first to admit I don’t think it is for me, and I am truly in awe of all of the folks who pull it off. I managed to keep the kids fed, bathed, entertained, in good spirits, and fairly well rested, though I wasn’t able to manage quite all of that for myself, particularly the last one. By the time I got them both off to bed and faced the dishes, laundry, toy pick-up, and all of the other basic tasks and fell into bed it was time for Tristan to wake up and eat.

I soon realized that one of the best ways to keep the house clean was to avoid the house as much as possible. So to begin with we spent a couple of days at the kids expo in town, it had perfect timing, arriving for 4 days the day after Dan left, with every bouncy castle imaginable there, plus a petting zoo and a wall mural for painting. This week we spent a day at the Portugal national horse fair, while Amelia loved this and got to sit on her first horse (OK, really small pony, but don’t tell her that), it was really for me. Some amazing horses there, mostly lusitanos that are gorgeous, and we went for the freestyle dressage, which is beautiful. We also got to spend a couple of afternoons and evenings at Amelia’s friend Bernardo’s house (thanks Priscila!), and when all else fails, we went grocery shopping. I’ve heard nightmare stories about other kids and their grocery store meltdowns, so I am thankful that Amelia *loves* grocery shopping. She sits happily in the cart and helps put everything in the basket, smiles and blows kisses to the adoring Portuguese grandmothers, and gives the credit card to the check-out clerk followed by waves, more kisses. After shopping she gets to ride the mini carousel and sometimes we get lunch together. All quite civilized, really. Tristan for his part usually sleeps in the front carrier the whole time, and only complains if I push it a little close to feeding time. So far I think I’ve got pretty portable kids, though I may change my tune after 3 weeks of travelling with them around the US in December, thank goodness Dan will be with me for that trip!

Happy 40th Dan!

So of course the biggest event in October for our family was Dan’s 40^th birthday. When we first arrived in Portugal in September of 2007 we were scheduled to be here for a 3 year assignment, so I thought we could be arriving home for a big homecoming/40^th birthday party and Dan would get to spend it with Greg. Since we extended our assignment there was no homecoming, and with Tristan’s arrival in August, it wasn’t feasible to even travel back to the US to let Dan spend the day with friends and family back home. So I tried to make it as special as possible over here. We had a dinner out at our favorite local restaurant with friends over the weekend, and I managed to find some king crab legs to serve up on the actual day. We topped it all off with a tiramisu cake that I made and I must admit it was scrumptious. But the real icing on the cake was all of the birthday greetings that made their way over here both on paper and electronically. For more photos of Dan's birthday and the kids throughout October, click here.

Catching up

Sorry we have been a little distracted lately, though I can't imagine why! I have a few posts that I've started the last two months and just haven't managed to put up yet, so I am posting them today, however, posting date reflects the date I started the posts, so don't be surprised if you think you missed something. Our picture updates can be found by clicking here.

There is something I haven't told (some of) you...

I didn't share it not because I didn't want to tell you, but because until recently we didn't have much information to tell. We finally got some answers on Friday, so now I will share with you what it is that I have been worrying about lately.

When your child is born you count the fingers and toes and take a general stock that all is present and accounted for. The pediatrician also does an exam and assures you that you have brought a perfect little baby into the world. So when we were told that Tristan did not pass his infant hearing screening in his right ear I was surprised and scared that my illusion of the perfect baby would be shattered so soon. We were told to wait two weeks and then repeat the exam, and not to worry (yeah, right) since we did not have any of the risk factors for hearing issues and while 10% of infants do not pass the first time, most will pass the second time. We didn't.

The second results were exactly the same as the first. Followed by more waiting for a test to confirm the screening results and determine the extent of the loss. We did an Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test where I had to keep Tristan awake until his appointment at 2pm (this was impossible, but I managed to only let him have a total of about 20 minutes of sleep from 8am to 2pm), and then we had to hook him up to 4 electrodes to measure the activity in response to differing levels of sounds in each ear while he slept. We thought we would find out the results immediately, but were then told the doctor would call us after she had reviewed the results. Another 5 days of waiting, and then on Tristan's 2 month birthday we learned that he does have hearing loss in his right ear, but it appears to be mild, and the doctor thinks it is still possible that it will improve as the ear develops (though it could also get worse). We will continue to monitor it and see how it goes. Hearing in his left ear is normal, so this should not cause him issues if it does not worsen, and considering all of the possible obstacles that other parents and babies are facing right now, this is a very small issue, but no matter how small, a mother always worries. For now I am happy to have learned that Tristan's ability to sleep through the chaos of his screaming sister, barking dogs, and the cat trying to climb in the swing with him is just part of his sweet nature, and not due to his inability to hear the world around him.

School Days

Amelia started preschool this month, and while Tristan and I attending as often as she did the first few weeks, she soon became more comfortable with the teachers and kids, and now she is running in without a second glance back at me. Though she does make me solemnly swear each time before I drop her off that "Mommy come back." Currently I think it is a bit confusing for her because she can not understand a lot of what is being said, and while the teachers do use a little english for her now and then, again I don't think it will be long before that is no longer an issue. She is only going two days a week, but each time I pick her up the teacher tells me she is repeating a lot of Portuguese words and using some on her own. Apparently last week one of the more talkative girls in her class was overheard telling Amelia "não 'kids', meninos," so she has some help from her friends as well! Even with the language barrier, she loves going, and gets very excited when I tell her it is a school day, let's hope that love of learning continues for many years.

"Amelia Two Years Old"

(From September 7) This is the statement we heard over and over again today, along with "birthday party." And when I asked her what she wanted for breakfast she thought for a minute and replied "cake." Yes our little girl is now two, and while she has already had some moments of typical two year old frustrations erupting, she is still usually a happy, helpful, energetic toddler, and we hope that continues through the coming year. She is a wonderful big sister, and as soon as Tristan starts crying, she offers suggestions of "baby milk," "poopy," or "burp" (complete with delivery of burp rag), to try to help ease his troubles, and often she is right on target.

To celebrate the big day, I made a cake to share with her classmates and after dinner we opened some presents that friends and family had sent her. On Saturday we had a birthday party at our house, and we had a bouncy castle for all of the kids (and some of the adults) to play in. It was a beautiful day, and I know I had a great time, so I hope everyone else did, too!