Milestones

This is a special post dedicated to the grand and great grands that we have left back in the states.  Now that we are living in the boon-docks, we are not able to video skype nearly as often, so I thought I would send a post giving everyone an update on the kiddos and some of the milestones they are hitting...

Little Monkey continues to be just that.  She is now running everywhere, talking up a storm and into everything.  We call her houdini as she has figured out how to crawl out of her pack & play and open the gate onto our porch since we have been in Guatemala.  Her new words are "na-nu" (her own name), "ma-na" (her biggest sister), "ola" (hola), and "tee-ya" (tortilla).   I think she will be speaking a lot of Spanish before we come home.  I do believe we are going to end up potty training her in a 5-gallon bucket before this is all said & done...she is showing many signs that she is ready for this!  She is also growing quite the mane, as you can see!!

Shirley Temple continues to be as sweet as ever, but she has definitely hit the age of three...going on 13!!   She keeps us laughing and is always good for a snuggle, but she also will give you the occasional sass and eye-roll if you're not careful.  She enjoys playing here with anyone who will play with her (which is just about everyone) and she is great about making everyone feel very welcome.  She is getting excited about learning and loves to sit and "do school" with her big brother & sister.

Dancing Beauty is really starting to mature and is taking off with reading!!  This is a huge answer to prayer.  She is excited about school and we are having a great year of "pre-first".  She is happy and can certainly hang with the boys around here.  Most of the girls are in skirts all the time, but this princess kicks around (literally) with her pants and rubber boots.  She still loves to play "baby" with her little sisters & of course, she is always the mommy!  She has also lost a few things since we moved here, as you can see from her picture!  Did you know in Guatemala, the tooth fairy brings quetzales??

Little Man is doing much better than I had hoped.  He is happy here and was able to join Daddy for a hike earlier this week.  He is making friends, a few of whom have come to stay at our house (whose father & grandfather work on the project here) and really loved having a few boys his own age around.  He has also enjoyed playing with the neighbors down the hill from us, who have a son a year younger than him.  He's working hard through school, though, this is certainly not his favorite part of the day.  He got a sling-shot at a local market a few weeks ago, so he, Daddy & Kris have been having some shooting contests with empty plastic bottles!

The kids made a terrarium using banana leaves for a lizard they caught in their room....but I don't think we were good enough bug-hunters to suit him, so he found a way out of the terrarium in order to survive.

So....that's the update from the kid-front.  If you have any questions for the kids about life here, I'm sure they would love to answer them....