Swing set!

By the generosity of both sets of her grandparents, Sullivan now has a gorgeous Big Adventure, Fun Flyer Swing Set! Randy, Lee's dad, graciously provided men to put it together for us and we absolutely love it! It has instantly made our backyard so much more fun and inviting! We will be enjoying this thing for years to come! Smokey has even taken a liking to it and has sniffed every inch of it and given it her tacit approval.

Also, Sullivan's hair keeps growing and growing (and she has had 5 haircuts!) and now she dons pigtails, barrets, Sumo wrestler buns, etc. It is really so fun to do her hair! And she even lets me most of the time. It is awesome having a little girl! But hopefully, God will bless us with a boy or two as well!

Weekend in Charleston

We just returned from a great weekend in Charleston, made possible by Gigi's generous babysitting. Lee and I went for a fellow resident's wedding and man! it was a great time! Lee was able to go early for the groomsmen fishing trip (a kind invitation from the groom, Mick) and he was grateful for the chance to go out to deep sea fish. They caught more than they expected: around 120lbs or so of Mahi Mahi! We now have a freezer full! The wedding itself was gorgeous, situated at a 1700's home of a former SC governor. The ceremony was in the gardens behind the majestic, 4-storied, white-washed home and a dinner buffet, dancing and even ColdStone Creamery Ice cream followed. We had a blast with several other resident couples who were able to be there.
Throughout the weekend, we also enjoyed great food on both King and John Streets, as well as the extensive Saturday Farmer's Market in Marion Square, walking the battery and wandering through the 300 year-old neighborhoods. A fantastic trip!

In Sullivan news, she is now pulling up to her feet easily and we even had to lower her crib tonight to prevent her newly found acrobatics from taking her to the floor in a crash. She is becoming more and more agile by each passing day and it will not be long before she is walking. She is also cruising around furniture and taking tentative steps. She has said something similar to "no," "banana" as well as is beginning to blow kisses. She is a love!

Third word!

Yes! Sullivan has added the oh-so-nice new word of "bebe'" to her vocabulary of "mama" and "dada"! But the extra-special-ness of this word is that it is truly and solely Spanish! Yes, I may add that she has not fully associated this new word with an actual babe or her babydoll, BUT I remain excited! I even dreamed that she said something like "estoy pensando en caballos" (I am thinking about horses) to me last night in sheer delight that she may indeed speak back to me in Spanish one fine day. ( To catch some of you up...since she was 4mos, I have only addressed her in Spanish, as Lee speaks to her only in English. This is a proven method to raise a child Bilingually.)
In other language news, I got to be a part of a BMW family playgroup here in Greenville last week. As the BMW plant here employs many Germans and internationals, they have a community here and among other things, meet together with their young children. I made friends with one of them through a previous student of mine and was thrilled to be with them as they all raise their kids with multiple languages as well. We went to a strawberry farm and I was shocked to hear a 3.5 yr old girl speak English, German, Spanish and French among her peers!? Yes! This particular little girl has a Spanish mom, a French father, her family lives/works with Germans and now they live here and use English as well. Truly miraculous what the human brain can do!

Third word!

Back to the daily grind!

Don't we all feel this strange sinking feeling as we return from vacation?! There is something so ominous abotu going home to work, household chores, bills, etc. Sigh...this week has been a transition! Lee has had to take call often as is always the case when vacation come around and he is verging on exhaustion. On the bright side the weather is nice, we've had some yard work done and it's looking more and more inviting (and we're soon to get a swing set! Yay!), my teaching is soon to take a summer hiatus and Sullivan is doing well.
In her report, Sullivan now has an emerging front tooth (only one!) and it cost her much pain, like all the others. She is really scooting around well and crawls expertly, army style. She is pulling up with much effort and slowly beginning to cruise around her toys and furniture. She "talks" to us all the time with a very determined expression and a full sentence of "dah duh duh dah duh dah judgah judgah!" (Especially when I reprimand her!? Is this talking back! Ah!) Still no clear Spanish or English words, but she definitely understands us. She listens quite well and follows my instructions as I tell her in Spanish "that acorn is not for eating" or "those electrical wires aren't toys!" Amazing.
She also is very aware of when I switch languages and stares at my lips intently when I do so. I can't wait to her what she'll be telling us in the months to come...

Spring Break 2009

We returned home Saturday after a nice, long week of vacation to see family and also to get away just the two of us. We left Saturday the 4th and went to Montgomery to visit our parents and have a family birthday party for Sullivan on Palm Sunday. We then left on Monday for Orange Beach while our parents shared Sullivan during our absence. Lee had one goal for our trip: catch our dinner at least one night, preferably catch a Pompano. As the man of many talents that he is, he did it! Twice! We enjoyed both the Flounder and Pompano that he caught and they were fresh, flaky and simply heavenly. We were able to stay at a dear family friend's condo, and I enjoyed the amenities immensely: indoor heated pools, saunas, pool-side reading, watching movies, eating out, cooking in and simply...doing nothing. Although it was windy and quite chilly, my spirits were not shaken. Just the mere act of getting out of town is such a treat! We then drove back to Montgomery on Thursday, enjoyed more family, then returned to SC on Saturday afternoon for a surprisingly beautiful, friend-filled Easter Sunday. What a week!