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!

Birthday party

We had such a fun time at Frodo's pizza last night to celebrate Sullivan's birthday. So many of our friends from the ortho residency program and our playgroup, even neighbors, were able to come and have a little fun with us. Here are the pictures!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One year

Sullivan turned one year this Saturday, March 28! Here's a look back on the last 12 months...I can not get Photobucket html to work, so here is a link to the slideshow.

http://s646.photobucket.com/albums/uu181/CatieMMurphy/

Mom's Night...and an "eye tooth"?

This week is rolling along smoothly and finishing my grading for test 3 last night made it even better. Some of us ortho moms were able to celebrate St.Patrick's Day on Tuesday by heading out to a fun spot downtown called "Takosushi," which combines sushi and other japanase/pan-asian food with tex-mex. Pleases everyone, right? It is a pretty good place and we had a great time sorting out all the problems in our world, which basically all revolve around our children and families. It is such a nice thing that our residency program gets together like this...I was taking notes as the older ones were discussing putting their houses on the market as they prepare to move for 1yr for a fellowship and then to a final spot to practice. It is crazy to think that in 3yrs we'll be doing the same thing. I love Greenville and am already sad to think about leaving...

In other news, my angel girl is embodying the Gisell Institute's title on one-year-old children: Fussy and Fun-loving. Bless her. She is at the cusp of doing so much (pulling up, pushing herself into positions like the bear crawl, sitting position, etc., babbling in two syllables...) and is just so easily frustrated these days by what she can't quite do or understand. Lee is calling her a "primadona." These bouts of tantrum-like behavior are surely a phase...But to add to the situation, she is getting what they call an "eye tooth" on her right side. And, no, there are no front teeth present!? So, we may have a little "frankenstein look" (as my mom says) or "trailer trash look" (as I say) with this random side tooth coming in! Ha! Her only one on the whole top of her mouth! I'll have to post those pics as soon as we move through the pain...The poor babe screamed unlike I have ever heard her and just writhed in my arms, in the bed, on the floor, in the highchair...so very sad. Apparently an "eye tooth" causes pain up through the jaw to the ocular nerves as well. Ouch! Sounds terrible.

Pics of our mom night to come...