Learning how to eat

I just had to share this picture from lunch today. Recently I have been trying to help JoAnn learn how to use a spoon and fork and being her independent little self she insisted on doing it completely by herself today. It was actually quite funny once I got over the idea of having to clean up after her. She couldn't seem to understand that once she got some food on her spoon if she turned it over the food would fall off. So, she would get the food on the spoon and as she was putting it up to her mouth she would end up turning it upside down and loose everything on the spoon. After a couple attempts, she would get really frustrated and put the spoon down to use her hands for a few bites. Then she would start all over again with the spoon. It was so cute that I had to take a picture and as I turned around to get the camera, she somehow decided that she should put her foot on the table. I don't know, maybe she thought that would help her.

Computers, bananas, and termites

So none of these pictures really go together, but they are all some cute things I have seen JoAnn do in the last couple days...

If there is a will, there is a way. That is definitely the philosophy JoAnn seems to have with life. After I wouldn't let her sit on my lap and play with the computer while I was checking my email, I went to the kitchen to put something away and came out to find her playing with it all by herself. We now either have to keep the chair pushed up against the desk so she can't climb on it or move the computer in order for her to not play with it.

This one cracks me up because there is a lady who babysits JoAnn sometimes and she always talks about her eating bananas, which she NEVER does for me. Then the other day I went to visit one of our friend's new baby and while I was there JoAnn stole a banana from one of their older kids and ate the whole thing. So, being my stubborn self, I was determined I would get her to eat a banana for me. I figured out the only way to get her to eat it was with the peel on. Not sure why, but hey whatever works. I was so excited she actually was eating it that I just had to take a picture and it wasn't until after I took the picture I realized she really wasn't eating the banana, but the peel. She is just a little strange.

These two pictures were taken Tuesday night while we were kicked out of our house for a few hours. A while ago my helper was showing me an area where some termites had started eating the wood in JoAnn's room, well actually in the bathroom connected to her room. I didn't really like the fact they were there, but I had no idea how to get rid of them so I kept putting it off. Then they started moving out of the bathroom and into her room. That is when I decided I couldn't put it off any longer. So two guys came in and did a great job of getting rid of them. It was pretty impressive how fast they ripped out the bad wood, treated everything, put up the new plywood and painted it. I was totally expecting it to take a couple days, but they were in and out in less than a day and they even swept up the floors before they left! It was great. Next time I won't wait so long.

Anyway, I thought these pictures from dinner that night were pretty funny. I like Daniel's face in the first one and how JoAnn wouldn't pose for us in either of the pictures.

Insomnia

Well there really isn't much for me to write about right now, but I am a little bored since it is 5 AM and I can't sleep. I have been having trouble with insomnia lately, largely due to the fact that I have been having some strange skin problems and was put on Prednisone. In some ways the Prednisone is wonderful since I have felt like I have a jogging suit filled with itching powder on all day and the steroids seem to help a lot with that, but now I have not had a good night sleep in days. Even worse, the doctors I have been talking to don't know what is going on with me and you can't stay on Prednisone very long without some other major side effects. That means that over the next few days while I am weaning off the steroids and waiting for the next step the itch will be back. I am not sure if I am dreading the itch or looking forward to sleeping again more. I know I shouldn't really let it effect me too much, but it is just difficult to be in a good mood when you itch like that and can't do much about it. I have had allergy/eczema/asthma problems my whole life and I have always prayed that somehow God would help them not be as bad or even take them away either supernaturally or through medicine. Lately, though, I have learned that sometimes He just doesn't work like that and that there are far worse health problems I could have. So, my prayer has changed to also include asking Him to help me not to allow this to dictate my personality and to help me be the person He wants me to be bringing glory to Him dispite my circumstances, whether good, bad or just somewhere in the middle.
I have been reading a blog by one of the parents of a student I had for the first two years while I was teaching at Faith and it has definitely helped me in keeping my perspective. The girl's father has been having a lot of health problems over the last year while they were in the States and no one was able to give him an answer as to why things were happening, until they went to the Mayo Clinic a few months ago. There they found out that he has an extremely rare type of cancer, some form of lymphoma. It sounds like it is awful and they have been told that the Mayo Clinic has only seen something like 5 cases of it before him. Here is the name of the blog his wife is keeping if you would like to read more, she does a much better job of explaining the medical side of things than I could, www.garylphillips.blogspot.com. They are a neat family and have been serving as missionaries in the Philippines for many years.
The other thing I have been learning through this is that God has truly blessed Daniel and I with so much. I look at some of the Filipino people we see at the Arthur Center and know that if this were one of them having this issue, there would be no medical help since they would not be able to afford it financially. God has really used so many people to help provide for us and I could not be more thankful even just for a clean house to be able to come home to and a running shower with warm water. I can't imagine dealing with this and living in some of the conditions that are all too common here.

Amazing

Sometimes I watch JoAnn and I am just amazed at how she is turning out to be her own little person. I have been wanting kids my whole life and have wondered many times what they would turn out to be like. So watching JoAnn grow up is answering so many of my questions.

In so many ways she is exactly like me. There are little things I see, both good and bad. Things like she loves to "solve" problems. She is very curious about the way things work and what they are for. She constantly takes things apart and then puts them back together just to see if she can do it. She also very much has my temper, which I have to say is really not what I was hoping for. Once one thing doesn't go how she wants, she gets upset at everything, big or small.

There are also so many things I see that she got from Daniel as well. She definitely got his personality in which she is extremely shy and quiet everywhere execpt home and with anyone she doesn't really know. She also got his coordination. It is this that amazes me more than anything especially when you combine it with her problem solving nature. She is able to get into things and climb onto things that I never would have thought of. She has even figured out how to stack her toys in order to stand on them and reach things that she wouldn't be able to otherwise. I was checking my email just this morning and heard the chair at the table being pushed across the floor (one of her favorite things to do lately) and then it got really quiet. So of course, suspecting something was up, I turned around and found her standing on the chair that she had pulled out far enough from the table to climb up on. It was pretty cute, but I am now terrified. Once she realizes that she is able to use the chair to climb up onto other things, like she does with her toys, she will be able to reach almost anything in the house. It also terrifies me because I have found her standing on the chair many more times today and she is starting to see if she can get them to rock back and forth like the recliner we have that she has also figured out how to get up on using the foot stool. I am just waiting to hear the crash of her knocking over the chair while standing on it. I love the fact that she is so coordinated, but I am finding it difficult to explain to a 14 month-old how dangerous some of the things are that she does.

Our night without JoAnn

On Thursday Daniel and I left JoAnn with a neighbor and had a night out. His buddy, Kirk, gave him two tickets to game 2 of the UAAP finals. Sounds interesting right...well, Ateneo was playing De La Salle, their rivals and the finals are the best two out of three. Ateneo won the first game, meaning if they won the second game they won it all. So it was a big game for them and Daniel was so excited that Kirk had the chance to be a part of it. Right before we left, I got a lecture from Daniel about how I needed to wear something that showed I was chearing for Ateneo. I told him I was sure it really wasn't that big of a deal, but would wear it if it made him feel better. By the time we got to our seats, I was so glad Daniel had me change. It turns out that Kirk's parents had him offer his two really good tickets meant for them to someone else and he gave those to Daniel. We were literally first row right behind the Ateneo bench.
The view from our seats....
The game was a pretty intense game and Ateneo ended up winning. We had a lot of fun. I tried to get a video of the end on my camera, so I could show people what it sounds like to be at the game, but the sound quality on my camera isn't the greatest and it just sounds like static. These games are so loud its crazy.

After the game we went for our Taco Bell dinner and headed home. This arena is a pretty good distance from where we live, so in order to get there we always take the train and on the way back we realized that the walk from the train station to our car was going to be interesting. I guess we haven't gotten used to the rain here yet. Sometime during the game the typhoon that was in the area brought a lot of rain and it was pouring by the time we got back. Of course neither of us brought an umbrella since it was sunny and clear when we left. Usually I wouldn't even think twice, but there is no parking at the train station, so we had to park probably 1/2 mile away. We got soaked by the time we got to our car. Then to make it worse, our car's windshield wippers don't work and the roads were really flooded. It was quite an interesting trip home, but we had a great time going out by ourselves.

Maraming Pictures

That's Tagalog for many pictures and that is exactly what this post is full of. Daniel's parents just left last night to go back home after spending 10 days here with us. It was so much fun and so many things happened, I don't even know where to start and I am sure I am going to leave many stories out. They arrived early Wednesday morning and we spent Wednesday through Sunday catching up, playing with JoAnn, checking out the Arthur Center, visiting Tanza (one of the other places where the food from the shipment is being used) and Daniel and his dad were also able to check out the golf course across the street from where we live.

This was from when we went to Tanza. We had to cross a stream/mini river in order to get to where the church is located. Here is how it went for Dad...
Getting started...

Halfway there....

Wait, I'm missing something...

Fortunately, we had an extra pair of sandals in the car since Daniel had his sandals completely fall apart the last time he was there and we were going to return the pair he borrowed. It seems like Tanza is just not a good place for sandals.

Sunday after church, we showed Daniel's parents one of our favorite places in the Philippines...Boracay. It is a beautiful little island in central Philippines with the prettiest white sand beaches. We had a great time soaking in the sun, eating all we could eat at the breakfast and dinner buffets, golfing (well not JoAnn and I), playing in the sand/ocean and hanging out at the pool. JoAnn absolutely LOVED the ocean and the pool. Starting from the airport waiting to leave here are a few pictures of our time there.

She absolutely hated wearing the hat.
And I think she thought the sand tasted good.

Checking out the waves with Daniel.


JoAnn figured out how to use a straw for the first time while we were there. It really made life much easier not having to bring a sippy cup everytime we went somewhere.
When the guys weren't off playing golf one morning, Mom and I managed to sneek away and get our nails done. The pedicure wasn't really the brightest idea though since as soon as you step out of the shop you are walking on sand, but it was still fun.
Notice I am standing one step below Mom and I am still the same height. : )

Here are a few more random pictures.


As always it was a great time that went by way too fast. We loved having them here and JoAnn loved having some more time to spend with Grandma and Grandpa.

Random tidbits for the week

So, I really meant to be better about putting stories and pictures up than I am right now. The only reason I say that is because I already forget some of the stories behind these pictures, but I will do my best to accurately tell them.

Our neighbors right now are remodeling their place and let's just say they are not making friends very well with the parents of small children that live near them. They just finished week 3 of ripping out old tile and/or cement and the noise is so loud. I have to admit that sometime last week I was totally convicted of my attitude towards them. I kept getting so frustrated that JoAnn can't sleep with all the noise that I forgot I should be thankful that we have such a nice place. In all seriousness running water, electricity and a ceiling that doesn't leak is considered luxury for many people in the world and I shouldn't take it for granted. Back to the story, since JoAnn can't really sleep with all the noise, every time we go somewhere during nap time she comes with us and sleeps in the car and/or stroller. I forget which day it was but Daniel and I went somewhere during JoAnn's afternoon nap and she feel asleep in the car. So when we got back I asked Daniel to just lay her in her crib and see if she could sleep a little longer. When I went to go get her up later I noticed Daniel had forgotten to take her shoes off. I think I thought it was even more funny that it happened to be her favorite pair, the Crocs.


One of the many nice side effects of a sleep deprived one year old is that they just don't eat well. So, instead of fighting with her to get her to eat, I have been letting her drink her bottle while she plays. Again, I don't remember which night it was, but instead of playing JoAnn decided it would be fun to sit underneath the table in a place where we couldn't get to her without moving the table or the highchair and drink her bottle. Weird, I know.

Last strange picture...
She woke up really early the other morning and wouldn't go back to sleep unless she laid on the couch with Daniel. I guess she was really tired because he got up without her noticing and somehow she ended up sleeping like this. I would think that would hurt your back.