4 months today!!

How the days fly by! I can't believe Daniel is more than half way to 6 months. My time exclusively with him is slipping away. We went to have a baby check up and his vaccinations today. There were many tears with the shots, but it seems by the time we were walking over to Nona's house he just gave in to sweet sleep in the Mei Tai and did well the rest of the day.

I've just baked some pumpkin muffins that I found a recipe for on epicurius.com. I think I'll have to visit that site more as they really turned out good!!

Our thanksgiving celebrations were really great as we fellowshipped with other American, Albanian and Korean believers from our church. It was lovely to be able to sing some hymns acapella in English. The room we were in had very nice acoustics and with everyone enjoying the opportunity so much, the sound was especially beautiful. We do have so much to be thankful for. Brad Lay shared that he was thankful for the Lord's blessings but even if everything material he had were to be taken away from him he still had so much to be thankful for because he still has Christ. That was a strong reminder of how rich we are simply in knowing the Lord Jesus and enjoying his presence in this life and into eternity, and how we cannot rely on our circumstances for our joy and peace, but only on the unchanging relationship we have with our God.

Here are some pictures. We gave Daniel a bath after many days of cold, business, no electricity, and sickness. We blow-dried his hair afterwards and were quite shocked with the results. Thought I'd share them. :) The other picture is Rei who comes to learn English at our apartment, and her mom Valli.

Belly Laughs

Daniel really has started laughing and smiling so much. For this I am so thankful! What joy the sounds of him laughing brings into the house. I've got my second pie in the oven now for tomorrow's Thanksgiving meal with church family. It will be Daniel's first thanksgiving. If I had had the time and resources I would have liked to have dressed him up as a pilgrim or a native American. I have to keep reminding myself he's not a toy!! :-)

Saturday at nona and gjushi's

We usually spend Saturday lunch at Nik's parent's house. Today we enjoyed another good time together and I took my camera along. Daniel really is getting used to that house and the people there. He used to cry when Nik's brother Genti came in because he uses a really loud voice when he talks, but today he was calm even then, and he happily spent time on his nona's (grandma Lili) lap. As I was getting my mei tai ready to carry Daniel, he started kicking his legs and waving his arms and smiling. I wonder if he understood we were about to go out?

Genti gave us a DVD player so we're enjoying Bourne Identity on the TV instead of on the laptop! Lovely!! We watched Bourne Supremacy last night. Both are great.

We also saw a show on Nepal on the BBC which featured the Annapurna trail and we all three had fun watching that. I was trying to recognize the places we had stayed along the trail. The mountains are still there and still so magnificent! I finally got to show Nik how it looks at Annapurna Base Camp with the ring of the Annapurnas and Fish Tail ringing all around. At night they glow white like gigantic marble statues.

Here are a couple pictures.

Day out at Alisa's

Kanchi and Daniel are competing for size!



The mei tai tastes great!






We had fun at Alisa's house playing with her toys and rocking in her chair. She was totally checking Daniel out!! :-) He was playing it cool...

The sun is back!!

They say here in Albania that cloudy skies bring tummy aches, and it appears to be true. It's been raining for two days and Daniel has really exercised his screaming skills at moments, which I'm guessing had to do with gas or other random tummy pain. Well, today the sun is back and I'm soaking it in. I'll go out with Daniel to see his little Kosovar-Albanian friend Alisa. I can see blue sky! I can't believe it's thanksgiving next week!!

woody woodpecker

My hand tastes good.



Checking out the new toys - not only does it sing yankee doodle, but it tastes good too!!



I captured a smile!!

woody woodpecker

I've been told Daniel looks like Woody Woodpecker. I'm guessing it's his little mohawk. After I gave him a bath today (which, he actually appeared to enjoy for the first time - started crying after I took him out of the bath!), I decided to blow-dry his hair, and it really started to stick up in the middle. Here is the proof. We've also gotten a high chair recently which we've tested out. He enjoys it for about 2 minutes!! I've made it my mission to see what makes him laugh. So far, tickling his tummy after he has something to drink, and shocking him by suddenly saying "boo" both make him laugh.

A new job. A new boss.

I never realized that becoming a mother meant getting a new job and a new boss. My new boss can't speak yet, but he cries, squeals, and chatters in a strange baby language. When people ask me what I do, I still say I'm an E.S.L. teacher, but now I really do need to start by saying I'm a mom, because that's really what I do. I spend every waking moment thinking about what my child is doing, or supposed to be doing. I'm coming to accept this job slower than most, maybe, but I think I'm almost there. My new boss is very forgiving. Sometimes I do things that make him upset, but he always comes back with a smile a little while later, and looks with great trust into my eyes once again. I don't get paid in Lek, Euros or Dollars, but it smiles, squeals of laughter, warm hugs, and measurable growth (he's put on more than 4 kilos since birth!!). I'm starting to see that as payment enough. I am starting to love my new job!

Daniel and Babi (12 weeks)

Posting with baby

This is "our" first post. It will be short. Daniel is sitting in my lap waiting for me to find something else for us to do.