Carnaval is the equivalent of Mardi Gras that we experience here.  Except it doesn't involve beads and nudity usually.  Instead the main event is getting together to eat and a water free-for-all.  In this season there is an unwritten rule that you are allowed to throw water on whoever, whenever.  As kids we would climb up onto our roof and try to hit unsuspecting people walking with water balloons.  Fortunately for them, our aim was never to great and over the course of a few hours we might get one direct hit.  It's a good weekend to own a car and keep the windows rolled up.  They also use this foamy spray and sometimes even eggs or a mixture of water and flour.  Ladies in white shirts tend to be prime targets.  

Canaan isn't old enough to get excited about getting other people wet and we're too old to care about it, so our weekend was water free.  But it still meant a four-day weekend for us and we tried to make the most of it.  Since I am on maternity leave now, I have a greater need to make sure that weekends are somehow different from every other day that I'm at home trying to feed a baby and amuse a toddler.  

I started it off by having coffee with a friend I met at Gymboree, our first time getting together sans toddlers and it was a good time to have more meaningful conversation and find out more about her.  She is interested in the bible study and marriage group that I do and I am trying to figure out something along those lines to do with her to introduce her more to my faith.  Unfortunately both those groups are in English and so I think at some point I just need to start something in Spanish.  Friday afternoon I met my good friend Linsey's little baby boy for the first time.  Those first months are tough, but I'm glad to have another friend enter this young baby/kid stage that we are in the thick of.  Friday night we put both kids to bed at 7p and left them with a sitter for the first time because Nate had planned a belated Valentine dinner (Canaan was so sick over Vday we never would have left him).  It was a success because we got out and the sitter (an 8th grader) reported no sound from either child and I realized as I entered the kitchen that she had washed our dishes.  Pretty impressed.

Saturday was more relaxing but in the afternoon we took both kids to Metropolitan Park (a huge park full of eucalyptus trees, trails, and playground equipment about 15 minutes from us).  We hiked for about an hour and Canaan enjoyed the mud, picking up rocks and leaves along the way.  He wimped out on the return and started saying "Knee" and limping and insisted I hold him the whole way back.  I think we won't hike that far in next time if it means carrying him back :).

Sunday afternoon we did a family outing to a little coffee shop Nate found and had "Churros con Chocolate," something we enjoyed during our time in Spain.  Canaan absolutely adores stirring things so he contented himself stirring Nate's hot chocolate round and round.  That night we had our friends, the Simmons and Johnsons, over for "Breakfast for Dinner."  Pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, chocolate babka, baked potatoes filled with cheese, chives, bacon and an egg, fruit salad and maple glazed bacon.  Yum.  I enjoy those evenings possibly most of all when the kids are tucked in and we can still feel like a fun, young couple for a few hours.  We played a made up game by the fire afterward and didn't call it a night til midnight ... a rare occurrence with us these days.  But both Nate and I commented that we are enjoying increased comfortability in relationships here.

Monday I got my hair cut for the first time since Eden was born.  The hairdressers were surprised I didn't bring the baby and said that most people do.  I asked what happens to the baby during the haircut and they said, "Oh one of us holds the baby while the other cuts your hair."  Full service salon :)  That afternoon we went to a cook-out that became a cook-in due to rain with our work team.  Way too much food!  Canaan surprised us by eating one bite of chicken and some ham.  He loves, loves our boss's two youngest kids, Jenna (8th grade) and Micah (3rd grade).  He thinks he owns them and calls to them to play with him.  They're very obliging but we're working on him being less demanding!  That night we had our 3rd week of marriage study at our home so we had just enough time to feed kids, give them a bath and put them to bed before we started another fire and had people over.

And yesterday, Tuesday, Nate spent the morning at the hardware store with Canaan while Eden and I went to a coffee shop with two girlfriends.  In the afternoon we explored a new, huge park with all sorts of trails about 40 minutes from where we live.  We went with our friends, the Reicherts, and had a good time walking and talking with four little kids.  I love how flexible they are and how they are as chill about Carleigh eating dirt as we are with Canaan.  Beth is always very prepared.  I got to experience pushing a double stroller for the first time and now know I need to develop some much bigger arm muscles before Eden grows.  The kids saw a monkey, some parrots and chickens and Canaan is still talking about them.  After a quick stop at home for a power nap for Eden and dinner for Canaan, we headed the block to the Reicherts and ate pancakes and donuts for Fat Tuesday.  They did an AMAZING job at homemade donuts, I ate way too many, and I want the recipe because I've never had any turn out that well.  Both their kids had fallen asleep on the way home and were still asleep.  But Canaan played with all their toys by himself for an hour and we almost forgot he existed because he was so quiet.

Through the whole weekend Eden was a dream.  She had to be uber flexible to get hauled around so much and did a great job at taking naps in the moby, holding off on eating a little longer, etc.  She gave us a great milestone this weekend by officially sleeping through the night Sunday night (which we mercifully needed after the midnight bedtime).  She slept 7p-6:30a and she's now done it three nights in a row.  This milestone came 5 days after starting to put herself to sleep, something we didn't anticipate happening for many months and probably with many tears when it did.  We lay her down when she's drowsy and then she sucks on her knuckle til she falls asleep with just a little grunting usually.  Last night she was up til 8:15 because of the Fat Tuesday donuts and still she proved flexible, sleeping til exactly 8:15 this morning!

Canaan absolutely adores Eden.  Climbing in bed with her in the early morning is one of his favorite things to do.  He has no problem trampling his mom on the way over, so long as he gets to Eden and can hold her hand and kiss her.

Because our entire family lives far away, it's an EVENT when we are all together.  And every time we are together my dad says, "All I want is one good family picture."  We have varying degrees of success on this front depending on the weather and photographer.  

So this Christmas I set out to make sure it happened by hiring my friend and co-worker Carla to do the photo for my dad's Christmas present.  The weather cooperated, albeit a little sunny, Carla was up for the crowd and other than Canaan being a little uncooperative, whiny terror, I'd call it a success!  That little boy who loves to pose for the camera was having none of it when it counted!

At seven weeks you are adjusting well to this world.  About two weeks ago you started really smiling at us.  Now you will do a little coo to if we're lucky.  We think the smiles are real instead of a reflex now because you smile even when we are making a different face.

You are eating well, every 3 hours and in between, if you wake up early (which you often do) you can just sit and watch and suck on your nuk for hours.  You've taken to that like a fish to water!  Your day time sleep has been pretty bad lately.  You sleep for 40 minutes tops.  And after 3pm you want nothing more to do with naps so sometimes you are just up for four hours.  

But you are sleeping well at night, which is the most important.  For the past 3 weeks you have gone to bed between 7 and 7:15 (at this point your brother was hard to get to sleep by 11pm!).  You wake twice in the night but eat and are back asleep within 20 minutes usually.  We're pretty thankful for that.

You spent last weekend out at a retreat center and got spoiled rotten by all of the adults wanting to hold you.  You took naps in people's arms and were just held non-stop.  You loved it and were pretty quiet throughout all of the meetings.

Two weeks ago we put away most of your newborn stuff because your arms and legs are getting too long for it.  You are growing like a weed but we won't know what you weigh til your next doctor's appt.

I'm late in putting these up, but they were taken when Eden was just shy of one month old.

My family definitely enjoys Christmas.  We enjoy finding unique gifts that don't break the bank.  Most of us are the kind of Christmas shopper that starts in September and slowly checks people off the list as gifts come to mind instead of doing it all in one, frenzied, overcrowded mall in early December.  And this year was no different with some really creative gifts!  

But for me, the giving that was really meaningful to me this Christmas (besides the reason we celebrate Christmas and the birth of our daughter!) was all of the incredible work and effort that my family did for our little, growing family while they were here.  It started with my brother-in-law offering to build us a crib before he came down.  What??  Who offers to build someone a crib.  From scratch.  When they have their own list of house projects about a hundred long.  But he's that kind of guy, willing to offer to help at anytime and very talented with the wood!  He brought the crib down in parts and I figured over the 2+ week trip we'd eventually get a crib.  Instead, he, along with my dad and Nate, set to work the next day and had this beautiful crib in Canaan's room before long.

Bet your brother-in-law couldn't pull that one off!  Besides the mammoth gift that was the crib, there were many other home projects completed by my dad and FP.  A running toilet was fixed, a light fixture wired properly and hung (3 times til we thought the height was right!), a blackboard was built, part of a floor re-glued, a curtain rod hung and 6 different things were hung on the walls (much to Nate's relief because he HATES measuring and hanging).  

My mom and sister were no slackers either.  My mom made a set of curtains and fixed two other sets (I'm a negligible seamstress).  My sister cut a jumpy toddler's hair and reorganized my tupperware drawer.  Almost every night Eden needed to eat in the middle of dinner prep and the two of them figured out where food, utensils, and appliances are kept in my kitchen to get great dinners on the table for us each night.  My mom spent her last day here making us 4 extra meals to freeze.  They did not, however, ever master our oven :)  Lighting the gas each time was a little too scary for them!

On top of all of this tangible house help, they were a huge help with our kids.  That was, perhaps, the most fun part because I just love to watch Canaan, especially, get to know his family that he doesn't see often.  They held Eden and rocked her, they read books to Canaan, played on the floor with him and followed him all around the house.  My mom even changed a few diapers though you can be sure my dad wasn't caught dead doing that!

I don't know how interesting this list is for other people, but it made an impression on me.  I don't want to forget all that my family did to make our first Christmas as a family of four and in Ecuador, an excellent one.  Thanks Mom, Dad, Kim & FP!

What Christmas Eve dinner looked like at our house this year, following an early Christmas Eve service where we sat in the crazy, kid-filled section and added much to the craziness with two toddlers crawling along and under seats and trying to run down the aisle while simultaneously sipping their mango smoothies.  My sister actually let out an audible to the four rows around us sigh of relief when the end was announced.  

Traditions were amended this year with our family and location looking different.  Traditional Christmas Eve fair is Swiss Cheese Fondue accompanied by some kind of shrimp dish, salad, and a delicious dessert.  This year, because I've had less luck with the cheese here we kept the tradition alive through chocolate fondue with cheesecake bites, fruit, and marshmallows for dipping after a dinner of Butternut Squash and Leek Soup with Chickpeas, Chorizo and Wilted Kale and Chorizo and Pear Empanadas.

The second tradition we amended was the order we do things in.  Because of early toddler bedtimes and the Christmas Eve service leading to a late dinner, we opened our one teaser gift each in the afternoon, before everyone got ready for church.  Kim really planned ahead this year and got the boys matching race car pjs, Eden a little pj set and all the adults flannel pj pants.  And because she planned so well ahead she even gave herself a pj gift!  Read:  To Kim, From Kim.  The changed order felt strange to open the gifts with the sun still shining but it worked out beautifully because the boys were fed and ready for bed right after the service and we were able to focus on probably the only nice, non-chaotic dinner of the whole family visit!

The very best part of having my family come for Christmas was just that.  Having my family in my house, playing with my kids and getting to know them.  I appreciated that time together so much.  

Nona, my mom, did a great job at reading books and getting down on the floor and playing with the boy cousins.  She helped remind me of songs with motions, one of Canaan's favorite forms of entertainment, that I haven't sung since I was a little girl.  And she wasn't embarrassed to sing them with me to a cranky kid in a cab.  I know she's an excellent teacher because she is endlessly more creative than I am when playing with Canaan.  Blocks aren't just for building, they can become a train or a set of stairs for ducks to climb up.

Bah-bum, as my dad is now known, is never far from a good laugh at or with one of the kids.  He's turned into the classic grandpa, with an iphone full of bragging pictures.  I appreciated how often he held Eden for me.  She just melted into his arms as he sang to her, introducing her to the must-know Beatles, Chicago, and many more oldies.  

This is what a pancake morning looks like in our house these days: