Utah Trip - Part 2  

Posted by Amber

Thursday, July 23rd, dawned, and I was feeling much better, which was a good thing because we all had dentist appointments first thing in the morning. Henlie didn't let them do much with her teeth, but she did get them counted. We're still waiting on two of her molars.  

 The other big event of the day was buying a new car. We left Henlie to play at Grandma's and went to Lehi to look at a little Ford Fiesta. We took it for a test drive and decided to buy it. For what it is, it was a great deal. 2013 for like 10K. We only had Andrew with us, but we got him in the center okay. With Henlie's car seat as well, it's a fun fit. You know the tiny house movement? We have the tiny car equivalent. Henlie goes behind Matt, who drives, and Andrew goes behind me because I'm shorter and don't have the steering wheel so I can scoot clear up to where my knees are nearly touching the glove box so he has room to rear-face. Fun times. Probably not the car we would have picked if we'd had more time to look, but like I said, for what it is, we got a really good deal. And honestly, it's kind of fun to drive because it's so small :) Also, it gets like 40 mpg, so that's cool.

 After we got the car, we hung out at Grandma's for awhile while the kids played. We also visited out friends Natalie and Tashina, who are fostering Mocha for us. Mocha seems to remember us, so that's good :)

Danica enjoying the swing.

Charlie trying to tell Henlie to switch swings because she wanted the middle swing.

Then she tried to kick her out. It didn't work.

Friday, July 24th, was Pioneer Day in Utah. We headed over to Mapleton to visit with my dad's side of the family. It's like the only time of the year people get together anymore (Christmas causes Grandma stress with people driving in the snow.) It was fun to surprise people. We didn't make it over to the park, not even for my cousin Dave's performance (sorry, Dave! I wanted to, but we just failed at getting up and walking over :)) Instead, we hung at Grandma and Grandpa Erdmann's and chatted and had some food. Henlie had like 2.5 slices of watermelon. She loves that stuff :)
 Henlie playing with her second cousin, Jack. Jack's dad telling them to leave the bark on the tree :)

 Matt chatting with some of my family.
Angie, Heather, one of her kids, Nate, John (behind Matt), and Matt

Mary Ann, Kyle, Kyle's daughter Kylee at his feet, and Grandpa Erdmann

The bigger kids were really good about letting Henlie play with them and keeping an eye on her.
Playing on Grandpa's golf cart.

 Andrew decked out in patriotic colors.
He finally woke up from his nap :)

 Daddy and Henlie

 Henlie found a little chair to sit in.

More family - David, Keri, Julie, and Grandpa

 Henlie noticed I was taking her picture in the little chair, so she hid behind the plant.

 Great Grandma Erdmann and Andrew.

 Henlie showing Great Grandpa Erdmann where she got a little blood on Piglet.... (she had a tiny bloody nose).

 Great Grandpa Erdmann and Andrew.

Henlie really likes to pick up leaves and rocks and play with them.
Here she is showing them to Great Grandpa.

 The 24th was a busy, picture-intensive day, so I'll end this post here. Stay tuned for the rest of the 24th and beyond!

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Utah Trip - Part 1  

Posted by Amber

We took a two-week vacation back home to Utah at the end of July into August. It was a lot of fun and gave us something to look forward to. We also decided shortly before our trip that we weren't going to extend Matt's contract in Peru if the opportunity presented itself. (They still don't know what they're going to do with the office down here. Waiting on Cuba still, or something.) I'm glad we made a decision because it changed how we handled our trip. Example - we took a couple of suitcases worth of stuff to leave in Utah. We also bought a car to use on our trip, and then we'll have it to use in a few months when we move back.

 Anyway, we flew out in the wee hours of Tuesday, July 21st. Poor Henlie caught some sort of tummy bug or something (probably from Sebastian's birthday party, or maybe from church. Who knows?) She threw up a couple times and had serious diarrhea all day. She finally passed out on the couch that night. (Matt and I didn't sleep since we had to leave around 10 or 10:30 to go to the airport anyway.)

Our little sickie sleeping on the couch.

 We left for the airport earlier than I thought we needed to, but it actually worked out well. Even though our travel agent had added Andrew as a lap ticket, it either didn't really get paid or it didn't register as getting paid on LAN's end, so Matt had to do some running around to pay for it. We were still well on time, even with that extra waiting. This was good because we also had to fill out some extra papers since Matt has been working here. They require you have all of your taxes up-to-date before leaving the country, but apparently you still have to fill out other papers too. So we hung out while Matt did that.
 Andrew's first plane ride!

 Henlie loves to play with her headphones :)
Not so much wearing them to watch TV though lol

Sleepy Henlie

The flight was fairly uneventful. I did end up changing Henlie, and since there was a line, one of the flight attendants led me to the bathroom at the front to use the changing table in there. LAN is pretty nice, but that changing table was terrible. It didn't lay flat. Now, Henlie is pretty tall being a toddler, so it's not like she fits well anyway, but add a 30 degree angle or so, and how am I supposed to change her? She was a little traumatized by the experience. Later when I needed to change Andrew, Matt had gotten up to use the restroom, so we had an extra seat, and I just opted to change him on that seat (with my changing pad down!) Of course, some attendants walk by and are all, "You need to change him in a bathroom!" I was like, "Yeah, okay...but I'm halfway through cleaning a poopy butt and I'm not putting that back on just to walk him up there and use the angled changing table...." Okay, I didn't say all of that part to them, but I just finished changing him and was done. Easy-peasey.

Andrew waiting at LAX.

When we got to LA, we got to go through customs. It was pretty fancy. They have kiosks for US and Canadian citizens to use where you scan your passport and then it takes a photo of you. It expedites the process. I rather enjoyed being able to read all of the signs when we got there :) Our flight to Salt Lake was also uneventful. I read on my Kindle a little, and all four of us ended up taking naps.
 Sleepy Matt and Henlie

Sleepy Andrew. Pretty sure I took this after waking from my own nap :)

When we got to Salt Lake, Kayla and Carrie came to pick us up. Grandma was super excited to see Henlie and meet Andrew. We collected our bags and put Andrew in the car seat for the first time ever. We sent some of our luggage and Henlie home with Grandma while the rest of us stopped by a car dealership in Salt Lake with Kayla to check on a car. Unfortunately, it had already sold and they just hadn't updated their website. So we headed back to Payson not too far behind Mom.
Grandma excited to see Henlie!



 So I was going to put Andrew in the car seat to leave....and I got scolded haha
Grandma had to hold him first!

Andrew's first time in a car seat. Look how big he is!

It seems I caught Henlie's tummy bug. My stomach started hurting some on the flight to Salt Lake, and I wasn't feeling well while we looked at cars. I rode most of the way home from Salt Lake with my head down. Unfortunately, about five minutes from home, I had to throw up. :( I unbuckled and tried to slide over to the window, but I didn't make it :( I spent the rest of the evening lying on Carrie's couch feeling and, I'm sure, looking like death. Let me just tell you, throwing up (a lot, my poor abs) and the diarrhea (it seems I got more throwing up and less diarrhea than Henlie, but I still ended up with both) makes you very weak and dehydrated. This makes it very difficult to feed your baby when you're nursing. Fortunately, there were lots of people to hold him, and we also brought the last of his premature formula as a "just in case." We eventually gave poor Andrew a bottle, and he did much better. 
We did give out gifts since most everyone was there Tuesday night.
Jason, McKade, and Devan in their chollos/mask.

 I still wasn't 100% on Wednesday and spent most of the day in bed. I did make it down the hall to visit with Kayla and Henlie a little for awhile, but moving didn't make me feel very well still. Thank you again to family for watching my kids when I couldn't! Matt ended up going to lunch with some friends/colleagues/business partners while I did nothing all day. I was a little sad I got sick at the very beginning of my vacation, but at least I didn't get sick on the plane, and fortunately it was during a time we had lots of help around with the kids, rather than in Peru. Blessings in disguise, eh?

 Anyway, we'll end Part 1 here. Stay tuned for more!

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Sebastian's Birthday  

Posted by Amber in , , ,

Henlie and Andrew (and Mom and Dad) were invited to Sebastian's second birthday party on July 18th. He had a Toy Story themed birthday. Let me tell you a little about Peruvian birthday parties (as we've been subjected to many in the common area at our house as well). They go all out. There is a theme. The spread is Pinterest-worthy, as is the decor. There is music, and it is loud. There are favors and games and characters and puppet shows (pick two, at least three, if not all four of those). Parties are serious affairs here. That said, we'll get back to the specifics of Sebas's party :)

 Leslie (Sebastian's mom) had cowboy hats for all of the kids, black for boys and red for girls.

My little Jessie.

Toy Story was playing in the background, and the kids played with Sebastian's toys. Sebas got to open his presents, and everyone played with those, too.

 The only picture of the spread I got.
Estefani, Melany, and Leslie setting out food before everyone arrived.

It's .... the claw.
ooOOoo
It even could go up and down :)

 Aaron (Leslie's brother) arrived and DJed. Adults chatted. Kids played. A puppet show arrived with a life-sized Jessie.
Sebas's awesome Buzz Lightyear wings.

It even has lights on the wings :)

Watching the puppet show with life-size Jessie.

It's Mickey!

We only stayed for about two hours. It was getting crowded and we only do well hanging out places for a few hours at a time anyway. And loud. It was very loud. So we said our goodbyes and left as the children's games were starting. Leslie sent us home with a goodie bag (and game prizes) for both Henlie and Andrew. Henlie liked "sharing" Andrew's candy :)

 Andrew wondering what's going on.

Me wearing Henlie's hat. Henlie was pretty done at this point.
There were even too many kids and too much noise for her to handle.

 We had a good time visiting with our friends and getting to celebrate Sebas's 2nd birthday. Feliz cumple, Sebas!

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Little Tidbits - Part 23  

Posted by Amber in , , , ,

07 01 15 - We finally made it over to Migraciones to get Andrew's Peruvian passport.
Peru wins for passports. 
It's like <$15 and they print it right then and there.
Also, the office was under an ovalo (round-about), which I thought was a fun use of space :)
07 01 15 - Picture comparison of Andrew's passports.
07 01 15 - Carmela, Leslie, and Sebastian came to visit and see Andrew.
Here, Carmela is holding Andrew.
07 02 15 - Henlie put lots of stickers on her mouth...

 07 03 15 - Henlie calls a frowny face a "brownie" face.
07 03 15 - Matt has taught Henlie how to be a turtle from Finding Nemo :)
07 03 15 - Andrew's watching his soccer team. :)


07 05 15 - Andrew wanted to know what Daddy was eating. (It was Chinese food.)

 07 05 15 - I sat down to nurse Andrew and Matt asked Henlie, "Do you think Baby Brother will be quiet now?" She answered, "No, babies aren't quiet. They have a lot of cry."
07 06 15 - Sad baby.

 07 07 15 - Henlie told me she wanted her own phone.
(You see, neither Mom nor Dad would let her play on theirs at the time :) Can't fault her logic.)
07 09 15 - Andrew trying out Sister's stroller.
07 11 15 - We went shopping for gifts before our trip to Utah.
Matt had to try on this mask he got for Garth :)
07 11 15 - Nutella Joker!
07 12 15 - Daddy can pick up both kiddos at the same time!
07 12 15 - Henlie had to try stuff on too.
Mask for Devan, Mask for Garth, Headband for her


07 12 15 - It was a Sunday, and Henlie wanted to look at the flowers outside of the church. Only, Andres was parked on the side without flowers, so Matt and Henlie left to look at flowers for a minute. Andres wanted to hold Andrew while we waited :)
This was the same Sunday that Andrew went through three outfits over the course of three-hour church.
07 13 15 - Henlie fell asleep nekkid with a fish in her mouth lol
07 14 15 - Henlie taking Piglet's temperature.

 07 15 15 - From Facebook
Andrew weighs 4.35 kg or 9 lb 9 oz today. He also got another shot and an oral vaccine. He was freaking out about having his leg restrained and prepped almost as much as the actual shot, but he did fabulous. Dr. Meiggs is happy with his progress. Andrew is working at holding his head up, he can hang out and be content sometimes, and he coos. He has even social smiled....for tía Holly anyway. smile emoticon
07 15 15 - To this point, I'd never given Andrew any pain meds after vaccinations. I just let him sleep and nurse extra, and he has handled them well. This time, in the evening after Henlie was asleep, he was acting like maybe it was hurting. He wasn't staying latched to nurse, so we decided to give him some Tylenol we had brought from the States. Only problem was I didn't know the dose since they don't put such small people's doses on the packaging, so I had to look it up.

 Well, I was also doing the dishes, and he was screaming, so I was just trying to get him some meds, and I read the chart wrong. Matt even said it looked like a lot, but I said that was what the chart said. So I gave him the Tylenol and finished the dishes. Then I double checked the chart, and I'd given him 4 times the dose. So then I looked up acetaminophine poisoning and determined we should take him in just to be safe.

 In Peru, there is a separate pediatric ER, which is kind of nice. They keep it super warm, too. I didn't take a picture, but above Andrew's bed, there is a mural on the ceiling for the kids to look at. Basically, the doc looked up the charts and said it wasn't a lethal dose and it probably wouldn't do damage to his liver, either. We did, however, have to stay for a few hours so they could monitor his temperature to make sure it didn't dip too low.
07 15 15 - Ok, technically the 16th because it was like 12:20am, but they both fell asleep waiting to be told we could go home. It was such a scary thing, and even worse knowing it was all my fault. Fortunately, Andrew is okay and nothing adverse should linger from the experience.

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