Traveling

Gabriela got her first Christmas Tree! Thanks to our friend Paula! Daddy helped her decorate it. Actually he did most of the decorating! The past couple weeks I have been explaining Christmas to her. We also listen to a lot of Christmas music!!

We are so excited to be home with family for Christmas. I have done zero Christmas shopping. This year we said that we are only buying for the kids. That should make it a little easier! I want to look for some dress up clothes or shoes for Gabriela. She has started asking to wear certain things. My shirts and shoes have become great dress up clothes for her!

Here are some of my good friends here. I met Tania the one with the bright shirt on. She helped me with getting Gabriela's shots here. We go to her house every Sunday for an asado and usually go swimming. She has three kids that are close in age to Gabriela. Angelina in the black shirt has five kids! Usually there are nine to ten kids at her house on Sundays! Gabriela is the youngest and has a blast playing with everyone!

This is a typical patio for an Argentina family. The asado grill, big table, and covered patio! Many meals and family gatherings are held here!

We are traveling this week. I am packed and ready to go. An extra pair of clothes is in my carry on...hopefully no vomit this time!!

Updates

We have been so busy lately. Gabriela is quite the social butterfly and gets us invites for lunches, asados, swimming, and playdates!! Her Spanish is getting really well and it amazes me how easy children pick up languages. This is her friend Avril and they play really well together. Everytime she comes back from playing with Avril she has a new word! After weeks of Nichy and I trying to teach her please and thank you she finally said please! However, it was after I told her no and she was begging and then whined pleeeeaaassse!! It was really cute!

These two pictures are the number one reason I am so excited to be home for Christmas! My two nephews Fuller and Jude! How cute is Fullers pumkin hat! Apparently he is quite the chunk! Jude came to visit Fuller and was sure to hide his toys so Fuller wouldn't play with them!! He did the same thing this summer with Gabriela. It will be so much fun Christmas with all three of them together!

First Championship!!

We won the South American Championship!! I didn't realize what a huge deal this was going to be. As I walked into the gym thirty minutes early and saw majority people standing and chanting I got goose bumps! The guys did great and never let down. After the game they got on a firetruck and drove around the entire city. When I walked home people were on the streets clapping and shouting. Some of them knew I was Nichy's wife and started shouting his name! This was a great experience. Latin countries really know how to celebrate!

Nichy is so happy. This is his first championship and he really deserves it!

South American Tournament

Last night we won to be in the finals tonight! It was an exciting game and Nichy played great. I hope I can blog tomorrow that we are the South American Champions! I know the guys are tired and last night the game went into overtime. Nichy scored two points to put them up by one! This team can play so well together but also blow a ten point lead really fast!!

Loving Santiago!

A quick post on why I love this city. We walked to the grocery store tonight. I left my money at home. When I realized this I told the owner Paula I was running home to get my wallet and would return. While holding Gabriela and giving her a toy as she always does! She insisted I pay her tomorrow! Would this ever happen at Walmart? Not missing that store at all! When I went to get Gabriela from Paula she began to cry and wine for Paula! This bothered Paula and she decided to walk us home! She would rather walk us home carrying my child than hear her cry!! Needless to say this is my FAVORITE grocery store!!

Help save a life!!

Just wanted to share this link. I know this man personally. He attends our church in Fayetteville, Ar. Which is a very small church and is trying to raise $150,000. Nichy's best friend Sim lived with this family in high school. Please go to his site and I hope you can find it in your heart to donate.

www.jeffclardy.yolasite.com/

My little Bruja

Gabriela was a witch for Halloween. Since they don't celebrate here we did not have much to choose from. Gabriela loved her costume and now says "Bruja." She is talking a lot. Yesterday I asked her these question and here were her answers.

What is your name: Gabi

What is your favorite song: Happy

What is your favorite color: Purple

Who is your best friend: Mama-short for Madison

Who is your favorite basketball player: Dada and Julio..one of Nichy's teamates. Later that day Julios wife asked her in Spanish and she said the same thing. We all thought it was so funny!

South American Tournament

We are playing in the South American Tournament. The top two teams from each country play in this tournament. This week we played three games and won all of them!! We qualified for the next round. Hopefully we will win that round and play for the championship! It would be a huge deal to win the South American Tournament!

Last night a fight broke out at the game. I have been to enough Fiba basketball games to know the officials have no control of these situations. Gabriela was with me and I left immediately. On my walk home I kept hearing screaming and really loud cheering. I was really nervous and praying my husband was okay! Everything turned out fine and the fight was minor!

Nichy is leaving this week. I hired a nanny name Jessica. She comes a few days a week and watches Gabriela. The real reason I hired her was to practice conversational Spanish! However, my plan is not working out because she is very shy! Gabriela likes her and she is very good with her! I am hoping she will get comfortable with me and start talking more!!

Asados

We have been going to a lot of Asados. Argentinians have Asados for any type of celebration. We celebrated Quimsa winning the pre-season tournament! The picture above is a Folklore group. This is Folk music and everyone was singing and clapping! It was great. This past week I went to a Folklore dance class. If I was trying not to stick out as an American girl with no rhythm I went to the wrong place!!



This is not a great picture. If you look behind the guy standing holding the pole you can see the pit whey they cook the food. This is the parrilla which is a huge grill. Different meats are presented at Asados usually by the cook. Each Asado typically serves three or four different cuts of meat and chorizo. Everyone enjoys good food and lots of wine!

We went to this Asado with my friend Sylvio and his family. They were celebrating a birthday. Most of the guys were huge basketball fans and very excited to have Nichy there! They couldn't believe how much he ate. They loved it and kept serving him more meat!

New Pics and Friends!

We were walking by the gym and saw this picture of Nichy on the wall! Gabriela was in the stroller and started saying "dada." I looked up and it was a picture of her daddy!

Quimsa won the pre-season tournament. Everyone was so excited. It was bitter-sweet, because Nichy got hurt and did not get to play in the championship game. However, it was just a pre-season tournament! He pulled a muscle and will be out for a few weeks.






This is a picture of Roberto and Gabriela. Roberto is our new friend who works at the Kiosko a few blocks from us. Everyday after siesta Gabriela and I walk to his store. We sit on his patio and talk with all the regular customers. Roberto and my friend, Sylvio, help me with my Spanish. It is good practice for me to talk with them on a daily basis. They are also big basketball fans and love to talk basketball! Gabriela loves going because she gets all the attention!!


This picture sums up how Gabriela gets treated in Argentina!! Everyone loves children here and they love to feed them! On a daily basis Gabriela is given a banana from the verduleria, balloons from the toy store, and candy from the grocery store. She is not too happy when I take the candy from her!! I don't have the heart to tell the ladies that I don't let her eat candy! She was allowed to eat cake at Sol's birthday party. As you can see from the picture she was in heaven!

Winning!

Nichy is playing in the pre-season tournament. They have been doing great and winning! Next weekend they will play in the championship round. Gabriela has been doing great at the games. However, I do take a lot of snacks! The culture with children here is so different. Strangers will want to hold your child, play with them, and try to feed them! I am starting to get to know people here. We have met some really nice people!

All of the wives and girlfriends are great. I am the only American wife. Which means my Spanish is getting better! When the guys go out of town we usually get together and watch the games. Today Nichy is off, and I think we are going shopping! Everytime he has a day off I drag him all over town!

Santiago Del Estero

We are back in Argentina and getting settled. Nichy came a month before us and got the apartment all set up. We have a nice apartment and a big kitchen! The kitchen is going to be great since I cook a lot. Gabriela did great on the flights over. We traveled almost twenty four hours before we got to Santiago Del Estero. She got sick on the flight from Atlanta to Buenas Aires. There was no warning just vomit everywhere! It was aweful. I felt so sorry for her. For a few minutes I was the mom with the baby screaming her head off. Oh, did I mention it was 2:00 in the morning!

Nichy's team has been winning! This team is a lot better than the team he played on last year! Winning is so much more fun than loosing! I have met all the wives and girlfriends. We have gotten together and few times. Gabriela loves to play with one of the wives daughter name April. She has made her first friend in Argentina!

Catching up!

This summer Nichy obtained his work visa and is working toward his USA permanent residency. We didn’t get to travel much and plan on going to Panama for Christmas. My mom, Nichy, Gabriela, and I drove to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to see Zac, Addie, and Jude. We had a blast and the car ride was great! I didn’t realize how relaxing driving can be when you are not in a hurry. We fly so much and deal with overweight luggage, delayed flights, and other problems that are not in our control! Wisconsin was beautiful. Zac and Addie live just a couple of blocks from the Mississippi River. We went on a dinner cruise on the Mississippi, enjoyed walking along the River Walk, and drove to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to shop at The Mall of America. Gabriel and Jude rode rides at the mall, which was fun for both of them.

Gabriela is changing so much. She is trying to talk and repeats words she hears a lot. When we ask her a question, she answers with “yeah,” which is usually her reply to everything we ask her. She has two baby dolls, Anna and Bella. Grammy just bought her a new doll that cries. The dolls are walked in a stroller, rocked, and given many kisses by Gabriela…it is too cute! Grandpa took Gabriela to the petting zoo last week and she got to ride on the back of a sheep, which just made her day. This summer she and Grandpa had a lot of fun eating bananas, eating ice cream, playing “Gabriel is in a trap,” and ringing the bell.

Becoming a Toddler!

It just happened over night. Gabriela is repeating words and singing eiei,(old Mcdonald) and showing off when friends are over!! We have been swimming a lot lately and she loves it. I tried floaty's not really thinking they would hold her up. However, they worked great! She is a little fish in the water and has learned to kick her little legs. The best naps and sleep are always after a good swim!!

Last week her Daddy bought her a Dora chair. It is her favorite and she loves sitting, laying, and running and jumping on it! I am actually thinking Daddy and Gabriela should probally not go to the store together anymore! She always comes home with a new toy!! Stuffed animals are also a big hit right now, and Gabriela knows all of her animal sounds. Grandpa took her to The Zoo. The Giraffes seemed to be her favorite!

New Baby!!

As you can see, Lindsay was in a lot of pain. She was not too happy with me for taking this picture!

After she got the epidural she was willing to smile for the camera!!

...first time she held Fuller!

Four thirty a.m., Saturday, June 6th, my house phone rang. I immediately new Lindsay was in labor! It was my mom calling telling me the news! After hanging up the phone I got a rush of energy and started getting ready. When my mom and I arrived at the hospital, I had flashbacks of my labor. Lindsay had Andy on one side and the nurse on the other during her contractions. The only words that were coming out of her mouth were "I am going to die," and "this hurts so bad." However, she finally got an epidural and then it was smooth sailing!

Lindsay had a great labor. She went into labor on her own and did not have to have any pitocin. The nurse told her it was really rare to not have pitocin. Fuller was born at 12:00 noon on Saturday. I was in the room and it was an awesome experience. When I had Gabriela I was in labor for twenty six hours. It was hard and physically exhausting, and then I had to have a C-section. I was so happy that Lindsay had a great labor and I was able to experience it with her. Watching her have contractions, pushing, seeing Fuller for the first time, and Andy by her side coaching her was something I will never forget. I will never forget the look on her face after she delivered Fuller.

Fuller was seven pounds 8 ounces. We are not sure who he looks like. He has brown hair and blue eyes. His cry is a soft wimper and it is the sweetest little cry ever!! Lindsay and Andy are both doing great.....a little tired but that is to be expected!

Mother's Day and Memorial Day

We celebrated Memorial Day with Crystal, Mark and Madison. Gabriela had a blast swimming and playing on the slip and slide. Although, she did not slide down it....but her moma did!! I am sure I will be feeling the pain tomorrow!

Mother's Day we went to Andys moms and had a wonderful dinner. Gabriela walked in and went straight to the bedroom looking for all the toys! She and Bappy played the piano again and this time Gabriela was trying to play!

We got my mom and Betsy matching gifts. Bracelets and candles which they seemed to love. Nichy and Gabriela got me a day at the spa. I already recieved the wonderful massage and facial. I still have to go back for a pedicure and body scrub! Nichy jokes that I get three Mother's Day because Panamas, Argentinas, and United States! However, I only get one gift! We were in Argentina during their Mother's Day and everyone wished me a Feliz Dia De La Madre!!

I just love this pic! You can tell how excited she was to play the piano!

Quick Update

Time has gone by so fast since we have been home. Gabriela is changing and getting so big. She loves music and starts dancing the minute she hears music. Her vocabulary is no, mama, dada, papi, yeah, and uno....ha that is according to her daddy!! Nichy speaks only Spanish to her for which I am so grateful. It is amazing everything she understands. The last month she has gotten really good at understanding all simple commands in English and Spanish.

Lindsay and Andy are in the countdown mode for baby Fuller to be here! We all are so excited to have a new baby in the family! Last, but not least, we bought a house!! I guess I need to change the name of our blog because we will no longer be living out of a suitcase!! We are so excited and think this will be a great investment.

Gabriela's Birthday!!

Gabriela's first birthday was great! We had the party last weekend. It was majority family and a couple friends. The kids had a Easter egg hunt also, and Gabriela got her first eggs!! Yesterday we had a family lunch and cupcakes. Gabriela literaly inhaled her cupcake and was not scared at all!

Grammy helped with ALL the planning!! She wanted to make sure everything was perfect for Gabriela's first birthday!

Bappy came to the party. Bappy is Andy's mom, and Gabriela has just fallen in love with her! She has allowed Gabriela to call her Bappy, because that is what her Grandchildren call her!

We had a hippo birthday party. It was Daddy's idea since Gabriela loves hippos! Grammy bought the hippo and matching tutus for Gabriela and the hippo to wear! They were too cute!

Everyone got a hippo cookie with their name on it! The cake is another long story! We had a minor problem with the original cake. Grammy had to go out last minute and get another cake. She did a great job decorating it, and we learned our lesson about trying new cake places!!

Packing Bags!

We are packing up and preparing to leave Argentina. The season went by so fast. Of course we did not make it to playoffs which cut it very short. This is actually the earliest we have ever been back to the United States. I am very excited to see my family and friends. Lindsay is pregnant, and I feel like I have missed her entire pregnacy. Gabriela has changed a lot and is doing so many knew things. My family is also really excited to see her, and we are planning her birthday party!!

Gabriela was four months old when we arrived in Argentina. She learned to crawl, walk, talk, and climb over here! This has been a great environment for here. Yes sometimes people were a little much for me. Strangers tickling her, kissing her, grabbing her hair...basically ALWAYS touching her!! However, I learned that is their culture and they really love babies here! I also think they are partial to Panamanian babies with a lot of hair:)

We don't drive here and I have walked everywhere. My daily trips to the meat market, vegetables market, and fruit markets will come to a hault! When you go to the store daily you tend to make friends with all the workers! Life is different here and I really enjoyed it. However, it will be nice to drive to the store and load up on things! Next time I blog we will be in The States! Yes we are taking the ten hour bus ride again!! We are breaking it up and staying the day in Buenas Aires. I am so excited Nichy is traveling with us, and he will get to hold Gabriela the entire trip!!

Lemonade Award

Maria nominated me for a Lemonade Award on her blog! Maria is a Basketwive that writes on Basketwives blog, Mothers World Wide, A Piece of My Mind, and her family blog. I have stolen a couple recipes from her, received good parenting advice, and always enjoy reading her blogs!

The Lemonade Award is to recognize bloggers who show a positive and/or gratitude in their posting. The rules are:

1) Put the logo on your blog or post.

2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.

3) Link to your nominees within your post.

4) Lett the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5) Share the love and the link from who you received your award.

I do not have 10, but I nominate....

The Ragar Review

http://ragarfamily.blogspot.com

This blog is written by my friend Amanda. Recently Amanda's brother was diagnosed with Leukemia. She has done a great job with health updates, funny hospital stories, and the whole time chronicling her one year old daughter Kennedy's every step, smile, and bowl movement:) Amanda is a very positive upbeat person, and it shows in her blog!

Games with Gabriela

Two seasons ago when we lived in Corrientes I was one of the youngest wives on the team. We were on a team that majority players were married and some had kids. I can remember going to the games in a outfit that I would be able to go out it! After the games I would always wait on Nichy outside the locker room ,and we would decide what the plans were with other couples. The wives with children usually waited in the stands while their kids played or ran wild on the court!

Now that Gabriela is walking I let her on the court after games. I am the "wife" chasing her child after the game! Watching her tonight made me realize how fast time goes by and the different stages of married life. Times have changed since the Corrientes days. I no longer go to games with just a purse and cute outfit on! The diaper bag is filled with toys, books, juice, snacks, and anything that will keep her busy. This year I am one of the oldest wives on the team! I have to say I kinda like being the old married wife of the team:) I also have a new found respect for all mothers who go to sporting events with their children!

11 Months!

Gabriela is 11 months today! Time has gone by so fast. She rarely crawls anymore and walks everywhere. Vocabulary consist of dadada, mamama,(rarely) and no!! Favorite food is chicken and fruit! There's not much she doesn't like when it comes to food. If she is anything like Nichy or me she will be a eater!! One thing we are both in desperate need of is a hair cut!! When we get home Aunt Lindsay will give Gabriela her first trim:)

She is always smiling....even when she is having a bad hair day:)

Nichy lost his games and did not make it to playoffs. El Nacional will be playing in the playout. If they loose they will drop down a division next year. This has been a long season, and I think Nichy is worn out! The good news is we will be returning to The States a lot earlier this year.

Gabriela was cheering for Daddy. She has gone to many basketball games and loves all the action!