Going Home!

Today was the last day in Santiago Del Estero. However, the great news is we are coming back! Nichy signed a contract to play for Quimsa next season! We are so excited to be returning next year. We made great friends and look forward to another season with Quimsa. This week was hard knowing it was our last week. I cried many times saying bye to people even though we are returning August-September.

I have tried to explain to Gabriela we are going to the United States to see all of her family! Not sure she understands, and I think she will have a hard time missing her friends here. Last night we made the rounds to her friends house and said goodbye and got pictures and videos. We arrived in this city Gabriela starting to be a toddler, and we are leaving with a full blown toddler! She is running, talking a lot, and has learned how to do a forward roll! Her vocabulary is a strong mixture of Spanish and English, but she prefers speaking Spanish! I am sure she will start speaking more English once we are in the United States!

Here are things I will miss about this apartment and city.

*Everytime Gabriela hears the keys in the door she says "dada," and then runs and hides from him.

*Before she goes to sleep she always says "go say goodnight to dada." Then she runs into living room trying to play more!

*Playing hide and seek in the apartment and Gabriela hiding with her hands over her face laughing and making a lot of noise!

*Walking by the fruit stand and he always gives Gabriela a banana or apple. She refers to him as "Banana Man."

*Anytime I say lets go to the store to see Paula Gabriela's eyes light up.

*Taking Gabriela to dance class and listening to her sing Manulita in a microphone infront of the entire class!

*Being able to take Gabriela to my dance/aerobic classes and let her run around while we are working out!

*Going to Nichy's games and Gabriela yelling "go Dadda," or "vamos Quimsa."

*When Nichy is on the bench during games she always runs behind it hitting the glass yellling "dada dada."

*After the games Gabriela running around on the court with all the kids playing.

*All the Quimsa players and how great they were with Gabriela. Bruno babysitting and teaching her songs, Jhonny dancing with her, Julio and their thumb shake, Pepe giving Gabriela her first Barbie Doll, and Tinto her favorite name!

*Every Sunday Asados with Christian, Tania, Gustavo, and Angelina along with their children!

We had a great season and were surrounded by wonderful people!

Tough Loss

Friday night we lost and did not move on to the semi-finals. This was a very tough loss for Nichy because all year he was prepared to be in the finals, and we didn't even make it to the semis! Quimsa started off great and won two championships. Winning the South American Championship was a huge honor-I am so glad Nichy got to be a part of it. Later in the year we dealt with injuries and couldn't bounce back. Nichy rolled his ankle and was playing injured the last two games.

I have been watching Nichy play basketball for ten years. When I met him he was starting his first year playing for the University of Arkansas. He red shirted his freshman year. After watching him play four years at the University and now seven seasons at the professional level. Yes, basketball has its highs and lows. After a big win you are excited and on a high. Last night Nichy fouled out and watching him walk to the bench was so painful. I could see the pain and sadness in his eyes and watched a few tears shed. He wanted to win so badly and was not prepared to loose. Last night we sat in the house and tried to plan our summer. Yes we are excited to go home and see family-we just were not prepared to end this soon!

I love watching Nichy play. He has matured and grown into a great basketball player. The love he has for the game is amazing. We are so fortunate for him to be able to do this for a career. Getting to watch Nichy play basketball is something I look forward to each week. After ten years of watching him play he still gives it his everything and I am so proud of him!

Gabriela's 2nd Birthday Party!

Gabriela had a Minnie Mouse party and all her friends were invited. The kids jumped on a moon bounce, played games, danced, watched clowns perform, ate cake, and had a pinata! Children parties in Argentina are a big deal and usually last three to four hours. I thought it would be a long night but it went by really fast! We had a blast and couldn't believe the great turnout.





Singing Happy Birthday was one of my favorite parts of the party. Everyone was singing and Gabriela was really excited. We sang in Spanish first and then English. I really think Gabriela understood it was her birthday and that she is now two!




Nichy got Gabriela ready for the party. When they showed up her Minnie Mouse dress was on backwards and her bow was broken! Luckily I was outside waiting and fixed it! One on my moms friends made the dress and I thought it turned out really cute!



I made cupcakes and tried my best to decorate! I was nervous because my mom usually handles all the decorating for me! Dennie took a photo of Minnie Mouse and put Gabriela's face on it. We used those on the cake table, and center pieces for the other table. They turned out really cute. When I ordered the cake I was under the impression there would be a Minnie Mouse on it. However, when I picked it up it was a solid white cake! It was good and I really wasn't that worried about it.

Gabriela got a lot of presents and her first Barbie! Pepe one of Nichy's teammates got her the Barbie and she takes it everywhere with her. I thought I would be sad to celebrate her birthday without family. We have met so many great friends here and they made it easy not to be sad! Celebrating Gabriela's second birthday in Argentina was a great experience.

Gabriela is Two!

Gabriela is two! I can not believe how fast it has gone by. She brings such joy to our lives and everyday it is something new. Yesterday I asked her how old she was going to be on her birthday. She answered "casi dos," which is almost two in English! She talks a lot and repeats everything! Lately I have been noticing that she speaks more Spanish than English. Even when I ask her in English she will answer in Spanish! We were laughing the other day because a few months ago Gabriela would always say "hola" "hola" when she wanted something. She no longer says that, she just tells you what she wants!
She started dance class and is really learning how to shake her hips! In class they also sing songs, but I don't know any of the words! Gabriela is playing better with kids and will often ask to "go see Ignacio" or "Avril's house." She is having a Minnie Mouse birthday party and all of her friends are coming. Lately we have been explaining to her that her birthday is coming up and I think she understands.
Here are the answers she gave me about her party.

What do you want at your birthday party? Balloons and Payasos (clowns) I guess she is not scared of them anymore!

What friends do you want to come to you party? Ignacio, Guavito, Jhonny (basketball player), Tinto (basketball player), Avril, and Tookie.

What do you want to eat? Pink cupcakes

The last few months she has learned knew songs. Saco Uno Mano, Brujita Tapita, Manuelita, Estatua, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, I like To Move It Move It, Te Amo Tanto, and Boom De Ada. As I type this I realize most of her knew songs are Spanish songs!

She still likes If You Are Happy and You Know It, Wheels On The Bus, Bringing Home A Baby Bumble Bee, Clap Your Hands, and She Will Be Coming Around The Mountain When She Comes.

Songs that have been put on the back burner: Old Mcdonald, Baa Bab Black Sheep, Mueve El Ombligo, Row Row Your Boat, Pin Pon, and ABC Song! A lot of times I will start to sing these songs and she will say "no no" then she lets me know what song she wants!!

She has started counting. Nichy is very proud because she is better at counting in Spanish than English! At times we will here her counting by herself in Spanish. The other night she was playing hide and seek with Nichy and counting to ten!

Her favorite books are: The Napping House, Fancy Nancy, and all of her Mickey Mouse books. At times she will want to read her Mickey book three to four times a day! We started letting her watch T.V. We try only thirty min three times a weeks. However, sometimes when Nichy has been out of town she will get to watch it a little more! She loves Dora, Diego, and Mickey. One of her new sayings is "Mom how about Dora."


Before she goes to sleep we always say our prayers. The other night I asked her who God created, meaning for the answer to be Gabriela. She said Tinto. . . one of Nichy's teammates!

Over, at age two Gabriela is full of energy, is very outgoing, loves to sing and dance, likes to give besos to babies, plays with friends, reads books, and is a great cuddler! We thank God everyday for blessing us with our wonderful baby girl! Happy Birthday, Gabriela! We love you so much.

Nichy's Birthday

Gabriela loves singing Happy Birthday! After parties she walks around the house singing happy birthday for a couple days!



We have had a busy few weeks. Nichy turned the big 30 and we won the first round of playoffs! This Friday starts the second round. Saturday night we had Nichy's birthday at my friend Tania's house. She and Nichy both celebrated their birthdays together. We had a blast and Nichy said it was one of his best birthdays! This birthday will be hard to top. We rented a tent with white couches and chairs, dj, and also hired a singer!! It was quite the party. All of our friends and the basketball players were there. Gabriela came for a little while and helped Daddy blow out the candles. She also got to dance with her favorite basketball player Jhonny! The big joke is Gabriela can dance better than me!! Argentina parties are a dancing marathon! We all had a blast dancing the night away and got home around six in the morning! When we left the party was still going on.
This was the first time Gabriela has gone to sleep with a baby sitter. Gabriela's babysitter is great and also a pre-school teacher. It feels so good to have someone you can trust. Which is not easy when you are living in another country!!

Playoffs

We are starting playoffs this Friday. This season has gone by too fast!! Our last games we had to forfeit because the shot clock was not working! Only in Argentina would the back up shot clock be broken also. At this time we were in the top four and going to get a bi for the first round of playoffs. After this happened we dropped and lost the last two games. We are hoping we pick it up for playoffs and finish well. This team has the ability to finish strong and make it to the finals. However, people have been hurt and they all seem really tired. It was great to get to play in the South American Tournament and the Ligas de Americanas. Which also meant more games! They have played over seventy games this season. I think they are all tired. This weekend we have home court advantage! Vamos Quimsa!!

Siesta!

A majority of the cities in Argentina have a siesta! Santiago Del Estero has a LONG siesta! Stores close at 1:00 p.m. and do not open again until 6:00 or 6:30. In the past, I did not see the purpose of having a siesta and thought people were being lazy! In this city we have many friends and spend a lot of time with Argentina families. They are extemely close, their children are very respectful, and overall seem to be happy families. Since there are siestas these families eat lunch and dinner together everday. The typical American family does not even eat dinner together every night! I know as I was growing up my family tried to eat dinner together a lot, but when Lindsay, Zac, and I got older we had basketball games, practice, and other activities that made it hard.

The typical schedule here is 7:30/1:00 school; 1:00 lunch followed by a siesta; 6:00 snack and back to work; 7:00-9:00 kids go to activities or play with friends; 9:30/10:00 off work and dinner. Parents here spend a lot of time with their kids. Most of my friends that work in the U.S. only get to spend two to three hours a day with their children. The late dinner allows families to eat together every night. However, it also makes for a later bed time. I have to say I am adapting to the schedule here, and while I still don't take a siesta, I don't mind the town shutting down! Nichy embraces the siesta and takes a nap everyday!! Actually as I write this, he and Gabriela are both asleep!