January

I have just returned from my monthly OB visit where I waited over an hour and a half to be seen by a doctor that is not my own. I spent 15 minutes total peeing in a cup, thwarting questions about my non-compliance with getting bloodwork done, and listening to my baby's heart beat, and thus paid my dues to the medical community for my pregnancy. Ridiculous. But heaven forbid more than 5 weeks pass between these clearly crucial visits...

This month, both of Danny's grandmothers celebrated birthdays. Danny too is celebrating his birthday next Monday. He comes near tears almost daily, begging me to allow him to purchase the Settlers of Catan boardgame so that he can play it on that day. And then last night he wanted an apple pie. I think someone needs to learn to be patient! Today is Danny's cousin, Arianna's birthday, and tomorrow his Tia Rodmar celebrates as well. Well isn't January a busy month for his family? Arianna and her family live in Caracas, Venezuela (as does most of Danny's extended family). They were in town for the holidays and Dominic and Noemie loved spending time with their "primos."


They also got to spend time with one of my best friends, Meredith, who got engaged shortly after Christmas! Woo-hoo! For those inquiring minds who want to know, his name is Jeremy and he's an engineer that she met at her church in North Carolina. He makes oodles of money so she's going to quit her job and homeschool!

The crazy undertaking of the moment has been Noemie's potty training. I just dove right in blindly one day last week and stuck to it. (She's 21 months old). And, she's been accident free for over 36 hours now... it's just that she hasn't pooped. I wont feel confident in our success until we see that pass. (A pun!)

Dominic has been developing his musical skills. He can be heard at any given moment singing Britney Spears (If U Seek Amy), Lady Gaga (Paparazzi), or his perennial favorites, the Black Eyed Peas. A few mornings ago, he specially requested Celia Cruz, and then asked me to salsa dance with him. In addition to these less "refined" choices, he has a real appreciation for classical music as well. As I pulled into our marked parking space in front of our apartment on the 10th minute of the 1812 Overture one evening, I turned around and noticed Dominic and Noemie had their eyes bugging and mouths hanging open. Dominic asked me not to turn off the music so I left it running as I turned off the engine and read the CD liner notes till the end of the song. I sang and "conducted" along for the grand finale and poked them in the bellies and armpits for the "explosions" and when it was all over they applauded heartily. Noemie asked for an encore and cried when I refused her. Both of them can correctly identify Beethoven as the composer of his 5th symphony, and recognize his 9th as well. Dominic's a big fan of the Russian dance from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite and Bizet's Habanera, but hands down, their favorite is the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. It's just a little embarrassing when they insist on singing it at the top of their lungs while I'm at the Publix cash register.

I'm so excited about the new church we've gotten involved with. Last night, during their midweek church gathering, the pastor called out by name all the members of the congregation he knew to have family in Haiti, and asked them for updates on their families. I grew up in a church where the pastor didn't know more than maybe 30% of the people in attendance on a given Sunday and would never call anyone out by name for any reason so this was very impressive to me. I would also like to point out this pastor remembered my name on my second visit. (The church has about 200 adults in attendance on Sundays.) Dominic has been going to their AWANA program on Wednesday nights. Last night we asked him how it went and he said, "Yo le dije a los niños, 'Permisso, niños, estoy tratando de oír el cuento.'" I wonder if he told them just like that...

So here we are- I'm 5 months pregnant but look like 7, Noemie is diaper-free, Dominic starts swimming classes next month, and Danny has an apple pie in the fridge. (I couldn't help myself- I love him so much!) Happy New Year!