On June 1st (Ofelia’s first birthday) she took her first micro-steps, ones that only a proud father could count as steps. We kept the cameras out and ready to shoot in anticipation of Ofelia’s first real steps. That day came on June 17th! Since then she has been working hard on her traveling skills. Every day she gains in agility and speed, luckily those gains are gradual enough that I can still keep up with her!
We’ve been busy here with guests, but we’ll post that later…
It’s been a year! I’ve spent the last few weeks remembering a year ago when we didn’t know Ofelia yet, when I was lumbering around Philadelphia and cleaning every nook and cranny of our apartment in the name of nesting, when living in Paraguay as a family of three was a distant possibility (and a sometimes cause of middle-of-the-night worry). We have come so far… literally and figuratively. And last Sunday when I brought out Ofelia’s ugly, but very tasty, birthday cake with whipped-cream frosting and a scrounged-up candle (usually used for power outages), my heart filled with pride. I am so proud of making it through the first year of parenthood, of what our little threesome has become in this time, of what we have become for each other in living thousands of miles from everything familiar, of the father that Weylin is, of all that Ofelia has learned to do, adapted to, forgiven us for (at least we don’t see obvious signs of a grudge…), of the little person she has become so far. I guess this is what parents do, they get proud. Indeed, I am–proud of Ofelia and, damn, I’m proud of her parents, too. Here are some pictures of her birthday and a few days before and after. And a couple thrown in from the day after she was born last year… just to measure our progress.
Thought we should send along an update via photos. Ofelia has been doing very well lately. She seems to be very close to taking her first steps. She pulls herself to standing all the time; on chairs, legs, cabinets, toys, and even without props. She’s increasingly steady on her feet- though still very shaky. Just this week she seems to have made a progressive step in that when walking with our assistance she picks up her feet well and seems to be getting the motion down. We’ll send along pics as soon as the moment arrives!
Katherine and I have been progressing along as well. We’re into a pretty good groove here- though not without the difficulties and challenges of living in a foreign culture. Katherine’s research is going well and she’s gotten many opportunities to have some productive interviews. Her progress with learning Guarani is coming along well– just not as quickly as she would like. I continue to take my daily Spanish lessons and use most of my free time (i.e. when Ofelia is sleeping) to study and practice. It is a lot of work and my progress feels so slow. I plan to keep at it full steam until the end.
Last week we celebrated Paraguayan independence day and Paraguayan mother’s day with Gladys and her extended family. It was a wonderful day and a great barbecue.
That’s all the news for now. We hope this finds you all well.
Yep, you heard me right, Ofelia has discovered the fun and excitement of climbing stairs! This is the latest development in her efforts to become increasingly mobile and increasingly independent. There was something nice about knowing that she couldn’t get up the stairs by herself. Now, if we’re out of the room for a few minutes and hear nothing, it’s a good idea to hurry in– just in case she’s embarked on another journey up our stone stairs with treacherous wide banner spaces!
Now a disclaimer before you view this video: What you are about to see may scare and concern you as it appears that Ofelia is climbing unassisted and unattended. She is indeed climbing on her own, but the clever cinematography hides the close monitoring she was receiving. We also want to advise other small children viewing this: Please do not try this at home w/o close adult supervision! Ofelia is a trained stunt baby operating on a parent protected staircase.
Thanks for joining us in our Process. We're back from the beyond and settling into Cleveland, 2 PhD efforts, a new house, and 1.5 children-- no boredom here! Our foreign adventure has passed but "domestic" adventures are emerging. Stay tuned for anecdotes and updates.
Trust the Process.
On June 1st (Ofelia’s first birthday) she took her first micro-steps, ones that only a proud father could count as steps. We kept the cameras out and ready to shoot in anticipation of Ofelia’s first real steps. That day came on June 17th! Since then she has been working hard on her traveling skills. Every day she gains in agility and speed, luckily those gains are gradual enough that I can still keep up with her!