Archives for March 2009

We’ve had an unusually sunny week with sunshine nearly every day until the early afternoon, and with three consecutive days without rain. It’s been wonderful for being outside with Diana, who seems to know that it’s something special and so is extra squeaky. We have been walking the 30 minute loop around our neighborhood every day before her mid-day nap, and it’s been a good way for her to wind down while still getting to see new things.

The constant sun and lack of rain has created some unusual problems for the town – they’ve had water trucks out to keep the roads damp (all roads in town are dirt), and there is dust all over everything. It’s the first time I’ve seen the beautiful ferns looking dusty instead of perfectly dew-kissed.

The cloudless skies have given us some tremendous views, both up to the peak of Mount Zagaam and down into Tembagapura (1000 meters below us in the valley). The pictures don’t do justice, but it gives an idea of what we can (sometimes) see right outside our windows when it’s not foggy.

Both Ben and I have been able to get out of the house for an adult dinner this week (although not together). Emily went to a French night at the club with our friend Jamie from Morenci, and Ben went to Mongolian BBQ night with our friend Drew (whose wife is expecting a baby in a month). Several folks have offered to babysit so we can go out together, and Diana is very close to going to bed and not needing any sort of comforting afterwards. So we’re trying to talk ourselves into it….

We went to Sunday brunch again this week, which was great. They had some wonderful smoked salmon, an Asian curried beef dish, and a “Small Vegetables with Tomato Sauce, Crepe and Over Baked With Cheese,” which was essentially a lasagna with crepe instead of pasta. Delicious! We were glad we sat outside since the indoor dining room was full of loud kids. Diana was a little tired, but just zoned out with her cow toy until we were ready to go. We continue to enjoy the quality and discovery of food here. We tried Dragon Fruit this week, which Ben had never seen but Emily had eaten in Thailand. It’s a very beautiful fruit, but tastes a little like a bland kiwi, so it is not as exciting to eat as it is to look at.

Diana had her 6 month immunizations this week and did pretty well. We have to go back again in two weeks for round two, but then not again for quite a while. She is on the petite size for her age (despite being so chubby), so she’s fitting into her 6 month clothes, but things labeled 6-9 months are a little bulky. Plus, we’re discovering that all of those “gender neutral” clothes do look a little masculine on her. That, coupled with the fact that all Indonesian girls have their ears pierced as babies, means that most folks we meet think she’s a boy (even if she’s wearing pink!). She doesn’t seem to mind though, and is happier in a pair of overalls than a dress anyway, so she’s already a little tomboy.

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Dragon Fruit

Happy Girl!

Tembagapura (Coppertown)

Tembagapura sport field

Our sunny neighborhood

In the sun with Daddy

Rwaaaaaaaaaa!

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

That's our little girl

North to Mt. Zagaam

Here are a few pictures that are of a high enough resolution that they can be used to make print photos.

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This week we’ve had some really nice weather during the days, so we’ve been getting out for lots of walks, which Diana is starting to enjoy. She loves watching the bus go by, and I’ve been teaching her all the Indonesian words I know (I’ve got most of the colors down since there are three different colors of bus that go by). She had her 6-month check up this week and the doctor said she looked great. She has an appointment for immunizations next week, and we’ll get her height and weight then too (so we can compare her to all those other babies).

Diana got to go swimming for the first time this week. There is an Olympic-sized pool just up the road from our apartment, so we hoped the bus for the 5 minute ride on Saturday, tote bag full of baby gear. The pool is about 28 degrees Celsius (about 82 degrees F), which seemed just perfect for her. She started kicking away and squeaking at the kids who were playing in the far end. She really seemed to enjoy it (except for the dunking, which was a bit too surprising for her), so we’ll try to go again next weekend.

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Chompers!

Little Miss Piggy

She loves bath time as well, and is able to have a lot more fun now that she can really hold toys and sit up on her own. She’s really reaching for things and enjoys being able to see something, grab it, and put it in her mouth. Still no sign of more teeth, but we’re watching. She also got her first taste of sweet potato this week, and we’re looking forward to introducing more foods. A lot more is making it down her throat, instead of down her bib, these days and she likes eating and getting to play with her sippy cup. I don’t know that she actually gets any water out of it, but she sure likes chewing on it.

We’ve discovered a nice half-hour walk that loops around our neighborhood and allows us to take in the local flora and fauna. We’ve haven’t checked out a good bird book from the library, but they have several, so we’re going to work on that. We’ve also seen a number of interesting bug and butterflies, most of which have beautiful and bright markings. Diana enjoys watching the people as we walk, and has even tracked the flying birds a few times.

Emily was able to get out for dinner with a friend sans Diana this week, which was a big treat. The Lupe club is never disappointing with food (except the desserts, which Em has too high standards for). We also borrowed a bunch of DVDs from friends (bootleg DVDs are about $1 in Timika, so they had stacks and stacks). Only when we got home did we realize that we’d grabbed almost entirely heavy dramas, but we’d also gotten the first two seasons of the TV show “House,” so we’ve been catching up on all of the rare diseases known to mankind. Watching a few episodes a week does make the US seem not very far away.

Diana has been getting one “solid” food meal a day, and seems to be enjoying her rice quite a bit. Ben does the feeding since Diana is a little too distracted by Em to focus on eating. She is sitting up on her own quite well, and is starting to sleep on her tummy at night. It’s still so new to her though that she will sometimes wake up a bit disoriented and unsure about why she’s upside-down. But she’s been very happy lately. Her top two teeth haven’t broken through yet, still just little white nubs under the skin of her gums, but they don’t seem to be bothering her too much.

We grabbed lunch downtown on Sunday for a change. Em got the tofu with bok choy, and Ben got the “Chicken Gordon Bleu” (sic). Both were tasty, and the mini egg rolls were delicious. We’re still feeling pretty healthy food-wise compared to our life in Arizona, and we’re doing better about cooking at home rather than going to the café. The grocery store is also stocked with all kinds of new and different foods (the snack food aisles seem particularly strange – tons of jelly snacks and green bean flavored drinks).  When Em goes shopping on Saturdays, she likes to bring home at least one new thing to try or just laugh about (see pics).

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We started out the month of March with another wonderful brunch at the Lupe. We have been experiencing technical difficulties with our internet connection which has been a bummer. But Diana and I have been busy at home learning all sorts of new things.

Diana has been discovering the joys of her Johnny-Jump-Up and all of the new sounds she can make. When she’s fully rested, she also seems to be able to see and smile at faces on Skype. She at least can recognize high-pitched voices and she squeaks back accordingly. After two successful attempts with butternut squash, she seems no longer interested. We keep offering it to her every other day or so, but aren’t too worried since she’s clearly a healthy, happy baby. She still has never been sick which is a huge relief. In fact, none of us have gotten sick in the month and a half that we’ve been here, either from the food/water or the new germs, despite all of the dire predictions of some of the other ladies here.

Whenever Diana and I go to the little store down the street, the two ladies that work there both fuss over her, and we’ve learned some new Indonesian words thanks to their interest. Diana is still working out new faces, and is usually happy being talked to or held by a stranger, but sometimes she’ll do her full-lip pout and cry. I still haven’t figured out what causes it because she’ll do it to folks that she’s met before and been happily held by.

Otherwise we’re all happy and still enjoying things here. We’ve met a number of new folks and families we like spending time with, and have a couple of playmates lined up for Diana. Will post more photos (and possibly a video or two) when we have the bandwidth.

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Diana Skypes Grammy

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sproing!