Honduras, Take 2

We have made it back to Honduras.  We landed about 3 weeks ago and have re-settled in nicely.  Fortunately for us, this has been the easiest transition for N.  I guess this will go down as his first "home" that he remembers.  Packing up was difficult, but we didn't face as much fussiness as we had for the other moves (VA->Honduras->WA->Honduras all in ~6 month period).  N has also just started nursery school, although he had a short stint in daycare at 9 months old, this is is first time really being away from us for.  He likes school, but until last Friday he didn't want to let go of us at the door and cried of happiness when we picked him up.  I'm glad he is adjusting well!

First day Picture, he picked out the hat

Then he wanted to drive himself

Cried when we picked him up because he wanted his mommy so much

Happy and proud after his second week, color was Blue and letter was B

It is amazing to see/hear him growing up so quickly.  He brings home new words from school everyday and I think they are encouraging him not to suck his thumb.  Another surprise of this most recent transition was the relatively painless move back into potty training.  He has only had a few accidents, but with GI discomfort since returning, I am even more impressed on managing to make it to the potty each time.

He seems to be enjoying M (our newest addition).  Helps her roll over, calms her down when she cries, talks to her, etc.  The only thing is a bit of jealousy when he wants to be held and mommy is feeding the baby.  He can't say her name yet, but calls her baby.  Every time she cries he tells us that she wants to eat.

We do miss Ga (grandma AND grandpa, they don't have two separate names), but with FaceTime, it is a lot easier to keep in touch.  With all the new fangled technology, being overseas feels so different than when I went abroad in high school and even college.  Even though we are a thousand miles away, we can talk to family whenever we want for as long as we want.  Though no more hugs and watching "bi" with Ga.  Ga, grandpa, got N addicted to watching YouTube videos this summer.  I guess it is good because now mommy and daddy can have a few minutes of time to ourselves or with M.

M is settling into her new home nicely.  Our housekeeper and temporary nanny love her.  She hasn't quite adjusted to the heat though, she gets heat rash more frequently than I'd like, especially when she rides in her carseat.  She is so alert these days, and her smiles are great!  M loves to be held and gets sad when we put her down, N was the same way, but it is tiring to hold her all day long.  Here in Honduras, if we don't put her in pink, everyone thinks she is a boy because we haven't pierced her ears.  We are helping her learn how to roll over, N loving it when he can roll her over himself.  Good thing she has a strong neck!

3-Month Update

Take my picture, I'll even try to smile for you!

3 months in and we have less than 3 weeks until we fly back to the Pacific NW to give birth!  We have become more social lately, hosting and attending BBQs.  Although N hasn’t had much experience playing with other kids, I’m always impressed how great he does.  He does try to take toys now and again, but he is pretty chill and doesn’t seem to mind too much when other kids take his toys or push him around.  I guess he got dad’s genes when it comes to keeping his cool and going with the flow...I, his mom, doesn’t have quite the patience of the men in my life.  

It is so much fun to literally hang-out in the Ikea bag!

Daddy carries me all over the house!

Pictures, mommy gave me her old camera

Say cheese!

More picture taking!

Daddy and mommy being admonished after admonishing him.  Don't pluck the petals off the flowers!

N had been doing well maneuvering Honduras (after our initial 2-3 weeks of bruises) and his new toddler bed until this week.  First he fell off a dining room chair, then was flopping over in bed (while sleeping) and bruised the bridge of his nose, next he wasn’t paying attention to his walking and fell down the stairs and got a bloody nose and finally he was wrastling with a little boy from next door and they lost control of the toy and cut his lip.  He is still the same cheerful, playful little guy he always is, but looks like he joined a fight club!  

I just keep getting more and more pregnant, people seem quite amazed that I still have 9 weeks left...I guess I’m pretty big!  S has applied to an embassy job, so we are hoping to hear good news, there aren’t too many jobs that don’t require fluent Spanish.  It really makes it difficult for spouses to work when the language requirements are so high.  Most of the jobs, IMHO do not require as much Spanish as the supervisors want, but I guess it is handy to have someone who can communicate on the local market in case it is needed.  Even if he is selected, he’ll have to wait many moons for his security clearance to come through and I can’t imagine it being completed before we are ready to come back after maternity leave.  S and I have hired extra help for the newborn and N for the fall.  We just need to decide if we want to put him in daycare/school for half-days in the fall.  He is a little young, but he loves playing and other kids so much...what to do?

Cleaning with my new hair cut!

I guess it only makes sense that most of what I talk about is N because he is the most interesting of us all, so more on N.  CLEANING!  N loves cleaning, he likes to mop, dust, use a wet rag to clean everything, he LOVES vacuuming and especially spraying cleaning sprays.  I feel bad for our domestic employee because he tries to “help” a little too much while she is working, but she takes it in stride and lets him help mop after she is done.  Maybe when he is a bit more coordinated, he’ll be an actual help!  I’m excited to have a little helper after the new baby is here.  S wasn’t too much of a fan of getting me a glass of water every time I’d forget and then start nursing, N on the other hand will be thrilled to fill a glass with water and walk it to me! 

Can you see my banged up face? 

April Update

We have now been in Honduras for 2 months now and we have 2 months until we head back to the Pacific NW to give birth to little Streett #2. I feel like we won’t be quite settled by the time we have to go.  I guess such is the nature of this life, by the time you get settled you have to pick up and move again.  N is definitely enjoying the weather and all the space to run around here.  He rarely wears more than a T-shirt and is doing fairly well on our newest round of potty training.  He gets “off” with each change, but is still growing like a weed.  He measured almost 35 inches this morning, but skinny as a string bean.  His cute little baby thighs aren’t going to last much longer.  Although I find it a little too hot being pregnant, it isn’t as formal as it was at Main State so I can dress more comfortably going to work each day.   

I’m enjoying my job and I feel like I am getting the swing of it.  It is harder in some ways than I expected, but better in others.  Not just for our lives, but it will difficult to go and come for my job as well.  When we first get back to Pacific NW, I’ll be doing a temp job at the Seattle Passport Agency, where hopefully I will add to my skills to bring back to the embassy with me.  We shall see!  It is going to be quite the summer.  

We have been getting out more, mostly to restaurants and grocery shopping, but it has been fun.  We have a French Sunday brunch place that we go to most weekends.  We have a couple pizza places we like, and one we don’t.  If you are a fast food fan, Tegucigalpa is your perfect location.  There is a main road where there is every kind of fast food under the sun.  S keeps suggesting a Ruby Tuesday outing, but I must say, it doesn’t sound that appealing to me in either country.  Though I have heard that the food tends to be better that the Sysco food you would get at Ruby’s back home.  Tegucigalpa manages to have a Thai place (really tasty!) that is more expensive that we’ve ever paid for Thai food in the states!

In a final piece of trivia, there are 3 people from Vancouver, WA here.  It sure is a small world!

N and his favorite pastime, squirting the hose!

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

The Streetts made it to Honduras!  It feels nice to finally put the foreign in the Foreign Service.  I (E) am well entrenched in her job already, I am a tad worried that they set her out on her own too quickly!  Hopefully I don't make too many mistakes!  I really like the team I work with and enjoy going to work each day.  

We are enjoying our housing, N especially loves being able to go inside and outside to play all day.  Although he has a number or bruises as he learned about tile floors and living in a house with stairs.  We have plenty of room, so come on down and visit.  Another enticing factor is that the fruit here is very good and we have been eating more of that than anything else.  We have been facing a few bureaucratic hoops, but hopefully we'll be able to drive soon and start exploring the city (and shopping for groceries) a little.  I feel like the little old lady who swallowed a fly.  I have to get a number to get the title (of a car I already own) to get the insurance to get permission to drive.  So far I have only successfully completed the first step.  Our car just sits in the carport collecting dust everyday, waiting to be driven.  

Luckily, our newly hired gardener washes the car too!  He puts the world to shame!  He is 84 years old, walks up the hills of Honduras to garden different embassy houses each day.  He has 11 children from 3 different wives and has the energy of a 25 year old.  Besides a salary, he asks for a cup of coffee in the morning and some water in the afternoon, but won't say no to a few cookies or snacks!  N doesn't know it yet, but he is coming tomorrow and is excited to have N help him all day.  I think N is going to love the hose!  We have a beautiful garden, but not too much of a yard.  We have a little gazebo where it looks like we should hire one musician to play for an evening garden party.  

If you are worried about us and security, so far we haven't felt too unsafe.  A lot of the neighbors go for walks in the evenings, which is a rare thing due to safety concerns.  S has successfully tested our security alarm twice already, so we have learned that security will come check on us very quickly.  

In case you haven't heard, we'll be back in the Pacific Northwest for the summer (we planned the timing well for that one!) for the delivery of #2.  We'll be in Seattle for a few weeks in July and then in Vancouver, WA for the rest.  

A few low quality pictures:  

Gecko "pet"

N & S Kitchen Selfie

N & S Kitchen Selfie

N & S Kitchen Selfie

N before getting in trouble by climbing on table

N getting in trouble

N crying about being in trouble and not finding the camera in its case

I'm so cute!

N in our gazebo (I didn't realize how dirty he was until I uploaded the pics)

Looking cute!

N finally reached the camera

Big smile!

I conquered the table

N's ideal outfit

Is this where I should go potty?

February Check-In

Passed my Spanish test back in December and now I am well into learning how to do my job in Honduras.  No, not in Honduras, I am still at the training center learning away.  We do, however, fly to, I mean move to Honduras the last week of February.  I can’t believe that the month is almost here. Time is flying by and we need to enter panic mode, but life is just moving on at its normal pace.  We move into a hotel on the 16th so we can organize and clean before the packers pack us up on the 24th.  

Looking back, we had a nice Thanksgiving and an early Christmas with S’s family in PA and we took a holiday cruise with my family (my sister and fiance and my parents).  We had a great time and visited Key West, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.  It was a great cruise and fun to set foot in Honduras prior to moving there.  And what you’ve all been waiting for, some pictures to enjoy:  

N sitting on the table, his favorite pastime, when allowed!

N & S waiting to get into the Washington’s house at Mt. Vernon.  

Still waiting!

N decided he didn’t want to wait any longer!

N & S meeting Popcorn and Caramel, this year’s pardoned turkeys.

N loved the turkeys!

Meeting the Xmas Camel

Unsuspecting people posing with the Xmas Camel

He tried to eat N!

October 2013

Less than one year later the Streett family is writing again.  While our year posted to DC wasn't a high choice (or medium…), it worked out in the end as a lot of our family has had the chance to see N start to grow up and turn into a little ball of energy.  In less than 4 months, we will leave for Honduras, where E will start her second tour in the Foreign Service.  Honduras was our first choice this second time around and we are very excited for our first overseas adventure as a family.  

E and S both started taking Spanish classes on July 1st, though S’s “FAST” class ended after 8 weeks.  E has about 6 weeks left until her final exam, where she needs to be deemed to have Minimum Professional Proficiency:

Able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and professional topics

Able to read standard newspaper items addressed to the general reader, routine correspondence, reports, and technical materials in the individual's special field.

Think positive thoughts as the test is notoriously difficult!  I, E, enjoy my days but with a current section of only 2 students I come home exhausted.  We have finished the textbook and my professor asked if she thought I would get bored with just speaking practice (=talking about anything under the sun!).  Clearly, she doesn't know me very well as I love to talk!  

Back to the family, N spends his days running around making messes while waiting for someone to talk him to the park or on a stroll in his tricycle.  He loves to go out and have a good time.  S is exhausted at the end of each day of chasing him around.  True to form, his least favorite part of the day is still when he has to go to sleep.  He is a great little eater!  S and E are always amazed how much he packs in at every meal.  E has been spoiling him with bites of her TJs peppermint patties and dark chocolate peanut butter cups.  Looks like N inherited a sweet tooth.  

On that note, we've noticed a few things N has in common with relatives:  (some are funny and others are serious, please take all with a grain of salt and add any you think!)  

Sweet tooth = all except S

Appetite & Likes to Read = Paternal Grandpa

Sociability = Paternal Grandma

Height & Shoe Size = My sister

Hoarding = Dad (S added he is handsome like his daddy too!)

Generosity (N loves to feed people) & Likes to talk on phone = Nana

Hair Color = S’s sister

Extroverted-ness and most everything else = Mom

Dance Skills = UNKNOWN

Our to do list is SO LONG and some of the things we don’t even know where to start!  Oh well, good thing E likes to plan and S handles any problems that pop up...