End of an Era

My Little Diddle,
Well, I write this to you from Merida, where we are fixing your daddy's tooth before we leave Venezuela.  Since the last time I wrote to you, you visited two new countries:  Brazil and Peru!  We had an epic 21 day adventure and you were such a trooper.  You were up for anything and we had a blast.  We climbed up ancient pyramids in Peru; we swam in the Rio beaches; we took the cable car up to the Pao de Azucar; we even took a tour of Rio's favellas!  Oh my gosh!  You made friends wherever we went and we just loved exploring these wondrous places together as a family.  We stayed in fabulous hotels, apartments, and we just wandered these cities and took it all in.  We love traveling with you, little girl!

You have really taken to walking and you are so busy and into everything lately.  You want to touch, smell, and taste the world, and you do.  Once we returned from our trip, we have been spending a ton of time at the beach.  I still contend this is your favorite place to be on earth.  You have taken to making friends with other toddlers on the beach and you share toys and play so nicely with them.  I feel like you are just the sweetest little person in the presence of others:  while others tend to push and steal toys, you want to share and act gently with them.  I really can't describe to you how proud this makes me feel when you are sharing and kind to others.

One of your newest obsessions lately is flowers.  You just love to hold one in each hand, and smell them.  When you smell a flower you do so in such an exaggerated, beautiful way.  You truly take time to appreciate their beauty and notice them all wherever we are, announcing, "Flor!"

Your language skills have been exploding.  You say so many words in both Spanish and English now. It is so amazing to watch you growing into a bilingual little girl before my eyes.  I do hope that I can do everything I can to support your language acquisition in both languages.  I have done my very best this year to learn Spanish so that I can also teach you, but I fear my efforts have fallen short.  Alas, I know it is a life long process.  So, here are a few words you enjoy saying in English:  mom, daddy, ball, dog, cat, bird, hi.  In Spanish you say:  agua, abuela, ciao, hola, toma, and more!  I love watching as you learn to speak.  It is an incredible experience.

I am still breastfeeding you (at 16 months) and I just love helping make you as healthy as possible.  We nurse about four-five times a day.  Thank you for going on this journey with me.  My goal is to breastfeed you for at least two years.  Really though, it's up to you.  You can breastfeed as long as you like my little one.

As this year abroad comes to a close, I want to tell you a little about what spending this time with you has meant to me.  I had never ever had so much time without work in my life.  Prior to this year, I have always either been a full-time student or worked (in between lots of travels) and so this year was really special in that I had time just to be.  You taught me how to be content doing very little; we read countless stories; we explored the cupboards for toys I never knew were toys; and we laughed and found joy in the smallest of things.  You taught me how to be joyful.  I only hope that I can serve you throughout your life the way you deserve to be served.  I have so many insecurities about myself as a mother.  I don't know how to cook well, I can be really hard to be around, I am controlling, and I just want you to know now that I have never loved any human being as much as I love you.  Please know that all I want for you is the very best and I can never thank you enough for the best 15 months of my life.  You are a gift for which I will never be able to express how much I am grateful.  I love you, Scarlett Grecia.

This was one of the best, most peaceful days of my life.  I love watching you play in the sand.  This stay will stay with me forever.

You just love flowers so much.  Every day, as soon as we arrive, you ask us for a "Flor."

This is you and your dad at the Huaca Pucllana ruins in Lima, Peru.  We had so much fun climbing the pyramids.

This is a picture of your at our favorite resort in Margarita:  Hisperia Isla Bonita.  We spent your birthday here with all the grandparents, and then returned again for five days before we left the island.

Perhaps my favorite photo of your to date.  It encapsulates your independent spirit.  You love exploring on your own.

You and your Papu on Playa El Agua.

This was one of the first times you used a big person's fork all by yourself.  You were so proud.

The pool at Hisperia Isla Bonita.  Sometimes you had it all to yourself.  It was just the perfect depth for you.

You chilling with your Cuckoo.  She loves to feed you and take care of you.

We had a beautiful dinner in Juan Griego and ate with our feet in the sand while checking out the boats and pelicans.

I love being at the beach with you.  It's all for you baby girl.

This is the coy pond in our favorite mall, Sambil, here in the island.  You loved feeding the fish.

This is a picture of you at the Caracas airport on our way to Peru.  

A water park in Lima.  

Mama and daughter in Rio!

We spent a couple of days at the club in Tanaguarena enjoying while we awaited our flight back to Margarita.

You and your dad wearing sombreros in our favorite Mexican restaurant in Sambil.

We had a blast in Rio.  Check you out.

This was at the top of Pao de Azucar.  We got there via cable car and it was incredible.

From our balcony in the Copacabana Princess Hotel in Rio.

This is you wandering about the Water Park in Lima.

You had a prime seat on the first stop of our Pao de Azucar tour.  Unbelievable day.

The three of us made it to the Christ the Redeemer monument.