Foz do Iguaçu Vacation - Part I

Last Thursday we headed off to the city of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil for a week of vacation. We were given a week at a time share in this marvelous spot from some wonderful folks at our sponsoring church. Foz do Iguaçu is a town that is located on the border of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. There are many things to see and do there, but the main attraction is the magnificent waterfalls that explode out of the Paraná river. The great part about this vacation is that we aren't taking it alone. Our good friends Dani, Alexandre and Ana Luisa came with us. They found a hotel across the street from ours and plan to see the sights with us.

This will be a 4-part post on our vacation since there is so much to do and see. I feel that one post would be a little overwhelming with stories and pictures. So, without further ramblings here is the first part...

The Trip (Days 1 and 2):

We left Porto Alegre on Thursday the 8th. We drove 8 hours on Thursday before we came to a little town in the middle of nowhere to stop and rest of the night. The drive was pretty pleasant. We really enjoyed the Brazilian countryside. We had never been this far in our car before, so we were entering new territory.

The second day of travel took 9 hours. This part of the travel was a little different. If you have ever seen off-road cross country racing on TV you might be able to picture in your heads how the roads were! The closer we got to Argentina the worse the roads got! It was quite interesting. We made it into Foz do Iguaçu around 6:30 or 7pm and found our hotel promptly. We turned in so that we would be fresh for the following day's events.

The Exotic Bird Park (Day 3):

Saturday we went to the exotic bird park near the entrance to the waterfall park. One of Elisa's favorite things in all the world (so far) is looking at birds. Let's just say that she wore herself out at this park! It was a lot of fun and really interesting for all of us. Some of the birds at this park were absolutely amazing!

And so it begins... "Look it! Look it!"

Toucan Sam!

Elisa and Sam get acquainted.

The family pets Lauro the Macaw. Elisa has gotten really good at the "one finger" approach.

We had a great time at the bird park!

The Little Escape Artist

This is the little escape artist!

Yesterday morning I heard Elisa playing in her bed as she usually does after waking up. I went in her room to find a curious situation. She had somehow undone one side of her diaper through her sleeper and reattached it between her legs. Her diaper then proceeded to slide down one leg until it was around one ankle. It looked like she was wearing a boot! We were all fortunate that I found her like that before she decided to use her diaper again. She was bare-bottomed in there! It was really funny.

As I was getting her out of her bed I also noticed that a band-aid that had been on her knee was on the floor in her room. I guess it is possible that she unzipped her sleeper, messed with her diaper, took off her band-aid, threw it on the ground and zipped herself back up again. I wouldn't put it past her.

Here are a couple of more recent photos for you...

Elisa makes eating lunch look so cool!

Our most recent family photo - taken last week.

By the way, this is the 100th post on this Blog!

Return of the Sleepy Head

I posted a few weeks ago about our little sleepy head going through a major growth spurt. She was sleeping approximately 19 hours a day a couple of weeks ago. Last week she had a check up and the doctor said that she is doing great - really growing! Recently she backed off the long night time hours and was doing just the regular 12 hour nights and 2-3 hour naps.

However, just when we thought that Elisa was coming out of her hibernation state, she hit us with a big one! Yesterday I put her down for a nap at 2:30pm and she didn't wake up until 7:30... this morning! She slept 17 hours straight! I even tried to wake her at one point (at 10pm last night) but she insisted on getting some big time beauty rest. What can we say - we are a family that enjoys sleeping.

Family Time

We realized a couple weeks ago that we haven't had some good family time without other people around for about a year. It is easy to get so tied up in work and activities that you forget to step away and rest. So, last week we went to an EcoResort in a little town about 2 hours away from Porto Alegre. It was exactly what we needed to get reconnected as a family and to rest. Here are some pictures of our time together playing, hiking and resting.

Fun on the playground!

Elisa having a blast in the ball pit!

Relaxation brings nothing but smiles!

Going on our little hike!

Elisa and Mommy in their own hammocks!

Just what the doctor ordered - room service!

I haven't seen my daughter - the Sleepy Head

I think it is safe to say that Elisa is going through a major growth spurt. Over the last 3 days she is averaging about 19 hours of sleep a day!!! We put her down around 7 o'clock in the evening and she sleeps until 8:30 or 9am (without interruption). Then she goes down for a nap around noon. I know it sounds crazy, but she hasn't been waking up from her nap until between 5 and 6pm! Then she eats like a horse! It's crazy!

The Cup

Elisa has recently learned to drink from a cup without a lid. She started off sticking her tongue as far into the cup as possible to lap her drink up. As you might imagine, this made quite a mess. However, after a little practice she is now holding and drinking a cup of water on her own. Oh, and yes, it must be water. Of course she pronounces it "whag-were".

Easter

This year we spent our Easter holiday on a retreat with our church family. Elisa had a great time playing with some of her little friends. There were great facilities for children were we stayed. She had a ball playing on the playground equipment and running in the open space.

I think that Elisa especially enjoyed making her Easter nest this year. She is at the age where she can grasp putting stuff like an Easter nest together. We had a great Easter and hope you did too! Here are some great pictures of Elisa throughout the weekend.

Elisa loves playing with her best friend, Ana Luisa.

Elisa mastered the big-wheel in no time over the weekend! I think I know what she wants for her birthday...

Hanging out in the hammock is a favorite past time of this sweet little girl.

Elisa worked hard on putting together her Easter nest...

...with just a little help from Mommy.


The finished product.

Elisa discovers her Easter nest is full of goodies! (a Pez dispenser and a couple of bunny books)

Elisa and Mommy read a new bunny book.

Elisa checking out the loot!

Awareness Test!

This is the first time I think that I have put something on this blog that doesn't relate to Elisa in some way. Of course, I could say that if she saw this video she would yell out "BAULLL!" or even "BABY!"



By the way, "baby" is Elisa's word for bear.

Cute Video

This is a video of Elisa reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" with me. You can really see how much she is learning by the names and sounds of the animals!

Rice, Waterfalls & a Pretty Dress

I think that it is necessary for me to start this particular post off by saying - don't skip anything! There are a lot of pictures (16) that you don't want to miss! I thought that it would be fun to show some recent fun activities with Elisa. Here we go...

Rice: Jennifer got the idea from our teammate, Benay, to have a rice box for Elisa to play in. It is kind of like a little sand box. Let me tell you folks - it has been a hit! One of Elisa's newest words is: RICE! She loves getting in there and digging around.

Monopolizing the rice!

"You know the rules Daddy. Keep it in the box and no throwing!"

Waterfalls: If you read our "work" blog then you know that we spent this last Sunday out at some waterfalls nearby with some house church folks. Elisa had such a blast. She wants to be in the middle of anything that involves water. Here are some really fun pictures of her splashing about and getting soaked.

We did take the time between splashes to enjoy God's creation. Check out these three Monarch butterflies!

Pretty Dress: Elisa, being the little girl that she is, has lots of cute clothes. We put this dress on her for the first time this week and thought she just looked darling. Her fun personality really comes out when she is dressed cute. It is hilarious to see how she reacts when she likes an outfit and knows that she is the prettiest thing around. I know you will enjoy these!

Giving Daddy sugars!