Tea Party!

The packers have left and I have my first quiet moment of the day. Kata is making "the number J" with Play-Doh on the kitchen counter next to me while Norah naps (typical). The downstairs is full of boxes...so I am taking this time to write about Norah's great Fifth Birthday Tea Party!

My big girl dwarfed by a mountain of sugar.



So excited!



We made tea party hats.



All the ladies hard at work



Sweet Mya



Lovely Zada



Cheeky Katherine Eva



Plotting



Norah and Thandi chow down



Tea for the ladies



So happy!



Cheers to the birthday girl!



FIVE!

So Long, Dear Playgroup!

Our wonderful dear Friday afternoon "Georgetown Mini-Club" hosted a playgroup-style going away party for the us last week. So many memories from such a fabulous community over the past three years. I did not cry. That's a lie.

Norah with Kanae and Mia



Kata subtly calling her friends



Old friends



Old (young) friends



Norah and Kata felt compelled to make sand angels. No one else did.



Gifts!



Opening presents



A sweet card from the children for my Guyana Girls. We are really going to miss this group!

Going Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Guyana!

Mashin it Up

First of all, a little throw-back moment: Norah and me at the Mashramani Day Parade, 2010



Mash celebrations this year started again at Learning Tree. For representing the "Six Cultures of Guyana," the teachers asked me to dress Norah as a "European." Yes, I have just dressed my daughter as a colonist.



The Six Cultures: Amerindian, African, Portuguese, Chinese, Indian (times two), and European



Norah modeling the Guyana Coat of Arms



This is where Kata spent much of the show:



A slight improvement towards participation:



Children's Parade



We went (briefly) again this year to the official Mashramani Parade in Georgetown. Always fun, always hottttttt. Not pictured: the bucket of iced beers that was a saving grace for both adults (beer) and children (ice).



Spot the anaconda.

February Beach Day...

...or, one of the 101 things we will miss most about life in Guyana. It will be funny to see if Norah and Kata ever develop a fear of swimming in lakes back home after thinking THIS kind of water is normal.



Caribbean beach getaway, Guyana-style.



My faves.



Kata smiling her big-girl smile. *Photo credit goes to Jutta. Did you really believe she'd smile like that for me?!?



Wildlife



Silly girls



Kata and Makoto go exploring.

Operation Pacifier Update

Last night, Kata fell asleep on her own and slept...all night long. Today at nap time, I started to rub her back and she basically told me to leave her alone so that she could sleep. Yeesh. All of that energy wasted worrying about this one. Big girl, indeed.

Zero Dark Paci

Today was a big day for us in the Henry household. It was go time. Do or die. Now or never. We had a visit from the Pacifier Fairy. Kata is nearing her third birthday and, for the next six weeks, will be enjoying the only long stretch of stability in her life between now and June as we prepare for our move back to the US. She was ready. Before school, Kata tied up her pacifiers on a ribbon and hung them in her room. While she was away, the Pacifier Fairy took a deep breath and took the pacis away for good (to give them to the babies that need them, if you ask Kata). She replaced the string of pacifiers with a magnificent pink miniature doll house complete with some teeny tiny dolls. Kata was THRILLED when she returned home from school.



She played and played and played with her new toy and was so proud to be a big girl.



Norah was understandably a bit jealous, but not quite willing to put in a call to the Woobie Fairy. So, she meticulously taped the empty doll house box back together and made her own doll house. I was proud of her, too!



Nap time was a bit rough. I'd say there was a 3:1 back-scratch to sleep ratio. Not good. But as of now, it is 8pm, and Miss Big herself seems to be asleep. Check in with me at 3am...