a few random thoughts

Jacob's Spanish comprehension is growing. He knows the word "beso" (kiss). Hmm... Hopefully there is no correlation with the fact that his nursery school is almost all girls.

Santiago and Jacob are enjoying their childhood, and Timmy is once again grimacing that he has crazy relatives. See Jacob and Santiago's time on Timmy's exercise mat.


In Quito, there are innumerable people selling goods on the street. You quickly become accustomed to people asking you to buy chips and gum, fruit and corn, newspapers, or phone cards. Today, however, takes the cake. There was a guy selling 3 foot long poster of the skeletal system, with the names of all the bones. I don't know about you, but I can't imagine that is the best seller at an intersection. Oh well...

Life...

So here are a few of the things going on in the Sedaca household these days.
-- Santiago's work is going well. He's been able to travel a bit - to Cuenca, Manta, and Colombia - to continue to gather information for the project and try to move the ball forward.
-- I/Nicole restarted my Spanish classes. I should be fluent by next Wednesday if my planning holds. Poco a poco. I have a good teacher, and am enjoying it.
-- Jacob is doing great. He now goes to a nursery school for a couple of hours so he has more interaction with kids and exposure to Spanish. (Having 6 adults around him - 4 of which speak English primarily - needed to be balanced out.) He has said his first word in Spanish - agua!! We are so delighted and humored. He has also developed a word for Timmy. Since we usually say Timothy's name in a high pitched voice, Jacob does as well. He loves his brother, giving him kisses when he sees him. Here's a picture of Jacob "sharing" his book with Timothy. (OK - in reality, we've taken to calling Jacob our gentle giant because he is quite a large being in comparison to little Timothy, who gets a look of horror everytime Jacob and his wild locks approach. :)

-- Timothy is growing every day. He smiles a great deal, and is very responsive when you talk to him. He's sleeping well, which is a gift to his Mom!
-- Santiago and I are enjoying our respective Bible study classes at church and looking forward to engaging more in the church. We have met a number of really nice folks through those classes, the Embassy, work, and elsewhere.

As for the world beyond our frontdoor... Ecuador is primed for a major election this Sunday. Citizens will elect representatives for a Constituent Assembly that has the daunting task of redrafting the constitution. It is a major development in Ecuador, and will have a major impact on Ecuador's future. We're curious to see how things develop. ~~ On another note, I am so heartened by the courage of the Burmese people who have taken to the street against their dictatorship. We are praying for their strength and courage in the face of such oppression.

Auf Wiedersehen y Mindo

We had a great 3 weeks with my parents. Lots of Oma and Opa time, which was great for both boys and wonderful company and relief for us too! They headed back to Bowie with lots of good memories and maybe a few bruises from all of Jacob's wrestling moves.

Along with our friend Marcela, we spent the weekend in Mindo, a birdwatchers paradise about 2 hours from here. We were there a few months ago, and enjoyed this visit as much as the first. The first day was lacking on birds, and unfortunately, I sprained my ankle on the walk. Santiago and Macella headed out for 2 hikes on Sunday, and saw an amazing amount of birds including the oft-elusive cock-of-the-rock, toucans, quetzals, and many more. While I was sad to miss the birds and to have a huge ankle, I didn't miss the 430 wake-up.

Sixteen and One

So I had the brilliant idea of taking a picture of the boys on the 12th of every month, to record their development close to each of their birthdays (Jacob was born on the 11th and Timothy on the 13th). September 12th was going to mark Jacob's 16 months and Timothy's first month, thus the 16 and 1 title. Well ... since I'm not posting this on the 12th, you can tell that this plan was not as easily executed as I would've liked. Taking the pictures of these 2 squirmy boys was as challenging as finding a time of the day when they were both awake, not cranky, and somewhat still. That said, it was fun. Here are a few of the pictures, which show more of the process than a perfect outcome.

Oma and Opa are Here!

OK - I'm late in posting this blog, as Oma and Opa (My/Nicole's parents) arrived on August 26th. But we've just been having so much fun that I haven't taken the time to post any info. This is a bit long, so bear with me.

Jacob loves having his grandparents here (read: more attention, and people who will do the things that Mom and Dad won't do.) Oma and Opa are delighted to meet Timothy. We will assume that Timothy expresses his appreciation for his newly-met grandparents through sleeping.

We've had a number of excursions in and around Quito. Here are some highlights. If you're going to visit, read closely, as you may want to do some of these things too!

Otavalo: This town, about 2 hours north of Quito, is known for its large markets on Saturday. The animal market, a forum for the exchange of pigs, cows, goats, llamas, etc., is a particular draw. We expected a touristy show, but found that this was a real live animal market. With the exception of us and about 3 other people, everyone was a local. I think they were as amused looking at us dodging between cows and cowdroppings, as we were intrigued by the indigenous outfits and variety of animals. Likewise, the fruit markets, artisans displays, and food vendors were great to see. Here are a few pictures:

We stayed at Hacienda Cusin, an old colonial ranch with beautiful gardens. Santiago and I took some time for horseback riding around the town of San Pablo.

We hiked around one of the three main lagoons in the area. This required a bit of toughening up for me to actually walk along the rim, given my fear of heights and edges and my added mom-fear with a baby strapped to my belly. That said, the views were spectacular.

All tourists have to see the equator, so we headed a few miles north to take a look. Unlike the trip which Santiago, Jacob, and I took when we first arrived, we decided to go to what is considered the real equator. (Who knew?!?) Just north of the tourist site that Santi and I visited, is a small museum on the site of the real equator, as proven by GPS and various other tests. (These tests include watching how water drains out of a sink on, north and south of the "real equator line", as well as balancing an egg on the "real equator line" and testing your strength at various point. We were convinced that this place is the real thing.) In addition to examining the equator, my dad took some time to practice shoot darts from a blow gun, like the indigenous do. Without commenting fully on my dad's blow gun skills, I’ll merely say we are happy that we weren’t relying on that for our dinner.



Naturally we spent some good old time in the various parks in and around Quito, as well as in the Old Historic City. Jacob loves exploring, trying out new things, and pushing his explorer skills one step further. Timmy came along for most of the excursions and ... slept.

So that's what we've been up to!