sorry for the absence... i just haven't been in the mood to write lately.

we are in the middle of moving. half of our stuff is in the new apartment, and the other half still here. we have till Thursday, so i think we'll get everything done in time. Ricky is being amazing... He has taken like a million van loads over to the new place... and unloaded by himself! I stayed home with Isa all except one trip, cause it's a job in and of itself just watching her. But i did get a lot of cleaning and packing done. the nice thing is that our new apartment is on the first floor, thank you Lord! and it's maybe only a 10 minute drive from here. But as things are going into the new place, we are realizing that we need to sell some church things. we just won't have enough space. the extra bedroom/office of the apt is full of all this stuff... like 14 beds/mattresses, 20 blankets, a million sleeping bags and tons of towels and sheets. I don't know, but we'll figure something out.

one thing i like about our apartment is that it is located in an actual neighborhood, instead of down a side street off a super busy road with a commercial center, people and taxis all over the place. It will be quieter! I love that we have a little park only half a block away from our apartment. I can take Isabella for walks without worrying that we are going to get hit by a car!! j/k (well... not really)

the only thing i don't like is that the bathrooms are so tiny that you can hardly turn around in them. there are 4 bathrooms! it seems highly unnecessary to have 4 bathrooms for a 3 bedroom apt. But we'll just take one for each of us! haha. I also don't care for the color of the walls in the room that will be Isabella's. They are orange.. Ick! But the landlady said I can paint as long as it's not too bright. Yes!!

What will i miss about our current house.... the lovely doors. The back patio. The sun coming in the windows in the morning. Being close enough to the center of Cusco to walk. The huge kitchen.

What i don't miss about the current house... the cold stone floors. the dogs in the neighborhood that mate and fight all night long. the drunken lovers quarrels at 3am. the tourists walking past at 2am after clubbing and talking as loud as possible. all the neighborhood construction.

Overall, I think we are going to be good in the new apt.

Something else I will share with you, is that I've been going to the orthodontist for a few months now. I have a problem with one of my teeth, I won't get into it, but in order to fix it I will be getting braces. I'm strangely looking forward to it. And to straighten my smile while i'm at it. the process has already begun, have a few brackets on already and a miniature titanium screw lodged in the bone inside my mouth. Oh fun. the first 5 days were terrible, but now i'm ok. I wonder how i'll do once I get the rest of the brackets on. I've never had an obsession with brushing, but now i do. So braces at 30 (well 29), is more and more common nowadays. I was nervous about having this all done in Cusco. However, we found this great Ortho that comes to Cusco only once a month, from Lima. We have to do this without insurance of course. And on top of our other financial worries.... haha.. this began before we heard the latest "news". but it's really something I needed done. And it's less expensive than in the U.S. Be excited.. or scared.. to see some updated photos of me!! hahaha

Instead here are a few photos of my little toddler. Isabella is definitely not a baby anymore! She is saying these words: "light", "agua", "amen", "mao" (more) "mas", "mama", "dada", "papa", "Nina" (Ricky's mom), "ee-as" (Matias, Ricky's brother), "kaka" and "kakita"(for a good laugh), "up", "alla", "aca", "ahi esta", "eeee" (please), "ma" (milk), "baby", "bye-bye", "oh" (goal), "Uu" (la U, Ricky's futbol team), "book" - updated.. i forgot a few! "dog", "ball", "bear", "angel"

phrases include: "hola papa" and "ahi esta" "I-uu" (i love you)

"loser!"
Don't know how she learned this! I think she's just being silly for the camera.

This is her response when we say, "enojate!" which means, "get mad". She likes to roll her eyes too.. Oh man, i think it's a preview of what it's gonna be like when she's 14!

Our silly little loverbug