4 months old

Avocet is 4 months old today, so hard to believe!

 She:

• Eats, eats, eats! We call her our piranha, and oh is she! In the daylight, you better give her a bottle, because natural just can't supply fast enough. Though at night (half asleep), she is happy to cuddle and nurse.

• Smiles and giggles all the time. Her laugh is contagious, no one in the room can deny her a return smile... it's just not humanly possible.

• Loves the water. She is content in a pool, though we don't put her little white body in the sun too much yet. In the bathtub, she's a kicking machine!

• Tries to crawl. She's moving around, butt in the air and pushing her way around. Though not officially crawling yet, she is trying her best. She also sits assisted, but almost can do it alone.

• Has a hot streak... a firecracker fuse like her late Gpa Fred, I like to think. She can smile one minute and fuss at you the next, usually only involving a hungry belly.

• Sleeps well. Not through the night, but often good 5-6 hour streaks at night. I'm happy with that :)

• Is adored by her big sister Ceiba, whose first words in the morning or when home from school is either "where is Avocet" or "where's MY baby". Ceiba has been the most wonderful big sister, loving on and playing with her baby every chance she gets. 

• Is really growing on her Papa... he loved her from the start, but I see a lot more sparkles the more interactive she gets. She's pretty hooked on him too.

• Could be a tug of war rope. Ms. Mokta and I almost race to see who can scoop her out of bed first when she wakes from a nap. Our gardener and driver also find reasons to come upstairs and hold her at least once a day too. 

• Is so so loved.

Though she's only 4 months old, she's been inside our hearts for nearly 400 days, and we cannot imagine a moment without her.

Nepal

We spent our one year Bangladesh anniversary outside of Bangladesh, oddly enough. On our list of “to-dos” while living here, was a visit to Nepal. A short 45 minute flight gets you from Dhaka to Kathmandu, but unfortunately there are few direct air carriers available. Originally, we planned to leave on the 5th, but due to flight time changes, we bumped our flight up a day so not to miss our connection to Pokhara.


The Dashain holiday fell October 1-10, so traffic was much milder than usual. We spent Tuesday night at the Samsara Hotel in Kathmandu. Nothing fancy, but we were close to the tourist area of Thamel, and since we had no plans to be in town on the 4th, we just grabbed a hotel through an airport vendor. It turned out fine, though we couldn’t find our key when we checked out. Luckily, the hotel overlooked it... and we found it upon unpacking back in Dhaka. It was tucked inside a certain 4 year old’s coin purse.

On Day 2, we hopped a small turbo prop on Yeti Air west to Pokhara, where we stayed 3 days and 2 nights at the Fish Tail Lodge on Lake Fewa. It is a really cool small resort on an island outside of town. To get to the lodge, they have small ferries that are pulled across to the mainland. Ceiba loved the ferry and even caught a small canoe ride across on another day. Chris let her go across with just the boatmaster, while he waited ashore. She was proud of herself, and he was amazed she went without him.

While in Pokhara, we mostly relaxed in our neat bungalow, soaking in the mountain air (though warmer than we anticipated), swam, enjoyed room service (as dinner started after 7PM when the mosquitoes were out) and napped. We did take a quick day trip to Devi’s Falls and shopped around the Tibetan craftsmen community. The Tibetan people are so smiley and do such beautiful jewelry work. Several of the ladies also enjoyed jostling Avocet with our driver, while Chris and I walked around with Ceiba. We also stopped at an amazing suspension bridge on the way back. The bridge spans the gorge, linking two separate mountain communities, hosting heavy foot traffic. A beautiful, clear river head watered from the Himalayas wound its way beneath.

We flew back to Kathmandu on Friday afternoon, after a lengthy delay at the airport, and enjoyed a few more days in the city at the Yak and Yeti Hotel. We shopped a bit (jewelry weakness!) and enjoyed green space with the girls. Chris picked up a cool Gurka knife, and we couldn’t leave without wool caps and a few pashmina wool scarves.

On Saturday, we ventured out for another small guided trip to Bhaktapur, the old capital, though the trip was a whirlwind tour. We were assured of an air conditioned car, only to get half way out and learn it was definitely not a/c. Plus, one of the back windows didn’t roll down, so before we even got to the destination, we were about toasted and the kids were less than chipper. A quick run through and photo snaps, and then we headed back to the hotel for a nap in the a/c. Bhaktapur is beautiful however, and Chris & I were both glad to have gotten to see a small glimpse.

Our kids never ceased to draw attention wherever we went. With everyone thinking Ceiba was Nepali and the oddity of a white baby in Nepal, we felt like the paparazzi was  behind us all the time snapping photos. Avocet drew many smiles, squeezes and words from passers by. We spoke of Ceiba’s Guatemalan heritage more times than we could count, though most still had no idea where Guatemala is. Every time we travel, people think Ceiba is from there (Hawaii, Bali, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nepal, etc). Chris even had to tell a few Indian ladies to go easy on the goods, when they tried to pinch Avocet’s cheeks. By the end of the trip, we were ready to be out of the limelight. 

Another flight delay on Sunday (seeing a pattern here?), and we were home Sunday night only to sit in Dhaka traffic for another hour. We were all happy to be in our own beds for the evening, but enjoyed our time in Nepal and the opportunity to see the Himalayas and Mt. Everest. Traveling in a developing country is no small task when toting two small children, but so worth the adventure and effort!