Ieva's First Birthday!

Today Ieva turned one!! We had a party to celebrate yesterday afternoon & enjoyed being surrounded by friends. Ieva got a cake of her very own, and I decided to make an apple spice cake with cream cheese frosting rather than the traditional chocolate fare, on the off-chance that it actually contained less sugar than chocolate. Since she had never really eaten much of anything sweet (besides fruit), she didn't know the difference, and loved it nonetheless!

She received a variety of fun & interesting gifts, which have resulted in filling her toy basket even more full than it already was & providing more clutter on our living room floor after she's been playing. But...such is the life of parenthood, right?

A couple of her favorite gifts were the battery-operated toy car she received from Sarah & Maija. My first thought was "Cool! A battery-operated car! Good thing it's not one of those loud, obnoxious battery-operated toys." And then we put the batteries in. Not only does this car drive around by itself, but it also flashes its lights and PLAYS LOUD, OBNOXIOUS music!! I couldn't believe it. No offense, Sarah & Maija - it's a great gift - and one of Ieva's favorites. I'm just thankful that she hasn't figured out how to turn it on & off herself yet!

Janneke & Reuben also gave her a very cool classic wooden rocking horse! She loves to ride it, and has gotten good at sitting on it alone, although she can't get on or off by herself yet. We were also very thankful for the Wolter family opening their home to us to host the party. Our apartment isn't very big, especially when you put kids in the mix, and since they live just across the street from us, it worked out perfectly. They are some good folks.



Then this evening Kim Hoelterhoff invited us over for a birthday dinner with her, Devin, Kylie & Maija. Mark was out of town. She also invited a student named Ieva who was one of the many Ieva's we knew who positively influenced our choice of our Ieva's name because of how sweet she is. We used to call her "little Ieva" because she's relatively short compared to another Ieva who is taller, but now, with our Ieva around, she's become "big Ieva!" We had a good time having dinner together & letting Ieva be princess for the evening!

All in all, Ieva's first birthday celebration was a great time. The only thing that could have made it better was having all her Grandmas & Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles & cousins here to celebrate with her. Family...we miss you! (speaking of family, check out those Cliffe toes!)

Our friend Sarah took this fabulous photo at Ieva's party

The last days of summer

Last week I was convinced that summer was over for good here in Klaipeda. For the past few weeks the temperatures had been slowly dropping, we were getting more rain and it was generally just feeling like fall. And then, this past week, things started looking up again.

Wednesday was LCC's annual Community Day celebration - an outdoor event with carnival-type games, music & a BBQ, and despite the rain we had been having in previous days, Wednesday was perfect. Clear skies and temperatures in the 60's. The day was a great success & we had a record number of students participate.

Each day since then, the weather has continued to stay nice & warm - getting up to the low 70's today, which was perfect for the Intercultural Olympics that were taking place in the velodrome next to our campus. This is another annual event at LCC and our Intercultural Programs Coordinator, Casey, and his staff orchestrate it each September. In teams made up of students from many of the different countries represented here at LCC, the students compete in events like the water balloon toss, relay races and tug-o-war. The event began with an official opening ceremony with representatives from each country parading around the velodrome track waving their flag as their national anthem played. It was a great event, and God couldn't have blessed us with more perfect weather. Since many of our countries only have a few student representatives, there was an "International Team" made up of students from Germany, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Latvia, and Ghana - and they ended up taking first place! Ukraine came in 2nd, and the USA 3rd.
Fall is a great time of the year, but having a few more days of summer makes me happy. Ieva & I took a more scenic route for our walk home this afternoon, then I was able to hang the laundry outside on the balcony & sit & soak in the sun as Ieva crawled around playing with the dried leaves that have already begun to fall. One of my favorite summertime foods here in Lithuania is called 'shaltibarshai' - cold beet soup. Or as many of us Americans refer to it: "pepto bismal soup" because of it's bright pink color. It's like nothing I had ever eaten before in the States, but I have grown to love how refreshing it is on a warm summer day. One of these days I'll attempt to make it myself...our Lithuanian colleagues were shocked to learn that I buy it from our grocer's deli - most would never consider buying something they could so easily make. I'll force myself to learn how to make it soon, since I won't be able to buy it pre-made at the store or order it in restaurants much longer. It's truly only a summertime food here.

The forecast for the coming week calls for more clear skies and warm days, so I plan to get in as much balcony time, sun-dried laundry and scenic routes as I can.

September is here!

We blinked, and August came & went. It's September now, and despite our shock, the weather & our busy schedules are daily reminders. The temperatures have dropped & we've had Oregon-like fall rain almost every day for the past week. Our schedules have been out of control: Andrew just completed directing his 5th freshman orientation program two hours ago (schwew!), and I have been pulling my hair out from a major housing crunch that has left 23 students on mattresses on the floors of dorm rooms. Tomorrow is the first day of the 2006-2007 academic year, and before we know it, it'll probably be Christmas. Yikes. Our 11-month daughter continues to grow more & more beautiful & we're excited to celebrate her 1st birthday at the end of the month!

Here are some of our favorite August photos:

Ieva in early August

Ieva & Asti playing with bubbles

Playing peek-a-boo in her basket

Baby blue eyes

At her first wedding!

I'm stuck!

Enjoying a nice summer evening before it gets too cold!

Ieva & Daddy at a retreat center in Dituva

Ieva & Mommy in the garden behind our house

All dressed up to go to her friend Robertas' 1st birthday party!

August was a great month!