Novakistan

And We’re Off!

Sarah Novak — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:16:32 +0000

See you in Lima, Peru!

It’s Moving Day!

Sarah Novak — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:14:19 +0000

Well, what do you know?! It’s Moving Day at Apartamento Novak! We are not-so-patiently awaiting the arrival of the movers, at which point chaos will ensue. Here’s a snapshot of what our place looks like at the moment.

Above: The Air Freight (cross your fingers that it’s under 600 pounds, because that’s all we get and we need most everything there!)

Everything else in these bottom 2 photos is going on the boat and will arrive in 3 months along with our stuff from the Philippines (which is currently being stored at a warehouse in Miami). We already shipped 4100 pounds from Manila, so that leaves us with 2900 pounds left for the boat today. Let’s hope that everything finds its way to the right place!

Baptism Mania

Sarah Novak — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:01:04 +0000

It was a wild weekend here on the home front. We are a mere one week from our international move now and for some reason (back in January) we thought it’d be a grand idea to schedule Nia’s baptism in the midst of all our shopping and packing. Chaos adds to the fun, right? Right.

So in come the relatives. 10 of them, in fact! It was a jolly crew – the 4 Grandparents, my 3 sisters, their beaus, and the 2nd Godmother. Blend them with our foreign service ‘family’ and we had quite a group to celebrate with.

But first, how about a few anecdotes from the night? (cuz I know you’re dying for a few stories):

Ahhh, Nia. Not the most mellow of kids. We like to call her spirited. Let’s just say that her normally fiesty SPIRIT was even more magnified by the presence of the HOLY SPIRIT. We knew we were playing with fire by scheduling the Baptism for 5:30 in the evening. That’s prime witching hour and she’s usually fussy, at best. However, they told us that it was her day and that she could make whatever noise she pleased. (I’m pretty sure they didn’t know what they were getting with this one). And let me tell you, she took full advantage. She screamed, shrieked, sang, shouted, giggled, cooed, and burped. She squawked loudly when the priest was solemnly talking about the death of the Parish’s matriarch and drowned out the important update about the Pastor being in the hospital. What can we say, it was her day!

The hand’s down best moment came at the very beginning of the mass. The priest came over to do a short blessing and draw a sign of the cross on her forehead. I should preface this story by saying that he was a very old man, probably in his 80′s (see picture above). As his shaky hand began to slowly make it’s way toward Nia’s forehead I looked down, saw the glint in her eye and knew we were in trouble. Just a few short seconds later she had captured the priest’s thumb in a two-handed ‘death grip’ and was rapidly licking his finger from bottom to top (much like a dog would lap a bone). Alas, he was no match for Nia. Try as he might, he could not extract his finger. He eventually just dragged her hands up with his thumb as he managed to make an awkward cross on her forehead.

She wasn’t sure what to make of the Baptismal Water Rite either. I believe she thought it was bath time (her favorite) and intended to kick and catch water droplets on her tongue. When she realized that wasn’t going to happen she immediately began to scream, prompting the Priest to say, “I don’t think she likes me.” Oh Nia.

After Mass it was back to our place for a party. We were fortunate to have many friends and family join us to celebrate. Being that it was Cinco de Mayo, it only seemed fitting to give them a delicious Mexican feast! One of the many treasured guests was Patricia, daughter of the Filipino woman we named Nia after. Her Mother Marisa had a special bond with Nia and agreed to be her guardian angel on her deathbed. She was a marvelous woman and we could feel her presence everywhere that day. Most touching was the gift that Patricia brought, a silver baby spoon that Marisa always gave on occasions like these. I couldn’t help but smile at how happy Marisa would be knowing that my family is now interconnected with hers.

And so the big weekend has come to a close. I’m exhausted and coming down with a cold, but boy was it all worth it. We had a magnificent weekend full of wonderful memories. Thanks to all that were able to join us and to those who were praying for Nia.

For the full gallery of photos, head HERE.

No related posts.

Nia @ 6 months

Sarah Novak — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:00:40 +0000

So, my subject wasn’t into our 6 month photo shoot. She was too distracted by the sound of all that rushing water behind her. Mistake number 2 was shooting at 3 o’clock in the afternoon in high sun. Oops . . I guess I should feel lucky that I got any shots at all!

New Tricks!

Sarah Novak — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:25:45 +0000

We’ve got new tricks to show off. In video 1 – pushing up onto our hind legs. In video 2 – “fake chewing”.

37 Weeks and Still Growing…

Another Craig’s List Home Run!

Sarah Novak — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:43:16 +0000

Greetings all – We’re less than 30 days out from Peru now and the reason you never hear from me is that every spare moment is going into our pack-out preparations. Any advantage I’d have this time around as a veteran is more than mitigated by the fact that we now have a baby. It’s quite the challenge to try and guestimate all of the things she’ll need for the next 2 years.

Most of our purchasing is happening at Target and Costco, but there are a few random items that I’ve had to scout for. One of them was a convertible crib. We’ve been having Nia sleep in a pack ‘n play for the last 6 months but she’ll need to transition to a crib soon since she’s close to pulling up on things. I’ve been scouring Craig’s list day and night for the perfect crib and one finally showed up last Sunday. Based on past experience, I jumped on it right away and sent Nick out with the car to get it home. Per the dimensions, it didn’t appear that it was going to fit in the car, so he went prepared with rope and blankets, ready to secure it to the top of the car. Oh, wouldn’t that have been a sight! Lucky for us, it did somehow fit in the amazing Kia Rondo, so he was saved the effort.

Just look at this beauty… a $600 barely-used crib & mattress set for the steal-of-a-deal price of $125! It’ll last us several years too, since it converts to a toddler bed and then the back side can be used as a kid’s headboard. Nia’s digging it too although she’s had some tough lessons regarding appendages stuck in the slots. I’m sure she’ll learn very quickly though…

Nia Tries Big People Food

Sarah Novak — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:10:10 +0000

Tonight we had our first go at solid foods. Nia sampled both pureed Pears and a Mum Mum, which is a Rice Paper flatbread. Nia made a big ole mess and wasn’t too sure what she thought about it all. She’s nearly 6 months now, so we plan to start adding this in on a daily basis. Enjoy the video of her first bites!

Easter Fun!

Sarah Novak — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:57:55 +0000

A Non-chocolate Easter Treat

I love my feet!

Sarah Novak — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:37:30 +0000

Here’s Nia doing her new favorite thing – playing with her feet! I found these great Lamaze “Feet Finder” rattles to make her play twice as fun…

Nia @ 5 Months

Sarah Novak — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:03:01 +0000

Well, here she is in all her drooling glory! We garnered quite a few looks from the passing Business People as we went about our afternoon ‘photo shoot’ in front of an office building that had this lovely bed of tulips! I mean, how could I not shoot there??? Hope you enjoy them! You’ll notice that she’s taken quite a liking to her feet this month…