Tears of Another Kind

These girls.  I love.
Together from the womb.
Twins.
Raised side by side.
Yet so different in ALMOST every way.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.

This morning Layne lost another tooth.  I think it may be her 6th or 7th.  Honestly I have lost count.  Bryce on the other hand, has yet to even have a wiggly tooth.  Bryce was so sad.  Tears flew freely and the words life is not fair came sputtering out.  Through tear stained cheeks she cried...I am never going to lose a tooth.  I will be a grown up when my teeth fall out.  Please mommy just break my tooth!

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces because one daughter is so sad and the other so happy.

As a mom of twins, here is the problem how do you go about cheering for one, when the other needs consoling?  Like I said my girls are different.  They do things at different paces, reach milestones at different times.  I should be use to handling these situations by now.  I have been doing it for 7 years.

But this morning was different...As the morning continued I witnessed tears of another kind.  This time they were my tears. My eyes welled with pride as Layne asked me if the tooth fairy allowed you to give your tooth to someone.  She said she would like to give her tooth to Bryce so she could experience the tooth fairy.  Bryce's face lit up with so much joy and love for her sister.  Layne wanted Bryce to have her tooth.  Place it under her pillow.  And wake up to the treasures left behind from the tooth fairy.

The girls had a 5 minute conversation about whether or not it was allowed!  Bryce's tears soon faded as Layne convinced her the tooth fairy will accept it and if for some reason she doesn't and the tooth fairy leaves it under her pillow, then she will give it to Bryce.  Bryce just hugged and hugged Layne and thanked her again and again.

Then Layne and Bryce looked over at me and asked me why I was crying...All I could say to my baby girls was...these are tears of another kind.  Not sadness.  But Joy. Pride. Love

Lunahuana, Peru

August 18, 2013

On Sunday we took a day trip to Lunahuana.  It was about a 2 hour drive south of Lima.   We went in search of some sun, warmth and a little relaxation.  Luckily we were able to find all three.  The scenery was gorgeous, the sun felt great and catching some vitamin D rays definitely lifted my spirits.  The water was a bit cold but it did not stop the children from enjoying the outdoors!  Lots of rock climbing and sun kissed skin!

Living Like a Local

 The kids are entrenched in  school now.  Routines are beginning to take shape and our new normal is beginning to form.  The kids definitely work hard during the week but the weekends seem to be full of one party after another.  I had heard that Peruvians like to party and believe me they do.

Here a some snapshots of the different parties that the kids have attended since we have been here...

Huge bounce houses and slides

Face painting

Painting and Drawing

Balloons and confetti and people dressed as characters!

  We also went to a party at the zoo.  While the zoo was much different than the Singapore Zoo, the kids still had a great time!

 Bryce and Layne enjoyed participating in feeding the animals and being part of the shows.  Graham, on the other hand has decided that he is too old to be doing such things.

 I think one of their favorite things was going out in the swan paddle boats in the pond.  That is definitely a positive for the Lima zoo as we never did that in Singapore!

This zoo also had a small carnival area...which of course meant the kids want to hang out here the entire time.

Premier dia de clases

August 2013

School has started here in Lima, Peru.  The kids are currently going to different schools.  Both American schools but we felt each school offered what the kids need.  So far they are enjoying it and adapting to the differences from Singapore.  Both schools are much smaller than SAS but both have a lot to offer our kids.  I am excited to see where this new adventure in Peru takes us!

Graham started August 1.

Bryce and Layne started Aug 7.

Graham gets to ride the bus to school.  His school is very close to our house so it is a quick bus ride.

The girls on the other hand get to ride with daddy to work and our driver drops the girls at school and brings them home.  It is a much further drive and is quicker to go by driver than a bus.  Advantage for the girls is an occasional hot chocolate at Starbucks on the way into school.

There they go...