Her BFF Chloe has now become Chlo Chlo
One of my Bff's Jenny is Jen Jen. The "other" Jennifer is "big kid Jen Jen". This name is super fitting for Jennifer bc she is like a kid magnet...they love her!
She has named her babydolls/stuffed animals after her favorite tweens: Cassie, Ella & Shanti (3 girls at the prep school, ages 10-13, that love Banks...and she certainly LOVES them!!
She also has named our gardener Reginald, "Bob"...sounds similar, right?
Last but definitely not least: The son of our landlord is name Kyle but bc of my mom's thick southern accent she heard it as "Kye - Y'all". So we go pick "high biscuits" (high biscuits) for Kye - y'all...probably fitting for Kyle ;)
Oh, and Banks has started calling me "peanut butter". I seriously have no clue why!!! LOL!! This child may be giving me a run for my money but i'll be laughing right along with the crying ;)
We have met some really amazing folks here in Dominica. Everyone, Americans & Canadians, is here for the same reason, which creates a really cool openness throughout the community. I can at least speak for the spouses of the students. I'm sure there are different personalities, religions, opinions but in the end everyone is super supportive of each other. I have made a ton of new friends and most are pretty different from me, which I LOVE! I was hoping this experience would allow our family to meet a lot of different people and so far it has.
I have a few really special friends here who have really made a difference in my happiness here in Dominica. Kasie, Charlotte & Megan are my super adventurous, kind as they can be, and outdoorsy friends who also have kids my kids age...which is super convenient! They have also let us join there Mom Co-op Preschool that Banks LOVES!!! Kasie & Charlotte are from Idaho and Meghan is from Arizona.
My other super special friend is Jenny...or Jen Jen! She and her husband Steve, most recently from Brooklyn :), live in our little community, Kootney Resorts. Jenny is a very experienced yoga instructor and overall awesome person! She is the friend who not only comes over for tea and a chat but also to take Banks on a jog around the property to expend some energy while I feed Eloise. Jenny and I have great, super meaningful conversations, which is total food for the soul. I was really missing that...I didn't realize just how much I would miss my girlfriends - Kelly, Lisa, Jess, Emily, Julie...
This past week Jenny asked us to pose with her and others in a photo shoot for her advertisement here on the island. She has a flourishing yoga and dance practice here in Dominica in only 8 weeks time. She's a contagious sense of positive well being!
Here are some photos from the shoot. Oh, and of course my sidekick Banks was part of the shoot! She is totally into yoga now...i've got to get Banks her own mat!
Here are a few of the shots from the shoot. Banks even made the final flyer!! This was fun with the one exception of Eloise crying in the background from cutting her first tooth and being hot as bajesus! That's another thing...everyone is like super kid friendly and will just pick your baby up or grab your kid if you can't...I am learning to lean on the support system here.
love you all and miss you every minute!
xoxo
aej1, dj, aej2, ecj
You look so serene in the yoga shot! :)
ReplyDeleteSo can you get peanut butter down there? If we had trouble getting it in London I'm guessing peanut butter isn't running rampid in Dominica.
Maybe Banks is projecting her longing for peanut butter onto you! teeheehee
I want an update about the hurricane excitement!