Part I - Bolivia

We have logged a lot of miles in the last few weeks. Carlos joined me on a work trip to Chicago and then we left for the Vazquez family reunion in Bolivia and then a vacation in Panama. I was really worried about the travel to Bolivia - 5 hours to Panama, 5 hours lay-over in Panama and then a 5 hour plane ride to Bolivia, late night arrival in Santa Cruz and then another flight to get to Cochabamba. The bad news is that it ended up taking 2 days to get to Cochabamba! The good news is that the plane rides and layover weren't that bad. Based on the good advice from our yoga mom friends we put Diego in a car seat and let Charlie sit on our laps. Diego on the loose is hard to manage at this age - he wants to eat and touch everything and constantly move so the car seat was great. We snuck into a business class lounge in Panama which made the layover enjoyable. We enjoyed the free drinks, Charlie enjoyed the free snacks and Diego enjoyed watching the airplanes:

The day we got there was rainy and cold so I dressed the boys in adorable matching Adidas sweatsuits that our friend sent. The only problem was that Bolivia was playing Argentina in the Americas cup and my little boys in baby blue Argentina colors didn't go over well. Here is Diego in his suit:

Once we finally made it to Cochabamba we participated in the first-ever Vazquez family reunion. The evening started with a happy hour and films and pictures of the Vazquez family. Saturday included an outing to a nearby lake and then a dinner and music. In addition to us, family members came from all over Bolivia, Texas, Florida and Brazil. I don't have the official shots, but here we are on a bus heading to the lake:

In between family events we got to see friends from our past life in Cochabamba and visit favorite restaurants and shops. Well actually the 'shops' are more like stalls in the vast informal market called "La Cancha." The Cancha must take up 10 square blocks. It's massive and you can easily get lost inside. One block has shoes, another block has meat, another block has flowers....

When we went to the Cancha to find Charlie a Charango instrument we ended up in the middle of a wedding party. Here are some shots of the wedding and Charlie picking out his Charango.

The weather and pace of life was just as ideal as I remembered, but what once seemed like a perfect place to live now seemed like it didn't fit our lifestyle. I'm not sure if that is good or bad. With the kids I found myself worried about everything from food and water issues to road safety like crazy chicken buses and "trufis" (group cars that pack people in) and wondering what terrible things the coca issue would bring in another few years. I was the person I never imagined myself - Instead of eating anticucho (bbq'd cow heart) from street vendors I was constantly armed with 5 different types of wipes, hand sanitizers and bottles of water! I used to love the pervasive indigenous culture and customs and some of that did come through but I realized that I've become so ethnocentric that what I was seeing most was the dirt and germs rather than the special culture.

Overall it was really nice to go back and I wonder when we'll get a chance to go again...It's been almost 10 years since our last trip there.

Here is Charlie driving a remote controlled car in the plaza:

Cleveland

Diego, Charlie, big Charlie and I drove to Cleveland for my grandparents' 68th wedding anniversary last weekend. The trip did not start out very smoothly. 30 minutes after packing up the car and the two kids we were back at the house and totally unravelled. We went to pick up uncle Charlie at the train station and then get on the road after stopping to get some food. Well....I was on the edge anyways after not sleeping much all week, I had just come back from spending all afternoon getting shots for our trip, Charlie missed his nap and Diego hates being in the car so he was screaming. As big Charlie went in for pizza a metermaid tried to give me a ticket while I was in the car and that was my limit. I blew up at her and she yelled at me (I'm guessing she probably had a similar crappy day). A nearby cop came over to calm us down...But by then both kids were crying. So 30 minutes and two screaming babies later we went back home to re-group.

Luckily the rest of the trip was not very eventful. We arrived in Cleveland around 2am and Charlie, Diego and I passed out together in one bed. It worked out well except that Diego was up at 6am as always. Charlie on the other hand slept in until 9:30!! That's a first!

The party was wonderful - especially because when we walked in the door Carlos walked towards us! He didn't think he'd be able to make it, but surprised us by showing up in this random suburb of Cleveland. It was a very special event - there were loads of people in a beautiful setting. Diego seemed to bring a lot of joy to people. One woman in particular wouldn't let go of him. It took me a while to realize that she has memory problems which seemed to make her even more pleased with Diego - he was new to her every time she passed by. It was really sweet.

We had fun playing with the cousins and going to the pool before getting back in the car for 7 hours. The pool was great until Charlie slipped off a raft and went under water. It was confusing but I turned around and Charlie was being propped up by Carlos from underwater and the raft was between Carlos and Charlie. Charlie was bobbing up and down so I got scared and jumped in after him too. Charlie was scared but fine and we learned 2 obvious and important lessons: 1) don't swim beyond the shallow end and 2) don't jump in too quickly. I jumped in and sunk so I had to hold Charlie from underwater too. I should have climbed into the water and swam to him.

Passports, Visas and Shots

It's been forever. For posterity sake I think I'll break up the update into different entries so Diego doesn't know how delinquent I am....

Last week we got the kids passports for our upcoming trip to Bolivia/Panama and SHOTS! Diego and Charlie had to sit on boxes on top of stools to get their picture taken at the ghetto photo place next to the passport office. Of course Diego was all smiles and Charlie gave the photographer his special skeptical stink eye. The passports are good for 5 years so I look forward to Diego traveling when he is 5 with his baby photo.

I also spent 3 hours getting shots with the babies. I told Carlos there wasn't anything he could do to make up for how terrible that experience was. I had two pissed off, hungry kids confined in a small room, missing their naps and a nurse who took forever to discuss what shots I should get. When Charlie finally got his shots he went ballistic -he wouldn't stop crying and screaming. Diego got one shot too but seemed less upset about it. By the time I got out of the room I was sweating and the entire office knew who we were. We went to Starbucks to get a treat and Charlie sat and ate and ate and ate - he finished a yogurt with granola and an entire panini sandwich. We also have to deal with visas. Bolivia thought it was a good idea to impose reciprocal visa requirements on Americans so we need to have an invitation letter from a Bolivian, bank statements to demonstrate solvency, shot records, photos and pay $135. Slightly absurd.

Sticky fingers Diego finds little treasures all over the place and puts them in his mouth. I'm in a perpetual state of hypervigilance given that Charlie never did this. The other day I looked away for a second only to hear Diego gagging and then see a WHOLE cherry pop out of his mouth - stem and all! I don't even know how he managed to swipe it from the counter. He has quick hands and he is getting quicker in his crawling. It is still so darn cute to see him scurry along the floor. I tell him to hurry up and he tries his best to shuffle quickly.

I gave up and moved Diego to the guest bedroom. I put Diego to sleep in the pack and play in the guest room and then once Charlie falls asleep I move Diego to his crib. This was after 2 painful weeks of trying to get them to sleep together. The routine had become Diego going to sleep and then Charlie waking him up when he went to bed with screams of wanting to go to the bathroom. He literally goes pee 3 times every night before actually falling asleep. Bedtime routine was turning into 2 hours and Diego is very punctual about getting up at 6am.

This is usually what happens when Diego gets near Charlie's toys....Diego was so cute talking to the train, but then Charlie pushed him out of the way.....

Yet Another Fever

Sadly Diego got sick AGAIN. Poor kid - we drag him all over and he just goes with the flow. We kept him out late to take our Chilean guest to Two Amys pizza. The wait on a Wednesday night was surprising and although Diego enjoyed his first pizza experience he didn't get to bed until 10:30. 10:30! Anytime he goes to bed late he ends up getting a fever. The pizza was good but definitely wasn't worth the 2 sleepless nights that followed.

Despite feeling crappy, Diego was a trooper this past weekend. We went to Dumbarton Oaks for the first time and were amazed by the gardens. Charlie ran around with his Abuela and loved it (She seems to have just as much energy as Charlie does and they leave us in the dust) and even Diego enjoyed crawling around too.

On Sunday we went to Charlie's school for a pig roast. It was a great way to introduce Charlie to his new school and show him that it is a fun place. There was live music, a BBQ, a balloon artist and playing on the playground. I actually don't like the playground much becuase it makes me nervous, but he enjoyed it. Everytime we pass by we try to say something about school. He stopped saying he was going to cry at school and now says "And mommy and daddy are going to go to school with me." I guess it's a step in the right direction and hopefully this helped out too.

Diego is crawling around and it's so cute. Charlie never crawled so I find it adorable to see Diego shuffling across the room. Sandra swears that he says 'agua' and 'mama', but I'm not convinced. He does love agua and anytime I let him loose in our room he crawls to the bathtub, makes grunting noises and tries desparately to turn on the faucet. Charlie continues to have his special sleep habits. I started putting the monitor next to his pillow and told him to talk into it if he needs something (like going pee) instead of screaming and waking up Diego.

Here are some cute pictures that Soogy sent from Uncle Charlie's graduation:

Memorial Day Weekend

Any transition seems to cause crazy sleep disruptions with my kids. Diego's move into Charlie's room has been less than smooth. The first night they both went ballistic; the second morning I found Charlie in Diego's crib; the third night Charlie climbed into Diego's crib to steal his pacifier causing Diego to wake up and cry hysterically. AHH!

We went to Chestertown for the long weekend which ended up being a perfect distance - far enough away to feel like a vacation but close enough to not be an insufferable car ride. We rented a little house that happened to be on the parade route. The tea party festival took over the town, providing endless entertainment for Charlie (the original tea party - not the political ones). The revolutionary war "marching men" paraded by the house and led us down to the town square which was full of all sorts of fun. Here they are watching the parade:

There was music, dancing, Ben Franklin dressed in a wool coat in 95 degree weather playing chess with kids, games from the 18th century to play, animals teathered to a booth (owl, hawk, turtle...), puppets (though Charlie was scared of the puppets), bagpipes. We saw the "toss the tory" competition as well as the pirate ship cruising the coast, but unfortunately we missed the reenactment of tea (and people) getting thrown overboard. Charlie also got up close and personal with a pregnant cow named Billie. He pet the cow who was being fed copious amount of silage leading up to being set loose in fenced area painted with gridlines. Festival goers could purchase a square for $10 and if Billie pooped in their square they got $2000. We were happy with the petting and didn't stick around for the pooing. The best part of the weekend for Charlie was all the attention he got from Abuela!

On the way home we tried a nearby crabhouse and over anticipated our skills. I got tired after 3 crabs and Carlos' mom thought the activity was too messy. That left Carlos to tackle the other dozen crabs on his own. He was determined not to let the crabs die in vain so he powered through those crabs much to our horror. Charlie loved watching the boats come up to the restaurant and Diego was kept happy with his own mallet (though I kept the crabs away).

Now that the weather is nicer we've taken the band outside. Here is Charlie rocking out on the porch with his boots on the wrong feet (as usual). Carlos is on the sax and Abuela is on the bongos.

Tio Charlie's Graduation

Charlie and Diego survived an 11 hour car trip to see uncle Charlie graduate from Middlebury! It wasn't exactly planned that way - but then again I can't remember the last time anything went according to plan. The plan was for me to take Diego and for Charlie to stay home with Carlos. Once Charlie realized that I was taking Diego he was horrified. I felt so terrible on the way to the train station that I cancelled my ticket and decided to drive with both kids. Luckily uncle Seth drove all the way from Philadelphia to Middlebury and my mom packed plenty of supplies to feed Charlie's abyss of a stomach. They did great until about 6pm when we all were unraveling at the seams just wanted to get there and then....we got pulled over by a cop! speeding in a vermont town! Officer Barnes asked if we knew the village speed limit I kept wondering where the village was, but Seth was more diplomatic. Despite the delay we arrived - slightly beat-up - but right on time for the Friday football team dinner.

The weekend was great even though we didn't participate in many graduation events and those events we did attend were hampered by the chaos of chasing 4 young children around. Despite having 7 adults and 4 children at meals the table usually had no more than 3 people sitting at any one time and the conversation centered around if any one knew where the other people were and who had which children. Here are some shots from brunch when everyone ended up on the floor.

Even more hysterical than trying to have meals all together was trying to sleep in one bed with Charlie AND Diego! Diego was so tired he slept like a rock and was cozy as can be. Charlie, on the other hand, has some special sleep habits. At one point he was laying against the headboard, perpendicular to my head. At another point his head was off the bed and his feet across Diego and me at another point his head was down at my feet. And of course we were up at 6am. To make it even more special we stayed in a flea bag motel - yes, the kind with fake wood panelling. Luckily Nathan and Soogy were at the nice hotel so we mainly camped out with them. Here we are "cozy" in one bed at the Sugarhouse Motel...

Days can be quite full when you wake up at 6am. By noon we had stopped by the John Deere tractor store to stock up on tractor toys, had a first breakfast, then a brunch, then sat on the porch, then a leisurely walk to the river, then a tour of the farmers market to collect a picnic and back to the porch for more eating. We then all alternated in taking naps. Charlie passed out in the car so we opened the doors and sat on the porch drinking lemonade watching the car. Here is our picnic on the porch:

Sunday was equally fun as we made our way to the graduation. We moved the chairs to higher ground for a better view, drier ground, more shade and better access to the bbq. It was perfect! We found uncle Charlie as he processed up the hill tired from staying up all night. I guess it's a tradition to stay up all night before graduation and watch the sunrise together. I'm so tired with the little sleep I do get that the thought of an all-nighter makes me nauseous. Here are some pictures from graduation:

In my absence Carlos moved Diego's crib into Charlie's room. Carlos and I had plans to go out so the poor babysitter had to deal with the kids' first night together. And....well, it didn't go smoothly. We tried to put them to bed before leaving, but Diego had gotten used to sleeping in bed with over the weekend and so was pissed off. Charlie started crying because Diego was crying. He was banging on the door yelling "Diego is crying. Make him stop crying." The next morning Charlie told Carlos "Get that bed out of my room." That's not a successful start to being roommates....

Sleeping Habits

Carlos broke me of my habit of co-sleeping with Diego. That's right - my bag of sugar is finally spending the whole night in his own crib. The comical part is that baby Diego now inhabits the master bedroom. Carlos and I have started sleeping in the guest bedroom as the crib is set up in our room and I can't bare to be in the same room and not pick him up if he cries. I think the transition has been hardest for me - Diego cries a few minutes in the middle of the night but basically he sleeps through until morning. I'd like to put him in with Charlie but everytime I leave the room Charlie takes the opportunity to tip Diego over or torment him somehow.

We executed our first bribe this weekend. We told Charlie that we'd give him a present if he got his haircut. His hairdo had turned into a terrible looking mullet. We were in little Vietnam in the Eden Center which is full of bubble tea vendors and salons so after finishing our bubble tea we decided it was time for a haircut. Carlos tried to lure Charlie in by getting his own hair washed ($5). Charlie held Carlos' hand and told him not to be scared. Despite the bravery Charlie would have nothing to do with getting his own hair cut until we promised to get him a present. He sat so still and with a dramatic frown on his face the entire time. The funniest part was wandering the Vietnamese grocery store in search of a present. He diligently walked each aisle looking for a present that he wanted. Finally we gave up and went to Toys R Us to get him a present. I think the hair cut was well worth the $28 ($12 for the haircut and $16 for the present)!

Ever since he saw breakdancing in Atlanta Charlie has been doing his own interpretive breakdancing. He specializes in the no-hand downward dog which I tried and it is actually hard. It has been a daily activity since our return and one of my favorites.


My sweet Diego has started to crawl! He is unbelievably slow but he does crawl and has started to pull himself up. Despite not having a vocabulary he definitely expresses his desires - for instance if I open the door but don't go outside (he loves being outside) he does this adorable purring cry and lunges towards the door or if I try to feed him and he doesn't want it (unfortunately very often) he will literally swot the spoon away. He had his nine month appointment and weighed in at a little over 19 lbs. His head is in the 90th percentile but his weight is in the 25th percentile! big head, little body! The doctor recommended letting him feed himself so I've been letting him go at it with just about everything but mostly he still just likes breastmilk and bread.

Yesterday morning what seemed to be the entire fleet of Cars and Trucks and Things that Go showed up in front of our house to dig a seemingly useless hole and then quickly patch it up. Whatever it was it proved to be a great show for us. We ate our oatmeal out front in our pajamas and watched every type of truck come by. Here are Charlie, Brett and Diego watching the show.