Charlie's First Day of School!

Charlie's first day of school was Friday. We've been talking about school forever and the day finally arrived. At the beginning of the summer he would pass Brent and say that he was going to cry when he went to school; in the middle of the summer he was saying that I was going to go to school with him; this week he was saying that I was going to cry not him. Despite my worries he did great. He didn't cry - he gave me, Carlos and Diego a kiss and say down in his spot for circle time. It was almost surreal. The whole day I worried he was melting down or might accidentally go pee during nap time.

When I arrived he casually walked out of the door with his back pack on just like a big boy. We walked home together and he told me about his day. My little boy is so grown up. I think he was right that I am the one who needs comforting.

Here he is heading to school

Here is his sport for circle time and his cubby

Here is Diego ready for school too:

Earthquake

It's a good thing that Carlos' mom gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure because yesterday I walked barefoot from the WWII Memorial. That's 1.6 miles on top of another 1.5 miles in heels. I am rarely out of my home office, but the only earthquake to occur in 100 years happened during a work lunch...on the other side of town! After surfacing from a basement level restaurant in search of a coffee shop where I could take a conference call I was shocked to see crowded streets due to evacuated buildings. It wasn't a big earthquake but everyone evacuated. The phone sporadically worked, but for the most part I couldn't make a call including to find out if the kids were okay. The walk was an interesting way to witness the city after a disaster. People were hanging out outside their offices - some telling terrible stories like "I passed a woman in the stairs having a heart attack" and others annoyed that they couldn't get their car out to go home. The monuments were closed and the capitol police barked at me if I crossed the street towards any of them.

Apparently Charlie was eating Cheerios when it happened and our poor substitute nanny grabbed both kids and ran outside. I finally was able to get through the house phone and 1 minute into our conversation she told me a man wanted to speak to me. It turned out to be a friend from the capitol needing a landline and a bathroom. We should have set up Charlie's food truck and lemonade stand - we would have made a killing as there was a captive audience roaming all over our street!

I made it home to find Charlie asleep on the coach. He re-told the story to grandma and it went something like "I was eating cereal and the house started to move and then it went boom-boom."

We had an exciting weekend too. Charlie, Diego and I drove to New Haven to see Seth start his MBA program and to see my grandparents. We had such a fun time and Charlie is certainly turning into my little buddy. The house is on the shore and Charlie and Diego finally found a beach they liked - full of rocks! Charlie attempted to single-handedly displace all of the rocks. It's a tough job, but he made a good attempt. We also took a walk across the marsh that we used to take when I was little. I remember it being such a long journey when I was little and was shocked to find how short it was when I was older. But this time around it was just as long as I remember as a kid. We only got 60% of the way across before turning back and by the end I had to carry both kids. We got to see where Seth is living and re-visit some of my favorite coffee shops around Yale's campus. The 7 hour drive each way was long, but totally worth it. Charlie stayed up late singing along to the music. Poor Diego was a little pissed off to have to sleep with music blasting but he survived.

A Good Week

Last week felt so L-O-N-G, but in the end it was really good. We heard back from the Doctor that Diego's eye condition is just physiological and not neurological. And Diego started walking! He is so cute when he walks - he holds his hands up like a zombie in Michael Jackson's Thriller and he wobbles from one foot to the other. He started walking on Friday - 3 days after his 1st birthday. Here he is doing his zombie walk.

The good news far outshadows how annoying the week was....and it was pretty annoying. Diego had his MRI on Wednesday and in preparation wasn't allowed to eat all day and didn't sleep. The whole morning I walked around in circles - getting absolutely nothing done because I was so preoccupied with the MRI. By the time we got to the hospital he was so cranky and I was on edge. I fell off the edge when we put him under and I had to walk away leaving him on the bed. But he was fine and came home in good spirits. The very next day I took them in for their 1 year and 3 year doctor appointments and they got 7 shots between the 2 of them. They were both pretty pissed off. Diego in his hospital gown:

And we rounded out the week with a leak in house I that kept Carlos on the roof in the pouring rain until midnight. That's definitely not safe, but a classic Carlos move.

Despite a long week, we did get to enjoy Sunday blackberry picking and our favorite BBQ place in Virginia.

Last week we went to Philly which is always lots of fun and then went over to a see a friend who will be in Charlie's pre-school class. Carlos and I decided that she would make a suitable first girlfriend. Here they are enjoying popsicles together.

Charlie has had some memorable moments recently. For instance, he tried to pick Diego up by the neck. On a nicer note he is obsessed with blasting his music in the car and singing along. If it isn't full blast - it isn't loud enough. He also insists that you look at him when he talks - he doesn't believe that you can listen without looking. The funniest is when he tries to talk to Diego and have Diego look at him. This is how the conversation went last night:

"Diego, Diego, Diego"

Diego looks at Charlie...

"Diego, you're just little..."

Diego looks away

Charlie screams "DIEGO"

Diego looks.

"Diego, you are just little so...."

Diego looks away

"DIEGO!!"

Diego looks

"Diego, you are just little so you..."

Diego looks away

"DIEGO!!!"

.

.

.

and it went on and on.

Diego Turns 1!

MY BAG OF SUGAR TURNED 1!!! How is it possible that a whole year has gone by?! I remember his birth like it was yesterday, but I can hardly remember life without him.

At 1 year old Diego:

• Refuses to walk alone! I was hoping that he would walk today, but he refuses to let go of our fingers. He walks us around rather than us helping him, but he still won't move unless he is properly latched onto something.


• Has 3 funny looking teeth! His top tooth is over to the left side as if he has already lost his teeth or if from Appalachia. I'm hoping that isn't really his front tooth.


• Makes his demands VERY clear despite only knowing 2 (? agua and hola - I think...) words. Through grunts, screams and throwing his body around there is never any doubt what he wants.


• Is obsessed with being in water. Taking him out of the bath always results in shrieks. I can run the water over his head and he doesn't even flinch.


• Is starting to stand up to Charlie. He often tolerates Charlie stealing his toys and picking him up but sometimes he'll take swings at Charlie or scream bloody murder.

Some highlights over the last year include:

• Diego sleeping on my chest as I read the newspaper outside on the porch during maternity leave.


• Happy hour naked time on the porch (that means happy hour for us and naked time for him)


• Diego sleeping next to me at night nestled into my armpit


• Open mouth kisses on the nose (he still hasn't really figured out how kisses work)


• Speed crawling towards us when he sees us come down the stairs


• Carseat running. When he gets excited in the car he pumps his little legs as fast as he can.


• Sleeping through the night!!!

Basically he is the cutest, sweetest little bug.

Here are some photos that Nicoletti took this weekend. She is so good!

Charlie's Food Truck

Charlie turned 3 last week. It's crazy how time is flying by. For his actual birthday we started the day singing happy birthday with a candle in a pancake and ended with a pinata and a bike from Monika and Duane.

On Saturday my mom, aunt Mary and Nathan's family came down to join a little birthday party from Charlie and Diego and to celebrate my birthday too. It's so fun to have everyone here and always makes me want to get everyone to live closer together. My mom cooked up a storm and made delcious food for 50 even though we only had a little gathering at a newly opened Playseum nearby. Charlie got to decorate a cupcake and decorate his legs with 'face paint.'

This was his first ever cupcake. If that isn't deprivation I don't know what is.... He had fun but the place is clearly working through some kinks.

My favorite was the rock band - I really want to build a stage in the kids room! I remember how I loved putting on plays for my parents and whoever else fell victim. There is something about even a foot of height that makes a magical difference.

My mom made Charlie his own food truck outfitted with hand-sewn food. It's amazing how it has captured his imagination. He serves fish tacos topped with blueberry pancakes or "all beef hot dogs" topped with bacon - now that's fusion food! His aunt Veronika got him play money and the two together are a great combination. In case you are wondering everything on the menu is $20. Here he is setting up shop out front.

Next week Diego turns 1! Unfortunately he gets to celebrate with a MRI and his 1st year doctor's appt.

DC Gems

Charlie on his new Charango. And yes - he picked out the outfit. The song is a new genre of music - made up words!

Diego took a few steps this week, but it seemed more like he momentarily forgot that he couldn't walk. No repeat performances so I'm not counting them as official first steps. However he does have an official first word: Hola! He LOVES to wave to people and say hola. He says hola for hello and goodbye. And he finally got teeth!! He has 2 teeth - one up top and one on the bottom.

Friday nights at the Yards park is my new favorite DC activity. We set up a picnic, play in the fountain, listen to music and DANCE! Here is a picture of what our cooler usually looks like: beer, breastmilk, apple juice and water....something for everyone! Here is also a video of Charlie dancing to the music with Aidan. I guess it isn't well known yet because it seems to be the only summer concert series where you can actually fit your entire butt on the ground.

Another gem is the aquatic garden lotus festival. I wasn't amazed by the empty ponds the first time I went, but when the flowers bloom it is beyond amazing. Huge lotus flowers - taller than me and with blooms bigger than my head - loom over as you walk along the paths. Charlie was more into the face painting and the lotus hat he made. Check it out - pretty cool!

I used to also like the Eden Center - little Vietnam - until this weekend. We returned to get Charlie's haircut and he cooperated so well knowing that a treat was on the other end of a haircut. Unfortunately the stylist didn't cooperate - or didn't understand me. I told him to just cut a little bit and before I knew it he cut off most of Charlie's hair. Carlos says you never let a male cut another male's hair. I didn't know the rule. Despite the terrible haircut we had a fun time picking out a treat for Charlie afterwards. We got him another microphone.

Sunday we attended a friend's Bolivian ceremony called Ch'alla. Oddly we went all the way to Bolivia but it was in NorthEast DC that we attended a typical Bolivian ritual! Our friends had their Quechua teacher come conduct the ceremony. It is a really nice ceremony that happens on the first friday of every month - people get together around a fire, give thanks and put different meaningful things into the fire. And of course it wouldn't a Bolivian ceremony without coca leaves and lots of food. I was less excited about sticking a coca leaf in my mouth but the quinoa that she made was excellent. I'm hoping to get her over here to teach us some more bolivian recipes.

Part II - Panama

After the family reunion we headed to Panama. I think I had low expectations but I loved it! I also wished that we has visited the country 10 years ago so that we could have invested! Panama City looks more modern than most American cities and the coast line near the capital is now riddled with fancy homes and increasingly nice hotels. We were too chicken to explore the depths of the country with the kids so we stayed at a resort like place 1.5 hours west of Panama City. We did get a quick tour of the city, the old town and the Panama Canal - which is way awesome. Here is the skyline of the city from the old town:

I was skeptical about our choice as we left Panama City and drove in the dark through increasingly dark, back, windy roads and there were no signs to be found. But upon arrival we were met with cool, scented towels to refresh ourselves from the ardous journey, a personal 'butler' and basically a beautiful empty resort. Although it was on the coast Charlie had no interest in the beach and we spent most of our time in the pool. Given that we were almost the only ones there the staff got to know us and fought over Diego's attention and even got Charlie to get over his shyness long enough to order drinks at the bar (jugo de pina was his favorite).

In addition to pool time Charlie got to ride a pony. It was so funny. He sat as stiff and serious as could be as they walked around the stables. It didn't seem to enjoy it much but I enjoyed watching it!

We did take a day trip to El Valle de Anton which is a town in a major crater. It is the most lush place I've ever been. We visited a zoo which had animals I've only read about like Tapirs, Agoutis and Poison Dart Frogs. The cutest were the monkeys which jumped on the staff's back and below is a picture of Charlie communicating with something like an ostrich.

This is my all time favorite picture - not because we look good (in fact we look terrible) - but because Charlie took it. I realized that we didn't have any pictures of Carlos and me so I asked Charlie if he could take a picture of us. He took his task seriously and I think he did a pretty good job!