Crushing Cans

One of Tio Guero's several businesses is collecting cans for recycling. Here he flattens them to prepare to take them to the recycler. We left breakfast to come out and watch.

Building Big Mountain

Sarah got the shovel and started building a "big mountain" in the dirt behind the house.

Love That Hairdo! By Mama

Hairdo

Stephen's slick rich boy hairdo, by Mama

Bike Ride

Adilene Helps Fill The Tires With Air

Mama Goes For A Spin

Video of the bike ride here

Bouncing

The kids have a favorite pastime: Jumping and bouncing on the bed.

Sarah has a rule that she can jump on the bed if she holds on to something solid with both hands.

Stephen loves to be bounced by Papa. He laughs and laughs and whenever we stop he vigorously does the hand sign for "more" while grinning and moving his eyebrows up and down.

When I bounce them around they slowly move towards the edge of the bed with each bounce, then have to be moved back into the center. Papa gets tired before they ever get tired of it.

Multilingual

Stephen understands a lot of whatever we say to him in English and in Spanish. He is also multilingual. He speaks:

Cow: Mooo!
Doggie: Wow-wow.
Kitty: Nehnnnn

Sarah speaks all of these and several more, the sheep, pig, rooster, and bee.

Cutting Firewood

Stephen came over and wanted to help Papa take care of the woodsplitting duties. (Papa was not too much better at splitting wood than Stephen was).

Uh-Oh!

Stephen has picked up two words in the last two days: Uh-Oh and Boo!

Like most of his new words, he only says it once or a couple of times, then goes back to his silent, smiling self.

Where's Stephen?

Stephen was in the room for a while without making any noise. It was discovered that he was playing with a piece of string and the bedframe. 

In Bavispe

With Daira

With Tia Meche

Monkey #1 Looking A Bit Evil

Random Photo

OK, That's Nicer

Early Morning

Papa Can We Go Outside? (Where Is That Jacket?)

Who Needs A Jacket When I Have This Sweatshirt?

Not Me!

Oto!

Stephen, nursing on one side: Oto! Oto! (Otro, Spanish for the other one)

Mama says that he loves to nurse for a few moments on one side before popping off and saying "Oto! Oto!" and getting up to switch to the other side. He'll do this several time until Mama gets too tired of it and makes him stick to one side.

Nursing note: One of the doctors at our doctor's office told us recently that Stephen was too light, that this was common for breastfed kids, and, with a bit of a huff, that it was time to stop breastfeeding him.

Bad doctor.

Planting Seeds

Sarah got interested in planting seeds and using a shovel, and asked Papa to help her plant something. So we found some orange and lime seeds, a little hand shovel, and went to look for a place. Stephen tagged along too, and wanted to help dig. We chose a spot near where the washing machine water drains so that the soil will stay moist without being watered. If a tree sprouts up, we can move it to a better location before it gets too big (there might be a tank blocking root growth underneath where we planted).

The Problem With Two Kids And Only One Shovel

"I Want That Shovel Back" vs. "Ha! I Have The Shovel!"

"Don't Even Think About Touching My Shovel"

We'll check back next year (or sooner) to see if the seeds grew!

Doggies Update

Nice Doggie!

Perhaps buoyed by his success with petting kitties, Stephen is now eagerly and confidently petting doggies. The one pictured here is docile and cooperates well.

Improvising

What Happens When Papa Can't Find Monkey #2's Jacket

Kitten

Yesterday morning, as Mama tried to catch up on some sleep, Papa took Stephen out to walk around. We got to play with a little white kitten that was hanging out outside, climbing up a tree and running back and forth between the plants along the fence by the road. Stephen petted it and was having a real good time. Unfortunately, Papa left the camera charging in the bedroom and didn't want to wake Mama up, so no photos. :(

Note to future generations: Currently, photos of kittens are popular to view on the Internet, so much that people commonly make jokes about it.

Spiders

How fears are learned.

The other day, while playing in the Secret Room, we discovered a spider web, complete with big black spider and wrapped up cocoon things. Mama freaked out and had Papa get rid of the spider, which ended up being dead and dried out already.

Sarah: Why are you afraid? I'm not afraid of the spider.

Today, while playing outside, Sarah came across a small little spider and started freaking out.

Sarah: Aaah! Aaah! I'm afraid of the spider!

Papa looks at Mama.

Mama: She's a girl.

Papa: No, she wasn't afraid of spiders the other day. She learned to be afraid of spiders.

Bike Ride

Around The Streets Near Nana's and Tio Guero's in Bacerac

Happy Birthday Cousin Eddie!

We are lucky to have a cousin for the kids who is about the same age. Too bad that they live very far away from us. But we are happy to celebrate his very first birthday today. Happy Birthday Cousin Eddie!

(Maybe I am the only one who thinks it is funny to call him Cousin Eddie).

Ball

The first time that Stephen saw a ball, he was clearly and immediately attracted (the same way that Sarah was with doggies). He turns everything into a ball. Fruits, rocks, other toys and objects. He seems to throw pretty well for a 1-year-old. Definitely more natural talent than anyone else in his family that we know of. (Although I found out during this trip that Tata used to play some baseball before he married Nana).

Tools

Stephen is showing early natural tendencies to be very handy. He picks up tools, carries them around and tries to use them. His favorites while here in Bacerac have been a red screwdriver and a tool that sort of like a pizza cutter. He takes the screwdriver and pokes it in any holes that he can find.

Running

We went to the park the other day and had a good time, playing on playground equipment (including Nana swinging on the swings with the kids) and Sarah climbing up some tall things, and even looking at some cows and horses on the other side of the hill. But the time was too short and Sarah didn't want to leave. She got frustrated on the way home and was saying she was too tired to walk and needed to be carried, but Papa came up with a little game that changed her mind. Papa and Sarah started racing each other from lightpost to lightpost, Sarah always winning, and she ended up running all the way home, plus some extra, which was pretty far. Score one for Papa (and Sarah!)

Sarah was funny too because she was running zig-zag in front of Papa, apparently to try to keep him from passing and getting ahead. This girl!

The Christ

Sarah: (looking at a picture of a bloody Christ figure at Nana's house)

Why he has owie in his piernas? (his legs) (pause) Why he has owie in his face? (pause) Why he has owie aqui? (Here, pointing to chest)

Later...

He was fighting! He was fighting! Look, he was fighting! (pause) I no like it. (making face) Let's put it in the trash!

El Cuarto Secreto

There is a closed-off room at Nana's house off of the kitchen that we have converted into "El Cuarto Secreto," the Secret Room. Sarah likes to go in there to play and to eat sometimes. It has a sofa and some pictures and momentoes, and has its windows covered, giving it a private, secret feel. It also has a couple of coolers that serve as kid-size tables and play objects. It's a perfect secret place, even if a bit dusty.

Little Monkey On Nana's Table

It's Like This All. The. Time.

Time With Sarah

This morning, besides trying to teach Sarah how to use a hoe, I spent time teaching her how to use an axe to split wood and how to light a wood fire in the water heater.

She gets interested in the things that she sees and I do my best to involve her and introduce her to how things work and why. She gets frustrated though when she is not allowed to do every part of the process, like in starting a fire or splitting wood (she can hardly hold the axe up herself).

She got interested in the hoe after seeing me use it on the fruit trees that were recently planted for Nana. There are apple, peach, apricot, and pear trees back there now that Nana wanted me to help dig holes to capture water for.

Sarah is a good worker and does some of her most useful work with Stephen, playing with him, talking to him and helping him not to cry sometimes when Mama is too busy with something else.

Sarah was spending so much time with Tio Guero and others that it was nice to spend some time with her.

Sarah Hoeing

Sarah Learning How To Use A Hoe

"Don't Take A Picture!"

More Photos

Hanging With Nana On A Chilly Morning

The Morning's First Appearance Of Sarah

Clutching Mopsy The Bear

Monkey #1 Going For It

Monkey #1 Almost Making It

Monkey #2 Making It

Monkey #1 Making It Somewhere Else

(This Bike Kept Them Entertained For Soo Long)

Nana Swings!

Fun With Nana At The Public Park In Bacerac

Photos

Sarah Loves Stephen

Getting Clean

Fresh Out Of The Shower

On Nana's Porch, Hair And Outfit By Mama

Down here, Mama just gets the little monkeys clean and they are already getting dirty and dusty again. These photos were taken with great urgency so as to capture the clean moment.

Stephen likes getting his hair done up by Mama, even if it only lasts for a couple of minutes. Maybe he just likes the head massage.

Nana's Cookies

Sarah was having a bit of a bad day until Nana started making cookies. Then Sarah went and helped, worked diligently, and then enjoyed eating the cookies afterwards, too. (We all enjoyed the cookies.)

Working On A Cookie (Shower and Hair By Mama)

Nana's Kitchen

Stephen Jumping

Stephen loves a new game: jumping down off a high place and into Papa's arms. It takes trust and Stephen is full of it. He laughs and immediately asks to be put back up again. Here we got one early morning time on video.

Stephen Playing

One thing I love about being at Nana's house is that the kids can play outside more easily than back home in the city. Stephen was ambling about for quite a while getting in to one thing and another and just being a boy. Papa likes it but Mama not so much because he gets dirty. Although even she says it might help him avoid a dust allergy later on.

Doggie

A stray dog was hanging around and the kids wanted to pet it. Papa helped Sarah get some cereal crumbs poured out on the ground and the dog started eating.

Apparently it ate a couple of pebbles because Sarah started asking, "Why the doggie eats wocks?"

Then Sarah picked up some pebbles in her hand and offered them to the dog, who declined to eat them. "Papa, why the doggie not eating wocks?"

Stephen, on the other hand, tried to pet the doggie from a place of safety as much as possible. Here he is hiding behind a wood stump at Tio Guero's tire shop. 

Sarah has previously been more fearful of getting too close to dogs, but she has overcome it. She asked me how to get this doggie to follow her around, so I had her feed it some cereal out of her hand a couple of times, which did the trick pretty well.

Sarah: I'm happy with the doggie. I like the doggie.

Pretending

Stephen pretended to eat for the first time. Papa pretended to eat something, and then offered some to Sarah, who also pretended to eat it, and then Stephen, who also pretended to accept, chew and enjoy the imaginary food.

It reminded me of when Sarah first enjoyed pretend candy when we were on our trip to NY with Grandma and Grandpa. She was asking for candy, which we didn't have, so I pretended to take some supposedly very tasty candy out of my mouth and offer it to her. She (thankfully) accepted it and ate it quite happily instead of real candy.

Country Jungle Gym

Sarah: "Oooohh! It's for a Old McDonald's Had A Farm?"

Uh-Oh

I remember that when I was a kid, I got a taste of some mildly alcoholic root beer that my dad was making, and it tasted so bad to me that even now as an adult I still don't like the flavor of alcohol. So you might figure that the same thing would work with the kids. But the only problem is that when they tasted it, they liked it. Now what. (Don't worry, nobody let them drink any).

TV

Sarah was instantly attracted to the television from the first sight. In fact, any glowing screen. Stephen, on the other hand, has shown almost no interest in television at all. Sarah loves nothing more than to lie down and watch Dora or some other show. But when the television is on, Stephen wants to get down and play, or stand in front of the TV looking at everybody else who is trying to watch the TV.

Me, Too!

When we were visiting in A.P. Sarah's cousins Lupita and Dianita came over to take Sarah out for a while. When they were all about to leave, Stephen leapt up and hurried over to the door, grabbing the hands of both of his aunts, and making clear his wishes to be taken along. So we put some clothes on him and let him go, too.

Shots Trauma

Sarah, many times for several days after she got her shots, with emotion and accompanied with sad face:

"Me picaron!" (They pricked me!)

(Stephen's only, one-time comment: Aaah!)

The Cow

Nanas' neighbor right across the street has a cow. Right now mama cow even has a baby cow with her, too. The kids like to look at it and at the other barnyard animals there, namely chickens, a goose or something and a horse that is sometimes there.

Looking At The Cow

The Kids' View

This morning we had the chance to go watch it being milked. Sarah was still asleep but Stephen, as usual, woke up early. He was relatively merciful today and slept in until almost 7am.

The neighbor gave us a cup of "fresh-squeezed" milk but nobody wanted to try it except Papa, who drank the whole, frothy glass. 

Truck Ride

Stephen likes to follow Sarah around and do what she does. Yesterday we went for a little truck ride with Tio Guero and Sarah wanted to climb into the back seat. Stephen started having a fit until I let him climb back there with her. The ride was exceedingly bumpy so I put my hand back there to help stabilize him but he would have none of it. He pushed my hand away and didn't even want to let me keep it anywhere nearby. After I pulled my hand away he looked so happy sitting on the seat back there by himself with Sarah.

Sarah and Stephen in The Back Seat of Tio Guero's Pickup

Doggies

Stephen likes to almost pet doggies from a secure place. He ventures up almost close and then heads back for higher ground usually before even making contact. He is afraid of being licked or touched with a doggie nose.

Sarah loved doggies from the very first time she ever saw one. Stephen, not so much. 

What Does the Cow Say?

Anyone: Ramoncito, como hace la vaca? (What does the cow say?)

Stephen, making his mouth into a big "O": Moooo!