Where to Start?

I haven't blogged yet in part because I don't know where to start! NerdFiesta was incredible. Re-entry has been challenging.

Current notables include Eva learning to dive/belly flop into water and swim all limbs with face underwater. The diving mask was a great investment! Micah also made good progress in the swimming department while we were at the resort with the super warm pools with Al & Alice on the weekend.

Micah is asking to use the potty more and more. I am hopeful he will be out of diapers sooner than his sis was. He has moved into the tantrum phase of development.

It's cold here. I'm so grateful for our new heater.

Micah is talking more and more. He says, "hi there!", "Dad", "Eva", "Mama", "Claudia", "All done", and he sings "Farmer in the Dell". He learns signs quickly now and is quite polite, signing please and thank you fairly consistently. He grunts and whines when he wants something. Hopefully that passes quickly!

Happy New Anus

My father-in-law learned the phrase "feliz año nuevo". Unfortunately he missed the distinction between an "n" and an "ñ" and has earnestly been wishing people "feliz ano nuevo", or Happy New Anus.

We are in San Miguel de Allende and loving it! The hotel is just as cool as I had hoped and I am so glad. It is perfect for our group, because it is small and intimate and it's like living in a house together! We can congregate in the living room area in the evenings and still hear the kids if they wake up. Each room is unique and charming. The food has been delicious.

New year's eve in San Miguel was fun, interesting, and fraught with danger. Adults and children alike brandishing metre-long sparklers. Fireworks wheels, obviously not subject to any sort of regulation. At the stroke of midnight one of the many fireworks ricochetted off the nearby cathedral and into the crowd. The stuff of which memories are made.

We have all had a fun and relaxing time exploring this small and charming city and enjoying the hotel and each other. Tomorrow we will jump back on the bus for a 4 hour ride to Guadalajara, where we are staying in a cool-sounding hotel in a cool area called Tlaquepaque.

Christmas Day!

One of the best Christmas Days on record! Suuper relaxing and enjoyable. A great day of celebration. The kids opened presents all day long. They really got a chance to appreciate and enjoy all of their gifts. Some of the favorites include:

- The tricycle: Eva was excited about the bike but didn't unleash the fullness of her excitement right away. She had misunderstood and was expecting that Santa would still be there in the living room. So when she ran into the living room she exclaimed a bike! but went on to look around for Santa. After we explained the kids had a good ride in the kitchen. Eva driving and Micah on the back.
- The princess blowdryer: This was a big hit with both kids. At one point Eva was drying and styling Micah's hair. At bedtime she told me it would be great if Micah got a blue sparkly blowdryer.
- New outfits: When Micah saw his new outfit from Andrey & Jen, he gave it a great big hug! Eva wore her new dress most of the day.

We enjoyed an egg casserole for breakfast, accompanied by mimosas. Spent some fun time in the sunny back yard. Went for a walk. Eva rode her bike the whole time! Pulled by us, but pedalling all the same. Had some great leftovers. Enjoyed homemade eggnog. The kids went to bed early and the rest of us are either napping or chilling. I think it will be an early night!

Feast Day

We made the very excellent decision to feast today instead of tomorrow. No cooking on Christmas Day, just assembly. Sweet relax and enjoy, ahhh.

Had a terrific day again hanging out, cooking, and eating an amazingly delicious turkey dinner. We took a trip up to the Giant Jesus, as we call it... The Cristo de las Noas. Micah was quite impressed with the big guy. Said "Hi, Jesus!" a couple of times. So cute.

Santa has been here already... the stockings are stuffed, literally. He drank his milk and ate his two chocolates (we had no cookies). The new tricycle is parked in the living room. Looking forward to tomorrow morning!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Jen and Andrey are Here!

They arrived safe and sound, luggage intact. We had an awesome day of hanging out. It is SO great to see them. It has been almost exactly two years since we saw them last. The kids took to them super fast. We have laughed an awful lot already.

Daddy Doesn't Have To Go To Work For a Long Time Now

Andrew went to work for a few hours this morning to tie up loose ends. Now he's officially on vacation! It is so great to have him around. Eva was so excited to hear that Daddy doesn't have to go to work again for a long time. This afternoon they had some great Daddy-and-Eva-time. Micah and I had some great Nap Time. Worked out great! I also cooked up a bunch of food for Duna to have while she's boarding at the vet while we are gone. Hope it's enough- she has been eating up a storm.

Jen and Andrey are en route! We are praying for their safe arrival- ideally with luggage.

The kids have so many presents!! We have started giving them some already so it's not so overwhelming on Christmas morning. Also, since we are leaving only a few days after Christmas, it will give them more time to play before they have to leave their new toys behind. Today I gave them their hula hoops (pink for Eva and blue for Micah, naturally). They had quite a good time! Enjoyed them much more today than they would have in the midst of all the other goodies, I'm sure.

One of our Christmas traditions is to do a big jigsaw puzzle. Thought that Mom and I would do most of this one, but I got mAYbe 4 pieces, and my Dad did a very large portion of it!! Finished it in a little over a week. Took it apart to do it again with Alice in January.

Off to play some Monopoly!

The Countdown is On

So many countdowns are on right now. VERY exciting!

2 more sleeps 'til Jen & Andrey are here
3 more sleeps to Christmas dinner
4 more sleeps to Christmas Day
6 more sleeps to the arrival of the rest of our cool tour group
8 more sleeps to tour departure day

It's going to go by so fast, I know it. Must be certain to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate every moment.

Hopefully Micah will cooperate and not leave me in a sleep deprived fog... last night was horrible. What the heck? He's 14 months old and awake so darned much most nights. I wish I understood. Last night I was not feeling very loving and motherly. Mainly driven by not wanting to wake up the rest of the house.

Droopy Tree

Here they start selling live trees very early, in my opinion. And I think they only get one shipment. So the tree we buy on the first weekend of December has been cut for weeks already. It comes with a stand (in the form of crossed pieces of wood) already nailed to the bottom. And I suppose the trunk is sealed. Neither this tree nor last year's tree drank any water at all. Last year's tree lasted not bad 'til after Christmas Day. This year's tree is in rough shape. Extremely brittle and somewhat droopy. Micah fell into it this morning and now there's a Micah-shaped depression in the tree. Mom & I have commissioned the guys to drill holes or cut notches or something into the trunk to encourage it to perk up.

Last night we had a hilarious time playing Catch Phrase. We laughed a LOT. In fact, I came out from putting Micah to sleep very annoyed because all the ruckus from the kitchen was keeping him awake.

The weather has been unseasonably warm so far! No complaints! Today is a little bit cooler, however. We have someone here right now installing the propane heater to keep us comfy during cold snaps.

It's been a very good weekend so far!

The Latest

The season has kicked up a notch... my parents are now here!! Unfortunately they are sans luggage, but they had 3 flights with tight connections so I'm sure they'll show up tonight. It actually worked out well because the bags were very heavy and big, and now they will be delivered. So nobody has to carry them!

Micah is quite the monkey!! Yesterday Eva and I were cooking together. Micah pushed a kitchen chair over to the stove and climbed up onto it to join us!! I think Eva was 2 or 2-1/2 by the time she figured out about moving furniture around to reach stuff. Amazing how an older sibling can accelerate development and discovery. Micah has also started letting us know that he wants to go potty. Not all the time, mind you, but a few times a day. More often when we are out, which is interesting. I put some cotton training pants on him (which look SOO cute). I thought he might get the feel for how comfortable undies can be, as long as they're not wet. Not sure it made much of an impression on him. Anyway, I am hoping that Micah will be out of diapers much sooner than Eva was. Just think of the monetary and environmental savings! Eva wore diapers for 3 years, approximately 4 packs of $15 diapers per month works out to $60 per month and $720 per year!! If Micah is out of diapers by 18 months we could save about $1,000. That's pretty good motivation.

Eva seems to have had a boost of confidence from her gymnastics recital. I love it!