Disney World

For Keith's birthday, we took a mini-vacation to Disney World. In exchange for sitting through a time-share presentation, we were given a 4 day and 3 night stay at Orange Lake Resort in Orlando. Our friends Brad and Kathleen and their baby Dominic joined us and we had wonderful long weekend in Florida.

The resort was beautiful and it was nice that the kids played together from the moment they woke up to the moment they fell asleep at night. Friday, we arrived and settled in. Dylan and Dom (or "Moose" his nickname) knew each other from before and they hit it off right away, running from room to room together. They shared the toys and held hands when we left the suite to walk anywhere, it was all adorable. Saturday we went to Magic Kingdom and Dylan enjoyed the Dumbo ride with daddy, the It's a Small World, the Peter Pan and the Winnie the Pooh rides with mommy AND daddy. That's what he was really excited about, that we were all on the ride together...it was so cute! He also really liked riding a little tram that rode around one of the sections of the park. It was pretty hot and sunny and there was a lot of walking around so that day was exhausting. Here is a picture of Dylan and Dominic taking a nap in one of the shady areas we were able to find. Kathleen had bought the boys both Micky shirts with their names on them and little Mickey dolls. they looked so cute wearing them together!

Sunday, we spent the morning doing the time-share presentation, which was an example of relentless salesmanship. For the record, the initial offer to buy a week a year at the resort was around $50,000 plus yearly maintence fees. By the 5th salesman, the price had gone down to around $5,000 plus maintenance fees. pretty insane! After that, we spent time at the resort pool, which was fun and then we headed to "Downtown Disney" for dinner and walking around. This place was great and we are so grateful to Keith's friend Krista for giving us this tip. We never would have known to go there, but it was perfect. Dylan and Dom spent almost an hour just playing on the little playground and Dylan loved Lego-land. We had a nice dinner, and Dylan rode a little choo-choo and a merry-go-round. All for a fraction of what we had paid in the park the day before.

The best part of the night was when we stopped along the path to hear a performer playing guitar and taking requests. There was a grassy area behind the singer and the boys started running around and playing while we listened to music and watched them. Then two older girls (maybe 7 and 8?) started playing with the boys and running around with them. They boys loved them and they played for a long time together as this singer provided a really sweet soundtrack for it all (Paul Simon and the Beatles). It was a perfect moment on a pefect night!
The boys exhausted themselves and slept beautifully that night.

On Monday, we went to Sea World where Keith and Seth's friend Krista works. She hooked us up with some free tickets and some half-priced tickets and gave us great advice about where to go. We saw the Shamu show, that Dylan is still talking about. Then we took a secret entrance and avoided the lines at the polar bear exhibit that was wonderfully air-conditioned! We saw all sorts of cool stuff in there while escaping the very hot sun outside.

Eventually it was time to go home. Our flight was delayed several times and we were given three separate seats in three separate rows (We had to work it out with people on the plane because Continental didn't help us in getting 2 seats next to each other for me and Dylan!). But through it all, Dylan was so good. He stayed in his car seat through all the delays on the plane and didn't cry the whole flight. The man next to him who had his two fighting sons behind us was impressed.

All in all it was a wonderful and perfect vacation and we can't wait to take more time off with our sweet little boy. Here's also a link of my pictures from our trip...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=169787&id=650388930&l=774d5644ce

happy mother's day / miss you Bis-y

Well, to catch up this blog up to our lives, I'll mention that March 16 was Dylan's birthday and he had a nice time with us at home that night and then the following weekend with family and friends.

When April started, we discussed what we might do on my grandmother's birthday which was May 2nd. Sadly, she got sick, then was in the hospital for 2 weeks, and she passed away on April 19th. April was a cruel month this year and we are all still recovering and missing her.

One good thing, however, as we look back on her life, we can know that she was loved and cared for. She had been living with my parents for over 20 years now and she was always around family and doted on by her two sons. For years she bugged me about having a baby (for many, many years). Finally, we gave her a great-grandson. And they soon became good friends. Dylan spends his weekdays at my mom's house so he played with my grandmother every day. He called her "Bis-y" (pronounced Beesy) -- short for "Bis-abuela" which means great-grandmother. On the weekends, she missed him so much, she would call my cell phone to ask me if he was eating OK (because "he looks so skinny"). She would get up and out of her bed so that she could sit on the couch and watch him play. He would bring his little toy cars to her and turn on the radio and ask her to dance with him. She probably danced more sitting down on the couch this last year than she did in the past 20-30 years. Dylan made her laugh and gave her energy and I think he brightened up her life so for that I am so grateful.

This picture is the last picture we took of my grandmother on Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day and we all ate outside and then just lounged and enjoyed the weather. My grandmother said it felt like she was in Uruguay...with everyone eating a nice long meal and then relaxing and listening to a soccer game on the radio. Though I keep wanting to go back to that moment, I guess by remembering it and cherishing it, in a way I can keep going back. Today is our first Mother's Day without our grandmother and I think the lesson I'm taking is to really enjoy those moments with our family when we have them. Today I'm going to do just that with my own mom, with Keith's mom, and with my sweet darling baby who calls me 'mommy.'

Uruguay cont.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=146806&id=650388930&l=34d9bcf096

So much has happened since the last post, but I will add some more details from the Uruguay trip. The link above is to our facebook album of pictures. It should open for anyone, though. First off, I remain amazed at how well Dylan handled the flights to and from Chile/Uruguay. We got some funny looks boarding the plane because toddlers on overnight flights understandably make people nervous. Luckily, Dylan was his sweet little self and didn't cry once during the 15 hour trips going and returning. We had a ton of toys and snacks to entertain him and he managed to sleep most of the night both ways, so that was a huge success on its own.

Once we arrived in Uruguay, we spent the first night in Montevideo. We went out for "chivitos" (best sandwich ever: thinly sliced filet mignon, with ham, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, egg, red peppers, and mayo.) The next day we set out for the cross-country drive to visit my mother's family. Again, Dylan was a trooper for the 6 hour car-ride. We spent 3 days and 2 nights in the town of Rio Branco where most of my mom's 14 brothers and sisters live. It's definitely got a small-town country feel but because it's on the border with Brazil, and it was Carnival time, it was insanely festive with party buses driving around blasting music at night. If it had been a few years earlier, our trip would surely have been different...but unlike our cousins who invited us out with them, and unlike what seemed to be the entire Brazilian town of Jaguaron, we actually went to bed while it was dark out and woke up in the mornings. This isn't to say we went to bed "early" -- we did have dinner out at 11pm, and yes Dylan somehow managed to stay on our crazy schedule. We had a family reunion for my mom's side of the family at one of my cousin's farms. It nice to catch up and especially nice to see my mom with her brothers and sisters.

On Tuesday, we left the Brazilian border / country-side town of Rio Branco and drove to Punta del Este, which was seemed like another world altogether. This is the richest resort town in the country and the residents liked to tell us all the American movie-stars and singers that had just passed through that summer. My parents' friends had rented us a house for the week as a birthday present to them (they both turned 60 within 2 months). That's gotta be the nicest gift I've ever heard of and it was an amazing time. My brother and his girlfriend had had their flight cancelled because of a storm, so they finally met up with us after having missed the more rustic part of the trip. Now we were in a very upscale beach-town and we had fun on the beach during the day and going out at night, though Keith and I always went home early while my siblings and cousins stayed out until the morning...we passed the torch on to the next generation I guess!

On Friday, we left Punta del Este and left for Montevideo again. My mom's big birthday bash was at night and despite a torrential downpour that caused some issues (the party was planned to be outside and the inside space was not quite big enough to comfortably accommodate everyone)...after the food came out and the music started, the party turned out great and a ton of my parents' Uruguayan and American friends (lots of people traveled to attend this party!) were together in one place. It was very fun. The party ended at around 3 in the morning. Again, Dylan had fun and when he got tired, he fell asleep in his stroller and slept through the band, the carnival/candombe drumming, and all the craziness.

Saturday we went to my cousin Diego's birthday party and spent some time with our family there. We walked around the neighborhood my dad and uncle grew up in and had dinner in the patio of my grandmother's house, where I lived when I was very small.

Sunday, we went to the fair and had some lunch but that was the last day of our trip -- it went by pretty fast.

On the way home Dylan made a friend at the Santiago airport, which had an indoor playground/area for kids that really helped our long lay-over there. Less than a week later that airport was destroyed by the earthquake...pretty crazy. I took some video of Dylan playing with kids at the airport and when we showed my grandmother back home, she laughed as hard I had ever seen her laugh, watching Dylan running and holding hands with his little friend. Watching her laugh and enjoy that video is a memory I'll now keep and cherish forever.

so that's our trip to Uruguay in a nutshell. It was a wonderful trip whose only drawback is that it was too short. I really can't wait to go back again.

SOY CELESTE!

We just returned from our wonderful but definetely too short trip to Uruguay. This picture is Dylan in front of my cousin Monica's home, which is also where my grandparents' lived and my dad and uncle were born and raised. Dylan did so well throughout the trip. Beginning with the 14 hour flight (including a 4 hour layover in Chile) which I was very nervous about, Dylan proved that he is a good traveller. No crying, minimum fussing, and he slept through the night on the plane. Very good flight. The way back was also good, with only a little more fidgeting and restlessness but no major meltdowns and he even made a friend at the Santiago airport during our return layover. I have video of them holding hands walking through the airport and playing on the (brilliant) indoor playground sets.

The actual trip itself was lovely and I'll post more pictures soon. We started with a few days in Rio Branco, where my mom is from, then went to the beach town of Punta del Este, and then ended up in Montevideo for a couple days. We got to see family, go to the beach, go to several parties, eat chivitos almost every day, and most important of all, Keith and I got to spend lots of time with our baby who each day gets more sweet, fun, and talkative.

I'll post more pictures and stories soon, but wanted to get this picture up (that my brother's girlfriend Lisa took) because I love it so much.

Happy Holidays!

I haven't posted in a while because things have been so crazy-busy, more than usual. But it's been a lovely holiday season. Thanksgiving was delicious as usual. December gave us the first snowstorm of the season and after weeks of Dylan refusing to wear his new winter coat, his daddy talked him into putting it on so they could go play in the snow. Of course it took much more time to get Dylan all suited up to take a walk outside than the actual time outside because it was late and cold...but it was all worth it.

Dylan is now spending his week-days at his Abu's (my mom's) house. We pulled him out of daycare for the winter because he was getting sick so often. He'll probably go back in the Spring. For now, he's got his new nanny Teresa, and plays with his great-grandmother all day, leaving her exhausted and dreaming about cartoons and toy cars.

Christmas was three-days long this year and Dylan got to play with his cousins and has a whole new set of fun toys that have taken over our house. We had some friends over for New Years and Dylan was the star of the party, hamming it up for everyone...he was a big hit and got to show off his dancing skills to a crowd for the first time, looks like he's a lot like his daddy.

At the end of November, Dylan welcomed his new friend Mikah -- his Madrina's new baby. In December, we celebrated Chloe's 4th birthday on the Santa train in Westfield (that's where this picture is from) and we had a blast.

All in all, it's been a great beginning to winter. Now we start to prepare for our trip in Uruguay in February!

dance parties and cleaning-up

Isn't this picture beautiful?? My mom took it recently and I thought it was too precious NOT to post. I forgot to mention in the last recent post that Dylan now occassionally tries to do the worm when we have little dance parties. He'll be dancing and out of nowhere get down on the ground and push himself back just like his daddy. very cute and it shows that clearly breakdancing is something that is genetically coded because we've never taught him that. Also another cute thing he does is pick up things off the ground (like cheerios that he threw himself while saying "NOOO!") and walk them to the garbage and throw them away, or grab utensils or cups or botles and throw them up into the sink which he just barely reaches. Pretty amazing! Finally, I'm happy to have celebrated my birthday with him this last weekend -- he's the best present I could ever ask for.

all smiles

Things have been going well and Dylan is more like a little boy and less like a baby every day. We had our first "back to school/parents night" at his daycare, where we got to meet the teachers and hear about his days at the Rainbow Academy. It was nice to hear all the teachers say nice things about him. We felt like the parents of a little school-boy! It certainly felt like a milestone for us and I look forward to many more of those.

Thankfully, Dylan did pretty well throughout September and did not get sick. Unfortunately though, he developed ear infections in both ears during the first full week of October. He had a bit of a rough time and the doctor said it was probably pretty painful for him. Luckily, he's fully recovered now and we're bundling him up now that the weather has officially gotten really cold.

The cutest thing he's doing now is pointing to his own lips when he wants a kiss. It's just the cutest thing ever. Since the last entry, he has learned to say "NO" and "mine" -- both words we thank the daycare for. He's gotten really good at eating by himself and using utensils and he's begun to let us know when he needs a new diaper which is a good start to eventual potty-training. His personality is proving to be very strong and demanding and he will take our hands and lead us places and tell us what he wants to do (sit at his little table, read a book, take a bath, brush his teeth). For having such a small vocubulary he manages to always make himself understood, and he is understanding us more and more and responding by shaking his head "yes" or "no." What remains unchanged is his love of playing (especially with cars), his generosity with hugs and kisses (and we ask for them pretty regularly), and his adorable little voice which is sometimes really deep and other time really high and baby-like.

so all in all, things are going well and he's just getting cuter and smarter by the day. I took this picture one morning when we were getting dressed. I put his pants on and turned around to go in his closet for a shirt. by the time I turned around again, he had climbed up to the glider/chair and was rocking back and forth and smiling. I just had to take a picture with my phone to remember the moment.