Halloween Party for the Fantastic 5

We had our Halloween party this past Friday. It was Mati and his old gang of four. They were all happy to be together but I was overwhelmed with such intense boy energy. They ran, screamed (God did they ever!!!), played, cried, ate, climbed and got hurt - all in two hours!!!!

We started the afternoon by taking a "field trip" to a patch of grass just down the block to do Diet Coke/Mentos geysers. The boys were thrilled!!! I gave each of them two Mentos to start with and instructed them to put the Mentos in the Coke bottle; I don't know how many we managed to drop in when they eruption happened, but it went pretty high and it amazed the boys. It was so messy and a little crazy but hilarious and so much fun. I laughed as I watched their faces and tried to avoid the spray. I never did and I got soaked but, luckily, Diet Coke is only slightly stickier than water. ;) Next time, though, I'll be sure to have a pipe in hand to help get the mentos in all at once and get the eruption to go higher.

After the geysers, we went back to the "Salon Comunal" (Community Room), where I had multiple activities prepared. I thought it would be easier to manage them in a smaller room setting and also to protect Santi from being the group's "doll". I managed to interest them in several games: musical chairs, an obstacle course, soccer, and walking with a spoon and egg, but their attention spans are so limited. All of them, with the exception of Mati, are being raised by nannies and they also indulge in at least an hour of TV a day. It was a real eye-opener to see them all in action, to realize how conceited these Colombian kids are. They all act like Little Emperors. I'm not saying Mateo is perfect ... believe me ... he's far from it and I do admit he's a spoiled little brat, but NOTHING in comparison to his friends. After this playdate on Friday, any doubts I had about not going back to work, were permanently erased from my mind. I feel it's my duty to raise the children I wanted to bring into this world and to raise them to be compassionate, loving, and tolerant human beings.

But enough ... here are the only pictures I managed to take!!

Our darling Buzz Lightyear

Our ferocious Buzz Lightyear

Pablo, Juan Lucas, Jero, Mati and Jaco

Petit Basque

Santi, Santi, Santi ... what has he been up to?

He talks and talks and talks. As an editor's note, his first word was NOT "papa" but "awa" (agua = water). He says "Ma" for Mati, "mama" for mommy (although rarely), "ba ba" for bye bye, a sort of "ai" for hi. And he imitates the sounds from the following animals: dogs, ducks, cows and when he's in the mood that of a rooster and cat. He's getting the hang of a donkey's bray and of a bird's chirp.

He also points - he points for his stuffed animal; only one, his sheep, which brings him intense joy whenever he sees him or gets him. You should see the smile on his face! Pure joy!! Or he'll point for whatever he wants: he's VERY assertive.

He walks, yes, but not on his own. He rarely ventures out to take steps unassisted, although when he sees Mati running, he also wants to take off. I've been taking him out more and more on walks around the neighborhood and in the parks. He has a good resistance, just like his brother had at this age. He'll stop every three or four steps because something, anything, caught his eye: a construction site, a leaf of the ground, a bird that flew by. It's a real change of pace for me to go so slow and appreciate what surrounds us.

He loves to swim and splash in his bath, wake his brother up by yelling, "MA!!" and giving him little pats on the chest. He's an adorable dancer, he'll bounce up and down and if he's sitting, he'll move his trunk up and down or move his arms up and down. He's also starting to imitate hand gestures to songs, like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Wheels on the Bus"; although, his real love is for techno, just like his parents.

And like a good Bossut, this child LOVES to eat. He'll eat and eat and eat until you tell him all gone. If he was eating something he loves, like raspberries, he'll melt down and start crying ... for 10 seconds, and then he'll stop (DRAMA QUEEN!!!!). But really, he eats just about the same quantity as his brother!!! Just this past weekend, he had a good size bowl of cherry tomatoes, followed by edamame, a rice cracker, blueberry cheerios and water. Then he saw my coconut chicken soup and he started pointed and protesting that he wanted some of it. Naturally, he liked it and demanded more ... and more. Then I had to share my mango and passion fruit smoothie with him as well!!! With all he eats, he hasn't gained any significant weight since his last checkup when he was one; he's a mere 10.4kg (although it certainly feels heavy on the arms!!).

But he's also getting very spoiled. If he's sitting on his highchair and he's not happy that he ran out of milk, he'll throw the bottle on the floor. Or if you don't do what he wants, he'll throw himself on the floor. Funny thing is that, if no one is around him, he'll throw himself very gently on the floor so he doesn't hurt his head. And if you still don't pay attention, he'll stop "crying" after, like, 3 seconds. He's big in dramatic arts!!!

So Nico thinks I'm writing a novel here. If you want further updates on Santi, make sure you email him directly.

Do I look like Mamounette or what????

Merci Tata Nabou et Tonton Vincent

Santiago's first steps and his first word

Of course, first word HAD to be....

Carving Pumpkins

Never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself buying and carving pumpkins for Halloween! But with mommyhood, a lot of things have changed!! This year, Mati is more aware of what Halloween is and so it’s been so much enjoyable to do this type of activity with him. Heck, I’m even planning a Halloween party for him and his close friends next Friday and I’m having so much fun doing so!!

Despite Mati’s awareness and maturity, he’s still so innocent. I bought a couple of juices in preparation for the party next Friday and told him he would be drinking blood. He got in a really bad mood and told me, “No! Fea! Yo no quiero tomar sangre!” (No! Ugly! I don’t want to drink blood!) Or when I carved the top hole in the pumpkin and told him he had to take the brains out, he was a little bit freaked out, but soon saw that it was just a whole bunch of seeds!

And now for some non-Halloween funny Mati moments:

1. I’m trying to make him aware of his thumb sucking in an ultimate attempt at getting him to stop, at least during the day. The other day, I was telling him to stop it and he tells me in the sweetest voice: “But Mommy, it’s so good.” I answer that despite it being good, he needs to try to stop because he’s a big boy now. I turn around and hear him sucking away again. I tell him to stop and he asks how I know he was sucking his thumb. I tell him I have eyes on the back of my head. Yesterday we were playing doctor. Mateo the doctor tells me that he needs to cut my hair because I’m going to have an operation. So he start cutting my hair with his play scissors but then he starts poking through my head as if he was looking for lice. I ask him what he was doing and he answers: “I’m looking for your eyes!” I told him those were special mommy eyes and he wouldn't be able to see them. He asked how come he didn't have special eyes and I told him he would get them once he had children.
2. After school today, Mati asks, “Mommy, for breakfast tomorrow, can we go to a restaurant? I want to have juice and arepas.”
3. (Sorry, this is has to be in Spanish because of Mati's mispronunciation of the word "violence" makes it funny.) M: "Mama, la violeta es mala." P: "Por que? Ahora que hizo Violeta? Se volvio a mojar el pelo en el bano?" M: "NO! Violeta no!" Piensa unos segundos, "La vi-o-len-sa ... Marta dice que la vi-o-len-sa es mala." Como no estaba del 100% segura de lo que estaba diciendo le pregunte porque. M:"Porque Cristobal le mordio el cachete a Jose Alejandro y Marta dice que la vi-o-len-sa es mala." P:"AHHHHH, la violencia!!!"

Los Llanos

On the road again … this time to the Los Llanos. We set out really early Saturday morning, trying to avoid the rush of Bogotanos leaving the city for the holiday break and so Nico could get to the hotel in time for … you guessed it! Lunch! We arrived after 4 LONG hours, with Santi close to hysteria and Mati asking every 5 minutes if we were there yet.

It was a rather uneventful trip: we stayed in the hotel grounds the whole time. WHY???? For starters, having two little children has definitely changed the way we travel. The hotel had plenty of activities to keep you entertained for a couple of days, but I couldn’t imagine kayaking in the lake with Santi on board!!! It would either be row the oars or keep Santi from going overboard!! We did venture out on a walk (Nico’s idea, or course!) one morning at 10am. Do I need to say more??? Both Mati and Santi were RED from the heat and after a mere 20 minutes Mati didn’t want to go further. The poor little guy was actually stepping in puddles to keep his feet fresh!! So we called the driver to come rescue us (wonderful perk!!!).

Colombia’s scenery is beyond this world: it’s beautiful!! It’s a real shame that the political insecurity has prolonged for so long and that one of the regions that has been hit the hardest is Los Llanos. This whole region is basically not discussed in any of the guide books we have, which doesn’t make planning easy. We have a couple more Colombia destinations to explore and then we’re going international … to places that have good travel guide books!

Can you see the rainbow???

Dancing in the car

Cuddle time with Moose

Beautiful Mati Pictures

Here are some beautiful pictures taken by my sister in Spain over the summer. I think, and I'm sure you will all agree, she captured his essence perfectly.

Mati Eating with Chopsticks, Mexican Santi Sucking on a Lime

At the Playground

Finally ... !!!

Boo!

MaTEO writes