El Nino's Big Adventure

Auntie S and Uncle K had a birthday party for el nino yesterday. We had lots of friends, a few children, and a couple of family members attend. We were mostly adults which a couple of mommy's friends thought was delightful - as they expected to be surrounded by children and were instead surrounded by grown-ups. Quite frankly, mom and dad had no intention of having a "big" first birthday celebration for el. We thought he was just too little to enjoy it, and it seemed sort of silly to make too big a deal when he won't remember any of it. But Auntie and Uncle wanted to do it, so we said, sure. And as it turns out, Auntie S and Uncle K were much smarter than mom and dad because El had a FAB-U-lous time. He seemed to understand that the party was for him, and he squeeled with delight when mom helped him open his presents. He is very social and played the guest-of-honor very well. We had homemade cupcakes decorated by guests under 12. And we played Twister too!

We really can't thank enough Auntie S, Uncle K, and all the friends and family who helped us celebrate our dear, darling boy's first birthday.

I think I will end the blog here, and thank you all for sharing in my experiences the last year and a half. We will continue to share el nino with you via email and pictures and best of all, in person. Thank you again for all your love and support. All our love to all of you.

Auntie S kindly agreed to babysit El Nino for about an hour on Friday while Mommy attended a yoga class. And when I came home a little later than usual, el smiled, pointed at me, and said, "Ma" when I entered the door. This is his second official word, and Auntie S is my witness. Hip hip hooray for making the second word! And daddy heard el say, in his own way, our daug's name this weekend as well. So his first words are all in the family. How fabulous is that?

El Nino and I have been discussing open and close lately. He likes to open things but hasn't really grasped the concept of closing them. This morning we were in the bathroom together, and he opened the cabinet beneath the sink for the first time. His face broke into a luminous smile as he looked inside and saw all the treasure waiting to be pulled out and strewn upon the floor. He had truly discovered something! It was a delight to see.

And as el continues to explore his opening strategies, I am contemplating closing this blog. El will be one-year old in a couple of weeks, and it seems like a fitting time to say goodbye to the blog. It has helped me immeasurably to write my thoughts and experiences during the pregnancy and this first year of el's life. It was a tough road in many ways. And having this outlet was therapeutic for me if perhaps a little boring for whoever has deigned to read this. I will follow through here until el officially turns one and see how it goes.

I took El Nino to a Mommy and Me yoga class yesterday. El hasn't had much exposure to classes, and I have had no exposure with him in a class (Dad took him to a couple of music classes in the summer). So I failed to realize the delicate balance required between interference (as el puts his hands on another child in what looks like will turn into hair pulling or falling down) and non-interference. I don't want el's enthusiasm to harm another child or tick off a parent. But I don't want to squash his enthusiasm for interaction and play either. So I am glad that I have decided to do some classes (yoga once a month or so and weekly music classes will start in January) with el. Mommy needs more practice walking the tightrope.

El began clapping on Saturday. We have been showing him this skill for quite some time, and now he has wholeheartedly embraced it. He claps when he eats, he claps when he stands, he claps when he feels like clapping and hearing a cheer. Bravo, bravo, yea, El!

As I was re-reading some of the recent posts I realized I did not give an update to el's fever experience several weeks ago. Teeth! This picture shows which teeth he has at this point though the second tooth is just breaking the surface now. Congratulations, el nino! Some really awesome food (daddy being a chef and all) awaits you!

Wednesday night of our vacation in Mexico took us to an aunt's house for dinner. She owns a restaurant and could accomodate the large group we had. El was up late that night but had a fantastic time with his 2 1/2 year old cousin, P. They look quite a lot alike actually. Tia (abuela's sister) was gracious as were her three daughters, and a wonderful evening was had by all.

Daddy's sister, Tia H, invited us to lunch at her home the next day. She lives more in the center of Mexico City, and her apartment is cosy and comfortable. Friday was spent at the anthropology musuem which turned out to be my mother's favorite tourist spot of the trip. El stayed home with Tia I and abuela. He needed a day off from the car seat, the traffic, and the hectic pace of being a tourist. He also needed time with his abuela and a day of rest before the big event on Saturday.

Saturday was el's baptism in a lovely little Catholic church near abuela's house. He was decked out like a little pope complete with yarmulkah (I know this is the Jewish word, but I don't know what it's called for Catholics. It looks the same to me.) The priest turned out to be an American who read from a Spanish bible. His pronunciation was not much better than mine. Ah well. El's dad had requested a full mass. So the whole event was rather long for mommy's taste.

Afterwards we returned to la casa and had a wonderful party where more relatives showed up. This was our last full day and night in Mexico before returning home on Sunday. Again, el did very well on the plane ride. The only hitch was getting the car out of the parking lot and back to the airport to pick us up with all the luggage. It took dad quite a while to find his way back to us, and el had a difficult time getting back to sleep. But he has had a few days to recouperate (as have mom and dad,) and we all seem to be back to normal.

Though it was exciting to visit Mexico City; wonderful to share it with "Uncle" R, cousin R, and grandma; and "a dream come true" to introduce el to all his family there, we are glad to be home where it feels rather quiet and peaceful again.

I would be remiss not to mention the tragic death of abuela's beloved dog, Baxter, while we visited last week. He ran out into the street and was hit by two cars in quick succession. He was greatly loved and is missed by many of us. It took him several days to warm up to all the new people in his home. But he spent, what turned out to be, his last evening with us soaking up love and cuddles and admiration from a house full of family. We send him blessings. (This picture is not Baxter, but it does look a little like him. He was four years old.)

El nino took his first plane trip to Mexico September 1. We had been hearing on the news about all the flight delays and were trepidatious about the whole airport experience. So imagine our surprise when we arrived at 8:30am (2 hours before our flight) to find no lines. There were no lines to check in our bags, no lines to pass through security, no lines for a latte at Starbucks. The airport was like a ghost town. And to top it off, our flight left on time and arrived in Mexico City on time as well: no lost luggage, no upset baby, no worries at all.

I am still amazed at how easy going and resilient el nino is to new experiences. He took the plane ride (5 hours) in stride. He ate; he slept; he played. He didn't seem to mind that he was restricted to a couple of airplane seats. I guess there is some good to living in a miniscule apartment, hey?

We got to el's grandparents' house about 5:30pm and promptly proceeded to eat. My mother-in-law is an excellent cook. Because of graduate school and my subsequent pregnancy, it has been 3 1/2 years since I have tasted la comida de suegra. "Ooh la la," is all I can say. Too bad el is still too young to experience his abuela's cooking; he'll have to wait until our next trip.

Our friend, el's "Uncle" R, came with us and was a big help in the airports. It was his first trip to Mexico as well, and he gamely agreed to rent a car and drive in Mexico City. Let me just say, he made it through 3 1/2 days before he gleefully relinquished the rental car. But before that, we took both cars to Teotihuacan where the Pyramid of the Sun and the Moon are.
This was our neice R's favorite place to visit during the week. I carried el to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun in the carrier and danced around to the Rocky theme song when we made it to the top.

Teotihuacan is the largest pre-Columbian city in the America's and dates to about 200 BC. The last time I visited was well over a dozen years ago. At that time I was amazed at how little organization there was in visiting the site: no tickets, no gift shops, just individual vendors setting up shop hapharzardly around the area. My, how things have changed. Now there are tickets to come in and several gifts shops as well as a restuarant. My mother was a trooper and came with us to the site as well, though there was much too much walking required. So she remained at the entrance area reading a book. She was able to see the Pyramids from a couple of vantage points before the day was done, however.

So this gets us to Tuesday. We had several more days in Mexico and several more events took place before we came home.