El Nino's Big Adventure

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.)