Chugga Chugga!

Make way for the Potty Train!


It's taken its sweet time, but it looks like we're approaching the station. We tried gummy bears, new trains, chocolate--lots and lots of incentives. What finally worked? Confetti! It's all about the celebratious around here! Woo-hoo!

I must be a great father

What a great long weekend. One of the benefits of my job is having Fridays off in the summer. First up was Alejandro's friend Jordan's homecoming anniversary. Jordan's mom set up water toys all over the yard for the party, which Alejandro scrupulously avoided. Somehow, however, he was soaked by the end of it. Congratulations, Jordan and family! Saturday we went to nature event at a local park complete with frog petting and worm hunting, That night we went to an outdoor jazz concert at Elmhurst College with friends Libby and Emma. There was much ring-around-the-rosie playing and Libby spent much of the evening trying to tempt Alejandro into running off someplace. Ale did not want to stray too far though and eventually would try to drag her back. Many clovers were picked and presented as well. The music was great, the food was great, and the kids had a tremendous time.

The highlight of the weekend had to be Father's day. Many thanks to Alejandro, Joanna, Yiayia and Papou for a bunch of great gifts. The highlight of Father's day was a movie first. Joanna and my first trip to a drive-in movie and Alejandro's first movie of any kind. We saw Up. It was very sweet and funny. I challenge any adult not to sob a bit here and there especially at the beginning. We had our doubts when Alejandro fell asleep in the car on the way. The movie started late because it wasn't dark enough, but Alejandro woke up for the opening credits and had a blast after that. He spent much of time standing and watching the movie through the sunroof or crawling all over us. We weren't sure if Alejandro was ready for a movie but he really did love it. You could tell he was paying attention because he was always giving his own interpretation of events, especially scary moments. Drive-ins are great for little kids, you don't have to be quiet or sit still. It was a late night but Alejandro was fantastic. Thanks for a great day Alejandro (and mommy).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CELIA!

Alejandro's Art Tour

Alejandro went up to the farm last week for our yearly morel mushroom hunt and it turned into an impromptu art tour of southwest Wisconsin. Wisconsin is famous for quirky self-taught artists. Some of the art is for sale, still more is on display roadside. We had a great time driving around and checking it out.

First stop, Lulu's Art-O-Rama. Lulu is a Chicago lawyer who relocated to Wisconsin. She paints, sculpts, and is a biographer of our next artist Ellis Nelson

Next up Ellis Nelson an eighty-something year old retiree who decided to turn his love for metal work into art. His work has appeared at the Smithsonian.

Alejandro at the Wegner Gotto. Paul and Matilda Wegner built these fantastic concrete and broken glass sculptures when they retired.

Our last stop was the Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden, where Alejandro galloped on a triceratops. Herman Rusch created these sculptures over 25 years. Alejandro had a blast exploring. There are a bunch more of these sites across Wisconsin. Check them out.

Oh, and speaking of works of art, we found a bunch of delicious mushrooms and Alejandro absolutely loved them.

3

In honor of Alejandro's birthday, i suggested that we take stock. I posed a few questions and here are his answers in their entirety, unedited, and delivered while standing on one leg, turning somersaults, or trying to stand in a box, with a basket on his head, on his art table. Yes, three is going to be interesting.

Q. How old are you?
A. Casi tres

Q. What's your favorite color?
A. Red and green

Q. Who is your best friend?
A. Yiayia

Q. What is your favorite animal?
A. So (His bear)

Q. What is your favorite book?
A. The Not-So-Shabby Sheepdog

Q. What is your favorite toy?
A. Trains

Q. What is your favorite food?
A. Chinese and fruit

Q. Do you have a favorite restaurant?
A. That place with the food and the apple. (Your guess is as good as ours.)

Q. What do you like?
A. I like trains and puzzles and bookses and intruments

Q. What don't you like?
A. Bookses at Libby's house. Llama, Llama, Red Pajama


Q. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. A tiger

Q. Who is the president?
A. Barack Obama (Already more culturally literate than most of our population!)

Q. Who is the vice president?
A. Three (Or not)

Q. What is the biggest issue facing your generation?
A. Garbage!

Q. What do you hope for?
A. Everybody gets sleep

Q. What do you want for your birthday?
A. Cupcakes!

At this point we had to intercede and take the basket away which didn't sit well with Alejandro. Interview over.

Happy birthday, littlest boy. You are my peach, you are my pomegranate.
xo

Never take me out me out the ballgame again!

I guess Alejandro is a little too wise to be a Cubs fan. He was less than impressed with the whole scene at Wrigley. Too many people, and way too loud for this little one's sensitive ears. We knew that he was too young to enjoy a whole game, but it was a relatively nice day, the tickets were free (Thanks, Uncle George!), and we were willing to leave after a few innings. And we did. Alejandro did declare that he had a great time (upon leaving the field), but his face in these photos tells a very different story.

We got this halfhearted smile in exchange for leaving.

Maybe next year. Spoken like a true Cub's fan, I know.

A very fond farewell

Tom, Alejandro, and I are sitting together in our hotel bed. Alejandro is cracking up at something on TV, Tom is laughing at Alejandro's laughing, and I'm trying to figure out how to say adios to this whole experience. We've got some serious time to kill before our evening flight, but I'll make this short.

We're grateful. I'm grateful to my husband for having the follow through to make this sabbatical happen. We're grateful that we've had a safe and happy series of trips. We're grateful that, for the time being, at least, Alejandro has some real memories of Guatemala. And Tom and I are beyond grateful to Alejandro for bringing such a gorgeous, complex culture into our lives.

And we're now very grateful to be coming home.

We've been busy since we left Antigua. We first headed up to Lake Atitlan for a couple lovely nights in a town called Santiago de Atitlan. Santiago is a special, spirited, even feisty, little town, home of a hard drinking, hard smoking patron saint, and after enduring a devastating hurricane and recent (1990!) massacre, somehow successfully drove the military out of their town. It is the only place in Guatemala where a military presence isn't allowed. Luckily for us, it's also a warm, friendly, beyond beautiful pueblo.

From there we moved into the Guatemalan highlands and visited Chichicastenango--a big word for a small town with the largest market in the Americas. There, despite knowing much better, we spent a lot of money on stuff we don't need. (Those Mayan women may look small, but they are relentless!) Oh well, when in Chichi...

I'll sign off and leave with you with some photos. The show is over and the boys are now dancing. I should join in while I have the chance.

Our cottage at La Posada de Santiago. It was incredibly beautiful and the food was such a great treat.

None of our photos did Lake Atitlan justice. Here's a cloudy shot of one of the three volcanoes surrounding the lake.

We went on hike through a nature reserve on the lake. Alejandro loved the suspension bridges...a lot more than I did!

We all loved the spider monkeys!

Three friends

Paying our respects to Saint Maximon. Never heard of him? You'd probably like him! He accepts offerings of booze, cigarettes, and spare change. It's all very serious and very campy. Can't imagine he's high on the list of Catholic hierarchy, but who knows....

Taking a little break in Panajachel

Women washing clothes in Lake Atitlan

Chichicastenango's town square the evening before the market

Market Day. Talk about not doing a place justice in a photo. Madness, I tell you!

He got the hat and the instrument...and we were rewarded with that face!!