Here comes Santa Claus

It seems as though the US embassy is playing Santa this year and I swear up and down I have been a good little girl! All I want for Christmas are my two visas! I have been running around like crazy getting all the paper work in order so that Claudio can get his visa that will qualify him to come home with me, and Juan can get his citizenship and US passport. Tomorrow is the big day so keep your fingers crossed.
In the meantime, I couldn't resist, Juan's passport photo is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire 29 years on this planet. The count down begins!!! Only 20 more days until we step on familiar soil!

9 months oh my!

Juan turned 9 months yesterday! I can't for the life of me remember which culture it is that believes a child is finally born at 9 months. 9 months in and 9 months out. They are now ready to meet the world as individuals, as tiny, yet more independent beings and their identities begin to take form.
While Juan is completely still dependent upon me for nearly everything, I have noticed a big change in him in the past month. Not only because he is now crawling and pulling himself up to a standing position, but also because he loves to play alone. He will sit on the ground for hours, looking at papers, leaves, and trash, as thought it were the most fascinating thing on the face of the earth...He has decided to raid the cat bowl daily, stealing her food only to gag and choke on tiny hard pieces of fish flavored Whiskas cat food, and he is developing the cutest little personality, full of giggles and smiles, and yes, a bit of manipulative mannerisms. And, taking after Claudio in this respect, he is surprisingly obedient. He already understands the word "No" and doesn't push the envelope too much like his ole mommy probably did.
Besides these novelties, we are just running like crazy now, trying to get everything organized for our journey to the states in December. I can hardly wait. I am counting down the days.

Oh my!!!

I just realized it has been a month since I last wrote! My deepest apologies! Oh man how time flies. So lets see, where did I leave off? Well, Juan is now nearly 9 months. He is crawling in high speed motion, he is pulling himself up to a standing position on anything at hands reach. He has one solitary tooth that shoots up out of the bottom of his mouth and is priceless in appearance through is wide cheeked smile. He is sleeping a bit better at night, thank god if there is one, as I have been so super busy! We are in the height of our busy season, so I have had many students in the last 2 months. It is so satisfying to see my project grow with time. We have had students from the US, Brazil, Australia, England, and Israel over the past couple of weeks! So exciting!
And Juan, of course, is something of our mascot! hehe. Everywhere that I go he goes, like my little kangaroo.
The count down has begun until you finally meet the littler monster in person, so, until then, you, here are a few things to tide you over.

Just once...

It is very seldom that I bitch, gripe, or complain about much in life. I believe that there is a positive side to everything and at times, though I am really stretched to find the light side of darkness, I do. But on Wednesday I fell victim to my negativity.
So, as I mentioned, Juan had a fever all weekend. On Monday night, while bathing him, a bunch of small red bumps appeared on his torso. WELL you can imagine how I immediately panicked, especially as there has been an outbreak of measles thanks to all the soccer fanatics that went to South Africa for the world cup and brought the virus back with them. Measles is a vaccine that they don't recommend giving until 1 year of age, so Juan has yet to have it.
When the red splotches appeared I freaked!
So on Tuesday we went to the hospital. On our way there, as he does each day, Juan fell asleep in the Ergo baby carrier while riding the bus, and so I took advantage of enjoying a nice latte with three mini croissants in a bar near the hospital. I was soooooo disgusted by the things I encountered in the bar that it took everything in me to bite my tongue and not flail ferocious words at the woman beside me.
She was obviously the aunt of a young child, no more than 7 years old, who was hacking up a lung every minute or so. She never once said, "cover your mouth." She never once handed him a hankie, and to top it off...SHE ORDERED HIM A LATTE AND PUT TWO PACKS OF SUGAR IN IT FOR HIM!!!!
In my head, I had ripped her a new orifice on the dangers of sugars, in real life I asked for the check and left as fast as I could so as not to catch any of the snot particles flailing from the snotty nosed child's mouth.
Entering the Hospital was not much better, there were 20 some odd people of all ages waiting to see the doctor on call, all of which were hacking up lungs and taking no precautions what so ever. As I sat there quietly trying to guard Juan's face from germs, I began to sweat, I heard coughing all around me, began to look around and see the young and old alike coughing and hacking and yes, reaching for their coca cola! THEIR COCA COLA!!!
As my anxiety grew and began to get the best of me, I quickly stood up, gathered our things, and left as nimble as I had entered. I could not handle sitting in that room for one second more.
As we made our way to the bus stop, every person I passed had a cigarette hanging from their nicotine tainted fingers or tar laden lips, and that was my explosion point. I began questioning what on earth we were doing living in a society who so blatantly disregards their personal health as well as the health of those around them.
According to author, Eric Weiner, "Other people's problems are our problems." I couldn't agree more, and especially in this case, where an entire society appears to be sick with a spring cold or flu and no one seems to give two shits about spreading their germs to the person next to them, or how about, preventing it in the first place by evading things that collapse our immune systems to begin with?! No, that would be entirely too innovative an idea.
Ok, so there, there it is, my two bits of negative insight to this place I call home, even though my heart isn't in it. Home it is for now.

I had a moment

Friday afternoon Juan began to fuss. He didn't want to go to bed, though he was dead tired. Each time I helped him to fall asleep in my arms and quietly tried to lay him down, he was awakened with a look of indignation written across his face, as if to say, "What in the hell are you doing? Don't you see I am trying to sleep and you keep waking me up!"
It wasn't until later that I began to realize something was wrong, this was not normal for even him, the kid who doesn't want to sleep ever. Finally, I felt his head, he was warm...not over heatedly so, but definitely with a fever.
While I had thousands of things to accomplish during his 1.5 nap he apparently was not going to take, I gave in, grabbed a book, and let him sleep on my chest. By night fall he had worsened and, opposed to my naturalist instincts, I gave him a bit of tylonol for babies to help the fever down.
We had a hard night, but not the worst. I again, sat up in bed while he laid across my chest and slept most the night, awaking and whining enough to latch onto the boob and fall back to sleep.
Normally after a sleepless night I am in ripe form of low patience and zero tolerance but this Saturday was different. I was, well peaceful, though I didn't know it until I had a moment.
The first signs of Spring are now everywhere, birds calling sing song style, flowers blooming bumble bee bourbon, and the sun, yes beautiful sun streams through my open windows caressing breezes running through the corridor of my home, of my heart. Yes, Spring I am in love.
I was washing dishes of all things, staring out my kitchen window, watching Claudio show Juan, as way of distraction from both his sickness and his crying, the budding lemon tree in all it's beauty, when it hit me. This is what happiness is, this is what a family looks like, this is MY family. I teared up and silently, lovingly, experienced this moment called bliss, then I went for my camera so as to share it with you.

My life line was cut off!!

Oh my god! I had no idea just how much I rely on the internet! I use it for virtually everything I do in a day, besides, eating, sleeping, and drinking, I work online, I communicate with my friends and family online, I am constantly consulting cultural agendas, calendars, and Wikipedia responses...In fact, we don't even have a set of encyclopedias anymore! Well, for one reason or another, I have been without web service for about a month now! I am not sure why, but as Murphy would have it, today the technician is supposed to come fix the connection and last night, for no apparent reason at all, I was suddenly connected and navigating without problems! Now I will appear to be the epitome of the crazy house wife, who, after yelling and screaming for them to send me a techy, the problem has suddenly fixed itself...If you ask me, it is pure conspiracy! They probably fixed the connection at street or server level yesterday just to make me look loca!
Well, regardless of why, or how, I am going to quickly take advantage of this time to post a few new milestones of little Juan!
He is now 7.5 months and though I haven't weighed him lately, I am sure he is close to 19 pounds. He is crawling like a maniac, runs while in his walker, and pulls himself to standing position at every possible opportunity to do so. I am sure that by the next time I write, he will be walking. haha
But the most alarming of his advances is, he has begun trying to climb out of his crib! He pulls himself to a standing position and tries to swing one of his legs up over the rail so as to climb out! We have discussed how we might address this problem and so far the only viable option we have come up with is to put a net over the top of the crib, whereby "locking" him in. haha.
Today is the first day of Spring and while it is drizzly and overcast, I am still happy that we are slowly but surely closing the door on winter. I can't wait to let Juan run around in just his diaper!
Ok lovely family, here are some of the most recent photos. I will write more soon but after being unplugged these past few weeks, I am sooooo behind on some of my work!
Speaking of which, here is the new website we have been building: www.spanishinrosario.com

Mobility

September 2nd, 2010, Juan Nicolas Pellegrino began to crawl! Yes it is true! Just under 7 months, our kiddo is hauling butt all over this house, and I mean fast! (Meaning I was forced to baby proof things a little sooner than I had imagined) This new trait that has taken form in the past few days has left our little one with an abundance of tears, however, as he has fallen, banged, bumped and smacked, just about every chair leg, coffee table, door jam, and trash can his little head could find. This has not stopped him though, in two days time, he was making great speed, and it seems that was not enough for him. In two days time, I left him in his crib only to return and find him standing up!!!!
Anything that crosses his belly scraping path is made useful as a stool to help him from his knees to his feet, whereby making for an even harder fall. (poor guy!) He is so tough!
Anyway, here is a little video to make your day!

WE have a mover and a shaker!!!

Juan is now 7 months old!!! It has flown by at light speed velocity! My good god!

Before I share with you a complete catchup on the new tricks Juan has up his sleeve, there is a video that some how never got posted and is far beyond deserving of your audience.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

This may not be apt for all audiences...

Juan and I bathe together nightly, well most nights that is, unless I am too tired or he is too tired, but on most nights it has become some what of a ceremony. Claudio starts the water, I begin undressing Juani, Claudio ends the undressing round, I undress and head to the bathroom, Claudio brings me our little spider monkey, and we play until we are wrinkled and relaxed. Then we yell for Claudio, who brings the warm towels, I hand the monkey back to Papi like a hot potato, take my time finishing my bath and by the time I arrive dressed and in the living room, Juani is dressed and crying for his night cap booby. Clockwork!
Well last night we had a little change of plans...
Everything was going smoothly until the "playing until we are wrinkled and relaxed" part came into play. It seems that Juan got a bit too relaxed before he got wrinkled...
We had our rubber ducky and dolphin and our color rings all floating about, when suddenly I saw something unrecognizable. I jumped slightly, thinking it was a cockroach or some other sort of amazon sized insect inhabits these parts of the humid Pampa, though as I scooped it into a cup I was not quite sure what it was, so I did what all good mothers do, I yelled for daddy!
As I was yelling for daddy, once, twice, three times, I grew nervous in my inspection, unable to identify the floating object. I lifted Juani up and out of the tub, only to see a long perfectly shaped turd floating like a tail behind him. My yelling for daddy grew in decibel level upon my discovery! Our nightly bath time had turned into toilet time! After flushing the turd, draining the bathtub, scouring it with bleach, waiting for the hot water heater to kick into gear, and finally filling the tub again, Juani and I were too tired to have too much fun in the tub, but we had a good laugh about it anyway.

Our son, the yoga master...

So I knew that I would give birth to a special sort of child, but here is proof...

Yes, that was, I believe, a variation of downward dog.

We're Baaack!

Por Fin! I think the have finally resolved the issues at hand with my computer and thanks to my charisma and charm (followed by "Danger! Explodes when Angered" warnings, I did not have to pay anything more than I already had.
It seems to be back to it's normal self, at least for now so keep your fingers crossed.
I am going to keep my words short today and, as promised, simply shower you with videos and photos that I am sure are long awaited.

Sooo loves his walker!

Claudio loves making Juan laugh, I'm not sure who is the bigger kid here.
Sorry the lighting isn't very good!

We are experiencing technical difficulties, please hold for next associate

So I bet you are all wondering why I haven't posted anything new and lovely on the blog lately, well let me tell you, I never fully realized just how much internet affects my everyday life, how entirely dependent I am on it, and how I feel just short of crying from frustration when I can not, check email correspondence, call my family, chat with friends, listen to music, download photos and videos for re-post, I suddenly feel like I don't know what I am going to do with myself!

I, oh so savvy computer tech (laughing under my breathe)decided it was high time I went out and invested in a wireless internet connection so that both of my laptops could be surfing the web at all times, (ok I admit, I secretly just want to be able to lay in bed and chat with you guys! what a lazy ass I am huh?)
So I went out, bought the best wireless router money can buy came home, attempted installation, and was stumped. Digging myself into an IT whole, I connected, reconnected, disconnected, installed, and uninstalled, but to no avail. Finally, swallowing my pride, I confessed to not REALLY being a technician and called someone to solve my problems.
60 pesos later, the problem was not solved.
2 days later, exchanges of equipment, and more phone calls to my service provider, I was still attempting to configure my new toy. Through tears of frustration I again called the Techy for help and he was able to set up the modem, but only for one of my computers, the old one that has none of the fun programs on it like Skype and Publisher, things I use daily...He then had to take my new beautiful notebook with him for further assessment, with hopes of resolving the problem in 24 hours...well those 24 hours have passed, and I am still here biting my nails as to whether or not I am really to blame for this entire mess!
Boy have I learned my lesson. Never again will I try to "save money" by doing it myself. I plan to just call the god damned expert from the get go and save time, headache, and money, in he long run.

I have been taking lots of lovely videos to post for you guys as soon as I get my addiction back so, stay tuned. In the meantime you will have to just settle for my words and my love, and know that I miss you all.

First Food!

Yesterday we got the official "ok" from the pediatrician to begin introducing foods to Juani! Of course I am thrilled about this new step in life as it allows him to join me at the dinner table, which means maybe, just maybe, I will begin to be able to eat without him on my lap! So, after debating what his first solid intake should be, I gave into traditional culture. Here in Argentina, nearly everyone's first food is pureed butternut squash. (also known as pumpkin squash) He ate like a champ and made a mess while doing so. But we had a blast. His facial expressions are priceless, which is why we made a video, because photos were just not capturing it.
I hope you enjoy it!

I am not biased!

My son is simply the cutest kid I have ever seen. And I am not the only one who seems to think so. People stop us in the street to tell me how beautiful he is (see previous entry's face touching "awers" refrence) Women are already melting at his feet as he plays coy, grinning yet turning away as if he were actually shy. (yeah right!)
There are days that I look at him and wonder, how did I get so lucky? There are day when I watch him sleep and think to myself, now can one individual be so perfect?

News of the week:
So after sleeping through the night by 4 months, we obviously had to digress to waking upon every hour just to make sure I get the full experience of motherhood. After 3 back to back sleepless nights I finally decided I would merely let him grunt and protest in his crib all by his lonesome, hoping and praying he would go back to sleep. WRONG! His grunt quickly escalated to mild screams and finally a bit of crying, yet I was determined to go back to sleep, inviting him to do the same (once he had tired himself out of course) However, I was completely unsuccessful and here is why. After about 10 minutes of attempting to ignore him from across the hall I suddenly heard magic words. That is right ladies and gentlemen, my Argentine American son began babbling mama mama mama with an Italian accent. Of course, I broke and immediately gave in, kissing him from head to toe, my frowns turning to smiles, as I tucked him beside me, in the end, giving him what he wanted, his Mama.
Other, news on the forefront is that it appears Juan has a thing for older women. He has somewhat of a Czechoslovakian girlfriend! Her name is Maggie and she comes to play once a week while I give her mother Spanish classes.

So cute! So innocent!

oh man oh man

These last two weeks have been soooooooo difficult. Surprisingly, however, not because of being a mommy, but because I was forced to recognize my own limitations. I took on a job that I thought I could handle and failed miserably. For someone that is "pert near perfect" that is a hard egotistical realization to have.

So while some things marched into reverse, other things continued moving forward, like...I got a babysitter!!!!!!! Her name is Florencia, she is 17, she is fantastic. The first day she began, Juan fell asleep in her arms within 10 minutes of their meeting, and that is when I knew it was love from the get go so I hired her on the spot and now, not only do I have time to think and breathe and bathe, but my house is spic and span, dinner is done each night, Juan is happy all day, and so is his mommy!

There is oh so much to tell you all... like, Juani has started adding some "mamamamas into his blah blah blahs" He smiles all the time causing each and every "street awer" (the people that stop and try to touch my child's face saying "awe so cute" while I secretly fantasize about cutting their finger off and screaming "who the hell are you and what in god's name possessed you to touch a child you do not know!") to stop in their tracks and attempt to touch Juani's face saying, "awe, he is so cute! look at how he smiles" "Yes I know, he is effing cute, now get your grimy hands away from him you freak!" Or at least that is something of the dialogue that goes on in my head while strain to continue smiling.

He is weighing in at nearly 19 pounds these days! So I am in dire need of my mommy's magic healing hands. He is nearly sitting on his own...toppling over from time to time. He tries his darndest to crawl but goes backwards instead of forwards, followed by shrieking cries of frustration.
In about two weeks we will begin introducing food, though we have already allowed him to taste a few things...lemon, beef, apple, banana...nothing solid, just flavors. (the lemon is the best!)
Here are some of the latest photos...

Cat meets Boy, Boy meets Dog

These past few weeks, Juani has really become alert. He is constantly observing everything in site, reaching out with desire to, not just touch, but eat everything at arms length.
He is completely mezmerized with both Octubre and Brownie so we decided it was high time he meet the rest of his immediate family in the up close and personal sense of things.

"Octi, meet Juani..."

"Juani, meet Brownie..."

Thought ya'll might enjoy this...

1st of many...

These days have been loaded with one exciting adventure after another! I have been getting lots and lots of work which means I have less and less time, but which also means I am no longer worried about how we will swing our trip in December.
Juan has become increasingly more bratty these days and spends what seems like hours screaming at the top of his lungs, reminding me, yet again of his aunt Amber, who, as a child, repeatedly turned heads with her blood curdling scream. Everyone seems to think it is because he is teething, though I think it is because he is mentally more developed than he is physically and is easily frustrated that he can't just get up, walk over, and pick up whatever he darned well feels like it. That and he is testing my patience. haha.
Claudio celebrated his first Father's day this year, and Juan and I woke up early to decorate the dining room with cards and banners. We bought him a new winter coat that he just loved and then he spent the day making us a BBQ.
Then Juani got his first package in the mail!!! Thank you Auntie Kim! He just could wait to show off his new cuddly jammies along with his insane gymnastic skills!

blah blah blah

Over night it seems, Juan has become a chatter box. He goos, gahs and blahs all day long. He does this, not only all day long but at the top of his lungs as if he were screaming so the whole world will hear. I must admit, while it is a bit embarrassing at times to have to shhh him through my giggles as not to interrupt the nice couple dining next to us, it is down right adorable. I will give you all just one guess and one guess only as to where he gets his motor mouth from...

So he is officially 4 months old now and weighs every bit of 16-17 pounds. He is long and strong and let me tell you, he loves loves loves getting his bath time on.

Though those photos will have to wait until next week! Hey I got to do something to keep you coming back with anticipation right?

Super Kiddo!

Claudio's brother, Daniel, turned the big 50 this past week and his wife, my sister in law, "threw the house out the window," which is Argentine for, had a heck of a party! She put together a surprise party at a ranch just outside of the city, fibbing that she needed him to accompany her to a work event. When they arrived, all of his friends and family were waiting for to surprise him...
It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day full of horses and BBQ. I can't say much for the company as I tremendously dislike all of my brother in law's friends...Not because I am a snob...ok maybe a little bit, but I just feel like they are a classless bunch, full of small minds and closed thoughts, telling jokes that only they laugh at.
Other than that, it was a lovely lovely day.
I got to zip around on one of the mares, nice to be in the saddle again, even if it was for only a split second. Meanwhile, Juani did a bit of his own flying...
These days have been full of smiling advances with little Juan. He goo's and gah's all day long...sometimes at a notch or two above what we would call an "inside voice" but it is so darn cute that people all around smile and comment on how beautiful he is. (proud mama)
I decided it was time to get back to some work, and well, like all things in this world, all I had to do was tell the universe I was ready to make some money, to work my bum off, and sure enough, three or so jobs landed on my doorstep. We will see which turns out to be the most lucrative, but I am pretty excited about it.

Other really amazing news is: Spanish in Rosario, the business I began a few years back, has been chosen to go in one of the most prestigious travel guides in all the industry of tourism; Lonely Planet! I am so proud, it is like watching my first child graduate high school!

Ok folks, well here is one more beautiful photo to tide you over until the next time I find a moment to sit down and type...

A day at the farm

Today was a fantastic and adventurous day for us. Juan not only got to play with a puppy his own size, but he also had his first encounter with sheep and horses!
A few weeks ago a very inspiring friend of mine, Carolina, came for lunch. She told me of a new non-profit organization she had stumbled upon and thought it might interest me.
She was right.
It is called La Asociacion de Ayudar Acebal, (the association of help in Acebal. Acebal is the small town about an hour away from Rosario)
So today we took a ride sharing taxi that cost approximately 5 dollars each way, an hour there, and an hour back, as curiosity was getting the best of me and I had to see it for myself.
This amazing organization is a purely heart driven program for children with other abilities. Children that were born into a such a small country bumpkin town that they are considered lost causes, monsters, and wastes of time, hence the lack of resources for both them and their families. Recognizing the need for said resources, a young single mother named Fernanda has freely dedicated her life to helping this neglected sector of society. She dropped out of veterinary school to take care of her parents farm, raising free range farm animals for sale, and procuring what will surely be her masterpiece. Her instrument being a horse, or rather 9 to be exact. She is practicing equine therapy. Something that most Argentinians have never heard of.

Between 5 and 20 children are dropped off or picked up daily around 2pm. Each day is something new for them, a learning experience, a bonding experience that will last a lifetime.
Yesterday they learned to make homemade bread, the day before that they collected wood for the outdoor wood burning pizza oven. Today we worked hard to weed an over grown garden where they plan to seed winter veggies. But on most days, they ride horses. Yes, children with missing limbs, down syndrome, mental retardation and other such disabilities have found their love in horses and it is this that has allowed them to move forward in other areas of their life.

Fernanda works Monday to Sunday, taking care of the farm, taking care of these lovely faces as if they were her own flesh and blood, and she asks for absolutely nothing in return. She receives no government funding, and very very little private donations. Everything she does is from her own pocket. This is where I come in.
I have vowed that the way I will help her most will be to build her a website where she can receive not only monetary donations but communicate with people that are interested in helping her cause be it oral support, physical support, financial support, or merely inspiring programs like her own. I hope to develop a program where we receive students that want to learn Spanish and live on a farm while doing so, paying for their room and board with their labor. I hope to launch a donate now button on my own website, as well as associate her with a network of other farms around the world that are doing something similar...If I receive even one donation, it will be more than worth it.
So spread the word to the world and send those interested and inspired my way.
In the mean time, here are some photos to oohh and awwh over.

This little baby was born on Friday but for some reason her mother abandoned her so they are feeding her with a bottle...A little hard work never hurt anyone...

We spend our time playing...

This has been a long yet fly by weekend for us. 4 days feel more like 2, but we have enjoyed it all the same, even if the weather has kept us indoors thanks to the constant drizzle, we have found ways to entertain ourselves.

I invite you to watch just one of the many ways we did so...



Have hiccups ever been so cute?

Why my life is so beautiful...

Because while I am cooking dinner, I turn around to the calling of my name, only to find this...

Can someone please explain?

Ok so how is it possible that my son, having never met his aunt, inherited one of her terrible habits?!?! Yes Amber I am talking about you! Is it possible that sucking your fingers is genetically transferable and if so, can we please modify that? This is Juani's latest habit...I am trying my damnedest to break it before it begins...but to no avail as of late...

My First Mommy's Day

I woke up this morning, after sleeping through the night for the second time this week, to my husband and son smiling at me. "Claudio, in his broken English and Argentine accent, said, "Mommy, we hab someting to say to you. HAPPY MUDDER'S DAY!" Of course I teared up through my smiling cheeks, and thought to myself. I really love my life and it is because of these two boys that I do so.


Oh and my predictions were close to correct. Juani, at three months, is weighing in at 14.1 pounds and is exactly 2 feet long which means we can no longer bathe him in the bathroom sink...

OMG He Slept ALL NIGHT!

The night before his 3 month birthday, he did it, he slept through the night. In our bed, of course, but nonetheless, the entire night!!! We had a hell of a time getting him down, but once we did, he slept from 9:30pm to 5:20am without waking! I sang to the gods, I cried tears of happiness, I wanted get down and kiss his feet in praise, even though I kiss his feet every day. This day was different, this day was going to be a beautiful stress free day.
Now you might ask, "Well, how did you do it?" And I will tell you, I threw away the text book theories and just went with my gut feeling, which by this time was screaming, "GO TO SLEEP OR I MAY NEVER LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY!" I put him on his stomach to sleep. I sat with him through the first hour to make sure he was not going to die. And when I saw that he moved his head around with ease, I stopped worrying. My kid hates sleeping on his back. That is the answer. Something so easy and obvious. Now all of the books say that a grand percentage of infants that die of sudden infant death syndrome were sleeping on their stomachs, but what those same reports don't ever mention is that most of the infants also lived in a home where one or both parents smoked cigarettes inside the home.
Back in the day, the text book said quite the opposite, "never let a child sleep on their back for fear they might spit up and choke on their vomit." So, I risked it and took the jump and would you believe, Juan has now slept through the night 2 out of three nights in a row. He is napping regularly, sleeping an hour to 2 hours each nap. He is happy and not fussy, and the key is to shower him each night at 7ish, so that he is in bed by 8:00... He sleeps an hour or so...wakes up for one last play time...and goes back down an hour later, waking up early the next morning.
I feel like a new woman! I have time to shower, I have time to cook, I even finished various projects this week!

nearly 3 months

So my kid is nearly 3 months and wearing size 9 months...Is that normal? Haha... He is a beast! I think he takes after you Grandpa John! He is going to be one big kid! We have his three month check up next week but I am already betting he weighs a little over 15 pounds, double what he weighed when he was born. Other news is, little Juan has developed a fake cry these days and implements it whenever he is not in my arms...it is really funny because I merely look at him and say, "Now that is a fake cry and you know it." And he immediately turns to his dimpled cheek "I am trying not to smile" smile. P.S. He is still not sleeping through the night, nor does he take significant naps. Does that mean he is hyper active?? hehe

My memories or yours?

The memory is a strange strange tool. There are times that I question myself whether the memories I have are my own, or the memories that someone has once told me...and I am merely reiterating them...
With that in mind I remember once either having a conversation with someone, or speaking with someone that had a conversation with someone regarding children. The topic was a simple, yet difficult to answer question; "Why do you want to have children?" The answers were varied, but for the most part they were a kin to: "I don't know, I just do." "Because I love my partner and want to share our love in our offspring." "Because it must be an amazing gift to give life." etc...etc...
The person doing the questioning then responded that all of the answers were pure bullshit as the only reason we, as rational human beings, desire to breed is our ego. We are egotistical and want to see mini versions of ourselves, pass our family name on, have a hand in molding the art of our offspring...
Well Mr. "I don't even know if you exist" having a child must be the most single selfless act of this lifetime.
They all warned me this was the case, yet I refused to listen. Having a child leaves you without autonomy. I am not, and will never again be "only myself." I do not have "my own life" and I can not do "whatever I want" I pee when HE is sleeping, I eat when HE is sleeping, I clean and cook and shower when HE is sleeping...
This is a relationship of dependence...him depending upon me for life, and the nurturing of that life...and me depending on his naps.

Melt down to Milestone

Did you know there is an actual hormonal reaction that each mother experiences when she hears her child cry? This hormone causes an uncomfortable sensation in the mother, causing a chemical reaction followed by yet another hormonal reaction that sends the message to let her milk down. All of this happens in a matter of light seconds, however, if the child screams and cries for what appears to be no apparent reason during the course of 2 whole days and nights, the mother is in a continuous state of being "uncomfortable" or so that is the word the books use. "Uncomfortable," might be better expressed as "Agonizing."
This was our first melt down, and god help me, may it be our last!
Tuesday morning Juani work up fussy. It was a morning almost like any other morning, minus the fussiness. We woke up, listened to our mobile so mom could get dressed, drank mate, and went back to sleep.
The morning was not the problem, it was by the time we had made it to the afternoon, and I was suppose to begin my working, that he had successfully gone down for some 10 odd naps, only to wake up 15-30 minutes later. By nightfall, he was disastrously tired and made for an awful night. After finally getting him to go to sleep, (on my chest) I prayed for a better day to come.
On Wednesday morning, we picked up right where we had left off and by noon I was in tears and wondering why on earth I ever wanted to be a mother. I could suddenly understand how a mother might harm her own child, should she lack self control, as it is such a feeling of desperation that takes over, I have never felt so helpless in all my life.
Is is possible for an earth angel to suddenly become possessed by the devil overnight?
Needless today I did not get much work done this day either...
Then Thursday morning brought new light. Juani woke up all smiles and giggles, he didn't cry even once throughout the day, he slept an average of an hour and a half each nap and I was able to make up my lost hours of work. That night, Juani slept for 4 hours straight! 4 whole hours!!
Oh and mom, the rocking chair has been a miracle! A god damned miracle! We merely have to touch our butt to the wooden seat and in a matter of seconds we are in dreamland. Thank you soooooo much!
P.S.
In case you thought that ugly days make for ugly kids, you are wrong my friend...here are the latest of the cutest boy I know.

Swaddling, You are my friend!

Ok so there is this book called "The Happiest Baby on the Block" (Thanks Janette) and it has been wonderfully helpful! Now, Juani is not colicky, what he is, is whiny. Contrary to all what all the books say, my child, at a mere 2 months, is manipulative! (May Susan stand as my witness)

HE JUST WANTS TO BE HELD!

So...sleeping has become a problem, not so much at night, but during the day, as he only goes down for about 30 minutes before his large hands startle him awake again. According to the happy baby book, swaddling, though thought to be outdated, helps your little ones sleep longer...AND IT IS SOOOOO TRUE!! Juan just woke up from an hour and half nap!!! AN HOUR AND A HALF!!! I was able to make him three pairs of pants and a new winter PJ get up! (cold weather is officially moving in) The greatest thing is, he woke up, ate, and went right back down!
I figure that a miracle of that statue is well deserving of confirmation. Though it seems like some sort of antiquated torture technique, swaddling is my new best friend.
By the way, here are a few of our latest pictures...

Tell me, if you dare, that he is not the cutest darn thing you ever did see!!!

The things they never tell you...

When I read other mother's blogs, they are always like, "oh life is so beautiful, motherhood is so fantastic, there is nothing better in my life...blah blah blah." And I must admit, this is true, but it is also a simultaneous lie! It is not beautiful! It is smelly and tiresome! We just have to keep telling ourselves how beautiful it is so that we don't jump off a cliff!

So when I was talking to my friend Sarina, I was telling her all the "truths" about daily life as a mom, and she said, "you are making me crack up, you should write that on your blog." So this is for you Sarina, and hopefully it will make all the rest of you laugh out loud as well.

Ugly truth #1
After 2 days of not bathing, using body spray to cover up the stench of putrid milk and vomit, I finally said to Claudio, "If he wakes up, let him cry, I need to shower." I let the hot water wash away the accumulated grime until the hot water heater was empty. (my apologies to the ecologists around the world) I shaved my legs for the first time in weeks and spent the rest of the hour indulging myself in all of my favorite creams and cleansers... finally, crawling into bed next to my very patient husband, Claudio rolled over and said to me, "Oh man, I had forgotten that you smell good." I shit you not.

Ugly truth #2
It is impossible to dress cute when you are breastfeeding. Not only because you need to have something that is easily accessible for feeding, but also because the second you are washed and clean and smelling of lavender perfume, it is inevitable that your child will vomit all down the front of you cute black dress, leaving a gross white residue for the remainder of the day. And really, there is no use changing because he is just going to do it again in an hour.
I was walking down the street the other day after meeting some lady friends for a coffee when I felt something weird on my shoulder...after scratching a bit I realized it wad dried spit up that had likely been there since morning. REAL EFFING CUTE!

Ugly truth #3
Going to the bathroom...This is something I had never really thought about how to go about doing, and I can guarantee the books sure as hell never touched on the subject.
What do you do when you have a baby that cries every time you lay him down...and you can feel a number two coming on? You either let him scream until he ends up choking on his own tears while you try to sit quietly, concentrating on getting it over with as quickly as possible, or...you do what I do...I strap on the baby carrier, and poop while he hangs off me like a spider monkey. That is the only half-way relaxing method I have come up with so far. This is where some of you can chime in with "I told you so." hehe

Ugly truth#4
Lets go back to breastfeeding. This is a really magical moment....It is when you feel a real connection with your child. As he fondles something that was once an object of sexual pleasure both for you and your husband, he looks up at you and smiles...it just brings tears to your eyes. What also brings tears to your eyes is when your breasts become engorged from over-milk production and causes what is called mastitis. No one warns you that it is essential to give yourself breast massages, especially during the first month, to make sure all of the milk is making it through the ducts...and no one warns you that if you do not do this it will feel a kin to squeezing glass out of your nipples. Oh I can promise you, it was just magical!

Ugly truth #5
Changing diapers. Now why is it no one ever mentioned the importance of changing the diaper as fast as humanly possible in order to avoid them peeing (and in Juani's case, explosively shitting) all over you, themselves, and in some cases, the living room floor? We took the pre-natal classes and changing a diaper is pretty self explanatory, but don't you think it would have been beneficial to know these things up front?

Ugly truths, there are many, and really the deep down truth is this, another reason most mothers only write or talk about the beauties of motherhood is because all of these ugly truths, while they are completely true and well worthy of complaints, they are far outweighed by the positive realities of what you and your child represent for each other.
My realization of just how profound my love is for Juani convinces me that I would go as far as eating his vomit, if that is what being a mother demanded of me.
This has to be the reason fellow mothers forget to share with us new mothers the nitty gritty details...that or we are all under some extreme hormonal la la land spell.

Filled to the top.

There was a time in my life, when I truly believed, and had come to accept, that I would be alone. I distinctly remember saying these exact words to my mother, "I am so full of love, and yet I have no one to give it to."
Some people race through life in the search for success, money, or recognition...I was searching for a kind of happiness that I didn't even believe existed, yet hoped, for fairytale sake, that it was out there somewhere.
Only now have I come to realize the tunnel vision I had back then, so dead intent on finding a life partner that I failed to see all of the love that was being reciprocated to me by friends and family. It is now that I sit in silence and realize I have achieved life's biggest most elaborate goal. Happiness. Not only did I find my life partner, that life partner is my soul mate of many lives and has given me the beginning of a beautiful family, but also through growth, both personal and interpersonal, I am able to see the abundant reciprocity of love coming from all of you.
I no longer feel alone in a crowded room. I no longer long for anyone, or anything. I no longer hope to find my fairy tale, for I have found it. It all exists. All of it.
I am brimming with happiness...Just brimming.

Our First Family Vacation

Nightmares don't only occur when you are sleeping, let me tell you! We had a waking walking nightmare of a day to kick off our first family vacation.
As we now are no longer 2 people, but three, we needed to augment the size of our car. We did so by letting this need be known to Claudio's boss, who, three weeks later let us know that there was a truck with back seats waiting for us in a nearby province, Corodoba, just 7 hours from Rosario. Our response to this was "Whoohooo!" we quickly purchased one way bus tickets, and taking advantage of the long Easter weekend, threw a few things in a duffel bag and headed out.
It was to be our first family vacation...stroller, car seat, 10 extra sets of clothes just in case we have repeated diaper explosions...
Come Thursday, we raced to the bus station, hopped on the double-decker, and smiled with anticipation.
Suddenly, approximately 2 hours outside of Rosario, (where we live) the bus began to fill up with smoke and the smell of burnt rubber. Claudio and I were the first to exit the bus with Juani, taking no chances...
An hour went by, us and 100 other passengers standing on the side of the route in front of our non functioning bus. When we over heard the driver begin to say there was no responsive plan of action, that he had no idea when another bus would be there to pick us up, as the company was over extended, we began to worry. As it was, we were suppose to get into Cordoba capital city at 7:30pm where one of Claudio's coworkers would be there waiting to take us another hour and a half to our final destination. So Claudio made the call...first to tell him we would be exaggeratedly late, and second to suggest that perhaps he come to get us even though he was 3 hours away. As it turns out, Claudio has a client in the neighboring town to where we broke down, and he offered to come get us and meet Claudio's coworker in the middle.
This seemed, at the time like a life saving idea.
However...
When Cacho, that is his nickname, picked us up, he suggested we stop by his shop for a bit, to check out the merchandise, drink some mates, change Juani, etc...so that is what we did. An hour later we were back on the road...and roughly an hour into our trip we met up with Ignacio, who was waiting one the side of the road to pick us up...Only then did Claudio realize he had left his wallet and all of the necessary documents to receive our new truck in the showroom of his client...an hour in the direction we had just come from. I wanted to scream!
Again meeting in the middle, Cacho contracted someone to bring the wallet half way to where we were, which meant we then had to backtrack.
To make a nightmarish 7 hour trip into a short story, we finally arrived at our hotel at 11pm. 11 hours after we had left Rosario. (P.S. This trip should only take 5 by car)
Of course, the first thing we wanted to do was go out to see the car we had come so far to fetch. Big mistake.
When we saw it, the first thing we thought was, "why the hell did we come all this way for this pile of junk!?" You see, from the outside it is nothing fancy, and from the inside it needs some TLC...to say the least...but the problem was not the truck, it was the expectations we had conjured up. We had the idea that a new car was awaiting us...wrong.
So, we decided to grumpily tuck ourselves in and try to get some rest, hoping for a better day to come. Well the day was better, though, overnight the temperature dropped to winter "I can see your breath" like temperatures, accompanied by "rain rain go away some again some other day."
We took advantage of the windows when the rain would let up for a brief moment, long enough to make it down the street to a nearby restaurant...etc..
We spent most the day being self critical about our "looking a gift horse in the mouth" attitude and decided that that truck could use some love, but that we had enough of that to go around, and that in the end it would be of good use for us...turned in early and headed home after coffee and stale croissants this morning.
So...our first family vacation...well we sure won't forget it, and while it was pretty uneventful, we can now look back and laugh at the energy that seemed to want to keep us from getting to La Falda, a small historically German settled village in the skirt hills of the Argentine sierras.

The good news is that Juani behaved like a saint! He didn't cry, or protest, or have a meltdown of any sort! He made the whole trip lovely, just like him.