Tag Archives: Arnold

New Year as a New Family

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Are these people nuts? Don't they know that we're not in Sacramento? It's really not cold enough here to demand a ski hat or a fleece!

Arnold and Elian check out the Colpatria building.

I ended up with Elian's ski hat after I realized we dressed him for Minnesota and it was like 70 degrees outside. The beautiful weather didn't stop me from having a little aromatica bought off the street though.

Beautiful Bogota with Bomberos on standby.

As you can tell it was perhaps not the most calming environment to put Elian to sleep.

We were pretty much obligated to buy some street food. Patacones and churros. Si, porfies!

Elian is too cool for New Year's Eve. He opted to go to bed early... okay so did we!

A Street Food binge should always be followed-up by onces. Agua Panela, queso fresco and a little pan de coco.

We watched the fireworks from Martiza and Andres' bedroom window. They were out partying, as all proper Colombians should, all night long.

Happy New Year

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Today I’m guest blogging over at Raising Colombian Kids about what it’s like to spend New Year in a small town.  To check it out click here.  We’ll be laying low today as I’m sure all of Colombia except us will be sleeping off their hangovers.  Well except for us and Abuela Carmen.  As she’s told me many time “A little brandy does no harm.”  While we enjoy the empty traffic-free streets, enjoy these pics of Arnold and I showing off our new acquired parenting skills.

My GAD gave us the best airplanes. I'm working on my technique but Elian is a little squirmy not to mention the drool... EVERYWHERE!

SuperArnold shows off his hipster urban Dad credentials.

Abuela Carmen's Anesthesia

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I think I’ve mentioned before that my mother-in-law Carmen will be coming back with us from Colombia to care for Elian when I have to return to work full time.  I think I might have also talked about how we let her pick Elian’s middle name because we greatly appreciate this act of love because she is extremely afraid to come to the US.  Abuela Carmen is terrified of planes.  She is to planes as Indiana Jones is to snakes.  It has always been my hope though that my children would be able to have a close relationship with their grandparents the way I was able to spend everyday with my grandmother.  But I have a feeling that Abuela Carmen and Elian might end up having more than just a close relationship because I am now convinced that Abuela Carmen has superpowers.

A bit of background:  Elian is a hyper-active kid, I mean even for a toddler he seems a little bit on the Richard Simmons side.  He is a ton of fun every day, but he is not the type to quietly play with his blocks in the corner.  He is the type to open and close the door while shrieking at full strength for 2 hours or so.  He can also spend hours throwing cell phones or screaming because we won’t give one to him.

Abuela Carmen has not yet met Elian yet because she lives in another state.  She’ll probably be coming in a few weeks to Bogota to get her visa etc. but she is VERY anxious to meet Elian so she calls everyday.  Tonight we decided to make the extremely dubious choice of letting her talk to him on the phone.  I was pretty sure that he would try to throw the phone across the room and then scream when we wouldn’t give it to him.  If we were extra lucky we’d get a full blown-parents start-counting-to-100-must-stay-calm style temper tantrum.

Instead something unimaginable happened.  The second he heard her voice he was lulled into a state that was equal parts comatose and tender.  He smiled sweetly, placed his hand gently on the phone and snuggled into Arnold’s chest for a long chat with abuelita.  For the next 10 minutes or so he laid on Arnold’s chest babbling softly to her and when they were done chatting he turned to Arnold’s face and I held my breath as I saw my son kiss his Dad’s cheek for the first time.

First conversation with Abuela Carmen

El "Bus"

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Elian shows off his Hip-Hop swagga with his oversized hood.

One of my favorite things about Latin America has always been the bus.  I grew up in public transportation deprived California and as a result have an unrequited love affair with public transportation. Weirdly after I studied abroad in Chile I fell even deeper into the love affair with everything that other people hate about busses in South America.

I love it when they are so crowded that you get to shove people out of your way to get off.  I love the small adrenaline rush of knowing you’ve got to get OFF THE BUS before the driver take off without you and I especially love it when people get on the bus and sell stuff like ice cream or miniature paper models of Chilean navy ships (true story).  I love that there’s no schedule, you just hang around till one comes and I love, love, love watching the city whizz by out the bus windows.  And if I loved busses before today I entered into a domestic partnerhsip with them because the bus blessed me with a memory that will endear me to them forever.Today we walked all over downtown Bogota much to mine and Elian’s delight.  Bogota is especially beautiful at Christmas time and Elian was beaming with joy watching the bubble vendors in Plaza Bolivar and laughing as the other children jumped up to pop them.  We were having so much fun in fact that our party of 5 walked about 2 miles and then realized we would have to walk 2 miles back.  We couldn’t get a taxi so we decided to take the bus which I thought was a great idea except… the four of us were also carying 5 bags of  heavy groceries, a crib mattress, a stroller, a toddler bathtub and a very active toddler.  And uh, bus drivers don’t like just sit at the curb cause you’re slowed down by your million pounds of food or small toddler.

But this is Colombia, the land of possibility and qustionable safety rules so Arnold took a firm grip on Elian and the rest of jumped on the bus whilst hystericlaly throwing on packages, mattresses etc.  I would’ve been embaressed but it’s too much fun being the crazy people who are basically moving into the bus.  Besids I’m a parent now, I don’t have time to be embaressed.  And where’s the fun in that anyways?

So we’re all sitting seperately in the back of the bus packed with people and 4 weeks worth of groceries laughing or asses off at the ridiculousness of it all when I spied Arnold and Elian sitting four rows in front of me.  They were sitting in front of a man who was playing an Andean pan flute (again totally normal). Elian was dancing and babbling and generally crowing with joy.  Apparently he loves buses, music and dancing, just like his parents.  His pleasure was so infectious he seemed brighter and more alive then the thousands of Christmas lights floating over La Septima.   And as I watched Arnold through the crowd of people I saw him holding Elian up and at that moment I thanked God for busses and the joy they give little boys, new parents and their family friends, all sitting like sardines in a bus, weighed down by 5 grocery bags, one baby bath, a stroller, a mattress and the insanity of being totally infatued with a small boy.