Walking Dava

Jamie says: I walk Dava home everyday from school. Lately, Dava has refused to sit in her stroller and only wants to push the stroller herself. We live about a 25-30 minute walk from Fallow Land so, today's commute home was 50 minutes. Dava pushed the stroller for a few blocks and then threw a tantrum when I put her in her stroller and then threw another tantrum when I tried to carry her. 
Here are some pictures of the little devil when we were less than a block away from school and both in good spirits. 

 

Oh look, I just received this BabyCenter email congratulating me on Dava's 19 month milestone and mentioning her developmental stage. I guess she's right on target. 

When you're out and about, your toddler may run away from you as fast as she can, squealing in delight as you rush to catch up. Most children this age are oblivious to danger, so you'll need to be extra watchful of cars, bicycles, and dogs when outside. Keeping her strapped into a stroller is safest, of course, but she'll probably want to walk on her own, too. Compromise on how much time she spends out of the stroller and build in extra time when running errands to avoid frustration.

Photo by Charlie

Dava, Dancer, Tres

JG says: This past Sunday, Dava and I spent a couple fun hours at Buenos Aires' French culture festival. We bypassed the pastries and sausages (what, Porteños don't get enough of that as it is?) and headed straight for the music.

Ciudad de Niños (Chidren's City)

JG says: I uploaded these photos a week ago and have been waiting for Charlie to dictate some text. She's been busy, though: playdates, birthday parties, and her creative projects, so I'll just publish this post. The photos are from Buenos Aires's "Ciudad de Niños (Chidren's City)," a huge facility that occupies the top two stories of a converted train station in the Abastos neighborhood. Among the dozens of apparatuses and areas, it offers a chance for some early immersion in consumer culture, a pretend grocery store. nsumer 

Here are some recent pictures.

Lo and behold there was a military parade happening right outside our front door today.

How We've Been

Jamie says: 

We haven't been keeping up on this blog as much as we would like. Here are a few updates. 

• Both girls are well* and enjoying school. It's hard to believe that next week is June: only 5 more weeks of school for the girls.

• My mom and her friend Barbie have been here for the past week. They've been out experiencing the city so we haven't seen them very much. Luckily they're here for another week. No, they haven't been staying with us; they are only a 5 minute walk away.

• I have been going to yoga several times a week for the past month. It's done wonders for my back, which I've always had some problems with but especially recently, as I've felt like a 96 year-old lady when I would get out of bed in the morning. (Getting old is not for sissies–hello Grammy Ernie!)

• I borrowed a bike from Taeko's sister Talya who lives here in BA. It's currently in the shop getting a tune up. I'm looking forward to having more freedom and mobility. Also, being able to bike around with Jonathan will be nice. 

*Dava has had what I will call the "10 plagues of Dava." She's been sick with something or other almost every week we've been here. Most recently she's had bad reactions to mosquito bites. Last week she had two bites around her eyebrow and her eye swelled up so badly it was almost shut. This week she has mosquito bites on her feet that we've been covering with calamine lotion and toothpaste in an effort to prevent her from scratching them. The mosquitos have been vicious and surprisingly resilient as the weather's cooled off lately. 

When we were in Salta and Tilcara she had altitude sickness (diagnosed by me... so may not be accurate), she had trouble sleeping, or was very sleepy, wouldn't eat, and had a horrible dry cough. 

The week before that she broke out in ridiculous hives all over her torso (the size of quarters) which we believe was due to the remaining 'sickness working it's way out of her body' after an ear infection the week earlier. 

It's been rough. 

JG says:

Good thing she's a tough little nut, no doubt hardened by a year-and-a-half of manhandling by her big sister.

JG posts: Mannequin Store, Once Neighborhood

Northwest Adventures Day 4: Purmamarca

Jamie says: Driving back to Salta from Tilcara, we stopped in Purmamarca, a/k/a site of the Hill of Seven Colors. 

Northwest Adventures Day 4: Pucará del Tiilcara

Jamie says: The second day we were in Tilcara we went to Purcará del Tilcara. 

Northwest Adventures Day 3: Tilcara

Jamie says: A few photos from Tilcara. 

Posada del Angel and Iglesia San Francisco

Jamie says: A few pictures from our Posada del Angel, the Salta hotel we stayed in, and two from Iglesia San Francisco, the church around the corner.

Northwest Adventure Day 1, Part Dos

Jamie says: Here are a few more photos from our first day in Salta. The top photos are from our ride up in the San Bernardo cable car. There are a couple photos at the bottom from our time in the park afterward.