Caleb's first (mini) conversation

I think I can say that Caleb had his first (mini) conversation in Spanish today.  We were walking down to the drug store at the end of the street and there were three groups of men breaking up sections of the sidewalk with mallets and shovels.  Caleb waved to each as we walked by, and said hola or buenos días to some.  On the way back up the street, he was eating a lollipop, and wanted to show it to everyone...

One of the workers: Buenos días niño!  Cómo estás? (Goodmorning little boy!  How are you?)
Caleb:  Bien. (without hesitation or thought)
Worker:  Estás comiendo un dulce.  Cómo está? (You're eating some sweets. How is it?)
Caleb:  Bien. (Again without hesitation or thought, though I think this response might have been because he heard the como está part and thought he was asking how he was, but I was still excited and proud of him for responding!)
Caleb: Adios! (and waved to them as we walked away)

Me: Way to go Caleb!

It has been fun to watch as Caleb, in 6 weeks, has gone from not wanting to try saying or repeating almost anything, to repeating an occasional word that I tell him to say to someone, to repeating occasional words that he hears other people and kids say, to saying simple words and phrases voluntarily and from his own memory as we pass people on the street, in the building, at stores, or pass the concierge as we are coming and going (actually one of his favorite and most regular times to practice saying hello and goodbye).  He is also more willing to repeat longer and more complex phrases that we say, just for the sake of repeating them.  Love it!

I will make it myself...

The selection at the grocery stores here is ok, but definitely far less variety than we have at home, and for certain items, it is much more expensive if they do have it.   So I've decided to try and make some things myself.  Some came out well, others not so much...

The first one was fruit snacks.  Caleb loves fruit snacks, and since I haven't found them in Chile, and the ones available at home are usually not great for them, I thought I would search for some recipe ideas on Pinterest.  Here is attempt number one, working with very limited ingredient options and kitchen supplies here...  

Recipe: http://www.anorganicwife.com/2013/01/recipe-homemade-fruit-snacks.html - I used nectarines and strawberries because that is what I had, though I would like to try it with different fruits next time...

We don't have a casserole dish or wax paper, so I had to make do with a frying pan and that Press-n-Seal saran wrap stuff, which is thicker than regular plastic wrap so it lifted out easily.

We also don't have silicone shaped trays or fun dishes to put them into, so I tried cutting them into triangles to make them look a bit more interesting...

In my opinion, they tasted a bit bland, but Caleb was excited about them and has eaten them more than just the first time.  Landon also really likes them since they are soft enough for him to eat.  I might try playing around with this recipe a bit more, and with different fruit combination next time...

Attempt number two: 
Recipe: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/09/homemade-gummy-fruit-snacks-healthy-snacks-for-kids.html - I doubled the recipe and used 90% strawberries, and a few raspberries and blueberries, then I used about a third raspberry juice and two thirds apple juice.  I didn't have enough plain gelatin so I used some strawberry gelatin I bought, though I realized I had accidentally grabbed the diet kind :(.

The color is certainly more appealing than the first batch...

The texture of these was more grainy because of the applesauce I think, and they weren't as solid and set as the first batch.

If anyone has a good fruit snack recipe that they have tried I'd love to check it out!  I've tried the dried strawberries in the oven recipe from Pinterest a few months back and that was a flop - they never dried out and instead became a funny color and were wet and mushy...  I haven't yet done any of the dried fruit strips recipes that I've seen on there yet, partly because I am missing things here that are needed to make them...

Pesto 

Its hard to find and expensive in the grocery store (more expensive than it already is at home), so I bought Basil which is abundant since it is summer here to make my own.  Gnocchi a la pesto tonight!

Tools for Caleb
This isn't a food item, but its homemade none-the-less.  We borrowed our neighbor Laura's Handy Manny (Manny a la Obra, its called here) toolbox the other day and Caleb wanted the tools that go in it.  Laura wasn't home to ask her, so I made him some tools out of paper instead, and then he asked for a house to work on, so we made one out of paper, too.  He was happy with them, though he didn't play with them for long.  Its nice that kids are sometimes content with the simple stuff, and it is great practice for him using his imagination!

Did you do your investigation yet mommy?

Caleb has been asking for several days now for me to do my 'investigation' on the computer to find a gym like the one we have in Lodi (Impact Sports, for those of you who are familiar with the open gym time for kids - trampolines, a pit full of foam blocks, bars to swing on, etc.).  We were talking about the gym once again today on the way home from church, and I told Caleb I would do some investigation while he was napping to see if Santiago has a gym like at home.  Jimmy and I could do nothing but laugh when he came out from his nap just now and the first words out of his mouth were "Did you find a gym?"  Jimmy likened Caleb's brain to a computer or DVD that shuts down at a certain point, and immediately puts you back to the same exact place when it turns on again (when he wakes).

We found a place called "Aventura Center" - its not the gym in Lodi, but he (and Landon) had a blast, just the same...
http://www.aventuracenter.cl/aventura_kids.php

It was great that this place was designated for kids "0-7 yrs", whereas many places are geared toward 2, 3, or 4 years and up.  Landon wasn't as into all of the play areas like Caleb, but rather just had fun running around without restriction and playing with the balls and balloons.  Caleb had a blast running from one area to the next, excited to see what else there was to do.

Two videos of the boys having fun at Aventura Center - click here and here:

On the Bicicletas Magicas, or Magical Bicycles (flying bikes with pedals)

A fun 30 minutes and a great way to get some energy out for the kids before going grocery shopping at the mall!  Might have to go this again some other Sunday!

Landon at 15 months

The tooth is in!!!  Landon's other bottom tooth has finally made its appearance as tooth number 6 for him.  Most kids get their two bottom teeth before any others, but for the past four months or so, Landon has only had one on the bottom.  I was starting to worry that maybe the other bottom tooth wasn't under there!  So this puts him at four up top and now two on the bottom.

So 15 months, or "1 year and 3 months", as the way people in Chile tell the ages of their young children.  (I learned quickly that no one says the total number of months, or even to say "two and a half" when I tell Caleb's age.)

He can just about run - he goes quite fast doing what I would call a speed walk, but its not quite to a full run yet.  He also just figured out how to walk on his toes, which he thinks is pretty fun.

He is starting to use the words 'this' and 'that' less and make more recognizable (when in context) attempts at saying and repeating sounds when he asks for things:  ba (banana), pe (peanut butter),

wa or wa-wa (water/agua), ta-ta (tractor), shew (shoe, but he says it funny)... And maybe his first attempt at a Spanish word last week: "tua" while he was pointing to a turtle (tortuga).

He still refuses to drink from a sippy cup, and we have tried LOTS of different ones.  He does better with bottled water or our grown up drinking glasses, and boy can he down the water fast when he is thirsty!  He is going to be a champion speed-water-drinker we think...

Landon is still loving music and dancing, and now singing, too...

Singing along with the music

Video of Landon dancing to a Handy Manny toolbox we borrowed from our neighbor, Laura, or click here:

Landon is getting pretty good at dribbling a soccer ball... see video below, or click here:

For foods that poke easily and stay on a fork well, Landon can control the fork well and get the food into his mouth now.  In fact he sometimes throws a huge fit if we try to help him or feed him.  The independence stage has begun.

For all the times that Landon tries to stand up in his chair during meals, I am always signaling him to sit down with my finger.  Yesterday he stood up in the hi-chair at a restaurant and waved his finger at me and said "dow" (down).  Oh boy!

The happy baby boy!

The Andes in the AM

I continue to try to capture how huge and beautiful the Andes mountains are that we see out our balcony.  Many days we can only see the closer peaks, but there have been a handful of mornings, like today, when it is clear enough to see all the way up to the highest peaks off to the East.  You can sort of tell they are covered in snow, even though it is the middle of summer here, but the pictures still don't do justice to how beautiful they are when you can see the whole panoramic view around us!

Super cool barber shop experience

We were at a mall today and walked by a super cool kids barber shop.  Jimmy and I have been talking this past week that Caleb is due for a cut, and this place was able to take us right away.

Perhaps places like this exist outside of Lodi, but we thought it was an awesome business idea - what kid wouldn't want to sit still for the barber when they have a ride-on vehicle, cartoons on TV or PS3, and plenty of other toys to keep them entertained and still for a haircut??  They even have a baby exersaucer for babies that can't sit on the ride-on toys themselves yet.

The guy cut and cut and cut, as Jimmy and I are looking at each other saying, Oh well, it will be good for the summer weather here!  He ended up cutting Caleb's hair really short, but it came out cute just the same.

El Afilador de la flauta

Here is something I though was cool in a very old-fashioned way:  El Afilador de la flauta (as I am choosing to name him) is a man who walks around five different neighborhoods of Santiago pushing a cart with a single bike tire and a rubber belt on it, and he plays a wooden flute (flauta).  He is the guy that sharpens knives and scissors, and his flute lets the neighborhood know he is nearby if they require his services.  His bike tire that he pushes along the streets of Santiago gets flipped up onto one side so he can pump a foot petal to make it spin, allowing him to sharpen the knives.

I think it is awesome to see ancient professions like this still in existence in parts of the world, and was happy to get to help out his business by having our three very dull knives sharpened recently.  It took about a minute per knife, and only cost about $2 each knife.

I had heard his flute a few times before, and had always meant to ask the building concierge what it was from, until I started to Google where in our area I could have knives sharpened.  The first thing I came across was an article about this guy in a local newspaper (article in Spanish): http://www.lahora.cl/2012/11/16/01/noticias/la-hora-s-d/103-21618-9-el-afilador-un-oficio-que-se-niega-a-morir.shtml.

Below is a video of el afilador walking through our neighborhood last week, or click here.  I was up on our balcony and had a good view of him...

Maitencillo and Landon's first trip to the beach

Yesterday we were able to take advantage of having Guillermo's car and go to the coast.  We took our friends, Matt, Jessica, and little Evan and drove about and hour and a half to a small town called Maitencillo.  It was packed with people, in part because it is February and everyone is on vacation, and also because there happened to be a surf competition going on there, too.  We got a late start on the day, so we arrived around two o'clock and found a restaurant to have lunch.  Jimmy has been really looking forward to being by the coast so he could enjoy a big seafood lunch, and the one we had hit the spot for him.

It was kind of overcast when we got there, but part way through lunch the sun came out, and gave us a nice break from the gray.  The sun here is very strong when you are directly in it, and its a huge difference in temp from the shade to the sun.

After lunch we headed down to the beach with the kids and realized that I had forgotten to pack Jimmy's swimsuit :(.  He was not very happy with me, but getting to teach some teenagers how to throw a football on the beach made up for my mistake a bit...

Enjoying a Pisco Sour, sort of the national drink here

Our server at the restaurant was very nice and took several pictures for us, including all the zoomed in ones below of the boys and I...

Lunch with our friends (and neighbors) Matt (from Canada), Jessica (from Chile), and their son Evan (9 mo).

The beach we ended up at was called El Abanico, and there happened to be a surf competition going on, so there were surfers everywhere.

There aren't too many shots of Landon in the water because, after the initial contact, he realized how cold the Pacific water is here, and was content being on the sand the rest of the time.  He did like running out on the wet sand though, but was startled by the water rushing at him I think.

This reminds me of someone about to start breakdancing...

Sand was everywhere, his mouth included

Notice Jimmy in the background with a very attentive group of guys listening and learning how to correctly throw a football.  They had a real football of their own, but didn't know how to throw it to make it spiral.  

Jimmy says the guys in the red suit made noticeable improvement on his throw in the 20 minutes that they were playing catch together.  I think he was a proud teacher, and excited to get to play catch with a real football in a country where American football doesn't exist!

The drive home...

This guy was waiting to cross the highway we were driving on...

The Andes Mountains on the drive home. They are pretty much visible everywhere we go. 

We are hoping to get to go to the beach one more time while we are here, maybe for a weekend...