Our First Adventures

We've had several fun adventures in the days we've been here. On Sunday, Shelley wasn't feeling well, so Rick Jett Theo and I all went to church.  It was a lovely walk there.  (have I mentioned how wonderful the warm weather is?) Unfortunately, Theo was already tired by the time we got there, so he was a bit moody for the three hour block of classes.

It was great having Rick introduce me to everyone there.  I felt a little foolish just smiling and sitting there since I couldn't understand a word anyone said. But they were all so gracious and sweet, especially to Theo. Man, Theo is quite a hard name for them to say.  They made a joke of trying to pronounce it properly, biting their tongues and giggling.  It was great.

My favorite part were all the besos. Everyone greets each other with a kiss on the cheek.  I had remembered Shelley being surprised by it when she first moved here, so I felt a little more prepared.  While Theo and I were wandering the halls during sacrament meeting, and old woman came up to admire Theo, and turned to ask me a question.  In English I said, "I don't speak Spanish." And with a huge smile she gave me a hug and a kiss.  That was my favorite.

It's been interesting adjusting to Allison/Argentina time.  Theo still gets up at 7, which means I still get up. But the rest of the house sleeps until 9 or 10.  The AM is slow and easy going.  We don't end up eating dinner until 7 or later. And Theo has gone to bed at 9ish every night (which is annoying that he still wakes up at 7!).  Thank goodness I have a sister who encourages me to lay down during the day. Being pregnant is the best excuse ever.

As pictured above, the "Kirby face" is quite popular here. That's because Kirby the video game, along with Mario Galaxy that we brought to share, are popular activities for the boys.  Theo would watch it all day if we let him, and I've heard Jett say that he likes to play video games three times a day.  Don't we all?

Good thing there are also bunches of fun toys to play with!  And Jett has been such a nice cousin to share his toys and his space.  They sleep in the same room, and it has worked better than I could have hoped.

These boys are so cute together.  It's hard every morning when Theo wakes up and all he wants is cereal and his friend Jett.  He'll walk through the house, cup his hands around his mouth and yell, "Jett!  Where are you?"

He will also do this for Shelley, but what he calls her varies.  Sometimes he'll call her Shelley, but most of the time he has been calling her Mama.  It's pretty confusing having two mamas in the house.  Once, I was in the kitchen when everyone else was in the play room.  I heard Theo yelling, "Mama!  Mama!" and I kept answering him and telling him to come to me.  After a while, I finally went to him, only to see him staring straight at Shelley and yelling to her.  When I got her to turn around, he could finally ask her what he wanted.  I think this is so cute, and I hope he doesn't miss his other mama too much when we have to go.

We went to the little China Town yesterday, and it was quite the adventure. We all squeezed into the back of a taxi and rode down there.  Theo started the trip on my lap, but wanted to sit next to his cousin.  We passed some sweet statues that I can't wait to go visit.

When we got there, we walked past some pretty sweet stores.  Shelley was a lovely Mama, and bought Jett a rubber snake, and Theo a jingle bell shaker.  Theo made beautiful sounds as we drove over the uneven sidewalks in his stroller.

We went there for the express purpose of loading up on peanut butter that is as close to American style as they can find here.  We walked around some, and then hopped back in a taxi.  The ride home was more quite since we were all hot and tired, but Jett and Theo laughed and giggled as Jett had the snake bite Theo's finger.  They are such cute cousins!

One of the best adventures is getting to enjoy Mora.  She came back from doggy vacation a few days ago, but she has had to stay out on the balcony while some flea medicine was working on her.  Today was her first day back inside, and we all had a wonderful time.  Above, she is relaxing on the couch, while Theo bends down to say ,"hi." over and over and over.  It's very sweet.  I was worried that one might overwhelm the other, but they are friendly, and stay out of each others' way for the most part. Theo always likes to have her around, and she likes to lick his tasty fingers. I think this will be a wonderful friendship.