Weekend Funsies!

We had a fun family weekends filled with firsts for all three of us! First, we had a friday night at the circus... no performing animals or transvestites this time, but a really neat troupe of clowns that spanned 4 generations all performing together! Lots of farts jokes, water spray, and prat falls - and tons of music! I couldn't believe how multitalented all these guys were! Camilo was mesmerized by the whole show but his favorite parts were the sweet kettle corn and the aerial acrobats that performed between the clown acts.  February is circus season here in Chile, so we'll be taking Camilo to as many as possible!

Saturday we packed some sandwhiches and headed back to the port of San Antonio to watch a football game (think minor league soccer). Camilo sat still and enjoyed himself for the first half, but the action was just too far away for him to really pay any attention to. He spent the second half eating dirt and throwing rocks. Good times.

Camilo and I heard a LOT of new dirty words in the bleachers that day! But San Antonio beat Melipilla 1-0!

Because as Ellie says, "you have to go on all the rides!" I HAD to try the weird bag of pickles they were selling in the bleachers... I got 6 pieces of a dill pickle, a piece of cauliflower, a half slice of carrot, and 1 pearl onion. Weird stadium food, but salty and yummy. It would have been PERFECT with a cold beer, but alas, ALL alcoholic beverages are banned in any stadium, sporting, or concert events in Chile.

  Then Sunday, we got up early and headed to Lo Abarca (famous for their pork ribs) for a real farmers market. We set our expectations low, but were pleasantly surprised by what we found. Typical cueca dancing, cowboys, power tools, local wine, artesanal beer, etc, etc! Camilo's cuteness even scored us a free head of hydroponic lettuce!

It's hard to do a family sized selfie and include the giant rooster behind us, but Joan did a pretty good job!

They also had a little petting zoo with sheep, cows, horses, chickens, and turkeys, but Camilo was much more interested in the water buckets.

Sunday night, BBQ in the back yard - what a great weekend!

Palate Repair

I've been waiting to write this post up until the story was complete - and it has a very happy ending! Camilo's cleft palate surgery back at the end of November was a complete success! It was a rough experience for us all, but thanks to Camilo's masterful surgeon and his team, his extremely wide cleft closed up completely, even after a good-sized fistula opened up a couple of weeks after the repair. Now Camilo gets a reprieve from surgeries until he's about 5 years old. We're seeing speech therapists and ear/nose/throat specialists now to make sure his gets on track with normal stuff like speech, blowing, and sucking.

Recovery was waaaaay rougher on Camilo this time around. The pain meds didn't seem to do the trick so we sat with him while he screamed in recovery for hours. This photo was taken after a doctor came in and FINALLY gave him something extra for the pain. 

He started to feel much better once the nurses gave up checking his vitals (he screamed anytime they came near him with that little finger clamp!). He also perked up once they took that string off of his tongue that was taped up on his cheek - I guess this was a precaution for some babies that choke on their own tongues at first once their palate is closed.

Once we got him home and calm, we realized he was probably suffering MORE from the sores caused by the surgical clamps they used to keep his mouth open.  Poor little guy could only sleep about an hour or so at a time -on mommy's chest of course - and would wake up screaming. In retrospect, I think he was just scared!

After the first few days, Camilo was doing much better. He tolerated the no-no's (the arm braces that keep his hands away from his mouth) much better this time around, but was pretty frustrated we wouldn't let him walk around on his own. He was also on a strict ice cream diet, but eating and drinking was tough and he got so skinny!

Here are the photos the surgical team took both imediately before and after his palate repair. Two weeks after the surgery, a 3x10mm gap opened up in the margin where the hard and soft palate meet. At first assessment, we were told that it was unfortunate, but that the "fistula" would require another surgery to repair. We were DEVASTATED! But two weeks later, the hole had nearly closed up on its own and two more weeks later it was completely closed! Truly amazing!

And just a month after surgery, marking a historic chilean election, our little cleftie showing off his new smile and his returning belly!

Back in time! USA tour part 2 - Idaho!

Since I never got a chance to post these when I should of, here are some highlights of our visit to Idaho last October... (at least this is what Camilo TOLD me when I showed him all of these pictures!)

When I got to Idaho I had a pretty bad cold, but I was nice enough to share it right away with my grandma! So we cuddled a lot and we made each other feel better. 

I learned SO MUCH while visiting my grandma and grandpa, I should have taken notes! Grandma taught me that ANYTHING can be hat!

Grandma also taught me about licking chocolate cake batter off of a spatula! (But too bad my mean mommy took it away before I was finished with it - nevermind that there wasn't even a speck of chocolate left on it!)

Grandpa taught me to fish, but it was really REALLY cold by the lake, so I wasn't terrible impressed. Maybe if he caught me a bigger fish...?

Actually, I thought it was much more fun when Grandpa taught me how to clean fish!

I learned how to eat string cheese - everyday, when ever I wanted to, and to sometimes squish pieces of it into Grandma's carpet!

I learned how to make refined choices in alcoholic refreshment.

I learned that my mommy is a big nerd and that I was almost named Napoleon.

And the most important lesson of all: I learned about In N Out! Yummy milkshake and cheeseburger!

Happy new year! Big changes for us!

The last few months have gone by like a flash! In December we had Camilo's cleft palate surgery (which was a success - and a future blog post), a rough recovery, a brain scan, and then the holidays were upon us!  All that AND Camilo has started daycare! It has been a paperwork nightmare to get him matriculated (think Terry Gilliam's Brazil) but after an extended adjustment period Camilo "goes to school" monday thru friday from 8:30am - 4:30pm. I think he really enjoys his time there and I'm very happy that he gets to socialize with more kids. I'm not wild about all of their rules, the germ load in our house, or the hours, but you can't beat the price- FREE!

Camilo hasn't been too quick to get on board with giving himself his own bottle while sitting still at a table...

So here it is, the daycare christmas pageant! A solemn event, which I took very seriously in my holiest of holy costume designs...

Pobre Beto!

Our little puppy is becoming a little man! Sooooo... it was high time to neuter him! A humane society veterinarian comes through Las Cruces a few times a year to spay and neuter strays and other pets at low cost. The only catch is that you have to help out with the procedure!

Beto gets veeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyy sleepy before his "procedure." His blue bracelet was his number, aka his place in line - there were a LOT of doggie friends there that day!

The vet and his assistent all had a good laugh at Beto's tiny "coquitos!" There is one of them in the top left. My job was mostly just to keep that leg out of the doctor's way.

Beto in recovery. His "procedure" took all of 5 minutes.

Camilo liked slapping Beto in the lampshade of shame. Don't worry Beto, it's Camilo's turn for surgery soon and you can lick your revenge while the baby has his arms strapped in restraints!

Visit to the US Part 1: Northern California

Now that Camilo is a year old, it's way past time for him to visit and even MEET the rest of his family!Sadly, Joan had to stay behind and work during this trip, so I have had my hands pretty full - I guess that's why I haven't taken hardly any pictures!  (Kendra, you must have a couple you can send me, right?) Here are a few from the first leg of our travels...

First stop: Santa Cruz, where we saw Kendra, Jim, old friends from Long Marine Lab, Aunt Sunny, Uncle Jim, Carrie, Traci, John, Ed, and Jeannette!  Aunt Sunny even took us on a special trip to the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary discovery center! Camilo loved the interactive intertidal zone!

His favorite citter was the bat star!

My "favorite" station was where you could play ecologist and count everything you see in a tidepool quadrat!

Aunt Sunny helped Camilo reach the kelp up high!

Whale tail!

\Camilo's first try at eating bacon! (with avocados and sliced grapes)

Second stop was San Francisco, where we spent the night with Traci and Ron and had lunch the next day with Jose!  Camilo was pretty beat with so much traveling, but still managed to pout a bit while zonked out.

Next stop: Bodega Bay!  Ellie took us to a neat playground where Camilo had a great time exploring - that is, when he wasn't busy trying to eat woodchips!

Fun fact: Camilo was born in the chinese year of the dragon!

Camilo really enjoyed collecting dried leaves and trying to feed them to mommy!

We had lots of fun with Ellie, James, and seeing old friends at the marine lab, but our stay at each of our NorCal stops was too short!  

Next stop: Idaho!

Do you need more sand for that apple?

Spring is finally here! We packed a picnic and headed down to the beach before the independence day crowds descended upon us.

Camilo loved squishing the sand in between his toes while daddy dragged Beto into the water.

Baby Yogi goes straight for the picnic basket!

Camilo gets burried...

...then it's Beto's turn!

Happy birthday Camilo!

I can't believe how fast one whole year just flew by! Our little man is getting so big! He is nearly walking by himself, yells "MaMa!" all the time, and keeps us laughing with his antics everyday.  Even though Camilo is too little to understand what a birthday means, I think he knew it was HIS special day and that so many of his Aunts, Uncles, and cousins came to visit just for him.

Good morning birthday boy! You and your puppy are getting so big!

Everyday you look more and more like your daddy!

Practicing grumpy face with Magdalena - the princess of pout!

Arts and crafts with Los Primos

Camilo just wanted to eat his markers.

Martin kept us entertained with his impression of Beto inside the dog crate.

I hope he made a good wish!

He LOVED his Hershey disappearing cake!

Camilo got several wonderful gifts, but my favorite was our family portrait drawn by Martin. 

Finger Painting - a how-to guide by Camilo James Escobar Shinen

Step 1: Have mommy make you some baby safe finger paints out of cornstarch, salt, and food coloring.  She can set you up with all the paper you need for your art AND newspaper to keep the surrounding area clean.

Step 2: Eat paint.

Step 3: Wipe any uneaten paint on paper.

Step 4: Why stop with fingers? Go ahead and spread any uneaten paint around with your foot!

Artist's note: Don't forget to mix as many colors around as you can with said foot!

Step 5: For texture effects, wrap the canvas around your whole leg.

Step 6: Eat newspaper.

All finished! Hooray!

Extra credit: Now that you're an accomplished artist, you might try your hand as a music critic!