Birthday cake trial run

Early October.  I have been a bad blogger this past month, probably one of the more imporant since the blog is about Benjamin and he turned one and had his first trip to meet his aunt and uncle in Argentina this month.   But, with all that going on and a crazy job there has been limited time.  

The leaves have been falling and on afternoons that aren't too cool we try to go outside to enjoy the last bit of warmth before winter sets in and all playing must be done inside our wee house.

 Mino discovered the coolness that is toilet paper.  It doesn't matter if the toilet is occupied, he will still go for it.  And eat it.

 He and Wally have developed a love/hate relationship.  Mino chases Wallace around the house trying to cuddle and pull his tail, Wally hates it.

 We have been watching the Packers come to life.  We figured out what had happened at the beginning of the season, with all the Portos hoopla we forgot to transfer his tags from his Red Sox collar so the Packers collar wasn't in use.  The week we made the switch Aaron Rodgers came back to life.  You are welcome Wisconsin.

 As Nana and Granddude weren't making the trek to Argentina we had a small get together with them to celebrate his first birthday.

 I spend too much time reading mom things on Pinterest and what not and heard about these cool things called smash cakes where you give the baby a cake and he destoys it and loves it.  Mino surprised me in that he didn't go all that nuts.

 Otis enjoyed the clean up though!

Argentina Spring Visit

After the amazing party that Abuelo and Abuela threw together for Mino the rest of the trip was spent visiting with cousins and doing a bit of tourism.
Mino slept so much better there than at home, we slept in every morning until at least 9.  And nearly every morning Sol and Clara came over to visit.  We determined from this photo that Mino has an incredibly large head in comparison to his cousin.

 They had more fun in the darn wagon.  This is one of the few shots I have where Mino isn't giving her the stink eye.  Aside from cruising in the wagon, one of his hobbies was hitting/slapping his cousin or pulling at her earrings.

 He also had a good time playing with Abuela and Lothar in the back yard.  There is some serious kid equipment at their house, a mini merry-go-round type thing that he couldn't quite maneuver, but enjoyed none the less.

On our third day we made a trek to Temaiken and Mino got to have his first trip to the zoo!

Delfi and Felix got to play hooky from school as it was a beautiful week day not to be wasted.  We saw a swimming white tiger.

 The park had an amazing bird sanctuary with a different section for birds from different geographic regions, one of the coolest things I have seen.  The parrots were a big hit for everyone.

 The also had a great aquarium which had a huge shark tank.

 

Martin decided that both Mino and Wally would benefit from a large fish tank in our house.  I agreed so long as there are guppys always in the tank and I never have to clean it.  We'll see if it ever happens.

The next day Wen took us to the Puerto de Frutos in el Tigre.

Again a week day which was really nice as there weren't a ton of people.  Mino got hot though, so we didn't stay for too long.  The highlight of the place for me was the sheer number of places that sold art deco children's furniture.  Who knew there was such a large market?!

 Later in the week Abuela's friend Kelly (sorry if it is a different spelling) brought us to an art exhibit of Giacometti at the Proa Museum adjacent to the caminito in La Boca, my favorite part that I have seen thus far of Buenos Aires.

The museum was very nice in that the exhibit was great but not too big, that was really the only section you could expore, and there was a roof top bar/cafe.

Mino seized the moment to raid Abuela's purse. 

There was a good view of the port near La Boca and the taxi stand :)

We managed to get into the city in record time, there before the museum even opened, so we toured around the Caminito.

Another thing that can not be missed when in Argentina is an empanada.  One lazy night Martin and I ordered some to go, well, Mino busted in on our fun and stole one.  Another habit that is going to be hard to break.

Wen and Paula were our second hosts, driving to visit us twice and hosting us for dinner one night.  Martin and Wen have been friends for at least three decades.  Martin is old.

 There is a channel, thanks to Fox International, in Argentina, Baby TV.  Here I have tried to limit TV time for Mino as I read somewhere some article that said TV was bad for babies.  I don't have a reference or anything and could not find it again.  Well, Mino was transfixed by this.  Sol pointed out the same thing happens when you withhold sugar from kids so whoops. 

 Here is Mino caught red handed terrorizing his poor sweet cousin.

 And getting in some good Auntie and cousin time.

 And time with his abuelos

 Before we departed to go back to the US on Halloween.

Partying around the world - First Birthday Party in Argentina

My Mino is 12 months old, 1 year old.  Holy Cannoli!!  He still can't walk on his own, but runs when you hold both of his hands.  He still only has 4 teeth but I can see G protruding from his gums getting ready to pop out.  He is now throwing tantrums, which I didn't anticipate for at least another year.  He flails himself backwards with no respect for the brick wall or sharp corner behind his head.  He loves food, bread especially.  He is off the boob for the most part, he gets one overnight if he wakes up in the middle of the night to knock him back out, but is drinking whole milk most of the time.  Isn't really saying words but is immitating sounds and motions like no other.  I suppose if I wanted to I could say he is talking, but they aren't words, they are more grunts that he consistently uses for certain things.  He loves dogs and cats.  He doesn't like hats or hoods.  He likes to go up and down stairs, but doesn't quite get that mom and dad holding his hands while he runs as fast as he can down stairs is saving his life.  He is dirty enough now to warrant a bath every day.  Ok, now to the party bits.

So, starting with a bit of a hiccup, or should I say nasty cough our trip looked a little shaky the night before.  Recall we were supposed to go in August but Portos, AKA the 8,000 dollar dog, decided that we didn't want us to leave him then and got sick.  The night before the flight Mino was up every 5 minutes coughing and was very congested to the point that he got antibiotics and steroids to help keep his airways clean for the flight. But, after 12.5 hours in the air, two flights, a cab ride with a sketchy car seat, nearly three hours of screaming we made it to Argentina, per usual, in the rain.   Most importantly the first night we were there Mino got to meet his sweet little cousin Clara who is one day shy of one month younger than him.

 The next day we got to preparing and set the house up for the party.  When all was said and done there were no balloons so Abuelo had to run out, and for $75 pesos got one pack of balloons.  There is more than a slight recession going on down in Argentina at the moment.

 I had made two banners of the monthly pictures I had taken of Mino for decoration and hung them up to show off my perfect little birthday boy.

Martin's family put together a fantastic spread with a ton of people to celebrate!  First and foremost, if in Argentina, Mino must have some meat to eat right???

 He was enjoying hanging out with Clarita in the wagon, decidedly the coolest thing to do in Argentina according to my wee little man.

 Delfi and Luchi had a good time being caretakers to the little ones and pulled them all over the back yard.

 Martin's cousins Cata, Maria and Toia came to visit - Cata and Toia stayed with us in Boston right before we got married so it was great to see them again.

 Adults are talking and Mino is like, pshaw, I don't know all that Spanish, pull me in the wagon!  He had more fun with all the boys rough housing.  He and Felix were good buds.

 A group shot of the cousins - except Clarita.

 I brought some party hats down to celebrate and Mino and Clara enoyed them the most I think.

 After all the eating was cake time.  Not to be outdone, a double decker Dulce de Leche coated cake covered with M&M's.  I like to call it "Dentist's Dream" cake.

 It was the beginning of a mean habit of obsessing over his next taste of Dulce de Leche, a genetic trait he inherited from his father.

 The closest to a family shot from the day!

 Then it was present time, or should I say swarm the room that has all the cool bags time.  The kids helped Mino open presents, he isn't quite at the stage that he likes to do that.  He got a coloring book, some clothes, a bulldozer, a giraffe that kicks balls, Spanish books and a DVD in Spanish, a super cool backpack and a robe.