Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

 A couple of weeks ago, Tiago and I discovered the wonders of tide-pools (notice that he is soaked to his knees).  When uncle Raph came to visit this weekend, we decided that he should see for himself what the great Pacific has to offer at low tide but we forgot to tell him that it doesn't offer a whole lot of sunshine--even during late summer...

 ...Tiago was prepared, however, with batman raincoat (and we remembered to bring the galoshes this time)!  

 And, this time, he promised not to chuck the poor little hermit crabs into the sea or against hard rocks.  He demonstrated great restraint and gently placed them back into the tide pools...though the pebbles didn't stand a chance.  (Tiago would have happily tossed every last pebble on the beach back into the ocean.)

 (Above: Ooh, anemones!  Green. Sticky!)

 Below: just behind these guys are about two dozen breeding seals.  (Tiago could care less.)

 (Below: it's why they call it Moss Beach!)

 (Bellow, Uncle Raph and little batman on the hike back up to the car:)

Iiiiit's ThOMas!

This weekend, the G-Unit took a nice little road trip to the Santa Cruz mountains to see Thomas y sus Amigos at Roaring Rail Camp!

 Unfortunately, Thomas wasn't scheduled to take us for a ride until 2:00pm (for those of you who don't know toddlers, that is about half past cranky hour!)

 But, Tiago kept busy, with the various attractions.  He met Sir Topham Hatt, played with other toddlers at the very intense wooden-train "Imagination Station," and rode the parking-lot shuttle-train.

(I think mommy and daddy were just as excited to ride the train as Tiago)

They're two, they're four, they're six, they're LATE...

By the time Thomas finally arrived, Tiago was so delirious with excitement and fatigue that he was like a little drunk person (a jolly drunk) hanging out the window, squealing and spinning in circles.

Was it worth it?  Ooh YEAH!!!

(Notice how Tiago can't decide which is more facinating: the beautiful redwoods and streams or the bustle of children hopped-up on Thomas-brand candy!)  Thankfully, the 3pm car-ride home was a snooze cruise and he finally got his much deserved zzzzs.

Field Trip to Silicon Valley

On Friday, mommy and Tiago took a trip out to Santa Clara to visit daddy at his work, after a doctors appointment in Palo Alto.  Before lunch, there was the Father/Son game of Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em in the foyer.  Then, daddy gave us the $2 tour around the Agilent campus

"Well, son, over here we have cubicles..."

"And outside, we have our roof-top b-ball court..."

"But, Best of all...we have machines with lights and buttons."  --"Oooh, I like it!"

And, before leaving, father and son brainstormed on the next engineering breakthrough (via Expo markers on whiteboard)!

Nawth Kak

 Well, I reckon its been a coon's age since we last got together...or three years (I don't actually know how long a "coon's age" is).  Anyhow, the last time we were all together, Tiago and Micaela were in utero!  So, you can imagine our delight at all being so organized as to gather together in Raleigh, NC and photograph this moment (if only we had been organized enough to take the photo in the AC and with a clean change of clothes)...I'm just hoping that we don't look as sticky and stinky as we felt.

Nevertheless, it was a wonderful visit with family.  The kids had a great time together, rain or shine (and there was definitely both).

 (Above: Nate and niece, Micaela, enjoy the simulated breeze of a patio fan.  Below: Mama y Tiago sweat it out after a rainstorm-induced temperature drop of 100* to 87*  --we thought the rain would cool things down--but it just made things stickier. )

 The neighborhood pool at tio Miguel's and tia Jill's beckoned--and check out the awesome water slide!  On our first couple of trips down the slide, the water pressure was very low (which was perfect for an introduction to water-slides for Tiago) but, even after being catapulted out at top speed, Tiago continued to find this to be the BEST thing ever, bar none! We must have gone down that slide at least 2 dozen times over 3 visits:


 (Below: Keeping with the theme of water, Tiago takes a drink from the Old Well, at mommy's alma mater, for good academic luck...and hydration on another hot, sweaty, southern day)

(Below: waiting to cross Chapel Hill's Franklin Street to get some Pepper's Pizza--YuM!)

Above: Tiago prepares for a wonderful day of berry-pickin' and remembers his sunblock, but.....

 ....WHERE'S THE BUG SPRAY?!!!  Geeeesh, these southern bugs are no joke!

And, was there mention of the daily thunderstorms?  How's a person supposed to plan an outing?  One minute we're counting on the scortching hot sun to dry out some sneakers, and the next minute they're drowning in buckets of rain.  Good thing tio Matias isnt afraid of a little thunder and lightening to save his nephew's sketchers!)

(I've just noticed that the video quality on this blog doesn't allow you to see how completely SOAKED Matias was after his 3-second Mission: Rescue Nephew's Sneakers, or to hear the thunderous storm)

Mis Primitos

Tiago and his cousins had a blast together this summer.  While they hadn't seen each other in over a year (which is quite a long time for a two year old), they got along like...family!  It made mama's heart happy!

Right from the start, Mateo and Micaela invited Tiago to join their little Justice League and inducted Tiago into their superhero hall of fame (after this trip, I'm thinking he can be Aquaman):

Tiago got to watch his first super hero trailers (Batman and Superman) and logically believes Mateo to be the original Superman.

Tiago alternated between copying his older cousin Mateo and trying to be just like him, to getting into toddler mischief with his age-mate, Micaela.

Sometimes the little ones would team up, sometimes the siblings would team up, and at other times it was a boys' club --but most of the time these little primos were adorable together!

 At abuelita y abuelitos house, there were bubbles, life-sized drawings, toys, home-made ice cream, basketball, sprinklers and (of course)...

...ABUELITOS!!! (whom better to make ice cream with?)

There were also MANY outdoor excursions including swimming pools, parks, Jordan Lake, berry-picking and Marble's (kids') museum:

 

 (*we heard that crate training was effective for puppies, so we gave it a shot)

Even on the rainy days, these kids had a blast together (and thank God for tio Miguel and tia Jill's patience and tolerance):

(you may notice an inflatable pool on the patio--that was plan A, until the 5 inches of rain, thunder and lightening came through...bean-bags and stroller-derby were plan B!)

The Situation-Jerseylicious

 

Tiago was beyond excited to hop on an airplane to fly to the east coast to visit family! 

(See video below, for evidence of Tiago's difficult transition to his new space:)

 Our little man was the recipiant of lots of love, affection..and cool TOYS! (above: Tiago and AJ explore his new bilingual, car-shaped, laptop)

 Aunt Paula (who knows a thing or two about what rowdy little boys like) brought over some big trucks to play with.  (above: Tiago impatiently poses for a picture--he knew the impermanence of these vehicles)

 (Above: Coloring with Daddy and Zio on Father's Day)

 A Family Brunch and visit with Great Grandmom

 (Above: Aunt Paula, Mama, Daddy, Great Grandmom)

(Jersey Shores, Tiago is already feeling the "too cool for sunglasses" vibe of the Boardwalk, he likes to wear them just above the eyebrows.)

Nico Nico

 So, these guys couldn't remember their last encounter (just one year ago) but they somehow quickly took up from where they left off.  They were instant buddies and Tiago renamed his second cousin-once removed, Amigo-Nico (which later became Nico-Nico--our boy loves alliteration).

 With only 4 months between them, these boys played together beautifully.  Cousin Nico was gracious enough to let Tiago play with all of his toys and even bequeathed a coveted Tonka-Concrete-Mixer (which Tiago continues to enjoy back home in Cali).

 (Above: the boys check up on the men outdoors.  Below: they give each other a warm goodbye hug)

(if you're wondering what Amigo Nico has in his mouth--I believe it's an action-hero--he didnt stand a chance between these two!)

The Big Oh TWO!

Tiago's 2nd birthday party had a better turn out than both mommy and daddy's 30th birthday parties (combined)!  It was a great mixture of family and friends (and complete strangers)...

PARTY TRAIN! (Check out the awesome choo-choo that his pal Laila lent us!)

Tiago invited his friends from mommy's playgroup...

neighbors....

and daycare.

(above: the party is just getting started)

But with over 40 adults, 10 toddlers and a few infants, the party went off without a hitch (insert tractor, digger, truck pun here)!