"The California Train"

 Tiago invited his tio Matias to join him on a ride on the "California Train."

 And he excitedly predicted, "Next stop: San Francisco!"

 The weather was a little cold and windy at the start of our trip...

 ...but the sun made it's way out for a beautiful afternoon along the Embarcadero.

 It was a beautiful California day.

 Not even an ounce of San Francisco fog!

 We made it out of the Cal-Train station just before the San Francisco Giants fans took over the block for a late afternoon game.

Next stop: Back home.

Easter - Seder

 On Good Friday, mommy and Tiago went to the Oakland Zoo to meet up with friends...

...and, of course, ride the train.  (See above for a beautiful piece of macaroni jewelry!)

 On Easter Saturday, we started our day with an Easter Bunny encounter at our downtown community park.  It's funny, Tiago was not scared of the Easter bunny, rather the rampant Easter egg hunters!

(And he wasnt exactly thrilled about the Easter Lion-Bunny either)

Later that afternoon, we made it over to buddy Diego's house for some Easter egg-dying festivities, games, candy and general fun.

 On Sunday, we celebrated Passover--Pesach--at aunt Karen and Uncle David's house!

 Not only did we learn about "Why is this night different?"

Tiago also learned about Tzafun and found the hidden piece of Matzah bread! Tiago was so pleased to wear uncle Raph's Yamaka.

 Thanks aunt Karen and uncle David, for a wonderful, enriching, experience.  Tiago loves his new book!

Showing Tio Matias, Bay Area's Best

 OK, well, for most people, you come here to see the Golden Gate Bridge, hike through Muir woods, take an Alcatraz tour or go wine-tasting.  But, ask any 2 and 1/2 year old and...it's all about the parks.  Add some animals, maybe see some trolleys (or even the muni) and it just doesn't get any better.  First on the list was Golden Gate Park and the Planetarium.

 Tiago mustered all of his energy to resist his nap during our late-afternoon field-trip (even crying out in the car, "I dont want to be tired!") in order to see it ALL.

 ...We checked out aquariums...

 ...gigantic indoor rainforests with butterflies and macaws (the camera lens fogged up in seconds)...

 ...a living roof...

 ...and across the bay in Oakland...it was a little scarier....

 ...Tiago and tio Matias had to put on their ferocious lion faces (of course the lions were just sleeping in the background)...

 ...and parks...

...and more parks...(literally moments after arrival at SFO to moments before departure we went to parks)

Matias visits Family

 While tio Matias was in town, Tiago was happy to skip out on day care to show him around NorCal to visit various family.  Some family members, tio Matias hadn't seen in years...and we hadn't seen in months.  Above, we visited great grandma Emily (Tiago even scored a cool stuffed elephant--now named "Elly"--out of that visit)...

 (Funny how, at each stop, Tiago was able to somehow either earn himself a new toy or plaything)  At tia Gabriella's place Tiago played a ukulele, drew a picture using an oversized pencil and climbed on a rocking chair that doubles as a step ladder to a slide!

 Which is much more exciting than meeting a new, adorable, family member--duh.

(above is tia Gabriella's little bundle of joy)

 Tiago even convinced some of our family to drive all the way out to see us!

 (yep, he's charming, alright.)

(Above, tio Matias re-united with cousins Fabio and Enzo, now high school juniors!)

Presidents' Day Weekend

Well, it's been a busy new year with lots of work and little play.  But the G-Unit had family come visit over Presidents' weekend and we took that opportunity to PLAY!

 Tiago took his family to his favorite "castle" the Malibu--Mini-Golf castle!  And, in case you were wondering, in Tiago's world, everyone deserves a hole-in two (basically, if you don't get that ball in the hole within the first shot, our little guy will walk that ball over to the hole for you).  No need to thank him, it's his pleasure.

It was a great weekend!  I only wish we had taken a picture of our game night "Apples to Apples" where aunt Megs spanked us all like a silent ninja (in fact, there she is behind the fence--taking intel, scoping us out for our gaming weaknesses in mini-golf)!

Noche Buena--Finally getting those pictures up!

OK--so, for those who dont know-- in Latin America, it's tradition to have a late night dinner on Christmas Eve (aka: Noche Buena) and then celebrate at the stroke of midnight by opening all of the gifts.  If you're wondering, this tradition works beautifully with tired, cranky, sugared out, small children!  The kids could barely make it through the 10pm dinner, let alone the midnight gift exchange.  We ended up taking the kids home after dinner, just to change them into their pajamas, in the hopes that they might fall asleep immediately following the gift openings.  But, OH!  Did we mention the setting off of illegal fire-crackers at midnight?!  (Above: they are literally about to fall on the floor with over excitement and fatigue.  Below: they get a second (or 18th?) wind after the midnight present frenzy)

 

 (mama/tia/G-Unit head mistress Korah bought the gang matching red Chuyos)

 The kids actually made out like little banditos...

 ...but had just as much fun passing out gifts as receiving them!

 Below is a haphazard vignette of the noche buena gift-exchange

Nuestro Tiempo En Peru

s

When my tia Maria told me that she and my grandmother were exhausted (but in a good way) after our visit to Peru, I thought, "Really? We hardly ever stayed more than 15 minutes with you, at a time."  But, in hindsight, after reviewing all of my home movies (and noticing that there is a recurring theme of children, running and screaming for no good reason), I realized, "Of course you were!  I am exhausted EVERY DAY and have simply forgotten what it feels like to be rested."

(Below is one of the precious few videos that does NOT document my squealing, naughty, rambunctious child:) 

 w/Tio Ricardo

 w/Tia Maria

 w/Tia Teresa, Tio Carlos &...

 ...abuelita Yola

Adios family!  We miss you!

Feliz Año Nuevo

 The La Serna, Brogdon, Guilars wish you a very Happy New Year from Miraflores, Peru!

 As most of you know, we had hoped to dedicate a few blog postings to pictures of Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.  However, "acts of God" prevented this.  So the above picture is about as close as we got to the Andes (7 Chuyos on the Miraflores Malecón).  Nevertheless, we had a great time with family and enjoyed our outings in and around town.  We'll have to dedicate another blog entry to the antics of Tiago and his "twin" cousin, Micaela (the dynamic duo of mischief and merriment).

Probably for the same reason there was torrential rain in the Andes, the coast was overcast for the majority of our stay.  But, since it never actually rains in Miraflores (and not in the "it never rains in Southern California" sense--it really does not ever rain in Lima) we spent most of our time outdoors with the kids.  Nate and I enjoyed Barranco--sort of the Berkeley of Lima. 

 Above, Tiago and I pose on a cliff in Barranco.  Below, the family walks by the facade of a typical Barranco building.

 Below: Anticuchos in Barranco (yum!)