10 months old

Today Mateo is 10 months old! We celebrated with a cake and a visit from "Tia Gladys" who brought a green and an orange soft spikey toys for Mateo.

Daddy had to go home to Omaha today so he could go back to work and get things ready for when Mateo and Mommy come home. We miss him already!

Today is also Grandpa Jim's birthday and so we celebrated that, too!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Jim! I can't wait to meet you!

First Haircut - Wednesday, January 30

Don't worry - the brown stuff on my shirt is hot chocolate from breakfast!

Guatavita

Energia! Energia!

Yesterday afternoon we decided to take a little road trip to Guatavita, a small town near Bogota where there is a big lagoon. The Legend of El Dorado comes from this town and much pre-Colombian gold was extracted from the lagoon. Here are a few pictures from our outing.

Mateo was a prince the entire day.

Singing in the shower

Today Mateo was singing in the shower with mom. All soaped up and all of the sudden he began to sing a nameless tune. I listened with glee and then he looked up at me as if to see if his song was well sung. I answered with a big smile and then sang to him and Mateo answered back with another tune. This went on for about 5 minutes - so very sweet. Usually Mateo showers with Dad, but today Jose Fernando went to help his father at Nebraska Tours so mama had the privilege.

We also had lunch this afternoon at the home of Delsy and Maria del Mar. Maria is Edelmira's goddaughter and they are originally from the coast, so they treated us to typical coastal food - fish soup, coconut rice, juice of nispera fruit and avocado salad. Mateo tried coconut rice and loved it. He also got to dance cumbia with Delsy.

One month today

One month ago, December 26, 2007

Today, Saturday, January 26, 2008

Today, Saturday, January 26, 2008

Today marks one month exactly that we have had Mateo! Since December 26, Mateo has grown and changed in so many ways. We still look at him in awe and thank God for such a precious gift.

La Candelaria

Today was a great day. Mateo woke up around 6:30am a very happy boy. The first thing he did was something new that he repeated all day long. It began with Dad singing him the song, "If I had a million dollars" with new words... If I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a horse. Mateo vehemently shook his head 'no' with a massive smile. If I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a fishing boat. Big smile from Mateo as in, 'Yes, a boat! Brilliant! If I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a set of golf clubs. Another 'yes.' If I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a horse? 'No,' and the head shake again. So cute. The rest of the day, we would ask him questions to see what he answered with a no and a shake of the head.

After the song, Mateo ate apple cereal and hung out in his abuelos bedroom while mom slept in a little longer (dad was playing golf with his great uncle at a country club). When mom got up we went for a walk and went swinging.

Mateo LOVES to swing and always has a happy scream and big smile to let you know so. After swinging, we met three dogs who were going for a walk with a dogsitter - a beagle, a schnouzer and a golden retriever. The beagle was named Mateo, which came as no surprise since this is the fourth dog we have met whose name is Mateo - apparently it is a very popular name right now for dogs, no joke. Mateo - the baby - loved the dogs, a great relief since we are hoping he will bond well with Chester and vice versa.

After the park, we came back home and had some papaya juice. Abuela Edelmira says this will help move Mateo's stomach. We took a shower and then played for a while. Then Mateo had spinach/carrot/pea/green bean soup and shredded chicken for lunch and about an hour later went down for a nap. When he woke up, Dad was home from golfing and abuelito home from work and we all went to La Candelaria in downtown Bogota. These pictures are from our trip.

Mateo took a nap on mommy's chest on the ride home, and then he happily ate papilla made of pear in front of the camera while talking to his grandparents Olsen on Skype. After such a busy day, Mateo was pretty tired so he went to bed a bit early - around 7:30pm.

La calle del embudo

"Grandma's Corner," says the sign.

"James' Place"

Plaza de Bolivar

Mateo loved watching the pigeons and chasing them with Daddy.

Friday, January 18 - Lunch at Gladys & Fabio's

On Friday of last week, we shared a delicious lunch with the Pedraza family. Gladys is very special to us because she came to Omaha in the summer of 2003 with Edelmira. Her husband, Fabio, took these pictures.

Portraits

Abuelito, Dona Ema, "Las Pisingas", Tio Jose

I love mi abuelito!

Every Wednesday and Friday, Dona Ema comes to clean the apartment. This is Dona Ema with Mateo.

Yesterday afternoon the "Pisingos Ladies" came to visit Mateo. Amparo, her daughter, also named Amparo, Emily and Beatriz. They were so excited to see Mateo again and spent the afternoon pampering him. Of course, this is nothing new for Mateo - he is used to being the center of attention, and he loves it!

Amparo loves to kiss Mateo's feet, just like Jaimie. The ladies commented on how much Mateo looks like Jose Fernando and it's true! We took out some of Jose's baby pictures, and the similarities are stunning. We can be certain Mateo will grow up to be a very handsome man! :)

Beatriz and Mateo

Mateo with Beatriz, Emily and Amparo

Edelmira, Amparo (Amparo's daughter) and Mateo

Mateo, Emily and Amparo

On Sunday, "Tio Jose" left for home to Florida. Mateo is dressed like the alligator that Tio Jose and Tia Jasney gave him.