Land Lovers

We signed up for a tour to visit some islands of the coast of Callo, that are filled with sea lions and penguins. We thought that Milo would love it and that it would be fun way to celebrate Peru's Independence Day. The first part of the tour was spent driving to Callo in a double decker tour bus. The tour guide first spoke Spanish, then English ... but mainly spent the entire ride saying, "Okay my dear friends, please be careful to watch the tree branches and cables." Shortly after him mentioning this for the 7th time the entire right side of the bus was nearly beheaded by a tree limb. It was not a branch by any definition, it was huge. We were sitting on the left hand side and watched the couple in front get hit and then watched the rest of the right side of bus scramble to duck. It's really not funny, but I couldn't stop laughing. As half the passengers were assessing their injuries, I was hunched over in my seat and brought to tears, I could not stop. I guess I paid for my insensitivity on the boat. When we got to Callo we lined up and got aboard a boat that would be taking us out to the islands. Pretty much immediately, I got sea sick. I was hunched over in my chair again, this time nauseous. Unfortunately, Milo also got sick he spent the first hour crying. Jordan finally got him to sleep and put him in his carrier and went out on the deck, while I sprawled across our seats and tried to hold on to my breakfast. There was only a handful of people who didn't get sick, Jordan was one of the lucky few. The people in front of me, behind me, and to the side of me were all puking. The workers were passing out barf bags and emptying the trash can non-stop for three hours. Milo finally joined in the puking fun and puked all over himself, Jordan, and the floor. I walked up to where they were sitting and we wiped Jordan down as best as we could and Milo was striped down to his onesie and jacket. Jordan and I looked up at the rest of the passengers and every single person was either puking or green. Everyone looked miserable, Jordan and I couldn't help but laugh, "We are paying for this?" After Milo threw up he was happy as a clam, I was still feeling sick so I laid down. The people sitting next to Jordan and Milo offered them a juice box and Milo gulped it down, and was being a little entertainer. Awhile later I see a worker running to the front of the boat with a mop, so I sit up to see that Milo has puked up all his juice all over himself, Jordan, and the floor. I run to the front in time to hear Jordan thanking the passengers for the Juice, they all bust a gut and start passing over baby wipes trying to help Jordan clean the puke off of his pants. We strip Milo down to his diaper, shoes, and socks. He thinks it is hilarious, and so does everyone around. Camera flashes were going off as if he was a celebrity. At this point I still feel sick, but can't do anything but laugh. This three hour tour from hell will probably end up being one of our favorite memories from Peru.

Life lately, according to my phone

We are in home stretch of this adventure, we have had an amazing time here in Peru. It has been so wonderful for us as a family to live a simpler life and focus more on each other. Lately we've spent most of our time enjoying our little neighborhood ... we love going to the park (twice most days), the food (especially the fresh bread), and walking everywhere. Two and a half more weeks and we are headed back to the US of A! Bring on the AZ heat, In-n-out, water pressure, friends and family, Target, fellow English speakers ... can't wait. 

Parapentes

Hands down Milo's favorite thing to do in all of Peru is sit on his little perch and watch the "parapentes." We spend most afternoons at the park watching them take off and land. Milo, an otherwise busy-always moving kind of kid, is mesmerized by the paragliders. He will sit still on the brick wall, jabbering and pointing... happy as a clam. No matter how long we've stayed he is never ready to leave. That is the only downside, we always end up peeling him off the wall, kicking and screaming. On Sunday afternoon we walked down to the park to watch and I finally took this little video of Milo and his favorite Peruvian pastime, the pictures are from various days throughout our stay.

Aliaga House & Centre of Lima

Yesterday afternoon we headed into the center of Lima for a little more sightseeing, this time we arranged to have a tour of the Aliaga House. When conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima he gave the plot of land next to the Government Palace to his ally and friend Jeronimo de Aliaga, so they could be neighbors, there is a tunnel from the Palace to the home. Eighteen generations of the Aliaga family have lived in the same mansion. It is the oldest house in the Americas. The family is still living in a modern annex of the home today while most of the original house is open for tours. It was a really cool tour, highly recommended if you find yourself in Lima. Milo was being a wild hooligan and wanted out of his carrier so bad, so our tour guide had to tough it out and yell over the squeals coming from the little monster on Jordan's back. Luckily it was a private tour and the guide was patient and even played with him a little. We made it through tour and it was totally worth it. After the tour we let Milo get his wiggles out and chase pigeons in the Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Martin. He of course drew a lot of attention and we had more requests for photos with the little gringito, we really need to start charging. After wearing out Milo we caught a taxi and headed back to Miraflores. Let me just say that I hate riding in taxis, usually the ride is a little rough and I feel like I am breathing pure exhaust the entire ride. Yesterday was hands down the scariest car ride of my life, our taxi driver was swerving in and out of lanes, running stale red lights, coming up to stop signs full speed and just laying on the horn, at one point we came to a cross walk and he just laid on his horn while an elderly women ran to safety on the sidewalk... I don't have enough fingers to count how many times we almost got in a wreck or hit a pedestrian. Mind you all of this is happening while Milo is sitting on my lap. I am pretty sure this is the first time that I have ever simultaneously been cussing and praying. Luckily, we lived to tell the tale.  

Watch Milo Grow: 16.5 Months

It's been awhile since I wrote down what Milo is up to. I feel like he is turning into a little boy way too fast. I just want to write some things down so that I remember them. So here is whats happening at 16.5 months:

-Loves to dance. Bends his knees and waves his arms. He also has a new head bob move that is hilarious.
-He has gone from a kid who watched zero TV to a Yo Gabba Gabba addict. We try not to let him watch too much, but he loves it & he gets so excited when it turns on, he cheers and dances.

-Loves dogs, he will point out any dog he sees. He also says doggie and barks. 

-Loves balls. He is actually super good at kicking the soccer ball. 

-He has 8 teeth on top, 6 teeth on bottom. 

-Says quite a few words "Mama" "Dada" "Doggie" "Ball" "Bubbles" "GabbaGabba" "Banana" "Water" "Shoes" "Soft" "No" "More" also some Spanish words "Vamos" "Chau" 

-He says "sushhhhh" and puts his little finger up by his mouth

-Can identify his head, nose, knees. 

-Can unlock my iPhone. 

-Lets me know when he has gone poop, by grabbing his diaper. Maybe this means he will be easy to potty train. Let's hope! 

-Folds his arms for prayers.
-Loves to play with new packages of diapers or paper towels. He drags them up and down the hall, stands on them. It entertains him for hours.
-He loves watching the paragliders. He will sit and watch and be so content. He oooos & awwws, points, and cheers for them. I try and take him down to the park most afternoons so that he can watch them. I think its his favorite thing to do in all of Peru.
-We took Milo to his first movie, Ice Age 4. He loved it. He munched on popcorn, laughed, clapped, and danced the whole time. At the end he busted out his best dance moves to the music on the credits.
-He is pretty shy at the park, it takes him awhile to warm up to the kids. Except when there is an older kid at the park, he loves following around and copying the older kids. The other day at the park he chased a five year old around trying to do everything that he was doing and laughing with him. 

-We can't take him anywhere without everyone stopping us to say "que lindo" "muneco" etc. It is not uncommon for people to stop me, bend down to him in his stroller and kiss him.  Sometimes he is a total ham, smiling and loving the attention other times he is terrified.