Heat Wave!

I know for most of you back home, you are enjoying the cool fall weather. Well, here in Bolivia we are starting summer! The last week has been hot, hot, hot! Most days get up into the mid 80's, but then it cools down in the evenings.

Luckily for me, my friend Noelia has a blow up pool at her house. She has already invited me over a few times to go swimming! Here are some pictures of us swimming together, and playing afterwards. So glad I have a friend here to hang out with.

Pool time!

Stayin' cool

I gotta get my hair wet.

Helping Noelia get her hair wet!

Even though it's hot, it was still a little chilly getting out of the pool.

Snack time in our own little house.

Toilet de Pinata

Hi Everyone!

Today I discovered a great new way to pass the time when you are suppose to be taking a nap. I like to call it ~Toilet de Pinata~

** As a word of warning, this does take a lot of time, so I would make sure your parents are sleeping before you start.

Step 1. Start with a lot of toilet paper. You want to make sure you build a good foundation or else the water will get in your way. If you can still see water after this step, you need to add more toilet paper. I recommend using at least 5 rolls. See picture below.

Step 2. Put aside the left over toilet paper rolls. You will get to use those later!

Step 3. This is where you can be creative. Just look for what ever you can get your hands on. In my pinata I used 20-30 hair bows/clips, a bottle of lotion, a hair brush, a thermometer, and a bottle of perfume. Now is when you can add those toilet paper rolls and for an extra flair, I added 3 more full rolls of toilet paper.

**Make sure to get a good side view. You don't want to fill it too full. It's important that you are able to close the toilet seat so that your parents don't see right away that it's full!

***Also make sure that you are ready with your cutest face when your parents do finally find it, because for some reason adults don't seem to think this is as cool as us toddlers do!

Happy Napping!

Potty Time

I have exciting news to share with all of you. Over the past week and a half I have started to use the potty! My parents are really excited and proud of me. My goal is to be fully potty trained by February. In February I will be starting preschool here and I will need to be using the potty while I am there. This week was especially exciting for me because I reached an important goal in my potty training. Check out the pictures below and I will explain more!

Here I am with my "potty chart." Every time I go in the potty I get a sticker. After I get 5 stickers I get a prize.

Yesterday I got my 5th sticker! So here I am with my prize. I got a very girlie gift set that included a barbie, a cell phone, dress up shoes, lipstick (plastic), makeup (plastic), earrings, necklace, nail polish and a princess crown!

The earrings and "lipstick" are my favorite.

While this was a prize for me, my mom and dad have both benefitted from numerous makeovers!

I love my new prize! Now that I reached my first goal of 5 stickers and got my first prize I have definitely caught on to how the whole system works. This week I have been much more motivated to try to sit on the potty than last week! Looking forward to the next prize! Mom and Dad are looking forward to using less diapers!

Hey, I'm 2...

So that means I just have to:

Be a little wild!

Want to help with everything!

Use my markers like they are chap stick!

Be a 'little' messy when I eat!

And...dump an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet while I am suppose to be in time out for dumping 1/2 a gallon of water on the kitchen floor!

PS ... My Mom had to scoop all the toilet paper out of the toilet because you can't flush ANYTHING but the "natural stuff" here in Bolivia.

BEING 2 IS SO FUN!!!

Play Time

I wasn't able to bring very many toys with me to Bolivia because we couldn't fit them all in the suitcase. The toys that I do have I really like, but they are all small ones. So, my Mom came up with a really good idea. We made a really big toy for me. It's my very own house. I got to help my Mommy make it. Here are the before, during and after shots.

First step, make a door and test it out.

Next, start to paint...

And some markers would be nice...

TA DA! My new house!

I'm not sure what got decorated more, the house or me!

New House! New Bed!

We have been living in our new apartment for 5 days now! For the past 3 months I've been living in a different place about every 2 weeks. My Mom and Dad said that we are going to be living here for a long time now! YEAH! There are a lot of fun things about our new home.

We don't have a table yet for all of us to eat at. So I have my own little table! Isn't it cool!

Mt Closet is big enough for me to play in!

My new BIG BED!

The best thing about our new house is that I got to pick out my own new room AND I now get to sleep in a new BIG BED! I have been doing a really good job. Sometimes after Mom and Dad put me down to sleep I get up about 10 min later, just to see if they will let me stay up. But they always put be back to bed, so I usually just go to bed then. I really like it in the morning, when I wake up can just go right into my Mom and Dad's room. I usually go tell them I'm awake around 6:30 in the morning. I think it's great. I'm not sure what my Mom and Dad think.

Adventures in Bathing

There are a lot of things that we have to do different here in Bolivia. One thing that is always tricky is to figure out how I can take a bath. Most homes do not have bathtubs, including the home of the host family that we are staying with. It was also a challenge at the retreat center in Cochabamba. I seem to get so dirty playing here that I need a bath almost every night! Here are some pictures of the different 'containers' I have taken a bath in. I have enjoyed them all!