I'm three!

Guess what? I'm three now! I had my birthday on the 15th, and my parents had a big party for me. It was so fun. I had 9 others kids and their parents come to my party. We took lots of pictures. I'll show you everything we did!

The party was on the terrace of our apartment building! We had some friends help set up all the chairs and balloons!

We also had a Jumping Castle at my party. (That was my favorite part!)

I decided that I wanted a Barney Party. So my friend Claire made a special Barney birthday cake just for me! Isn't it awesome!

After everyone sang Happy Birthday in English and in Spanish, I got to blow out my candle.

Yum...the cake tasted as good as it looked!

We also had some jello for snacks...I thought my mom was going to make finger jello...but we ended up eating it out of a cup with spoons for some reason.

Another snack we had at my party were saltenas. Saltenas are pastries filled with a meat mixture. They are a special mid-morning snack here in Bolivia.

Of course we did lots of jumping...

And pulling...

and tackling...

And riding... (we got our money's worth out of the jumping castle!)

There were games for the grown ups too. We showed our Bolivian friends how to bowl!

We made the bowling pins out of big yogurt bottles. (Boy am I sick of eating yogurt!)

It was hard to get a picture of everyone...this was the best shot. (But it's missing my friend Noelia!)

I handed out special Barney boxes with gifts for all my friends that came to the party.

Then it was time for the pinata! You can't have a birthday party in Bolivia without a pinata. But they do it a little different here than in the US...check it out!

Supermodel

I have really perfected my modeling poses in the last few weeks. I did a little photo shoot the other day with my Mom. Here are some of my favorites....

The straight on head shot.

The Sassy Shoulder Pose

The Nonchalant Day Dreamer Pose

My Catwalk

BRAIDS!

Look how I wore my hair to school today!!!

My very first braids!

New Hobby!

The other day, during my nap, I discovered a new talent. I'm a great photographer. I've posted photos from my very first photo-shoot. Now, keep in mind that this is the very first time I've ever taken pictures. The first few are a little shaky, but I think I improved by leaps and bounds in just my first session. I've obviously got raw talent. My parents were sure surprised when they found the pictures on their camera two days later! I totally got away with stealing their camera for the afternoon. But learned that taking pictures of myself was a bit self-incriminating.

Where have I been?

Have you been wondering where I've been? What I've been doing? Well, I've been pretty busy...so busy that I haven't had much time to post a blog for a whole month! I decided to tell you all I've been up to in pictures! Enjoy!

Staying Dry

We just finished up the raining season. While it was hot here in Sucre, it rained several times a week. Now it's drying out and cooling down. I will miss my rain jacket and boots!

Drawing a Crowd

After living here for 8 months, I still seem to draw a crowd. I'm not sure I'll ever get use to it!

New Uniform

Our school uniforms just came in! Mine is huge and I look like a pilgrim - but this white cardigan helps.

Making New Friends

Rosemary is a new friend that I made a few weeks ago. I LOVE playing with her.

Layers

I like impressing my Mom by waking up from my naps in a creative new outfit! This is my best one yet. I have 7 different layers on. I am hoping to start a new fashion trend in Bolivia.

Creative

I'm always finding new ways to use my toys!

Potty Time

I can now do all my business in the potty! YEAH!

Jump

I've been having lots of fun!

Grandpa and Grandma Visit

I was so excited to have my Grandpa and Grandma visit me at my house!

Crafts

I have recently started to enjoy doing crafts. While my Grandma was here, I got to do crafts with her.

Show and Tell

It was fun to show my grandparents around town and to all my friends.

Vacation

I got to go on vacation while my grandparents were here. We went on a boat ride!

Trouble

I still get into trouble from time to time. But I was only trying to help when I sprayed furnature polish on the computer screen. I thought it would clean the screen...not make black spots on it!

Contemplation

While on vacation I had a lot of time to think. I'm going to try to get into less trouble.

Angel

But seriously...who could stay mad at this face!

Love

I know my parents love me anyways!

New Theory - How to get out of nap time!

This one is for all my fellow toddlers out there. How many of you are tired of nap time? (No pun intended.) Sick of sitting in your room for "quiet time?" I personally feel like I do not need this "down time" as so many parents like to say. So, for the past month I have been sporadically experimenting with some ideas on how to get my parents to cut out the nap time. My theory is, if you can get your parents to feel like nap time isn't worth it for THEM, then it's the toddlers that will benefit!

So, you can see first hand my techniques below. Anything that is in the closets...on the floor. Anything on the bed; sheets, pillows, blankets....on the floor. Any books in your room...must be ripped up and...your catching on now...on the floor. And my personal favorite, if they leave the box of wipes within your reach, take every single one out of the box and...that's right, on the floor! Now, keep in mind all of this will take some time. Best to be as quiet as possible.

Now I have done this about 3 times in the past month, but to my surprise I still find myself in my room for nap time every afternoon. So I tried something new a few days ago. I've been eyeing the curtains in my room but had yet to come up with anything for them...until now. If you stand up on your bed, grab your curtains, and then jump off your bed, you should be able to do some irreparable damage. (Parents hate that kind!) This one got me into some trouble...but, thus far I am still in my room for nap time.

Everything on the floor!

It works best if you not only rip out the screws, but get the anchors as well.

Don't forward these pictures on to anyone unless they are under the age of 3. I don't want these getting into the hands of our landlords!

So far I have yet to find the right combination to completely get out of napping. As of now, my Mom still finds the clean up worth her 1 1/2 hours of toddler free time in the afternoon. If any of you out there have come up with anything better, I'm open for suggestions!

First day of school!

Today was my first day of school! In Bolivia, summer time is Nov - Jan. So the school year starts here in Feb. I didn't quite make the cutoff to be in the three year old class, but they let me in anyway! My Mom and Dad have been talking to me a lot the last three weeks about starting school, so I was REALLY excited that this day finally arrived! My parents were really excited too, hence ALL the pictures below.

First day of school pose.

Modeling my backpack

The entire outfit! (Thanks Aunt Kate and Uncle Dan for pretty much supplying my whole outfit for the first day of school.)

So after the photo session, Mom and I walked down to the school. It's only 2 blocks from our house. When we got there, all the teachers were setting up the room for a program. They were a little behind schedule, which is pretty common here. But I didn't mind because there were all kinds of fun things to play with while we waited.

Here is the room all set up for the program. Normally this is the "play ground" area.

They have swings!

I think the play house was my favorite.

Sitting in the program. Can you find me in this picture?

The program lasted for about an hour. It started with all the kids and parents standing up and singing the Bolivian National Anthem. I didn't really understand what was going on, so I just sat in my chair. Then they introduced all the teachers, explained some of the rules, and had a puppet show! Then it was time for all the parents to leave. I gave my Mom a hug, and before I new what was happening, a nice teacher came and took my hand to take me to my class.

I may look a little timid here, but 2 seconds after my Mom took this picture, I was waving bye!

Here is a picture of me playing in my class. My Mom must have shot this after I thought she was already gone!

Here is another play room just for us 3 year-olds!

I had a great first day of school. I didn't remember much to tell my parents. All I know is that I am excited to go back tomorrow!