4 Years Old!

Yesterday was my birthday!  Now I'm 4 years old.  My parents threw me a special birthday party with all my friends.  I got to choose what kind of party I wanted...and I choose to have a princess party!  My party was just two days ago and it was SO fun.  Let me tell you all about it!

We had lot of different games and activities!

A blow-up jumping thing...it was really cool!

My Mom made princess crowns and we got to decorate them with sticker jewels.

Here is a princess crown all decorated!

We all got manicures.

We played the princess walk game.

We also played a game called "Kiss the Frog."  First we all put on lipstick...

...then we put on a blindfold...

...and after a couple of spin, we tried to kiss the frog on the lips!

Didn't my Daddy do a good job drawing this frog?

Of course we had lots of good food too.

Here are some of my friends enjoying jello, potato chips and tukamanas

I even had princess cupcakes!

I had some great friends at my party!

One of my best friends from school, Carla.

Eating with my friend Raquel

Good friends from school, Carla and Mikaela

You can't have a party in Bolivia without a piñata!

All my friends were waiting right under the piñata for their loot!

Group photo of everyone at my party!

I had so much fun...I crashed afterwards!

4 Months Old!

I'm 4 months old now!  A lot happens when you turn 4 months old in Bolivia.  First I had to have my routine well baby check-up.  I passed with flying colors!  I'm up to 11 pounds and am 23.5 inches tall.  That puts me in the 3rd percentile for weight and the 12th percentile for height.  Then, on a separate day and different location, I had to get my vaccinations.  I don't have much to say about that except that they put me in a really bad mood for the rest of the day.  Finally, on another day and in yet another location, I had to have an x-ray of my pelvis.  There is a thing called hip dysplasia, a problem with the hip joint, which can run in families.  Many Bolivian girls are affected by this, and therefore, all girls at 4 months are screened for it here.  My Mom was reading up about hip dysplasia, and read that the condition is also more common in babies born breach, which I was.  So she thought it was probably a good idea to get that done.  

So all that to say, I've been out and about this past week.  I'm also starting the teething process.  I'm drooling like crazy and can't get enough of my hands in my mouth.  I'm even dreaming about chewing on my hands and waking up at nights sometimes.  Now that I'm 4 months old, I can start taking some Orajel and I'm hoping that will do the trick.  (My Mom hopes so too!)  

But overall I'm a pretty happy baby.  I like being tickled, playing on my play mat, and I'm pretty captivated by my older sister Ella.  

US Citizen

While we were on vacation in Santa Cruz with my Grandparents I went to check out the US embassy.  I needed to turn in all my paper work so I could become a US citizen and apply for my US passport.  That way if my parents need to go back to the US for something, I can get into the country too!

It was a lot of work for my parents to figure everything out.  There were lots of steps.

Step 1:  Official Name Change

First I had to officially change my name.  In Bolivia, everyone keeps their mother's maiden name.  So in Bolivia, my official name is Lydia Belén Warden Mach.  But my parents didn't want that to be my name on all my US official documents.  So, we had to change my name to just Lydia Belén Warden.

Step 2:  Apply for US birth certificate

Since I was born here in Bolivia, I just have a Bolivian birth certificate.  In order to apply for a US passport I needed a US birth certificate.  I won't ever have a "real" US birth certificate, but I now have a Certificate of Birth Abroad, which will work the same as the real thing.

Step 3:  Apply for US passport.

Nothing special here.  Just a form to fill out and a few pictures.

Step 4:  Social Security Card

Well, this is the only thing we weren't able to do at the embassy.  I have to show my US passport in order to apply for my social security card.  So once my passport gets here, I can apply.  My parents think we may just wait and do it the next time we are in the States...one less thing to have to do in Spanish!

Basically, all this stuff was just a bunch of forms to fill out.  My parents got everything filled out before hand and then we took everything to the embassy.  It was interesting.  I would post pictures but we had to turn in our camera, and all our bags at the entrance.  Luckily they let us take some diapers and wipes in with us!  After going through security, we were lead to another building.  We had to go through security again in that building and then finally got to the room where we could turn in our paper work.  Then, about 25 minutes later we were done!  Now I can say I'm proud to be and American!

A Visit from Grandpa and Grandma Mach!

Last month my Grandpa and Grandma Mach came to visit us here in Bolivia.  I had been counting down the days for the past 3 months and then the day finally arrived!  It was so fun to show them all about our lives here.  We did lots of things together.  

Meeting Lydia for the first time

Showing Grandpa my favorite rides at the park.

We read lot's of books together.

We even went on vacation together.

Thanks for coming to visit us Grandpa and Grandma!  We had so much fun with you.  Can't wait to see you again soon!

Bumbo!

Wow, we have so much to blog about!  There has been a lot going on in our house over the past month. I don't have time to do it all at once, so be on the look out for some good blogs and lots of pictures over the next week.  

But I didn't want to leave you empty handed, so here are some pics of a recent lesson from my big sister Ella.  Back when I was just about 3 months, we got out this thing called a Bumbo seat.  My sister showed me how it worked, and then it was my turn.  

She is doing a great job!

Then it was my turn...

but my head got so...

very heavy.

I'll keep trying!

Time keeps on ticking...

Time sure keeps on ticking...I'm well into my second month of life at 10 weeks.  Things are going pretty well.  I had been sleeping great at night..mostly 5-6 hours at a time and even one 7 hour night!  But then last week I got touch of acid reflux and it really threw me for a loop.  I don't like to fill my stomach now because sometimes it hurts.  My doctor gave us some medicine to try, and after running it past my Uncle Dan the pharmacist, we realized that it failed FDA approval in the US.  So we stopped taking that medicine!  (It didn't work anyway.)  Luckily, my Grandma and Grandpa are coming for a visit in just a few days and they are brining some medicine from the US for me to try.  Can't wait!  But, all things considered, I'm still a pretty happy baby and just can't help but smile.  

9 1/2 weeks and loving to smile!

I'm also really enjoying my big sister Ella.  She does such a good job playing with me.  Can't wait until I'm a little bit older and can play back a bit now. 

Ella is always doing funny things!

I want to be just like her someday!

Love my jammie time with my big sister.

Never a dull moment...

Today I learned a valuable lesson in accessorizing...from none other than my Big Sister Ella.