Easter--Time with Family and Friends

Here are few more shots from the last few days. Katie and I have enjoyed having Daddy home and having friends visit.

Semana Santa

Post Easter Egg Hunt celebration . . . Katie found a new love . .. jelly beans . . . thank you Auntie Suzy for bringing back Easter candy, eggs, and an egg dye kit for us

Easter egg painting with Daisy and Elsie

Hanging out in our luggage closet and having mommy open and shut the doors is a favorite rainy day activity.

Here's the little girl who delights to clomp around in mom and dad's shoes. I'll try to get some video of this.

Katie the acrobat

During Holy Week, many people in Colombia travel, particularly to warmer and sunnier climate, but this year, Ben is working, so Katie and I have been enjoying time together and with friends. Here are few photos from this week.

It's a . . .

Katie, Mama, and Papa are happy to announce that we are expecting a little girl/sister! At the halfway mark, the littlest Leonard is growing strong and healthy.

Odds and Ends

Many of you have asked to see pictures of me pregnant, and believe it or not, we really haven't taken any. Is that what happens when you are having a second child??? However, this Friday, I will not only reach the 5 month mark (halfway!!), but if all goes well, I will know whether I am having a boy or a girl. So . . . I promise to post a belly picture and news about the baby then.

This bit is for Marlyn who contacted me through the blog in February. I don't know how to get back in touch with you. I tried to write you a comment on the blog, but I am not sure if you saw it. If you happen to read this, I would love to get in touch with you and also put you in touch with other expats through the American Women's Club in Bogota. The group is comprised of women from 40 countries, as well as English-speaking Colombians. AWC offers a wonderful array of events and networking opportunities, as well as a baby toddler group. You can reach me at leonard_ben@hotmail.com. Hope to hear from you!

Adventures in Cali

Where's my ice cream, Mom?

Sea otter delight

L-R: One of the beautiful birds of Colombia; a butterfly bush in the mariposaria; the largest rodent in the world--indegenous to Colombia

Can I snuggle with the monkeys, Papa?

Ben, Katie, and I recently returned from a visit to Cali, a small city of about 3,000,000 people, that is home to a dear family friend. Thankfully we did not attempt the hair raising 10-12 hour drive this time. Thirty minutes in a plane had Katie mesmerized and kept preggie mom from having to sit for too long. Because Cali is much closer to sea level, it is warm and humid. This was quite a change from cold, wet Bogota, but Katie quickly adapted to being able to walk around barefoot. When she wasn't exploring the house and outdoor patio, she was befriending the little doggie who lived next door. Beside enjoying time with our friend, Clarita, and the church family at Bethel, we had a great morning at the Cali Zoo. While we had taken Katie there before when she was 8 months old, it was as though she were going for the first time. In general, Katie loves animals; her books with animal pictures are amongst her favorites. So being able to see all kinds of animals up close and personal was delightful!

Adventures at Home

Jello Painting . . . good for eating and squashing!

Endless fun on the balcony outside Ben's and my bedroom

Well, now we are finally catching up to March. Days around here are never dull between ordinary things like trying to cook dinner with a toddler, keeping things tidy, going to music class, giving private English classes . . . our days are full. Unfortunately, with the onset of rainy seaons, rarely does a day pass without a heavy dose of rain, so Katie and I have had to get creative indoors. Thank goodness for Trish Kuffner's The Toddler Busy Book! Her simple, but solid ideas for doing fun learning activities with your toddler have been a godsend. Here are some photos to capture the end of February and the beginning of March.

Little Glimpses of Febuary Continued

Here are two other pictures from February. Katie celebrated Valentine's Day with Ben and me at Abastos, a wonderful new little restaurant in Usaquen, an artsy colonial area in Bogota. We enjoyed the from scratch brunch and Katie loved climbing all over the sofas that filled our corner of the restaurant. The other picture is from Natasha's, one of Katie's friends, birthday party. Katie was delighted to find a tricycle there. (Note: Tricyles are her new obsession. Several of the "older" kids in our development have them, and Katie tries to ride them every chance she gets.) So here is our happy tricycler! :-)

February Date

Well, here I am apologizing again for being a blog slacker. I could list a variety of reasons, but the bottomline is that I am going to try to get back on track an update at least once a month. I'll start with some pictures from February when our friends, Shannon and Jason Bragg, were kind enough to watch Katie along with their three girls so that Ben and I could go on our first real date in 17 months. Wow, what a gift! Ben and I enjoyed lunch at a lovely little Italian trattoria outside of the city. From there, we drove to the little town of Sopo, drove up the mountain to Parque Pionono. Parque Pionono is not only a lovely nature reserve and a prime hiking area, but it is also where Ben and I got engaged. After our hike, we returned to the town of Sopo to enjoy some sweet treats at the Alpina factory (think milhojas and eclairs). Overall, it was wonderful day to reconnect as a couple, and we hope to have the opportunity to have more dates like this in the future.