Getting ready for G-town

Gimme some dap

As usual we'll start off with the week's baby pictures. He's getting to be quite a roly-poly little dude! Or as my Panamanian neighbor commented yesterday, "Ivan's getting junky!" Probably not coincidentally, he seems pretty happy these days, too. Sleeping better, crying less, and more fun every day.

Greeting Sergio on his return home. He really recognizes that fur face!

Ho-hum.

Somehow tummy time has become thumb-sucking trance time. Oh well.


This chair is far too large.

We've been taking care of business here this past week. Sasha, back at the home office, hid out with Ivan and LouLou in the kitchen one day while a local team of carpet-cleaning professionals worked their magic on some pretty awful wall-to-walls. Another day saw Sasha and son averting their eyes as our veterinarian performed surgery on LouLou in our kitchen. Talk about house calls! We'd been worrying a little over a lump on Loupy's chest and had been thrilled to learn that it was benign. Still, it needed to be removed and it was quite a surprise to find out that the doctor suggested operating here at the house. It was quite the production, and other than a little limp from the I.V. in her front leg, LouLou has recovered nicely.

No more rainy season paw prints---hooray!

In other medical news, Ivan is coming up on his two month mark and that means vaccinations. A controversial topic nowadays, but not so much around here. In fact, Ivan can't get a medical clearance without them so we've signed him up for some shots at the end of this week. After all, medical clearances are essential as we move around the world. Speaking of moves, we turn in our job preferences mid-month. We're looking at some pretty cool options and are excited to find out what happens next for the globetrotting Morenos. We're eager to hear from anyone who has some inside scoop on the differences between, say, Sao Paulo, Rio and Brasilia. Or Krakow vs. Warsaw. Or the relative merits of Bucharest, Sofia and Ljubljana. Oslo vs. Stockholm vs. Tallinn? Our heads are spinning!

We had a nice time discussing world travel with our friend Mariano who stopped by on Saturday night along with his lovely fiancee Cristina -- they had just returned from a trip to Peru. We were shocked to realize that they were both on their way back to the States after their stint here in Mexico--time has flown and we are so happy we got a chance to see Mariano again and meet his lady. Best wishes to them in finishing up the planning for their winter wedding.



Perhaps inspired by newspaperman (and current New Yorker) Mariano , Sergio bit the bullet and ordered a real live Sunday New York Times from the international news agent we finally discovered in the neighborhood. We picked it up on Monday and it was a total treat. And cost only about $12 ! Kind of nuts, but so worth it when the travel section's front page featured the exotic destination of Saugatuck, MI, which is a short drive from Sasha's hometown. And not exactly exotic. I guess even the big city swells are feeling the economic pinch these days. We'll be expecting a big spread on Galveston next.

12 frickin' dollars?!

And now we're getting ready to shove off for our house-swap in Guadalajara for two weeks. Sergio's folks will join us in the first week. We're all excited to visit Mexico's second city and the rest of Jalisco (where Sergio's Duenas family has roots---in a magical-sounding place called Navidad. And Sasha thought her own roots in Crystal Falls were cool---what she wouldn't give to be from a town called Christmas!) We've got a carseat, a dog gate for the back of the wagon and one of those cargo boxes to put on the roof. The circus will roll into town this weekend. Watch out G-jara!

Plotting the Moreno invasion...