The Dude and Dr. King

Sometimes, to save time, we put him in the washing machine.

Well, we're back to earth here after the festivities of the inauguration. Per some grandmother requests, here are some more recent photos of the little tyke.

Guard! I wanna call my Embassy!

Ivan's getting to be quite a little big boy. In fact, he's sliding down slopes, climbing mountains and flying around on zip lines.

He did all this climbing by himself...

Okay, not really.

Besides visiting our local playground, we also took Ivan to see the Martin Luther King statue on MLK day and told him all about America's civil rights history.

Let freedom ring!

We also took advantage of the holiday on Monday to try a new Italian restaurant. Ivan has decided that he is far too old to be relegated to the stroller during meals. He also insists on dining while wearing hats that are too small for his giant noggin.

Oscar?

More news on the boy: he has taken a job working on old Peugeots which makes the French coveralls his Grandma Kathe found very handy.

ZUT ALORS!

Sometimes he practices his trade on his own fleet of Mexico City taxicabs.

Somehow this seems sad.

We've been up to a few things around here, work-wise. Sergio is busy coming to the aid of all sorts of distressed Americans in Mexico. You may have heard he's got a new boss? Meanwhile, Sasha is still waiting on the credentials she needs to allow her to properly invoice the Federal Government --- she has taken over the contract for background investigations in Mexico from our much-missed neighbor (and fellow underemployed attorney-at-law), the Manila-bound Meredith. Some of you might recall getting phone calls or making appointments to talk with retired FBI types to discuss Sergio and Sasha's moral character, mental health, job history, etc. Well, now Sasha is going to be one of those retired federal agent types. The best thing about the job, besides the chance to be legitimately nosy, is its flexibility. It is technically a full-time job, but as she is telecommuting her hours are hers to set and we only anticipate needing childcare one day a week. Should work out very nice for the next couple of months.

In more exciting news, we are so happy to welcome a new family member into the fold: Penelope Flores was born earlier this month to cousins Humberto and Veronica. We're eagerly waiting for photos. Hint, hint. And so the baby boom for 2009 has begun! Our friends Lara and Derek in Austin are expecting to meet their little girl next week and our pals Kate and Michael are just behind them getting ready for the arrival of "Little Zeke" in L.A. in early February. And there's more: Sergio's sister Narda is due just before school's out later this Spring (or early summer as we're talking Houston here!), very convenient for a teacher. The Solis family is having a boy!

We are already thinking about all the fun Ivan is going to have as part of this crowd of kiddos.