Our Not So Little Sammy

This morning during snack time Sammy walked right into the kitchen and sat in his big brother's chair...no more baby high chair for him. Doesn't he look big? I swear I blinked and my baby was GONE. Please, please come back! It was 10 am and I just woken up (I love to sleep in on Sundays) but for Sam it was already snack time, well he stole some of my Herbalife shake...he loves it...and I love the mess. I still can't believe he walked into this brother's chair all on his own.

Sam's Friday Updates

Sam has so much fun at LIVE!

Our Instagram Carnival Long Weekend

Today is Tuesday night and we just finished a very long weekend. It is Carnival in Bolivia and basically it is four days of constant partying in La Paz. Basically there are parties everyday at all hours of the day and you can't go anywhere in the city without seeing kids (and adults) throwing water balloons or spraying cars and bystanders with water guns and foam cans.

Well, we really didn't partake in the traditional activities or parades...Luka & Sam actually had a fever on Friday and Saturday, but finally on Sunday we did go to the Golf Club to celebrate with the kids. From the photo above you can see that Sam loved the foam. He was focused on the foam for a good 20 minutes. I hope that it isn't toxic because he ate some of it. Bad mommy!

Here is Luka with a water gun..first time he battles with any type of gun. He actually liked it for about 5 minutes then decided it wasn't for him. It was also a little cold that day.

Look at Sammy...here he is channeling his inside little devil. Look at that smile...

Luka loved the streamers on the floor...he looks like the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz. Que lindo!

Sunday was also our 6th Wedding Anniversary. I love you baby! What a great way to spend the day...with our two favorite little boys. By the way Luka took this photo of us...

After the festivities at the Golf Club we headed for an ice cream break. Our little Sammy has a serious sweet tooth...you should have seen him with his ice cream. He wouldn't even let us have a taste. We need to work on that sharing.

On Monday we went to a friends house for a BBQ (sorry no photos) :(

But then on Tuesday I had a date with my favorite 4 year old. Luka and I went to the movies to see We Bought a Zoo. What a cute movie...I loved it and so did Luka. My little boy is growing up and he can sit through a movie that isn't animated. I love the movies...so this was a special treat for me today. And look at how cute he looked...after we got dressed at home he looked in the mirror and said, "Mami, I look good today!" He is so funny.

After the movies Daddy, Sammy and our friends the Gibsons met us at the mall for lunch. We had delicious Peruvian food and then we took the kids to La Paz's version of Chuckie E. Cheese - the arcade at the mall. The three boys were partial to the race car games.

As you can see I was partial to Instagram photos this weekend. Man, I love that app!!!!

Luka's Holiday Show

Finally took the video off my phone...better late then never. Here you can see Luka's class perform their three numbers at this year's Holiday Show right before we left on vacation to Miami. They are so cute!

Luka's favorite number by far was the Snowman Song...the third one. I still catch him singing that song all the time.

To see all of the photos from the show click here.

Six Years Ago Today...

Six years ago today on a beautiful day in Key West, Florida I married my soul mate. I had no idea that my life would be such an adventure and I would be writing this post from 13,000 ft in La Paz. But life is funny that way and one thing I have learned through this adventure called marriage is that it isn't always easy, but luckily I found the perfect person for me and no matter where we go or what we have to face...if we do it together, I know it will be ok.

Baby, thank you for six wonderful years, two beautiful boys, three homes, 90+ stamps on my passport and mostly for being my best friend. Not sure where we will be celebrating our next 6 anniversaries, but really it doesn't matter...as long as we are together I know it will be amazing.

If you want to and have time click here to see all of our wedding day photos taken by the photographer. Oh but wait there is more...click here to see all the photos taken by the guests with the "party favor" cameras...those are always fun and uncensored...ha ha.

Our wedding day was such a blast...I will never forget that weekend in Key West!

PS Luka is really funny, when I tried to explain to him what today was...He said,"You are getting married today mommy? What are you going to wear?" then I said, "No baby, we are celebrating our anniversary like you do your birthday." Luka, "Oh, we are having a party, when? where?"

Can't Let Go of Valentine's Day

I just posted about our Valentine's Day Party so I have hearts on the brain...I was looking at some of the many blog update emails I receive and I came across this site. They posted 34 different Valentine's Day photos from around the world. I loved it and just had to share. The photo above is my favorite...of a couple in West Palm Beach getting hitched with other couples in a group ceremony at the Palm Beach County Clerk. Don't you just love her lipstick and hair color and the way she is looking at her new hubby! I thought the picture was awesome, but check out the other ones...inspiring!

See all of the other photos here.

Carnaval at ACS

Today was Carnaval Day at ACS. Luka's class performed the Huayño dance. Okay, I did some research and found this video. They have the same dance step pretty much the whole video and it looks really similar to the dance step Luka has been practicing at home all week. Good job Luka and enjoy the video...I know I did.

You would never know from these photos but Luka had a fever. Yesterday I got a call from school that Luka was running a temperature and feeling sick. He didn't look so good when I got there. He ran a fever through the night and woke up still feeling under the weather. All day he kept telling me he wanted to go to school, but I was hesitant with the fever. I strategically gave him Tylenol at 11 am in hopes that his fever would go down in time for the show at 1 pm. At 12 pm he said he really felt better and wanted to go, so off we went for the 1 pm show time.

This boy loves music and I didn't want him to miss it...he did great and I was the one that made him leave the show a little early before everyone was done. He wanted to stay until the very last minute. Here is a photo of his KG4 class before the show.

After the show he wasn't finished "performing." He asked me to take some pictures of him...he is such a character...here are some of the many faces of Luka.

This is his "I need to go to the bathroom" face.

Here is his "Mommy, put on your make-up you look scary" face.

Oh, and this is my favorite...his "I know I just did something really bad, but I am so cute that your won't get mad" face.

Sam had a FUN week at LIVE...

Sam is LOVING his new class at LIVE. He has a new best friend...look at his face from "Miercoles" he is just having so much fun with him. I need to schedule a playdate for him. If you look at "Viernes" you can see him playing with goop. When I arrived today to pick him up the teacher said he had been playing for 30 minutes with the goop...I need to get me some goop for the house. I don't think I have any toy or activity at home that has kept him engaged for that long.

Here are some pictures I took today. Here he is with his favorite "goop."

The teacher gave Sam a little Carnival gift today. The entire week the kids dressed up and had all sorts of activities. Today was Costume Day...he was dressed up like a monkey, but by the time I picked him up he had taken off his hat/mask, but you can still see the tail in this photo.

Sam and his new favorite teacher. This is Lourdes. We love her!

The Perfect Banner

I love making these pendant banner for almost any occasion, but I usually find myself on the computer designing one for each event. I will still do that for specific parties, but I came across this banner on this amazing blog - Ruffled - and I thought I just had to share with everyone.

I think you can make it match any type of celebration and I think the colors are perfect.

Hope you can use it the next time you want to splash a message on your wall.

Here is the link for the banner.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"

This morning I noticed the boys holding hands while watching some tv on the laptop in the wee hours of the morning before mommy and daddy could function. They are so cute! I just wanted to share this tender moment.

Identidad Paceña

A couple of weeks ago I attended Identidad Paceña - a Bolivian Fashion Show that celebrated the modern day fashion of the cholita Paceña. What an amazing event at the US Residence! The outfits, the dresses, the tradition...wow. I think it is so unique how many Bolivian women are so proud to wear this traditional dress.

The event was coordinated by ABIA (a charity organization I am a part of). We raised over $7,000 USD in a few hours for a local psychiatric hospital. Not only was it a great event, but we raised a lot of money for this organization.

This was my favorite model of the night...she had the best smile. Look at her jewels. Some of the pieces in the show were over $13,000 USD! Here is this photo you can see the traditional hat they wear.

The official 2012 Ekeko made a stop at the show. Here you can read more about this legend in Bolivia. He looks just like the mini-doll that you can buy on the street!

Our event also made the papers...can you see me?

What Makes A Baby

I don't know this person, but I am familiar with Kickstarter. It is a great way to fund projects, movies, books, etc. My friend Marta first introduced me to this site. I saw this link today through my friend Susana on Facebook and I was like...they took my idea. This past holiday I was in Miami looking for books with Luka. I wanted a book that spoke about where he came from, his brother, etc. Luka is four and at the age where he is starting to ask so many questions. A book like this would have been perfect. What an amazing project! This book will help so many parents talk to their children about their "baby" story and how they came to be a part of their family.

As a mom that has two perfect and beautiful little boys that didn't come the old fashioned way (adoption & IVF) I will be the first one in line to buy the book when it comes out! If you know someone that has a family that came about in a non-traditional way..share the link with them or just support the project.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Party

This year on Valentine's Day we had a little party for some friends from LIVE (Sam's Daycare & Luka's Babysitter when his school is out). Luka also loves LIVE and has many friends there. On this special day I tried to teach Luka and Sam, but mostly Luka that Valentine's Day is all about a love and friendship and celebrating the day with those we love and care about.

Thank you Bianca for taking these great photos. I was so crazy that day that I didn't even take out my camera. Look its a miracle both boys stayed still for 20 seconds to take a photo. I don't remember the last time I had a photo of the three of us where all three of us were looking at the camera. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Here is my table...we had pasta, pizza and salad along with some delicious desserts (crepes, mini-donuts and Bianca's famous cream cheese lemon strawberry tart....as they say here in Bolivia "deli!") Don't you love those red flowers. I have to find out the name of the flowers, but they are the cheapest ones and last the longest. I use them for every occasion. They are available in about 4 colors.

I set up a craft station where the kids could use foam heart stickers (that I cut out 15 minutes before the party started) to create some type of masterpiece. This is Luka's 4-year old version of mixed media - wonderful use of foam stickers and crayons if I do say so myself. It is a bold statement on his love of anything with wheels (the car), but stresses the idea of home and family (house at the bottom). Well that is what I got from it...ha ha ha.

Santi, Sam & Alejandro enjoying the delicious lunch!

Luka can't eat fast enough...slow down Lukkie!

At the end of our little celebration Sam walked around and delivered our "home-made" valentine cards that we accompanied by a pack of Oreo cookies with PINK cream filling. Sam was so proud to pass them around.

This was our very "official" party sign.

Here is a close-up of our Valentine...

Thank you to Bianca, Santi, Carolina, Alejandro, Florencia, Andrea, Zeky, Emiliano and Zoe for celebrating this special day with us. We had a great time!

Happy Valentine's Day from La Paz

Today is a special day to remember all those that we love. The van Herksen family would like to wish a Happy Valentine's Day to all of our friends and family around the globe! Even though we don't see everyone often we are always thinking about those we love in US, Holland, France, Spain, Korea, Brazil, Bolivia, Mozambique...the list goes on and on.

It has been a hectic day today full of activities. Both of the boys distributed Valentine Cards to friends at school, then we had a small Valentine play date here at home...and now mommy has to get ready for a date with daddy. I have no idea where we are going, but that is part of the fun. Oh, did I mention that I was surprised with a beautiful bouquet of flowers today. Seriously, JJ is spoiling me this Valentine's Day.

I will post photos on the party and more tomorrow, but now a bath and make-up session await...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sam's Friday Updates

I love that Sam's teacher plays the guitar. He has never been as musical as his older brother Luka, but lately I catch him humming tunes all the time. Might be because of this new focus on music in the classroom...yet another reason to LOVE LIVE (his daycare).

Meeting Daniella Melissa

Yesterday we had a special visitor...our ex-nanny Evelin came to visit and introduce us to her new teeny tiny baby girl Daniella Melissa. Yes, she is named after me and guess who is going to be her godmother. I am so excited and honored! Isn't she cute. She is so small...I was carrying her with just one arm.

The whole family came down. This is Evelin (left) then her sister and mom. Luka and Sam are in awe of this little baby.

Sam was especially smitten and couldn't get enough of her.

He kept saying "Bebe, bebe, bebe." Sammy really wanted to carry her...

But a couple of kisses and he was happy!

Luka's 2012 Valentine Card

(click on image to see it larger)

Growing up I always prepared Valentine Cards for my classmates and I remember my trips to Eckerd Drugs (old school Miami will know the store) with my mom or dad to pick out the perfect cards to share at school. Remember how corny some of them were...I loved it.

Well, we don't have a CVS or Walgreens to go shopping for cards, so we made one ourselves. Yesterday I asked Luka to make a Valentine Drawing to share with his friends. I was very honored that he said he drew mommy...look at how tall and thin I am...don't you just love how beautiful we are in the eyes of our kids. Well, this is what he drew all on his own with no direction. Then I asked him what he wanted to say on the card and at the top you will see the exact quote!

I hope his friends in KG4 love the card that will be accompanied by a little treat. I can't wait until Tuesday to pass them out...now what will I do for Sam????