Bocas life

We needed to be out of the rental house by mid October.  The house building process has been frustrating at times.  When we started, no way did we think we would still be in the rental house in October. However, we needed to be out and the house was still completely under construction.    Everyone was hustling but being able to move in just wasn't able to happen by the date we needed it to.  So, we moved into a hotel for 9 nine days.  While Conor was at the house all day, the kids and I ate take out and swam in the pool and hit up the Bocas Park.  It wasn't home but if there is one thing we have learned from the house building process:  Just roll with it.  

Tohi tried some avocado 

She had mixed feelings about it

Woody ended up with some green hair from all his pool time

I bought a pack-n-play to help Tohi figure out that she doesn't need to be on top of mom in order to sleep.  She can just roll over in her comfy little crib and go back to sleep.  The message doesn't seem to be getting through

Elwood has started swim lessons and his instructor is magical.  I have been trying to get him to float for months and he is a stiff, sinking, slightly panicky, not relaxed little guy. Elena, the magical swim instructor, has him loving the swim routine of:  floating-then swimming-then floating when tired-then swimming.  She's for real magical.  

Elwood made it to the edge with no problems but my phone ran out of memory room.  damnit phone

Tohi has been trying to "put it all together" to crawl.  It's been adorable to watch her figure it out.  She put it all together in the hotel.  And I swear, she had learned to crawl just so she can crawl over to something and pull up on it.  

In the rental house:

Then in the hotel she put it all together and was crawling all over the cool, air conditioned floor.  I have no video because the girl was all of the sudden fast and into everything and trying to pull up on anything she could get her hands on.  Conor said it best, "Learning how to crawl must feel similar to getting your drivers license."  

Tohi totally agrees

Feliz Navidad

Our first Christmas in our home.  Our first Christmas in Panama. Although we truly missed our loved ones; we had a lovely Christmas.  It was very special being in our home and Elwood is just the perfect age right now.  His excitement and enthusiasm was contagious. 

 Even with Elwood's childlike wonder, it was, at times, a little bit of an effort to get into the Christmas spirit.  We missed the commercialism of Christmas that is everywhere the day after Thanksgiving in the United States.  More than once I wanted a minted coffee from Starbucks.  I wanted a real Christmas tree.  I wanted all stores everywhere to be blaring Christmas music.  I wanted to take our traditional Christmas light walk in our neighborhood back in Melbourne.  I wanted to coordinate which family we would see when and what food everyone was making.  I wanted Elwood to have Santa/Christmas magic discussions with his cousins.  I wanted to be able to buy candy canes.  It's an adjustment living in a place where everything I want is not always available. 

 However, in even hotter weather than Florida, we blared Christmas music and bought the only three strings of Christmas light we could find. One green, one white, one multi colored.  They had multiple settings and every night we had to talk woody out of putting them on the setting where they are frantically blinking so fast that they could possible induce a seizure.  We put our own mints in our coffee in the morning and we splurged and bought a $7 can of imported whipped cream to spray on top. We decorated a banana tree and proudly put it on our porch.  We will plant our Caribbean Christmas tree in our yard after Christmas, if it can withstand all the love and attention both kids are currently giving it.  Conor and I took turns singing Christmas carols to Woody at bedtime; Frosty the Snowman still being his favorite.  Conor and I, working together, were almost able to remember all of the words to 'Twas the Night before Christmas, which was recited nightly upon Woody's request.  In the park in Bocas, there was more than one plastic nativity set up so we talked about the animals and baby Jesus. Our ending bedtime song each evening was Silent Night.   

On Christmas morning, the kids woke up well before the sun, which is a regular occurrence in our house and not just because it was Christmas. Elwood dove into our bed and excitedly wiggled around, asking us if we thought Santa had come. He told us he was pretty sure he had heard jingle bells last night.  He took his flashlight and shined it off the balcony and as the beam passed over a small pile of presents in the middle of our bare floor, he exclaimed, "He did!! AH!! I see presents!!  Santa DID come!!" We all excitedly walked down our new steps, indulged in coffee and chocolate milk covered in whipped cream as Woody helped everyone open their gifts.  Tohi picked up on the festive energy and squealed and threw wrapping paper around as Woody tore open the presents around her.  The sun was just coming up as the last present was opened.  I sipped my whipped cream and coffee, watched the joy on Elwood's face as he threw his new airplane off the balcony to a just-as-excited Dad below.  I watched my sweet Tohi girl look around with her two tooth grin spread wide across her face.  I could still hear the crashing of the waves over our Christmas music and the nicest of Caribbean breezes was flowing through the house.  Our first Christmas in our new home.  Our first Christmas in Panama.  

We strung popcorn to hang on the tree that Woody ate off like how one would eat a candy necklace. 

After dinner we would set up a Christmas show to watch.  Woody was hysterical watching
A Christmas Story.  Lots of questions. 

Jungle decorations from our yard make the gift of wine more festive

I thought I might send a Christmas Card. . .
Yeah, it didn't happen but how cute are the Christmas pictures for it?! Ha!

Our new steps allowed us to move the beds upstairs.  Woody was so excited to sleep in his new room.  It was so adorable watching him set up his bed and fan.  He has been looking forward to sleeping in his bedroom since he first saw the space under construction.
 Merry Christmas, little buddy. 

Everything.  Just everything goes in the mouth.  

Chocolate Milk and Whipped Cream

Christmas is Awesome!
Wrapping Paper is Delicious!! 

Our new steps to the right.
Old, dangerous ladder steps to the left.  

Let There Be Light! . . . and dance parties, and running water, and vacuming, and power tools being run without a generator!

We Have Electricity!

We have been living in our house for close to 2 months sans the modern comfort of electricity.  I would love to say it was super awesome the whole time and we are the best campers ever and it was all magical because we were in our house. . . but the magic and the bucket dish washing and the putting the kids to sleep and cooking with a headlamp lost its charm at about the 5 week mark.  

We've had the lights on for over a week and the luxury of electricity has not been lost on us yet. Fans and running water are beautiful things.   

When the switch was thrown, Tohi was taking a nap so our celebration was quietly toned down but we all shared Elwood's enthusiasm.